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What this is: A fitness blog that focuses on body weight workouts for women, specifically ones that can be done in the backcountry, in parks and open spaces, or in the home without equipment.
Who I am: I have been interested in fitness since I bench-pressed more than anyone in my class in 7th grade. Finally I found something I was natural at. From that day on I have strived to not take my good genes for granted, and put these muscle-makers to work. In college I would spend hours every week in the gym, playing with every machine and free weight I could get my hands on. I took classes in boxing, pilates, tai chi and yoga. I may have spent more time in the gym than any other building on campus. Working out was my time to focus on ME, and wrap my head around what was going on in my life.
When I graduated, I started working as an Outdoor Educator and lost access to a full service gym. I began to use the trails, kayaks, medicine balls, and tree limbs and logs in the same ways I used gym equipment. As I moved from New York to Texas to North Carolina, to California and New Mexico, I lived in all sorts of different environments, but never had access to a gym other than the ones I made.
I've searched high and low for adequate workouts for women using nothing but bodyweights (or logs) but have come up short, so here I'm finally compiling some of my favorites for others to enjoy.
NOTE: I am not a certified trainer. I haven't even worked with a trainer in almost a decade. I simply do what makes me feel good and stop if it hurts.
December 2018- (I can't believe a whole year just passed!)
Here's my original X-Mas Exercise Advent Calendar...
December 2017- To Celebrate the holidays, I took a pre-existing workout, and made it an Advent Eyesore.
For actual descriptions (photos) of how to DO each of these planks, check out Darebee.
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500 Jumping Jacks
Tools: Nada
Time: 15 min, ish
Warm-up: Dance your heart out to a song of your choice (My choice, All Day by GirlTalk)
Workout: 5 rounds of : 100 jumping jacks, 50 power knees (each side), 25 calf raises, 20 tricep dips, 15 v-ups, and 10 hamstring kick-backs. Then cool down.
I'm still sore/recovering from two workouts I did two days ago from 12minute athlete.
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Interval Boxing Workout
Tools: Medicine ball, kettle bell timer Optional: boxing gloves, bosu ball
Time: ~20 minutes
Workout:
Round 1: 3 sets of 40 sec squat jumping jacks, 40 sec punches, 40 sec kettle bell swings
Round 2: 3 sets of 30 secs kettle bell squats, 30 sec side punches, 30 secs kettle bell front raise
Round 3: 3 sects of 20 secs squats on bosu ball, 20 secs going to town on a punch bag, 20 secs kettle bell deadlifts.
Bonus: Darebee's MicroHIIT workout, every day this month.
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You can do 2000 jump rope reps!
Tools: Jump rope
Time: 15ish minutes
Workout: Warm up with a dance! Follow that with a 50 crunch challenge. Then complete 2000 jump rope reps as follows:
5x- 100 turns as fast as possible, followed by 25 moderate, 25 fast, 25 moderate, 25 fast
Rest. Drink Water. Get ready!
100 jumps- perform a double under every 5 jumps
50 shoulder punches (to the sky)
100 jumps on left foot
25 punch/jab combos on one side
100 jumps on right foot
25 punch/jab combos on other side
100 jumps- cross the rope every 2,3,4 or 5 reps
50 punches side to side
100 jumps- high knees
50 uppercut punches (alternating arms)
Rest. Drink water. Repeate that, but do butt kicks at the end instead of high knees.
Not done yet? Try a core workout for the finale.
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Pull Up Bar Fun!
Tools: Pull-up bar, motivation
Time: 12 minutes, +warm up and cool down
Workout: 1 minute rock climber switches on pull up bar (a Shaun T original), 1 minute air squats, 1 minute leg lifts on pull up bar and 1 minute push ups on ball, or with alternating hand placement. repeat 3x.
________________________________________________________________________________ 2/26/15: Inspired by a friend on her birthday, I decided to solicit good workout songs from friends. I love my mix of slipknot, Johnny Truant and Pantera but I've been using the same songs since high school. It was time for a refresher. So if you're interested, here it is. I'll like be tweaking it as I listen and use it, so keep posted.
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12 MIN AMRAP Outside/Inside
Materials: pull up bar (or branch), log, exercise ball optional
Time: 12 minute countdown
Workout: Do as many reps of: 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups (on log or pull up bar if you have one that you can take off the door frame), 15 dips (on log or on pull up bar), 5 chin-ups, 10 leg raises (or knee roll ins on exercise ball), 15 air squats
Beat me: I did 5 reps plus 5 pull ups, 5 chin ups and 8 squats. (All my pull-ups and chin-ups are assisted)
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15 MIN AMRAP WORKOUT
Materials: Pull-up bar
Time: 15 minutes (plus warm up and cool down of choice, so about 20 total)
Workout: Do as many reps of 5 pull-ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats, and 20 sit ups as you can in 15 minutes.
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20 MIN. JUMP ROPE
Didn't feel like travelling too far to work out this morning, so I put on some movement-inspiring clothing, grabbed my ropes, and stepped out the door.
Materials: Jump rope (weighted, speed-rope, or both), interval timer
Time: 20 minutes, plus a little warm up and cool down.
Warm Up: 100 jumps starting slow and increasing speed, followed by a good stretch of legs, arms, core, feet, neck, etc.
Workout: I first set the timer to 12 sets of 40x20. During the 40 seconds I did some variation of jump rope (fast, side to side, Left leg/right leg alternations, butt kicks, double unders, criss-cross) with my weighted rope, followed by 20 seconds of holding a handstand against the wall.
I still had some energy after that, so I downsized to my speed rope and set the timer to 8 rounds of 40x20. This is what followed: 40s slow jump, 20 squat pulses (where you hold squat position but raise and lower your butt a few inches), 40 fast jumps, 20 squat pulses, 40s slow, 20 squat pulses, 40s fast, 20 squat pulses, 40 sec squat jumps in and out (jump roping in a squat position, jumping with legs together, then apart in a wide squat, back together, etc.), 20 sec lunge pulses L leg forward, 40 sec butt kicks, 20s lunge pulses R leg forward, 40s high knees, 20s L lunge pulses, 40s double unders, 20s R lunge pulses.
Cool Down: 100 jumps with the rope, slowing down as you go. Stretch.
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TRIPLE S CHALLENGE
I used to do this ones for a change of pace from my plyo/weight-lifting mornings in the forest.
Materials: Stairs, flat(ish) surface
Workout:
Stairs: For (about) 5 minutes run up and down the stairs. I did single steps up, quick pace down, double steps up, quick down and so on, for about 10 rounds. If you don't have stairs you can do step ups/downs on a bench.
Sprints: Do 5-10 sprints* at preferred distance. I would usually do 5 sprints of about 100meters each, with some rest in between. But I certainly could have pushed myself more if I had time.
Suicides: Do 5 rounds of 5-set suicides. this one killed me.
I'd round out my workout with some step-ups or diamond jumps just to ensure I was out of breath and sweating.
*You can do more or less dependent on your level of fitness/time/what you want to get out of the workout. Just don't burn out too quickly.
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100 (BURPEE) CHALLENGE
Inspired by 12minuteathlete and a few other articles of interest over the years, I finally did 100 burpees. Just about three years ago, when Amil and I were doing Shin Othake's Bodyweight Workout's, we got to workout E: 130 burpees. I was certain that that was utter insanity and that I would rather have a root canal than do 130 burpees. But yesterday I did 111. The first 100 were for the workout and the other 11 were while inspiring my friends to join me in the 100 burrpee challenge.
I did 100 burpees in 11:38. The first 50 were push-up burpees, then 10 tuck-jump burpees, then 10 regular, then 10 one leg burpees, then 10 regular and 10 more one leg. I strongly encourage checking out 12minuteathlete for descriptions of burpee types and motivation.
For today's challenge I did 130 push-ups at intervals in my 2 mile run. It didn't seem that bad at all! Run a minute, do 10 push-ups, repeat along your course until you drop to your knees or finish. I'm sure I'll feel it in the morn.
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JUMP ROPE FUN
Materials: Jump rope, interval timer (you can find an App, google search it, or invest in a GymBoss to take on the trails)
Time: 24 minutes = 2 minute warm up, 20 minute workout, 2 minute cool down
Warm-up: roll-out, 1 minute+ dance party (mosh-out, rock out or otherwise wiggle as much as you can. Don't stop moving until your favorite song is over)
Workout: 4-5 rounds of 5 sets: 40 second jump rope + 20 sec jog/jumping jacks/plyo of choice (20 minutes total. You can rest after the set of 5, or you can just take a sip of water and rock it out).
Cool-down: jog, walk, wiggle and stretch until you're ready to face the world.
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JUMP ROPE TABATA WORKOUT
Materials: Jump rope (speed rope, weighted rope, or both), interval timer (you can find an App, google search it, or invest in a GymBoss to take on the trails)
Time: 15 minutes = 2 minute warm up, 12 minute workout, 1 minute cool down
Warm-up: 200 jumps, shake it out.
Tabata: 3 rounds of 20 sec on 10 sec rest
1- Jump slow 5- Double unders
2- Jump fast 6- Criss cross
3- One leg 7- High knees
4- Side to Side 8- heavy rope (or fast with speed rope)
Cool down: 100 jumps with rope, stretch
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