I love creating exercises to mimic animal movements, or at least name after animals. It makes working out a bit more fun, like recess instead of a chore.
Working with marine mammals for a good chunk of my career, and then volunteering as a beach naturalist has led me to create quite a few ocean themed exercises. I do have a whole core workout dedicated to overall conservation appropriately called “The Core of Conservation”, but I felt I wanted to stretch my creative muscles and see what I could do for Ocean Conservation, specifically.
To set-up for the workout, you will need a timer (I use the Seconds Timer App, which is free but you have to set up the timer each workout you wish to use it). Set the timer for 1 minute intervals with 15 seconds rest between each minute. Set yourself up for at least 21 rounds. If you want to take a water break half-way through that’s fine, just don’t forget to program your break into the workout.
You will also need a way to randomize your exercises. When I typically do Core of Conservation, I use 7 blue poker chips to designate the Animals, 7 red chips to designate the Problem, and 7 white chips to indicate the Conservation Action. You can also use a die, and pair the categories with numbers.
To play the game, roll the die or draw a poker chip (or whatever way you decide to indicate the categories). Start the timer. Starting at the top of the board and working your way down, perform the first exercise in the category you just chose.
So, if you rolled a 6, you would do a minute of Beach Clean-up Cleans. If your first chip was blue, do a minute of Crab Toe-Touches. At the end of the minute, you have 15 seconds to draw your next category. If it is the same category you just did, do the next exercise on the list. So, if you drew a second blue chip, you would then start the next minute doing Vaquita V-ups.
Continue drawing or rolling at the end of each minute until you have completed all the exercises in all the categories. Is this a lot of core? Yes, yes it is. There are non-core exercises mixed into the workout, but it is a heavy core workout for sure. Again, if you want to program a break halfway through, don’t hesitate to do so.
Animal Die: 1-2/Color Chip: Blue | Problem Die: 3-4/Color Chip: Red | Conservation Action Die: 5-6/Color Chip: White |
| Pollution Plank | Beach Clean-up Cleans | |
| Fishing Net Swimmers | Sustainable Seafood Step-ups | |
| Entanglement Twists | Rescue and Release the Beast | |
| Overfishing OH Sit-ups | ||
| Sea Stars | Rising Tide Plank | |
| Penguin Crunches | On Thin Ice | |
| Shark Dart | Finning Flutterkicks |
This is just a fun and creative way to work you to the core, and bring some awareness to conservation issues. If you are paying attention to the exercises. See if you can find the connection, and have fun Saving Our Seas.
Super fun workout! We were moving fast through all the movements and definitely challenging our core.