Two solid core exercises:

Bicycle Crunches – Fit in 4 one minute sets and the burn will set in!

Planks -  work in 3 or 4 one minute holds!

Do a few sets during the commercials …time to work the core!

Is it all a bunch of coincidences, or possibly an increase in core activity is part of a healthy solution!

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A typical week might look like this:

Mon- 20/20/20 (20 min. cardio, 20 min. body exercise, 20 min. cardio)

Tue- One hour swim along with some core

Wed. Boot Camp -

Thurs. One hour spin class, along with some core and

Fri. Total Conditioning- One hour full body work out with HR in zone 3 and 4

Sat. Rest?

Sun. One hour spin followed by one hour of swim

I do modify Wed and Friday keeping it low impact.

Some lessons I have learned (AGAIN) recently:

-More often much growth comes from setbacks…I try to take them as learning experiences.

-Don’t knock it until you try it!

A quote to sum it up…

“I don’t really think in terms of obstacles. My biggest obstacle is always myself.”
-Steve Earle

To help me keep active,  I usually turn towards my Cardio Friends to get the burn on.  Some friends over a long winter…

Do you like to spin? A 60 minute high resistance for some solid muscle endurance.

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The Stepmill? Low impact,  nice lower body exercise, 20-60 minutes does the trick!

How about the Elliptical? Full body, I will occasionally hit this one for a light low zone workout for about 60 minutes.

A Treadmill is always a solid burn! I visit this one regularly. Sprints and/or long slow runs!

The Rowing machine is one of my favorites for a full body burn. Try this for 30 minutes…results!

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Often I will mix it up with some variety.  A good solid burn could be to tackle two or three machines at 10-30 minutes each.

Keep it interesting. Call on your Cardio Friends for help…don’t let the cold stop you!

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.“Above all challenge yourself. You may well surprise yourself at what strengths you have, what you can accomplish.” -Cecile Springer

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The task is a light, higher rep routine to keep it simple. The Sunday Approach:

Squat Thrusts-3 sets of 20

.Wall Pushups-3 sets of 20

Bicycle Crunches- 3 sets of 20

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Rest and recovery are always important but occasionally a soft Sunday approach works for me !

. Decide what you want .. believe you can have it, believe you deserve it, believe it’s possible for you. -Byrne

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The past few months along this life we call a journey we have taken some twisty and bumpy paths. We appreciate those of you that have checked in…the glass is half full!  How about some simple exercises as we try to work our way back into the blogosphere.

It is nice to take a break and watch a little TV. For each hour you watch TV, how about some accountability? Three low impact yet very effective exercises:

1. Sit Ups (3 sets of 20)

2. Squats (3 sets 1 minute each)

3. Planks (3 sets at 30 seconds each)

Maybe not quite the burn that you are used to but you won’t be losing ground while being stagnant during a TV show.

“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results.” -Anonymous

1) Wall Touches- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, bend legs just a bit and jump up and tap the wall at arms length.

2) Wall Sits- Stand in front of a wall (about 2 feet in front of it) while leaning your back against it. Slide down until your knees are at about 90-degree angles and hold, keeping the abs contracted, hands at your sides.

3) Wall Pushups- Lean against wall, hands shoulder-width apart, and feet together. Keeping your body straight, tight core, squeeze buns and slowly lower until your chin touches the wall. Push back to starting position and repeat.

4) Wall Crunches- Lie on your back, place your feet on the wall bend knees and hips at 90-degree angles.  Tighten your abdominal muscles while raising your head and shoulders off the floor. Hold for three deep breaths.  Relax your neck and shoulder to avoid strain. Down to the start position and repeat.

Do you want to give the Wall Exercise Challenge a try?

Thank you to my wife Trisha for demonstrating the exercises! She did fantastic didn’t she!

*modify by either increasing or decreasing your times.

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When someone tells me there is only one way to do things, it always lights a fire under my butt. My instant reaction is, I’m going to prove you wrong!- Picabo Street

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The folks at NURU were kind enough to share a cool little product…actually a little deck of cards called Exercise Anywhere that helps us keep in shape without the use of standard exercise equipment. The NURUExercise Anywhere cards offer exercises for the whole body, that includes tips, healthy information and much more! I was impressed with the cards mainly because the steps to perform each exercise are simple and FUN! Each week we like to get it started with a quick, effective workout. This go round we will include a giveaway. Friends at mizfitonline, Every Gym’s Nightmare, Roni’s Weigh and Training for a Half did a NURU-Exercise Anywhere deck giveaway. Guess what? You have another chance to win!

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First let’s pick three exercises from the NURU-Exercise Anywhere deck to get the burn on:

*Squat Thrusts (card # 29)

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and squat down, hands in front of your feet.

2. Keeping your hands on the ground, jump back into push-up position.

3. With your hands still in their original position jump forward to the original squat position, and stand.

*Seated Tricep Dip (card #22)

1. Sit on a bench or chair, with your hands beside your hips. Lift yourself onto your hands, and move your body forward, so that you are suspended in front of the chair or bench.

2. Lower yourself slowly toward the ground, as though trying to sit on the floor. Don’t bend your arms too far (beyond 90 degrees): you don’t want to strain your shoulders. Pause, and push back to starting position.

*Shoulder Rotations (card # 18)

(Grab a couple of filled water bottles or easy-to-hold cans of food)

1. Stand with the cans in your hands, your arms bent at 90-degree angles from your body, your elbows slightly lower than your shoulders.

2. Slowly rotate your forearms so that your hands arc downward toward the floor. Keep your upper arms motionless: your elbows should be doing the rotating.

3. At the bottom of the rotation, pause then rotate your hands back to starting position.

I rotated through each exercise in 30 second increments, 4 times each. I definitely felt the burn!

Now for the giveaway!

**Thanks to NURU we will have three winners! To enter in the Nuru-Exercise Anywhere deck giveaway, just leave a comment and/or do the three exercises and/or link back to here and/or send someone else to enter (you can have multiple entries).

GOOD LUCK!

Additional information for NURU products.

*Included with the exercise itself, each card offers helpful tips and pictures not displayed here.

** The 3 names will be drawn on Link Love Friday, 4/03/2009.

I love to do these mixed workout routines, today I will do them in 10 minute increments.

10 minutes of cardio-the key is to go hard for the middle 6 minutes (2 min. warm-up, 6 min. high intensity, 2 min. cool down). Get the heart rate up for the middle 6!

Pick one of these—> Run, Walk (hills), Elliptical or Step Climber.

10 minutes of body exercises- Do 3 sets of each.

Some options (pick 3 exercises and perform 3 times each)—> pushups, squats, planks, dips, crunches, wall sits, arm curls, triceps extensions.

10 minutes cardio – Maybe switch it up a bit from the first 10 minutes. Again the middle 6 minutes should be intense.

30 minutes with results! Give it a go? 

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Obviously you can’t change your genes, but you can give them a damn good run for their money.

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Useful information: What is cardiovascular exercise, Heart Rate Monitor Reviews

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Okay…many of you have left comments regarding knee issues. I think most of us have experienced challenges with our knees at one time or another in our lives…yes? My friend POD reminded me a few days back that she also faces the consistent knee hurdles during exercise. I embarked on a bit of research and Q&A from individuals that have experienced knee issues or are involved on the rehabilitation end.

Some findings…..

What are some causes? According to the Sports Injury Clinic, “Knee pain can be related to overuse where small stresses are repeated a large number of times without allowing adequate recovery, for example running too much too soon, or excessive jumping. Or injuries can be acute where the injury is caused by an impact or twisting such as an anterior cruciate ligament injury. An overuse injury can also be considered to be acute if it is painful or inflamed. ”

So what do we do? Walk About Magazine states, “We have to keep the foot and hip in line with the knee. This means wearing shoes with good support and properly strengthening our hip, gluteal, abdominal, and back muscles (commonly referred to as the “core”). It also means walking with good posture and using caution when walking on surfaces that ask the knee to work at an angle. ”

What are some good knee strengthening exercises? Buzzle.com offers a few helpful knee exercises:

Quadriceps strengthening contractions

* sit on a chair and extend legs
* heels must touch floor and knees must be straight
* tighten the thigh muscles and retain the state for a count of 10
* loosen the thigh muscles and retain the state for a count of 3
* perform 10 repetitions to complete 1 set
* perform 2 or 3 sets, many times in a day

Hamstrings strengthening contractions

* sit on a chair with heels on floor
* without moving heels pull back on them – tension will be felt in the hamstrings
* retain the state for a count of 10
* loosen the tension for a count of 3
* perform 10 repetitions

The exercise is called Glutes strengthening backward leg swing.

* grip the back of a chair for support
* straighten any one leg and swing it backwards till the buttocks tighten
* tense the muscles to a maximum and swing leg further by about two inches
* return leg to floor and perform 10 repetitions
* repeat same procedure with other leg

My personal experience suggests that I stay away from high impact or pounding exercises while the knee is in recovery. I will  stick with low impact exercises such as a bike or elliptical machine. For those that have Arthritis, or a permanent knee issue… a change to an elliptical and or bike exercise might make sense.

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USEFUL SITES:

How to Manage Knee Pain with Exercise

Knee Rehabilitation Exercises

Stretches for the knee

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*Remember to seek out advice from a medical professional

Sources: Sports Injury Clinic ; Walk About Magazine;Buzzle.com

4 times through each set….READY? Let’s go!

Lunge- 30 seconds each leg This exercise works the quadriceps(thigh muscle).

1- Stand with your feet together, head up and looking straight ahead.
2- Take a long step forward with one foot, making sure this leg is at a right angle (keep knee bend behind  your toes), and bend the knee of your back leg until it’s as close to the floor as possible.
3-Hold this position for a second then slowly push back to a standing position.
4- Repeat with the alternate leg going forward (Slow and controlled movements).

Heel raise- 60 seconds This exercise works your calf muscle (back of lower leg).

1-Stand with the balls of your feet on a step – use a wall or handrail for balance.
2- Slowly rise up on your toes, pause for a second or two, and then down.

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Side leg lift- 30 seconds each side works the outside muscle of your leg(Abductors)

1-Lying on your side, slowly lift your top leg as high as you can while keeping it straight, and then gradually lower it.
2-Lie on your opposite side to work the other leg in the same manner.

Inner thigh muscle (Adductor)-30 seconds each side

1-Lie on your side, crossing and slightly bending your top leg over your bottom one. Be sure not to let your hips roll back -stay aligned on your side.
2-Slowly lift your bottom leg as high as you can and then lower it gradually.
3- Repeat with your other leg.

Give it a go…Yes? Try for four times through!

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For you that need more of a challenge ( Bobbi ! ) add weights and increase your time and number of sets.

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You can only go as far as you push!

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