The last set in this workout is all about weight bearing on the arms and core control. It is all right to modify the plank jacks or renegade rows to the regular version as needed. Three rounds.
woodchoppers | 30 |
deadlifts | 20 |
curls | 10 |
| |
squat heel lift | 30 |
kickbacks | 20 |
truck driver | 10 |
| |
plank jacks | 30 |
renegade rows | 20 |
plank | 10 |
This week we are working compound exercises. Adding the reach to the side lunge will make it harder and challenge our balance. That high pull added to the sumo squat means the whole body gets involved. Three rounds.
jacks | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
side lunge with reach | 10 |
| |
sumo squat to high pull | 30 |
flies | 20 |
goblet pour | 10 |
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mountain climbers | 30 |
rows | 20 |
femur arcs | 10 |
This workout has a few exercises that target our less-used back muscles. This is good for posture and balance! Three rounds.
1 arm clean and press | 30 |
rows | 20 |
reverse fly | 10 |
| |
(jump) squats | 30 |
skullcrushers | 20 |
pushups | 10 |
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kb alt arm swing | 30 |
deadlift | 20 |
chest lift | 10 |
We’re switching things up with a shorter circuit today. Plus burpees. Sorry/not sorry. Four rounds, or as many as we have time for.
1 min cardio | |
| |
suitcase swings | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
burpees | 10 |
flies | 20 |
plank jacks | 30 |
V sit press | 10 |
We are doing some extra arm work this week, so your deltoids might want to have words with me tomorrow. Three rounds.
jacks | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
lateral raise | 10 |
| |
woodchoppers | 30 |
kickbacks | 20 |
goblet pour | 10 |
| |
squat raise | 30 |
flies | 20 |
plank | 10 |
Yesterday we discussed the why of strength training. Now we’re going to talk about how.
Pick up weight. Put down. Repeat.
Just kidding, mostly.
We need to make sure we work out our whole bodies. That means we need lower body exercises, upper body exercises, abdominal exercises, and exercises that work both the back and the front of the body. A good basic list includes squats, deadlifts, bench press or pushups, rows, pretty princesses, and supermans.
When we start out lifting weights, we want to build some endurance and stability first. That means we lift relatively light weights a lot of times and we incorporate some balance challenges (throw in some single leg exercises or do those squats on a BOSU, for example). The best way to figure out the right weight is to experiment. We want a weight we can use with good form for 15 to 20 reps. As with all strength training, as we get stronger, we will need to increase the weight, dialing the reps back down to the low end of the range and working our way back up. We can do two or three sets of reps for each exercise.
Once we’re more confident about the whole idea of weightlifting, we can choose a variety of goals. Maybe we want to build big muscles or get as strong as possible. In the first instance, we want to choose slightly heavier weights and work in the 8 to 10 rep range. In the second, we want to work in sets of up to 5, continually increasing the weight until we can complete only one good-looking rep. Another possible goal is power, which means lifting a whole bunch of weight really fast. We want to do that after we have mastered form and we’ve worked on max strength for a while. Power strength training is best done with a trainer for safety.
For folks just getting started, commit to one strength training workout a week. When that habit is ingrained, we can add a second weight workout. That is enough for most people, but those of us who get really into it can add more. We need to keep in mind, however, that we don’t want to work the same muscle groups two days in a row. This is why some people do lower body work on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays and upper body work on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, keeping Sunday as a rest day. (Bad news: it is ok to do ab work every day.)
Still have questions? That’s what I’m here for! Ask me!
Last week we went over the basics of cardio. This week, we turn our attention to strength training.
There are a lot of us who, having figured out the cardio thing, don’t really care about strength training. We go run or dance or swim or whatever and we feel fabulous and why would we want to do anything else?
There are a bunch of reasons. One of them is that time, from our perspective, only flows in one direction, which means that we are all getting older. As we age, we lose lean body mass even if our weight remains unchanged. One of the markers of good health is a low body fat percentage and the way we keep that low body fat percentage is by increasing our lean muscle mass. How do we do that when time is against us? By strength training. It helps us keep the sand in the upper half of the hour glass longer.
Additionally, we need strength training as we get older to help us keep our bones strong. Work with weights helps to stave off osteoporosis.
Those of us who want to lose weight will do better with strength training because of the aforementioned lean body mass increase. Muscle burns more calories per pound than fat does, which means that as we add muscle, we fire up our metabolism.
Need more reasons? We’ll look better. Strength training gives our muscles tone and makes us more shapely. (Those of us who identify as female don’t need to worry about bulking up; it is actually challenging for women to get bulky. We’re much more likely to get smaller and tighter-looking.)
Even more? Strength training is practical. We all need to lug groceries around and shift furniture from time to time and open jars. Stronger people are more able to be independent.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about how we go about this whole strength training thing.
This week we’re working on core and balance with our whole body work! Three rounds.
step up to balance | 30 |
(lunge) to curl to overhead | 20 |
truck driver | 10 |
| |
kb swings | 30 |
kb twist | 20 |
kb 8s | 10 |
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squat to leg lift | 30 |
rows | 20 |
brains | 10 |
Welcome to the new year! We have a pretty comprehensive whole body workout to get us back in gear. Three rounds.
mountain climbers | 30 |
flies | 20 |
pushup renegade rows | 10 |
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push press | 30 |
deadlifts | 20 |
YTA | 10 |
| |
leg kicks | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
pretty princesses | 10 |
For Christmas, we’re doing a workout game. The only equipment required is a deck of cards, although it is handy to have an exercise ball or a yoga block for the pretty princesses and those of you who want to make things harder on yourselves may want some light weights to hold for the squats and punches.
This game can be played alone or with a friend.
One turn involves turning over a card and doing the exercise that matches the suit (see chart below) the number of times that is on the card. So, for example, turning over the three of clubs would mean doing three pretty princesses. Face cards can either be counted as ten, or jacks can be 11, queens 12, and kings 13.
Continue as long as time and energy allow!
(This is a good way to wear out any kids you happen to have lying around!)
Cardio Poker | |
Suit | Exercise |
Hearts | squats/jump squats |
Diamonds | lunge punches |
Clubs | pretty princesses |
Spades | pushups |
Yes, I know that next Monday is actual Christmas, but I’m not working then. So we’re doing the 12 days of Christmas workout this week.
For those of you who have not yet tried it out, here is how it works. We begin doing one push press. Day one is over! Then, we start day two, on which we do two goblet squats and one push press. We continue on until we have completed all twelve days.
It is ok to rest as needed, but we try to rest between the days rather than stopping in the middle.
Yes, I know that this adds up to 42 burpees by the time we are done. I am not your true love after all.
Merry Christmas.
1 push press |
2 goblet squats |
3 Overhead press |
4 1 leg squats each leg |
5 deadlifts |
6 burpees |
7 pushups |
8 renegade rows |
9 mountain climbers |
10 jump lunges |
11 kb swings |
12 plyojacks |
We are keeping the back of our bodies strong and working on balance this week. Four rounds.
1 min cardio | |
| |
suitcase swings | 30 |
1 leg squat | 10 |
bench press | 20 |
woodchoppers | 30 |
deadlift | 20 |
pretty princesses | 10 |
I am enjoying the shorter circuits right now. This one should get the whole body working!. Four rounds.
1 min cardio | |
| |
step ups or high knees | 30 |
renegade rows | 10 |
flies | 20 |
kb alternate arm swing | 30 |
Arnold press | 10 |
oblique crunch | 10 |
We have a few things that work laterally today, some changes of direction, and some one-sided work, all of which adds up to a bunch of work on core and balance. Three rounds.
squat to leg lift | 30 |
flies | 20 |
1 leg deadlift | 10 |
| |
lateral bound/side lunge | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
reverse fly | 10 |
| |
jacks | 30 |
curls | 20 |
V sit press | 10 |
