How about some cold hard truth today? Going for a run, even if you do it regularly, religiously, with all the right form in the world, is not enough to keep you or make you functionally fit.
I am a runner. I love to run and do it regularly. So I’m not one of those run-haters just looking for some justification not to run. Not the case.
Running is great and has its place, BUT it doesn’t give you total body fitness, health and strength. If you want total body fitness, functional fitness, that will have you ready for just about any activity, type of movement, or challenge life my throw at you, then you’ll need to add some other “stuff” to your workouts.
May I recommend Frogs? Not eating them, but incorporating a bunch of exercises that use Frog in their title. This morning the universe seemed to think I need lots of lower body work. We were doing the WOW for the day and we hit the Weird Out part. This is where we pulled cards naming some “weird” moving activity we had to do over 20+ yards. I kept getting the fricken’ Rocking Frogs.
As dumb as these things look, they work. They work your quads like you wouldn’t believe. If you want a good looking, fully functional , strong, and fit body (and I happen to want IT ALL) then you are just going to have to toss the concern about how goofy you might look, or what others might think about you as you do your workout right out the window. It’s about you anyway, not them. You are getting in the best shape you can for YOU – to make your life more rich and full and fun.
So bring on the Rocking Frogs! Squat down, palms facing forward at about chest level. Then rock or fall forward. Catch yourself with your hands as they hit the ground. Good upper body and core work going on here. Now push off with your feet, while keeping your hips at that 90 degree angle. Get those feet up a good 12-18 inches. Then, if you want to do the stationary version, just let your feet come back to the ground, push off a bit with your hands, and return to the starting squat position. Repeat until you’ve got a good burn going. It doesn’t take long.
Or if you want to travel as you do your Rocking Frogs, like I did this morning over and over and over, then do the same movement I just described, but with one slight variation. As your feet are coming back down to earth, make them plant as close to your hands as you can. Ugh, even more core work.
I pulled “Rocking Frogs” 5 times this morning. That means I did over 100 yards of these things. My thighs were on fire, my butt was cramping, my arms and chest were aching. Such a good feeling. It was the feeling of getting stronger, really working my muscles, and even building character by pushing beyond my comfort level.
Rocking Frogs sound a little too much for you? Don’t you worry. There’s a Frog out there that will work for you. I’ve also been doing some Back and Forth Frog Hops and Sideways Frog Hops this week. They both start in the same squatted position, butt down and back, torso upright, thighs parallel to the ground. Then you either hop forward then backward or sideways.
Mmmm, mmmm. What fun! And what strong good looking legs they build.
Tags: challenging, lower body, running, squat, strength
