347/365 Trying for Triathlons

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Run, Forrest, Run! That's all I've been doing for the past few months. Running and yoga have been my exercise modes to train for this half marathon. One day while icing my knees after a run, I realized that I should probably cross train so I don't wear out my body one step at a time. Since I can't imagine running for 5 hours (the minimum I would be running for a full marathon), and I have a feeling that my body won't be able to take the pounding of running for long, I thought about what other activities I could do. Why not a triathlon?

I've always written off triathlons saying, "Well, the biking I could do but, swimming? Pssh...swimming is not for me." With a pool at my gym/work, there was no way I could continue ignoring that aspect of training. The lifeguards at my pool are super friendly and were eager to help me work on my form. I'm now into my 3rd week of swimming and am in love with it! Swimming well really just comes down to form (teaser...get excited for a post all about swimming!)

Running? Check. Swimming? Check. Biking? Pending.

Again, using my undergrads as resources, a girl on the cycling team was able to direct me to a sweet road bike by Specialized. I still know nothing about bikes, what you should look for, what's good, what isn't but, I'm told that the Specialized Dolce for Women is an excellent bike to begin one's love affair with cycling.

My next step is to actually get the bike and ride. There are tons of resources on the web for how to train for a triathlon. My modus operandi for now will just be to get all three activities in during the week with some yoga and strength training too. Eventually, I'll have to work on transitioning from cycling to running but that will come in due time. Until then, perhaps give triathlons a second look...the swimming part isn't really that bad!


In health,

Lauren

342/365 Back in the Saddle Again (plus a plug for TRX)

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Remember that one time when I totally stopped writing in my blog back in June? I almost forgot too! Well, our lives are cyclical and I do believe I got slightly burnt out from my (nearly) daily blogging routine. Alas I have returned! As with our healthy lifestyles, sometimes we have to take a break and get back in the saddle again. I'm going to finish out these last 33 posts and perhaps beyond at my leisure. This way I don't get burnt out and your Facebook feed won't blow up with my postings.

On to the plug for the TRX Suspension Trainer...

This is a great system that I've only gotten to play around with recently. It's a super simple training tool that, with creativity (and the help of youtube videos) allows you to work nearly every muscle group in less than 15 minutes. The TRX Suspension Trainer is a rope with handles, foot holds, and clasps to adjust the length of the rope. You can clip it around a sturdy bar and off you go!

Some fun stuff you can do are:
Assisted pull ups
Push ups
Bicep curls
Rows
Tricep extensions
Shoulder (posterior and frontal) raises
Pikes, planks, and mountain climbers

Do that three times around and you will be drenched in sweat. I can say that because I've done it and was spent by the end.

In health,

Lauren

PS: I hope you didn't miss me too much  :)

339/365 Are You a Person for Bikes? Make the Pledge!

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Do you agree with the following statement?

"I am for bikes. I'm for long rides and short rides. I'm for commuting to work, weekend rides, racing, riding to school, or just a quick spin around the block. I believe that no matter how I ride, biking makes me happy and is great for my health, my community and the environment we all share. That is why I am pledging my name in support of a better future for bicycling—one that is safe and fun for everyone. By uniting my voice with a million others, I believe that we can make our world a better place to ride."

If so, take the People for Bikes pledge (it only takes 2 minutes)! This organization strives to make bicycling more prevalent in this country. This isn't just for the racers or the mountain bikers; this is for the commuters, recreational cyclists, and your neighbors too! So join me and unite your voice with thousands of others to make this country a place for bikers of all kinds. After I posted this to Facebook, my friend Phil commented that he just got his bike so that he can commute to and from his new job. I couldn't be more proud.

In health,

Lauren

333/365 Spin Routines Part 2

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

As promised, here is one more spin routine for you (of course you're gong to warm up first, right?). You'll be in a seated position the whole time. The percentages represent your percentage of effort that you're putting out. If you have a heart rate monitor, you could also base the percentages off of your max heart rate. Practice safety: if your legs start to spin too fast and without control, increase your resistance.

Sprint Pyramid - 8min
0:00 - 0:40 - 60%
0:40 - 1:00 - 70%
1:00 - 1:45 - 60%
1:45 - 2:00 - 80%
2:00 - 2:50 - 60%
2:50 - 3:00 - 90%
3:00 - 3:50 - 60%
3:50 - 4:00 - 110% BREAK YOUR BIKE!
4:00 - 4:50 - 60%
4:50 - 5:00 - 90%
5:00 - 5:45 - 60%
5:45 - 6:00 - 80%
6:00 - 6:40 - 60%
6:40 - 7:00 - 75%
7:00 - 8:00 - 60%

This is a pretty killer dog workout so get ready! You make it as hard as you push yourself. Put on some great long techno song and you'll be good to go. Rock it!!

In health,

Lauren

332/365 Spin Routines Part 1

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Spin has been my saving grace for exercise these days. It is kicking my tail but I feel great and man do I break a sweat. I genuinely love feeling like I'm going to die when I work out. Certainly I'm not exhausting myself to the point of no return but I like pushing myself to the point where my body is saying, "Hey...I didn't think we had that extra gear, way to go!"

Anyway, here is a sample routine that you can do on a spin bike at your gym. Of course, ask your gym attendants for help if you've never been on a spin bike before.

Ramp Work, 4:30 min:
0:00 - 1:00 - Spin sitting on the seat
1:00 - 1:25 - Climb!
1:25 - 1:30 - Climb and sprint
1:30 - 2:30 - Spin sitting on the seat
2:30 - 2:55 - Climb! Increase resistance
2:55 - 3:00 - Climb and sprint
3:00 - 4:00 - Spin sitting on the seat. Back off resistance
4:00 - 4:25 - Climb! Increase resistance
4:25 - 4:30 - Climb and Sprint

One more routine to come. I don't want to give too many away because you should totally try a spin class at your gym if you've never done one before. They are killer...if you want it to be. It's as tough as you make it, how hard are you going to push yourself?

In health,

Lauren

326/365 Naughty Abs

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

This effective abs exercise is brought to you by Shaun T's Insanity. Work your shoulders, core, and more to get great abs. I suppose you could also consider this a functional exercise.

1. Start in your high plank position, hands under the shoulders, legs straight back behind you.
2. With your body planted in position, think about your pelvis. Using your abdominals, tilt your pelvis up towards your belly button.
3. Return to your starting position and repeat.

This is a very small movement but I guarantee that after 5 or 6, you'll start to feel it. Keep pressing your palms into the floor to keep your shoulders nice and strong and not hunched and sloppy.

In health,

Lauren

318/365 Online Calorie Counting Calculator

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

My coworker Libby and our intern Maddy have the same Polar FT7 watch/heart rate monitor/calorie counter which they were persuading me to buy. The only difference between theirs and my Polar heart rate monitor is that theirs has a built in calorie counter. I thought to myself, certainly it's just using some formula based on heart rate and age since it can't sense the heat you emit, the steps you take, and how fast you move like a bodybugg does. So I used my googling powers and found this website. By typing in your gender, age, weight, avg heart rate during exercise, and the duration of your exercise, the site figures out how many calories you burned. We tested this against what their watches said when they exercised and there was a margin of error of about 50 which is a lot I know but it's helpful when you're doing a group ex class, running outside, spinning, etc.

In health,

Lauren

305/365 Cardio Bout: XC to Lunge Pulse

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

You know that I like inserting bouts of cardio moves during my strength training to boost my heart rate and burn a few more calories. Here's another one for you:

Part 1 - Cross Country in Place
- Start out with your right foot about a 1.5 feet in front of your left
- Keep your legs straight while hopping from right foot in front to left foot in front; pump the arms!
- It should look like the running man dance move with straight legs

Part 2 - Lunge Pulses
- Do 4 reps of part one on each side starting with your right foot in front
- With your right foot in front, perform 2 lunges by bending the left knee
- Repeat on the other side

Repeat Parts 1 and 2 one right after the other for a minute

In health,

Lauren

303/365 New Drink for MiO and You

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

I first heard about MiO from one of my gym members and then saw a commercial for it later. Now it seems to be on everyone's lips...and tongues ha! What is MiO?

MiO is a "liquid enhancer" that comes in these funny rocket shaped looking containers for less than $4 a pop. Squeeze the bottle and out comes this concentrated, 0 calorie flavor to make your water go down easier; it comes in 6 flavors so far.

What? Zero calorie you say?? How is it possible??? As I'm sure you could deduce with the information I've given you in the past, this product does not contain any real sugar. Instead it has artificial sweeteners. Now, research tells us that drinks with flavor (more specificially, carbohydrates) goes down a lot quicker when rehydrating during or after exercise. Certainly you'll be more inclined to drink this, since you can control the amount of flavor (their major selling point) but, I'm still skeptical. I personally go for products with real fat, carbs, and protein but, it's up to you. I haven't actually tried this but you might like it. If it means you staying hydrated then sure, give it a shot. Just know that it's not real.

In health,

Lauren

301/365 Turbo Fire: Kickboxing + Dancing = Cardio Fun

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Poor Kelby has heard me talk about Turbo Fire for the last couple months. It's a DVD set by Beach Body that I've been wanting to try and considering to purchase. Finally I was actually able to try one of the DVDs thanks to a gym member. Today's 10K Training assignment was to do 60 min of cross training; hello Turbo Fire!

The gym member Erin advised me to take the Fire 30 class because it had the "New to Class" tutorial. Needless to say, I was a little lost when I did Fire 45 (I wanted to get closer to the target 60 min), a 45 min class you do later in the schedule when you already know Chalene's routine. Still, after a few repetitions of her combos I did get the hang of it and really had a fun time. The music is hot and makes you want to move. Chalene is super pumped, smiling, and able to motivate you throughout the whole thing. It is a fun mix of kickboxing and dancing. I didn't realize how much I was sweating, how red my face was getting, and how hard my heart was pumping until it was over.

After my 10K, I've decided to switch gears and get Turbo Fire for my next exercise regiment.

In health,

Lauren

300/365 300 Workout in Honor of 300th Post

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Wow! This is the 300th post! Can you believe we've come this far? Just 65 more beloved posts. This is quite possibly as exciting as Oprah's last episode. I jest!

In honor of the 300th post, here is the work out that the guys from the movie 300 used to get ripped and ready:
Pullups - 25 reps

Deadlifts with 135 lbs - 50 reps
Pushups - 50 reps
24-inch box jumps - 50 reps
Floor wipers - 50 reps
Single-arm Clean-and-Press with 36 lbs Kettlebell - 50 reps
Pullups - 25 reps

The following video shows the order and a brief demonstration of the 300 work out.

Certainly this is a bit ambitious. Feel free to turn it down a notch. You could cut all the reps in half or modify the exercises to ones you are more comfortable with. The article in Men's Health Magazine that I got this from offer solutions. Have fun!

In health,

Lauren

297/365 Newton Running Shoes: Another Option for Running Barefoot

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

After discussing my whole running situation with a fellow fitness professional, he recommended that I check out these shoes by Newton Running. If you want to do the whole barefoot shoe thing without actually being barefoot or getting those finger toe shoes, here's a viable option.

These shoes are different from your current kicks because of their cushioning on your forefoot. They also offer shoes specific to the shape of your foot. If you pronate, there's a shoe for that. If you supinate, there's a shoe for that. Newtons come in bright colors and are a little more expensive than your average shoe. I cannot personally recommend these shoes but I do plan on making these my next pair. I'll let you know.

In  health,

Lauren

287/365 Training for a Race to Stay Motivated

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

As I mentioned in a previous post, registering for a race is a great example of setting goals for yourself. My measurement day is tomorrow which has already made me slack off this weekend. The end was near and I was hungry. I knew that I needed to ask myself, "Where do you go from here?" Do I try to maintain this by keeping up my exercise regiment? Do I maintain by going back to what I did before? How am I going to keep myself from gaining it all back? The answer for me was registering for a race.

A 10K is coming up on June 15 in my area. This will be the third 10K I've ever run and I'm super excited. My April training revealed that I am a better, faster runner than I thought. I think my knees are ready to train more so that I can beat my time from last year, 56:04. To get me going, I have started a 10K for Intermediate Runners routine by Hal Higdon. Am I really an Intermediate runner? Maybe...maybe not. All I know is that I am a better athlete than I was before and that I have the time and passion to train for this 10K. Let's do this! Who's in?

In health,

Lauren

285/365 Shoulder Work: Y-Press-Down

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Here is that move I mentioned last post: Y-Press-Down. This is just a combination of different shoulder exercises all rolled into one. You can work all three heads of your deltoid in one fell swoop!

1. Start with knees softly bent. Raise arms up in front of you into the shape of a Y.
2. Bend and lower elbows down to a 90 degree angle. Press the arms up straight overhead.
3. Making a semi-circle, slowly bring the arms down to your sides.

To switch it up, you can repeat the exercise in reverse. Bring your arms up in a semi-circle, bend the elbows down to 90 degrees, press up in the shape of a Y, lower down in front of you.

In health,

Lauren

283/365 Spring Workout: Push Muscles

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

As promised, here are the exercises I used to work my pushing muscles; these are the pectoralis and triceps.

Tuesdays
Push ups on BOSU
Dumbbell fly on incline bench
Overhead cable extension
Dumbbell kickback on bench

Fridays
Bench press
Push ups on bench
Dips on bench
Tricep cable press down
Dumbbell fly on ball
Diamond push ups

As with the pull exercises, I started out with 2 sets of 10-12 reps and moved up to 3 sets the next week. After feeling comfortable with 12 reps, I moved up my weight.

I can definitely see a change in my muscle definition from these strength exercises and my weight loss. I know that I've lost 2.5lbs so far, looking to round it up to 3 by Monday. Next, legs, shoulders, and abs exercises...

In health,

Lauren

PS: If you have any questions about any of the exercises I've listed, just let me know so I can make a handy dandy Paint illustration.

282/365 Spring Workout: Pull Muscles

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

I'm very excited for next Wednesday when I get to measure my girth, body fat %, and weight! Until then, here are the two pulling muscle workouts that I used on Mondays and Thursdays. Remember, pull muscles include your trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, posterior deltoid, biceps, pronators, and supinators.

Mondays
Seated rows
Single arm dumbbell rows on bench
One legged posterior deltoid flys
Bow pulls with cable (pretend like you are pulling a bowstring back)
Hammer curl (thumbs point up)

Thursdays
Lat pull downs
Squatting rows (use a cable)
Pronated Curls (thumbs point inwards)
Posterior deltoid flys on ball

When I first started out, I was only doing 2 sets of 8-15. The next week I progressed to 3 sets of 10-12. Once I felt comfortable doing 12 and felt like I could do more after, I moved my weight up. Next, the push muscle exercises...

In health,

Lauren

275/365 On the Elliptical: HIIT and Burning Fat

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

So part of my month long challenge for April includes increasing my cardio. I decided to run at least 3 mi on MWF and get on the elliptical for at least 30 min on TR. Since the elliptical is somehow boring to me compared to running, I decided to alternate between HIIT and high resistance, slow paced cardio. So here's the physiology behind both of those strategies.

HIIT (high-intensity interval training) - Choose 2 resistances, one that is intense and one for rest; I use Level 21 for my intense and 6 for my rest. You can choose to do 1:1 time ratios or 2:1 (you could do that intense:rest or rest:intense). The reason for HIIT's success is that according to ACSM you consume more oxygen (burn more calories) than slower, distance-training and therefore burn more calories throughout the day. This gets me sweating like mad. I have yet to wear my HR monitor when doing this but, when I figure out what my heart rate is at each intensity, I'll let you know.

High Resistance, Slow Paced Cardio - Though HIIT makes the 30 minutes go by quickly, I was getting bored with it and wanted to do something else. I decided to up my resistance level even if it meant me going slower; this isn't a bad thing, I just feel like people think I look silly because I'm going so slow (like other people's opinion matters to me, pshaw!). So, here I am on Level 8, trudging through what feels like mud and my heart rate is averaging at about 135BPM. Between 130-150BPM is about where 20-somethings like myself need to be for ideal fat burn. Fat is used as a fuel for lower intensity exercise because it takes longer for your cells to process. Since you don't need energy as quickly, your body says, "Okay fat, time to go...at your slow pace of course but we're going!"

So there you have it, the benefits of HIIT and high resistance, slow paced cardio. Hopefully these will find their way into your cardio routines.

In health,

Lauren

272/365 Boston Marathon: Are You Next?

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Today was the 115th Boston Marathon. The elite winner for the men Geoffrey Mutai finished in 2:03:02 and the elite winning woman, Caroline Kilel, finished in 2:22:36. How can us mere humans reach that level of athleticism? Hard work, dedication, and a lot of time.

Before you start training for any long distances, Runner's World recommends that you have run at least 3 miles 3 times a week for a year and that you currently average about 15-20 miles a week. This will make sure that your muscoskeletal system has the durability to take the 26.2 miles of the race day and the hundreds of miles in between to train for it. Not only does your body need to be ready, so does your mind. Is this something you really want? Do you have the time to dedicate to training? These and other questions on this quiz/article will help you decide if training for a marathon is right for you.

Since I am new to the whole endurance running scene, I recommend checking out Hal Higdon's site. He was a contributor to Runner's World and wrote Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide. He has training programs for all levels of racers for every distance.

So here's to you and your running endeavors!

In health,

Lauren

PS: My dear friend Adam told me a few years ago that you only run 1/3 of what you're capable of. After that, I ran my first ever 3 miles with him. You can do it too!

263/365 Make like a European and Go Hiking

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

When I studied German in high school and college, my teachers and professors always remarked on the weekend past time of families in Europe: hiking! Today, my cousin, my uncle, and I ventured to Blue Hills Reservation for a moderate/strenuous 3.5 mile hike. The weather was perfect, sunny with a breeze.

Depending on the course, hiking can be leisurely or a bit more challenging. It is a test of endurance overall but, when scaling rock ledges and trails bedecked in leaves, it can also work your anaerobic (quick and powerful) energy system. When you power through those inclines, you get a momentum and don't really want to stop until you've reached the top or a nice plateau. It's important to stop every once in awhile so that you can admire the great scenery around you. Hiking also burns a lot of calories, bonus!

If you've never been hiking, I suggest you give it a try during this month to take advantage of the light spring weather and the lack of insects. Wear layers so that you can easily regulate your body temperature and sturdy sneakers or hiking boots if you have them. Also, pack a backpack with water and/or Gatorade (natural please!), trail mix for when you reach the top, a compass, whistle, and first aid kit; as they say, "Always be prepared." I can't wait to go hiking again!

In health,

Lauren

258/365 New Month, New Plan, New Goals

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

It is now April and time for me to switch up the ol routine.

I have been running and practicing yoga consistently for the last two months and I'm ready for a change. I've decided to get back into weight lifting, add HIT (high intensity training) into my cardio routine, and try being vegetarian (with one cheat day, let's be serious...I'm a hopeless carnivore). I have arbitrarily chosen the goals of losing 5% body fat, 6 inches overall, or dropping 5 lbs. I'm not really sure how these will manifest but I figure that they are small enough numbers that I can achieve it. This is after all the most important thing when making goals, make them attainable! You can either make them quantitative or qualitative. Since I've reached my qualitative goal of feeling good naked and looking good in my clothes, I've decided to put some numbers down and see what happens.

I'll let you know what happens with my new plan, share my weight lifting routine, and my progress.

Do you have a goal for spring?

In health,

Lauren