Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Workout Wednesday Guest Post - The Busy Girl’s Must-Have Fitness Equipment

Happy Wednesday! I took my last domestic flight (#8 if you're counting) back to Manila this morning and only have three (very full) days left in my trip! 


Before my trip ends, I have another guest post to share for today's Workout Wednesday (WOW) linkup. Markita is a NASM-certified personal trainer and shares practical workouts and nutrition tips as well as FREE fast and effective 15 minute workouts over at SweshFit. Today, she's sharing the must-have equipment you need for a great home workout.

"I’m Markita, the owner of SweshFit, a fitness resource for busy people. As a working girl that likes to fill her day with lots of stuff, I have to be efficient about fitting exercise into my schedule. My key to doing this: home workouts. Of course, if you can make it to the gym, you’re good. But hey, you’re a busy person and there’s not always enough time to go to the gym or to your favorite class. For this reason, I highly suggest having the flexibility to workout at home. Here are the 3 items I suggest for an awesome home workout. 
1. Your Body
I know. It’s kind of (extremely!) obvious. But I want to touch on a few things about bodyweight exercises. First of all, as long you have a body (which will most likely never change), the excuse of not having access to the gym will always be pretty lame. Between pushups, squats, lunges, burpees, mountain climbers, planks, and a ton of other exercises, you have plenty to keep you challenged. That being said, there are also some limitations to doing bodyweight exercises alone. A lot of people have knee and joint issues, so things like cycling and swimming become essential to do cardio. It’s also pretty impossible to work something like your back (lats, delts, all the halter top muscles) or target certain smaller muscles with bodyweight alone. BUT, with any home workout, your own body and no other equipment is going to take care of 80% of the workout, so get that thing primed and ready to go.

2. Dumbbells or some kind of weight
That brings us to the importance of having weights. If you’re able to invest in one piece of exercise equipment, I highly recommend that it’s some type of weights. I prefer dumbbells - resistance bands are also a great choice. The whole inability-to-work-your-back-or-small-muscle thing I mentioned earlier is completely addressed with weights. You also get to isolate different muscles a little better than you could with bodyweight alone – like your shoulders, biceps, and triceps. I prefer a set of 10lb weights. Anything from 8-15lbs is good for most people to perform a variety of exercises (I can express my frustration about the universal allure of super light 2 - 5lb dumbbells but I won’t go there). If you’re not looking to buy something, there are tons of alternatives. Standard 16oz bottles of water, a gallon of milk, heavy books, and other heavy things you find around the house can get the job done (don’t be afraid to get creative!). 
3. Timer
So why time yourself instead of just doing x number of reps for x number of sets? It’s really a matter of personal preference and also depends on your goals. For people lifting heavier weights, counting reps almost always makes sense because it’s less about how quickly a set of exercises is done, and more about being able to lift all that weight. For most of us, counting reps can eat time that we don’t have. (If you’re ever waiting for the squat rack on my heavy legs days, just know that it’s going to be a while.) As far as the type of timer, I prefer an interval timer app on my phone that I can set for say, 1 minute intervals, and perform an exercise for that period of time. A regular stopwatch or the second-hand on a clock works great too.
I’m a huge fan of high intensity interval training  (HIIT) because the focus with these workouts is to do your workout in a short period of time. I also have a huge bias toward it because that’s what I do! I’ll insert the shameless plug here to hop over to SweshFit and sign up for free 15 minute workouts that are different every day of the week.
So there’s your personal little big-box gym. It has a person, some weights, and a timer in it. It’s free on a monthly basis and has no creepy old men in it. Sign me up right?! Make it happen and have a great workout."
Thanks for the great tips, Markita! I'm super cheap thrifty so you know I love a good free workout! For more great advice, visit her blog and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

Now on to the party!


Point & Purpose: The purpose of this link up party is to mix and mingle and support each other’s sites by visiting, subscribing and/or leaving a comment. Please do not drop a link here, disappear and not follow through by visiting other party goers’ sites. 

Theme: We are linking up blog posts, Google+ posts or Facebook posts related to FITNESS, RUNNING, HEALTH or WELLNESS.


Simple Rules:
1. Follow, Like and/or Subscribe to your hostesses and co-hostesses:
2.   Don't be a wallflower.  I can not stress this enough.  Show some comment luv and support to other party goers of this link up by visiting their blogs and either leave a comment on a post, subscribe or both!  Visit at least others who have joined the party.
3.  Also join our WOW Link Up Pinterest Board (http://www.pinterest.com/curleedst/workout-wednesdays-link-up/ ) so you can PIN your post to it.
4.  Invite your like-minded friends!  We love finding and reading new blogs so spread the word so we can increase the size of our parties every week til we make the walls sweat!!!!  I told ya we party hard!  :-)
5.  Use hashtag #wowlinkup when you comment on someone's post for easy identification.
6.  Last but definitely not least, HAVE FUN!  This IS a party.

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23 comments:

  1. Having a few key pieces at home such a great thing! You can really do so much with your body weight and a few dumb bells. I usually count reps-so thanks for the suggestions of going for time instead. Good way to mix it up. #Wowlinkup

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    1. Love mixing it up! Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Body:: check Weights: check Timer: check!! Looks like I'm ready!!! Great info Thank you!
    #wowlinkup adifferentd.blogspot.com

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    1. Just D. stay ready and you will always be ready. :-)

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  3. Ahh have an amazing trip! I love Markita's website!

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    1. Thanks Lindsay! I know, she's so professional. Super glad to have her guest post :)

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  4. Those are some excellent tips for quick and accessible workouts. Great job Markita! #wowlinkup

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and for hosting this great linkup as always Diatta!

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  5. awesome tips!! I especially love the timer idea!!

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    1. Glad you liked Markita's post! Thanks for stoppping by :)

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  6. I agree with all of them! You can get fantastic workouts with just your body, watch, and a good pair of shoes :)

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  7. I'm all about short workouts and I'm about to do one right now. It doesn't take a lot to get in shape. Visiting from the #wowlinkup

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  8. Having a few key pieces at home is such a great thing i'm told. I also hear you can really do so much with your body weight and a few dumb bells.

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  9. Completely agree with Markita's tips. Thanks for introducing me to another blogger. Safe travels Amanda!

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  10. Great tips! Timer is definitely essential :) Thanks for sharing!

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  11. I don't think your body is such a ridiculous suggestion for equipment. So many people exercise but genuinely aren't in touch with their bodies which is a big mistake as you really have to engage yourself!

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