Fitness Week 3 - Getting Serious About Staying Healthy

By Kia Edwards

As a trainer who mainly focuses on in-home exercise, I can tell you that a gym is not necessary to keep fit. A few pieces of basic equipment and a small space can help you achieve or maintain a healthy fitness level. This month, I’ll give you weekly exercise plans to help you reach your goals without having to go to the gym. They are simple, yet effective and can be done by nearly everybody.  Each workout should start with a short warm-up to get your muscles ready and end with a quick stretch.  

If you’re just starting, don’t worry!  It’s not too late to join.  Additionally, if you found weeks 1 and 2 to be particularly challenging, you can repeat one of them this week in order to continue building necessary strength.  The workouts will become more challenging throughout the month.  Should you have any questions, please contact me at  HYPERLINK “mailto:kia@lafortesse.com”Kia@LaFortesse.com and I will respond as quickly as possible.  Good luck!  

What you’ll need: 

Dumb bells: 10-15lbs or Resistance Bands 

An exercise mat, preferably one with good padding to protect your back

Good sneakers 

Optional pieces: 

Exercise ball

Medicine Ball (8-12lbs typically work well)

Jump rope 

Monday: Lower Body Interval Training

First: light warm up and stretch 

Jump rope: 50 to 75 reps

Lunges with dumbbell: 15-20

Calf Raises: 25

Jump rope: 50 to 75 reps

Squats (dumb bells optional): 20-25

Standing Leg Raises

Jump Rope: 50 to 75 reps

Hip Raises: 20-25

Lying side leg raises

Repeat 1x

Tuesday:

Cardio: 30-45 minutes of your favorite cardio exercise 

Wednesday: Rest and Stretch

Thursday: Interval Cardio

30min alternating between moderate to high intensity cardio and low intensity cardio

For example: jogging with a mixture of moderate running 

Friday: Upper Body 

Bicep Curls: 15

Lateral raises: 15

Front Raises: 15

Push-Ups (or beginner push-ups if necessary): 15 

Plank: 45 second hold

Jump rope: 75-100 reps

Weighted sit-ups (use your medicine ball): 25

Leg Raises: 20

Bicycle crunches: 25 

Repeat 1x

Saturday: Cardio with some resistance training 

Resistance

Squats: 25

1min squat hold against the wall

Push-ups: 15  

Overhead Presses: 15 each

20 minutes of light cardio

Sunday: Rest and Stretch 

Great job!

Kia Edwards is a certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist who lives in New York City. She studied French and Economics at Colgate University, spent 15 years as a high-level competitive gymnast and 6 years as a gymnastics coach.  Her business, La Fortesse At Home Fitness Training, helps clients get healthy with simple at home exercises and nutrition counseling. www.LaFortesse.com