Your favorite "paper" workouts

[rhbrand]

I'm kind of thinking of doing a paper workout when I get done with 21 Day Fic which I start tomorrow. I've got a few but would like to find a few others so I can have several to pick from

I have a few New Rules books, the original, the womens, and the abs one. They are great, but for me, I need a gym to lift as heavy as I can, so they are out until I can either get heavier weights or a gym opens up in my town.

I also have Beautiful Badass by Nia Shanks. I've never done this as I got it shortly before starting Crossfit, so its been sitting on a flash drive for more than 2 years.

I've got the original Turbulance Training and its ok. I've also got the book Strong Curves, and it too is ok.

Somewhere I think I have a Joyce Vedral book, which would be great cause if I lift on my own, I could go slower and much heavier than her video workouts.

So what do you like to do when working out at home? By the way, I did ask this on the Cathe forum, so if you answered me there, you don't have to answer here.

[Jane P.]

There are two books that I really like.


One is Six Week Bikini Countdown by Karon Karter. She's a Pilates Instructor so there's one day each week devoted to Pilates exercises, and the other days alternate weights and cardio. The routines change each week. The photos are full color, filmed on a beach. I like the fact that it's a 6 week rotation rather than the usual 12.

I also like Ultimate You by Joe Dowdell. It's similar to the NROL books, but progresses a little slower and home alternatives are shown. It also contains diet advice if that interests you. It is a 12 week rotation.

[Chomper]

Do you have a pull up bar and or suspension trainer?

I really enjoyed Nia Shanks' 12 Week Body Weight and Dumbbell Program. Even though the exercises get repetitive (because 12 weeks!), the sets and reps keep changing, so it keeps it interesting. But you need a pull up bar or a door anchor and heavy band for lat pull downs, and a suspension trainer is really handy too.

Since you sound like you want to look around at different programs,
This is a free minimalist template she offers:

http://www.niashanks.com/triple-exercise-workout/

I have been so happy with this, I have been doing them for months. I like working lower body though, so I make it a 4 exercise workout: A hip hinge, a knee bend, a push and a pull. I plug in different exercises to keep it changing. And depending on time constraints, I add power exercises, core exercises, farmers walks, etc.

[Chomper]

Coming back to say I bought Neghar Fonooni's Lean and Lovely program months ago, and was surprised by how unbalanced the pushing and pulling exercises are. Way more pushing than pulling. I do plan to do the workouts, when I have time. I know the day will come that I will want something new and exciting to shake things up. But I will be changing the workouts to even out the upper body push/pull ratio.

For cardio, Jen Sinkler's Lift Weights Faster is fun with a lot of variety. if you want to do paper cardio workouts, and like cardio strength workouts, it is a great resource. The workouts are 10, 20 or 30 minutes long. I heard her say on a podcast that she gets bored easily, so when she wants to do a cardio day with these workouts, she is more likely to pick 3 of the 10 minute ones and string them together than to pick a 30 minute one. That's what I tend to do, too.

[bubbles76]

Chomper what do you think of Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer 12 Week Program? I may start going with my neighbor to the gym sometime in October, and this program sounds interesting. Ideally, I would be doing Nia Shanks' 12 Week Body Weight and Dumbbell Program, but Big Bubble says "no" to the pullup bar and suspension trainer. I do have an bodylastics anchor and bands though. Is a suspension trainer absolutely necessary?

[Chomper]

In some ways the Jamie Eason program looks like the polar opposite of the Nia Shanks program. It is much more complicated, for one! I don't know enough about bodybuilding style training to know if it's a good program or not. It looks solid.

About a suspension trainer, I am pretty sure the main thing you need it for in that Nia Shanks program is inverted rows. (They are such an awesome exercise, and a suspension trainer is worth it just for that exercise alone.) There are also some accessory exercises that call for the suspension trainer in her program, but she suggests that people see accessory exercises as optional and decide for themselves what they want to focus on and substitute exercises. So I would only be wondering how you can do inverted rows. There are already bent over dumbbell rows, too, so it would suck to substitute them again. That would get boring. Do you have access to a playground or park with monkey bars, for example? I have even heard of people doing inverted rows with a table, but never tried it. Or two chairs with a broomstick between them, which I did try once and found really awkward.

[rhbrand]

I use my fluidity bar at the highest level for inverted rows. That seems to work pretty well.

[Scorpio6]

Not sure if this technically qualifies as a paper workout, but I have notated the Cindy Crawford workouts and am doing them for strength, taking a hiatus from Joyce. Since I move slower than dvds because of arthritis, I just work from my spreadsheet instead of running the dvd.

[Anny]

Originally Posted by Scorpio6

Not sure if this technically qualifies as a paper workout, but I have notated the Cindy Crawford workouts and am doing them for strength, taking a hiatus from Joyce. Since I move slower than dvds because of arthritis, I just work from my spreadsheet instead of running the dvd.

I have the Cindy Crawfird Shape Your Body workouts memorised too....especially great for weights workouts away from home.

[beospenser]

I really love all of Valerie Waters bikini body paper workouts.