Cool Summer Workout to get you Hot!

Hi Internets!

One of my clients from my Friday morning class suggested I put the workout we did this morning online, and I think it is a fantastic idea! This workout can be done with only two 5-15lbs dumbbells and is definitely a heart pumping, legs shaking good time!

The layout of the circuit is as follows

• 1 minute long for each exercise
• Cardio drill coupled with a resistance drill
• Start with 2 exercises for round 1, add 2 more for a total of 4 for round 2, add 2 more for a total of 6 exercises for round 3 and so on.
• Today we went up to 8 exercises (4 rounds) then worked our way back down starting with the last 2 exercises (see below for more detail)
• Take breaks in between rounds (or when needed haha)

For my trainer friends: This really can be done up to as many exercises as you want in a row (e.g., 12 exercises would be 6 rounds). If you're wondering how long this will take, we did 4 rounds up and 3 rounds down and it took us 45 minutes-ish this morning.


Alrighty, now that you are completely confused, here's the workout (it'll make more sense in a second).

* Indicates no equipment other than dumbbells.

To view each exercise, click on it.. (note: I could not find some exercises online so I'm gonna take video clips of myself this weekend for yall)

Round 1: 2 Exercises, 1 minute each 

1. Lateral Bosu Run  (28 sec into video) OR Speed Skaters*
2. Lateral Step Squat to 1 Legged Shoulder Press (Alternating Sides)*

Round 2: 4 Exercises, 1 minute each

1.  Lateral Bosu Run OR Ski Jump*
2. Lateral Step Squat to 1 Legged Shoulder Press  (Alternating Sides)*
3. Mountain Climbers* (try and make sure your back is straighter than the guy in the video, e.g., hip down)
4. Lean Lunge to Front Raise (Alternating Sides)*

Round 3: 6 Exercises, 1 minute each

1.  Lateral Bosu Run OR Ski Jump*
2. Lateral Step Squat to 1 Legged Shoulder Press (Alternating Sides)*
3. Mountain Climbers*
4. Lean Lunge to Front Raise (Alternating Sides)* 
5. Bosu Toe Taps OR Stair/Box Taps*
6. Straight Leg Deadlift--> Bicep Curl --> Shoulder Press Combination* (note: the clip is using a barbell, you can also do this with dumbbells)

 Round 4: 8 Exercises, 1 minute each

1. Lateral Bosu Run OR Ski Jump*
2. Lateral Step Squat to 1 Legged Shoulder Press (Alternating Sides)*
3. Mountain Climbers*
4. Lean Lunge to Front Raise (Alternating Sides)* 
5. Bosu Toe Taps OR Stair/Box Taps*
6. Straight Leg Deadlift--> Bicep Curl --> Shoulder Press Combination* 
7. Dumbbell Swings*
8. Step Back Back Row--> 1 Leg Chest Fly* (Alternating Sides)

 Rest: 2-3 minutes (to make the above circuit easier take a 1-2 minute break in between rounds)

Round 5: 8 Exercises, 1 minute each

1.  Dumbbell Swings
2. Step Back Back Row--> 1 Leg Chest Fly* (Alternating Sides) 
3. Bosu Toe Taps OR Stair/Box Taps*
4. Straight Leg Deadlift--> Bicep Curl --> Shoulder Press Combination*
5. Mountain Climbers*
6. Lean Lunge to Front Raise (Alternating Sides)*
7. Lateral Bosu Run OR Ski Jump*
8. Lateral Step Squat to 1 Legged Shoulder Press (Alternating Sides)*

For Rounds 6, 7, and 8 continue to remove 2 exercises until you are left with exercise 7 and 8.


So there you have it! Fun eh! For my followers who I'm not currently training I would love some feedback on this workout.

Stay Strong!

~Byn 

Nutritional Tips: Drinking Yourself Smaller!

Good Sunday to you Internets

            As I sit here eating lunch I thought an appropriate blog for this week would be on nutrition. As some of you know (if you don’t you know now), eating healthy is something I’ve always struggled with. Unless you are blessed by growing up in a home that understands proper nutrition, most of us are left fending for ourselves when it comes to what and when to put something in our mouths.

One of the major things I believe in as a fitness professional is adopting a lifestyle that a) you enjoy and b) is maintainable. This is true not only for fitness but also for nutrition. Furthermore, one part of consumption that I see people having the most trouble with is understanding how much liquids can affect their weight.

 That’s  why today I will give you 2 tips or changes you can make to your liquid diet (or what you drink) that can help you consume less calories/healthier options, which will benefit you in the long run.

Tip 1: Healthier Alcohol Consumption 

I know the words “health” and “alcohol” seems counter intuitive in the same sentence, but there are ways to adjust your alcohol consumption to become healthier or lose weight. Let’s face it, people drink, especially in the summer. Essentially, I’m talking to those people who acknowledge that drinking is part of their lifestyle.

Beer Drinkers:

If you are a beer drinker try a low calorie option like Michelob Ultra (95 calorie, 4%).  This may be tough to do at first (say if you’re a hard core Guinness drinker), but it will pay off in the long run if weight loss is a goal for you.

For example, say you have 4 beers with your friends. If you choose a low calorie option you’ll be consuming 380 calories versus 756 calories for a standard beer (I used Creemore for my calculations).

That’s a difference of 1 McDonalds cheese burger!

Spirit Drinkers:

            A lot of people don’t know that what you mix your drinks with can make a huge difference in your overall caloric intake.

For example, if you mix water with a “splash” of something for your vodka/whiskey rather than juice/pop you will consume a lot fewer calories over a night or week.

Say you have 4 vodka cranberries in an evening that equals 680 calories (source LiveStrong.com). If you drink your whiskey with coke that’s 780 calories!

If you substitute these drinks with vodka/whiskey water with a splash or cranberry, or even better with just a lemon and lime wedge you save a whopping 240 calories and 340 calories respectively!!!

To put that into perspective for you, say you choose to drink Vodka water every Saturday and you have 4 drinks in a Saturday, you’re saving almost 1000calories a month.

If you chose to ditch the pop for your whiskey coke, you’re saving even more at 1360 calories! That’s almost half a pound in pop a month for one night of drinking (1lbs= 3500 calories). 

 

Make smarted choices instead of dyning yourself the simple pleasures in life!

 

Tip # 2: Change your Non-Alcoholic Habits

            I’m not talking about drinking less with this tip. What I’m talking about is changing what and how you drinking during the day to day. This tip stems from tip 1, and can also impact the amount of calories you are consuming in the long run.

Juice

What I recommend when drinking juice is the following;

·         Only buy/drink juice from concentrate: To be honest internet, I’ve been had by juice industry until writing this blog! As you know, juice can either be concentrated or not. This will be indicated on the label. Up until now, I believed that juice is from concentrate has added sugar compared to juice not from concentrate (NFC). However, these be lies! Apparently, Tropicana created juice NFC in the 1960s to compete within the juice market (new=good?). What we don’t know is that juice not from concentrate is a) stored longer (up to a year before it’s sent to the stores ew), b) has less nutrients that non concentrated juice, c) is way more produced than non concentrated juice, and c) costs more! That being said, making your own juice is always the healthier option, but when buying juice, from concentrate is the way to go.

 

Don't be fooled by Tropicana's lies!

 

 

·         Dilute your juice with water: I know this sounds gross, but after you do it for awhile you will not be able to drink juice without water in it (I know this from experience). This will save you money, keep you hydrated, help your teeth, and you will consume up to 100 calories less per pint of orange juice! If you drink a pint of juice a day that’s 700 calories a week or a Big Mac.

Caffeine

Little changes to your caffeine consumption can also help with overall caloric consumption. I’m not going to get into a debate on whether caffeine is good or bad, because to be honest, I have seen valid arguments for both sides.

However, what you PUT in your caffeine can really make a difference. You can start small; say only adding 1 sugar instead of two or changing cream to milk. It may be hard at first but after awhile you will get used to it. Remember when you started drinking coffee and the first couple were gross, but you started to like it after awhile? Well, the same idea applies here.

Eventually, you can start replacing your triple triple with green tea, if you make small enough gradual changes. I do not recommend going from French vanilla every morning to black green tea on Monday because you’re “losing weight this time”. If you do this your body will suffer withdrawal from not getting its sugar fix and you will probably (in my experience, most definitely) relapse.

Here are some steps to follow if this is a sore spot in your diet.

1.      Reduce the sugar/cream in your caffeine for 1 week

2.      Remove the sugar OR cream in your caffeine for 1 week

3.      Continue step 2 for 1 more week

4.      Replace half of your normal caffeine with a herbal tea for one week

5.      Replace 75% of your normal caffeine with a herbal tea for one week, try and cut cream and sugar from normal caffeine completely.

6.      Try and only have your normal caffeine once a week. Herbal tea the rest of the week.

If you drink 2 large double/doubles per day on a regular work day you are consuming 1150calories in coffee per week or 4600calories per month. Changing to black coffee or herbal tea will save you almost all of those calories since they are 0-5cal for a large!

Remember, life is not a sprint race, its a marathon. The same goes for changes that you make in life. From my own personal experience, I’ve been working at eating healthier for 7 years now and I’m still learning and struggling.

As always, any questions/comments/concerns are always appreciated

Stay Strong

Byn

Exhaustion: Tips to Overcome not Feelin’ Being Physically Active

Good Wednesday to You Interwebs!

Since one of the top barriers to physical activity for adults is feeling “too tired”, this week I’m going to discuss mental and physical exhaustion and provide some tips to overcome these two workout barriers. 

Before I begin, I will quickly review the current adult recommendations for physical activity in Canada;

Cardiovascular Activity (Biking, running, fast walking):

·         At least 150minutes per week,

·         Bouts lasting more than 10 minutes

·         For Example:  5 30 minute bouts, or 2 1 hour bouts and 1 30 minute bout

Strength Activities (weight training, yoga):

·         2 or more days per week

* The guidelines recommend the more exercise the better! (Source: www.csep.ca)

So, if you are not currently meeting the recommendations then there are reasons you are not doing so. As I’ve already mentioned, one of the main reasons adults aren’t meeting the guidelines is because they are exhausted.

So what is exhaustion? Well it can be broken down into two types

1. Physical Exhaustion: 

This is less likely to explain why people do not want to begin engaging or increasing their physical activity level when sedentary. You may be saying though “Robyn, I work long hours and when I’m done, I’m just physically exhausted”. 

However, this is a common misinterpretation of what exhaustion you are actually feeling.  The reason for this misinterpretation is likely because the feeling of being tired or exhausted physically or mentally can be perceived similarly in the brain. This is compounded if the person is “out of shape” or sedentary because they may not remember or know what true physical exhaustion feels like.

Take the example above, Fred works a desk job from 8am-5pm every day. By the end of the day he feels too tired to go to the gym. He may feel lethargy that he interprets as “I just don’t have the physical energy to go to the gym, I’m physically exhausted”. What Fred is actually experiencing in mental exhaustion, which generally is much more likely to be a barrier to physical activity initiation. 

However, physical exhaustion does have its place within physical activity. Physical exhaustion generally occurs to those people who are too physically active.  As I mentioned above, the mental interpretation of this type of exhaustion is similar (and can overlap) mental exhaustion. However, the person must be engaging in large amounts physical activity to be physically exhausted (unless they have a health condition such as myalgia).

The remedy for physical exhaustion is simple: you need rest. 

However, for the purpose of initiating and maintaining physical activity overcoming mental exhaustion is much more important.

2. Mental Exhaustion

Mental exhaustion is essentially feelings of lethargy and tiredness which occur without engagement in physical activity. There are many causes of mental fatigue, some of which are easy to change (e.g., diet) but others are harder (e.g, work schedule).

Some common causes of mental fatigue that may inhibit you from being physically active are as follows 

·         Poor nutrition: High sugar, low protein, low water, high chemical diets

·         Lack of physical activity: Less than 150minutes a week

·         Lack of sleep: Less than 8 hours of deep sleep/night

·         Long periods of sedentary work: Desk work, standing in one spot for long periods of times

·         Stress

·         Biochemical issues: Depression

Ironically, as powerful as mental fatigue is to inhibiting someone from becoming physical active, it can also be a main cause of overcoming these undesirable symptoms. 

So, you’re mentally fatigued often, and you know it is preventing you from getting the amount of physical activity you should. Well I have some tips to help you overcome this common barrier.

Tip 1: Identify When You’re the Most Mentally Fatigued

I think a good first step in overcoming this barrier is to identify at what points during the day you feel the most fatigued. Is it early in the morning, is it at 2pm (after lunch) or is it around 4-5pm?

Identifying when you’re feeling exhausted can be a good indicator of why you’re experiencing these problems. For example, if you are tired in the morning, you are probably not getting enough quality sleep. If you are tired around 2pm, your diet is probably to blame.

Once you have identified when you are the most mentally fatigued you can prepare to combat against it. Some trainers will tell you that you should work out when you know you have the most energy. I disagree with this since people have lives, jobs, and responsibilities. 

However, I think this information is important for lifestyle changes and overcoming this barrier.  For instance, say you have access to a gym on your lunch and you know you become mentally fatigued around 2pm. Join a noon class and your energy will increase. Alternatively, say the only time you can work out is at night and you “hit the wall” around 5pm. You can acknowledge this an plan to overcome it.

2. Friends Always Beat Fatigue!

This is one powerful way to overcome the barrier of mental fatigue to stay physically active. Find a friend (preferably one who is already active) and let them know you want to start biking/climbing/swimming/working out with them. 

Also let them know that you want them to make sure you come by expecting you to be there and calling you out when you don’t. I find this works well for people who have tiring jobs and the only time they have to work out is in the evening. 

*Note: This usually does not work with spouses/partners. The reason for this is something called emotional reactance. Your spouse is too emotionally close to you, which causes encouragement to be viewed as nagging/criticism in the majority of people. I recommend finding a friend you know well, but not too well, to help you with this tip.

3. Recognize Your Internal Negotiator 

Another way to overcome mental fatigue involves stopping the internal negotiation you have with yourself regarding doing your physical activity of question when fatigued.

Take the following scenario. Brenda can only work out after work. However, about an hour before work is done she starts coming up with reasons of why she can’t go to her bootcamp class that day.

“I had a long day”, “I need to pick up food”, “I’m too tired”, “It’ll be ok if I just miss the class this one time”. Sound familiar? Read on...

Instead, Brenda can recognize this internal negotiation and stop it. If this is hard for you at first, come up with alternative negotiations such as...

“Well, I’ll go to this class just for today”

“I’ll drive to the gym and see how I feel”

“I’ll drive to the gym and go inside and see how I feel”

I often hear from people trying to overcome mental fatigue “You know, if I just get to the gym, I’m fine”.  Acknowledge this phenomenon and know that once you do some form of physical activity the better you’ll feel.

4. Just do 10 minutes

My final tip is to “do just 10 minutes”. This involves working with your internal negotiator. When tired, say to yourself “I will just do 10 minutes on the treadmill at the gym” or “I’ll just go for a 10 minute walk”.

Likely, once you’ve been moving for 10 minutes your mental fatigue will diminish and you’ll be able to do more.

So there you have it! I hope these tips can help you overcome those times you’re just not feelin’ the gym.

Stay Strong,

Byn