workouts at home

thecatsmother · 03-16-2009, 03:21 PM

I have been reading many of the tips and techniques posted here-great advice and I plan to use them to improve some of my moves.
As I said in my intro I have some injuries and I have to make modifications to accomodate that,but I am sure there must be some way to get strong(and I wouldn't mind getting muscles also)and since I am doing my workouts at home I am also limited to mostly free weights.
What brought me to this forum was my quest for triceps workout-so I'll start there,of the 3 exercises listed I can only do the tricep kickback-the others require work above my shoulder and because of rotator cuff damage I can't do that.
The kickback... I can do 3 sets of 8 with a 3lb weight easily so should I go up to a 5lb? or should I increase the number of sets?
Is there another tricep exercise I can do or can I get the benefit just doing the same one?
Since I am not using heavy weights should I be doing these every day(which I do) or every other day?

stikfigure · 03-16-2009, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thecatsmother

I have been reading many of the tips and techniques posted here-great advice and I plan to use them to improve some of my moves.
As I said in my intro I have some injuries and I have to make modifications to accomodate that,but I am sure there must be some way to get strong(and I wouldn't mind getting muscles also)and since I am doing my workouts at home I am also limited to mostly free weights.
What brought me to this forum was my quest for triceps workout-so I'll start there,of the 3 exercises listed I can only do the tricep kickback-the others require work above my shoulder and because of rotator cuff damage I can't do that.
The kickback... I can do 3 sets of 8 with a 3lb weight easily so should I go up to a 5lb? or should I increase the number of sets?
Is there another tricep exercise I can do or can I get the benefit just doing the same one?
Since I am not using heavy weights should I be doing these every day(which I do) or every other day?

do you think you might be okay doing triceps dips?
Triceps Exercises - Triceps Dips
if you think you can try them, try not to go too low and be careful of the head position - keep it centered - don't let that head stick too far forward.

if that doesn't work there are some things you can do with elastic tubing that is fairly easily found in stores like Walmart/Kmart.
Strength Exercises with a Theraband - McConnell Heart Health Center
(scroll down to "triceps extensions")

thecatsmother · 03-17-2009, 01:29 AM

Thanks stikfigure the theraband exercise is one I've never seen before and am definately going to try, the dips I've always been a little leary of because of my shoulder but that link had great instructions and I might just give it a go also

Lazylifter · 03-17-2009, 07:46 PM

As to the old reps v weight debate. There is a school of thought that says, if you do weight excercises without using enough weight, you aren't really doing effective weight lifting (ie building muscle) or effective CARDIO (ie raising your heart rate and burning cals). So in other words it could be a waste of time and energy. This fits with my own experience cos you can do high reps with low wieghts for hours and not see any results.
So push your self a little with the weight, and keep the reps 10 or less would be my advice.

With working out at home there is one thing I would say you really want to watch....
Makes sure you warm up and cool down well and thoroughly, esp with those injuries.

Hope thats helpful, let us know how you get on.

5kgLifter · 03-17-2009, 08:19 PM

I don't think I missed it anywhere in the previous posts...are lying triceps extensions okay, since you will be laying down, I figured it may affect the shoulder differently (less stress maybe).

thecatsmother · 03-24-2009, 02:33 AM

Well the dips aren't for me,I hurt my shoulder again trying them...I guess this is going to take much longer than I had thought.I've had to hold off on the arm stuff but I'm ready to try again.The theraband exercise is great for me and I'm going to try the lying tricep extension however I'll stay at 3 lbs until I'm sure I will not do more damage.

Some advice here from one of the walking wounded....NEVER ever give up your exercising and working out no matter how complicated your life gets,once you are injured it becomes very difficult to get back in shape

stikfigure · 03-24-2009, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thecatsmother

Well the dips aren't for me,I hurt my shoulder again trying them...I guess this is going to take much longer than I had thought.I've had to hold off on the arm stuff but I'm ready to try again.The theraband exercise is great for me and I'm going to try the lying tricep extension however I'll stay at 3 lbs until I'm sure I will not do more damage.

Some advice here from one of the walking wounded....NEVER ever give up your exercising and working out no matter how complicated your life gets,once you are injured it becomes very difficult to get back in shape

sorry to hear about the shoulder. glad to hear you're not even close to giving up!

thecatsmother · 04-01-2009, 05:23 PM

The arm exercises are going great,I have started doing them every other day and that is working well with my shoulder.
So now that I am on track there....what about my legs and butt,I have gone through all the links here for exercises and they all mention the squat which isn't for me.I do a straight leg raise using a 5 lb ankle weight and a 15% squat holding a 5 lb weight anyone have any other ideas.
I also walk 5 days a week for about an hour...walking is the only cardio I can do because of my knees....I don't have a bike so I'm not sure if I could use it.
I know water exercises would work but I don't have a pool close by...I'm keeping that idea as a last resort.

I love this site it's such a help keeping me motivated

5kgLifter · 04-01-2009, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thecatsmother

The arm exercises are going great,I have started doing them every other day and that is working well with my shoulder.
So now that I am on track there....what about my legs and butt,I have gone through all the links here for exercises and they all mention the squat which isn't for me.I do a straight leg raise using a 5 lb ankle weight and a 15% squat holding a 5 lb weight anyone have any other ideas.
I also walk 5 days a week for about an hour...walking is the only cardio I can do because of my knees....I don't have a bike so I'm not sure if I could use it.
I know water exercises would work but I don't have a pool close by...I'm keeping that idea as a last resort.

I love this site it's such a help keeping me motivated

Leg and butt: siisy squats (a killer!), goblet squats (you might find okay, using a dumbbell), lunges are good, abductors exercises (lying or stood), and adductors exercises (lying or stood), calf raises (definitely)....and oddly, but a very effective exercise for butt/glute area is an ordinary aerobic stepper (step on, step off, repeat for 45 minutes = cardio done and legs/butt toned simultaneously), all of these were used to get my 'current' legs, see my journal for the photo link...but mostly I would say it was the stepper that caused most of the good tone.

thecatsmother · 05-10-2009, 08:02 PM

5kg lifter..thanks for all the ideas for leg and butt exercises I have got a routine now that seems to be working and not causing me more injury.I do abductor/adductor both lying and standing,calf raises,and hamstring lying with 5lb ankle weight.
I also have picked up a few pilates moves that I can do.I am doing abd crunches but while I have lost a couple of inches from my bust and hips I can't seem to get my belly to shrink...I'm not sure if I am not doing enough reps(I do 3sets of 12)or not doing them correctly or it will just take more time.
Thanks for everyone's input so far...this site is so great

P.S. check out my signature I'm past the halfway mark to my weight-loss goals