Exercises for You

What do you think of when someone says the word "Exercise?" Running? Long distances? Pain? Work? Difficult stuff?

Well we've organized some lists to help broaden anyone's perspective on exercise. Simply pick a category that you're interested in, and scan the lists for a form of exercise that YOU can enjoy.

Adventure
Enjoyable exercises when overweight
Aerobic/muscle-building combo
Body Building
Aerobic Training
Sports
Cheap
Traveling light: How to get a full body workout wherever you are without access to a gym.

Adventure

There are many activities that offer excitement and physical fitness. We suspect you'll be too busy enjoying yourself to realize you're getting a workout.

  • Rowing
  • Canoeing
  • Rafting
  • Kayaking
  • Hiking
  • Wind surfing
  • Rock climbing
  • Surfing

Enjoyable exercises when overweight

If you find most exercises to be too difficult due to your weight, check out these exercises that can help you get active and enjoy yourself. The main idea is to keep the body moving and doing it under the force of gravity. Exercising on land is the best way to lose weight.
Walking alone, with a dog, or with a friend
Circuit training - the magic behind circuit training is that you can do anything you're comfortable with as long as it raises your heart rate, and each exercise only lasts around 1 minute or less. Swing your arms for a minute. Stand, touch your toes, and reach for the sky repetitively. If it gets you breathing harder, it's working! Get creative and make up your own 1 minute activities.
Shooting hoops
Golf

Aerobic/muscle-building combo

Kill two birds with one stone using these muscle-toning exercises in a circuit training aerobic workout.
Circuit Training can improve strength, aerobic fitness, and flexibility all in one workout. The idea is to workout continuously hopping from one exercise to the next.

Example:

  • 40 pushups
  • 1 minute of jumping jacks
  • 35 sit-ups
  • 10 pull-ups
  • 30 seconds of squat jumps
  • 30 seconds of rowing machine
  • 1 minute of front kicks
  • 1 minute of shadow boxing
  • lay on your back and raise your heals a foot off the ground for 20 seconds, etc.

You can develop a routine or do a new routine every time you workout. The possibilities are endless, making this form of exercise ideal if you get bored of routines. Here are examples to choose from. Remember, you are not limited to these. Get creative. If you want to throw snowballs for 1 minute, go ahead. Do anything, as long as it keeps your heart rate elevated. This is the secret to gaining aerobic fitness while strength training.

The crazy circuit training list
First of all you can fill your entire circuit with exercises from our strength training section. As long as you go from each exercise immediately to the next you can sustain an increased heart rate.

  • Bicep Curls
  • Squats
  • Squat jumps
  • Tricep extensions
  • Lat pull-downs
  • push-ups
  • pull-ups
  • sit-ups
  • jumping jacks
  • clean & press
  • shadow boxing
  • front kicks
  • side kicks
  • back kicks
  • forward punches holding light dumbbells
  • fast dancing
  • sprinting
  • jogging
  • walking
  • Cardio-machines
  • stairmaster
  • treadmill
  • stationary bike
  • medicine ball (pass it back and forth with a partner)
  • trunk twists holding a broom handle across your shoulders
  • swimming laps

(Do the other exercises on an exercise mat on the pool deck. You can use the high dive for pull-ups.)

Body Building

Training toward the goal of improving ones physique. Whether you enter competitions or not. If you want to add a little help to your confidence and self esteem, start body building. If your over weight you'll need to focus on toning. If your skinny, you'll need to focus on eating more and building muscle mass. With hard work and dedication you can achieve a more impressive body type.

The two equally most important missions of a body builder are to eat, and to work out your muscles. Don't forget to train aerobically. Do not listen to any bodybuilding article that tells you to avoid aerobic training. Everyone needs it to sustain a normal health. Whether you are skinny or large, aerobic training is necessary to sustain the health of your heart. It doesn't matter how ripped your muscles are. If you don't exercise aerobically, your heart will be weak, your body will be internally weak, you may be developing arteriosclerosis as you read this, and you will be setting yourself up for heart or cardiovascular disease.

Naturally thin?
Eat your ass off! To really bulk up, eat 200 to 300 calories of protein per day. Your body absorbs protein from eggs most efficiently. However, eggs do contain bad cholesterol, so you should limit yourself to 6 eggs a week, and make sure you cook them to avoid Salmonella. Protein Powder (like whey) can help you boost protein without risking an increase in cholesterol. Look for protein powders described as freeform, meaning they're absorbed directly into the blood stream without any digestion needed. Pick protein powders containing the L-form of amino acids as they are more compatible with human biochemistry. This L-form may be indicated as "USP pharmaceutical-grade L-crystalline amino acids." Most dairy products carry significant protein including yogurt, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, etc. (Ice cream and cheese can increase your cholesterol.) Meats are high in protein. You should each fish once a week anyway. Skinless white poultry meat contains lots of protein and little fat. Nuts are high in protein. Peanut butter - high in protein and fat. Bananas are high in calories in can help you gain mass. Make sure you eat plenty of carbos as well, like spaghetti, cereal, bread, and fruit, as carbos are burned by your body first during a workout leaving you more protein to add to your muscle.

Weight gaining protein shake recipe

  • 16 oz. Milk
  • 3 oz. Corn oil
  • 5 oz. Water
  • 15 tbsp. (3/4 cup) Protein Powder with flavoring of your choice
  • 4 chopped cooked eggs
  • 6 tsp. Lecithin granules (some protein powders include this)
  • 1 chopped banana

Creatin is an amino acid that can turn ADP into ATP, the body's energy currency. As a result creatin can increase endurance and strength, and allow you to workout more efficiently for longer periods of time. These enhanced workouts will help you build lean muscle mass. You should not take creatine supplements with fruit juices as this creates creatinine, which is difficult for the kidneys to process. We suggest getting a more reasonable amount of creatin from the muscle of other animals - meat, especially steak.

Working the muscles: If you are skinny and you want to beef up your muscles, you use heavy weight and low repetitions (no more than 7 or 8. Here are some great exercises with heavy weight and extremely low reps that builds muscle tissue effectively.
Bench Press: 3 sets of 6, 4, 4 reps
Deadlifts: 3 sets of 6, 4, 4 reps
Upright Rows: 3 sets of 6, 4, 4 reps
Standing Triceps Presses: 3 sets of 6, 4, 4 reps
Squats: 3 sets of 6, 4, 4 reps

In addition to these exercises, you should workout all the major muscle groups using as many exercises as you can fit in. For instance when doing the bench press, make sure you cover incline press and decline press to work all possible angles.

When you're satisfied with your muscle gain, limit the fat in your diet and incorporate lower weights and higher repetitions to cut definition into your muscle. This should be rather easy if you are naturally thin and thus have a high metabolism. Be careful not to lose too much weight at once or the toxins released from the fat you burn could cause damage to your body. About one pound per week is safe.

Naturally plump? Tone that body with high repetitions and a low fat diet. If your plump mass is mainly fat, you'll need to burn fat using aerobic training and strength training with low weight and high reps. Eat plenty of protein to replace the fat you burn with muscle. There are a lot of products on the market that body builders use to lose weight. We don't endorse any of them because we believe in a gradual controlled loss of fat from exercise and a lean diet. When you burn fat, toxins in the fat are released into the blood stream. Your body can handle a normal dose of them as you burn a pound a week, but if you go out of control, the toxins you release could cause damage to your organs. See our section on controlling weight and base your weight loss program on the safe effective guidelines offered.

Aerobic Training

Jogging
Get some quality running shoes. Stretch thoroughly. Start running very slowly 1 to 1.5 miles at a time. Always stretch thoroughly afterwards. With each workout gradually increase the speed and distance. Within a month you'll probably look forward to the escape from your hectic life. If you find running boring, find a hilarious partner to entertain you. That way you can get an abdominal workout while your laughing your ___ off. Also see interval training under aerobic training.

Swimming
Not equivalent to floating. If you are trying to lose weight forget swimming. Weight bearing aerobic exercise like walking or jogging is more effective. If you're going to swim for exercise, do it right. Get some simple goggles. The eye pieces should be entirely made of hard plastic, as hard plastic forms the best seal with your skin. Press them against your eye sockets. If they stick, and don't have any sissy cushioning, buy them. Review our section on swimming workouts under aerobic training.

Biking
If you are trying to lose weight, forget biking. Walking or jogging burns more fat. To get an aerobic workout biking you'll probably need to use an interval workout, unless you have the drive to hold an intense pace for a long period of time. See interval training under aerobic training.

Sports

This doesn't include watching!...

  • Water polo (no touching the bottom)
  • Soccer
  • Basketball
  • Lacrosse
  • Competitive swimming
  • Cross country running
  • Track and field
  • Field hockey
  • Ultimate Frisbee
  • Boxing
  • Martial arts
  • Football
  • Softball
  • Baseball
  • Volleyball (2 man)

Cheap

The following exercises require either no equipment, or a couple household items.
The traveling light workout (chin-up bar)
Walking (walking shoes)
Running (running shoes)
Swimming (swim suit and goggles)
Circuit training (nothing if you can think of clever 1 minute exercises)
Ultimate Frisbee (Frisbee and friends)

Traveling light

Invest in a pull up bar and get a full body strength building workout wherever you're staying for the night.

Back muscles
Lie on your back with shoulders in line with the doorway. Secure the bar at arms length above your chest. Grab the bar with hands slightly more than shoulder width apart. Keeping your body straight, pull your chest to the bar and lower yourself under control. Repeat.

Or try the Bent Over Row with Duffle Bag
Place some objects in a duffle bag to achieve the desired weight. Grab two firm chairs. Kneel on one chair with your left knee. Bend over keeping your back straight and place your left hand on the other chair so it aligns vertically just above your left shoulder. Keep your back perfectly straight, head up, and shoulders square with your upper body. With your right hand lift the duffle bag by its handles straight up to the side of your rib cage. Hold for a second or two and lower under control. Repeat. When finished, switch hands and repeat the exercise.

Upper back muscles
Place the desired weight in your duffle bag. Take both handles together in an overhand grip. Stand straight with the bag resting across the front of your thighs. Raise the handles to the throat or chin keeping your elbows above the bag at all times. Lower the bag to the thighs. Repeat.

Chest muscles
Push-ups
To work your triceps, place hands closer together.

Abdominal muscles
Sit-ups! Check out abdominal exercises in our strength training section.

Latissimus
Pull-ups! You did bring the pull-up bar, right. Secure it above your head in a doorway. Grab the bar, bend your legs off the ground, and pull your chest toward the bar. An overhand grip isolates your lats, while an underhand grip works your lats and biceps.

If you can't pull your entire weight, secure the bar just above shoulder height and use your legs to help you pull your chest toward the bar. Keep your upper body plum and the balls of your feet on the ground. Bend your legs when lowering yourself and straighten them when pulling yourself up.

Triceps and lower chest muscles
Dips
position two chairs facing each other. Rest the palms of your hands, slightly more than shoulder width apart, on either the edge of the seat or on the arm rests. Place your feet up on the other chair. Dip your body toward the ground and raise it until your arms are straight. Repeat.

Biceps
Bicep curls
Grab your duffle bag. Put in various objects to achieve the desired weight. Stand straight, grab the handles in one hand, and raise the bag keeping your elbow close to your side and flexing your arm from an extended position to a completely flexed position and back down. Repeat.

Quads
One-leg Squats
Stand facing a wall. Rest your hands against the wall at the height of your navel. Bend your left leg so it lifts off the ground and hold it in that position. Now squat with the right leg until it almost reaches a 90 degree angle. Keep your back straight and use the wall for balance. Repeat. (When finished switch legs and repeat the exercise.)

Lunges
Hold a weighted duffle bag in each hand with arms hanging down at your sides and palms facing each other. Keeping your face forward and back straight, take a lunging step forward as far as you can with your left foot. Quickly reverse the motion returning to the starting position. Repeat. When finished, repeat the exercise with the right leg.

Leg raises

Calf muscles
Calf Raises
Find some stairs. On the first step, stand on the ball of your right foot. Stand straight, keep your leg straight and use the railing for balance. Let your right heal lower slightly. Then flex your calf muscle and raise your body as far as you can. Lower under control and repeat. (When finished switch legs and repeat the exercise.)

Stretching
Stretching is obviously something you can do just about anywhere. For a long list of stretches see our stretching section.

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We recommend an eBook called All Star Trainer’s Secrets. It’s a 250-page book written by 11 world class personal trainers and strength coaches. It provides an entire plan to dramatically transform your body in 30 days and achieve long lasting strength training, fat burning, muscle building success. If you want results we highly recommend reading this ebook along with the information we offer at bodyteen. Please visit the All Star Trainer’s Secrets web site for more information.