Hurts so good

What is your favorite way to exercise?  Is it running because you can feel the wind in your hair?  Is it pumping iron because you can see yourself as Arnold Schwarzenegger?  Maybe you love yoga because you can bend into a pretzel?  Whatever it is that gets you up and at 'em is the key to maintenance.  By this I mean, maintaining a routine of physical activity.  But here's the thing...what don't you like? What we don't like is usually a good indicator of what is weak in our bodies that need a little extra attention.  Here's one that will initially hurt like the dickens but it's one WE all need. Sit with your feet flexed on your heels. 

Or grab a foam roller and roll out on your IT band.  When you find your sore spot, hang out for 30 seconds to let the tightness release.  Most people are rather tight, whether they work out or not.  Dancers are typically more flexible and bending down to touch their toes takes little to no effort.  If you lift weights, you're the type that usually skips the stretching portion of the routine.  STOP AND STRETCH, YOU FOOL!  You'll be glad you did.  Whatever muscle is the tightest and therefore hurts the most when stretched, that's the muscle you should pay attention to.  

I've rambled onto the importance of stretching.  The point of this post is to work (i.e. strengthen or stretch) what hurts or is weak.  For me it's my hip flexors.  I am very open in my hips and as a result they are very weak.  Trying to extend my legs forward for any amount of time KILLS!  I immediately want to bend my legs to take the strain off my psoas (fancy for hip flexors).  I know I need to strengthen them.  I regularly incorporate stretching into my workouts, so for me adding hip flexor strengthening exercises is a MUST, especially because I don't like the way it feels.

Now there is a very important distinction between strengthening weak muscles and hurting yourself. Say for example you have a bad back.  PLEASE DO NOT GO OUT AND EXERCISE YOUR BACK THINKING YOU WILL HELP IT!  Think about the opposite muscle.  If you have a bad back, your CORE needs strengthening.  Adding some Pilates core work into your routine will help strengthen what is weak and therefore you will rely LESS on your back doing most of the work.  Try it! 

Just tell yourself it will hurt sooooo....good :)  And then play John Cougar Mellencamp's song on your ipod.

New Year, new you?

Have you been naughty or nice this season?  I'm going to bet you've probably meant to be nice, but have fallen victim to the naughty Holiday temptations.

Take yourself off the merry-go-round of guilt and hop on the treadmill!  If only it were so simple, right?  You see those skinny bitches complaining about the SINGLE carb they ate and as you literally LOL you shove another gooey treat down your pie hole.

Do you equate diets with deprivation?  Are you giving yourself a free pass because it's the "Holiday season" and you don't want to be the only person denying your taste buds at that Holiday gathering? Guess what...deprivation gets you no where, fast.  Actually, it gets you into your fat pants.  That's a destination no one wants to visit.

The savvy secret is to have what you really want, satisfy that craving and move on.  But save your splurges for what really grabs you.

Isn't it hilarious you'll see gym memberships soar at the beginning of EVERY year, without fail.  Most of those same resolution makers (I omit keepers for a good reason) go to the gym for two weeks and then it's business as usual.  Sitting on the couch simply wishing your waistline would shrink without having to sweat it out.

Here's the sad reality - those same resolution makers are the people who fail because they just don't know what they're doing.  Who wants to exercise improperly?  It's totally pointless and results will never be gained.

I used to despise running the dreaded mile in school, every year for 12 years, because when I would run I would get cramps in my tummy and my body would hurt.  Why, for the love of God, does the country make children do such exercises without giving them proper instruction?  No wonder I always 'failed'.

I have been going to a few running seminars (free) and now I actually enjoy running.  I highly doubt I'll ever be a marathon enthusiast, but at least if George Clooney were 3 miles from me I could run to him in a decent time.  What I learned at these seminars was proper form.  What to do with my arms, what my stride should be in order to feel less fatigued and proper alignment.  It has made a big difference.  It only took me 32 years.

When I'm at the gym, I know what I'm doing now because I have educated myself.  I have worked in small group personal training (small price compared to 1:1) sessions.  I am now certified by the National Academy of Sport's Medicine to be my own personal trainer.  I hope to train others, soon.  Just need to gain more experience.  I'm also a certified Pilates instructor.  These certifications would not have been achievable if I didn't figure out how to work with my body.

Pilates, yoga, short distance running, weight training and swimming appeal to me.  My body feels so much better after an hour or so of each.  But the real secret is to combine what feels good.  I would not be this strong just doing yoga.  The other modalities have greatly improved my arm balances in yoga, for example.

So when the year passes and you commit to finding the 'new you' thirty plus pounds lighter...get some education.  Don't think by just suiting up and gutting it out for an hour will change you.  Enjoy what you're doing and do it right.  Be wary of over indulging your sweet tooth simply because you 'worked out' that day.  If you work out for 1 hour, that's 4% of your day.  The real trick is controlling the other 96% of it.

You are amazingly gifted and can achieve whatever you put your mind to with the right attitude and resources.  GO YOU!

How do you workout?

I've been (mentally) beating myself up thinking I NEED TO DO MORE WEIGHTS.  I do my circuit training program once a week.  Before and after that day you can find me in yoga, Pilates and XTend Ballet Barre classes.  Why?  Because my mind and body are in their happy places!

Truth be told...I really don't enjoy weight lifting.  It's not something that makes me happy.  I do love the feeling after completing my circuit training day, but I immediately feel ashamed because it only makes up ONE day in my week.

So then I started to think...hmmmmm...my newly defined biceps and deltoids (which I'm super proud of) still get attacked when I'm at the Barre or gettin' my yoga on. My inner thighs and unsightly 'saddle bags' are rapidly thinning out and disappearing.  While I know that incorporating weights is mandatory at this stage in the game, there may be a method to my madness after all.

Maybe you can identify with me.  Does it intimidate you to walk into a gym filled with people who look like they really know what they're doing?  Do you not really know what to do when standing in front of a complicated looking machine?  Where do you go from there?

If intimidation is keeping you from exercising, let this be a motivating post for 'ya.  Get a plan of attack together and figure out what makes your body feel good.  My best savvy friend is more into stair climbers and weights.  I run from stair climbers and well, you already know how I feel about weights. My savvy husband is ALL about lifting weights and cardio is a pain in his butt.  Not all exercises are created equally and people will respond differently to them.

I recently purchased 'Lean and Chiseled' via amazon for a whopping $8.99.  Click the pic for the link.  This is where it all begins.  Get this DVD and try it in the privacy of your own home.  If you're not feeling the burn within the first 10 minutes, then you're not doing it right.  This is a ridiculous workout!!  Here's a link to their website http://xtendbarreworkout.com/new/

I have tried to get both my friend and hubby into yoga and now I'm on a mission to bring the Barre into their workouts.  My husband will not join me at the Barre because he would be the only guy in the room.  Ok - I can respect.  Here is a sampling of the exercises you'll find at the Barre.

Disclaimer: Please use caution when attempting these exercises.  Be mindful if your knees, hips or back cause you any pain then you need to modify.

        

                 Balancing on the ball of your standing foot, you lift and lower your extended leg ever so slightly.

XTend borrows many of the exercises from Pilates.  Here your core is in total control - as you lift and lower your torso you alternate your arm positions.  It's a fancy sit up

More Pilates.  While engaging your core, you move your legs in and out. 

This one makes me cry and shake.  While in a squat, you are to lift and lower your body down and inch and up and inch. This is not for the faint of quad.

Super easy move that challenges your balance (which is code for core) and works your inner thighs. Simply hold in second position, or for a more intese exercise lift and lower your body.

If you don't have the barre, grab a chair and lift and lower yourself.

SAY WHAT!?!?

I've been dutifully going to my gym now for 18 months.  I do a weigh in every six months, just to make sure I'm decreasing the space I take up in this world.  The folks at Lifetime have informed me they have done away with the skin-fold method of calculating percentage of body fat.  I was not disappointed at all, as I never thought this was a very reliable method, but whatevs!

Ok...so this test required me to fast for three hours prior to the test.  Arriving for my weekly circuit training workout I am, at this point, hungry and quite thirsty - I hop on the fancy looking scale and hold my breath.  WOWZER!!!  My body fat percentage is nothing I can post here.

Crushed, defeated, confused and trying to make sense of the world (DRAMA!) I just don't know what to think.  Based on my weight and % I'm 45 pounds of fat??????  How, what, where, why and WTF?

After consuming protein and mass amounts of water I begin to get a grip.  I know I still have a pesky 10 pounds until goal weight...but 45 nearly sent me over the *freaking edge.  I quickly contacted my trusty support system and asked if I truly put stock into this new machine.  My conclusion is - NO.  If I lost 45 pounds I'd be too thin (is there such a thing?).  My family would most likely diagnosis me with a severe eating disorder and off to the hospital I'd go for some serious nutrient replenishment.

I'm not beating myself up.  I'm not changing my "diet" (I hate using this word).  My trainer suggested re-examining my food intake and she encouraged me to keep a food journal so we could take a look at it.  She said, "You're probably not eating enough".  Initially I was offended...I'm a savvy foodie!!  But then I realized there are steps I can still take in order to reach my ideal weight.  Don't get me wrong, being a size 6 is fab...but there are still parts of my body I'm working on minimizing and toning.

Steps:
1.  Keep food diary - this will keep me honest
2.  Up cardio level to new zone levels - this will require me to run into levels best left to sprinters
3.  Increase protein consumption - this does not mean more chicken, there are numerous opportunities to up the protein without eating more dead animals
4.  Continue with Pilates and Yoga - but now I'm going to increase weight training days
5.  Stop looking at workouts as 'it's done' - I tend to do my class and then I'm done...I'm going to expand my workouts

These are just a few additional steps I can take in order to continue losing and toning.  I feel rather Bridget Jones here.  But seeing my thoughts on the page really helps me from

Gettin' back on the horse!

Oh dear Lord...I ate like an idiot over the weekend.  It's fun going down, but now I have my work cut out for me for the week.  I had my strength training class this morning and three Pilates classes scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  I'm also sneaking in a yoga class somewhere in there.  It's hard draggin' my behind to class, but once I'm there...it's all good.

So for tonight's (back to reality) dinner here's what I'm going to cook up for my savvy foodies:

Turkey Vegetable Meatloaf - from Dr. Fuhrman's 'Eat for Health'
2 lbs. ground turkey
1 cup quick oats (not instant)
1- ounces frozen organic chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 large carrot, grated

http://www.drfuhrman.com/

1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 eggs
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
6 tablespoons ketchup, low sodium
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (he says vegan can be purchased at health food stores)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon Dijion mustard
1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 14 ounce can chopped tomatoes, no salt added, drained
1 tablespoon ketchup (low sodium)

Directions-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix ground turkey and oats together.  Add remaining ingredients except for half of the tomatoes and ketchup.  Mix well to combine.
Shape into loaf and place in a large loaf pan.
Top with remaining tomatoes mixed with 1 tablespoon ketchup
Bake for an hour and 15 minutes until meat is cooked through.

One serving contains:
CALORIES 320
PROTEIN 28.6g
CARBOHYDRATE 25.8g
FAT 12.4g
SODIUM 229.8mg

I'll let you know what the fam thinks tomorrow...off to the store!