There’s other stuff that people focus on, too. The weather is changing so the beaches won’t be as busy but the leaves will start turning soon. For some it just means the lawn gets a different fertilizer. It also brings opportunity for many people. For parents, BBQers and vacationers it means the schedule has a wee bit more space in it. Space for what, you ask? Why, exercise of course!!
Yeah, you saw that coming, I know, and some of you are insulted that I would suggest that you haven’t been working your butt off all summer long. Fair enough — I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and proceed accordingly.
By the time this article hits the stands Tiger will probably have been crowned king of the inaugural FedEx Cup and many of us will have put the clubs to bed and begun to knock the dust off the skis and snowshoes. Looking back, it seems fortunate that we have been doing exercises geared towards strengthening our legs and core because we’ll soon have snow to trudge through and bumps to barrel down.
In an effort to embrace this transitional period, we’re going to work on some Plank Knee Cross-ups. Assume your best push-up position with your shoulders over your hands and your butt just about at shoulder height. Bring your right knee up and across to your left elbow without touching the ground with your foot, keeping your shoulders as level as possible — don’t twist your entire body trying to get farther across. Give your abs and hip flexors a good squeeze before switching to the other leg for a total of 30. The goal isn’t about speed as much as form and range of motion. For a greater challenge, go right leg, left leg, push-up and repeat.
Happy transitioning!
Jon Frothingham is a NASM-CPT certified personal trainer at Natural Fitness in Falmouth. To learn more about personal training contact him at 781-3900 or visit www.naturalfitnessme.com.