Ever noticed that you spend your annual Super Bowl party sitting comfortably on the La-Z-Boy while you watch other people engage in intense physical activity on TV?
Why not change things up a little bit? It’s not as if there’s a rule stating that your annual tradition has to be completely sedentary. All it takes is a few calisthenics to turn an otherwise lazy evening into a chance to get your blood pumping and your muscles engaged—it will make the game a lot more interesting, and you can even get the equivalent of a workout in.
There are plenty of calisthenics you can do, but let’s refresh your memory on a few of the basic ones. Using these calisthenics, try creating a routine you have to do during each commercial break.
Or you can get your fellow viewers to participate by doing certain exercises when designated events happen during the game. Your team misses a catch? You have to do 20 pushups. Your team intercepts the ball? You get to challenge your fellow viewers who are cheering the other team to do 10 burpees. Then everybody has to run in place during the halftime show or during every replay shown on screen.
Here are the exercises you could try
Lunges: great for your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves 1.Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. 2. Step forward with your right foot and lower your left knee to the ground. Your right leg should form a 90-degree angle in front of you. 3.Return to the starting position and repeat by stepping forward with your left foot and lowering your right knee to the ground.
Squats: great for your quads, hamstrings, and glutes 1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms by your sides. 2. Lower your hips to the ground, keeping your spine straight and your core muscles braced tight. 3. As you go down, raise your arms up to be parallel to the floor. When your legs are at a right angle, pause and hold for five seconds. 4. Finish by raising yourself back up to the start.
Planks: great for your abdominal muscles 1. Prop yourself up on your forearms with your face toward the floor. Your feet should be kept close together as the other end of your body balances on your toes. 2. Keep yourself completely straight from shoulders to ankles, and squeeze your stomach muscles to keep your core tight. 3. Hold for 30 seconds.
Pushups: great for your chest (pectorals), shoulders (deltoids), triceps, and abs 1. Assume your starting position with your body facing the floor, resting on your outstretched arms, palms flat against the floor, shoulder-width apart. 2. As you bend your elbows to lower yourself to the floor, keep your body straight and avoid the tendency to let your back dip. 3. When your face and chest are about an inch from the floor, raise yourself back up by straightening your arms.
Burpees: a full-body workout that targets all major muscle groups 1. Assume pushup position and complete one pushup. 2. Once you are pushing yourself back up and returning to your starting position, kick your feet forward and draw your body into a squat position with your knees bent and your head held high. 3. Immediately, jump up as high as you can, stretching your arms over your head and straightening your body completely out. 4. Land with bent knees and drop straight into the pushup position to repeat the exercise. The entire movement should be fast and fluid.
Jogging in Place: great for your calves, core, quads, glutes, and cardiovascular endurance 1. The most effective jogging in place is much more dramatic than the movements you’d make if you were actually jogging. Each time you lift your leg, bring your knee up above your waist. 2. Swing your arms, moving your elbows in a full pendulum arc. Your left elbow should come forward when you raise your left arm, and your right elbow should come forward when you raise your right arm.
If you like the idea of commercials calisthenics, don’t limit yourself to doing it just once a year during the Super Bowl. You can incorporate these exercises into any nightly TV spree.
Remember, you need only 150 minutes of moderate activity a week to enjoy most benefits, per the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans put out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This breaks down into about a half-hour five days a week—that’s pretty easy when you think about it that way!
