Today at Accelerate we did a “running clock” workout. There were three blocks, with 3-4 exercises that had to be performed in a certain amount of time. The blocks seemed to get consecutively more challenging, which is probably the point if you’re working your tail off (which we were). A few things stood out today.
#1. Airrosti Rehab Center.
This may not mean a lot to you, but if you’ve ever been to Airrosti for an injury, you know they are the best at preventative physical therapy as well as rehab for an existing injury. The fact that the professionals take classes at Accelerate means we are doing something correctly. We always start with a dynamic warm-up, move into strength, perform conditioning in all planes of motion and end with a quick stretch.
#2. The Workout is as hard as you make it.
In the second block, we had to perform 70 walking lunges. Brandon gave us guidance on minimum weight and how we should not be able to do 10 in a row. If we could, our weights were too light. I picked up 30 pound dumb bells and he quickly encouraged me to swap them out for 35’s. I see this happen a lot at Accelerate (Danielle, I’m channeling you). Adding just 5 pounds of weight per side made this exercise ridiculously more challenging. And it forced me to slow down and focus on pushing through my heel on every rep.
#3. Programming is Everything.
By itself, 20 calories on an Air Assault Bike takes fewer than 2 minutes and is a quick intense hit of cardiovascular effort. Combined with 50 Wall Balls and walking lunges, it becomes a killer finish that taxes every part of your body. Each one of the blocks today focused on a different skill set: lower body strength, power and conditioning. With the addition of abs and static stretching at the end of class, I can honestly say it was a complete cardio, strength full body experience.
If you’re worried about finding an efficient way to get a killer workout in one hour of time, I would highly recommend an Accelerate boot camp. I know I’ll be feeling today’s efforts for a few days to come.