The Archer Workout... Just in Case You Need Some Help With Your New Year's Resolution
Would you like to get the type of body Sterling Archer has? Then become a cartoon! Because he isn't real! (But he is awesome.)
Ok I apologize. I think I may have mislead you. I call this workout "The Archer Workout" because it can be performed in its entirety in the time it takes to watch one 22 minute episode of Archer on Netflix.
Because of my completely healthy and reasonable obsession with steemit, I have found it difficult to find time for my other hobbies. I have completely tossed aside video games. That was no problem at all. But I really want to keep working out and watching television as much as I can... which isn't much. Luckily my wife has excellent taste in television shows so we have watched the really important ones (like Westward and Stranger Things) together. I count that as "family" time, not "hobby" time, so it works out nicely.
A few months ago, @talonhorne did a great piece on Netflixing Archer. This post reminded me that I needed to go back and watch this series. I had seen episodes every now and then and loved every one of them. Yet, I still did not set aside any time to watch them consistently. I was being an idiot.
All summer long, I worked out pretty regularly. I have followed them P90-X system off and on for about five years. I normally do a great job of staying disciplined during the summer... but when the school year starts I really struggle to keep going. After finding Steemit in July, I knew I had no chance to maintain a workout program that required nearly 90 minutes per day. I had two choices: quit working out, or figure out a way to workout more efficiently.
I decided to combine the two things I really wanted to do: watch Archer and work out.
Although I am no workout expert, I am pretty pleased with the one I came up with. As it turns out, thanks to a post by @steemship, I now know that there is some science behind the workout I stumbled upon.
Before I give you the details of my exact workout, I want to be clear on a few things:
- I have no training at all when it comes to giving work out advice. This is my personal workout. It might not be good for anyone else but me. I am only posting it here in order to give people an idea of what kind of simple program they can build for themselves.
- I am in pretty decent shape for a 45 year old. This is not a beginner's workout. I came up with this to simply maintain my fitness level that I had developed after some pretty strenuous exercise.
- I am no Adonis. This workout isn't going to make me the envy of everyone on the beach. It merely helps to keep me healthy and fit.
- The idea is to do this routine every day.
- You can replace any of these exercises with something more or less strenuous based on your fitness level. (This is especially helpful for the pushups. The pushups below are pretty advanced. If you need to start with pushups while kneeling or standard pushups, do that. Don't get held back because something is too complicated or strenuous. Make it your own.)
- Choose a safe weight.
- I perform these exercises one right after another with minimal rest (I want to keep my heart rate up the entire time)
Equipment needed:
- A cardio machine (a bike, treadmill, elliptical machine, jumprope, stairs to run, a path... anything that can get your heart rate up)
- Exercise bands or a lat pulldown machine
- Dumbbells of various weights
- A chair or weight bench
- A TV on which to watch Archer
I have an elliptical machine so after a little light stretching I hop on that for 10 minutes. I make sure it is strenuous enough to warm me up... and tire me out a little.
After the cardio warmup, I jump right into the exercises. For most of these, I do 12 reps of each exercise.
1 . 12 reps of Pushup Bird Dog Crunch Combos (you can replace these with any type of pushups. If you are just starting out, pushups while kneeling will work).
2 . 12 Reps of chair dips ( I do these very slowly on the way down and rise up quickly)
3 . 24 In-Out Hammer Curls (12 in and 12 out)
4 . 12 Rotating Plyo Pushups (This is the most challenging exercise. You can replace this with anything from kneeling pushups, standard pushups, "clap" pushups or side to side airborne pushups)
5 . 12 Floor Dumbbell Tricep Extensions (Don't use too much weight. Don't be a hero, if you get too fatigued, you might drop the weights on your face!)
6 . 24 In-Out Straight Arm Shoulder Fly (12 In and 12 Out)
7 . 12 Shoulder Presses
8 . 12 Lat Pulldowns ( I use exercise bands but you could do standard pull-ups or use a lat machine)
9 . Supermans (This is my favorite exercise. My back feels great for the rest of the day.)
If you find any of these exercises useful... great! If not, I hope this at least gives you some ideas on how to build a routine that will fit into your schedule.
Most importantly, I really hope everyone can find a way to take good care of themselves!
Good luck!
Key to staying in shape:
"Eat Less. Move More." Bruce Lee
That is simply brilliant in its simplicity. Great quote!!!
Exactly. I re-steemed your article because I am gonna give this a whirl when I get back. I play ice hockey so I am always looking for new fun ways to stay in shape so I don't get my ass kicked.
I think you should add that this is an upper body workout. It is important when promoting exercise to explain balance. The three major groups for promoting this, is your legs and buttocks (lower body), your abdominal core (middle body), and your chest, back and arms (upper body). A lot of people who go to the gym are top heavy because they focus majorly on their upper body routines for that pumped up look, so it's important to break this habit.
Kudos to you for promoting exercise, this is a great upper body routine!
Excellent point! This does get at the core as well because of the bird dog pushups. But aside from the elliptical warmup it really missed the legs. Is there 1 or 2 "catch all" exercises i could add for legs? Some kind of dumbbell squats with calf raises at the end?
Short step lunges with weights are a good one. Calves, quads, hamstrings, and buttocks.
Yes very good. Forgot about that one. I may add that.
A really good book for muscle development is Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier. I have a copy that I refer to every time I want to change up my weight routine.
I think I need to start the 30 burpees in 30 days challenge even if they totally suck. LOL The problem is: I think my house would literally break if I tried them at home. It's a sad truth. I'll have to come up with an alternative.
Great exercises though! Here's to staying healthy and fit in 2017. :D
Do ANYTHING. Literally anything. If all you can do is run in place, start with that. If you can do old school jumping jacks go for that. maybe walk up and down the stairs 5 times. Or buy a vide game system and play Dance Dance revolution! Have fun!!!!!
Yes, I have also been thinking about getting some exercise, looks like I will have to make a start now.
That's great to hear! I hope you find something that you enjoy! Happy New Year!!!
Now I have to make a New Year's resolution and keep this post bookmarked for a year!
Thanks for commenting Tom! Screename was about to get really lonely. You're the best!
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nice post :)