I'd Like To Adjust My Morning "Workout" Routine

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shaynak112
shaynak112 Posts: 751 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I have stuck at this for about 9-10 months which is awesome for me. Usually I'll do some exercise for a week and then quite.
Basically, my routine is:
5 pushups (I've just recently gotten that to 10 pushups)
30 squats
60 situps
20 minutes of hula hooping
I also have 10 mins of back exercises I have to do as per the chiropractor.
Anyway my stomach and butt are looking MUCH nicer (yay!). I don't want to switch my hula hooping cardio because I really can't stick with anything else. I've tried running and the elliptical and neither last for over two weeks. And I skip days a lot. When I'm hula hooping, the worst I've done is go down to 15 minutes because I slept in for a few more minutes in the morning lol.
I also walk 20 minutes twice a day (to and from the bus stop... there is a bus that goes there but I prefer to walk it when I can, meaning when it's not raining or cold, so that stops in the winter). I'm trying to do yoga a few times a week for 20-30 minutes.

I think my cardio is "okay" (again, it could be better, but it's something I actually stick with, so I don't want to mess that up.

I'm just wondering about my "strength" exercises. I don't plan to stop squats or situps but perhaps I could reduce those and add in some other good strength exercises? Perhaps something that targets my thighs and upper arms? I know the targeting doesn't work completely but squats make my butt nicer and situps make my abs nicer so I'm sure it'll kinda work.

I also don't want to increase the length of time I do these activities. I already wake up at 6 AM and I am NOT a morning person so I don't want to wake up too much earlier.

Another thing is I'm not trying to lose a lot of weight. I'm curvy and I want to stay curvy lol. I'm not too much overweight (yeah, a bit, but not like ridiculously unhealthy considering I eat well). I don't want something super vigorous. But something that'll help over time.

Suggestions? Opinions?

Replies

  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    If you're currently doing body weight squats, you'd be much better off adding a barbell and adding weight to those squats. You'd be able to find cheap second hand weights on Craigslist / Gumtree. A beginner strength training programme such as Stronglifts 5x5 or New Rules of Lifting for Women would be a good starting point.

    If this isn't an option, you could try a body weight strength training programme such as You Are Your Own Gym. There is a smartphone app you can use to track workouts. You may need to invest in a pull-up bar, and possibly some resistance bands to help with assisted pull-ups but these can be picked up cheaply (my pull-up bar came from Lidl for around £6).
  • shaynak112
    shaynak112 Posts: 751 Member
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    Ooohh yes I have my 5 lb weights that I use for the squats :) At first, I would have to take breaks after every 5 squats LOL (ummm I'm weak) but now I can go all 30 squats without having to rest! :)

    Hmmm I'm not sure I'd have anywhere to put a pull-up bar in my apartment. But I'll check out those other things that you mentioned :)
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    if you dont want to deal with barbells and want to stick with body weight, you can make your body weight routine more difficult by adding things like bulgarian split squats, pistol squats or squat jumps. just make sure to get post parallel on the squat to reduce any injury to the knee. you could also add glute bridges

    you can also target different muscles in your upper body by switching up the push up variation. here's a site with tons of variations
    http://greatist.com/fitness/bodyweight-push-up-variations

    i'd switch out the situps for planks and side planks but that's just because i hate sit ups :laugh:

    getting the pullup bar installed in a door frame is also a really good idea so you can your upper back, core and arms even more.

    congrats on the hula hooping. i just got one and can barely do 1 minute because my hips forgot how to do the movement lol. i need to relearn
  • rachelrb85
    rachelrb85 Posts: 579 Member
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    An adjustable set of dumbbells could be a simple way to expand on your strength training. You could do a modified version of Stronglifts 5x5 with dumbbells. These compound lifts are a great total body workout.

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