I know, I know its a Ludacris title. As a kid I loved swimming, I live on a lake, and always had access to pools. My parents had a pool since I was ten. I would spend the entire summer in it. Sometimes just lounging, sometimes going nuts with my friends and many times swimming laps. Looking back I never had any trouble staying lean until I moved out of my parents house. Some may attribute that to getting older and having a slower metabolism, but I think it had a lot to do with no longer swimming every day.
Well the weather is nice, and the pools are open. I think its time to look more closely at using swimming as a great get in shape workout plan. Swimming strokes are very low impact excercises. It works the entire body. It is great for summer because the water keeps you naturally cool. Also it can be fun and relaxing. There are several types of swimming strokes to choose from.
There’s a principle called Pareto’s Principle, more commonly known as the 80/20 rule. What it means in a nutshell is that 80% of your results comes from just 20% of your work. So for instance if you only had a few minutes a day to devote to your fitness, there would be a few exercises that could accomplish most of your workout. I’m not saying you should stop your full length routine for this one. But if you were pressed for time, these would be the best workout routine to do. By varying these three exercises, you can hit nearly every muscle group in your body.
Push Ups.
Push ups have been around for over 100 years, They have been used by the military since after World War II. It seems like Push ups are one of the first exercises people learn, but then they quickly forget.
What push ups work.
Push ups can effectively work the Chest, Triceps, Shoulders, and Abs.
How to do a standard push up.
Start on your hands and knees. Put your hands palms down on the floor directly under your shoulders. Extend your legs out with your feet together and your toes touching the ground. Keep your body as straight as possible. Bend your elbows and go down till your chest is an inch from the ground and push back up. This is a standard push up. It works both your chest and your triceps.
It seems there are quite a few ways to separate your weight training schedule over the week. For years I did the 3 day split of
Day 1 = Chest and triceps
Day 2 = Back and biceps
Day 3 = Legs and shoulders
Then when I wanted to bump up to 5 days a week I just looped the routine
Day 1 = Chest and triceps
Day 2 = Back and biceps
Day 3 = Legs and shoulders
Day 4 = Chest and triceps
Day 5 = Back and biceps
For the past 3 or 4 months I’ve been doing a 5 day routine that is similar but more targeted.
Day 1 = Chest and shoulders
Day 2 = Back and shrugs (other misc. exercises)
Day 3 = Legs and lower back
Day 4 = Triceps and abs
Day 5 = Biceps and forearms
The reason I do this split is because I always felt that my shoulders never really got a chance to rest. My shoulders would get hit some on chest days, then worked hard on leg days, then worked a bit more on triceps day. I would get sharp pains in my shoulders during my workouts. So now my shoulders get worked hard on day 1, and then worked a little on day 4 and that’s it.
The Dead Simple Advice: There is no right answer, pick a weight training schedule that fits your lifestyle.
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