Planks are perfect for core strength!  Do them on your knees or on your toes, keep your elbows or your hands directly below your shoulders, and get it done.  The second you feel your back dip, drop to your knees.  Have fun!

There is something to be said about "intermittent exercising," which just means that you spread your workout across a whole day instead of doing it all in one chunk.

Here is a quick video that you can turn on if you find yourself with an extra couple of minutes during the day-- maybe you are waiting for the rice or pasta to cook, or you have 5 minutes until you have to leave for work.  You can squeeze something like this in multiple times a day!  Have fun with it, and if you don't have a band, that's okay, just stay low and follow along.  If it hurts your knees at all, take the band off!  If you are doing this in the middle of a busy day, chances are you are warm already, but if you have been sitting for a long time, or if it's first thing in the morning, warm up first.

Have fun!

Here are four more moves for your exercising pleasure-- curtsy lunge, "jump rope," lateral raises, and bent-over rows.   We hit it hard for 30 seconds at a time, with a 10 second break in between.  We do this for 8 cycles, with a 20 second break in between each cycle.   In this video, I go through 2 rounds, or 16 cycles.  It takes about 11 minutes.  If you would like more, just watch it again and do 3 or 4 rounds!  Make sure to warm up before and cool down after.  

Move your body!  In the video on the left, I show you a quick warm up.  Don't skip it! 

In the video on the right, I show you 4 basic exercises: a squat, a push-up, tricep dips, and jumping jacks.  I give you tips for good form, and I explain how to make the exercises easier or more challenging.  The idea is that you can string them together to make a short, effective full body workout.

First of all, grab a tabata timer like this one.   Play around with it until you understand how to set it.  You can set the exercise interval time, the rest interval, the number of sets, the recovery interval, and the number of cycles.  In the video, I suggest setting the time for:
30 seconds, with a 10 second break in between sets 
8 sets with a a 20 second recovery after each set
4 cycles  

Sounds a bit confusing, but it's really not once you take a look at the video.  You do each of the 4 exercises two times, which makes 8 sets, and that makes a cycle.  If you go through 4 cycles, it will take about 20 minutes.  You can break up the cycles throughout your day, or you can work up a nice little sweat if you do them all in a row.  It's up to you!

Watch your form, listen to your body, and mooooove! 😉
Cool down video to come!

You guys!!  How are you moving your body these days?  The gyms are closed, we have to keep our distance, but there are things we can (and should) be doing.  Why?  Why should we be moving? 

When we change our bodies, we change our minds. 

These are trying times, and it is really easy to be sucked into feelings of fear, anxiety, pressure, sadness, loneliness, all the negative feels.  When you notice that you are feeling less-than-stellar, move your body.  It feels like magic, but it is based on science.  Here is a nice article on 5 ways movement changes our brains.   

 Spoiler: Here are the 5 ways:

1.  Exercise helps prime the brain to connect with others.
2.  It can make our brain more sensitive to joy.
3.  It can make us feel brave. 
4.  It builds trust and belonging. 
   It can transform your self-image. ​

Find a way to move today.  Get outside with the kids.  Take a walk.  Ride bikes.  Do some deep cleaning.  Crank up some old school dance music and boogie down.  It doesn't matter what it is.  Just move.  Aim for 30 minutes.  It can be in little spurts of 5 or 10 minutes at a time.  It doesn't have to be all at once.  It all adds up!

​When you move your body, you change your mood!  

Be well!