Two For The Price Of One

Did someone say free? Everyone loves a bargain and anytime a retailer offers something for nothing, consumers race in to get the amazing deal. BOGO sales they are called and whether the second item is no charge or half off, it still lures in the masses. This is especially true around major holidays when stores are competing for your hard earned dollar.

But what if I said the same thing can happen in fitness? You wouldn't believe me, would you? No I don't mean that when a pair of hand weights or set of bands is purchased, another one magically appears in your cart. However nice that would be, it typically doesn't happen. What does take place is the concept of two for the price of one using a format called supersetting.

In this style of workout, an exerciser performs two activities back to back with little to no rest in between so the second one becomes a bonus or freebie so to speak. Awesome, huh? I certainly think so...and hope you do too!

Like many of the other types that have been discussed so far, there are multiple ways to complete a superset workout so find your favorite and enjoy the 50% discount! And, as I have done the past several blogs, I will give some recommendations as to how to put it all together into one complete workout.

Before I do that though, there are some things that could be helpful to achieve success:

• Get everything ready before you start to avoid long transition times and defeat the purpose of this design.

• Make sure you have plenty of room around you since some of the exercises require more space than others.

• Stay hydrated throughout the duration of the session since your exertion time will be twice as long.

As far as execution is concerned, using timing is most often the preferred method so that is what will be proposed, but you can manipulate the workout with a repetition based schematic as well. Do what feels right for you at that moment so there's no added pressure to do it exactly as listed. Remember they are only guidelines upon which to build and as you get stronger, you can adjust the workout accordingly.

With these in mind, are you ready to begin? Of course you are so let's present your super fabulous two-fers:

Deal #1 (cardio/strength mix)

Jog in place/suitcase squat

Football run/lunges

Butt kickers/clamshell

Step touches/ball squeeze

Running man/calf press machine

Jump rope/heel walk

Windmills/crossover crunch

Bicycles/side bends

Air crunches/body saw

Frankensteins/supine iso hold

Quick feet to cone touch/scissor kicks

Line drills/flutter kicks

Shadow boxing/10-10-10s

Arm circles/upright rows

Toe taps/3 way bicep curl

Squat touches/triceps press w/bar

Jumping jacks/pushups on ball

Line hops/Y pulls w/band or TRX

Like last week, I recommend picking two from each group above and combining them for a workout. I have the strength section paired together by opposing muscle groups so if you want to focus on a specific area (i.e. shoulders, biceps and triceps, or chest and back), choose those listed in order (e.g. exercise 1 and 2, 3 and 4, or 5 and 6, respectively) and get the most bang for your buck. Make sense?

Offer #2 (lower/upper body)

Touchdowns/triceps dips

Hip thrusters/reverse grip bicep curls

Seated quad extension/snow angels

Heel raise/chest supported row

Ankle dorsiflexion/shoulder shrugs

Special #3 (pull/push)

Chest flys/scapular pushup

Concentration curls/skull crushers

Face pull/overhead press

Seated adduction/seated abduction

Flat backs/box or chair squats

Dead bug/swimmers on stomach

With the last two sales, you can most likely do the entire workout in one visit, however, since there is no cardio warm up, you will probably want to add that when alloting for time spent at home or park or in the gym.

Notice I didn't specify how long each activity should be. That's because it's up to you! Most common are increments of 30 and 60 seconds, but select what works best for your ability and time frame. If doing a rep based session anywhere from 8-15 should suffice. When first starting out with either program, do fewer until you know where your fitness level is. As you adapt, you can then add more reps or increase time.

What BOGO will you buy? Regardless of your decision, you're bound to have a "super" time getting healthier. Hurry in! This is for a limited time only so get up, get out and get moving before they're gone!