Tear-It-Up Tuesdays: Vandy Track Workout

Welcome to the new weekly On.a.Whim Workout Segment: Tear-It-Up Tuesdays! Each Tuesday you'll receive a new workout session, technique or training tip. I'll invite guest experts to contribute and strive to provide helpful demonstrations to motivate you in living a healthy, fit lifestyle. Feel free to share suggestions or best practices you've found in your own personal fitness routine. This segment is a deviation from regular On.a.Whim postings which are primarily centered on decorating, reading and baking/cooking. Hope you enjoy! *Please remember to make sure it is safe - get a doctor's approval if necessary - for you to begin any new workout routine.

For quite some time, I’ve been itching to become a personal trainer. Fitness training is something I’ve always had great interest in, and taking the American Council on Exercise (ACE) certification exam has been on my To Do List going on two years.

I’m a HUGE BELIEVER in regular exercise along with maintaining a healthy diet. Working in an environment that provides fitness, recreation and sports to individuals with physically disabling conditions has only further solidified my belief that exercise is essential for everyone. It’s a panacea and preventer for so many chronic illnesses and physically disabling conditions as well as a natural mood and concentration booster.

I greatly underestimated what all was involved with passing the ACE exam – a solid knowledge of anatomy, physiology and kinesiology. But last month, following some strenuous study sessions and help from my co-worker Carol, I finally bit the bullet and sat in UAB’s testing center for three-plus hours surprising myself by passing the exam on the first try! Woo hoo!

Now, in ALL my free time, I’m eager to impart my love of fitness and exercise with others.

While in Nashville this past weekend, Jennifer was so good to be my personal training guinea pig. We trotted up to Vanderbilt’s track Saturday morning and completed a plyocardio workout (my new term for a workout consisting of plyometrics, or rapid, intense movements + dynamic stretching + cardio).

Below is one of two workouts we completed Saturday a.m. I’ll post the second portion next Tuesday.

*****Please excuse the model; she’s the best we could find on such short notice.

Warm up: Jog/speed walk up to one mile around the track to warm up your muscles and increase your heart rate.

Spider-Bear Crawl Variation: Begin in a runner’s lunge. Pull opposite leg through your arms while keeping hips squared to the ground. Alternate legs, covering up to 50 meters then turn and repeat back to starting point. Make sure your knees do not track over your ankles. This exercise works just about everything: arms, core, back, hips, glutes and quads. You’ll start to feel the burn pretty quickly. Just take your time and breathe through the movements.

High Kicks: You’ll feel relieved to loosen and release your legs after the crawls with this dynamic stretch. Swing right leg to shoulder height while extending your right arm at a 90 degree angle with you core.

Let toe meet corresponding right hand. Release stance while propelling right leg and body forward and swing left leg up to meet your left hand. Continue alternating legs and arms in a fluid movement for up to 100 meters.

Turn and repeat until you reach your starting point.

This exercise will also challenge your balance; try to remain steady and don’t let your ankles roll.

Double Leg Bounding: A great plyometrics exercise, bounding is excellent for giving runners an edge on explosiveness while increasing stride length. Squat with legs hips-width apart from one another. Push off hard and fast from the ground propelling yourself forward with your arms and body.

You want to try to stay suspended in the air as long as you can before you land on both feet, hip-width apart.

Then, actively drive your feet into the ground to power your next bound. Keep your feet on the ground for as little time as possible before pushing off again. Drive with your arms for full power. Bounding should be done for up to 50 meters at a time. Start slowly and build up to longer distances and number of contacts. Once you feel competent, you can add up to two more reps. This exercise WILL and SHOULD wear you out. REST between reps or before your next exercise!

Step Plyo: With bounding, you jump forward. With step, you jump up. To complete this exercise, stand facing a vertical step box, 12-inch platform or step. Pushing off of both feet, hop up in the air and land solidly on the step.

Steady yourself and then, jump backwards onto the ground.

"Repeat 10 times; rest a minute and then do two more reps. This exercise targets your quads, glutes and hamstrings.

Run/jog/speed walk a mile and then YOU'RE DONE! The best part of this workout is that you get to feel the effects of it the next day...and the next. :) But don't worry, you'll get less and less sore post workouts once your body becomes better acclimated to them!