30 Day Fitness Plan with 5 Simple Exercises

It’s nearly two months into the new year 2013.  Perhaps you are one of the many who have made a health/fitness resolution and a few weeks later lost your motivation to better yourself… does that sound familiar? No worries.

Good job for making the resolution in the first place, don’t be discouraged.  Simply by making the resolution you have made a declaration to take responsibility for your health; sometimes change takes a few tries.  
 
I am David, Emily’s husband – whom she’s graciously invited to guest post today. I have been involved in some sort of fitness for almost six years now.  It all started when I joined the Military and now I am a hobbyist weight lifter and currently training for endurance events.  I first really started to love athletics when I became an Operations Specialist in the U.S Navy and saw first hand what consistent handwork can do to your body. However, it is one thing going to boot camp and another thing motivating yourself.  
 
While I was in the military I was able, with sporadic running and light calisthenics, to maintain a healthy weight; but it was when I left the military and started to go for longer runs and lift weights that I really fell in love with fitness.  That is also when I discovered that with simplicity and hard work, you will be stronger/healthier and that transformation is all the motivation you need to keep moving forward.  So if you are like many and a couple of weeks have knocked out your resolve, shake it off and jump back in for round two!  

For this workout, we’re going to start off simple. No expensive gym membership required. Now simple does not mean easy.  What I suggest is for you to take 30 days and do the following plan. You’ll want to shoot for three times a week with a day in-between.  You also want to start off by doing this workout for thirty minutes.  As the week progresses try to push it up a few minutes each workout, so that by end of the month you are doing it somewhere between forty-five minutes to an hour.

Think of this workout as a platform to then jump off into the wide world of fitness; it’s a month to condition your body.  By the end of the month you will be stronger and there is a good chance you will have a moderate result in weight loss but even more important than those two, you will have made an investment into improving and changing your health.  My three values for working out are these; keep it simple, keep it challenging and keep doing it.  
Ok, are you ready? Did you grab a baseball cap or put your hair in a flying pony the way my wife does? Let’s go.
 
 
 
30 DAY FITNESS PLAN WITH 5 SIMPLE EXERCISES:
 

First pull out your boom box (did I date myself?) and put your favourite old school cd on.  Something you can hop and dance to; then do just that hop on the balls of your feet for a few minutes.  You’ll want to take the first five minutes and really get warmed up, here you can even throw in a few jumping jacks to really get your heart going.  After five minutes of hopping, dancing and jumping jacks do the following set of five movements back to back with little stopping in between.  

1. Squat: with feet shoulder-width apart, squat down as far as possible and then back up – repeat.   

2. Push up: begin laying flat on your stomach,  with yours hands down at your side, palms pressing into the floor, shoulder-width apart,  now push up and come back down slowly on your belly – repeat.

3. Hyper extension: right after your last push up, while still laying on your belly – put your hands in front of you and lift your shoulders and upper torso off the ground and come back down.  You should look like you are flying – repeat.

4. Sliding Sit-up: right after your last hyper extension, roll on your back and tuck your feet near your buttock; you will be in a classic sit-up position.  Lay your hands on your thighs and slide them up to your knee caps.  This will insure that you are only bringing your shoulders slightly off the ground and not using your lower back as you might with a normal sit up – repeat.

5. Hip-raise: while still in the classic sit-up position, raise your hips so your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Lower and then repeat.  

After you finish the last movement you have completed one full set: take 30 seconds-1minute to hop and dance around, take a quick drink of water and then repeat the whole set all over again.

1st week:  Do each movement 6 times. Do at least 3 sets.

2nd week: Do each movement 8 times. Do at least 3 sets.

3rd week: Do each movement 10 times. Do at least 4 sets.

4th week: Do each movement 12 times. Do at least 4 sets.

For 30 days, you will do the routine three times a week with a day of rest in-between (more if you need).  The first week, do each movement six times, the next week eight times, the third week ten times and the last week twelve times.  The first week shoot for trying to complete at least three whole sets.

Also try to  keep moving in-between sets: hop, dance and do jumping jacks or body weight calf raises but keep moving.  You want to move as much as possible to keep that heart going.  This routine is as simple as they come, however it works on your whole body and will strengthen and prepare you for all sorts of different athletics. It’s also a good introduction to calisthenics and at the end of the month you can look at adding some pull-ups and dips if you want to stick with it.  

Good luck and remember even if you get knocked down or miss a workout or two, keep going.  

Keep saying yes to good health! 

Cheers, 

David Smith    

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Thanks so much honey! I’ve really been enjoying this simple workout plan and I’m finding a noticeable difference in my lower back strength.  On the days in between this plan, I do the elliptical or go walking (working up my running abilities!).


DISCLAIMER Before starting any new diet and exercise program please check with your doctor and clear any exercise and/or diet changes with them before beginning. I am not a doctor or registered dietitian and do not claim to be so. This is a personal blog and the opinions and experiences I share are my own.




David Smith

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5 Comments

  1. Well last year at this time David got me going with some of these simple exercises and although I was knocked out of the race a few times, I got back in it and I sure do see the benefits! Thanks David for keeping it simple!

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