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By Root 276 0

biceps while tomorrow I’m doing some cardio.” This is what I want you to say: “Today I am doing something fun.” It will work your chest. It will work your biceps. It will be cardiovascular in nature, but it will also activate your core, force your muscles to work together, work all your muscles in your body–and for us crazy ones–it will fatigue all your muscles so that in the end you are curled up on the floor in the fetal position. Another change in thought is that you have to let go the idea of “being big.” Huge pectorals and biceps are only good for turning heads at the beach. Yes, you do have strength, but it is only two dimensional. I suppose if a log were to fall on you while you are laying flat on your back, you could push it up. Of course when you try to throw it off to the side, you will probably pop a rib out of place since none of those muscles around your core have been used in years. But don’t worry about not being big. Having all those little tiny muscles showing when you take your shirt off will still turn some heads at the beach. And you don’t even have to flex to show off your muscles! That is because they are more dense and not just temporarily “puffed up.”

There are many different routine styles to choose from to create your workouts. Honestly, your imagination is the only limit here. Many of my workouts involve roughly three routines. My first routine is sometimes slower paced, but involves more strength such as dead lifts and one arm barbell presses. Throw in something like push-ups at the end, repeat two or three times, and you have a nice little circuit. The second routine in the workout will be the main dish, and the final routine is where I try to finish myself off with total muscle fatigue. Another style would be to do 400 reps of various exercises, such as 25 burpees, 20 split squat jumps, 20 one arm/one leg dumbbell clean and press, etc. Some days I just take a heavy medicine ball and head into a stairwell for forty minutes. Believe me there are tons of things to do alone in a stairwell with a medicine ball, and none of them are illegal!

If you haven’t noticed already, I like using one arm and/or one leg. That is an easy way to turn an ordinary two dimensional exercise into a three dimensional core building exercise. Not to mention it is fun to see the looks you get from the mainstream exercisers in your gym when your barbell is sticking out completely to one side since you are holding it on the extreme far end as opposed to in the middle. Another good way to change an exercise is to do it on the physioball, such as one arm dumbbell curl and press while you are kneeling on the ball. I also use a lot of body weight exercises such as burpees, different kinds of push-ups, and pull ups. Again the goal is not to “get bigger,” but to be stronger. I always have 155 pounds of weight to use whenever I want to thanks to my own bodyweight. If you don’t own a kettlebell, buy one. If you don’t have medicine balls, buy them (or make them out of a basketball and sand). I have a 20 pound sand-filled basketball I named Carl. By the way, you get to name your homemade equipment, as well as any kettlebell (since those are expensive).

The key to any workout routine is that is works your whole body, keeps your heart rate up for 30 to 40 minutes, activates your core, and does not isolate muscles. The final, and most important thing to remember, is to have fun and do as many weird things you can think of. I usually don’t do the same workout for months, as I create new ones all the time.

You want to know how to be crazy? Make sure you keep your pace up, and therefore your heart rate, while trying exciting exercises such as the Turkish get-up, and to work yourself into complete muscle fatigue. I don’t recommend the latter for beginners or those with certain medical conditions. That is merely for us crazy folk (and those training for MMA fights). That brings me to a final note. It is good to have a goal. Maybe you want to enhance your gymnastic abilities because it is just cool. Or maybe you are training for