No Equipment? No Problem. (Bodyweight Exercises)

In a few weeks I’m travelling on vacation and i have been lost without to do with my new-found fitness motivation. I skip a few days of workout and completely lose all my motivation. Bringing a set of dumbbells does sound like a good idea so i have been researching body weight exercises and coming up with a travel routine to keep myself on track. I’m hoping we will do enough sightseeing that extra cardio will not be necessary.

Lunges:

Hip crossover:

V-up:

Elbow Plank:

Mountain climbers: Reverse Crunch:Wall sit:

Daily Workout:

Jumping jacks, squats, push ups, mountain climbers, cross crunches, high knees, knee pull ins, chair dips, leg raises.

Overall workout:

Side bridge, wraparound ankle touch, double step push up, push up bird day, windshield wiper, row.

12 Move Exercise Routine:

Jumping jacks, wall sit, push up, crunch, step up, squat, triceps dips, plank, high knee running, lunge, push up and rotation, side plank.

30 Minute, No Gym BodyWeight Workout:

Tuck jump, push up, squat, mountain climber, triceps dip, glute bridge, jump plank, superman.

4 Moves Anywhere Workout:

Forward lunge, squat jump, push up, and bend and thrust.

How to start Yoga?

In order to improve my balance and flexibility i decided to add yoga to my daily workout routine. Thought I would share some of the information i found while researching the topic.

Benefits of yoga:

 

Types of yoga:

This pdf by health central illustrates the different types of yoga and their benefits.

Yoga_for_starter_Infographic

Vigorous and hot yoga are the best for weight loss.

Meditation:

Yoga poses and sequences:

• Make sure you warm up your muscles before starting, stretching ‘cold’ muscles can cause injury
• Hydrate especially of you are doing hot yoga
• Eat a snack or a meal 1 hour before you start, but make sure you are not full while practicing
• Be aware of how it feels and if some moves are too painful

Poses for runners:

What I look like doing yoga right now:

How i will hopefully look some day:

Resources:

• About.com
• Lifehacker
• YogaToday
• YogaJournal
• WebMD
• Yogatic (youtube videos)

Workout Gear (Wishlist)

I have been all over tumblr the last few days (follow me 🙂 ) and i have seen a lot of cute workout clothes, shoes, accessories, and tools. I have perfectly nice clothes and shoes right now, but a girls can always add to her shopping list, right? 😛 Fun neon colors are all over the place from shirt to shoes to dumbbells and yoga mats! I think treating myself to one thing at fitness/ weight loss milestones might be a great motivation. It will surely feel great to work for them. A few things on my wish list:

I tried finding the different pieces online. Feel free to mention any i missed, i didn’t recognize some of the brands.

Collection of Health Related Infographics

The Picture of Health

Provides an overview of eating habits across the world.

Anatomy of Walking

Discusses the many health benefits associated with walking. Simple exercise, but huge benefits.

 

How to Exercise Illustrations

I usually forget what a an exercise’s name refers to or how to do the exercise properly. How-to images make it a lot it easier to follow the exercise over written instructions that i have a hard time imagining.

 

Reverse Plank:

Butt exercises (Squats, Bridge, Lunge, Donkey Kick, and Pistol Squat):

Random Thoughts on The Treadmill

Courtesy of Jazmincat

I have been working out a lot more recently as part of my Good Habits Challenge and 2013 fitness goals. I usually follow along to a work-out video or follow the instructions on an app, but some days i’m really just not feeling it at all. On those days i make my way to the treadmill. It is one of the most boring exercise machines, but sometimes that is exactly what i need. It frees my mind to contemplate life . On one side of my treadmill there is a cup-holder and on the other side there is a bigger oddly shaped compartment that i never figured out what it was supposed to accommodate.  I never discovered its real purpose, but  i found something that fits perfectly. My new ipad mini fits the mysterious compartment so well you would think it was made for it – it wasn’t, the treadmill is years old.  I like to watch movies while i’m walking on the treadmill. Most of the shows i watch i mentioned in my top tv shows post plus a few more recent ones. TV shows are a great distraction, by the end of the episode i enjoyed some tv and had a workout.

MyFitnessPal

I just created a MyFitnessPal account. It was highly recommended to me for a while and i finally decided to give it a try. I have been using SparkPeople on and off for year, it is time for a change.

My username: ForeverAsleep (Feel free to add me!)

Suggested goals based on current weight were to:

• Consume a 1380 net calories (calories consumed – calories burned) par day
• Carbs (190 g), Fat ( 46 g), and Protein (52 g)
• Burn 1240 calories per week

I might post my progress on the goals a few times a month.

I downloaded their app, but haven’t really used it yet.

Initial thoughts:

• I tried tracking my food for the day and it was very easy. They have a very large database that i thought was pretty accurate. As you add food it shows you how well you doing in relation to your goals for the day.
• I like that you can track water consumption since that is major issue for me.
• Tracking my exercise for the day was easy as well. I can track both cardio and strength exercises.