Hope you all had a good Christmas.
I went for my first run in a month yesterday, and it felt good. I've found some new motivation, and am determined to try a second10k later this year.
My problem is that I travel a lot with work. the places I go to are not places where is it possible/advisable for a woman to run on the streets. There are few gyms, and curfews often make it difficult to get to them after the end of the working day.I found a treadmill in the last place I stayed, ans was very excited until it tried to throw me off within a minute of starting.
I'm rarely away for more than 2 weeks, so have so far focused on stretching or used a weights band when I'm away, and tried to catch up when I return. However, I'd really like to be able to run faster.
Does anyone have any suggestions of exercises or routines I could carry out in a small room with limited equipment which would help with aerobic fitness?
thanks
Jane
Comments
I'm sure I have a skipping rope around somewhere, so this might work well. Thanks for the idea.
Sometimes I don't have space to swing a rope though, or only get the time once others are in bed, so jumping around might make me unpopular.
I'd welcome further suggestions too.
Do the places you stay have stairs? If it is feasible I would suggest using them.
Skipping was my other suggestion but that has already been covered.
Sometimes there are stairs - there were in the last place.
would you suggest running up and down them, or stepping up and down the same one? Or something else?
thanks
Something like:
15 Star jumps
1 min running on the spot ( high knees)
1 minute plank
15 press-up (or as many as you can do in 1 minute)
1 minute running on the spot (kicking your bum)
1 minute squat thrusts
1 minute lunges
1 minute sit-ups
1 minute raised scissor kicks (or upside down cycling)
1 minute dips (use the edge of a chair)
Wondered if you could stick a small set of weights in.
I got a set with variable weights from 1 to 3lb, so you could do a mixture of squats, lunges, bicep curls, triceps.
Also use the bed or side of bath maybe for doing dips, and chairs if you have one for standing up/ down on, one leg at a time. That's good for building the leg muscles up for running.
Then plank, sit ups, press ups.
Quite a few free programs now for smartphones will give you a virtual gym class too... One on android I've used, probably others similar.
Thanks for the ideas.
Festive-RatAr$sed-CatI'm generally on a plane so only 20kg of luggage. I have used 1 litre water bottles in the past though.I've done the dips before, but not the standing up or standing down, that sounds useful.
Young pup, this circuit sounds good. I have done circuits with resistance work, but not thought of adding in running on the spot, or of doing them without a break to make it more aerobic.
Thanks
I recommend that you invest into buying a TRX kit - it is very versatile,lightweight, easy to store and you can use it anywhere to build strength and tone up. You can attach it to a tree, fence or a door. It is on the pricey side, but I have seen people using it in the gym and have read many positive reviews about it so I am planning to buy one for myself.
A free option is to browse on the Men's Health/Women's Health or similar fitness websites where they have a lot of downloadable workouts - some of them do not require any equipment at all. You can print these and take them with you or upload onto your phone.
Finally, a good Pilates/Yoga DVD will be a faithful workout companion for a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZDMtghHnLY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Young pups list is pretty good, can add burpees, twists and various other things.
Loads of apps available for iPhone and adroid - look for one's focussing on bodyweight exercises
Also I have answered a similar question in the past 4 weeks in the "just a little bit further 2011 " if u search my posts