Fearlessly Fit at Home: Your Personal Guide to Getting Fit

Fearlessly Fit at Home

Your Personal Guide to Getting Fit

Alisa Hope Wagner

Introduction

I’m a firm believer that when we begin our exercise routine, we should do it in a way that can easily be cultivated into our daily schedule. Extreme measures may work for the moment, but as they go by the wayside, so do our results. We must incorporate healthy changes that we can actually maintain, so our results are there to stay. There is nothing wrong with a kick start into fitness, but we can have our back up exercise plan ready for when life gets hectic and time and money are limited, which is why working out at home is a valid option.

This exercise program is an offshoot of my book, Fearlessly Fit, and it implements four necessary aspects of fitness: 1) Warm-up, 2) Cardio Calisthenics (fat burning), 3) Dumbbell Weightlifting (muscle building) and 4) Stretches. All you need for this exercise program is a towel, three sets of dumbbells (ranging from 1 pounds to 20 pounds) and motivation. Motivation can be difficult to maintain, but the benefits of having a regular workout routine will quickly materialize. You will feel and look better, and your energy will skyrocket.

We are spiritual and physical beings, and our physical health is just as important as our spiritual health. In fact, they are intertwined. We can no longer compromise our future health by skipping our daily workout routine. Because of technology (phones, cars, computers, televisions, etc.), our culture has developed a sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, working out it is not a choice, it is a requirement. We can do what it takes today to feel and look our best tomorrow. If we can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength, we CAN achieve a healthy and fit lifestyle (Philippians 4.13).

Getting Started

Always consult your physician or other health care professional before starting this or any other fitness program to ensure that it is right for your needs.

Purchase three sets of dumbbells, depending on your strength needs. You can choose three sets out of the following dumbbell weights: two 1-pound dumbbells, two 3-pound dumbbells, two 5-pound dumbbells, two 8-pound dumbbells, two 10-pound dumbbells, two 12-pound dumbbells, two 15-pound dumbbells or two 20-pound dumbbells.

Test each set of dumbbells, choosing the weight appropriate for working each muscle group. If you are just starting out, purchase the 1-pound dumbbells and work up from there.

If you are reluctant to buy dumbbells at the start, you can replace them with materials from your home. Milk jugs are a great way to begin a weightlifting program. You can add water to milk jugs, making them anywhere from 1 pound to 8 pounds. Save and wash two milk jugs, and they can replace the dumbbells in every exercise in this book.

This program combines both cardio and weightlifting for a full body workout that burns fat and builds muscle.

Cardio Calisthenics (CC) will increase your metabolism. Increasing your metabolism will help you burn fat, lose weight and gain energy.

Dumbbell Weightlifting (DW) will tone and build full body muscle mass. Muscle mass is the only true fountain of youth available to you, and we want each muscle group to be strong and firm as we age.

What You Need to Know

You will boost your metabolism by performing Cardio Calisthenics. These are simple moves that spike your heart rate and work your full body, including your heart.

Muscle mass revs up your metabolism because it takes energy to maintain it, and it will help prevent excessive muscle atrophy as you age.

You will increase your muscle mass by performing Dumbbell Weightlifting exercises, working two muscle groups four days a week. You will target the abdominal and core one day a week.

You will do a warm-up before your workout and stretches after. Warming up is important to prepare your body to reach its target heart rate and stretching is a necessary complement to weight training since the muscles will be tight and sore from use.

Combining Cardio Calisthenics with Dumbbell Weightlifting is the perfect exercise combination that will give you the best results for your time.

You will exercise five days a week for around 40-60 minutes a day at home.

You can modify each Cardio Calisthenics exercise that calls for a jump by replacing it with a step.

You can use the format of this program and make it your own by rearranging existing exercises, finding alternative exercises and creating new exercises. Space will be provided for you to add more exercises to this program next to each routine.

Feel free to use the margins of this book to write down the weight you use for each of the Dumbbell Weightlifting exercises. Add the new weight next to the old as your strength increases, so you can record your progress.

The Layout

Monday:

Warm-up

Cardio Calisthenics (CC1)

Dumbbell Weightlifting (DW1): Quadriceps and Calves

Stretches

Tuesday:

Warm-up

Cardio Calisthenics (CC2)

Dumbbell Weightlifting (DW2): Chest and Biceps

Stretches

Wednesday:

Warm-up

Recovery

Abdominal & Core Routine

Stretches

Thursday:

Warm-up

Cardio Calisthenics (CC3)

Dumbbell Weightlifting (DW3): Hamstrings and Back

Stretches

Friday:

Warm-up

Cardio Calisthenics (CC4)

Dumbbell Weightlifting (DW4): Shoulders and Triceps

Stretches

Warm-up (5 minutes)

First, the warm-up increases the body temperature, warming and limbering up the muscles and connective tissues. This will increase the blood flow to all the body parts, which is necessary for the muscles to receive adequate oxygen. Next, the warm-up prepares the heart and lungs for the bulk of the workout when the target heart rate will be reached. In order to burn fat and boost the metabolism, we must ensure that we reach and maintain our target heart rate for the duration of the workout.

Finally, the warm-up transitions the mind and emotions into exercise mode, focusing all the attention on the body and exercise program. Focus is extremely important to ensuring that we implement correct form and maintain stability and balance during our workout.

Most of the warm-up moves in this program should be simple enough to perform quickly and effectively. Each exercise will be a compound move, incorporating almost every muscle in the body. With several body parts moving simultaneously, these compound exercises will increase the heart rate rapidly. Once the body is warm and the connective tissue limber, we will be less prone to injury during the more difficult portions of our workout. It is never a good idea to jump right into a rigorous cardio or weightlifting workout if the muscles and mind are not prepared.

A wonderful aspect about working out at home is that you can choose your own music to suit your mood and likes. To get ready for your warm-up and your following workout, play music that will energize and uplift you. Pick songs that have fast tempos and beats that will help you count out your reps. It is amazing what the power of music can do, so choose sounds that encourage and motivate you. Make a playlist that is at least 60 minutes long or find a radio station that plays music you love and watch just how quickly you meet your target heart rate.

You will do one set of the warm-up routine.

Warm-up exercises:

100 Jumping Jacks

100 Butt Kicks

100 Rope-less Jumps

100 Oblique Jacks

100 Standing Mountain Climbers

Cardio Calisthenics (15-25 minutes)

Cardio Calisthenics is a workout routine comprised of boot camp like moves that will help you hit and maintain your target heart rate for the duration of the workout. Cardio calisthenics is a full-body workout, so you will get more benefits in less time. You can do these moves from the comfort of your home because they take very little space to perform.

Each move will be counted instead of timed. Using a timer during a workout can be cumbersome, forcing your attention away from your body’s form onto a clock or timer. Counting each repetition is simple, enabling you to go at your own pace and focus on each exercise. I will be providing photos of the start and finish of each Cardio Calisthenics exercise to help you correctly execute each move.

The count for the Cardio Calisthenics will be listed next to each exercise move on the exercise routine. There are five exercise moves for every set of Cardio Calisthenics. You can take a 20-count rest after each move to give you time to prepare for the next move. After each set of five Cardio Calisthenics, you can take a 60-count break before beginning the next set.

Complete each set of Cardio Calisthenics three to four times. Once you complete the third set, ask yourself if you want to go for one more set. The Cardio Calisthenics portion of your workout will take anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes. You will want to hit your target heart during your workout. Check your heart rate after each set of five Cardio Calisthenics. If you are not hitting your target heart rate, you will want to move slightly faster and take shorter breaks without compromising your form.

To check your heart rate, put the tips of your index and middle fingers on your neck just next to your windpipe, located on the carotid artery. When you feel your pulse, look at your timer (phone or watch) and count the number of beats in 10 seconds. Multiply this number by 6 to get your heart rate per minute. You want to maintain your target heart rate during the Cardio Calisthenics portion of your workout.

You will do three to four sets of the Cardio Calisthenics routine.

Dumbbell Weightlifting (15-25 minutes)

Using dumbbells is an easy way to increase muscle mass without having to go to the gym or buy expensive exercise equipment. Lifting items, like shovels, milk buckets or weaving looms were like our “dumbbell weights” centuries ago, building strength in the user’s body. However, because of technological advancements today, we must replace lifting these everyday agricultural items with lifting dumbbells in order to stay healthy and strong.

We will be working two major muscle groups four days a week, including an abdominal and core workout midweek. Muscle imbalance can cause the body to become disproportionate. Our tendency to lean forward to look at the computer and phone screens is causing our back muscles to weaken and our shoulders to pull forward. We can combat this slouching phenomenon by ensuring that every muscle group, including our back, gets ample and accurate usage.

You will want to look in the mirror when you are first performing your Dumbbell Weightlifting exercises. Compare your form to the form in the photos at the start and finish of each exercise. Once you get comfortable with your form, you can begin to execute each move effectively. If you comprise your form, you may be lifting too heavy. It’s best just to go down to a lighter dumbbell or simply use bodyweight. If your muscles are tight, your range of motion for each exercise may be limited. As you stretch after each workout, your body will become more limber, allowing for better range of motion.

Six major form requirements:

Shoulders must be rolled back. Do not slouch or roll the shoulders forward.

Chest must be out. This may feel awkward at first, especially if you are a woman, but keeping a proud chest is important.

Knees must be soft. Don’t lock your knees and force your legs to be completely stiff.

Don’t curve the back when doing low body exercises. Keep the back comfortably flat.

Dig the heels in the ground. Keep the toes loose enough to wiggle.

When picking up weights, do not bend over and pick them up. Squat, using correct form, and grab each dumbbell and lift them by using your legs, not your back.

Start out with 8 reps for each muscle group and add more as you get stronger. When performing 14 reps of an exercise becomes too easy, you will want to move up to a heavier dumbbell and go back down to 8 reps again. You will be working two muscles groups every day for around 15 to 25 minutes. Take a 20-count break in between each exercise to prepare for the next one. Once all six dumbbell weightlifting exercises are done, take a 60-count break before beginning the next set.

You will do three to four sets of the Dumbbell Weightlifting routine.

Recovery Day

Muscle recovery is an important aspect of an exercise routine. When we do our Cardio Calisthenics and dumbbell strength training, we tear the muscle fibers in our body. “Breaking” muscle is the precursor to building it. The muscle fibers tear, and when they are adequately watered, rested and fed, they repair themselves. This process of tearing and repairing makes the muscles fibers bigger and stronger.

The midweek Recovery Day from weightlifting will allow the four muscle groups that have been worked to rest and repair themselves before working the next four muscle groups. Also, many exercises, like pushups and deadlifts, work primary and secondary muscle groups. The primary muscle group is the focus of the exercise, but the secondary muscle group is the helper. Adding a Recovery Day midweek will make sure that any secondary muscle groups that have been used are rested before working them as the primary muscle group.

Adding an Abdominal and Core routine on the Recovery Day is a great way to work on core stability, balance and strength. It will also guarantee that we will hit our target heart rate, so we can achieve our fat burning, metabolism boosting cardio for the day.

Implementing an exercise routine into our daily lifestyle will strengthen our hearts and muscles, allowing us to stay physically fit. However, exercise can cause stress on our bodies if we are not properly taking care of ourselves. When adding a workout program into our schedule, we need to check to make sure that we are preparing our bodies for the rigors of exercise. We can ask ourselves the following questions.

Am I drinking enough water? Water is necessary for all the body’s systems to work properly. Water flushes out waste materials that are left in the muscles after weightlifting or intense calisthenics. Always bring a large glass of water with you when you exercise.

Am I eating enough protein? Without consuming enough protein, you will not be able to repair the muscle fibers that have been torn during your workout. Amino acids are the building blocks of your cells, and they are only found in protein. Eating eggs every morning is a great way to getting enough protein in your diet.

Am I taking my vitamins and minerals? These nutrients will keep your immune system strong and are essential to all the biological processes in the body, including growing muscle. Take a multivitamin every morning to start your day.

Am I getting enough sleep? Your body recovers and strengthens when it is well rested. Without enough sleep, the body will not be able to effectively accomplish a workout routine. Try to get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep every day. Take naps when you need to catch up.

Am I using correct form? Sore muscles are a normal part of a healthy exercise routine. However, strained muscles can be a sign that correct form is not being used. Practice your form in a mirror and ask a personal trainer if further instruction is needed.

Abdominal and Core (15-25 minutes)

The core of the body goes from the diaphragm all the way to the pelvis, and the muscles in this area include, hip flexors, lower back, oblique and abdominal muscles. It is important to strengthen these deep muscles because they encourage the body’s balance and stability, and they are the foundation for the superficial muscles of the body that we can see.

Many people make the mistake of working the superficial muscles—biceps, triceps, calf muscles and outer thigh muscles—and don’t strengthen their deep core muscles. However, this will cause great muscle imbalance, which can be damaging to the body. The Abdominal and Core workout is placed in the middle of the week so all your superficial muscles can rest.

Be careful to stop if any of these core moves cause pain and check your form. If your core is weak, you will want to start carefully and slowly. Some of the listed core exercises call for a dumbbell. Use the lightest dumbbell that you have or forgo the dumbbell altogether in the beginning. As your core gets stronger, you can add the dumbbell or up the weight of your current dumbbell for more resistance.

This program has suggested reps, but you can add or take away reps depending on your needs. In addition, many of the Cardio Calisthenics and Dumbbell Weightlifting exercises throughout this program also work your core. For example, the One-legged Single Arm Rows do an excellent job at working stability. And the push-ups for chest and the single dumbbell sumo squats for the quadriceps strengthen the core. But Abdominal and Core day is a way to really target and work those deep muscles, ensuring full muscle balance.

You will do two to three sets of the abdominal core routine.