This is one of the series of exercises I do on a regular basis. It is heavily based on Verstegen’s template (see also my previous discussion here and here), but I have added and sub’d quite a few exercises (mainly Pilates) so that I believe I can now rightly claim it to be my own 🙂
The series is based on some of Verstegen’s series. It quite long now, it probably takes more than an hour to go through, so it is not really a preparation any more. It is really a workout that I do on my off (or low-effort) days. I also generally do not follow it by the letter (I might move some exercise blocks around, or skip them), but it is some inspiration.
SPINE MOBILITY
- Cat stretch – 5x
- Scorpion – 5x each
- Hip crossover bent legs – 5x each
- Hip tilts – 5-10x slow
- Bridge (rolling through spine) – 5-10x
- Side lying spine rotation and arm circles – 5/5x each
- Rolling like a ball – 10x
- Rollover backwards – 3-5x dynamic
ABS FOCUS
- Hip crossover straight legs – 5x each
- Rolling up – 5x slow
- Garhammer / rolling back / candle – 3x slow
- Crunches – 10-20x slow
- Elbow-to-knee crunches 5-10x each slow
- Hundreds – 100x (duh!)
- Scissors – 10x each
- Leg circles (towards ceiling; change direction) – 10x each FOCUS
- Knee-to-chest (keep body stable!) – 5x each
BACK AND SIDE FOCUS
- Physioball push-up – 10-25x
- Physioball YWTL – each 1×10(2kg), 2×5 (2kg, 10s), or 3×3 (3kg, 5s)
- Downward dog / Cobra alternates – 2-3min total
- Hand walk – 5x, 5sec
- Back extension – 5x half / 5x full
- Swimming – 3x30s
- Sit back (child pose) – 30s
- Plank – 1-2min
- Side plank – 30-60s each
POSTERIOR CHAIN AND LEG FOCUS
- Glute bridge (rigid spine; one-leg raised) – 1x10each
- Superdog (aka opposite-arm-leg) – 5x each
- Mule kick (raise one leg upwards) – 5x each
- Fire hydrant (raise one leg sidewards) – 5x each
- Good morning (weighted with 8kg medball) – 10x
- Inverted hamstring (with 8kg medball in front of chest) – 3x, 15s hold
- Forward lunge (overhead medball 8kg) – 5x each
- Backward lunge with twist (medball 8kg in front) – 5x each
HIP AND LEG FOCUS
- Side lying adduction (aka raise-top-leg) – 10x each
- Side lying abduction (aka raise-bottom-leg-to-meet-top) – 10x each
- Side lying leg swings (aka swing-top-leg) – 10x each
- Side lying upper leg circles – 5x each/each direction
SHOULDER FOCUS
- Hand-stand hold (against wall) – 3×15-30s
- Downward-dog push-ups – 10-20x
