Hey, friends!
Just a few days ago I wrote about how sore is NOT the new sexy.
And here I am, with oh-my-quad kind of quads. Yesterday's workout was no joke.
I still think that sore is not the new sexy, and by saying that I mean that we shouldn't measure the success of a workout by how much it hurts. That's not a great indicator, because if you're constantly sore, you take a risk of getting injured and on top of that, lose all interest for working out. Because nobody wants to be in pain!
But occasional muscle soreness is absolutely normal and it happens. And it sure happened to me after yesterday's workout.
Wall Balls, Wall Balls…
The main reason for my soreness is that my workout included a great number of Wall Ball Shots–270. I was in the mood for challenging myself, and I knew it's going to be tough. I admit, I had to use several of my mental tricks while doing this workout.
Sometimes you just want to go really, really hard, right? And the endorphin flow after a good high intensity workout is awesome.
I don't do that high intensity workout every day, but if I do, I go all out.
Wall Ball Shots are an awesome full body exercise, challenging your legs, core and arms. But most of the work is done by legs, especially quads.
Intensity-wise, I think Wall Ball Shots are comparable to burpees, so the same love-hate relationship applies here too…
Other Great Things About Wall Ball Shots:
So, Wall Ball Shots are great full body exercise, but there's more.
- It's a great cardio exercise. Doing a bunch of Wall Ball Shots get your heart rate up like nothing else (okay, maybe burpees, as already said).
- Wall Balls are great calorie burners. When you add them into your workouts, you greatly increase your afterburn effect, meaning that your body is still burning calories, when you've finished your workout and are already hanging out on the couch.
- They challenge your mind. True, it's such a mental game to get through a ton of Wall Ball Shots. Either you can do ten or fifty in a row, they are tough. There you really have to use your mind power.
- They increase explosiveness and power. These are things you need in other sports, from sprinting to tennis to soccer.
- And finally, there's something where tall people have advantage! Pistols, pull ups and handstands are harder for tall people, but Wall Ball Shots are easier in getting the ball as high as possible–there's shorter way up when you're tall.
Leg Burner with Medicine Ball & Jump Rope
For this leg burner workout, you also need a Jump Rope. However, if you don't have it, you can substitute High Knees with Jump Rope with just High Knees. Make sure you get your knees as high as you can though, right under your chest.
This is a ladder workout. I love ladders, because I like when the workout is getting easier towards the end. Of course, it's not actually getting easier, but the decreasing number of reps make it feel so.
You can see the video below, but here's shortly what you'll be doing:
- 10 Wall Ball Shots, 100 High Knees with Jump Rope (or without, if you don't have it)
- 20 Wall Ball Shots, 100 High Knees with Jump Rope
- 30 Wall Ball Shots, 100 High Knees with Jump Rope
- 40 Wall Ball Shots, 100 High Knees with Jump Rope
- 50 Wall Ball Shots, 100 High Knees with Jump Rope
- 40 Wall Ball Shots, 100 High Knees with Jump Rope
- 30 Wall Ball Shots, 100 High Knees with Jump Rope
- 20 Wall Ball Shots, 100 High Knees with Jump Rope
- 10 Wall Ball Shots, 100 High Knees with Jump Rope
And here's the video (You see round 1 here):
Take as much rest as you need! I sure needed quite a bit of it. The whole workout took me 20 minutes. I used this medicine ball and this jump rope for doing this workout.
Post Workout Snack
I don't usually eat that much dairy, but just a few days ago I found this grass fed yogurt by Stonyfield at Whole Foods. It's really absolutely amazing–it tastes much better than regular yogurt, and also takes good care of your gut flora.
I mixed a small container of this grass fed plain yogurt with frozen blueberries, sliced banana, coconut flakes and a bit of granola for crunch. Lots of protein and carbs in one bowl, which made it a super nutritious and tasty post workout snack.
Conclusion
If you have a medicine ball and a wall, go try this workout. Be ready for some serious burn, because you end up doing 270 Wall Ball Shots with your Medicine Ball and 900 High Knees with Jump Rope.
If you don't have a medicine ball but have a soccer ball or basketball, you can use that, but be sure to work fast to keep the intensity high.
If you don't have a jump rope, simply do high knees.
If you did this workout, let me know how it went!
Disclaimer: This post has some affiliate links in it, but they are for products that I personally recommend and use.
Leave a Reply