Okapi Workout Program Phase 1

*Disclaimer: You should contact your physician before starting any new diet/exercise program*

This okapi is overweight and under active. I've decided that since I'm lazy going to the gym doesn't work for me; there are just too many (imaginary) excuses not to go. I also decided that I really want to lose some weight and gain some muscle before I start law school. Unfortunately, being an overweight woman can hurt your  career. (Good news, boys: The same is untrue of men, so have all the burgers and beers you want!)

Of course this really pisses me off and it should piss you off too whether you're fat or not, but I digress. My career is of course one reason I want to take off some pounds, but another is that I feel like crap. There's nothing worse than a fat, lethargic, okapi. It sleeps a lot and eats a lot, but feels icky.So, I've enacted phase one of my workout plan this week by ditching my gym membership (!) and developing a workout program that thwarts my weaknesses.

First, I researched workout ideas and found this article from Men's Journal. It reminded me of something I had heard a long time ago about body weight exercises being the most effective. Now, I won't rehash the whole article here (you're welcome), but I will say that it makes sense to have your body work as a unit and use your own (sometimes unnecessarily heavy) weight as the resistance. Next I researched that concept and came up with the a workout plan.

Have you ever heard of hundredpushups.com? Well, it's a free six week guide to go from doing 1 or 2 push-ups to 100. It only takes 10 minutes three times a week, so I can't bitch about it. Hell, I can even watch TV while I do it, so I have no excuses. The same people who made the push-up site also did the same for squats, sit-ups, and dips. So, I do all of them three days per week. I also added chin-ups and since I have to use a chair I just do them in the same amount of reps as the dips and call it good. The different workouts don't have to be in a row, I just have to do them.


*UPDATE: "Fancy" pointed out that I should do 2 minutes of jumping jacks to get my muscles warmed up before these exercises to avoid injury. As usual, she's probably right, so you should do the same and for Jeebus sake, don't forget to stretch afterward!!*

Another thing I learned from the Men's Journal article is that four simple exercises can help you avoid common injuries. I do these as well.

Two other days of the week I have to do some sort of exercise, but it doesn't matter what it is. It can be creek walking, biking, tennis, hiking, or just walking around the neighborhood, but I have to move for at least 30 minutes.

As far as food intake, I track my calorie and fat intake at fatsecret.com which is free and has a huge database of foods to track. There's even an Android app which is awesome! My goal is 1600-1800 calories per day.

This is phase one which is a 6 week plan, so I'll let you know how it works out. Stay tuned for phase 2!