Hi everyone,

I am wondering if anyone can tell me any of the old fashioned weight bearing exercises to do. Even better would be a book about it. I used to have an old book that was supposedly military based. It was just a little book, but it had charts and 'challenges'. I didn't need any fancy equipment, just me and my bod. oh and I chucked in a skipping rope for interests sake. My little fella thought it was fun to pull it apart one day a year or two ago and I would love to have something similar again. I move around a great deal and don't want to have tonnes of stuff. Walking isn't toning me up, so even though I have gotten down to a size 16 i don't feel as good as if I was a taught and toned 16. :nervous

Hey!

This was my question too....hum....Exercise!!! Yeks!! I think for the most part..just doing sit-ups and leg lifts would help. I have a gazelle? (not sure how to spell it) But, anyway you stand on it and swing your legs and arms back and forth. Really good cardio work out. I lost alot of weight on this and it is fun to do. 20 minutes a day watching tv is enough. You burn up calories and fat fast. I think almost any big store (kmart, walmart or Sears) will sell it. I think you could get one for $150 or less now. This was my sisters and she got it as a x-mas gift. I am only 2 weeks post-op, so I am not ready for that yet, but when the Dr. says so, I am going to make myself do that again. It really works and tones your body over all. Good luck! Janine

Hi Jodie,

I don't have any specific book recommendations for you, but I can tell you that a lot of what I do with my personal trainer could easily be done in a livingroom. Things like squats and lunges have a negative connotation, at least to me, but man they really make a huge difference!! The idea is to use your own body weight as resistance, and the muscles in your legs get a workout just bringing your body back to the upright position.

Two of the best lower body exercises are the easiest to describe, but hard to do. The first is a squat. Stand with your legs apart, a little wider than shoulder-distance apart, and hold an object (a filled liter bottle of Water will work fine for now) with both hands in front of you. Then, bending only your legs and keeping your back straight, lower the object to the floor between your feet and slightly in front. It's OK to lean forward but the trick is keeping your back straight. It may feel like this isn't much of a challenge, but do three sets of 10 or 12 reps and believe me, you will feel it the next day. Every single muscle in your legs is being used, and used well.

The other one is a stationary lunge, which I find REALLY challenging. Stand with one foot front and one foot back, with your feet both pointing front--I find that I really have to spread my feet way apart if I'm going to do this at all. Then try to lower your rear knee to the floor and rise up again. You can put your hands on your front leg for balance, but don't push with them to rise up.

Crunches are what you want for your abs, not so much sit-ups. When I do them I'm on an exercise ball, which totally alleviates the back discomfort I felt on a flat floor. (If I were to buy anything to use at home it would be an exercise ball.) But even without the ball a great help for crunches is to hold something in both your hands, like a walking stick or broomhandle, and use it to reach for the ceiling. That gives you the correct movement for a crunch. For the lower stomach muscles lie on your back, bend your legs, and raise your knees to your chest repeatedly.

Arms are a little trickier, since you do have to do lots of different moves to target the various muscles in them. Get yourself some 10- or 15-lb weights and I'm sure you can find a book to describe the movements to use. (When you do get the weights, use one of them for the squat movement described above. Hold one end of the weight in your two hands and let the other end bang toward the floor.)

Good luck!!

Been doing weight training sessions to learn the basics and can recommend a few books which you can get at half.com or a book store outlet for pretty reasonable. They are: Strength Training for Beginners (which shows simple ones you can do at home), Idiot's Guide to Weight Training (not meant to be insulting or anything cuz I have it myself!), and Strength Training for Dummies. I also have Strong Women Stay Thin, and Strong Women Stay Young.

Also, for free.....check out these websites, they're awesome!!!

http://www.altusathletic.com/muscle_default.asp

http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/strength.html

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html

http://www.strongwomen.com/decision_tree.stm

http://www.exrx.net/exercise.html

Let me know how you do!!!

Nancy*