Nerd Workout – Inspired by Nell from The Diamond Age
Posted: March 12, 2013 Filed under: Home workout, Nerdiness | Tags: backward lunges, diamond age, kicks, leg circles, neal stephenson, nell, pushups, skaters Leave a comment »The Diamond Age is a Neal Stephenson book introduced to me by my awesome friend Rachel. This book is incredible. It is so well imagined, the main character is perfection, and it is fun on top of all of that. It takes place in a future that is cyber/steampunk. The main character accidentally takes ownership of an interactive book – which doesn’t really do the book justice. But, I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot because everyone should read it. The book molds Nell into the strong and intelligent person that she becomes, that otherwise, she most likely wouldn’t have been, cooped up in her lower class apartment with her non functioning mom. Anyway, she also learns some martial arts and fitness lessons as well, and uses them as needed in the book. The book doesn’t go too much into it (that I can remember as of now anyway), but I tried to create a workout that would fit in with a regimen that I feel fits with her martial arts training and general personality.
Nerd Workout! Inspired by Dana from Cabin in the Woods
Posted: October 3, 2012 Filed under: Home workout, Nerdiness | Tags: cabin in the woods, high knees, Home workouts, Joss Whedon, jump front squat, leg flutter, one leg lunge, pushups Leave a comment »I got this new shirt from ViewSPORT:
The shirt, as you can see says I am Beast Mode on the front, hence my insanely sour expression in my attempt to look beast-y. The cool thing about the shirt is that the back shows a design when you sweat through it. I didn’t sweat enough today, but don’t worry, when I do, you guys will be the first to see it.
Ok nerd workout:
I’m going to try very hard not to spoil anything because this is one of those movies that should NOT be spoiled under any circumstances. I am not a big horror movie fan, but my love for all things Joss Whedon and my knowledge of the reviews tempted me too much, so I had to watch it. I was not disappointed. This movie gets better the more you think about it after you watch it. I wouldn’t say it’s Prometheus or anything, but it’s similar in that the more you think about it, the more you appreciate it. This one had a bit more levels than Prometheus, which isn’t to say it’s deeper… You just have to watch it to understand.
So this character, Dana, is the main character. By the end you realize her characterization… and let’s just say I would have been her role in the group most likely. If that seems cryptic, well sorry, better go watch the movie!
I’m just embedding the trailer, because I don’t want to do any spoilers, Dana is the redhead girl:
Anywho, there are some serious enemies in this movie, the beginning, not too spoilery stuff is some zombie action, nicely following my Walking Dead nerd workout. So creepy, woods, running… you get where this is going.
Get your interval timer out! 15 rounds, 10 seconds off, 50 seconds on:
Pushups 19 / 18 / 19 – Strengthen your arms to hit and punch
Jump front squat back 9 / 9/ 9 – Cardio and leg strength to jump away towards the front and towards the back
High knees 125 / 131 / 130 – Be able to run away
One Leg chair lunge 12 / 15 / 12 – Leg strength to kick
Leg flutter 67 / 69 / 74 – Strengthens the core to improve swimming away
Pushups:
Mod as needed, putting your knees down if necessary. Keep your back straight.
Jump front sqaut back:
I started at one end of the yoga mat and jump towards the other end of it, sitting into a squat. Then jump backwards to where you started on the mat. When you get back to where you started, that is one rep.
Starting point:
Into Squat:
Jump back:
High knees:
Drive your knees up as high and fast as you can. Each knee up is one rep.
One leg chair lunge
Put one foot up on the chair and lunge forward into the other one. One rep. Switch legs.
Leg flutter
Laying on your back, with one leg at 45 degree angle and the other right above the floor, switch leg positions. Each switch is one rep!
Disclaimer: Ask your doctor, do this at your own risk, be careful.
Nerd Workout! Inspired by The Walking Dead!
Posted: September 24, 2012 Filed under: Home workout, Nerdiness | Tags: Home workouts, plank, pushups, sumo squat, the walking dead, wood chops Leave a comment »There isn’t really a person who stands out to do a workout around, but I wanted to do a Walking Dead workout because a. I love the show and b. the show is starting again soon! I imagine I might have some workouts inspired by Michonne based on what I know about her. Anyway, this is a workout to get you geared up to survive the zombie attack.
15 minutes
15 rounds, 10 seconds off, 50 seconds on
Woodchops – to aim at the zombie’s head, or to chop your own firewood legit style 23 / 23 / 23
High knees – run away from the zombies when you are outnumbered and can’t smash their skull in 135 / 133 / 138
Pushups – equipment free if you are in a survivor’s camp – strengthen your arms to be able to hit away or kill the zombies 15 / 16 / 16
sumo squat – get stronger legs to be able to kick at zombies or run away quicker 22 / 22 / 22
plank hold – this will strengthen your whole core, making it easier to punch and strike and kill stronger (i counted times i had to stop) 0 / 0 / 0
Woodchops
Lift weight (i used an ugi ball) up to one side, then cross and squat to the other side. That is one rep. Next lift up to the other side and chop across your body
High knees
Drive your knees up as quickly and as high as you can
Pushups
Modify by putting your knees down if needed
Sumo Squat
Squat down in an wide stance, then lift one leg up like a sumo wrestler would. That’s one rep. The next squat lift up the other leg.
Plank Hold
In elbow planks, keep your body in a straight line and don’t drop your hips. Count how many times you have to stop.
Disclaimer: Ask your doctor, do these at your own risk, be careful.
Nerd Workout! Inspired by Myka from Warehouse 13!
Posted: August 15, 2012 Filed under: Home workout, Nerdiness | Tags: high knees, jump squats, myka, pushups, side burpees, vups, warehouse 13 Leave a comment »For some reason I couldn’t get in to Warehouse 13 for a little while, but for whatever reason kept going back to it. Well, now I am officially hooked.
Warehouse 13 holds “artifacts.” A funny term for someone who works in a place that deals with real artifacts every day. These artifacts are a biiiit different, though. For whatever reason, a powerful emotion, a huge event, objects have magical power. These artifacts nearly always have a negative (to put it mildly) effect, usually turning the user of the artifact into a not-so-great person.
This workout is inspired by the female main character, Myka. Her dad is pretty cool, I’ve met him in real life. Haha, anyway. Myka has photographic memory, remember books, languages, all that good stuff, that helps her and her partner Pete find wily artifacts and how to disarm them. She also has training as a secret service agent (well, she still is one) and a CIA agent, so she can kick, punch, and shoot em up with the best of em.
There aren’t a lot of great Myka videos, but the best one that wasn’t about her and Pete or her and H.G. was this one, spoofing on Buffy. But, it works! And nerdiness colliding is always good.
So workout:
This one is for time! My was 14:15
I think I did these exercises 2 times through
Feel free to tack on another round if you desire a longer workout.
20 pushups – for punching the bad guys using an artifact, or putting away those heavy artifacts in the Warehouse
30 jump squats – maybe help you safely fall from HG Wells’ ceiling?
10 side burpees (5 each side) – for agility, the side to side motion of sword fighting (oh yeah, she knows fencing)
20 Vups – for the core
100 high knees – to run after and away from people
20 pushups
Mod as needed, go on your knees if necessary. Keep your back straight and butt up.
30 jump squats
Keep your back straight as you squat down, then power up into a jump.
10 side burpees
Jump out to one side with your body turned, and do a pushup. Jump your feet into your hands, then jump up. One rep. Next jump your feet out to the other side.
20 vups
Laying down, lift your legs up and your hands to your feet.
100 high knees
Drive your knees up as fast as you can. Each knee up is one rep.
Do everything once more!
Disclaimer: I am not an expert, ask your doctor, do this at your own risk.
Nerd Workout! Inspired by Allison from Eureka
Posted: July 23, 2012 Filed under: Home workout, Nerdiness | Tags: allison, burpees, butt lifts, elevated, eureka, pushups, side planks, squats Leave a comment »Sadly, one of my favorite shows, Eureka, said goodbye last week with its last episode. I’ve already done the Jo from Eureka workout, so I wanted to do one inspired by Allison, one of the main characters on the show. She is a strong, incredibly intelligent woman, who has two kids, and who a lot of people turn to for help, other than Jack and Henry, on the show. She tends to keep a level head with all the crazy experiments gone awry.
Here is a video about Eureka – she first appears at 0:14
Her body is very obviously in great shape. Both in her tasteful but body-conscious outfits, and one or two memorable scenes, one can see it’s pretty obvious…With two kids that body doesn’t just magically happen, she works hard, doing something to get that bod. I’m thinking she does different types of workouts to get the muscle definition – some more intense workouts like the ones we do here, mixed in with some pilates and/or yoga. Also Allison has got a great butt, so we are going to do some exercises that will focus on toning that area.
So the workout combines these types:
18 rounds, 10 second rest, 50 seconds on (get the Seconds Free interval timer app!)
18 minutes total
burpees – high intensity cardio and strength exercise that would tone Allison all over. 9 / 9 / 8
side planks left- tone the abs, which Allison also has and strengthen the core. also relates to yoga positions, which it appears Allison might dabble in 14 / 13 / 15
side planks right 17 / 17 / 14
squats, with weights if necessary – tone that butt 19 / 18 / 16
pushups – elevated – get those arms toned 13 / 13 / 13
butt lifts – tone that butt again! 16 / 16 / 15
Burpees
Unless you want to, today we will do the burpees minus the pushups to let you really push in the elevated pushups part. So, jump your feet out into a blank, jump them back into a squat, and then jump up! You can also drop your body all the way to the ground instead of just plank. Not as arm challenging as pushups, but more so than just the plank outs. I’ll probably do it this way.
Side Planks Left
Sitting in position to get ready for side plank, lift your body up and into side plank, using your core and abs to do so. Each up is one rep. Side plank right is pictured.
Side Planks Right
Repeat above!
Start:
End:
Squats
I will do these with some weight, but no worries if you don’t. Squat, keeping your back straight and your knees from going over your toes. Stand up straight. One rep.
Elevated pushups
On a couch or chair or something similar, put your feet. Do a pushup from this elevated position. If you can’t do a regular pushup, or find those challenging, just keep them on the ground and modify with knees down as necessary.
(starbuck wanted to join)
Butt lifts
With your elbows down in plank position, lift one leg at a 90 degree angle, with the thigh parallel to the ground. Lift this leg up, using your butt muscles. Drop the leg. One rep. Now repeat on other side.
Start:
End:
Disclaimer:
I am not an expert, do this at your own risk, ask your doctor, be careful
Nerd Workout! Inspired by Spiderman
Posted: July 10, 2012 Filed under: Home workout, Nerdiness | Tags: leg raises, mountain climbers, plie, pushups, side lunges Leave a comment »Oops… sorry it’s been so long again. Last week Aaron was home and it was harder than usual to take the time to do this with him home for once. I’ve also just had a lot going on and needed the break. So, apologies, but it was good and necessary to come back with, I hope, a vengeance. And not to worry, I haven’t given up the nerd or the fit. I have been working on my Dragoncon costumes and still been working out pretty much as often. Just not blogging about it afterward.
Anyway, today’s nerd workout is inspired by the latest Spiderman movie, which was way better than I expected, complete with Donald Glover easter egg/shout out that I’m proud I spotted without having to see it on Youtube later. Spiderman is obviously a great character to inspire a workout. He’s leaping everywhere, he’s hanging on to his spider web cable, he’s using his core. The exercises below try to capture these movements.
This one is for time, so we get a break from the interval timer. My time was 20:40
Three times through the following exercises:
20 Reverse pushups – build your strength to fly from cable to cable
60 side lunges – gain speed and agility to get out of the way of swinging lizard tails
20 leg raises – strengthen your core to help lift yourself up buildings
100 mountain climbers – cardio to scramble away
20 Spidey plies – you know when he lowers himself down and he has his feet together and knees out? well this exercise mimics that. He often is seen crouching this way in other positions, so working out these muscles would be helpful.
20 reverse pushups
If you don’t have something like a dip station or a broom between two chairs that will be steady, you can sub with regular pushups. Not quite the same, but a good exercise. If you do, lift your self up to the bars with your feet steady on the floor.
60 side lunges
Squat down with one leg out. Jump up and switch your leg positions. That’s one rep. Starbuck loves to be slightly in the way 
:
20 leg raises
If you don’t have something to do this on like a dip station, just lay down on the floor and bring your legs up to the ceiling for one rep. If you do have something, each leg lift is one rep.
100 mountain climbers
In plank position, put one leg underneath you with your knee towards your chest. Switch leg positions. Each switch is one rep. These are the best pics because of Starbuck kind of being in the way – try to keep our back straighter.
20 Spidey plies
With heels together and feet out, in first position if you know ballet, lower yourself down and bend your legs, keeping your back straight. Lower yourself down as much as you can safely without hurting yourself, bending your back, losing your balance, or hurting your knees.
Spidey plie:
Now go through everything two more times!
Disclaimer: Do these exercises at your own risk, ask your doctor, be careful, I am not an expert!
Side note: I proudly cleaned out my gutters over my laundry room today. The roof over that area was leaking after a horrible storm last night. I finally just got out the ladder and slowly crawled up there and got all the gunk out, since this whole week is apparently going to be thunderstorm after thunderstorm. So I was covered in said gunk:
And yes, I should have worn a shirt, but uh, have you been outside recently in Atlanta? Oof. This picture doesn’t even do the dirt and grime justice, but I was proud to have not fallen off the ladder and (I think!) to have fixed the problem. Basically the gutter is right next to my neighbors fence, so let’s just say that my working out and giving me upper body strength saved me from not having chain link buried in my skin, and not dropping the giant ladder on Starbuck.
Costume update:
And that is all!
Nerd Workout! Inspired by Prometheus
Posted: July 2, 2012 Filed under: Home workout, Nerdiness | Tags: belly down, Elizabeth Shaw, high knees, hop hop, Prometheus, pushups, side plank lifts Leave a comment »Sorry for the long break in workouts. I had this one done last week, but just needed the blogging break I guess.
I suppose most of you who are ever going to see Prometheus have probably already seen it. Most people tend to fall pretty strongly into two camps – the like or dislike camp. Regardless of where you fall, you have to admit it was a beautiful film, and I think the characters of David and Elizabeth Shaw were very well acted. There is also something to be said for a movie that provokes such strong reactions from people. I do agree that some of the plot points were unnecessarily and overly confusing, but boy does it provide a lot of fodder for discussion. Anyway, this blog is about working out, not my personal review of the movie I guess.
This movie definitely has some physical action, unsurprisingly, and Charlize Theron’s character immediately starts doing pushups after waking up from a years-long sleep. Even though this workout mainly focuses on Shaw, I had to incorporate some straight pushups. Maybe she and Shaw would have worked out together if, you know, things had turned out differently.
Shaw is a strong character, emotionally and physically, particularly by the end of the movie. Since we see her stumbling around in a bandage bathing suit essentially, we also know girl is fit. And nerdy. Perfect workout inspiration for this blog
Here is a trailer that shows some part of this
So here is the breakdown!
18 minutes long – 18 rounds, 10 seconds off, 50 seconds on, 3 times through 6 exercises. Get those interval timers out! Seconds Free on your phone.
High knees (too damn hot outside for sprinting, my original idea) 130 / 109 / 130 – run away from aliens, falling ships, etc etc
Pushups 20 / 16 / 19 – ship workout
Side plank lifts on right side 17 / 16 / 16 – Shaw needs a strong core/abs to uh, stand up later on in the movie
Side plank lifts on left side 17 / 16 / 14
Leaping – two hops 16 / 14 / 15 Leap across the ground that is actually a space ship rising from the ground
Belly down and up – 11 / 10 / 10 – Be able to jump up after falling down
High Knees -
Drive them up as fast and high as possible. One knee up equals one rep.
Pushups
You know the drill. Mod as needed – knees down if you can’t do a regular pushup.
Side plank lifts right side
Sitting on the right side of your butt with your legs out and right arm down, prepare yourself to lift up into a side plank, using your core and ab muscles to do so. Each side plank is one rep.
Start position:
End position:
Side plank lifts left side
See above, just do it on the left side
Leaping – two hops
Jump/hop twice. I did it down the length of the yoga mat. At the end, turn around. One rep is the two hops.
Do this twice and turn:
Belly down and get up
Crouch down and and jump your feet out to lay belly down on the ground. Lift your self up and get back in the crouch position. That is one rep.
Crouch:
Belly down:
Disclaimer: Please be careful, do this at your own risk, I am not an expert, ask your doctor.
Mashup Workout
Posted: June 20, 2012 Filed under: Home workout, Yoga | Tags: clean and press, jumping jacks, kicks, leg lowers, pushups, sandbag, squats, sun salutation, triangle, warrior, yoga Leave a comment »Today’s (fun I might add) home workout is a two-parter and a mashup of workout styles. I’ve been feeling kind of bored and unexcited recently with doing the workouts sometimes, or found it harder to make a workout I could really excited about. Well, this one was definitely fun and not the same ole same ole. So below you’ll find some lengthy explanations for the workouts, but never fear, these really are less complicated than you think. And, if you need extra help and aren’t a yoga expert, there are plenty of things online to help with poses if I wasn’t clear enough. Just be sure to do only what you can do. I’m going to show some different options that you shouldn’t do if you don’t feel comfortable with the base level pose.
So here we go. The first part is an un-timed, yoga part. Timing yourself here isn’t really the point. I love how the warrior poses and the triangle pose really open up your hips. You can feel the stretch and it’s great.
Part I:
You will do six sun salutations, at the end of each of these you will do a warrior pose or a variation, should you feel comfortable. So it will be
Sun salutation – warrior pose right foot front for ten breaths
Sun salutation – warrior pose left foot front for ten breaths
Sun salutation – warrior pose or variation right foot front for ten breaths
Sun salutation – warrior pose or variation left foot front for ten breaths
Sun salutation – warrior pose or variation right foot front for ten breaths
Sun salutation – warrior pose or variation left foot front for ten breaths
To do a sun salutation, begin standing with legs hip width apart. Lift your arms over your head, then swoop them down to the floor and bend over. Jump or walk your legs out into a plank. Lower your self down and move into upward dog, put your feet upside down on the mat. Then from here, move your feet back onto the floor and lift your butt into the air, and lower you head, keeping your back straight. You can settle into this pose as long as you like. Next, put your right front in between your hands, pointed straight to the front, turning your back left foot perpendicular. Lean into a lunge on your front right foot as deep as you can for ten breaths – in an out. This is warrior pose. Move your feet back to your hands and stand up straight again. This starts the next sun salutation, the second one, which will have the left foot forward. The next two poses could be the triangle pose shown below. The last could be the warrior pose with prayer hands, also shown below. My body should be turned more towards the camera probably. This isn’t super easy to do, so don’t do it if the warrior pose is challenging, or the triangle pose. Listen to your body.
downward and upward dog:
Warrior:
Triangle:
Warrior with prayer hands:
Once you have down the six sun salutation plus warrior poses, the first part is done.
The second part is a 12-minute workout.
4 exercises, 3 times through.
Set your interval timers to 12 rounds, 10 seconds off, 50 seconds on
Squat kick up 18 / 15 / 15
Pushup with sandbag, clean and press 6 / 5 / 5
Jumping Jacks 45 / 49 / 50
Side leg lowers 8 / ? / 13 – I ended up doing just regular leg raises, down an up, because these were too hard and I couldn’t really do them, haha
Squat kick up
Go into a squat, keeping your back straight and your knees from going over your toes. As you stand, kick up as high as you can on one leg. That is one rep. After the next squat, kick with your other leg.
Pushup with sandbag, clean and press
If you have a sandbag or equivalent, do a pushup with your hands on it, then pick it up and lift it and flip it, using your power from your legs. Then straighten up and stand with the weight. If you don’t have a weight or something that could sub out, then simply do a pushup, then a squat. Each combo would be a rep.
Jumping Jacks
You know what these are. Each time your legs and arms go out, one rep.
Side leg lowers/leg raises
So this little experiment didn’t work out so well, haha. Maybe you will be able to do it. I lifted my leg up to the ceiling, laying down. I tried to lower both legs to the side, using only my ab muscles, keeping them off the floor and straight. I couldn’t do all these things. I could do it if they were bent. Anyway, I just got irritated and started lifting them up and down normally.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert, ask your doctor, do these exercises at your own risk!
Nerd Workout! Inspired by the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas Special!
Posted: June 4, 2012 Filed under: Home workout, Nerdiness | Tags: chops, christmas special, doctor who, pushups, reverse, sprints, supermans, wood Leave a comment »
I know! Super specific! But then that’s nerds for you. So, home work. Inspired by Doctor Who Christmas Special from last year. Picture this: me. Saturday morning. Coffee warm and fresh and delicious. Hmm Netflix… do you have anything new for me? What? There aren’t new Doctor Who episodes… OH WAIT. I was like a kid on Saturday morning with a fresh batch of cartoons. I laughed, I cried, it was super sentimental Who. And I loved it. It was so good. And so here we are.
So, the Doctor is running. The Doctor is hanging on for dear life. The Doctor is falling through space. The Doctor is up against some wood-based creatures. Can you guess the exercises?
Some great quotes:
Happy crying. Humany wumany.
-What is happening?
-Do what I do. Hold tight and pretend it’s a plan.
Grown up. The old basic boring.
An idea echoing among the stars.
“I know.”
4 times through for time!
Sprints – racing through time and space people
15 reverse pushups – hanging onto a breaking down spaceship – need that arm strength
15 supermans – flying through space after a space suit really hits the core, so..
10 on each side – wood chops (hahaha) – Ok just a joke, I could resist. You need to see the show to get it. Watch it!
My time: 17:53
Sprints – 200 m approx run as fast as you can
15 reverse pushups
You can make do with a chair and a stick if you don’t have a dip station, or just substitute pushups!
15 Supermans
Laying down, lift your arms and legs as high as you can, using your abs and core muscles
10 on each side wood chops
I did this with a weight – you can do this without – but you can also use whatever weight you want – small dumbbells, heavy bottle of water, a small dog (OK, maybe not), whatever you want. Start from one side, standing, then using your body, drive towards the floor on the opposite side you started, creating a diagonal line. Do ten one side, ten on the other.
Some Lou Diamond Phillips action in the background. SGU!
Do it all four times!
Disclaimer disclaimer: I take no responsibility for timely wobbley stuff, humany wumany emotions. Do these exercises at your own risk, be safe, ask your doctor!
New Neon Workout
Posted: May 30, 2012 Filed under: Home workout | Tags: dips, high knees, mountain climbers, pushups, reptile, star jump, superman Leave a comment »I got a new sports bra today at Target and it’s super neon. Exciting! I can tell a difference with how my body looks with the not eating so great recently… so here again we are pushing towards the last drive for summer and DragonCon 2012. My co-worker Dea and I were talking about a costume idea today, which I’m really excited about.
Unfortunately, my leg started hurting up again about halfway through this workout. Super bummer. I really hope this whole leg thing is not going to put a wrench into my getting fitter plan. I just had to stop doing the reps because even the reptile pushups were hurting. Groan.
So here is the workout. It’s 21 minutes like the last one. I, of course, did not do the full 21 minutes. Again. Bummer.
3 rounds of 7 exercises
Set your interval timer!
21 rounds, 10 seconds off, 50 seconds active. My scores are not good, even before my leg started hurting.
Star Jump 18 / 12 / 9
Superman 18 / 20 21
High Knees 120 / 124 / -
Pushup reptile 10 / 11 / 4
Mountain Climbers 65 / 85 / -
Dips 11 / 15 / -
Bicycle 60 / 34 (started doing crunches because my leg started hurting) / -
Star jumps
Start with your hands to either side of your feet, squatting down slightly, then jump up as far as you can and spread your legs and arms as you jump. One rep.
Supermans
Lay face down. Lift your arms and legs as far as you can with your abs. One rep.
High knees
Lift your knees as fast and as high as you can. Each knee up is one rep.
Pushup – reptile
Do a pushup, mod as needed, knees on the ground if necessary. After the pushup, return to plank and bring your knee into your side. One rep. Next pushup bring the other knee into your side.
Mountain Climbers
In plank, place one foot underneath you. Switch your legs. Each switch is one rep.
Dips
Hold your self off the chair with your legs at a 90 degree angle. Then lower yourself as far as you can. This is one rep.
Bicycle
Laying down, crunch and bring your elbow to your opposite knee, switching elbow to knees, keeping your legs off the ground. Each knee to elbow is one rep.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert, do at your own risk, ask your doctor.
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