A very commonly asked question...

When is the best time to workout to burn the most calories?

Isn't it better to do cardio in the morning?

Don't be confused like the poor girl in the above picture. She just can't figure it out. She's like, "Should I go now, or will I burn more calories and lose more weight if I go later?"

This is a very common question and it has a simple answer...

There is no perfect time to exercise and burn a magical amount of extra calories.

When is the best time to workout?

WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO CONSISTENTLY DO IT!!!

I'll use myself as an example. I'm not a morning person. As much as I'd love to get up at 5 or 6 and workout everyday it just isn't going to happen. I've tried it and that warm bed just is more inviting. But get me to the gym around noon or my favorite is in the evening and I can work out for two hours easy. It just takes me a bit longer to get my blood flowing in the mornings so I've found it best to work out later in the day.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: work out at different times and see what works best for you. The biggest key is finding a time that you can stick with. I plan my workouts into the day as if it were an appointment or part of my work day so I just don't go home until I get it done. The second I get home and relax it's a lot harder to get back out and get to the gym.

There you have it! Now you have the magic answer...That there is no magic answer you just have to be CONSISTANT.

"I be up in the gym just working on my fitness"

Fergy, Britney, JT, Christina, 50 Cent, Black Eyed Peas, Timberland...These are just a few of my favorites that I listen too when I'm working out. Now I love me some great mellow music, but not when I'm working out. To be honest I've never been able to figure out why people go to the gym and read a book. Next time you're at the gym take a look at those people and you'll notice they usually aren't going at a very fast pace.

After doing a little research there are studies that prove my theory to be true. What you are doing while working out can actually enhace your performance. A recent study showed that music can enhance endurance by 15% and help you enjoy your workout more. Another study I found suggests that listening to music while exercising helped to increase scores on a verbal fluency test among cardiac rehabilitation patients. There are also several websites dedicated just to this topic of working out and music. A few of my favorites were the top ten health benefits of working out to music you can find here and another website that maps out the best songs and playlists that will increase your pace and thus your overall beats per minute. Have a favorite song? Go to this website and see if it's at a fast enough pace for you to be working out to.

Take home message: Working out has to be fun and adding music to your routine is one more way to motivate and encourage you to keep going. My rule of thumb is to mix up my play list and get new tunes when I start to feel sluggish in my workouts. It's amazing what a few new songs can do!!! Give this tip a try and I guarantee you'll be looking like Fergalicious in no time.

Traveling Tips...

Holidays are coming up and that means a lot of people are traveling on the road and spending extra time in the car. What's worse for your healthy lifestyle/diet than a road trip and sitting all day? Eating convenience food and fast food along the way. If you're lucky you'll get a Subway at your rest stop, but most of the time your left with either Burger King or even better Dairy Queen...(said with sarcasm in my voice.)

Don't play the game of "I had no other choices and I had to eat the junk food because that's all there is." Plan ahead!!! Bring snacks such as fresh fruit, string cheese, nuts, pretzels, granola bars, water, and gum. Rather than stopping at fast food places for lunch stop at a grocery store and get stuff to make sandwiches or something else that's light and easy to take on the road.

Also don't forget to get in your exercise along the way. Stop every couple of hours and stretch your legs, run around in a park or along the side of the road, and get your blood flowing by doing a few lunges, push ups, or even bring a jump rope. Plan extra time into your trip to stop and go on a hike or see a site along the way to get you outside and give your body a break from being cramped in a car all day.

Follow these tips and I guarantee you'll feel rejuvenated when you get to your destination instead of feeling like you've gained an extra five pounds.

Having a slump?

Sometimes this time of year, when it starts to get cold, it can become more of a challenge to get to the gym or get your daily workouts in. Something I like to do is try looking for a race or something new to do. There are so many things out there 5K's, 10K's, triathlons, splash and dashes, kickboxing, yoga, pilates, cycling, mommy and me classes, dance, etc.

The options are limitless. All it takes is the decision to get off your booty and do something. I find it helpful particularly this time of year to mix everything up a bit because it's so easy to get stuck in a rut and say, "I'll stay curled up in the sheets and do it tomorrow" or you end up skipping a day which turns into a week. Keep your workouts fun, exciting, and new and your mindset will follow.

Step out of your box, get off of your couch, and try something new and fun. That's an order!!!

Bored with the Treadmill?

Quick Fitness Tip: It's easy to get sick of doing the same thing at the gym. Try mixing it up. Switch machines. If you always use the elliptical go to the bike or stair stepper. Variety is the key and your muscles get used to doing the same thing so they're less likely to change. Who cares what you're doing as long as you get your heart rate up and you're moving.

Here's one of my favorite workouts to do on the treadmill if I don't feel like running on it. Try walking. I know it might sound pretty easy, but give this workout a go and you'll change your mind about that.

5 min-warmup 3.0 mph
5 min-3.5 mph/incline 1.o
5 min-4.0 mph/incline 2.5
10 min-3.5 mph/incline 3.5

Repeat 2 or 3 times and then cool down for 5 min at 3.0 mph. You'll be feeling it in your legs and heart for sure.

Interval Training

Quick Fitness Tip:
Mix up your normal cardio routine with interval training. I see people at the gym do the same thing everytime they come in. They hop on the treadmill, elliptical, or bike and just dilly dally along for 20-30 minutes leave and then wonder why they're not losing weight or seeing changes in their body. If you're just trying to maintain weight this might be fine, but most people are not so be effective with your workouts and your time.
Try adding intervals. Sprint as fast as you can for 1-2 minutes and then recover at a normal speed for 1-2 minutes. Keep repeating this for the rest of your cardio and I guarantee you will feel a major difference.
To see changes you have to push your body past it's comfort zone. It's hard to sprint for an extended period of time, but by switching back and forth between a sprint and recovery you will still reap the benefits from pushing your heart rate to the max. Try it next time you're at the gym and see for yourself.

DOMS

You might be asking yourself what's this?  DOMS=Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.  I like to call it DOBS=Delayed Onset BODY Soreness or when you feel like your muscles are so tight they are going to fall off.  

I recently ran a marathon and I had some extremely sore muscles for a good 2/3 days.  I was quickly reminding myself of all the helpful tips I've learned to relieve muscle soreness and to get back to normal.

First of all lets talk about why we get DOMS.  After putting the muscles through any type of stress (exercise, lifting weights, physical therapy, etc.) the body actually breaks the muscle down in order to build it up and make it stronger.  The torn muscle fibers then result in stiffness and pain that can come anywhere from 12-48 hours after.  

People get sore for different reasons.  A few examples of when you might get sore would be starting a new workout program, changing your workout routine, increasing intensity/duration of a program, or just switching to a different type of movement that your body isn't used to.

Ways to treat DOMS

-Rest/Ice/Compress/Elevate 

-Gentle massaging

-Ibuprofin (800 mg every 4 hrs) this doesn't help the muscles to actually recover it just helps to relieve some of the pain

-Warm baths (add 1-2 cups of Epsom salt in bath to help even more) 

-Gentle stretching/yoga if you feel up to it

-Keep moving.  light exercise or just walking.  If you completely stop activity your muscles will contract even more and it will feel like they're just getting worse

-Drink plenty of water to help with circulation

So there you have it.  A few of my tips that helped me get my legs back.  Hopefully this will help next time you feel like your 90 years old walking around with a cane.

Treadmill Desk-Primetime 20/20

Extreme weight gain calls for extreme fitness measures. According to the CDC in 2007 66.3% of people over the age of 20 are overweight (BMI 25-29.9) and 32% are obese (BMI 30 and above.) As a society we are eating too much and not getting enough activity. There are lots of things that can cause a person to gain weight, but I think a couple of the biggest things are desk jobs, fast food, cars, and not inconveniencing ourselves.
We've come from just about 100 years ago where we had to hunt our food, walk everywhere, and prepare our food/clothes/shelter from the ground, scratch, and whatever we were able to find. Verses today where everything is convenient and you can buy food cheap, quick, and lacking any type of nutrition.
Someone is definitely thinking outside the box with this treadmill desk. Do I think it will work? I don't think it will really take off, but I could be wrong and if it's making a difference and getting people moving I'm all for it.
This video was just one more reminder to me of the importance of keeping your body moving, trying to eat healthy, and take that extra walk around the neighborhood to avoid those extra pounds that tend to pile on when sitting in front of the computer or whatever else might be keeping you sedentary.

Food/Exercise Journal

I've recently recommitted myself to writing down my food and exercise logs in a journal. This is something I've been really good about doing the last 2 or so years of my life. I got a little off the bandwagon with the summer, but I've started it back up.
I like this idea for a couple of different reasons.
1. Accountability-It's like a little coach. Maybe I'm the only one, but I hate having to write down a junk food binge or not being able to jot down any type of activity for several days in a row. Even if I'm super busy I'll just get out and take a brisk walk so I can write something down for the day.
2. Recognize Habits/Trends-Getting everything on paper is a huge step to see what is going on. We like to make ourselves out to be perfect and oftentimes in our mind we think we're doing a lot. After a week of writing everything down you can look back and notice you might have a energy drop at 2 and you're always going for sugar or that if you don't get in a workout in the morning it doesn't happen. Just get in the habit of writing it down. Good or bad and then you can work on your weaknesses and recognize your strengths and build upon them.
3. It works-Of all of the clients I've trained the most successful were the ones who religiously kept a food/exercise log.
So what are you waiting for? Grab some notebook paper and start keeping a log of your food/exercise each day. Keep it simple and stick to it!!! I promise it will help you move forward in reaching your goal quicker than if you don't.

Exercise and Satiety

Do you ever feel more or less hungry after working out? For me it depends on what I'm doing. After running I'm never really hungry just thirsty, but after lifting weights or swimming I am ravenous. I headed to the research to see what I could find on this topic.

The verdict...It looks like the harder you work and the hotter your body gets the less you want to eat. For example if you go for a morning swim you will still feel ready for a big breakfast versus going for a morning run it's more likely that you're not going to be hungry at all. This difference is largely due to the cool water keeping your core body temperature low. Swimming is not the only exercise that seems to not decrease your appetite. If you go work out but you're not working very hard you're likely to not reap the benefits of a decreased appetite either.

Take home message...work out to help trick your stomach into feeling more full and also when working out you'll want to make healthier decisions with your diet so you don't ruin the extra calories that you just burned off.

(click here for more information on this topic. Also I got this post idea from one of my readers. Please feel free to keep throwing questions out there and I'll do my best to answer them!)

The Body of an Olympian

So I'm trying to figure out how do I sign up for a body as lean as Michael Phelps and Darra Torres. Obviously I need to get my butt back into the pool. I heard during the Olympics Michael say he eats close to 10,000 calories a day. This seems a little out of control to me, but at his height and considering the calorie burn he's producing (swimming 4-5 hours a day) it's necessary.

I looked up the average calories burned for a 155 lb person swimming laps for one hour and it was pretty impressive...

freestyle (vigorous) 704
freestyle (light/moderate) 563
butterfly 774
backstroke 563
breaststroke 704

What have I learned? I need to get swimming again and blast some serious calories. Not only is swimming a great calorie burn, but it's low impact and anyone can do it. If you've been struggling with getting bored at the gym and doing the same things head to the pool.

(And for those of you who say I can't swim very well...just grab a kick board and do that for 30 minutes. I guarantee you'll be feeling it by the time you're done!)

Great website...

I found a really fun website that I have to share with everyone. Make sure you check out the 30 second commercials about health listed on the top right of the home page.
Educating and teaching about the importance of health is so important. (It's one of the reasons why I have my blog...to share some of the things I've learned and continue learning.) What a great tool this is to get people moving and make fitness fun!
I hope you take a few minutes and check it out:
intermountainlive link

Tired of normal exercise routines?

Make it fun again and get Wii Fit. Nintendo released their new balance board and Wii Fit game at the end of May and I finally got one. It is so much fun. I have had it for two days and I can't get enough of it. What a great way to get people moving and to do so in the privacy of their own home. I really love the Wii in general because the games are interactive and it makes you use your whole body, but Wii Fit takes this to the next level. You can do all sorts of things on this board such as lunges, pushups, downward dog, skiing, planks, single leg extensions, the list just keeps going. The game has 4 divisions of training: strength, balance, yoga, and aerobic. You can mix and match to your desire. It also has a scale built into it so you can do daily weigh ins and it tracks your progress with your BMI, weight, Wii Age, balance scores, and a few other fun things.
I really think that everyone should have a Wii and the Wii Fit game in their home and what fun it can be for everyone in the family to do together. (Another reason I really like the Wii/Wii Fit is because it's user friendly and people of all ages can use it from little kids to grandparents.) It makes getting the body moving exciting and new by making it into a game.

Cost of a Nintendo Wii-$249.
Cost of the Wii Fit game which comes with the new balance board-$90.
Cost of 10 extra years at the end of your life from exercising everyday-PRICELESS!

Step outside of your comfort zone!

I've had quite a few posts lately about nutrition and food so I thought I'd add one in about exercise. My philosophy on exercise is doing something you like and make it fun. I'm all about the lifelong fitness. If you do something you hate eventually you'll burn out and stop doing it. I for example hate the elliptical machine for some reason. I've tried doing it several times but I usually stop after about 5 minutes. I love running, but after running a marathon last year I've had to find ways to trick myself into doing it. Right now I'm really liking just taking long walks with Gunner and hiking when I can.

So here are a list of ideas to mix up the routine:

• go swimming
• play frisbee
• sign up for 5K
• if your feeling like a challenge go for a triathlon
• sign up for yoga classes
• go to a cycling or kickboxing class
• get some videos...Billy Blanks anyone? (Taebo creator for those who don't know)
• switch your workouts to morning instead of evening or vice versa to mix it up
• get out in the yard and garden, mow the yard, or plant some flowers
• add some intervals into your workout
• play with the kids
• go to the park
• plan a sports date night

Also remember that it's good to mix up your routine and make the body have to use different muscles. Hope this gave you some ideas of ways to make exercise fun and keep you moving. Let me know what things you end up venturing into too. I'd love to share with the other bloggers out there.

Why lift weights?

I get asked this question a lot. And there is a misconception that lifting weights is only for men. Everyone (men, women, young, and old) can benefit from a weight training program. Especially if you want to lose fat and change your body one of the most important things you can do is lift weights. Diet and cardio are equally important, but when it comes to changing how your body looks, weight training wins hands down. If you've hesitated to start a strength training program, it may motivate you to know that lifting weights can:

• Help raise your metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn all day long.
• Strengthen bones, especially important for women in preventing osteoporosis
  
• Make you stronger and increase muscular endurance
• Help you avoid injuries
• Increase your confidence and self-esteem
• Improve coordination and balance

There are all sorts of programs, machines, and routines so just start doing something. Ideally at least twice a week. If you don't have a gym membership you are not out of luck. Some of the best exercises you can do are push ups, sit ups, lunges, and squats.