Working Out

I like to joke that I'm fat. I'm not really, but I do have slightly more of a gut than I'd like. I also have a long history of back problems, so TW ("The Wife") and I have started working out. I'm really bad at it. I designed a fairly simple/moderately effective program for myself. Its main advantage is that it's easy to follow, you don't kill yourself, and you don't spend forever at the gym.

There are ten exercises/weight machines/muscle groups that I think are important. If you do some exercises with these then you've pretty much got a total body workout that most people would be happy with (assuming you're not big into sports or physical fitness). This is basically a program for beginners, but it works pretty well. Here's the ten, in no particular order:

1. Chest (bench press, flys)
2. Upper Back (rowing, reverse flys or whatever)
3. Abs (crunches, resistance crunches)
4. Lower Back (any of those exercises where your body sticks out at an angle and you bend up and down at the waist...I don't remember what they're called)
5. Biceps (curls)
6. Triceps (Tricep press, or some variation on that)
7. All around legs (squats, leg press)
8. Quads (That one where you sit with your knees bent and put weight on them and straighten your legs)
9. Hamstrings (That one that's the opposite of the quad exercise)
10. Shoulders (Most any thing where you lift weights above your head, or even up to your neck or so)
Bonus: Lats (Any pull-up type motion)

Now here's how I actually do things. I go to the gym 3 times a week and choose 7 of the exercises. Then I do 3 sets of 8-12 (basically until failure, except on abs and back exercises to prevent injury). If you're careful on how you do the exercises, you can get all of them in twice a week, and if you want you can throw in a few extra exercises if you're feeling good. On off days, I just do yoga or pilates (they both help my back). Other than that, just make sure and do 15 minutes of cardio a day and you'll be on your way. Maybe not on your way to underwear-model fitness, but at least on your way to general good health.

(P.S. Don't actually listen to anything I say unless you've talked to a doctor or someone who actually has a license to say things about health)