See, last month (January 2010 Workout Routine) was different in that every exercise was fair game. But this month, the entire bankroll of exercises is completely different than anything we’ve done before. Why? Why not? It doesn’t hurt to change things up every once in a while. Besides, some of these exercises are pretty darned cool, and I might use them in upcoming monthly workouts.

But the real truth of the matter is that my particular fitness goals are a little different this month. As many of you know, I make a (very, very, very) small living as an entertainer – mostly acting these days. And I’m working on a theater show that’s going to require plenty of core strength, so I’m stepping up the Lazy Bum Fitness routine to reflect it.

I can already hear some of you grumbling a little (seriously I can… oh wait, that’s my stomach, guess I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast and lunch – dang my acting salary). But the fact is that YOU actually benefit from this little change up in THREE ways:

1. You’ll learn some cool new exercises.
2. A complete change is good every once in a while for meeting fitness goals.
3. You’re actually working out the exact same way an actor does to get ready for a role.

Woohoo! See, once you look at it like that, it’s a pretty cool deal, huh?

Exercises

I’m throwing an entire new batch of exercises at you this month, and truth be told, I don’t know the names of any of  them – actually, I’m not even sure if any of them ARE real gym exercises or not. The moral of the story is that I’m making up the names.

The commonality this month is that you’ll need two dumbbells, not just one. And most of the time you’ll be holding them together (you don’t need super crazy pressure, just enough to keep tension on them), so when you do this, “Press” your palms together. You want the tops and bottoms of each dumbbell to touch each other, not side-to-side.

Front Dumbbell Side Twists: Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and your legs slightly bent, then raise both dumbbells directly in front of you and slightly squeeze them together. Keep your arms mostly straight and your hips as stationary as possible, lead with your arms and slowly turn your upper torso either left or right until you feel the stretch, then slowly return to the starting position.

Two-Handed Dumbbell Arm Circles: Slight press the two dumbbells together as you make a giant two-handed circle around the front of your upper body. It’s okay to rotate the hips a little bit. One whole circle is one rotation.

Squeezing Dumbbell Bench Press: Lay on a bench or the floor, and slightly squeeze the two dumbbells together slightly above your chest. Keep pressure on them as you slowly push them up and away from your body. Pause briefly at the top, then return to the starting position slowly.

Step Ups: Stand in front of a bench or sturdy chair, and press the dumbbells together an inch or two in front of your chest. Step on to the bench or chair with the designated leg and climb up as if it were a single stair step. Lower yourself back down to the  ground leading with the same leg.

Full Body Axe Chopper: Stand in an athletic stance and bend forward slightly, keeping your back and abs tight. Let your arms (with dumbbells in them) hand straight down between your legs. Slightly press the dumbbells together, then, keeping your arms straight, raise up with your legs and arms as if you were getting ready to bash the floor with the dumbbells, do this until the weights are above your head. (If you were to watch from the side, this would make an arching motion). Then slowly return to the starting position.

Modified Arm Curls: Try to use your chest as a backstop for your elbows as you do this exercise. Start by holding the weights away from you, and then pressing them together. Try to make your elbows touch (only go as far as you can – don’t hurt yourself). Bring your elbows to your chest. Keeping your arms and hands in this position, do arm curls using both hands together. This is kind of like a preacher curl, if you’re familiar with them.

Squeezing Dumbbell Half Row: Stand in an athletic stance and bend forward (keep your torso tight!) until your upper body is as close as possible to parallel with the floor. With a dumbbell in each hand, let your arms hang straight down. Slightly press the dumbbells together and keep tension on them throughout this exercise. Keeping your elbows straight, pull your shoulders back as far as they will go, and envision squeezing your shoulder blades together. Slowly return to the starting position.

Instructions

We’re following the standard Lazy Bum Fitness instructions as outlined in the How-To page, so be sure to check it out if you’re new – or if you’ve got a short attention span like me and need constant reminders.

And my monthly “Don’t Sue Me” clause: Check with your doctor before starting this or any exercise routine. And stop immediately if you feel uncomfortable.

No Jokers this month, so you can take them out of the deck if you’d like.

Cards: Draw 20 cards per workout

Goals: 300 total reps per exercise.

The Workout

• Ace: Front Dumbbell Side Twists – twist to the right
• Two: Front Dumbbell Side Twists – twist to the left
• Three: Two Handed Arm Circles – clockwise
• Four: Two Handed Arm Circles – counter clockwise
• Five: Squeezing Dumbbell Bench Press
• Six: Step Ups: lead with right leg
• Seven: Step Ups: lead with left leg
• Eight: Full Body Axe Choppers
• Nine: Modified Arm Curls
• Ten: Squeezing Dumbbell Half Rows
• Jack: Supermans (aka “reverse crunches” or “lower back extensions”)
• Queen: Bicycles
• King: Crunches

Instructions

Each card face value represents one exercise, and the suite represents the amount of reps. What that means is when you draw a card, you’ll perform the exercise associated with the face value, and will perform the amount of reps associated with the suite. (The reps and exercises are listed further down).

For instance, drawing the Five of Diamonds card would mean you’d perform five arm curls with your right arm.

As usual, keep track of your results so when you hit the monthly goal for a particular exercise, you’re done with it! And because of the nature of this month’s program, you can take the “completed” cards out of the deck until next month. For instance, if you achieve the total goal for Arm Curls with your Right Arm, you can take all the five cards out of the deck – you won’t need them anymore.

Again, you’re only going to use one dumbbell for all exercises spanning the entire month, so choose your weight carefully. This month uses a combination of body weight exercises and dumbbell exercises.

(For more information, visit the How To page – though this month is such an deviation from the norm that it probably won’t help you much, other than to give first-timers a general idea about the Lazy Bum Fitness program).

Repetitions

The amount of reps per card is determined by the suite.

• Hearts: 3 reps
• Diamonds: 5 reps
• Spades: 8 reps
• Clubs: 10 reps

Exercises

The exercise you perform is based on the card value (i.e. number or face value) of the card you draw. We aren’t using Jokers this month, so you can remove them from the deck if you’d like.

• Ace: Push Ups
• Two: Overhead Press – Right Arm
• Three: Overhead Press – Left Arm
• Four: Abdominal Crunches
• Five: Arm Curls – Right Arm
• Six: Arm Curls – Left Arm
• Seven: Lunges – Right Leg Forward
• Eight: Lunges – Left Leg Forward
• Nine: Pull Ups*
• Ten: Bicycles
• Jack: Dumbbell Rows – Right Arm
• Queen: Dumbbell Rows – Left Arm
• King: Chin Ups*

*Note: Just perform one rep of Pull Ups or Chin Ups per card, depending on your skill level.

Goal

350 total repetitions per exercise.

If you perform just one Pull Up and Chin Up per card, the goal for those is 50 each.

Total Sets / Cards Per Workout

Draw 20 cards for each workout.

If you meet or exceed the monthly goal for any particular exercise, remove those cards from the deck.

Again, no jokers this month. Go ahead and take them out of the deck if you’d like.

Scroll down for more information about this month’s workout routine. And if you’re new to Lazy Bum Fitness, check out the How-To page here.

Workout

• Ace: Crunches
• Two: Bicycles
• Three: Leg Raises
• Four: Push Ups
• Five: Incline Push Ups (feet elevated)
• Six: Lunges with Dumbbell – Right Leg Forward
• Seven: Lunges with Dumbbell – Left Leg Forward
• Eight: Dumbbell Swings with Right Hand
• Nine: Dumbbell Swings with Left Hand
• Ten: Arm Curls with Dumbbell – Right Arm
• Jack: Arm Curls with Dumbbell – Left Arm
• Queen: Pull Ups*
• King: Chin Ups*

Cards Per Day: 20

Goal: 300 total reps per exercise (except Pull Ups and Chin Ups – for those see the note below)

*Note: For Pull Ups and Chin Ups, just perform one rep per card regardless of the card’s value. The total monthly goal for these exercises is 42 each.

Instructions

This month’s routine includes a good mix of compound movements and isolation exercises, so you’ll burn plenty of calories and build lots of muscle while giving a little extra boost to the biceps and abs (aka the “swim suit muscles”).

If you meet or exceed the goal for any particular exercise: Go ahead and cross that exercise off of your list – you’re done with it for the month! If you draw the corresponding card again later, just draw again until you’ve got four exercises that haven’t met their goals.

If there aren’t enough exercises four a four-exercise routine (i.e. you’ve met the goal for at least 10 of the movements), just use the exercises you have left and incorporate “rest cards” for the others. Enjoy the break!

And if you accomplish the goal for ALL the exercises – Congratulations! You’re done for the month. Take a nice rest – you deserved it.

This month’s workout includes a combination of compound exercises and isolation movements, which will make for some interesting training days. All you’ll need for resistance is a dumbbell and your own body weight.

(I’m also including pushup handles this month, but if you don’t have them, simply set up three chairs – one for your feet, and one each for your hands with enough space for your body to fall at or below your hand level).

As usual, chose only ONE dumbbell for the every exercise for the entire month. So pick a weight that’s challenging, but not so heavy you can’t crank out several reps with good form for every exercise. By the end of the month you’ll be swinging it around like a rag doll.

When you meet or exceed the goal for a specific exercise, don’t perform that exercise for the rest of the month. If you draw the corresponding card again, just redraw until you’ve selected an exercise that hasn’t met its goal.

Also, we won’t be using the Joker cards this month, so feel free to take them out of your deck.

(New to Lazy Bum Fitness? Read the How-To page for instructions).

Workout

• Ace: Side Lateral Raises with Dumbbell – Right Shoulder
• Two: Side Lateral Raises with Dumbbell – Left Shoulder
• Three: Pushups with Pushup Handles – Hands Positioned in Parallel at Waist
• Four: Pushups – Regular
• Five: Lunges with Dumbbell – Right Leg Forward
• Six: Lunges with Dumbbell – Left Leg Forward
• Seven: Chin Ups*
• Eight: Squats with Dumbbell
• Nine: Dumbbell Swings** – Right Hand
• Ten: Dumbbell Swings** – Left Hand
• Jack: Dumbbell Rows – Right Hand
• Queen: Dumbbell Rows – Left Hand
• King: Crunches

Cards/Sets per Workout: 20.

Goal: 350 reps for each exercise except Chin Ups. The goal for Chin Ups is 50.

*Note: For Chin Ups, just perform one rep per set regardless of the card value.

**Note: If you’re unfamiliar with Dumbbell Swings, check out this Video. (It’s not me, but the guy, John Sifferman, does an EXCELLENT job demonstrating them).