Posts Tagged ‘abs workout’

The biggest difficulty I have had sticking with exercise routines is my schedule changing. I am going a long just great when all of a sudden I get sick, end up with other pans, or maybe take a vacation or business trip. The routine gets broken and my progress slows down or maybe even stops. By the time I can get back to my routine I am less motivated to start again. The longer you miss the exercise the harder it is to get back into the routine. So what should you do minimize the damage?

I had just such an event happen to me yesterday. A friend who I hadn’t seen for a while dropped by the house about mid-day and stayed past dinner. It was great to see him, but it meant that I couldn’t go about my normal exercise routine. It would have been very easy to just skip it for the day. However, when you skip one day, it’s even easier to skip the next day. So instead I decided to modify my routine.

Instead of sitting on the sofa, I sat on the exercise ball. This allowed me to occasionally do sit-ups or various other types of exercises and stretches. When my guest would take a bathroom break, I would do a set of pull-ups or push-ups. I know all this may seem a little weird, but it actually turned out to be no big deal. He understood I was on a training program and even though I was partly exercising while we talked, conversation went on as normal.

The important thing is to know that your plan will probably not go as smooth as you expect. And while it is best to do at least part of the routine, that won’t always be possible. You won’t be able to control getting sick or emergencies. But you can expect that they will happen and create a backup plan.

I wasn’t able to get a full workout yesterday, but I was able to do enough to feel that I didn’t lose any progress. When you plan your workout or any other goal, be sure to create backup plan. This will help you from getting off track and keep you moving towards your goal.

There are two more days to exercise this week. I am planning to runs on both days as long as the weather holds up. I will also be posting pictures at the end of the week.

This week I started out with the goal to try and lose some of my body fat. For the last two weeks I have been focusing on gaining muscle weight, especially in the abs. After 10 days of working out I have increased the muscle size, but I still have too much body fat to see much definition.

This week I have added a short run to my exercise. To try and get more out of my run and make sure that I am getting a good workout for my leg muscles I have broken the run into two parts.

The first stretch I run a little less than a mile to warm up my body. I then stop and do a set of stretches for about 5 minutes. After the run and the stretching session my legs are feeling pretty tired. I then add in a set of 20 to 30 jumping squats. This makes a huge difference. Adding the squats after the run really makes the legs work. I then run the same distance back (though it seems much further).

I highly recommend this routine for anyone wanting to get a better workout during their run. It takes some will power to get all the way through the squats (I could barely walk right afterwards), but after just two days my legs are feeling much more stable. I can also significantly increase my workout in a short period by adding the squats.

Jumping Squats

Jumping squats don’t require any equipment at all. TO do a jumping squat you drop down to a position where your thighs are parallel to the ground. Jump into the air and then back to having your legs parallel again. When you bend your knees, try to keep your back as straight as possible. This will be difficult at first, but gets easier the more you do it. The biggest burn is in the thighs, but I can also feel the burn in my buttocks as well as my lower back. I have added pictures below to demonstrate.

You can also find a video here showing a demonstration. I tend to jump a little higher than that as it puts more strain on my legs. Both on pushing to gain more height and also bracing myself to come back down. However, the height demonstrated in this video is probably the best.

Other helpful links:

• Jumping Squats
• 100 Jumping Squats