Spring Fitness
Spring is in the air! I can feel the sunshine on my face and my body starts to long for the warm weather. Spring is definitely a time of transition. For me, the rush of winter begins to wind down and all of my favorite summertime activities becon. It is a time for rejuvenation and fitness is a huge part of that!
Winter is long and can be hard on my body. By the time spring rolls around, I tend to be pretty sore, drained and generally just exhausted. It can be hard at this time to find the right activities to prime me for summer and get my body back to top shape. My priorities shift to listening to my body and getting in touch with what it needs. In general, I like to create a balance of recovery and new routines. I typically amp up my yoga in the spring, rotating between restful mellow classes and rejuvenating flow classes. In addition to that, spring is a great time to hit the trails again! I start by getting my body back into jogging shape. Beginning with slow, short jogs, I ramp up and start to introduce interval training back into my cardio!
Springtime also means long tours in the backcountry. This is great endurance training and really gets me ready for mountain bike season! Make sure to stretch your hip flexors extra well when you are putting in some miles on your skins!
No matter what, every body needs a little maintenance. In the spring, I know my lower body has had a long tough go and is getting plenty of work still in the backcountry, so I shift gears and really focus on my core and upper body. Summer is just around the corner! Check out my favorite springtime fitness routine below:
WARM-UP:
- Lung stretches, arm circles and deep breathing
CARDIO:
- Easy 3 mile jog with two 80% intervals, each at least 2 minutes
STRENGTH:
- 2 sets of 2 min planks. Try mixing it up by adding movements like tapping your hips to the ground alternating side to side, always keeping your core tight.
- Walk ups from fore-arm to straight arm and back down. Two sets of 10 leading with each arm.
- Find a bench and do some tricep dips. Any variation you like and make sure to get 30 reps!
STRETCH:
- Give your whole body some love and take a dedicated 5 minutes to stretch it all!
This should take you just over 30 minutes and if my favorite was to work through the change of season!