Thursday, October 08, 2009 - 1 Comments
By Shawn McKee
Staff Writer
As the government tries to get a struggling economy back on its feet, we realize that the economy isn't the only thing out of shape in this country: Roughly two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese.
So while the president's fiscal stimulus package aims to shape up the economy, eDiets' physical stimulus package aims to get you to a state of increased health and well-being. The best part about our plan is that there aren't any tax increases, earmarks, gym memberships or expensive equipment to buy!
"You don't need a gym membership to work out," says eDiets Chief Fitness Pro Raphael Calzadilla. "There are so many exercise options that you can perform without any equipment at all, and you can find numerous exercise videos available free online."
Raphael recommends using things around your house for exercise. Instead of spending money on dumbbells, you can use soup cans, which come in a variety of sizes and can weigh up to a few pounds. If you need more weight, you can use gallon jugs filled with water, which weigh just over 8 pounds.
There is exercise equipment everywhere you look -- and it's free! You can use furniture: Do incline pushups off the edge of a sofa or try chair squats, like the ones you saw Nancy Pelosi doing during the president's address to Congress -- sit down, stand up, repeat! They're a safe way for beginners to squat.
The key is to understand the goal of your fitness plan.
"Be clear as to what your specific goal is," says Raphael. "Whether it’s to lose 5 pounds in 30 days, to be able to perform 10 pushups or 20 ab crunches, you need to create a routine based on your lifestyle and time frame. If you only have three days per week based on your busy schedule, and can only allot 30 minutes each time, then the routine needs to be designed with the schedule and time parameters in mind."
If you're here, you probably want to lose at least some amount of weight, so Raphael has designed a fat-blasting workout to hit your entire body in about 30 minutes -- and you can literally do anywhere.
Raphael stresses the importance of a warm-up before you begin your workout to avoid injury, as well as a gradual cool down at the end.
"I recommend at least a five-minute warm-up of walking in place or arm circles like these, to get the blood flowing," says Raphael.
Directions:
-- After the initial warm up, perform each of the 13 exercises in succession with minimal time between sets.
-- Perform 12 repetitions per exercise (or as many as possible if you’re unable to reach 12).
Click on the exercise names to see video demonstrations of all the moves.
Exercises:
1. Back - Dumbbell One Arm Row
2. Chest, Shoulders & Arms - Bent Knee Push-Up
3. Legs - Dumbbell Squats
*For those with lower body limitations, replace the Squats with Seated Leg Extension and omit exercise #10.
4. Abdominals - Double Crunch
5. Shoulders - Dumbbell Lateral Raise
6. Biceps - Dumbbell Curls
7. Triceps - Dumbbell Triceps Extension
8. Abdominals - Crunch
9. Glutes (Butt) - Straight Leg Reverse Lift
10. Legs/Butt - Walking Lunges (One set is 12 steps in one direction and 12 steps back.)
11. Calves - Standing Calf Raise
12. Chest - Dumbbell Flat Chest Fly
13. Abs - The Plank (Hold position for 20-30 seconds)
Make sure to cool down at the end and you're on your way to a serious caloric deficit -- the kind of deficit you want. You can get in shape without spending money. You just have to be creative and use the physical stimulus plan outlined above. Good luck, America!
Make NOW your time to do something about your weight. eDiets can help make weight loss a little easier. Let our nutritionists and fitness pros guide you! Click here to get started.
Staff Writer
As the government tries to get a struggling economy back on its feet, we realize that the economy isn't the only thing out of shape in this country: Roughly two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese.
So while the president's fiscal stimulus package aims to shape up the economy, eDiets' physical stimulus package aims to get you to a state of increased health and well-being. The best part about our plan is that there aren't any tax increases, earmarks, gym memberships or expensive equipment to buy!
"You don't need a gym membership to work out," says eDiets Chief Fitness Pro Raphael Calzadilla. "There are so many exercise options that you can perform without any equipment at all, and you can find numerous exercise videos available free online."
Raphael recommends using things around your house for exercise. Instead of spending money on dumbbells, you can use soup cans, which come in a variety of sizes and can weigh up to a few pounds. If you need more weight, you can use gallon jugs filled with water, which weigh just over 8 pounds.
There is exercise equipment everywhere you look -- and it's free! You can use furniture: Do incline pushups off the edge of a sofa or try chair squats, like the ones you saw Nancy Pelosi doing during the president's address to Congress -- sit down, stand up, repeat! They're a safe way for beginners to squat.
The key is to understand the goal of your fitness plan.
"Be clear as to what your specific goal is," says Raphael. "Whether it’s to lose 5 pounds in 30 days, to be able to perform 10 pushups or 20 ab crunches, you need to create a routine based on your lifestyle and time frame. If you only have three days per week based on your busy schedule, and can only allot 30 minutes each time, then the routine needs to be designed with the schedule and time parameters in mind."
If you're here, you probably want to lose at least some amount of weight, so Raphael has designed a fat-blasting workout to hit your entire body in about 30 minutes -- and you can literally do anywhere.
Raphael stresses the importance of a warm-up before you begin your workout to avoid injury, as well as a gradual cool down at the end.
"I recommend at least a five-minute warm-up of walking in place or arm circles like these, to get the blood flowing," says Raphael.
Directions:
-- After the initial warm up, perform each of the 13 exercises in succession with minimal time between sets.
-- Perform 12 repetitions per exercise (or as many as possible if you’re unable to reach 12).
-- After completing a full circuit of the exercises, rest 30-45 seconds and complete the circuit again.
-- Keep performing the circuit until you reach 30 minutes and then cool down. In most cases, a person can complete 2-3 rotations in the 30 minutes.
-- There is no need to rush, but try to keep the pace somewhat brisk.
-- For dumbbell exercises, use soup cans or water jugs. So instead of dumbbell curls, do soup-can curls and so on.
-- Keep performing the circuit until you reach 30 minutes and then cool down. In most cases, a person can complete 2-3 rotations in the 30 minutes.
-- There is no need to rush, but try to keep the pace somewhat brisk.
-- For dumbbell exercises, use soup cans or water jugs. So instead of dumbbell curls, do soup-can curls and so on.
Click on the exercise names to see video demonstrations of all the moves.
Exercises:
1. Back - Dumbbell One Arm Row
2. Chest, Shoulders & Arms - Bent Knee Push-Up
3. Legs - Dumbbell Squats
*For those with lower body limitations, replace the Squats with Seated Leg Extension and omit exercise #10.
4. Abdominals - Double Crunch
5. Shoulders - Dumbbell Lateral Raise
6. Biceps - Dumbbell Curls
7. Triceps - Dumbbell Triceps Extension
8. Abdominals - Crunch
9. Glutes (Butt) - Straight Leg Reverse Lift
10. Legs/Butt - Walking Lunges (One set is 12 steps in one direction and 12 steps back.)
11. Calves - Standing Calf Raise
12. Chest - Dumbbell Flat Chest Fly
13. Abs - The Plank (Hold position for 20-30 seconds)
Make sure to cool down at the end and you're on your way to a serious caloric deficit -- the kind of deficit you want. You can get in shape without spending money. You just have to be creative and use the physical stimulus plan outlined above. Good luck, America!
Make NOW your time to do something about your weight. eDiets can help make weight loss a little easier. Let our nutritionists and fitness pros guide you! Click here to get started.
Labels: abs, beginner-fitness, beginner-workout, exercise, fitness, fitness-routine, lose-weight, weight training alternatives, weight-loss, workout-routine
Comment: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 3:24:00 PM - 
musicrunner said...
I'm curious to know why, even though I work out regularly & am quite strong especially in my upper body, I can't do pushups, not even modified ones. And yes, I do know the proper form & technique. Any ideas?
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