Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Developing a Routine

While trying to develop this hour-long muscle conditioning workout for this class, I realized a number of things. One, this isn't something I enjoy and two, it has given me a number of new circuits. Although I like structure, having to "practice" a routine that hits every body part, keeps you moving, doesn't completely bore you and doesn't exhaust you to the point of poor form is a pain in the neck. Well, I worked something out and think it may be reasonable. First, I am using some dynamic stretches for the first 10 minutes. They can't be too complicated because the class is more mature and less flexible. Secondly, I have yoga-style stretches for the cool-down which is another 10 minutes. That left 40 minutes left for the muscle work, which I broke down into lower/upper/core cycles ending up with the following types of exercises:

4 lunges--reverse, forward, static, and side
4 dead lifts--Romanian, stiff-legged, bridges
3 squats--front, regular, and sumo
3 back exercises--bent row, upright row, reverse flyes
2 chest--push ups, standing flyes
2 triceps--kick backs, extensions
2 biceps--regular curls, hammer curls
Numerous shoulder exercises--front and side raises, presses
Various core moves--Saxon bend, diagonal raise, loading, lunge-twist, tornado chop, rotational press, washing machine, stationary lunge chop (all paired with the above lower body moves), back extensions, plus the obligatory "abs"

Although I think I did a pretty good job--I pulled out all the stops--I don't think I could come up with anything that much more comprehensive in another routine. I wonder how these folks do this 2x week? So--I have gained more respect for group instructors (know I don't want to be one) and I have learned a valuable lesson in developing new routines for myself.

No comments: