Summer in Texas provides an interesting workout conundrum – too much sun! For a solid outdoor workout, I have to wake up before I really want to in order to beat the heat and peak damaging rays. As my running partner can attest, this happens only about 52 percent of the time. So, refer to the G Style Pure column for some great outdoor workout tips. In the meantime, let’s discuss how to get a good indoor summer workout. After all, Pure Austin is the indoor gym for outdoor people.
While indoor workouts may not be as sexy, the heat lately suggests this may be the more practical option in the next couple of months. And don’t worry; an indoor workout will cover all the areas of your body that are going to get uncovered when you venture out.
Let’s start with cardio. Hop on the treadmill or elliptical for five to 10 minutes at a warm-up pace. Now add some burn. If you are so inclined – so to speak – ramp up the incline. Or you can increase the speed. Either way, complete four repetitions of a quarter mile at an increased speed or angle, followed by a one-tenth mile recovery.
Next, some major muscle groups get worked. Start off with a two-legged move. Take your pick between a squat or a leg press. Warm up with one set of 20. Now transition to a one-legged version of that exercise, using either your body weight and increased speed, or the same leg-press weight and five fewer reps. So, you will do a one-legged leg press or a split-squat, which is basically a shortened-stance lunge in which you do the majority of the work with your front leg. Complete 10 reps on each leg, then take a short rest and repeat the whole sequence again. This second time, add 10 reps to the two-legged move for 30 total reps, and add five reps to each side of the one-legged version for 15 reps per leg.
Now it’s back to the treadmill. This time you will do a shorter warm up, followed by two minutes at a challenging pace, then one minute of recovery. Repeat this process four times.
Return to the floor for some definition and abdominal work. For working out your arms, I recommend you pick two to three of your favorite moves. You can bang out two sets of each in a matter of 10 minutes by super-setting, or doing the exercises back to back, with a short rest in between each super-set. Bands and cables are a great way to mix up your arm work.
Then do the same procedure for abdominals. Pick three exercises and perform them back to back for 30 to 60 seconds each. Take a short rest and repeat one more time. Some of my abdominal favorites are the “bicycle,” the “plank” and the “reverse crunch.” For the reverse crunch, raise your legs up in the air with the soles of your feet facing the ceiling. At the same time that you pulse your feet toward the ceiling, use the momentum and your lower abs to bring your shoulders off the floor, and touch your right hand to the outside of the left foot. Repeat on the other side, completing 20 reps on each side.
You’ve done it! Now do some stretching and grab a tall glass of water before taking your beautiful body back outdoors to enjoy the summer season.
