Category: Exercise Ideas

A Memorial Day Workout For You

May 23, 2009

I hope you all have a wonderful 3-day weekend!  In an effort to keep you focused on your fitness goals, I’ve created a done-for-you workout you can do at home this weekend with little to no equipment.  No need to think up what to do, I’ve done it for you!

Before I get to that, I’d like to make two important announcements………

1) Welcome to our newest campers Midge (Campbell boot camp) , and Marsha and Lea (Willow Glen FitCamp).  Happy to have you come aboard mid-month, and so honored that you all have already committed to June camps!

2).  Big congratulations to Jackie Michaelsen (Campbell boot camp instructor), as she graduates today from San Jose State University with a degree in Kinesiology.  Way to go, Jackie!

Now, on to business at hand, your weekend workout……..

After a 3-5 minute warm-up, complete the following exercises.  Rest 10-15 seconds between each pair of exercises:

  • Push Ups  –  one set of 12-15
  • Jumping Jacks  –  continuous for 1 minute
  • Squats  –   one set of 12-15 (you can do jump squats if you want)
  • Fast lateral shuffle  –  continuous for 1 minute
  • Inverted row  –  one set of 12-15 (see photos at the end of this post)
  • Walking lunges  – continuous for 1 minute
  • Dips – one set of 12-15
  • “Quick feet”  (think fast taps on a soccer ball) –  continuous for 1 minute

Beginners: Do one full circuit of this workout.  Intermediate and advanced exercisers, do 2-3 circuits of this workout.

Cool down, stretch and drink water after you’ve completed all your rounds–and pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

Note:  If you have wrist or shoulder issues and you own exercise tubing, you can substitute chest presses for the push ups and triceps pull downs for the dips.

If you complete this workout, leave a comment here and let me know how it went.  Also, let me know how long it took you.  I think you’ll be surprised at how quick and efficient this workout is!

Here’s how to set up an inverted row with household equipment:

 

Beginning position
Beginning position

 

 

You can set this up using two chairs and a strong broom handle or thick wooden dowel.

 

Position yourself with your shoulders right underneath the bar.  With your legs bent (easier) or straight (harder), pull your torso up toward the bar.

 

 

Ending position
Ending position

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy your three day weekend!

 

Committed to your success,

Becky

Self help for plantar fasciitis

May 11, 2009

Plantar fasciitis can be a tricky, chronic problem.  If you suffer from it, it’s best to seek out professional help in order to learn what’s causing your case.  Some common causes include:  improper training techniques, over training, and worn out shoes, as well as extremely flat feet, or feet with very high arches.  Some of these things you can control (such as your choice of training activities and the quality of your shoes), others, such as the shape of your feet, you can’t control.

 

I had a pretty bad case of plantar fasciitis a few years ago, and believe one of the reasons I am free of it today is due to the stretches that I consistently do.  Good medical attention (which included custom orthotics) and very good shoes that are the right type of shoe for my particular situation are the other two things that I credit with helping me .

 I made a little video of some of the stretches I do in the hope that they’ll help  you, too!

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txMziVqh8ew[/youtube]

Committed to your success,

 

Becky

Weight loss plateau-Solution #3

Apr 09, 2009

I’ve covered some food issues in my previoius posts on overcoming a weight loss plateau.  Now let’s tackle your weight loss plateau from an exercise perspective.

When you become a regular exerciser, your body does what it’s good at–it adapts.  If you do the same workout routine and the same cardio routine day in and day out, it becomes easier to do, right?  Your body has become more efficient.  

 

I like to use a car analogy to illustrate this:  A well-tuned car burns less fuel at a particular speed than a car that’s out of whack.  Same with your body. That’s one of the few negative aspects of exercise as it relates to weight loss.  You perhaps huffed and puffed when you ran, say, 3 miles for the first time, and now you’re in better shape and can do it easily.  You’re also probably burning a few less calories now during those three miles than you did when you first started running.  Dang.

But hang on.  I have a solution:  

Mix up your strength and cardio workouts

Stop doing the same old thing all the time!  I think the best way to shake up your workout is to do interval training.  I talk a lot about interval training here at the this blog, so I’m not going to go into detail about it here (seek out previous posts and workouts listed in the archives).

Other ideas to shake up your workout:

-If you’re a treadmill exerciser or an outdoor runner, run hills or put your treadmill on an incline.

-If you are a spinning enthusiast, get off the bike and go for a run.

-If you’re a swimmer, get out of the pool and pick a land-based cardio workout.

-If you’re a Zumba groupie, try a step class.

-Re-vamp your strength workout by changing the exercises you do or the angle at which you do them.

-Change other parameters of your strength workout each month:  Sets, repetitions, rest periods or the weight you lift.

Keep your body guessing and adapting—don’t get complacent with your workouts.

 

If you shake up your routine, you’re sure to shake up your plateau!

 

Committed to your success,

 

Becky

Registration is open for summer boot camp in Campbell!

Apr 08, 2009

Join Jackie Michaelsen and me for some fun in the sun at Edith Morley Park in Campbell beginning May 5th.

Log on to secure your place in camp NOW!  www.lifesportbootcamp.com

This is our 5th year of running our summer series, “Muscle it out at Morley”, and we’re gearing up for a great time.  Won’t you come join us??

Get ready to 

-Lose weight!

-Get your buns to fit in your bathing suit

-Flatten your abs

-Tone your legs

We’ll run five 4-week camps throughout the summer and into September (we keep going until it gets too dark to work out at the park!).  Class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 pm.

If you’re looking to accelerate your weight loss results and ditch your boring gym routine that isn’t getting you the results you want—join the fun of “Muscle it out at Morley”!

 

See you at the park,

 

Becky

Press Release: Summer boot camp returns to Campbell

Can you get fit with Wii????

Jul 23, 2008

A customer in one of my boot camps mentioned being a little sore from playing Wii the day before.  I don’t know much about the Wii (don’t own one), but it got me to thinking—is it a really a workout?  And what do you do with Wii Fit any way? Well, low and behold, lookie what came into my email inbox today from another alert trainer.


http://view.break.com/541145 – Watch more free videos

Now, are you gonna trust a highly educated fitness pro with 20+ years experience in the field, or Nintendo with your health and fitness? I’m not sure “stepping on the little white thing” is a workout—-unless all you do is sit on the couch the rest of the day. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for blowing off some steam and having some fun. Recreation is great. Let’s just not get all crazy and call it a workout, okay???

If you live in or near San Jose or Campbell, I guarantee you’ll get into better shape participating in my boot camps or with one-on-one personal training.

Got Wii Fit experience? Let’s hear about it.

Yours in health,

Becky

A killer cardio-interval workout!

Jun 19, 2008

Whew!  Just got finished with a great cardio interval workout.  For those of you who think you don’t have time, please read on.  I’m crunched for time today, but I really wanted to get in some kind of cardio. Here’s what I did:

Five minute warm up at an easy pace on my stationary bike
2 minutes jump rope at a moderate intensity
40 seconds of burpees**, followed by 20 seconds of recovery
2 minutes jump rope at a moderate intensity
40 seconds of a FAST lateral shuffle, followed by 20 seconds of recovery
2 minutes of jump rope at a moderate intensity
40 seconds of “quick feet” ***, followed by 20 seconds of recovery
1 minute of HARD jump rope (I basically do a high knee run while jumping)
That’s it!  I was having SO much fun (okay, so I’m a little weird), that I actually repeated the cycle twice through for a total workout time of 20 minutes (not including warm up and cool down).
Try this for a quick, intense work out this weekend!  Please remember to cool down and stretch after your workout, and pay special attention to your Achille’s tendons and calves, as the jumping and shuffling works them pretty hard.
P.S.  My bootcampers know what all these exercises are, but I’ll describe a couple below.  
**Burpees:  Squat down with hands touching the ground outside of your feet, thrust your legs out behind you (into a push up position), jump your feet back to the squatting position, and then stand up.  For added fun :-), add a jump as you come up from the squat.
***Quick Feet:  Think of a kid doing a foot work drill with a soccer ball: Tap one foot, then the other on the ball, going as fast as you can.  I use my back porch step instead of a ball.
Have a great day!
Becky

Summer is officially here!

Jun 14, 2008

My son graduated from 8th grade yesterday.  My daughter finished her sophomore year of high school two days ago.  It’s HOT outside.  Summer is officially here!

For some of us, summer really changes our routine.  For others, it’s business as usual. In either case, we still need to get our workouts in–we just might need to tweak the routine a little to fit our schedule.  I’ve got the perfect solution for busy moms, business travelers and vacationers…….the high intensity interval workout.
So many folks think that if they don’t have 60 minutes, they can’t get a decent workout in.  WRONG.  You can.
Below you’ll find a brief workout you can do on vacation, at home, or in the back yard that needs no special exercise equipment (except a good pair of sneakers).
Warm up by jogging in place a little or going up and down a flight of stairs a few times if you’ve got stairs near your workout spot.
-Jumping jacks:   1 minute
-Push ups: 40 sec.  followed by 20 seconds of recovery
-Side shuffle (back and forth, 3 steps left 3 steps right): 1 minute
-Body weight squats:  40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of recovery
-Jumping jacks:  1 minute
-Dips off a bench, chair or coffee table:  40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of recovery
-Side shuffle:  1 minute
-Walking lunges:  40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of rest
There.  That’s it.  Eight minutes out of  your day (plus a little warm up and cool down time).  If you’ve got more time, go through this workout for 2 or 3 rounds.  I guarantee it will get your heart rate up.  It will burn calories.  It will continue to burn calories for you after the workout is over.  
Please, no more “no time” or “no place to work out” excuses.
Your workout doesn’t have to take up your summer vacation.  
When you’re crunched for time, do intense stuff in short spurts.
What do YOU do to stay in shape when you’re on vacation, entertaining your kids all summer or traveling for business??  
Please post a reply and share how you make summer fitness happen.
Enjoy your summer and please don’t forget the sunscreen!
Becky