The Rundown…The V-Up is the problem child of the sit up and the leg lift. They have the ability to start friendly – your legs are straight, your arms are straight, you are relishing in your core’s ability to unite your fingers and toes above your body – and then you get slapped in the face by the v-up. A likely tale. A few workouts ago I fell prey to this all too likely tale as I set out to do 10 rounds of 20 v-ups within my workout. Let’s just say that modifications happened at about round 5 of that experience… Continue reading →

The Run Down…Oh, the burpee. How I love this exercise. It makes me so sad when people are not as enamored as I am of this exercise. No, but seriously, why wouldn’t you want to do burpees?! They are a full body, explosive exercise that involves self-congratulation at the top of each rep (aka the clap) – what a freakin ego boast is that and you get to do it every rep. When in doubt: do a burpee. (If you want a further expression of my love of the burpee, check out this workout…) Continue reading →

The Run Down…Pushups are just quality. Nothing crazy, nothing super complicated, just quality work: arms, back, core, even legs (bet you don’t always think of those puppies when doing push-ups.) They are one of those knitty-gritty exercises that not only build and maintain strength, but also make it apparent when we are lacking in it. Pushups: get friendly with them. Continue reading →

The Run Down…So simple, yet so often shorted by several crucial inches. The air squat is a beautiful thing. Do you want to know how I feel every time someone does quite literally a half-assed air squat: like someone ripped an ice cream cone out of my hand (that is when I ate ice cream,) threw it on the ground, and stomped on it. Don’t do that to me. Please no. Continue reading →

The Run Down… I call these puppies squat thrusts. Some wimpy people call them burpees. Yes. I said wimpy, because these little gems take out the apex move of the burpee: the push-up. You aren’t allowed to say you are doing a burpee in my book if you are not suffering through that damn push-up. What is a squat thrust: it is the burpee “light” – the exercise I prescribe when I’m feeling a little less mean. That being said, I do love me some squat thrusts – I just don’t find them as viscerally satisfying as the burpee. Continue reading →

The Run Down…The tuck jump is a new found favorite of mine. I also seem to forget about it for months at time and then get to experience all over again just how awesome it is when I remember. Now, I am not the most coordinated person by any means – there is a reason I ended up as a rower and not a soccer player: agility ladders are my idea of hell. My tuck jumps may not be Mia Hamm quality, but they are slightly agile, and a serious kick in the butt so they are here to stay. Maybe one day I will be graceful. Continue reading →