Exercise Where You Are!

For some people, gym memberships can be quite costly! We have been trained to believe that we need every piece of exercise equipment known to man to get into great shape. Nothing could be further from the truth! Not having a gym membership should not stop you from getting into the best shape of your life!  You can get into great shape at your home, at work, or whereever you are! All that it takes to get fit is to challenge your body more than it is used to being challenged! If you do that on a consistent basis, you will notice great results!

Here are some suggestions for folks who would like to workout at home or someplace away from a traditional gym setting:

Cardio:

Go outside (weather permitting):
Walk - Walking at a fast pace is a great way to keep your body burning calories. If you are able to briskly (that is the key word, not "stroll") walk for 30 minutes each day, you may be able to burn up a few hundred calories and leave you with a 1/2 to 1lb of weight lost each week! It really doesn't take much when you stay consistent.

Run - Running burns a ton of calories! That's why a lot of people try to do it to help themselves lose weight. It can be a very effective way to lose weight. However, I would caution you to take your time getting up to a running pace if you haven't been running in awhile. Running can wear out joints pretty fast if you are carrying a lot of extra weight.

Stay inside:
Jump rope: Make sure you have plenty of space and don't wack your jumprope into your family! Once you have a good spot to do this, it can burn up a lot of calories in a very short time. If your tempo is high, you will likely burn more calories jumping rope than running in the same amount of time.

Cardio video: There lots and lots and lots of videos on the market that you can follow along with that will help you get into shape. Plenty of these videos are cardiovascularly intense. Any video that says it's a step, dance, boxing (includes kickboxing, tae boxiing, etc) or anything that says "cardiovascular" as a part of the title, is a great option for cardio exercise.

Strength Training:

In order to strength train away from the gym, all you really need is some form of resistance to work with. You can make use of resistance bands, a set of dumbbells or even an at-home gym setup. Also, a physioball is an inexpensive tool to have so that you can do most exercises. You don't need much. You just need to focus on a few key exercises that help you strengthen your whole body.

Squats: You can do this exercise without the use of anything except your own body weight. In order to perform this exercise correctly, you just squat down so that your upper thighs create a 90° angle with your lower legs. There are several ways you can make this exercise more challenging. You can stay in the down position for longer. Try holding the squat for 4 seconds for each repitition and do 12 reps! It's fun :-).
If that's too easy, hold onto some dumbbells during the exercise. The heavier, the more challenging.
If you have trouble with your form with this exercise, try using a physioball to help support your lower back. Place the ball against the wall and put your lower back against the ball so that you can use the ball to help keep proper form.

Lunges: This exercise is by far my favorite (just ask my clients)! It is such a powerful exercise that really works the glutes and quad muscles. You can do these exercises anywhere. All you do is stand with one leg forward and one leg back. lower the leg in the back so that your knee barely touches the ground and then come right back up. After about 15-20 reps on each leg, most people notice the effects. If you would like to make it extra challenging, add weight. You can also do these walking. Try walking lunges around your living room, dining room and kitchen!

Bench press on a ball: This exercise requires a physioball and a set of dumbbells. All you do is lay down on the ball so that the ball supports your upper back. You hold onto a set of dumbbells (one in each hand). and lower the dumbbells to the side of your chest on each side. Then you press the dumbbells up over your chest. This exercise effectively works your shoulders, chest and triceps.

Bentover row: This exercise you can either do one arm at a time or both at the same time. You bend your upper torso down but keep your legs straight (knees slightly bent) and shoulder width apart. Let the dumbbells that are in your hands hang down. Then you just lift your arms up so that your elbows point up toward the ceiling and the weight is right next to your upper torso. This works your back and bicep muscles.

Abdominal exericses: There are lots of ways to train abs. I would recommend picking a few ab exercises and do high rep work (like 25+ reps each exercise). Here are just a few to consider: floor crunches, twists, leg raises, flutter kicks, reverse crunch, side bends


These exercises are great basic exercises that work all the major muscle groups in your whole body. By doing these exercises 2 - 3 times/ week you can strengthen the majority of the muscles in your whole body. Having 2-3 days of strength training with 5-6 days of cardiovascular exercise you can dramatically help your body burn bodyfat and increase muscle tone/strength at the same time.

You can do all of this from the comfort of your own home with very little cost to you. There really is no excuse to not being able to get into great shape. Make the time for yourself. By investing a little time in yourself, you will be able to give back the best of you to everyone else!

Jesus said..."Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." Mark 5:19(NIV)

Wii Fitness!

So this Christmas, my lovely wife gave me a Nintendo Wii! I was so thrilled! Finally, I am able to play all these fun "active" games that so many of my clients have been telling me about.  I was so excited because I figured this would be a great way to get all that cardiovascular exercise that I am not always that excited about doing.

After playing through all the Wii Sports games that came with the console, I realized that all of the games, except one, didn't really get my heart rate up high enough to really burn any significant amount of calories. The only game that got my heart rate up (temporarily) was Wii Boxing. At peak, my heart rate was 120bpm and I was starting to mildly sweat, but that was after playing for nearly 30 minutes straight and I was REALLY intent on trying to beat the computer! :)   I would compare the boxing game to walking briskly on a treadmill. It's enough to barely register that I did something.

In addition to my own findings, The American Council on Exercise (ACE) also discovered that even the Wii Fit doesn't produce enough calorie-burning activity to truly help people lose weight on a consistent basis ("Test Results reported on fitness benefits of Wii Fit" ... http://www.acefitness.org/pressroom/442/test-results-reported-on-fitness-benefits-of/). ACE found the Wii Fit to be "milder than expected". Now, for people who are significantly deconditioned, the Nintendo Wii may help some. It's definitely better than sitting in front of the televesion doing nothing. However, it does not provide the same amount of cardio intensity as a standard stationary bike. It also doesn't offer the benefits of strength training with free weights, machine weights or even resistance bands.

On the upside however, the Nintendo Wii is a lot of fun! You can play with your whole family and it's not too complicated! You may be able to burn up 100 calories over the course of an hour playing with your whole family.  That's a great way to spend "Family Game Night"! :)  However, I wouldn't count on the Nintendo Wii to be your sole provider of weight loss, strength gain and cardiovascular health! If you have any questions about how to get in shape, ask a personal trainer! ;-)

"Doing wrong is fun for a fool, but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible." Proverbs 10:23 (NLT)

New Year Tracking

If you have read any of my previous blogs, you would have heard me say that keeping track is a vital part of achieving your fitness goals. To help solidify this message, I have decided to start another blog that is personal to me. In preparation for some of the bodybuilding competitions that will be coming up towards the beginning of the summer, having a blog that helps chronicle the journey may be helpful for not only myself but hopefully other people that may be considering competiing as well.

I plan to track most of my diet through http://www.myfitnesspal.com/, this way it will be easy for everyone to see exactly how my diet changes from day to day. I will also make note of the exercise that I did each day and discuss the highlights/low points.

Myfitnesspal.com is a great tool that anyone can use for free. It allows you to stay on track with your fitness goals and it helps you clearly see both your shortcomings and successes in the fitness arena. As a New Year resolution, consider using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ as a tool to help you achieve your goals.

I still intend to keep this blog going with weekly posts as I have done. My new blog will be a daily blog about my exercise, diet, mood and what my plans are for each day. If you have an interest in following me, please goto:  http://jonarnoldbodybuilding.blogspot.com/


"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14