I LOVE love!
It makes me feel all warm and tingly and happy! But having Valentine’s on a Friday is really cutting into my training schedule this year. Let me see, I need to pick up flowers and wine and a cute gift and make dinner AND shower…?! AGHHH!
Ok I am really not THAT obsessed. I can totally sacrifice one workout in the name of love. But athletic movement makes me feel sexy, primal, confident, engaged and fun. These are definitely the qualities you want to bring to an ideal date.
This year I decided instead of skipping a workout, I am going to make it a quickie (not the date, the workout). Here is a quick, balanced and effective core routine that will elevate your mood and invigorate you for the passionate date with your boo.
Complete each exercise for 30 seconds before moving to the next one. Depending on your fitness level, perform two to four rounds with minimal rest between exercises. This 6-15 minute quickie is not meant to exhaust you, but leave you energized and feeling fantastic! Now get to it:
1. Hip Bridge
Keep your feet hip width apart and knees bent at 90 degrees. Drive your heals into the ground and lift your hips up while squeezing and engaging your butt muscles, the glutes. Keep all the emphasis on your glutes. If you feel like your lower back or hamstrings (back of your legs) are getting engaged, don’t go as high. If your quads (your thighs) are getting engaged, your feet are too far in front and you are pushing forward instead of down into the ground. To make this harder, elevate your feet 12-24 inches or do single leg variation and perform 30 seconds on each leg. Your hip bridge might look slightly different from this picture, unless you do it on the street in the rain and you wear that… If you do, please send us your picture 😉
2. Single Leg V-Up
Start by laying on your back with arms extended overhead and legs straight with toes pointed. Maintaining stabletrunk and tall posture, bend at the hip to perform a sit up while simultaneously raising one leg up in the air. From the side it should look like you are forming a letter _V with one leg up and one leg extended on the ground . At the top reach your hands towards your pointed toes. Alternate legs and make this look graceful. Details matter, and pointed toes are sexy 😉 The more advanced you are, the more speed you can add to this movement and if you want to make it even harder, lift both legs up for a regular V-Up. Just in case the picture of Betty Boop does not explain to you how to perform this exercise, click HERE to check out a video.
3. Side Plank Reach Left Side
Get into a side plank position with left elbow stacked directly under your left and right shoulders, with your right arm extended and fingertips reaching towards the sky. Engage your glutes and raise your hips as high and push them as far forward as possible. Embody the most proud and elegant posture, with your chin retracted, long neck, closed ribs and neutral spine. Widen your base
of support by placing your right foot in front of the left, so that the right heel maintains contact with the toes of left foot. While maintaining stable plank, start the movement by rotating your trunk and reaching your right hand past your left armpit towards your left shoulder blade. If your form starts deteriorating or you find rotating to be too difficult, just maintain the side plank. Make sure to breathe, smile and visualize what you will be doing on your sexy date later…
4. Side Plank Reach Right Side
The same as above on the the other side.
5. Split Squat Jump
This is the exercise that will make your butt look sexy, burn the most calories and disturb your metabolism for hours after, so you keep burning calories as you indulge in the chocolate covered strawberries or eat cool whip off of your partner later. It also integrates all the core muscles we just activated and will give you the biggest rush of feel good hormones to help you get revved up for your night.
If you have not done split squat jumps before, no need to learn new tricks, burn yourself out, or risk getting injured today, just do alternating back lunges or bodyweight squats. Add speed or a jump to increase difficulty. If you are more advanced, jump into a lunge and jump up while switching the legs in the air to land in the opposite stance. Make sure to land softly and both feet at the same time.
Maintain full range of motion and stable trunk even when you get tired. Its only 30 seconds, no cheating. Click HERE if you want to see a video.
So there you have it. Break a sweat, activate your core, engage your hips, refresh your mind, release lots of pheromones and mood elevating hormones to get you prepared for whatever you have planned with your lover.
Wishing you lots of love and an exciting Valentine’s Day.
And if you are single, its no problem! Don’t skip your workout and do this core routine as a finisher to your current program. And if you see someone cute at the gym, ask them to join you 🙂