1 hour at the gym FBWO,I was a little weak after lying in bed for a week, but it felt good to move. Now lets hope I am not too tired at work tonight. So far 3,147 steps with 12 hours left to go.
Well after a week off from exercise due to the flu I'm back into it again this week.
Yesterday was 20 mins buns tape
Today was Kathy smiths weight loss tape all 45 mins of it (phew!)
I have that Kathy Smith tape, too. It's a killer for a beginner tape. And you can tell it's old from the clothes, music, and set. But it is one of the best all-round beginner tapes I have. It teaches you about heartrate, both numbered and perceived. It goes through all the basic aerobics moves and stretches, with modifications for those who aren't there yet. It's really good.
I lifted weights yesterday morning. I can feel it in my thighs today. Then, I walked the fair yesterday afternoon, and got thoroughly soaked in the rain.
I walked 3 miles today and yesterday i did 13 minutes on my skywalker and did some ab exercises. Synger do you have a weight bench or a more complicated machine for your weights? I am very interested in weight training but i dont have the equipment yet and the gyms here are WAY to expensive for me. I have some resistance bands and 2 5 lbs weights that i do some with. I am hinting at my hubby i want some weights for christmas but i dont know if he has taken the hint. LOL
Because of my asthma and dead knees, my most favorite exercise is swimming. Yesterday I did an hour of water aerobics, followed by 20 mins of laps
Today I did an hour of yoga (Got a compliment from my teacher for being better this week -- I think she's determined to help, not really noticing an improvement, but I'll take what I can get, and then another 20 mins of laps. I'm trying to increase the number and speed of the freestyle laps I do, while using breast and side stroke laps to slow down my breathing between freestyle laps.
I am feeling pretty good. Got my Pilates in today, and about 8500 steps yesterday, though I have evidence that it is "missing" steps, but thats cool I am still moving ;-)
To answer your question, I have a weight bench with a benchpress rest that can be reversed and raised to load a high barbell for over-the-shoulder exercises like squats. That was really important to me when we were shopping for it, because squats are one of the best overall weight exercises and I knew I wanted to do them. The bench also has a lat pulldown bar and some leg curl pieces. I don't use the leg things because I'm very uncomfortable laying on my stomach on the bench. I got it at Sears for my birthday a number of years ago. But you can look in the paper or at a used sporting goods store, too. Here's a bench very like mine (I ignore the "weight limit" warning -- it's a weight bench, for goodness' sake! I'm not gonna be bench pressing over 50 pounds anytime soon, and so my weight makes up the difference):
The main problem with a weight bench is that it takes up a LOT of room. One whole corner of our downstairs computer/workout/play/guest room is the weight bench. Take that into consideration when you think about getting one.
How to set up a routine.
Truthfully, I started by using just a set of small adjustable dumbbells and using our coffee table as a bench (a big old heavy Ethan Allen table that's seen MUCH better days). You easily can set up an all-dumbbell routine, or set up a routine that doesn't need a bench at all. The book I use, "Growing Stronger" by Bill Pearl, even has an example. And a lot of the fitness mags like Fit and Shape (not the bodybuilding ones, which rely a lot on machines) have sample routines that are primarily dumbbells.
Or go to a place like http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm and mix and match dumbbell exercises into a routine that'll fit you best. (I love this page because you can specify dumbbell excercises in the search function.) Or they'll set up a workout program for you if you fill out the info on http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/workoutdatabase.htm -- how often you want to work out, what your goal is, etc. This site really does try to make it easy.
I'd just suggest that you try to include an exercise for each major bodypart in your routine, and work from big muscles (upper legs, back, chest, shoulders) to small ones (arms) -- if you do the small muscles first you can get tired out and not be able to do the big ones with good form. I also group them according to my body position. So I do the two dumbbell exercises that have me laying on my back on the bench right after one another. I do the three exercises that have me sitting on the bench right after one another. And don't get overwhelmed by the plethora of exercises out there. Most of these exercises work other muscles near them, too. For instance, I don't do specific forearm exercises, or specific rhomboid exercises. I want to get strong, not be judged competitively.
If you find you really like weight-lifting, or you get bored and want a change, or you want to train more often but in a shorter time, you can do "splits". That means you work your upper body one day and your lower body another day. That allows you to work your whole body in less time per day (but more often) and builds in rest days for the areas you just worked.
What kind of weights?
Sounds like you have what you need to get started, if you have a set of 5 pound weights. If you need more, most sporting goods stores sell the small rubberized dumbbells. I don't like those, though, because when you outgrow them you have to buy a whole new set at a higher weight. I like the adjustable ones. You can get a specific set that only works with its own pieces, or you can use regular dumbbell handles and plates. My first dumbbell set (which I'm still using, since I'm just starting it up again) is an adjustable chrome set that goes from 2-12 pounds. Like this one: http://home.southwind.net/~norr/ey910c.html
Once you move beyond that, a set of regular dumbbell handles is less than 10 dollars in Walmart, and 5 and 2.5 pound plates are really cheap at sporting goods stores. I've even seen 1.25 lb. plates, so you can start using this kind of dumbbell at really low weights. If you have a Play It Again Sports or other used sporting goods store around, plates are REALLY cheap. Every skinny teenaged boy has gotten weights at one time or another and given up on them. (grin) For plates, I have 4/2.5 4/5 6/10 2/12.5 and 2/25. The higher weights are the ones Hunter uses, or I use for lat pulldowns. I use 8 pounds for most of my dumbbell exercises, though I'm gonna be moving to 12 in the next week or so. After that I'll move from my adjustable weights to regular dumbbells.
But how do I learn how?
I learned by reading a book and doing research on the web. This may not be enough for you. You may want to go to a gym to get some pointers from a trainer there. There also are a couple of videos that are supposed to be good for teaching weight lifting or doing a weight program with an instructor. I haven't tried them, but these are some that are highly recommended from Videofitness.com.
Shaping up with Weights for Dummies (good beginner tape, lots of instruction, slow workout)
In Shape with Rachel McLish (intermediate tape, really good explanations, good workout if a bit slow)
Gin Miller's Simply Strong (intermediate/advanced tape, available on dvd)
My tips for weight training (caveat: I'm not an expert)
Focus on form, not speed or weight. If you're doing the exercise right and you feel it, it'll do its work. If you work out in a gym, you'll sometimes see people (mostly guys) doing exercises very quickly, using the momentum of their bodies to keep it going. They can do more weight that way. But using controlled movement and good form, while it looks slower and you can't do as much weight, actually works the muscles better because you're focusing on making them work, rather than using the momentum built up from the movement to launch the next repetition (rep).
Alternate workouts to give your muscles a day or two of rest in between sessions. Muscle is built while you rest, NOT while you workout. If you lift weights one day, do something else the next. Or if you do an upper body workout one day, do lower body the next.
Stretch afterwards. I've found this especially important for my shoulders and neck. Stretching helps release the lactic acid that builds up while you're working the muscles. It's the built-up lactic acid that leads to that achy, burning soreness the next day.
If it hurts, STOP! Dull achiness usually is okay, but any sharp pain isnt' a good sign.
Don't work "til failure" -- that usually means you need a spotter to help you do the last few reps. That's great if you have one, but working out at home you probably won't. Instead think about working "til failure of form". By that I mean that if I start getting shaky arms, I take a short break and finish the set a little later. Sometimes I have to cut my set short a few reps. That's okay. Every day you'll feel diffrent about what you can do. It's better to stop a little short than to lose control when you have weights overhead!
Keep a lifting log. Write down each exercise, and then each time you lift write down the sets/reps and weight. Add any comments. This helps you see how you've improved, and analyze what needs to be changed. For instance, I have been doing lat pulldowns at 40 pounds and found them really easy the last couple times. I noticed that note ("ez") the last time I lifted, and raised it to 50 pounds. Still do-able, but by the end of the third set I'm feeling "the quiver". And that's how it should be.
Work at your own pace. Some people like to do lots of sets with a few reps (like five sets of five) and others like to do few sets with lots of reps (like two sets of 15). Experiment to find what works best for you. I started with two sets of 8, and have worked to three sets of 8. Once that becomes fairly easy, I'm raising the weight and going back to two sets of eight.
Take a break when you need one. Some people say you should only wait 30 seconds between sets. Others say take a minute. You'll need to find what works best for you. I group exercises together so my breaks are between two sets. For instance, I'll do a set of 8 Bent Arm Dumbbell Pullovers (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2002/bentarmdbpull1.jpg) then a set of 8 Dumbbell Flyes (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2002/dbflyes2.jpg), then rest. Then another set of each. Then rest. Then another set of each. Then switch to the next combination of exercises.
Some of my favorite weight-lifting resources on the web:
exercise thread week of August 10th
