Weight Training Schedule for Busy SAHMs

 

If you’re home with baby, hectic is no doubt a gentle euphemism for your crazy life. Trying to take off the pregnancy pounds and tone back up can seem a task akin to cleaning the Aegean Stables when you’re busy changing diaper after diaper. 

 

Here are three mini-weight training workouts you can do in those 10 minutes you have while the baby’s asleep.  You’ll need a set of two to eight pound hand weights, a mat, and a few minutes just for you:

 

• Arms.   Do a set each of lateral shoulder raises, triceps kickbacks, biceps curls, and chest flies.  Finish with a set of bent over rows.
• Legs.  With dumbbells still (or back) in hand, perform a set of squats, plie squats, front lunges, and rear lunges.
• Abs.  Start in plank, move to side plank on each side, holding as long as you can.  Finish with single leg stretches, crunches, and bicycles.

 

The key is to take just a few minutes for yourself each day, when you can grab it.  Keep your weights in a handy place (I keep mine in the same basket I keep the TV remotes in), and work out when you get the chance.  A few minutes a day can get you back in pre-baby shape fast!

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

Full Body Workouts for the A.D.Dancers Among Us

Chronically bored with your workout program?  Here’s three great new dance workouts that you may have never heard of, but that will blast your fitness to new heights while eliminating the body sculpting blues:

 

• Zumba.  This fun dance workout fuses sexy Latin dance moves with African rhythms for a truly booty-shaking experience.  One one-hour Zumba class can burn over 500 calories.  Plus, you get new moves to try out at the club.  It’s a sweet two-fer sweat experience.
• New York City Ballet Workout.  Ever wonder how ballet dancers have those long, lean, beautifully muscular bodies?  Find out with the official workout of the prestigious New York City Ballet.  Toning up was never so graceful.
• Dance Dance Revolution.  While watching Jeopardy the other evening, I was pleasantly shocked by one of the contestant’s tales of losing over 30 pounds.  Her secret?  PS2!  If you’re a gamer and have access to a PS2 or an Xbox, you can burn calories while earning points.  Think I’ll give my Final Fantasy addicted boyfriend a birthday present hint.

 

You don’t have to sludge through another boring circuit or trudge along anymore on the treadmill.  With these new workouts, you can dance your way to fabulous in no time!

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

Weight Training and Fat Loss in Menopause

If you’re entering your menopausal years and are sedentary, you’ve probably noticed an unpleasant change in your body.  There’s no doubt that the aging process can take its toll.  Our waistline tends to get wider, while ironically, we get shorter as we lose bone density. 

 

Fortunately, we can slow down the aging process dramatically with regular exercise. According to the Mayo Clinic, we can stop the middle age spread by monitoring our diet and increasing the amount of exercise we do.  While, as the Mayo Clinic reports, anything from taking a walk to gardening counts as exercise, weight training may be the most beneficial in slowing the aging process. 

 

Weight training increases our bone density.  Combined with adequate calcium intake and perhaps a prescribed medication, weight training stops the progression of osteoporosis.  Weight training can keep us standing tall even when we become octogenarians.  Furthermore, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn even when at rest.  That’s because muscle tissue is metabolically active, unlike sedentary fat.  By increasing our muscle mass, we can slow down the normal decrease in calories burned due to the aging process.  Weight training really is the fountain of youth!

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

Muscle Building Nutrition for Women

If you’re a woman looking to tone up and slim down, the right nutrition can make the difference.  It won’t matter how often you hit the gym if your diet consists of Hot Cheetos and Big Macs. 

 

The great news is, you don’t have to diet (phew!).  Simply make sure that the following foods make up the majority – 80% - of your diet. 

 

• Lean protein.  Turkey, chicken, fish, even lean beef should make up about 1/6 to ¼ of your diet.  These foods provide you with the protein you need to build muscle.
• Whole grains.  Not white flour, but whole grain bread, cereal, oats, etc., should make up approximately 1/3 of your diet to provide you with the long lasting energy you need.
• Fruits and vegetables.  Approximately 1/3 of your diet should be made up of these.  Fruits and vegetables provide the essential vitamins you need to convert the nutrition gleaned from other foods into energy.
• Fat.  You do need fat in your diet!  Make sure the majority of the fat comes from “good” sources, such as olive oil, and try to decrease animal fats. 

 

The best news of all?  Follow these guidelines the majority of the time, and now and then you can afford to “cheat” without ruining all your progress.   So feed yourself well!

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

Weight Training at Home – Ideal for SAHMs?

If you’re a stay at home mom, saying that getting to the gym is a hassle must be the understatement of the year.  If your baby’s daddy aches for you to get back in shape – heck, if you just want a buster for the post-partum blues, weight training at home is the way to go.

 

All you really need is a good set of hand weights, and a willingness to put them in a place of easy reach (for you, not your baby).  Naptime is your time to grab a little R and R – after a set of squats with biceps curls, lunges, overhead presses, triceps extensions, calf raises, and a final set of Pilates style abdominal exercise to kick the baby belly back into shape. 

 

The key to working out at home after giving birth is a lot of flexibility, not to mention a lot of support from the people who love you.  I’ve always thought an ideal baby present was meant for the mama, not the child.  Ask for diapers, outfits, rattles – and a couple of hand weights and workout videos.  Maybe even an in-home personal training session or two.  Throw in a few stroller walks, and you’ll be back to your pre-baby svelte self in no time!

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

Gaining Muscle Mass by Body Type

Half of me thinks that the whole endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph system of body shape classification deserves a spot next to the flat earth theory on the great list of Things That Make No Sense To The Modern Mind.  Yet, a more pragmatic (well, maybe antediluvian) part of me says that bits and pieces of this admittedly antiquated theory make sense when it comes to gaining muscle mass and losing body fat today.

 

If you’re an ectomorph, you’re one of those perpetually skinny people.  If you’re a guy, this might make you a geek in your younger years.  Trust, me, you’ll be a god in middle age.  If you’re a female ectomorph, well, the majority of us fellow women-folk would gladly sell body parts to have your genetics.  In either case, both male and female ectomorphs benefit greatly from regular weight training, elliptical machine cardio and surpisingly enough, swimming (it takes some strength to keep that fat free body afloat!).

 

If you’re a mesomorph and male, men worship you.  You’re the king of every pick up basketball game.  You hit the gym and actually get both big and cut.  If you’re a female, you’re the inspiration for every cartoon superheroine invented – great legs, but curvy as heck.  You’re the happy medium weight wise, though you may have to watch your waistline if you let yourself get too sedentary.  Great exercises for you include boot camp style aerobic workouts that train your heart as well as pumping your muscles up.

 

If you’re an endomorph, you have the fortunate ability to retain body fat.  Your metabolism is slow, and you have soft, round curves.  This works, evolutionarily-speaking.  In an environment where food wasn’t so plentiful, endomorphs survive where ectos and mesos perish.  Unfortunately, in our current environment, economic crisis non-withstanding, plentiful defines food in our culture.  To build up those ample muscles hidden under any apparent fat, you need to go hardcore.  Think distance running, long distance biking, anything that forces your body to the next level.  Heck, if you’re going to dance, dance all night. 

 

The great thing about an outdated way of thinking about fitness?  You can toss it out the window.  No matter what the latest fitness guru says, eating sensibly for your body and exercising regularly will have you looking great no matter your frame.  That’s true strength.

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

The Best Fat Loss Workouts

What’s the best workout to blast away fat?  A workout that combines both hard core cardiovascular training with toning is your best bet for burning fat fast.

 

Cardio kickboxing, if it incorporates bag and core work, literally kicks your abs while burning fat.  You’ll not only burn massive calories, you’ll sculpt beautiful arms and a sexy midsection.

 

Boot camp offers yet another fat blasting workout.  Depending on the instructor, boot camp classes are held both indoors or outdoors, and incorporate many objects found in your home or parks, as well as natural body resistance.  Get the toned, hard body of a soldier.

 

Mountain biking is a third way to train both cardio and strength at once.  Blast fat away while exploring the great outdoors.  Training your legs, core and arms can be a sightseeing adventure with this workout.

 

No matter if you stick to one type of workout, or vary all three, incorporating strength and cardio into the same workout is your best bet for burning fat quickly.  Burn, baby, burn!

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

Dumbbell Weight Training – Better than Machiines?

If you’re a member of a gym, you no doubt have a variety of both free and machine weights to choose from.  But if your one of the many who work out at home for either financial or time reasons, dumbbells may be all you have.  Can they give you a workout that’s as effective as the gym?

 

Simply, yes.  There are a number of advantages of using dumbbells, including:

 

• Auxillary Muscle Group Integration.  Big term for a simple concept.  When you’re working out with dumbbells, other muscles besides the ones you’re consciously working are coming into play to keep you balanced and aligned.  For example, in doing a standing lateral raise, yes, you’re working your shoulders, but your core is involved in keeping you balanced.  Even your legs are slightly worked by keeping a bend in the knee.
• Specialized Range of Movement.  As wonderful (and expensive) as gym and gym-similar machines may be, it’s sometimes impossible to get them to adjust for your specific height so you can perform the exercise correctly.  If you’re very heavy, some machines might not fit at all, leaving you discouraged.  With dumbbells you can work out in a way that’s just perfect for a unique you!
• Portability.  One of my New Year’s resolutions was to buy a set of light dumbbells for my office away from home.  When work stresses you out, or you’re just time-crunched, dumbbells can give you a good, effective and quick workout anywhere.

 

So if you have only dumbbells, don’t despair!  You’re saving money, and more importantly, keeping excuses for not working out at bay.  Not a dumb idea at all!

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

Aerobic Weight Training – Your One Stop Workout

For a full body workout in half the time, try aerobic weight training!  This workout will tone your muscles while blasting away fat.  Here’s how it works:  For each of the below groups of exercises, choose one of the three.  Perform them in rapid succession without breaks in between.  Vary the exercises you choose, and do this workout three or four times a week.  On your “off” days, take a walk or a bike ride, and you’ll be fit and trim in no time. 

 

• Dumbell Chest Fly, Chest Press, or Bench Press – 12 repetitons.
• Squats, Hack Squats, or Plie Squats – 15 repetitions.
• Skip rope, run, or step for three minutes. 
• Shoulder Press, Arnold Press, or Lateral Raise – 12 repetitions.
• Stationary Lunge, Alternating Front Lunge, or Alternating Rear Lunge – 15 repetitions.
• Skip rope, run, or step for five minutes.
• Biceps Curl, Triceps Kickback, or Dips – 12 repetitions.
• Walking Lunge, Squat with Hip Abduction or Squat with Hip Adduction Sweep – 15 reps each leg.
• Skip rope, run, or step for three minutes.

 

 

Follow this with three minutes of abdominal work and a five minute stretch.  Congratulations!  You’ve worked your whole body, and gotten all three fitness components in no time!

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

The Great Glutes Workout, Part Two

Want a butt that makes guys go wild and girls go green with envy, but lack membership to a gym?  No more excuses!  Here’s a workout that will make your rear view spectacular and firm.  Perform these exercises with or without dumbbells.  You can do this workout alone or in combination with the exercises in the last article, and you’ll be turning heads when you wear jeans in no time!

 

• Ballet Lunge.  Stand with one leg behind the other at a 45 degree angle.  Your front foot should have toes pointed straight ahead, your back leg with toes pointed in toward the forward leg.  Your stance should allow you to bend both knees so that your lower leg is parallel (not touching!) the floor.  Squeeze your glutes together on the way up, and perform two to three sets of 15 – 20 repetitions.
• Squat with Hip Abduction.  Stand with feet hips distance apart, and perform a squat.  As you rise, abduct one leg out to the side while keeping your balance.  Return to standing, and do two sets of 15 reps on each side.
• Box Step Ups.  Using your stairs, a bench, a chair, a park bench – anything 18 inches off the ground – step up with one leg remaining on the bench, the other leg doing the work.  Do two sets of 15 with each leg.
• Glute Squeeze.  Lie on the floor with your knees bent.  Place your hands behind your head, or anywhere your palms are elevated, not helping you lift.  Curl your lower tummy in, squeezing your glutes on the way up.  Perform as many repetitions as you comfortably can.

 

Do this workout two or three times a week, and you’ll have buns to be proud of!  Now go strut your stuff!

Copyright © 2008 Strengthweighttraining.com

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