Last week I shared how I exercise and mentioned I’ve been going through a big shift via the work I’ve been doing with Aaron at Origin of Energy. I say it plain: it’s boosted my energy levels and corrected my posture, two things that have suffered horribly from having an autoimmune disease. His technique is sure and steady and gentle and strong. The guy is beyond passionate and so so knowledgeable. Anthony Minnocello calls him The Guru. I’d peg him as “genius”.
Since I’ve been up north I’ve been doing the training on my own, using a ridiculous assortment of props – two tequila bottles as hand weights, my Le Creuset pot filled with coins as a dead weight, and the picnic table bench as a step-up.
This week I popped back to Sydney and got Aaron to do a bit of a program that we can all do at home, using stuff around the house as props.
The deal is this:
- We run through 3 different techniques (an easy and harder version of each). Do each technique for 1 minute. Then rest for a minute. So, 3 minutes on, one minute off. Repeat 5-6 times. In a week or so I’ll post some extra ones, to mix it up. I think I include an extra walking out push-out as well. Throw that into the mix too!
- You only have to exercise 25-30 minutes to get a fantastic workout. Any more taxes the system and is a waste of energy.
- Do it 2-3 times a week. The rest of the week walk, swim…move every day (but, again, it doesn’t have to be taxing).
- Stretch before …just easy versions of the exercises. Nothing fancy.
- We exercise in bare feet. I’ll write more on this soon. But I say for now, try it. It’s amazing for your core, your balance and for fine-tuning the subtle muscles throughout your body.
- The exercises make use of a bench/chair/step/garden ledge, a pot filled with sand or coins, a green shopping bag (the kind you get from the supermarket) which you can fill with books, and two bottles of booze/waterbottles filled with water.
- As you do the workouts focus on keeping calm. Work hard, but stay serene and balanced. Breathing through your nose helps.
- Aaron has this great suggestion: a lot of surfers who travel a lot carry hession bags with them. They head to the beach and fill them with sand, do their workout, then dump the sand. You can do the same if you travel, or if you have a sandpit at home.
- I do this when I travel to cities: if I get in late of a plane and feel all cramped up, I run the fire stairs. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
- Aaron’s techniques are great to do if you know your body quite well and are familiar with good workout technique. But I ALWAYS recommend getting a trainer to show you through techniques, so you have proper alignment. At some point in your life. A worthwhile investment.
PS The marks on my arms and leg are dire blue bottle injuries…I’m allergic, it turns out…
PPS We’re training in the OoE studies in Bondi Junction (above the train station). They run group training session there 4-5 times a day. For more info, go here…It’s not expensive! They also have a small shop and kitchen where you can buy smoothies and raw butter and activated nuts and organic meat and berries.
PPS The post below contains an overview of the philosophy behind this kind of “caveman” approach to exercise….read on if you’re interested in learning more.
If you have any tips to share for working out at home with makeshift equipment, share and share alike!
