Tip 47, for 8/3/08

I am not a fitness expert by any stretch of the imagination but this is something simple that could help some of you.

Don't have time or money to go to the gym or buy a lot of equipment? Keep it simple stupid (I think stupid simple is less offensive is better, but it's not my call)!

Do simple exercises that involve minimum equipment and your body weight. The ability to manipulate your own body is what you need strength most for anyway. Also, do things for time rather than reps. If you just do it as hard as you can for 1min or something the reps will adjust themselves.

There are a couple schemes you can do to create circuits like this. One is the one minute continuous strategy taken (and started by for me) 9 minute abs. 9 minute abs goes like this (one min. of each, as hard as you can for that min., then right into the next exercise):

-crunch
-side crunch
-other side crunch
-bicycles
-leg raises
-Russian twists
-plank
-side plank
-other side plank

Then I like to roll it into a quick lower body and upper body workout plus more ab stuff, using the same 1 min of each continuous scheme:

-alternate or hold superman
-supine marching
-extreme supine bicycles/march (30s each)
-pelvic lifts
-push-ups (if you can't do a min straight, change hand positions every time you have to stop (wide, standard, diamond))
-reverse open book
-open book (30s), open book extend (30s)
-reverse open book other side
-open book (30s), open book extend (30s) other side
-calf raises
-wall sit
-wall sit (do 2 min straight, no break)
-hamstring bridge (hold)
-up and down hamstring bridge
-hamstring bridge (hold) (if you can)

That's my 1 min. continuous workout, change it to your liking, all you need is some floor, a bed or chair or ball for the hamstring bridges and a timer that beeps every minute

Another scheme is called Tabata (I know, usually it's a wiki, I don't care this explains it well enough, Google it if you want). You basically just do each exercise for 4 minutes, 8 x (20s work, 10s rest). Here is the one I did the other day:

-chair dips
-wall sits (my knee was bothering me or I would have done something like a free body weight squat)
-bent over row (using plyo ball and step), 5lbs each hand (was a little too light but not much)
-calf raises
-butterfly shoulders on plyo ball, don't go down in the 10s rest (same weight)
-hamstring bridge up and down on plyo ball or roll in and out
-sat on ball bicep curl to military press (weight was too lite for this one)

You can do basically anything for this scheme. Jump rope, do push-ups, squat, curls, pull ups or chin ups, crunches, whatever. Just do it as hard as you can for 20s every time and it will be a great workout. This is also great since it takes so little time. I take about 1:30 between exercises, I should probably do less, change this to your liking and ability.

Sorry for the long post.