by Marty Coleman | Dec 9, 2013 | The 'While Coffee Brews' Exercise Plan |
I drank a whole pot of coffee drawing #5 in the exercise series.
Knowing vs Doing
Another simple exercise that we all know is Jumping Jacks. But knowing it and doing it are two different things. Knowing anything is of little value if you don’t put it into practice.
Jump Start
Practicing jumping jacks is a great way to get joints loose, blood flowing and heart rate up just a bit. Sort of cardio jump start. Make sure you keep your arms fully extended and bring them all the way to the top. Stretch those arms up. Doing jumping jacks half-hearted is not worth doing so do them right or skip it. Unlike the exercises I have shown so far, women probably want to have at least a sports bra on for this one. Some men might as well.
Stretch Start
Number 2 is illustrating something that really helps me, Mr. Unlimber. It’s not Jumping Jacks, it’s Laying Down Jacks. Spread your legs as far as they will go (maybe use some barrier, like a table leg, to keep your legs open, that is what I have to do) while you also spread your arms out and up at about a 45 degree angle. Make sure the backs of your hands are touching the ground and your arms are as flat as they can be. It may not seem like much to do, but hold it for 30-60 seconds and you will really start to feel the stretch in your pectorals and your inner groin muscles.
This is a great stretch to help runners keep from getting to tight and wound up in those areas. We often think about our legs getting tight in a run but long distance runners have a lot of problems with shoulders, chests, and arms starting to hurt and cramp as well. It’s important to keep the upper torso limber as well as the leg muscles.
Exercise #6 – Lunges
Exercise #5 – Jumping and Laying Down Jacks
Exercise #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Exercise #1 – Glute Kickbacks
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Drawing and instruction by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 7, 2013 | Illustrated Short Stories |
Prologue
She always remembers that day.
Chapter One
She hadn’t showered that morning even though she knew she should have. She had been out late and done something she wasn’t proud of.
Chapter Two
She got to church late and sat next to a woman wearing a lot of perfume. She could see the woman’s face reflecting all the bright lights on the stage. It looked like she had a lot of makeup on, bad acne scars and a top plunged down much farther than appropriate.
Chapter Three
Everyone stood up to greet one another. She turned to the lady shook her hand. It was warm and soft and made her feel wonderful. In the light she saw that she really was quite beautiful, her makeup wasn’t as heavy as she thought and she had pulled up her blouse so it didn’t show as much as it had before. The woman complimented her on her teal sweater and said she always was attracted to that color.
Chapter Five
After the service the woman asked if she knew of a lunch place nearby. She told her they had a cafe at the church and led her there through the crowd. The lady asked her if she would like to join her and she said yes.
Epilogue
She always remembers that day.
The End
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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 6, 2013 | Travel |
I am down in Texas to run my first marathon in 3 years. This is what it looks like throughout Dallas today. More coming tomorrow and temps are staying below freezing until after the marathon is suppose to be over on Sunday.
It looks like they will cancel but as of now (Friday afternoon) they have not.
I also came down to help my daughter move to a new apartment, which we did 2 days early to avoid the weather.
So, for now we are watching the news and waiting for an announcement from the Dallas Marathon organizers.
Running is an adventure!
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 4, 2013 | The 'While Coffee Brews' Exercise Plan
My Morning Routine
I have gotten into the habit of having rice cakes for first breakfast. I toast 2 of them, then put on a bit of jelly and peanut or almond butter. They are crunchier when you toast them but you have to watch out, some of them have a glaze on them that will start to smoke in the toaster oven. I then take them into my office and eat them while I start my day. Speaking of office, we recently had a slew of visitors to our humble abode for Thanksgiving weekend. My office was used as a bedroom so I thought I would try out moving my napkin drawing studio into the dining room so I could draw early in the morning while our guests were still asleep. It worked out pretty well so I think I might keep it like that for a while.
Exercises #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #4 – Oblique Crunches
In the sequence, #4 actually comes twice, once on the left side once on the right, so I do one side first, then do #3, then do the other side of #4.
In the original photo I saw on how to do oblique crunches the guy was laying on the large flat side of his glute, a 1/4 of the way towards being on his back, and raising his torso up to get the crunch as in version #1. The legs stayed on the ground. But when I started doing them I laid directly on my side and found my legs came off the ground as did my torso. I like the #2 version better because it seemed to work the lower oblique region as much as the high region. But I notice that #1 tends to work the lower side back more than #2 so I do both on and off.
One of the coolest things about doing these is where the lower arm (on the floor) ends up going. It is folded in front of you with your hand actually on your obliques. What that means is you can feel the muscles working, contracting and releasing, as you do the exercise. Over the months I have started to feel all the definition throughout the oblique and ab areas. It’s very cool.
Exercise #3 – Abdominal Crunches
These are pretty straightforward. They are the beginning of a sit up, but you don’t go above about 25 – 30 degrees from the floor, then you go back down. That is enough to get the abs working. The drawing is a bit off actually because you really shouldn’t be bending your head forward at the angle I have it. Keep it as straight as you can.
Do 10 to start and repeat each time you come around to it in your circuit.
Finish up by doing the oblique crunches on the other side and you are done.
To Repeat or Not Repeat
As usual, you can do these two ways, one is a set amount done in a circuit with the other exercise. Most of the time a circuit of 3-4 is good. Or you can do each exercise to the fail point, with no repeats. It’s sort of like the two different versions of Solitaire you can play, once around drawing every card and you are done, win or not, or every 3 cards until you can’t do anything more or you win.
Either way, you’ll get a good work out.
Benefits
Obviously your abdominal muscle and the oblique abdominals are the main beneficiary. Did you know that the ab muscles are actually just one big sheet muscle? The ‘six packs’ aren’t different muscles, they are parts of same muscle that just happen to build up. Each of us has a different landscape when it comes to our one big ab muscles. The oblique are separate however.
By the way the pink bumps on her tummy are not her intestines popping out don’t worry, they are her six pack of abs (of which you can only see 3)
Speaking of…If you are hoping to have that six-pack by just doing exercises, it’s not going to happen. Well, it can happen, but it will be under a layer of fat and you won’t be able to see it. To see your abs you really will have to change eating habits so you not only lose fat but build your muscle as well.
That’s It
And that’s it. These 4 exercises should take you about 10-15 minutes, max. That’s about the length of time a pot of coffee takes to brew. It’s not sophisticated or complicated or hard to figure out. It’s easy and it’s doable today, right now. Start somewhere, and repeat. That’s the key. You can do it.
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Exercise #6 – Lunges
Exercise #5 – Jumping and Laying Down Jacks
Exercise #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Exercise #1 – Glute Kickbacks
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by Marty Coleman | Dec 3, 2013 | The 'While Coffee Brews' Exercise Plan |
My Morning Routine
When I first started doing this morning routine it was just stretching and warming up for the day. I still stretch and warm up before I do the exercises because I am an old and creaky guy. You should limber up too, even if you aren’t old and creaky. The run groups I coach always start with an active warm up time to get the blood flowing, the heart beat up just a bit and the joints and muscles lubricated and ready to work. It’s alway a time to just be quiet and meditate for a few moments before you start exercising.
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Version #1
This is the version you need to do. Even if you can do only one pushup this way, you need to do it this way. It’s where you want to get to so why not work at it from the very beginning. If you can’t do 5 pushups this way, do at least one, then do the other 4 in the version #2 method. A full push up goes all the way until your nose touches the ground.
Version #2
Forget the sexist crap about this being the version for women. It isn’t. It’s the version for those who aren’t yet strong enough to do version #1. That’s it. It has nothing to do with whether you have a penis or vagina. Nothing. Here is the truth, male or female – if you can’t do one pushup in the version #1 method, then start with version #2. If you can do 5 of version #2 then next time you do the exercise start with #1 and try to do one of that. Keep trying #1 each and every time you do pushups. Do not settle for version #2, it’s only for those who can’t do #1 and everyone can do #1 if they work at it.
To Repeat or Not Repeat
Once again you can do these as part of a circuit of exercises that you repeat 3 or more times, or you can do them once to the fail point. Both have their benefits and you should try both types of regimens during the week.
Benefits
Obviously the arms and chest are the prime beneficiary of pushups. In the arms it’s the entire shoulder and the triceps (back of the arms) that get the bulk of the workout. The pectorals of the chest are being built as well.
Remember, to lose weight you have to burn calories. To burn calories you have to have metabolically active tissue, and that’s muscle, not fat. If you build muscle you get a better metabolism and that means better calorie burning.
When To Start
Duh, now. Don’t wait until you have the right workout clothes or the right mat or the right headband. Do it first, then get all those things as you have time.
Exercise #6 – Lunges
Exercise #5 – Jumping and Laying Down Jacks
Exercise #3 and #4 – Abdominal Crunches and Oblique Crunches
Exercise #2 – Push Ups
Exercise #1 – Glute Kickbacks
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Drawing and workout description by Marty Coleman
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