Feeling Unstable? Time for a SHOULDER WORKOUT!

A lot of people don’t do shoulder workouts (especially girls) and I would like to change that! Do you know how important your shoulders are for your body?! Your shoulder muscles are your stabilizing muscles, they support your arms (biceps, triceps, etc.), your chest, your back, you name it!

However. Doing a shoulder workout is one of the workouts that don’t aim to lift a lot of weight. You need to be gentle on your shoulders, you’re strengthening them so they can, in return, stabilize you. You don’t need to–or should–lift hulk-like weight. Shoulders are tremendously easy to injure–just ask Chris. And if you do heavy weight with the wrong exercises, bye-bye!

Shoulder

This was a home workout. We used a stability ball, resistance bands, and weights. If you don’t have resistance bands, you can still do the other exercises, we used them for a warm up. You are to do 3 sets of each exercise. I’m not going to tell you what weight to do each exercise at because everyone is at a different level. However, if you’d like to know what I do, or what I think you specifically should do, just comment below. I provided links to videos or pictures on how to do these if you’re unfamiliar. Comment below, too, if you’re still a little unsure!

Your Own Special Shoulder Workout:

Resistance Band Rear Delt Fly: Try for 12-20 reps

Resistance Band Lateral and Forward Raises: Try for 5-12 reps

Scaptions: Try for 10-12 reps (do what weight is comfortable for you and do not raise arms above shoulder level!)

Forward Raise: Let’s go for 8-12 reps

Stability Ball Shoulder Press: We’re going to try for 8-12 reps here

Stability Ball AHNOLD PRESS: Let’s go for 8-10 reps here

Stability Ball Shrugs: These will be 15-20 reps. Here you can go with a little more weight

Again, we do not want heavy weight. We want controlled, slow movements. And we want 3 sets of each exercise. If you don’t have a resistance band, get one. And if you don’t have a stability ball, do those exercises seated on a chair. And girls, these are important for you too. Soon, we’ll have a good camera and quit the laziness to have pictures of US doing these exercises, but for now, the random array of people will have to do. Here are some of Chris:

Again, let me know if you have any questions or comments! Also, if you want a free consultation and training plan, I’d love to help you out, contact us at alana.ppowell@gmail.com

P.S.- Happy Labor Day!

Aug232012

15-Min Abs MIX ‘N MATCH, BABY!

Hey ya’ll! (awkward…sorry for the accent, we’re watching Chopped Southern Style) Anywayyyys, so you want to get some abs in? Who doesn’t! They’re fun, quick, and it’s an enjoyable burn. It’s also fun to work on your mid-section, which bother most people weight or fat-wise. When you do an ab workout (or core–even better), you’re building the muscle there. It’s not necessarily targeting just belly fat, but you will burn calories as you do these workouts, and as discussed earlier, will continue to burn calories afterwards. You’ll start off with some wash-board abs, then move onto certain “packs.” It just matters how hard you work.

So we’ve put together for you an easy routine that can be swapped around. It consists of 3 exercises–you get to choose from the list below. In this fast workout, we want to work all parts of your abdomen including upper abs, lower abs, and obliques. Yes, those aren’t the scientific names, but it’s how we all know them by. So choose one from each category and put them together. We want to do 30 reps of each and 3 sets of all of it.

Upper Abs

Lowers Abs

Plank
Fast bicycles
Slow bicycles (my favorite, just take the pace down slower and you will feel it much more strongly)
Pikes
Reverse crunches

Obliques

Again, this is a home workout. If you had a facility like a gym, you could obviously incorporate more exercises, using cables, more weights, bars, medicine ball, roman chair, etc.

Remember, you’re doing 30 reps (which means number of times you perform an exercise) of each exercise out of the three categories for 3 sets. Let me show you an example:

Example Mix ‘n Match Abs Workout

FIRST SET

30 indian crunches
30 slow bicycles
30 side crunches

SECOND SET

30 indian crunches
30 slow bicycles
30 side crunches

THIRD SET

30 indian crunches
30 slow bicycles
30 side crunches

And that’s 270 reps of abs exercises. So you get the idea. And if you don’t want to just do the same ones, add in some more for your different sets. Also, I normally do ten sets, but three is a great place to start out.

Let me know how this works for you and what abs exercises you love!

Get crazy, Sparta style

Aug212012

15-Minute Triceps Workout

Finding it hard to squeeze a workout in?

In this life of ridiculous busy-ness, it’s hard to get a chance to stop, put on your workout clothes (which for some reason feel tight, perhaps because they haven’t been used in a week and a half), and get into the mode. Let alone actually drive/walk/bike/bus to a gym! Big breath, you don’t need to do huge workouts every day to stay in fit. Remember that it’s exercise AND nutrition. They’ve got to walk side by side if you want results.

And another thing before I show you some exercises, is to remember how important strength and resistance training is. This means working out your muscles. No, it’s not just for boys. It’s for us big girls too. And it’s really important for your health! Think cardio is the only way to burn calories? Think again. When you rip up those muscle fibers while pushing yourself during any muscle workout (let’s take leg press), your body has to work hard after the workout as well in order to repair those fibers. Which means your body is burning calories after the workout to try and repair those fibers as quick as possible. Quads burn after that leg press the next day? Fibers are torn so it makes it sore to walk around. So muscle workouts = more calories burned afterwards.

Onto the 15-min workout. It could be even less. It depends on the number of reps, sets, and exercises you do. I chose to do three. I actually did them watching “The Help,” figuring it was a movie I should watch and always looked good (it was). Here’s the three I did:

1. One-Arm Triceps Extension

Pretty simple. Get a weight you’re comfortable with (I started with 12 lbs and moved up to 18 lbs for my last set) and either sit or stand. Extend the weight with one arm over your head and then lower it down (with control) towards your back. Keep everything slow and controlled until your form is good. Now do the other arm.

Reps: 12, Sets: 4

2. Two-Arm Triceps Extension

So it’s basically the same thing (read above) but with two arms holding the weight. This allows you to use a heavier weight than the single-arm. I started with 15 lbs and ended my last set with 21 lbs.

Sets: 4, Reps: 12

3. Skull Crushers

You can either do this with a bar or weights. I chose to do it with weights (dumbbells) simply because I don’t have a bar here at the apartment. Start lying down with your weights or bar extended in front of your chest and then slowly lower until your hands are right at your forehead. Then push out again. That’s one rep. Get why it’s called a skull crusher? I went around 15 lbs for this one.

Reps: 10, Sets: 4

So there you have it. A three-exercise workout that left my triceps feeling tired. You will too if you do them properly with the right number of reps and sets. Your core will also be worked if you keep it tight and do the exercises correctly. Do what feels good for you. Never push it to the point of injury, but push yourself to get that last rep. Comment below if you have any questions. Enjoy!

PS– If you are interested in getting a free training plan and/or consultation or just have some questions, please email us at alana.ppowell@gmail.com