I am constantly tweaking my exercises so as to get the most out of what I’m pretty sure won’t kill me.
40 pounds is my projected limit, no more than an hour or so or 600-700 reps per circuit. With a little creativity I am learning to put a hurt on most of my major muscle groups while still working inside my “Still Alive” perimeters.
Weighted Step ups and Weighted Swiss Ball Crunches are two of the staples of most every one of my Circuits. Today I threw a slight twist into each of them.
My weighted Step ups start with a stepper and 5 risers, a curl bar, 25lbs set 1 35lbs set 2, 45lbs set 3. I use a standard underhand curl grip, I make sure my elbows do not touch my sides and perform the move while holding the bar with my arms at 90 degrees.
The weighted Swiss ball Crunches are pretty normal with the exception that I put the same curl bar of weight, hands close together, balance the bar on my chin and perform the exercise. I get a look every now and then, I’m sure I look like a dope.
I stuff 20 BOSU Ball Push Ups in between the two exercises. 3 sets of each exercise, 20 reps per set. 180 reps total for this segment of my circuit. Takes about 20 minutes. I work it like a cardio routine where by the time I am done a set of 20 I am in the 140-150 heart rate range. I let my hr level to around 110-115bpm before starting the next set. It’s a pretty good burn and after the 180 reps I’ve worked up a pretty good sweat, and I feel it. Though, I’ve been thinking about how to increase the intensity.
Today I added a curl to the Step Ups and a chest press to the Swiss Ball Crunches. It adds 20 more reps per set and really does the trick to increase the intensity of the exercise.
Now, if my arms don’t fall off before Wednesday I’ll call it the standard and finish out this challenge doing the exercises with the included new moves.
Before I left I experimented by using a Swiss Ball to perform a few sets of elevated chair dips. Certainly adds a little more intensity to this move too.
Good adjustments.
Captdhd's Blog 
Posted by baseballmom024 on October 24, 2011 at 8:54 PM
WOW!!!! You really know how to workout! Next up…swiss ball step ups? 🙂
BBM
Posted by Captdhd on October 24, 2011 at 9:28 PM
Oh Nooooo, This Egg would Most Certainly Fall Over!
Posted by TNT Man on October 25, 2011 at 6:35 AM
You are one creative masochist. Nice going.
Now aim for swinging that weighted club while standing on the Swiss Ball. 😉
TNT Man
Posted by Captdhd on October 25, 2011 at 11:01 AM
I would prefer the death to be slow and methodical instead of immediate!
Posted by SWF on October 25, 2011 at 8:17 PM
For me…Swiss Ball equals Swiss Fall. I swear as soon as you put something round in front of me I lose all sense of balance……
I spent almost 10 months working out without a gym, just some adjustable DB’s a slosh pipe a homemade TRX and a T-Bar for swings…..and if you are willing to do some tweaking you can make gains. The key is to just keep changing things up and confuse the body…no matter what you’re going to be healthier than the dude sitting on his couch eating chips and watching Friends reruns.