Fabulous Friday Workout!

Happy Friday!! I am so sorry for the lack of posts in February, I was going to try to post a bunch during reading week... I guess the week off got to me and flew by quicker than expected!


I have an awesome workout for you to kick start your weekend! This workout should take approximately 20 minutes and will kick your butt by keeping your heart rate elevated! Have fun!


Warm Up - 5 minutes
Do something that will keep your heart rate elevated for five minutes! Skipping (with or without rope), jogging/running, stair running, jumping jacks, etc. You should be short of breath and feel like your body has warmed up by the end. 


Feel the Burn Interval Work - 4 minutes
Set an interval timer for 8 rounds of 50 seconds (work interval) and 10 seconds (rest interval)
1) Mountain Climbers
2) Burpies with Push-Up
3) Reverse Lunge with High Knee (right leg only)
4) V-Sit Crunch


Full Body Circuit - Strong to the Core
1) 20 Jack Squats
2) 15 Plank Jacks
3) 20 Surfers* 
4) 10 Dive Bombers**
5) 20 Full Sit-Up
6) 12 T-Push-Ups***


Repeat Feel the Burn Interval Workout - 4 minutes
 - Remember to switch to LEFT leg only for lunges !!
Stretch!

Enjoy your weekend!!

Exercise Descriptions
* Surfer - begin with your tummy on the floor, legs extended behind and hands under your shoulders. Press up through your hands and jump your feet to your hands. Your feet will land on an angle to how you were laying, right foot forward (like your on a surf board). Stay low. Then reach your arms in the air and jump. Land and proceed to starting position. With your next rep, left leg will be forward. Continue alternating sides, for 10 reps on each side. 


** Dive Bombers - start in a high plank/push-up position. As you press up through your arms, attempt to rub your nose on your mat (burns the arms and the core!). Press yourself up to a "downward dog" position - inverted V shape with hips high. Return to high plank/push-up position in the reverse way - still trying to get your nose to brush the floor. Follow through all the way to a "upward dog" position Repeat until all reps complete. 

***T-Push-Ups - Start in push-up position. Perform one push-up. Remove right hand from the floor as you transition into a high left side plank. Extra challenge - lift right leg for 2-point side plank. Return to push-up position. Complete one push-up. High side plank on right side. Make sure to keep left hand straight and high above left shoulder. Continue to repeat with push-up in between side planks. 

100 Rep Workout

In celebration of reaching 1000 "views" on Fit Your Life blog, I am posting an intense 100 Rep Workout! (Because 1000 reps would just be mean!) We will be doing 10 reps of 10 dynamic exercises to give you an intense workout to start your week!

Workout

Complete 10 reps of each exercise consecutively with only a short break in between exercises. After you have completed all 10 exercises - take a 90 second break, then repeat the 100 reps! 
Make sure to stretch after the workout!

1) Jump Squats

 2) Mountain Climbers - 10/leg

3) Jumping Lunges (scissor jumps) - 10/leg

4) Plyometric Push-Ups (clap push-ups)

Perform from knees or toes

5) Bicycle Crunches - 10/side

6) Jack Squats (jumping jack with squat)

Add a wide-legged squat at "B"

7) Raised Legs Triceps Dip

Feet can be raised onto a chair, coffee table, ball, or whatever else you have!

8) Reverse Crunches (bent knee leg drops - laying on back)

9) Reverse Push-Up

This is a home-made reverse pushup bar - using a broom and 2 chairs! Be creative!

10) Burpees - with push-up!

Add a pushup at "B"

Enjoy!! When you have completed this sweaty workout - please post your time below! I will post our time when Keith and I are done! 

Happy Monday!

Find your inner cheerleader!

It is almost February. How are your 2011 resolutions and goals coming? Do you even remember what they are?


When it comes to fitness and health oriented goals, it can be very easy to slip off our desired path and go back to our "old" ways of being. If we want to make our bodies healthier, we must make changes and create a different lifestyle. 


Of course, on a good day, this can seem quite easy. You are full of energy, your workout feels great, and you are craving veggies & fruit. However, when it has been a challenging day at work, or something shook us up for the worse, it is easy to skip your workout and grab the quickest and easiest (and usually the sweetest or saltiest) food from your cupboard (or take-out). 


What I am getting at is that we need to create a lifestyle, where, no matter what happens, we continue to do things that help our body, as they have become a part of our daily routine. 

"One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it." 

 -Sidney Howard

Daily exercise and eating right are not easy tasks. Often, we must give a few things up to achieve our daily goals. Maybe - less TV time, waking up a little earlier, and giving up your late night  sweet-fix? How will you make these changes?

FIND YOU INNER CHEERLEADER! Daily support and words of encouragement will help you stay on track. Naturally, if we have a partner who's goals are similar to ours, we can encourage each other. However, in that case, two is better than one, and then you can have TWO people cheering you on to keep pushing!!

I while you read this, you think of one change you can make today to make your body just a little healthier. Think of a change that you can follow through with everyday (or almost everyday). Next week, think of another change. Step by step you will create a healthier lifestyle and that in itself is a reason to cheer!

Attitude is Everything

Attitude is the way we, as individuals, view every aspect of our life. Whether we try to or not, we have an opinion about the events in our surroundings. We will each go through periods in our life that are more difficult than others. When we have to use all of our energy to force a smile, or motivate ourselves to get off our bums. Positive attitude is what will make us all come out on top!

Attitudes are contagious.  Are yours worth catching?  

-Dennis and Wendy Mannering

I have had the opportunity this week to see a different side of health care. During my school program the last year and a half, I have mainly been exposed to acute hospital settings. This semester, out focus is in the community. Most of our community clinical experiences involved new mothers and their babies -- SO excited!! However, yesterday I had the opportunity to be in involved in a Senior's health check clinic at one the manors in the city. What an incredible experience! These are elderly people, in their 80's and 90's who live completely independantly, have exercise group together everyday (one of the ladies leads the class!!), go for walks whenever possible (they walk the halls of the manor when it is too cold or icy!!), and one does not even have to wear glasses at her ripe age of 92!!!

Attitude. Each one of the seniors I met yesterday were smiling, often laughing at themselves, and excited to tell the community health nurse about their daily exercise and good eating habits. This was truly an inspiration to me!!


The next time you are having a rough day, or week, whatever, and do not feel the motivation to exercise or have a good sweat, think of yourself in your 90's -- how do you want to live each day? Making good habits now is the best way to secure these habits for life.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Cold Winter Blues

It is cold. It is winter. It is dark and energy is low. These are some of the toughest days to get moving and stay active!


It has been a busy week getting back into the swing of classes. With a new year comes new routine and a new way of challenging yourself!


Please post below what YOU are doing to get yourself sweating up a storm this month ... 

I am excited to read all your brilliant ideas!

My workout today ...

Happy Monday!! It is the first Monday of 2011 and a perfect day to get your body moving and start working toward your resolutions!


My workout today was great - quick, yet intense! Here is the link if you would like to try this one out at home!

BodyRock.tv - Epic Abs

If you are having trouble finding something secure enough for the reverse push-ups in your home - regular or incline push-ups would work as a substitute. 


Enjoy!!

SMART Goals for Your 2011 Resolutions

SMART Goals for Your New Years Resolution

Near the end of December, most people think about what the upcoming year will bring and what they want to achieve. Setting New Years resolutions should be more than thinking about what you should do, and more about what you will do in 2011. Health and fitness related resolutions are among the top for most goal-setters. I want to make sure that your 2011 resolutions will come true!

The SMART goal setting system is one that can be applied to many situations. Here, we will use it to build our 2011 New Years Resolution(s).

Specific – we must make sure that our goals are as specific as possible, as this makes them easier to visualize. An example of a specific goal is, “I want to lose 5 pounds of fat mass”, as opposed to, “I want to lose weight”. We can visualize 5 pounds of fat, and we can imagine our body after the loss of that mass.

Measurable – to be able to measure our goals is to know that we have achieved what we expected of ourselves. This is similar to specific, as we need to explain our goal and describe how it will be measured. An example of a measurable goal is, “I will be able to complete 20 consecutive push-ups from my toes”.

Attainable – we want to make sure that our goal is within our reach. To make an attainable goal, we need to assess our life, how much time and money we can devote to exercise and healthy eating, and how these factors will affect our end result. An example of an attainable goal is, “I will make a commitment to complete a high-intensity workout of minimum 15 minutes, after my kids are in bed, at least 4 days a week”. If we find a way to make fitness a part of our everyday life, and learn where to fit it in, we will be more successful.

Realistic – much like the attainable portion of our goal, we need to make sure that we are being realistic with ourselves. If weight loss is your goal, we need to assess what might be a safe and realistic goal, in the desired amount of time. Often, a professional should be consulted during this decision-process. An example of a realistic goal is, “I will lose __ pound(s) per week, until my goal weight of __ is lost”. This keeps us on track during the entire process. We need to learn that health and fitness is a journey; we are not only concerned with the final destination, but everything that was done to get there.

Time Oriented – this is a huge part of goal setting that is often overlooked. If we do not assign a time frame to our goals, we always think, “we will get around it”. If your boss never gave you deadlines for assignments, would you be as productive in finishing them? Same applies to your fitness. As soon as we have an end date in mind, we are able to break down our time to realize what needs to be done this month, this week, and today. A time oriented goal is, “I will run a 5km race in June”.

A potential goal that follows the SMART system is,

“I will complete 20 consecutive push-ups from my toes by April 1, 2011”.

Other tips for 2011 fitness goal setting:

- Complete a fitness test. Many books, magazine, articles, and online sources provide fitness tests. This will give you a baseline for yourself and will help you set realistic and attainable goals.

- Keep a journal. Write down what you did each day, or week, to work towards your specific goals.

- Tell people. Verbalization of goals makes us accountable to complete them and less likely to make excuses. Talk with your spouse, co-worker, or workout partner about your goals, how you will measure your progress, and what you will do to achieve them.

- No more excuses!! Find exercise that works for you and with your schedule. Every little bit will make you more active and have a healthier 2011!

Work hard and your efforts will pay off!