Good Morning Everyone!
It’s a start to a brand new week! Today’s workout is all about boosting your metabolism. This is a throw-back workout that I filmed several years ago. I was traveling to visit my mom. One of the main things I love about body weight workouts is that you can bring them anywhere with you! You never have to miss a workout!
I used to be a Flight Attendant, and when I was traveling so much for work I lost a lot of my fitness, strength and endurance. It was before I learned how to workout. I had been Captain of a Dance Team prior to accepting the Flight Attendant position so dance had always kept me active. I never did a formal workout.
About 6-months after I started working as a flight attendant, I decided to go for a run with Jesse (pre-marriage, we were boyfriend/girlfriend). I could barely make it more than a couple of blocks before I had to stop and walk. It was a wake-up call on my level of health and fitness. I was only 24-years old at the time, and I couldn’t run more than a couple of blocks without gasping for air. I’m stubborn, and finding out that there is something I “can’t” do makes me determined to learn how to do it.
When I developed my website I knew that bringing workouts anywhere you go was an important aspect of what I wanted to incorporate into my fitness mission. I wanted to use minimal equipment, so that the workouts were available to anyone, and could be performed anywhere. I had been planning my website for a couple of years before I actually launched it, but I was in graduate school for Occupational Therapy at the time, and learning about Occupational Injustice.
Occupational Injustice is when people are limited from achieving full life satisfaction & optimization due to exclusion, inequality and limited opportunities. There is more to it than that, but that’s just a brief summary. This is rampant in health care and fitness. People with better insurance policies have better treatment options. People without insurance often skip visits to doctors or hospitals even when they should go. This doesn’t even touch on the fact that there is a woeful amount of misinformation out there about what is “Healthy” and “Un-Healthy.” Health Impacts EVERY Aspect of Your Life. Fitness Directly Impacts Your Health. These ideas are the foundation of this website.
I hope that you are finding it useful on your mission to create a healthier lifestyle. Enjoy today’s workout!
Melissa
PS You can find me on Instagram and Twitter: @BenderFitness and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MelissaBenderFitness.
Beginner: 10 reps, 30 seconds timed
Intermediate: 15 reps, 45 seconds
Advanced: 20 reps, 60 seconds
1. High Knees (timed)
2. Single Leg Hip Extension (right)
3. Single Leg Hip Extension (left)
4. Lunge Jump
5. Single Leg Arm Reach (right)
6. Single Leg Arm Reach (left)
7. Mountain Climber (timed)
8. Plie (first position)
9. Frog Pushup
10. Leg Lift Hip Twist
11. Side Plank Drop (right)
12. Side Plank Drop (left)
Repeat 1-3X
Optional: Pair with 30-Minutes Cardio of Choice
*When I filmed this workout I completed 2-Rounds and paired it with a 5-Mile Run Outside.*
Melissa, where do I find “Stretching for Runners: IT Band, Shin Splints, Hip Flexors & Back”. It was this workout I came across that captured my interest leading to looking into the rest of the videos you have done. I am a runner and find this video very helpful despite other videos being available by different folks. I logged onto your site and looked for it and could locate it and, perhaps, I just missed it. I have subscribed to your videos and they are very helpful.
Here you go: https://www.benderfitness.com/2013/09/stretching-for-runners-it-band-shin-splints-hip-flexors-back.html
🙂 I’m glad you are finding the videos useful!
Melissa I recently learned of your workout videos and I love them, especially on days when I can make it to the gym. Thank you for making them free. I wanted to ask what are your favorite workout clothes, the ones you feel work the best? Such as most supportive sports bra…
I have a love of fitness fashions, so I buy from a lot of different brands/sites.
On a budget: Target is by far my favorite. They have great options, and the pants and sports bras are very comfortable, plus they have cute styles. They have low to high impact sports bras and as long as you make sure they fit properly they work great.
More Expensive: I love the fashions at Affitnity (and you can get 15% off with the code BenderFitness at checkout). Most of the sports bras are medium to low impact, but very fun, fashionable and stylish.
More Expensive, but high Impact: Lululemon has great leggings, and the TaTaTamer is a great high impact sports bra. Being pregnant I found that I needed a more supportive sports bra and I ordered a few of the Ta Ta Tamer, and have loved them.
Melissa, Thank you! I so appreciate the access to health and fitness you bring to your community. I am sure it is a huge amount of work to create the amount of videos you do. I am currently living in Korea in a studio apartment and my options have been limited. I have no equipment and cannot understand the workouts at gyms here. These videos have been so helpful and I use full laundry detergent bottles as my weights! Thank you for these workouts and your commitment to health for all!!
I found your videos because I’m a flight attendant and was searching online for a ‘hotel room workout no equipment’…and found one you did in Acapulco. (I think that was it – somewhere in Mexico.)
I’m so grateful you followed your inspiration and started your website. It has been incredibly helpful to me. I never enjoyed going to gyms…especially hotel gyms. But even having a membership-it just felt like by the time I got myself and my gear together, and then drove to the gym, I could have already been finished.
It’s been amazing to be able to workout wherever I am, whenever I want, and to have so much variety.
Thanks a million for all that you do, Melissa!
p.s. I also relate to the ‘stubborn’ thing…it’s both my best and worst quality. I’m glad you’re stubborn enough to make this all happen!
That’s so wonderful! I often miss being a Flight Attendant, it’s such a fun and dynamic career. 🙂
Great blog post!
Great video! I appreciate your work outs! Perfect for a busy mom/grad student! You mentioned you paired this with a 5 mile run. Just curious, do you run it without walk breaks or do you do intervals of walking and running? Thanks again!
I do it without walk breaks, but as I was building up to running I walked as needed. I would set small goals like: Get one block further before walking. I built up to being able to run continuously.
I’m on vacation and this was awesome to do in hotel!
What happened to the cat with shaved legs (the one you accidentally kicked)? I just adore these random cat appearances in your videos. They are all so cute.
Love your videos. Love that you are an OT– my son has a sensory processing disorder and his OT has changed our lives. It’s amazing what just moving your body in the correct ways can do for your brain. He is a different child. I ran cc in college, so I especially love your no equipment and “running” influenced workouts. Thank you for keeping fitness free, positive, challenging and inspirational.