Every Gym’s Nightmare

Alright everyone, break out your leg warmers and reeboks with the strap, its time for BUNS OF STEEL. And thighs and hammies.
 
SQUAT WITH FRONT RAISE
Works glutes, hamstrings, quads
You will need: a chair or bench, dumbells
 
Stand in front of a chair, feet shoulder width apart, knees soft. Keeping your chest up, slowly squat, while bring your arms, palms face down up to horizontal. Lightly tap the chair with your butt, push through your heels, and lower your arms and return to standing return to standing. Dont sit on the chair.
 

 
SQUAT JUMPS
Works glutes, hamstrings, calves, quads
You will need: a chair
 
Stand in front of chair, just like in the exercise above. This time, squat, keeping chest up, tap bech with butt and jump into the air as high as you can. Land softly, bent knees and repeat. Go for speed and height.
 
1 LEG BUTT LIFTS
Works glutes, hamstrings
You will need: Your lil ol’ self
 
Lay on your back with both legs bent. Straighten one leg in the air, keeping knees together. Push through your heel and lift your butt of the ground, raising your hips toward the ceiling as high as you can. Lower back to start.
 
 
1 LEG LUNGES
Works glutes, hamstrings, thighs, helps build lateral stability in the knee
You will need: a chair or bench, weights if desired
 
Stand facing away from chair. Place one leg backwards onto chair, top of the foot laying flat on it’s surface. You may need to hop your front foot out a bit, just to make sure that when you lower, your knee does not pass over your toe. Keep your chest up and lower your hips to the ground. Push through your heel and return to start.
 These are my favorite butt exercises.

 
1 LEG SQUAT TO CALF RAISE
Works glutes, hamstrings, calves
You will need: a chair with a back
 
Stand next to a chair who’s back you can hold onto lightly for support. Raise one leg in front of you just enough that it will not touch the ground. Keep your chest up and lower into a squat. Press through your heel to standing and rise up onto your toe. Lower back down into squat. This is on fluid movement up and down.

 
I have a ton more but I will save some for later.

Just for the sake of vanity, I would like to let you know that I always take these pictures after I work out. I dont always look like I just spent 3 monthes lost in the wilderness.
Hey Kiala- you like my sweatshirt? its American Apparel. EAT YOUR HEART OUT.
 
Im on a running kick, so depending on my schedule, I will either run at home or at the gym on the treadmill. Im a little tight from yesterday so ill get a good stretching sesh in also. Maybe some weights. Depends on my mood. I throw caution to the wind. Im dangerous.
 
Maybe I wont stretch. Gasp!
 

Actually I will or else I wont be able to walk tomorrow.

For your guns. Ha. Sigh.

Is it just me or are there not very many fitness blogs? I can’t really find any, if you know of any, please let me know.
 
Good news: I found my pedometer in my car this morning. I thought i lost it while I was out on Friday (its hard to keep track of things like that at a bar when your bladder is the size of a raisin.) I had given up hope, but there it was this morning, wedged between the door.
 
As promised:
 
FAVOURITE UPPER BODY MOVES
(I like to pretend I am English sometimes and spell things with “ou’s” or check like “cheque”)
 
In true me fashion, some involve other body parts as well. I also post the exercises I do, which tend to be a bit more advanced, but will offer you easier variations.
 
The pooch is lurking in every picture but I guess it make it more realistic as an at-home workout. i was also freezing whcih explains the scarf.
 
Stability Ball Dips
Works triceps, shoulders, core
 
Find a sturdy chair or bench. Position yourself so your hands are on the edge of the chair, and your heels are on the stability ball, toes pointing up. Keep your core tight and lower yourself towards the ground until your elbows form a 90 degree angle, then return to start.

 
You have to keep your core nice and tight or else the stability ball will roll out from under you. For beginners, you want to take away that instable surface, so put your feet on the floor, knees bent, but make sure your hips stay up so your body is nice and flat. For the intermediate, place your feet on another chair, legs straight.
 
Tricep Kickback Twists
Works triceps
* I’m using tiny 3 pound dumbbells, but I usually do these with about 8-10 lbs
 
Most of you probably know tricep kickbacks, but these add a little extra. Stand leaning on a sturdy surface, your core pulled in, back nice and flat. Hold a dumbell in one hand, use the other to prop yourself up. Arm should be bent at 90 degrees, elbow tucked in tight by your side.

 
Extend the arm, so your arm is straight; this is the typical kickback.

While your arm is extended, you want to twist the dumbell so your palm is facing down. (I didnt take a picture of this because it didn’t show up when I twisted anyway) Untwist hand back to neutral, bend arm back to starting. Next time, extend arm, but then twist so palm is facing up. These are all seperate moves so dont run them together. Extend, twist palm down, twist back to neutral, bend arm, extend, twist palm up, untwist, bend arm to starting. This is one rep. Do 10 in each side.
 
Prone Stability Ball Front and Lateral Raise
Works shoulders, anterior deltoids (the front part of your shoulder)
* Ditto on the dumbbells
 
Lay over a stability ball, feet wide apart for balance, ball on belly. Place dumbbells on floor directly under shoulders. Take your right hand and raise it directly in front of you (front raise) then bring it back to starting. Next, raise the right dumbbell out to the side (lateral raise) then back to start. Repeat with left arm. This is one rep. Do 10.

Try especially hard to not let your hips move around, or your shoulders to torque. You essentially want to be in plank position; completely static with no movement beyond your arm. For more resistance, remove stability ball.
 
And now featuring The Boy in:
 
Incline Push Ups
Works chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders
* The only way these are true incline push ups are if your feet are higher than your head. If you place your feet on a stability ball so you are perfectly horizontal, they actually end up being easier than regular pushups.
 
Place your feet on a chair or bench and get in push up position. Keep your core tight and and dont let your hips sag or bend in either direction, you want a nice straight body. Bend your arms and lower yourself to the ground as far as you can without having to arch your back to make sure your head doesnt hit the ground. Press back up to starting.

 
And there you have it. i  was going to go to the gym tonight but its so gorgeous outside, I think ill go for a run with the pooch. Maybe I’ll get a tan. Right now Im so pale it will probably just reflect off of my and start a small brush fire.
 
 
 
 

So tired. Long day. Nuff said.

 Still managed to get a workout in though, even though it was in my living room while watching Biggest Loser. Just FYI, Jillian bothers me. But she could snap me in half over her knee, so I will be civil.

My at home workouts are always different, and I just do a lot of random stuff. The only equiptment I need is a stability ball and two 8 pound dumbells. Nothing fancy; nothing expensive.

So today I did:

• 3 Sets of 10 Pike up, Push ups. Works the abs, shoulders, chest, biceps, core. You need a stability ball.
• 2 Sets of 15 Heels Tucks (see this post for instructions) Works the glutes, hammies, calves, core. You need a stability ball
• 2 Sets of 20 Sumo Jump Squats (as shown here; except I did them without the weight and kept my hands on my hips) Works the quads, hammies, inner and outter thigh, calves, glutes
• 2 Sets of Dumbell Twists (as shown here; except I did them sitting on the floor with my feet raised in the air, knees bent. So I was balancing just on my butt.) Works the abs, obliques
• 2 Sets of 10 One Legged Squat to Heel Raise on both legs (Shown here except when I come back to standing I go up on the ball of my foot to do a calf raise) Works the quads, hammies, glutes and calves

I couldn’t find an example of Pike up Push ups, so I had the boy record me doing some right here. I just woke up so I look like crap and just ignore the dog barking in the background. We had to lock him in the bathroom as to not compromise the shot. Because its Oscar quality for sure.

If you can’t pike up you can bend your knees and roll the ball in like this:

It was mainly a lower body day today, as it usually is, but I’ll do more arms at the gym tomorrow. I stick to lower body because it is my “problem area” which just means I would like it to be a bit firmer (don’t we all.) My upper body is fine, so I just work it out to maintain it, which doesn’t take as much focus.

You can really do a lot of great exercises at home, you just need to experiment and research.  I like old school stuff that really burns, but if you like Self and Shape magazine workouts thats completely ok. Just really try some new stuff every once in a while so you don’t get sick of your routine.