The tingle makes us feel like we’re doing something good for the wound, but it doesn’t work.

One of the struggles for those who haven’t worked out in a long time (and don’t have a history of working out) face is that most workout routines (like many posted here) are far to advanced for them. How does one start when one doesn’t know what a front squat is, or what a clean is, or how to properly perform a push-up?

Well, you start here. This is the first week I put most clients on when they come to see me and haven’t the faintest idea where to start. It’s hard, but it’s not hard to put into practice. it’s 6 days a week, but each session is only about 30 min’s.

MONDAY

Warm up: Back extensions 1×20 (1 set of 20 reps), and squats with no weight (the point here is to practice good squat form so that later on we can add weighted squats to the routine. Basically You want to have your feet shoulder width apart, stay on your heels, and “squat” down as low as you can maintaining an upright back position).

Now for the workout

A: Step ups: 3×12

B: Push ups: 3×12 (you can do wall push ups or knee pushups to start)

C: Chin Ups: 3×12 (use an assisted machine or lat pulldowns to start)

stretching

TUESDAY

Interval training.

Pick a machine and do a 5 min. warm up, relatively easy. Then do 3 rounds of the following:

1 min at a fast/hard pace. really work hard on this.

2 min’s at a walking pace

after you’ve done that round 3 times (total of 9 minutes), then do a 5 min cool down. Get off, stretch a bit, and that’s it! You don’t need to spend hours in the gym to get a good workout.

WEDNESDAY

Warm up with Back extensions 1×20. Then do some squats with no weight, working on form.

A: Step ups: 3×15
B: Push ups: 3×10
C: Chin ups: 3×10

Stretch

THURSDAY
Same as tuesday

FRIDAY
Same warm up: Back ext: 1×20, squats

A: Step ups: 3×20

B: Push ups: 3×8

C: Chin ups: 3×8

stretch

SATURDAY
Intervals: same as Tuesday

This is a great introduction to a workout program. Each day is short, and it’s fun!

It’s only the first week, but it primes you for the more complex stuff to come. Truth is, many clients can do this for a good 2 or 3 weeks, then take a week off, and start a much more involved routine after that.

Try it out, and good luck. There are many ways to get yourself started on a workout program. The main point is, get yourself started on a workout program. Your body will thank you.

SamuraiDave wrote a great post on the crowning of a new Yokozuna:  Hakuho.

He also raises the question as to whether Kotooshu, the Bulgarian (below), is a Yokozuna in the making.  I am hoping so.  I see the immense talent.  But, he needs to be able to put it all together.

Michael Moore’s got a new movie lambasting the American Health Care system, and singing the praises of Cuba’s. I am not sure that we can model our system on Cuba’s, but we certainly do have a problem here.

I’ve been a fan of Michael Moore’s movies ever since he did “Canadian Bacon” with Alan Alda. They are funny, and unwavering. But, we all know how prone he is to propaganda. Truth isn’t the point, it’s entertainment disguised as journalism. And though, like Hunter S. Thompson, his work often does contain a lot of truth, you are never sure where to find it.

I have yet to see the film, and when I do I’ll post on it. But, I find the idea of someone who is so famously unhealthy (by choice) making a moving about the health care system to be more than a little ironic.

Our biggest problems, as I see it, are an inability for a wide group of Americans to afford health insurance on the one hand, and a total lack of personal responsibility taken by the public in preventative health care (AKA, working out and eating healthy food) on the other. An individual can only do so much about the first problem, and maybe Michael Moore is attempting to do his part with this film. But, the second one is well within the control of each individual.

Daily vigorous activity alone would radically change our nation for the better if we all just did it.

Well, I’ve just spend an unexpected week or so away from the blogosphere. Life got hectic, as it often can, and I ended up neglecting my daily posting duties to focus instead on my clients, the end of the term at school, and my fiance who just lost her uncle. It happens, but it brought to mind a certain reality for me. I had been posting “workouts of the day” and had made a commitment to doing that as a way of giving people some incentive to hit the gym and provide some framework for those who can’t afford a fitness coach.

But, rigidly sticking to a daily posting schedule is just not something I can do, as I am not a professional blogger and am loaded with a number of commitments (though I must admit to being addicted to the act of blogging). That said, I don’t want to leave people hanging who felt like the workouts a day were helpful. Instead I will periodically post a whole routine that one can follow for an extended period of time to achieve a certain goal.

And of course, I will blog on all the other topics I have always blogged on. Thank you for reading, and I hope it helps.