3 Tips To Spring Clean Your Exercise Routine
By Tiffany Bucciarelli
Out with the "old" and in with the "fun" -- spring cleaning for your exercise routine! Most of you have been working hard in the gym since you committed to your New Year's goals, and the weekly treadmill and indoor aerobic classes have lost their appeal. You're ready for some fun and fresh exercise changes to keep you motivated. And with just a few changes to your weekly routine, you'll be reinvigorated to stick to your fitness goals and jump into the spring season.
Get to the Track!
Get off the treadmill once or twice a week and take your cardio outdoors. Find a local high school with an outdoor running track and bleachers or stairs and try this butt-kicking track workout:
• Warm up with a jog around the track.
• Complete a 10-minute interval run: Run one lap at a speed at which you cannot carry on a conversation, then jog the next lap at a speed where you can have a conversation with a friend. Continue this fast run/slow jog mix for 10 minutes.
• Jog up and down the stairs or bleachers for 5 minutes.
• Get some water, then back to the track for another 10-minute interval run.
• Finish your workout with 5 minutes of stair climbing.
Boot Camp Calisthenics
Want to jumpstart your morning? Do it with 30 minutes of fat-burning calisthenics! Here's a basic boot camp routine that builds strength and endurance while burning calories:
• Create a circuit workout area to do back rows, push-ups or modified push-ups, Y squats, lunges, woodchoppers and knee-to-elbow AB crunches.
• Start with 15 lunges across the room, then turn around and do 15 more.
• Next, perform 30 Y squats, then 30 push-ups or modified push-ups, 30 woodchoppers, then 30 knee-to-elbow crunches.
• Take a sip (or two!) of water and do the circuit two more times, performing each exercise with 5 fewer repetitions per circuit (30-25-20).
Buy a New Outfit!
Ditch the old workout t-shirt and sweatpants you usually wear to the gym. Buy a new workout outfit to make you feel refreshed, vibrant and comfortable. Cotton clothes tend to hold on to moisture, becoming wet and uncomfortable long before the end of your workout. Proper workout gear will act like a wick, soaking up the sweat and pulling it away from your body. Feeling good and looking hot will give you the confidence you need to give your all to your workout routine!
This article reflects the opinion of PhillyHealthWatch – not CBS Broadcasting Inc.
