The “hollow body hold” is a really easy exercise for anyone to do. Easy as in simplicity, but it will work your abs like crazy. I would start with 30 second sets. Please beware to *NOT* arch your back, keep it flat against the floor at all times.
What also makes this a great exercise is it doesn’t take up much space, you can do it while watching tv, in a hotel room, or pretty much anywhere…
We have all encountered a few times where we are traveling, and somehow we get out of the habit and routine of our workout. It’s not so much that a little break couldn’t hurt, and who wants to workout on a business trip, but sometimes we don’t get back to our rhythm when we return.
Also doing a small 20-30 minute routine helps give us the energy we need everyday when we’re off to conferences, and on our feet all day. So what to do? Well if you’re in a hotel with a gym, head to the gym. That’ll give you the space and motivation to keep to your usual workout. But what about if your hotel doesn’t have a gym, and maybe it’s too cold outside to go for a job?
I recommend doing exercises which require very little movement. That way you can do them in small and confined spaces. Basic yoga stretching would be ideal. Here’s the opportunity to really put your heart into those stretches you’ve been meaning to improve. Do some hamstring stretches, shoulder stretches with a towel, or clasped hands, do foot-to knee stretch which is great for the hips, and some spinal twists.
As far as muscle training goes, you can certainly do pushups and situps if you desire. One exercise which I think is really ideal for small cramped locations is the elbow stand. You don’t move at all. Just hold the position. Think it looks easy? Try 30 second hold for starters. If that is too easy, move on to 60 seconds.
Posture is really crucial with this exercise. Don’t arch your back which is very very common and typical. Why? This takes the abdominals out of the exercise, and puts pressure on your lower back instead. We want to avoid that.
Another common mistake is to keep the hipstoo low. As you get tired, this is the usual progression. So try to start out by doing only 15 seconds, but do it perfect!!
Here’s the right way. Notice my back is very flat. That means my abdominals are doing *ALL* the work. That’s what you want.
Again I like this exercise because it’s easy for almost everyone to do, is fairly injury free because there isn’t any movement, works your shoulders, deltoids, triceps, hipflexors, and gluts. It has a lot of the same benefits of pushups.
Short on time, but want a fairly simple, full-body workout? Here’s one I used to do at the end of a day at the rock climbing gym to provide exercise to complementary muscle groups. Since rock climbing is mostly pulling, pushups work great.
First, I want you to focus on good pushup posture. Keep your low back rounded, never arched. If you’re not ready to do pushups from your toes, use your knees instead. Once you can complete the 21 sets from your knees, you’re ready to start from your toes. Ok, what’s the challenge?
Start by doing one pushup, walk the length of the room, and back to that same position. Now do two pushups. Walk the length of the room and back again, now three pushups. Keep doing these sets, increasing by one pushup each time. Since you’re only giving your muscles 15-20 seconds rest each time, this gets progressively harder. My old gymnastics coach used to say if you can do all 21 sets, you’re hardcore! Haha well once I reached that, I started doing the 21 sets with 5-10lbs in a backpack. Now that is tough.
What I like about this exercise is that it provides it’s own built-in warmup. The first few sets are very easy. It also builds confidence, allows your muscles to warm up, and gets you into the spirit of it before the tougher sets. It works the triceps, the deltoids (shoulders), abdominals, and hip flexors.
When you’re finished you’ll have completed 231 pushups in about 10 minutes. For extra challenge, as I noted above, add weight, or work your way up to 25 pushups. If that’s not enough, try doing them all as clap pushups, or even better, one-arm pushups!!
Now of course being the good personal trainer I’m gonna ask that you please stretch your shoulders before doing this exercise. I know how you all love to stretch right? I’ll be posting a discussion just about shoulder stretching soon enough.