Working Out When All You Really Want to Do is Lay on the Couch

February 25, 2009
By Kay Marryshow

Couch PotatoWorking Out When All You Really Want to Do is Lay on the Couch

by Kay Marryshow, Esq.

The desire to work out has never come easily to me. Sure I feel great when I finish a big work out. I cool down with visions of getting into a regular work out program dancing in my head. Who wouldn’t want to feel that high everyday? Once showered and onto my day, however, the visions are replaced once again by dread. Getting that high is hard work!

And I’m one of those people who usually bite off more than I can chew. I’ve signed up for the gym membership and made it to Spinning on time the first few weeks only to never make a class, let alone on time, the last 11 months of my membership. I’ve bought the Runner’s World magazine, researched the perfect running shoe, bought the shoe and the cute running pants, only to never make a single Road Runner’s meeting.

So this time I decided to start small. While laying on the couch watching my favorite show, I committed to staying on the couch during the commercials and started with a few leglifts. I did one side for the first commercial, the other side for the second commercial. I continued to switch sides for every commercial. When it wasn’t challenging enough for me anymore, i.e., when I wasn’t feeling that burn towards the end of the commercial, I tried it on one side for the whole set of commercials and the other side for the next set of commercials.

YOU CAN DO THIS! TRUST ME! Get creative, but stay on the couch. When you get bored with leg lifts start to advance to other exercises and body parts. (I do all legs one night, chest and arms the next night). On leg night: Get up on all fours and pull one leg into your chest, then push it backwards and out. Lay on my back and do bridges and butt crunches. Even scissor kicks!

On chest and arm night: Keep some light weights by the couch and sit there during the commercial and press them. Do bicep curls. Get up on all fours again and do triceps. Or don’t use weights and do arm presses off the side of your couch.

Pretty soon you’ll find yourself continuing to move during your show. Sometimes I’ve been known to jump off the couch and strike a downward dog or Warrior Pose during a commercial. Nobody said it had to be pretty or ambitious, and you know what… I still get that high!

About the Author: Kay Marryshow is a corporate attorney, mother of three, and former model. She is a life long runner with a passion for cooking new and exotic dishes.

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9 Responses to Working Out When All You Really Want to Do is Lay on the Couch

  1. Lyndon Goepfarth on June 15, 2010 at 1:35 PM

    hi,good apple in your post,I love thatelegantapple,I need to find one for me,jane

  2. evil smiley on June 23, 2010 at 12:42 PM

    Barbell chest press is the most overrated exercise. Dumbbell presses are far more effective in building muscle. Flat, incline or decline. Add a fly exercise and weighted dipping and you have a simple total chest workout. I can recommend the following article
    http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/building_a_bodybuilder_chest

    Regards,
    David

  3. Jackie on June 23, 2010 at 5:19 PM

    Try blogspot. It is super simple!

  4. Jackie on June 23, 2010 at 5:20 PM

    stick with it. YOU CAN DO IT!

  5. Lester Garett on July 30, 2010 at 1:04 PM

    Wow, really enjoying this blog at the moment, I did a search and found it, so glad! I have just started with Yoga, and I enjoy what I’m reading here! How close is pilates to yoga though, just wondering?

  6. Power Yoga on August 11, 2010 at 3:46 PM

    Power Yoga insists upon the health and robustness of the practitioner and is a way to deliver the best possible health and state of mind. – Yoga for Beginners

  7. ebook download on September 15, 2010 at 7:46 AM

    There is so much obestiy in America and it only seems to me that this is perfect for anyone who is obese.

  8. get how to lose armpit fat on September 17, 2010 at 8:39 AM

    It is unbelievable to have abs like T.O. or Ocho Cinco. Can I get abs like that with the information here

  9. Juan Perque on September 24, 2010 at 12:21 PM

    I need a new yoga mat, any suggestions?

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