I am ALWAYS on the hunt for full body exercises that are simple to execute. Why, you ask? Because I usually have less than 5 minutes to workout (I exaggerate a bit) and really, I should've worked out yesterday.
Therefore, whenever my boot camp trainer debuts a new full body move, I pay serious attention so I can replicate it when I can't make it to his class (like this week). Last week, he had us doing this sit to stand (or really stand to sit but that doesn't roll off the tongue as nicely) thing and I had to share it with you!
When you google sit to stand exercise, you will likely see a move going from seated in a chair to standing, which is great, but not that intense. So this move takes it up a notch by taking it all the way to the ground. The only "equipment" you need is something sturdy to hang on to and a soft surface below you (carpet or mat).
Here's the description for those of you who learn by reading:
Position yourself in front of a sturdy pole, very heavy chair, counter with a ledge, or securely closed door. Begin to squat backwards in a controlled manner, grabbing the pole, chair, counter ledge or door handle if needed. Lower to the ground. Using your ab muscles, lower your back to the ground slowly and raise your arms over your head. Now reverse the motion, using your abs to pull you back to a seated position. Grab the pole (or other secure object) in front of your face. Focus on using your legs, butt and core to push you up first, away from the ground in a slightly explosive motion. Simultaneously, use your back (via arms holding the bar) to pull you up in to a full standing position. Repeat for a set of 15-20. Do this 3 times with breaks in between.
The keys to these being an effective movement is to really engage your abs/core muscles during the entire motion and really push with your lower body when standing back up. Also, positioning yourself closer to your pole makes it more challenging and being slightly farther away from the pole makes it easier.
To help you out with learning this move, I'm going where this blogger has never gone before....
Video!
And now I present to you My-First-Attempt-At-Posting-Video-On-My-Blog-EVER! Whoo-hoo! Here we go. {This is literally the first time I've tried putting a video on my site, much less of my oh-so-fashionable-workout-self. I tried to clip out my awesome expression at the end but it's not working for some reason. Enjoy.}
There you have it. Such a simple move that works the whole bod. That's the kind of Make Healthy Easy workout that I like. Go give it a try right now! It really gets the blood flowing.
Now I'm off to cram in some exercise before the boys wake up. How did you get fit today?
Jenna