This is the first Bloc of a 3 part Metabolic Workout that I did on Day 4 of my weekly program for the month of April. I was doing a practice dial-in with my trainer, Jean-Jacques Barrett of Active Performance in Montreal, QC. He emails me my workouts at the beginning of the month, and we skype once to go over the various exercises, the technique, the rhythm, and any questions I might have we deal with them then. We were also experimenting with my diet, cycling carbs with heavy work loads, and cutting back on fat and protein on those days to take in more dense carbs. It was a lot of fun, and really drove home to me the power of a well-though-out program to really give great results without needing to do anything extreme.
I began each workout with a warm up. First, 8 minutes of running on a 2% incline at 6 mph. Then 5 exercises that I repeat twice.
12 bridge walks
8 knee hugs to deep lunge, elbow to instep, then stretching
12 drop squats with 20 lb DB
12 inch worms
8 ea side Turkish Get Ups with a 20 lb DB
For each Bloc, the idea is to do as many repetitions as possible in 40 seconds, and then take a quick 20 second break before moving on to the next exercise. Each bloc has 4 exercises, and you repeat the full cycle 3 times before taking a 3 minute break and then hitting the next bloc. As I train by myself, I count the reps to see if I’m improving, and to push myself mentally. I found that each bloc had one particular exercise that was particularly tough. In the first bloc, it is the “banc assis”. Legs are on fire.
Bloc 1:
Banc assis: begin by straddling a bench, sitting on the bench, then pop up both feet on the bench. Jump back down, alternating feet, and sit on the bench. Make sure your hips touch the bench!!! Repeat. When you sit down, it makes it much more effective on the muscles around the knee join.
Step Jump: begin facing the bench, and step up one leg, push up and stretch your back leg straight out. Keep your head up, chest up, stomach in, and hips straight. Your trying to really pop off that bench, and keep everything tight, contracted, nothing loose. Alternate legs, and go as fast and as hard as you can.
Russian Twist: get a medicine ball, (I used a 10 lb ball), and get into cruch position, stomach contracted, feet on the floor. Stay at a 45˚ angle, and twist side-to-side, touching the ball to the floor every time. Stay stable, and go as fast as you can.
Fast feet: straddle a step, and then quickly step up, alternating feet, and then quickly back down. You should only have one foot at a time on the step, or on the floor, and you must stay on the balls of the feet. Try to only have the feet moving, it’s not really a jumping exercises. Go as fast as you possibly can.
im gunna go do this right now!