No Access to a Gym? Find out how to get lean abs, arms and legs at home

I decided last minute to go to Ireland for a week to visit my family. In Ireland I don't have a car and no access to a gym so I do my own workouts in my sitting room. I always bring my gym boss with me as it allows for a more intense workout. I also bring my skipping rope as it doesn't take up much room and its a great full body exercise which gets your heart rate up between isolated exercises.

Lower Body

I try to do two or three lower body exercises a week as the lower body is the hardest part for a girl to gain defined muscle. Even though I didn't have access to heavy weights, I still created a tough body weight workout which had my glutes burning. Its good to exercise with light weights or no weights sometimes so you can focus on techniques for example trying to squat really deep.

5 rounds

1. Air Squat- 20 reps
2. Bulgarian Split Squat (L) -15 reps
3. Bulgarian Split Squat (R)- 15 reps
4. Back Leg Lunge (one leg at a time)- 15 reps each
5. Curtsy Lunge (one leg at a time)- 15 reps each
6. Hip Bridge - 20 reps




If you want to get your heart rate up between exercises add in 30 seconds/ minute of skipping between exercises

Upper body

I incorporate lots of compound exercises which work the whole body and create lean toned arms-push ups, burpees, mountain climbers, star jumps, mummy kicks etc. Try incorporate a compound exercise (an exercises which works various muscle groups at the same time) with an isolated exercise (which works one muscle at a time) e.g. biceps curls, hammer curls, shoulder presses etc.

3 rounds for beginners
5 rounds for advanced

1. Dive Bomber Push Ups- 20 reps
2. Shoulder Press with dumbbells (grab something heavy like milk cartons)- 15 reps
3. Half Burpee Push Up- 20 reps
4. Lateral Raises- 15 reps
5. Mountain Climbers- 20 reps
6. Front Raises- 15 reps

Abs

No need to focus too much on abs all the above exercises work your core and your obliques to give you that lean look. If you have a lot of weight to lose I would focus on doing lots of cardio HIIT workouts as above and when you have leaned out then focus more on abs. If you are quite lean add in a three minute abs exercise after your HIIT cardio or incorporate it into your workout e.g. Push up and abs tucks or Mountain climbers etc

If you are looking for more home workout ideas check out my Bikini Challenge which contains weeks of workout ideas. Copy and paste the below link or click on the bikini challenge on the top right hand side of the blog page.
  
http://thechicphysique.blogspot.ie/2013/04/bikini-challenge-week-1-day-1.html

TRUST THE PROCESS

No Gym, No Equipment, No Excuses

For my first year of training I did short and intense workouts in my bedroom with no equipment and saw really good results and got very fit. So stop making excuses, get out in this lovely weather and start doing some burpees! Here is a sample workout plan you can try in the park or in your garden. This is a short 10 minute intense workout that will burn that fat right off your abs! You need to give it your all for each 30 second interval. Don't forget to warm up.

Set your timer for 30/30/30

 

Round 1

 

30 seconds- Jumping Jacks

30 seconds- Ski Jumps

30 seconds- rest

 

Repeat

 

Round 2

 

30 seconds- Basketball jumps

30 seconds- Squats

30 seconds- rest

 

Repeat

 

Round 3

 

1 minute of burpees

 

Round 4

 

30 seconds- High Knees

30 seconds-Push ups

30 seconds rest

 

Repeat

Supplements-Kinectica Sports

I have had a few emails from people asking me do I take supplements and if so what supplements I take?

Even though I eat a lot of protein daily in my diet, I also need to supplement my diet with protein. I do this for many reasons:

1. Prevention of Muscle Loss

Protein helps repair and build up new muscle tissue. As I do a lot of weight training, I am tearing muscle in order for it to grow back stronger. Protein shakes allows my muscles to repair so that they can build back up stronger. If you do not take enough protein the process of rebuilding tissue will not take place.

2. Speedy Post-Workout Recovery

Protein is best taken straight after a workout. Protein is essential for a speedy recovery after workouts.

3. Strong Bones

Many of us do not get enough calcium in our diet especially if we cannot digest dairy foods properly. Most protein powders contain up to 20% of your daily calcium requirements in a single-scoop.

4. Meal Planning

As meal planning can be very time consuming if you are looking for a healthy snack keep protein powder on hand. It provides you will a well balanced meal and fills you up.

What Protein Powder do I Use?

Kinetica Sports

 

A few weeks ago Kinetica Sports Nutrition sent me some samples of their whey protein, pro-release and thermo whey protein powder to try in vanilla, banana, strawberry, chocolate, mint chocolate, smooth chocolate and vanilla caramel.

Kinetica Whey Protein

• High Protein Supplement
• Contributes to the growth and maintenance of muscle mass
• Each serving provides over 5g of BCAAs
• Free of artificial flavours and colours
• 23g of protein in every serving

Kinetica Pro Release

• High Protein blend containing fast, medium and slow proteins to support growth and maintain muscle. It is designed for serious athletes looking for enhanced performance in tandem with their training. It prevents muscle tissue breakdown and increases lean muscle mass.
• 23.5g protein with every serving

Thermo Whey

• Contributes to the maintenance of lean muscle
• Designed to aid your overall weight management goals to help you achieve a leaner, healthier physique
• Contains digestive enzyme Aminogen and essential amino acids
• Combination of advanced high proteins, ground oats, beneficial fats, fibre and researched lean actives
• 21.9g protein per serving

I have been taking protein shakes for over three years now and have tried various high quality brands such as Gold Standard, Reflex, PHD to name a few, so I have a fairly good knowledge of whey protein to compare them to.  

Packaging:

I wasn't familiar with the brand, but my first impressions were great. The packaging was professional and the nutritional information was clearly stated.

Taste

I was of the belief that there was no such thing as a good tasting protein supplement and had decided after tasting many different flavours and brands that it was just a case of holding my nose and knocking them back. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Kinetica-it is by far the best tasting protein I ever had. I even use it in my pancakes and homemade protein bars.

I have tried a variety of flavours- vanilla, smooth chocolate, mint chocolate, chocolate and they are all equally as tasty. Usually I stick to just chocolate but I must say all the flavours so far have been really good. My favourite has to be mint chocolate it reminds me of a mint cornetto or after eights! Yum!

The packaging states that the flavours are all natural which is good to know.

Quality

I mix my whey protein with water as I don't find it as heavy on the stomach as milk. The first thing I noticed about the Kinetica protein was that it was so much easier to mix than other proteins I used. There was no unpleasant lumps and no powder left at the bottom.
Usually I have to shake it for ages to mix up the protein and sometimes I have ended up spilling it all over myself.

Recovery

I drink my whey protein straight after my weight sessions. I am currently following an intense weight lifting regime where I am lifting weights 6 days a week. Within a few minutes of taking it I felt noticeably revived and after a nights sleep was recovered in time for another training session. Not only has my recovery improved but I have also noticed that I am lifting heavier weights

Price

Kinetica comes in around the mid range of the protein powders. In my opinion it is worth the money as it contains high quality proteins and contain some great ingredients. 

Conclusion

Kinetica has a variety of different supplements to suit your goals. I enjoyed all of the above products and particularly enjoyed the Thermo Whey as it is combines high quality protein with a digestive enzyme and essential amino acids which allows you to achieve lean muscle.

I will be definitely buying this again!



 

Age is not an Excuse

If it is important to you, you will find a way! If not you will find an excuse!

Ten months ago, I decided that I was going to help my mother get fit and healthy. As she is one of the most important people in my life, it is important to me that she is healthy and more importantly than she is happy!

At the beginning when I tried to persuade her to follow what I eat and how I exercise she thought I was mad! "Mary do you know what age I am?" " I couldn't do any of that" "That is only for young people".

Ten months later my mother has lost 3 stone, looks amazing and is more happy and confident than she has ever been.

 

How did she do it?


The biggest factor was change of diet. She did this by making small changes each week. It is easier to sustain clean eating if you make small changes each week rather than changing it drastically.

• eat more protein
• cut out processed food
• planning meals
• preparing healthy snacks for work
• Not eating carbs late in the evening
• Cutting out bread

Within the first 10 days she lost nearly a stone.

I used to get my mother to email me everyday so I could see exactly what she was eating and tell her where she was going right and going wrong. It's that much easier when you have someone supporting you. Well............... she might not call it support I think she was afraid of me! 

After about 2 weeks of eating clean my mother didn't require my assistance anymore she had it sussed!

Exercise also was a big factor. My mother's exercise routine consists of walks in the evenings and I even convinced her to try out weights.  She has learned basic weight exercises that she can do in the sitting room using dumbbells and she is also starting a pilates class. It took a lot of convincing for her to try weights but they are a great way to tone up if you are trying to lose weight.

I am so proud of my Mam and I hope that she can inspire others that if you put in the hard work, no matter what age you are, it pays off!

I am not telling you it is going to be easy, I am telling you it is going to be worth it.

 

Week 4 Day 4

Legs

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Leg Extensions

2. Walking Lunge

3. Wide Leg Barbell Squat

4. Single Leg Barbell Deadlift

5. Leg Curls

6. Standing Calf Raise

Week 4 Day 5

 

Abs & Shoulders -Last Day

 

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Seated Dumbbell Press
2. Rear Delt Cable Flyes
3. Dumbbell Front Raise
4. Dumbbell Lateral Raise
5. Seated Bent Over Rear Delt Raise

2 rounds 30/30

1. Flutter kicks
2. Scissor Kicks
3. C Sits
4. Heel touches
5. Reverse Curls
6. Star jump Crunches

 

Week 4 Day 3

Chest and Triceps

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Wide push ups

2. Incline dumbbell press

3. Flat bench flyes

4. Decline flyes

5. Tricep Bench dips

6. Lying EZ bar tricep extension

7. Overhead Two  hand tricep extension

 

Week 4 Day 2

Back and Biceps-FINAL WEEK

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Narrow Grip Pull Ups

2. Bent over Rows

3. Back extensions or supermans

4. Barbell Rows

5. Barbell Curl

6. Incline Dumbbell Curl

7. Alternate Hammer Curl

Week 4 Day 1

 

 

Well done you are now on your final week of bulking!

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Leg extensions

2. Wide legged barbell squats

3. Single leg Barbell Deadlift

4. Barbell Walking Lunge

5. Standing Calf Raise

6. Barbell Plie Squat
 

Week 3 Day 5

Shoulders and Abs

 

 

We are up to 5 days this week! We are finishing the week out with shoulders and abs!

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

 

1. Standing Dumbbell Press

 

2. Dumbbell Front Raise

 

3. Seated Dumbbell Press

 

4. Dumbbell Lateral Raise

 

5. Seated Bent Over Rear Delt Raise

 

30/30 x 2 rounds

 

1. Flutter Kicks

2. Scissor Kicks

3. Reverse Crunches

4. C sits

5. Heel touches

6. Star Crunches

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 3 Day 3

Chest and Triceps

 

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Push ups-wide

2. Incline Dumbbell Press

3. Flat Bench Flyes

4. Barbell Chest Press

5. Tricep dips

6. Lying Tricep Extension

7. Tricep Kickbacks

8. Overhead Triceps Extensions

Week 3 Day 2

Back and Biceps

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Narrow Grip Pull Ups

2. Barbell or Dumbbell bent over rows

3. Back Extension or Supermans

4. Renegade Row

5. Barbell Curl

6. Incline Dumbbell Curl

7. Alternate Hammer Curl

Week 3 Day 4

LEGS AGAIN

 

The reason why I do two leg sessions a week is because I find legs the hardest to see real results compared to my other muscle groups. If you have a weak muscle group that you would like to work on, try to have two sessions working this muscle group a week. With legs you need to ensure you recover properly so you would need at least 2 to 3 days in between sessions.

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Leg Extensions

2. Barbell Squat

3. Walking Barbell Lunge

4. Dumbell or Barbell Deadlift-single leg

5. Standing Calf Raise

6. Plie Squats with dumbbell
 

Week 3 Day 1

 

Week 3 means we are lowering the reps and increasing the weight.

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

LEGS

1. Barbell Squat

2. Barbell Walking Lunge -big steps

3. Single Leg Dumbbell Deadlift

4. Plie Squat with Dumbbell

5. Bulgarian Split Squat

6. Standing Calf Raise

 

Week 2 Day 4: Bulking

Today we are working shoulder and abs. Final weights session for this week. Give it your all!

You know the rules:-

3 x 10 reps

1 minute rest

NO CARDIO

1. Seated Dumbbell Press

2. Side Lateral Raise

3. Front Raise

4. Seated bent over rear dealt raise

5. Shoulder Push ups

6. Side Plank Dips (L)

7. Side Plank Dips (R)

8. V Abs

 

Week 2 Day 3: Legs

Leg Day

 

 

3 x 12 reps

1 minute rest in between sets

NO CARDIO

1. Leg Press

 

2. Leg Extensions

 

3. Barbell Squat

 

4. Barbell Lunge-small steps

 

5. Barbell Calf Raises

Alternatives:

• Plie Squat
• Bulgarian Split Squat
• Donkey Kicks
• Dumbbell Step Up

 

Bulking: Week 2 Day 2-Back and Biceps

Back & Biceps

 

 

3 x 12 reps

1 minute rest in between sets

1. Wide grip Pull Ups

2. One Arm Dumbbell Rows

3. Pull ups using Equaliser or TRX

4. Dumbbell Alternative Bicep Curl

5. One Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl

6. TRX bicep curl or barbell bicep curl

Alternative Back exercises:

• Supermans
• Renegade Rows
• Barbell Row

Alternative Bicep exercises:

• Dumbbell Bicep curl
• Hammer Curl

 

Week 2 Day 1- Chest and Triceps

We are on to Week 2, I hope you feel rested and rejuvenated. Remember in this stage we want to put on muscle so we need to be eating a lot of protein! Try have protein with every meal and snack. As the weeks go on we will be working different muscle groups together and adding in different exercises so we target all the muscles.

Don't feel guilty about not doing cardio! I know I did even though I loved it. 

Check out my food diary for ideas:-

http://thechicphysique.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/food-diary-24-february-2014.html

3 x 12

1 minute rest

Chest/Triceps

1. Wide Push ups

2. Dumbbell Bench Press

3. Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes

4. Narrow Push Up

5. Overhead Tricep Extensions

6. Tricep Pulldown or Tricep Kickbacks

Day 4 Shoulders and Abs

Last workout of the week then three days of rest to allow your muscles recover. Make sure to take your recovery drinks to allow your muscles to recover quicker.

Remember NO CARDIO! Don't let the guilt get to you- it will be worth it in the end! Enjoy it when you can!!!

1. Dumbbell Press Seated - 3 x 10

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/seated-dumbbell-press

2. Side Lateral Raises- 3 x 10

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/seated-dumbbell-press

3. Bent over seated rear dealt-raise -3 x 10

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/seated-bent-over-rear-delt-raise

4. Standing Dumbbell Press- 3 x 10

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/standing-dumbbell-press-

5. Bicycle Crunches- 3 x 10

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/air-bike

6. Frog Sit ups- 3 x 10

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/frog-sit-ups

7. Exercise Ball- 3 x 10

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/exercise-ball-crunch
 

Which Workout Challenge is for you?

Different workouts to suit different levels of fitness:-

 

For those of you who do not have access to a gym or equipment click on my Bikini Challenge from last year where you will find 5 weeks of workouts to get you into shape for summer! These workouts consist of HIIT exercises (High Intensity Exercises) with a mix of some weights. These exercises are short and intense and will burn fat right off your body in no time. Exercises consist of big compound movements mixed with more muscle focused exercises.

Exercises can be done with or without weights. My advice is to start of with body weight until you have good form then add weights as you get stronger. These are all workouts that you can do from home, in your bedroom or outside in the garden.

For those of you who are more advanced and want to add muscle tone to your body- click on the Lift like a Man Look Like a Goddess link for weeks of workouts involving weight lifting and cardio.

And for those of you who really want a challenge and want to transform their body in lean toned feminine muscle, click on my new challenge-Bulking!

Where do I find these Challenges?

On the right side of the blog page under labels, click on any of the below challenges to gain access to the workouts.

1. Bikini Challenge
2. Lift Like a Man Look Like a Goddess
3. Bulking

The above challenges are an overview of my fitness journey over the last couple of years. Pick a challenge depending on your level of fitness and goals. Work hard for it and don't give up! 

Don't forget to follow my fitness journey on instagram or on twitter for tips, motivation and clean eating ideas:-

Any questions email me

 

Mary

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