Fitness – Week 3

What I learned: This shit is harder than it looks, y’all.  My entire body would start shaking after only a minute of holding each pose.  I had a really hard time getting the arm and leg placement right, so I ended up holding the poses for a few minutes each to get them just right.  The good news is, I got to use my favorite Q word, quiver.  Always a silver lining, right?

** Many thanks to my talented photographer friend Kelly, who is learning more about fitness photography than she ever wanted to.  Especially since I shove my camera at her every time she happens to stop by.**

Questions & Answers:

disclaimer: I am not a doctor.  I cannot tell you what is healthy or appropriate for your unique situation.  Always check with your physician before starting a diet or fitness regimen. 

Rachel asked:  What kinds of exercises can I do at home to “engage my large muscles” since you say that’s really important? 

For legs, I highly recommend squats and lunges.  The great thing about these is that you can do them anywhere, although if you’ve never done them before, you should start out doing them in front of a mirror to make sure you’ve got the correct form.  You can seriously hurt yourself if you cheat on form, and you won’t be engaging the muscles the way you want to, so pay attention to foot and knee placement, on both of them.  Click on the exercise to go to a tutorial: Squats and Lunges. 

For back, Dumbell Rows and a Reverse Fly are the easiest to do without benefit of exercise machines, but do require hand weights.  If you don’t have access to any kind of weights, good old fashioned Pull Ups will do the trick.  Again with the importance of correct form, so watch yourself in the mirror at first to make sure you’re not holding your body at a funny angle.  Click on the exercise to go to a tutorial: Dumbell Rows, Reverse Fly and Pull Ups.

You can also go to youtube and find hundreds of examples and variations of those exercises.

Cindy asked:  What made you suddenly decide to get in shape?

Fitness and Nutrition have been a passion of mine for nearly 15 years, and have been a huge part of my lifestyle for the majority of that time.  Life being what it is, though, I go through periods where things are chaotic and I fall out of some of my good habits and pick up a few, shall we say, bad habits.  Typically something will trigger my desire to get back on track, and this particular time it was the cancer scare I had earlier this year.  There’s nothing like being faced with your own mortality to make you appreciate your health!

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Any questions?  Bring ’em!  Just leave a comment or email me: meatfordinner (at) gmail (d0t) com

Find Week One *here*

Find Week Two *here*