Soup Cans or Hand Weights

Hey everyone!  I wanted to get you a new workout before the week got away.  This one is going to be a little more challenging to those of you who are really new to exercise.  Start out slow and light and then work up to increasing the amount of weight you use.

Now for those of you who don't have hand weights at home, you can use some soup or veggie cans.  Make sure the cans both weigh the same.  You can also use water bottles or gallon bottles if you are stronger, but the can be a little awkward.

The exercise are combo exercise, working more than one body part at a time to maximize time.

So let's get started with a 5 or 10 minute warm-up.  Try some of my stair workout or jog/march in place.  Or combine the two.

Now once you're warmed up let's get going:

1) Stationary lunge with biceps curl - works, legs, butt, arms and core.  Holding one weight in each hand, stagger your stance with your right foot in front of you and your left leg behind you.  Make sure your hips and feet are pointing forward.  Keep belly tucked in.  Holding your arms down bend both knees as you inhale.  As you exhale straighten your legs and bend your elbows until the weights are about 2 inches from your shoulders (wrist facing your shoulders).  Repeat this 8-10 times on this side and then repeat on the other side.  See if you can work up to 3 sets of 10 reps on each side.

2) Wide leg (plie) squat with overhead triceps extension -  works legs, hips, butt,, arms and core.  Keep your abs engaged (tuck in belly button) and stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder width.  Toes should be turned out slightly.  Holding one weight in each hand, raise arms above head, making sure your elbows are close to your head.  Now inhale has you bend your knees and bend your elbows back bringing your weights behind you towards the bottom of your neck/top of shoulders.  As you exhale, straighten your legs without locking knees and bring arms straight without locking out as well.  Make sure you have your shoulders above your hips with chest lifted, and tailbone should point downwards not out.  Repeat 8-10 times and build up to 3 sets.

3) Push-ups - my all time favorite for working your upper body, back and abs.  See my earlier post from last week for modifications.  Try to do 8-10 reps and build up to 3 sets.

4) Planks - upper body and abs.  Get into push up position and bring legs behind you extended.  Pull belly button up and in and hold this position for up to 30 seconds.  Breathe through this.  Try to build up to 3 or 4 sets of 30 seconds each.

Okay, if you have questions, please feel free to post on my Facebook page or on the comments section of this blog.  You can also email me at wattersjes@msn.com.

Next article will be about when to hire a professional and when to hold off.  Have a great day!