CAS Workout Day

During the first CAS lesson of the week this week, we were encouraged to dedicate the lesson to completing a CAS event surrounding the theme of activity; our options were left open ended giving us the opportunity to take part in exercise as versatile as boxing or biking among many other things; however, thinking back on my CAS activity experience over the course of the DLP, I came to a realization that a heavy majority of my workouts had been cardio based and dynamic and while I had put my muscles to use each time, I hadn’t spent much time individually engaging specific muscle groups. Thus, I decided to carry out a stationary workout focusing on  my abdominals, biceps and triceps in an upper arm strength and ab workout which may not sound all that extravagant but is to the point and effective nonetheless.

The first workout consisted of 7 exercises, each of which had 12 reps. I did the workout with the intention of successfully engaging my core muscles for brief periods of time in order to get more defined abdominals; ideally over the course of a few weeks. As the website says, if the circuit is continued for up to 3-4 times a week, with the correct diet and good form, results will show in about 6 weeks. Moreover at this point I intend to keep in shape during quarantine rather than aim for a full six pack or something of the sort at the moment.

The workouts went as follow, feel free to attempt them if you have the time and adjust the intensity and reps. to your liking :))

Workout 1 – Ab Definition Circuit

A series of crunch variations –

• Basic Crunches
• Reverse Crunches
• Bicycle Crunches
• Overhead Crunches

Followed by 3 plank variations –

• Planks
• Side Planks
• Extended Planks

The second workout focused on building and strengthening my arms, specifically, my biceps and triceps. This was a longer workout with multiple repetitions and it primarily focused of the intensity of repetitions as opposed to the difficulty of the exercises.

Workout 2 – Arm Toning Workout

Source: Women’s Health Magazine

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a20702885/arm-toning-exercises/

• Bicep Curls
• Upright Row
• Triceps Kickback
• Rear Delt Fly
• Overhead Triceps Extension
• The Dumbbell Floorpress
• Kettlebell Swing

These each consisted of 12 reps of each exercise and 3 repetitions of the circuit for the completion of 4 full rounds.

Personally my favorite ab exercise was either the Overhead Crunch as it held the least strain on my neck and it engaged all of my upper body while on the contrary, I struggled slightly with the maintenance of good form during the Side and Extended planks as they were in the final stages of my workout meaning that I had already consumed up most of my energy by the time I had to do the final two drills.

Likewise, for the arm workouts I enjoyed the Upright Row and the Bicep Curl because I felt the two were most convenient and effective for me. Two exercises that I struggled towards the end with were the Overhead Triceps Extension and the Dumbbell Floorpress as I did a few more repetitions than what was asked of me and the Dumbbell Floorpress was my final exercise in the routine so I was rather drained by the 3rd round of the circuit.

Towards the end of my session I felt rather spent and my muscles ached but it also felt like a refreshing job well done. Naturally, I will continue to do the workouts as regularly as recommended in order to reap the best results, while perhaps extending my workouts to leg day and maybe even a session or two of yoga to even things out. I look foreword to my next workout and to seeing the final results in a few weeks time! :))

^ My workout equipment + music to keep me motivated!