Lollyellen
01-26-2010, 07:38 AM
Here's a good workout routine, if you'd like to start a "virtual morning workout" with me. Of course, you don't actually have to stick to any specific time of day - morning is just usually when I have the time and inclination to do it!
Anybody want to join me???! I try to do some kind of weight lifting or running/walking/something active enough to have me breathing heavy for 30 min. at a time, at least every other day. Remember that in order to effectively build muscle, a good day of REST is part of the process. I typically would do a reasonably strenuous workout (well, this one is strenuous for me anyway!) every other day - walking or something aerobic in between days, ideally. And of course you are doing good things for your body when you add resistance-training (weight lifting) to your regular activity, like building bone strength and muscle in addition to burning fat - but keep in mind that the more you pay attention to a healthy diet while adhering to your workout routine, the more physical results you'll actually see! Diet and fitness definitely MUST go hand-in-hand if you wanna look and feel your best!
You will need the following for our workouts:
An Exercise ball - there's only one ball movement in this month's series, and you can substitute a couch pillow if you want this time.
A small assortment of hand/dumbell weights
I have little squishy 1 or 2 lb. weights (which I add to my 10 lbers if I have a need for 12's for large-arm curls and other large-muscle group exercises), 5 lbs, 8 lbs, and 10's.
This is my 3rd year of lifting weights, so if you are just entering into the world of weights, I'm certainly no doctor, but I'd recommend (a) being sure you are healthy enough to do "loaded"/weighted exercise, and (b) starting out with maybe 1-2 lbs., 5 lbs., and possibly 8 lbs. You can even use a filled water bottle for a couple of moves, which I will note as we go.
Water!. A lot of these moves have "hidden" cardio in them, so you might be out of breath while doing them. I always am! That's a good thing though! :)
This routine takes about an hour and I did it while Charlie (my 3 yr. old) was chillin in front of cartoons first thing in the a.m.
An important point to remember. DO EACH MOVEMENT SLOWLY...REALLY SLOWLY. As in "totally controlled, and you can stop the movement at any point in time if you had to".
Print out this page AND the attached link of visual references (http://www.maternitycorner.com/lollyellen/Workout_Jan10.jpg)to use as your guidelines, for detailed explanations of some of the moves!
Remember for a beginner, "light to moderately weighted" might mean 1-2 lbs up to 5 lbs - whatever you're comfortable with. Eventually, you'll want to start getting "uncomfortable" with the weight - that's the goal. But at first, you certainly don't want to injure yourself.
"Moderate to heavy" for a beginner, might mean more like 5-8 lbs.
"Heavy" would be 8 lbs. max for a beginner, in my medically unskilled opinion.
1. ABS - Do each of these in order, 3x.
- (10 sets on each side) of the Standing Speed Rotation - light to moderately weighted.
- (20) Bench crunches
- (12) Ball Passes (lie down on your back on the floor with an exercise ball between your outstretched feet - hands over your head. Grasping the ball between your feet, pull both your legs and hands above you, to the center - so you kind of situp in a "v" position, in order to pass the ball to your hands. Your hands should bring the ball back over your head as you lie back down. That's one rep.)
- (12 on each side) Oblique V-Ups
2. ARMS - do each of these in order, 3x.
- (12) Military Press Squats - moderate-heavy weights (I used 8 lbs.)
- (10) Stiff Leg Dead Lifts w/ Front Raises - moderate-heavy weights (I used 8 lbs.)
- (12-15) Arm Curls - heavy weights (I used 10 lbs.) - just your basic standing arm "curl". Standing with your feet shoulder width, hiney stuck out/slight arch in your back, both hands weighted, hands faced outward (standard/supinated grip) or hands facing toward your body ("hammer" grip), curl the weight upward, bending your elbows, keeping your elbows solid against your body. Remember, SLOWLY - like, TURTLESLOW.
- (12) Flys on the ground - moderate to heavy weights (I either use 8's or 10's - I've used 15's before, but our trainer has to stand over me to prevent the weights from crashing down on my face and causing irreparable damage :lol: ) Lying on your back, arms spread wide, hands weighted. Keep an arch in your back. Bring weights up directly over your face to meet each other at center. If you cannot do this slowly and in a controlled fashion, choose lighter weights. Eventually, you'll want this to be a heavy-as-you-can weighted movement for the best result, so keep that in mind.
- (12) Tricep curls on the ground - moderate to heavy weights (I used 10 lbs. yesterday) Lying on the ground, weighted hands on the ground over your head, hands in "hammer grip", elbows pointed at the sky. Bring the weights up toward the ceiling JUST so your arms reach greatest extension - no need to extend farther - the weights should just be about even with your nose. Bring the weights SLLLOOOWLY back down to starting position. To me, if feels like I'm hammering nails into the ceiling.
3. LOWER BODY - Do these in order, 3x.
Lower body movements will work your core, hamstrings, hiney, whole leg, and oftentimes there will be much cardio thrown in here as well. I'm always huffing and puffing doing lower body, ugh (and I *hate* to huff and puff!)...so...here we go!
- (10 on each leg) Donkey kicks with a light weight (or a water bottle!) placed in the bend of your knee. I don't have a visual reference for this one - let me see if I can explain...Get on all fours (hands and knees). Place a water bottle or light weight (I use 5 lbs) in the crook of one bent knee. You'll want to keep a nice table-straight back and slowly lift the bent, weighted knee upward - squeezing your weight - so your foot is aiming skyward and your knee comes even with your nice flat back. Squeeze that hiney!
- (25) squats - bodyweight only (for beginners) or light-moderate weight for more experienced exercisers. I used 5 lb weights yesterday because my foot is giving me some problems from running, but ordinarily our trainer would have us using 8-10 lbs. The basic squat is just standing with legs shoulder-width apart, feet turned to the front or outward. If you're loaded with a weight, use only one and hold it vertically, right under your chin, as if you're about to partake in a giant goblet of beer. Haha - I hope that visual sticks with you!
At workout, we call these "goblet squats". If you choose to just use your own bodyweight - a valid choice at generally any level of experience, because you easily become out of breath doing bodyweight-only - then clasp hands straight out in front of you - resist the temptation to rest them on your thighs.
Lower your body until your knees are directly above your feet - no farther - keeping an arch in your back/hiney stuck out. Return slowly back to standing.
- (12) Lying hip extensions on the ground - make sure your glutes/hamstrings are flexed/squeezing like crazy when you raise up. Not so incredibly elegant-looking, but a great bootie exercise at any level of experience!
- (25) Calf raises - weighted, if you prefer, with moderate weights in each hand. Typically, my girlfriends and I use 8-10 lbs. weights in each hand. Because of my foot, yesterday I used 5 lbs. Holding a weight in each hand, standing straight, slight arch in the back, knees unlocked, toes pointed slightly in, raise up on the ball of your foot to full extension and hold for a moment, then lower back down again to the ground.
- (25) Frog squats - light to moderate weight. You might want to lower the amount of reps to 15 as you complete your cycle.
That's it! HOORAY, we're done! Now go take some Motrin! Remember, breaking down and building up your muscles also means burning fat so being sore that night or day after after a well-done, medically sound (and by that I mean doing the movements correctly and not actually hurting yourself) workout means while muscle is being built fat is being burned, even after you've finished moving. :)
Anybody want to join me???! I try to do some kind of weight lifting or running/walking/something active enough to have me breathing heavy for 30 min. at a time, at least every other day. Remember that in order to effectively build muscle, a good day of REST is part of the process. I typically would do a reasonably strenuous workout (well, this one is strenuous for me anyway!) every other day - walking or something aerobic in between days, ideally. And of course you are doing good things for your body when you add resistance-training (weight lifting) to your regular activity, like building bone strength and muscle in addition to burning fat - but keep in mind that the more you pay attention to a healthy diet while adhering to your workout routine, the more physical results you'll actually see! Diet and fitness definitely MUST go hand-in-hand if you wanna look and feel your best!
You will need the following for our workouts:
An Exercise ball - there's only one ball movement in this month's series, and you can substitute a couch pillow if you want this time.
A small assortment of hand/dumbell weights
I have little squishy 1 or 2 lb. weights (which I add to my 10 lbers if I have a need for 12's for large-arm curls and other large-muscle group exercises), 5 lbs, 8 lbs, and 10's.
This is my 3rd year of lifting weights, so if you are just entering into the world of weights, I'm certainly no doctor, but I'd recommend (a) being sure you are healthy enough to do "loaded"/weighted exercise, and (b) starting out with maybe 1-2 lbs., 5 lbs., and possibly 8 lbs. You can even use a filled water bottle for a couple of moves, which I will note as we go.
Water!. A lot of these moves have "hidden" cardio in them, so you might be out of breath while doing them. I always am! That's a good thing though! :)
This routine takes about an hour and I did it while Charlie (my 3 yr. old) was chillin in front of cartoons first thing in the a.m.
An important point to remember. DO EACH MOVEMENT SLOWLY...REALLY SLOWLY. As in "totally controlled, and you can stop the movement at any point in time if you had to".
Print out this page AND the attached link of visual references (http://www.maternitycorner.com/lollyellen/Workout_Jan10.jpg)to use as your guidelines, for detailed explanations of some of the moves!
Remember for a beginner, "light to moderately weighted" might mean 1-2 lbs up to 5 lbs - whatever you're comfortable with. Eventually, you'll want to start getting "uncomfortable" with the weight - that's the goal. But at first, you certainly don't want to injure yourself.
"Moderate to heavy" for a beginner, might mean more like 5-8 lbs.
"Heavy" would be 8 lbs. max for a beginner, in my medically unskilled opinion.
1. ABS - Do each of these in order, 3x.
- (10 sets on each side) of the Standing Speed Rotation - light to moderately weighted.
- (20) Bench crunches
- (12) Ball Passes (lie down on your back on the floor with an exercise ball between your outstretched feet - hands over your head. Grasping the ball between your feet, pull both your legs and hands above you, to the center - so you kind of situp in a "v" position, in order to pass the ball to your hands. Your hands should bring the ball back over your head as you lie back down. That's one rep.)
- (12 on each side) Oblique V-Ups
2. ARMS - do each of these in order, 3x.
- (12) Military Press Squats - moderate-heavy weights (I used 8 lbs.)
- (10) Stiff Leg Dead Lifts w/ Front Raises - moderate-heavy weights (I used 8 lbs.)
- (12-15) Arm Curls - heavy weights (I used 10 lbs.) - just your basic standing arm "curl". Standing with your feet shoulder width, hiney stuck out/slight arch in your back, both hands weighted, hands faced outward (standard/supinated grip) or hands facing toward your body ("hammer" grip), curl the weight upward, bending your elbows, keeping your elbows solid against your body. Remember, SLOWLY - like, TURTLESLOW.
- (12) Flys on the ground - moderate to heavy weights (I either use 8's or 10's - I've used 15's before, but our trainer has to stand over me to prevent the weights from crashing down on my face and causing irreparable damage :lol: ) Lying on your back, arms spread wide, hands weighted. Keep an arch in your back. Bring weights up directly over your face to meet each other at center. If you cannot do this slowly and in a controlled fashion, choose lighter weights. Eventually, you'll want this to be a heavy-as-you-can weighted movement for the best result, so keep that in mind.
- (12) Tricep curls on the ground - moderate to heavy weights (I used 10 lbs. yesterday) Lying on the ground, weighted hands on the ground over your head, hands in "hammer grip", elbows pointed at the sky. Bring the weights up toward the ceiling JUST so your arms reach greatest extension - no need to extend farther - the weights should just be about even with your nose. Bring the weights SLLLOOOWLY back down to starting position. To me, if feels like I'm hammering nails into the ceiling.
3. LOWER BODY - Do these in order, 3x.
Lower body movements will work your core, hamstrings, hiney, whole leg, and oftentimes there will be much cardio thrown in here as well. I'm always huffing and puffing doing lower body, ugh (and I *hate* to huff and puff!)...so...here we go!
- (10 on each leg) Donkey kicks with a light weight (or a water bottle!) placed in the bend of your knee. I don't have a visual reference for this one - let me see if I can explain...Get on all fours (hands and knees). Place a water bottle or light weight (I use 5 lbs) in the crook of one bent knee. You'll want to keep a nice table-straight back and slowly lift the bent, weighted knee upward - squeezing your weight - so your foot is aiming skyward and your knee comes even with your nice flat back. Squeeze that hiney!
- (25) squats - bodyweight only (for beginners) or light-moderate weight for more experienced exercisers. I used 5 lb weights yesterday because my foot is giving me some problems from running, but ordinarily our trainer would have us using 8-10 lbs. The basic squat is just standing with legs shoulder-width apart, feet turned to the front or outward. If you're loaded with a weight, use only one and hold it vertically, right under your chin, as if you're about to partake in a giant goblet of beer. Haha - I hope that visual sticks with you!
At workout, we call these "goblet squats". If you choose to just use your own bodyweight - a valid choice at generally any level of experience, because you easily become out of breath doing bodyweight-only - then clasp hands straight out in front of you - resist the temptation to rest them on your thighs.
Lower your body until your knees are directly above your feet - no farther - keeping an arch in your back/hiney stuck out. Return slowly back to standing.
- (12) Lying hip extensions on the ground - make sure your glutes/hamstrings are flexed/squeezing like crazy when you raise up. Not so incredibly elegant-looking, but a great bootie exercise at any level of experience!
- (25) Calf raises - weighted, if you prefer, with moderate weights in each hand. Typically, my girlfriends and I use 8-10 lbs. weights in each hand. Because of my foot, yesterday I used 5 lbs. Holding a weight in each hand, standing straight, slight arch in the back, knees unlocked, toes pointed slightly in, raise up on the ball of your foot to full extension and hold for a moment, then lower back down again to the ground.
- (25) Frog squats - light to moderate weight. You might want to lower the amount of reps to 15 as you complete your cycle.
That's it! HOORAY, we're done! Now go take some Motrin! Remember, breaking down and building up your muscles also means burning fat so being sore that night or day after after a well-done, medically sound (and by that I mean doing the movements correctly and not actually hurting yourself) workout means while muscle is being built fat is being burned, even after you've finished moving. :)