happy halloween! i’m at kristen and rory’s tonight enjoying a traditional halloween dinner of chili & cornbread. i hope whatever you ended up doing for the holiday was fantastic!
here’s my post about my class on saturday….
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about a month ago, a good family friend asked me to speak about getting fit at home with little to no equipment. i warned her that i am not a professional in anything except procrastination and that my advice wasn’t official or anything. she was fine with that, so i happily agreed to speak. the presentation was scheduled for 8 AM last saturday morning. bright and early!
here i am with pat, her daughter (and my lifelong best friend!) melina, and momma b.
the presentation was about 30 minutes long and it went really well. while i am no expert, i was able to tell the ladies what i knew from my own experience and knowledge. today i want to share some of the information from saturday along with the 30 minute at home strength and cardio workout that i led the ladies through after the presentation.
this post is going to be chock full of a bunch of fitness rambles, so if you are not interested in that.. come back tomorrow. you’ve been warned!
instead of retyping everything i said at the presentation, i am going to copy and paste the outline of the topics i discussed. most of it i wrote from my own knowledge, but a few of the statistics and facts were pulled from various fitness magazines that covered specific studies. you can print a PDF of the outline here!
Fitness at Home!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Main Points
It is important to be physically fit because:
- You will feel better! Being fit promotes psychological well-being. Exercise endorphins are real.
- There are several health benefits! If you are fit, you reduce the risk of dying prematurely or developing health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and heart disease.
- Exercise helps build healthy, strong bones and muscles.
The two main types of exercise: Cardio & Strength Training.
- BOTH are important and one should never be neglected.
- Both help support weight loss, relieve stress and make us healthier people.
Cardio is important because:
- Regular aerobic exercise causes your lungs to process more exercise with less effort.
- Your heart will be able to pump more blood with fewer beats so it doesn’t have to work as hard.
- Cardio increases body endurance and efficiency.
Strength training is important because:
- It will spike your metabolism and turn it into a calorie-burning furnace.
- You will burn more calories in a resting state if you possess more muscle. For every 3 lbs of muscle we possess, we burn approximately an additional 120 calories at a resting state because muscle takes more energy to sustain. Over the course of a year, that is 10 lbs of fat lost without even changing your diet!
- It will improve your bone density.
- If we have muscle and are strong, daily tasks are easier to complete.
Other facts about Cardio & Strength Training:
- You burn more calories during cardio, you burn more calories after weight training.
- If you are going to do both in one day, do strength training first and then do cardio. You will get the most benefits this way.
- It does NOT matter what time of day you work out. Just do what works best for YOU and your schedule. You will see results no matter what time you choose to work out.
- Lifting weights will NOT make you bulky, no matter what you have heard. So, unless you are taking steroids, don’t worry about “bulking up”—that is a myth!
[sources: photo on the left, photo on the right]
The benefits of short, intense workouts over long, steady state workouts:
- You will save time!
- High intensity workouts raise your metabolic rate for 24 hours, which means you will burn more fat even after your workout is over.
- You will increase your power, strength and endurance.
- It will help you burst through a plateau.
- High intensity releases fat burning hormones that target belly fat.
i went on to discuss various moves you can do at home to improve your fitness without a gym membership and either little or no equipment. here are some of the ideas i gave:
Body Weight Workout Ideas & What They Target:
- Pushups (both wide, regular and narrow) target chest
- Squats target quads/glutes (hamstrings): wide stance, single leg, plie, split squat, jump squat are just a few examples
- Lunges target hamstrings/glutes (quads): walking lunges, static lunges, side to side lunges, lunge with kickback are just a few examples
- Triceps dips using chair—try raising a leg to make it harder
- Calf raises on a stair—try single leg to make it harder
- Crunches of all kinds, dynamic core work, plank holds all target abs
- Donkey kicks, laying butt bridge targets glutes
- Plyometric moves to keep the heart rate up
Home Gym Equipment Workout Ideas:
- Shoulders: overhead press, upright row, lateral raise (lighter DB set)
- Back: bent over row, single arm row, reverse flyes
- Triceps: overhead extension, skull crushers
- Biceps: hammer curls, alternating curls, concentration curls
- Chest: chest press, flyes
- Abs: holding a weight on chest, standing on bosu ball for all moves works your core
- Lower body: hold the weight while doing any of the moves, deadlifts!
Remember, these are all just ideas—the possibilities are literally endless! Make sure you switch your moves up every 2 to 4 weeks so your body doesn’t adapt to one specific workout!!
i handed out a list of resources to the ladies, which can be seen below or you can click here to download the PDF:
Resources
Places home gym equipment can be purchased:
- Sporting goods stores (Dick’s, Sports Authority, etc)
- KSL Classifieds or Craig’s List
- Target, Smith’s, Kmart, etc
Basics for a great home gym:
- Set of light dumbbells
- Set of heavy dumbbells
- Resistance bands
- Stability ball
- Jump rope
- A chair
Even more equipment for a fancier home gym:
- BOSU ball
- Various weighted medicine balls
- Various weights of kettlebells
- A flat or adjustable bench
- Interval timer
Awesome workout DVDs I can vouch for:
- Anything by Jackie Warner (available at Target, Smith’s, etc.)
- Anything by Jillian Michaels (available at Target, Smith’s, etc.)
- Insanity DVDs by Shaun T / Beach Body (you can buy online on Amazon.com)
Exercise websites:
- BodyRock (http://bodyrock.tv) requires minimal to no equipment, a whole database of exercises which are all around 20 minutes or less, video demos
- Tuesday Trainer at Lindsay’s List (http://lindsayslist.co/tuesday-trainer/) requires minimal to no equipment, a new topic each week, video demos
- YouTube (http://youtube.com) simply search “home workouts” in the search bar or, to get more specific, search for the body part you want to train IE: “body weight triceps” or “home workout quads”
the presentation ended there and then it was time to get moving! here is the workout i led everyone through, you can print a PDF of it here!
30 Minute Cardio & Strength Body Weight Workout
Warm Up & Stretch (4 minutes)
- 1 minute march in place
- 30 seconds jumping jacks
- 30 seconds butt kicks
- 2 minute stretch
Circuit One: 6 minutes (45 seconds work, 15 seconds rest for each move, cycle through twice)
- Wide stance squats
- Belly flutters
- Triceps dips
Plyo (2 minutes)
- 45 seconds mummy kicks, 15 seconds recover
- 45 seconds high knees, 15 seconds recover
Circuit Two: 6 minutes (45 seconds work, 15 seconds rest for each move, cycle through twice)
- Pushups
- Laying bridge
- Side leg lifts (right once, left once)
Plyo (2 minutes)
- 45 seconds jumping jacks, 15 seconds recover
- 45 seconds squat jumps, 15 seconds recover
Circuit Three: 6 minutes (45 seconds work, 15 seconds rest for each move, cycle through twice)
- Static lunge (right once, left once)
- Shoulder burners in plie squat position
- Elbow-to-knee standing side crunch (right once, left once)
Plyo (2 minutes)
- 45 seconds skier, 15 seconds recover
- 45 seconds high knees or running in place, 15 seconds recover
Cool Down Stretch (2 minutes)
i actually had a ton of fun leading everyone through this workout. while they were doing each move, i gave ideas for variations to make each move either easier or harder. i realized that i’d really like to train people one day.. it’s super fun.
my mom filmed the presentation, but it turns out it’s taking hours and hours to upload to youtube.. i will post it later in the week when it’s all uploaded and ready to go so anyone interested in viewing it can do so.
hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my fitness presentation. it was a lot of fun for me and i wanted to share it with you guys! again, here are the PDF links:
Qs~
1. do you like public speaking?
2. what is your favorite way to get fit at home?
xo. janetha g.
I’m actually starting to like public speaking more and more. I gave my first real presentation at a conference this past spring. I was nervous but worked really hard on it. One thing a supervisor taught me about any presentation is that no one knows your work like you, so don’t get flustered if someone tries to stump you or asks hard questions. :)
Can’t wait to try the workout myself! My favorite way to get fit at home is doing exercises from On Demand that don’t require jumping since I can knock out the ceiling tiles in our basement, lol!
I am saving your 30 minute cardio and strength workout, and I’ll definitely try it soon. Since I currently don’t belong to a gym, I have been looking for good workouts that I can do at home. This is perfect. Thanks! :)
girl you know we love our at home workouts!!! and love our strength training. after all those years of us doing straight cardio and got no results and now finally after 1 1/2 of at home workouts that are strength exercise heavy we look at our best in a long time ;)
xoxo
i love working out at home – and my favorite is body weight work like squats and planks and stuff. public speaking? i can take it or leave it, but more along the lines of leaving it :)
2 people or 20.. I haaaaate it. I freeze up and can barely talk. Grad school helped me a little, but I still get shook up!
I like DVDs cause they push me and force me to keep a pace.. I also like simple pushups, crunches, tri dips, ect..
You are awesome. Great job! This seems right up your ally!
Why HAVEN’T you gotten certified yet to PT!? It’s really so much fun – plus you usually get a free gym membership!!
P.S. Thanks for the linkage!
This will be Wednesday’s workout :)
This is so awesome and exciting that they asked you to speak. I enjoyed reading all about it so I’m sure it was highly entertaining in person! I suck at public speaking which is odd because I love to talk. I took a class in college and I would have to go to a bar before doing a speech because I got so nervous.
You did a SUPERB job – you may have just discovered your new career :)
I learned a lot and am certain you gave the ladies there some tips that I hope they use to get more physically fit.
Even me—-who you were so kind to say i was “ripped”—–was sore the next day – way too many ‘real’ push ups – but I love that feeling to have new soreness.
I love to speak publicly and so do you – you just don’t know it yet haha!!
I just go down to my gym – I’m a spoiled brat I know. But when I didn’t have a gym I did jumping jacks and used my 8 and 10 lb dumb bells and did a lot of squats and grapevine moves!
Love you SO much and I’m so proud of your accomplishments!!!
xoxo
Yay- what a fun thing and a glimpse into your next career!
My favorite home workout always involves huge bags of kitty litter and friends from SLC <3
do you like public speaking? = no! I do it but I don’t like it. I try to imagine there aren’t 50 eyeballs staring at me and it’s just one or two friends but mind games only work so far :)
Fun workout tips and post. Glad you’re off having fun tonite!
Wow thanks for sharing your class material. There was a few moves that I had never heard of!
this is an awesomely informative post – aside from already knowing weight lifting makes you look like the right side photo, I could use more motivation to work out at home. I have never been very good at it… lack focus :)
I look forward to the video!
public speaking… no. I do not like it. I did as little as I could in college, and there was one high profile job a few years ago – it was horrifying – I had to talk in front of hundreds for various city groups, AND had to do television and radio spots to get the spa project more publicity. I was terrified daily. :)
You did a fantastic job! It was a lot of fun having you come and teach everyone. And your workout was awesome! You seriously would be a great personal trainer. If you ever decide to do that let me know because I’ll be your first client!
I am a weirdo and I love public speaking. That’s probably a good thing since that’s partly how I make a living!
My favorite at home workout is running. I’ve grown to love it for some odd reason.
Public speaking really kinda freaks me out. I am getting better at it as time goes along but it really just isn’t my favorite. Thanks for sharing the at home workout tips! I will definitely have to check some of them out for my early mornings throughout my internship!
Just a quick question….why do you suggests strength training before cardio when doing them in the same day? Everything ive read and researched says go the other way……cardio first. just curious….
How awesome! I cannot wait for the videos. You are totally am expert imo
That looks like a great workout! I bookmarked this page so I can try it. Thanks!
hope you had a fun hallowe’en night!
great job on your presentation and leading the workout. that would have been a lot of fun to participate! i think the group strength training thing would work better for me than doing my own thing.
i do like speaking in front of groups AS LONG AS i feel confident in what i am talking about. so, at the store/anything with running – bring it on! i used to be a teacher, so that’s basically presenting every day – and very challenging when the kids are not into it!
who knows, maybe you will be a PT some day! it’s fun to dream about possibilities!
This is such a great post! Full of so much useful information. I’m just NOW getting really into strength training after years and years over overuse of cardio. Another point about JUST focusing on cardio is that, especially for women, it can cause long term damage (infertility and menstruation, etc.)
I would much rather work out at home. I feel like if I have the tools at home and I have a set routine to stick to, I can do it. It’s the whole getting motivated to leave my house and drive to the gym thing that I won’t do. I’m interested in seeing your video and following along with the workouts you posted. Thanks for the info! I think you would make a great teacher :)
i took a public speaking class last semester and thought i’d be terrible because it’s a huge fear of mine…it was a BREEZE. i actually enjoyed it.
(:
xo.
I always have a hard time working out at home because so many videos focus on squats, lunges and high jumps, which my knees can’t handle. Upper body I can do, but lower I need the less press and extension and all that at the gym so I don’t re-injure myself!
I like it ok-i prefer acting. My favorite way to work out at home is Nike fitness trainer or exercise tv. ADDICTIVE
Sounds like a great presentation!! You should be so proud of yourself!
Speaking in public doesn’t come natural to me at all, but after doing it over and over again, I’ve found I can do it without people thinking that it’s difficult for me! I guess like anything, if you keep doing it a lot, it’ll get easier and you’ll get better at it. Some people just have a gift for it though (my husband), and I wish I did too.
I love this post! I LOVE that you emphasized how HARD it is for women to look manly because they lift 10 lb. dumb bells. That is only possible with SERIOUS and ILLEGAL supplementation and ridiculous heavy workouts, in the low rep range specified for Hypertrophy. I LOVE weights, and it makes me sad when I see girls addicted to cardio. They’re missing out – I consider them “half” healthy, because they’re completely ignore a fundamental aspect of being fit and healthy: strength!
Whoo! What a great post! SO full of good info. I did a very similar presentation to a women’s group and led two fun, back-to-back sessions explaining the benefits of exercise and then a how you can get fit at home workout with them! So great. :D
I love to public speak and have had some neat opportunities in different fields and with different demographics in the last few years. As a personal trainer, I also like to motivate – I bet you’d be a good one, Janetha!
Since we’ve never belonged to a gym (except when I worked at one), I’m a huge fan of at-home fitness. We don’t have any machines so for cardio I like jump roping and for strength training I love kettlebell moves, incorporating my TRX, and high intensity bodyweight moves (although nothing quite defines you like free weights, in my opinion – I like them too). ;)
Loved this post! And your actual Halloween night seemed great – low key and fun with a delicious meal. Hey – have I told you lately that I love you? Cuz I do! :D Happy Nov. 1st.
I do actually enjoy public speaking. All of my Model UN conferences in Asia have required speaking to around 200 other people, so I’ve gotten used to it.
My favorite non-gym way to get fit are outdoor runs, skiing with the family or hiking. I do want to try this workout though – maybe on Thursday! :)
Im newer to your blog but I just wanted to tell you that you have great content! I feel like you never phone it in and posts like this are really helpful and remind us all that exercise is not a big production, it’s quite easy to make time for!
When I don’t want to go to the gym I use Jillian michaels 30day shred, love it!
great points! i do like public speaking actually :) i think it’s the thrill of anticipation and i like connecting with crowds. i mainly work out at home so my home gym is made of pea gravel sandbags, a pvc dip bar, manduka mat, 2 five lb dumbbells & a jump rope! i’m in the best shape of my life right now too so it pays off to do workouts at home!
Do I love public speaking? Ha! I sort of do it for a living, as a Yoga and fitness instructor. It’s awesome.
Sounds like your presentation went wonderfully. Way to go for helping them out and putting it out there.
For some reason, I really like Pilates at home.
Such great info here, good job! That’s awesome that you got to speak. You’d be a really great trainer!
I am one of the few that totally loves public speaking as long as it’s something I’m passionate about or interested in (a few speeches I had to make in a communication class were totally LAME because I wasn’t into it). I just did a presentation in my anatomy class and I felt like such a nerd because I had such a good time!
This is sooo cool! I don’t like public speaking at all it terrifies me – although I do love teaching yoga- because I’m sharing something I love so much I find I can get over my fear of speaking and standing in front of lots of people – but I still get nervous! :-P it’s worth it though <3
I always remember the sunscreen song lyrics "do one thing each day that scares you", every time I get nervous- it helps inspire me :-)
Your presentation sounded awesome – I bet you'd be a fantastic trainer cause you're so knowledgeable, and have such a passion for fitness!
xyx
GO you!! Nicely done :) I teach fitness classes, am a fitness and health coach and trainer, and seriously love what I do. I guess I am not afraid to tell people to work harder –or to speak in public. hah.
I bet those ladies loved ya’–way to inspire them all!
nice moves!
Go girl!!! I would totally barter massage for a training session from you if we lived close! ;)
Janetha, you are the best! Thanks so much for coming and doing the presentation. I learned so much and had lots of fun. I know all of the ladies enjoyed it as well. You should consider personal training. You would be great at it. It was especially great seeing you and Sue. We don’t get to see each other often enough. Have a great time in sunny San Diego and say hi to Marisa for me.
Awesome! I had no idea about the percentage of calorie burn with muscle gains! I worked at GNC for my entire 4 years in college and I used to want to pull my hair out every time a woman came in looking for info about working out/losing weight and would say, “well, I don’t want to get bulky” every time I suggested supplementing with protein powders. Ughhhhh! Seriously women, if bulking up were THAT easy, we’d be riding in the elevator next to 2 or 3 female versions of the Hulk! C’mon, how often do you actually see women like that in everyday life?!
I am not a fan of public speaking in the formal sense. I can talk to a group of people or individuals about just about anything, but when you say the words “presentation” or “speech,” my knees start knocking together! Haha!
I love doing my Jackie Warner DVD’s at home!! That woman can really kick some ass…as in mine! ;)
Oh my goodness…thank you! I swear you can read my mind because just today I was thinking about the approaching winter and how much I hate it and what I was going to do for exercise besides my usual long walks outside. I hate gyms and cold weather!
I was actually going to check youtube for home workouts with no equipment. We have lots of stairs in the apt. bldg. thank goodness (:
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