My Name is Molly Shannon, and I'll Be Your Trainer

My father has recently retired, and wants me to put together a workout routine for him to lose weight. He's had a membership to the YMCA for several years now, and after a successful round of water aerobics classes, he has stopped going. He was excited that I'm working out again, and we're setting a goal of visiting the YMCA together once a week so I can pass a workout on to him, and he will hopefully pass it on to my mother as well.

In using my magazine subscription (2 issues so far), I have begun using hand weights, the weighted bar, and the elastic band. I have also ventured a few moves using the exercise ball, but my stabilizing muscles are still weak, so that has been a challenge. For each move that I use, I am considering the ways that my parents can perform these exercises. My father is strong, but has "secretly" smoked for that last 45 years. My mother has broken her back and neck, and although she's recovered, she believes her limitations to be, well, insanely limiting. Both of my parents are also pre-diabetic, and as someone who has had diabetes for 15 years, I do not want that to happen for them. So family fitness it is!

I use SELF Magazine for most of my fitness ideas, and I've been viewing their online videos for ideas or clarity on directions as well. My favorite is the SUPERSTAR, which although for legal reasons they don't say it, is a lunge and weights move based on Molly Shannon's character from SNL. My workout has been borrowed from the celebrity highlights of SELF this month, including Michelle from Destiny's Child and Jillian from the Biggest Loser. My job now is to transfer these moves to my two 60+ parents, and hopefully our family will be toned, tight, and light on glucose. My name is Molly Shannon, and I'll be your trainer this year. Our workout so far is as follows:

1. warm-up for 5 minutes on cardio equipment of choice

2. 24 SUPERSTAR lunges (12 per leg)

3. 24 back lunges with bicep curls (12 per leg)

4. 12 push-ups (classic or girly)

5. 12 Scissors crunches

6. 30-60 seconds in plank pose

7. 12 bridge pose with overhead weights

8. 12 Dancers' reaches

9. 12 Flamingo Firmers

10. 12 Twist-Aways

11. 24 reps in "starter block" pose

12. 5 minutes of cool-down on cardio equipment

This looks brutal to me, but each move goes pretty quickly, and doesn't seem to hard until you try to walk around the next day. I highly recommend the two workouts from the January issue of SELF, and I've posted the links below. SUPERSTAR!

Jillian Michaels's Workout: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1767981817/bctid4848279001
Michelle's Williams Workout: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1767981817/bctid4680854001