Mar 2015 Challenge ~ Mar 2nd - Mar 8th
cpanus
Posts: 20,449 Member
I borrowed this from somewhere!! 
Let's do it again because #4 was so much fun! bwahahah!
1 Lying Overhead Reach
• Lie on your back with your hips and knees both at 90-degree angles, using your low abs to press your lower back into the mat. With a dumbbell in each hand, raise your arms toward the ceiling, keeping the elbow joint slightly bent.
• Reach your arms overhead, tapping the dumbbells on the floor above your head. Do not let your back arch away from the floor as your lower the weights.
• Raise your arms back to the starting position to complete one rep.
• Do 15 reps to complete a set.
Use five- to 10-pound weights.
2 Overhead Circles With Medicine Ball
• Stand with your feet hip-width apart with a slight bend in your knees. Keeping your spine in neutral, lift a five- to eight-pound medicine ball overhead.
• Begin to circle the ball to the right, in the largest circles you can make, while maintaining a still and stable torso.
• Circle eight times to the right; then repeat, circling eight times to the left. Do three sets.
Use a five- to eight-pound hand weight if you don't have a medicine ball.
3 Ball Pass
• Lie on your back holding an exercise ball above your chest, extending your feet up toward the ceiling.
• On an exhale, move your arms and legs away from each other, lowering both toward the ground. Inhale to bring them back toward each other, and transfer the ball from your hands to your legs.
• Then lower your arms and legs toward the floor away from each other.
• Bring them back together, transferring the ball back to your hands.
• Continue like this, completing 10 to 20 reps.
4 Tabletop to Reverse Pike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G28Lt0A83jM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Od2TfJl6c
...a bit more difficult, but...
• Start off sitting on your bum, so your hands are planted eight inches behind you. Bend your knees and place your heels about a foot away from your hips. Make sure they are hips-width distance apart.
• Inhale and lift your hips off the ground so your torso is parallel with the floor and your arms are straight. Your hands should be directly underneath your shoulders and your ankles underneath your knees, so make small adjustments if you need to. Lower your head behind you to increase the stretch in your chest and neck.
• Hold for a complete breath, and then keeping your arms straight, exhale to lower your hips and straighten your legs, so your hips are hovering above the floor. Engage your abs and try to keep your spine long as you balance on your heels and hands. After a complete breath, inhale and push yourself back into the first position.
• Do three sets of 12 to 15 reps, flowing from one to the other, pivoting on your hands and heels. To make this move more challenging, hold each position for longer.
5 Seated Russian Twist
• Sit on the ground with your knees bent and your heels about a foot from your butt.
• Lean slightly back without rounding your spine at all. It is really important, and difficult, to keep your back straight, but don't let it curve.
• Hold a weight or a medicine ball just below your chest. Keep the weight close you and progress by moving weight further away from your body.
• Pull your navel to your spine and twist slowly to the left. The movement is not large and comes from the ribs rotating, not from your arms swinging. Inhale through center and rotate to the right. This completes one rep.
• Do 16 full rotations.
6 Flutter Kicks With Resistance Band
• Sit on a mat or carpeted floor. Loop one handle of the resistance band on either foot. Hold on to the middle of the tube with both hands and lie on your back.
• Draw your navel toward your spine and press your low spine into the floor to protect your lower back, then lift both legs up so they are almost pointing straight up toward the ceiling.
• Holding the band securely, scissor your legs up and down one at a time, starting with the left leg. Move slowly and point your toes. Each time your right foot lowers down counts as one set. Complete 10 to 15 sets.
• To make this move more difficult, lower your legs so they are about six to 10 inches above the floor. Make sure to keep your abs scooped when you work with your legs close to the ground. Scissor your legs for another 10 to 15 sets.
This is a great low ab exercise.
7 Elbow Plank
Planks are great for working the abs, and the elbow plank is harder on the abs than the traditional plank in push-up position.
• Start face down on the floor resting on your forearms and knees.
• Push off the floor, raising up off your knees onto your toes and resting mainly on your elbows.
• Contract your abdominals to keep yourself up and prevent your booty from sticking up.
• Keep your back flat — don't let it droop or you'll be defeating the purpose. Picture your body as a long straight board, or plank.
• Hold as long as you can. Aim for 20-30 seconds in the beginning and work your way up to one minute, as you get stronger.
• Repeat three times.
Do these seven (7) exercises twice.
Let me know what you think.
I hope your week is wonderful!!
Chris
Let's do it again because #4 was so much fun! bwahahah!1 Lying Overhead Reach
• Lie on your back with your hips and knees both at 90-degree angles, using your low abs to press your lower back into the mat. With a dumbbell in each hand, raise your arms toward the ceiling, keeping the elbow joint slightly bent.
• Reach your arms overhead, tapping the dumbbells on the floor above your head. Do not let your back arch away from the floor as your lower the weights.
• Raise your arms back to the starting position to complete one rep.
• Do 15 reps to complete a set.
Use five- to 10-pound weights.
2 Overhead Circles With Medicine Ball
• Stand with your feet hip-width apart with a slight bend in your knees. Keeping your spine in neutral, lift a five- to eight-pound medicine ball overhead.
• Begin to circle the ball to the right, in the largest circles you can make, while maintaining a still and stable torso.
• Circle eight times to the right; then repeat, circling eight times to the left. Do three sets.
Use a five- to eight-pound hand weight if you don't have a medicine ball.
3 Ball Pass
• Lie on your back holding an exercise ball above your chest, extending your feet up toward the ceiling.
• On an exhale, move your arms and legs away from each other, lowering both toward the ground. Inhale to bring them back toward each other, and transfer the ball from your hands to your legs.
• Then lower your arms and legs toward the floor away from each other.
• Bring them back together, transferring the ball back to your hands.
• Continue like this, completing 10 to 20 reps.
4 Tabletop to Reverse Pike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G28Lt0A83jMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Od2TfJl6c...a bit more difficult, but...
• Start off sitting on your bum, so your hands are planted eight inches behind you. Bend your knees and place your heels about a foot away from your hips. Make sure they are hips-width distance apart.
• Inhale and lift your hips off the ground so your torso is parallel with the floor and your arms are straight. Your hands should be directly underneath your shoulders and your ankles underneath your knees, so make small adjustments if you need to. Lower your head behind you to increase the stretch in your chest and neck.
• Hold for a complete breath, and then keeping your arms straight, exhale to lower your hips and straighten your legs, so your hips are hovering above the floor. Engage your abs and try to keep your spine long as you balance on your heels and hands. After a complete breath, inhale and push yourself back into the first position.
• Do three sets of 12 to 15 reps, flowing from one to the other, pivoting on your hands and heels. To make this move more challenging, hold each position for longer.
5 Seated Russian Twist
• Sit on the ground with your knees bent and your heels about a foot from your butt.
• Lean slightly back without rounding your spine at all. It is really important, and difficult, to keep your back straight, but don't let it curve.
• Hold a weight or a medicine ball just below your chest. Keep the weight close you and progress by moving weight further away from your body.
• Pull your navel to your spine and twist slowly to the left. The movement is not large and comes from the ribs rotating, not from your arms swinging. Inhale through center and rotate to the right. This completes one rep.
• Do 16 full rotations.
6 Flutter Kicks With Resistance Band
• Sit on a mat or carpeted floor. Loop one handle of the resistance band on either foot. Hold on to the middle of the tube with both hands and lie on your back.
• Draw your navel toward your spine and press your low spine into the floor to protect your lower back, then lift both legs up so they are almost pointing straight up toward the ceiling.
• Holding the band securely, scissor your legs up and down one at a time, starting with the left leg. Move slowly and point your toes. Each time your right foot lowers down counts as one set. Complete 10 to 15 sets.
• To make this move more difficult, lower your legs so they are about six to 10 inches above the floor. Make sure to keep your abs scooped when you work with your legs close to the ground. Scissor your legs for another 10 to 15 sets.
This is a great low ab exercise.
7 Elbow Plank
Planks are great for working the abs, and the elbow plank is harder on the abs than the traditional plank in push-up position.
• Start face down on the floor resting on your forearms and knees.
• Push off the floor, raising up off your knees onto your toes and resting mainly on your elbows.
• Contract your abdominals to keep yourself up and prevent your booty from sticking up.
• Keep your back flat — don't let it droop or you'll be defeating the purpose. Picture your body as a long straight board, or plank.
• Hold as long as you can. Aim for 20-30 seconds in the beginning and work your way up to one minute, as you get stronger.
• Repeat three times.
Do these seven (7) exercises twice.
Let me know what you think.
I hope your week is wonderful!!
Chris
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Replies
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Hahaha, the thought of doing #4 now makes me cry. I can't even lift up my leg, much less hold it out in front. And flexing it enough to go into a back bend - :noway: !
I am back from the hospital with a new knee and not a lot of pain (anymore... fingers crossed). Not doing #4's or any of Chris' other grueling positions. For me it will be toe wiggles and butt clenches. The leg bends and straighten-outs are killer!
Checking in randomly,
Luvs you all!
:flowerforyou: Paula
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I decided to switch it up this week. I completed a DVD--the biggest loser power walk...3 miles and an abs workout I found on Pinterest. The dvd was interesting and got tougher as you progressed. Mile 2 you used weights throughout the walk.
Paula good to hear from you and happy the surgery went well and your pain is manageable,
Have a good Tuesday everyone!0 -
HA! Posted yesterday on last week's business!! Shows you how tired I was when the trainer finished with me last night.
Paula -- no knee bending for you!
Kathy - great workout!
The trainer gave me some TRX workouts to do at home. I'm not crazy about going to the gym by myself and she knows that.
17 work days...23 calendar days left!!
Have a great Tuesday ladies!
Chris0 -
Paula glad to hear you are home. did they give you any exercises to do during the day? Mom had some along with a rehab guy that came to the host for two weeks.0
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Thanks Lynnette and sisters,
Lots of exercises:
- There are about 3 months to establish range of motion, so straightening the leg and bending the knee (90% is considered a good angle but I'm greedy).
- Up to a year for strength, so leg lifts (frontal, sideways, straight, bent) and with weights later, gluteal squeezes :laugh: ankle circles & pumps. Then later of course walking, stairs, etc.
They're all really easy but fairly painful because of always pushing past any current abilities. So first step is narcotics. (Fortunately I'm not overly fond of them, especially the constipation aspect.) :noway:
NEW DISCOVERY The doctor gave me a BREG Kodiak Polarcare machine.
(1) You velcro a cooling pad (like a heating pad) around your joint.
(2) Fill the BREG bucket with ice & water.
(3) Plug it in and poof... Iced water pumps through the pad and everything cools automatically.
You can leave it on all night (with a gauze stocking between pad and skin). No need to change ice packs. And it does an amazing job of reducing inflammation. They should be as common as heating pads - it is so great! :bigsmile:
My life now is exercise/pain, drugs/sleep/spaciness, FitFam/doctor visits, healing.
:flowerforyou: Paula0 -
Paula, I'm glad you are doing well, and I'm with you on the drugs. The stuff they'd give me just made me sick. blaaa
Plus, I don't like not being in control! So, you'd be good with some upper body and arm exercises with weights?..? We could do the Tank Top Arm exercises next week. How does that sound?
Cool stuff with your Polarcare machine sounds terrific!
Yesterday was a Rest Day...Shop Day! Needed puppy squeaky toys and eggs!
Got home tonight and hit the sidewalk for 5 miles in an hour and 15 minutes. I'm good with that! 15,576 steps so far. I need to do some TRX exercises that the trainer gave me so I'm off to do that for a while.
I hope you are all doing well. Have a great Thursday!
15 work days...24 calendar days!! I'm loving it!
Chris0 -
Chris, I had just moved the dumbbells next to my recliner this afternoon. It'd be great to have some structure using them. :bigsmile:
It's funny looking for updates during the day and finding I'm always the last one who posted - too much time on my hands between exercises et al - what a switch!
Thanks for the hugs, Shelley. Felt really good. :blushing:
- Paula0 -
Paula, just wait until the end of the month! bwahahah! I'll be home too ! Well, unless I'm out walking or at the gym...wait, or shopping... It will be fun!
Chris0 -
You two are making me envious! I want to be home all the time also. I worked late last night. And had to go to Petco tonight. Tomorrow is zumba though! Paula you are welcome. Here is another hug.
Kathy I was sore from my burpees the other day. Then I read your new inspirational thought. Hey, I said, that is me!
Well the idiot middle man for my aquarium really screwed up. He just put in the order on Monday to the manufacturer. Really ticked me off. I am betting that Chris will be enjoying retirement before I get it. Chris you can come help me set it up. He did offer to have the black film added to the tanks back for free since he messed up. Took him up on it of course!
Shelley0 -
Paula, hang in there!
Had to tell my employees that I was going to enforce some rules that the previous manager should have been enforcing. The honeymoon is over! But I feel good about not letting them take advantage.
Off to the gym today to run on the treadmill. Finishing week 3 of the Couch 2 K.
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Clara I am betting there are a few who are glad you are having the others pull their weight now!
I went to Zumba tonight! It was a lot of fun.
Shelley0 -
Shelley - pretty fish. And burpees weren't even on the list!! Just an FYI...burpee soreness ranks the highest!! You are an inspiration to everyone who doesn't belong to the Zero-hundred burpee club!! bwahahah...
Just let me know when you get your fish set up...and if I'm not too old by then...
Clara - it's funny to see how some folks get away with a lot of c*ap, while others get nailed for the very same c*ap. Good job.
I made a new soup tonight. It called for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce today...however, yesterday, I swear it said jalapeno peppers... chipotle peppers I can do...jalapenos?...nopey, nope... so I used mild chopped chilies...it needs the chipotle peppers. I'll work on it.
Cooking and gassing my car was all I did this evening. Tomorrow I get Bean, and it's supposed to be beautiful and 70! Hoping for a walk with the pup.
14 work days - 23 calendar days
Chris
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I'm going to delete that comment (treatise) I just wrote about bosses who lie. Thank goodness for fairness, Clara!0
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I wrote that I'm on week 3 of the Couch 2K program but really I'm on run 3 of week 5. They have you jump from jogging 8 minutes twice with 5 min walking in between to 5 min walking, 20 min jogging, and then 5 min. walking! But they also say it's more of a mental than a physical challenge. And that's true. I got it done. At a early work meeting today, so not much exercise will happen today. But I have plans for tomorrow.0
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How can you lose a five pound dumbbell without leaving your chair? Had me stumped there for awhile. Best solution was aliens and black holes. They must also be the ones who hid it under the cat's ottoman where DH found it.
Paula0 -
I can hear your cat now....'meow...soon as the human closes her eyes, I'll just roll this long thing to my playpen where I can lay on my back and reach under to roll it around...purrrrr...the human has the other one to play with...she gets all the good toys...she'll never find the socks though...ha! silly human...meow...'
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Chris, LOL!! But only alien cats could be that strong bwahahahaha! :laugh:0
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What color is this alien kitty? Does she have awesome pecks? Does she blend with the furniture??
Walked with DH and Bean this morning for 4 miles then had lunch with my friend who helped us buy this house and sell our other one. My eating is right-on today. I will have more miles tomorrow and many more steps. Right now I have 13,098 steps. I'm happy.
More tomorrow!!!
Chris0 -
You know, we only just noticed her - probably because she blended so well with the furniture. I think we'll call her Shelley, the Alien Kitty (or STAK for short). :bigsmile: She likes fish. :laugh:0
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STAK could be to blame for a lot of things, you know...ever see her doing kitty-burpees? I bet she's really good at the jumping-up-in-air part at the end of the exercise.
Walked 5 miles with DH and Bean this morning then went off by myself for 4.5 miles. I have almost 12 miles for today...23,887 steps so far. Went to the store, made soup for lunches...it turned out really good!! And now, I'm just chillin'
I hope you all have a wonderful Monday. Let's make it a NO JUNK FOOD MONDAY...what do you all say???
Chris0 -
Chris thanks for the awesome compliment.
Chris I bet STAK can jump up and hang from the light features!
Clara I think it is really fabulous that you are jogging! Such a wonderful way to workout!
Paula you lost your dumbbell? And then you and Chris think alien kits must have hid it? It could happen for sure. My kit has taken to holding my arm down nightly. He is strong! Have you noticed other things come up missing? Wait where are my fish? Got to run, looking for an alien kitty who blends with the furniture while smelling like fish. STAK is so going to be barbecued!
I have been busy this weekend. It was gorgeous. Went target practicing. Did Zumba yesterday! Lots of dog walking. Still working on clutter. Took a truck load out of the garage. Weeded algae out of the tank. Did two water changes. Starting to win the algae battle. I did lose a fish. He was old. The corals are mostly looking better than they have in a year. Only one is really showing stress. But at this point getting the algae gone is more important to me. Rocky bought fluorescent, dimmable lights for my porcelain chandelier. Had to get a new switch for it also. I had been resistant to the change for a couple of years. I must admit they are nice. 
PS, the worms are doing great! muahaha
nite all,
Shelley
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Shelley, Do you need STAK to come over and change the bulbs in your chandeliers, is that why you were asking if she could do that? I'm sure she can, with her awesome pecs...
Pushups, dips curls, presses, kicks. - Pretty good for someone whose ankle was not connected to her thigh two weeks ago. glaw...
:flowerforyou: 0 -
Paula are you saying you are able to do all that so soon? Wowzers! And you keep STAK there. Or I will be having kit and stir fry! Muahaha
Shelley0
This discussion has been closed.