Cardio's best friend=strength training.

So from my understanding people..meaning Women are still afraid to lift weights of strength train. Let me tell you one proven fact I have learned in EVERY class I have taken at Western and all information I have ever been taught...-Women do not have the genetic make up to "bulk" up. If you max out and do short sets with heavy weight for years..you still won't bulk like a guy; ya you might a little more of a compact style of muscle maybe. But who trains like that unless they have special demands? SO what woman want and need is a healthy mix of strength training and cardio. I take one day a week and do all body weight and drill strengthening for legs...to really lean and elongate those muscles..I also include a lot of my dance technique and exercises I have learned in class. Then - I take one day a week for weight room legs. I use weights yes..however I now also include burst of sprints or jumping rope of body weight exercise in between exercises just to keep my body on full fatigue throughout the workout. I also do very high reps and always 3 whole sets. So its usually 3 sets of 20. Never less. Sometimes a few more. This leans me out and I see results every time I train this way. I do the same for arms and upper body...one day body weights exercise mixed with high intensity burst and sprinting intertwined and one day weight room arms. AND of course everyday I tie the best friend in....CARDIO. So the muscle helps you burn fat..but the cardio is going to supercharge this process when paired within your weekly routines. Abs are everyday for me and Sundays are the rest day. Read this info below to really spike your interest in strength training.

***Strength training or Lifting weights gives you a metabolic spike for an hour after a workout because your body is trying hard to help your muscles recover. That means you'll fry an additional 25 percent of the calories you just scorched during your strength session. So if you burned 200 calories lifting weights, it's really closer to 250 overall; And if you lift heavier weights or rest no more than 30 seconds between sets, you can annihilate even more.

And there's more good news when it comes to pumping iron's fat-blasting power. For every 3 pounds of muscle you build, you'll burn an extra 120 calories a day -- just vegging -- because muscle takes more energy to sustain. Over the course of a year, that's about 10 pounds of fat -- without even changing your diet. Yes, please!

Treadmill "10-5 Hill" Workout

Here's another treadmill routine I made. I have done it a few times, and had a few other do it as well. If done straight through and with a good intensity, you should feel this one! =)

(remember all treadmills vary. Sometimes the ones I use at the rec vary 4 speeds different than the ones at cross fit in Rushville so If it feels too easy, up it or Vise Versa)

-5 min warm up walk..brisk thou. 4.5-4.9 pace
-10 min @ 6.3 working into 6.5
-30 sec sprint at 9.3 (or whatever best fits your level)
-30 sec sprint @ 9.3
-30 sec sprint @ 9.3
(rest in between these sprints but try to go into the next as soon as you feel you can.)
-10 min @ 6.5..working into 6.7-6.8 by end
-30 sec hill run..inclines vary but I had the rec one @ 15. Just make it a hard incline and set the speed between 7.3-7.6 (or whatever works best for you)
-30 sec hill walk..keeping walking speed brisk between 4.5-5.0
-30 sec hill run (same criteria as prev. hill run
(rest in between each of these by walking and taking the incline down but get into the next climb as soon as you can!)
-5 min run doing the following
*1 min @ 6.8
*1 min @ 6.9
*1 min @ 7.0
*1 min @ 7.1
*30 sec @ 7.2
*30 sec @ 7.3
-5 min brisk cool down walk at around 4.5-4.8 pace

Enjoy =)

"I don't have time to work out"

"I don't have time to exercise." I wish I had a dollar for every client or person who's said that to me--I'd have a lot more money than I do now. I know you're busy and I also know you often feel overwhelmed by all that exercise you're supposed to be doing. Cardio 3-5 times a week for at least 20 minutes and strength training workouts that work all your muscle groups at least 2 times a week. How the heck are you supposed to fit it all in? I have the answer! Read on if you want to know how to squeeze in short, effective workouts.
Using Your Time Wisely

You may have heard that shorter workouts done throughout the day are just as effective at burning calories as one, longer workout. That's great, but it's confusing trying to figure out how to change your longer workouts into shorter ones. If you only have 10 or 15 minutes at a time, how long should your warm up be? What exercises should you do? How can you keep the intensity up to get an effective workout?

When it comes to cardio, there are number of ways you can work hard in the time you have. The key is to make the workouts intense. If you only have 10 minutes, you want to work as hard as you can in those 10 minutes. If you can find 10 minutes 3 times a day, you can get in a great workout.

Short Cardio Workouts

If you only have a few minutes for cardio, your focus should be on intensity. Any activity will do, as long as you can work hard at it and get your heart rate up. Here's an example of a 10-minute outdoor workout involving walking, running and jumping jacks. If you don't like high impact, you can stay with the walking and add intensity by speedwalking or adding hills to the workout.

Outdoor Workout: (If you can try making all of the walking running or sprinting as well!...sprints are a for sure way to quickly torch calories)

1 minute: Warm up with a brisk walk - RPE - up to 5
1 minute: Speedwalk - speed up until your RPE is at 6-7
1 minute: Run - RPE 8
1 minute: Jumping Jacks - RPE 8
1 minute: Speedwalk - RPE 8
1 minute: Run - RPE 9
1 minute: Jumping Jacks - RPE 9
1 minute: Run - RPE 9
1 minute: Jumping Jacks - RPE 9
1 minute: Sprint - RPE 9
1 minute: Walk at an easy pace to cool down - RPE back down to 3-5


You can also get some cardio in at work. If you have flights of stairs to work with, take 10 minutes and divide your workout into 1-minute segments like the one listed above. Start with a warm up (walking up the stairs slowly) and alternate running up the stairs and walking down each minute. You can also try this Boot Camp Workout to do at home.


Squat-Thrusts

Stand with feet together. Squat down and place your hands on the floor next to your feet. In an explosive movement, jump feet backwards into a push-up position, jump feet back between hands and stand up. Perform 10 reps, march in place for a few seconds and repeat 10 more reps.

Slow Pushups

Begin in pushup position on a ball or floor. Perform 4 pushups, abs in and back straight. On the 5th pushup, lower halfway down and hold for 4 counts. Push back up and repeat the series - 4 regular pushups and 1 half hold. Repeat for 30-60 seconds.

Plyo-Jacks

Begin with feet together and jump up, taking feet out to the side while circling arms overhead and land in a squat. Jump up and bring feet back together, circling arms back in. This is just like a slow jumping jack, but really use power when pushing up into the jumps. Repeat for 30-60 seconds.

Walking Lunge

Start at one end of the room, holding weights if desired, and step forward with right leg. Bend both knees to 90 degree angles, lowering body into a lunge (keep front knee behind the toe). Bring the left foot forward and step into a lunge. Continue lunging, alternating legs for 30-60 seconds..

Jumping Jacks with Front Kicks

Do one jumping jack. After you jump the feet back together, bring the right knee up and snap the foot out in a front kick (don't extend the leg all the way, but keep a small bend in the knee). Do another jumping jack and kick with the left foot. Continue for 1 minutes, alternating jumping jacks and kicks.

Wall Sit with Chest Squeeze

Hold a medicine ball (or just press the hands together if you have no equipment) and slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel to the floor while squeezing the ball. Hold this position and keep pressure on the ball as your straighten the arms out in front of you and slowly pull them back in. Repeat the chest squeezes in and out for 30-60 seconds and stand up.

Ski Jumps

Stand with feet together. Bend the knees and jump to the right as far as you can--think of jumping laterally rather than vertically. Land with soft knees and immediately jump laterally to the left. Repeat for 30-60 seconds.
March in Place
Aren't you tired? Take a few seconds to catch your breath.

High Jogs

Stand with feet together and hold arms straight out in front of you at mid-torso level. Jog in place, bringing knees high enough that they hit your hands (don't lower hands!). Repeat for 30-60 seconds.

Triceps Dips

Sit on a chair or bench with hands next to the hips. Lift up and take the hips forward, just in front of the bench. Bend the elbows and lower down until elbows are about 90 degrees. Squeeze the triceps to push back up and repeat 30-60 seconds.

Pushups/Side Planks

In pushup position (on knees or toes), perform one pushup. As you come up, shift weight to left arm, twist to the side while bringing the right arm up towards the ceiling in a side plank. Lower the arm back to the floor for another pushup and then twist to the other side. Repeat for 30-60 seconds
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Strength Training Workouts

When it comes to strength training, you can do the same type of thing as cardio workouts. By doing compound exercises (exercises that target more than one muscle group) without rest between sets, you can squeeze in a strength training workout in 10 minutes, if that's all you have. Ideally, it's best to spend more time on your strength training to really target those muscles, but you'll always have days when you're short on time.

Great ideas for short full body toning circuits are in previose posts! Take a look =)

Fun Cardio Idea =)

So after talking with a exercise department college today we thought of an interesting and yet fun cardio idea. Make a play list on your i pod...can be a twenty min. mix or 30 or whatever! But the length of this mix of songs is the length of your workout. In stead of the usual...spending your entire cardio session on the same machine or the same routine you will change the cardio activity you are doing each time the song changes. You can pick 5 diff. activities and repeat through that circuit or pick as many different activities as you want! This is a good fix to occasionally kick boredom and just add a little something different into your routine.
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Cardio Ideas
-running (treadmill, outside then stop for other activities, or in place if short on room)
-jumping rope
-jumping jacks
-stair climbing on real or machine..or step ups on a bench
-quick feet
-high knees
-tuck jumps mixed with sprints or squat jacks
-sprints or suicide runs

Be creative, think up some of your own too!! =)

10 Healthy Eating Tips for the Busy College Student

The average college student is often pressed for time, under a lot of stress and eating on the go. You may find it difficult to avoid bad habits like skipping meals or frequenting fast food restaurants. But eating a healthy diet can help you feel better, cope with stress and perform better in the class-room and on the athletic field. It really isn't that hard to get started.

1

Eat a good breakfast. Studies show that skipping breakfast detracts from scholastic achievement. When there isn't time to sit down and enjoy your morning meal, grab a bagel, piece of fruit, and some juice. Most of these items can be easily stored in your dorm room. I opt for oatmeal every morning as well as eggs; which both pack tons of protein. I usually eat one whole egg and 2-3 whites. The whites have the protein and the yolk holds the fat/

2

If you must eat fast foods, choose wisely. Choose pizza with half the cheese, a regular size roast beef sandwich, baked potato, or green salad with reduced calorie dressing. Limit high fat offering like french fries, fried chicken or fish sandwiches and watch out for salad dressing.

3

Keep healthful snacks on hand so if hunger strikes during a late night study session, you won't be tempted by vending machine candy, chips, or ice cream. Possibilities include fresh or dried fruit, pretzels, unbuttered popcorn, rice cakes or whole wheat cracker. If you have a refrigerator, consider raw vegetables with low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese.

4

Eat plenty of foods that are rich in calcium. People in their early twenties need to be build up stores of calcium in their bodies to prevent osteoporosis in later life. If you don't like milk, try to include ample amounts of low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, and green leafy vegetables in your diet.

5

If you need to lose weight, do it sensibly. Starvation and/or diets that offer a quick fix usually backfire and are harmful. There is not truth to the theories that suggest eating foods in any particular combination will promote weight loss. The only safe way to lose weight, feel good while doing it, and keep it off is to eat a balanced diet.

6

Sugar provides calories in your diet but few other nutrients and it contributes significantly to tooth decay. Use it sparingly and consider sweetening coffee, tea, cereal and fruit with diet sweeteners instead. Remember sugar breaks down and usually metabolizes to fat.

7

The dining hall salad bar can be either an asset or a detriment to you diet depending on how you choose from it. Of course, leafy greens, raw vegetable and fresh fruit are beneficial. But if you choose lot of creamy dressing, bacon bit, and mayonnaise based salads, the calories and fat may equal or even exceed those of a burger and fries.

8

If you drink alcohol, keep in mind that it supplies calories but no nutritional value. A light beer, a glass of wine, or an ounce of liquor each has about 100 calories. There are also many health problems associated with drinking alcohol. Remember Alcohol is mostly carbs. Carbs are shown to be at the worst when ingested late at night or in the evening. The carbs found in alcohol are not the slow digesting carbs we need to speed metabolism and promote weight loss they are fast digesting carbs that metabolize to central obesity and fat storage.

9

Drink lots of water. Your body needs at least eight glasses a day, and if you exercise vigorously, you may need more. To remind yourself, carry a water bottle along to class and keep it handy during late night study sessions. Water will speed up your metabolism!

10

Remember, food is a lot more than nourishment for our bodies. Enjoy and savor it.

There is a big difference between being "skinny" and "fit"...

All of the media and most society judge health and appearance quality by the basic idea of begin fat or "skinny". Truth is that someone who is merely thin in appearance can have a high body fat and be way less healthy than someone who has done it the right way and contains lean muscle mass.

Do you know what it means to be skinny fat? Just because you are not obviously visually overweight, that does not mean that you are healthy by any means. There are many people that appear to be thin and healthy, but the truth is, unless they are eating a healthy diet and regularly exercising, there is nothing healthy about them. Some people have faster metabolisms and can eat fast food and processed junk without seeing it appear on their thighs or midsection, but does this mean they are in good shape or healthy? The truth is, you can be "skinny fat", which means that despite appearing to be healthy and in shape, you are actually in poor health and not in shape at all.

Products and advertisements that promise a loss of weight without exercise or dieting are really only telling you part of the story. Those diet pills and chemical products that do work, though most do not, really only eat away the fat without making you healthy or really doing anything natural at all. There is a big difference between fitness and weight that most people do not comprehend. To the people who design these advertisements, losing the weight is all that matters, no matter how you reach that ideal weight. The truth is, fitness and health are what really matter, and if you are not trying to obtain fitness and health, then you are doing something wrong.

The truth is this: Weight does not equal fitness.
Losing weight without obtaining health and fitness is not doing it right. Just because you are thin, that simply does not mean that you are fit. The world is full of people who are "skinny fat". What really matters when it comes to getting healthy and losing weight is being fit, in shape, and taking good care of your body in the process. It is actually entirely possible for a thin person to have a high percentage of body fat, higher in some cases than people who are visually overweight.

Simply losing weight does not mean you have a healthy heart. Getting fit and eating healthfully on the other hand can guarantee an improvement in heart health. Losing weight alone does not lower your cholesterol, but regular exercise and healthy eating will. Simply losing weight is not going to lower your risk of contracting certain types of cancers, but regularly exercising and eating healthfully certainly can. Losing weight cannot prevent osteoporosis, boost your immune system, lead to healthier pregnancies and childbirth, help you keep your weight off for life, improve your physical performance or prevent the loss of muscle, but by exercising regularly and eating healthfully, you absolutely can.

So what does this mean? Losing weight is not the important part of getting healthy - The important things to consider are eating healthfully, exercising regularly and taking care of your health. Skinny Fat or Fat Fat your #1 New Years resolution should be get fit!

Great WIU Rec. Center workout..can be modified too!

Have a bad or slumpy weekend? Need a great boost of a workout to start the week off right? Well, this workout will do just thought. I feel there is nothing better than to go harder than ever right at the beginning of each week to make me feel super energized and forget about any slips I may have made over the weekend on my eating habits! This is a great workout if you go at it hard and push yourself to go straight from running to stairs and then into the strength section and back to sprints. This is the only way you will get maximum calorie and fat burn. All though this was done at the Rec, you can also make any modifications and changes to make the workout work for your needs, environment, and fitness level. Here's how it goes...
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***Run 2 1/2 miles hard and see how good of a time you can hit with a little kick and uplift at the end. Make sure you continue a nice paced jog to make sure you get to 25 min. if your 2 1/2 miles does not take that long to complete.

***Run to the stair climber and go at an intense level for 6 min. Only 6 min so you can do it!!!=) WIU's climbers go to level 20, I had it on 18. So do what's hard for you. If there is no access to a climber then use nearby stairs or you can do step ups on a bench elevated sturdy object ( all though this is great, you won't get the same intense fatigue as the climber)

***I ran down to the weight room grabbed to 12 pound dumb bells and headed to the back gym where I had tons of space and was alone. You can however do it in your living room! I did ..

-21 lunges followed by going straight into 21 jumping squats...(HOWEVER, you must make sure each time you land and sit in the squat position you are putting the weight back in the heels, chest is up and you explode off the ground to make sure you are getting a good space in between your feet and the floor!)

-18 Lunges again followed by 18 jumping squats (Keep this pattern going throughout the following..)

-15 lunges; jumping squats

-12 lunges; jumping squats

-9 lunges, jumping squats

-6 lunges; jumping squats

-3 lunges; jumping squats

***Immediately I ran back up to the track for sprints. (This can also be done on your treadmill or outside!!) Considering sprints are already proven to zap fat during cardio, they are at their prime when done right after strength training when the lactic acid stores are depleted and you muscles are fatigued.
- 3X 200 m sprint
- 2X 75 m sprint

YOU"R DONE!!!! =)