Improvised Workout During the Holidays

Over the Christmas holidays, training and exercising take a back seat to family commitments. Should training or exercise be possible, routines are often disrupted for a variety of reasons. For me, training was possible as I complete my workouts in the early hours of the morning before anyone else is awake. However my typical routines were disrupted as I was away at my in-laws for a few days. Without the bike or the convenience of a gym I had to improvise. Fortunately I was able to plan ahead, rework my training schedule and include a recovery week to break up my initial strength building weight lifting phase. The recovery week was very much needed anyway.

The following workout worked well for me as it required only me, a chair or stairs and a dumbbell. It worked my cardiovascular system, core, stability, strength and power and was not easy by any stretch.

Workout #1

I performed each of the following set of exercises 3 times in the order below for 30 seconds, completing the first set slowly and increasing the speed and intensity in subsequent sets. The total workout time was 10 minutes and 30 seconds.

Jog - jog on the spot
Jumping Jacks
Log Jumps - jump side to side as if jumping over a log.
123 Heisman - stutter step side and then bring your alternate knee up and touch your elbow (if stepping to the right, bring your left knee up to your right elbow)
Butt Kicks - jog on the spot and kick your glutes with your heels
High Knees - jog on the spot and bring your knees as high as possible
Power Jacks - like jumping jacks but dropping into a squat

Stretch

Performed a variety of stretches and yoga poses I would typically do.

Workout #2

I performed each of the following exercises in the order below 3 times. If I couldn't complete all the reps, I stopped, rested and continued until all the reps were complete. The rest period was relative to the number of reps remaining in the set. So for instance if I completed 15 of the 25 reps, I rested for 10 seconds (25 - 15) then continued.

Day 1

Standard Pushup - 25 reps
Bent Over Rows - 25 reps
Step-ups - 15 reps

Day 2

Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 25 reps
Dumbbell Upright Row - 25 reps
Single Leg Squat - 15 reps

Day 3

Decline Pushup - 15 reps
Prone One Arm Bent Over Row - 15 reps
Vertical Jumps - 15 reps

Stretch

Performed a variety of stretches and yoga poses I would typically do.