My (Current) Top 5 Exercises
I change my exercise program fairly regularly. That's partly by design; we're supposed to change things up fairly regularly to keep our bodies guessing and to make sure we're covering all the vital muscles. Changing things up is, for me, also necessary to keep me interested and challenged. And sometimes I have to change an exercise because some
Since joining the new gym, I've noticed a few exercises that keep working their way into the line-up. Oddly enough, most are exercises I detested when initially learning them, but now--please don't tell my former trainers--I look forward to them! So much so, that I've now decided my Friday workouts will be made up of all my current favorites, with a few extras as needed to cover all the bases. Who ever thought I'd be using exercise as a reward?!
Wanna see which exercises are on my fave list? Geez, I thought you'd never ask!
BOSU squats w/Medicine Ball I'm using an 8-lb. ball until I have my balance issues tamed. Not to mention that the medicine balls at my gym don't have those cool handles on them and can be hard to hold onto when wearing weight-lifting gloves.
BOSU pushups These are tough for me, but when I remember that I couldn't do any real pushups in the beginning (I did elbow creases and only three of those), I'm inspired to push-push-push!
Swiss ball jackknife I'm embarrassed by how much I used to whine about this exercise, but I'm also happy when I see how much more stable I'm able to keep the ball now. Before, I was all wiggly. :) Even now, I can't hold back those odd little grunts on the third set.
Face pulls with lunges I couldn't find a pictorial demo of this exercise. The link is to a standard face pull. I add a reverse lunge to it, so imagine an older, squish-bellied brunette in a t-shirt stepping back into a lunge with each pull. And again with the grunty noises midway through the final set. When I stop grunting, the weight gets increased. It's the price of success. :)
Bird Dog This is one of my final exercises, and I do it a couple of ways. First, I'll do a couple sets in which I hold the poses for a 2-count, and then I do fewer reps but longer holds on the final set. I've seen this exercise recommended for "6-pack abs", but I like it for how my back feels when I do it. I've been doing this exercise for over a year and not a 6-pack in sight. For me, it's simply a great way to end my workout with a happy sigh.
Those are my current favorites. For this past Friday's workout, I filled in with some chest presses, lat pull-downs, step-ups w/weights and back extensions. Seems like there's something else, but I'm forgetting it now. The main thing (for now) is that I got all of the favorites in! I'll probably do a few of them throughout the week, but on Fridays, I get to do them all! Woo-hoo!
I know the roster of favorites will change as I discover new exercises or variations on old ones. At some point, I hope they include unassisted chin-ups. Since I'm currently at zero on reps completed, I've got a ways to go. :)
What are your current favorite gym exercises? Do you have any nominees for me to consider adding to my list of favorites?
Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! We've had a stormy start to it, but it's all blue skies right now!
Labels: exercise, personal notes, useful links

















