In another article, I talked about who could benefit from an at home workout. Since the majority of exercisers out there can get great results from a workout at home, I’m going to give a small exercise routine you can do 3 times a week to tone up those muscles and develop yourself for more advanced routines.

Chest/Tri/Shoulders

Push ups – Start off easy. Push ups are a big foundation of a workout at home. Complete 3 sets of 20 push ups. Make sure to keep good form with hands outside shoulder width. Keep your back in line with your legs and keep a solid plank throughout the motion.

Dips – Complete 3 sets of 12. You can perform dips in your workout at home in many different areas. For example, you can use a chair. Grab on to the edge of the chair with your legs extended on the floor. Lean over the edge of the chair and lower your self down and extend up.

Couch Lift – Complete 3 sets of 12 reps. This exercise can be done with a couch found in your house. Grab one end and lift the end over your head. This is one rep.

Back/Biceps

Pull Ups – Complete 3 sets of 10. These are sometimes hard to do in some areas. A solid tree branch will do fine though. Use an overhand grip and arms wide apart. Keep your back arched back and focus on using the lats to pull upward.

Couch Curl – Complete 3 sets of 10. Grab the bottom of the couch and curl the couch upward. Add weight to the couch for a more difficult workout at home.

Legs/Abs

Body Weight Squats – Complete 3 sets of 15. You want your feet slightly wider than shoulder width. Lower you body till your upper thigh is parallel to the floor.

Elevated Lunge – Complete 3 sets of 10. Get into a normal lunge stance, one leg extended forward and one moved back. Raise your back leg and keep it on a chair. Slowly lower your self. Don’t over extend, this exercise helps stretch the hip flexors.

Weight Crunches – Complete 3 sets of 12. This is a normal crunch with something weighted on your chest. You don’t need much weight. 20 pounds will be plenty. Get a nice range of motion and focus on your abdominal muscles working.

If you get your rest and eat well, this routine will surely help develop some quality muscle and tone your body up. You can learn more about building quality muscle with the No Non-Sense Muscle Building program. It provides great insight on how to develop your body to its ideal proportions, no matter where you train.

Travis

The ankle in comparison to the rest of the body is a very weak point.  Ankle injuries are one of the most common mishaps to happen during any sporting event.  Even everyday activities like walking up and down stairs threaten your poor ankles.  We can help prevent these injuries though.  With strengthening ankle exercises you help decrease the risk of a twisted or sprained ankles.

Actively stretching your ankles helps reduce the risk as well.  Just by bending your ankle in different directions and holding will loosen the ligaments and tendons allowing less damage on impact.  Stretch the ankle side to side and front to back.

These strengthening ankle exercises will help build stronger ankles:

Jump Rope 

This basic strengthening ankle exercise with low impact is great for building the ankle and knee joints as well as build cardiovascular endurance.

Body Weight Calf Raise

Hold onto a chair or table.  Flex your calf muscle, raising yourself onto your toes.  Hold this position for 5 seconds.  Slowly lower yourself to start position and repeat this 10 times.

Toe Pulls

While standing, roll back onto your heels.  Keep your toes pulled back as far as you can and hold this position for 5 seconds.  Repeat this 10 times.

The Alphabet

This can be done anywhere, at work, at home while watching t.v., or even at the dinner table.  Use your foot to write the alphabet in the air.  Finish the whole alphabet and repeat with the other foot. 

These exercises are both great for preventing ankle injury as well as recovering from one.  Of course, take it at your own pace if you are suffering from an ankle injury. 

To help increase ankle strength, there are a few peices of equipment that come in handy.  Exercise bands are great to add resistance to your light weight ankle exercises.  The bosu ball comes in handy when wanting to improve balance and ankle stability. 

For more info about helping a sprained ankle, check out Go Healthy Fitness’ article “Let’s Decrease that Rehab Injury Time“.

Travis

It’s monday morning.  You feel great and you’re excited about your workout later.  Once you get to the gym, you lie down on the bench press and get ready to lift your first set.  Everything that has happened up to this point has been spot on for a good workout, but that bar feels like its 300 pounds.  Its the beginning of a bad week for exercise.

When this happens an immediate depression sets in.  You know the workout is going to be dreadful and all your lifts are going to be weak.  Most of us will leave the gym after a couple of failed sets.  And most of us won’t return for the bad week.

These workout days happen to everyone.  Many times, these days are a breaking point in someones workout regimen.  They will begin to workout less and less until they are back to a sedentary lifestyle.  To get the results you want you have to learn how to move past this bad week. 

A bad week of exercise is just part of the road to results.  There are many reasons that can play a part into the bad workout.  It could be anything from stress, how much you’ve been sleeping, the amount of food you’ve taken in or many more.  Here are some things to think about that might help you fight past your bad weeks.

First, you have to remember that everyone has a bad week.  You have to realize that its just a bump in the road when it happens.  It’s part of the battle to get the great results you’re after.  So after that first set that feels like 300 pounds, just sit back and relax.  Don’t get discouraged. 

Finish the full workout.  I know its tough but push yourself through it.  If you are having a hard time finishing your sets for the day, then switch up your rep/set scheme for the day.  Drop your weights and increase your reps. 

You can also try different exercises for the day that hit the same muscles.  It helps to do exercise you really enjoy.  So if I was doing hangcleans, my least favorite exercise, to hit my back for the day, I would do my favorite exercise instead, deadlifts.

So remember, push through those crappy workouts.  The dreaded bad workout will come to us all eventually.  You just have to know they are coming.  To really help get past your bad week, check out No Non-Sense Muscle Building. It will help you learn to develop your ideal body.

Travis

Yesterday, Go Healthy Fitness talked a little about the benefits of trying a boxing workout. Today, I’m going to give a small 15 minute boxing workout that you can add to your current workout for a boost in fat loss and metabolism. You can do this routine 2-3 times a week. Make sure to keep at least 1 day rest in between these intense days. I suggest adding this routine to your cardio days instead of your weight days.

Your going to need a few things before you can do this routine.  You will want some gloves.  These don’t have to be regulation boxing gloves but any padding on your knuckles will help soften each blow.  A punching bag would be recommended for this but you can do the punching exercises against the air. 

Heres the routine:

Warmup (3 minutes)

Jumping Jacks – Begin by performing 3 minutes of jumping jacks.  This will get the blood pumping quickly through the body as well as get a light sweat started.  As your progress gets better, you can switch this for jump rope. 

After the warmup, this routine is 1 continuous circuit.  Rest no more than 30 seconds between sets.  All these exercises equal 1 set.

Circuit 1 (6 minutes) 

Straight punches 50% speed for 30 seconds - Alternate punching left and right hands.  Keep the motions fluent and strong.  Don’t allow your hands to drop for the duration of the exercise.  Hit the bag harder by twisting your body and using your levarage to generate more force.  Each punch should be a good solid hard hit.

Push ups 20 reps – These pushups are to be done as a normal pushup.  Keep good form with a straight back and hands alittle wider than shoulder width.  Complete a full range of motion with your nose touching the ground to full extension.

Sprint Sit Ups 20 reps – Lie flat on your back.  Quickly bring 1 knee up towards your chest as you lift your opposite shoulder and elbow towards the knee.  Repeat this motion with the opposite limbs.  Do these very quick as if to imitate a sprinter taking off the starting line. 

Repeat 3 times

Circuit 2 (6 minutes)

Straight Punches 100% speed 30 seconds – This is the same as the first exercise except, you should be hitting the bag as quick as you possibly can.  Keep a good punching form but your impact shouldn’t be as hard. 

Bench Dips 30 reps- Place your hands on the edge of a bench holding your body over the ground.  Lower yourself down as you would a normal dip.  Your feet can either be on the ground or raised onto another bench or chair. 

Squat Uppercuts 30 seconds – To do this exercise, perform a body weight squat.  As you are in the movement upwards, throw a solid uppercut to the bag.  For each squat rep, you should be alternating hands you’re punching with.  Twist the body and keep the elbow in to maximize force of the punch. 

Repeat 3 times

So, try this nice 15 minute routine out on a few of your workout days and watch the fat come off.  If you still have trouble burning that fat and shaping your body, take a look at Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. It has been the leading nutrition ebook for quite sometime and has helped thousands get their dream results.
 

Travis

You might think boxing is a brutal and barbaric sport, but you can’t deny the power of a boxing workout.  A boxing workout includes using quick bursts of energy which is a great way to shape and transform your body.  By just adding a few minuts of this type of training in your weekly routine, you will have great results.

Along with improving the condition of your health, your physical appearance and confidence will get better as well.  The exercises used tightens the muscles shaping your arms, legs, and core.  A boxing workout will quickly develop your body into an athletic shape.

A big problem people have with a boxing workout is thinking they will have to get in the ring and fight other boxers. When in fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. A boxing workout doesn’t consist of actually fighting. Sparing is a part of boxing training, but is only needed for boxers actually wanting to fight. Most new boxers take up the sport for the health related benefits. So, you do not have to hit anyone, EVER, to take up boxing. And even better, you don’t have to get hit by another person. When we talk about a boxing workout, we are talking about the type of exercise they perform.

Because of the intense, short bursts of exercise, your metabolism will raise and you will burn a large amount of calories during the workout.  On average, you will burn 350-500 calories doing a boxing workout.  You will also helps maintain your heart rate in the appropriate range of 75-85%.  

Where can you train like a boxer?

If you’re located in or near a larger city, there is sure to be fitness centers specifically designed for boxer training. Your city may also provide boxing classes at a local park. Some personal trainers are specialized in boxing or hiit. More and more fitness experts are seeing the health benefits of this amazing sport, so it may be hidden in your city somewhere. You can even do these type of workouts at your home. Remember to keep the intensity high just like you were training for a fight.

So if you’re looking to cut some fat and tone up those muscles, you should definitely look into adding a small amount of boxing training to your routine.  Check out my article on a 15 minute boxing routine.

Travis