I've been waiting/debating about making this post for awhile. I hint at it sometimes and allude to it others, but I think it's time to lay it all out there and show/tell you just what it's like to be missing part of your abdominal muscle.
"The Only 12 Exercises You Need To Get In Shape" Buzzfed. *twitch* I want to rant. Can I rant? I can rant, right? I need to rant. I'm going to be slightly hyperbolic, but it's mainly because I'm annoyed...and partially because I used to fall for these posts.
Let's start with the post. It's 12 body weight exercises. Then it moves into combining these exercises into a quick circuit. "Choose exercises that won’t have you using the same muscle groups one after the other. For example, if you choose two movements that mostly tax the upper body (like a plank and pushups) and two that mostly challenge the lower body (say squat jumps and lunges), you’d want to alternate the upper- and lower-body moves: plank, squat jumps, pushups, lunges." Now let's quickly talk about what wrong with this:
Okay, now to be serious. Guys. If you want to get in shape, these 12 are great to start--to start. Frankly, I can't even do a push up. I guess I can't even start with these 12. "Bodyweight exercises are moves that use only your body’s weight as resistance, like pushups and lunges — no equipment needed. They’re a staple in many high-intensity circuit training (HICT) workouts. HICT workouts are intense and quick — like crazy quick. Like you do them in less than 30 minutes quick. That means you can get in great shape without going to the gym, spending hours working out, or using any workout equipment at all." Yes, this is fine and dandy. They will give you a place to start, but you also need to worry about form (so you don't hurt yourself and can continue) and diet. Diet diet diet. If you really want to start, start by looking at your diet. Then add in exercise. Seriously. Weightloss is 90% diet. "Some of these moves have instructions for how to make them easier and others don’t. For the moves that don’t have “make it easier” instructions, just perform the movements as well as you can. Know that it’s better to do just a few reps of each movement perfectly, rather than doing many reps of the movements wrong. Cool!" Oh cool. You have ways to cheat until I can do it. That's nice for some... You know one that you can't cheat one? Squats. Someone commented on the page that she did the squat challenge over summer and her knees ached. You know why her knees ached? Because she was doing them wrong. You know why she was doing them wrong? Because she learned from a graphic. This is why I believe in a trainer. Why I believe in the gym. Why I believe in weights (goblet squats!!). Guys, I'm not against New Years Resolutions or starting a routine any time... I am against jumping into something and getting hurt. These will make you feel like you've accomplished something, which is the first step, but I'm a big believer in working out smarter--not harder. I guess what I'm saying is don't let things like this fool you. You're not going to stumble into fitness. It's hard--really hard. But it's worth it. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Don't think some icon is the cheat material to everything. It's not. It's selling you a facade and a false sense of security. Do you homework and don't believe everything you read (even this). I've been looking for a new stack so I'm trying FitMiss. James is trying out the Con-Crēt by Promera Sports. We're both doing Cellucor Alpha Amino and MusclePharm Re-Con. Day 1 and I like them all so far. The Con-Cret didn't upset his stomach so that's awesome! I'll keep you all updates on how the stacks fare!
A weird thing happened today. I couldn't figure out why my pants kept falling lower than I wanted them. James pointed out that they're where my real/new butt begins. This is where they're supposed to sit. I always pull my pants way up high to cover my gut, but i guess that is the past now. It's so hard to keep my pants on now! It's such a small but cool thing!
I also downloaded the app to post from my phone. I'll be more active now! Expect too many gym posts! ![]() I've always been one who likes to push myself, but often I run into something at full force and forget that I'm not invincible. This is precisely why I love the silly challenges and beginner workouts--they ease you into the suck! One of my favorite is the couch-to-5k for those of you who want to get into running. Another issue is I just never finish these things (couch-to-5k will be the one after I finish this).
My lovely friend Tammy has been an inspiration to be lately. She's been pushing to start working out, using me partly as an inspiration. This, of course, in turn inspires me to push even more. Because of her, I went ahead and started a 30-day fitness challenge. The 30-day challenge I decided to do, I believe, is actually comprised of 4 different challenges. Looking back, now on day 10, I see why someone would break them apart. Man, this is hard. I'm actually making this post to remind myself that it is sucking now, but in 20 days I can look back and say I did it! I'm having to make minor adjustments--I have to do chick push ups because I still can't do one, I do leg lifts instead of crunches due to my stomach--but overall, man, this is a beast. Seriously. What human being does 105 squats on top of working out?! I'm starting to wonder if this thing is designed for people who don't work out already. Oh well, too late now. I'm lucky to have my swolemate, James, to do them with me. He's a trooper. Anyway, I thought I would share this with anyone who is as masochistic as I am. Overall, it's seriously a challenge. The plank jumps up utterly unfairly. Why jump 30s? Why not just 5s? The same with the squats. Seriously. 105 squats is killer on your knees. My poor knee. I break them into 20 or 25 rep sets with maybe a 30 second rest in between. Instead of just resting, I walk around to give my knee some mobility. Consider this a warning from Day 10 me. I'll post again as Day 20 me--someone who can do 25 push ups, a 2.5 minute plank, 160 squats, and 110 leg lifts. Oh dear god what have I gotten myself into?! |