Home Leg Workout (No Equipment Necessary)

This post should really be called “How to Achieve a 4-Minute Wall Sit” because that’s what my goal is. You’ll remember from our Summer Fitness Goals, that I have several body weight goals. One of them is to–as you may have predicted–achieve a wall sit for four minutes. Now, four minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, but you plomp your behind and a wall and see how long you last. This workout is designed to be high rep low weight to achieve muscle endurance. My poor legs need to build up muscle endurance to stay put for four minutes straight! I’m sweatin’ just thinking about it! So whether you’re trying to achieve a 4-minute wall sit or just want a home leg workout, this is for you!

1. Wall sit. As long as possible. I bet this was a shocker. Hold a wall sit for as long as you can before your legs give out. Make sure your legs are absolutely parallel to the ground and you aren’t leaning on your legs. Look like a chair!

Aug292014

Home Upper Body Workout (HIIT!)

You’re not always going to have a gym to go to. In fact, you may not even be subscribed to a gym right now! It’s important to have your own personal arsenal of home workouts and exercises. This is a great workout for everybody and anybody! Some people (women especially) choose to ignore strengthening their upper body. And why? We should keep our whole body strong! For this workout, all you need is a pair of light weights and a resistance band. Let’s do it.

Boxing (with 5lb weights) for 1 min

Jamie, the star of our last guest blog post!

Biceps Curls (with whichever weight you can do) for 1 min
Triceps Extensions (with whichever weight you can do) for 1 min
Boxing for 1 min
Rear Delt Flyes for 1 min
Shoulder Press (with whatever weight you can do) for 1 min
Boxing for 1 min
Push-ups for 1 min

Dips for 1 min
Boxing for 1 min
Face pulls for 1 min
Reverse Curls (with whatever weight you can do) for 1 min

Now take a break for crying out loud! Our next and final “set” is going to be faster pace, shorter time, and increased intensity. Try going with some heavier weights than before since you will be doing it for half the time.

Boxing (same 5lb weight) for 30s
Biceps Curls for 30s
Jumping Jacks for 1 min
Triceps Extensions for 30s
Boxing for 30s
Rear delt flyes for 30s

High knees for 1 min
Shoulder Press for 30s
Boxing for 30s
Push-ups for 30s
Quick toes for 1 min
Dips for 30s

Boxing for 30s
Face Pulls for 30s
Jump Rope for 1min
Reverse Curls for 30s

And that, my friends, is a great upper body workout for your muscles and your heart! Jamie and I were sweating and aching by the end of it. This particular upper body workout took us around 40 minutes in total, but you can trim things down or buff them up how you’d like. Make sure you have a reliable timer nearby to count each segment. Try to push yourself through each part even though your muscles are screaming at you. Fight til the end! Do this upper body home workout to stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC

Silly Sajah

Aug022013

15-Minute Upper Body Home Workout

Ever since the completion of the contest, I haven’t done any hardcore or intense workouts. I’ve done some running, yoga, and light weights. I plan to get back to heavy lifting soon, because I miss it! Anyhow, after work one day, I was feeling sluggish and I knew a fast-paced light-weight circuit would give me that pick-me-up and turn on the sweat. All you need are some dumbbells and an elevated surface such as a chair, bench, couch, or bed. Repeat this circuit 3-6x as time allows. Each set is until failure, meaning that your muscles are too tired to complete another rep.

Disclaimer: Pics were taken after the home workout as they are obviously taken in a gym 😛

1. Elevated crunches. Put your legs up on the elevated surface, contract your abs, and crunch. Don’t pull your neck, but use the core to crunch up, creating that contraction and eventual burn of your soon-to-be six-pack. Use weight if you want to challenge yourself further.

2. Concentration curls. Sit down on your bench, chair, couch–whatever it is that you have. Lean your elbow on your leg, bend forward, but keep your shoulders back and curl one at a time. Then switch to other arm.

3. Triceps extension. Grab your dumbbells and stay seated. Lift up your arms and hold your hands behind your head with the weights in them. Lift up vertically until your arms are straight then come down to the bent-arm position behind your head.

4. Shoulder press. Hold dumbbells at shoulder level, so that your body almost looks like a T. Press up and almost touch the weights, then come back to starting position.

Coworker making me laugh…

5. Dips. Use that elevated surface and place your hands on the edge, fingers facing forward. Have your legs out straight and bend the elbows, lowering your body. Then raise up to starting position (do not sit in between).

Again, repeat 3-6x. The more times, the better. This will hit core, biceps, triceps, shoulders, and a little bit of chest. Not a bad upper body workout if you’re short on time. All you need are dumbbells and an elevated surface. Let us know how this goes! Stay strong. Use this workout to stay hungry and fit!

You might also like…

BONUS KITTY PIC

Teehee, caught sleeping

May202013

5 Ways to Firm Up Your Glutes

No matter what gender we are, we all want to have nice glutes. And besides aesthetics, the stronger our glutes are, the more powerful we are. Think of when you feel your glutes: walking up the stairs, the beginning part of sprinting, and standing up from kneeling or squatting. Improve your gluteal muscles and you will get up the stairs faster, be able to run and sprint faster, and spring up from the ground like a ten-year old. These are 5 simple exercises that can be performed anywhere!

1. Doggies. You’ve heard me talk about these before, and I will again because it’s such a great exercise for the glutes! And the more you do without stopping, the better workout it is for those muscles. Go on your hands and knees, kick your leg back and then rotate it around to starting position, keeping the leg in line with your hips. Keep going until you can’t and then go right away to the other side.

2. Hip bridges. This can be done with or without a stability ball. Lie on your back with your feet on the floor, knees bent. Now, lift up, bringing your hips and glutes up. If you want a deeper exercise, you can go up on your toes to get higher. Come down, but don’t touch the floor. Continue up and down, squeezing the glutes at the top until failure. If you want to use a stability ball, simply put your calves on top of it and do the same motion.

3. Box jumps. For this, you can use an athletic box, stepper, a chair, a couch–anything that is raised and stable. Focusing on using your glutes, spring up with both feet and jump onto the top of the box. Try to synchronize so both feet hit at the same time. This is also a cardio workout if you do it repeatedly. Slightly squat down so you can get power, and jump up!

4. Step ups with leg extension. This is different from regular step-ups. Have something similar to what you had for box jumps–a box, a stepper, a chair, a couch, whatever you can find. Now step up with one leg, and extend the other as high as you can behind you which clenches the glutes. Now do the same on the other side. Do this until your glutes and hips cramp up so you can’t do another (aka until failure!).

5. Bobbing squat. You will really feel the burn with this one. Get into a squatting position and hold. Now bob your hips and glutes up and down in little motions. Go for as long as you can until the burn is just too much. Don’t forget to time yourself and try to beat your own record!

So if you’re looking to have buns of steel for the summer time, or better, for your lifetime, make these few exercises a part of your routine. They’re easy to remember and simple to do (though they burn if you do it right!), giving you no excuses not to have the glutes of your dreams! Click here if you’re looking for an over-all non-machine leg workout! Use these exercises to stay…hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria found a nice little spot

Apr182013

Home Workout Thursday: Push Muscle Group

Sometimes we neither have the time nor drive to get ourselves to the gym. That’s when you do a home workout. No matter what, you can always get a workout in! This workout will focus on our push muscle group: shoulders, chest, and triceps. For best results, do 3 sets. But hey, one is better than nothing! So if that’s all you have time for, that’s fine. Cardio exercises are 1 minute each. Strength exercises are until failure. NO REST IN BETWEEN EXERCISES.

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells, a floor (…)

Ready, set, go!

Jumping jacks – 1 minute
Chest press – Until failure

Triceps extension – Until failure

Mountain climbers – 1 minute

Arnold press – Until failure

Side triceps extension – Until failure

Boxing (with weight) – 1 minute
Pec flies – Until failure

Again–NO REST IN BETWEEN EXERCISES. You can, however, rest after each set. Let’s shoot for 3 sets. Use the heaviest dumbbells you can manage, really get your muscles tired and worked out. Let us know if you have any questions in the comment section below! You can always get a workout in, even if you don’t have a gym! And remember…stay hungry and fit!

Mar062013

Quick Home Workout (Starting at Just 10 Minutes!)

So you really don’t have a lot of time, but you want to get some kind of cardio and strength activity in. Maybe you’re running off to see Jack the Giant Slayer in 15 minutes, but you want to get some muscle work in (hmm, sounds familiar…). This one ended up being a great core blaster with great upper body work as well.

And that’s my delightful chicken scratch! Do as many sets as you have time for. You can do one set in 7-10 minutes, depending on how long you last until failure. The weight for curls, rows, and press is up to you! You should get a light sweat and feel it in the abs and upper body, at least I did. Do them right, no rushing! If you have any questions on the exercises, feel free to comment and ask!

Cheers! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

Feb142013

Love Yourself: 30-Minute Total Body Blast [NO EQUIPMENT NECESSARY]

Hey, lovers and self-lovers out there! Today may be a day to splurge on chocolate, pastas, and fine wines (we are personally ordering pizza and kicking back since I work late), but it is also a day to show your body some love! You can’t be unfair and only treat your taste buds, treat your body too. Find 30 minutes out of your busy day to kick your own butt! In a kind and loving happy way. This is a home workout, you don’t need any weights–just keep moving! So no excuses! Keep a water bottle nearby.

30-Minute Circuit Total Body Blast

We are going to be doing a circuit of 10 stations for 1 minute each. Think you’re ready? Let’s do it!

1. Jump rope. Whether you have an actual jump rope or not, do this at a fast pace.

English: into the groove double dutch jump rope (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2. Plie squats. More information on these if you click the link, these should be done slowly.

Here’s me with weights, but they are unnecessary for all

3. Push-ups. More information at the link, you can do them regular or knee-style, whatever your strength level is at.

4. Mountain climbers. These are quick. The faster you go, the more you burn!

5. Plank. Click the link for more information. Make sure you’re doing this right or I’ll sit on you.

6. Supermans. For these, you are on your belly and you lift your arms and your legs, with your torso still on the ground. You go up for about a second and then down, and then up and down, etc.

7. High knees. Hold your hands/arms parallel to the floor at a high level and kick your knees up to try to get them to your hands. These are FAST.

8. Lunges. Hands on the hips in starting position, lunge out forward with one leg, then back, lunge out with the other leg and back. Make sure that back leg is getting low to the ground.

9. Dips. Using a bench, a chair, a couch, anything really, hold onto the object, facing away from it and dip down, using your triceps.

10. Russian twists. Sit up with your legs off the ground and twist your shoulders back and forth (your whole torso), hitting either side with your hands. Make sure you are doing a full twist.

X3. To do this full workout, you must do this circuit three times. And 1 minute at each station (use an iPhone, a timer, stopwatch, something to keep track of time). You may need rest in between, but get a sip of water and try to keep going. Keep that heart rate up and the sweat flowing. And if you only have 20 minutes, then you can just make it two circuits instead of one. I know you have 20 minutes to spare today before you spend it with your love or your friends or your pets. If you’d rather have a shorter, more repetitive 15-min workout, click here. And click here for more circuit training ideas.

Let us know if you have any questions, and as always, stay hungry and fit! Cheers!

Jan302013

15 Minute High-Intensity Workout — No Excuses

I don’t care how busy you are. You have 15 minutes. You do. Don’t lie to yourself. So if you don’t have time for your own full workout, try this one. Only 15 minutes. Extremely simple. All you need is a timer. You could use your phone if it has one too. You can get some of your family to do it with you–it will make it more fun (and entertaining) this way. Most everyone can do it, unless you have a significant injury. Just try it! It gets you working, your heart rate up, hopefully sweating, and your core/legs strong. So here it is…

1 minute mountain climbers

1 minute russian twists

1 minute lunges

Meaning, you perform 1 minute of mountain climbers, 1 minute of russian twists, then 1 minute of lunges. And REPEAT FIVE TIMES. Take as little rest as possible. If you do so, you will have completed a very efficient, high-intensity, muscle-burning workout.

With the mountain climbers, I want you to go as quickly as possible. Keeping the pace up is one thing, but you also need to try to get those feet as close to the hands as possible to complete a good exercise.

With the russian twists, make sure you are doing complete rotations. This means that it’s not just your hands moving side to side, but also your shoulders. You’re doing a complete twist from either side. Once you’ve mastered that rotation, try to get a solid speed going.

With the lunges, if you have enough room you can do moving lunges. Otherwise, place your hands on your hips, lunge forward with the right, bring it back to center, then lunge forward with the left. This way, you stay in the same spot, but still get the full extension of the exercise.

Good luck, work hard, and sweat often!

Jan112013

Drop and Give Me Ten: How to Do a Proper Push-up

Usually when non-fitness people (whatever that means) hear the word “push-up,” they cringe in fear and run away. So stop! Don’t run! The push-up is a wonderful exercise for strengthening your body and you can literally do it almost everywhere. You don’t need any fancy equipment or gym, you don’t even need a proper ground–you could do it in the mud, if you preferred.

However, when people bravely attempt the push-up, their form is often wrong. Not only will this not give you the proper exercise, you can injure yourself if not positioned properly. So let’s get through this and do it the right way. There are various forms of the push-up, but I’m showing you the basic push-up.

Alright, find yourself an area on the ground where you have room to fully extend. Start on your hands and knees and face the floor. Extend your legs, your toes/top of the foot should be the floor. Now, have your hands shoulder-width apart (or a little bit wider). It’s a good thing to stack your shoulders right above your elbows and wrists. This ensures joint and bone stability, so that nothing simply gives out. So now you’re in the starting position!

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I can’t describe how extremely important it is to have your body rigid like a plank. I don’t want to see your hips drooping or raising above the rest of your body. It should be a direct line–think graphs. If it’s not, you’re doing it wrong and if you continue to do so, it’s going to throw your body out of whack.

Now it’s time to try the actual exercise of lowering yourself as close to the ground as possible. Keep your elbows in as you slowly, keeping the hips in line with the body, lower yourself to the ground (without actually hitting it). Check your form out–is your body a straight line still? What about your neck? So often, people think they’re doing the push-up properly, and you see their neck drooping. Just because your neck can hit near the ground, doesn’t mean you’re doing it properly. So as your whole body is coming down, make sure your neck and head stay aligned with your body. It’s extremely important for the exercise and the health of your body.

Line art drawing of push up. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now the tough part is coming back up. Keeping your form pristine (see above), use your chest muscles to push yourself up to starting position. This means your head and hips are still aligned with your torso and legs. And there you go. Congrats. Do 4 sets of as many as you can do. It will be extremely difficult at first, but the more you do them, the stronger your chest and arms will get. And ladies, I want to see you doing these too! It’s important to build our upper body. I do them, so can you.

Deutsch: Liegestützender Mann in gelben Shorts. Animiert. Verzögerung 0,2 s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now there is a variation of the push-up for those who need it:

Knee push-ups. These are for those who are too weak and need more practice for the regular push-up. On this one, instead of resting on your toes, rest on your knees. Even though you are on your knees and hands, you still need to extend your body so that it is like a straight line and you are bring your torso down, not just your head or your shoulders.

Keep it up and work on those pecs! You will get to the regular push-up, and once you do, keep good form and get strong! Hey, maybe even make it a Resolution to get to a certain # by each month. Good luck!

Cheers!

Sep222012

How to Get Thor-Like (or Wonder Woman-like) Legs without Machines

Sometimes in life, you don’t have all of the resources you would like. When it comes to fitness and gyms, you may not have all the equipment you would like (or think you may need). This is actually something we’ve stumbled upon as the Boulder Rock Gym doesn’t have many (or any) machines, not counting cables. It is very tough to do a leg workout without machines because it’s difficult to isolate and work each muscle of the leg. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and honey, we’ve got it!

All you really need is 30 minutes to 1 hour. Not bad! As you might have read in our last post, we’re not in the shape we’re used to, so this was a relatively light workout for our standards, but nonetheless, a good leg workout (without machines). Let’s get started.

1. Start with a warm up. Since this is a workout “without machines,” ignore what we did (biked), and go for a run or use a real bike. Try for 15-20 minutes of moderate intensity cardio.

2. Strength time. Get some weights, a barbell, whatever you have. You can always be flexible and substitute for what you don’t have. It’d be great to pull out a jump rope too.

Start with squats. This can be with dumbbells, barbell, or just with your body. I wanna see 10-15 reps, 3 sets.

Chris performing proper exhalation. VERY IMPORTANT

3. We did a superset (meaning performing a squat and then, with no rest, another exercise), matching squats with jumping rope for however long the other did squats.

4. After that, we did (explosive) step-ups with weights. Get something you can step up onto, at least a foot high. You could use a bench, a chair, whatever. I used our couch the other day (oops). So basically, step onto the platform, weight in hand, and raise your other knee as you do so. Let’s go for 8-15 reps, 3 sets, reps depending on what amount of weights you use.

5. And, for a superset, we did box jumps. You can see the “box” in the left part of the picture above. Basically, do as many jumps over that as you can while the other person finishes their step ups.

6. By this point, we’re feeling pretty tired because most of our exercises have been high-intensity cardio. We move onto plie squats, which I covered here. Turn your feet out with wide horse stance, squat, turn left lunge, then turn right lunge. That’s one rep. Again, look at the other post for more details. Try to get 8-10 reps, 3 sets.

7. Finally, we end with deadlifts. This is basically a squat, but you start at the bottom position. Keep your back straight and form pristine. 8-12 reps, 3 sets.

And there you have it. Afterwards, we were pretty exhausted, but we did bouldering for 25 minutes anyways, making our forearms scream. You just need to push yourself to your potential, you can make something great out of any workout. And you didn’t need any machines for this great leg workout! Remember, this workout does not take long. Again, let us know if you have ANY questions, we would really love to help out.

Cheers!