Many of us would love to get our 10,000 steps in every day or go workout for an hour every day at the gym, but we might not have the time nor money to do all this. Core and strength training can be done anywhere, anytime and for free. This workout involves working muscles in the lower back, abdomen and pelvis to improve overall health and stability. There are three exercises you can do that cover most all of the major muscle groups: push- ups, plank and the lunge. These might not seem appealing, but there are variations and ways to do them without it being torturous and dreadful.
If you haven’t done push-ups since middle school, try doing a wall push-up, counter top push-up or bent knee push-up. If you are doing push ups on the floor, when you are finished, walk your hands back to your feet and do a big cat stretch - it feels fantastic. The classic push-up works the chest, arms, legs, back and abdominal muscles.
The plank is one of the best exercises for the back and abs. It might look easy but after a few seconds, one realizes it is a workout. Try for 20 to 30 seconds of the plank; if you are stronger or in the Marines, try 2 minutes or longer. Plank is a great, quick workout that builds the muscles around the spine, the glutes, waistline and abs. Improves overall health, wellness and figure.
The lunge strengthens leg muscles which improve stability, balance and flexibility. It helps reduce common but painful injuries to the knee and lower back. Those two alone are reasons enough to do a few lunges each day. They also tone the legs reducing saddle bags, flabby bellies and sagging rears.
Even though I know I need to do these exercises, most often I lack the motivation to do them on my own, so twice a week, I do a class called Tabata. If I can’t make the class, there are workouts online in video and /or printable sheets. The class is definitely one of the few at a gym where you get your money’s worth. It is a series of core exercises done in short intervals and everything gets a workout within about 30 to 40 minutes. The workouts usually go in small hard workouts followed by an easy one. So starting out, you would do 20 seconds of mountain climbers, followed by 10 seconds of the plank. Repeat these for two minutes. Squats, burpees, twists, push ups, pull ups, and sit ups, are just a few of the many different exercises in this high intensity work out. If the class is too much, talk to the gym or a trainer to work in a slower way of interval training. Everyone can do interval training, even those who have had a heart attack. Ask your doctor about it, if you have a medical condition.
Here’s a short video from Mayo on the benefits for all on interval training:
My life is pretty chaotic. We have a son with non-verbal autism and developmental disabilities. He keeps both of us on the run and in a constant state of alert. I need something to relief the stress and improve my mental health. A punching bag would be good, but I’m not a hitter or kicker. The best thing for me is to do Tabata, twice a week in a class. There are other benefits to Tabata: I haven’t pulled my back out, haven’t twisted my knee and my blood pressure is lower. I haven’t lost any weight from it, but my clothes are looser especially in my hips, derriere and saddle bags. I recommend this for those who wants to get a meaningful workout over with, in as short of time as possible with some beneficial results.
The Dkos Health and Wellnes group meets up every Sunday at 8AM EDT to discuss aspects of health and wellness that impact our lives. Wellness is something that a lot of us are passionate about, and the intent of this group is to provide a forum for some serious discussion of how (and why) every one of us makes our physical and mental health a higher priority in our lives. If you'd like to follow our group, just go to the group page and click "follow". If you'd like to join the group and get involved, just ask!