Winter Home Workouts

Cabin Fever

Gone are the warm glorious days of summer.  No more box-jumps in the park while swatting mosquitoes.  Brace yourself for the ice and slush and the gloom of winter.  Fight the winter blues and stay slim and trim with a simple home work-out plan.  This workout is for my friend and client Mary-Beth.  I hope she enjoys it and I hope you do too.

Equipment

The stability ball or Swiss Ball or Physio Ball as some call it is a really good workout tool.  You can do tons of exercises with this piece of equipment.  This routine will also use dumbbells.

Stab Ball Wall Sit

Stab Ball Wall Sit is an excellent exercise for your quads (front of thighs).  Find a bare patch of wall.  Sandwich the ball between you and the wall.  Feet well out in front and about 12 inches apart.  Slowly squat down, letting the ball roll up your back.  Press back up again.  Do 3 sets of 15 reps.

 



Stab Ball Roll-In

Stab Ball Roll-In is a great exercise for glutes and hamstrings.  Lay on the floor on your back.  Place your calves on top of the ball.  This is a two-phase movement.  First - lift your butt off the floor.  Second - pull the ball toward you with your feet.  Reverse the movement until butt is back on the floor.  Do 3 sets of 12 reps.



Calf Raises

For Calf Raises, go to a set of stairs in your house.  Plant the balls of your feet on the edge of the stair-tread.  Legs straight, let your body-weight push your heels down until you can feel a nice stretch in your Achilles tendons.  Now push down with your toes to go up onto tip-toes.  Do 2 sets of 25.  Yes...25.  Feel the burn!

Stab Ball Pike

Stab Ball Pike looks like a super-tough exercise but you will be surprised at how easy it is to master.  Stand in front of the ball.  Roll over top of the ball until your hands are planted on the floor.  Knees should be on top of the ball.  Now pull the ball toward you and drive your butt up into the air.  This is a great ab workout.  Do 1 set of 12.

 

Push Ups

 

Yep.  That's right.  Good old-fashioned push-ups.  An excellent compound, functional upper-body exercise and you can do anywhere.

 



 

Push-ups are sweet.  They work your pecs, triceps, and, since you're holding a plank throughout, they work your abs.  If you keep your hands in closer; you place more emphasis on triceps.  Hands out wider; more emphasis on pecs.  Go all the way up and all the way down.  Do 2 sets of your Max (ie as many as you can do...twice).  Aim for improvement each workout.

Bench Dips

Bench Dips are great.  You just need a coffee table or some other stable surface.  Fingers forward.  Heels of hands on the edge.  The farther out you place your feet; the harder it is.  Start with arms fully extended.  Bend the elbows and lower your butt straight to the floor.  You should feel this in the triceps.  You will feel a stretch in the shoulders too sometimes.  Do 3 sets of 12. 

Dumbbell Military Press

Time for Shoulders.  Dumbbell Military Press is a nice deltoid exercise that you can do in the comfort of your home to keep your shoulders in top form.

Start with the dumbbells at your shoulders.  Press them straight up until the elbows are locked-out.  Do 3 sets of 10.

Dumbbell Bicep Curls

Stand up straight.  Feet shoulder-width apart.  Dumbbells down at the sides of your thighs.  Palms facing forward.  Curl the dumbbells upward as far as you can.  Lower slowly.  Do 3 sets of 12.



Recap

Here's Mary-Beth's Wintertime Blues Workout in Summary:

Stab Ball Wall-Sit - 3 x 15
Stab Ball Roll-In - 3 x 12
Calf Raise - 2 x 25
Stab Ball Pike - 1 x 12
Push Up - 2 x Max
Bench Dips - 3 x 12
Dumbbell Military Press - 3 x 10
Dumbbell Bicep Curls - 3 x 12

Do this full-body routine 3 times per week.  Get some cardio too.  Go for a long brisk walk or ride a stationary bike.

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