Category Archives: Health
Give Yourself a Break
Stop and Take a Breath! Photo by Leslie Hassler
Wow! I can honestly say this is one week that couldn’t come to an end soon enough.
Between work and happenings outside of work, I felt like I simply couldn’t catch my breath. One thing in particular that got to me was the fact that for the first time since I started this blog, I wasn’t able to write a new post for Wednesday. Life got in the way, and I was actually angry with myself for not getting it done. Then halfway through that busy workday, I stopped and remembered a famous quote from John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” Then I took a deep breath and got over it.
It amazes me how hard we can be on ourselves. We make never-ending to-do lists and get flustered when we can’t cross off the 30th item in a 24-hour period. When the fun things become chores, that’s when it’s time to step back and realize you may not be able to get everything done at the exact moment you want. And really, unless someone’s life is at stake, it’s not the end of the world.
For me, that means my love affair with exercise sometimes has to take a backseat to other things, like much-needed sleep. Yesterday, I set the alarm for 5:30 am hoping to get my heart pumping before a day at the office followed by a personal training session. There was no way I could workout afterward at a late hour, especially on an empty stomach! However, when the alarm went off, my body practically screamed at me to stay in bed. So I did. I’m convinced that extra snooze time helped me write coherent scripts and meet my production deadlines at the office and be a more focused trainer for Lauren at the gym afterward.
This week didn’t go as planned on many levels. So, I did the best I could to face the unexpected challenges with the energy I had to face them. All that means is during the weekend ahead, I’ll make a new list with a new plan for more workouts, more blog posts and hopefully, some more sleep. The reality is taking a deep breath and “forgiving” yourself for what you couldn’t get done can sometimes help you climb what feels like an uphill battle to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Fitness & Friendships
Events can often remind us of the many gifts in our lives. That’s exactly what Saturday’s girls’ night out did for me.
About a half-dozen of my gal pals carried my birthday celebration into the weekend by treating me to pitchers of sangria – which did include lots of “healthy” fresh fruit – and Cuban cuisine. Afterward, we took the party to “Culture Club” for more than two hours of dancing to tunes from the shoulder-pad-and-big-hair-filled 1980s. (It seemed only fitting that “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John welcomed this fitness blogger as I walked through the doors!) My calculations on the Internet show I burned roughly 715 calories during those 120 booty-shaking minutes on the dance floor. However, I couldn’t figure out how to add up the extra calories we must have burned thanks to the laughter we shared over still knowing the words to almost all of the “old” songs. (Which included everything from “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” by Dead or Alive to “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins.)
As the fun night continued into early Sunday morning, I couldn’t help but think of how lucky I am to have such special people in my life. Some of these amazing women have been my friends since childhood. Some I met during the past decade. Yet, they all have one thing in common: they always have my back. They’ve supported my decisions, regardless of whether they’d do the same thing if presented with the same situation. They’ve encouraged me to pursue my dreams in the fitness industry and get this blog started. As an only child, I consider these women, along with a few others who couldn’t make it to this particular outing, my extended family.
I tell you all of this as a reminder to turn to your support network – family or friends – to help you tackle the challenges in your life. For many people, deciding to embrace a healthier lifestyle can be an uphill battle. If you’re one of them, lean on your friends. Lots of guys go to the gym together to spot each other while weight lifting and push each other to get those last reps in. We gals can do the same thing. Ask a friend to join a gym with you or sign up for Zumba or other group exercise classes at a local community center. If the gym isn’t your thing, make a date to meet a few times each week at a for a brisk walk or run. Knowing you’d be breaking a “date” by skipping a workout with your buddy can be a good motivator to stick with the plan for the day.
Whether it’s a Saturday night dance party or a mid-week walk in the park, don’t forget to lean on your friends to help you stay on track with your plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Here’s to Another Workout Wednesday!
Happy Workout Wednesday!
Photo by Leslie Hassler
This week I offer some new exercises for your stabilization endurance routine. There’s something important to note about this level of training: it’s not just for workout newbies and those returning to exercise after a hiatus.
NASM teaches it’s also crucial for exercise veterans to re-visit the stabilization level after periods of strength or power training. Why? Because performing exercises that challenge the body’s proprioception is a surefire way to maintain your core and joint stability. I don’t care how much weight you can push with your chest muscles on a bench or curl at a seated machine with your biceps. After intense strength or power training, keeping your body in a bridge while performing a couple of sets of ball dumbbell chest presses offers a good reminder of how important it is to maintain your core strength!
Don’t forget to warm-up before jumping into this routine and cool-down when you’re done. For each exercise, aim for two sets of 12-15 reps.
Core:
Resistance:
- Total body: Step up balance to overhead press
- Chest: Push ups
- Back: Ball cobra (2-arm)
- Shoulders: Single-leg dumbbell scaption (alternating arm)
- Biceps: Single-leg bicep curl
- Triceps: Supine ball dumbbell triceps extension
- Legs: Body weight squats
I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but you need to visit and re-visit this training level throughout your year-round workout cycle to keep your muscles the way they’re supposed to. If you’re a “regular” here at LauraLovesFitness.com, you may know the following chain reaction by heart: when your muscles don’t work properly, your body makes compensations to keep moving. Those compensations eventually lead to muscle imbalances which lead to increased stress on the joints which can ultimately lead to injury.
As with the other workouts I’ve presented, your goal should to perform today’s program two to three days each week, but don’t perform the same routine on back-to-back days. Your muscles need time to recover and repair, which is accomplished through rest. So you could perform this program on Tuesdays and Thursdays and get your cardio on the in-between days. Whatever you do, never skimp on the stretching!
So, what are some of your favorite stabilization exercises? You know I’m always looking for new ideas to help all of us on our quest to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Don’t Skip the Workout Today!
I hope you all enjoyed a great weekend filled with football-championship fun!
It may not be a national holiday, but Super Bowl Sunday is an American tradition right up there with turkey on Thanksgiving and apple pie. In fact, I know plenty of non-football fans who look forward to this day. Why? Because the Big Game offers the perfect excuse to get together with friends and family and indulge in many of the foods most of us try and avoid on a regular basis.
Even I go a bit overboard on Super Bowl Sunday. Which is the main reason I’m on a mission this Monday to squeeze in a post-Super Bowl workout to burn some calories. (I’m pretty sure getting up off the couch to dance to some of Madonna’s half-time show club tunes didn’t do the trick.)
With some help from a great website called CalorieKing, I put together a rundown of how some of America’s favorite Super Bowl foods score on the calorie counter. Considering many or all of these items may have been on your game day menu, I’ll let you add them up based on what you did or didn’t eat and factor in how many pieces, slices or serving sizes you enjoyed.
- Doritos’ Tortilla Chips, Cool Ranch Flavored (12 chips) = 140 calories
- Lays’ Potato Chips, Sour Cream & Onion Flavored (17 chips) = 160 calories
- 5 Pigs-in-a-Blanket = 470 calories
- 5-wing serving of hot wings = Anywhere from 300 to 597 calories (depending on the sauce and dip they’re served with)
- 1 Slice of Cheese Pizza = 240 calories
- 1 Slice of Pepperoni Pizza = 298 calories
- 1 Slice of Papa John’s “The Works” Pizza = 330 calories
- Bowl of Chili = Calories range from 300 – 600 based on the recipe. (e.g. cheese v. no-cheese)
- 1 Light Beer (12 oz) = 96 calories
- 1 Regular Beer or Ale (12 oz) = 150 calories
- 1 Regular Soda (12oz) = 140 calories
If this list didn’t give you enough of a reason to want to get up off that chair and start and go for a run or find the next Zumba® class in your area, maybe this great article from Friday’s Washington Post will give you an extra push to break a sweat.
Whether or not you cared about which team won, I hope you enjoyed Super Bowl Sunday! If that included going a bit overboard with the food and drink, no doubt you had your fun – which means there’s no time like today to get back on track with your plans to be fit and feel fabulous!
Heart-Pounding Beats
TGIF!
I hope you’re proudly sporting some red today to show your support for the fight against heart disease as part of National Wear Red Day! As a follow-up to Wednesday’s post about National Heart Month, I thought I’d offer some musical motivation to get your heart beating a little faster. With that, I offer my first song list for 2012.
Here’s the playlist that’s currently pushing me through my cardio routine:
- “Me & You (Dimitri Andreas Remix),by Mr. Sam featuring Rani (this tune has been my go-to warm up and cool down for a week)
- “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger),” Kelly Clarkson (Seriously, who can’t relate to this song?)
- “Glad You Came,” The Wanted
- “Turn Me On,” David Guetta & Nicki Manaj
- “Medicine” Kim Leoni
- “Time Goes By,” Carrie Skipper
- “You and Me Belong,” JES
- “Make Me Feel,” The Benassi Bros.
- “Big Sky,” John O’Callaghan featuring Audrey Gallagher
- “Get Better,” KMC featuring Sandy
- “Ghost,” JES
- “Touch Me,” Rui Da Silva
Happy Heart Month!
Take Heart! It's Time to Get Up and Get Moving! Photo by Leslie Hassler
Wow, it’s February! While I have mixed feelings about celebrating yet another birthday this month, there is one noteworthy event I welcome with enthusiasm: today kicks off American Heart Month. If you’re still looking for a reason to make your healthy 2012 resolutions stick, I just gave you one. There’s simply no time like the present to take stock of how well you’re taking care of your ticker!
I don’t think you can offer too many reminders about the seriousness of heart disease in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
- Someone in this country has a heart attack every 34 seconds. Each minute, someone dies from a heart disease-related event.
- Heart disease doesn’t discriminate. It’s the number one cause of death for most ethnicities in the U.S.
- Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease.
While your family history can put you at greater risk, there are lifestyle choices each of us can make to decrease our behavioral risk factors for heart disease. These include obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol and diabetes. Guess what? Along with quitting smoking and following a healthy diet, getting exercise is one of the best things you can to keep these risk factors in check. Ultimately, exercise is one of your most powerful weapons in the fight against heart disease.
This doesn’t mean you have to sign up for a boot camp class or half-marathon during today’s lunch break. The latest guidelines from the American Heart Association indicate we need 30 minutes of brisk activity on five days a week. You can even break down those 30-minutes into a couple of 15-minute bouts. If you’ve never exercised before, your goal should be to get up off the couch and get moving. Take a walk around the neighborhood or get a fitness game for the kids’ video console. If you do want to join a gym, consider joining with a buddy for support. Try group exercise classes (like Zumba®!) until you find one you like and look forward to participating two or three times a week. Treat yourself to a couple of personal training sessions so you learn to navigate your way safely through a fitness routine. This is your health we’re talking about. If you don’t take the time to invest in it, who will?
Check out these sites for more information about heart disease, prevention tips, American Heart Month and other year-round initiatives like Go Red for Women:
http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/index.htm
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/
http://www.goredforwomen.org/index.aspx
Finally, don’t forget to wear red this Friday, February 3rd. I’ll be pulling something fiery out of my closet to show my support for National Wear Red Day®. When it’s over, I look forward to doing all I can to take care of my heart -and hopefully encouraging all of you to do the same – as part of a year-round plan to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
The Lunchtime Workout
I’m not sure where the weekend went, but here we are facing another Monday and the last two days of January! As my type A+ personality starts mentally preparing for a pretty intense work week, I thought I’d address a fitness-related question that has a work angle, too.
Aimee recently posed the following question via my LauraLovesFitness Facebook page: Any advice for those of us fitting in 30 minute lunch workouts? I am typically doing 20-25 minutes of cardio followed by a quick core/weights. If you could recommend treadmill/arc trainer settings to get the most of it plus times – I would appreciate it!!!
First of all, kudos to Aimee and anyone else who uses a lunch break for the benefit or his or her health! Regardless of what time of day you working out, I recommend getting a heart rate monitor as it takes the guess-work out of determining just how hard your body is working. (Those silver heart-rate measuring “strips” on the cardio machines aren’t always accurate.)
Now as far as the workout goes, here’s the bottom line: it doesn’t matter what the incline or resistance settings on the machine say. What does matter is whether you’re working at a challenging yet safe level within the appropriate heart rate zone for your stage of training.
For the purpose of this post, I’ll offer some parameters for anyone working out with a goal of body fat reduction. The Law of Thermodynamics teaches us that to reach this goal, you must burn more calories than you consume. Cardio is usually one of the first things people start doing to make those calories disappear.
If you’re a beginner or returning to the gym after a hiatus, you should be performing cardio within heart rate zone one. Click here for a refresher on how to calculate your target heart rate for this zone. (My zone one heart rate is 119-137.) NASM principles indicate a person shouldn’t advance to zone two until he or she can maintain a zone one heart rate for at least 30 minutes two to three times per week.
One you’ve built a good base (which can take more than a month), you’re ready for zone two, which is 80-85% of your maximum heart rate (HR max). Again, I’ll use myself as an example for the parameters:
- 220-37 = 183 (HR max)
- 183 X 0.80 = 146
- 183 X 0.85 = 156
- Laura’s Zone Two Heart Rate = 146-156
This level is extra fun because if you’re working in stage two of your overall fitness program, this is where interval training comes in. For those using treadmills, arc trainers or other cardio machines, you can now increase the workload (speed, incline, level) to alter your heart rate between zones one and two. So here’s how my interval training would look on the elliptical:
- Five-minute warm up zone one (119-137)
- One minute in zone two (146-156)
- Five minutes in zone one
- One minute in zone two
- Five minutes in zone one
- One minute in zone two
- Three – five minute cool down in zone one
If Aimee’s ready for this stage of training, this would be a good approximate 20-minute cardio workout for the treadmill or arc trainer. Again, the key is to find a way to accurately measure her heart rate to make sure she’s working within the designated zones.
A couple of final notes: there is a heart rate zone three as well as a training stage three, but these are designated for advanced athletes. (I’d be happy to address these in a future post if anyone would like the information.) Finally, for Aimee or anyone who’s squeezing in some cardio, core and resistance training in a short period of time, please don’t skimp on the stretching! I know it’s tough to get it all in, but sticking with a well-rounded routine is one of the best ways to stay on track with your plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
“Fit”ting in Some Kindness
TGIF!
So, I started the week completely aware I’d be traveling to Texas for my first business trip of the New Year. However, I was completely unaware of what would happen when I landed in Dallas.
Not all of it was bad, but as it happens with any spontaneous occurrence, some of my best laid plans flew right out the window. In this case, those plans involved my fitting some fitness into my overnight jaunt…and they evaporated right through the rain-soaked windows of my rental car.
Basically, Mother Nature and road work put the brakes on my plans to head directly to the fitness center after checking in but before having dinner with my dear friend Jeanne Marie. What should have been a 15-minute drive from DFW to the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine quickly turned into a navigational nightmare with no apparent end in sight. My car’s GPS system kept looping me back to the same highway closure that sent me on a detour in the first place. As each minute ticked toward and beyond 5 p.m., the rain drops pounded more powerfully against the windshield and the sky grew a bit darker. After my third unsuccessful loop, I stopped at a red light where I tried to re-group. If it wasn’t for a very kind Texan named Troy, I might still be sitting there.
I was about to call the hotel’s front desk and ask someone to stay on the line with me as I drove to an alternate route when a black pickup pulled up alongside me. I asked the driver to roll down his window, hoping he could simply point me toward the right direction for an alternate route. Maybe it was my I’m-not-from-around-here accent or the harried look on my face, but Troy went above and beyond any expectation. He hopped out of his truck and into the rain to better hear me shout out from my window where I needed to go. Then he simply said “follow me, ” hopped back in to his pickup and lead me exactly where I needed to go. Thanks to some rush hour traffic and yet another road closure, I have no doubt Troy’s random act of kindness took longer than he planned.
As we came to the final intersection where a sign clearly pointed my hotel was only a mere left turn away, Troy got in the other lane to turn right and continue on with his original plans for the evening. Before he drove off, he got out of his truck in the rain a second time to make sure I was okay. I couldn’t say thank you enough times. If Troy ever travels to New York City, I can only hope to return the favor by helping him navigate the subways!
Maybe Mother Nature thought I needed a break from the elliptical machine. Or maybe she thought I needed a reminder that there are still friendly people out there willing to go out of their way (in this case, literally) to help someone out. While it may not provide the same cardio rush as the run you go on to have fun and be fit, I’d say lending a helping hand is a surefire way to make yourself and someone else feel fabulous!
Workout Wednesday: Another Stabilization Endurance Routine
Stabilization Before Strength! Photo by Leslie Hassler
Happy Workout Wednesday!
As I received some positive feedback on the total-body workout I posted last week, I thought I’d post another one. Just like last Wednesday’s plan, these exercises provide a total-body resistance training workout for what NASM calls the stabilization endurance phase of training. If you’re new to the gym or returning after a break, this is the type of plan you should follow.
Don’t forget to warm-up before jumping into this routine and cool-down when you’re done. For each exercise, aim for two sets of 12 reps. (If you’ve never worked out before or starting again after a very long break, one set is just fine.)
Core:
- Single leg balance reach (**2 sets of 8 reps for each leg**)
- Total body: Ball squat to curl to overhead press
- Chest: Ball dumbbell chest press
- Back: Ball dumbbell row (2-arm)
- Shoulders: Ball military press
- Biceps: Single-leg bicep curl
- Triceps: Prone ball dumbbell triceps extensions
- Legs: Step-up to balance
I cannot stress enough the importance of the stabilization training phase being the correct starting point for an exercise regimen. Without stabilization, your muscles don’t work the way they’re supposed to and your body will make compensations to keep you moving. Those compensations lead to muscle imbalances which lead to increased stress on the joints which in the end can eventually lead to injury.
Aim to perform this program two to three days each week, but remember not to perform the same routine on back-to-back days. Your muscles need time to recover and repair, which is accomplished through rest. So perhaps you perform this program on Mondays and Wednesdays and get your cardio in on the in-between days. Whatever you do, make sure you don’t skimp on the stretching! I will be eager to hear more feedback on whether or not this program helps you on your journey to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Taking Fitness on the Road
Don't forget the workout wear!
The start of this new work week marks one that will include my first business trip of 2012. As anyone who travels for work knows, there’s no way I’d classify this as “luxurious” getaway. I’ll fly to Dallas Tuesday afternoon, pick up a rental car at the airport, drive to the hotel, eat dinner, prep for the shoot we’re producing for SC Johnson and then try to get some sleep before Wednesday morning’s early wake up call for a drive to a suburb called Flower Mound. (What in the world did we do before GPS?)
Tonight, as I pack my bag, there are a couple of things I’ll be sure not to leave behind: the notes for my shoot and my workout wear. While working out is obviously part of my routine during a normal week when I’m grounded here in New York City, getting some exercise is sometimes even more therapeutic when I’m on a business trip. Breaking a sweat helps shake off the stiffness from sitting on an airplane. It also helps circulate that stale airplane air out of the lungs.
Chances are the gym at my hotel won’t have all the equipment I’m surrounded by at New York Sports Clubs. However, I’m pretty confident there will be an elliptical machine, treadmill or recumbent bike for some cardio and at least a handful of free weights or some kind of weight machine set up. If I’m lucky, there may even be a stability ball tucked in a corner. If you do get stuck in a hotel that doesn’t have even a tiny fitness center, here are some exercises you can do in your room that require no equipment at all:
As far as taking my healthy eating habits on the road, my rule of thumb is I simply do my best. Luckily, more airports are starting to offer healthier quick-grab items like salads and fruit for you to take on the flight or eat while you’re waiting for your connection.
Here are a couple of additional healthy-eating tips for my fellow business travelers:
- Pack healthy snacks. Even on overnight trips, I keep raw almonds and a couple of Fiber One bars in my bag. If I can’t eat for a while because I’m wrapped up in the project, or if the food options aren’t optimal, at least I have a satisfying snack to hold me over for a bit.
- Monitor portions. If meals are brought in for meetings or you’re going out for lunch or dinner (or both!), watch your portion sizes and perhaps choose to have a cocktail, but skip dessert; or skip an appetizer and a drink but indulge in something sweet after your meal.
The bottom line is there’s no reason to turn traveling for work into an excuse not to take care of yourself. No one cares if you break a sweat in a wrinkled t-shirt. So roll up those workout clothes and toss them into your overnight bag along with a couple of healthy snacks. With a little planning, your next business trip doesn’t have to take you on an unwanted detour from your journey to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
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