30 minute bodyweight beach workout
I almost broke both my wrists last night.
It was dark. Pitch black. And I was foolishly attempting to make my way back to Bungalow 2, my room for the weekend at Playa Escondida here in Puerto Vallarta. I chose to take the unlit, narrow garden pathway instead of the safer roadway.
Eventually I came to a point of no return. Luckily I spied the roadway on my right, and I tried to step steadily down a slight embankment and onto to the cobblestone drive.
I almost made it.
At the last second my foot caught on a thin irrigation hose and I tumbled headfirst onto the road, falling on my outstretched arms.
Smack!
My water bottle flew across the hill. I bounced back up and surveyed the damage.
That was too close for comfort. Woe would have been me to show up at my long-time friend Mike Geary’s wedding with two broken wrists.
That would have put a damper on my time here in Mexico where we have gathered to celebrate another one of my fitness family members getting married.
It seems like only yesterday I was a groomsman for one of my best friends, Joel Marion. It feels like just last night I was at Vince Del Monte’s wedding where he and his entourage entered the reception in a hilariously choreographed dance routine.
And gosh, wasn’t it just last month that our NY Times best-selling author buddy, John Romaniello, exchanged vows with the unforgettable Neghar Fanooni? Actually, yes, it was. Ha!
But seriously, I’m a lucky man to be fortunate enough to spend time with these positive people in beautiful surroundings.
The setting for Mike’s wedding will be a beach on the Pacific Coast, surrounded by lush rainforest jungle, and tiny little huts where we’ll be staying each night. There’s just a beach bar (with slow Internet) and an open air restaurant where you can watch the sun set into the Pacific every night at 6:20pm.
There’s no gym. The showers are outdoors. There are hammocks for siestas, and a small sleepy town only a 25 minute walk away. Joel Marion and I will head there this afternoon for a pre-wedding lunch.
And then there is the beach. That is where I did this morning’s bodyweight leg and abs workout that was long needed after a full day of planes and automobiles yesterday. (This remote location is not easy to get to.)
Tempting fate once again I left the safety of Bungalow 2 at 6:30am with only the stars and my cellphone to guide me to the beach. I made it without incident. I sat on a lounger and performed my 20 minutes of daily meditation while the waves crashed the beach.
You’ll rarely see the stars like this in North America. There’s too much light pollution. But here, far from any big metropolis, you can gaze in wonder at the thousands of stars that most people don’t even know exist.
I sat in wonder for a few minutes after finishing with my breathing exercises and moved into a gentle bodyweight warm-up.
I didn’t realize it at the time, because it was still too dark, but dozens of tiny little crabs were scurrying out of my path as I did walking lunges, bodyweight squats, and other assorted movements to prepare my body for this workout:
30 minute legs & abs beach workout
1) 10 sets of Total Body Extensions – 20 reps with 10 seconds rest between sets
2) 4 sets of Prisoner Squat Jumps – 8 reps with 20 seconds rest between sets
3) 100 walking lunges (50 per side)
4) 50 1-leg RDL’s per side
5) 50 Reverse Lunges per side
6) 10 minutes of Kate Vidulich’s Ab Accelerators
(Kate is a Certified Turbulence Trainer from New York City, so her workouts are 100% TT-approved. She’s an awesome trainer and cares as much about proper form as I do, which is a rarity in the industry. Plus, she’s got a cool Australian accent and delivers high-energy workout videos. She’s going to be a fitness superstar soon.)
I simply grabbed a random workout from Kate’s program, but she has a done-for-you 8-week plan along with videos of all the exercises. It’s the perfect rapid fat loss workout for the holidays, and it works so well that you’ll lost 15 pounds of belly fat before Christmas.
Get Kate’s Ab Accelerators here <= on sale
Alright, time for me to head into the tiny local town for brunch.
It’s a place where you might expect to stumble upon Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), formerly of Shawshank Prison, on the beach, sanding his boat and waiting for Red (Morgan Freeman) to show up.
This is where a man might go to disappear from it all, a welcome change from the rat race and winter weather up in Toronto.
Have a great weekend.
And yes, I’ll be more careful tonight!
Your friend and coach,
Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer
PS – Yes, I’ll also be enjoying a lot of great food…
…yesterday was Mahi-Mahi for a late lunch, then a cocktail of rum and pineapple juice, and then a dinner of locally caught sea bass and locally grown vegetables. Delicious. Today I might even have some tacos, going off my diet plan.
But it’s all strategically planned. And you can learn how to “Cheat” your way to fat loss.
The program that brought cheat meals and fat loss to the world is back.
Discover how to Cheat Your Way Thin here
Take the guilt out of holiday eating today. Your brain and belly will thank you for it.