The City of Reidsville is having a free family movie night tonight on their big outdoor screen downtown. They're playing Frozen at 8:30pm. The family and I have really been looking forward to it. You should come. It may not be an athletic event (Reidsville has many athletic events that are free to the public), but I'll take any outdoor activity I can get these boys to go to. Maybe if they don't melt or die from fresh air they wont be as afraid of going outside as they currently are. Hope to see y'all there!
I just did my 30 minutes for today, on the treadmill, but today I used weights. I used two 3 pound hand weights (blue) and two ankle weights of 2.5 pounds each. That's an extra 11 pounds. If you're using ANY weights while on a treadmill, make sure that you have complete control over the weights at all times. You pull it; it shouldn't pull you!
Ankle weights
These weights are by Gold's Gym, purchased for about $15 at Walmart. I use them all the time for step aerobics on my wii fit. I calculate in and put the additional weights on my ankles just before the steps start. I also add side steps, box steps, and lunges to keep things interesting. That Wii fit stepping can get so boring, even while watching TV. So, back to today's treadmill walk...
At first they felt a little heavy, but then I started thinking that this is just barely how much more weight than me that my son is carrying around all the time. That motivated me to keep using them. Before I knew it, I was instinctively following my routine speed. I even felt comfortable with a slight incline. I don't really trust an incline with leg weights. It just seems dangerous.
Hand weights
**Note: Always keep your arms at least slightly bent when carrying weights. Avoid completely straightening your arms.**
These 3 pound weights are as dangerous as carrying groceries down the street. If you try using hand weights in a routine, remember not to crack your eggs or your face. My focus was not tossing them around, but slowly lifting and lowering them with tons of control. By using the hand weights and walking at the same time, I got my upper body workout and increased the endurance of my walk at the same time.
Later on down the road, I would be interested in building a routine of using hand weights on a treadmill. I would hold the weights bent beside me and slowly swaying for a warmup. At the middle mark, I would do a few different reps that are intense and slow, repeating them as often as comfortable. I'd finish with bent slightly swaying arms throw the cool down. That's pretty much what I did today, but I didn't have a routine. I just did what felt comfortable as long as I was holding the weights with slightly bent arms.
I'd be interested in buying a weight vest or weight belt to use during my exercises, as long as I could maintain control over the weight during exercise. I would not be ashamed to walk around outside with a weight vest on as long as I wasn't too hot in it. I feel like I got a better workout and I definitely had a higher endurance level because I wasn't as focused on my legs as I was on my arms. I was very careful to keep core posture and absolute control in my arm movements. This was definitely a nice change of pace to the typical treadmill hiking.
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