Alcatraz Shark Swim

I am still alive. I trained for it and went out there, giving it my all. It was hard. But I made it in just under 58 minutes.

Want to see a picture? Great! 

I doubt I'll ever swim that race again, because I wouldn't want to spend the money to fly back to SF just to swim a race I've already done. However, I do plan on other open water swimming challenges in the future.

For my friend Megan.

Hey hey hey. I’m Megan’s friend Dane. I have no fitness certifications or degrees. However, I’ve been working out for quite a while, and I’ve picked up a few things along the way. I’ve been reading Megan’s blog since she started it, and have sometimes browsed her followers’ blogs (I don’t even know if that’s the right term). It seemed to me that sometimes folks don’t know what to do if they can’t go run outside. That led me to ask Megan if she’d be interested in having some quick workouts that can be done in the living room using bodyweight and occasionally household items. So… here I am. I know that if you’re not sure how to do bodyweight types of workouts, it can be daunting. Then you google “living room workout” and are directed to a webpage with a workout, but no directions on how to do the movements. I’ll make it simple for you. YOUTUBE. I’ll post links to the videos. I am really going to break it down Barney style for you.

Basically, I want you to have a few full body workouts that you can do in your home. I also want them leaving you gasping for breath.

A few of the very best bodyweight exercises that there are include pushups, pullups, burpees (which I hate!), and squats.

Pushup-

Being able to do a pushup is important to a bodyweight routine. However, if you can’t do a normal pushup, no big whoop. Do them on your knees. Seriously. It’s better to do them on your knees then not do them at all. Eventually, you’ll get to where you can do them without your knees being on the ground.

Pullup-

We are going to put pullups in the more advanced category, and we’ll get to that some other month.

Burpee-

If there is one body weight exercise that was thought up by satan, I think it is the burpee. However, they work so many different parts of your body, and when done to for conditioning, they will wear your ass out.

Squats-

I’m going to level with you: You want to do squats. They are not pleasant, but you want to do them. Most of Megan’s readers are ladies. If you’re interested in fitness enough to be reading this right now, you’re most likely interested in having nice legs and a nice ass. (Meet squats).

 

I want to point out a few things before we get to the workout.

1. Nothing that I write will make you look like a female bodybuilder. If you are doing body weight exercises regularly (3 or 4 times a week), you will see a difference. Your legs could become more muscular and your butt could tighten, and yes, perhaps even get a bit bigger. I PROMISE you… it’s bigger in the good way. Your fellas or ladies (I don’t judge!) will love it.

2. You make the decision of how little or much you want to do. Listen to your body. Don’t overdo it. But don’t underdo it, either.

3. You’ll need to know a few terms.

Rep- short for repetition. If the       workout calls for 10 reps that’s the same as 10 pushups.

Round- the same as a set in gym terminology. If the workout calls for 3 rounds then you repeat the circuit three times.

 

Workout 1

What we are going for in this first workout is to alert your muscles (you have them) that they’re about to start working and getting tougher. We are also shooting for you to break a sweat (even in the air conditioning) and be breathing heavy.

 

Warm-up

 

25 jumping jacks

Then stretch out on your own. Make sure you’re really getting all those muscles and joints loosened up.

 

The circuit-

 

3 rounds (at your own pace)

8 pushups (on your knees is okay)

15 crunches

8 squats

5 burpees

 

Cool down- 

Stretch on your own.

 

If that workout was too easy… awesome. And see below. If it was too hard, then cut the reps in half and only do two rounds.

Want to make that workout more difficult? If you have a dumbbell or kettlebell at home, use that for the squats. That exercise is called a goblet squat. If you don’t but still want to make the squats harder, either do 16 reps per round or get an $0.89 gallon of water when you do your grocery shopping. Hold that in both hands as you do your squats. Damn water is heeeeavy.

That brings me to my next point… if you can afford it, get a kettlebell (like this http://www.amazon.com/Body-Solid-5-lb-Kettlebell/dp/B0012XIUP6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1403927977&sr=8-3&keywords=kettlebell or this http://www.amazon.com/Sunny-Vinyl-Coated-Kettle-10-Pound/dp/B003XFRGR4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1403927977&sr=8-5&keywords=kettlebell). They are not very expensive, especially the ones for beginners (5-20 pounds). They carry them at Target or Amazon. A kettlebell is the single most versatile piece of equipment that anyone can own. AND… they take up almost no space. ANNND… you can take them with you when you travel and get a good workout in away from home.

*At Target, most of the kettlebells have a DVD workout program with them, which makes them more expensive. I’m sure that the programs are just fine.

Also... I'm posting this from my phone. It's not fancy and I can't embed links in here. Phhhhhhhhh. Dumb. 

Video examples of the movements-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwRLWMcOdwI&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3g4wAsu0R4&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKmrqcoCZ-M&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf7wZvraWV0&sns=em