Bosu Lunge & Squat routine: DOMS guaranteed

Some of my favorite moves are lunges and squats (L&S for short).  I usually do them once a week or so and have been doing this for years.  So, sometimes I find the need to mix things up a bit.  The other day, I dusted off my old Bosu type balance rubber half-dome thingy and decided to do my L&S on it.  The Bosu creates a wobbly surface, so just staying on top of the darn thing is hard.  Plus it supposedly 'works your core' at the same time.  I'm not sure about that, but it does challenge your sense of balance and that is a good thing. As we age, we can't practice our mad balancing skillz enough.

I have four things to say about this workout:

1. D
2. O
3. M
4. S

Not familiar with DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness? You will be soon.  This workout is not for the faint of heart, the injured, the frail or anyone not tough enough to eat the tequila worm.  Doing your usual L&S routine on the Bosu confuses (wobbles?) the crap out of your muscle fibers and for the next day or two, renders you unable to sit down without wincing.  Or even moaning.  Maybe screaming.  Note:  you might have trained too hard if you're screaming.

Regarding technique & form:  please refer to this old Lunge & Squat post with important links on form.  Or because you want to see a photo of me holding a rather large child as extra weight.  Yeah, her Mom thought I was crazy.

For extra calorie-burn and some more cardiovascular training, you can step on and off the bosu, jump rope or do any other form of plyometrics that will get your heart rate up.  While this is technically the 'cardio' portion of the workout, your heart rate will soar during the L&S, too. As with any intense strength workout, rest those muscles for the next 48-72 hrs before hitting them again.

**NOTE!!  Do not EVER even think about entertaining the thought of jumping rope ON TOP of the Bosu!! No no no!!** (unless of course you want to end up in the hospital in a full body cast...)

Only use extra weight if you are an L&S old-schooler. Otherwise, stick to bodyweight. Trust me:  it'll be enough.  Shoot for 10-15 reps of each move. If you do all of the exercises once through, it'll take about 20 minutes. Repeat if you dare.

Short, sweet, to the point. Cardio and strength. Multitasking at its finest.

A nail-biting moment, mentally prepping for the workout

 Cardio warmup, 5 minutes:

Dead Lift:

Squat:

 Pant, pant

Ellie wants to join in the fun.

   Sumo (= wide-legged) Squat:

Plyo bursts intermittently:  roping or Bosu stepping: (step on to bosu with left, then right foot, then jog onto ground with left then right foot).  You'll need to be comfortable with standing on a bosu before trying this.

Split lunge

Pant Pant

 

Single Leg Squat (one foot on Bosu, one foot off)

Knee never passes toes

Now contract your cheek muscles upward because you are done with your workout

 Now go replenish the protein for your muscles.  Eat that worm.  Or do what I do:

"eat" a smoothie

 And re-load those carbs like other bloggers have done:

Sniff:  the last grapefruit of the season

Q: Do you Bosu?  Favorite DOMS-inducing workout?  Worm or Smoothie, grapefruit? Favorite post-workout food?

Finally, I just want to say that no matter what is going on in my day-to-day life, I just can't stop thinking about my friend Susan.  So far, the news is good as far as cancer goes:  She does not have leukemia (in addition to the lyphoma) and chemo and radiation is expected to be very effective.  Yet, the biopsies have proven inconclusive and she might be having more surgery for a definitive diagnosis. She is handling everything with strength, grace and humor. Please keep her in your thoughts and if you feel like it, pop over and say Hi.  And when she's all better, I'm going to challenge her to a worm-eating contest. I suspect she'll win.

Our friend Susan