Physical Training When You Can’t Make the Gym

Posted by Chris on May 28, 2009 in Workout Info | 1 comment

I am sure we have all had those days where we couldn’t make it to the gym, and of course this throws off our entire routine, or maybe you just don’t have access to a gym and want to get into better shape, stay fit, increase strength, etc. The following workout is one I learn while in the U.S. Air Force Delayed Entry Program. I spent about a year and half in the DEP and learned a lot of great workouts to help increase strength and overall fitness. The best part of this workout is that it is short ~30 minutes and you can do it pretty much anywhere.

The Importance of Physical Training

Whether your PT consists of weights, or just general weight-free workouts (think push-ups, sit-ups) it is still an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. You will, with time, look and feel better than before and also have increased strength, always a plus. PT also helps increase the strength of your heart and vitals, keep your weight in check, and keep your body functioning as efficiently as possible.

USAF PT Workout

This workout includes a number of exercises and a four count system. The four count system means that with each workout, it takes two full reps to equal one, and each rep is broken down into a two count, so it takes a four count to reach one completed set. I will explain how this works for the various workouts in a moment. The workout is pretty straight forward and is usually done in a count down method, you start with say 20 reps, then 15, then 10, or however many reps you feel comfortable with. Each cycle (all of the exercises done one after the other) is one set, so you would do the whole workout, then move on to set 2 which would me a lower number of reps, and continue until you complete your third set.

First thing is first, you want to warm-up with some stretching, be sure to stretch your legs, calves, arms, shoulders, chest, and back. To stretch your legs you can pull one foot behind your butt while standing on the other foot and stretching your quad. You can stretch your calves with a lunge stance, and you can stretch your whole leg by doing toe touches. To stretch your back you can interlace your hands in front of your and stick your palms out, pulling and stretching your back, to stretch your chest you can interlace your hands behind your back with palms facing behind you and pulling/stretching your chest, the higher your arms go the better the stretch. To stretch your arms and shoulders you can cross one arm at a time in front of your chest, and pull it in towards your body with your other arm making a _|_ with your arms. Finally, to stretch your shoulders you can bend one arm behind your head and pull your elbow down with your other hand.

Now that we are all stretched we can begin:

• Start with windmills, here is how to do them: 
  Begin with your feet a little bit more then shoulder width apart, and extend your arms parallel to the ground but in line with your body. To begin you will take your left hand and touch it to your right toes, this is count 1, next you come back and touch your right hand to your left toes, this is count 2, you repeat this two more times for counts 3 and 4. You have just completed one rep! Only 19 more to go! Remember to not bend your knees when performing windmills!
• Next we do jumping jacks:
  Begin with hands and arms by your side and feet together. You are going to jump in the air and bring your arms up and spread your legs this is count 1, upon landing you jump again and return to the starting position this is count 2. Once again you repeat this to reach count 3 and 4. That is one rep down, 19 to go.
• Next we do push-ups:
  Begin by laying on the ground, hands flat on the ground shoulder width apart. You want to rest your feet on their toes, and keep your back straight. The starting position is with your body up in the air and arms extended out front. Once you lower yourself to the ground you count 1, then lift back into the air for count 2, and repeat for counts 3 and 4.  Once again you repeat this to reach count 3 and 4. That is one rep down, 19 to go. If you find that you can not handle doing full push-ups for this long, since you would actually be doing 40 push-ups with 20 4-count reps, you can do push-ups off of your knees instead of your feet. The Perfect-Push-up works great too!
• Next we do three different crunches:
  The first crunch will be a straight crunch. To begin you flip onto your back and put your knees in the air, locking your feet together in the air. You cross your arms on your chest, making an ‘X’ to complete the crunch you bring your elbows to your knees for count 1, and lower yourself back down for count 2, now you repeat this four count 3 and 4. That is one rep down, 19 to go.
• Next we do side crunches:
  You will need to do this exercise for both sides. To begin we start from the crunch position however, we place one foot on the ground with our knee bent and in the air, then we place our other foot on top of our knee. This will make your legs look like an upside down bottomless 4. Now which ever leg is resting on the other leg, say your left leg is on your right leg, you bring the opposite shoulder to that knee. So left leg on right leg means bring your right elbow to your left knee, you will notice how this helps work your obliques. The count is the same as the straight crunches, up is 1, down is 2, repeat for 3 and 4. That is one rep down, 19 to go. Be sure to switch legs and work your opposite side!
• Next we do scissors:
  To perform scissors lay flat on your back with your legs also flat on the ground. Make a diamond with your hands and place them behind your back right above your butt for stability, now you lift your legs ~6 inches off of the ground. Now for count 1 you spread your legs, for count 2 you bring them back together. Once again you repeat this to reach count 3 and 4. That is one rep down, 19 to go.
• Finally we do leg lifts:
  From the same position as the scissors, hand placement and all, we lift our legs from ~6 inches to ~15-18 inches. When you reach the right height you have done count 1, when you bring your legs back to the starting position we have done count 2. Once again you repeat this to reach count 3 and 4. That is one rep down, 19 to go.

Now that we have completed our first set, we rinse and repeat for set two and three. Each time lowering the number of reps.

Flexibility of this Workout

The nice thing about this workout is that you can easily add or modify the workouts you do for your own personal goals. There are also some more advanced techniques mainly for the crunches and push-ups. The advanced method is called negatives, and involves lowering your self to the ground ~2 inches off the ground in a push-up and holding this position. For push-ups and crunches you can perform the exercises more slowly and pause at the starting, ending, and middle positions. The negatives help to build more strength and stamina.

Motivation

When performing our weekly (or daily for me) PT we would help motivated ourselves by yelling our counts out loud, and going over various ‘songs’ this helps keep your mind off of the pain and allows you to perform more exercises. One important thing I learned from my recruiter is this saying: Pain is just weakness leaving the body. If you repeat this phrase to yourself while working out it will help motivate you and remind you that your becoming stronger!

Enjoy this workout and feel free to modify, and comment on any helpful changes you would make!

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3. Workout Plans and Information
4. The Art of the Bench Press