Let’s face
it. Running marathons, doing extreme workouts or expensive gym memberships are
not for all of us. How would you like to make a valuable investment in your
future while reaping immediate benefits?
Wouldn’t you
like to feel younger, stronger, have more balance and ward off the ravaging effects
of gravity and aging? If you’re shaking your head right now and think you are
too old to start a strength training routine at home, you are dead wrong. It is
time to quit denying yourself an easy-to-do, feel-good way to get better life
NOW!
Strength
training can benefit people of ANY age in a variety of long lasting ways.
Results are quick and many. There is no need to sign up for a costly gym
membership or spend tons of money on exercise equipment.
By doing
resistance moves using simple tools as well as our own body weight we can
challenge ourselves and easily fight osteoporosis, burn more calories, lower
blood pressure, eliminate lower back pain, increase flexibility and mobility
and fight Father Time effectively.
Since no
time is better than the present, here’s how to get started for a better today
and a stronger tomorrow!
What you’ll
need:
- 10-20 minutes a few times a week
- Flexibility Ball
- Resistance Bands
- Comfortable Workout Clothing
- A desire to be stronger and more vibrant
- Desire to have quality in future years
- Consistency
- Commit To 10-15 Minutes 3x a Week
In the whole
scheme of things, this small amount of time is a drop in the bucket. Make a
decision to begin your strength training and remind yourself often that your
investment and commitment are valuable to the quality of your life from this
day forward.
Same Time Each Workout Day
Strength
training is the best way to begin the day! It will boost your metabolism and
allow you to burn more calories throughout the entire day. You will immediately
feel more energy and get that blood pumping as well as boost your mood.
Let Music Set the Tone
Turn off the
television, don your non-restricting workout clothes, and turn up the music.
It’s a good idea to use calmer paced beats that are relaxing and calming. This
will help you focus on your concentrated efforts and not rush through your
routine.
Warm Up With A Few Minutes of Cardio
As with any
workout, a short warm up session is necessary to prepare our bodies for the
mission at hand. Stand up straight and tall and lift your arms up above your
head as you take some slow, deep breaths in and out.
Reap the
most benefits from this by breathing IN through your nose and out through your
mouth to a count of 5 for each part. Now spread your legs about two feet apart
and begin shifting your body weight from side to side.
Concentrate
on the sound of your breath, while relying on your music to set the rhythm. As
you shift from side to side, bend from the knees and stoop down a bit in order
to activate your quad (thigh) muscles and burn a few more calories. Do this for
about 5 minutes total.
Get Out Your Exercise Band(S)
Holding your
exercise band with an end in each hand, raise your arms above your head while
you continue to shift your body weight from side to side. Hold the resistance
band taught and begin pulling against it, as if to stretch it as far as it will
go. This activates the muscles in your arms.
Pull apart
for 5 counts and then release. Be sure to keep your breathing going – don’t
hold your breath. Repeat this resistance exercise 10-15 times. Vary the height
of your arms to incorporate the use of different muscles. Try raising and
lowering the bands behind you as another variation.
Even the
simplest stretch can be amplified with the aid of resistance bands. Lie on the
floor with your legs stretched out, loop the band around your foot and push
against it, or loop around both feet while attempting to stretch them open.
Keep in mind
that even isolated little movements can provide massive rewards, so wake those
muscles up! Resistance bands can be wrapped around doorknobs or around chair
legs, too! Utilize whatever it is that you have at your disposal, and do no
forget to utilize use your imagination too!
Quality Beats Quantity
While you
are exercising, be sure to focus on form. Quality is obviously much more
important than quantity. By paying attention to good posture and engaging the muscles
of your abs, you will protect yourself from unnecessary injuries and gain
better results.
Stand tall
or sit, square your hips and have them tucked under slightly. Keep your
shoulders back and refrain from allowing gravity to bring them forward. Concentrate
on even the smallest movements that you make and breathe into them.
Add A Little Weight
If you do
not own any hand weights, try using a few soup cans from your pantry instead!
The addition of weight will further increase the effectiveness of your workout.
A couple of empty milk jugs filled with water work well, too, and even offer
‘handles’ for you to grip.
You can sit
tall and hold onto a water-filled jug, moving it from side to side, touching
the floor with it briefly, to work on your oblique muscles (sides of the
abdominals.) Keep the movements fluid and don’t forget to breathe.
Ankle
weights are a great and not too expensive addition to your daily workout. You
can put them on at the beginning of the day and just leave them on throughout
your normal daily activities.
The calorie
burn is amazing and you will be surprised to see just how ‘light’ you feel when
you finally take them off. Do not use more weight than necessary. Starting off
with lighter ones and building up to more weight as time goes on is the best
approach.
Work On Balance
Since our
bodies’ cores are at the center of all movement, it’s important to strengthen
them. By doing this, we help to keep everything in correct alignment and not
place unwanted burden on other body parts. Most back soreness can be fully
cured (and avoided) by strengthening the core muscles.
A good way
to work on them is by using a balance ball! These are fun and very inexpensive.
Begin by lying on your back atop one. Relax and let your spine mold to the
shape of the ball, keeping your feet firmly on the ground. Now, by using your
feet to gain slight movement, roll the ball from side to side.
Even the
smallest of movement will make it necessary for your engaged abdominal muscles
(core) to react in order to keep you situated on the balance ball. Practice makes
perfect, so if this seems hard at first, it will become easier each time you do
it again.
After you
get the hang of it, you can vary the difficulty by raising one foot off the
ground and extending the leg. Try the same exercises while lying across the
ball on your stomach.
With
increased balance comes confidence and even better posture. This will help keep
you safe from injury during daily activities and will also decrease the risk of
falls or accidents.
Cool Down With Focused Stretching
Now that you’ve
executed this short yet intense weight training session, you should complete
the entire workout by performing a slow, steady stretch. The exercises we did really
put those muscles to work and they become shortened as a result. Our aim is to stretch
them out again.
Stretching
after a workout of any type, lowers the chances of bad injury and excruciating
pain. Take several deep breaths while the music is still playing, and start
performing a few easy-to-do stretches to loosen up before heading to the shower.
Don’t get
discouraged. You will begin to feel the results in as little as a week and
begin to SEE a change in your body after a few weeks.
Strive for
quality movements. Looking at yourself in a mirror will aid you in
accomplishing this. It may even give you a few good laughs until you perfect
your form and begin to feel less clumsy.
A general
warning to everyone is to be sure to consult your doctor before beginning any
new exercise routine—especially if you haven’t been doing any other exercise
for an extended length of time. Instead of going all out or over doing things
in the beginning, begin slowly, and build up time spent and repetitions slow
and steady.
Realize your
limitations and don’t try to do anything that is beyond your abilities too
quickly. Your abilities will increase steadily, but be sure to listen to your
body and don’t advance too fast. Adding additional weight or time should be
done in small increments after a few weeks.
Consistency is the key and results are the benefit!
Stretching and
weight training shouldn’t HURT, but only cause mild tension in the muscle group
you are working on. This tension is the muscles’ response to the new activity.
