5 Minute Boost Workout

Do you ever have a long day, sit down on the couch, or crawl up into bed and think, "Those Oreo Cookies sound delicious right now!"? Or when you're done with dinner you crave something sweet? Well here is a 5 minute workout that you can do to get your heart rate going, get your muscles moving, and satisfy your sweet craving! Think this, emotion follows motion. So if you're sitting around, you're probably going to want some comfort food. But if you're moving around, feeling in shape and good about yourself, you're not going to want that cookie, ice cream, or left over birthday cake after all!

But keep in mind, this is only a 5 minute booster workout, it should not replace your regular total body circuit training workout you should be doing 3x a week! Those workouts should take at least 45 minutes. So keeping that in mind, this is something you can bust out if you're feeling tempted for something you shouldn't be eating, or just feeling lazy. I hear most people say once they're at the gym they love it and feel great about themselves. But it's so hard getting there! If you're already in your workout clothes, but don't want to go workout, start with something like this and it might get you going! You can turn on some music too to help you get in the mood to work out.

Here we go!


Plank
A plank is one of the best things you can do for your total body, especially your core, and upper body strength. Start with your elbows underneath your shoulders. Have your feet shoulder width apart. Draw your belly button into your spine, keep it tight, so that your back does not cave in. Don't let your back dip, and don't have your bum sticking up in the air. Keep your body completely straight. Hold for as long as you can! Try for at least a minute.

If you've never done one of these before or you have lower back issues, start with a modified plank. This will be everything the same, but do it on your knees. Like this:

Floor bridge
This is great for your core as well, but focuses more on your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Lay down on your back, tuck your feet underneath your knees, and keep your feet straight. Lift your hips up and squeeze your glutes. Hold this position for at least one minute.

For those of you who are ready for a bit more, go ahead and lift one leg at a time. Make sure you keep the leg that is lifted in line with the one on the ground. It will be too easy to have your leg lifted straight up into the air. Don't let your hips drop when you do this. Keep them up! Hold this for 2 minutes, and alternate legs up every 15-20 seconds. Like this:

Classic Sit Up
This next one is a good old fashioned sit up. We try and get so creative on different ab exercises, but this one is still probably the best! Lay down on your back and have your feet tucked in underneath your knees. Cross your arms on your chest, and sit all the way up until your elbows reach your knees. If you haven't done these in a while, you might need to have someone hold your feet, or put them underneath the couch. Do 15-20 repetitions.

Modified: just do a crunch to where you can feel the contraction in your abs, but don't sit all the way up for you elbows to touch your knees. Just get your shoulder blades off the ground.

Pushups
Yes! I said it! Pushups! A woman's favorite exercise :) I think I hear more complaining about this single movement, than anything else! I don't blame them! Sh! Don't tell... They're down right hard, when you do them right, and you do enough.

Start with your hands down from your shoulders and out just a little bit. People tend to have their arms out too far in front. When you come down, make sure you're keeping your body straight, like a plank. Some people want to keep their bums up in the air. Keep that pelvic tilt and bring it down with you. At the bend of your elbow, make sure your upper arms are coming back a little bit, and not straight out to the side. Lead with your chest. When you get tired, you'll want to drop your jaw and you'll be looking down at your chest. Keep your chin up, so you're facing the ground, not underneath your body. (I give you 5 pushups by the time you start doing this. Count me on it :) For your first ones it might be a good idea to have someone watch you do it and make sure you're in proper alignment.

Start on your toes if you can. If you can't do it properly, then go to your knees. If you're in between being able to do all pushups on your toes, but can do most of them, then go down to one knee instead of two. Switch knees half-way through.

(See that my chin is up, chest down before stomach, and elbows going back, not directly out.)
Squats
Just say it right now, "I love squats!" Although we don't always feel that way, they're SO good for us! Get up against a wall, bring your feet forward, shoulder width apart, and slide down to a 90 degree angle, or like you're sitting in a chair. Hold that position as long as you can! Again, try for about a minute. If you're a beginner, hold it for 20-30 seconds, take a 10 second rest, then do it again. There's no shame in easing into things :)

Lunges
These also do wonders for our lovely lower half. Take a nice big step forward. Have both feet straight, facing forward. You don't need to be on a tight rope, you can have your back leg slightly out to the side. Go straight down, like your riding a carousal. (I know it's cheesy, but it's true.) Bring that back knee an inch off the ground. Don't lean forward at all. You're aiming for 90 degree angles. Your upper body support should still be on your forward leg. (You can do this without leaning forward.) As always, keep your shoulders back, and spine neutral.


Leg Abductions
It's one of the most unattractive poses we could possibly do. So do these in the closet :) These are great for your hips and glutes. Do 15 repetitions on your left leg, then 15 on your right, then do 30 total, alternating legs. Start off by having your weight evenly distributed with your hands and knees. Make sure your hands aren't out too far. Remember, down from shoulders. Now, kick your right knee up to the side, keep it bent, and bring it up as high as you can. You can go even higher than I have in this picture. Ouch! Get ready for the burn!


Lola's Notes:
I could never be a fitness model! This is me not being able to hold the "down" pushup position while Dave was taking the picture! It's actually hard to hold those positions isometrically, or in place, like that while someone takes the picture! I have so much more respect for those fitness models now :)