Day 17 – weekend cardio

I love creating the weekend cardio plans.  And trying them out – notice that there are no crazy hills or steps in this cardio photo?  That’s because I want you to simply get out in the fresh air, move, and enjoy yourself.

For my Day 17 I went on a bush walk with James.  We were out for almost 2 hours, doing a very gentle climb to a lookout and back.  It was a little bit drizzly, but that’s no reason to stay indoors.  As I always say to my outdoor training clients, “we only cancel for thunder & lightening, rain is no excuse”.

By making the time for a longer, more relaxed training session in the weekend, you are creating active habits.  You can do this with a friend, instead of catching up over lunch or a few drinks.  Take a less healthy habit and swap it for an active habit – the perfect way to feel-good!

Day 16 – inspired yoga

Can you see where the inspiration came from?

We went from Champagne back to paris to meet a few more friends, as our time in Europe came closer and closer to an end.  I managed to find one of very few relatively empty spots on Champ de Mars to put together the Day 16 yoga plan.

Inspired by the well-known monument behind me, I based this yoga plan on several balance poses.  The yoga plans in Spring are structured differently to what you’d do in a yoga class.  This is partly because we are limited to just 30 minutes, and also because you won’t have an instructor with you to correct your alignment.  However, you’ll still get the benefits you’re looking for, whether they’re physical, mental or both.

My aim is that participants will become more familiar with yoga moves, breathe a little slower and improve balance, core strength and flexibility.  And enjoy the change – yoga is something we could all benefit from doing more regularly.

Day 15 – strength at ‘home’

This is the courtyard area at our Champagne apartment, in Epernay.  If my home looked this good, I’d be happy to train there everyday!!  So I took full advantage of this amazing location, right on Avenue de Champagne, 1 door up from Pol Roger and 2 doors up from Moet & Chandon.  Not too bad at all.

I’m doing another early morning session, although it looks more like midday.  Got to love the long days of summer – they’re just around the corner for those of you in Australia.

This is an upper body strength move.  Moving one hand/forearm at a time, you cycle between a plank and a full push-up position.  It’s quite difficult, so even advanced people will only be doing 8 repetitions.  Strength training today is a mixture of upper body, lower body and even some core.  A nice, well-rounded routine to keep you working hard, but not overloading any one muscle group.

Day 14 – cardio & champagne

Out of the city and into the…. vineyards!  It was great to be back in the french countryside and to see an area of France we’d never been to before.  We met up with friends from the UK and spent our days doing cellar tours, eating fantastic french food and tasting the local bubbles.  So training had to be done first thing every morning, or it wouldn’t happen at all.

I still can’t run, thanks to my injury, but I can run up hills and stairs.  So for day 14 I went back to my favourite – interval training.  Take it easy on the flat and downhill sections, then work like crazy every time the road or path kicks up.  It’s such an effective way to get your heart rate up and get fit, fast.

Day 13 – City Circuit

Still in Paris, at Saint Sulpice (any Dan Brown readers out there?)

We decided to ditch the map and wander aimlessly for most of a day.  It was perfect!  So we found this spot entirely by accident and decided it was as good a location as any for a circuit.

The lunges in this photo are part of the advanced plan – it’s more challenging from a strength, core and balance perspective doing lunges with one leg raised.  It’s little adaptations like this that will make sure your strength and fitness is constantly improving.

Remember, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll have what you’ve always had.  So take it to the next level!

Hard core

Out of the mountains and into the city.  Here I am across the road (actually, across the river Seine) from Notre Dame.  We arrived in paris from Alp D’Huez, ready to watch Cadel Evans take the yellow jersey that matters most – it was amazing!!

But in amongst the spectating, the celebrating and the touristing, there was still time for a little core training.  30-minute training plans really have their benefits when you’d rather be out and about in a new city!

Body awareness is a big port of core conditioning.  Exercises like the plank, in the picture, are a great place to start.  Then you can build on this strength with more and more complex exercises.  Day 12 is only your second core training plan, so it’s physically challenging, but not too complicated.  As long as you always focus on drawing your tummy in, as if you’re pulling your belly-button in and up, you can’t go wrong.

As always… Enjoy the challenge!

Day 11 – Altitude training

Still at the top of Alp d’Huez, it really is one of my favourite places.  Such a gorgeous little village in a truly unique location – check it out online to get a feel for it.

Today is strength training again.  There are limits on the number of moves you can do, without incorporating weights, balls, cables etc.  But there is no limit on the different ways you can put these moves together.  Today is challenging, especially on the legs.  In fact, the push-ups in this photo are your ‘break’ – the only non-leg exercise you do!

Please note – training at altitude isn’t something the average exerciser needs to aim to do!  Even elite athletes are better of living at altitude, but training low.  An interesting fact to add to your repertoire….

Weekend cardio

Because it’s the weekend, in todays plan you forget about structured training and just get out and have a good time.  Run, ride, walk, swim, surf, whatever you want to do.  Just make sure you’re moving for at least 30 minutes and that you’re enjoying it.

In this picture, we’re riding through the Nevache Valley.  To be fair, we had thought about riding up a mountain, but we downgraded to a flat ride.  It was beautiful scenery and amazing weather and a really good day.