Anyone who ever had the pleasure of meeting my dad will agree that I look kinda very similar to him. In many ways, I’ve also taken on several of his personal traits. For example, we are both hoarders. It undoubtedly drives my mom crazy but like my dad, I have trouble throwing things away…particularly magazines!
Even once I am done reading, I like to keep them for future motivation or exercise ideas. My only complaint is their routine advice to ‘use canned beans or water bottles as weights’. These kinds of ‘tips’ just prove that magazines will say what readers want to read in order to boost sales. Unless you’re lifting cartons worth, no amount of reps will get you a lean look. I touched upon in my post on ‘ways to stick to regular weight training’ but I’ll say it again:
The idea is to lift heavy and get out of your comfort zone (i.e. within 10-12 reps the weight should become too heavy too lift) so that your challenging the muscles to grow and increase the body’s amount of lean body mass. The body responds by breaking down the muscle tissue and building you back up stronger and leaner. Given our genetic makeup, ‘bulking up’ only happens when the same amount of fat remains on top of this newly developed muscle, which explains why it is ideal to include a mix of fat-burning cardio and strength training in your workout routine.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, here’s a great workout I completed yesterday, courtesy of my magazine collection ;)! If you want to see result A to the SAP, please do NOT resort to cans of baked beans or Evian water bottle as your dumbbell of choice…
CIRCUIT WORKOUT
Warm up with 20min on cross trainer/light cardio
Circuit 1
- Bench press (dumbbell or barbell)
- Bent-over row (dumbbell or barbell)
- Squat (favorite variation)
- Dumbbell swing
*Go through circuit 3 times, 8-12 reps, resting for a minute between each round
10 minutes on cross trainer/light cardio
Circuit 2
- Deadlift
- Military / shoulder press (dumbbell or barbell)
- Lateral pull down
- Step ups (or lunges)
*Go through circuit 3 times, 8-12 reps, resting for a minute between each round
2 sets of 20 crunches
Stretch
I just clicked on your blog link from another blog, but am SO happy to be among a fellow “life heavy for results” believer!! I get mad when people say you can use cans of beans, too. Unless you’re brand spankin’ new to lifting or have come off of an injury or surgery, ya know?
Thanks for stopping by and A to the MEN….or unless you voluntarily WANT to waste your time 😉