Beginners Exercise - No Nonsense/No Excuse Workout
It occurred to me this morning that I tend to post fancy trendy exercise techniques and that I do not spend any time talking about the basics and for beginners not much more is important than a good foundation. So my next couple of days are going to be talking about the basics. This is a basic no-nonsense workout that you can do even when you are sick! Its a great way to start the day and it will rev up your metabolism for the rest of the day.
This is the kind of routine you can do EVERY day without any excuses as soon as you step out of bed (well maybe after you pee) but as soon as you get up:
10 Jumping Jacks (you can do side step outs if you are still too heavy and hurting your knees)
10 Pushups (drop to your knees if you have to but work to 10 regular pushups that is your goal)
10 Lunges (5 each leg), Alternatively you can do 10 body weight squats
10 Sit-ups (lock your feet if you have to at first)
Ah, the best exercise to ask about. So a squat is just what it sounds like, you are basically going to squat as low as you can and hopefully keep going lower as you progress. Body weight simply means you are not holding a barbell on your back or and weights in your hands. As you get good at them you will want to add weights to the process.
So every time you sit in a chair or the couch or on the toilet you are essentially doing a squat, so that is the basic motion, but you will want to make sure your back is straight, chest out, shoulders back, you will lean forward and stick your butt out. Your feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width apart and you should turn your feet outward slightly. Your shoulders should come down over your knees. When you come back up you will want to push down through your heals, not the balls of your feet. You should not feel any pain in your knees and you should feel the strain in your butt (glutes), backs of your legs (hamstrings), calves and a little bit on the front of your legs (quadriceps or quads).
Here is a picture of good squat form. The girl in this photo has a bar on her back (you will get there) you want to put your hands out in front of you to help counter balance. You hands should be about in front of your face when you come down with your arms slightly bent. After is a good video of exactly what I am talking about.
The following is from one of my postings from yesterday if you need to start out a little slower:
1. A regular body weight squat, put your hands out in front of you and squat down as low as you can go sticking your butt out far and keeping your back straight and then stand back up thrusting your hips forward and pushing down through your heals and not the balls of your feet. You should not feel pressure in your knees if you are make sure you keep your back straight and stick your butt out.
2. A bump squat. Get a kitchen chair, or some other hard surfaced chair set it in a place where you have a little room, stand in front of the chair and sit down so that your butt is on the front half of the chair surface. As soon as your butt touches, stand back up pushing through your heals, stand so that your feet are slightly on either side of the chair. You will feel this type of squat more on your inner legs, but its a great squat.
3. Hold on to two chairs (or a door frame). Get two kitchen chairs and set them facing away from each other, stand between them holding on to the backs of the chairs and follow the instructions in squat #1. You could also do this in a door frame.
4. Couch or Toilet Sit. Sit down on your couch (or toilet) and stand back up. Do not use your arms. Do not sit all the way down, just until you can shift your momentum to get backup.
Go as low as you can go, ultimately the lower the better but do not kill yourself just yet. You will feel these, enjoy the pain you will be working your biggest muscles.
Keith this is so great because I'm sure there are many of us who for either weight or health reasons find it very difficult to exercise. One of the most asked questions is what exercise can I do when I'm still 100 (200, 300 lbs) overweight? Add to that I have lung issues but even I am learning I can do some exercise if I prime my lungs and don't try to do too much at a time. I even have permission to take all the breaks I need, so any exercise is better than none. I hope you do this on a regular basis for all the new folks, maybe repeat once a month, it's so hard to get and stay motivated!
I see a lot of people with challenges on here that extend beyond their weight issues. Arthritis, herniated discs, asthma, heart problems, etc. and you are right some exercise is better than no exercise. But even with issues such as yours it is important to continue to push yourself a little further every time you exercise. So take pushups for example. If you have to drop to your knees today and can only do 5, keep working until you can do 10 on your knees and then once you do that try one or two full pushups and then drop to your knees to finish out your 10 and keep working until you get to 10 push ups on your toes. Then go from 10 to 20, etc. You will be amazed how quickly you can go from 10 to 20 and 20 to 30. Of course at the same time you are losing weight so it does become easier and easier.
Motivation is a very personal thing. I post motivational posts every day that I think will get to somebody but I don't always know what will motivate me. It used to be sayings now I am more and more impressed with people who have chiselled bodies. So not only is it personal, it changes too. Find what motivates you and use it to get you on the floor.
I will post beginners stuff every day and they will inherently repeat as there are only so many exercises out there. But if there is something specific you would like me to talk about or you have specific questions, feel free to ask!
