By Hugo Rivera, ISSA Certified Trainer
The biggest excuse for not
getting in shape is that there is no time to workout. Think about this for a
minute. How many hours do we have in one day? Unless I am wrong, I believe there
are still 24 hours in one day of 60 minutes each. Granted, 8 of them we spend
sleeping (or at least we should). Therefore, we end up with 16 hours left. Do
you know what that means? It means that if we work out for an hour a day we have
16 opportunities to get a workout in. If we just want to get in shape and work
out 30 minutes a day, then that means we have 32 opportunities to get a work out
in. Can you imagine?! 32 opportunities. From my experience in working with
clients, most people just want to lose fat and firm up a bit. This puts them in
the category of people that just need to work out around 30 minutes a day.
Therefore, if people would invest this minimum amount of time into themselves,
not only would the whole population look better, but they would also feel more
energetic and have much less health problems.
Now, I can hear the second biggest excuse for not
getting in shape. "I don't have the time or money to go to a gym". My comment
back is "where there is a will there is a way". To be honest, you don't need any
expensive equipment to be able to get in shape. All you need at the very least
is pair of adjustable dumbbells. These can be purchased at places where they
sell used sports equipment in good condition (such as "Play It Again Sports"
over here in Florida), at garage sales, Wal-Mart, or at any sports goods stores
(where you usually will find them more expensive). They don't occupy that much
space, so please don't give me the "I don't have enough space in my house" type
of excuse.
OK,
Now that you have the equipment let's see how we
can use it.
We are going to choose three days a week to work
out with weights and three days a week to do aerobics. Then we will have a free
day where we neither exercise or follow any type of dieting.
For instance we can do weights on Monday, Wednesday
and Fridays and do 30 minute aerobics on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. In
this case, Sundays is the off day. (Remember that you can set it up any way you
want, but I have found this schedule to be the favorite one of most
people).
So how can we get in shape with only a pair of
dumbbells? Easy. It's just a matter of knowing what exercises you can do with
them.
Here is the recommended routine to do at home.
Since we only have 30 minutes we have to move fast. We will use trisets in order
to get the heart pumping (so that fat is burned) and to save time. That way, we
not only firm up the muscles and gain strength but we also get cardiovascular
benefits. Trisets are three exercises performed one after the other with no rest
in between them (kind of like circuit training). The routine that we will use is
composed of three trisets of 3 sets each.
Triset A (Chest/Back/Abs):
Push Ups (against the wall if you cannot do them in
the floor yet) 3sets x10-12 reps(no rest)
One Arm Dumbbell Rows 3sets x10-12 reps(no
rest)
Crunches 3sets x25-40reps (1 minute
rest)
Triset B (Delts/Biceps/Triceps):
Dumbbell Upright Rows 3sets x10-12 reps(no
rest)
Dumbbell Curls 3sets x10-12 reps(no
rest)
Overhead Triceps Extensions 3sets x10-12 reps(1 min
rest)
Triset C (Thighs/Hamstrings/Calves):
Squats 3sets x10-12 reps(no rest)
Stiff Legged Deadlifts 3sets x10-12 reps(no
rest)
One Leg Calf Raises 3sets x10-12 reps(1 min rest)
Note: Move to Triset B after you have completed 3
sets of Triset A. Move to Triset C after you have completed 3 sets of Triset
B.
If you follow this routine, you will be amazed at
the results that you will get from it. You will also realize that not much is
needed to get in shape (certainly no expensive equipment is necessary) and that
all you need is the determination and the will to make it happen.
Before I leave for this week, remember that in
order to get in shape, training is only half of the equation with nutrition
being the other half. For nutrition guidelines, visit my nutrition link at
http://physique-engineering.com.
Next week, we will discuss the correct way to
execute each exercise for maximum results. Until then, take care and train
hard!
