Make a Splash!
Pool at the Hotel Riu, Montego Bay, Jamaica
As we inch closer to the official start of the summer season and kick off another work week on a hot note here in New York City, I thought I’d offer a fun suggestion for how to stay active and beat the heat this season: GO GET WET!
In case you didn’t know it, swimming laps is one of the best ways to get all your major muscle groups in motion. It burns calories and improves cardiovascular health.
According to the freedieting.com website, at my age, height and weight, if I swim laps for just 30 minutes, I’ll burn between 282 – 295 calories. Add a couple of tabatas to the mix and I’ve got a great workout! So, I say whenever you have the opportunity, jump on in and enjoy! (And if you’re lucky enough to get some vacation time at the ocean or near a lake, those natural environments can add even more challenges to your swim.)
Don’t know how to swim, but feel comfortable enough to hang out in the shallow end of a pool? Walk your way or even jog from one side to the other. Hang out on the side of the wall and do leg raises and/or bicycles. And there’s always the “old-fashioned” treading water. If you’re lucky enough to get invited to a backyard BBQ with a pool, you can burn a few calories in between rounds of food or beverages by cooling off and doing some exercises under water. Another benefit: you can still socialize at the same time!
For all you parents out there, go ahead and join your kids in some of their pool games and enjoy some calorie-burning bonding time! Maybe this is the summer you treat the family to one of those pool-ready basketball backboards so you can shoot some hoops and perfect your slam-dunk in the water. (I can tell you, when I was enjoying my Jamaica vacation in March, the one afternoon I joined in a pretty intense water polo game, I was seriously ready for my nap afterward!)
Don’t have a pool, but you do have a lawn? Why not set up a sprinkler and get the blood pumping by chasing the kids around for a game of sprinkler tag? No kids – no problem! Who says grown-ups can’t have some fun, too?
For all you landlubbers, there’s always badminton, frisbee, wiffle ball and dodge ball. It can be fun to use some childhood favorites to add some variety to your workout routine. Of course, for all these outdoor activities, don’t forget to apply and re-apply the sunscreen and stay hydrated with non-alcoholic drinks, preferably water.
This has always been my favorite time of year for adding some extra fun to my typical fitness routine. By taking advantage of Mother Nature’s warm temperament, it’s prime time to find activities that get your heart rate up while keeping you smiling and moving forward on the path to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Sweet Summer Snacks
As we inch even closer to the official start of the easy, breezy days of summer, I wanted to end the work week on a light note.
So, I thought I’d offer a list of some of my favorite seasonal healthy snack options:
- Carrots: I always have a package of baby carrots in my fridge. On Sunday’s, you’ll find me making grab-and-go serving sizes of carrots for each day of the work week. I usually add a serving of either cherry tomatoes, red, orange or yellow pepper strips and/or celery. Munching on carrots gives you that “crunch” sensation similar to eating pretzels or chips, but with benefits like beta carotene and other nutrients, they pack a much healthier punch!
- Watermelon: This is probably my favorite summertime treat! Low in calories, but loaded with sweet flavor, it’s a great way to keep my sweet tooth cravings in check. (Pineapple comes in as a close second.)
- Frozen grapes: There are three calories in a grape, so a bunch of frozen ones is a low-cal and healthy alternative to heavier desserts. Freezing them just adds some coolness on even the hottest days of the season!
- Frozen blueberries. Mix them into a plain non-fat plain Greek yogurt for a protein-packed low-guilt serving of “frozen yogurt.”
- Iced green tea: Next to cardio, iced green tea may be my biggest summertime addiction. Aside from giving me a needed energy boost in the afternoon, iced green tea also offers Vitamin C, antioxidants and bioflavonoids. Some studies suggest bioflavonoids help keep the arteries healthy and even prevent the development of cataracts.
- Finally, for all you picnic lovers, check out this link for some great portable recipes that don’t pack tons of guilt!
Would love to know what YOU love to snack on in the summertime!
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend ahead filled with all your seasonal fitness and healthy food faves and plenty of opportunities to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Pushing Through the Pain
On this Workout Wednesday, I thought I’d address what many consider a “touchy” topic: pain.
I’m currently starting my second week of physical therapy for a lower back and hip issue. I’d like to say the problem just popped up and I got on it immediately, but I’d be lying.
This problem began back in September of 2011. What started as a dull pain in the left side of my lower back and hip area turned into tingling and numbness down the front of my left thigh, calf and all the way down to my toes. Lifting weight over my head, kettlebell swings and push-ups made the pain worse. So what did I do? I pushed through it.
After a couple of months, getting out of bed in the morning became painful and sitting at my desk at work gradually for longer than 20 minutes became practically unbearable. I finally went to my sports medicine specialist last month to get checked out. An MRI showed I have a bulging disc in my lumbar spine. (Specifically between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebral bodies, commonly referred to as L4/L5.)
The “mystery,” however, is that the MRI showed the disc issue is on the right side of my lower back back while the symptoms I’ve suffered have affected the left side of my body. Is my left side compensating for the dysfunction on my right or is the disc something I’ve had for years and not even part of the problem? This is what my doctor and now my physical therapist are trying to figure out. Meanwhile, I just want the pain to go away!
The bottom line is I’m pretty angry with myself for ignoring the pain for so long. Basically, I didn’t follow one of the cardinal rules I share with my own personal training clients and anyone who asks for advice on following a safe and effective fitness program: Listen to your body!
So, I thought this was the perfect time to remind everyone when you should NOT wait out the aches and pains:
- If you’re in an accident or experience sudden trauma. If there’s no help where you are, get to an emergency room or urgent care center. It’s also a good idea to get checked out if your muscle or joint soreness lasts more than 2 – 3 days following a vigorous workout or if you tried a new sport, group exercise class or other activity (e.g. gardening) around the house.
- If your pain affects every day functions. Does it hurt to raise your arms overhead in the shower or bend down to pick up your child? If your knee is bothering you when you walk up the stairs, guess what? You could end up with pain in your hip and back, too, as your body makes compensations to keep moving. Now you have pain in more than just one area of your body.
- If you have chronic but mild pain in any area of the body that doesn’t change no matter what you. This is what happened to me. What you may feel as muscle pain in your back that you have had for months could be coming from several other areas not even related to your spine.
Click here for a link to great list from WebMD about pains you should NEVER ignore.
While we all have different tolerance levels when it comes to pain, I hope sharing my experience is an example of why it’s not smart to take chances. I haven’t been completely sidelined, but I have had to slow down. As a bona fide fitness fanatic, that’s not easy! At the end of the day, listening to your body is probably one of the smartest things you can do to make sure you continue safely on your journey to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Using Fitness to Make a Difference
If you’re looking for ways to add some variety to your fitness routine, why not turn your passion for being healthy into a vehicle for helping others?
As many of us look for ways to take our workouts outdoors, this is the perfect time of year to sign up for a walk, run or other athletic event in a town near you that raises money and awareness for everything from cancer to childhood disabilities. Just this past Saturday, my friend Rob laced up for a 5K run in Central Park to benefit the YAI Network, an organization that’s been helping people with developmental disabilities and their families since 1957.
Of course, there are also plenty of fun and meaningful indoor fitness activities to join. I was so excited when my weekend mail included my ticket to the June 29th Zumbathon event at Roseland Ballroom. The proceeds will benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation and its fight against Parkinson’s Disease. The event co-stars the legendary Tanya Beardsley, who I was lucky to have as my instructor for my licensing workshop earlier this year. I can’t wait to enjoy a heart-pounding good time with some of the gals I met at that workshop, and make some new Zumba friends. The best part will be knowing I shook my booty for a great cause!
If you’re looking for ways to combine your love of fitness and the desire to do good deeds, I found a pretty cool website called CharityHappenings.org. You enter your home state or zip code, the range of dates you’re looking for, and you can then select from a list of activities ranging from golf outings to dancing. You can even narrow your selections by causes ranging from animals to autism.
Whatever you do, another bonus to signing up for a fitness event is you can encourage members of your fitness family to join in the fun. Not only will you motivate each other to push through the last mile or spin cycle, but you get to enjoy breaking a sweat with people you’ve probably been hoping to spend more time with anyway!
We all know the health benefits exercise has to offer, but how great is it being able to turn your heart-pounding moves into positive energy for the world around you? I can’t think of a better reason to continue the search for the countless ways to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Friday’s Food For Thought: The Liquid Edition
Welcome to June!
We’ve had some warm and sticky weather here in New York City since the Memorial Day weekend, so I thought it was the perfect time to remind everyone about the importance of staying hydrated.
I often talk about the fact that the human body is an amazing machine, but it’s important to remember that machine is made up of two-thirds water. Like anything else, if you want the body to keep running properly, you need to give it what it needs.
Here are some of the benefits of staying hydrated:
- Regulation of body temperature
- Alleviating fluid retention
- Distribution of nutrients and oxygen to cells and organs
- Improvement of metabolic function
- Decreasing appetite
I’m still waiting to feel the effects of that last bullet point. I do my best to drink the recommended 5-7 glasses of water each day, but I don’t know how much effect it’s had on my overall appetite. (I love to eat!) However, I admit if I’m hungry and nowhere near a healthy snack, drinking a glass of water can stave off my hunger just long enough to avoid eating something I’ll regret later. (Chewing gum works in a pinch, too.)
Now let’s look at some of the physiologic effects of what happens when you don’t consume enough water and become dehydrated:
- Decreased blood volume
- Increased heart rate
- Increased core temperature
- Sodium retention
- Decreased sweat rate
Think of it this way: the body can go for a long period of time without food, but can only survive for a few days without water.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) offers the following guidelines for drinking water when exercising:
- Drink 16 oz of water two hours before exercise. In warmer weather, you can add an additional 8 – 16 oz.
- During exercise, drink 20 to 40 oz for every hour of exercise.
- If you exercise for more than 60 minutes, you can re-hydrate with a sports drink containing up to 8% carbohydrate to replace both fluid and dwindling muscle glycogen stores.
- When exercising for 60 minutes or less, water is best. (My personal choice).
Here’s how I rationalize that last point: If I’m pressed for time and can only squeeze in a 30-minute elliptical session, I’ll burn up to 340 calories. During that time, if I guzzle a sports drink like Gatorade or Vitamin Water, I’ll consume 125 calories. So I walk away from a shorter than normal workout, and I’ve only burned 215 calories. That is not the post-cardio high I was looking for!
I realize some people simply can’t stand the blandness of water and need a little flavor. Luckily, there are lots of zero-calorie flavored water options available. Remember, having a flavored drink with zero calories (or 5 calories if you add one of those flavor-crystal packets to your water bottle) is better than NOT drinking anything at all.
In the end, raising a water bottle to your health is an easy way to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Summer Fitness for Your Skin
Be Sun Smart!
This is the season many of us move everything from our meals to our workouts outside. There’s nothing like a run along the sand or a game of beach volleyball to mix up your fitness routine! That means it’s also time to step up your efforts to protect yourself from the harmful effects of the sun, especially skin cancer.
Here are a few sobering facts to remember courtesy of the Skin Cancer Foundation:
- Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S.
- One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
- Melanoma is the most common cancer in women ages 25-29.
- One person dies of melanoma every 62 minutes.
The good news is protecting yourself from skin cancer doesn’t have to be difficult. Wearing sunscreen is one of the best preventive measures you can take. However, applying it just once if you’re going to be outside for several hours isn’t enough. If you’re active in the sun, even sweat-proof sunscreens need to be re-applied. I admit many of the heavily promoted long-wearing sunscreens can be sticky and streaky, so if you have one that works for you when you’re breaking a sweat, I’d love to hear about it!
For those of us with sensitive skin, finding a sunscreen for the face can be an even bigger problem. I’m one of the 16 million Americans who suffer from Rosacea, a chronic inflammatory skin condition with symptoms including redness, bumps and even small visible blood vessels on the face. Unfortunately, my condition is partly the result of all the sun-worshipping I did in my teens and 20s. Now I have to be extra careful when I’m enjoying time at the beach as sun exposure is one of the triggers that can cause a flare up. Add an irritating sunscreen to the mix, and my skin can really be out of whack after just an hour or two in the sun.
I think I may have finally found a sunscreen that will protect my face from the sun and not aggravate my Rosacea. It’s called Athelios from LaRoche-Posay. I found it at my local Duane Reade drug store. It’s actually a super lightweight fluid that comes in SPF 45 and 60. Along with my Clinique SPF 30 stick for my delicate eye area and lips, I hope I’m all set for the summer!
Along with wearing sunscreen, if you have moles, it’s important to keep an eye on them. I can’t count the number of moles I have on my body but I can tell you I’ve had at least a half-dozen suspicious-looking moles removed in the past 10 years. I visit my dermatologist annually to make sure none of my moles, especially the ones that have irregular borders and different shades of color. In fact, I had my 2012 visit about three weeks ago and got the all clear til next year. Click here for more on the ABC’s (and Ds and Es) of when it’s time to get a mole checked by a dermatologist.
So if you’re busy replenishing your summer stock of moisture-wicking shirts and shorts, don’t forget to replenish your sunscreen supplies, too. Staying sun smart is a surefire way to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Happy Memorial Day!
I hope your extended weekend has been filled with fun in the sun and good times with friends and family. Today, I offer my “wish list” for you on Memorial Day.
1) Take at least a moment to stop and remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of us could live in this wonderful land we call the United States of America.
2) Fit some fitness into your holiday fun. I’m excited to take a Zumba class at 10:30 this morning. Not only will it be the first Zumba class I’ve been able to squeeze into my schedule in months, it also ends early enough that the rest of the day awaits! (Click here if you need a few reminders on how to fit some fitness into your holiday fun.)
3) If you’re outside, don’t forget to apply and re-apply the sunscreen!
4) Whether you’re celebrating the holiday indoors or out, stay hydrated. If you plan to drink alcohol, make sure to designate a driver to ensure everyone gets home safely after the Memorial Day fun.
Wishing everyone a very Happy Memorial Day! Here’s to the summer ahead and all the chances we’ll have to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Fitness Fun in the Sun!
Bring on Summer!
TGIF!
I hope everyone’s ready to enjoy some R & R during the Memorial Day weekend. It’s so important we all remember the true meaning of this holiday. It’s a day dedicated to honoring all the men and women who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
Memorial Day weekend also marks the unofficial kick off to the summer! If Mother Nature smiles down on your plans to enjoy some time in the backyard, at the beach or nearby park, keep this in mind: now’s the perfect time to kick-start a whole new season of fitness fun!
Wherever you’re going, when you pack up the sunscreen, sunglasses and snacks, why not toss a football, frisbee or paddle-ball game into your bag or the trunk of the car? Adding some activity to your holiday get-together is a great way to keep some of the beer and BBQ calories in check. It’s also a great reminder that you don’t need a gym for a great workout.
If you’re really inspired, there are plenty of exercises you can perform on a sandy or grassy surface. Some examples include burpees, squats, push-ups and planks. Of course, if you have any knee, ankle, hip or back issues, I’d highly recommend wearing your sneakers when attempting to bang out some reps on an unstable surface.
Whatever you do and wherever you do it, here are some timely tips for the holiday weekend that will take you through the entire season:
- Drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids, preferably water.
- Apply and re-apply plenty of waterproof, sweat-proof sunscreen. Sore muscles from a game of beach volleyball can be rewarding, but a sunburn never feels good!
- Finally – don’t forget to stretch! After giving those arms and legs a good workout, static or active-isolated stretches can help the body recover. Remember: static stretches need to be held for a minimum of 30 seconds.
Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Memorial Day and an entire weekend filled with plenty of opportunities to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
A Little Motivation
As we kick off another Workout Wednesday, I’d like to thank my fellow St.Mary’s High School Gaels for providing the inspiration for today’s post.
Jennifer recently posed the following question on my LauraLovesFitness Facebook page (which prompted a “like” from Susan):
What are your tips to get motivated? I know that everyone says they are busy and have very little time to work out; I am in that club. I have a full time job, children etc. I know exactly what I need to do to get fit, I have a physical therapy degree. The pounds are not so slowly creeping up on me but I have no motivation. Help!
Kids or no kids, all of us juggle so many daily tasks and activities. Add the time we spend here online to write and/or read blogs; check/send email; post status updates; “like” our friends status updates and create clever tweets, and it’s no wonder we feel we have zero time to do anything “good” for ourselves. Well, guess what? We HAVE to make time because no one else is going to do it for us.
So, where do I get my motivation to move amidst the madness? While we can come up with a hundred reasons not to exercise, my list for why I stick with it is pretty short and sweet:
- Regular physical activity provides countless benefits which include controlling weight; fighting a variety of health conditions ranging from heart disease to arthritis and promoting sleep.
- Stress-busting power! After a 12-hour shoot day or edit session with an intense client, nothing clears my head like breaking a sweat. That doesn’t mean you have to bust your butt in a 90-minute boot-camp class. Spending 15 minutes on a treadmill (which Jennifer admits she has in her home) or taking a brisk walk around the neighborhood can channel negative energy to a much healthier focus.
- Endorphins and Energy! You’ve heard of the “runners’ high.” Well, I don’t run, but the mood-elevating endorphin rush I get from Tabata training or a Club Strength class is probably the biggest reason why I keep moving. Exercise also boosts your overall energy levels more effectively than pumping your body full of crash-inducing caffeine or sugar-fixes. For all you parents, adding some exercise to your life could be just what you need to keep up with your kids!
Along with my motivators, here are a couple of other things to keep in mind:
- Don’t tackle exercise with an all-or-nothing voracity: If the idea of spending an entire hour exercising overwhelms you, simply scale it back. Start with 15 or 20 minutes and build on that. Once you start feeling the positive effects from the activity, you’ll want to spend more time doing what makes you feel good!
- Don’t compare yourself to others: Until I win the lottery and can hire my own personal trainer to kick my butt five days a week and pay a chef to take the guesswork out of making healthy meals that actually taste good, I remind myself everyday that in my reality, I’m doing the best I can to take care of myself. So, while I may never have legs like Cameron Diaz, I do have a strong heart, strong spirit and strong desire to fit my workouts into even the most hectic weeks so I can get that rush where I feel like I’m on top of the world – even for just a little while.
If all else fails, remember this: exercise CAN be fun! The key is finding what that fun is for you: running, boxing, Zumba or even meeting a friend for a daily brisk walk with hand weights. Don’t be afraid to experiment and mix things up. Even if you never define exercise as more than a “necessary evil,” you can still make a program work on your terms so you can have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
A Fitness-Filled Weekend
It’s probably safe to say most of us wonder where our weekends go. This one, however, flew by particularly fast for me as it was one filled with plenty of fitness fun – both physical and mental.
With B2C President Brent Brookbush & “Classmates” the “Intro to Functional Anatomy” Workshop
Mother Nature graced us with one of the most magnificent weekends in recent memory filled here in New York City. Since I wanted to get out and enjoy the sunshine as early as possible on Saturday, I got my butt to the gym before 9 am and put my new love of Tabata training to good use. If you’re looking to make the most of an hour at the gym, here’s what I got accomplished in that time Saturday morning:
- 5 minute self-myofascial release (SMR) with the foam roller and static stretches for my calves, TFL and latissimus dorsi.
- 20-minute”Tabata Derby”: Using my UltraTimerHD app (as recommended by my friend and fitness pro Roberto Murichi), I completed four sets of Tabatas featuring the following exercises: squats, push-ups, sit-ups and planks. Thanks to the app, I simply pressed start and knew exactly when to work for 20 seconds, rest for 10 and continue. Once the first four-minute Tabata was completed, the app also allowed for the crucial 60-second “rest” period before moving on to the next exercise.
- 1000-meter rowing “sprint.” This took me about 10 minutes. Not my best time ever, but I had just finished the Tabata Derby, so I gave myself a bit of a break.
- 20-minute interval elliptical training. (The last five minutes were more of a cardio cool down.)
- 5 minutes SMR and stretching, mirroring what I did at the start of the workout.
Sunday’s “workout” lasted much longer – a little more than eight hours to be exact – but it was a totally different experience. I spent the day at the Sports Club/LA on New York’s Upper East Side for a B2C Fitness workshop entitled “Functional Anatomy 1: Intro to Human Movement Science.” The class was taught by my friend and B2C President Brent Brookbush.
Not only did taking the workshop help me gather some of the needed CEC’s (Continued Education Credits) I need to maintain my personal training certification with the National Academy of Sports Medicine, but it also offered an amazing refresher on anatomical terminology and the interactive function of joints, muscles, fascia and the nervous system as it relates to human movement.
The course was filled with fun anecdotes and interactive activities, and it was also great to meet other personal trainers and fitness professionals with different levels of experience in the industry. Any of my readers who happen to be fellow fitness pros and need some CEC’s (or just want to brush-up on everything from planes of motion to movement analysis), I’d recommend taking any of Brent’s workshops in a heartbeat.
While the physical and mental workouts may make for a groggier Monday than usual, I’m happy to be armed with refreshed energy and knowledge to continue on the quest to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
lauralovesfitness 