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 😉
The Hip Pike has always been on my list of superior core exercises. It recruits most of your deep, spine-stabilizing abdominal muscles*. The Hip Pike simultaneously challenges shoulder mobility, spine and shoulder stability and hamstring flexibility. And if all that mumbo jumbo is not enough to motivate you to pike your hips, do it because you want nice abs…