Author: Becky

A super fast strength training routine

May 08, 2009

Before I tell you about my latest super-fast strength training routine, I want to give a warm welcome to all my “newbie” campers!

Almaden bootcamp:  Welcome to Kristi, Janti and William.  Even though you were sore from workouts earlier in the week, you guys did an excellent job on the obstacle course today!

Campbell boot camp:  Welcome to Lisa, Noelle and Renu.  You guys are hard workers and it’s great to see you blending right in with the “veterans”.

Willow Glen “FitCamp for Women over 40”: Welcome to Angela, Shadie and Gloria.  Woo Hoo!  You ladies rock!  I saw some serious effort during your interval training segments this week.  Well done!.

A number of you “newbies” have approached me to talk about your fat loss goals.  I can tell you’re really motivated.  I suspect that we’re going to see some serious fat loss happening this month!

Speaking of fat loss…………strength training is key to revving your metabolism and helping you burn calories all day long.  So, I’ll share with you below the workout I did the other day at my gym.  If you have dumbbells at home, you can do this workout at home.  It took me 22 minutes, and I worked all my major muscle groups.

I did three sets of each superset with no rest in between the exercises.  When I had completed three sets of a particular superset, I rested for one minute before beginning the next superset. 

I did 12 repetitions per set unless otherwise noted.  I used dumbbells that fatigued me by the last few repetitions of the set.

 

A1:  Push ups (15 reps)

A2:  Dumbbell squats


B1:  Assisted pull ups (if you’re at home, substitute dumbbell bent over rows)

B2:  Dips


C1:  Step ups with dumbbells

C2:  Dumbbell shoulder press 

 

Doing a “superset” routine is a great way to get a strength workout completed without being in the gym forever.  If you need to get another strength training session in this weekend, give this one a try!

 

Committed to your success,

 

Becky

A Workout to Blast Your Belly Fat

Apr 24, 2009

Of course, there is no way to spot reduce our body fat, but as I mentioned in a post a few days ago, high intensity exercise does seem to favor fat mobilization from the abdominal area.

So, just in case you all in my San Jose Boot Camp (Almaden/Cambrian) or Jackie’s Los Gatos Boot Camp didn’t make it to class this week (yeah, you know who you are!!!), I’ve written up a “no equipment needed” workout for you.  Bonus points to the folks who attended all their classes this week and STILL do the workout.  Chime in here by leaving a comment if you complete your workout this weekend.

“Fit and Fabulous” ladies from my Willow Glen boot camp for Baby Boomers: You’ve got some homework in the form of your take-home lesson from Thursdays class, “Home Circuit #4”, but you can add the workout below into your weekend plan if you’d like.  Modify some of the movements if you need to.

Please remember to have a good, full body warm up before you start, and allow time to cool down, drink water and stretch after working out.

On your 1 minute cardio segments, attempt to exercise at an intensity of  “8” or “9” on our scale of 1-10.

Here is your workout:

Step ups on a bench or porch step- 1 minute

Push ups- 15 repetitions

Jumping Jacks- 1 minute

Dips- 15 repetitions

High knees (or jog) in place- 1 min

Walking lunges- 15 out, 15 back

Rest 1 minute

Repeat  circuit 1-2 more times for a quick but effective high intensity workout!

Current campers, don’t forget that you can grab your early bird discount up until Monday, April 27th for the Almaden camp, and Tuesday, April 28th for the Los Gatos and Willow Glen camps.   

Registration remains open at the regular price for new and returning boot campers through Thursday, April 30th.

Log on now to secure your spot!  www.lifesportbootcamp.com

BTW:   Jackie is out of town next week, so “yours truly” will be your instructor at our Los Gatos location next week :-).  Be there!

Have a great weekend!

Becky

SAVE MONEY on Quality Nutrition Products (and chocolate!!)

Apr 21, 2009

I’ve got big, big news for you. My friends at Prograde Nutrition are having a birthday sale to celebrate their company turning two years old. 

I’ll get to the details in a second. But first, I wanted to tell you that Prograde is a company that I place my complete trust in. I know the people that run the company. And I know how good the products are. I use them myself. They are accredited by the Better Business Bureau and they are a McAfee secure website. 

Bottom line: Prograde does business the right way. They create quality, evidence-based products and leave the smarmy, useless stuff to other companies.

So if you’ve been thinking about trying any – or all – of their killer products, now is the time.

Here’s what you need to know about their Second Birthday Sale:

– You save 10.2% off ALL of their products. They’re all on sale this week.

– The sale ends this Friday, April 24th at 11:59pm EST. 

– Just enter the coupon code below during checkout on their site:

xxtwozz

(yes, the letters are all lower case)

 – If you purchase any of their Combo Packs or Smart Ship options the coupon code only applies to the FIRST purchase. 

– The coupon can’t be combined with any other Prograde offers.

– Prograde Nutrition products cannot be found in stores anywhere. Only online here: http://lifesport.getprograde.com

Again, I cannot recommend Prograde enough. Their products are top-notch and they only create research based products backed by science.  Oh, and they make my favorite healthy snack bar, “Cravers” (complete with 3 grams of fiber and only 180 calories!).

Yours in health,

Becky

PS – Remember, the sale only runs through this Friday. So get on over to http://lifesport.getprograde.com and load up on powerful Prograde products now and save 10.2%

High intensity exercise is best for losing belly fat

Apr 19, 2009

Yes, my boot campers hear this from me all the time. But, hey, don’t just take it from me!  

A recent study published by the University of Virginia confirms that, although ANY type of exercise is beneficial to our health, high-intensity exercise is necessary to achieve significant body fat loss.

The study involved 27 middle-aged obese women randomized into one of 3 groups:  One group didn’t do any exercise, one group performed low-intensity exercise 5 days per week, and one group performed low intensity exercise 2 days a week and high-intensity exercise 3 days a week .  The study didn’t involve any type of dietary intervention.  

The high-intensity group reduced total abdominal fat, subcutaneous (under the skin) abdominal fat and visceral fat (fat surrounding internal abdominal organs) more than low intensity group–and of course way more than the control group who did not exercise.

Aside from the aesthetic benefits of narrowing our waistlines, there are serious health benefits to be had here!  “For obese women entering the middle and later stages of life, reducing internal abdominal fat or preventing too much of it forming is crucial”, says Dr. Arthur Weltman, the lead scientist in the study.  Excessive amounts of abdominal fat are associated with the development of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

This was a small study done only on women, but it’s not the first of it’s kind.  Other researchers have found similar results in both male and female populations.  And, a big gut is just as dangerous for the guys as it is for gals.

Now, if you’re new to exercise you must work up to higher intensities.  Starting out too hard too soon can bring a well-intentioned exercise program to a screeching halt!  Build up slowly and consistently to higher intensity exercise. One way to do this is through interval training which employs short bouts of hard exercise followed by recovery exercise.

The moral of today’s story:  If you want to lose belly fat, increase your exercise intensity instead of adding more crunches to your workout!

Make it a great day,

Becky

In case you want to read the study yourself:

Effect of Exercise Training Intensity on Abdominal Visceral Fat and Body Composition.

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 40(11):1863-1872, November 2008.

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

Weight loss plateau–Solution #2

Mar 29, 2009

Next to knowing exactly what it is you’re putting in your mouth when you’re trying to lose weight, another key factor in busting through a weight loss plateau is:

Meal planning

Now, I know you’re probably rolling your eyes thinking this is worthless and tedious–especially if you’re single. Why would you want to plan meals if you’re single and you’re not prepping food or meals for a family?  Or, perhaps you “don’t cook”, so why in the world would you want to plan meals??

Simply put, if you’re struggling to lose weight, you need to get a better handle on your food intake. One way to do this is to have better stuff on hand, and, if you do prepare meals at home, plan them ahead of time.

I remind participants in my boot camps in San Jose and Los Gatos all the time that good workouts are important for weight loss and lifetime weight maintenance.  However, exercise for weight loss needs to be backed up by good nutrition.  I see great exercise habits developing in my boot campers, but a lack of supportive eating can slow down their results.

Let’s broaden our definition of “meal planning” for a moment, and consider Solution #2 as “food planning” or “pantry stocking”.  

That’s what I mean by planning.  I don’t care if you don’t cook, or if you’re single, or a single parent with octuplets for that matter.  You need to have good, healthy food on hand if you want to lose weight.  Otherwise, when you’re hungry and on the go, you’ll grab less than nutritious options.

Here are some ideas on how  you can plan your way into busting through a weight loss plateau-

-Pick one day during the week where you can sit down for a few minutes and plan out what you need to buy to stock your kitchen w/good food and then shop for the food.

-If you eat at home, plan out a few meals ahead of time. Build your meals around these items:  Lean protein, produce (fruits and veggies) and a little healthy fat (olive oil, nuts, nut butters).  

-If you’re busy and on the run a lot, buy healthy convenience items like salad in a bag, pre-cut veggies in bags, frozen veggies, string cheese, rotisserie chicken, and pre-seasoned pork tenderloin (check sodium content on pre-seasoned proteins, though!).  

-Buy healthy, non perishable snacks for your office and car.

Having good stuff within reach at all times so that  you don’t grab junk takes just a little forethought and planning.  It’s not rocket science.  It works for busy parents with families, single folks, and folks who are on the road a lot.

If you’re struggling with a weight loss plateau and you’re not eating as well as you could, give weight loss plateau Solution #2 a try.

You’ve got nothing to lose, except maybe a few pounds.

Committed to your success,

 

Becky

Weight loss plateau–Solution #1

Mar 20, 2009

Over the years that I’ve done personal training and boot camps in San Jose, I’ve seen a lot of well intentioned people get really frustrated that they’re “doing all that they can” to lose weight and the scale still won’t budge.  

My experience has been that a lot of my customers get the exercise part down pretty well (could be because when I show up, they have to work out!).  It’s the food part that holds them back from shedding body fat.

There are a number of reasons why weight loss doesn’t happen when we think we’re doing everything right. Over the next few weeks, I’ll give you a few solutions to help you bust through your weight loss plateau.

Solution #1:  Measure your food

Please don’t shoot the messenger, but if you’re hanging on to extra weight, one of the reasons may be that you’re still eating too much. I was reminded of this today as I looked over a new client’s food journal. Although she was making some decent food choices most days of the week, she really had no idea how many servings of food she was eating.  Big mistake.  

We can’t simply pour high fiber cereal into our bowl and call it a “serving”.  It might be 3/4 of a cup.  It might be 2 cups.  Depends on your bowl, doesn’t it?  You’ve got to measure it.  Yes, I know.  What a pain in the butt.  Here’s the thing–you don’t have to measure every single time!  But, you’ve got to do it at least once so that you know how much 1 serving of a particular cereal looks like in your bowls.  Read the label for serving size and then measure it out and dump it in your bowl. You need to know what 8 oz. of non-fat milk looks like in your glasses.   You need to know what 4 oz. of chicken, fish or beef looks like on your plates.  Get the picture?  You need to be a label reader and a measurer.

My suggestion:  Get out your measuring cups and buy a food scale (I got a cool electronic scale at eBay for $20!).  Weigh and measure the foods you commonly eat at home.  You’re gonna be surprised.  As a rule, we eat portions that are WAY too big.

Does this sound tedious?  Well, yes, perhaps it is, but it’s not a forever thing. And here’s the bottom line:

Do you want to look and feel better?  If you do, measuring stuff for a few weeks is a small price to pay.

This solution alone could save you a few hundred calories a day!

The moral of this story:  If you’re trying to lose weight, know (really KNOW!) how much you’re eating.

I’ll be back next week with solution #2.

Committed to your success,

Becky

Pre-turkey day workout advice

Nov 22, 2008

The countdown to Turkey Day is on!  Remember as we talked about in boot camp–Thanksgiving is just ONE day.  Enjoy yourself.  Enjoy the festivities with your friends and family.  Eat some of the traditional Thanksgiving foods and don’t feel guilty about it.  It’s just ONE day.

Before I give you your boot camp homework, here are some healthy ideas for the Thanksgiving holiday:

• Make sure you don’t starve yourself before your meal (more likely you’ll overeat at dinner)
• Make a conscious effort to eat well in the days leading up to Thanksgiving (lean protein, LOTS of produce, and small amounts of healthy fats like almonds and other nuts)
• Plan (NOW!) for great workouts the day before and after Thanksgiving–and even on Thankgiving Day if you can.  Grab friends and family and make it a social time.
• When at your Thanksgiving meal, drink water before your meal. At the meal, eat what you want, but take smaller portions.  Drink water with your meal and take frequent sips.
• If you drink alcohol, have a glass of water in between each alcoholic beverage and limit yourself to two alcoholic drinks.
We’re off from boot camp the week of Thanksgiving, but if you make  an effort to exercise well, make good choices and have just a little restraint with portion sizes, you really can enjoy wonderful food, good times and treats you wouldn’t eat every day—and not have to pay dearly at the scale.
I wish you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving!
——————————
Now, on to the homework!
This workout is for Almaden boot campers and Los Gatos boot campers. For my ladies at the “Fit and Fabulous” FitCamp in Willow Glen, you’ve got your homework for the whole week on your handout!
I’ve got a very simple workout for you.  You can perform it by running, walking, or swimming, or on any exercise machine at the gym.  
Keep in mind that the cardio interval bursts are to be HARD.  If you’re talking and carrying on while you’re doing your cardio interval burst—you’re not working hard enough!  Talking and carrying on is best done during warm up or cool down :-).
0:00- 5:00 minutes:  Warm up by walking or doing our “active warm up” from boot camp.
5:00-8:00 minutes: Pick up the pace to a “7” on our scale of 1-10
8:00-8:30: Go HARD for just 30 seconds! (about a “9” on our scale)
8:30-9:00:  Drop down to “moderate” exertion (about a “7”)

Repeat this pattern of 30 seconds HARD, 30 seconds MODERATE for 5-9 more rounds, depending on your fitness level.

Cool down by walking around for about 3-5 minutes and finish with a great stretch!

Don’t forget my FREE Customer Appreciation workout on Saturday, November 29th! If you’ve already RSVP’d you’ll hear from me soon via email with details.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, email me ([email protected]) and I’ll fill you in!

Free fitness information!

Nov 19, 2008

Exciting news!  I’ve been asked to participate in the world’s largest fitness promotion called “The 12 Days of Fitness”. It’s a great FREE giveaway of tons of fitness information, videos and audios by nearly 250 of the top fitness pros around (yours truly included!).  

It’s organized by Dax Moy, a prominent fitness professional in London.  He asked me to join the promotion this year and create a special report for one of my specialty markets–boomer women.  Now, some of you reading this aren’t boomer women, I know–but there is SO much information coming in this promotion–you’ve GOT to read on…….
There will be information all ALL things fitness:  
-Weight loss workouts
-Athletic conditioning workouts
-Core conditioning workouts
-Back care workouts
-Nutrition reports
-Meal planning programs
And it’s all FREE!
All you have to do is go to: www.12daysoffitness.com and sign up to get your hands on this stuff.  The promotion begins December 10th and runs through December 22nd.  
During these dates, you’ll receive ONE email a day from Dax with a list of free items for the day.  You can download whatever interests you!
My report will feature weight loss tips for women over 45, bone building exercises and postural exercises.  
I know a few of the other fitness pros selected for this promotion–and they’re TOP NOTCH.  
You really owe it to yourself to get on this list and grab some free fitness info.
What a way to start 2009!