When people say they lost weight because they stopped exercising, they are just proffering an excuse to justify their sedentary lifestyle. First of all, daily exercise is important for a myriad of reasons, not just weight loss. Cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, balance, and flexibility are all important components to add to your exercise program in order to live a long, healthy, injury-free life.

In addition, studies have shown that when it comes to exercise and hunger, exercise actually serves as an appetite suppressant during and immediately after the completion of the workout. After a long, sweaty run, for example, eating is not the first thing that comes to your mind. In fact, people often cite being almost nauseous at the notion of eating a big, heavy meal after they just vigorously exercised.

In lieu of abandoning your exercise program because of the false misconception that it is hindering your weight loss efforts by making you raid your refrigerator, try these helpful tips. Number one is that no amount of exercise is justification for bingeing on junk food. It does not take many brownies to undo any beneficial caloric expenditure you might have had due to your morning workout. Second, if exercise has left you hungrier than normal, your body can metabolize more calories than your sedentary counterparts without suffering weight gain, as long as these excess calories come from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.

When it comes to eating and working out, it is recommended that within 30 minutes of your workout that you eat lean protein which will satisfy your hunger and help build lean muscle in the process.

The truth is that it’s not exercise that’s making you fat, it’s the oreos that you are eating to excess because of the misguided belief that your exercising makes it permissible. Exercise is good for your heart, mind, and body. But, unfortunately, the power of exercise stops there. Too much junk, regardless of exercise, equates to weight gain.

The truth is that more is not always better. Overtraining is a real problem not only with professional athletes, but is very common with people who exercise at gyms or in their homes. Results are not achieved any faster because you exercise hours a day. In fact, the opposite is true. Overtraining is a primary cause of fitness plateaus, both in terms of athletic performance and physical changes to your body.

Efficiency and diversity of exercise is what you should be striving for in order to attain your fitness goals. Face time in fitness has the same dismal benefits as putting in face time at work. It is the quality of exercise that you do on a regular basis, not the duration that will give you the change you are seeking in your body.

A  friend of mine today was on her 4th class and complained that she weighed more than ever and that her body was just plain fatigued. In fact, muscle fatigue is the number one sign that you are overtraining your body. There is no feeling better than have some muscle soreness the following day after a particularly challenging and intense workout. However, occasional muscle soreness is not to be confused with overall muscle fatigue and weakness.

The good news is that overtraining is easy to fix. By building in rest and recovery into your overall workout program and limiting your exercise to a maximum of 90 minutes a day, your motivation, energy, and athletic performance will return better than ever.

Just as fasting and starvation diets don’t make for successful weight loss, overtraining does not aid in making you leaner, stronger, or faster. Listen to your body and ask yourself how your current workout routine is working for you. If it feels wrong, chances are it probably is.

Majorly bruised and battered later (and I still ran by golly), it left me thinking how easy it is for all of us to be sidelined from our fitness routines in an instant. Athletes are prepared for the possibility of being on the injured roster for injuries incurred in their sports. But, for the rest of us commoners who exercise routinely,  seemingly minor slips, trips, and falls can sideline physical activity for months.

Joint injuries are by far the most common injury that results in a fall. This is because breaking the fall is often more problematic than the falling itself. Our first instinct is to use our hands to stop the fall, which unfortunately causes fractures in the wrist or elbows. 

Understandably, there is not a lot of time to process our actions in the middle of a fall. It is similar to watching bleach being poured into the washer instead of detergent. You know it is an uh-oh moment, with not a lot of ability to stop the inevitable disaster from occurring.

Experts in injury prevention offer this advice which is probably as helpful as any. “Better to land on your arm than your head.” I have to agree with that one when at all possible. “Better to land on your butt than on your back.” This is where people with a little extra junk in the trunk have an advantage. I can also add to try to keep your knees bent for a softer landing, but the more likely scenario is to try not to land on your knees period, let alone worrying about keeping them bent.

Perhaps my favorite piece of advice for preventing injury came from my kid. “Next time, look where you’re going.” If only all of life were so simple.

You are sitting at your favorite cafe just watching the pretty people go by. Suddenly in the distance you see someone walking with what appears to be an inner tube around their waist. Huh? As they get closer you realize it’s no inner tube, it’s a fashion faux pax.  The jeans seem to be pushing the excess skin up and over the waistband and the shirt appears to be running away in the opposite direction thereby exposing the lovely “ring around the body.”

How do you get rid of the not edible delicacy? Eat healthy and exercise. That’s it, no magical pill, no weight loss suit, no super expensive trainer who will force you into new life changes. Don’t know how to eat properly? You are not alone, most people don’t (just look at Mississippi who was just voted most obese state!)

Don’t know how to start an exercise program? Start by going for daily walks and see what you decide seems like a good way to progress from there.  Be safe and consult your doctor if in doubt.

When a man exercises his libido increases as a result of the hormones released in his body - testosterone, adrenaline, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters. Here are some tips that might help you get off the meds and back in the swing of things:

• Start by working out at least 30 minutes a day. Sounds like too much of a commitment?  Think about the half hour you would have spent obsessing about the fact that you cannot get aroused… see you just found the time!
• Work on strengthening your biceps, forearms, shoulders, abs, thighs and glutes so that your body doesn’t quit on you at the wrong time.
• Do cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes at least twice a week.  If you ask me, you can combine the first and third tip. Extra cardio will help you with your endurance vertically as well as horizontally.
• Eat healthy foods. The effect of healthy eating is seen and felt immediately in the body as it will react quicker when it is not lethargic from fats and refined sugars.

If all else fails…. try again!  I am not a guy so I can’t help ya if all fails except to say go see your doctor in case there is a bigger problem.

When I I heard “If Today Was Your Last Day” and “Burn It to the Ground” I was blown away. Talk about motivating, driving and powerful music to workout to! Then I heard the songs “S.E.X.” and “Something in Your Mouth” and “Just to Get High” and they were even better to workout to so now I just select the Nickelback playlist and let it ride through thirty or forty minutes and I have yet to hear one complaint which in and of itself is shocking.

Upon reading the label I saw that in fact this was not a meal replacement bar, it was a bar to make you full before you eat your next meal.  Hmmm.  I was hours from my next meal, this was perhaps not the best choice for my nutritional “bang for my buck” but it tasted good and that mattered more to me than the benefits included therein.  The Full Bar is low fat, has 4 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein and is Kosher - “score!” on the Kosher.  That’s just odd humor of mine as I am not Jewish and actually thought Kosher was related to hot dogs (kidding!) Back to the bar…

The instructions printed on the bar in text and pictures (more jokes there but I will hold back) explain that you need to eat the bar, drink a full glass of water 30 minutes prior to your next meal and then eat less!  I am sure this would be great before Thanksgiving dinner but after a Spinning class and before a Kickbox class it didn’t really hit the spot.. perhaps next time I will get Snickers, cause it “really satisfies!”

The concoction was made up of butter and salt and was then applied to my back along the ribs and scapula. I also landed pretty hard on my rear end but thought I would not say anything lest I have a buttery salted backside (is it me or are you thinking popcorn too?) I can tell you the treatment worked. My back has no bruising however my butt is a lovely shade of purple.  I decided to research if this was actually something other people have heard of and it turns out this is common amongst Puerto Ricans. I am sure there are other cultures who do this but the 5 or 6 blog sites I found on this topic ALL refer to Puerto Rican family as the source for this salve.

I can’t promise you anything but it doesn’t hurt so you might want to try it. My only word of advise - don’t go anywhere in the house that you don’t want peppered with salt!

30 Second Hill: (this is a short hill if you have ever ridden outside)

* 30 Second seated climb 50%

* 30 Second seated climb 60%

* 30 Second seated climb 70%

* 30 Second standing climb 70%

* 30 Second standing climb 80%

Stay at 80% and hover 30 seconds

Same 80% standing climb 30 seconds

Same 80% hover 30 seconds

30 Second standing climb 70%

30 Second seated climb 70%

30 Second seated climb 60%

30 Second seated climb 50%

2 Minute Challenge:

* 30 Second seated climb 70%

* 15 Second break

* 60 Second seated climb 70%

* 15 Second break

* 90 Second standing climb 70%

* 15 Second break

* 120 Second standing climb 70%

Up and Over:

* 30 Second seated climb 50%

* 15 Second standing climb 70%

* 15 Second standing climb 70% - double time the stroke to get up and over the hill

* 30 Second sprint down 35%

I do three hills with no rest: 50/70/sprint + 60/80/sprint + 70/90/sprint

]]> http://www.lifeorganizers.com/fit/index.php/2009/06/28/some-fun-cycling-drills-to-try-in-your-next-spin-cycle-class/feed/ http://www.lifeorganizers.com/fit/index.php/2009/06/27/what-a-difference-a-song-makes/ http://www.lifeorganizers.com/fit/index.php/2009/06/27/what-a-difference-a-song-makes/#comments Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:26:15 +0000 Christina http://www.lifeorganizers.com/fit/?p=1368 Last Sunday I was teaching my sports and conditioning class, AthleKinetix, and as usual was prepared with an arsenal of “kickin” moves to challenge even the strongest of athletes and certainly blow away the novice to intermediate exercise participant.  I was using a new playlist, one I had not listened to prior to the start of class which is not unusual for me. I figure after so many years of teaching and being so comfortable in front of a class, I can handle any music and still make the class “rock”.

This CD was a challenge! It started great, Techno Trance Hits is close enough to the beat that I love to challenge the pseudo athletes in my class.   I felt the rush, my blood pulsating through the entire via way while the heart danced in perfect conjunction with the beat of the drum as the drops of salty perspiration moistened the dried skin.  It was like a personal trance, I thought at first but then my eyes scouted the room and then I realized that it was more like a group trance.  

This odd metallic sound coming out of the not so new speakers was causing a tremor throughout the participants.  Every movement, every gap of air, every painful weight lift was marked by the desire to continue on.  I felt the energy in the secluded room.  I say secluded because during the entire class, the music transported the group to another plane in which all that was present was the sound of heart pumping Techno beat and the desire to complete the class without stopping for the first time.  Well, that would never be a reality!  No one has ever been able to finish an AthleKinetix class, but the energy was a powerful tool, enough to make them want to carry on!

At the end of AthleKinetix, the energy was still lingering in the room.  The eyes of the members were lit, commenting to each other about the energy they felt through out the entire class.  Some even said, “What was that hypnotic music?”

Closing thoughts…no matter how much fatigue your body is put through if the mind is in its right place your performance will increase.  The music acted as a doorway to sync the mind and body, the trick is to make this happen at will.