7. Cottage Workouts

I could tell you that it’s seeing Jillian Michaels stare at me from the front of the current issue of Shape magazine that’s sitting on the coffee table in the living room of the cottage that has propelled me out the door each morning, yoga mat and kettle bell in hand, to squeeze in a quick workout.  But the truth is . . . I simply feel better if I can get in a little workout at the start of the day.

And while I will never forsake my love of the barbell, there is something equally entrancing about good old fashioned, super simple, metabolic workouts.  And the truth is, you don’t need much at all to get in a good workout when you’re far from home and far from a gym.  In fact, the only “equipment” I have with me right now is a skipping rope and a 16kg kettle bell I brought from home.

I started off my week, inspired by one of the WODs they were doing back at my home gym, All In One / Crossfit AIO – it was:

• 2km run to warm-up
• 42 walking lunges (holding the kettle bell), 21 kettle bell clean & presses & 21 sit ups
• 400m run
• 30 walking lunges, 15 kettle bell clean & presses & 15 sit ups
• 400m run
• 18 walking lunges, 9 kettle bell clean & presses & 9 sit-ups

Then I looked to my friend Michelle for inspiration . . . she shared a workout she had found on her Facebook page, which I modified a bit, but found to be absolutely fantastic!

• 2km run to warm-up
• 10 push ups, 10 sit ups, 10 squats
• 25 double unders
• 9 push ups, 9 sit ups, 9 squats
• 25 double unders
• 8 push ups, 8 sit ups, 8 squats
• 25 double unders
•  . . . and so on down through 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1

Next up, was a very simple body weight workout:

• 2km run to warm-up
• 3 rounds of
  • 5 burpees
  • 5 sit ups
  • 5 squats
• 400m run
• Repeat 3 times for a total of 4 rounds

And then today I tackled this one:

• 2km run to warm-up
• 5 kettle bell thrusters, 5 kettle bell swings, 5 burpees, 5 sit-ups
• 400m run
• 4 kettle bell thrusters, 4 kettle bell swings, 4 burpees, 4 sit-ups
• 400m run
• . . . and so on through rounds of 3, 2, and 1 ending with a 400m run

But, if I’m going to be perfectly honest with all of you . . .the absolute BEST part of these workouts . . . getting changed into a swimsuit as fast as possible, running down to the dock with one or both of the kids, and seeing who can get into the lake first!  Now that . . .that is absolute joy!!!!