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I'm sure you've heard the saying, "a calorie is a calorie," and that when weight loss is the goal, you can probably loose weight on a 1,200 calorie/day diet whether it is 1,200 Twinkie calories or apple calories. At this point, you might be thinking, "Cool! I'll go on the Twinkie diet!"   Our bodies are smarter than that though, and I say, thank goodness. I know - I'm no fun at all :-). Last week at the grocery one of my kiddos held up a box of Twinkies and had the audacity to ask me to purchase them. I nearly burst a vessel in my forehead trying to restrain myself from smashing the box with......
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Being that it is summer, and there are vacations, kids home from school, camps, a lot of running around in circles...sometimes a workout is hard to knock out, even when intentions are high. When that happens, I have a 30-minute, total body workout that requires very little equipment, yet will leave you dripping in sweat. Wanna hear it? Here it is... You'll need:  a set of 10 or 12lb wts (lighter if you like), a resistance tube 5-10 minute warm up @ 40-50% max heart rate Set 1: 10-14 Burpees (also called pop squats) 3-way lunges w/ dumbbells: Start with weaker leg leading. Take one lunge forwa......
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Stumbled upon a few deals I'd like to pass along: 20% off planners! For all of you planners out there (you know who you are, planning each workout weeks in advance), get a head start on school year planning at MomAgenda. MomAgenda is offering 20% off small School Year books (use code: schoolyearsmom) Visit MomAgenda.com, offer expires 7.31.2011 *P.S. I LOVE MomAgenda planners. Seriously, love them - totally created by moms, for moms. Enough said. EatingWell magazine has a new book out: EatingWell 500-calorie Dinners for $22.45 (10% off the regular price). While you are planning workouts in you......
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Check out this video if you are unfamiliar with trigger point therapy... TPR Therapy, Ironman competitor Have you ever wished you could afford a personal masseuse? One who could come to your home, preferably daily, to help relieve you of the knots and muscle tightness that inevitably occur from daily workouts and, well, being a mom? In search of a solution to my IT band issues, I tried a chiropractor (not money well spent), stretching, massage therapy (therapist too gentle to release deep tissue), and my O.D. The O.D. provided the most valuable information: without proper biomechanics, the bod......
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The mysterious " fat burning zone " continues to confuse many gym-goers. The theory goes something like this: working out in a "zone" of intensity that is less intense for at least 20 minutes will burn more fat calories than calories from carbohydrate. Is this true? Yes and no, but mostly no. You actually burn more calories from fat right now, sitting still, reading this post, than you do on the treadmill. That is because in the resting state, the body burns a higher percentage of fat calories. As you crank up the exercise intensity, you burn a little less fat per calorie. However, it really c......
Jul

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Monday: Wake up and head to gym for serious, post-weekend calorie burning cardio. Run 3 miles on treadmill, do random strength training for approximately 10 mins, throw in some crunches, and go home.

Tuesday through Friday: Repeat

Does this sound like your routine? Okay, maybe not exactly like your routine, but I’m sure you fall into the habit of redundant workouts, right?

It’s okay — we ALL do it. It is easier to do the same workout every day – it takes the thinking out of it and you still walk out of the gym dripping in sweat, right? But are you achieving the same results? I didn’t think so.

Let’s shake up your routine a bit to turn up the burn.

One: Get out of the gym! Outdoor workouts offer more varied terrain (read: more challenging runs) and a myriad of opportunities to challenge strength, cardio, balance, and agility.

Two: Use large rocks and sturdy logs as balance tools for one-legged squats.

Three: Find the nearest steep hill and do 5-8 sets of hill repeat. You’ll burn calories like lighter fluid!

Four: Find the nearest playground and knock out 2-3 sets of (10-12) monkey bar pull-ups and chin ups. These test upper body strength like nobody’s business.

Five: Head to the nearest jogging path and turn up the calorie burn with sprint intervals! Pick a tree in the near distance and run to beat the bus, jog to the next tree to recover (30-60 seconds) and sprint all-out again. Repeat 4-6 times. I guarantee your quads and glutes won’t know what hit them (and your cardiovascular endurance will take a leap to the next level as well!)

Bonus exercise: Strap on a weighted vest and head to the nearest stadium for stair running.


And a few more ideas:

  • Try an outdoor bootcamp or Crossfit class
  • Sign up for a local charity race and train for a distance beyond your current reach (think 10k, 15k, or half-marathon).
  • Like to bike? The popular sport of Cyclecross combines mountain biking with nature’s “natural” obstacle course for a fun, and very challenging, workout.



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