This set requires virtually no equipment and therefore is ideally suited to being done at home particularly now whilst we are all stuck indoors during lockdown. Principally a “leg” set, but also builds core strength and stability. Therefore well suited to runners or indeed cyclists. Some points to note:
Obviously my disclaimer is that I am providing this on a generic none specific basis and if you choose to use all or part then you do so completely at your own risk! If you have any injuries or not feeling 100% well you should certainly not be doing these exercises. Also if you are unsure how to correctly do any of these then find out before you try!!
The set uses a 5kg medicine ball, but this is far from essential! You do need something with some weight but 2kg would be fine, particularly if you are new to this kind of exercise. Instead of a medicine ball you could use a heavy book (or a couple of books in a bag). Or even a 1kg bag of sugar!
I have programmed Ham String Curls using a stability ball. Given that there is a lot going on in this set you could probably miss this out completely. Alternatively replace these with Reverse Lunges in which case I would perform 12 on each side per set.
Finally, you will see that I included Standing Hip Abductions – which would use a resistance band. This is one piece of kit that is really useful for rehab purposes too (because it has been known for runners to pull the odd muscle and need a period of rehab!!). If you don’t have one, but are keen to do the whole set, then you could do a bodyweight version by lying on your side and raising your top leg in a “scissor” type action… Increase the number of reps by 50% maybe as you will have removed the resistance effect.
Generally, the reps in this program assume a fair degree of fitness and strength. It is quite an intense set (in terms of it’s cardio effect as well as the stress on leg muscles). Therefore you may want to reduce the number of sets or reps the first few times and build up over several weeks.
Hope you enjoy it. If you choose to try it out please do let me know how you get on and what you think to it.
