The ViPR Pro teaches your body to overcome setbacks more quickly.
To truly prepare for life's physical demands on the body, you need to build resiliency by training in all three planes of motion. “Being resilient means having the ability to recover quickly from difficult circumstances or events like injuries, training setbacks, and daily physical stressors,” says Michol Dalcourt, the San Diego-based creator of the ViPR, founder of the Institute of Motion, and member of the Equinox Health Advisory Board.
The ViPR is a tool in your arsenal that can help you achieve the strength you need to bounce back quickly. Plus, a new study found that it's great for metabolic payoff as well. Researchers had 10 young men and women cycle through two rounds of five exercises using the ViPR Pro, alternating 60 seconds of work with 60 seconds of rest. They burned an average of 247 calories during the 20-minute session, according to the findings, published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness.
The workout below loads your body in odd positions to build strength and mobility in all directions. It also challenges your coordination and motor skills, which weaken over time as you sit (in chairs, cars, and trains) and stare (at screens of all sorts), says Alex Zimmerman, director of Equinox’s Tier X program.
Do it as either a warm-up or a standalone routine 2 to 3 times per week. For a 15-minute warm-up, complete 1 to 2 sets of 5 reps per side. For a full workout, aim for up to 4 sets of 12 reps (per side, when applicable) and perform the moves as a circuit, resting only at the end of each round. Depending on how much rest you need, the session will last 30 to 45 minutes.
Lizard Get-Up to Side Lunge
Begin seated on the floor with your right leg extended straight in front of you, left leg bent with foot flat, and right palm planted on the ground next to your hips. Push yourself up with right hand, flipping your body as if you’re moving into a plank, and plant your left foot beneath your hips so you’re in a forward lunge. Move straight into a lateral lunge by lifting your back right leg and extending it to the side. Reverse to the starting position. Complete all reps on one side before switching to the other.
Skater Hops
Stand with feet hip-width apart, elbows bent by sides. Jump over to left with left leg, lifting right leg slightly behind you as you swing right arm in front of you, left arm behind you. Immediately jump right leg over to right, swinging left leg and right arm behind you, left arm in front. That’s one rep. Continue jumping from side to side to complete all reps.
Dynamic Split Squat with Contralateral Arm Swing
Stand tall with right foot flat on the ground and left leg behind you with heel lifted. Hold arms at your sides, elbows bent at 90 degrees, left arm back and right arm forward as if you’re about to run. Slowly bend left knee until your quad is parallel with the ground, simultaneously moving right arm back and left arm forward. Pause at the bottom of the split squat, then reverse motion back to start. Do all reps, then repeat on opposite side.
ViPR Transverse Lunge with Overhead Chop
Begin in a deep squat, holding a ViPR Pro by the handles on the ground in between your legs with right hand in front, left hand in back. In one fluid motion, press up to standing, swing the ViPR Pro overhead, rotate, step your right foot behind you, lower into a lunge, pivoting the left foot and bringing the ViPR Pro to the outside of the right leg. Reverse the motion and repeat. Complete all reps, then switch sides and repeat, with the left hand in front of the right.
Wide Squats with Figure Eight
Stand with feet wider than hip-width and extend both arms in front of you with a slight bend in the elbows, one arm higher than the other and palms facing each other. (Imagine you’re holding the top and bottom of a small box.) Then, bend your right knee slightly as if you’re doing a lateral lunge, simultaneously moving your body to the right and making the first loop of the figure eight with your hands, so the opposite hand is on top. Then, shift your weight back to center and repeat on the other side, completing the figure eight and returning to start for one rep.
Fast Feet with ViPR Hold
Stand with feet at hip-width and with a slight bend in the knees, holding a ViPR Pro at either end in front of you. Start doing quick feet and without moving the position of the ViPR Pro, twist at the hips to rotate the lower body to the left, back to center, to the right, and back to center for one rep.
Half-Kneeling Restorative Pose
Kneel with right foot under right glute, left leg bent with foot flat on the ground, toes forward, and ViPR Pro pressed overhead. Maintain a straight spine and relax your shoulders away from your ears. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch sides.