Normal exercises again

I forgot to post about last Thursday so I'll combine that with today's workout.

Last Thursday was a circuit -

Body weight cable exercises - You hold onto these cables that are attached to the top of one of the weight machines. They aren't attached to weights though. You're not moving weights up and down, you're moving your own body up and down. You control the difficulty through the angle at which you stand. The lower you lean, the harder it is.

Kettlebell press squats - We used the 8kg kettlebells for these. I saw them and thought, "Oh cute, we're using the baby ones!". After 20 kettlebell press squats on each side, they did not feel so small anymore. You swing (not lift) the kettlebell up to the chest and hold it there in a neutral position. Then you do a squat, and on your way up you extend your arm, pressing the kettlebell straight up.

Ab exercises on the rolling wheel of death - apparently its real name is the "fitwheel". Check out a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3laF2XjZ0g.

The last exercise was on a BOSU ball. Lean all the way back on the ball and without using your hands, lift yourself up and off the ball to a standing position. Sit back down and lean back onto the ball again and repeat.

Today it was just me because Lawrence got sick -

We started with a lunge that turned into a step up onto a bench, and then a hop up. Step back down into the lunge, and repeat.

Next were one legged inchworm push-ups. You start standing up, with one leg lifted behind you. Keeping your standing leg straight, you bend over and put your hands on the ground. Inching forward with your hands, you move into a one-legged push-up position and do a push-up. Inch back with your hands and stand back up. Repeat alternating your legs.

Lastly I did more of those body weight cable exercises - bicep curls and the reverse. Melody is big on repeating an exercise using the "opposing" muscles. With the bicep curls, I stood facing the cables, leaning backwards, and lifted myself up, keeping my elbows down so my fists met my shoulders. For the reverse exercise, I stood leaning forward, facing away from the cables with my arms outstretched above/in front of me. I then had to bend my elbows so I leaned forward even further and my forearms were pointing behind me.

Last of all was a body weight cable exercise where I stood sideways holding the cable above my head with arms outstretched, leaning away from the cable. I had to bend sideways at my waist, away from the cable, and then bring my waist back to a straight position. This is always more difficult than it looks.

I can't wait to take a shower and cook some dinner now. :)