Health and Fitness

The purpose of this workout is to provide strenuous exercise that is attainable for most people if they keep working at it. I could provide a workout that would be all but impossible, but no one would be able to benefit from it. This workout is going to incorporate some basic exercises as well as some harder ones that are attainable after some, but not a tremendous deal of practice, if you are already in good shape.

As always, stretch and warm-up before exercising and for this workout, I would suggest that only the fittest people perform attempt it, otherwise there is a risk for injury. For any type of workout, you should be aware of your abilities and limitations as well as any potential health problems you have or might encounter. This workout will increase your heart rate to high levels and will be extremely strenuous on your upper body.

For the first set, do as many pushups in a row as you can, immediately follow this by doing as many sit-ups as you can do. Rest for one minute and then repeat the process ten times. After the last set, rest for two minutes.

Now, do as many rolling pushups as you can; for these you want to switch the direction of rolling every two pushups. I covered these in the pushup section of blogs I wrote a couple of weeks back if you have not heard of them before. Immediately follow the pushups with a set of as many elevated leg sit-ups as you can do. I have not yet covered how to do these, so to perform a rep of this exercise, lay flat on your back and lift your legs about six inches off of the floor while keeping them straight and stationary. Now, hold your hands together and put them behind your head, kind of like you are reaching to stretch (a photo of this exercise is posted with this blog). During this exercise, keep your arms straight and behind your head, it will be a struggle, but will increase difficulty. Now, do a sit-up keeping your legs and arms in the correct position. Rest one minute and then repeat this process ten times, then after your last set, rest two minutes.

For the last set of exercises, do a set of as many diamond pushups as you can. Instead bringing your body down with your hands underneath your body, lower yourself and place your nose in the diamond provided by your hands. Follow this immediately by a set of as many bicycles as you can do. Rest one minute and then repeat ten times.

Make sure to stretch, drink plenty of water, and consume some vital nutrients, such as protein, after this workout. If this workout was still too easy, let me know and I will try to provide one that will challenge you. The workouts this week were designed so that you would not have to go to a gym but could simply do them in your bedroom if you wanted. This will decreases the number of excuses that can be made of why you could not workout. If you are sitting in your room doing homework, watching television, or are simply bored, try one of the workouts and get your blood pumping! Keep working hard and you will see results.

So here we go, today I will give a good example model of a workout for beginners then on Tuesday I will give an intermediate example and finally on Thursday, I will try to give a workout that will challenge the most physically fit.

This workout routine can be performed in a gym or in your own room, so there should be no excuses about the lack of facility accessibility. To start, make sure to stretch and get warmed up; a good warm-up could consist of a light five minute jog or riding bike for a while, or my favorite: jump-roping. After you finish your stretching and warm up, do one set of as many pushups as you can, rest for about 30 seconds, then do one set of as many sit-ups as you can. This will be your base number that I will base this workout off of.

For your first set, do a quarter of your maximum number of regular pushups. Rest for about 30 seconds and then do a quarter of your maximum number of normal sit-ups. This should be fairly easy, but if it is not, you might want to consider dropping down to an eighth of your maximum rep number. After this first set, rest about one minute.

The next set, do the same routine, except double the number of pushups and sit-ups while maintaining the same rest in between. This time, rest two minutes after you have finished the sit-ups, and then repeat the same set with double your base number of pushups and sit-ups, then rest another two minutes. Next, repeat the first set and then rest two minutes after the sit-ups.

Now, you are going to want to do a set of pushups, but you want to stop at the bottom for five seconds, with your back straight, bum down, and arms parallel to the floor. Do five of these with about twenty seconds in between each one. After the fifth one, rest about one minute and then move on to the next set of abs.

For this last ab exercise, you are going to work your obliques. Do a set of ten twists; these are the ones where you hold out your legs, lean slightly back and then hold your hands together, twist to one side of your body, touch the floor, and then twist to the other side and touch the floor, this is one rep. Wait about thirty seconds and then repeat.

This ends the workout, make sure to stretch again, this will decrease possible soreness following the workout. Depending on how difficult this workout was, you might want to continue it and follow along with the beginner workouts I give, but if you felt it was rather easy, you might want to move up to intermediate level. I would recommend at least a one day rest before doing this again. Rest is a very important aspect of working out. Also, make sure you drink plenty of water and get some food into your body after your routine.

So far I have barely scratched the surface of ab exercises that are out there and will not be able to cover them all in future. I would encourage you to do some research on your own if you want some more ab exercises to keep you from getting bored or if you want to have a more diverse workout. Today I will cover some different exercises that will be location specific.

First we will cover the upper and middle abs; this is perhaps the most common and easiest area to work because just about every ab exercise there is as well as many other types of exercises work this area. Besides the ones I have already covered, another exercise that works this area is the pull-in. Some say this is more of a lower-ab exercise, but it works the upper and middle abs so well, I am going to include it in this section. The pull-in is performed by laying flat on the floor, then with your head about six inches off of the ground and your hands in sit-up position, keep your legs together, lift them into the air about six inches and then bend at the knee while pulling your legs in until your upper leg is at a ninety degree angle with your upper body and your knees are also bent at a ninety degree angle. Using the reverse motion, straighten your legs back out until they are completely straight and six inches above the floor. Make sure your feet do not hit the floor; this will decrease the intensity immensely. To make this exercise slightly easier, you can keep your head on the floor; to make it harder, hold at the start position with your legs straight and six inches above the floor for three or more seconds, do this at the end of every rep.

The lower abs seem to be most people’s crutch. This is the place where excess fat likes to hang out and is a little harder to find an effective exercise for. One that I have found to work extremely well is the floor-wiper. This can be done by either lying flat on a bench or lying flat on the ground. A good starting point for beginners would be to lay flat on the floor, then put your arms straight in the air perpendicular with the ground. Next, put your straight and keep them together, raise them without bending them until they are perpendicular in the air, then lower them back down without letting them hit the floor and repeat. To increase difficulty, hold some light dumbbells in your hands while performing this exercise. Then after you feel comfortable with doing those, the actual floor-wiper is performed by laying flat on a bench; put some weight on a barbell, hold that up, and then raise your legs as before. This works the lower abs a ton, it also works on the shoulders and arms and balance because it is difficult to hold the bar while raising your legs. The upper and lower abs as well as the obliques are also worked during this exercise. To increase difficulty once again, hold up dumbbells on the bench, this will really test your balance and ab strength.

A great oblique specific exercise is the twist. There are many variations of this exercise, but the basic one is performed by sitting on the ground, then slightly leaning back with your upper body and extending your legs away from you. Raise your legs off of the ground about six inches, then lock your hands together and twist to one side of your body, touch the ground, and then twist to the other side of your body, touch the ground and then repeat. If you want an added challenge, take a medicine ball or a dumbbell or a weighted plate, and move that across your body in place of only your hands. Also, try to lean your upper body further back toward the floor and straighten your legs. As your abs increase in strength, this is a good way to keep using the same exercise but increase its difficulty.

Make sure to try to keep good form as always and try these different exercises out. Do not give up; keep pushing yourself and persevering and you will see results. Next time I will finally look into some workout routines that will engage your entire upper body.

A very popular form of ab exercise is the bicycle. This exercise works your upper, middle, and lower abs as well as your oblique muscles. It is performed by laying flat on your back then raising your head about six inches off of the floor. You want to place your arms in the same position as you would for a sit-up. Next, make a bicycle motion with your legs, ensuring they are as close to the ground as possible without actually touching the ground. If these are too difficult, a good way to make them slightly easier is to let your head rest on the floor; another way to decrease intensity is to raise your legs higher into the air. The higher you raise your legs, the easier it will be. I would encourage you to do this at the most difficult level you are capable of to push yourself to your limit.

For girls who want a slimmer waist line and not necessarily strong six pack abs, do the bicycle where it is not too hard but after about 20 seconds you feel the burn. This will both serve as a slight cardio exercise as well as a calorie burning movement that firms your abs, but does not cause major muscle building.

Another fantastic ab exercise is the hanging leg raise. If you are just beginning I would recommend starting these on a knee raise machine (which has a big half ball on the back and then two almost horizontal handles where you can rest your forearms.) To start you want to bring your legs up so that the upper part of your leg is parallel with the floor. You also want a ninety degree angle at the knee. Then you lower your legs straight down until they are free hanging, and then repeat the movement. A variation of this is to instead of raising your legs straight up, raise them to either side of your body, this focuses on the obliques while still maintaining good contraction on your main abdominal muscles.

For those of you who are more advanced, try doing the same exercise hanging straight from a bar. There is no back rest so the exercise will test how much ab strength you actually have and good form is key, otherwise you will be hanging from the bar swinging back and forth. Another good way to increase difficulty is to bring your legs up straight, instead of bent at the knee, until they are parallel with the floor; and to get even harder, bring your legs up straight all the way until they are perpendicular with the floor.

On all of the hanging exercises, make sure not to swing. This creates a momentum boost and will greatly decrease the effectiveness of your workout. Next time I will look at a few more abdominal exercises and then next week I will provide some good workouts for beginners, those who have been working out for a while, and those who are in great physical shape.

Well first I want to respond to a comment made last week. There is a very good pushup called the Hindu pushup and for those of you who are curious, this is done by starting in pushup form except with your feet about one and a half feet apart. Next you want to raise your bum into the air and then kind of dive forward; you want to bring your entire body low to the ground with forward momentum. As you reach the bottom, you want to bring your upper body up while keeping your lower body down to stretch the back. Then you want to bring your bum off the ground and then head back with it to where you started before coming down. I know this sounds complicated but here is a good video if you are interested: Click here

I promised that I would cover some different workouts that you can do, but I will first look into some abdominal or ab exercises that you can do, in an attempt to diversify exercise types. Along with the pushup, and running, ab exercises are fundamental, extremely important and versatile components for getting in shape or maintaining high physical condition. There are so many different ab exercises out there that it would take an enormous amount of time for me to cover them all; therefore, I will start with some basic, yet, effective ones to get started with.

The first is the sit-up. Probably the most standard for of abdominal exercise, the sit-up is performed by lying flat on your back with your knees bent at a ninety degree angle and you feet resting flat on the floor. The next step is to put your hands on your collarbone with your right hand on the left side of your neck and your left hand on the right side of your neck so that they cross. Next you want to raise your upper body off of the ground until it is perpendicular with the floor. Then you let your upper body lower back to the floor. That was one rep.

Here are a couple of things to be aware of. First you want to make sure that your feet do not move when performing a sit-up. If you are just beginning, it would be a good idea if you had someone stand or kneel on your feet to keep them from moving. Another option would be to press them up against something like a wall or a couch. As you progress and your abs get stronger, you will not need this extra support and will be able to do a sit-up without feet support.

Second, watch your hands; keep them touching your collarbone at all times. It is very easy to cheat and lift them off to try and get some extra momentum, but this will sacrifice form and will result in a less effective workout. Many people like to have their hands in different positions; I will describe the benefits and disadvantages of each position at a later time. For now, just keep them on you collarbone. Alright, that should get you started, next time I will look at some more ab exercises.

When doing any exercise, one must consider what muscle groups are being worked. This knowledge will allow you to perform exercises with better form and more effectiveness. Putting together various exercises into a workout needs thought and planning to maximize time spent working toward your goal.

The pushup is largely an upper body exercise and is also a compound exercise, which means that many muscle groups are utilized at once. The primary muscle worked during a pushup is the chest or pectoral muscle with the secondary muscles being the shoulders and the triceps (muscle on the backside of the upper arm). Diamond pushups will partially isolate the triceps and lead to more work being done by them. Handstand pushups focus tremendously on the shoulders and are a great way to strengthen them. Another way to think of handstand pushups is an inverted military press. If you do not know what that is do not worry about it, I will cover that exercise later, if you do know it, you get the idea that it is pretty intense; a military press using your own body weight is a feat of pure strength.

One thing to watch for when doing any compound exercise and especially the pushup is the muscle that hurts the most or fails the most quickly. This indicates the muscle group that is the weakest and also means that the other muscles are not being worked to their full potential. A good idea then, is to focus on getting the weak muscle stronger so that compound exercises work each muscle approximately with the same intensity. This is the ideal and most effective way to utilize these types of exercises and is something to pay attention to and adjust appropriately.

During a pushup, the core is also worked. Your abs and lower back should be tightening to keep proper form and will then be indirectly worked. Focusing on tightening your abs and lower back will aid in using proper form and making sure they are contracted will work them harder and you will get a better overall workout. Different forms of pushups will work your core with varying intensity; doing pushups with your hands on two balls will require great stabilization, which is one of the primary functions of the core, and will consequently intensify the work done by those muscles.

Today I will be covering more types of pushups; these are going to be more difficult pushups for those who are already in shape and looking for a challenge.

One of my personal favorites is the rolling pushup. These are done by lowering one arm while keeping the other straight and as you push the one arm back up, you lower the other one, creating a “rolling” effect. This is a great isolation exercise for the shoulders. Another type is to stagger your hands. Place one about one foot ahead of the other, do a set, and then switch your hands to create balance while working your muscles. Balance is very important and I will go more in depth with that topic later.

To increase difficulty, perform pushups with your feet on an elevated object and then push your body up. Perhaps the hardest pushups are the handstand pushups; these are performed by doing a handstand and then lowering your body down until your head is just about to floor level and then push back up. I recommend practicing these by leaning back against a wall at first to build strength and balance and then work up to moving away from the wall. Putting your hands on two basketballs or other types of balls and then doing pushups is another difficult exercise to do and works out your core (abs/lower-back) as well.

There are many other variations or combinations of pushups incorporating those I described above and many that I did not describe that are out there, but I think I provided enough to get a good start. As with all exercises, keep your muscles tight during the motion. I also recommend warming up and stretching before exercising and stretching again after. I will look at various workouts you can do with pushups to get tremendous results. Ladies, I will provide ways for you to get that tone that you want and guys, I will give different methods to put on some bulk and get huge!

Last week I covered various locations where you can exercise. This week I am going to go in depth with my favorite exercise- the pushup. It is perhaps the oldest, most common, most effective, and most versatile workout available. Today I will explain how to do various types of pushups and later in the week I will look into the benefits of pushups and how they affect your body.

The basic pushup is performed by laying flat on the ground with your stomach on the floor. Keep your legs together and stay on your toes. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart or slightly further; now you are going to push your body straight up keeping your back straight, your bum down. It is imperative that you maintain good form for the pushup to be most effective. After you are in the up position with your back straight, arms straight, and on your toes, the next step is to go down. Bend at the elbows and go until your elbow is at a 90 degree angle, now you are ready to push up again.

If you are unable to maintain good form while performing a regular pushup, you can do an incline pushup. To do this you want to lean against a wall or counter or chair and then push yourself up, again, keeping your feet together and your back straight. As you progress with this you can keep decreasing the height of the object that you place your hands on. This will increase strength and endurance until you are able to do a pushup on the floor.

Once you are able to do a large number of normal pushups you can do various other types with more difficulty. Diamond pushups are much harder than normal pushups. These can be performed by taking your hands and forming them into a diamond shape. Touch your index fingers together, in addition to touching your thumbs together. Using the same form for a normal pushup, place your hands in the diamond shape and then do a pushup. Try to keep your arms directly underneath your torso to increase balance and strength during the exercise.

Another form of pushup is performed by placing your hands as wide as possible, while still being able to push yourself up. There are also clapper pushups; these are performed by doing a normal pushup but at the bottom of the rep you want to push yourself up as hard and far as possible and then either clap your hands in front of your body or behind your back (behind the back is quite a bit harder). Make sure for these that you are comfortable with the motion and are confident that you will be able to perform them otherwise you could get quite injured. Next time I will cover more types of pushups.

Sacrifice precedes victory…

Last time I covered the some of the opportunities available at the Student Recreation Center. In the same building is the Outdoor Recreation Center which offers numerous services to the student body. They have organized trips into the mountains and even over-seas and have guides to help you learn about enjoying the beauty of Colorado, the rugged way. Bike, ski, and snowboard maintenance is another great part of the ORC; along with maintenance comes the ability to rent various equipment for just about any outdoor activity including climbing, backpacking, camping, and mountain biking. The ORC is a tremendous resource if you are looking to take a trip into the mountains, would like to learn more about the outdoors (the ORC has various workshops throughout the year that cover everything from outdoor cooking to bicycle maintenance), or are an experienced outdoorsman but need some equipment.

Also on the Mines campus is Volk Gymnasium. Generally reserved for athletes, it is still a great resource for students. Inside there is a weight room, a wrestling room, a basketball court, and a pair of racquetball courts. Right next to Volk is Steinhauer Fieldhouse which includes an indoor track and lots of space for many types of sports or various physical activities.

One of the more fun parts of CSM is the great selection of intramural sports offered. Everything from flag football to golf to ping pong is available. The locations for these are spread all over campus and some occur at the intramural fields that are located on the very west side of campus.

This campus has multiple opportunities for staying active, all you have to do is get out there and explore them! Grab a buddy and play some ultimate Frisbee on Kafadar or take a bike ride up to the M, but make sure you do not waste the opportunities you have.

On the west end of campus stands the striking Student Recreation Center. Recently built, it offers new and exciting opportunities for those looking for some fun activities. The “Rec Center” incorporates various elements that have a wide range of appeal and suit many different people.

My personal favorite place in the Rec Center is the Fitness Lab where you can work out with a mix of free weights or machines. The Fitness Lab also includes multiple treadmills, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes. This is where I will be focusing most of the next upcoming weeks, looking at the different equipment available, how to use it properly, and how to incorporate it into an effective workout. The Fitness Lab is open Monday through Thursday from 6:00am to 10:00pm, on Friday from 6:00am to 8:00pm, on Saturday from 10:00am to 6:00pm, and on Sunday from 12:00pm to 8:00pm.

The Rec Center also includes an 8 lane, 25 yard swimming pool with 2 diving boards, one that is 1 meter and the other a 3 meter. Also in the Noratorium is a 14 person spa that is in the shape of the Mines’ logo. The Noratorium is open August 18, 2008 to December 23, 2008 with mornings on Tuesday and Thursday from 6:00am to 8:00am. The lunch session is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 to 1:00pm and the evening session open Monday through Thursday from 6:30pm to 8:30pm and Friday from 6:30pm to 8:00 pm. On Saturday and Sunday the sessions are from 12:00pm to 6:00pm.

Increasing in popularity is the indoor climbing wall located right inside the main entrance of the Rec Center. Routes range in skill level and classes are available to learn how to climb if you have never attempted it. The climbing wall is open Monday through Thursday from 5:30pm to 9:30pm, on Friday from 4:30pm to 7:45pm, and on Sunday from 5:30pm to 7:45pm. Other activities and facilities in the Rec Center include Lockridge Arena, a recreation gymnasium where everything from floor hockey to basketball to volleyball is able to be played. Above the rec gym is an elevated jogging track that is a 1/16 mile, three lane track that also has a couple clocks in case you forgot your watch and wanted to keep time; if running make sure to see which direction runners are supposed to go that day. Equipment for just about any sport you can think of is available to check out, ask the person at the desk and they will be able to check you out.

A great place to go after all this physical exertion is the Juice Lab where they serve common snacks, beverages, and many kinds of delicious smoothies; you are able to use Munch Money at the Juice Lab. There are also full locker rooms with showers for both men and women.

Remember to always be courteous to others while in the Rec Center. If you need help locating something do not hesitate to ask the person at the main desk; also remember to bring your Blaster Card because it is required for entry into the Rec Center.

One part of the Rec Center I did not mention is the Outdoor Recreation Center. I will cover this more in depth later in the week because they offer many great services outside of the Rec Center for students.