Getting in shape : Level 2 – Part 1

A word of caution : The following exercises are not for the weak-hearted (literally and figuratively). If you overdo things, you might end up with something quite manageable like a muscle pull, which will go away after bothering you for a day or so, to something as disastrous as a hamstring snapping, which may haunt you for the rest of your painful existence. If you just started out with your fitness regime, file away this post for later. Come back to it after you think you’re ready for something a bit more challenging.

Now, I consider some of these exercises challenging, simply because they are either high-impact or simply very taxing on your body. High-impact means that some of these require your body to be able to cope with shocks. I do not mean that someone will jump out from behind a bush and tazer you. For example, jogging/running is a high-impact activity, which can affect your knees and/or ankles, if not done properly i.e. on a relatively soft surface with good shoes. On the other hand, cycling is a low-impact sport, because it requires sustained effort from your thighs, as opposed to pounding the ground while running.

Anyway, assuming you’ve acquainted yourself with Level 1 exercises, you can try out level 2. You should fit these 2 exercises after your splits, but before your ankle-hold-walk.

• Position yourself, almost as if you were about to launch yourself in a race i.e. with one knee bent, and one stretching out straight behind you. Then, attempt to jump up and switch legs at the same time i.e. if your left was bent, and right stretched, now it should be the opposite. Bend your knee as much as possible for maximum effect. Do this as many times as possible.
• Next, stand with your feet wide apart, like you did for the splits, but this time, instead of bending your torso, bend your knees from side to side, so that one knee is completely bent, and the other leg stretches out. Just one thing, if you do this too fast, you might lose your balance and end up with a face full of grass/mud/dirt.

Now, after your ankle-hold-walk, get ready for some proper upper body exercises. Till now, it was just some stretching and so on. Now let’s take up some of the more conventional exercises.

Push-ups

No workout has ever been complete without them. In theory, it’s really quite simple.

• Find a suitable piece of ground (ideally a bit grassy). It shouldn’t be too grassy, because that’ll probably mean that there will be some dew on it, which might make you slip, and fall face first onto the ground, maybe even breaking your nose. At the same time, you don’t want a piece of ground completely grassless, because then your hands will get all dusty, and when you’re doing your push-ups, you’ll breathe in a lot of it as well, which will make you cough.
• Bend down, keep your hands at about shoulder’s width apart, palm facing downwards. Your hands should be somewhere below your shoulders, once you’ve assumed the push-up position.
• Now, just pump your arms, pushing up and letting down. Keep a steady rhythm. Maintain your breathing in sync with your push-ups.
• There are many ways of getting push-ups wrong. The first and quite a common mistake I’ve noticed in parks, is using a bench. Don’t place your hands against a bench, it only makes the push-up much easier. If you want, you can do it for a day or two, but only to warm up your muscles. After that you should switch to completely horizontal push-ups.
• Another way of getting push-ups wrong is by attempting to arch your back/butt out while in the ‘up’ position. Doing this only prolongs your torture, because your arms are still supporting your weight, albeit a bit less of it. Your push-ups, should ideally be non-stop, with your back and legs completely in line, with only your arms doing the work.

Push-ups are a good way to work out your biceps, triceps and pectoral muscles at the same time. Just over 3 weeks of this, and you should be able to notice a difference.

Rest of the Level 2 exercises in the next post.