“The daily routine focuses on the athlete’s core — abdominals, the lower back, gluteal muscles and hips — and involves everything from traditional weights to resistance bands. Fischer likes to focus on balance, flexibility, joints and areas that most athletes tend to ignore in their regular workouts.”
By Rick Maese
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 19, 2010
Don’t feel like going to the gym? That doesn’t mean that you have to skip your workout altogether; there is a solution – exercise at home. With these affordable and easy to use at home workout products, you can get results without running to the gym.
1.The Stability Ball: The stability ball is a popular choice because it’s not only effective, it’s fun too. They are deflatable so you can simply put them away when you’re done.
Cost:$15-$25
How to use: There are many at home stability workouts, but my favorite are crunches and hip thrusts. To do a crunch you simply lay with the small of your back on the ball and put your hands beside your ears. Then, reach your chin to the sealing & feel your abs contract. It’s very simple but very effective. The next best workout is the hip thrust. For this exercise you will lay with your back on the floor, and put both your feet about a foot apart on the ball. Then lift your bottom up into the air so your back makes a bridge with the ground. You should feel this in your butt, thighs, lower back and abs. Stability ball workouts work your whole core while strengthening and toning your abs. Talk about bang for your buck.
2.Exercise Wheel This handy little product is probably your best investment. It’s one of the cheapest and most effective on the market.
Cost:$10-$20
How to Use:It’s up to you how much or how often you use the wheel but some recommend to start with 3 sets of 10 for 5 days a week. Start with your hands on the handles and your knees bent then just extend your body out, rolling the wheel forward and proceed to roll it back to the starting position. This is one rep. You should feel it in your entire abdomen and lower back.
3.Resistance bands These bad boys are amazing muscle engagers. They’re like using dumbbells without the awkward movements, but they are just as hard to move and don’t weigh even half as much.
Cost:$10-15
How to Use: There are many exercises you can do with the resistance bands. Most exercises involve stepping on the bands to provide resistance, for example, for a bicep curl you will step on the bands and pull the handle up with your arms in a curling motion like you would with dumbbells. The standard set/rep scheme will be 3 sets of 10 for any exercise. Typically the bands will come with an exercise chart when purchased, or you can always look up new exercises online or in magazines.
4.Push up Bars Many woman stay away from lifting weights or doing pushups because they don’t want to be bulky, but fit can be achieved without bulging biceps. With summer right around the corner, who couldn’t use a little tone?
Cost:$10-$15
How to Use: These are used to increase the effectiveness of a regular push up. They will increase your strength and stability throughout your body instead of just your arms and chest. Simply put your hands on the bars and do a regular pushup. You can increase or decrease the width and positioning of the bars to target different muscles. The rep scheme is up to you.
5.Ankle Weights These can help increase the effectiveness of a workout, and many women simply wear them throughout their day to provide a little tone to the legs.
Cost:$15-$25
How to Use: These are perhaps the easiest of all to use. Next time you go walking, wrap them around your ankles for a good leg workout on top of cardio. Soon enough you’ll have some nice sculpted calves and thighs to go with your flat stomach and toned arms.
Miranda Kerr, who is the epitome of perfection, uses resistance bands. She recently told hollyscoop.com, “Yoga, Pilates, few squats and I have some resistance bands that I use to tone and lift the butt.”
Here is an excerpt from a recent article in Men’s Fitness by Tina Benitez:
4. Show Some Resistance
Enhance basic lunges, squats and bicep curls with resistance bands. Bands are lightweight for travel and usually cost between $6 to $20. First, know your colors. Usually, the various colors of the bands will tell the resistance of each: yellow (light), red (medium) and green (heavy). For squats, try standing with legs shoulder-width apart. Hold bands at shoulder length while standing and during each squat then return to original position. To work triceps, stand with resistance band along your back, holding the tubing in one hand and stretching the other band with your other hand over your head.
When it comes to strength training, most of us stick to the usual free weights and machines. What you don’t see a lot of is work with resistance bands (gym in a bag products).
For times when you can’t make it to the gym or you are travelling, gym in a bag products offer an inexpensive and portable way to get a full-body strength-training workout at home or on the road.
The simple design of tubing contributes to its usefulness. There are no complicated instructions or tools required before exercising.
The resistance feels different.
When you use free weights, gravity decides where the weight comes from, so you get more resistance during one part of the movement (such as the upswing of a bicep curl) than the other (the downswing). With bands, the tension is constant, which makes it feel harder.
Resistance bands vs machines or dumbbells.
With weights, you know exactly how much you’re lifting. With resistance bands, you can only go by how it feels and the tension on the band.
That doesn’t mean you’re not getting a good workout, though. If you use good form and the right level of tension, your muscle fibres won’t know the difference between weights or bands. Plus, resistance bands offer more variety because you can create the resistance from all directions–the side, overhead, below, etc.
How to Choose Resistance Bands
Resistance bands have a color coded levels of resistance. Yellow being thinnest and has the least resistance. Red has medium resistance and is the most popular one you’ll see in gyms. The green, blue and gold bands have the most resistance.
Certain manufacturers also sell them in a variety of colors, which indicate differences in tension. For instance, yellow tubes are light tension whereas black tubes are heavier tension.
Why You Should Try Resistance Bands
They travel well. You can easily pack them in your suitcase for travel and do exercises in the car or in your hotel room.
They increase coordination. Because there’s tension throughout the exercises, you have to stabilize your body. This helps with coordination, balance and it also helps you involve more muscle groups.
They add variety. With weights, you’re often limited as to how many exercises you can do. But, the resistance band allows you to change your positioning in multiple ways. This changes how your body works and how an exercise feels.
They’re cheap. This is nice for the budget-conscious exerciser.
Also, you purchase products such as P90x to compliment your gym in a bag products.
They’re great for all fitness levels. Depending on how you use them, bands can be great for beginners as well as more advanced exercisers. You can use them for basic moves or to add intensity to traditional moves.
People with all types of fitness goals could benefit by at least supplementing a couple of exercises using resistance tubes (again, try P90x). They allow people to progress at a much smoother.
When it comes to fitness it’s always important what you do, but it’s even more important how you actually do it.
Some basic exercises
Chest Press.Wrap the band around a sturdy object behind you and hold handles in each hand, beginning the move with elbows bent and arms parallel to the ground. Squeeze the chest and press the arms out without locking elbows.
Seated Row. Wrap the band around a sturdy object in front of you, arms extended and palms face each other. Squeeze the back to pull the elbows in just a bit past the torso, keeping them close to the body.
Bicep Curls.For the bicep curl, you can stand on the band with both feet (harder) or with one foot (easier). Hold the handles in each hand and curl up in a bicep curl, just as you would with dumbbells. You can make this move harder by stepping the feet wide.
Squats. For squats, stand on the band and you can hold the handles up towards the shoulders (elbows bent) to create more tension or above hip for lesser tension.
What’s great about a gym in a bag is how inexpensive it is — you can easily find a good one for under $50 to over $150. They’re small and store easily, making them ideal for traveling or tucking away in a desk drawer at work. And depending on your level of strength, there’s one for everyone — from light to super heavy tension and everything in between.
Besides using them in place of free weights for strengthening specific muscle groups (think bicep and hammer curls), I also think there are many exercises that can be made more challenging by incorporating a band into them. Squats, push-ups, and lunges become even more challenging with the addition of a resistance band.
You’ll find that when using resistance bands, it’s easier to target smaller muscles and also mimic real-life sports scenarios. Because the bands offer tension in all directions, you can use them to mirror the movements you make in your sport and strengthen those muscle groups.
If you don’t already have a gym in a bag for yourself, go out and get one: I promise that you’ll see results!
From a recent Q & A with John Rowley
Q. Let’s say I have $50 to spend on home fitness equipment. What should I buy, and why?
Buy exercise resistance bands. They give you a great workout in a small space, and they can come with you on a trip.
Resistance bands are ideal for home exercise programs and can easily be incorporated into a circuit training format, helping to condition cardiovascular system as well as strengthening specific muscle groups.
Did you know that 90% of gym members visit the gym less than once a month? Gym memberships are expensive and they usually go to waste. Plus almost everyone makes excuses not to got the gym.
We know, you’re busy with work, school, car pooling, kids, after school activities, business meetings, doctor appointments, pets, the list goes on and on.
And, when you do actually go to the gym, you need to block out at least an hour so you can do some cardio or take a class or lift some weights for resistance training. Wouldn’t you love to get a great workout in just 15-minutes at home or at the office using only resistance bands included in all gym in a bag products?
Resistance bands are used by personal trainers and strength coaches. Gym in a bag products are small, lightweight, compact and convenient. Use them at home, take them to work, and even take them with you when traveling.
Just fifteen (15) minutes a day is all it takes. Using just five of 3-minute exercises alternating daily will whip you into shape in no time. And for advanced calorie burning, weight loss and muscle building you can do multiple 15-minute workouts or workout three times a day (morning, afternoon and evening). That’s three full workouts in just 45 minutes.
Also, have you looked into p90x?
Aging in our society is something that can be basically controlled, to a degree. When you think about it, our bodies are not unlike that of a well maintained car, if you take care of it is will last a very long time. The new research that has just been published seems to back this up. Not only does the diet have an impact, but if you stay active and exercise – specifically resistance training (i.e., using a gym in a bag product – there are many out there) – then you may have a better chance of staying healthier and happier long into ‘old age’ (what ever that is). It appears that dietary protein may help to improve body composition as you age; the facts are based on research is that it does have an affect on oral blood sugar levels, glucose tolerance, skeletal muscle and immune function in the aging population. A study performed by researchers at Purdue University in Indiana and the University of Missouri in Columbia , Missouri shows that a steady intake of high quality protein and resistance training (using a gym in a bag product) independently, has an affect on ‘whole body’ glucose control and muscle density. How is this significant, well if the body’s ability to maintain systemic glucose tolerance levels is maintained, it this helps to maintain the contents of skeletal muscle insulin signaling proteins in healthy older persons. In other words it helps to prevent the muscle wasting that is prevalent in the elderly.
Today everyone wants a leaner, fit and healthy body.
Most of us just want to look good to attract the opposite sex or to be able to take care of ourselves in those dangerous situations that sometimes happen.
Some want to be able to keep up with their kids… who seem to have an endless amount of vitality and energy. Others are more interested in preventing diseases. Whatever your reasons are for getting in shape… they are all great reasons!
A lot of my friends and relatives told me that the best way to get a sexy and firm body was to go to the gym, but gyms are not cheap.
In my area they run about $400 bucks a year!
Also, most good home gym systems cost about $1000 bucks a year!
If you want to get a complete body workout for a fraction of the cost of overpriced exercises machines or gym memberships… then you need to look into a gym in a bag product.
These home gym in a bag products has been getting RAVE reviews from many folks who have finally found a low cost solution to having a healthier and sexy body. As noted below, these kits come with a complete set of resistance bands with easy to use workout attachments.
The bands come in different colors so it’s easy to know what amount of resistance each one offers.
A gym in a bag product is convenient and versatile that you can tone any area of your body just by changing your position and the way you pull on the resistance bands. The resistance bands are made of a high quality latex and other elastic materials, which create tension and resistance as you pull on them.
This allows your muscles to be worked out… similar to the effect of using health club cables or weight lifting equipment.
Most gym in a bag products also get a complete step-by-step instructional guide that offers a huge variety of different exercises to keep your workouts interesting and fun.
You can easily tone your arms, abs, thighs, chest, back, and buttocks with different workouts you can do in the comfort of your home, office or anywhere.