Sunday, February 22, 2009
Time for a change of routine!
This week has been a challenge. I am doing a run next weekend and have been training for it for several months now. This week I am feeling burned out and ready to move on to a different workout routine. I have also been doing the same weight training program for 7 weeks now and I am noticing I need a change there also. I notice this because I am not feeling the same burning sensation after the workouts and mentally I am not feeling challenged as much. I am still working really hard and increasing my weights but my body is very comfortable with the lifts I have been doing. This is totally normal. It is important to listen to your body and to keep changing workouts to keep your muscles guessing. So after this weekend I will evaluate my workouts and change them up. Dan and I are signing up for a triathlon in Rocky Point mid April if anyone is interested in joining us. Setting a goal...paying for an event...and working towards it is a great way to get motivated. I am really excited to start swimming and biking instead of just running all the time. Seriously if you want to start endurance events and have a cheap fun vacation come join us with the Las Palomas Triathlon. http://www.redrockco.com/las-palomas-triatlon-0
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Cardio!
BENEFITS OF CARDIO
*Increases metabolic rate
*Increases growth hormone secretion
*Reduces stress levels
*Increases blood flow to the brain increasing alertness
*Improve cholesterol levels
*Improves digestion
*Boosts immune-system function
I do this workout at least 2 times a week right now. It is fast and it comes from the Body For Life. I love Bodyforlife.com It has everything I need right now. This is a 20 minute workout that will increase metabolism therefore you will burn fat quicker. I do it on a treadmill but it can be done running on the street, swimming, biking, hiking, pretty much any kind of cardio activity can be applied with these intensities. You will need a second hand watch or stop watch. Each minute you will be changing your intensity level. You are your own judge. A 5 is a comfortable warm up. Then you pick it up each minute until you reach a 9. A 9 is a pretty high level of intensity. Then you drop back down to a 6 level and do it over 3 more times. The last time through the series, your 19th minute is a 10 intensity level. Your goal for the 10 should be to reach the level where you can't do a second longer when you reach the end of that minute. Then you recover with a 5 intensity level for 1 minute and you are done. This should leave you fully spent in only 20 minutes. This will increase your metabolism so for the rest of the day you will be burning more fat.
Minute-Intensity Level
1 -5
2 -5
3 -6
4 -7
5 -8
6 -9
7 -6
8 -7
9 -8
10 -9
11 -6
12 -7
13 -8
14 -9
15 -6
16 -7
17 -8
18 -9
19 -10
20 -5
*Increases metabolic rate
*Increases growth hormone secretion
*Reduces stress levels
*Increases blood flow to the brain increasing alertness
*Improve cholesterol levels
*Improves digestion
*Boosts immune-system function
I do this workout at least 2 times a week right now. It is fast and it comes from the Body For Life. I love Bodyforlife.com It has everything I need right now. This is a 20 minute workout that will increase metabolism therefore you will burn fat quicker. I do it on a treadmill but it can be done running on the street, swimming, biking, hiking, pretty much any kind of cardio activity can be applied with these intensities. You will need a second hand watch or stop watch. Each minute you will be changing your intensity level. You are your own judge. A 5 is a comfortable warm up. Then you pick it up each minute until you reach a 9. A 9 is a pretty high level of intensity. Then you drop back down to a 6 level and do it over 3 more times. The last time through the series, your 19th minute is a 10 intensity level. Your goal for the 10 should be to reach the level where you can't do a second longer when you reach the end of that minute. Then you recover with a 5 intensity level for 1 minute and you are done. This should leave you fully spent in only 20 minutes. This will increase your metabolism so for the rest of the day you will be burning more fat.
Minute-Intensity Level
1 -5
2 -5
3 -6
4 -7
5 -8
6 -9
7 -6
8 -7
9 -8
10 -9
11 -6
12 -7
13 -8
14 -9
15 -6
16 -7
17 -8
18 -9
19 -10
20 -5
Ridding the post baby pooch!
Everyone wants to know the secret remedy for getting rid of the never wanted baby pooch. I wish I knew one...wait I do...it is called liposuction! As far as I know that is the only easy way...but if you are like most of the women in this world that is not an option. The reality about it is the fat you have on your body and/or belly before a baby is going to be loose and stretch after having a baby. That is the way Heavenly Father made us women. So first off we need to recognize that and if we want to have children then we need to accept the challenge. Every part of our bodies will get bigger when caring a baby. I once had a very ignorant trainer tell me that luckily when your pregnant only your belly gets bigger. Needless to say he hasn't known many pregnant women. So here it is...when you are pregnant you do not necessarily gain more FAT...unless you gain too much weight. The normal/healthy range for most pregnancies is 25-35lbs. Some women will have a special case. So if we stay in this range we shouldn't be gaining too much more FAT if any at all. For the most part our body is just getting stretched out, saggy, and out of shape. By out of shape I mean loose; loosing the muscle tone we had to keep our self in place...ie buns, legs, bellies especially. (Same thing happens as we get older. The muscle tone can't expect to stay the way it was at 18 if we don't ever do anything to keep it that way.) Our muscles in our tummies...the abdominal and obliques (sides of tummy) are sagging out. So the layers of fat on top of the muscle are sagging out even more. The way to take care of this is simple on paper....but takes lot of work everyday. We have to tone up our abdominal muscle and obliques. That will flatten our stomach and then we need to burn the fat on top of the muscle. Doing crunches will not burn fat on your abs but it will tone up (flatten) the muscle under the fat. Cardio and eating good is the only way to burn fat...biking, running, hiking, swimming, eliminating white flour, bad carbs, junk etc. And keep doing those crunches, leg raises. I am trying to figure out how to add a link to some good work outs but you can google abdominal workouts and there are millions. I was raised in an athletic family. My mom bribed my from age 6 to motivate me to be good. So I have a lot of muscle tone from years of working out and playing sports. Keep it up and keep me posted!!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
No Excuse Work Out
No Excuse Workout: Using Already in the Home Equipment & Just Your Body Weight
When to use it: Having no access to equipment shouldn't prevent you from getting into shape. A body-weight-only program does have a few drawbacks--mainly, it's hard to manipulate your intensity by increasing the weight load on the muscles. But this program can be perfect for you if you're a beginner trying to break into the habit of training before getting some equipment or a gym membership.
25 Minute Workout – Beat your kids out of bed by 25 minutes and you can get a good resistance work out in.
Perform as a circuit doing each exercise one time and then a second time. If you have time to do a third time then take it away.
Exercise/ Reps
1. Body Weight Squat / 20
2. Forward Lunge / 15
3. Step Up / 15
4. Inverted Push up / 10
5. Push Up / 10
6. Close Grip Push Up / 5
7. Lying Torso Raise / 15
8. Crunch / 25
1. BODY-WEIGHT SQUAT (legs) Put your hands on your hips or hold them straight out in front of you. From a standing position, feet about shoulder-width apart, squat down until both knees reach 90 degrees. As you lower yourself, keep your lower back slightly arched, head up, and stick your glutes (buns) out as if you were going to sit in a chair. Weight should be on your hills. Be sure that your knees aren't out past your toes as you descend--if they are, you're not moving your glutes back far enough (weight is not on your heals) on the descent. Once you reach the bottom position, flex through your quads (front of the leg), hamstrings (back of the leg) and glutes to power yourself back up to a standing position and repeat. (To make this easier do this exercise into a chair and as soon as you touch the seat ascend back up keeping balance -- not resting in the chair.) Continue until you have completed 20 squats.
2. FORWARD LUNGE (legs) With your hands on your hips, assume a comfortable stance, feet shoulder-width apart, head up and torso erect. From there, step with your right leg straight forward, as deep as you can go without moving your left foot. Plant your right foot and bend your right knee to 90 degrees. Then, flexing the muscles of your thigh, push yourself back up to a standing position and repeat the movement with your left leg. Alternate right & left leg in this fashion until you've completed 15 reps per leg.
3. STEP UP (legs) Start with your right leg, step up onto a chair and back off, rotate and step up with your left leg onto the chair and back off. To avoid injury, make sure as you are stepping up the majority of your foot is landing on the chair not just your toe. Continue alternating legs until you have completed 15 reps per leg.
4. INVERTED PUSH-UP (shoulders) Place your feet on a chair and your hands out in front of you at shoulder-width. Without moving your feet, creep your hands backward until your body is bent almost 90 degrees and your head is facing the floor. Press up until your arms are straight--you should resemble an inverted V-- then slowly lower your head toward the floor until your arms are almost bent 90 degrees. Walk your hands back out and repeat. Complete 10 reps.
5. PUSH-UP (chest) Place your hands a little wider than your shoulders, put your toes on the floor (or knees on the floor for beginners), feet and legs together, hips in line with your back and raise up into an arms-extended position. Slowly lower yourself until your chest just touches the floor, return to the starting position and repeat. As you lower yourself, concentrate on feeling the stretch in your chest, and flex on the way up rather than using a quick piston action to finish your set. Continue for 10 repetitions.
6. CLOSE-GRIP PUSH-UP (triceps) Do these the same as you do the regular push-ups, except bring your hands closer so that your thumbs and index fingers form a triangle beneath your chest (or as close as you can get them to perform exercise). As you descend, your elbows will point outward; once your chest comes in light contact with your hands, slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Continue for 5 repetitions.
7. LYING TORSO RAISE (lower back) Lie facedown on the floor and place your hands loosely behind your neck. Slowly raise your upper body until your chest is a few inches off the floor. You should feel your lumbar spine and lower-back muscles contracting as you rise up. Hold the top position for a two-second count, slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Continue for 15 repetitions.
8. CRUNCH (abs) Lie face up, your knees bent and feet on the floor. Keep your hands behind your head -- avoid the temptation to pull on your head as you tire. Curl your torso as you bring your shoulder blades up a few inches, squeeze your abs, and then slowly return to the starting position. To keep the pressure on, don't spend more than a second in the "down" position; the longer your shoulder blades are off the floor, the more work your abs must do. Continue slowly for 25 repetitions.
“Men's Fitness, Jan, 2003 by Michael Berg / Tara’s few changes and additions.”
If you have any questions please comment and I will answer them!
When to use it: Having no access to equipment shouldn't prevent you from getting into shape. A body-weight-only program does have a few drawbacks--mainly, it's hard to manipulate your intensity by increasing the weight load on the muscles. But this program can be perfect for you if you're a beginner trying to break into the habit of training before getting some equipment or a gym membership.
25 Minute Workout – Beat your kids out of bed by 25 minutes and you can get a good resistance work out in.
Perform as a circuit doing each exercise one time and then a second time. If you have time to do a third time then take it away.
Exercise/ Reps
1. Body Weight Squat / 20
2. Forward Lunge / 15
3. Step Up / 15
4. Inverted Push up / 10
5. Push Up / 10
6. Close Grip Push Up / 5
7. Lying Torso Raise / 15
8. Crunch / 25
1. BODY-WEIGHT SQUAT (legs) Put your hands on your hips or hold them straight out in front of you. From a standing position, feet about shoulder-width apart, squat down until both knees reach 90 degrees. As you lower yourself, keep your lower back slightly arched, head up, and stick your glutes (buns) out as if you were going to sit in a chair. Weight should be on your hills. Be sure that your knees aren't out past your toes as you descend--if they are, you're not moving your glutes back far enough (weight is not on your heals) on the descent. Once you reach the bottom position, flex through your quads (front of the leg), hamstrings (back of the leg) and glutes to power yourself back up to a standing position and repeat. (To make this easier do this exercise into a chair and as soon as you touch the seat ascend back up keeping balance -- not resting in the chair.) Continue until you have completed 20 squats.
2. FORWARD LUNGE (legs) With your hands on your hips, assume a comfortable stance, feet shoulder-width apart, head up and torso erect. From there, step with your right leg straight forward, as deep as you can go without moving your left foot. Plant your right foot and bend your right knee to 90 degrees. Then, flexing the muscles of your thigh, push yourself back up to a standing position and repeat the movement with your left leg. Alternate right & left leg in this fashion until you've completed 15 reps per leg.
3. STEP UP (legs) Start with your right leg, step up onto a chair and back off, rotate and step up with your left leg onto the chair and back off. To avoid injury, make sure as you are stepping up the majority of your foot is landing on the chair not just your toe. Continue alternating legs until you have completed 15 reps per leg.
4. INVERTED PUSH-UP (shoulders) Place your feet on a chair and your hands out in front of you at shoulder-width. Without moving your feet, creep your hands backward until your body is bent almost 90 degrees and your head is facing the floor. Press up until your arms are straight--you should resemble an inverted V-- then slowly lower your head toward the floor until your arms are almost bent 90 degrees. Walk your hands back out and repeat. Complete 10 reps.
5. PUSH-UP (chest) Place your hands a little wider than your shoulders, put your toes on the floor (or knees on the floor for beginners), feet and legs together, hips in line with your back and raise up into an arms-extended position. Slowly lower yourself until your chest just touches the floor, return to the starting position and repeat. As you lower yourself, concentrate on feeling the stretch in your chest, and flex on the way up rather than using a quick piston action to finish your set. Continue for 10 repetitions.
6. CLOSE-GRIP PUSH-UP (triceps) Do these the same as you do the regular push-ups, except bring your hands closer so that your thumbs and index fingers form a triangle beneath your chest (or as close as you can get them to perform exercise). As you descend, your elbows will point outward; once your chest comes in light contact with your hands, slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Continue for 5 repetitions.
7. LYING TORSO RAISE (lower back) Lie facedown on the floor and place your hands loosely behind your neck. Slowly raise your upper body until your chest is a few inches off the floor. You should feel your lumbar spine and lower-back muscles contracting as you rise up. Hold the top position for a two-second count, slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Continue for 15 repetitions.
8. CRUNCH (abs) Lie face up, your knees bent and feet on the floor. Keep your hands behind your head -- avoid the temptation to pull on your head as you tire. Curl your torso as you bring your shoulder blades up a few inches, squeeze your abs, and then slowly return to the starting position. To keep the pressure on, don't spend more than a second in the "down" position; the longer your shoulder blades are off the floor, the more work your abs must do. Continue slowly for 25 repetitions.
“Men's Fitness, Jan, 2003 by Michael Berg / Tara’s few changes and additions.”
If you have any questions please comment and I will answer them!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Being fit is a lot more than just physical looks...
Even though that is great motivation to get started. The one thing I have noticed is that when I have an exercise program I am following I am a lot happier. Sometimes it is working towards a running event or other goal. When I have a goal each day or week that I am trying to accomplish the other things in life fall into place. The structure I am forced to have blesses my families life also. The first thing I do in the morning, after saying my prayers, making my bed, getting breakfast, and sometimes Reece off to school, is head to the gym. I am blessed to have a gym membership especially one with a day care. But I gotta be out of the gym early because I hate feeling like I wasted my morning working out. It has to be early as possible and a workout to the point. My workout has to be planned out before entering the gym or it tends to be unefficient. And as moms efficiency is key. We gotta be home to clean, do laundry, etc. etc.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Christ's Character
Our Relief Society lesson yesterday was incredible. I don't remember the title or where it was given but it was by Eldar Bednar. I can't even find it on LDS.org. I admit I left feeling quite aweful about myself trying to justify how I am Christ like and how I show charity to others. But when it comes down to it I just need to do a better job.
I gain so much mental strength from challenging myself physically. My grandpa posted the following poem that I have taped to my mirror. It defines so many emotional areas of life that I would love to have complete control of daily. They truly define the character of Christ.
The Criteria of Emotional Maturity
The ability to deal constructively with reality.
The capacity to adapt to change.
A relative freedom from symptoms that are produced by tensions and anxieties.
The capacity to find more satisfaction in giving than receiving.
The capacity to relate to other people in a consistent manner with mutual satisfaction and helpfulness.
The capacity to sublimate, to direct one's instinctive hostile energy into creative and constructive outlets.
The capacity to love.
William C. Menninger, M.D. 1899-1966
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