Easy to Try Exercises Which Look and Sound Funny

I am more serious about my fitness right now than I ever was in my life. I am not chasing a particular body shape or a particular number on the weighing scale or anything particular so as to say. My focus is just to consciously taking out time to exercise or run or stretch, I have made that a priority for myself. This priority has made me a happier person. I feel happy because I see my stamina getting better with each passing day. And because I am not chasing anything, I feel good on the inside too.

This year, I have been given this incredible opportunity to participate in London’s favourite 10K, Vitality 10000 as part The Children’s Society entourage. What an honour it is to be on the team of an organization that is driven by the belief that ‘every child deserves a safe and happy childhood.’ Along with running for The Children’s Society, I am also going to raise funds for them. Here’s a link to my fundraising page. Have a look and please donate for the cause –

When I look back at my preparations for 10K in May 2016 and my preparations this year, I feel that I have come a long way. Last year I was just running, mostly running recklessly. I was struggling with my pace which no matter how hard I try, I couldn’t bring under 8.30 minutes per km. I soon started facing muscles strains every now and then which forced me to stop and ponder over what was I doing wrong.

What I was doing wrong was just running with nothing else to support my body; no cross training or strengthening to support my running muscles.

So in March this year, when I decided to run another 10K, I made sure that I focussed equally on strength training and cross training as well. My effort payed off because now I have been able to improve my pace to around 7 min/km.

This is the one thing I love about running – I don’t compare myself to this or that person, I compare myself to myself. I run against myself. I try to find any edge or any trick or anything that I can use to beat myself.

Why do I have to be so serious!!! This blog was supposed to be about something fun and I have managed to steer it in a completely opposite direction. So typical of me!

I have been trying new workouts regularly and more often than not, there comes an exercise with funny name. Down dog and Cat and Cow are not alone, there are plenty of funny-named exercises in the pool. And what more, they look funny to do as well. Here’s my list of five easy to try exercises which look and sound funny and a short instruction of how you can do them. See the VIDEO in the end to better understand how to do these exercises.

Easy to Try Exercises Which Look and Sound Funny

Dead Bug

Imagine a dead bug. That’s how you will look as you do this exercise, seriously! I love dead bug for warm up because it is simple and incorporates dynamic stretching.

How to Do Dead Bug?

Lie on your back with your arms facing the ceiling and your hips and knees bent to 90 degrees. This is your starting position.

Take a deep breath in. Now exhale and while you do so, slowly straighten and lower your right arm backwards and straighten and lower your left leg forward, all the way till you bring them just above ground. Inhale and come back to the starting position. Exhale and this time straighten and lower your left arm and right leg. Keep alternating and keep breathing.

Sumo Squat Kick

This exercise combines working out on glutes, quadriceps and hamstring making it a good leg workout.

How to do Sumo Squat Kick?

Stand comfortable with feet apart (wider than your shoulder width) and legs slightly bent. Now bent the legs lower and squat. A sumo squat is wider and deeper than a normal squat. As you stand back from the squat, kick one leg out sideways while balancing on the other leg. Come back to the starting position. Squat and repeat it with the other leg.

Bird Dog

If you want to choose just one exercise for strengthening core, pick this.

How to do Bird Dog?

For the starting position, come on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Keep your neck and spine aligned.

Tighten your core muscles and begin to slowly lift and straighten your left arm and right leg. Keep raising them till they are parallel to the floor and in line with your torso. Slowly, bring the arm and leg back the ground, just like the starting position. Repeat the same with opposite arm and leg.

All through the exercise keep core muscles engaged. For starters, see if you can do it in front of a mirror to check for correct posture.

Bird dog is just like dead bug upside down!

Scissor Fly

Scissor fly is a good exercise to support your other ab, back and core exercises.

How to Do Scissor Fly?

Lie down on a mat with spine comfortable straight. Keep your hands by the buttocks to keep yourself grounded. You can even tuck your hands under the buttocks to provide better support.

Raise your legs off the ground and cross them over each other as if they are a pair of scissors. Now open them up outwards and then bring them back in and cross over again.

As you do the scissors with your legs, also keep raising your legs higher towards the ceiling and then keep lowering them right before they touch the ground.

So for this workout your legs are moving two ways – one horizontally as they cross each other and then move apart, two vertically as they keep rising up and coming down while performing scissors.

Inchworm

Little B laughs the loudest when I do this one. The exercise mimics a wriggly worm and doesn’t she love that! It is a great exercise to warm up or stretch post workout.

How to Do Inchworm?

Start by standing straight with feet closer together. Bend down from the waist so that you are touching the floor. If you can’t touch the floor with straightened knees, bend the knees just a little and reach the floor. This is the starting position.

Walk your hands forward while bending just the hip and keeping legs straight. Keep walking your hand till you reach a plank position. Now walk with your legs so that you reach forward till your hand and come to the starting position. Repeat.

Here’s the video of all of the above exercises to help you understand better –

You can make a full workout out of the above five exercises like this –

1^st set (warm up) – Dead bug x10 + Inchworm x10

2^nd set (warm up) – Dead bug x10 + Inchworm x10

3^rd set (main) – Sumo squat kick x10 + Bird dog x10 + Scissor flys x10

4^th set (main) – Sumo squat kick x10 + Bird dog x10 + Scissor flys x10

5^th set (main) – Sumo squat kick x10 + Bird dog x10 + Scissor flys x10

6^th set (cool down) – Dead bug x10 + Inchworm x10

7^th set (cool down) – Dead bug x10 + Inchworm x10

Increase or decrease the main set depending upon your stamina. The rule that I follow during a workout is that I make sure that the workout is challenging for me and pushes me out of my comfort zone. However, I make sure that I am not dangling for breath or losing my control while doing it. Keep taking a sip of water through the workout.

Do you know of any more exercises with look and sound funny?

What exercises do you like doing?

Let’s chat about it in the comments below!