“I just don’t have the time to workout,” wails any woman who isn’t looking to sweat out her hair, or sweat at all.
Well I say – get over yourself – the do and be re-did and a little sweat never hurt anyone. Following is a no excuses, no equipment necessary, 20 Minute At Home Workout that even the most coach potato of couch potatoes can cut their teeth on. Enjoy!
1. BODY-WEIGHT SQUAT (legs) Put your hands on your hips or fold them over your chest (1a). From a standing position, feet about shoulder-width apart, squat down until both knees reach 90 degrees (1b). As you lower yourself, keep your lower back slightly arched, head up, and stick your glutes out as if you were going to sit in a chair. Also, be sure that your knees aren’t out past your toes as you descend–if they are, you’re not moving your glutes back far enough on the descent. Once you reach the bottom position, flex through your quads, hamstrings and glutes to power yourself back up to a standing position and repeat.
2. SIDE-TO-SIDE LUNGE (legs) With your hands on your hips, assume a comfortable stance, feet shoulder-width apart, head up and torso erect (2a). From there, step with your right leg straight out to your side, as deep as you can go without moving your left foot. Plant your right foot and bend your right knee to 90 degrees (2b). Then, flexing the muscles of your thigh, push yourself back up to a standing position and repeat the movement with your left leg. Alternate side to side in this fashion until you’ve completed 10 reps per leg.
3. INVERTED PUSH-UP (shoulders) Place your feet on a chair and your hands out in front of you at shoulder-width. Without moving your feet, creep your hands backward until your body is bent almost 90 degrees and your head is facing the floor. Press up until your arms are straight–you should resemble an inverted V (3a)–then slowly lower your head toward the floor until your arms are almost bent 90 degrees (3b) and repeat.
4. PUSH-UP (chest) Place your hands a little wider than your shoulders, put your toes on the floor, feet and legs together, and raise up into an arms-extended position (4a). Slowly lower yourself until your chest just touches the floor (4b), return to the starting position and repeat. As you lower yourself, concentrate on feeling the stretch in your chest, and flex on the way up rather than using a quick piston action to finish your set.
5. CLOSE-GRIP PUSH-UP (triceps) Do these the same as you do the regular push-ups, except bring your hands closer so that your thumbs and index fingers form a triangle beneath your chest (5a). As you descend, your elbows will point outward; once your chest comes in light contact with your hands (5b), slowly return to the starting position and repeat.
6. LYING TORSO RAISE (lower back) Lie facedown on the floor and place your hands loosely behind your neck (6a). Slowly raise your upper body until your chest is a few inches off the floor (6b). You should feel your lumbar spine and lower-back muscles contracting as you rise up. Hold the top position for a two-second count, slowly return to the starting position and repeat.
7. WEIGHTLESS CONCENTRATION CURL (biceps) Standing, grasp your left wrist with your right hand (7a). Apply pressure with the hand as you slowly and deliberately curl your left arm (7b). Once your elbow is fully bent, give your biceps an extra squeeze and hold for a second before slowly lowering. Complete all reps for one side before switching arms. Since you don’t have the benefits of a weight, you need to do this exercise in a controlled fashion–focus on keeping your working biceps fully engaged throughout each rep, and apply some challenging pressure with that nonworking hand.
8. CRUNCH (abs) Lie faceup, your knees bent and feet on the floor. Keep your hands behind your head (8a)–avoid the temptation to pull on your head as you tire. Curl your torso as you bring your shoulder blades up a few inches (8b), squeeze your abs, and then slowly return to the starting position. To keep the pressure on, don’t spend more than a second in the “down” position; the longer your shoulder blades are off the floor, the more work your abs must do.
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So once in grad school when I realized I had back fat, I got rid of the back fat in two weeks and managed to whittle a couple of inches off of my waist in the process. The plan itself was actually pretty easy. The dedication to the plan is what yielded the results:
