<p>VH - I understand from my CT resident that you really had a fun week!</p>
<p>We had the perfect storm - about six inches of snow, but the roads & sidewalks were quickly cleared. No real disruption of exercising. </p>
<p>I am so happy to be back to serious weight lifting. I am seeing improvement every time and I know it won’t be long until I return to my former workout.</p>
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<p>Yeah. I’ve started to really try to crank up the weights with these new workouts. We’ll see how it goes. I’m not in any hurry, but I want to start increasing the weights.</p>
<p>Some of the stuff I’m doing blows my mind. If you had told me, the ol’ fat guy, 11 months ago that I would be able to bend over at the waist, legs more or less straight, and put my two hands, palms down, flat on the floor, I would have laughed at you. Hell, I couldn’t look down and **SEE **the floor 11 months ago. But, I do it every workout as part of the “reverse inchworm” exercise in my warmup.</p>
<p>Ran a 5K. Done some pushups. Nothing major, but I feel much better. The scale says 124 - after a glass of water and a little bit of Bitburger. Not bad! I think I will finish my Bitburger to celebrate being back to my pre-holiday weight. Now off to do laundry! :)</p>
<p>idad, you should write a book or something! It will be very inspirational and motivational, just like this thread.</p>
<p>idad, I think I’ve finally motivated my H to do some weight work in the gym. He is fairly fit due to lots of walking uphill every day, but he really needs some muscle mass above the hips! Not so much to bulk up but to keep his muscles and bones in good shape (he’s a very skinny man).
After all your experiences with various exercise gurus, which ipod trainer would you recommend for him to start with? He has access to a gym with the usual assortment of equipment.</p>
<p>mousegray:</p>
<p>I bought this series for $99:</p>
<p>[iPod</a> workout program](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/5s2vlsd]iPod”>http://■■■■■■■.com/5s2vlsd)</p>
<p>It’s 12 weeks of iPod workouts (45 to 60 minutes), plus PDFs to print with weekly schedules, photos of each exercise, and so forth. These go from absolute beginner to pretty darn advanced – more ground than I could cover in 12 weeks. I spent 9 months working thru them instead of 3 months. Very strong emphasis on core. The final phase of the workouts have some of the most challenging core stability exercises you can do, like pushups with one leg on a stability ball, but he builds that from the most basic plank over time. Very strong emphasis on interval cardio as part of the actual workouts at first to scheduled interval cardio on the off days. The final phase turns the exercises into interval cardio by doing fast paced exercises (like burpees) back to back with no rest. I actually still can’t quite do the phase III workouts without extra rest periods. The equipment you need is dumbbells, a stability ball, and the cardio machine of your choice.</p>
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<p>Another alternative is this new book I’m doing. It just came out two weeks ago, the third in a very popular series. </p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> The New Rules of Lifting for Abs: A Myth-Busting Fitness Plan for Men and Women Who Want a Strong Core and a Pain-Free Back (9781583334133): Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Abs-Myth-Busting/dp/1583334130]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Abs-Myth-Busting/dp/1583334130)</p>
<p>Notwithstanding the title, it is actually a comprehensive general fitness program, built around the four basic weight lifting moves: push, pull, squat, deadlift. The workouts have four sections: an athletic warmup to improve flexibility, probably the best presentation of core exercises I’ve seen, the strength training section, and metabolic interval training to push your heart rate using kettleball or dumbbell swings and burpees. It’s designed to do in a commercial gym using barbells, dumbbells, stability balls, TRX suspension trainers, cable machines, etc. These are really fantastic workouts and the book is a good read. I would say that it’s a little more weight lifting oriented than the iPod workouts – although both end up with a very heavy emphasis on assymetrical lifting that forces the core muscles to develop stability. </p>
<p>There are one-page downloadable PDF workout sheets. So, from a nuts and bolts standpoint, you use the pictures in the book to figure out the exercises, then you take the one page to the gym and do the workout. You alternate between just two workouts for the first month, so there’s time to learn the exercises and then advance them.</p>
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<p>I would say that the iPod series is probably better for a rank beginner because you’ve got coaching in your ear for 45 minutes emphasizing key points about the exercises and so forth. You get a good solid foundation and it is a terrific fat loss program. But, for $15 (hardcover or Kindle), this New Rules of Lifting for Abs is a lot of bang for the buck and the workouts are state of the art. The photos of the core exercise progressions are worth $15 alone.</p>
<p>BTW, did a set of nine band-assisted chin ups tonight. So, if I can duplicate that tomorrow, one of the bands comes off. Back of my arms were burning.</p>
<p>IDad–do you like the TRX trainers? I just noticed that my gym is offering a TRX class. What does it do that is different from other weight training equipment? Does it offer something different? My gym just got this equipment and you have to take a class to use it, plus there’s an extra fee. I’m reluctant to spend more than I’m already spending for my trainer–trying to do more things on my own. Spent part of the weekend cleaning a section of my garage (which is heated) that I can use for a training area. I’ve got a three car garage and it’s full of stuff (kids and ours)–no cars! Hopefully, I can get a space for one car and a space for a workout area.</p>
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</p>
<p>Yeah. Very versatile addition to a home gym. There are no weights. They are simply hand grips at the end of straps hanging from the ceiling (or a door or a tree limb…). Basically just a pair of gymnastic rings that have easy height adjustments.</p>
<p>They are great for beginners because you can do stuff like pullups with infinitely variable heights (and body angles), thus going from easy to moderate to hard. For more advanced stuff, the addded challenge comes from the instability of the rings. So doing pushups with your hands in the rings is hard as heck because your muscles are not only working to do the pushup, but also to keep everything stable and not moving.</p>
<p>For the most part, you do the same kinds of exercises you would do with a stabilty ball. Plus, there’s a whole series of assisted squats and lunges, hanging onto the straps to support some of your weight and to provide balance.</p>
<p>For $99, you can buy the new Jungle Gym XT, which is arguably a better product than the TRX brand, certainly just as effective. It would actually be a perfect thing to add to a garage workout space. I just looked the straps over a ceiling joist in the basement. Didn’t even require any hardware.</p>
<p>So far, I’ve used mine for inverted row/pullups, for plank and side plank with my feet in the straps, and for pushups with my hands in the rings.</p>
<p>[TRX</a> side plank](<a href=“http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/trx-resources/trx-exercise-video.php#ooid=NkcDRnOj0gVytFG0xwEWed-p-24SxK2y,tmaWtnOup2fnXqFObs3-3w633jsKvR8t,5wMjBnOvfDvX5xiEL5s6KmrvRP3oPrfa]TRX”>http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/trx-resources/trx-exercise-video.php#ooid=NkcDRnOj0gVytFG0xwEWed-p-24SxK2y,tmaWtnOup2fnXqFObs3-3w633jsKvR8t,5wMjBnOvfDvX5xiEL5s6KmrvRP3oPrfa)</p>
<p>This one is probably the most advanced core exercise in the book: roll-outs, either from the feet or the knees. Similar to using an ab wheel, but even less stability in the rings.</p>
<p>[TRX</a> rollouts](<a href=“http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/trx-resources/trx-exercise-video.php#ooid=NkcDRnOj0gVytFG0xwEWed-p-24SxK2y,tmaWtnOup2fnXqFObs3-3w633jsKvR8t,pwYTBnOqBMghSJcYQEUNGUzxVcVwE_0U]TRX”>http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/trx-resources/trx-exercise-video.php#ooid=NkcDRnOj0gVytFG0xwEWed-p-24SxK2y,tmaWtnOup2fnXqFObs3-3w633jsKvR8t,pwYTBnOqBMghSJcYQEUNGUzxVcVwE_0U)</p>
<p>[TRX</a> Suspension Training Bodyweight Exercise Video Library | Fitness Anywhere Inc](<a href=“http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/trx-resources/trx-exercise-video.php]TRX”>http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/trx-resources/trx-exercise-video.php)</p>
<p>Women’s Health Magazine has just published a short excerpt and a core workout from New Rules of Lifting for Abs book.</p>
<p>The excerpt ([Reveal</a> Your Abs—for Good! | Women’s Health Magazine](<a href=“http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/abs-secrets]Reveal”>http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/abs-secrets)) describes the three levels of core exercises:</p>
<p>a) Stabilization: Holding a position with the muscles under tension (plank)</p>
<p>b) Dynamic stabilization: Holding the core muscles stable while moving an arm or a leg</p>
<p>c) Integrated stabilization: Holding the core muscles stable while moving the whole body under an unstable or unbalanced load.</p>
<p>Then, the magazine illustrates eight of the core exercises from the book ([Get</a> a Flat Belly | Women’s Health Magazine](<a href=“http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/ab-workout-women]Get”>8 Essential Abs Moves to Get a Flat Belly)). Add two of these to your workout for two weeks, then add two different ones. Or just use them as substitutes for whatever core stuff you are doing.</p>
<p>First exercise: Plank with leg lift:</p>
<p>[Plank</a> with Leg Lift | Women’s Health Magazine](<a href=“Plank with Leg Lift”>Plank with Leg Lift)</p>
<p>Thank you for your recommendations, idad. I’m forwarding it to my H.
I see this thread is turning into “ask idad”!</p>
<p>Well idad, I’m now poorer by the cost of the Alwyn Cosgrove book. I hope you are getting commissions! LOL.</p>
<p>You’ll “enjoy” the book. Download the free workout log PDF here:</p>
<p>[Werkit</a> Workout Logs: New Rules of Lifting for Abs](<a href=“http://werkit.com/programs/nrol4abs]Werkit”>http://werkit.com/programs/nrol4abs)</p>
<p>It gives you a simple one page printable cheat sheet for each workout, perfect for taking to the gym or just sitting next to the water bottle. The hardest part of the workout to learn is the dynamic warmup, but I believe that it stays the same for all of the workouts. My attitude is to just have fun with it – the ol’ (formerly) fat guy doing a curtsey lunges across the house looks a bit like a hippo dance contest.</p>
<p>Well, that might be the coldest night I’ve every bar-b-q’d chicken out on the grill. 6 degrees right now. The chicken was pretty darn good, although I will confess that I didn’t spend much time out there watching it cook after I got the charcoal going. Flipped it very 5 minutes for half an hour and that was it.</p>
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<p>Workout B today, I think my eighth day with these NROL4A workouts. I’m feeling like I know the exercises now, can do them all (more or less), and am really trying to put as much into each one as I can.</p>
<p>Core was really tough. A kneeling side pull (with exercise bands). Bands coming from the side, hold the handle in both outstretched arms against the tension as it tries to rotate you. 4 x 30 seconds. Then, I did plank and side plank with my feet in the handles of the suspension trainer straps. I messed up. I meant to do 4 x 25 seconds on plank and 4 x 25 seconds on side plank split between the two sides, but got confused and set the interval timer for 2 x 50 seconds. Ouch.</p>
<p>I bumped the weight up across the board on the strength training section. 25 pounds on the single leg, single arm deadlift. Two 25 pound dumbbells on the standing shoulder press, where you hold one weight up while pressing the other one up and down 12 times, then do the other arm. That was seriously tough. I did three sets of 12 on each arm, but I was shaking at the end. Not a lot of weight, but I’m an ol’ (formerly) fat guy who has never lifted a weight in his life – well at least since the obligatory Christmas weight set from Sears when I was 12 years old.</p>
<p>I cranked the overhead squat up to 32 pounds. Not a lot of weight, but a 50% increase from the other day. This isn’t really a “big weight” exercise. The position is challenging. I wasn’t sure I could do three sets of 12, but I did. Instead of chinups or inverse rows, today’s pulling exercise is a kneeling “lat pulldown”, which I’m doing with a bar and exercise bands anchored near the ceiling. I added two more bands and could barely pull the bar down to my chest.</p>
<p>Wipe out. On the second run of my double (ran a little this morning) this evening I was going to run inside because it was supposed to be raining. It wasn’t, so I decided to go outside, even though it involved some wardrobe gymnastics (i.e. pulling random items out of my gym bag to be warm enough). I was VERY careful because I was on a sidewalk with cracks and the lighting wasn’t great. About 3 1/4 miles into the 4 mile run I hit some cobblestones (which I could see) and went down. Wiped out right elbow, knee and hip. I hit my watch right after I stopped rolling. God forbid I would mess up my split on that blazing 11 minute mile! I thought I was in bad shape. I couldn’t get up. I just sat there on the sidewalk. I took inventory and it appeared as though all the parts could still move, so I got up and made it back to the gym. I’m not happy. I think I’m basically OK, but it’s pretty discouraging. I haven’t fallen since Nov 2009 in the Monkey Marathon, but I didn’t do much running from March-December of 2010. Ugh. I think I’ll sleep in tomorrow morning and regroup. Have PT after work so maybe he can put me back together.</p>
<p>You know I feel your pain. It’s amazing how much falling down hurts. It’s also amazing how fast it happens. I’m sure you’ll be fine in day or two.</p>
<p>Outdoor walking/running really isn’t an option here right now. There’s just too much snow. The streets are clear and dry for the most part, but really narrow with snow banks. It would be OK for a quick lap around the neighborhood, but not very inviting for a longer walk. That’s OK because I don’t really feel like walking when it’s 12 degrees outside. I’ll save that for when the ol’ (formerly) fat guy tackles Mt. Everest someday!</p>
<p>How not to do core exercises:</p>
<p>[Noisy</a> Exercise Workout](<a href=“Download Softwares for Windows”>Download Softwares for Windows)</p>
<p>OMG. My back hurts just thinking about that…</p>
<p>First day back at college, and the first day of my PE class this semester: Modern I. Didn’t seem like much exertion at first, but then–ow, my thighs are sore. After reading about your inchworm workout, idad, I did do some yoga stretches and pushed to regain enough flexibility for gorilla pose.</p>
<p>Ouch on the fall. Keil, it sounds like you are taking some PE classes that will help you develop life-long fitness. I so regret taking badminton rather than yoga . . . </p>
<p>I have learned in the past week that I do not handle sugar well. After about four or five days of not eating much sugar, the crazy food cravings have pretty much gone. In fact I just ate a dozen almonds because I needed more calories. That would not have happened over the holidays.</p>
<p>Sore thighs are good. That means that you are working your quads and/or hamstrings!</p>
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<p>I feel like I should be a natural at posing like a gorilla :), but I can’t quite do the gorilla pose without a slight knee bend. Need more hip hinge and hamstring flexibility. More inchworm!</p>
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<p>I’ve got another one that is similar to the gorilla pose. It’s originally from a reknowned physical therapy guy, Gray Cook.</p>
<p>1) Stand with feet shoulder width apart or a little wider.</p>
<p>2) Bend at the hips and grab the toes of your feet. Arms inside the legs.</p>
<p>3) Continue to hold the toes and squat down, hips back.</p>
<p>4) Continue to hold the toes and lift head and chest so you are looking up with the chest out.</p>
<p>5) Let go of the toes and raise both arms above your head like the letter “Y”. (Note, you are now in a perfect “overhead squat” position.)</p>
<p>6) Keeping arms raised, stand up.</p>
<p>This does it all. Hip flexibility. Squat flexibility. Shoulder flexibility.</p>
<p>MOfWC, ouch. I hope only your pride was seriousely bruised, and the rest of your body is OK.</p>
<p>i-dad, that noisy workout… ROFL! My somach muscles hurt after laughing so hard! Laughter is a good core muscle exercise. 
Was the guy SERIOUS? LOL!</p>