“Halloween” is no excuse to pass on today’s workout!

Plus,

you will feel better after indulging in a bite-size Snicker bar or two later on!

8 Exercises to Get Your Vampire-blood Flowing

Mummy Sit-Ups: 45 seconds

• Start: Lie on your back with legs straight and hands on thighs. Inhale. Exhaling while you engage your core and  slowly sit up, gliding your fingers down toward your knees.  Sit up straight with shoulders  down and back. Inhale.
• Finish: Slowly lower as you exhale and engage your core, returning to the starting position.

Frankenstein Walk: 45 seconds

• Start: Stand tall and lift one foot straight up into a Frankenstein kick and step down into a lunge position. Align your ankle and knee, squaring your hips and shoulders. Lower until your thigh is parallel with the floor.
• Finish: Push off the heel of your front foot, activating your gluteal and thigh muscles, and return to the starting position. Repeat on other side.

Rest – 1 Minute

Ghost Fliers: 45 seconds

• Start: Lie on your stomach with your legs straight and arms overhead. Relax your neck and align your head with spine. Engage your abdominal and core muscles while you slowly lift your legs and arms off of the floor.  Slowly reach your right arm towards your right knee, following your head and keeping your legs straight.
• Finish: Return to the starting position, and lower legs and arms. Repeat on left side.

Spider Plank Push-Ups: 45 seconds

• Start: Begin in a plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart and feet together. Inhale, and lower into a push-up while moving your right knee towards your right elbow. Maintain a neutral spine with head, neck, and spine aligned.
• Finish: Exhale, and push back up into a plank position. Repeat on the left side.

Rest – 1 Minute

Skeleton Jacks

• Start: Begin with your knees slightly bent. Inhale. Exhale while you explosively jump off the floor into a jumping jack extending your arms and legs.
• Finish: Land softly. Recoil, gain strength, and repeat!

Count Dracula

• Start: Begin in a standard plank position with hands shoulder-width apart and feet together. Hold for 1 second, and rotate to a side plank position. Hold for 1 second, and rotate to a supine plank position (stomach facing the ceiling). Align your neck with spine, and engage core and gluteals to prevent sagging. Hold for 1 second, and rotate to other side.
• Finish: Return to the standard plank position.  Hold for 1 second, and repeat!

Rest – 1 Minute

Full Moon: 45 seconds

• Start: Begin in a wide sumo squat position with your feet at a 45-degree angle and your knees aligned over ankles. Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor and hold. Hold a light-moderate medicine ball between your legs.  Perform a slow-motion circle up and over your head and back down.
• Finish: After a full circle is completed, reverse the direction.
• Poor form? Low back pain? Drop the weight, and perform exercise without the medicine ball.

Creepy Crawlers: 45 seconds

• Start: Lie supine (stomach facing the ceiling) on all fours in the middle of a square. Create a square by placing 4 small cones at 90-degree angles from each other. Starting position is in the middle of all 4 cones (center of square). Crawl at a 45-degree angle to the first cone, squaring your hips and aligning them with shoulders. Align your neck with spine. Engage your core and gluteals to prevent sagging. Slightly bend your elbows to increase muscle activity and avoid joint pain.
• Finish: Return to the starting position (center of square), and repeat movement pattern  to the remaining 3 cones.

H A P P Y    H A L L O W E E N

Reference

Martin, M. (2014). Spooky superset workout. ACE Fitnovatives Blog. Accessed on October 30, 2014. doi: https://www.acefitness.org/blog/5126/spooky-superset-workout