Fitness Abroad: The China Adventures! (Part 1)

Another day on the streets of China

Ni Hao and welcome to another exciting edition of Agile Life Fitness!  Why Ni Hao?  Because I'm writing you from the mysterious and exotic land of China!  Since I don't have access to my usual gym equipment, I thought it might be fun to write a series of articles on working out on the road.  Today's workout is a modification of a workout I found on www.crossfitmiamibeach.net.  I've trained with these guys before and they totally rock.  All the trainers are very knowledgeable and approacheable.  I definitely recommend paying them a visit on a Saturday and getting your butt kicked!  Also, it turns out that CrossFit workouts are perfect for staying fit on the road (for the most part, they require very little equipment).  Here's why I dragged myself out of bed this morning:

Original Workout:

4 Rounds for Time
~ 30 Lunges
~ 30 Sit Ups
~ 400m Run
* From www.crossfitmiamibeach.net (Saturday 6/11/11 WOD)

How I made it work for me:

2 Rounds for Time
~ 30 Prisoner Lunges: Bodyweight lunges with hands behind head.  I like this variation since it helps my posture through out the movement.  The position of my hands helps keep my torso upright and minimizes the use of momentum to propel myself through the lunge which puts greater emphasis on my quads.
~ 30 Oblique V-Ups left-side/30 Oblique V-Ups right-side: These are probably my favorite ab exercises because it's very difficult to do them wrong.  They burn, so I know they're working :)  It turns out these are also great to pair up with lunges because they require a certain amount of stabilizing through the Hip Adductors.  It's a great way to hit the same muscle in two different ways.
~ 400m Run - No modification

2 Rounds for Time
~ 30 Prisoner Lunges
~ 60 Oblique Twists with 10lb weight: Not only is this a great ab exercise, but it's great for your whole core.  Keep your feet off the floor for the next level of burn.  Caution: make sure that your lower back does not arch outward or you will injure yourself.
~ 400m Run - No modification

After a hard workout, I replenish my
electrolytes with... er... one of these things...
it's tea?  Not really sure... yeah, let's go with tea.

Total workout time (not including warm-up and cool-down): ~30 minutes

Don't be afraid to modify a workout so that it better suits your needs.  The wonderful thing about conditioning your body is that you're also conditioning your connection with your body.  Listen to your body... did you really feel that last set or did you just go through the motions?  Did that last exercise feel awkward on your shoulder joint?  Can you substitute it for something else?  Should you workout for the 5th day in a row or is your body asking for rest?  Be creative and you can accomodate any workout.  See you tomorrow! 

Xie Xie Ni! (Thank you!)
Dan