New Year, New You – Total Gym’s Fitness Challenge – Week 1

Greetings Total Gym Fitness Challenge Participants!

If you are like most people, then you are currently thinking about the upcoming year, your New Year’s Resolutions and looking for new workout ideas & various fitness solutions to capitalize on your fitness plans in 2017.

You have most likely been looking online to find the perfect jumpstart for a new workout challenge for yourself, right?

Well…look no further. Welcome to the New Year, New You Total Gym 5 Week Fitness Challenge! It’ll be full of fun, excitement, blood, sweat, and tears. Okay, well maybe not blood (and hopefully not tears either) but are you, at least, ready for the other three?

Over the next 5 weeks, we are going to take you on a fitness journey to put you in a fantastic position to make sure that all of your fitness dreams come true, so I hope that you are ready!

Without further ado, let’s get started with Week 1 (Perform the following routine twice this week):

Exercises to be performed on the Total Gym – Week 1

Chest Press

Sit up straight with good posture facing away from the Total Gym. Grab onto the handles and push out directly in front of you, then come back in slowly to complete your first rep. Remember to push out fast but to come back in slowly to control the movements and maximize the muscle contractions. Repeat this sequence to complete the first rep and repeat the exercise to complete the set. (2 Sets of 15 Reps)

Upright Back Rows

Sit up straight with good posture facing the Total Gym. Grab onto the handles and begin to pull them towards your body with the goal of getting your hands lined up with your chest, then come back out to complete the rep. Now repeat that motion to complete the 1st set. Remember to pull in towards your body fast but to go out slowly to control the movements and maximize the muscle contractions. Repeat this sequence to complete the first rep and repeat the exercise to complete the set. (2 Sets of 15 Reps)

1 Legged Regular Squat

Sit upright with your butt as close as possible to the bottom of the seat with one leg on the platform and the other leg lifted in the air to the side of the platform. Proceed to squat on the one leg that is on the platform by going down slowly until you feel engagement in the quadriceps region of your leg, then press to lift your body back up to complete the rep. Repeat this sequence to complete the first rep and then you repeat the exercise to complete the set. (2 Sets of 15 Reps on Each Leg)

1 Legged Deep Squat

Sit upright with your butt as close as possible to the bottom of the seat with one leg on the platform and the other leg lifted in the air to the side of the platform. Proceed to squat on the one leg that is on the platform by going down slowly as far as you can, then press to lift your body back up to complete the rep. Repeat this sequence to complete the first rep and then you repeat the exercise to complete the set. (2 Sets of 15 Reps on Each Leg)

Calf Raises

Sit upright with your butt as close as possible to the bottom of the seat. Extend your legs all the way out to where your toes are on the bottom of the platform without your heels touching anything the entire time. Once you are in position, then you tippy toe to complete your first rep of Calf Raises and when you come down, be sure not to let your heels touch any part of the platform. Repeat this sequence to complete the first rep and repeat the exercise to complete the set. (2 Sets of 25 Reps on Each Leg)

(Please note that for all exercises you have to adjust the height of your seat to determine your degree of difficulty and how easy or difficult you would like the upcoming exercise to be. The higher the incline, the harder the exercise will be, and the lower the incline, the easier the exercise will be. So please remember to adjust accordingly.)

Tip of the Week

Be sure to track all of your activity, eating habits, and your goals (on your smart phone/watch or even a notepad) to maximize the New Year, New You Total Gym 5 Week Fitness Challenge. Seeing your progress on a weekly basis will help you stay focused on the goals at hand, especially on those days when you may not feel as motivated to get up and get going. So hang in there and we’ll see you next week!