Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Marine Corps Times

Military Muscle: Jump-start your week with a total-body wake-up call

The “Monday Morning Wake-up” workout is designed to shake off the weekend cobwebs. It’s a strength, core and endurance drill all in one, and works well in group physical training sessions. Excluding the warm-up, the workout takes about 40-45 minutes. Take brief rests only where indicated.

Here’s how it’s done:

Start with a one- to two-mile warm-up run. Then do five sets of the following:

• Ten pull-ups.

• Ten dips.

Shake out your arms at the completion of each set and start again.

Next, do five sets of the following:

• Five pull-ups.

• Five dips.

Take a two-minute rest, then do three sets of the following (with no rest between sets):

• Ten crunches — on your back with your legs 90 degrees in the air.

• Ten leg lifts — on your back, use your trunk to lift your legs in a 90-degree arc.

• Ten regular sit-ups.

• Ten toe touches — on your back, with your legs 90 degrees in the air, use your trunk to reach up and touch your toes.

Take another two-minute rest, and do three sets of the following:

• Thirty seconds of push-ups with 30 seconds of rest between each set.

Take another two-minute rest, then do two sets of the following (with no rest between sets):

• Hold a wall squat at 90 degrees for one minute. (If you’re doing group PT, partner up back-to-back.)

• Hold a plank for one minute. (The plank position resembles a push-up, but rest on your forearms, not your hands, keeping your abs tight and your body straight.)

Take another two-minute rest, then do five minutes of bicep curls with a weight you can handle. (If you’re doing group PT, do partner-applied resistance.)

Follow that with 100 sit-ups, making sure your feet are braced, and 10 slow back extensions.

Finish with a good stretch.