If I Could Pick One Thing...

It's the time of year for Christmas lists. If I could choose one thing to put on top of your list, I would put a heart rate monitor. If you already have one, fantastic, you are ahead of the game and surely you never exercise without it! I know I don't.

My nephew just turned 16 and we gave him a heart rate monitor as well as a training manual written by Sean for his birthday. He wants to get bigger and stronger for football and baseball. He has the right tools and with some good guidance he should make great gains. When I was thinking of what to get him for his birthday I hesitated at a monitor but then I thought, why not? He can learn at a young age to monitor how hard he is working and what hard work feels and looks like. Not a bad thing to instill at a young age.

If I could have all my boot camp participants and personal training clients wear a monitor while working out with me, I would love it! So, what would I have you do with it? First, figure out your max heart heart...

Example: 32 year old woman
Estimated MHR = 220 - (age) 32

MHR = 188 BPM

Next, I would have you figure out your training zones...

Example: 32 year old woman

Zone 5: 50-70% of MHR
94-132 BPM

Zone 4: 70-80%
132-150 BPM

Zone 3: 80-85%
150-160 BPM

Zone 2: 85-95%
160-179 BPM

Zone 1: 95% and above
179 BPM and higher

Now what do these zones mean and how can I use them to my advantage while exercising?

Zone 5: This is a heart rate range where your goal is to exercise in a lower range so your body is able to recover from prior work done and not hinder future workouts.

Zone 4: The aerobic zone where long durations of work/exercise can be done. Typically, this is where endurance athletes hang out while training.

Zone 3: The range where you are on the edge of your anaerobic threshold. This is a range that is a bit harder to maintain but a very important one none the less. This is where you make gains to imporove your aerobic threshold. If you want to get faster of perform an activity (ex: running) for longer periods of time, then this is where you want to train occasionally.

Zone 2: Entering an anaerobic zone in this range. This is where you develop strength and power. This is the range you want to hit during conditioning and circuits.

Zone 1: The full anaerobic zone. At this point, you can not maintain the activity for longer that a minute. This is the zone you want to enter when doing intervals and going for fat loss. Challenging your body to endure the demands of this zone truly is awful , and that's putting it mildly, but the benefits are worth it when its over!

When someone first gets a monitor I always recommend that they first get used to wearing it. Work out as you usually do and notice the numbers and more importantly how you feel. The calculated ranges are only estimates so always take into account how you feel at different ranges. When you start to discover your zones then you can begin to challenge yourself to hold heart rates longer or hit a new high number when performing an anaerobic interval.

So there you have it! A very brief description on heart rate training and how it's used. I believe it is a tool that is invaluable and so important to improve aerobic performance as well as achieve goals for fat loss. Put it on your list and make 2011 a leaner and more fit year!

If you need any help picking one out send me an email!

Deck of Cards

It was a deck of cards workout this morning. This is a great option for a quick and effective workout through the holidays! Choose your favorite or least favorite exercises and designate them as a suit. There are so many options: step ups, lunges, dips, chin ups, mountain climbers, squat jumps, and that is only the body weight exercises... the possibilities are endless!


Today's Workout:
5:30 Warm Up and Movement Prep

5:38 Took us 25 minutes to go through the entire deck

Hearts- Frisbee Push Aways or Bicycle Crunches (Core Work)

Diamonds- Burpees (Conditioning)

Clubs- Squats (Lower Body)

Spades- Push Ups (Upper Body)

The suit determines the exercise and the number determines the reps. Face cards are always 10 reps. Aces are 1 lap around the playground. Start flipping those cards and get moving!

6:02 2 sets of Lines/Suicides with 30 second rest

6:08 Cool Down and Stretch

Great Workout in 45 minutes!

Your Feet

So much money and thought goes into what you put on your feet while running and working out. I use to spend $100's of dollars on running shoes as well as countless trips to the store in search of the right shoe. Now, I spend less than $100 on my Nike Free shoes and couldn't imagine another shoe. I run in them and lift in them. Quite often, I take them off and go barefoot while working out too. I could list all the benefits I have acquired from this change in what goes on my feet but I would rather link you to a great read:


http://community.fitnessanywhere.com/blog/2010/11/22/barefoot-training/


You can find Nike Free shoes almost everywhere now, Dick's Sporting Goods sells quite a few pairs. What is almost as common as the Nike Free shoe are Vibram Five Fingers.


I was at Target over the weekend and the person in line in front of me had them on. Yes, they are odd looking but take some time to read about them and you may start to see the benefits over the appearance.
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/products_footwear.cfm

Next time you pick out your footwear give one of these a try. You might be surprised at how much you like them! You may even try taking your shoes off completely... you will be amazed at how differently you move.

Kettlebell Workout

Today's workout came straight out of my new magazine subscription. It was tough but fun!

20 MINUTES RUNNING TIME, AS MANY TIMES THROUGH CIRCUIT AS YOU CAN

1. 20 Single Arm Swings each Arm

rest 20 seconds

2. 20 Snatches each Arm

rest 20 seconds

3. 20 High Pulls each Arm

rest 20 seconds

4. 20 Cleans each Arm

rest 20 seconds

5. 20 Kettlebell Overhead Lunges each Leg

rest 20 seconds

6. 20 Suitcase Deadlifts each Leg

rest 20 seconds


I cycled through the cicuit 3 times, went over the 20 minutes so I could complete the entire 3rd circuit. I had to switch between two different Kettlbells. I used the 8 KG and 12 KG depending on the exercise. Great workout and great magazine! Look forward to more from it.

Fast FIT Friday Workout

By Friday no one wants to dedicate a lot of time to working out. Generally speaking, people have either worked out all week or at least got a few workouts in. The weekends usually lend for more time to train, so people usually save a Saturday or a Sunday for a good solid session. So who wants to workout on Fridays then?

A quick workout is a great way to start the weekend off. I have always felt that Fridays should be fast and furious. Go hard and then go enjoy your weekend. This morning's Boot Camp looked like this with sweat and and rapid breath...

5:30 AM- Warm Up and Movement Prep


5:38- 10 HARD AND FAST INTERVALS, 60 SECONDS WORK AND 60 SECONDS REST

1: Burpee, aiming for at least 20 reps and striving for 25 reps

rest

2: 1/2 Inch Worms with Squat Jump

rest

3: Lateral Squat with Dumbbell Front Press

rest

4: Mountain Climbers, aiming for at least 65 reps

rest

5: Single Leg Burpee

rest

6: Split Jacks, no cheating, big arms big wide jacks

rest

7: Alternating Reverse Lunge Touch the Ground

rest

8: Dumbbell Speed Squats or Dumbbell Squat Jumps with Press

rest

9: Push Up Position Hand Walks Around the Clock, 3 to 9

rest

10: Knee Touches, high fast knees

rest


5:59- 3 Field Sprints, jog out 50 yards and full speed sprint back to start, rest 20 and repeat 2 more times


6:02- Cool Down Stretch and back in your car by 6:12 AM and ready for a GREAT weekend



all done while many are still asleep....

Chin Ups Create Curves

Chin ups are getting tough. It is an exercise that gets easier by dropping body fat. Well that's not gonna happen right now! So time to break out the bands for some assistance next time around.



Chin ups are an exercise where it can be tough to add reps to your max. You may do 1 solid Chin Up but are stuck and can't get one more rep. A great way to do this is by using bands to assist you and slowly decreasing the width of the band used. Start using a thick or medium width band and as you get stronger with that band decrease the width (which will assist you less) and continue getting stronger with that band. Decrease the band width again until it is the width that just gives you that little lift to get you up. When you are strong with that band, step up to that bar with your own pure strength and give it a go. You will be surprised at how many you will be able to do!

Another great way to increase your Chin Up strength is through negatives. When I met Sean in college, he taught me the right way to lift weights. He taught me to get off the Lat Pull Down machine and step up the the Chin Up bar. He told me I could do 10 Chin Ups if I worked hard. Work hard? That is definitely something I have always enjoyed doing when it comes to fitness. I was game.

We started out with him hoisting me to the top of the bar and slowly lowering myself for every painstaking second... 30 seconds total for 3 sets (90 seconds of fighting the urge to drop). The next week I went in and did 1 full Chin Up on my own and then he assisted me to the top to lower again for 30 seconds X 3 sets. Week 2, I went in to workout and sure enough, I got 2 solid reps on my own and again he helped me to the top for the negatives. Weeks went on and sure enough I got 6, 7, 8, 9 and finally 10 full, clean and good Chin Ups on my own. When I say good Chin Ups I mean full extension on the bottom (full hang) to chin completely over the bar.

After 10 weeks, I wasn't big or bulky doing these "manly" exercises either. I developed shapely arms and a bit of a V taper to my back so my waist appeared smaller. I had feminine curves. What woman doesn't want shapely arms and a tiny waist? Hmmm, every woman I do believe.

12 years later and pregnancy #2, Chin Ups are still a solid exercise in my program. I look forward to my workouts after baby is born and cranking out chin ups on my own, unassisted with a much lower body fat!

Here is a little glimpse of my workout today. Don't let a pregnant woman out work you...

Warm Up
Foam Roll
Jump Rope 10 minutes
Movement Prep: Leg Cradle, Knee Hugs, Lateral Lunges, Quad Stretch, Inchworm, Reverse Lunge Twist

Circuit 1:
A1: Barbell Straight Leg Single Leg Deadlift
A2: Dumbbell Shoulder Press
A3: Overhead Squat
A4: Chin Ups

Circuit 2:
B1: Front Foot Elevated Bulgarian Split Squat (a new exercise to me that I love, see below)
B2: Inverted Row with 3 second hold at top
B3: Med Ball Figure 8

20 minute Airdyne bike sprints where I kept my heart rate between 120 bpm and 155 bpm. I listened to my body and felt pretty good!

Great way to start my day!

A Fridge Full of Organic Produce

A few weeks ago, a friend on Facebook, Rachel Cosgrove, posted about her recent order from a company called Abundant Harvest and all the great produce she got that week. I went over to their website to learn more about their company.
http://www.abundantharvestorganics.com

Just like many of you, our family has been on a journey to live and eat healthy. Which, much to our dismay, we discovered is extremely expensive to accomplish.
We decided that that was unacceptable especially if we had the ability to improve this struggle for enhancing health. Thus, our desire for affordable, chemically unaltered food led us to develop Abundant Harvest Organics. We have uncovered an approach to natural food distribution that will deliver organic produce at conventional prices within hours of harvest.

I loved the whole concept of the company as well as eating a variety of produce that I may never buy on my own. I was pleased to discover they deliver to Orange County, drop off spots are limited but there just happened to be one in Mission Viejo that I could get to weekly. So, I signed up and picked up my first box this past Wednesday. It was like picking up a present!

Everything in this week's box:


Included in your order, is a newsletter that tells you what all your produce is (I needed this, I had no idea what a few things were!) and which farm it comes from. The newsletter gives you cooking tips and info on the produce, this week's tips were on Kohlrabi and Sweet Potatoes. The newsletter also gives a recipe for a Pumpkin Cake Roll which looks pretty yummy.

Washed up and put in the fridge:




What is pretty cool is that you can include "add ons" to your weekly order. They offer an extensive list with pictures on their site. I included eggs and some other produce for next weeks order. This weeks order included pears and I think it was the best pear I have ever had. Everything from the Fuyu Persimmons to the Garlic Chives have been eaten and used in my cooking thus far.

This mornings omelette, filled with tons of veggies:


I love this company and what they deliver! Check out their site and see if it works for you to pick up a weekly box. It is definitely worth it!

Chug It!

How much water should I drink? A common question I hear and the answer often is- drink more than what you currently are. Generally speaking, people do not drink enough water. I can say that I need to drink 12-16 cups a day. I notice I don't feel as well when I don't drink enough. Often times people mistake thirst for hunger. Drink 2 cups of water before you eat any meal and you will find you eat much less and don't overeat. Start your morning off with a few chugs of water, at least 2 cups.

Where should your water come from? That is a personal preference. I used to buy caseloads of water at Costco and then switched to drinking strictly tap water. This article made me think of this blog post:

5 Scary Cancer Questions, Answered

I have a few different BPA free containers that I have found to be easy to clean and large enough so you  don't feel like your filling them up all day.

http://www.lifefactory.com

Another water container that holds a large volume:

http://mysigg.com/store/bottles/1-5l-50-oz.html

Drink up!

No Sugar til Pumpkin Pie

My challenge for you: no sugar until Thanksgiving. That gives you 25 days of sugarless, no added calories, wholesome eating, addiction breaking behaviors, until you can indulge in a sweet dessert. You weren't the one with the costume on yesterday getting candy so there is no reason you need to eat it. If it's in the house, who cares. You don't need it.

I challenge you to find other ways to fight the urge for something sweet. Eat a piece of fruit you don't normally buy... mangos, pineapple, kiwis, berries, oranges.. something. Chew gum, it's better than ingesting useless calories. Drink a tall glass of water or hot tea, yes it sounds boring but it really does work!

I don't need to list any more suggestions. You have read them all before. Challenge yourself if sweets are your downfall. Start today and know the next few days will be tough but you will get through them and it only gets easier to say no to sugar the longer you stay away from it!