No Equipment Necessary!

Shannon Griffiths Fable
Year Released: 2007

Categories: Total Body Workouts


Set: Pretty, looks like someone's living room with rich earthy colors to offset the white walls. Wood flooring. (Shannon wears an orange top which accents the tones in the background)

Music: Upbeat, instrumental. (recognizable from other popular workouts)

This is a full body workout that requires nothing more than a small hand towel (no shoes needed either as Shannon completes the workout barefoot). The workout includes a warm up, 5 segments that move from lower body to upper body training and cool down.

Warm Up: Body rolls down into chair pose with heel pops begin. The warmup is fluid and rhythmic and prepares your joints for a fuller range of motion. Squats begin to warm up the lower body. Shannon provides lots of instruction to ensure proper hip placement and to get the most from the move.

Segment 1: Plies into lunge to the side, Warrior 3, lunge again, come back and hold. Shannon goes slow initially through the pattern to learn it then you'll repeat it much quicker several times. A modified crescent lunge into a sweeping lunge follows. Next prepare for pushups (Shannon states she uses pushups in every segment for at least a total of 65). Shannon plays with the hand positions holding the pushups in plank. Next, to work harder, you'll hold the position and bring one foot forward and place it next to hand, hold, then repeat other leg. Repeat sequence other lead, including the pushup segment.

Segment 2: Grab your towel and hold it with both hands. (Shannon gives a great tip to imagine pulling the towel out and apart, keeping it taut) Squats with arm raises, first to shoulder height then straight overhead. Side squats side to side follow. Next you'll add a knee balance and remain on one side. Rotation is added next. A balance move follows: You'll bring the working leg up and extend toes out and then bring them back while standing on the opposite leg only, arms held overhead with towel. A pushup sequence finishes the segment before completing the sequence with other lead. Shannon adds a move to the pushups which uses the lats. You'll lay flat on stomach, arms out straight on floor laying them on towel & then you'll pull the towel back, lifting upper body off floor, using the upper back muscles. Another new move is shoulder depressions with arms overhead with the towel.

Segment 3: Moving lunges begin this section. Shannon begins with reverse lunges with knees and an added calf raise. (she advises to stick with the basic move if necessary) Then you'll progress this reverse lunge move into jumps. A static lunge pulse follows. Pushups with various counts and movements are next. (one tough variation is a plank and then you'll jump both feet toward the outside of your hands and hold, then repeat opposite side) Repeat all patterns with other lead. This segment is shorter (Shannon states that's why it's placed in the middle of the sequences).

Segment 4: A squat sequence begins with squat then calf raises, squat and lift. Syncopation of these moves lead into jumps. Pushups into side planks follow. Shannon adds mountain climbers into this pushup segment. You'll then repeat the squat, calf raise, squat, lift sequence again, working a little harder this time through. Finish the segment with the pushup/side plank/mountain climbers sequence.

Segment 5: The last segment uses the towel again. Side lunges begin, moving to one side only keeping opposite leg planted. Shannon adds balance elements with one legged holds and with the working leg held out to the side and raised up. She finishes it up by doing standing side leg lifts. Pushups follow. You'll repeat the lat pulls with towel and then Shannon takes all the pushup variations from the prior segments and puts them together. Now repeat the side lunge/leg lift combo other lead and finish all the pushup variations.

Stretch: Shannon remains on the floor, supine, and begins the stretches. She finishes up by slowly bringing you to standing and you'll then repeat the warmup sequence several times.

Workout Length: Almost 52 minutes (warmup approx 7 1/2 minutes, Sections 1-5 approx 38 minutes, cool down about 6 minutes)

Instructor Comments:
www.saracity.com or www.scwfitness.com

DeniseR

03/24/2007