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Everyone has a DAY ONE. 

Lower Body Workout (thank you Lisa and Rachel!)

3/26/2020

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This lower body workout was created by two of my students, Lisa and Rachel. 
I modified it a little bit to work for all of us at home with minimal equipment.  
It's awesome and I hope you have fun with it! 
Enjoy. :-)

Equipment:
body weight, some type of elevated surface (ideas: step, park bench, stable chair, picnic bench, low wall ), free weights (or an alternative weight like a back pack filled with books, heavy objects from panty


Warm up:
5 minutes dynamic stretches


Workout:
Round 1: 8-12 reps , 2-3 sets 
  1. Single Leg Step Up: (step up onto elevated surface with right foot...bring left foot up to meet the right or pull the knee up to hip height and balance for a moment before stepping back down with left foot. Keep right foot on step and step left foot up again and repeat for all reps. Then bring right foot down and repeat on the left leg.  
  2. Weighted squats  (squat with a weight in each hand)
  3. Weighted lunges (Stepping forward into a lunge and then stepping back to start...weights in each hand). 
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Round 2: 12-16 reps, 2-3 sets
  1.  Step ups/Jump ups (Step up and down on the elevated surface.. Right leg leads for all reps and then repeat with left leg leading for all reps.  If you prefer, and your surface is stable, hop up on the bench/step, landing softly, then step back down and repeat.)
  2. Weighted bridge lifts  (Lying down, knees bent, feet flat, lift hips into bridge. Lift and lower here with the option of putting a weight gently across low abdomen/top of thighs for extra resistance). 
  3. Glute/hamstring lifts: (Come to all fours...hands and knees....and then lower down to forearms. Straighten right leg behind you. Toes touching floor.  Lift right leg up to hip height and the lower back down...toes touching gently to ground or hovering over ground.  Complete reps on right leg and then on left leg.) 
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Round 3: 12-16 reps, 2-3 sets 
  1. Side-lying leg lifts (both sides)
  2. Bent knee, hip abduction: : On hands and knees, lift bent right leg up and to the side (hip abduction) to height of hip or lower and then bring knee back down to start. Repeat on right and then on left. 

Warm down: 
Stretches for lower body: quads, hams, abductors, adductors 

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Choose your Own Workout Adventure - Home Edition

3/25/2020

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I have posted a workout similar to this in the past however now that we are all home, I rewrote it assuming minimal equipment. 
Choose a path to start....follow the arrows any way you like....when you get to the bottom (60 sec plank), go back and choose a new path.  
For the weights, use either hand weights, bottles of water, or a backpack filled with some books, etc.
Have fun on your adventures! Enjoy!  
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HIIT Ladder Workout (kind of brutal!)

3/23/2020

 
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This is a challenging, no-equipment-needed HIIT workout you can do anywhere. 

Format is a descending interval ladder.
(SEE BELOW)


Four exercises:  
1. Belt kick squat
(can substitute any type of squat or do a belt kick squat which is a squat with a single leg kick as you rise up
​out of the squat). 

2. High knees 
(either march or add impact with high knee jog in place) 
3. Burpee 
(any burpee that makes you happy!) 
4. Jumping jacks 
(impact or non-impact jacks) 

WORKOUT: 
1. Belt Kick Squat (60 seconds)

2. High Knees (60 seconds)
3. Burpee (60 seconds)
4.Jumping Jacks (60 seconds)
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40-second rest 
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1. Belt Kick Squat (50 seconds)
2. High Knees (50 seconds)
3. Burpee (50 seconds)
4. Jumping Jacks (50 seconds)
----------------------------
30-second rest 
---------------------------
1. Belt Kick Squat (40 seconds)
2. High Knees (40 seconds)
3. Burpee (40 seconds)
 4. Jumping Jacks (40 seconds)
-----------------------------
20-second rest 
----------------------------
1. Belt Kick Squat (30 seconds)
2. High Knees (30 seconds)
3. Burpee (30 seconds)
4, Jumping Jacks (30 seconds)
----------------------------
10-second rest 
-------------------------------
1. Belt Kick Squat (20 seconds)
2. High Knees (20 seconds)
3. Burpee (20 seconds)
4. Jumping Jacks (20 seconds)

STRETCH! 
REST. 
Good job! :-) 





"The Meredith" (awesome, quick HIIT workout)

3/19/2020

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Before spring break and before in-person classes were cancelled at Duke, I assigned my students the task of creating their own workout.  Over the next few weeks I'll share some of their awesome workouts here.
This HIIT workout was designed by Meredith and it's fantastic.
No equipment needed. 
Have fun and get ready to sweat! 

Intervals:  

30 seconds work: 30 seconds rest 

4 rounds  
2 min. Rest between each round 
Equipment:
Body weight 

Warm up:
7 minutes steady state cardio with upper body movement 

Workout:
1. Jumping jacks 

2. Burpees
3. Mountain climbers 
4. Lunges 
5. Jump squats 
6. Skaters 
7. Planks 

Warm down: 
Stretches for total body (chest, back, deltoids, arms, legs) 

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4-3-2-1 Workout (one of my faves!)

3/18/2020

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I taught this workout to my college students the week before spring break and it was awesome. This is one my favorites because it is simple, uses minimal equipment, and keeps you engaged because it changes every minute. You can do the entire workout or break it up into 10 minute intervals.  Have fun! xo 
Format: 
1 minute for each exercise 
Exercises are grouped in 4 categories. (see below) 
Rest anywhere from 30-60 seconds between exercises. 


Equipment: light hand weights (or cans, filled water bottles, items at home that have weight, you can use a backpack with books), mat, bodyweight 

Warm up: 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching 
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AT HOME "SANDBAG" (BACKPACK) WORKOUT

3/18/2020

 
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Realizing that our at-home gym equipment options might be limited, I've been thinking about how we can improvise with items we might have in our homes. 
This workout uses a backpack or a duffel bag instead of a sandbag.  


Format: 
10 exercises
10 repetitions
Sets: 1-3 (go through all 10 in order, then repeat if you feel like doing more!) 

Equipment: backpack or duffel bag, books or heavy-ish objects to fill the bag to desired weight, mat (optional). 

Warm up: 5 minutes of dynamic stretching 


  1. Wide squats (hold backpack in front of chest, feet a little wider than hip-width)
  2. Overhead press (hold backpack lengthwise on either end, press over head) 
  3. Squats (hold backpack on back, feet hip-width apart) 
  4. Good mornings (hold backpack on back, soft knees, hinge at hips, spine parallel to ground and then come back up, engaging glutes and hamstrings) 
  5. Single leg side lunges with overhead press (hold backpack lengthwise on either end and step out to side, lower pack to floor and then step back to center and put backpack over head) 
  6. Repeat single leg side lunges with other leg. 
  7. Single leg deadlift with row (Balance on one leg and hold backpack at chest. Tip over keeping spine long as other leg lifts behind you.  Extend arms towards ground and then row them back to start. Stand back up and repeat). 
  8. Repeat deadlifts on other leg. 
  9. Chest press in bridge (On spine, hold backpack lengthwise on either end. Come into bridge pose and hold that while performing a chest press.) 
  10. Moving bridge lifts (On spine, rest backpack across lower abdomen, upper thighs and lift and lower in a moving bridge).
Cool down: 5 - 10 minutes of stretching focusing especially on quads, hamstrings, glutes, chest and back 

​

Another Spectacular Sunday night SUP Yoga Session

8/12/2019

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We had a great group on the water last night!  Thank you to everyone who joined me and especially to Liz and Kearsi for organizing!  It was fabulous to meet these SUPerstars. The water was warm, the breeze was cool, and the sun dropped behind the trees at the perfect time.   We paddled, practiced yoga and paddled some more!  Great way to end the weekend and start the week. :-) 
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SUP YOGA With Barre3 Chapel Hill...so much fun!

7/1/2019

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I had a blast with the Barre 3 team out of Chapel Hill this past Sunday! Huge thank you to Dana, Brooke and the entire team for joining me on the water for some SUP Yoga fun.  We paddled, laughed, balanced, splashed and relaxed. It was fabulous!  Can't wait to see you all again soon!  :-) 
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Upper Body Circuit Workout

5/23/2019

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This is one of my favorite upper body workouts.  The entire workout as written will take anywhere from 45-60 minutes. If you are short on time, you could cut the sets down to 2 for each muscle group or run through the entire workout top to bottom one time.  
Enjoy! 

Equipment: Cable machines, free weights, battle ropes, med ball, body weight, mat

Warmup: 5 minutes of dynamic stretching for total body 

Round 1: 
Chest/Back (using cables) 

8-12 reps, 2-3 sets
1. Lat Pull Downs 
2. Chest flyes
3. Seated cable rows 

Round 2: 
Shoulders/Chest (free weights) 

8-12 reps, 2-3  sets
1. Overhead press
2. Chest press
3. Angled deltoid raises
Round 3:
Total body

2-3 sets
1. Single rope waves (30-60 waves)
2. Slam ball slams (10-20 slams)
3. Burpees (4-10 reps)
Round 4: 
Core (abs/back)

2-3 sets
1.  Prone spinal extensions (8-12 reps) 
(lying face down, slowly lift upper and lower body away from the ground, then lower back down to start) 

2. V-sit with a twist (10-20 reps)
3. Low plank to high plank (or just hold plank) 30-60 seconds
​

Round 5: 
Biceps/Triceps (free weights/bodyweight) 

8-12 reps, 2-3 sets
1. Bicep curls
2. Overhead tricep extension
3. Tricep dips off a bench








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Duke SUP Field Trip - Spring 2019

5/10/2019

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Our SUP field trip FINALLY happened in early May after a year fraught with crazy weather including hurricanes, intense heat,  and flooding.  Ten of my 21 students in my SUP Fitness courses at Duke took a break from studying to join me on Falls Lake for a gorgeous afternoon of paddling, yoga and exploring.  Mother Nature was so kind and gave us a spectacular blue sky, warm sun and cool water.   Thank you to all of my students for making this a fantastic year and thank you to those who were able to come out and paddle for a few hours.  It really is a highlight of the school year and the course!  Happy summer and paddling friends. 
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    Maria Finnegan

    Welcome and thank you for visiting this site. I'm happy and grateful to have a place where I can write about fitness and wellness. In addition to blogging about exercise and sharing workouts, I  also use this space to tell 200-word stories about the inspiring and amazing people I encounter in this career. I look forward to sharing as many of these journeys as possible, and would love to hear from you if you would like me to tell your story. You can contact me anytime. Thank you so much for your interest and your effort. Think fit...be fit...stay fit! You are stronger than you think. #STYT

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