A Healthy lifestyle consists of what?
I hear this comment so much I wanted to throw out my two cents on the subject. The person generally means one of two things when they say that phrase;
1. The person is genuinely wanting information about how they can lead a more healthy lifestyle. Or
2. The person thinks I am crazy when I suggest they exercise, eat right, get to bed earlier, drink less, visit the doctor more often, stop worrying, quite smoking, take your vitamins, drive slower, laugh more, go green, drink your green tea, take your omega III, get a less stressful job, and quit fighting with your spouse.
Does it really take all of that to live a healthier lifestyle? Living a more healthy lifestyle can mean a lot of different things, there isn’t any one cut and dry answer. Just changing one unhealthy factor in your lifestyle is going to lead to better health.
For me, one of the worst things I do for my body right now, is not get enough sleep. We are on the run all the time, our kids generally have us going in different directions almost everyday of the week, and that’s not to mention our busy schedules. Who has time to sleep, I have to watch Gray’s Anatomy.
The best advice I can give, is to take inventory of your current lifestyle habits and go from there. Make small incremental changes every month 
that take you closer to your goals. We will never be perfect, so you are always going to have things you can do better, don’t stress it and work the things you can.
A free resource I love to send people too is The Real Age Test. It is a series of questions that help identify weak areas in your lifestyle. The great thing about the test is, it not only gives you insight about the weak areas, it gives you realistic things you can do to help fix the problems. Give it a try and see if it can help get you going in the right direction.
Taking care of your health is the most important job you have. Without your health you are left with nothing. Not a very valuable asset to your company, family or friends.
Stay Motivated,
Karen
As promised here is the video for the intermediate metabolic workout. It is important to remember this workout is not for the beginner (or the weak at heart). I’m still recovering from yesterdays workout so if you pay attention you will even catch a few wobbles from me in the video.
I used an 18 inch bench for my bench jumps, if you don’t have something high enough to jump on that is stable you can jump over things. Pillows are great for jumping over, if you miss you have a soft landing and if you get tripped up jumping over, the pillows will usually make it so you do not fall down.
You will want to do this workout for 45 seconds on and 20 seconds off. Repeat for 4 circuits and take a 1 minute break at the end of each round. Change the parameters around a little bit if this workout is to hard or to easy.
The advanced level workout video will be in my next post.
Stay Motivated,
Karen
I had people talk about my Metabolic Training, What is That post more than any other post I have put up, so, back by popular demand is another post dedicated to none other than – More Metabolic Workouts.
I have given you three new workouts a beginner, intermediate and advanced. The one complaint I had with the last workout was, “I am not sure what that exercise is”? So we won’t have that problem again, as a bonus, I have made a video for each of the workouts. To save time I have only given you a clip (about 10 reps) of each exercise. You will want to focus on your times depending on the level you are working at.
The Beginner Workout
The beginner workout utilizes bands. If you would like to learn more about bands or purchase them check out Dave’s site.
- Chest press
- Pull/row
- Squat
For this workout 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off. Repeat 3-4 times. You can take a 1-2 minute break at the end of each round if needed. Adjust the times if the workout is to hard. If the workout is not hard enough, but you aren’t ready to move up to the next level, lower your rest time and increase the time of your work phase.
The Intermediate Workout
You will need a few pieces of equipment for this workout: workout bench or high box, jump rope and a pair of dumbbells.
- Jump rope
- Dips
- Bench jumps
- Balance hops
For this workout you will perform 45 seconds on and 20 seconds off. Complete the circuit for 4 rounds, with a 1 minute break at the end of each round. Again change your parameters around a little if the workout is to hard or to easy.
The Advanced Workout
For this workout you will need the use of a TRX.
- Single leg squat (each leg)
- Low row
- Balance lunge (each leg)
- Chest press
This is a killer workout if each exercise is done for the full minute without any breaks in between each set. Complete 4 rounds take a 30 second to 1 minute break in between each round.
Check out my next 2 posts for the video for both the intermediate and advanced workouts.
Stay Motivated,
Karen
The Legs Up Stability Ball Bridge is the 7th exercise in the Bridge Progression Series. Your glutes and core really have to fire in this exercise to help keep the hamstrings from cramping. Beginners may need to use the arms for support, I have shown a beginner arm position. If you are brand new to bridges be sure a go back to the other videos and start from the beginning.
You can bridge up and down with this exercise as you see in the video or you can bridge up and hold if you are having trouble stabilizing your core.
Try to work your way up to bridging both ways for 1 minute. Work your way up to 2-3 sets.
Stay Motivated,
Karen
If you are in the area you are not going to want to miss the Fall Open House. Not only will you receive a free 10 minute massage that day you will also have a chance to win a free 60 minute massage or a free personal training package.
Completely Fit has a new partner. Kathryn Beall a Registered Massage Practitioner has joined the company. As a thank you to all of my loyal clients and friends, this Thursday September 10th from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm you can stop by and see for yourself how great Kathryn is. Along with the free massage you will have free access to all the tools I use to to determine your health and fitness levels.
You will not only walk away feeling more relaxed from your massage, you will have a complete game plan for becoming healthier and more fit in your hands.
On top of all the free things we will be giving away there will also be door prizes handed out. The more people you bring with you Thursday the more chances you will have for a grand prize drawing. Be sure to check out the website if you have any questions. Completely Fit Fall Open House.
Stay Motivated,
Karen
Metabolic training, what is that and is it going to hurt me? I hear all kinds of crazy questions when people start talking about metabolic training or metabolic conditioning. The most frequent question is, “what is it”? In simplest terms it refers to exercises that will improve or enhance the body’s energy systems. (And as an added bonus burn fat like crazy)!
Now you are probably scratching your head wondering what are the body’s energy systems. The body has 3 of them 1 aerobic system and 2 anaerobic systems.
Aerobic means in the presence of oxygen and anaerobic means without oxygen. Aerobic activities involve low intensity exercises that are performed for 15 minutes or more. Things such as biking, swimming and jogging. Anaerobic activities involve moderate to high intensity activities that are performed anywhere from a few seconds to 2-3 minutes.
In the past if someone wanted to shed some excess fat on the body they would begin jogging. Even today jogging seems to be the exercise of choice for fat loss. Problem is you do not burn enough calories during the workout to amount to any substantial fat loss. And more importantly jogging does not produce an EPOC effect, but moderate to high intensity training does. EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) refers to the elevated state of oxygen consumption after exercise in an effort to bring the body back to its pre-exercise state.
In other words, not only are you burning far more calories during the high intensity workout (which could be only 10-15 minutes in duration compared to 30-45) you are going to continue burning calories for some time after the workout, your metabolism stays revved up.
Higher metabolism for a longer period of time = increased fat burning power!
I think anyone would be happy with that formula. Workout less and reap bigger gains. As with anything there is a catch, you have to work harder than you have probably ever worked out before and you will probably be working outside of your comfort zone.
The Workout:
Probably the easiest form of metabolic training is in the form of timed sets, such as 1 min of exercise followed by 15 – 30 seconds of rest. This format would usually be repeated for about 10 – 15 minutes. All the variables will be dependent on your fitness levels. You might ask can this be used with traditional resistance training exercises. The answer is of course, a lot of people call it metabolic resistance training. To figure out
the amount of weight you should use, take your 10rm (or amount of weight you can lift for 10 repetitions) and just use 75 – 80% of that number. (In English terms - just go light). Because of the speed of movement used you will not need a lot of weight and in most cases no weight at all is appropriate.
You may have to go a little lighter for some exercises. The idea is to work as hard and as fast (still with very good form) as you can for the entire minute. If it was to easy up the weight, if it was to hard and you couldn’t finish the set drop down the weight a little. The amount of exercises used per session can vary anywhere from 2 – 5.
It is extremely important to make sure you are completely warmed-up before you begin this workout.
The Exercises:
The exercises you choose for metabolic training are important, some exercises just don’t work. On the other hand, some exercises may work for one format of training but not for another. Same thing with individual people, if you are not strong enough for push-ups yet, a push-up is not going to work real well for you. The exercises really need to be total body in nature, so a bicep curl would not work. I really like compound movements that span as many joints as possible.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Barbell or dumbbell reverse lunge
- Barbell or dumbbell inline lunge
- Alternating lunges
- Squat press
- Squat Jumps
- Squat thrusters
- Burpees
- Mountain Climbers
- Bear crawls
I love to mix in exercises using the big bands as well as exercises on the TRX. Really, your options are limitless be creative and see what else you can come up with to add to the list.
Sample Workouts:
I have included 3 sample workouts, a beginner, a moderate and an advanced workout. If you aren’t sure what fitness level you are, start at the beginner level, it is always easier to go up rather than start too high and become injured.
Important note: if you are new to exercise and just starting out, I do not recommend metabolic training. I make sure all of my new clients have a 2 – 3 month training base before they start this type of training.
Beginner Workout:
- Inline lunge without weight right leg - 30 seconds
- Inline lunge without weight left leg – 30 seconds
- Burbees – 30 seconds
In between each set take a 30 second rest break. Repeat 4 times for a 12 minute workout. (Repeat for less rounds if necessary). After round 1 this may be repeated a second time take a 2 – 3 minute break in between rounds. If you feel really good adjust the times 30 seconds on 15 seconds off or it could be 45 seconds on 30 seconds off.
Moderate Workout:
- Dumbbell alternating Lunges – 1 minute
- Dumbbell squat press - 1 minute
- Mountain climbers – 1 minute
In between each set take a 15 – 30 second rest break. Repeat 4 times for about a 12 minute workout. After round 1 repeat this for 2 -3 more rounds. Take about a 2 minute break in between rounds.
Advanced Workout:
- Squat thrusters – 1 minute
- Mountain climbers – 1 minute
- Barbell row – 1 minute
- Squat Jumps – 1 minute
For the advanced workout only use the rest periods in between sets if necessary and if used try to keep them down to 15 seconds. Repeat this workout for 4 rounds. Rest about a minute if needed in between rounds.
If you are short on time and do not want to add another day to your workout schedule, add 10 minutes of metabolic training to the end of your current workout. Full metabolic workouts should only be done 4 times a week.
If your fat loss efforts need a boost give these workouts a try. Feel free to leave me your favorite exercises or even your favorite routine. Have a great weekend.
Stay Motivated,
Karen
I am home from vacation. Tulum Mexico is a very beautiful place to visit. This picture was taking from the ruins. There was so much to see and do, we were able to stay busy from sun up to sun down.
On to the real post for today. Whenever I start working with a new client I always explain to them how important it is to maintain your ability to produce power. My good friend Becky Williamson, who trains out on the west coast, put up a blog post last week that gives you the complete run down on power training.
Check out the article and start adding some power training into your workouts.
Stay Motivated,
Karen
Are you trying to lose weight? Which latest diet craze have you started? Whenever someone tells me they are trying to lose weight that is the first question I ask, “what crazy diet plan are you following”? Everybody does it the minute the words lose weight come out, you have to go on some plan. Why?
It is a known fact that all of those so called perfect diets you read about in your health and fitness magazines each month, are in fact, not perfect and are going to fail you.
If that is true then what is the answer? Simple, quit following the diets and start eating healthy. I often ask my clients about their diet and they tell me how healthy they are eating, and they just can’t understand why the weight doesn’t come off. For example, one of my clients tells me her 3 snacks during the day consist of those 100 calorie snack packs. My friends those things are cheats not snacks.
MSNBC has a really good article about how to lose weight without being on a diet. It will give you some great ideas on healthy ways to cheat. Have a great weekend.
Stay Motivated,
Karen
The Bridge March is the 6th exercise in the bridge progression series. You defiantly do not want to attempt this exercise until you can do the other 5 exercises in the progression.
As you move through the exercise try not to let your hips drop, or let your hamstrings cramp up on you. Try to perform the march for 1 set of about 20 seconds and work your way up to a minute of marching. Good luck. Number 7 will come in the next post.
Stay Motivated,
Karen
The TFAH (Trust for America’s Health) F as in Fat 2009 report states that obesity rates are on the rise for the third straight year in Maryland and no state in the US saw a decrease in rates. Unfortunately even the rates of our children are on the rise.
Dr. G.N. Chaldakov a researcher believes we are on the verge of creating a new species, homo obesus. He feels that the new species has distinctly different metabolic processes compared to homo sapiens, making it next to impossible to lose weight using the calories in vs. calories out method.
As the numbers continue to rise, so do the number of new products on the market that promote quick, fast and easy as 1, 2, 3 weight loss. I have to admit that I sometimes give them a second look, (I too would love to have a magic pill) but then my common sense kicks in.
There isn’t any magic pill or magic piece of equipment or even a magic workout program on the market that will get you in shape and get rid of your gut. There are only 2 simple things needed persistence and hard work. There are some great programs on the market, I have even used some of them, but they are only as good as the person using them.
No matter what you buy or what you use they all require hard work, to get the results you are looking for. Let’s all work together, quit looking for the quick fix and get to working on lowering our numbers for the year 2010. Who’s with me?
Stay Motivated,
Karen
