Finally Getting Fit

Okay, I tried this and it definitely takes more than ten minutes, but it’s still a great workout. In about twenty minutes, I can feel my muscles all over my body. This workout gets you to work on multiple areas in short spurts so you have more of a rounded out experience.

I can already tell I’ll be able to do this for few weeks before I have to increase the amount/reps/time to get the same benefits. I think I’ve just used muscles that haven’t been used like that in a long time.

This is a great workout if you’re like me and get bored easily. You tend to do each one for just a minute or two, so you’re moving and switching to the next exercise pretty quickly.

The awesome thing about this is if you truly only have ten minutes, you can pick and choose, or you can do fewer reps to save on time. (Or just go faster, but you could end up injuring yourself that way.

So, courtesy of Team Sugar, my chosen workout today (the stuff in parentheses are my comments):

1. Start with your kitchen chair to warm up. Sit down and stand back up. Do this for one minute. (You’ll probably feel a bit foolish doing this, but it feels good.)

2. Go to the stairs and start climbing up one step at a time. Go up and down 8 to 10 times. If you don’t have stairs, use a small step stool. Position it next to a wall so you can place your hand on the wall for balance. Step up and down on the stool (up with the right foot and then up with the left foot, down with the right and then down with the left) for one minute.

3. Go to a wall and place your back against it. Your feet should be about one foot away from the wall. Now, slide down the wall until the hips are parallel to the knees. The knees should be directly over the ankles. Keep your back pressed against the wall and place your hands comfortably on the thighs. Hold this position for one minute using an egg timer. If you can’t make the full minute, hold as long as you can. (This is a lot more difficult than it sounds.)

4. Sit in the kitchen chair and hold detergent bottles, one in each hand. Curl them up toward your shoulders to work the biceps. Do three sets of 12 with a rest in between sets. Drink some water while you rest. (I used bottles of juice because I don’t have two bottles of detergent. I’m planning on getting proper weights.)

5. Place a three-foot strip of masking tape on the floor in front of you. Stand on one side of the tape and with both feet hop over the tape. Go back and forth for one minute on the egg timer. If you can’t jump with both feet, hop one foot to the other foot. Once you get the hang of it you will progress to hopping with both feet. This is great for getting your heart rate up, burning calories, strengthening your bones and improving balance. (I switched this out today for a minute on our little trampoline. If you are a big breasted woman, get a properly fitted sports bra. It’ll keep you from bouncing around and will help prevent soreness.)

There’s five more moves, so

6. Go back to the chair and hold the detergent bottles again, this time extending your arms out to the sides. Raise them up until they are at shoulder level. Then return them back down to your sides. This exercise works your shoulders. If the weight is too much, pour out some water, but make sure you keep the same amount in each bottle. (Again, a bit harder than I thought it would be…)

7. Walk to the bath tub (or you can use the kitchen chair) and sit on the edge. Place your hands on the edge of the tub with your fingers hanging over the front edge. Pull yourself off the edge so you are supporting yourself with your arms. Lower yourself down and up by bending your elbows. Do three sets of 12. This exercise is for the back of the arms, the triceps. (I had to skip this one because, while lifting the juice bottle was okay, my left wrist is currently too weak to be supporting my weight like that.)

8. Finish up the workout by getting on the floor near your coffee table (or ottoman). Place your feet on the table and lift your hips up off the floor and squeeze the hips and buttocks. Lower back down. You will feel this in the back of your legs. Do three sets of 10 lifts. (This can feel very nice.)

9. Keep yourself in the same position and place your hands behind your head. Lift your shoulders up off the floor and exhale as you lift. This is for your abs. Do three sets of 15.

10. Lie flat on the floor, arms stretched out and legs extended. Breathe in and out while you relax. (An essential step. Don’t get up right away. Trust me.)

Overall, I found this to be a wonderful workout. I should have done some stretching first, but I was eager to see if I could really have a good workout in ten minutes. The ten minutes was wrong, but the workout was an excellent one.