10 June 2010
June with Jackie Update #1
I finished my first week of June with Jackie, and I thought I would give you guys a little update. I’ve been doing six 20ish-minute segments of Jackie per week, usually spreading them out over two weeks. I do two lower body segments, two upper body segments, and two core segments per week.
How’s it going? I love it! I can tell I’m making progress because I get through the segments much more easily and without as many modifications (what did I tell you about sticking to a workout?). I have two sets of dumbbells, so I’ve been using the heavier ones more of the time — progress! Plus, I’m just feeling pretty strong and toned… and this is only the first week!
I love that Jackie sticks with the larger muscle groups (legs, chest, back) rather than hammering the small ones that don’t burn a lot of calories (biceps, triceps, etc.). Jackie knows that if you’re working the large muscle groups, you’re also inevitably hitting the smaller ones, too — which means less precious workout time wasted!
I’ll keep you guys updated each week as I go through June with Jackie. I’m hoping by the end of the month, I can do all the DVD segments with no modifications.
Have you been sticking to one workout this month? How has it been going?
27 May 2010
Work It: Following Through
Though it’s great to try new workouts all the time, and I most definitely recommend it for busting a fitness rut, I have a challenge for you: Try the exact same workout 2-3 times a week for a month. Whether it’s a cardio interval workout, a strength training routine, or a workout DVD, just stick to it for ONE month.
A month is just long enough to see a difference, but not enough for your body to get totally used to it. As the workout gets easier (and it will), you can add weight, speed, or reps depending on the workout you chose, but don’t change the basic format of the workout.
This is a great way to really understand your progress and follow through with a specific goal. Rachel has done it a couple times with her Core Fusion. This month, I’m doing that with a few of my Jackie DVDs. I’m going to do them consistently to see if I can’t get through them a little bit more easily at the end of four weeks!
So consider this my challenge to you! Pick something and stick with it, just for a month. See if you don’t feel your progress in that period of time. It will feel good, trust me.
21 May 2010
Fun Workouts and Bogus BMI
Anonymous asked: I’ve lost around 6 lbs by just eating healthier and limiting my caloric intake. I want to lose another 11 lbs before summer…any suggestions? I know this is a pretty generalized question so maybe I should make it more specific: I mostly want to tone my tummy and my arm flab. Any simple(ish) and fun workouts you could recommend? Also, I am 166 lbs at 5’8.5 my bmi says that I am just a bit over the healthy weight for my height, but how reliable is the bmi? How many calories should I consume a day to lose weight?
Sorry for all the questions haha.
Alright, let’s tackle this one question at a time.
- How can I lose weight? I created an FAQ that includes this question because I get it so often! Check there first. I’ve learned that it’s really hard to help people lose weight via a blog post — but I can work with you one-on-one. So please email me and we can get started!
- What are some simple, fun workouts to tone my arms and abs? Just to get you started, I like these:
- How reliable is the BMI? Simple answer? NOT VERY. Read NPR’s Top 10 Reasons Why BMI Is Bogus for more.
- How many calories should I eat to lose weight? Another Q from the FAQ! Check there first, then email me if you have further questions. I also discussed this issue in my post called How to Find Your Sweet Spot.
Hope that helps!
13 May 2010
Work It: The Law of Averages
Do you get bored on cardio machines? I DO. So incredibly bored. I’m happy to hop on the elliptical for half an hour if I have a good playlist, a good mag, or there’s a good TV show on, but otherwise? I’m more likely to fall asleep than I am to get a good workout. And that’s the thing — I’m probably NOT getting a very good workout if I’m lazily plodding along as I keep up with Basketball Wives (um, PS, does anyone else find it weird that NONE OF THEM ARE ACTUAL WIVES?).
I’m here to tell you there IS a way to make dull cardio machines more fun! I call it the Law of Averages (but not THIS Law of Averages!). And I understand that it might not even make sense. But it’s just what I call it, mmmk?
Have you ever paid attention to the “average pace” stat that most treadmills and other cardio machines provide? Probably only if you’re trying to train for a race. But it’s actually pretty useful! Turns out, you can use it to make sure you’re stepping up your workout game without having to bust your booty the whole time AND preventing boredom at the same time.
Here’s how it works, using the treadmill as an example: Pick a goal pace. Say it’s 5mph. Then use intervals to get you to your pace, rather than going that speed the whole time. Here’s a sample workout:
- 5 minutes @ 4mph
- 5 minutes @ 6mph
- 5 minutes @ 5mph
- 3 minutes @ 7mph
- 3 minutes @ 3mph
- 5 minutes @ 5mph
So, your average pace for the workout will be 5mph even though you’re only actually running at that pace for 10 minutes. And you’re actually walking relatively slowly for 8 minutes! Okay, so that’s nothing totally new. Everyone pretty much knows that.
But you can also do the same thing with incline. This is where things get more interesting. You can walk slower at a higher incline, or you can walk/run faster at a lower incline and burn the same number of calories. This means you can alternate between walking slowly at a higher incline and jogging at a lower incline to prevent boredom without sacrificing the quality of your workout.
I love walking at a high incline (like all the way up) at a really slow place for a few minutes, and then flattening out the incline and speeding it up for a few minutes. In the end, the pace and the incline will average out to give you a solid workout without having to plod along at the same settings forever.
You can use this concept on any cardio machine or even when you’re running outside! Don’t be afraid of interval training to bust boredom and keep your body guessing.
12 May 2010
Helping Theodora with Her Rut 
Theodora emailed me because she’s been in a health and fitness rut. Hopefully my advice will help bust her out of it!
As I’ve kind of alluded to, I’m in a health-and-fitness rut. I busted my ass to lose 50 pounds. I entered my maintenance phase at the same time I started my new job. OMG, lots of changes at once much?? I e-mailed Nutritionista, who always has practical advice about how to stay healthy.
Here’s what she had to say:
I know EXACTLY how you feel. It happens to me every once in a while. Sometimes, for no apparent reason! During those times, it just seems so pointless to push yourself. But I think I do have a few tricks for getting back into the swing of things…
- Switch it up! Whatever you’ve been doing? Do something else! If you’ve been working out in the morning, see if you can work out in the evening. Or if you’ve been doing cardio on the treadmill, switch to the elliptical or take a class. For other fitness-specific advice, read Busting Out of a Fitness Rut.
- Get outside your box. When you’re in this state, it’s the perfect time to try something completely new and different. If you’ve always wondered about Zumba (I’ll admit, I’m curious), go ahead and sign up! If you’ve been eying that boot camp class at your gym, now is the perfect time to take the plunge. Having something new to try/look forward to will at least give you temporary motivation. This works with eating, too! I notice you tend to eat the same kind of foods every day… that can definitely get boring and unmotivating! So if you don’t want to cook, at least try new restaurants, etc. This is why the Outside the Box Challenge seemed to work so well for people!
- Get a friend to hold you accountable. I have a few friends who are my go-to motivators. I check in with them about everything from what I ate to my weight to how much I exercised. They’re there to keep me on track. Sometimes we’ll even set specific goals and check up on each other once a week. That’s why the Winter Shape Up Challenge worked so well! People felt like they had someone to be accountable to.
- Help a friend! If you know someone (either in real life or virtually!) that needs help getting healthy, make it your personal mission to help him/her. What you say and do to help your friend will put you back in that “health is new and exciting!” state of mind. Make them a workout or meal plan, take them to the gym, cook with them, etc. Anything you can do to let them know (and remind yourself) why being healthy is so great. That’s one reason I love blogging — I get to help people every day and it’s so motivating!
- Don’t stop setting goals. Sometimes when we feel like we’ve reached a big goal, we sort of stop trying. So even if you’re at your goal weight, you can still set goals (both big and small). It could be as simple as “try two new workouts this week,” or “cook one new dish.” This will also help with the first two suggestions! Don’t forget to incorporate rewards for when you meet your goals — even small things like a new nail polish or tickets to the movie you’ve been wanting to see can be motivating.
- Give yourself permission to move to the next phase. From what I know about you, you’re pretty solidly in the maintenance phase of weight loss/fitness. You’re allowed to have a slightly different mindset! No, that doesn’t mean you can just revert back to old habits, but it also doesn’t mean you have to be so vigilant all the time about what you’re doing. Think of it not as sliding back but as moving forward to the next phase in your health journey — one that requires a little less aggressiveness!
Hopefully some of that is helpful! But I think sometimes, you just go through these phases and you have to plod along until you’re out of them. They DO pass, trust me!
