Workout Exercises

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Understanding the primary muscle groups in your arms, shoulders and back will help you develop  a better upper body workout.  Here are the primary muscle groups in the upper body:

Deltoids and Rotator Cuffs

The deltoid muscle wraps around the top of your arms providing range of motion for reaching up, reaching down and reaching out and the rotator cuff provides range of motion in the shoulder joint allowing you swing your arm around in circles. Therefore exercises that cause these movements will target the deltoid and rotator cuff. Lateral raises and lateral pull downs are good exercises for isolating the deltoids.

Trapezius and Latissimus Dorsi

The Latissimus dorsi runs down the length of your back and the trapezius spans the width of your back. These large back muscles provide the strength you draw on to open a heavy door or pull a heavy load. To work this muscle group, stand tall and straight, tighten the abdomen for added support to the back and pull the exercise bands straight back keeping arms level with your waist.

Rhomboids and Erector Spinae

The rhomboids are beneath the trapezius in the center of your back. Practice sitting up straight with a straight back and pull your shoulders back as though you are trying to hold a golf ball between y our shoulder blades and you will feel the rhomboids working. The erector spinae is a long muscle that runs down your spine and helps to keep your spine straight. Through all your workouts, maintain a straight back and focus on holding your shoulders down and back. To work the Rhomboids, pull the bands straight back and feel your shoulder blades move towards each other.

Pectorals

These are the chest muscles. Chest presses will help you isolate the pectorals. Opening arms wide or lifting arms straight up in front of the body to chest height will also work the pectorals.

Biceps, Triceps and Forearm muscles

The biceps, located on the front of the upper arm help you pull and the triceps, located on the back side of the upper arm, help you push.  While working the arms, don’t forget about the wrist flexors and wrist extensors that run from the elbow to the wrist. Hold a light weight in your hand and flex the hand first down and then up. Still holding the small weight, turn the hand from side to side using wrist and forearm movements rather than the elbow or shoulder.  Working the wrist will help prevent tendonitis if you spend a lot of time texting, typing of video gaming.

Whenever you are pulling up or pulling down on a resistance band you are working all the muscles in the upper body to some degree. For maximum efficiency on a tight time schedule look for exercises that work more than one muscle group at a time. For better muscle development, look for exercises that isolate a single muscle and focus on it for 2-3 sets of 10 or 12 repetitions.

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Working out at home is convenient and private and what’s more it’s always available to you. No need to find time to drive to the gym, simply work out in front of your favorite TV show, while dinner is cooking or just to be around while the kids do their homework.

1. Target every muscle group

Working out at home where no-one is looking sometimes makes it tempting to skimp on the routine. It’s easy to leave out the harder exercises and focus on the easier ones. But it’s those harder exercises, the ones that cause you to breathe a little more heavily or reach a little deeper, that make the difference between progress and lack of progress. Strong arms are great, but strong arms and a strong core are even better. When you develop your routine, think about every muscle group and choose routines that target hamstrings as well as quadriceps, triceps as well as biceps, work the obliques as well as the abs and so on. If there is one exercise you particularly dislike, see if you can find another one that targets the same muscle group, that way you will be more likely to follow through. Target each muscle group at least every other time you workout. You can target upper body one day and lower body the next (do abs every day for best results), but make sure you hit every muscle group in each part of the body.

2. Develop a Habit

It takes discipline to exercise every day. An easy way to develop the exercise habit is to make time at the same time every day, whether it is in the morning before you go to work or after dinner while the TV is on (exercising too close to bed time may cause trouble getting to sleep). If you can keep motivated for the first two to three weeks, the chances are high that you will be able to continue without faltering. Once your body gets used to regular exercise, you will feel your body craving it if you stop for any reason, so persevere until you reach that point. You’ll know when you’re there.

3. Journal Your Progress

Measuring success is important. Don’t let the word “journal” fool you. It can be a simple Excel spreadsheet or a piece of paper stuck to the fridge door. But measuring results is a powerful motivator for sticking to the program. There’s nothing better than seeing in black and white that you have increased your bicep measurement and decreased your waist measurement. Taking a before picture gives you a visual baseline for comparing results and can if you are brave enough to stick the picture on your bathroom mirror, it can be a great incentive to keep working.

For awesome results with your in-home workout, check out our book at [insert link], which provides a comprehensive and varied set of full body workout routines designed with an in-home workout in mind.

In a time crunch? Working out regularly takes dedication and… let’s face it… it takes time. But there is no reason to let your muscles atrophy when you are pushed for time and have to squeeze in shorter workout sessions. Exercise bands are the perfect way to get in a “quickie” workout and tide you over until you have the time do your full workout – but don’t make a habit of it though! You know won’t respect yourself if you start to backslide…

Ten Minute Workouts

If you only have ten minutes you can target a single muscle group such as arms, legs or abs and increase the intensity of the workout by varying speed and resistance. Here are a couple of ideas guaranteed to burn calories and tone muscles even if you don’t have much time to spare.

Slow Down

Instead of doing 2 sets of 12 repetitions counting 2 down and 2 up, do one set of 12 repetitions counting 4 down and 4 up. Slowing down the reps forces the muscles to work harder. You will feel the difference.  To ensure proper breathing, exhale when you exert the effort and inhale while you are preparing to exert effort. So if you are working your biceps by pulling the bands towards you, exhale when you pull up or in.

Increase the Resistance

Increasing the resistance in your workout similarly makes muscles work harder over the same amount of time. Exercise bands lend themselves easily to adaptation. To increase the resistance, shorten the band by changing your grip on the band. You can also move further away from the door, forcing you to pull harder on the band to bring it towards you. Our book [insert link to sales page] contains exercises for every muscle group in the body and each exercise has variations for increased or decreased intensity. If time is of the essence, simply follow the increased intensity examples for maximum benefit. For a quick calorie burn on a tight timeline, do several sets of jumping jacks between reps or as you switch from one exercise to another.

Experts agree that a short workout is better than no workout at all, so even when time is at a premium and there are a million and one things to get done, taking a few minutes out of a busy day to tone and strengthen will help you stay focused, remain less stressed, and keep those muscles in shape.

When you work out it is important to give your body the right nutrition. You need energy in the form of carbohydrates to get you through the workout, protein to help build muscle, and water to stay hydrated.  Here are nutrition five tips to ensure that your body performs at its best while working out.

Tip #1 Drink More Water

You have heard the experts say this over and over and that’s because it really is important to drink water. Your body is made up of 60% water. The ratio of water in your muscles is even higher at 70%. In order to burn fat, tone muscles and stay hydrated, drinking water is absolutely essential. If you are not in the water habit, start out with small sips throughout the day and build up to about 2 litres a day. You will find your body adapts more quickly with fewer urges to use the bathroom when you sip water throughout the day.

Tip #2 Get More Electrolytes

Your body loses electrolytes while working out, so replacing them is important for post-workout recovery. Sports drinks are designed to deliver electrolytes, but watch out for high sugar content which you don’t need. There are some great recovery drinks that are low in sugar and high in vitamins and electrolytes, so read the labels when making your choice. Another ingredient to look out for in sports drinks is caffeine – the absence of it that is. You can also find trace mineral and electrolyte tablets that can be taken with plain water.

Tip # 3 Take Glutamine Supplements

Glutamine is an amino acid found in muscles. It is used to metabolise protein and preserve muscle tissue. A hard workout depletes glutamine and so a supplement can replenish glutamine supplies in the body and may help to reduce fatigue as well as speed recovery after your workout. Glutamine capsules are available in most drug stores and health food stores.

Tip #4 Get in the Protein Shake Habit

Building muscle requires plenty of protein. Look around at your lifestyle and analyse how much protein you actually consume. If you eat a lot of fast food and prepared food chances are high you are not getting enough protein in your diet unless you are making a conscientious effort to do so. Protein shakes are a quick and easy way to deliver a lot of protein to your body in a highly digestible form. Compare ingredients and nutritional facts on protein shake mixes. You want one that is high in protein and low in sugar.

Tip # 5 Read Labels

It’s amazing how many assumptions we make about the food we eat. Don’t trust the advertising on the front of the package – read the ingredients and the nutritional composition of the food. For example, chicken sausages sound healthy but are often made from as much fat as pork sausages. And imitation “krab” sounds like a healthy seafood alternative but actually contains corn syrup and wheat starch in addition to pulverized Pollock and so the carbohydrate content in this crab substitute can be high.

When you eat smartly your body will notice the difference and you will see results.

Working out is a habit and habits need momentum. When you break the momentum for any reason it can be hard to resume. Not only that but you might find that when you resume you have to start your workouts at a slower pace with fewer reps than you had become used to. That’s okay. Don’t let it bother you.

Find Home gym workout routine and Then Move out Slowly

Remember the hardest part of getting back into your exercise program is picking up those bands. Remind yourself of all the reasons why you got started in the first place – you want to feel stronger, look trimmer, compete with the young college grad who just started in the office, or whatever your reason. Then start out slowly. Choose several home Gym workout routines that work the primary muscle groups and add in a few new exercises every week until you are back into your old routine.  Even if you only start with five minutes a day it’s important to re-establish the habit of picking up the bands and working through a few reps for the major muscle groups. Once you do, chances are you will do more than you planned. But don’t overdo it or it will be harder to go back to the next time.  Exercise bands are perfect for adapting your exercise level. You can work harder or less hard just by adjusting your grip on the bands and standing closer or further away from the door. Once you are back in the groove it will be easier to set new goals for yourself.

Taking a Break on Purpose

Consistency is key when working out for cardiovascular health and building muscle, but most experts agree that taking a break once in a while aids recovery. After a rest period, the body is ready to resume training and many people find that they actually perform better after a short rest period. How often should you break? Between 8 and 10 weeks of constant working a 5-7 break will do your body good. Some people prefer to train at half the usual workload rather than break altogether. If you are one of those people that have trouble getting back into your workout, this could be the key for you. In the myhotelworkout exercise book every exercise has an easy and a hard exercise. If you have worked your way up to the harder exercises, you can try the easy exercises every 8 weeks or so.  You can find out more about working with exercise bands here