This week was a take-it-easy period in terms of workouts. As I wrote last week, I needed to let my body heal from injury before jumping into marathon training. Instead of working out five days a week as I had previously, I attended three Orangetheory classes (and mostly power walked instead of ran) and stretched at home.
I previously shared my favorite exercises for half-marathon training, and today I’m sharing another five exercises I love:
- Squat jacks. Like its name says, this move combines pulse squats and jumping jacks. It really gets your heart racing while give you the benefits of squats.
- Plank jacks. I’m all about the jacks this week. These combine plank with jumping jacks and can be done on your elbows or hands. I like that it gets your blood pumping while also working your core.
- Alternating weighted reverse lunges. I have been doing these with 15 pound weights on each hand and I alternate legs each time. Reps: 14/12/10/8/6
- Weight toe touches. With feet in the air and one weight between your hands, reach for your toes. I’ve been focused on my core lately, so this aligns with that goal.
- Bicep 21s. OK, I love these, because I am really seeing a difference in my arms. Basically, do seven reps in the lower range of motion of a bicep curl, seven reps at the upper range of motions, and seven full bicep curls. The last seven are the hardest.
My plan for marathon training, which officially begins this week, is to follow the training plan provided on the Chicago Marathon website for the mileage and use yoga and Orangetheory as my crosstraining.
Update on my calf and shoulder: My calf still feels tight but is no longer painful when I walk. I plan to get back into yoga this week, which I know will help. I also plan to foam roll more. It’s vital!
Previous training recaps and posts:
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Marette Flora is the founder of Floradise blog and personalized gift shop. Marette is a passionate storyteller and creator. She attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication.
She is passionate about creating helpful and meaningful things.