Gym Floor Workout: Fitness

This gym floor workout is a great all-rounder. Focusing on overall fitness, this is a great workout to tackle 3-4 times per week. Workout along with these moves, and if you want some further tips and pointers you'll find them under the videos as you scroll down.

 

 

Side Plank

 

 

The focus for this exercise is to bring awareness and control to the muscles around the hip and that support the spine. The most effective solutions for this is to squeeze your glutes but especially your bottom glute and keep looking directly in front of you.

• Lie on your side and place your elbow directly under your shoulder.
• Bend your bottom knee to 90 degrees, while keeping your top leg straight.
• Using your glutes and obliques, lift your hip and thigh off the ground. Try to keep your hips forward and perfectly aligned with your spine.

 

Iso Bird Dog

 

 

The focus for this exercise is to wake up the muscles that run along the back of your body. This aids with your walking pattern and can help to improve posture for the rest of the exercises in this program. 

• Carefully kneel on a mat with knees directly under hips and hands directly under shoulders.
• Slide a leg back until it's fully straight and gently lift that leg off the ground.
• Extend the opposite arm back towards your hips.
• Hold this position and keep breathing gently.

 

Iso single leg glute bridge

 

 

Focus for this exercise is to target those key glutes and hamstring muscles, this is fantastic for countering all that sitting we do daily. 

• Lie on your back, place your feet hip-width apart with your heels about 6 inches from your glutes.
• Use your glutes and hamstrings to tuck your hips back towards you. Avoid using your abs here.
• With both legs lift your butt 2-3 inches off the ground, maintaining that tucked hip position.
• Once you're stable, lift one foot off the ground and hold this posisition. Once complete, repeat with the opposite leg.

 

CARDIO BLAST

Burpees: 3 sets of 5 burpees with 30 seconds rest between each set.

 

 

Dont be scared, burpees are easier than you think! Squats are fantastic for leg development and planks for your core, so why not do them together.

• Start by standing in a natural comfortable upright position.
• Perform a squat by bending through your ankles, knees and hips down to a comfortable range.
• Hinge at the hips to be able to place both hands on the ground.
• From that position with hands on the ground either walk your feet back to a high plank position or jump your feet back.
• Repeat this process of stand, squat, hinge, plank, hinge, squat, stand = burpee

 

 

Goblet Squat

 

 

This type of squat represents how we squat during our daily lives, very upright spine position and with weight in front of us rather than behind us. 

• To set up this exercise either grab a kettle bell or dumbbell and place that close to your chest, use a grip that feels comfortable and make sure you keep that weight directly contacted to your chest.
• Use a foot stance that feels comfortable for your hip structure, play with your stance width to see what works for you.
• To start this exercise, slowly bend your ankles, knees and hips at the same time, trying to keep your upper body as vertical as you can. Use a range of motion that feels comfortable on your joints, along with making sure your knees go in line with your feet but track just forward over your toes.
• Once a bottom of the squat push through your feet and stand back up.

 

Cable Row

 

 

For those of us who stay seated most of the day gazing at a computer screen, having strong upper back muscles will assist with holding that head in good postural position and hopefully reducing neck tension.

• To perform a cable row, start by adjusting the cable handle to your standing hip height. Grab hold of the handle and walk back 3 feet, placing a knee on the ground. This knee should be the same side a the hand that's holding the cable handle.
• Placing your other leg directly in front of that hip. Front and back knees should both be 90 degree bend and nice upright posture, to help maintain this posture, squeeze the glute of the leg this got knee on the ground.
• With your arm holding the cable, pull the handle towards you by bending your elbow.
• Pull that elbow directly to your bottom ribs, while pulling the shoulder blade back and really feeling muscles between your shoulders.
• Hold this end range for a second and then allow your arm to straighten back to the start position.

 

Bench Step Ups

 

 

Most days each of us will walk up some form of stairs and having the ability to perform this task of stepping up is vital for development of all leg muscles.

• To perform a bench step up find yourself a bench or box you feel you can comfortably step up onto. Stand in front of your box or bench with feet facing in your natural alignment.
• Lift one foot up and place it fully on top of the bench, using that leg to propel yourself in a vertical manner, trying not to use the leg on the ground.
• Once in a upright position place the other leg on top of the bench to assist with balance. From this standing position on top of the bench, slowly step down backwards off the box.
• Repeat this process on the opposite side.

 

CARDIO BLAST

Cardio - Treadmill/any cardio machine. 2 or 3 sets, 1 minute at 70% intensity with a 30 second rest between each set.

 

 

• One of the key strategies when it comes to exercise is enjoyment of what you are doing, this is especially key for cardio machines. Find a machine or piece of equipment that will test your cardiovascular system but that you enjoying using!
• Another important strategy for any equipment is making sure the setup is correct for your height. You can either ask one of our staff or Personal Trainers for some guidance to set up the machine or try different set ups and see what works for you.
• Cardio work is all about testing your cardiovascular system by repeating a controlled movement for a period of time. To take your cardio abilities to another level is to make sure your progress your cardio work by setting yourself targets and goals for each session.
• Take notes of the readouts on each machine to monitor and track your cardio progress, keep trying to increase your outputs by improving your wattage output, RPM, resistance levels and/or heart rate.

 

 

Kettlebell Split Squat

 

 

This exercise is very similar to a dumbbell split squat and has the same benefits but due to the kettlebell positioning you'll maintain a more upright posture, making it easier to perform if you struggle to move through your hips.

• To set up for a split squat grab a kettlebell in both hands and hold it directly onto your chest. Makes sure this feels comfortable.
• From that position take a big step back with one leg back directly behind you and placing your foot so just your toes in contact with the ground. Distance of that step does depends on your leg length but tends to be 3x length of your foot, but see what feels comfortable for you. Gently tuck your hip under using your glutes, maintain this tuck through the whole exercise.
• Now your set up slowly bend both knees at the same time, allowing your body to descend towards the ground, your front knee to gently go forward and your back knee should get close to the ground. Only go a deep as you feel comfortable on your joints abilities.
• Pause at your end range, then pushing through your feet return your body back to the knee extended position.

 

Push Ups

 

 

The great test for the upper body press strength is the classic push up; no equipment needed just the floor and your muscles to perform the exercise. Push ups are a great way to easily train those muscles in your upper body.

• To execute this exercise effectively take your body down to your knees and then place your hands on the ground in front of you. Hands should be shoulder width apart and distance where you can drop your hips down so your body is straight. You can either keep your knees on the ground or raise them, so you are on your toes.
• To keep your body in a straight line gently squeeze your glutes. This will aid in controlling your spine.
• Gently bend you elbows to lower yourself down towards the ground. How low you go to the ground depends on your shoulders' ability. 
• Once you've taken yourself deep enough slowly push your body weight back to the starting position.

 

Jump Squats

 

 

Jump squats are a great way to progress or layer on intensity of a squat. The ability to drive yourself off the ground and recruit those below the knee muscles to increase the intensity of the exercise and test your cardiovascular system.

• To set up this exercise either grab a weighted plate or a dumbbell and place that close to your chest, use a grip that feels comfortable, make sure you keep that weight directly contacted to your chest.
• To start this exercise, take your feet apart to a stance that feels comfortable for your hips and feet.
• Slowly bend your knees and hips at the same time, trying to keep your upper body as vertical as you can. Use a range of motion that is slightly shorter than your normally would squat.
• Now drive your up by pushing through the ground and accelerate your body off the ground, really push to push through your toes.
• Softly land with feet in the same position as your set up and repeat the exercise with the same technique.

 

CARDIO BLAST

Cardio - Rower/any cardio machine. 2 or 3 sets, 1 minute at 70% intensity with a 30 second rest between each set.

 

 

• One of the key strategies when it comes to exercise is enjoyment of what you are doing, this is especially key for cardio machines. Find a machine or piece of equipment that will test your cardiovascular system but that you enjoying using!
• Another important strategy for any equipment is making sure the setup is correct for your height. You can either ask one of our staff or Personal Trainers for some guidance to set up the machine or try different set ups and see what works for you.
• Cardio work is all about testing your cardiovascular system by repeating a controlled movement for a period of time. To take your cardio abilities to another level is to make sure your progress your cardio work by setting yourself targets and goals for each session.
• Take notes of the readouts on each machine to monitor and track your cardio progress, keep trying to increase your outputs by improving your wattage output, RPM, resistance levels and/or heart rate.

 

 

Standing Arm Circles

 

 

This warm down drill is designed to teach the muscles around the shoulder to allow full range of motion of the arm. Great practice for rotation of the arm aids us for being able to perform rows, pulldowns, and press motions correctly. This is a great exercise to do often to keep those shoulders healthy and not causing you discomfort.

• To perform this arm circle stand comfortably and find a spot to look directly forward. Now raise your arm forward keeping your thumb up, like a hitchhiker.
• Rotate your arm past you ear and start to turn your thumb down towards the ground.
• Rotate your arm right down towards your hip and think about putting your thumb into your pocket and keep going around and repeat this arm circle.
• Once you have done the reps, do this in reverse. Start with your arm at your hip and goes backwards first, then up to your ear and keep that arm circle going.
• Repeat this arm circle motion of forward/ backwards on the opposite side. 

 

Hip Flexor Stretch

 

 

Hip flexor muscles tend to get a lot of muscular tension with a lot of a time is spent in a seated position, this can lead to this group of muscles experiencing tension and tightness. Stretching this group of muscles can help with hip function and possibly take pressure off your lower back.

• To perform this stretch place one knee on the ground and place the other leg in front with a 90-degree bend in that knee, if you feel unstable hold onto something for balance.
• Tuck your hips under using your glutes and hold this tucked position during the duration of the stretch.
• Slowly shift your weight forward to increase the bend in your front knee and keep easing forward to increase the stretch in your back thigh area.
• If you would like to increase the stretch you are experiencing, raise your arm overhead on the same side as your back leg. At no stage do we want to force a stretch, you should be able to be relaxed and comfortable enough to have a conversation.

Article by Les Mills New Zealand