Working Through Injuries

There is nothing that will halt an exercise plan like an injury. Well-intentioned exercisers who meticulously schedule time to exercise can lose a lot of progress due to muscle strains or worse. While it is never a good idea to aggravate an injury, exercise is not out of the question and will actually be much more beneficial to your body than quitting all-together.
A few years ago, I was skiing with my brother and as we jumped down a chute, I felt my knee hyper-extend and I felt horrific pains shooting through my knee. I made it down the hill barely, but I knew I was done for the season. My soccer season was over as well. I hobbled around on crutches for a few weeks and running and even an elliptical machine was out of the question. I didn't want to lose all of my cardiovascular endurance, so I chose swimming as a viable option. At my local gym, I suited up and brushed off my less than stellar aquatic skills. While I wasn't the fastest or the most graceful person in the pool, I still accomplished my goal of keeping my exercise routine consistent, despite a potentially debilitating injury.
If you have an injury, especially in your lower body, survey your options and find a way to work in some type of exercise. Depending on your injury, a low-impact exercise is generally your best bet. Swimming, walking, or using an elliptical trainer are generally good options and if you are truly at a loss for what kind of exercise is safe to attempt while nursing an injury, consult a doctor or physical therapist. These professionals can give you some solid options that won't halt your good intentions.

Don't Make Health About Money

During these lean times in our economy, I am finding more and more people are saying they “don’t have time or money to get fit or eat healthy.” I’m going to be blunt and say, this is a lame excuse for being lazy. Being healthy doesn’t have to cost a lot of money; it is about making the right choices. If you replace all the processed junk from your grocery cart with fresh produce, you won’t have to up your grocery budget by much. If you have an hour to watch your favorite TV show, you have at least a half-hour to go for a walk or run.
For most people, getting fit means having to buy a gym membership, pay for an expensive trainer, buy top-of-the-line fitness equipment and throw hundreds of dollars at supplements and other “energy boosters.” I’m here to tell you that this doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, for some of that, you are simply wasting your money and not doing your body any favors. In my opinion, most supplements are crap. Eat real food! Your body will thank you.
Here are some ideas that don’t require a huge financial investment:

• Walking/Running: This is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise you can do – and it doesn’t cost a thing. Keep your heart-rate up and you’ll start to feel the benefits in no-time.
• Jump Rope: With an initial investment of about $10, you can burn calories like crazy. Jump-roping will increase your heart rate, give your legs a great workout and improve your coordination.
• Body-weight exercises: In my home-workout, I’ve included several exercises that you can do just using your own body weight. Exercises, such as squats, lunges, bench dips, etc. can really give your body a great resistance training session with a price tag of $0.
• Exercise DVDs: Most exercise DVDs range between $6 - $15. This is great for someone who would like a trainer to take charge and design a workout for them, or for someone who needs to freshen up their workout routine. All the choices can even be a bit overwhelming. I found a site called: http://www.exercisetv.tv/ that will give you previews on hundreds of different workout videos. You can even sort by the type of workout you are looking for. This is a great tool.
• Be conscious: As you go through your day, make a special effort to MOVE more. If you work at an office, take a break every hour to walk around a little and stretch your legs, do leg raises or calf raises under the desk, fidget, just keep moving. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away – you’ve heard all this before, but it really does help. If nothing else, it will get you in the mindset that your health matters and you are making an effort.

Being fit and healthy doesn’t have to cut into your hard-earned money. It is about making good choices and putting your health at the top of the priority list. In the long run, you’ll save hundreds and even thousands of dollars on healthcare and doctor’s visits if you will just take care of yourself. Not to mention, you’ll be able to enjoy a better quality of life and enjoy your family and friends for longer.

Pumping Iron

When beginning a resistance training program, it is easy to become overwhelmed with all the information floating out there about the "right way" to lift weights. Well, I'm happy to tell you that as long as you are doing it, lifting weights is going to benefit you -- provided that you have good form. It is smart to get help from someone who is highly knowledgeable in resistance training, like a personal trainer, if you have never lifted before. Even one or two sessions will really help.

However, if you have some experience with resistance training, I have some tips to help you depending on your specific goals. I've divided it up into three categories: 1) Building Muscle 2) Building Muscle and Endurance and 3) Muscle Endurance

Depending on what you are looking to accomplish, your repetitions and the amount of rest between sets makes a difference. Some like to do 12 reps of everything. That's fine, but that's not optimum if, for example, you're looking to mainly just put on a lot of muscle. Keep in mind your goals when you decide the weight and how many reps you want to do.

 

Goal #1: Build muscle

- Pick a weight that will only allow you to do 2-6 repetitions. Rest 2 to 5 minutes between doing another set.

Goal #2: Build muscle and endurance

-Choose a weight that will only allow you do 8-12 repetitions. Rest 90 seconds to 2 minutes between sets.

Goal #3: Muscle endurance

- Choose a weight that is a little lighter, that will allow you to do 15-20 repetitions. Be ready to do the next set within 30 seconds of the last one! There's not much rest allowed for this one.

When I talk about "choosing a weight", this might take a little experimentation to get it right. You may do your first set with the goal of 12 repetitions and finish them pretty easily. So for the next set, choose a bit heavier and try it again. The goal is to be really struggling with that last repetition, whether it is 6, 12 or 20. 

I always take a little notebook with me to the weight room and write down how much I lifted for each exercise. This saves time during the next workout because I have a pretty good idea of how much weight will get me to failure at the right repetition. Also, this allows me to see progress. 

The rest periods are important, but that doesn't mean you have to sit there for 2 to 6 minutes doing nothing. Move on to another exercise (that works another muscle group) and come back to the first exercise. The only one that doesn't really allow that is the straight muscle endurance group. You need to pretty much do your sets back to back. You don't have to do the exact same exercise back to back, but you need to work the same muscle group.

One last note: "Building Muscle" doesn't necessarily mean "bulking up". It can, if you are a guy and that is your goal, but 99.9% of girls will not get bulky from lifting heavy weights. Women just do not have the hormones (testosterone) to build that kind of muscle. So if you've been shying away from heavy lifting because you don't want to "get big". I urge you to add a little bit of heavy lifting into your regimen. Your body responds well to variety, so if all you do is light weight for 15-20 repetitions, your muscles will get used to it and the benefits will diminish. Add a few heavy lifting days in there once in a while to mix it up.

Good luck and if you have more questions, you can always e-mail me: fabulouslyfit@live.com

Don't Do It Alone

Losing weight or trying to become healthier can seem like a daunting task when it seems like every social event and every celebration is centered around the food. Holidays are just one big gorge-fest that last weeks sometimes and it can be really difficult to continually turn down your favorite treats time and again. So how do you keep those healthy aspirations intact?
FIND SUPPORT! You've probably heard this a million times, but it can be the most effective tool you have when you are trying to change your habits into healthier ones.

For most of my life, I was embarrassed to have anyone talking about my healthy eating habits. I didn't like people saying, "Oh, Emily won't eat that, she's a healthy eater," or "she's on a diet." It wasn't that I wouldn't eat it, I was choosing not to at that time. I've since gotten over my insecurities of having people notice my eating habits and have decided to look at it as a type of support system. My friends and family know that I like to eat healthy, non-processed food and because I've decided to be open about this, most of the time healthy food is available when it wouldn't have been otherwise. My friends think twice about adding extra butter or making ten varieties of dessert -- so really, I'm doing them a favor, right? ;) My point is, being upfront with your desire to eat a well-rounded diet with those closest to you will not only allow you to continue making better choices, but it can also help to influence those you love to make the better decisions as well.

For those who aren't surrounded with that type of support, there are other options. The internet is a fabulous tool for support. There are literally thousands of people on message boards across the world that are struggling with the same issues you are, or they have the same goals and you can tap into those support lines. I've read hundreds and hundreds of posts and some people's ideas for dealing with issues are GENIUS! You can join groups and track your progress, share ideas, bolster each other up during rough times and be a part of the journey of health. This can be done completely anonymously if you prefer, but in any case, you'll be able to have people there to cheer you on in even the smallest of accomplishment. The camaraderie that I've seen on some message boards has been astounding. 

There is support out there, you just have look for it. Don't be afraid to share something of yourself and put your struggles out there. We all have them, and I guarantee it'll be much easier to bust through those if you have a few cheerleaders in your corner.

Where do you go for support? Have you found it easier to let people know about your health goals?

Body Image

I found This Video on a fellow fitness blogger's site and thought I would share. For anyone who has ever struggled with body image or knows anyone who has, this a great video and website to visit.

What are your thoughts on this video and on body image in general?

Rest: It Does A Body Good

In my Home Workout that I outlined earlier, I mentioned at the end that you should NOT do the workout every day. I'd like to explain why this is important to take at least 48 hours rest between the same resistance training workouts. Without sounding too technical and boring, I'll briefly explain what happens inside your muscles when you lift weights. As you are lifting, your muscles are creating tiny micro-tears in your muscle fibers. As you finish your workout, your body gets to work right away to repair those micro-tears and make them even stronger. The body will reinforce those muscles and help your body get stronger. It takes time though. If you decide to work those same muscles out every day, those micro-tears will not have sufficient time to heal and you'll spend all your time breaking down your muscles, but not enough time building them back up.

This doesn't mean that you can't do resistance training two days in a row -- just make sure you are working different muscles. You can split it up any way you would like: Upper Body/Lower Body, Front/Back, etc. Find what you like best and keep it consistent.

Your body wants to build up those muscles (ladies, this does not mean "bulk up", it just means that your body is getting stronger), so let your wonderful body do its job. Rest between those resistance training workouts and make sure you are also giving it proper nutrition to fuel that recover period.

How do you like to break up your workouts? Do you do a full-body workout every few days, or do you like to break it up?