Or even worse, Post-Call Mondays...
15 hours at the hospital yesterday - about 70% of that time was spent rounding on patients and the other 30% was spent hunched over a laptop, writing a reflective essay in one of the tiny call rooms. Overall, a stupendously horrible day for my spine.
Seriously, I intended on writing a post on Do Anywhere, No Sweat moves, but there just wasn't a spare second in the day. Reality: we all have days that go too long to even think about exercise. What matters is how well you take care of yourself every other day of the week.
My solution for a spine compressed by a day on the wards? A nice lower back stretch before bed and some post-call weight room work!
I'll include the stretching video and my weights routine below, but I guess my primary message is one of balance. Long days deserve a reward at the end - and stretching fatigued muscles is a great way to thank your body for carrying you through a tough day. Lifting weights is a great outlet for stress and when you include moves that lengthen your spine it can be a great way to decompress (literally).
Evening Stretch (Free from Fitness Blender):
Gym Routine: (I'll come back and edit with corresponding moves you can do at home)
- 10 minute cardio warm-up
- Combine the moves below into pairs and alternate sets before moving on to the next pair of moves.
- Move as quickly as possible to each new exercise, resting when needed
- Use enough weight to keep it challenging.
1a) Bent Over Rows - 10 Reps x 3 Sets 1b) One Legged Squat - 10 Reps each leg x 3 Sets
2a) Assisted Pull-Up - 10 Reps x 3 Sets 2b) Assisted Triceps Dip - 10 Reps x 3 Sets
3a) Weighted Lunge - 12 Reps each Leg x 3 Sets 3b) Single-Leg Dead Lift
4a) Hanging Abs - 3 sets of front and oblique tuck-ins to failure 4b) Back Extension - 3 Sets to failure
You really want to do a cool down and stretch after a routine like this - otherwise you'll be tight and miserable the next day. The whole shebang took me an hour - only because my cool-down was 20 minutes on the stationary bike.
I'll be back later this week with my first Fitness Program Review - I'll highlight my experience with Insanity and share advice for including some less-intimidating plyometric HIIT into your fitness routine.
Sweat on,
bgt
I'll include the stretching video and my weights routine below, but I guess my primary message is one of balance. Long days deserve a reward at the end - and stretching fatigued muscles is a great way to thank your body for carrying you through a tough day. Lifting weights is a great outlet for stress and when you include moves that lengthen your spine it can be a great way to decompress (literally).
Evening Stretch (Free from Fitness Blender):
Gym Routine: (I'll come back and edit with corresponding moves you can do at home)
- 10 minute cardio warm-up
- Combine the moves below into pairs and alternate sets before moving on to the next pair of moves.
- Move as quickly as possible to each new exercise, resting when needed
- Use enough weight to keep it challenging.
1a) Bent Over Rows - 10 Reps x 3 Sets 1b) One Legged Squat - 10 Reps each leg x 3 Sets
4a) Hanging Abs - 3 sets of front and oblique tuck-ins to failure 4b) Back Extension - 3 Sets to failure
I'll be back later this week with my first Fitness Program Review - I'll highlight my experience with Insanity and share advice for including some less-intimidating plyometric HIIT into your fitness routine.
Sweat on,
bgt
No comments:
Post a Comment