The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that healthy adults engage in at least two days of moderate intensity resistance training each week. The exercises need to involve the major muscle groups of the body, which are the chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, abs, legs, glutes and calves. Each session should involve at least eight exercises. In addition to resistance training, do four to five days of moderate cardiovascular exercise for at least 30 minutes per day.
Guidelines
Always do a five-minute light cardiovascular warm-up before exercise. According to IDEA Health and Fitness, for added cardiorespiratory and weight-loss benefits, perform these exercises as a circuit, where you will do each station for 30 seconds with 30 seconds of rest in between. For exercises that involve dumbbells or weighted machines, chose a weight heavy enough that your muscles will fatigue within 30 seconds, or about 40 percent to 60 percent of the maximum weight you can lift. Talk to your doctor before beginning any new workout program.
Day One Upper Body
For chest, do push-ups either on your feet or on your knees, keeping your abs tight and back straight. Then for your back, do superman holds. Lie on your stomach and lift your legs and arms up off the ground and hold for three seconds and lower. For shoulders and triceps, do dips. Place your hands behind you on the edge of a chair or table with your legs slightly bent, bend your elbows and push back up. To finish upper body, do abdominal crunches.
Day One Lower Body
Begin leg exercises with walking lunges. When you step forward, your front knee should not go past your front toes. To work your hamstrings, do one-leg deadlifts. Hold a chair or wall for support and stand on your right leg. Bend your right knee and reach down with your left hand and try to touch your right foot, then return to stand. Repeat on both sides. For calves, do calf raises by rising up as high as you can on your toes, and slowly lowering so your heels almost touch the ground. Finish with jumping jacks for a cardio burst.
Day-Two Upper Body
Start with a chest press using dumbbells while lying on a flat bench or a machine. Progress to a seated cable row. Move on to a shoulder press, sitting straight up using dumbbells, or using a machine. After the larger muscle groups have been worked, work the biceps and triceps. Do a bicep curl with dumbbells, alternating holding the weights with your palms up, or palms facing each other. Then do a triceps extension with a dumbbell overhead in which you lower the weight behind your head and extend the elbows and bring the weight back up.
Day-Two Lower Body
Continue working your legs with the machine leg press. If you are a beginner, only use about half your body weight as initial resistance. To focus on the hamstrings, do the seated hamstring curl machine. For calves, go back to the leg press machine, straighten your legs with your toes on the flat surface, and just press with your toes. Finish with an abdominal plank on the floor. Lie on your stomach and hold your body up with just your forearms and feet.
Member Comments