The VS Arashi Workout
The VS Arashi Workout
I love VS Arashi. It's one of the only Arashi shows I can watch unsubbed because I pretty much always know what's going on, and it's a game show. There's nothing more formulaic than a game show. But I have always felt like more of a lazy slob when I'm sitting around in my bedroom watching people run around being active. So I've devised a series of workouts to do depending on the games in almost any episode (I didn't bother making up anything for that short-lived surfing game…) just to get up and moving while you're ogling Arashi.
Now, because I live in a tiny room and have zero space, I like simple bodyweight workouts that don't need any equipment. The most you need is a gallon of water, but this can be anything with a bit of heft like a couple of books in a bag or a cat or something. You can do all of these exercises in your room and, most importantly, while watching stuff on your laptop or iPad. You'll need to move it around, though leaving it on the floor should be okay for most things. I don't know what you guys with desktops are gonna do...
First, a disclaimer. I'm not in any way qualified to suggest workouts for anyone. I'm not even super well-educated on the matter, I just know enough to know what I find fun and gets my blood moving a little. This is a pretty low-intensity workout, mostly because there's 2-5 minutes of talking in between each game, but some of the things I suggest are pretty tough. I've included some easier variations, but this is for someone who just wants to move around a little while watching television. Also, this isn't going to get you fit or lose weight overnight, but it certainly won't hurt.
Without further ado, onto the workouts!
Rolling Coin Tower:
Since this game is all about balance, I chose a balancing yoga pose to do. In Hands & Knees Balance, get on your hands and knees and stretch out one hand and the opposite leg at the same time. Hold for one full rotation of the board, or every time the team changes depending on your balance, and then switch sides.
Jungle Bingo:
The most fun part about this game is watching people climbing up and around a maze. But since there's not much room in my apartment to do Spiderman Crawls (plus you'd have to take your eyes off the TV), I chose Mountain Climbers. Choose one member of the team and do Mountain Climbers for as long as that person is in there. Mountain climbers are pretty intense, so don't go full bore, and if you flag, just go slow-motion for the rest of the time. Be careful who you pick or you might end up doing a full two minutes!
Bound Hockey:
This game is all about pushing, so I chose the biggest baddest push exercise there is, the Push-Up. If you can't do a push up on the floor, don't worry. Put your laptop on your bed or desk and do incline push-ups instead. If you're good, or want to do low-intensity, high-reps, do one every time the puck is hit. If you want to challenge yourself and can only barely bust out one or two, do one push-up every time the puck is released, and when it goes out of play (which ends up being two in a row, I know).
Koro-koro Viking:
This is another game about balance, and another great balance exercise is a Simple Knee Raise. Just lift one leg to a 90-degree angle when the first ball drops, and then switch knees as each new ball comes into play. On the last ball, you'll need to stay there until the ball goes out of play, so just hope that the team doesn't have five balls in play at the end. If this doesn't work you hard enough, do wall sits every other ball or on/off every golden ball.
Giant Crash:
I really needed to get some ab work in here, and since Giant Crash is all about resisting the temptation to fall, I chose Planks. Pick one team and hold a plank for as long as their turn lasts. If they're decisive, you might only get ten seconds, but if they leave it all to the last minute, you could be there for 60. And a 60 second plank is nothing to joke about. Make it easier by holding your plank at elbow's length, or harder by putting one foot on top of the other.
Falling Pipes:
Originally, I was going to have this one be the bridge progression, because of how this game makes people contort into weird positions trying to watch all four posts at once. However, since lying bridges/hip extensions mean you can't see the TV most of the time, and I am currently in some terrible neck pain after doing bridges while trying to watch as my bunny climbed all over me, I thought better of it. Instead, I chose Side Hip Raises, so you can watch as you work. Do as many as you can from pipe choice to the time the final score is called, and switch sides between teams.
Bank Bowling:
Mimicking the movements of throwing a bowling ball, there can only be one exercise to do during this game: Lunges. Just perform as many as you can from the time the audience starts chanting to the time the final score is announced. I got about five per leg when I tried this one out.
Jumping Shooter:
This one is pretty obvious. It's cardio time! Just pick one team member and follow what they do - run on the spot, and then jump as high as you can (the boundary can be fitness or just space-wise). Feel free to pretend to throw a ball at the same time. If the camera moves and you can't see what's going on, just keep on moving. Camera angles are no excuse for not moving. Hopefully you will be just as winded as the people on the TV screen. If it burns you out too much for the first team, do some Side Lunges as the same team acts as goalies. (That link has dumbbells, you don't need them but you can totally hold some Harry Potter books instead.)
Pinball Runner:
This is also pretty WYSIWYG. Just run on the spot, keeping it slow to start, and speed up every time the belt does. This is also accompanied by a handy SPEED UP on the screen, so you won't be able to miss it. I tried this one out, and it's pretty intense. If the team does well, you end up a little unsure as to how to make your legs go faster. But you can!
Cliff Climb:
As with Bound Hockey being the ultimate in pushing, we all know that Cliff Climb is about pulling. And because pull-ups are impossible (though if you can do them and have a pull-up bar, you are amazing can you tell me your secrets), let's just do the starters: Bent Over Rows. Grab that gallon of water or pile of books, find a chair (or your bed) to lean on, and press play. Every time a grip is passed, do two or three rows on one arm. Then when they switch teams, switch arms. Depending on how well-matched the teams are, this is going to be an uneven workout, but it doubles as an excuse to watch another episode.
Kicking Sniper:
Since kicking forwards is boring and doesn't really do much for you, I figured you could work out your butt at the same time with some Glute Kickbacks. Kick back on each leg for each kicker, and do an extra set for a perfect score. This will keep you kicking back for most of the gameplay time, and it gave me a nice little burn when I tried it out.
Dual Curling:
There's nothing really active going on for this game, so I figured another timed workout would go well. This time, it's the Spiderman Plank. Start your plank when the timer goes off, and then raise your foot for every puck by one team. You can choose to do this whenever they shoot, or just steadily do eight of them throughout the allotted time. And if you're even more awesome, do the Spiderman Pushup instead.
Shotgun Disk:
This one might just kill you. Pick a team and do a different exercise according to their role in the game. When they are on bazooka duty, shadow box for the entire time period. Just throw your arms around keeping your core tense; it works, I swear. When the team is on frisbee duty, do one Burpee for each goal they score. I suggest picking the weakest team because burpees are intense okay.
Popcorn Hitter:
Since there's lots of little bursts of movement and use of arms in this game, I figured this one would be best served by some tiny hand circles. Do them forwards for the first round and backwards for the second round. For the third round, do some shadow boxing, either at will or in time with the shots.
And there you have it! This isn't meant to be too intense, just a bit of fun for a rainy day when you're marathoning VSA and feel like a total slob. Some of these will get a little wonky because of the way the games work, and god forbid you have to do mountain climbers on those early episodes when they go until they get bingo. The best workout uses your whole body, but this is pretty random, so it's definitely not sustainable as a workout plan, but it's pretty fun to do.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth.
I love VS Arashi. It's one of the only Arashi shows I can watch unsubbed because I pretty much always know what's going on, and it's a game show. There's nothing more formulaic than a game show. But I have always felt like more of a lazy slob when I'm sitting around in my bedroom watching people run around being active. So I've devised a series of workouts to do depending on the games in almost any episode (I didn't bother making up anything for that short-lived surfing game…) just to get up and moving while you're ogling Arashi.
Now, because I live in a tiny room and have zero space, I like simple bodyweight workouts that don't need any equipment. The most you need is a gallon of water, but this can be anything with a bit of heft like a couple of books in a bag or a cat or something. You can do all of these exercises in your room and, most importantly, while watching stuff on your laptop or iPad. You'll need to move it around, though leaving it on the floor should be okay for most things. I don't know what you guys with desktops are gonna do...
First, a disclaimer. I'm not in any way qualified to suggest workouts for anyone. I'm not even super well-educated on the matter, I just know enough to know what I find fun and gets my blood moving a little. This is a pretty low-intensity workout, mostly because there's 2-5 minutes of talking in between each game, but some of the things I suggest are pretty tough. I've included some easier variations, but this is for someone who just wants to move around a little while watching television. Also, this isn't going to get you fit or lose weight overnight, but it certainly won't hurt.
Without further ado, onto the workouts!
Rolling Coin Tower:
Since this game is all about balance, I chose a balancing yoga pose to do. In Hands & Knees Balance, get on your hands and knees and stretch out one hand and the opposite leg at the same time. Hold for one full rotation of the board, or every time the team changes depending on your balance, and then switch sides.
Jungle Bingo:
The most fun part about this game is watching people climbing up and around a maze. But since there's not much room in my apartment to do Spiderman Crawls (plus you'd have to take your eyes off the TV), I chose Mountain Climbers. Choose one member of the team and do Mountain Climbers for as long as that person is in there. Mountain climbers are pretty intense, so don't go full bore, and if you flag, just go slow-motion for the rest of the time. Be careful who you pick or you might end up doing a full two minutes!
Bound Hockey:
This game is all about pushing, so I chose the biggest baddest push exercise there is, the Push-Up. If you can't do a push up on the floor, don't worry. Put your laptop on your bed or desk and do incline push-ups instead. If you're good, or want to do low-intensity, high-reps, do one every time the puck is hit. If you want to challenge yourself and can only barely bust out one or two, do one push-up every time the puck is released, and when it goes out of play (which ends up being two in a row, I know).
Koro-koro Viking:
This is another game about balance, and another great balance exercise is a Simple Knee Raise. Just lift one leg to a 90-degree angle when the first ball drops, and then switch knees as each new ball comes into play. On the last ball, you'll need to stay there until the ball goes out of play, so just hope that the team doesn't have five balls in play at the end. If this doesn't work you hard enough, do wall sits every other ball or on/off every golden ball.
Giant Crash:
I really needed to get some ab work in here, and since Giant Crash is all about resisting the temptation to fall, I chose Planks. Pick one team and hold a plank for as long as their turn lasts. If they're decisive, you might only get ten seconds, but if they leave it all to the last minute, you could be there for 60. And a 60 second plank is nothing to joke about. Make it easier by holding your plank at elbow's length, or harder by putting one foot on top of the other.
Falling Pipes:
Originally, I was going to have this one be the bridge progression, because of how this game makes people contort into weird positions trying to watch all four posts at once. However, since lying bridges/hip extensions mean you can't see the TV most of the time, and I am currently in some terrible neck pain after doing bridges while trying to watch as my bunny climbed all over me, I thought better of it. Instead, I chose Side Hip Raises, so you can watch as you work. Do as many as you can from pipe choice to the time the final score is called, and switch sides between teams.
Bank Bowling:
Mimicking the movements of throwing a bowling ball, there can only be one exercise to do during this game: Lunges. Just perform as many as you can from the time the audience starts chanting to the time the final score is announced. I got about five per leg when I tried this one out.
Jumping Shooter:
This one is pretty obvious. It's cardio time! Just pick one team member and follow what they do - run on the spot, and then jump as high as you can (the boundary can be fitness or just space-wise). Feel free to pretend to throw a ball at the same time. If the camera moves and you can't see what's going on, just keep on moving. Camera angles are no excuse for not moving. Hopefully you will be just as winded as the people on the TV screen. If it burns you out too much for the first team, do some Side Lunges as the same team acts as goalies. (That link has dumbbells, you don't need them but you can totally hold some Harry Potter books instead.)
Pinball Runner:
This is also pretty WYSIWYG. Just run on the spot, keeping it slow to start, and speed up every time the belt does. This is also accompanied by a handy SPEED UP on the screen, so you won't be able to miss it. I tried this one out, and it's pretty intense. If the team does well, you end up a little unsure as to how to make your legs go faster. But you can!
Cliff Climb:
As with Bound Hockey being the ultimate in pushing, we all know that Cliff Climb is about pulling. And because pull-ups are impossible (though if you can do them and have a pull-up bar, you are amazing can you tell me your secrets), let's just do the starters: Bent Over Rows. Grab that gallon of water or pile of books, find a chair (or your bed) to lean on, and press play. Every time a grip is passed, do two or three rows on one arm. Then when they switch teams, switch arms. Depending on how well-matched the teams are, this is going to be an uneven workout, but it doubles as an excuse to watch another episode.
Kicking Sniper:
Since kicking forwards is boring and doesn't really do much for you, I figured you could work out your butt at the same time with some Glute Kickbacks. Kick back on each leg for each kicker, and do an extra set for a perfect score. This will keep you kicking back for most of the gameplay time, and it gave me a nice little burn when I tried it out.
Dual Curling:
There's nothing really active going on for this game, so I figured another timed workout would go well. This time, it's the Spiderman Plank. Start your plank when the timer goes off, and then raise your foot for every puck by one team. You can choose to do this whenever they shoot, or just steadily do eight of them throughout the allotted time. And if you're even more awesome, do the Spiderman Pushup instead.
Shotgun Disk:
This one might just kill you. Pick a team and do a different exercise according to their role in the game. When they are on bazooka duty, shadow box for the entire time period. Just throw your arms around keeping your core tense; it works, I swear. When the team is on frisbee duty, do one Burpee for each goal they score. I suggest picking the weakest team because burpees are intense okay.
Popcorn Hitter:
Since there's lots of little bursts of movement and use of arms in this game, I figured this one would be best served by some tiny hand circles. Do them forwards for the first round and backwards for the second round. For the third round, do some shadow boxing, either at will or in time with the shots.
And there you have it! This isn't meant to be too intense, just a bit of fun for a rainy day when you're marathoning VSA and feel like a total slob. Some of these will get a little wonky because of the way the games work, and god forbid you have to do mountain climbers on those early episodes when they go until they get bingo. The best workout uses your whole body, but this is pretty random, so it's definitely not sustainable as a workout plan, but it's pretty fun to do.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth.