by Mollie Millington | Jul 25, 2021 | cycling, exercise, quickie
My husband is a cyclist. I used to tried to keep up with him but he always seemed bored on our rides. We are debating about investing in an electric bike so I can keep up. In the meantime, here are a few exercises to help cyclists (myself included) improve their abilities on the bike. You will need an exercise band for this workout. Dumbbells and a spot to perform box jumps would be handy too.
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial with me. Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime. Don’t forget to breathe! Please email me if you want tips on how to make the quickies easier or more challenging (mollie@ptmollie.com).
Warm up- 1 min mountain climbers, 1 min plank, 1 min burpees
1 min- Squat jumps (plyometrics to help train muscles for speed and power on attacks and switchbacks)
1 min- Overhead press at an angle- Bend forward at the waist with slight bend in knee. Use an exercise band attached to something stable behind you. Bring hands from sides of shoulders above head so that they touch each other (in the same plane as head). Return to starting position (strengthens shoulders and back)
30 sec each side- Side plank (develop your core so you can ride ‘no hands’)
1 min- Bear walk
1 min- Supermans
1 min- Bicycle ab exercises- slow and controlled with deliberate twists
1 min- Calf raises (helps with pedal stroke)
1 min each leg- Pistol squats (one-legged squat with a greater range of motion. You can build up to this)
1 min- Deadlift with dumbbells, barbells, or even exercise band ( to build up your glutes and hamstrings)
1 min- Box jumps- if you don’t have a box, stable step, or bench, just do jump squats again
1 min- Shoulder shrugs- holding weights or using exercise band
If you have an exercise that has helped your cycling performance, leave a comment below and let me know. Happy cycling!
by Mollie Millington | Jul 18, 2021 | exercise, quickie
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial with me. Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime. Don’t forget to breathe! Please email me if you want tips on how to make the quickies easier or more challenging (mollie@ptmollie.com).
Warm up- 1 min squats, 1 min skier jumps (left to right with feet and hips pointing 45 degrees towards center. Try to get thighs parallel to the ground), 1 min skip/jump rope
1 min- In press up position on hands and toes, step one foot in so it is outside of your hand. Then step the other foot to other hand. Return feet to starting position
1 min- In press up position on hands and toes, hop feet in and out, like a squat thrust
30 sec each side- Side plank
1 min- Prisoner squats
1 min- Wall sit
1 min- Squat and then alternate lifting knee on the way up
1 min- Hop-hop, then in a squat punch forward 4 times
1 min each leg- Step one leg back with heel on ground. Arms in air. Pull hands down to waist level as you bring knee up
1 min- Jump/skip rope
1 min- Plank
1 min- Push/press up
by Mollie Millington | Jul 11, 2021 | exercise, quickie
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial with me. Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime. Don’t forget to breathe! Please email me if you want tips on how to make the quickies easier or more challenging (mollie@ptmollie.com).
Warm up- 1 min walking up and down stairs, 1 min reverse lunges, 1 min burpees
1 min- Push/press ups
1 min- Spiderman crunch- in press up position, bring knee to outside of elbow. If too challenging, bring knee to chest
1 min- Bicycle crunches
1 min- ‘Around the World’ lunges
1 min- Bend arms at elbows and hold palms facing down. Jump in the air and try to bring both knees up to touch hands
1 min- Small arm circles, 30 sec in each direction
1 min- Push/press ups against a wall or on a counter top
1 min- Wall sit
1 min each leg- Out to the side with straight leg, point toe and draw circle the size of a quarter/50p coin. Change direction halfway
1 min each side- Side plank
1 min- Jumping jacks/star jumps
by Mollie Millington | Jul 4, 2021 | exercise, quickie
Remember to go for QUALITY over quantity. If you are unclear what the exercise is I am describing, please look for a video or arrange for an in-person tutorial with me. Please consult your doctor before engaging on any fitness regime. Don’t forget to breathe! Please email me if you want tips on how to make the quickies easier or more challenging (mollie@ptmollie.com).
Warm up- 1 min stationary lunges, 1 min side squats, 1 min jumping jacks/star jumps
1 min- Stand in door frame and push hands away from you against frame
1 min- Tricep kickbacks (either one at a time or both arms at the same time)
1 min- Wall sit
1 min- Squat thrusts
1 min- Boat pose
1 min- Leg lifts
1 min- Back hyper-extensions on the ground
1 min- Hop over a cone, pair of shoes, bottle of water. Be careful not to trip!
1 min each leg- Lunge and raise knee up of back leg with each rep
1 min each side- Teapot standing ab exercises- hold weight in on hand and have other hand on hip. Lower weighted hand done while keep body in same plane. Slowly stand up straight
1 min- Prisoner squats
by Mollie Millington | Jun 30, 2021 | life update
The short story is: there is no time!
Eight weeks into my marathon training program with coach Liz Weeks, I am getting the hang of things. Physiotherapy is happening twice a week, running three times a week, and bonus cycle commutes. Work is also full steam ahead with limited time to relax as we have several large projects happening (obtaining new species, writing a book chapter, helping in a systematic review). I am happy to say building works on our flat are now done, but that means we have to clean up all the builders dust, reorganize all of our stuff to prepare the flat to sell. With so many hobbies, a small business, and being a paper hoarded, we have a lot of stuff!
In terms of my marathons, Tokyo is no longer allowing overseas participants so I have signed up for Manchester Marathon (gifted). This is a fast flat course and since it is in the UK, I feel fairly confident I will be able to attend. Hopefully Liz can coach me to a 4:15 marathon. This race will also count as my Boston Marathon virtual race but I don’t think I will be BQ ready by September. The physiotherapy is slowly becoming easier but I should probably look at my diet too.
Instead of going to Japan, I was hoping to travel to Italy for a week long road trip (in a convertible, of course) along the Amalfi coast with a friend from uni. Unfortunately, residents of the UK have a mandatory five day quarantine in Italy (thank you, Brexit) so that plan is cancelled too. I might have to make a game time decision of what to do with my week off as the time draws near. I hate to sit in my flat for an entire week but perhaps we will be moving by then.
I have so many blog posts I want to write, but sadly not enough time. I love being able to say yes to so many opportunities available to me, so I can share the latest and greatest with you. But I am also learning how to say no when I need to. If you want to keep tabs on me from day-to-day, please follow me on Instagram. I hope to find to to start blogging again soon!
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