I've been wanting to post about my workouts for a while, but never got around to it until now. I started this post last month, April, but am only now finishing it up. So it's a May post about an April work out.
My neck problem has required some adjustments to my routine, but it's all been good. Incidentally, I've been diagnosed with cervical spondylosis, with mild cervical kyphosis. Two months of PT helped a great deal.
As is common knowledge, or maybe not, I change my workout routine each month. So this is April's. I'm doing something different now. Anyway, I work out with each of the three kids. I've been working out with the oldest for years now; maybe 5 or 6? With the middle one, we're going on about 2 years I think. I just started with the youngest. It is all scheduled. The oldest and I workout on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The middle and youngest ones get their workouts on Wednesdays and Sundays. Being homeschooled, their days are not full of rigorous physical activities, so hopefully this provides some benefit. I workout 6 days a week, usually, so it benefits me at least!
My workouts with them generally provide a warm-up for me, as I follow their's with my own workout.
I've have been focusing mainly on bodyweight pyramids for the two oldest. I'm a big proponent of bodyweight exercises. You don't need a lot of equipment, and you can take much of it (e.g., your body) where ever you go. You get good resistance, and good cardio, especially if you minimize the resting between levels. Good for burning some fat and building some muscle. One may notice that the workouts are thin on stretching and balance. That will perhaps be the subject of another post.
Workouts for the Oldest
Here is one of his workouts for April: 7 Level Pyramid:
1x row w/ feet on stool,
2x pushups,
2x situps,
2x bendovers,
2x squat jumps. This means that the pyramid has 7 levels. You work your way up to the top (1st level, 2nd level, 3rd level...7th level), then you work your way down the pyramid (6th level, 5th level, 4th level...1st level). For each level you do all the exercises, and the number of repetitions depend on the specific level you are at, as designated by the multiplier for each exercise. For example, at level
3 of the pyramid, you would do
1x3=3 reps of rows,
2x3=6 reps of pushups,
2x3=6 reps of situps,
2x3=6 reps of bendovers, and
2x3=6 reps of squat jumps. Now, on some of these exercises I've made up my own names, so you'll have to check out the video to see what it looks like. To calculate the total number of reps for each exercise, you square the height of the pyramid, and multiply by the multiplier. For example, to calculate the total number of pushups done in the workout, you square 7 = 49. Then multiply the result, 49, by the multiplier: 49x2=98. Anyway, in the time lapse below, the workout doesn't seem that tough, but it is pretty tiring. Note also the challenging nature of it when you have the little ones around.
We also did short cardio workouts. Here's one I call the Jumping Jack workout, consisting of 5 different types of jumping jacks. There are 3 or 4 rounds of the set of jumping jacks, each round consisting of the 5 types of jumping jacks. The first type is done for 10 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of "recovery". The second is done for 20 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of recovery. The third is done for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of recovery. The fourth is done for 20 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of recovery. The round is finished out with the fifth, done for 10 seconds and followed by 10 seconds of recovery. This is all repeated for 3 or 4 rounds. It's tougher than it looks.
My Workouts
I follow the kids' workouts with my own workout. Here's a 4 level pyramid I would after doing the oldest's 7 level pyramid. In my notation: 2x pullups, 2x dips on rings, 3x hanging leg raises, 2x bodyweight arm curls, 1x burpees. It's pretty challenging, especially after having just done a 7 level pyramid!
Here's another of my workouts, which follows one of the kids' workouts. It consists of two ladders: one for pushups and one for bodyweight arm curls. The ladders (kind of like one side of a pyramid, but I keep going up until I can't go anymore. Once that happens, I start a new ladder.) are meant to blast the muscle groups to increase vascularity and muscle endurance. I wear a weighted vest to make it more challenging. After each rep, I rest a number of seconds, which equals the rep number times 2. So, for example, after doing 4 reps, I would rest 4x2=8 seconds. After the first ladder, I rest about 1 minute before starting the next ladder. You can't tell from the video, but the exercises are done at a slow rate, 3 counts down, then three counts up, with no stopping at the top. I love these things because they give a good pump.
Workout for the Middle Child
My focus on the middle child's workouts has been to improve upper body and core strength. Upper body exercises such as pushups are more challenging for females, so we've working on these for a while. Good form is of prime importance with pushups, so that is one thing we have been emphasizing. She needs some assistance to do the pushups, but her form is good. She'll be able to do perfect pushups on her own in the not-too-distant-future. This workout is a 4 level pyramid, with 1x rows, 2x pushups, 2x leg raises, 2x crunches, 2x bendovers, 2x twisting squat jumps.
Workout for the Youngest
I just started working out with the youngest. The point of his workout is to get him used to exercise. It consists of 10 jumping jacks, 5 pushups on a table's edge, 5 situps and 5 burpees. This is done for two rounds.
Other Stuff
Besides the above exercises, I also have each of them do hand strengthening exercises twice a week. I call it "gripwork". I've always thought a strong grip can serve one well in life...you don't want to have to always be asking someone to open a jar for you, right? I haven't covered all the exercising we did for April, but it gives a decent idea of what kinds of things we did do.
