MOVE :: 12 Exercises for Strength in Every Season

Music track: Good Days by Aylex

 

For several years now, I’ve been fielding requests for my workouts. And while it seems easy enough to turn the camear on myself + film whatever movements I’m doing to share with the world, sharing exercises that can be impactful, and beneficial to the world (and have a less likely chance of being taken out of context) is actually a little tricky. But at long last, and for you my dear Back to Forward community, I’ve finally got a workout I’m proud and excited to show you…one of many to come.

How I plan a strength workout

As an all around athlete who loves to swim, run, hike, ski, practice yoga and ride all the bikes, I’m a person who values flexibility and a general ability to move and move well over specificity. This is to say that I’m very rarely creating or executing strength workouts that are designed to emphasize my performance in any given sport, and are rather meant to balance my body across the spectrum of the way I’m moving. For example, in the months that I ride a great deal, I’m focusing on doing bilateral movements, upper body movements and stabilizing movements that will keep all of the muscle groups I’m NOT using on the bike strong and supported. In the winter months, when I’m focusing on skiing and running more, I’m thinking about core, mobility exercises and general strength so that I can be more efficient in the cold and avoid injury.

There’s another nuance that I apply to my strength workouts as an Ayurvedic practitioner; I change my exercises based on the season. In the spring, I’m doing more explosive movements with shorter intervals to balance the kapha energy of the season. In the summer, I’m focused on grounding exercises and mobility. And in the winter and fall, I’m focused on a more holistic strength routine that combines mobility, strength and core to balance against the forces of vata that swirl through the colder months.

The exercises shared in this workout are movements that I LOVE and that can often be found in my workouts, no matter the season. Many of them are compound exercises, meaning they work more than one muscle group at a time, and many of them contain a component of mobility.

All 12 of these movements comprise my current transitional weight routine, as we shift out of summer and into fall. I welcome you to complete this workout as a series, or to pick and choose the exercises that speak to you!

Equipment list:

For this workout, I recommend having:

• a set of light barbells (relative to your strength)
• a set of heavy barbells (relative to your strength)
• a medium weight kettlebell
• a heavy weight kettlebell
• a weighted bar (or small weighted plates to elevate your heels)
• a Swiss ball or stability ball

These are the pieces of equipment I use to execute this workout. If you’re new to strength training, you can start with body weight and a single lightweight set of barbells and kettlebells. You might find that you only need the lighter or heavier weights here. Start with what makes sense to you and work from there.

How to do this workout at home:

Some general guidelines for success + a great sweat:

• SPACE: Find yourself an open space where you can jump around and not worry about bumping into anything. I recommend a garage, spare room, or even better – an outdoor space.
• TIME: Plan 45m-60m for your workout, which includes time to watch this video, try the exercises, execute them, take the recommended breaks AND cooldown.
• INTERVALS: I recommend doing 3 sets of 12-20 reps for each of the exercises below. And I recommend taking just 15-30 seconds of rest between reps. This is quick recovery and doesn’t leave a lot of time for faffing about or getting off track. Use a timer and stay on track if you want to milk the most from this workout.
• APPROACH: you could absolutely follow the video above, doing 3 sets of each of the exercises in the workout moving on to the next exercise once you’ve completed all of the reps of the previous. (ie: all the kettlebell halos, then all of the squats etc.) More often though, I group the exercises together in sets of two. (ie: I’ll do a set of halos, then a set of squats, then repeat with 30 seconds of rest between each set.) I do this because I find that it works by body in a different way, enables my muscle groups to recover a bit more so I can lift more productively, but my cardiovascular system has to work harder and I feel more complete when the workout is done.

The exercises:

1. Swiss Ball Oblique Tucks
2. Ice Skaters
3. Kettlebell Halos w/Tall Kneeling Switches
4. Squats w/Lifted Heels
5. Crosscut Deadlift w/Bent Over Row
6. Reverse Lunge to Balance Curl (or Pendulum Curl)
7. Hamstring Curls w/Swiss Ball
8. Push-Up to Side Plank
9. Tricept Kickback w/Swiss Ball Balance
10. Overhead Sit Up Press
11. Leg Raises + Bicycles
12. COOLDOWN (supine twists + holy crosses)

 

I can’t wait to hear what you think of this workout, how you use it, which exercises you love + what other movements you’re eager to practice together. Drop a line with your feedback to [email protected]!