Who wakes up before 8 am? Who wakes up before 7 am? 6 am? How about 5 am? I know that we have readers of all ages on the blog, and while everyone is unique, there are certain populations who tend to sleep in more than others. For as long as we’ve been together, our alarms are usually set for 5:30 am. We like to walk Noke before other people are outside and get our day started. Recently, a few changes have led me to set that alarm an hour earlier.
I’ve been waking up at 4:30 am.
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!
So you’ve made your resolutions–well done! So how do you even start them. It can be quite daunting to look at a page of things you say you are going to do…which is why it’s so important to start with baby steps. Let’s try just a few…
1. Take the stairs every time. I know you’ve heard this one before, but I want you to actually follow it. Every time. Even if you’re tired. You work on the third floor, go ahead and do yourself a favor and take those few flights. It will be worth it in the long run, especially if you don’t have time to workout.
stairs (Photo credit: moyogo)
2. Move more. Just move! That’s it! You have an office job? Print things out to the farthest printer, or the one upstairs. Use a stability ball instead of a chair. Stand up and walk around when you are drinking your coffee. Say hi to that coworker in the other department you haven’t seen in awhile. I know you’re busy, but you can make time for a few minutes each hour to just move around. This will keep your metabolism up and running.
Using stability balls (Photo credit: mediaguy4)
3. Eat frequently. This isn’t a myth, folks, the more times you consume food, the faster your metabolism has to work. This doesn’t mean go out and have steak and eggs for every meal. Small meals folks–egg on toast, fruit, trail mix, peanut butter on celery. Divide up those foods and you have something to graze on all day, keeping your body alert and your metabolism working.
Tasty Food Abundance in Healthy Europe (Photo credit: epSos.de)
4. Change your daily activities. What do you do when you come home from work? Plonk yourself down with a frozen dinner and watch the tube? Well, you know some habits are going to have to change and that is certainly one of them. I know you’re tired when you come home from work, and there’s nothing wrong for putting your feet up for thirty minutes or an hour…but not the whole night. Find something active to do, play with your kids, your dog, cook up a meal, clean the bathroom. Go shoot some hoops. There are plenty of ways to stay active even at night.
Not our cats (Photo credit: Per Ola Wiberg ~ powi)
5. Decide on a workout time. Everyone’s different. That goes without saying. But I am saying it because you need to experiment and know yourself when it comes it workouts. For example, I typically workout best in the mornings, I feel I have the most energy. But that doesn’t mean I won’t workout at night, because I often do. But if you’re just starting a workout routine, find the time where you feel most energized, refreshed, and motivated. It will make all the difference. Try working out in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. Note when you have the best workouts.
Workout at the Beach (Photo credit: shyb)
There you have it, folks, 5 easy ways to start the “new you.” Let us know if you have any questions–we love to see people get healthy! Good luck!
