Workouts to Try Diet & Nutrition Fitness Tips Random Fun Stuff
Hi I'm Katie. This blog is a chronicle of my attempt at living a healthy life - I post my workout routines, the recipes I try and the health & fitness-related info I find useful. I am not a personal trainer or a nutritionist, so please take the info here as my personal suggestions only.
Living life theme: Freedom, Direction & Love. These are the things I want to always have. No matter what.
Contact me: trackmyfit@live.com
My other blogs: http://definitionofundateable.tumblr.com
& http://trackmyfashion.tumblr.com/
Week 1
4 days: 15-20 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio (walking, cycling, or using an elliptical machine). You should be breathing a little heavier but able to carry on a conversation.
3 or more days: Yoga (scroll down for yoga routine)
Week 2
4 days: 20-25 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio
3 or more days: Yoga
Week 3
4 days: 25-30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio
3 or more days: Yoga
Week 4
4 days: 30-35 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio
3 or more days: Yoga
Week 5
2 days: 35-40 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio
2 days: 30 minutes of interval cardio, alternating 30-60 seconds of high-intensity activity (going faster or increasing resistance or incline so it’s difficult to carry on a conversation) with 1- to 2-minute recovery bouts at a moderate intensity
3 or more days: Yoga
Week 6
2 days: 40-45 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio
3 days: 30 minutes of interval cardio
3 or more days: Yoga
After 6 weeks, you can maintain this level of activity if you’re satisfied with your results. To lose more weight or bust a plateau, continue to increase your moderate workouts up to 60 minutes total and the interval workouts up to 45 minutes total.
Yoga routine:
Hold each pose for 3 to 5 breaths, unless otherwise directed.
1. Warrior II
Stand tall with feet together. Take a large step to right. Bend right knee into a lunge, right knee over ankle and toes pointing to right; point left foot forward. Extend arms out to sides.
2. Side Reach
From Warrior II, rest right forearm on thigh and reach left arm overhead, lengthening spine.
3. Plank
From Side Reach, place hands on floor, one on either side of right foot. Move right foot back next to left one. Hands should be directly beneath shoulders; body in a straight line from head to heels.
4. Downward-facing Dog
From Plank, reach hips upward, bending body into an upside-down V. Press heels toward floor.
5. Cobra
From Downward-Facing Dog, bend knees and lower body to floor. With hands under shoulders, lift chest off floor. Keep shoulders down. Press palms, hips, and tops of feet into floor.
Repeat Moves 1 through 5:
From Cobra, press up onto knees, then feet. Roll up one vertebra at a time so head comes up last as you stand. Repeat series, lunging to left for Moves 1 and 2. Once you’ve completed all 5 moves, Finish with moves 6 and 7.
6. Tree Pose
Place left foot against right calf or inner thigh, not knee. Lift rib cage to elongate spine, and bring hands to prayer position. Hold, then repeat with opposite leg.
7. Goddess Pose
Lie with soles of feet together and as close to hips as comfortably possible, stretching inner thighs. If this is too intense, straighten legs. Breathe deeply in this pose for 2 to 5 minutes.
MONDAY CORE MURDER via Fit Villains
Modify if you need to (on knees or an incline).
- Mountain Climbers
- Burpees (step back or jump)
- Plank Hold
- Side Plank Hold (x2)
Do them back to back, then rest 1 min. Repeat 1-2 times. via @fitvillains on Facebook.
Beginners: 30 sec each
Intermediate: 45 sec each
Advanced: 60 sec each.
Need a break? Squat it out please!
(Source: facebook.com)
Quick Hydration test!
With your thumb, push into the inside of your shinbone. Aim for the side of the bone, about halfway up the leg.
Hold & press for 5 seconds. Leave an indent? You’re dehydrated: you need more water. Especially if the indent lasts more than a few moments. No indent? You’re ok!
Bad day workout :(
Warmup (20 of each):
- Jumping jacks
- Bird dog
- Windmills
- Slow mountain climbers
Circuit 1 x2: Women’s Health Stand Up For Flat Abs
- Dumbbell Side Bend
- Standing Core Stabilization
- Bow Extension
- Reverse Dumbbell Chop
Circuit 2 x2: Men’s Health Full Body Dumbbell Blast
For the first circuit, do 12 reps of each exercise. Then do 10 reps for the second.
- Single-leg deadlift (each side)
- Squat presses
- Bent-over rows
- Squat thrusts (no weight)
Have a craving for sweets even though you ate just an hour ago? Imagine sitting down to a large, sizzling steak instead. “If you’re truly hungry, the steak will sound good, and you should eat,” says Richard Feinman, Ph.D., a professor of biochemistry at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. “If it doesn’t sound good, your brain is playing tricks on you.”
His advice: Change your environment, which can be as easy as stretching at your desk or turning your attention to a different task.
What to keep and what to toss in the event of a power outage or other natural disaster.
My new ARMY workout
So I have a friend of a friend who is in Afghanistan with the ARMY, and while we were instant messaging one day he offered to develop a 3-day per week exercise plan that would help me lose a few pounds and tone up. On top of that, the routines would be less than 30 minutes each and would be easy on my back. We had differing ideas of what “intermediate” means, so I absolutely could not complete his workout “as is” but I’ll put my modified version after his.
Day 1 - Upper Body
Set one, alternate exercises - on week 2, add 5 reps; week 3 & 4, add 10 reps, week 6 & 7, add no reps.
- Push Ups (10/11/12/13/14/15/14/13/12/11/10)
- Overhead arm claps (OHAC) - This is like a jumping jack without the leg part. (30/40/50/60/70/80/70/60/50/40/30)
Set two, alternate exercises - add 1 rep per week.
- Shoulder Shrugs (15/14/13/12/11/10)
- Pullups - palms facing away (5/6/7/8/9/10)
Day 2 - Lower Body
Set one, alternate exercises - on week 2, add 5 reps; week 3 & 4, add 10 reps, week 6 & 7, add no reps.
- Prone Rows (30/40/50)
- Lunges (30/40/50)
Set two, alternate exercises - on week 2, add 5 reps; week 3 & 4, add 10 reps, week 6 & 7, add no reps.
- Steam Engines (60/70/80)
- Squats (60/70/80)
Day 3 - Abs
On week 2, add 30 seconds; week 3, add 10 seconds; other weeks, add no reps.
- Plank (1min/45sec/30sec/45sec/1min/final set 2.5min)
- Push Ups (2min/90sec/60sec/90sec/2min/final set til failure)
All of these exercises use only body weight and are very simple to do, but this is NOT an easy workout. I like how these 9 moves work my whole body. So, with that, here is the modified version I did:
Day 1 - Upper Body
- Push Ups (5/6/6/7/7/8/7/6/6/5/5)
- Overhead arm claps (OHAC) - This is like a jumping jack without the leg part. (15/20/35/30/35/40/35/30/25/20/15)
- Shoulder Shrugs (8/7/6/6/6/6)
- Pullups - with one foot on a chair (2/3/4/4/5/5)
Day 2 - Lower Body
- Prone Rows (20/20/21)
- Lunges - I didn’t have to reduce these! (30/40/50)
- Steam Engines (40/45/50)
- Squats (35/35/30)
Day 3 - Abs
- Plank (30sec/25sec/15sec/25min/40sec/45sec)
- Push Ups (30sec/25sec/15sec/25min/40sec/final set til failure)
It was really hard for me to increase the reps in later sets. I’m used to decreasing with each set, or at least staying the same. As you can see, I didn’t do very well on that. Next week, we’ll see if I can improve that. BTW, I’ve exercised every single day in some way or another since two Wednesday’s ago. :D
Think S.E.A.K. (From Womens Health Mag)
S - Stand straight (head over shoulders; shoulders over hips; hips over feet)
E - Eyes on the horizon (looking down encourages your shoulders to round and your chest to lean forward).
A - Abs tight (as if you were about to be punched in the gut, but without holding your breath; this helps stabilize your pelvis)
K - Knees over your second toe (women’s knees have a tendency to turn in because of the angle created by wider hips).
Food swaps to minimize bloat
Note: this is not meant to be a diet. It’s a list of things to avoid if, say, you have a night out in a sexy dress coming up and you want to look fantastic in it. The site recommends eating this way for 4 days beforehand. But as a general rule, I avoid sodas, most fried foods, sugar substitutes and chewing gum on a daily basis anyway.
- Reduce your salt intake: it causes you to retain water.
- Avoid carbonated beverages: those bubbles make your belly bloat up.
- Swap whole grain for refined grains & reduce the amount of breads/pastas/cereals you ingest: unless you work out vigorously, your body doesn’t need that kind of fuel and will turn it into fat.
- Cook your veggies: eating them raw takes up more space in your digestive track, making your belly look bigger.
- Skip spicy foods: they cause more stomach acid, which irritates stomach lining.
- Don’t chew gum: it makes you swallow air.
- Avoid fried foods: this one is just a no-brainer.
- Watch out for gas-causing foods: Legumes, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, onions, peppers and citrus fruits.
- Skip sugar substitutes: your body can’t digest them and they cause many types of GI irritations.
- Be careful of acidic drinks: Alcohol, coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and acidic fruit juices all irritate the GI and can cause bloat.
(Source: prevention.com)
Products I like:
Stuff I like by you:
-
-
Lesson Learned
When you tell the CrossFit coach that you’d rather do 25 burpees than 100 single...
-
-
In Case You Missed it, Obama is the funniest president. Ever.
HYSTERICAL.
I don’t care what side...
-
wink-peace-and-p0ut asked: what should I eat if i wanted to lose weight quick, i know i need to go to the gym and suff, but what foods?
The best way to lose weight PERIOD is to eat lots of veggies (cooked and raw in salads), a good...
-
"...Is that a hickey?"
Three times.
Three times someone has asked me if I have a hickey.
On the...