Circuit Training 101
October 2, 2009
Sometimes if I’m in a mood, I’ll make my spinners take turns doing 20 push-ups between songs. It may seem like I’m bullying them but there is method to my muscle madness. I know from my own experience that the odds of dropping down and doing push-ups or any other resistance training AFTER completing your cardio are slim. I say do your weight work prior to your cardio. Or better yet, insert some weight intervals into your cardio. After 15 minutes on the stairmaster, step off and do squats with heavy weights , do another 10 minutes of cardio, then do 20 push-ups, 10 more minutes of sweating, the some heavy weight bicep curls, etc. This is called circuit training and is a much more efficient way to burn fat, build muscle and gain bone strength. That way, it increases your calorie burn during your aerobic stint plus you rev up your metabolism so that you burn more fat the rest of the day even when your sitting on the couch with Oprah!
Here are some facts about how strength training can boost your health:
It boosts your metabolism for six to fifteen hours after your workout.
It increases your calorie and fat burning activity for 24 to 48 hours post-workout
And 24/7/365 your metabolism will be faster so you burn more fat.
Since five pounds of muscle fits into the space or two and a half pounds of fat, if you gain muscle and lose fat you will be twice as tight and slim!
If you are just doing cardio, good for you, BUT you are getting the smallest return on your time invested. Circuit training takes the relatively small amount of time that you have to exercise, and makes you burn more fat during the rest of your day and week! Would you rather invest seven hours a week, get seven hours of benefit or would you want to invest that same seven hours and get 138 hours of fat burning benefit?
Kids’ Fitness Facts
October 2, 2009
Kids’ Fitness Facts
Kids-wise, if your child complains of knee pain, check their arches to be sure they are lifted. Flat feet are common during growth spurts and can strain the joints above, especially the knees and hips. Get orthotics if needed. Baby-wise, keep those toddlers out of shoes. Arches of the feet support all the other domes of the body and are not fully formed until age four or so. Shoes on babies and toddlers interfere with this natural arch formation. Who cares if people think you are a hippie.
Heavy backpacks slung over one shoulder have got to go.I weighed my son’s backpack yesterday and it weighed 21 pounds.On a 90-pound frame that would be the equivalent of my 6-foot husband hefting a 50-pound weight around all day.Wearing this weight intermittently throughout the day is worse if it is on one shoulder, especially if it is the same shoulder.This creates a muscular imbalance, which often escalates to become a muscular strain.
What to do?
My answer is WHEELIE BACKPACKS.I inheritied one myself the other day after my son REFUSED to touch it, let alone pull it through the school halls of sneering peers.I love it.A side benefit is that I feel like I’m a flight attendant briskly hurrying to catch my flight to Bali.Of course I then look down and see my functional Merrils and realize I’m at the gym and not LaGuardia but it’s an enjoyable moment nonetheless.
DO YOU HAVE A NERVOUS CHILD? Teach them this proven breathing technique that actually lowers high blood pressure within two minutes and since stress causes blood pressure to rise, it’s also a stress-buster.I call it the SIX SECOND BREATH. Research has shown (that if you say” Research has Shown” at the beginning of any sentence that it sounds more official) and also that the breathing ratio of ten breathes per minute has a profound settling effect on the central nervous system.That’s inhaling to a slow (one one thousand, two one thousand) 3 count and exhaling to a slow 3 count. Try it for two minutes yourself.
Women & Their Bones-Use It or Lose It
October 2, 2009
Make no bones about it, as we approach middle age(and yes, it has to be called “middle” age.Take the age you expect to live to, then cut it in half-see?)the bare-bone truth about your skeleton is that , especially in pre and post menopausal women, you can ONLY maintain or LOSE bone density. You cannot naturally regain it. Yes, I know there are some strong prescription medicines out there that reverse bone density but you’ve only got to look at the precaution/side effects label on those drugs to try a more wholisitic route if at all possible.
Do you even know if you get 1000 milligrams of calcium everyday? Most multi-vitamins do not add much calcium because it interferes with the absorption of other vitamins. That’s about 3 cups of milk or 12 cups of ice cream:)
I’ve come across way too many ladies going through reverse puberty, as I like to think of it, who take no calcium supplement and the only dairy they consume is milk in their Venti Latte (P.S. Skim milk has the same amount of calcium as whole).
The changing face of fitness is about keeping what you got! It has to be your daily priority! So before we move on to exercises that you can do at home to strengthen your bones through weight-bearing movement(Get those Nikes on), here is what you need to do.Here’s your prescription-1200 mg of calcium along with 1000 mg of D. Taking a calcium supplement with added vitamin D boosts calcium absorption and if your eyes aren’t crossing yet, look for one with Vitamin K(helps form bone protein).
Some purists may not agree but I like the Viactiv calcium chews. They are chocolate chewies that taste okay . Think mini tootsie roll for baby zoomers .20 calories each. You take 2 per day. It’s a nice little treat mid-morning and mid-afternoon. And oh, yeah, you must take them seperately since your body can ONLY ABSORB 500 mgs at a time(who knew).
Calcium fortified Orange Juice has the same amount of calcium as an equal amount of milk.It is worth the extra pennies if you are not a milk drinker because the Vitamin C in the OJ also aids absorption.
Why is this so monotonously important, you wonder?
Decreased bone density is a major cause of fractures in postmenopausal women, mostly wrist, long bones of the foot, spine and hip, with hip fractures increasing significantly later in life(this has to do with the loss of BALANCE, which is another issue. How many of you have a grandparent break something when they lose their balance and topple over,hmm?)
Resistance (or strength training) exercise can make bones stronger so that if you do fall over (hopefully my drinkers are listening)nothing will break!
Try to switch to an aerial view of your lifestyle. Are you more able to see your fitness future?If you don’t like what you see, it’s not to late! Little changes make a difference.Like my teacher, Judith Lasater says,”If you think details don’t matter, remember that one chromosome different on the end of the DNA strand and you’re a monkey.”
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