kehfeh's Journal, 17 September 2014

Some great homework I do is push-ups. There are loads of variants but if you can try and keep clear of pushing up from your knees. If a 'standard' pushup is too hard modify it by raising your torso on something. A good progression to find your, sweet spot, for pushups is start in a standing position leaning against a wall and work your feet out until you are pushing up against the kitchen/bathroom counter then lower again against say a chair or against the bathtub until you are strong enough to do the, 'standard'. Then there are some good variants to add after that. You can keep the same progression and elevate your feet until you get up to chair height. Elevating above that will shift the work progressively to your shoulders. You can ad variation by changing your hand position, further out will involve more Latissimus Dorsi and closer in will involve more triceps. Also use a ball or foam roller under one hand to help with rotator cuff stability and strength. For shoulders, start by bending at the waist and forming an upside down V. Then push up and down to a chair. Slowly progress by lifting your feet up and eventually you will be doing a hand stand against the wall while pressing. Same variants that work push-ups will work with this movement too. The big benefit by not doing knee supported push-ups is that you will be forced to include your core for stabilization. One big benefit of push-up movements is the strength you gain in stabilization muscles especially attached to the scapulae. This will aid in improving posture and 'opening up your chest'. Your goal (long term) is to do two sets of 100 of each of theses exercises. Trust me you'll sweat. Good Luck! 

Hopefully the pups ok! Kettlebells are a good upper-body exercise, planking too...30dayfitnesschallenges.com usually has at-home exercises grouped by muscle group... 

Hope the puppy is ok! I know I would be seriously stressing...really love my dogs. An internet search should provide a plethora of exercise options for you; it's where I find all of my workouts. 

Just curious why you want upper body exercises? Upper body muscles are fairly small and don’t burn many calories when you work them. You can get more out of a 15 minute workout if you target your larger muscles. I would suggest body weight squats, lunges, burpees, glute bridges and other body weight exercises that utilize your core and also your lower body. Exercising these larger muscle groups will burn a lot more calories than just working smaller upper body muscles. Walking does not really exercise your legs because we walk all the time and are already really good at it. Walking does burn calories, but it does not tax your muscles in the same way as doing squats or other compound movements. The squat is the king of full body exercises. Do them every day and you will see results! If you decide to go this route, make sure you watch some YouTube videos to ensure that your using proper form. Good for you for wanting to use exercise to help reach your goals! I think it’s awesome! Keep up the good work!  

Brent I've got to disagree with you on this one. Energy expended is equivalent to work done. Work is defined as the cross product of Force and Displacement. So regardless of size of the muscle moving a mass through a distance will cost you the same amount of energy. Besides, muscles are sexy and functional; it's good to have development everywhere. 

May I suggest Jillian Michael's Beginners Shred DVD? You can get it at Amazon.com for about $13. It's mostly strength training, but you'll probably get an aerobic benefit due to the speed of the repetitions. I haven't used this one, but I have another of her DVD's, that is aerobic intensive. The reviews say that this one doesn't use that same aerobic method. Anyway, just a thought. The most equipment you ever have to get with her might be a 1 or 2 lb weight available at walmart (or take a can of lima beans out of the pantry, haha). 

Thank you for your support, everyone! :) 

@jwsplatjw, you are correct about the definition. I may have been a little unclear in my post. The point I was trying to make has more to do with the calorie after burn effect. If you are only working smaller muscles then its only the smaller muscles wich will require repair afterwards. Less muscle mass requiring repair will burn burn less calories when compared to the same situation with larger muscle groups. Clear as mud now? ;)  

You mean like the fuel used by a Hummer instead of a Prius (augh). Makes no sense at all. :) 

Now you confused me NM! Am I really making no sense? I have read about this in several places. I'm not making it up. I can't tell by your post what you mean. 

If you want an after burn workout look up HIIT or better yet go to the source Tabata intervals. But I thought you wanted an upper body work out for home. Which means, to me, that you are looking to strengthen and tone the muscles of the upper body without the use of equipment. My response was based on a direct answer that that question. 

What I got from her post was that Kehfeh wants to exercise to help her lose weight. By walking, she assumes that she is getting a lower body workout and therefore she is looking for something to work her upper body at home. My reply was in an attempt to accelerate fat loss for her, not so much to tone the upper body. I don’t think toning is relevant for her at this time. Fat loss should be her primary goal at this point in her progress. I'm sorry Kehfeh for starting our little side conversation on your journal. Any exercise is great and beneficial towards your goals! The best exercise is the one that you can do on a consistent basis!  

That goes around BBB. Yeah. The bigger the motor, the more fuel it takes, whether it's mechanical or biological. 

http://www.fitnessblender.com/ has some great videos FREE !!! enjoy  

There's a lot of indication now that weight lifting, though it doesn't tax the cardio vascular system in exactly the same way as 'aerobic' exercise, is just as efficient with the addition of the increase in muscle mass raising the metabolism.