Archive for February, 2009

During my run today I noticed something for the first time, it was too short. Not in the way that I wasn’t getting my heart rate up enough or even getting a good workout for my legs. I had run a couple kilometers with some stretches and jumping squats in between and my body was feeling soar. No, I felt my run was too short because for the first time in three weeks I was really enjoying it.

Though my body was tired, my mind was was enjoying the challenge. The freedom of knowing that it had control over the body and not the other way around. It was actually somewhat of a high. By pushing yourself though difficulties, you learn something about yourself. Its the reason why a person will run a 26 mile marathon simply for the reason of finishing. Pushing yourself beyond the limit helps you grow as a person.

Pushing yourself beyond your limits isn’t limited to just physical activities. It can include doing something you have always wanted to try, something you are afraid of, or something you think will be very difficult. Breaking outside your comfort zone and doing more than you though you could helps you learn about yourself and gives you the confidence to know you can do it.

Exercise of the Day

• Hanging Crunches- Hanging from a bar (as you would if you were doing pull-ups), raise your knees into your your chest and hold for two seconds. You can also do these at angles to work different parts of your abs. In addition to working your abs you also work your shoulders and arms.

Tomorrow, I will be giving more updates on my progress for the last week and covering another of my favorite exercises. Sign up to my RSS Feed to make sure you don’t miss it.

Finally, the last week of the challenge has started. The first two weeks were definitely the most difficult as my body tried to adapt to a new workout routine. They were also difficult on my mind as I saw almost no change in my bodies physical appearance. Now I am on the downhill side of the challenge. I am able to increase my workouts and my body doesn’t fight me anymore. In fact, my body feels much better the days I exercise. Starting today, and continuing for the next few days, I will be going over the top 5 exercises I feel have been the most effective in my progress.

As I mentioned last week, the amount of time I spend working out each day is actually not very long. On average I spend about 20-30 minutes exercising and from last week have included about a 10 minute run each day. However, this also isn’t all at once. I break the workout into small sections and complete them whenever I can fit them in my schedule.

I am by no means a professional trainer, but splitting up my exercises though out the day hasn’t seemed to have any negative effects on my progress. Since my body can’t adapt to the changing patterns of my workouts, it may have even helped by forcing my body to be ready at all times. The workout program I am using actually even talks about the importance of changing up your routines so your body can’t adapt. This especially makes a lot of sense when you look at the way animals exercise. Most animals have a sleek muscular body, but only exercise in short bursts. You never see your dog or cat running for 2 hours a day. They exercise (or play) in short intensive burst throughout the day.

Exercises of the Day

1. Jumping Squats- Though it is a difficult exercise, jumping squats give a big bang for the buck. They allow me to get a great leg workout that uses both my calves and especially the thighs. They also require use of the mid section and get your whole body moving. After just a few reps my legs start feeling the burn. They also have the added benefit of increasing your vertical jump.
2. Balance Ball Crunches- Balance ball crunches are just as simple as they sound. You lay on a balance (exercise) ball and do crunches. The reason they are better than regular crunches is because your upper body is not supported and causes your body to use addition muscle groups. Since the ball moves, you also have to use stabilizer muscles. By sightly turning you body as you crunch, you can also work your obliques. The key is to do them slowly and really “squeeze” the crunch each time you do it. Try to focus on using your muscles rather than momentum.

Tomorrow, I will be giving more updates on my progress for the last week and covering another of my favorite exercises. Sign up to my RSS Feed to make sure you don’t miss it.