Gotta Question ???

Hey ladies,

I have a question, if you can help .
I do physical training on my own, have done for some years since it always works for me- and I'm more into conditioning and some forms of military pt.

Any suggestions on good stretches or exercises that I could do on my own time, whether they are simple or vigrous? (horrible spelling). I need to spice up my workout and I'm clueless as to where to start ..

Any ideas???

Have you thought about yoga! Very good for flexibility and strength. If you want something to spice up your workouts I suggest buying some Zumba dvds! Zumba is a cardio workout and soooo much fun!

Ever try doing "pyramids"? Like you, I prefer military-esque work outs, especially if they can be done at home and at my own time. Pyramids are pretty cool, because you increase the intensity of your work out along the way, and then the intensity decreases during your cool off period. Let me know if you're interested in that.

As for me, I've never really enjoyed running. I mean, I'll do it, but it's not something I enjoy. Lol. Since I don't run so much, I spend a lot of time on the elliptical and the bicycle at the gym. They're both good for cardio and for the legs, without the constant pounding of feet to the ground.

Sometimes, I do squats at odd times. For example, if I'm microwaving something for about a minute thirty, I do squats for a minute thirty. Or, I'd hold my squat position until my stuff is done microwaving. Yeah, it's not intense, but I try to fit even a teeny bit of exercise into my day.

In the case of flexibility, I pretty much do standard stretches along with stretches I learned in my martial arts classes back in the day. I do have a book on stretching and flexibility here at home, so I can look up interesting ones and post it here if you'd like.

sakuma wrote:

Sometimes, I do squats at odd times. For example, if I'm microwaving something for about a minute thirty, I do squats for a minute thirty. Or, I'd hold my squat position until my stuff is done microwaving. Yeah, it's not intense, but I try to fit even a teeny bit of exercise into my day.

That is so funny I do it too esp when I am cooking and have a minute or two when I'm waiting for something to get done. Jon laughs at me for it but it is the perfect time to do them, or jumping jacks!

Ba ha ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one, Danielle. It may seem weird, but every little bit helps along the way. If we're standing around with nothing to do, it's like, "Why not?" :P

Laura - Speaking of yoga I started it this morning!, it feels amazing, although modifying some positions is a pain due to the rods in my back. And Zumba? I'll have to look into it

Hannah - I'm going to have a blond moment, "pyramids?" what are they? I don't want to assume, but that sounds like a good challenge to me. I dislike running too, I usually run around a track since that's what I'm used to. Ha ha! I do things like that too , it's always a joy to do a quick exercise or stretch for 2 minutes or so. That's great and I'd be so thankful if you did look up stretches and posted them up on here, I need to spice up my workouts a bit .

The Pyramid is basically a set of exercises consisting of sit-ups/crunches, pull ups, and push ups. It's called a pyramid because the intensity increases (one side of a pyramid) and decreases (other side of the pyramid). To get an idea, imagine a pyramid or a triangle. On the left side, there will be the numbers 1 through 5 in an ascending order, with 6 at the very top--the point. On the other side, there will be the numbers 1 through 5, but in a descending order instead.

So it's like this:

Left side of pyramid - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Center - 6
Right side - 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

The numbers on the pyramid are basically a guide to give you an idea of how to step up your work out. For example, you can start off with 1 pull up, 2 push ups, and 3 crunches. When that's done, you increase it to 2 pull ups, 4 push ups, and then 6 crunches. As you progress, increase your "first" work-out (pull ups, in this case) by one. The second workout by 2, and the third workout by 3.

By the time you hit number 6 on the pyramid, you're ready to descend, slowly cutting down the number of repetitions until you hit 1 on the other side. I apologize if this explanation wasn't so clear. Lol! You can Google it though.

I haven't been able to find my flexibility and stretches book yet, but I'll drop a line when I do find it.

I recommend going to Fitness.com or Shape.com and searching for what you're looking for. The sites are extremely helpful and they have diagrams (usually) or videos of the exercise or stretch. That way you know you're doing it right, limiting your chance of injury.

Thank you for the site suggestions Jennifer, I'll definitely check them out .

Hanna - You explained the "pyramid" perfectly actually ! I even think I've done something similar to that awhile ago. That is definitely a good idea, I'll have to dedicate a day to teaching myself that - I apologize for taking so long to respond, my laptop was getting worked on for a few days. And don't worry, whenever you find those books let me know no need to hurry !