Here’s a list of my exercise routines. Keep in mind that this is what I like doing, it may not be what you like doing. So choose things that work for you, things that feel fairly comfortable such as, if you live in a two story house, go up and down the stairs for no reason, one extra time in the morning. If you have a dog, walk him an extra 5 minutes. And remember,

1. While lying in bed in the morning, or at night, curl your knees up to your chest, wrap your arms around them and and hold that position for about 2-3 minutes. (Since my radio is always playing I just hold it thru a full song.) This will stretch and relax your lower back.

   I do it because I always have some sort of back pain from sitting at my desk every day. Since I started doing this a few years ago I’ve saved a TON of money on chiropractic visits.

2. Again, while laying flat on your back in bed, flex your gluteus maximus muscles (your butt muscles) alternating between the left to right side, about 100 times or, again, for the length of a song. Yep, this helps keep those bun muscles firm! Ask my husband, he can verify it works!
Now for the other ones you may want to do these right after stepping out of the shower.
3. While pinching your earlobes (arms across your chest) do about 40 – 50 knee bends, aka, squats. This will help build up your leg muscles so you can get up off the floor easier or climb stairs. It really makes it easier to and get in and out of my truck now. (I used to just do the squats but I added the ear-pinching thing about two years ago.)

   To learn more about the ear-pinching part of this, check out this video I saw on FaceBook:

   Pinching Ear Lobes Wakes Up Your Brain!

   Click on this video to see me sweat, LOL!

4. If you can, get a couple hand weights to do some quick “curls.” (I guess that’s what they’re called.)

   Start with say, 10 reps, and add maybe five more every few weeks. You’ll be surprised how fast this adds up.

   And here I am again, sweating some more!

   When I first started years ago, it was pathetic cuz all I could do for any length of time was 3lb weights. When I worked up to 100 easy peasey reps, I changed it up to 5lb weights. About 2 years ago I upgraded to 8 lbs. I started with about 5 reps, but now I can do about 15 – 20 reps with those. Yeah, it’s not a lot and I won’t win any contests, but hey, at least it’s getting better and I can carry a lot more groceries in one trip!

5. This next one addresses “bat wings.” Do you know what those are? Hold your arms out straight, then bend them at the elbow. Yeah, see that jiggly skin hanging down? Bat wings. Mine started developing about 7 years ago...yuk! Anyway, in order to combat those bat wings,

• Grab one of those weights and hold it over and behind your head with two hands.

• Then lift it up and down from behind your head, to over the top of your head.

• And lower it back behind your head.

Maybe start with ten reps and then add five or so every week or two. Even though I’ve been doing this a few years, I still only do about 30 at the most. I really just don’t like to spend a lot of time with any exercise. But, if you find you’re good with more reps, then keep on going!

6. Last fall I wanted to see if I could do anything to whittle down my waist a bit. So I added this combination toe-touch and knee bends thing. Here’s what I mean:

• Start with your feet about shoulder width apart.

• Raise your arms straight up over your head.

Now this will be a four-count thing:

• Count One: Bend over and touch your toes. While still touching your toes,

• Count Two: Squat by bending at your knees, while bringing your rear end down, and extending your arms straight out in front of you.

• Count Three: Bring your rear end up and at the same time, touch your toes again.

• Count Four: Return to the original position of your arms and hands raised straight up over your head.

I do about 15-20 a day and I’ve whittled about ¼” off my waist so far. Yay! This one is hard to explain so eventually I know I'll have to make a video. Either way, give it a shot: it’s a good stretching exercise and since I do it fast, it gets my heart rate up too.
7. Do push-ups against the counter. Hey, this is an easy thing to do while waiting for the pasta to cook or the burger to brown!

Last chance! Click to watch me sweat one more time!

If you’re new to the whole thought of exercise, I’d say, just pick one of these and do it every day for a few weeks and see how you feel. Then maybe add another one. Or add one that you like better. Even if it takes you 6 months to get in ten minutes a day, it’s ten minutes more than you were probably doing before.

Also, I don’t feel it’s necessary track any of this by writing it down, because there’s really not much to it. But the reason I strongly suggest just doing one a day for a few weeks, then add another, is to keep you motivated to keep doing it. That’s what this is all about, being able to keep on doing it for the rest of your life...it’s not just a fad that you get bored with in a few months.

Again, remember start slow and,

Sincerely,

Jan