It’s day 3 of vacation in beautiful Destin, Florida. Tropical storm Debra ended up having a little more bark than bite, so I was able to complete the following workout on the beach. Even though I had a full day in the ocean with decent waves (the one good thing from Debra), I still wanted to get a quick workout in just to stay in “workout shape.” If you have ever taken a significant time off (>7-10 days), you know what I’m talking about. You feel weak as sh@t, your arms shake during the bench press, and you get crazy DOMS even from a light workout. I’ve found if I perform a 20 minute workout with just bodyweight exercises, it prevents that.
The Beach Workout
Since it was a beautiful and I found a spot along Miramar Beach that wasn’t crowded, I decided to perform a pushup-sprint workout on the beach. The workout was extremely simple.
The What
20 Pushups followed by a 20 yard sprint. I rested 90-120 seconds between each set. 10 sets were completed.
The Why
I wanted something simple that could be completed within 20-30 minutes, even while on vacation. I also wanted it to be a total body workout without really taxing my body. Sprints are still one of my favorite exercises. They’re a great leg exercise, an excellent conditioning tool, and a fantastic fat blaster. And if you perform them barefoot on the sand, they’re even better. Plus, they make you look as athletic as hell. The only caveat is that skinny guys have to be extremely careful with their volume because they can really tax the CNS. Although I don’t think they’re as taxing for the average joe as they are for someone like Usain Bolt, they can still hamper recovery if over done, especially if you’re squatting and/or deadlifting heavy. Because I haven’t squatted or deadlifted for about a week, I performed more volume than I usually do.
With the lower body worked thoroughly with sprints, I decided on push-ups for the upper body and core. Strength coach Nick Tumminello recently posted on Facebook questioning why someone would perform planks and pushups in the same workout. A push-up done correctly is essentially a dynamic plank. With that in mind, I settled on push-ups. Everyone already knows it’s a great arms, chest, and shoulder exercise, but it really hit the core too if you perform it correctly and the sets last between 20-40 seconds.
The Results
It was great. My heart rate was up, I had a nice pump, and I had a nice sweat glaze when I was done. It’s exactly the change of pace I needed so when I hit the weights heavy in my next workout, my body will be ready.