How's my routine shaping up?

[Renaleo]

With this routine, I'm basically trying to get into better general shape. I want to tone up my legs and get rid of all my belly fat (trying to cut down calories for this too) and increase my stamina for karate and running.

I want to tone up my arms more too, but my left arm is struggling a lot after spending six months recovering from injury through it being held in the wrong place in the joint, due to having hypermobile joints, and I'm running on just below the maximum it can take with just pressups.

I also have problems in my left knee, which is why I'm not doing any sprinting work-it kills for about four days afterwards.


15 pressups-thumbs touching
30 crunches (knees up variety)
15 pressups-normal
15 double leg raises (absolutely kills me for some reason)
15 pressups-hands wide apart
15 pressups-knuckles
20 each leg raises-inner thigh (with 1.5lbs ankle weights)
10 pressups-fingertips
30 each leg raises-outer thigh (with 1.5lbs ankle weights)
50 calf raises
15 each leg raises-inner thigh (with 1.5lbs ankle weights)
50 calf raises
20 each leg lift things (explained below-don't know the name)

20 each arm tricep extensions (with 500ml bottle of water as weight)-the problem with these is that no matter what weight I use, after about 12, I start to get pins and needles in my hands an wrists and they start to go numb.

20 mins jogging (or two sets 10 mins, depending on how I feel)

I try to do this every day, but it ends up being about 4-5 times a week instead, and I work on kata as well most days, taking each kata (I only know seven so far) and going through it a couple of times slowly, then about five times each at normal pace.

Each leg lift things
stand on a box (or pile of magazines in my case) with one leg and the other leg hanging free at the side. You basically raise and lower your body on the side of your free leg, so changing your belt line from diagonally down to diagonally up then down again etc. It's supposed to work your glute meds, I think.

I also have Karate on a Monday night, so I'm most inclined to skip on Tuesdays and Mondays.

[blessed_samurai]

At least throw in some chin ups or pull ups. And look into 1 legged squats.

[Renaleo]

I've always had problems with chin ups and pull ups-I dunno if it's being a gal or if it's just me-I can't even do one properly. Do you think that trying them from 2-3 feet high with my feet still on the ground first would help strengthen the right muscles to the stage that I can start doing actual pressups?

One legged squats look good though-I think I'll start adding them in as well.

I'm thinking of swapping the tricep extensions out for dips or tricep kickbacks instead, to get rid of the whole arm-numbing thing.

Cheers for the advice, Blessed Samurai

[Frodocious]

Being a girl shouldn't stop you doing pull ups / chin ups. I can do them. They're not easy to start with but you could try starting with body rows with your feet on the floor, then with your feet raised, or try negative chin ups - start at the top of the chin and lower yourself down.

I built mine up using a 'greasing the groove' approach. If you can get a doorway chin up bar put in on the door into your room and every time you go in or out try 1 chin up, then when you can do 1 chin up try doing 2 etc.

Try doing proper dips between 2 chairs.

Do you have any equipment? If your joints allow it, I would look into doing some heavier weight training as well.

[Yohan]

If you have issues doing chinups, start with negatives - jump up to the bar, hold it at your collarbones for 2 seconds, lower yourself slowly to a deadhang, taking 4 seconds. Helped me get my pullup reps from 2 to 6 in less than 6 months.

[TheCount]

I would definitely put some pistols in there.
As for chinups/pullups, you can set the bar near to the floor and do them with your feet under yuour backside, pulling up while lying horizontal. As you get better move your feet up. The further out they are from your body the closer to a full row you are. Hope that makes sense... it does in my mind xD

[Yohan]

Each leg lift things
stand on a box (or pile of magazines in my case) with one leg and the other leg hanging free at the side. You basically raise and lower your body on the side of your free leg, so changing your belt line from diagonally down to diagonally up then down again etc. It's supposed to work your glute meds, I think.

I also have Karate on a Monday night, so I'm most inclined to skip on Tuesdays and Mondays.

These are essentially single leg squats - start weighting them for better results.

[Fish Of Doom]

i'd say don't skip exercise on mondays. exercise on monday morning or early afternoon, so you get that workout, rest then get the workout from karate. what you should skip is working out on a sunday, since if you end up sore from it you'll be compromising your ability to give 100% at karate(i know that cause i did just that this week and i'm still hurting :p).