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SOCCER/FOOTBALL FIELD DRILLS

6/12/2014

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MY GUILTY Pleasure: Intervals ON ARTIFICIAL Turf

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Some days I wake up craving a workout on a fake turf field. I'm sure that sounds weird, coming from me. But here's the thing: astro turf is squishy, it warms in the sun, and the surface is predictably smooth. It's perfect for a barefoot workout (as long as it's not too hot outside). All this, and it's outside. Mm-mmm!
workout log: drills
page from my workout log, soccer/football field drills
Location: Local Track (with football/soccer field)
Weather: Blue sky!
Equipment: We used the football sled, at the track, timer on iphone, and one stretchy band
Buds: Marty
Highlights: happy toddler on the grass, doing her own version of jumping jacks. Cute!

This workout uses the length of the football field. It's especially great if others are using the play field or the track because you can easily use the edge of the field

Start at the goal line ("zero" yard line)
20 jumping jacks
Run to 50 yard line
20 mountain climbers
Run hard to far end goal line ("100" yard line)
10 squat jumps
Sprint 100 yards back to start

The first time we did this we timed it, and it took us 2 minutes, 7 seconds. So we set the timer on my iphone for 2 minutes and did the next 3 sets with the goal of finishing before the bell. Fun!

After that, we took turns, one of us pushing the sled for 1 minute while the other person did lunges. A minute of sled-pushing is like sweat juicing!

Tip: you can also push the sled together with your bud. It's still plenty hard!

A set of variety abs moves and some rows with the band finished off the work out. 


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Sandbagging

6/3/2014

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Fun,  Free, And Only As Heavy As You   Make Them!

Sandbagging hiding the difficulty of something early in an engagement- Wikipedia
Example: "Hey Marty, let's go do a sandbag workout! It'll be a piece of cake!
Sandbag workout
From my Free Range Fitness Log: DIY sandbags, and different ways to carry and lift them
Location: Mount Baker Beach and Dose Staircase
Weather: Cool and overcast after a hot night
Buds: Marty
Highlights: Great Blue Heron sighting, hello from Peter, a lovely meditator sitting lakeside, soaking up the calm

Sand. It's such a wonderful thing.
Today we grabbed a couple of old duffle bags and went to the beach.  We lined our bags with kitchen garbage bags this time. Why? because if you don't, the sand will stream out bit-by-bit during the workout. This is not a big deal, unless that gritty feeling of sand in your hair bugs you.  It was an experiment that totally worked. Sand stayed in place, no escapees.

The best best best thing about sandbags, in my opinion, is that you decide how heavy you want them. Marty had done a huge run and core workout yesterday so she sanded up accordingly.  I wanted a bag that I could lift..barely. A bag that would make doing 8 military presses  grimacingly hard.

The Sandbag Workout
Holding sandbags as pictured, above:
10 Bent Over Rows
10 Squats
10 military presses
30 Lunges Down the dock (hugging sandbags)
15 squats moving sandbags from left to right
15 squats moving sandbags from right to left
30 squats, tossing the sandbags from between legs, forward
50 paces walking with bag at left side
50 paces walking with bag at right side
Wall sit with bag, 1 minute
Stairs with bag over shoulders
Top of stairs: bicycle crunches
Stars with bag over shoulders
Dropped bags, 
Sprinted to top of stairs without sandbags
Grabbed Bags to come down
10 military presses
Wall sit with bag, 1 minute
4 short beach sprints (so bags)
Dumped Sand
Out to end of dock: lunges and sit ups

Sand is such a wonderful thing.  Natural, available gear you can borrow anytime. So much better than unwieldy, expensive, in-the-way weights. So much more convenient than those weights you can only use at the gym (when it's open, when you can get there, when your dues are paid up, when somebody else isn't using them). Sand is beautiful! Why not pick it up?

 

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The Burpee Burn

5/29/2014

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How to sneak 112 burpees into a workout!

Hunter Boulevard, Seattle
We're so lucky to have this lush stretch of grass right in the neighborhood!
Location: Hunter Boulevard, so grassy and lush this time of year!
Weather: Cool and overcast, perfect burpee weather!
Buds: 2, Teresa and Marty
Willing Buds: Zero!
High points: Hellos from Gretl and Erin!

Today we did a bastardized Tabata workout (What are Tabatas? Check out our Tabata video, here!). We used the Tabata timer to complete 9 sets,  followed by three sprints. The emphasis, as you can see, was burpees. In the end, we managed to do 112 burpees. OMG. I'm so proud of us!

Tabata Sets:
1.  All burpees
2.  twizzlers and hip thrusts
3. Burpees and push ups
4. Jane Fonda leg lifts (various)
5. Burpess and mountain climbers
6. Lunges and squats
7. Burpees and ski-skates
8. Jane Fonda leg lifts (you're welcome, Teresa!)
9.  All burpees

I don't want to belabor the point, but that's 112 burpees.  112. Did I mention, one hundred and twelve burpees? Right off the bat, I told Marty and Teresa that maybe I wouldn't give them the entire rundown of the workout up front, because really, who wants to know that they're about to do 112 burpees?

The Trick
Instead, I asked them (and myself) to do just 4 burpees for each 20-second period. A Tabata has 8 periods so we did 32 burpees in the first and 7th Tabatas and 16 in the 3rd, 5th and 7th Tabatas. Voila! 112 burpees!

Notes
It would be crazy to attempt 9 all-out Tabatas. In fact, we used the Tabata timer but paced ourselves through those burpees, doing just 4 per 20-second period. Also, we chilled by doing things like Jane Fonda leg lifts between sets. (Still, we did 112 burpees. Yes!)

Warning
Don't rush out and do 112 burpees. Also, it's important to do burpees right. Take a look at this from The New York Times.
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The Brutal Bowl

5/27/2014

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A NATURAL (AND BRUTAL!) Hill-sprinting Loop!

Okay, folks! Here's the latest from my workout log. The Brutal Bowl is a hill sprinting workout that takes advantage of a quirk of Seattle geography: streets that run alongside a hill that, instead of running strictly parallel, form more of a bowl shape. This creates an awesome loop for running, because you have a long, intense hill on one side, An even longer flat recovery jog, and a rather steep, somewhat shorter recover walk back to the lowest point of that hell hill! It makes for a great HIIT workout. Marty and I did five of these and finished with a few sets of arm moves featuring a glorious view of a very sparkly Lake Washington. Whew!
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Have you got bowls where you live? Try the Brutal Bowl and report back for some hearty congratulations!
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The Imperial Fan of Happiness

5/23/2014

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Date of Workout: May 22, 2014
Type: Hills + Moves
Weather: Gorgeous and sunny, the grass is still so green in Seattle!
Group or Solo?:  Group of three: Me. Teresa and Marty

Gabbing: Mostly about kids and books

The idea for this workout came to me when I first woke up this morning. What if we fanned our way, up a variety of stairs and hills that sweep up from Lake Washington, but converge in basically the same place. How fun would that be?


All you really need for this workout is a hill. But it was lots of fun to move from street to street, and staircase to staircase running up each one (sprinting the short ones and going steady up the long ones), then doing moves at the top. (Notice how we added a move each time. Fun!)

Hill #1: Staircase Sprint
Moves: 
10 jump squats
20 ski-skates
10 push ups

Hill  #2: Medium Steady Hill
Moves:
10 jump squats
20 ski-skates
10 push ups
20 standing crunches

Hill #3: Hill Sprint
Moves
10 jump squats
20 ski-skates
10 push ups
20 standing crunches

20 mountain climbers

Hill #4 Long Steady Hill
Moves:
10 jump squats
20 ski-skates
10 push ups
20 standing crunches

20 mountain climbers
Core moves

Fan Complete! Whew!

BONUS!!
As we walked home, (cooling down) we paused, and I said "let's do lunges all the way to that garbage can". We did 32, but who's counting?!


THE GOAL IS TO WORK HARD...
Not to complete the workout in 3 minutes or to barely survive, or to beat your friends. Stop that! Instead, dial in to how you feel. Sweaty? Good. Breathless? Awesome. Can't complete a full sentence without a little gulp of breath? That's how I felt, too! And that's how I knew I worked out today.


Modify by running harder, or walking the hills. Add reps (especially if you get to the top first). Make the push-ups easier by doing them against a wall or bench; or lowering your knees.

What do you think of the Imperial Fan of Happiness?
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 HILLS WITH JENNIE

10/5/2012

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TABATA FRIDAY!

9/28/2012

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Today's workout was such a doozy, I had to share! Tabatas really keep things interesting. If you haven't done it yet, download a Tabata timer on your smart phone, and go! This workout requires no gear at all. We used a park bench for dips, a wall for wall-sits, stairs and grass and that was it! SO MUCH FUN.
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JULY 13, 2012

7/13/2012

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JUNE 27, 2012 TRACK WORKOUT

7/10/2012

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June 17th, 2012

6/17/2012

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This is the first time I've shared my workout log. It's dated July 17 instead of June 17 because, I admit it, my brain doesn't always work the way it should right after a workout! It was, trust me, June 17!
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Why Would a Screenwriter become a fitness philosopher?

I love outdoor workouts. They allow me to touch moss and mud and sand and grass; to recognize the richness of life, and to be connected to my friends, the seasons, and my world. Free Range Fitness is my commitment to help others ditch the gym and get a better, happier, more effective workout that will transform their lives.  I believe this deeply. I invite you to join me, in being cage-free!
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