Hey guys!
I'm new in this forum and glad to be here. I've always been interested in all kinds of self-improvement, and of course, health and fitness play a major role in leading a fulfilled life. I'm starting a life-coaching web site with a partner and wrote an article suggesting a small daily workout to beginners: the idea is that you can achieve quite a lot by just doing two sets of pushups each morning.
Here's where I'd love your help: before I publish my article, I'd like to know whether you agree with what I write, or if I got some things horribly wrong.
Thanks!
Matthias.
Ten minutes a day to shape up your body.
It's not that you're badly out of shape, really. It's just that the other day, you ended up completely out of breath after climbing two measly flights of stairs, and no matter how you look at it, it frustrated the "%!$ out of you. There's that - and, come to think of it, you actually wouldn't mind a bit more muscle definition. And a bit of a tighter belly. Just to be more attractive to chicks. Right? Well, I have good news for you: getting there is not as hard as you may think. To get you started, you merely need ten minutes a day to shape up your body. This article is about one of the simplest exercises: the pushup. Here’s your advice.
1. Enjoy working out.
I'll be upfront: you're going for a daily workout, there's no way around it. Reluctance doesn't breed discipline, so if you want to make it a routine, you want to get your motivation together first. There are several ways to think about exercise: you could look at the strain, exhaustion and muscle pain and think "ugh, I really don't want that crap." Then again, you could focus on the positive effects: working out will get your juices flowing, make you feel energized, strong, fresh and sexy, and you'll be proud of your achievement afterwards, no matter how little each day. Plus, you’ll see effects after a ridiculously short amount of time. See, after all, it's a question of mindset: adopt a positive one and you'll be looking forward to pumping some action into your day.
2. Your ten minutes every morning.
Simple as that: get up ten minutes earlier in the morning than you used to. Those ten minutes will give you ample time to do two sets of pushups before and after going to the bathroom - in fact, they're way more than you're going to need, because when you think about it, one set of pushups takes, say, 30 to 45 seconds. I do 70 pushups in one set, and it doesn't even take one and a half minutes. That's a ludicrously small amount of time.
3. Pushups done right.
Pushups will train your pectoral (chest) muscles and triceps (back of the upper arm), but have an effect on the muscles in shoulder and on left and right ribs as well, resulting in an all-round stimulation of the upper body musculature.
a) Position.
Everybody knows how pushups generally work. However, you want to make sure you get the details right so you’ll avoid injury and get the best performance. Obviously, lie face-down. Your hands and arms should be straight extensions of your shoulder line, i.e. your hands should touch the floor at shoulder height. Variations in hand position will distribute the stress on your muscles differently: if your hands are closer together, i.e. closer to your body, you'll train the triceps more.
b) Posture.
With any exercise you do, you don't want your body to wobble about like a dead jellyfish. Make sure it is solid and straight, and that your efforts are directed specifically at the muscles you're training. For instance, throwing your whole upper body in when you're trying to lift a dumbbell not only constitutes cheating (you're not lifting it with your biceps, but with momentum generated by jerking your upper body back), but can also do some serious damage (e.g. to your spine). The same goes for pushups: you want to keep your body straight and aligned so that when you push up, you'll lift the entire body - and not just the upper body. To be perfectly clear, that means your legs are straight and off the floor.
c) Breathe.
What's common to all kinds of workout is breathing: when you do your exercises, you want to breathe out whenever you flex, and breathe in whenever you relax. With regard to pushups, that would mean breathing out when you go up - because you're flexing your muscles and using your strength to push yourself up from the floor - and breathing in when you come back down. Become conscious of that and practice it.
d) Do those few extra repetitions.
When you think you’re done, that’s when it’s time to do those extra two to three pushups. Really, I mean it: do keep pushing until you’re really out of power. You’ll see that your body is capable of more than your mind tells you.
Taking ten minutes a day to shape up your body is not only simple, it also means you can create a positive change in your life without having to go out of your way much. With time, this will go a long way to make you more attractive and happy. Embrace the opportunity! If done right, you can only profit from it.
I'm new in this forum and glad to be here. I've always been interested in all kinds of self-improvement, and of course, health and fitness play a major role in leading a fulfilled life. I'm starting a life-coaching web site with a partner and wrote an article suggesting a small daily workout to beginners: the idea is that you can achieve quite a lot by just doing two sets of pushups each morning.
Here's where I'd love your help: before I publish my article, I'd like to know whether you agree with what I write, or if I got some things horribly wrong.
Thanks!
Matthias.
Ten minutes a day to shape up your body.
It's not that you're badly out of shape, really. It's just that the other day, you ended up completely out of breath after climbing two measly flights of stairs, and no matter how you look at it, it frustrated the "%!$ out of you. There's that - and, come to think of it, you actually wouldn't mind a bit more muscle definition. And a bit of a tighter belly. Just to be more attractive to chicks. Right? Well, I have good news for you: getting there is not as hard as you may think. To get you started, you merely need ten minutes a day to shape up your body. This article is about one of the simplest exercises: the pushup. Here’s your advice.
1. Enjoy working out.
I'll be upfront: you're going for a daily workout, there's no way around it. Reluctance doesn't breed discipline, so if you want to make it a routine, you want to get your motivation together first. There are several ways to think about exercise: you could look at the strain, exhaustion and muscle pain and think "ugh, I really don't want that crap." Then again, you could focus on the positive effects: working out will get your juices flowing, make you feel energized, strong, fresh and sexy, and you'll be proud of your achievement afterwards, no matter how little each day. Plus, you’ll see effects after a ridiculously short amount of time. See, after all, it's a question of mindset: adopt a positive one and you'll be looking forward to pumping some action into your day.
2. Your ten minutes every morning.
Simple as that: get up ten minutes earlier in the morning than you used to. Those ten minutes will give you ample time to do two sets of pushups before and after going to the bathroom - in fact, they're way more than you're going to need, because when you think about it, one set of pushups takes, say, 30 to 45 seconds. I do 70 pushups in one set, and it doesn't even take one and a half minutes. That's a ludicrously small amount of time.
3. Pushups done right.
Pushups will train your pectoral (chest) muscles and triceps (back of the upper arm), but have an effect on the muscles in shoulder and on left and right ribs as well, resulting in an all-round stimulation of the upper body musculature.
a) Position.
Everybody knows how pushups generally work. However, you want to make sure you get the details right so you’ll avoid injury and get the best performance. Obviously, lie face-down. Your hands and arms should be straight extensions of your shoulder line, i.e. your hands should touch the floor at shoulder height. Variations in hand position will distribute the stress on your muscles differently: if your hands are closer together, i.e. closer to your body, you'll train the triceps more.
b) Posture.
With any exercise you do, you don't want your body to wobble about like a dead jellyfish. Make sure it is solid and straight, and that your efforts are directed specifically at the muscles you're training. For instance, throwing your whole upper body in when you're trying to lift a dumbbell not only constitutes cheating (you're not lifting it with your biceps, but with momentum generated by jerking your upper body back), but can also do some serious damage (e.g. to your spine). The same goes for pushups: you want to keep your body straight and aligned so that when you push up, you'll lift the entire body - and not just the upper body. To be perfectly clear, that means your legs are straight and off the floor.
c) Breathe.
What's common to all kinds of workout is breathing: when you do your exercises, you want to breathe out whenever you flex, and breathe in whenever you relax. With regard to pushups, that would mean breathing out when you go up - because you're flexing your muscles and using your strength to push yourself up from the floor - and breathing in when you come back down. Become conscious of that and practice it.
d) Do those few extra repetitions.
When you think you’re done, that’s when it’s time to do those extra two to three pushups. Really, I mean it: do keep pushing until you’re really out of power. You’ll see that your body is capable of more than your mind tells you.
Taking ten minutes a day to shape up your body is not only simple, it also means you can create a positive change in your life without having to go out of your way much. With time, this will go a long way to make you more attractive and happy. Embrace the opportunity! If done right, you can only profit from it.
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