Attitude - Writing it Down

You can increase your success with working out by keeping a visual record of your accomplishments. This can be done by simply writing your achievements and setbacks in a daily journal. The journal works because it further holds you accountable to your daily behaviors. Therefore, if you write about your efforts, then you are more likely to follow through on your goals.

Attitude - Get Competitive!

Exercise doesn't have to mean 30 minutes on the elliptical followed by 30 minutes of weight lifting. That kind of program certainly has it's place. But, if you find yourself complacent or bored with a program like this, you have to find something else or you wont stick to it. Sports and competitive activities can be a great form of exercise because you are spurred on by your competitor. Team sports are also a great form of social interaction. How about basketball, tennis or soccer? These sports are so much fun that they are sure to change your attitude about exercise. Even better, you can do them with your friends and family.

Creativity - Use Your Time Wisely

Here's how Rebecca got creative with her workout this week. Nap time in the stroller allowed her a good 30 minutes of time for a little sweat. Keeping the stroller in motion is key in order to keep the baby asleep. But, a quick 30 second interval in place is certainly attainable. Try Rebecca's lower body stroller workout.

Warm up - light walk for 5 minutes
Interval 1: 20 squats
Speed walk for 3-5 minutes
Interval 2: 30 walking lunges (15 each side)
Speed walk for 3-5 minutes
Interval 3: 20 calf raises
Speed walk for 3-5 minutes
Interval 4: 30 tick tocs or side left lifts (15 each side)
Speed walk for 3-5 minutes
Interval 5: 20 plie squats
Speed walk for 3-5 minutes

Repeat as many times as you feel comfortable (or as many times as the baby will allow).

Finish with a 3-5 minute light walk for your cool down.

Cardio - Row Row Row

Have you ever wandered past that strange looking machine with the big fan off in the corner of the gym and wondered, "who ever uses this?"

The rowing machine is an often overlooked machine in the gym because most people are confused about how it works. Vigorous rowing can really get your heart rate up while toning your arms and back. Plus, it's probably not something you do very often which means you'll burn even more calories. In 30 minutes, a 145-lb person can burn about 300 calories. That's if you do it with a little oomph. The rowing machine can also be a great resource to use in your interval workouts. Try 5 strength exercises followed by 3 to 5 minutes of rowing. Repeat this cycle 3 or 4 times for an incredible workout!

Motivation - I Should

We may have written a post about this previously but we cannot express it's importance enough. We have encountered so many unhealthy people this week that have referred to exercise as a chore. Something they know they "should do". If this is your typical response take the time to answer this question....Why is exercising important to you? You may answer because I want to be more tone and fit. Then ask yourself - why is it important for me to feel more tone and fit right now? If you can get to the root of these questions, you won't waste anymore time thinking about it. You will have found your true motivation which will lead you to a more active and healthy lifestyle. If your answers to these questions include the word "should" or because have anything to do with anyone other than yourself, these reasons WILL NOT keep you motivated and committed to an exercise plan.

Strength Training - 3 Times Per Week

We get this question a lot - "How often should I lift weights and for how long?" The answer is simple. Three times a week and make sure you work all of your major muscle groups each session. You can combine your strength training program with or without high-intensity cardio intervals. Either way, your strength training session should take you less than an hour per workout.

Lifting two times per week will offer some benefits, and one is better than nothing but isn't going to do much good. On the other hand, more than three is not likely to give you enough time to recover in between workouts, which is when the strengthening of your muscles is happening.

(Government recommendations for heart health include 30 minutes of the equivalent of brisk walking most days, so you might want to add a few days of that to your routine—it's not going to interfere with recovery from the weights.)

Creativity - Working Out With A Deck of Cards?

How creative did you get with your exercise this week? While on the road this week, I was not only out of routine but I didn't have access to any equipment. It was just too hot to run outside, but I knew I needed to get in at least 20 minutes of cardio. So, I pulled out my handy deck of cards. That's right, I used a deck of cards to get my workout in.

Here's how I did it:
I wrote down 10 cardio moves (ok, really 8 cardio and 2 ab exercises). You can use my list below.

Then, I flipped three cards off of the deck and added up the total. All cards are face value, except face cards equal 10 and aces are either 11 or 1 depending on your energy level. (example, king, queen and a 10 = 30. Or, an 8, 7 and king = 25). The total value of your cards will dictate how many you do of the first exercise. Complete exercise number 1 and then flip three more cards to get the value for your second exercise. No cheating, once you have your list, you can't go out of order :) Decide ahead of time weather you are going to go through all 10 exercise a set number of times or if you are just going to stop after 20 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.

1. Jumping jacks
2. Jump Rope (w/o a rope)
3. Squat jumps
4. Crunches
5. Speed skaters or side lateral hops
6. Flash dance knees
7. Football runs
8. Bunny hops
9. Step ups (on a step or chair)
10. Bicycle crunches
    

Give it a try. It was a great workout!

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