In mainstream fitness, there's an arbitrary set of rules for exercises in how they are mapped out and what this does for your cardio, this for your strength and so on and so forth. Numbers are good in the sense of what your goal is and what is allotted on paper but there are times where we just want to forget all that crap and just go and kick ass. There's even a format with how much time you're "allowed" in how long a workout should be and it has to be done in this amount of time.
I don't always believe in "closed in" or limited numbers or time when I train. I go by what makes me happy and pushes me when i'm most interested. Hell last night I did a deck of cards workout and only lasted about halfway in; not because I was exhausted but because I got bored and when my mind stops being in that zone, I'm not going push any further. I have beaten the deck many times in the past and have beaten it at least once recently. Where do the animals come into play here?
As you know, animal movements are my go to exercises and yeah I play the numbers game seeing how many steps I can take in a workout or throughout the day (my best is around 2000) but I also just want to move and play. I still get great results and my mindset is dead on from beginning to end. Some days, I go for endurance, others; i'd just go for a minute or 2 on a couple animals each and that's it. Animal Workouts can be done anyway you want them to and can do them at your pace, your own level of progression and you can spend as much time on them as you want or capable of.
Let's start making a habit each day to move like an animal for 1 minute whether it be a bear crawl, crab walk, tiger walk, duck walk, Squat/Jump like a frog, hop like a bunny rabbit or whatever you decide but do it for up to 1 minute. This could be a great start for a beginner or a warm up for an advanced animal mover, either way you're going to find something going on in your body that isn't just the muscles and tendons. If you're in a house or indoors and there isn't a ton of room, you can do a few steps forward and back, take a few steps and turn around and repeat or whatever but keep going for a full minute. If it's too much for you, do 30 seconds. You don't have go fast and be like the Flash but just move and focus on the placement of the hands plus breathing naturally.
Doing one minute of exercise can get your heart rate up if you do it right. A minute may not be much but it can have a huge impact on the beginning to your day. You're stretching the body, you're opening up the brain and you're training the tendons. If you wanted to do a full workout, just add on animals and do no more than 20 total minutes of exercise. Because of the intensity, a solid workout shouldn't take that long anyway and you're getting those major attributes done for the day; cardio, strength training, conditioning, coordination, flexibility, agility, muscular endurance, strength endurance and power all done at the same time.
Do 1 minute of animal movement a day and feel how good you'll be afterwards. Think of the energy you'll spring up, the endorphin high that helps you stay smiling and the mental focus you'll generate for later in the day. Animals are amazing for exercise and they open up doors to a whole new world for you when you do them consistently.
Go to the animal pictures and courses on the right side of this blog and learn what animals you can do just starting at 1 minute a day.
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