Holiday Fitness Challenge

Below are the instructions for the daily fitness challenge for Monday, November 29:

 Perform 2 sets, 12 reps of the Sit and Stand exercise. Perform this exercise in the morning and repeat in the afternoon while you are at work.


Start in a standing position with a chair behind you. Squat down (shoulders,hips, knees and toes facing forward) and allow your glutes to barely touch the chair, stand up and repeat.  After doing this 12x rest for 30 seconds and repeat.  Perform another 2 sets in the afternoon to receive your 50 points.

E-mail me at tptraining@att.net to let me know when you have completed this task.

Get up, Get Moving, Get Healthy!

Fun Running Videos

 

Holiday Fitness Challenge 2010

Holiday Fitness Challenge

November 24 – January 1

Rules of the Game:

1. The goal of this fitness challenge is to be the person on January 1 with the highest number of points.  Points are earned through workouts and various nutritional challenges.

2. You will perform fitness testing (during the first and last week of the contest) as described in the November issue of Women’s Health magazine-How Fit Are You Really?

3. In addition to the fitness test you will report a starting and ending weight (which should be the same if not less). You will self report those results to me through e-mail.

4. You will receive 25 points for each 30 minute workout (Cardio, Weights, Yoga, Pilates . . .) that you do.  All Workouts should be reported to me by Saturday night 12am.

5. You will receive 100 points for each bonus activity.  There is at least one bonus activity per week. You will receive the details on Bonus workout by e-mail. Bonus workouts are reported on the day they take place. 

6. Each week is defined as Sunday through Saturday except for the first week which is Wednesday -Saturday.

¨  Week One:     November 24 – 27

¨  Week Two:    November 28 – December 4

¨  Week Three:  December 5 – 11

¨  Week Four:    December 12 – 18

¨  Week Five:     December 19 – 25

¨  Week Six:      December 26 – January 1

7. In addition to the weekly bonus, daily challenges will be available through e-mail and my Twitter account-@247Runner  if you have unlimited text or data packages having the tweets sent to your phone will give you the best results as some of the challenges will be time sensitive.  These workouts are reported on the day they take place.

8. The best workouts of all are the Last Chance Workouts where you will push yourself to workout at levels never before thought possible.  The last chance workouts will be centered around time on a cardio machine, calories expended or weight lifted.  Each last chance workout is worth 250 points per week.  These workouts are reported on the day they take place.

And as you would expect I can modify the rules at any time to make this challenge more difficult if I feel it will enhance your fitness level.

E-mail me to receive information on the fitness assessments

 

All questions should be directed to me at

 tptraining@att.net

Twitter:  @247Runner

The Weekend Splurge

 Most people think that since they have eaten a clean diet or been good all week they can splurge on the weekends.  Let’s take a look at the havoc this can place on your health and fitness.

If you manage to create a deficit of 500 calories a day through exercise and a reduced intake of calories Monday through Friday you are well on your way to losing a pound for that week(7 days, a 500 calorie a day deficit would equal 3500 calorie deficit which is the number of calories in a pound).  The problem is that most people choose to eat more on the weekends as a reward for their good behavior during the week. The extra calories that come with a night out with friends (average cost of appetizer and drinks around 1000 calories), movies with the spouse (average cost of popcorn and pop, 750 clories) or the after church dinner(if you include dessert the sky is the limit) can destroy the calorie deficit that you created earlier in the week.

  It is acceptable to have a cheat or splurge day to keep cravings in check, but you must splurge the smart way. First, it should be a cheat meal not a cheat day which could turn into a cheat week or month!   The other meals of the day should be on target with regards to nutrient content.

Second this meal should be a special meal that you plan and not where you eat everything out of the refrigerator or off the menu of your favorite restaurant. Planning your cheat meal will help to eliminate the potential gorging that could take place.

Third you should plan to get in an additional cardio workout to help counteract the intake of extra calories.
Cheat meals are not for you if they trigger you to eat more of the not so healthy or empty calorie foods on a daily basis.  If you constantly crave certain foods then maybe your eating patterns are too strict or not balanced to begin with.

My suggestion is to be aware of the calorie, fat and sodium content of your foods especially on the weekend splurge meals so that you don't  screw up everything that you have worked so hard for during the week. 

Hmmm, after analyzing the calorie and fat content of the Like It Founders Favorite Ice Cream Sundae from Cold Stone I better find a replacement if I want to reach my goals by january.  Check out calorieking.com for an extensive lists of foods with the calorie and fat content of your favorite foods.


Stop thinking about it, Get Up, Get Moving and Get Healthy!

Interval Workouts

Interval workouts are a way to increase intensity without over training.  This type of workout burns a significant amount of fat and calories. In today's Cardio Sculpt class(Cleveland State Recreation Center) we performed 30 seconds of high intensity strength training with 30 seconds of medium intensity cardiovascular exercise.  This type of workout can be done on your own by alternating squats, lunges, dead-lifts and push-ups with with walking, jump-rope and jumping jacks.  We used a 1:1 ratio of work(strength training) to rest (cardio) but you may perform the rest exercise longer in order to fully recover.  

Another option for interval workouts is to alternate higher intensity cardiovascular exercise(sprints) with lower intensity cardiovascular exercises(slower paced running).  The option you choose should depend on your fitness goals and overall fitness level. A warm-up and cool down is essential to interval workouts.

Stop thinking about it,  just Get up, Get Moving and Get Healthy