The Art of Gentle Exercise
An Exercise to Make you Happy The letter ‘H’ in the fitness ABC actually refers to Der Hampelmann which means ‘Jumping Jack.’ A real jumping jack, for those of you that might never have seen one, is the toy on the left of the image below. The arms and legs on the toy are connected by a string, and when you pull the string the arms and legs extend out. The verse that accompanied this image is (roughly) as follows: The jumping Read More
Fitness ABC – Grab the Rope O.K. G doesn’t really stand for ‘Grab’ in the ABC of fitness. Being originally in German, G actually stands for Glöckner or ‘Bell-Ringer.’ Grab though is exactly what you’re going to do – and then pull. Rope Pull Down Exercise There are a number of ways to approach this exercise, but let’s start with the way shown in the image. Stretch up as high as you can and grab an imaginary rope with both hands. Read More
Fitness ABC – Letter F Letter F in our fitness ABC stands for FOOTBALL! You don’t have to be sporty to do this next exercise in the ABC of Fitness. Although the picture uses a footballer for illustrative purposes, it is just to give you an idea of a REAL WORLD application of this bodyweight exercise. This is simply a standing leg raise exercise that is excellent for your core and midsection. It is going to specifically target the lower Read More
Fitness ABC – Walk Like an Elephant The letter ‘E’ in our fitness ABC is for Elephant! For this exercise, you are simply going to replicate the stiff-legged walk of the elephant. Remember to turn your head as you walk – you’re a HAPPY elephant! Animal Walk Exercises Animal walk exercises are a thing! Some of you may already be familiar with things like the ‘bunny’ hop or the ‘crab’ walk – although probably from your school days rather than Read More
Fitness ABC – Letter D is actually for “Der Dampfer” or “Steam-ship”. For our purposes I think we can refer to it as: Drop your feet down! Leg Raise Exercise This is simply a leg raise (and a leg drop!) exercise – one of the BEST abdominal exercises there is! Lie flat on the floor with arms stretched overhead and toes stretched forward. In this position you should be as LONG as you can possibly be! Image you are a Read More
Fitness ABC – Letter C Letter C in the fitness ABC stands for Celsius. We’re using the thermometer as a mental image here, and the notion that temperature CLIMBS HIGH and DROPS LOW. Burpee Exercise I consider this exercise to be a bit of a simplified burpee. A burpee (named incidentally after a person!), is a full body exercise used in strength training and as an aerobic exercise. This popular (not!) exercise is beloved of gym instructors and trainers because it Read More