September is Cholesterol awareness month. Most of the time we are walk around with high cholesterol and may not even know it. As a child when I was in the sixth grade I was diagnosed with high cholesterol having levels well above 400. That is something an 11 year old should not think about and I didn’t until I was hospitalized with a ruptured appendix. I was active playing sports and never thought I was at risk for any health problems. We are going through our normal daily lives without stopping to think of the damage high cholesterol can cause the body. Such damage may include; high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. All of which affect our lives in very serious manners and sometimes even resulting in death. Lowering cholesterol does not have to be done through medication in all cases. Studies are not conclusive on the affects of weight training on lowering cholesterol. However, it is proven that weight training develops lean muscle mass. This development of lean muscle tissue burns more calories at rest resulting in lower body weight and mass. Lowering your overall body weight and fat tissue leads to a reduction in overall cholesterol. It elevates HDL or the good cholesterol and lowers the LDL or bad cholesterol. Changing from a sedentary lifestyle by adding more moving to your daily routine can make a big difference. Utilizing your time during television commercials to move about is an excellent motivating tool towards a healthier lifestyle.
We all have our favorite shows we like to watch in the evenings as a way to unwind after a long day at work or what if you decided to hit the snooze button in the morning to catch a few more minutes of shut eye before facing the day instead of getting up to go workout? Situations arise and life gets in our way sometimes, but with an hour long TV show you can still get in a workout out during the commercial breaks and take all the guilt of sleeping in out of the way. The grand thing about this workout is you only need your couch. With one simple piece of furniture you can get a total body workout with rest periods. In the following workout you can choose to do 15-30 repetitions of each exercise until all exercises are completed or you can choose to do each exercise for a certain amount of time using each commercial as a stopwatch.
PROFILE:
Model: Mercia Case
Age: 43
Children (3)-19, 13 and 3
Married
Resident: Atlanta
Squats – Standing in front of the couch with your feet about 12 inches from the base of the couch, arms crossed in front of your chest, slowly lower your bottom towards the couch. Don’t allow your knees to come past your toes. Lightly touch the couch with your butt and then stand back up straight.
Lunges – Stand with your feet together, toes pointed forward. Step with one leg forward in a long stride. Keeping your trunk upright looking ahead slowly lower your back knee towards the ground noting a 90 degree bend of both knees working your buttocks and leg muscles to lower you and raise you back to standing position. Alternate legs
Hip Extensions Quadruped – On your hands and knees, knees lined up under your hips and hands lined up under your shoulders. Tighten abdominal muscles and extend one leg straight back forming a straight line with your trunk. Bring knee back to starting position and repeat on opposite leg.
o Alternate form: Quadraped Superman: Same position as Hip Extension Quadraped just extend opposite arm at same time as leg extends. This combination move works legs, back, abdominal, and arm muscles.
Hip Abduction Quadruped – On your hands and knees, knees lined up under your hips and hands lined up under your shoulders. Tighten abdominal muscles, keeping knee bent raise it to your side as a dog and a fire hydrant position.
Bicycle – With hands behind your head and legs extended out off of the floor using your abdominal muscles bring your elbow together with opposite knee. Do not use your hands to pull on your head
Knees up Crunches – lying on the floor in front of the couch with your legs on the couch. Hands behind head use your abdominal muscles to lift your shoulders off of the floor.
Dips – Standing with your back towards the couch put your hands on the couch behind your holding on to the edge. Elbows should be pointing straight backwards. Walk your legs away from the couch, lower buttocks towards ground for a 90 degree bend in elbows. Uses your triceps to extend arm and lift buttocks away from floor.
Pushups – On the floor hands under shoulders and legs extended backwards, lower chest towards ground then push body back up away from ground.
o Alternate form – Knees bent to decrease the intensity of exercise
o Alternate form – Feet on couch
