Last December I did a series illustrating my morning workout regimen. I have added some exercises that I do somewhat regularly since then and wanted to update the series to include them.
Butt Lift and Kicks
The big craze the past few years has been planking. I never planked until I did this exercise. It’s simple enough. You lay on your back, lift your butt of the ground and hold the pose. You really have to work to push your butt up in the air so you body is in a straight line, you can really feel it in your hip flexor and quadricep muscles. It was boring to me to just stay in that pose so I started kicking up high with one leg while maintaining the straight body line. It’s harder than planking if you ask me. I did 20 kicks on each leg.
Flutter Kicks
While I am down on the ground it’s easy to move to the next exercise. I simply lower my butt back to the ground and lift my legs so they are off the ground by a foot or so. This can also be a held plank position of course but once again I like action instead of just holding a pose so I scissor my legs as wide as I can. I mean REALLY wide, then bring them together and cross them, and then back wide again. This is great for strengthening your lower back since your legs are off the ground. It’s fantastic for your glutes and your hips, opening them up and stretching all the small muscles that go deep into your groin.
Because I am so unlimber and stretching is critical for me, I sometimes will lower my legs and use my ottoman and my coffee table to hold my legs wide open. It hurts but it also really helps me avoid really tight hip and groin muscles when I run long distances.
It usually takes about 15 minutes to do 3 circuits of the exercises. Just enough time to let the coffee brew.
The rest of the series is linked here: The ‘While Coffee Brews’ Workout Series. Scroll down once on that page to go from newest to oldest in the series.
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Drawing and exercise plan by Marty Coleman
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