Oh. My. Gosh. Has it really been over a month since my last post? My sincere apologies! April was a whirlwind of quick family trips, stomach flues, colds, and the best news yet: our 18 week ultrasound that showed our little jellybean proudly displaying that yes he is a boy! Now with only 19 weeks left to go I'm feeling those wonderful baby kicks and loving every minute of it. I could do without the constant stretching feeling, the headaches, dizziness, and the occasional nausea but oh how I love those baby kicks! Just a few short weeks after finding out we were expecting a baby boy my baby girl turned 2! With my husband at the peak of finals this last week her celebrations were spread out a little and I feel like we're just starting to recover from the go-go-go of April and May.
With all of the insanity and time constraints I've had to endure the past month and a half I thought I'd share my workout routine that I've managed to squeeze in. I tried to come up with something that would allow me to get a lot out of a half hour since that's basically all I had to devote to my workouts in the mornings before my little girl would wake up. These workouts are not intended to provide you with amazing fat burning and muscle toning results. I know that sounds weird, like it's not doing anything for you, but these workouts are intended to help you maintain regular exercise and to help prevent any loss in strength due to even temporary quitting of your normal routine (so yes, it's definitely doing something for you). So, before you jump into these workouts remember, this is for that tough spot in life where you can't fit much in and all you can do is maintain. Got it?
The first 20 minutes of my routine are devoted to a warm up and a cardio activity. I can't leave the house since my husband is not home and my daughter is still sleeping so I pop in aerobics videos that I can do in about 20 minutes. It is recommended that you get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day, most days of the week. Keep in mind that it's 30 minutes of exercise, not 30 minutes of cardio, so just because you did 20 minutes of cardio and 10 minutes of another activity doesn't mean you cheated yourself by not doing cardio the full 30 minutes. It's all exercise and it's all good.
After my 20 minute warm up/cardio routine I have a really quick circuit I complete that uses just a few exercises for every major muscle group. This helps me to maintain the current strength I have in all parts of my body and prevents me from neglecting any one group. It is best to work through each exercise with no rest in between - this keeps your heart rate up and also moves you through the workout quicker. Remember, these workouts are to help you maintain your current strength and fitness level so it doesn't take much to stimulate that muscle to maintain. I have an upper body routine and a lower body routine and I alternated days. The first week I'll do upper body on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then I'll do my lower body routine on Tuesday and Thursday. The second week will be opposite; Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be lower body, and Tuesday, Thursday will be upper body.
Here's the upper body routine:
-Shoulder Press (12 reps)
-Bicep Curl (10 reps immediately followed by 10 pulses halfway through the movement)
-Reverse Bicep Curl (10 reps immediately followed by 10 pulses halfway through the movement)
-External Rotation (12 reps) Hold weights, palms up, with arms at a 90 degree angle in front (you'll look like you're halfway through a bicep curl). Maintaining that angle, externally rotate the shoulder (hold elbows tight to your body and rotate the weights out to the sides and then back in.)
-Bent Over Row (12 reps)
-Push Ups (12+ reps)
-Hold Plank Position for 30 sec to a minute
And the lower body routine:
-Lateral Band Walk (12 steps each direction) Tie an exercise band tight around your knees. Side step to your left for 12 steps and then to your right 12 steps.
-Weighted Lunges (10 reps per leg)
-Weighted Squats (15 reps)
-Weighted Calf Raises (20 reps)
-Straight-Leg Deadlift (12 reps)
-Banded Left Lifts (12 reps each side) Tie an exercise band tightly around your knees before performing leg lifts. Do without the band if it is too difficult.
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