First Half of January Workout Routine (Home Based)

The month of January tossed my workout routine in a lot of different directions. For the first half of the month - due to being on Winter Break for University - I didn't have the luxury of the University gym being a quick walk from me everyday. For the second half of January  - when the next semester started - I noticed two days in my schedule where I could squeeze a session at the gym in and have been since waltzing my way through the weight section, machines and indoor track (I should probably utilize the treadmills too BUT GUESS THAT'S WHAT FEBRUARY IS FOR).

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What was my workout routine for the first half of January?

Well, due to the weather chilling in the negatives and me not wanting to test the limits of my immune system - that and my mom was not about to let me go running in -5°F - I had to stick to indoor workouts that didn't involve a lot of jumping. This meant hello youtube please bless me with workouts to do.

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Videos I've used & What I Liked and/or Disliked of Each

1.

 5 Min Abs Workout - At Home Abdominal and Oblique Exercise Routine | Lucy Wyndham-Read

I have been doing Lucy's workouts since last year, and one thing I love is that I actually feel it working. You know when you're doing a stretch and are actually feeling the stretch - yep that's the feeling!

What I Liked: 

It was easy to toss in anywhere in my schedule since it was 5 Minutes long, she directs you on how do to each exercise, and Lucy does each exercise in real time with you. (i.e. 30 seconds to do XYZ exercise, she's right there doing it with you or 30 reps of XYZ exercise, she's right there doing it with you.)

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2. 

The Abs Workout That'll Make You A Better Runner | Self.com

This was an article I ended up stumbling upon that listed floor workouts to do.  The focus of these workouts was strengthening your core muscles.

What I Liked:

There were gifs included within in the article to demonstrate how the exercise was done.

What I Disliked:

I had to set my own timer for the recommended time (exiting out of the article to set it) and then repeatedly get out of my ~workout zone~ to reset the time to different times depending on the exercise.

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3.

 5-Minute Core Workout For Runners | Class FitSugar

Now, it was only a matter of time, well a matter of scrolling through YouTube suggestions, before I came across POPSUGAR Fitness.

What I Liked: 

The person had a voice recording over the workout where she walked the person through how to do the exercise and explained the benefits of a strong core.

What I Disliked: 

The pacing of the workout was not really beginner/intermediate friendly - it seemed like I had to have a background of doing these workouts previously to properly do it for the amount of time that the person was doing it in real time. For example: When the woman was doing the Russian Twist, I honestly haven't mastered this exercise - no matter how many videos I watch, I can never master the balance that it requires. I think in some cases it would have been better if they included a side by side of what exercise to do if you're a beginner/intermediate athlete and a version of the exercise for an advanced athlete.

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 This is how Lucy does her workouts - side by side option-  which I love because if you're not able to do one exercise, you can just do the other one she provides right next to it.

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4.

 Follow Along Ab Workout for Runners | The Run Experience

As I'm sure you realized a theme with the workout videos I chose, due to me not being able to run outside, I wanted to ensure that I was getting the proper workout that would assist me in terms of strength when I began running again.

What I Liked:

The person did each workout in real time & gave a few benefits of core workouts. If you're wondering about the benefits of core workouts: It helps prevent injuries and ensures you have good form from the start to end of your run. Also, in the beginning half, she details how exactly you do each exercise and gives an easy & hard version of the exercise.

Also, I realized I was doing Mountain Climbers wrong so! If you're also perhaps not sure if you're doing Mountain Climbers correctly, at minute 1:56-2:07 is where she does it!

One thing I found interesting to do alongside her was the reps of a set for each exercise. (i.e. 1 set of 12 reps for the V-UP exercise and then the next set would be 1 set of 10 reps  (each set went down by 2).)

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If you're a bit confused at what I mean when I say 'rep in a set' you can check my July Gym Routine + Tips post where I break it down!

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5.

 10 Minute Core Workout for Runners | The Run Experience 

What I Liked:

In the videos, the trainer was recording an athlete doing each exercise and explained each exercise done.

What I Disliked:

The exercises were not done in real time and as a result did not allow me to follow along. At the end, the trainer specified how long you should do an exercise but by not having an athlete do it in real time it made it hard to remember how the athlete did the exercise* and then rewind the video while also setting the timer for the amount of time specified by the trainer. 

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Bad form leads to injuries. Obviously professional athletes know how to do exercises with perfect form, but for athletes such as myself, getting the correct form can be a bit tricky. 

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6.

 Home Workout For Women - Full Body Exercises Suitable for Beginners - No Equipment Needed | Lucy Wyndham-Read 

What I liked: 

Lucy did each exercise in real time and gave great tips on how to do an exercise with the correct form. 

7.

 Home Workout For Women - Lower Body - thighs, legs and booty, all floor based moves pilates style | Lucy Wyndham-Read

What I Liked:

As I've mentioned above for Lucy's workouts - one thing I genuinely love about her workouts is that it's in real time. Also, I love that during this workout, she explained what area of your body each exercise was toning.

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After having three bad videos that were not done in real time or were not at all realistic for my fitness level, I ended up sticking to Lucy's workouts which are designed for any type of athlete: beginner - advanced.

Since this post actually became longer than I thought it would be, my Mid-January Gym Routine will be up in a separate post next week!

I'm going to leave you all with this Tip: 

When doing an exercise, although it would be great to get XYZ reps in as specified by whatever video you may be watching, the most important thing is form. Maintaining proper form for 10reps of an exercise is a lot better than having faulty form for 15 reps. Something that I do if I feel that I'm slacking with my form is take a rest in between and then continue. 

FORM > REPS

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