Maria's All Out Ab Workout

by Lauren M.
(Mankato, MN)

The toughest workout I’ve ever tried was “Maria’s All Out Ab Workout” at the college I attend when I was 19.

During the first couple weeks of school I was looking for things to do and decided to try one of the free workout classes.

I did a yoga class with a couple friends but it was pretty mellow so I thought I’d try something more challenging. And challenging is the least I can say about Maria’s class.

Maria was a 5’2” tiny, toned student who works out and runs miles each and every day. When I saw her and the others in the class, I was a little intimidated but figured under the pressure I could keep up.

The class started out with a warm-up in which we jogged in place while punching the air in front of us. As I was not exactly in the best shape, this tired me out a little and I knew I was in some trouble.

We then moved on to a series of muscle working, heart pumping, sweat producing exercises. We mostly did exercises using our bodies as weights, and every now and then we used small dumbbells.

Exercises included partner ab reps, girl push-ups, lunges, up and down muscle toning, and a series of aerobic exercises.

The one hour class left me more sore than I can ever remember being. However, I knew it was a good type of sore and wanted to start working out more so that the next time I came back to the class it would be easier and I could monitor my progress that way.

Unfortunately, I only got to take the class a couple of more times before Maria stopped teaching, but I was glad that I went to every session and would recommend it to anyone who wants a real challenge.

Note from Dr. Dan

Lauren,

I feel like I must have run into Maria once or twice myself. Or at least somebody like her -- small and light who can exercise forever without breaking a sweat.

Bodies come in all shapes and sizes. And for long distance or for lots of repetitions, the light and lean bodies have all the advantages.

Have you ever seen one of these guys who can get down and do 150 pushups? Well, they're always small and lean. A 250 pound guy, even if he's all muscle, just can't do it.

How about running? Have you ever seen the Olympic marathoners up close? They're all the same build -- a little over 5 feet tall and skinny. That's why they can run so fast for 26 miles.

What about the rest of us? Don't get discouraged if you can't keep up. Recognize that bodies come in different shapes and sizes.

But don't just duck out either. Set goals for yourself. Do a little better each workout than you did last time. Shoot for your personal best.

Dr. Dan