Push ups in the park

Hello fitness friends!

This week’s workout takes us back outside for a brutal workout. “I’m going to have to you P90X core synergistics,” says Rebecca Ingham. Our response to that is “Huh?” Think Boot Camp, with an emphasis on core, and more variations of push ups than we’ve ever seen! "We do it here at Lion's Park or the Urbandale track and I'll make them run bleachers," Rebecca says with a sly grin. For us, she turns the park gazebo into a workout room and explains the day’s workout. "Core synergistics works everything from here to here,” she says – motioning between her shoulders and knees, “it’s everything you work in everyday life."

Right off the bat, we’re doing stacked feet-staggered hand push ups. They aren’t easy, but at least we’ve done them before – unlike the next move, which has us working hard and laughing hysterically. It’s called a “banana roll” and it torches your abs and back. Then it’s another funky push up, this one called the “sphinx” and neither one of us can really pull it off. Next we do two big power moves that get our heart rates up. Low, lateral skaters have us working that infamous “thutt” area and the lunge and reach exercise is a compound move that gets both our legs and arms burning. We don’t have time to recover and Rebecca shouts, “OK! Prison cell push ups are next!” What?!? Those sound awful! We quickly learn they are awful – Rebecca describes them as burpees on steroids. They leave us exhausted and out of breath and we still have to crank out X-Presses. They’re yet another total body move that surprise you with a cardiovascular work out.

The end of this routine includes a bunch of challenging abdominal exercises. The “Superman Banana”, leg climbers, and “Crunchy Frogs” create a strong finish. By the end, we’re beat but we also think this boot camp at the park bandstand is way better than being inside a gym!

If you’re interested in working out with Rebecca, check out her webpage www.BodyPowerFitness.com.

Keep the workout ideas coming and please contact us if you have a success story to share with our viewers. You don't have to be at your "goal" - we want to see the work in progress, too!

EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com