By Renee Kennedy and Terry Kent
Summer is right around the corner, but there's 2 feet of snow in my driveway! If you like to exercise outside, or you drive to the gym, how are you going to exercise when the weather is lousy? Plan a simple, but effective exercise routine that you can do right in your living room. (By the way, shoveling snow is an excellent aerobic workout - just be careful and take it slow.)
WARNING: Before you start any exercise routine, consult your health care professional. Start this routine slowly, if you can't do 10 repetitions of a certain exercise, then try five.
Materials needed: two weights, three lbs each or two soup cans
Routine:
Day One: Stretching - 10 minutes Upper Body Work Out - 10 minutes Ab Work Out - 10 minutes Cool down - 5 minutes
Day Two: Stretching - 10 minutes Aerobic Work Out - 20 minutes Cool down - 5 minutes
Alternate these two days every other day at least five days a week.
Stretching exercises: [ http://www.studenthealth.ucla.edu/health/sha/stretch_exercises.htm]
Ab Work Out: 2 repetitions of 10 each 1 - [ http://www.netfit.co.uk/abd5.htm] 2 - [ http://www.netfit.co.uk/abd6.htm] 3 - [ http://www.netfit.co.uk/abd26.htm]
Upper Body Work Out: 2 repetitions of 10 each [ http://www.hooah4health.com/body] oning/arms.htm 2 repetitions of 10 each [ http://www.foodanddiet.com/NewFiles/chest.html]
Aerobic Work Outs (Choose a different one each day or make up your own!): 1 - Jump rope - jumping rope is actually kind of fun! 2 - Jog in place - boring but effective! 3 - Walk up and down stairs for a few minutes - great lower body workout! (Just be sure that you have a railing to hold onto.) 4 - Pretend you're a boxer and move from one foot to the other around while jabbing the air. 5 - Turn on some loud music and dance around. 6 - Geared towards the housewife in all of us, put the vacuum on its lowest setting and push that baby around for awhile, alternating hands that you use to push it.
The point is - get yourself breathing deeply and sweating a little.
Cool Down: Choose a few more stretches for a complete cool down.
It's more about how much effort you put into each exercise rather than how many exercises you do. In other words, make each exercise work for you.
Again, see your doctor before planning any exercise routine.
About the Author:
Come and visit the NutriCounter web site for more information on how nutrition influences weight loss, diabetes, pregnancy, heart disease and more! [ http://www.nutricounter.com]