We won't lie: as of late (or maybe always) we've been slipping. Just a little.
We like to blame it on the balmy weather, which is constantly begging for another round of mojitos. And while there's always our comprehensive seven-day cleanse plan (as outlined by the lovely girls from Bonberi) to keep us on track, sometime life, ahem, gets in the way—usually in the form of someone (not naming any names, here) picking up pastries for the entire office in a seemingly innocent gesture of willpower-busting generosity; or when you're left to your own devices to make the choice between that admittedly delicious-looking watermelon-and-feta salad or a burger the size of your head at a summer barbecue. We're not alone in this, right?
That said, there's no cure for lagging motivation and rapidly-waning discipline quite like a day of working out on set with Maria Sharapova. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to tag along to the set of a shoot with the Nike Training Club (the personal trainer app and localized work-out classes inspired by the brand's top athletes). It sounds like hyperbole, but watching Sharapova in action was something like watching an artist at their easel—seriously! Every metaphor you've ever heard that likens bodies to machines suddenly made perfect sense with each lunge, squat and resistance band-oriented move.
With Sharapova's dizzyingly coordinated conditioning moves in mind, we decided to take matters into our own hands and custom-design our own little NTC work-out—courtesy of none other than Sharapova and Nike Master Trainer Eva Redpath, of course. Grab your medicine ball, resistance band and a gym buddy (we mean, we do still believe in moderation—this way, you can also go for a glass of wine afterward) and get toning.
"Start by grabbing a medicine ball and then face your partner, standing about three feet apart. Holding the ball, bend forward at the hip while lifting your right leg back. Then reverse the movement, return to a standing position, and chest pass the ball. Your partner catches the ball and repeats. Do as many sets as you can in one minute."
Overhead Triceps Extension"Start by holding a resistance band above your head, keeping your arms straight. Get your partner to stand behind you and pull down on the band to create resistance. Bend and straighten the arms up and down at the elbow. Do this for one minute, then switch up."
"Sit beside your partner, about two feet apart, with knees bent, ankles crossed and facing each other. Get your partner to hold a medicine ball and twist toward their outside hip. Then, your partner will toss the ball to you. Catch the ball, and repeat. Do this for one minute. A modified version of this is the lunge ball toss. Again, sit side by side with your partner, two feet across from one another, but this time in a lunge position. Your partner holds the ball and twists to the outside hip, then toss to you. Then catch and repeat for one minute."
Medicine Ball Sit UpStep one: partners start by facing each other, seated with knees bent. Partner A holds ball close to chest and lies back onto ground. Partner A then performs a full sit up and tosses ball to partner B in one fluid movement. Partner B catches the ball and repeats. Repeat this circuit three times!"
