This online space has become our sanctuary of sorts during these times of lockdowns, social distancing, and working from home. We’ve needed to connect, to nurture our social and emotional needs, to feel heard, to gain inklings of “understanding” in this incredibly strange time in history. Many of us have searched for new ways to express ourselves, we’ve learned new skills with our extra downtime, and found new ways to keep up with an evolving world. As such, we’ve logged online.
Experts have been sharing their knowledge and gifts on social media and the web during this time where more and more out-of-home daily tasks – the gym, for example – have been simplified for our living spaces. That’s why I created this quick, 30-minute routine that contains my favorite bodyweight exercises.
I like to move in many different ways, but if I were to dial it down to the two-body positions that win my time, it’d be surfing and sitting. This leads to stiffness in my neck, upper back, shoulders, hips, and weakness in my glutes, hamstrings, and postural muscles of the neck and spine. The exercises I regularly practice in my own training are therefore chosen to offset the asymmetrical assault that surfing has on the body, the deficiencies in movement that occur with chronic sitting, and the inevitable postural issues that come with modern life.
I hope you enjoy this short routine, which includes a warm-up and cool-down. It’s an intermediate to advanced bodyweight session which targets hip extensor (glutes and hamstrings) strength, abdominal strength as well as end-range shoulder strength (shoulder flexion, external rotation, abduction, shoulder extension, shoulder internal rotation).
Editor’s Note: Michelle Drielsma welcomes workout feedback in the YouTube comments section. To learn more about her programs and training go to SydneyStrengthConditioning.com.
