Welcome to our Training Inspiration-page!

Here we have gathered some exercises and workouts that you can use to start up your training. Thanks to our friends on the Nordic welfare organizations, we have been able to make a collection of exercises. Still images (In MEPA's Rörelsebank) and videos mostly from Sjøfartsdirektoratet. From SEA HEALTH & WELFARE we have borrowed the step-by-step instructions of the exercises below, and a complete Workout-program. Many thanks to our Nordic friends!

We hope you will find it useful!

Burpees

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. 

Push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body – or “drop” flat on the floor, lying on your stomach. 

When laying on the floor, you will be placing your hands on the floor just shoulder-width or a bit wider apart.  

To get back up, you must push yourself away from the floor. Arching a bit up, raising your hips and jumping your feet under yourself, replacing your hands and reaching your arms overhead, while explosively jumping up into the air. 

Jumping Jacks

Stand up straight with your legs together and your arms down at your side. 

Bend your knees slightly and jump.

As you jump, spread your legs to about shoulder-width apart and stretch your arms out and over your head, so they almost clap together. 

Jump again and return your arms and legs to the starting position. 

Mountain climbers

Get into a tall plank position, standing on the palm of your hands instead of elbows. 

Your hands should be about shoulder-width apart, back flat, abs engaged, and head in alignment.

Pull your right knee forward and into your chest as far as you can.

Switch legs, pulling one knee out and bringing the other knee in.

Keep your hips down and run your knees in and out as far and as fast as you can. 

Back extensions

Lie facedown on an open floor or mat with your arms extended out in front of you on the floor.

Contract your lower back muscles to lift your arms and chest  off the floor as high as possible. Squeeze your back muscles for a count, then slowly return to the initial position without resting your head on the floor (the range of motion will be short).

Exercise Variations

You can also perform the lying back extension by raising your legs off the floor simultaneously with your chest and arms for additional lower back stimulation as well as lower body involvement. Hold this final position for 1 to 5 seconds, keeping your head and neck at the same height as your shoulders throughout the movement. Extensions done this way are known as prone Supermans.

Glute bridge

Lie on back with bent knees hip-distance apart, and feet flat on the floor stacked under the knees.

Engage the core and squeeze your glutes as you lift your hips to a bridge. Hold, squeezing tight, and return to the floor with control.

Repeat for the desired number of reps.

The Glute bridge is one of the most effective exercises to tone the glutes and the hamstrings. This lower body workout isolates and strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, core stability muscles, hip muscles, the lower back muscles and strengthens the stabilization of the spinal cord.

Lunges

Begin the movement by standing up nice and tall with your feet slightly apart. Hands can be resting on your hips or down by your side.

Take a step forward, keeping your upper body straight as much as possible. Make sure that your knee stays in line with your front foot.

Bent your knees and lower yourself to when your back knee is slightly touching the floor and you are reaching a 90-degree angle in both front and back knee.

To get back up, push through the heel of your front foot and return to the start position standing tall and feet in line.

To make the lunge more challenging, progress the exercise by holding a pair of dumbbells in each hand.

Plank to Push-up

Get into a plank position by placing your forearms in contact with the floor. Your elbows should be directly underneath your shoulders. Your hips should be off the ground and standing on your toes.  

Engage your core: Your ribs should be down, and your pelvis should be slightly tucked. Your chin should remain tucked throughout the movement as if you were holding an egg under your chin.

Slowly straighten one arm at a time to move into a push-up position.  

Slowly bend your arms one at a time, placing your forearms back on the floor to return to the plank position. 

Continue to alternate between the plank and push-up position and remember to switch between starting sides.

Rows (with table)

Position yourself under a bar, table or anything that comes near this, facing the ceiling.

Grab the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width (palms facing away from you).

Contract your abs and butt and keep your body in a completely straight line. Your ears, shoulders, hips, legs, and feet should all be in a straight line.

Pull yourself up to the bar until your chest touches the bar.

Lower yourself back down with proper form.

Step-ups

Perform step-ups by standing in front of an elevated, knee-height surface like a plyometric box, bench, or stairs.

Place your right foot on the high surface and push through your right leg to lift your body onto it.

Step down slowly with your left leg and perform the next repetition leading with your left foot.

You can use your body weight for this exercise or hold dumbbells for an added challenge throughout the movement.

Walk-outs (Inchworm)

Start the movement by standing tall. 

Bent over and reach with your hands close to and in front your feet, and you’ll feel your hamstrings stretch. 

Walk your hands away from your legs, keeping your legs as straight as possible while “crawling” forward. Keep going until you reach the top of a push-up position. 

Then walk your hands back towards your feet and stand up tall. Repeat. 

Advanced: do a push-up when reaching the top of the push-up position. 

Workouts that can be done by anyone anywhere

All of the workouts can be done without equipment, no matter your fitness level, and within a time cap of 5-10 minutes. Therefore we strongly encourage you to engage some of your colleagues and together do these workouts! Working out together is a great way to build up the community on board, and it's easier to stay committed to something when others are involved.  

5-10 minute time cap

This means they can be done in your breaks with the rest of the crew onboard as a warm-up if you are an experienced athlete or part of your existing training regime.

No use of equipment

Whether or not you have a gym onboard or access to one at home, these workouts do not require any gym equipment. 

All levels can benefit

Whether you are a beginner or a more experienced athlete, you will be able to do the workouts and benefit from them. There are different parameters you can adjust to your level: 

1. Intensity: go hard or easy on the workouts depending on your level of fitness 
2. Repetition and rounds: Scale the number of reps or round to match your level. Either decrease or increase the amounts. 
3. Time: Like with repetitions and rounds, you can increase or decrease the amount of time you are working out to match your level or the time available for you that day.

Substitute movements: If you don't have the space or possibility of doing the exercises, you can always substitute the movements. For instance, replace the rows with pushups if you don't have a surface to hold on to.

Workout 1

“First of all…"

5 rounds of: 

10 Burpees 

20 Step-ups*

*Alternate each leg, so then on each side, 20 total. 

Workout 2

“Just do it”

As many rounds as possible for 6 minutes of: 

8 Back Extensions

16 Lunges

24 Jumping Jacks

Workout 3

“Walk & Climb”

5 rounds of:

3 Walk Outs 

10 Glute Bridges

Workout 4

“Engine 1: Tabata day”

8x20 sec work/10 sec pause 

Alternate between:

Mountain Climbers 

Burpees

2-minute pause

Repeat from top

GOAL: To hit the same number of repetitions throughout all sets of 20 sec work, on both workouts.

Workout 5

“Jack(ed)”

10-1* of

Jumping Jacks

Rows 

 *You do 10 Jumping Jacks, followed by 10 rows. Then 9 Jumping Jacks followed by 9 rows. Continue down to 1 of each.

Workout 6

“Mountains”

 4 rounds of:

 30 Mountain Climbers 

15 Lunges 

30 Mountain Climbers 

Workout 7

“Body Building”

In 7 minutes do as many rounds as possible of:

20 Glute Bridges

16 Plank to Push-ups*

 
 *Count each elevation as 1 rep

Workout 8

“Engine 2: Mountain Intervals”

6 sets of 40 sec work – 20 sec pause

Alternate each set between the two exercises: 

Burpees

Mountain Climbers 

Workout 9

“Foundations”

10-1* of

Rows

Between each set of rows, do

2 Walkouts 

*So you do 10 Rows, followed by 2 Walkouts. Then 9 Rows, followed by 2 Walkouts. And so on, until 1 Row and 2 Walkouts. 

Workout 10

“Got back?!”

4 rounds of: 

20 Back Extensions 

Workout 11

“Get up”

In 6 minutes, complete as many rounds as possible of: 

15 Jumping Jacks 

10 Step-ups

10 Plank to Push-ups*

 *Count each elevation as 1 rep

 

Workout 12

“Engine 3: Simple but nasty” 

6 sets of 30 sec work/30 sec pause

Burpees

Workout 13

“The Gut”

10-1*

Glute Bridges

Rows

*Do 10 Glute Bridges, followed by 10 Rows. Then 9 and so on, until 1 Glute Bridge and 1 Row. 

Workout 14

“The finals!”

 Complete as fast as possible (but with good posture!):  

30 Mountain Climbers 

30 Step-ups 

30 Glute Bridges 

Directly into: 

20 Back Extensions 

20 Jumping Jacks 

20 Lunges 

Directly into:

10 Rows

10 Plan to Push-ups

10 Burpees

Directly into