Hello Wellness Warriors! Everybody who exercises (or who has exercised at some point) has those exercises they love and those they loathe. Just for fun, today, I thought I would share mine with you. And I broke them down by type of training, too.
Cardio
I’ll start by asking, is there a person alive who likes wind sprints? Basketball, soccer, improving mile times, you can pick your poison. These are the worst. I am pretty sure that is unanimous and I am firmly with you guys on that. These do get your cardiorespiratory system in amazing shape, though. It’s feeling the build up of lactic acid that makes these so uncomfortable. It’s also your body learning to push through that and become more efficient that makes these so darn powerful.
On the flip side, if you follow me on Instagram, you can probably guess what my favorite cardio is. Honestly, it’s not one actual type of exercise. I like to do my cardio outside. I live in a place that has winter, so I deal with the treadmill during those months. But as soon as I can get outside in the fresh air, you can bet that’s where I am. Walking, jogging, and biking are my faves. But I’ve been known to tolerate some of those evil sprints as long as I am outside.
Strength Training
Just as in the wind sprints vein, lunges are a special kind of torture. And just as with sprints, they really get your lower body in amazing shape. Unlike squats, lunges require both legs to do something a bit different and it is the balance and coordination required that really calls on every single muscle fiber in your lower body. If I want to be sore the next day, I do lunges. I hate them, but I love what they do for me.
Here is where I am going to diverge from the majority opinion. In fact, some of you may actually stop reading after this next sentence. My favorite strength exercise is push ups. OK, jaws up off the floor. First, there are so many different variations on push ups that it is hard to get bored. Second, no other upper body exercise hits so many different muscle groups. And third, when you start to see the definition in your chest, shoulders, and triceps after a few weeks of having these in your routine, I guarantee that you’ll either convert or you will at least learn to tolerate them.
Yoga and Flexibility
I am not a fan of simple forward folds. Regardless of style. I never feel as though my hamstrings are actually getting decently targeted with these. And standing versions can be dangerous for several reasons (falling and blood pressure changes). Even when I am teaching yoga, I have a tendency to gloss over these because there are other poses that hit the same areas so much more effectively.
I have talked before about the need to take care of our hamstrings and lower back with stretching. And I love dynamic stretches (stretches where you actually move your limbs in a slow and controlled manner) and wider stance yoga poses for this. My favorite yoga poses for stretching this area are Pyramid, Triangle, and Side Angle. Downward Dog is also a classic back of the body stretcher. I typically include at least one of these in my practice.
So there you have it. Tell us in the comments which exercises you love and which you love to hate!
Until next time, be well friends!
