Katy, has been complaining about her fitness for a while now and asked me for help.
This was a challenge I was more than happy to accept.
I love keeping fit and the chance to inspire and motivate someone else to do it really excited me.
One thing I learnt last year in particular is, cardio is not the key.
A good mix of cardio and weights (I like doing body weight exercise) is the way to get good results.
This is the mistake I made at first.
So the local park where she lives, Pontefract Racecourse, is two miles around. So we set off on a power walk with two little bursts of sprinting.
We stopped half way around and did some body weight exercises.
I wanted to do an overall workout with her so I chose a couple of my favourite exercises that best work each muscle group.
We did two arm/chest exercises, two leg/bum exercises and two abdominal/core exercises. We did three sets of 10 for each exercise.
Katy and I stopped at a bench and used it for tricep dips. These are something I struggle with too so it benefited me. I want to improve my upper body strength.
Tricep dips.
To do this safely you should position your hands shoulder width apart on the secured bench and slide your bum off with your legs extended out in front of you.
Push up with your arms to straighten them, leaving a slight bend then come back down so your elbows are at a 90degree angle.
That is one repetition.
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| Katy's first tricep dip |
Everyone loves a squat and who doesn't want a perky bum?
Stand with your feet hip width apart and keep your back straight. Slowly push your bum towards the floor so that your thighs are doing the work. Do not let your knees go over your toes and treat it as if you are going to sit down. As you lower down bring your arms up in front of you. Slowly come back up.
That is one repetition.
Mountain climbers.
These are great for your core, upper body and cardio fitness.
Get in the press up position with your hands directly under your shoulders and arms straight.
Keep your body in a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders. Lift your right foot off the floor and bring your knee up to your chest as close as you can. Move your leg back to the starting position and do it with the left knee.
That is one repetition, the better you get, the faster you can go.
Push ups.
It is a personal mission of mine to perfect the push up!
Assume the plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and toes stabilizing you on the floor. Keep your body straight as with the mountain climbers.
Lower the body keeping your back flat and look in front of you until your chest almost reaches the floor.
Keep your elbows tucked close to the body. Keep your body tight and engaged and slowly push back up.
That is one repetition.
Lunges.
I love a lunge, I love the stretchy feeling you get in your hamstring. I lunge everywhere!
Start with your legs hip width apart, your hands on your hips and your abdominal muscles engaged.
Step forward with your right foot, keeping your back straight, and with your left foot lift onto your toe.
Bend both of your knees so they are at 90degree angles but do not let your right knee go over your toes.
Push off your right heel to return to the starting position and repeat with the left leg.
That is one repetition.
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| We both started to tire at this point |
There are loads of variations for sit ups, I chose to have Katy cross her arms to punch my hands so it worked a bit more of her core, gave her a point to work towards and it is generally a bit of fun. (I'm pretty sure she wanted to punch me at this point anyway).
Lie on the floor with your legs bent and feet planted firmly on the ground. You can ask someone to stand on your feet or put something on top of them to help you - I stood on Katy's.
Put your hands behind your ears and slowly lift your head first and then roll up, imagine each individual vibrate coming up one and a time.
That is a sit up but I took it a little further.
Once up at a 45degree angle I made Katy punch my left hand with her left hand making sure she twisted her body and then she punched my right hand with her right hand. This worked her obliques as well as her abdominals.
She then slowly lowered her upper body back to the ground.
That was one repetition.
After repeating the exercises three times we continued around the park. We switched from walking to jogging on and off to try and raise her heart rate.
Once we got to the end Katy said she wanted to hurt me but she felt good and I felt good for helping her, so job done!
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| At the end of it all we both felt better! |
I hope this inspires someone else to give it a try.
