For the past 6 months I've been working out, spending roughly 3 minutes a day performing the actual exercises and I've got noticeable results that I'm happy with. If you want gradual improvement that builds muscle and tones your body giving you the confidence to take your top off in public try this plan. I'm much happier with my physique now and have had positive comments from people who know me.
In the past I'd worked out with limited results and always lost interest, so a workout that is quick and easy means I'm more likely to succeed. I don't push myself to the limit to get good results, just perform the exercises correctly and show a gradual increase over time. I do this workout at home and the only weights I use are dumb bells which is great as I don't pay for the gym and workout when I want to. This isn't a fitness routine it's for building muscle and toning your body, for fitness I walk or ride my mountain bike.
Performing Exercises Correctly
Known as correct form, this is the most important element of your workout, badly performed exercises will at best have limited results and at worst result in injury. You might consider using a personal trainer for a while to teach you how to carry out each exercise properly and should first consult your doctor . I scoured the web and found these sites to show me the correct way.
Has videos showing how to correctly perform each exercise, I picked a number of body weight and dumb bell exercises that worked different muscle groups .
All round advice with a specific article on exercising correctly
Excellent article on how to breath when performing crunches, you need to read this.
How I Work Out Quickly but Effectively
I don't perform multiple sets of reps, I perform my chosen exercise once for one minute. For example if I'm doing dumb bell curls I use a weight that I can carry out steady repetitions with for one minute to the point that the last few reps become difficult to complete, still keeping correct form.
This is trial and error at first, if you start shaking and rocking you need to use less weight. For exercises like push ups, crunches or calf raises you might not last a minute so just do the amount you can perform with correct form. I rest for maybe 5 minutes then I carry out a different exercise, such as crunches, working a different muscle group. After resting I might perform calf raises, again working a different muscle group.
So in less than 20 minutes, the majority resting, my workout is done.
How to Build Muscle and Tone Up
Say your job involved carrying a hundred boxes, from A to B, weighing 10 kilos each. Then every week these boxes increased in weight by 2 kilos. Your body would adapt by building muscle. Say for instance you can perform 40 x 6 kilo dumb bell curls in one minute then you may aim to increase this weight by a kilo every fortnight. If you can perform 20 pushups aim for 25 by the next month. Don't decrease the number of reps or weight, as long as you keep correct form a gradual increase will mean your body adapts over time by building muscle.
Other Advice for Building Muscle and Toning Up
- Take rest days so your body can recover.
- Keep hydrated, you'll have more energy.
- Eat well - I don't bother with supplements but do eat sensibly and include protein from sources such as Tuna.
- Do some aerobic exercise (running, football, swimming)
