The 50's are a sandwich generation of fitness; we don't want to work out like we did 15, 10 or even 5 years ago, yet we aren't ready for the "senior" classes either. I'm revamping this blog to be a blend of health and fitness tips that I hope all of you "fiftysomethings" will find helpful.
***I am not a doctor or nutritionist.
Please consult your physician before performing any exercises or following any tips shown on this blog.
This workout from LiveExercise has both cardiovascular and conditioning exercises. It is done boot camp style.
Skip the static stretches at the beginning. Dynamic stretches (moving while you stretch) are better at the beginning of a workout, static stretches are better at the end.
You need a jump rope and 1 or 2 resistance bands. If you don't have a rope, jump in place. If you don't have a strap to put your band up high or low--do the exercises without the resistance or use dumb bells where you can.
On the sit ups--keep the elbows back and the feet on the floor. She is cheating big time by picking up her foot. If you can't come up without lifting your feet up, then only come up part way. If coming up all the way bothers your back, then only come up part way as well.
Today's workout is another awesome and insane 1,000 Calorie Burn Workout from FitnessBlender.
It is a 94 minute long bodyweight only workout--only a mat or carpeted area is needed, a warm up and cool down with stretch are both included.
It is another mash up type of workout, from the website:
In just this one video, you're going to find elements of high intensity interval training, bodyweight strength training, plyometrics, functional training, Pilates, kickboxing, yoga, and toning/strength workouts for each of the major muscle groups; abs, butt and thighs, and upper body. This is truly a mash up of so many different training types, which is part of what keeps things fresh and interesting over such a long workout video. It's also what makes the workout so effective.
Do what you can, modify when necessary and take longer breaks if you need to.
Here's your 5 minute bonus workout also from FitnessBlender:
Yes, I missed another Monday post. Monday's are really busy for me, so I decided to make Monday about Motivation. I will post something motivational to start your week, along with the usual weekly challenge that I usually post directly to Facebook.
Since I post the Wild Workout on Wednesday, and Total Body on Thursday--you will get plenty of muscle work posts for the week.
Don't let this be an excuse for you to skip your workout on Mondays--there are plenty of past posts and videos on YouTube to choose from.
Enough about Monday, today is Tuesday, so that means core work. Today's video comes from FitnessBlender and includes upper body strength training as well.
It is about 28 minutes long and consists of 3 groups of 3 exercises that are performed for 45 seconds with 15 seconds rest in between. Each group is repeated twice.
You will need dumbbells, a bench, table, chair or step and a mat or carpeted area.
A warm up and cool down/stretch are both included.
From the website:
What if some of these exercises are too advanced for me? These exercises are easily modified in order to be more beginner friendly. For example, if the full staggered hand push up is too hard, you can do the same push up from your knees. If a pike push up is too hard for you at this point, switch it out for a simple overhead press with dumbbells. Move as slowly as you need to (you can do fewer reps than Daniel does in the video), and only lift as heavy of a weight that you can control through the entire range of the exercise.
Instead of a video, I thought I'd post a printable workout for you to take with you wherever you do your workout. It's a 3x3 format--three circuits of three exercises (10 reps each) that you repeat three times. You will need a set of dumbbells and a mat or carpeted area for the workout. It comes from PopSugar.
To save and print out the workout, right click the picture, click on save image as and save it to your computer. You can then open up the picture in whatever program you use and print it out from there.
Do a warm up first. Remember, you can always make a move low impact by eliminating the jump, but if you do that, then you have to make the move BIG and dynamic, but controlled.
FYI-- a Gate Swing is a jumping squat--jump the feet out wide landing low and jump the feet back in coming up tall. To modify this move, alternate taking big steps out to the side to make the squat position (shown in the photo) and then come back tall in the center.
If the Dumbbell Crossover Punch is too difficult, try eliminating the weights, or stay in the seated position throughout the exercise.
It's been a while since I posted a longer workout--this one is about 54 minutes long. It comes from RealFitTv.
It combines upper body kickboxing moves with pushups, bicycle crunches and jump rope segments. It can be done with or without light weights (no more than 3 lbs.). If you are new to kickboxing, leave the weights out of it. If you don't have a jump rope, just do the jumping and pretend to turn the rope.
I finally saw this movie a couple of weeks ago. I had to wait until I saw the movie to share this workout.
It comes from blogilates. I think it is quite clever, fun, but intense. Criss Cross Jabberjays, Force Field Flyers, Poisonous Fog Crawl, Tick Tock Abs, Sprint or High Knees and Monkey Butt Knockout, these are the names of the exercises you'll be doing.
Do a warm up first. She takes you through the exercises once and you are to repeat the entire thing again on your own as many times as you'd like
While I was looking for this workout, I found another one. The workout starts about halfway through the video. It consists of 4 moves: burpees, power jumps, switch kicks and jabs. Just like above she takes you through the circuit once and then you are to repeat it again 2 more times on your own. Enjoy!
I'm excited that my new small group training classes have finally started! But, I've been so busy getting ready for those, I haven't had time to do any kind of pre-scheduled posts. So, I'm sorry this one is posting so late in the day...well, better late than never!
Today's workout comes from Jillian Michaels. If you've read my blog from the beginning, you know that I'm kind of addicted to watching The Biggest Loser. I don't know why I am, but I am. I disagree with so many things that they do, I guess that's why--I have to see what crazy workout regime they have the contestants doing this week and the way they complain about only losing 4-5 pounds in one week--it's ridiculous and an unrealistic way to do things. Yet, I still watch it. The worst thing is all the product ads for "healthy food." Come on, when is anything processed really "healthy." Thankfully I tape it and can skip through those.
Anyway, aside from all that, when it comes to workout videos, Jillian and Bob put out some really good ones.
Today's is called No More Trouble Zones. It's a circuit workout that will work your entire body and keep your heart rate up as well. And you will see, Jillian is much nicer!
You will need a set of dumb bells and a mat or carpeted area.
With this being such a busy time of year, I decided to post shorter workouts in the next few weeks so that you won't have the excuse of not having enough time.
Today's video comes from Livestrong Woman and is appropriately called When You Think you Can't . This workout will hit all the major muscles in your body in a very short amount of time. She suggests repeating the circuit 2 more times, but if you don't have the time, do it only once or twice with full all out intensity--it's better than nothing.
Today's workout comes from Lionsgate BeFit. It is a new series called PrayFit 33.
It is a faith based 33 day total body challenge. It's supposed to be 33 minutes a day for 33 days. The videos are each about 7-8 minutes so I'm not sure how the whole 33 minutes comes about, unless they expect you to repeat the 4 videos they have each day, which is not the way to train.
The first video is the intro and warm up--it ends kind of abruptly. There is a strength workout and cardio workout, but since today is trunk and core day, I included the ribbed abs workout below as well. In each video, you perform a series of exercises for 33 seconds each and then repeat the circuit once. Each video ends with a 33 second challenge as well. Only the first video has a warm up, so if you continue with the series on another day, you can repeat that one or do your own.
A couple of form cues for the abs work: On the reverse curl, if you feel your back arching as you lower your feet, modify either by doing one leg at a time, or keeping your feet more elevated--as soon as you feel your back starting to arch, that's where you stop your legs.
When you have your hands behind your head, keep your elbows back behind your ears, especially when doing the double crunches--do not bring your elbows to your knees--lead with your chest. This will protect your neck.
When doing planks, keep your butt down--his could be lower. You could also be on your hands instead of your forearms.
On that challenge--faster is not better! That guy going fast was snapping his knees way too much. Form always trumps speed. If you lose form while doing something too fast, the risks outweigh the benefits.
Also, do not repeat this tomorrow! As I've said over and over again, your abs are muscles, they need that day of rest to recover too.
