Hey all, I know it has been a few days since I posted last but with the holiday season it has been busy. I just wanted to take the time to say happy holidays and an have a great new year.
Make sure to add a little time to your cardio so that you can indulge a little more at all of those holiday partys that happen this time of the year!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays and have a great New Year!!!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Enjoying your Workouts!
Enjoying your Workouts!
Well I was thinking about this a bit... As time goes on many people eventually get bored with there routines and stop. Here are a few tips that I though might help me.
- Audio Books
This is my personal favorite, I love to listen to books while I workout. Sometimes I’m so into the book that I don’t want to stop working out because I want to see what happens in the book. These days there are books on just about every topic so it’s easy to find something you like!
- Music
Music can literally move you. Make sure to pick music you like to listen to but make sure it has a fast beat to it, something you like to dance to! For myself I have about 20 playlists setup, each about 30 +/- a minute or two. There is lots of variation in the music so I will listen to what moves me on that day. My playlists range from Techno to Hard Rock, Reggae to punk. I like it all, just depending on my mood!
- Workout Variation
This is a great way to make your routines not get boring. Change them often. When I say change them, what I mean is you don’t always have to do the same exercise to get the same workout. Example: If you want to work the chest, you could do push-ups, dumbbell flies, normal bench press, incline presses, or decline presses.
- TV
Get a TV in your workout area. It may help you enjoy the time you spend working out. I used to run on a tread mill and watch tapes of my favorite sitcom.
- Anything you can do to make it interesting!
If there is anything you can do to make your workout interesting do it. If you like baseball, join a team near you. Any sport might give you jus that little push to workout harder. Maybe even bowling or golf. Heck you might even get a little off the main line sports and choose something like boxing or a martial art! If it keeps you interested and gives you a reason to work out DO IT!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Status Update #1
I know it has been a few weeks, but here are my new stats!
Remember my body fat goal is 20%.
MY STATS (sad but true)
Age: 32 Height: 5’11”
Weight: 308.5 Body Fat: 32%
Body Water: 45% Waist: 44”
Abdomen: 53.25” Chest: 54”
Right Bicep: 16.25” Left Bicep: 16.75”
Right Calve: 18” Left Calve: 18.5”
Right Quadriceps: 26.5” Left Quadriceps: 26.5”
Well my weight has gone up 1lb... But I lost abdomen size and gained chest size.
I will have to make sure to do my aerobics.
Remember my body fat goal is 20%.
MY STATS (sad but true)
Age: 32 Height: 5’11”
Weight: 308.5 Body Fat: 32%
Body Water: 45% Waist: 44”
Abdomen: 53.25” Chest: 54”
Right Bicep: 16.25” Left Bicep: 16.75”
Right Calve: 18” Left Calve: 18.5”
Right Quadriceps: 26.5” Left Quadriceps: 26.5”
Well my weight has gone up 1lb... But I lost abdomen size and gained chest size.
I will have to make sure to do my aerobics.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
End of the first week!
Well so far so good! I can really tell that I am getting a good workout. I have been a little sore, but its a good sore! I like it! Sometimes I feel that it is hard to take days off, I keep feeling that if I just keep working out I can lose the weight that much faster. But I know that it won't work that way, I'll burn out or worst overtrain... I just have to know that it is working and stick to the routine!!!
I do have to be careful to make sure I take my supplements everyday. I missed taking them on Thursday and by Saturday I could tell that I missed a day. I felt tired and just not on, like I had no energy. I feel find today and will not forget again!
I do have to be careful to make sure I take my supplements everyday. I missed taking them on Thursday and by Saturday I could tell that I missed a day. I felt tired and just not on, like I had no energy. I feel find today and will not forget again!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Aerobic fitness
Work hard to burn fat, using aerobics. Increasing your aerobic fitness will help make your heart stronger, increase your lungs ability to get oxygen and make your body create new blood vessels to transport oxygen throughout your body better. This will make it easier to do many tasks like running to first base, running to catch the bus, or just spending the day walking around the mail shopping.
Any physical activity that increases your heart rate is considered aerobic. Activities like jumping rope, walking, running, biking, swimming, dancing, kick boxing. I am going to try to aim for at least 45 minutes of aerobic exercise 4 days a week.
I think I read that they are now saying that the 30 to 60 minutes they recommend of aerobic exercise doesn’t have to be all at one time. If I recall correctly you can do four 15 minute routines and that is just as good as doing it all at once. I’ll see if I can find that information and write something on that!
Any physical activity that increases your heart rate is considered aerobic. Activities like jumping rope, walking, running, biking, swimming, dancing, kick boxing. I am going to try to aim for at least 45 minutes of aerobic exercise 4 days a week.
I think I read that they are now saying that the 30 to 60 minutes they recommend of aerobic exercise doesn’t have to be all at one time. If I recall correctly you can do four 15 minute routines and that is just as good as doing it all at once. I’ll see if I can find that information and write something on that!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Muscular fitness
Muscular fitness is another one of our main areas that make up a balanced workout routine. The more muscle you have the more calories they burn. So by regularly doing strength training we can help reduce body fat. Building muscles will help to protect our joints from injury by keep them stable and in line. It will also help us in our day to day life, carrying groceries, lifting our kids, moving a box of files, putting the water bottle on the water cooler, etc.
I know that most people think about going to the gym when they think of muscular fitness but if you have been with me since the beginning you will know that there are other things you can do beside traditional weights at the gym. Are own body weight works great for most people. I was doing push-ups, crunches, pull-ups and leg squats. Once I get strong enough that I need to add weight I ordered a resistance bands kit. I know I could order a full set of Olympic weight but I want to keep this with in the $$$ reach of anyone reading this. I bought the GoFit Ultimate ProGym with DVD for $30. What I liked most about this is the fact that more then one band can hook to the handles so you can combine the bands to get higher weights.
I know that most people think about going to the gym when they think of muscular fitness but if you have been with me since the beginning you will know that there are other things you can do beside traditional weights at the gym. Are own body weight works great for most people. I was doing push-ups, crunches, pull-ups and leg squats. Once I get strong enough that I need to add weight I ordered a resistance bands kit. I know I could order a full set of Olympic weight but I want to keep this with in the $$$ reach of anyone reading this. I bought the GoFit Ultimate ProGym with DVD for $30. What I liked most about this is the fact that more then one band can hook to the handles so you can combine the bands to get higher weights.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Stretching
Why is stretching important? Stretching increases your flexibility, improves the range of motion of your joints, and promotes better posture and circulation. Regular stretching can even relieve stress and help prevent injury, especially if your muscles or joints are tight.
Just think of it this way, even if you didn’t eat right, or work to increase strength or aerobic fitness, just doing stretching will make you feel so much better! I think that just doing the stretches helps to increase the functional strength that will help everything you do come just a little bit easier.
When I first started working out a few months ago I started with a book called “The Shaolin Workout – 28 Days to Transforming Your Body and Soul the Warrior’s Way” by Shi Yan Ming. I bought the book because I have always been interested in the martial arts and this was a book about Shaolin Kung Fu, I thought it would be sweet. Well I can tell you the book does many things, but for the body workout, most of it is stretching and building strength using just your bodyweight.
I think if you wanted to start to get in shape and didn’t think you could this book might be a great place to start. Not only does it start slow and build up to anything hard, but it also has a “Meditation” to go with each day that talked to me as a person and for me personally was really good for my soul. Not to mention helped to keep me motivated. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book, which happens to be a topic for one of the meditations. “If you want to do it, nothing is difficult. If you don’t want to do it, nothing is easy.”
Just think of it this way, even if you didn’t eat right, or work to increase strength or aerobic fitness, just doing stretching will make you feel so much better! I think that just doing the stretches helps to increase the functional strength that will help everything you do come just a little bit easier.
When I first started working out a few months ago I started with a book called “The Shaolin Workout – 28 Days to Transforming Your Body and Soul the Warrior’s Way” by Shi Yan Ming. I bought the book because I have always been interested in the martial arts and this was a book about Shaolin Kung Fu, I thought it would be sweet. Well I can tell you the book does many things, but for the body workout, most of it is stretching and building strength using just your bodyweight.
I think if you wanted to start to get in shape and didn’t think you could this book might be a great place to start. Not only does it start slow and build up to anything hard, but it also has a “Meditation” to go with each day that talked to me as a person and for me personally was really good for my soul. Not to mention helped to keep me motivated. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book, which happens to be a topic for one of the meditations. “If you want to do it, nothing is difficult. If you don’t want to do it, nothing is easy.”
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Strengthening Your Core
What is Core Fitness? The core refers to the trunk of your body and all of the muscles associated with your trunk including the abs, back, and pelvis muscles. A strong core can make it easier to do most physical activities. Training these muscles to work together will help you move more efficiently and prevent strain on your spine. Also, establishing a strong core will stabilize your posture, which helps prevent back pain.
Think about all of the activities that a strong core will affect; walking, running, lifting, your golf swing, baseball bat swing, just about everything you do.
A stability ball is a great tool to help strenthing our core. I have the GoFit 65cm Professional Stability Ball that came with a DVD. I will be adjusting my routines to include some abs work with the stability ball.
Think about all of the activities that a strong core will affect; walking, running, lifting, your golf swing, baseball bat swing, just about everything you do.
A stability ball is a great tool to help strenthing our core. I have the GoFit 65cm Professional Stability Ball that came with a DVD. I will be adjusting my routines to include some abs work with the stability ball.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
A Balanced Workout Routine
There are 4 main areas that make up a balanced workout routine.
- Aerobic fitness
- Muscular fitness
- Stretching
- Core stability
Each is like a piece to a puzzle, leave one out and you don't get the whole picture. Over the next few days I will talk more about each one. I will explain why each is important and what I am doing in my routines to get a all the pieces together!
Monday, December 10, 2007
First day of the new routine!
Today I did Routine #1 and I love it... I was a little tired today but I feel better now that I have worked out!
This is an intermediate to advanced routine, so I am taking it easy for the first week. Now I don’t want you to get the idea that I am slacking, I am just taking it easy. Most of the exercises I did with the lowest band weight I could or just body weight. For instance one-leg squats are one of the exercises that I had to take it easy… I used a chair next to me for support and balance to make sure I had proper form… I will work into doing them with no help. If you have a similar goal to me, then you have to pick exercises that you can do and do properly. For example if you’re not ready for one-leg squats, do normal two leg squats. And start with NO weight and go all the way to the floor. Once these get easy you can work your way up by adding weight, then switching to one-leg squats.
I guess that shoe company said it best, you just have to do it, and then keep doing it! Eventually you will love doing it and won’t want to stop! I mean I love it when you notice changes, like squatting down and picking up my two year old and standing up, like he weighted nothing! Hopefully the cardio will help the weight start going down!!! I know that at the start of something like this you can feel discouraged when the weight doesn’t fall off right away, but remember you are building muscle, so use the mirror, check your pant size, or even get a body fat tester like the Omron HBF-306C Fat Loss Monitor .
Just keep at it, it will all be worth it!!!
This is an intermediate to advanced routine, so I am taking it easy for the first week. Now I don’t want you to get the idea that I am slacking, I am just taking it easy. Most of the exercises I did with the lowest band weight I could or just body weight. For instance one-leg squats are one of the exercises that I had to take it easy… I used a chair next to me for support and balance to make sure I had proper form… I will work into doing them with no help. If you have a similar goal to me, then you have to pick exercises that you can do and do properly. For example if you’re not ready for one-leg squats, do normal two leg squats. And start with NO weight and go all the way to the floor. Once these get easy you can work your way up by adding weight, then switching to one-leg squats.
I guess that shoe company said it best, you just have to do it, and then keep doing it! Eventually you will love doing it and won’t want to stop! I mean I love it when you notice changes, like squatting down and picking up my two year old and standing up, like he weighted nothing! Hopefully the cardio will help the weight start going down!!! I know that at the start of something like this you can feel discouraged when the weight doesn’t fall off right away, but remember you are building muscle, so use the mirror, check your pant size, or even get a body fat tester like the Omron HBF-306C Fat Loss Monitor .
Just keep at it, it will all be worth it!!!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Split Routine #2
Heres what I will do Tuesday and Saturday.
This will be my Back, Shoulders, Bicepts, and Forearms day. I will still do the normal warm-up of jumping jacks and streaching before my exercises. After I do the below routine I will finish up with 15 mins of jump rope.
This will be my Back, Shoulders, Bicepts, and Forearms day. I will still do the normal warm-up of jumping jacks and streaching before my exercises. After I do the below routine I will finish up with 15 mins of jump rope.
- Resistance Band Rows
- Lateral Rows with Resistance Band
- Resistance Band Front Deltoid Raises
- Resistance Band Shoulder Shrugs
- Elephants
- Close Grip Chin-ups
- Resistance Band Curls
- Resistance Band Reverse Grip Curls
- Resistance Band Forearm Curls
- Resistance Band Reverse Forearm Curls
Split Routine #1
Here's what I will do Monday and Friday.
This will be my Legs, Glutes, Thighs, Chest, Tricepts, and Abs day. I will still do the normal warm-up of jumping jacks and streaching before my exercises. After I do the below routine I will finish up with 15 mins of jump rope.
This will be my Legs, Glutes, Thighs, Chest, Tricepts, and Abs day. I will still do the normal warm-up of jumping jacks and streaching before my exercises. After I do the below routine I will finish up with 15 mins of jump rope.
- Single-Leg Squats
- Standing Back Leg Swing
- Heel Raises
- Toe Raises
- Jumping Lunges
- Push-ups with feet up
- Resistance Band Flys
- Triceps Extension with Resistance Band
- Hanging Knee Raises
- Twisting Crunches
Friday, December 7, 2007
Adjusting the workout.
Originally I said 2 on 1 off 2 on and repeat. I am finding it hard to remember what days I am on so I am changing this to 2 on 1 off 2 on 2 off. That’s four days a week to workout and by adding the cardio I hope to start dropping the weight! Another thing I am going to change is I am also going to make create a second routine. I will post about the new routines later! But for now here is the new schedule.
Monday Routine 1
Tuesday Routine 2
Wednesday Off
Thursday Off
Friday Routine 1
Saturday Routine 2
Sunday Off
Monday Routine 1
Tuesday Routine 2
Wednesday Off
Thursday Off
Friday Routine 1
Saturday Routine 2
Sunday Off
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Sticking to the Plan
One of my biggest problems with weight loss and fitness is getting great results. I know thats sound weird, shouldn't getting great results not be a problem? It shouldn't but lets paint a picture, I start a fitness program, I start to feel better lose a little weight, maybe fit into some pants that I haven't fit into in a while... Everything is great... Then it happens, life, something comes up and I feel so good and am seeing results.. I can skip a day... The next thing I know I haven't worked out in a week? The reason I am telling you this it to help me break this habit.
Feeling good leads to the "It's ok to skip a workout" and then next thing I know I have gained back the weight and have to start over! As long as I am posting here, that will not happen!
This time it will stick!!! If not for me for my grand kids!
Feeling good leads to the "It's ok to skip a workout" and then next thing I know I have gained back the weight and have to start over! As long as I am posting here, that will not happen!
This time it will stick!!! If not for me for my grand kids!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Thinking about Cardio
The next thing to add to my workouts to really make my weight loss a reality is some cardio. Cardio comes in many forms like jumping rope, running, biking, aerobic kickboxing, etc.
I’m sure you can tell that one of the things I am trying to do is make this a low cost workout routine that anyone can do. I could lay out a bunch of money and get a gym membership, but besides the cost, there is also the time, driving to and from the gym, waiting on equipment.
So my low cost choice is jumping rope. I bought a GoFit Weighted Jump Rope from Amazon. Many people think of jumping rope a something kids do but jumping rope is a great cardio workout. For example a 175 pound man will burn 225 calories in just 15 minutes. If that doesn’t motivate you think about rocky and all the other boxers using a jump rope to prepare for fights. This should do the job and is a great price!
I’m sure you can tell that one of the things I am trying to do is make this a low cost workout routine that anyone can do. I could lay out a bunch of money and get a gym membership, but besides the cost, there is also the time, driving to and from the gym, waiting on equipment.
So my low cost choice is jumping rope. I bought a GoFit Weighted Jump Rope from Amazon. Many people think of jumping rope a something kids do but jumping rope is a great cardio workout. For example a 175 pound man will burn 225 calories in just 15 minutes. If that doesn’t motivate you think about rocky and all the other boxers using a jump rope to prepare for fights. This should do the job and is a great price!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Feeling Good!
I know that it hasn't been long since I started the new workout routine, but I want to make sure everyone know that I feel great!!! I mean, you would think all the working out would make you feel tired. But, it has just the opposite effect, I feel GREAT!!! I have more energy and sleep better. This weekend I will weigh in again and see of we have lost two pounds yet!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Supplements
I use a one a day vitamin and fish oil. Many people know that it is good to take a vitamin but don't know much about or never heard of fish oil.
Fish oil is recommended for a healthy diet because it contains the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA).
Benefits include anti-inflammatory properties and positive effects on body composition. Some experts also believe that taking fish oil (in any form) can help regulate cholesterol in the body.
What made me a believer is my own experience. I hurt my left knee during football many many years ago and every so often when I am walking up the steps at my office I get a twinge of pain. I have been taking fish oil for 2 months and I have not had that pain at all. I will keep you updated on this, but as of now, I love it and will continue to use the fish oil with a daily vitamin.
One more note about vitamins. I know that they say most of a one a day vitamin is just expelled from the body, so I should take a two a day or something like that. For those not familiar with a two a day vitamin, they just make the pill with half the dose. The idea behind that is when your body digests the vitamin you get some of what you need and some doesn’t get digested and just passes out the body. By splitting the does to twice a day, you end up getting more useable vitamins that get digested and less that gets passed out of the body.
I know this make a two a day better, but for me is was just one more pill to have to remember to take and quite a few times I would forget to take the second one. So that’s why I switched back to a one a day.
I am still checking into powdered vitamins. I hear that they absorb into the body easier so you don’t end up passing they vitamins out and in turn waste money. But I will post more info when I get done checking on that!!!
I am also currently looking into a few more products, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and MSM. Once I figure out if I will take these products for Joints I will post about them.
Fish oil is recommended for a healthy diet because it contains the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA).
Benefits include anti-inflammatory properties and positive effects on body composition. Some experts also believe that taking fish oil (in any form) can help regulate cholesterol in the body.
What made me a believer is my own experience. I hurt my left knee during football many many years ago and every so often when I am walking up the steps at my office I get a twinge of pain. I have been taking fish oil for 2 months and I have not had that pain at all. I will keep you updated on this, but as of now, I love it and will continue to use the fish oil with a daily vitamin.
One more note about vitamins. I know that they say most of a one a day vitamin is just expelled from the body, so I should take a two a day or something like that. For those not familiar with a two a day vitamin, they just make the pill with half the dose. The idea behind that is when your body digests the vitamin you get some of what you need and some doesn’t get digested and just passes out the body. By splitting the does to twice a day, you end up getting more useable vitamins that get digested and less that gets passed out of the body.
I know this make a two a day better, but for me is was just one more pill to have to remember to take and quite a few times I would forget to take the second one. So that’s why I switched back to a one a day.
I am still checking into powdered vitamins. I hear that they absorb into the body easier so you don’t end up passing they vitamins out and in turn waste money. But I will post more info when I get done checking on that!!!
I am also currently looking into a few more products, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, and MSM. Once I figure out if I will take these products for Joints I will post about them.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Water: Not only good for you but necessary for a healthy life.
The human body is mostly water, so making sure I am drinking enough is important. I have heard that most people can’t tell the difference between being thirsty and being hungry. And since being even being mildly dehydrated can sap your energy and make you tired. We want to be careful, since we are exercising we sweat more then normal so we should be getting more water then the recommend amount.
Daily Water Requirements: Drink 50-75% of your body weight in ounces. Sedentary people: 50%; Active people: 75%
I will use 56% as my number. 307.5lbs * .56 = 172.2oz of water a day.
After doing the calculation I need 172.2 oz. of water a day. If we assume an average diet, about 20 percent of that water should come from the food I eat. So I need an additional 137.8 ounces of water daily. On average I am awake 16 hours a day, so I need to drink 8.61 oz. of water an hour to get the water that I need. This works out to be slightly more then a cup an hour that I need to drink.
After thinking about this and doing a little checking online, it seems that this formula is the closest to something that might work. It only works because there is a huge % range. The reason for this large % range is because there are so many things that might effect how much water you need. Here are some of those factors:
Daily Water Requirements: Drink 50-75% of your body weight in ounces. Sedentary people: 50%; Active people: 75%
I will use 56% as my number. 307.5lbs * .56 = 172.2oz of water a day.
After doing the calculation I need 172.2 oz. of water a day. If we assume an average diet, about 20 percent of that water should come from the food I eat. So I need an additional 137.8 ounces of water daily. On average I am awake 16 hours a day, so I need to drink 8.61 oz. of water an hour to get the water that I need. This works out to be slightly more then a cup an hour that I need to drink.
After thinking about this and doing a little checking online, it seems that this formula is the closest to something that might work. It only works because there is a huge % range. The reason for this large % range is because there are so many things that might effect how much water you need. Here are some of those factors:
- How active you are (How much you sweat)
- What you eat (Some foods have more water in them then others)
- Illnesses or health conditions (such as fever, vomiting and diarrhea, cause your body to lose additional fluids)
- Environment (Hot or humid weather, dry air like in wintertime or the desert)
- Pregnancy or breast-feeding (Women who are expecting or breast-feeding need additional fluids to stay hydrated)
So as you might guess with so many factors it might be impossible to get an exact amount. But if you look at the factors above and guesstimate the % we should be able to get close…
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