Tag Archives: exercise

Workout Blog: Blonde Ponytail

Fellas,

I don’t know about you, but I am completely hooked on the Olympics.  I can’t get enough.  I am glued to the tv.  Last night was gymnastics and do you think I could peel myself away from the boob tube?  no.  So setting my phone alarm for an early workout felt tiring, but I did it anyway.  As luck would have it, my phone died in the middle of the night and I accidentally slept in!  Great, but not great because I missed the chance to get out and exercise.   I have been mostly running here in New York because I don’t have access to much else.  But sometimes when it is too rainy or hot (or I my phone dies in the middle of the night I do a workout at home (mostly BodyRock).  Luckily I found another blog that specializes in at-home workouts and lots of them require no equipment!  I did the Feisty Fifty today and it kicked my bootay!! My arms were shaking and I was dripping big sweat drops onto our floor within the first 7 minutes!  She has all the right certifications, and she dresses a lot less scandalous than some other workout sites.  So far so good!

Check out Blonde Ponytail when you get a chance!

Don’t Just Sit There: NY Times Article

I went for a great run this morning, then came home and read THIS article…on the computer…while sitting at a desk.  It says people who exercise and then go to work actually end up sitting more than on days when they don’t exercise.  Yikes.  And then I thought about it.  When I have a hard workout, I DO feel like I deserve to take it a bit more easy during the day, and I DO!  Why is that?  When I don’t get a workout in, it seems I am always trying to find a way to make up for it by being extra active with the kids.  It sure made me think about how I spend my time during the day.  Granted I am not sitting as much as when I was working full time, but still, I could probably watch a few episodes less of Netflix a week and do something productive.

Interesting studies from the article:

  • A group of men had a leg muscle biopsied, then used crutches for two days, without putting any pressure on the biopsied leg, so the muscles wouldn’t contract.  Then they biopsied the muscles in both legs.  Results: genes were now being expressed differently!  In the un-used leg, DNA repair was being disrupted, insulin response was dropping, and metabolic activity was dropping.  It only took 2 days! (sidenote: I have ALWAYS wanted to participate in a study where my muscle was biopsied.   I am fascinated by that stuff.)
  • Check this out: A group of men were studied over several years who reported their lifestyle habits and exercise habits.  Those who exercised for more than 7 hours a week, but spent 7 hours in front of the tv were more likely to die prematurely than those who exercised seven hours but only watched 1 hour of tv a day.  (sidenote: Who watches 7 hours of tv a day??)
  • Even cooler: One study had a group sit completely still for 7 hours.  Another day they rose every 20 minutes and walked on a treadmill for 2 minutes.  Another day they jogged instead of walked.  Results:  When they sat still, blood sugar spiked and insulin was out of whack.  When they walked every 20 minutes, blood sugar levels remained normal.  Jogging didn’t make that much of a difference.  What mattered was standing intermittently.

Made me think of my good friend Ted (props to you!) who has a desk treadmill, AND he uses it.  I’ll bet his blood sugar levels are the stable-est in the office.

So, my new goal for the next few days is to take small standing/walking breaks during those rare quiet stretches of time where I am catching up on emails and blogging.  If only I had this piece of information when I was in college.  Organic Chemistry is enough to knock anyone out, but 1:00 pm after lunch, and a 90 minute class?  ouch!  I was head-bobbing every time.

On Exercise: 30 Day Challenge – Fit Test

Have I mentioned how much I love the site Body Rock?  It’s amazing.

Let’s face it – as a busy mom, sometimes it is reeeeeeeeally hard to get to the gym first thing in the morning, or to go for an hour long workout when you only got 3 hours of sleep because your kids were sick, or if the weather is horrid and you can’t bear to face the single digits, etc. etc.

On those days, I do body rock.  I can’t say enough good things about it.  It is free, requires no equipment (sometimes they do use some, but I either use things around my house, or just use body weight), fast (this morning’s workout was 7 minutes start to finish), and intense.  I understand if you are skeptical.  How can anyone get a good full body workout in 7 minutes?  It’s power move intervals and believe me, I am completely spent afterward.  If I am having a hard time getting motivated, I go do body rock, because I know I can push myself hard if it is only going to last for seven minutes.  And I am always dripping in sweat with shaky muscles by the time I’m done.

They just launched a 30-day challenge for the new year.  I know some of you have fitness goals as New Years resolutions, so this is the perfect thing to get you going.  If you are a beginner, they have modified moves so that any level of fitness can start.  There is a huge body rock following and I have read comments by grandmothers who have never worked out before who have gotten into it.  They talk about how they used to not be able to do even one sit up or push up, and now they are strong and fit.  There are hundreds of success stories of people changing their lives, and hundreds more about how amazing people feel.  Some people swear off going to the gym ever again, because they don’t need to spend the time or money, when Body Rock is convenient and free and awesome.

Check out their site here.  If you are a beginner, watch the whole movie, because there is a good instructional pep talk at the end.  Happy Body Rocking!!

 

Switchin’ Up the Workout

I’ve mentioned here before that I love to run.  It’s my exercise of choice.  But lately the temperature has been in the upper teens and mid twenties, and it’s reeeeeally easy to talk myself out of going for a run in that weather.  So I’ve been heading to the (free) gym at The Mr.’s school to get my sweat on.

You know what’s annoying?  Running on a treadmill.  You know what’s even worse?  Stationary Bikes!  I get soooooo bored.  Plus I feel like it takes longer to get a good workout on a bike, and you have to keep upping the resistance, and what are you really supposed to do on it?  I have been to spinning classes before, and they are awesome, but I have no idea how to do that all by myself in the middle of a gym. Treadmills are at least pretty self-explanatory.  The gym has “spinning” bikes, and they were calling my name, but I was lost.

I usually listen to an iPod to make things less robotic, and lots of times I listen to podcasts.  Well today I found a jewel of a podcast that turned my biking woes into an awesome workout!  It’s called “motiontraxx.”  It is basically a deejay who puts music to beats that help you keep your pace in endurance exercise.  You can use it for walking, running, biking, hiking, dancing, etc.  The one I downloaded today was a guest spinning instructor from Equinox gym in New York who talked you through an entire spinning workout.  It…was…awesome!  Afterward, I wanted to sing this song:

I love technology!  Anyway, if you are looking for a good pace-setter with music, or a cycling workout, or a running workout, or anything else, this podcast is awesome.  Check it out on iTunes, or go to the website and check out past podcasts to see what they have.

 

On Listening to Your Body

I’ve made reference to being in tune with your body before – it knows if it wants a salad or if it needs some iron, etc.

It takes time to get the hang of it, especially if you’ve been suppressing what it’s been trying to tell you because “you know better, and you aren’t supposed to eat that food,” or “that has too many fat grams; I’d better buy the fat free option.” (Those are both wrong, by the way).  Important stuff, but I’ve also been thinking about listening to your body in other ways. When I was pregnant with Tornado, I started to get back pain that got gradually and gradually worse.  But I thought I was tough, so I ignored it and kept up my too-vigorous workout schedule, and chased after The Wild One (who was even wilder back then) day after day after day.  I learned my lesson, because it landed me in the hospital with the worst back sprain I have ever had in my life.  In fact, the worst pain I’ve ever had in my life.  I literally could not move an inch for at least 3 days, and had to stay in the hospital for a week.  Once I got out, I had to take it easy the rest of the pregnancy.  No swimming, no gym, no exercise basically.  I just had to rest.  And it was sooooo nice.  You know what else was nice?  Having to use one of THESE babies for a while afterward.  

Ohhhhhh yeah.  But why did I feel like it took a doctor to tell me I shouldn’t work out?  Shouldn’t my body be telling me that?  Sometimes I think the voice in our head is too overbearing and we push our intuition aside.  Lately I’ve really been trying to listen to it.  I think we all instinctively know what we need.  Just like mother’s intuition once you have a baby.

This morning I woke up with intense pain in my hip.  I couldn’t put any weight on it.  My first thought was, “It will be better before my swim class tonight.  I’m still going.”  It literally took hours for me to realize it was probably not a good idea and I should take it easy for a few days until I know what’s going on. And after I talked myself into that, I was comfortable in that decision

So here’s the thing:  When it comes to being active, there is a fine balance between being “tough” or “hard core” and making excuses to be lazy.  Both extremes can be dangerous: injury and burnout on one end, and inactivity and increased disease risk on the other.  Don’t get me wrong – a day or two off can literally give you a fresh start or re-energize you, and those are important too.  But we’ve got to find a healthy balance in moving our bodies, feeling good, and ultimately letting our physical body sometimes dictate what we do or don’t need.  Know when to hold ‘em (a medium intensity workout), know when to fold ‘em (an injury or you got 2 hours of sleep last night), know when to walk away (a great workout with a friend), know when to run (as in people will be chasing you because you look so great from pushing it in your last workout).  That’s my 2 cents.

Making It Fun

A story for you:  On Tuesday, I met my friend at the pool for a “Master Swim Class.”  It’s basically an advanced swim class for adults with a coach and everything.  I walked in a bit cocky, I have to admit.  “I’m a runner,” I thought.  My lungs are in tip top shape, plus I used to swim.  I’m gonna rock this.  WRONG!  That class kicked my booty right out of the pool deck and into a corner in the locker room.  No joke.  I was the slowest girl by at least a length of the pool.  Wow.   My lungs were burning like they haven’t in ten years.  Wowzers.  So about halfway I started getting Gumby arms and thought “oh my goodness. I am not really liking this so much.”  I finished the workout but have been thinking about this for a while.

In my mind it comes down to this:  You are less likely to stick with something if you don’t really like it.  How many times have we started a new something we’re all excited about and it goes great for a few weeks and then fizzles out?  I am guilty myself.  Lots of people hate exercising.  To that I say: Conventional exercise is not for everyone.  What do you like to DO?  How can you be “active” without really “exercising?”  You know what I used to love to do?  Walk my dog.  That’s awesome exercise.  Especially if you do it twice a day.  My sis is an awesome handball and racquetball champ.  That is one of the best workouts ever.  And FUN! Over the years I’ve gone through phases.  I used to horseback ride, bike, hike, do aerobics, kickboxing, yoga, spinning, workout videos, basketball.  Switch it up.  Go with a friend.  Make it fun.  I listen to tons of different podcasts or audiobooks if I am alone.  Even vigorous gardening or shopping can be a workout.  I’m serious!  And guess what else?  The more you switch it up the more your body responds and you don’t hit plateaus.

Remember Dr. Weil?  This large man?

Imagine this:  He likes to blast music in his living room and dance around with his dogs.  That is one of his favorite ways to get exercise.  Are you getting the mental picture? Ohhhhhh yeaaaaaaah (I love you Dr. Weil!).  Anyway, I do that too but I make sure I close all the curtains, and that The Mr.  isn’t going to suddenly walk in from work.  Then I let loose.  It feels good!  Try it!

If you aren’t really sure where to begin, this will give you some good ideas.

The winter months are upon us and it is tempting to sit in the warm house all snuggled up and sipping hot cocoa (one of my favorite things to do, by the way).  But you know what else is sooooo much fun?   Going on a long walk with The Mr. or heading to a fun exercise class with a buddy.  Take some time to seriously evaluate what you love to do or think you would love to do.

Have a great weekend! Set your clocks back!