DITCH THE GYM.. Ok don't - The 5 Most Effective Exercises You Can Do Anywhere
I'm going to bet that you're all too familiar with this scenario - Walk into local gym. Sign up to local gym. Wander around local gym, use treadmill, elliptical perhaps lift a dumbbell. Do this for a few weeks. Never go back - I've done it SEVERAL times myself. I felt ignored, confused, unmotivated and stupid because I had once again wasted my money on another years membership with zero result to show for it.
Here's an idea: cut out the middleman, get creative, and work out from the comfort of your own home. This is terrible advice for a gym owner and L1 CrossFit Coach like myself, to give out but I am, zero tolerance on the fitness bullshit front and yes you can get a good workout at home.
I finally threw in the "complementary" towel years back on the big box type facility when I realized that the revolving-door business model with long-term contracts and quick turnarounds like conventional globo-gyms just wasn't going to be my solution. Hey, it may be yours, and that's A-OK but it just wasn't for me. Long story short ('too late") I found CrossFit and opened my own Studio/ Garage Gym. One that is more about building relationships, wanting to see ALL athletes not just the elite succeed, teaching quality movements and having fun.
The foundation of this type of training is functional movement which doesn't necessarily have to include any equipment. CrossFit.com and Cherry Bomb Garage Gym.com has a lot of workouts that require nothing more than a pull up bar but for this post we'll exclude even that! BODYWEIGHT!!!
Basically move better, get stronger, feel better all around but most importantly keep it simple.
We know that exercise is an important part of our lives, right? Staying in shape is one way to increase your life expectancy and weight bearing exercises, increasing muscle mass and bone density as we age. Plus that tone look, you all keep harping at me for...yeah, that's weight bearing exercises.
Most of us have learned what to do when it comes to exercising. The problem is where and when to get the job done. With a busy lifestyle, making time for exercise is a challenge.
Weight bearing exercises aren’t just for bodybuilders. As you age, especially once you hit the age of forty... ugh, my here and now :( ..., you begin to lose muscle mass. For women especially, bone loss becomes a problem. When the body is in need of calcium it can rob it from your bones. Building muscle not only increases their mass but your strength.
Ready to know what these 5 moves are?
You're going to be disappointed.
1 Walking: Surprised? Technically not a move but I wanted to add this in.
Walking is done by, well getting off your butt and moving those legs.
Regular walking, is good for bones and improves the body's cardiovascular system. It can improve muscle endurance as well as muscle strength, especially in the lower body.
Power-walking can burn the same amount of calories as jogging. Because it is low impact, it does not have the same potential for injury as jogging and because more people are able to walk at a consistent speed than run, it is a more beneficial form of tissue-cleansing, particularly for the over-50s, for whom jogging can actually cause more problems.
2 (A) Squats: You had to know this one was coming.
Squats work the butt, the hamstring muscles and the quadriceps making this exercise an excellent calorie burner because squats use the largest muscle groups in the body and you SQUAT everyday!!! Think of how many times you sit down and stand up. Bonus - that knee problem may result from quadriceps problems and squats could help resolve them but you should check with their doctor first.
2 (B) Lunges: Another lower body move. Big movers, big results.
Lunges work the same large muscle groups as the squats, but can work additional leg muscles and improve balance. Lunges can be hard for people with knee problems. A reverse lunge can put less pressure on the knee.
3 Push-ups: The basic push-up is the classic exercise to strengthen the upper body (chest, shoulders, and triceps) and core (abdominal muscles).
Beginners can first do push-ups by spreading their fully extended arms slightly more than shoulder width apart with their hands against an unmovable object like the edge of a kitchen countertop. Then bend your elbows until your chest almost touches the edge of the counter top, allowing only your toes to bend and keeping your back and legs in a straight line. Then push your body away from the countertop until your arms are again fully extended. As you progress, you can lower until eventually your hands are on the floor.
4 Sit ups: Not a huge fan of the sit up but hundreds of years can't be wrong.
The standard abdominal crunch is an excellent way to strengthen and define those abdominal muscles (commonly termed a “six pack” but not so commonly seen in many men and women! HA!!). TIP: When you keep your feet off of the floor, it helps you avoid arching your back, a problem that can actually weaken the abdominal muscles. The “crunch” is done by not arching the back. The lower back is pushed downward and then contracting the abdominal muscles and tucking in your chin slightly, lift your neck, shoulders, and back off of the floor. You can add some variations to strengthen and define the oblique abdominal muscles uses the same technique except you must twist your abdomen to the right or left before lifting the head, shoulders, and back.
BUT no amount of crunching will get you that flat belly. Belly fat needs to be reduced first and foremost to take that “six pack” out of it's soft cooler.
5 Burpees :You want cardio, I got cardio with burpees. Nothing winds you more than falling to the ground and jumping back up again. Over and over.
It's basically a pushup and a high jump all rolled into one evil movement.
Ok. I kinda cheated on the lunge & squat but they are somewhat interchangeable. Anyhow, these five exercise moves can be done whenever you have time. The best thing about exercise is that its effects are cumulative. Even five or ten minutes at a time can help.
And if all else fails, I'll leave you with this final exercise.
Here's an idea: cut out the middleman, get creative, and work out from the comfort of your own home. This is terrible advice for a gym owner and L1 CrossFit Coach like myself, to give out but I am, zero tolerance on the fitness bullshit front and yes you can get a good workout at home.
 |
| Yup, that's my gym...sigh. |
Basically move better, get stronger, feel better all around but most importantly keep it simple.
We know that exercise is an important part of our lives, right? Staying in shape is one way to increase your life expectancy and weight bearing exercises, increasing muscle mass and bone density as we age. Plus that tone look, you all keep harping at me for...yeah, that's weight bearing exercises.
Most of us have learned what to do when it comes to exercising. The problem is where and when to get the job done. With a busy lifestyle, making time for exercise is a challenge.
Weight bearing exercises aren’t just for bodybuilders. As you age, especially once you hit the age of forty... ugh, my here and now :( ..., you begin to lose muscle mass. For women especially, bone loss becomes a problem. When the body is in need of calcium it can rob it from your bones. Building muscle not only increases their mass but your strength.
Ready to know what these 5 moves are?
You're going to be disappointed.
 |
| Click to get you FREE week of Beginner training |
Walking is done by, well getting off your butt and moving those legs.
Regular walking, is good for bones and improves the body's cardiovascular system. It can improve muscle endurance as well as muscle strength, especially in the lower body.
Power-walking can burn the same amount of calories as jogging. Because it is low impact, it does not have the same potential for injury as jogging and because more people are able to walk at a consistent speed than run, it is a more beneficial form of tissue-cleansing, particularly for the over-50s, for whom jogging can actually cause more problems.
Squats work the butt, the hamstring muscles and the quadriceps making this exercise an excellent calorie burner because squats use the largest muscle groups in the body and you SQUAT everyday!!! Think of how many times you sit down and stand up. Bonus - that knee problem may result from quadriceps problems and squats could help resolve them but you should check with their doctor first.
2 (B) Lunges: Another lower body move. Big movers, big results.
Lunges work the same large muscle groups as the squats, but can work additional leg muscles and improve balance. Lunges can be hard for people with knee problems. A reverse lunge can put less pressure on the knee.
3 Push-ups: The basic push-up is the classic exercise to strengthen the upper body (chest, shoulders, and triceps) and core (abdominal muscles).
Beginners can first do push-ups by spreading their fully extended arms slightly more than shoulder width apart with their hands against an unmovable object like the edge of a kitchen countertop. Then bend your elbows until your chest almost touches the edge of the counter top, allowing only your toes to bend and keeping your back and legs in a straight line. Then push your body away from the countertop until your arms are again fully extended. As you progress, you can lower until eventually your hands are on the floor.
4 Sit ups: Not a huge fan of the sit up but hundreds of years can't be wrong.
The standard abdominal crunch is an excellent way to strengthen and define those abdominal muscles (commonly termed a “six pack” but not so commonly seen in many men and women! HA!!). TIP: When you keep your feet off of the floor, it helps you avoid arching your back, a problem that can actually weaken the abdominal muscles. The “crunch” is done by not arching the back. The lower back is pushed downward and then contracting the abdominal muscles and tucking in your chin slightly, lift your neck, shoulders, and back off of the floor. You can add some variations to strengthen and define the oblique abdominal muscles uses the same technique except you must twist your abdomen to the right or left before lifting the head, shoulders, and back.
BUT no amount of crunching will get you that flat belly. Belly fat needs to be reduced first and foremost to take that “six pack” out of it's soft cooler.
5 Burpees :You want cardio, I got cardio with burpees. Nothing winds you more than falling to the ground and jumping back up again. Over and over.
It's basically a pushup and a high jump all rolled into one evil movement.
Ok. I kinda cheated on the lunge & squat but they are somewhat interchangeable. Anyhow, these five exercise moves can be done whenever you have time. The best thing about exercise is that its effects are cumulative. Even five or ten minutes at a time can help.
And if all else fails, I'll leave you with this final exercise.
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