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Workout 5.0... Use Your Own Body-Weight to Build Muscle
and Tone Up!
What could make more sense!? Perfect balance. If your weight goes up, then your muscles grow, as they are forced to contend with the additional pounds. Also, for you racers out there, think about the things you do to your car in the name of weight-savings to lower your E.T.'s - taking out the back seat, removing the spare tire and jack from your trunk, etc. How about removing the spare tire around your gut!? I call this workout, "Workout 5.0", because it is the fifth exercise program I have tried, plus it reminds me of my beloved 5.0 liter Mustang. I am sharing it with you so that you can make those "StangBangers" t-shirts look good! I've tried just about everything to stay in shape: 1. Diet - Dieting is a great way to lose weight (no duh, huh); problem is, you will gain the weight right back once you go back to eating as usual. I lost a lot of weight, but my diet consisted of coffee for breakfast, apples and water for lunch, and then I would be so hungry by dinner that I would eat a whole pound of pasta with red sauce. I got into great shape, but I eventually wanted to eat something else :) I like to eat, plain and simple, so this did not work for me as a long-term solution. 2. Gym - Sounds like a "suh-weet" deal while you're signing up, but costs money (monthly or yearly dues), plus you need to actually go there (sometimes I felt like I was spending more time driving there and back, than working out!). After a while, I stopped going, and just let my membership expire. 3. Workout With A Buddy - This made it much easier to stay motivated, since you push each other, but after a while there were too many scheduling conflicts, so this arrangement quickly fell apart 4. Home Workout Equipment (Free Weights) - This sounded like an even better deal, since you buy the equipment once, and then just work out at home. However, there always seems to be something more interesting to do than work out by yourself, not to mention that you can get into a lot of trouble trying to bench-press without a spotter. 5. Workout 5.0 - What makes this workout so great is that you use your own body weight to build muscle. This is actually an ideal situation, if you think about it, because if you "put on a few pounds" during the holidays, then you will be building more muscle to move the additional weight. What do you need to start? You will need to buy (or build, if you are handy), a 'machine' similar to this one:
Make sure the multi-exercise machine is built short enough to fit in your home or garage, and be certain to leave enough room so that you do not knock your head into the ceiling when doing a pull-up. Workout 5.0 My workout consists of 5 exercises: 1. Chin-ups - Hang onto the top bar with your palms facing you and pull yourself up until your chin is level with the top of the bar. You may not be able to lift yourself off the ground in the beginning, so try standing on the bottom bar, until you build enough muscle to left yourself up. 2. Pull-ups - Same as the chin-ups, except that you hold onto the curved-down bars on the top, with your palms facing outwards. 3. Dips - Facing the machine, grab onto the dip handles, and lower and raise yourself with your legs bent at the knees. 4. Vertical leg raises - Facing away from the machine, grab onto the sit-up handles, and with your back resting against the pad, lift and lower your legs, which can be bent at the knees (easier) or held straight (harder). 5. Push-ups - Hold onto the push-up handles, and do your push-ups as usual. This is more effective than just doing the push-ups on the floor, because the push-up handles are raised higher off the ground, which means a greater range of motion. Start slow, and set attainable goals to keep yourself motivated. Also, pick a time when you know you will be able to work out every day without interruption. You can push yourself harder, because there is no danger of weights falling on you. Also, you may want to supplement this workout with a few miles of walking, jogging or running, just to keep your cardiovascular system healthy. This works for me, and I hope it works for you also!
* Disclaimer & Warning: I am not a doctor, so please see your doctor before beginning any strenuous activity, especially if your idea of exercise for the past few years has been walking to the fridge for another beer during the commercial break! I am not a physical trainer either, so please consult with a professional for details regarding proper form and breathing technique.
This page was last updated on 03/28/05. |
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