Tank Top Arms

Truth be told, I’m stressed right now. I shouldn’t be though. But somewhere between my work life and personal life, I’m feeling it. I think I know what it is, but I’m trying to write it off to being all weather related :o) Often times we find ourselves anxious, stressed and just down right blech!! Don’t we? It can have to do with anything from bills, work, our significant other, the kids, the car, our family or friends or the freakin’ computer going down! Well, there is a very good remedy for that and you know what it is….yes, come on…say it!!! EXERCISE! dun-DuN-DUN!!!

Instead, lets say that stress can be reduced by being active. There are other things of course that can reduce it in our lives, but I want to focus on a-c-t-v-i-t-y.

If you didn’t know, there are different kinds of stress, but all of them can be managed with a healthy diet and a good dose of physical activity each day. I’m not saying you have to break a sweat for 60 minutes to ease off the tension. Even a 10-15 minute brisk walk can alleviate the nerves. It is important to try to pinpoint the source of your stress so that you can learn to manage it and control the situation. It may not always be easy to pinpoint where it’s coming from, but at least try to find it.

Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week. Pent-up stress is pretty easily remedied through aerobic exercise. Annoyances or frustrating situations can sometimes build up and you can feel stressed or even experience a low level of anger even! If you’re feeling motivated enough, a higher energy form of exercise can help release some of those emotions. Kickboxing, boxing, weight training, crossfit or going for a LONG NEEDED RUN when you didn’t think you needed to go so long, can all help reduce stress.

If you don’t believe me, read on:

The American Council on Exercise reminds Americans that one of the most effective methods of stress relief is exercise. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Association endorses exercise as a way to reduce stress, and recommends cardiovascular exercise that elevates the heart rate for 15 to 30 minutes – three to four times per week.

I told you so. When you are less stressed, you tend to have a more positive outlook on life you know! There is no “magic exercise” that you can do to reduce your stress. Actually, different activities can help with different kinds of stress. The important thing is to do something that you enjoy. One of my most favorite activities now is to take the dogs to the lake and walk. It usually takes almost two hours out there, but it always seems like half the time. It’s a perk if you enjoy the company you’re with too! One of the things that can happen is that you feel so stressed, that you don’t want to do anything…it kind of ends up as a vicious cycle. The more you stay sedentary, the more stressed out you can get! They say that yoga is an excellent way to relieve stress. Only from research can I say that this has been proven to be true. (Remember, doing yoga is one of my resolutions for this year). Breathing exercises, aromatherapy, and meditation all contribute to sanity as well.

So go for a walk, jog, leisure bike ride….take the dog out, play with the kids, stretch, punch a bag…do jumping jacks, do JUMPROPE (10 calories for every minute!!), clean the house or work in the garden. There are so many different things you can do. Finally, if you think you need just a little bit of help to relax more, ask your favorite pair of hands for a nice massage, fingers through your hair, or gentles touches on your back.  Then there’s always a nice glass of vino that you can have at the end of your long day with or after a  yummy shrimp pasta dish! (Man I’m getting hungry)…

Now you know what you can do to wash away that stress...

I feel motivated, pushed, supported, free and I’m in deep like. Spreading my wings, seeing more gray instead of black and white, and able to give of myself more and more. I’m loving life. Thank you J!

Remember that one of my New Year’s resolutions was to take 4 road trips this year? Well, aside from the fact that I have a pretty good feeling that it will be more than four, I got to enjoy a snippet of beautiful San Francisco this past weekend. It’s true, aside from sitting at the airport, I’ve never been to San Fran…(I know, I know ;-)…I mean “the city”.  I was like a kid in a candy store just coming up to the Golden Gate bridge! Good picture huh?I wanted to sponge up everything I could because I’d never been there before, but obviously there is only so much you can fit in one day. I was such a hungry student wanting to learn ;o) More like a giddy student at best! It was funny coming in because out of sheer luck, we landed on the exact streets that we wanted and needed to be on…or it could have been due to the fantastic driver! Have you heard of the famous Lombard Street? It’s one of the crookedest streets you’ll ever see! Needless to say, traffic was slow but the views were awesome from the top. Moving along, we also got to see the Transamerica Pyramid. It’s the tallest building in San Francisco and to come right up to it was pretty darn cool. Pay no attention to the cable in the pic though ;o)

After parking and heading out on foot, we walked…and walked…and walked. Lucky we like to walk so much! Pier 39, the Bay bridge, and Alcatraz were just a few of the sites new to my world. LOVE learning new things!

Weary at first but so thankful afterwards, we trekked through the Art Institute and went to the top to take in the views there as well. I was taught that we just needed to act as though we belonged there…and everything was fine ;o) Cherry blossoms are quickly becoming a favorite tree of mine!

With as much fun as we were having enjoying the city, we couldn’t pass up the fact that all the hills were giving us a good workout for our legs! Looking down from Union and Jones streets, it’s easy to see how one could get a rock hard butt with or without carrying any groceries.

I can’t in good conscience divulge all the details of our trip, but I can say that I’m definitely looking forward to my next one. Not sure if the kids will be in tow or not, but we’re looking at the Redwood Coast sometime in the summer. Perhaps Yosemite or even New York!! Hmmm, that wouldn’t be so much a “road” trip per se, but who cares! I’ve never been and would love to go.

On a side note that has nothing to do with this post topic…I love having three dogs!

It’s the year of the Tiger according to the Chinese calendar. My year. It’s already been a wonderful 2010 so far!

And who doesn’t want to experience that? Just by seeing the word “sex”, your pupils are probably dilating a bit, or at the very least, you’ll probably raise a brow. When a person is in better physical shape and health, it more often than not can increase the pleasure of sex. But there are a couple of things that can definitely affect your sex drive. I want to cover these first, then move on to what can be done.

Sex drive killers!

Low self image: It’s hard to feel sexy if your self-esteem suffers from poor body image or low self-confidence. Feeling embarrassed of being too heavy (even if you’re not) can really dampen the thought of a love making session. Working out not only enhances your self-esteem, but also increases your sex drive. Zooom zooooom!

Obesity: Being overweight or obese can be linked to a lack of sexual enjoyment, desire, and difficulties with sexual performance on the person that is overweight, the spouse or significant other, or maybe both. It could be linked to self-esteem, unhappy relationships, social stigma, or other psychological issues.

Too little intimacy: This is the last killer of a sexy mood I want to focus on. Intimacy isn’t just another word for sex. Yes I’m throwing my 2 cents here and I won’t be digressing either…I suppose anybody can have sex, but the level of intimacy between two people can REALLY turn a love making session into an amazing one if you have that “connection”. If you don’t, you’ll know it because it’s so short lived.

There are three main components to fitness,and they include endurance, strength, and flexibility. If you are fit, you have more endurance (for going on and on….), muscular strength (to pull with if needed…ahem), and overall flexibility (you can use your imagination on that one), all of which can help you in the bedroom…or the couch, the living room floor, yada, yada, yada….you know. I can’t give too much away!

Stress is another reason to get into shape. Fit people tend to suffer less from stress than their counterparts do. When you are less stressed about things, you are more likely to initiate and enjoy sex. People who are out of shape are often less motivated to do so. They tend to tire more easily, and have a lower sex drive and less stamina than folks who work out.

With all this talk about exercising and it’s important benefits for sex, we can’t forget that doing the deed IS exercise in and of itself!! Just to show you, go to healthstatus.com to calculate how many calories you would burn. Just for the fun of it, at 119 lbs, I would burn about 115 calories in 30 minutes…is it down to a science? Of course not, but it’s just something fun to do ;o)  When you’re feeling happy, chances are that you’re feeling sexy, so don’t forget that.

Regarding the last sex drive killer, when you feel close to the person you’re with and you are so focused on him or her that everything else disappears, you are in true intimacy. There’s nothing like it. If you’re looking to build that intimacy with your partner,  try spending more non-sexual  time together, but make it intimate and alone. Talk, snuggle up to each other on the couch, bed, movie theater, and even trade massages or back scratches. Learn to express affection without having to have sex.

As intimacy builds, so does the sex drive.

You know how when you’re working out, you usually take a break in between sets, or maybe a break from running and just walk a little bit? Oooo, oooo, better yet, what about when you take a “few” minutes to chat with your friend as a little break? Ask a Crossfitter to take that opportunity and you’ll hear “NAHHHHHH!! Breaks are for wimps!”

Have you heard of it, Crossfit? The first time you ever participate in a Crossfit session, you’ll never forget it. My girlfriend and I used to joke around about how we would pass or fail the toilet test. Basically, if we had a hard time “squatting” for the next couple of days, then we did a good job on our workout! ;o)

There are MANY benefits to doing Crossfit. Here are a few reasons to add some spice into your workout life:

• Cardiovascular
• Stamina
• Speed
• Agility
• Flexibility
• Strength
• Power
• Coordination
• Balance

For those that really enjoy exercise or want to vamp up their routine, Crossfit is like a chocolate delicacy from Bavaria. You don’t need cardio machines or free weights. You don’t need a pool or a fancy gym. As a matter of fact, Crossfit is a pretty plain Jane basic workout regime that will ultimately just kick your ass into the next day. Crossfit is a highly adaptable and constantly changing strength and conditioning program. In all honesty, it’s a workout that anybody can participate in, but truly will be appreciated more by those who are at a higher level of  fitness. Running, jumping, gymnastic type movements, climbing, and weight-lift training  and any other type of challenging and functional exercises are all game. Crossfit can benefit all different ages and abilities because the goal of a Crossfit athlete is  to be as fit as possible.

There are different routines that you can pick from. They vary from competing against one other, yourself, time, weight, and it goes on and on. The possibilities are really endless if you think about it. One of the best perks….no gym membership is required! Use your garage, an open room in your house, the backyard, a beach, a park, your driveway, etc…etc. Of course if you belong to a gym, you can do your session there as well. To put it simply as possible, think UNconventional. Think ABnormal. Think Wicked. I could put you through the ringer with a jump rope and a tire if I wanted to. Just to whet your appetite, I’m posting a couple of workouts that were put together by myself and my workout partner back in Hawaii. She and I along with another co-worker put together a blog called 2 girls and 1 guy workout together. Now granted, the blog hasn’t been touched in a while, but that’s besides the point. We created these workouts to share with others and to kick our own butts too ;o)

Sample 1- Rose: 5 rounds (sets) for time (try to complete as fast as you can)
10 burpees
40 air squats
30 crunches
20 sumo high pulls (these can be done with a dumbbell, barbell plate, kettle bell, or barbell w/ weight)

Sample 2 – Stick in the Mud (20 minutes. As many rounds as you can do)

10 burpees (see above)

20 air squats (see above)

15 clean and press

20 ball toss (abs)

10 split jumps

This kind of workout is being used by individuals and groups all over. Fire fighters, police officers, military personnel, working moms, stay at home moms, kids (my own), dad’s from every corner and good looking men in politics get involved in Crossfit! (Ok that last one was for my own pleasure).

So what are you gonna do? I challenge YOU to challenge yourself.

Are you looking at the title and saying to yourself, “Why is she asking this? ” Well, I ask because I think it’s a legitimate question for parents. How much do you know about the importance of having a fit kid, other than the fact that you could stave off extra pounds of fat around his or her tummy? Well, the truth is, that kids who are overweight or obese tend to have more health problems as kids AND are at a 50% increased risk of being overweight as adults! Scary….

Dear mom and dad: get your kid moving, because THIS isn’t cutting it!!!

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, overweight or obese children and adolescents are at risk for many health problems. Some of the negative health outcomes that may be more obvious to children and their parents are asthma, sleep apnea, skin infections, and complaints of joint pain. In addition, research indicates that obese children have lower self esteem and self confidence than their thinner peers. Low self esteem and self confidence have been linked to poor academic performance, fewer friends, and depression. How’s that for an eye opener?!

So what can YOU do? For starters, if your child or teen is a video game  or tele junkie, then it has to be either removed or at a minimum, reduce the time used to play and watch TV. The boob tube doesn’t have too many redeeming qualities these days anyway, with all the crap that’s on and not even appropriate for kids. Then we wonder why they are growing up so fast (totally my 2 cents here).

Here are some ways to help you, help your child to be more active:

1. Find a fun activity that your child will enjoy
2. Choose an age appropriate activity
3. Provide a safe environment
4. Be a role model for your child
5. Play with your child
6. Make an appointment with your child’s pediatrician ;-)
7. TURN OFF THE TV!

Gosh just looking at this drives me crazy! But I d-i-g-r-e-s-s (there’s that word :) Having a fit kid has plenty of benefits. The obvious one is  having a lower BMI (body mass index). You want to make sure that your child/teen has a healthy amount of body fat, not too much or too little for that matter. While being able to run around is great when you’re lighter on your feet, it also gives them more confidence and ambition to participate in group sports. Self esteem has been shown to increase with the decrease of weight when needed. Being at a healthy weight reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes, which unfortunately for many kids these days is becoming a more common diagnosis. Want your kids to have better grades in school? Studies have shown that exercise may actually boost academic performance by burning off pent-up energy, boosting mood and increasing blood flow to the brain.

There are Three Elements of Fitness which parents can focus on whether your child is in elementary school or high school. There is endurance, strength, and flexibility, and the earlier you start teaching them this, the better. For example, when your kid is running away from the kid who’s “it” , it builds endurance. When your kids is crossing the monkey bars, it builds strength, and when your kids bend down to tie their shoes, it builds flexibility. By doing different activities, you are helping to encourage your “mini me’s” develop these elements of exercise. Finally, be a role model…a GOOD role model. There’s only so much credibility when you push someone to be healthy but you’re not doing it yourself. Lets get real now! Would you really want to take exercise advice from someone that isn’t fit? Ok, ok…maybe they’re on a “break”, but they shouldn’t let it get out of control that they’ve let themselves go either. Get outside with your child. Go walk the dog with them, ride your bike with her, kick the ball with him and don’t forget to eat well together. By “well” I mean healthy of course.

It’s pretty amazing to think that you could have so much to do with the longevity of your offspring and how they will live after you are gone. Will it be to a healthy (for the most part) 85-90 years old, or a medicine ridden cabinet and in an electric wheelchair when they are 60? It can all start with you…

The parent.

It’s the last 5 minutes before each race starts that I always feel the most need to go pee!!! I get the butterflies, a little anxious, and a TON of adrenalin going through my body like   you wouldn’t believe, but it’s all good. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever gotten involved in…the triathlon.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with this kind of race, let me indulge you. It’s one that includes swimming, biking, then running all within the same race one event right after the other. I got involved with this activity because I wanted to add more challenging activities to my life. Something that could help me set a big goal and accomplish it. The biggest perk is that it helped whip me into shape in a different way like I’ve never known! It’s definitely hard work, especially if you plan on doing them on a competitive level.

So on with my point; you should think about setting a goal for yourself this year of participating in an event that ends with an “ON”. TriathlON, MarathON, DuathlON, get it? Before you start with the heart palpitations or cursing me under your breath, or saying “YEAH RIGHT!” to yourself, let’s think about this for a moment. It’s an opportunity to challenge your mind, body and spirit to something that maybe you’ve wanted to do for a long time, or something that you never thought you could possibly do, and yet you CAN!

Let’s go over my fave first…the triathlON: Like I mentioned earlier, this race is made up of a swim, bike and then a run. There are 4 different distances that you could try. First there is the Sprint distance race. It usually consists of a 500 yd swim, a 10 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run. Next is the Olympic distance. A little further, it goes for about .93 mile swim, a 25 mile bike ride and 6.2 mile run. Following that is the Half Ironman :) with a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13 mile run. It’s also nicknamed a 70.3 race if you’ve ever heard that term before. Finally, we have the Ironman, most famously known as the Kona Ironman race in Hawaii, but NOT the only ironman race out there. This monster is made up of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run, or in other words, a marathon to complete the race. If you’ve never done any of these races, I suggest you start with the sprint distance. Don’t be fooled though. Although it’s the shortest distance, it’s supposed to be a SPRINT race. So you’re giving it your all the whole time, unlike the longer races which you can pace yourself. Again, this applies to the competitive level. So if you want to do one just to say you did it, start with this one. Training programs for all distances are available through me, or you can check out several at beginnertriathlete.com. This is a great site to get information for newbies. You can search for all different distances through the triathlon calendar which is the site I visit to find my own races. The MarathON…dun-dun-DUN!!! I find that the best way to train for a marathon is do join a team or recruit a partner or two. Team in Training for the leukemia and lymphoma society has a wonderful training program as well as organization that you can sign up with. I remember the first marathon I did in Chicago…I swore I would never do another to be honest, but it didn’t work out that way :) It’s definitely hard work because it’s the same thing for 26.2 miles, but under the right conditions (fundraising, cancer support, supporting a friend) it can be such a rewarding experience. You could also set your sights on a 1/2 marathon! Much easier to complete, but still a lot of sweat and hard work. Imagine the results you’ll be seeing as you train for any of these! Runners World is highly regarded among runners and the 1/2 ,marathon link above will take you there for some great info. Remember that you’re not limited to one of these two races for running. Start off with breast cancer walks/runs, local turkey runs, or even trail running for the beautiful views. I actually love trail running! The DuathlON: A neat race that has two events. These two events are usually a run and a bike ride. Occasionally there will be a swim and bike, or a swim and run, but for the most part it’s a run and bike. So there are two events, BUT, they can be divided up into three parts. So you can have a run, bike, run; or a run, swim run; or run and bike…you get the idea.

Past, current or future athlete beware!!! I can almost promise you that once you decide on an event, start training for it, begin to see results in your own physique and emotional well being, you may become addicted!!

There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment when you’ve crossed the finish line. When you decide on one, let me know what you picked :)

Where do I begin…

My heart aches for these people. You have no idea the desire that I have to have my mom fly out to CA to watch my kids, just so I can go and help with relief efforts. For many years, I’ve had a huge desire to do missionary work in poor countries, but the better of me sides with reality. I do recognize that I have young children, so I can’t go, not right now at least. I have made a promise to myself that when my youngest turns 18, and she’s well on her way to independence, I will begin my travels abroad to give back what I have been blessed with.

The simplest act of combing the hair of a child, or an elderly person or even a seemingly healthy 35 year old like myself seems like such a petty chore to some, but it’s something that I relish in doing when I know they cannot do it for themselves.

The recent earthquake in Haiti has me gripped at my seat, with my eyes closed and an aching heart, because these people started off in a hole, and now need more than a shovel to dig themselves out (every pun intended). Their world has been rocked, but by the grace of God, they will come out of it. It’s times like these that many of us take a minute or two out of our day to reflect on what’s really important in our lives. It’s in the last sentence…OUR LIVES. What can we do with what we have? Not everyone is lucky enough to ever go through a lifetime without any tragedy, but if you think about it, without that, we find it difficult to appreciate the smallest things. So maybe, just maybe, tragedies can make us better people, or at least we strive to be.

I’ve implied this in an earlier post and I’m going to do it again. If you are able to read this post, consider yourself one of the wealthiest in the world. It’s not enough to be sad and hope that Haiti comes out of this situation. We must be proactive. In other words, YOU know what you can and cannot provide to people in need. Whether it’s Haiti, Africa, or your homeless guy or gal living in the streets of your nearest downtown. “I feel so bad for these people” as you drive or walk away doesn’t do anything for them, or yourself.

I want to share an easy way of helping Haiti that I truly believe is worth taking the time to do. It’s easy, fast, and logistically genius in my opinion. If you can afford lunch or dinner even just ONE time this week, put that money aside and instead text away! The American Red Cross is taking donations of  $10 to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake through the simplest of text messages. All the instructions you need are in the above link. You don’t even need to pull out a credit card!

I want to challenge every single one of you reading this to send one text, that’s all. If you so desire to send more, then more power to you! Close your eyes for a moment, and just try to picture yourself switching places with one of the earthquake victims…hard huh? Now just imagine living it, or losing a loved one, or maybe not even knowing where they are. More simply, take a second to assess your hunger pangs or if you feel dehydrated………………at all.

I just made my donation via Text. It took about 30 seconds, if that.

I dare you. I double dog dare you!

A good friend of mine was asking me questions the other day about ideas of what he could eat that is healthy, fast, and easy. He’s a bachelor and like most singles that I know, the refrigerator usually looks like this:

Hate to tell ya, but you’re not going to get very far with a bottle of mustard and some cream cheese, unless of course you’re McGyver! (I just dated myself didn’t I?) But I digress…(my other new word). It’s a new year, you’ve made new goals and one of them is to lose weight, or eat healthier, or both! Well, if you’re out to lose any weight at all, then having healthy eating habits are going to be a must. So I just want to share some ideas that I’ve used when I don’t have a lot of time, or quite frankly, when I’m just too lazy to cook.

A good habit to get into is to get the groceries you need for anything you’ll want to make for at least 3-4 days. That way, not only are you saving trips to the store, but you’re also saving $$, because really,  don’t we all end up with about $20 more in our basket than what we intended most of the time? Now of course I can’t please everyone here with the ingredients I use, but you can always send me an email to tailor it for you if you’d like. this is going to be a basic rundown, then I’ll get into the details, so hang tight!

Breakfast choices: Whole grain waffles, whole wheat english muffins, high fiber cereal w/skim milk, protein shake w/banana or papaya,  egg whites w/ chopped mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes all scrambled, oatmeal with 1 tb of peanut butter, blueberry pancakes w/ 1 mashed banana in it (from the blueberry muffin box), toasted peanut butter & jelly sandwich, and yogurt w/ granola on top. remember these are ideas that I use myself in the morning. You can find more ideas at the Cooking light website. Breakfast is the most important meal of your day!!! If you want to speed up your metabolism, and make losing weight easier, don’t skip breakfast. This should be your BIGGEST meal as a matter of fact, that you consume during the day. It gets your brain ready for the daily challenges, and sets the internal dial of how much energy you’ll be needing and using. I urge you to plan the night before what it is that you’ll be eating. Snack #1 choices: low-fat yogurt, granola bar, nut and fruit mix, apple, grapes, banana, bran muffin, hard boiled egg (which you prepare the night before), raw veggies, almonds, 1/2 avocado, reduced fat pudding cup, baked chips and salsa, pretzels. Snacks are NOT to be eaten just because you’re bored. They are to be eaten so you are not “starving” in between breakfast and lunch. Snacks usually don’t have to be cooked, so don’t make it hard on yourself. Their lot in life is to tide you over.

Lunch choices: salad the way you like it (prepared the night before), leftovers from dinner (ALWAYS easy), sandwich w/ avocado (and any other weird stuff you may like), veggie burger pita, healthy canned soup (watch the sodium), turkey quesadillas. Lunch time is considered to be anywhere between 11-2pm. Personally I prefer to eat lunch no later than 1pm, I also understand that schedules can’t always be followed the way we like. Snack #2 choices:In addition to all the choices you saw earlier for snack #1, you can add an orange, pear, strawberries, protein shake, string cheese, peanut butter pretzels, tuna w/ crackers, popcorn.

Food for thought: snacks are just to tide you over………………………………………….

Dinner choices: By far my favorite meal to cook, only because I love to cook! But not only that, I plan my lunches off of this meal so often as well. A crock pot is a perfect cook while you’re gone to work all day. You get to come home to a wonderful aroma and dinner is ready! But aside from crock pot recipes, there are other things to make that are relatively quick as well. Pizza (make or order), tacos, pasta (about 11 minutes to cook), lean sloppy joe, broiled fish, baked chicken w/ instant brown rice (10 min to cook), sautéed veggies with tortillas, baked potato, ravioli. I can honestly say that my crockpot is one of the BEST investments I’ve ever made for my kitchen, AND my sanity :) There are tons of recipes you can use for the crockpot from breakfast to dessert.

I don’t like food that’s too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I’d buy a painting.

~Andy Rooney

He said it very well! This post was supposed to help you get ideas of quick ways to satisfy your hunger with healthy ideas, not how to be hoity toity with your food. There are of course hundreds of other foods to eat and many others that I really spend the time preparing, but that’s either because it’s a special occasion, or because I want to try a new recipe. Hopefully these will help you get started :) Here are more ideas for a little more time consumption, but great nonetheless.

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are. ~Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I’m not referring to the sweat you break when you’re waiting for that cop to get out of his car that is parked right behind you. Now, now ladies…I know some of you may be breaking into a sweat right about now, so I hope I have your attention. That was your treat for the day :)

I hear this a lot: “Is the elliptical trainer better than running?”, “Are 3 sets better than 2?”, “Is walking fast just as good as jogging?”, “Is the steam room better for your skin than the sauna”…ok that last question was my own, but you get the picture. In the grand scheme of things, ANY physical exercise that you do is better than none at all. On top of that, any physical activity that you do that gets your heart rate up is even better!

Your traditional means of breaking a sweat usually occur in a gym. It’s pretty basic. You enjoy the mechanical fruits that the facility has to offer and you leave. Then you have the non-traditional means where you workout at home or outside. All three avenues can take you places far beyond your dreams of health and fitness. What usually lacks is the creativity when you are not in a gym per se, only because of unfamiliarity with what you can do with what you have. You want to avoid making excuses for not being physically active. Just do it. Here are two options below:

Ready,.. set,.. go! Walking, jogging, running, biking, swimming, strength training, hiking, bowling, tennis, gardening, roller skating, ice skating, inline skating, soccer, walking your dog, washing your car, climbing stairs, dancing, kickboxing, pushing a stroller, step aerobics, Zumba, jump rope, kayaking, canoeing, Crosssfit, mowing the lawn, cleaning windows, cleaning the house, raking leaves, chasing your kids, chasing your dogs, frisbee, baseball, basketball, golf (that one was hard for me to say), walking on the beach, flying a kite, shoveling snow, walking in the mall and even, do I dare say it… having fun in the sack! OH, don’t give me that raised brow!! You know you were wondering that too! There,  a “few” ideas for you.

Remember that these are just ideas of what you can do to be physically active, but if you want to burn calories and lose weight, you’ll need to rev up your engine and put a little work into it. This also means watching what you eat of course. Look at it like this: healthy eating and lowering your caloric intake will certainly take the pounds off, while being physically active will sculpt your body. Make sense? Capisce?

The most important thing to remember if you don’t remember anything else is this: DO WHAT YOU ENJOY DOING!!!!! If you hate running, then don’t run for pete’s sake!! Why the heck would you run? All your doing is sabotaging your exercise experience. But if you wanted to add running to your walk, for example, and do interval training to run for 2 minutes and walk for five…heyyyyy….look at you!

Mixing things up is always positive. It keeps thing alive and interesting. Not only that, but did you know that mixing your moves burns more calories? You’re making your body think harder which in turn works harder. Who says you have to do just one or two or three things every day and that’s it? You could do 45 minutes of cardio exercise and break it up into three different activities for 15 minutes each, or even four different exercises and a 5 minute blast of 5th one! The possibilities are endless is what I’m telling you.

The other important thing to remember is that if you want the weight to come off, then you must increase your cardio time to 30 min a day at least. Notice I said INCREASE your time. This may be a little rough for newbies, so that’s why I say “increase”, especially if you feel like your heart is coming out of your chest just walking around the block.

It’s not about keeping up with the Jones’s, it’s about keeping ahead of them :)