6 Reasons To Warm Up Before The Workout

I have witnessed the neglect many times around the gym. The eager beaver ready to workout arrives at the gym, heads straight to the bench press (or whatever exercise), slides a couple of plates on the ends of the bar and begins a painful workout. Warming up before a workout is so important. Why? The body has to be gradually prepared for the stresses that are about to be upon it.  Below are 6 reasons given by the American Council on Exercise on why a warm up will benefit your workout.

1. Core body temperature increases which leads to more efficient calorie burning.

2. The elasticity of the muscles will improve which will help prevent injury.

3. The joint range of motion will improve.

4. A good warm up will stimulate the neural message pathways to the muscles, which results in better muscle control and reactivity.

5. Warm ups help prevent lactic acid buildup which will lead to better workouts because the energy systems are able to adjust to exercise.

6. Warming up psychologically prepares you for higher intensities by increasing the focus on exercise which will lead to better, more efficient performance.

 

In my opinion a proper warm up is anywhere between 6-10 minutes. I prefer some type of exercise performed at a gradual pace to prepare my body for more intense work such as cycling, jogging, jump rope, or body weight exercises. If my workout is to run, I warm up by performing a slower jog. I like to gradually build heat within my body to where I begin to sweat. Then the magic happens! My workouts are always much stronger with a proper warm up. Do your body good, warm up, it will make your workout more enjoyable 🙂

Be honest, do you skip the warm up to save time?

 

*All exercises are not suitable for everyone. Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise or workout program.

Post Vacation 21 Day Shape Up

Hi all,

I have just returned from a relaxing and indulging vacation. Before I left I was on a 6 week strength and muscle-building program that went great. I had planned on running during my time away but before I left I pulled something in my lower leg from doing sprints so I decided to do a little walking and recovering. It went great but I also over indulged with a few goodies. I do not feel guilty about my indulgences because I was on vacation enjoying myself and having a great time. However, the results of that are me feeling tired, sluggish, less motivated. So enter a new program.

I love the http://www.bodybuilding.com website because it is full of free workout programs and great information overall. I found a program I am going to be doing over the next 21 days. It is called The Bizzy Diet 21 Day Fitness Plan. It is designed for the busy persons lifestyle with a focus on strength and muscle-building which I want to continue and also on fat loss. It incorporates Hiit (high intensity interval training), which I love, at the beginning and the middle of the workout. I like this because you get the strength and cardio in one workout. Perfect for me. Below is the link for an overview of what it is all about. Check it out if you may be interested too. I will be posting about my progress over the next 21 days. The great thing about this program, is that it can be done at home too. You do not have to have a gym membership, just dumbbells and a great attitude. Time to get Bizzy 🙂

 

*Not all exercises are suitable for everyone. Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise or nutrition program.

 

 

Increasing Metabolism and Strength

So in my previous post I started the 21 day program from Ashley Conrad. I did it but not exactly all 21 days. It is a great workout and one that I will go back to when I need a full body intense workout. Now, I have started another workout program. It is by Erin Stern and it is called the Elite Body Workout. She is a figure competitor, Ms. Olympia and a track and field athlete. I was inspired by her workout because I love her style and the way she trains. I love to run so I have to include it in my workouts and her training method always includes HIIT (high intensity interval training) which works great with my runs too. I am feeling so much stronger! I began the workout 2 weeks ago and I can see a difference already. I am following a clean eating plan similar to hers also. The workout is for 4 weeks but I am stretching it 6 weeks. I have been progressing with the weights and getting stronger. I find that when I follow a complete plan I stay motivated and really enjoy it more. The only thing I changed was adding another leg day. I know my body and it responds better to 2 leg days per week, of course with plenty of recovery between. Legs are shaping up!   I am doing this program because I reset my goals. My new goals are to increase my strength, power, muscle, and speed. I took before photos in a swim suit so I can really see my progress by the end of the 6 weeks. My nutrition consists of lean protein, vegetables, fruit, brown rice, quinoa,  sweet potatoes, oatmeal, almond milk, protein shakes, and nuts. I avoid processed food. No bread, cheese, milk, sugar, butter, sauces, junk etc… It is going pretty smooth because I eat clean most of the time. I love lifting weights and learning more about different styles of lifting. I believe if you really want to change the shape of your body, increase strength, and increase metabolism you must lift weight and I mean weight, not the dinky vinyl covered weights. It is time to pump some iron. There are great workouts and articles about lifting, nutrition, and supplementation over at http://www.bodybuilding.com and below is a clip of the Erin Stern’s training philosophy.  Check it out. My actual workout split is: Monday-rest Tuesday – Plyometrics and Legs Wednesday – High Intensity Cardio Thursday – Chest and Shoulders/Sprints Friday- Back/Sprints Saturday- Plyometrics and Legs Sunday – Shoulders and Arms/Sprints I vary my cardio and sprints. It will sometimes be running, spinning bike, stepmill, or the elliptical. I always keep it high intensity. I will have more on HIIT and steady state cardio in my next post. Have a great day everyone! Go pump some iron! 🙂

Quick Jump Rope Interval Workout And French Toast

 

Time to get moving! This is a quick strength and jump rope workout that I will do today. I need to get some quick and intense cardio in without running. I did a long run for my half marathon training yesterday so no running today. I will do jump rope intervals between my strength training sets where the focus will be back and biceps. I will do 3 sets of each.

Now on to recent yum yums. I made this French Toast about a week ago, and it is dreamy and healthed up. I used an organic preservative free whole grain bread. Ezekiel bread would work great too. In a bowl I mixed 4 egg whites and 1 yolk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup almond milk, and a dash of salt. I dipped 6 pieces of bread in the egg mixture and then placed on my grill pan on the stove to brown each side. I then placed the toast in the oven to finish cooking and crisp a bit on 350 degrees.

For the blueberry syrup, I used 1 cup of frozen organic blueberries and added 1 tsp of butter, and 1 tsp of Agave nectar, microwave for a few seconds until warm and syrupy (stir occasionally to blend). When the toast is done, top with blueberries and enjoy!! So tasty.

Let me know how it turns out!

 

Some exercises are not suitable for everyone. Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise or exercise program.

Rockstars And Cardio

An awesome and random thing happened Monday, March 17, 2013. I was working the front desk at my gym, and someone called around 1:00pm and asked if we offer a day pass. This is very common as people are in town on business and such and want to get a workout. I told him that we do and he inquired about the treadmills and the elliptical machines. So about 3:00pm I got another call from the same person saying they were on our street but could not see us. I then directed them to the gym and a taxi dropped them off. When they walked in it was business as usual, I took their money and got them to sign in. I asked if they were just passing through and they were. They said their bus driver needed to sleep and they wanted to run. I kept trying not to stare but something was familiar and I asked what they did. The said they were musicians. So business as usual I showed them through the gym to the treadmill. Well, my curiosity peaked and I knew something was familiar, so I checked the sign in sheet and saw the name Scott Stapp, which was very familiar so of course I went to Google and yes, Creed. Ummm yes, I was excited and oh did we need some excitement around there. Of course I had to go check them out to see what and how they liked to workout so I did a walk through to check cups and water. When I got to the stairwell to the cardio room, I heard serious moving going on up there. He is a runner and his band mate, Andy Waldeck, was getting after it on the elliptical. I left them alone and told no one in the building because I could sense they wanted privacy. From then, I did not budge because I could not let them leave without a photo. Andy came down first about an hour later and I asked it they had a good workout. He replied yes. I told him I knew who they were and asked if I could get a photo with them because no one would believe this happened. They were very nice, asked if I could call their driver back to pick them up and I did and they posed for this awesome photo. What is even better is that they had to wait about 10-15 minutes for their ride so I got to chat with them. I asked how they found and chose us and he said (this is awesome) that I actually was about the only one that answered the telephone and I was nice 🙂 Made my day! I asked where they were off to and they said they start their #ProofOfLifeTour on Wednesday in Dallas and then move across the U.S. and then to Canada. I offered them a protein drink (on me) while they waited and we talked smoothies and such. Just a regular day, haha. I invited them to stay for my PowerPilates class but they had to go. These are two very nice guys with a very different life than me, but when you actually just engage in small talk with someone, we are all so similar. I love that they are finding time to stay healthy. They thanked me and said if they are ever in town, they will definitely workout here. Star struck! 🙂 Oh, my friend that took the photo, froze but she got a kick out of it too.

So now this leads me to our next #FitIn5 Challenge, The Cardio Blast inspired by my new rockstar friends who love their cardio!!

Let’s Go!!

It is not every day that awesome rockstars walk in and inspire you to want to crush some cardio!

Not all exercises are suitable for everyone. Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise or exercise program.

5 Minutes To More Energy

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

This is such a pretty bunch of clover. It gives off a sense of energy that Spring is near. Today is all about energy! The #FitIn5 Challenge is a 5 minute Sun Salutation to create energy in the body and mind. First I stand in mountain pose, inhaling arms up then exhale to forward fold. I then inhale and lengthen my spine to half  lift and exhale to forward fold and then I step back to plank. I take a breath and then lower to chaturanga/low push up position on the exhale, and then inhale into upward dog. I then exhale to downward facing dog. I take another breath and step forward as I exhale into forward fold. I inhale as I come back up to mountain pose and begin again. Five minutes to more energy! Let’s Go!

Remember a bad attitude breeds negative results! Stay positive!!

How are you spending your St. Patrick’s Day?

Not all exercises are suitable for everyone. Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise program.

Burpee Day!

Hi all, happy it is Friday. Today’s challenge is going to be quick and intense. If you have no time for a long workout, no worries, this will be just the thing to get you going in just 5 minutes.

#FitIn5 Day 12

BURPEES! Woo Hoo!

1 minute of burpees ( modify by taking the jump out and step back)

1 minute walking lunges or walking high kicks

Alternate between the two exercises which will give you 3 minutes of burpees and 2 minutes of walking lunges/kicks. Below is a video of the burpee 🙂

You may have noticed there was no challenge yesterday. We will call it a rest day. Hope your weekend is great and let me know how this burpee day goes for you. Don’t forget to check in with me here, on IG, twitter or facebook.

Some exercises are not suitable for everyone. Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise or exercise program.

Core Burner!

Get on the floor and let’s work the core! This is a sequence I have been doing in my PowerPilates class. I follow an awesome instructor at IHeartFitnessXO in California. Her facebook page is Kit Rich Fitness. She is awesome. Part of this is a move inspired by her. Check it out. I definitely felt this the next day. I do each side 5 reps each move. Intensity can be added by taking it up to 10 reps or repeating the sequence several times through. Burner!!!

#FitIn5 Day 10

Get that core to the floor!!

Not all exercises are suitable for everyone. Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise program.

Quick Upper Body Core Combo Workout

It is #FitIn5 Day 9! If you may wonder why I post these challenges here, on IG, twitter and facebook, it is because I do what I love and I want to share with other people. I hope to inspire someone who may need a little boost of motivation which may help build confidence to start or continue their journey of health. I want to show that a little effort goes a long way when it comes to health and fitness. Small changes can turn into big rewards. It just takes the effort, commitment, consistency and determination to make a change. I know we all have it in us.

So this is Day 9 – 2 exercises 5 sets of 10 reps

Plank One Arm Rows – 10 each side

Decline Pushups – 10 reps

Modification for each is to drop knees. Always keep the core engaged, and do each exercise with focus and control.

5 sets of each

Stay tuned for tomorrow for my favorite abdominal/core move right now.

Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise program.

Squat To Plank #FitIn5 Day 8 Real Time

This is a core and shoulder burner! I started the week off in a positive way with a quick workout challenge. I love Daylight Savings because there is still light when I leave work so don’t let Daylight Savings get in your head, it is just 1 hour. Take 5 minutes for a refreshing workout instead.

Day 8 of the  #FitIn5 29 Day Challenge

Chair Squat Press 30 seconds and then drop down to plank for 30 seconds. Keep alternating for 5 minutes. #NoBreak See video below.

Have a great Day 8 🙂

Consult your physician before beginning any new exercise program.