Monday, February 27, 2012

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.

As ridiculous as it sounds, I completely wore myself out this weekend by performing a series of exercises using a single medium-sized towel. If you're looking for a simple exercise routine you can do almost anywhere that requires very little time and basically no equipment, you may want to give this a try. I'm always a little wary of online exercise suggestions and the hyperbolic claims that seem to inevitably come with the territory, so I'd long ignored the INSANE (yet simple) workout plans that promised everything short of world peace and true happiness with nothing but a towel. But like most people I'm wrong a lot, so I decided to get over my skepticism and try a few exercises/workout plans that require only you, a towel (or a t-shirt), and some serious stamina. I found that what seemed pretty ridiculous actually proved to be a very difficult and effective workout.


A Simple Starter Routine with Towel Resistance Exercises 

Ignoring the excessive name, this "insane home fat loss" routine was my favorite - and by favorite I mean it was surprisingly difficult and effective despite appearing like one of the easiest workouts I've ever seen. These exercises work because they use your own strength against you. That means you have to rely on yourself to make the workout difficult, otherwise you'll just be lifting a towel into the air while you look like you're fighting a particularly stubborn moment of constipation. (You'll look like this regardless, but if you're getting a good workout from it - in the privacy of your own home - you'll be too tired and impressed to think it's silly.) What's also great about using your own strength against you is that these exercises will get harder as you grow stronger. This routine utilizes a few techniques that involve pulling on the towel to create a natural resistance and then using that already difficult action in motion to work your muscles even harder. You're supposed to do the routine in this video three times in a row with very short periods of rest. Even if you're in shape you may be surprised at how difficult that can be. {Read on}