Monday, November 8, 2010

Motivation Monday - Week 3

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was fabulous! It didn't feature much of anything in the working out department but I sure had a lot of fun!

As I mentioned last week, fitting my work outs in each week has been a bit of a challenge lately. This week was no different. My past schedule of working out after work 3-4 nights/week just isn't going to cut it as there seems to be no end to the evening social commitments. I am not complaining, I just need to make some adjustments!

So my plan going forward will be to work out before work 2-3 times/week. Some mornings I will do a short 3-4 mile run, but one morning a week I would like to do some core work. I know myself well enough to know that going to the gym in the morning to do core work is just not going to work out for me. I can not stomach the idea of getting ready at the ghetto Y...

So I want to come up with a routine that I can do at home. From my Body Pump class, I have some core moves that I will do, but I am wondering if any of you can suggest a DVD that would be good for core work.

One thing to keep in mind - the video can't really feature any 'hopping around'. You see, I live in an apartment-style condo with neighbors above and below me. My neighbors are nice but dear God, they are a bit persnickety. I would like to avoid snarky notes and comments directed towards me at HOA monthly meetings, so for a exercise video to work, it has to be mostly 'stationary' type of moves.

Any suggestions?

Last week's high: I didn't have any work out highs, but I did make a new, healthy recipe on Friday that turned out fabulously!

Last week's low: Ufda. Let's not talk about how much I didn't work out last week... *hangs head in shame* Must turn this around this week!

18 comments:

Allison Blass said...

I've heard really good things about Jillian Michael's 30 Day Burn but I don't know if that has any jumping around.

You could try yoga or a pilates video. That's great for the core and since the moves are slow and steady, your neighbors hopefully won't hear you. Unless you fall over.

Gracie said...

I really need more core work myself. I've been doing some very short free downloads from Women's World but they are too brief to be workouts by themselves; I like that there are options that don't involve an exercise ball (which I don't have) but I usually tack a short run on later. One of the routines is based on the plank but it's only 4 moves! So I don't feel like I worked out unless I run or do another workout. But you might want to check them out for some ideas.

Gracie said...

Oh yeah, yogadownload.com has a variety of workouts, too.

Abby said...

My favorite isometric core move without any equipment...(if you have one of those balance balls or a weighted-medicine-ball - talk to me and I have some more realllly good suggestions!)

Here is what I like to do:
-Your 2 positions are standard core-hold, and a core hold with your arms straight (like you're going to do a push up)


1. Hold normal core-hold for 30 seconds
2. Straighten up on your arms for 30 seconds.
3. Normal for 20
4. up for 20
5. Normal for 10
6. Up for 10
7. Start switching between the 2 positions as fast as you can until you "burn out"

-I hope this makes sense! It's tough to type it out. But I love it! Not only does is tighten and burn your core, but gets your heart pumping too!!

Good luck with the new work-out schedule this week!!

abbi said...

I'm a fan of the Jillians Michael's videos but some of them involve some jumping around. There was an ab routine from Jackie Warner that I've done (our cable has Exercise onDemand) that was pretty good with no jumping around!

Mandy said...

Doing anything in the morning besides getting ready for work is beyond me. I once tried to be the type of person who gets up early, takes the dog a long walk, etc. but neither the dog or I were up to it. I think it lasted two days and we threw in the towel. Its just much easier for me to do it right after work.

Nora said...

You know, anything by Denise Austin (I think that is her name) is actually pretty good. She did buns of steel and etc. It's super corny and ridiculous but it totally works. I know she has core workouts too!

Amber said...

I got this core workout off of a kind-of hardcore runners blog last year:

3 x 70 sec forearm planks (20 sec rest in between)
3 x 12 slow bicycle crunches
3 x 15 plank jacks
3 x 10 donkey kicks
3 x 30 second side planks (10 second rest in b/w)

I used to do this every second day or so but got lazy with marathon training. I need to start again!!

Also, the 30-day shred has lots of jumping around BUT you could always skip the cardio components of it and just do the strength portions. OR maybe try Jillian Michaels Yoga DVD? I haven't tried it but I've heard it's hardcore!

Good luck!

qwerkyqook said...

I love Jillian and Jackie warner on comcast! I should really get back into that. A little jogging & jillian do wonders for your abs!

Stephany said...

Jillian Michaels, Jillian Michaels, Jillian Michaels! Even just to get some ideas for good core work - she works you to the bone!! I'm really picky about my exercise DVD's and feel like a lot of them don't give me a good workout but she always does.

Right now, I'm doing her No More Trouble Zones which doesn't have too much jumping around. And you could always just skip to her core work which is super intense. :)

Becky said...

You could probably do some yoga poses to help with your core - and your arms. Doing planks shouldn't make any noise at all!

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

Jillian's No More Trouble Zones has some good core and weight work in it. Also, gina at fitnessista.com has a whole workout page on her blog that has some good moves (core and not) that you might be able to pick and choose from. Even a quick 15-20 min in the morning can get your day off to the right start. Can't wait to hear about your Julia Child partay!

crystal said...

I don't have any workout DVD suggestions, all of mine collect dust! I do love that you used the word "persnickety" in this post though :)

Caroline said...

Hmm I don't have any core-specific workout DVDs but I did the shred all summer long and loved it! There are some jumping jacks involved.. but if you just land lightly it shouldn't be too much of an issue. I hear no more trouble zones is good too!
If you're not a jillian fan, there are also pilates DVDs you can but and there's always yogadownload.com.

Nicole said...

I'd definitely say any pilates video. There are a lot that focus specifically one the core. The video I have has no jumping... or even standing. It's all on the floor.

Charbelle said...

I would suggest going to the library or netflix and try a few different ones then when you find one you like you can purchase it.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I just have to say that I love how you used "persnickety" and "snarky" in the same post. I love those words.

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

you can always try out sparkpeople's short videos that they have on their site.