Exercises, Workouts, Programs, and Fitness Apps That I Love

Adding in new exercises or workouts can help keep your fitness journey feel fresh and exciting. Here is a list of my favorite exercises, workouts, programs and fitness applications. My hope is that something might help motivate you in your fitness journey. Read about our other fitness posts here.

Exercises:

The list of exercises are not in any specific order. Each exercise also has a demonstration video to show the proper form/movement. These exercises are beyond the traditional push-ups, pull-ups, squats. These exercises have helped my strength and flexibility tremendously. One of my workout mottos is strengthen through length. Which means, strengthening throughout the entire range of motion. Flexibility is one of my weak areas so, I tend to always give that more attention.

• Slant board squats Demonstration
• Pistol squats Demonstration
• Jefferson curl Demonstration
• Nordic curl Demonstration
• Tibialis raises Demonstration
• Knee over toes (KOT) lunges Demonstration
• KOT squats Demonstration
• Burpees Demonstration
• Patrick step-ups Demonstration
• Seated good morning Demonstration
• Banded pancake stretch Demonstration
• Inclined bench pigeon stretch Demonstration
• L-sit Demonstration
• Leg lifts Demonstration
• Plank Demonstration
• Mini resistance band exercises Demonstration
• Walking backwards Demonstration & Benefits
• Hill sprints Benefits

Workouts:

Most of the workout below are time based. Therefore, you can record your best time and attempt to beat it every week/month/quarter… etc that you choose.

• The Murph Challenge
  • One mile run
  • 100 pull-ups
  • 200 push-ups
  • 300 squats
  • Another mile run
    I wrote a post about The Murph Challenege here.
• A Modified Murph
  • Take the Murph Challenge above and reducing the number of reps. An example would be, a half a mile run, 50 pull-ups, 100 push-ups followed up with a fast quarter mile run.
• Kettle Bell Burpee Pyramid
  • One of my favorite workouts. You start by doing 20 kettle bell swings followed by 20 burpees, then you do 18 kettle bell swings followed by 18 burpees…. all the way down to 0 for time.
• 50/100 Kettle Bell Swings
  • Pick a weight that is comfortable for you to swing and swing it 50/100 times for time.
• Walk-Jog-Stride
  • Walk from one telephone pole to another, then jog to the next and then stride (80% of your max speed) to another telephone pole. Repeat for a certain amount of time or sets. I love using a simple interval timer (mentioned below in the fitness application section) for these types of workouts.
• Timed Run
  • Pick a distance that you want to time yourself at (100m, 200m, quarter mile, mile, 5k… etc).
• Training With Resistance
  • I train with resistance by utilizing a weight vest or incorporating resistance bands. As I’m writing this post I’ve been walking around with ankle weights on all day haha. Find ways to add resistance in a safe way.

Programs:

Over the years I have tried many different workout programs. Most of the time the programs were tailored towards, running faster, jumping higher or being more flexible. In other words, trying to become a better athlete. Here is a list of workout programs that I would recommend:

• Knee Over Toes
  If you have knee pain the Knee Over Toes program is for you.
• Jump Science
  If you couldn’t guess from the title it is a program all about jumping higher. I would say this is my favorite jumping program at of the three listed.
• Jump Manual
  Another jumping program.
• Vert Shock
  Another, another jumping program.
• Beach Body
  Abby and I really enjoyed some of the Beach Body workouts together. Our favorite program was a boxing program entitled 10 Rounds” here is a little overview of the 10 Rounds.
• GOWOD
  A mobility program that releases new content everyday. You can increase your overall wellness with specifically tailored videos that don’t repeat (unless you want to watch the same video again).

Fitness Applications:

• A fitness watch that has an online community (I use the Garmin Forerunner 235 and Garmin Connect) Apple | Google
  Garmin allows you to setup small competitions amongst you’re connected friends. Abby, my aunt Meghan, and I used to challenge each other to weekly step competitions. Being able to see the what other runners are doing is a great way to help motivate you and keep you accountable.
• Simple Interval Timer Apple | Google
  I use this application often for interval runs like the walk-jog-strides mentioned above.
• Nike Training Club Apple | Google
  This app has a wide selection of workouts and programs. The workouts are tailored to your fitness level. The app helps to build fitness habits that stick. This app pairs very well with the Nike Run Club.
• Nike Run Club: Running Coach Apple | Google
  Abby trained for an entire half marathon using Nike Run Club. This app built a complete running program for her, for free! Some of the workouts use the Nike Training Club app.

Get paid for being fit:

Here is a few apps that let you earn money for making healthy lifestyle choices. You walk and workout already so why not get paid for it? You can use all three programs at the same time! Which means you to earn three times the points.

• Evidation
• Sweatcoin
• Walgreens Balance Rewards