As many of you know my husband is away working in Indiana for the summer. We do not get to join him until my son gets out of school in May. So it's a nice 7 week stretch of single-momming it. We have survived 2 weeks so far, and the only reason we've survived is because I've learned some serious time management skills. Confession: I am very much addicted to exercise. I NEED MY ENDORPHIN FIX ON THE DAILY (or else I am a serious grump- my husband can attest to this). But now, with my husband gone I have some time and vehicle restrictions because my husband has my car out in IN. This means I have to work around my parents schedule when I need a car to get to the gym, or my son to school, ect. Yeah, that part blows. I got to thinking...I am sure I am not the only mother out there who struggles to find the time to exercise, period- let alone make it to the gym. I'm going to share my two ways of getting in that worth while workout with out getting in the way of my schedule...and really many of these tips are beneficial to those who do have the time. I firmly believe that if it's important to you, you will find a way...if it's not you'll find an excuse. My health and happiness is most definitely important to me so I have found a way. NO EXCUSES PEOPLE!!!!
First, I've been running outside more again since my husband left. I had picked up my strength training at the gym lately and toned down my long distance running just slightly since I have no big races coming up. But, I've really missed those longer runs. There are some serious benefits to running. The best one is it's free! Next, is you can do it any time of day- before or after work (or spouses work schedule), and there is no travel time involved unless there is a particular trail or course you want to hit up. A more physical benefit is that weight baring exercises- or exercises done on your feet (walking, running, elliptical, ect) BURN MORE CALORIES! And, out of all of those weight baring exercises, running burns the most calories in the shortest amount of time. I'm all about efficiency. And because I am still aiming to strength train and build muscle mass while decreasing body fat percentage I have been hitting those hills harder, and including sprint intervals into my runs. Important note with sprint intervals- the key is to pick up your pace for a designated amount of time depending on skill level, and then dropping it down and allowing your heart rate (HR) to RECOVER. If you are still panting and unable to talk relatively easily after 30s-1min recover time DON'T start again until can carry on a conversation. Start timing how long it takes for your HR to recover- and then watch that time improve the more you run. Short recovery time is a sign of a strong heart!
Some of you might be saying "but I'm not a runner"...NO EXCUSES PEOPLE! Even if you are not a runner you can totally walk it out (burst into song here). Remember from my first blog entry- I was never a runner either. I thought I didn't have the "build" to be a runner- my short stumpy legs were never going to carry me farther than 2 minutes down the road. I thought wrong. Start with a 10-20 minute brisk walk every day (if you have kids and have no one to watch them, bring them with) get that heart pumping regularly and then build up pace and endurance from there, and don't forget to add in some of those hills when you're ready. Another thing, don't think you can't incorporate sprint intervals. Just pick up the pace for 30 seconds at a time, then recover- it's all relative to your abilities. The couch to 5k apps work pretty well for a lot of people. JUST STAY CONSISTENT AND PLEASE DON'T QUIT!
Next, CIRCUIT TRAINING!!!!! My ABSOLUTE favorite style of training. I use this style of training with probably 90% of my clients (mind you 90% are weight loss clients). Why? Because it's affective. What is it? It is rotating through exercises using different muscle groups with minimal rest in between. HUH?! Here is a simple example:
20 squats (legs)
20 jumping jacks (cardio)
15 push ups (arms)
1 minute plank (core)
20 walking lunges (legs)
30 sec jump rope (cardio)
20 tricep dips (arms)
30 bicycles (core)
Rest for 2 minutes then repeat 2-3 more times.
(naturally, you would have a 5-10 minute warm up and cool down before and after a routine like this)
In this example you're targeting your upper, lower, core, and cardio with 2 different exercises per muscle group each. Rotating through them with little to no rest in between until you've done 1 set of each...then you take a short rest just long enough for your HR to recover and your body to produce more energy to cycle through it again. Remember, this is just a sample- feel free to use it or switch it up and fill in your favorite exercises. The important factor here is this method. If you wanted to do an entire lower body circuit one day you could do so by isolating each muscle (example: isolate quads, hamstrings, inner thigh aka adductors, outer thigh aka abductors, glutes, calves, rest, repeat). Let me explain why it's so beneficial... Traditional strength training methods have you do your 20 squats, rest, 20 squats, rest, 20 squats, rest. That rest is necessary because you're using the same muscles back to back. By the time you have completed all 3 sets you have spent 3 minutes resting and maybe 1 minute working. Circuit training reverses that, you spend 5 minutes continuously working, 2 minutes resting per set. You are switching up the muscle groups being used so your arms are resting while those legs are working. This keeps your heart rate up longer and keeps those muscles safely working which enables you to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. Your EPOC (or metabolic rate post workout) is higher when circuit training practices are applied as well. Burn more calories during 30 minutes of exercise and continue to burn more calories post workout- not a bad deal, right?! And the nice thing is there are THOUSANDS of exercises you can do from home. Kids napping? Do a 30 minute circuit then go finish the remainder of nap time with them. Get up a few minutes earlier in the morning or do it after the kids are in bed. My kids find it fun to try and do whatever it is I'm doing, so they generally will do my squats and push ups with me. Find what works for you. NO EXCUSES PEOPLE!!!!
Now, I still like to hit the weights or cycling class at the gym a couple times a week so I usually have my parents watch the kids and I'll get up early and do my thing. It jump starts my day and I never regret it when I'm done. Make a sacrifice and commitment and you'll succeed. As my blog continues I will go further into depth into a broad array of beneficial exercises themselves so, as always, stay tuned for more.
GET UP AND GET MOVING!
NO EXCUSES PEOPLE!
During that EPOC (post workout metabolic rate) time frame I discussed earlier is the most important time to eat. Your body needs to replenish the carbs spent and it needs protein to repair those torn muscle fibers. Here is a high protein smoothie to try. Best if consumed within 30 minutes of working out.
Choco-nana-nut smoothie
1 scoop of chocolate protein of choice (I use a muscle milk whey protein from costco or hemp protein)
1 c milk of choice (I used vanilla almond milk)
2 TBSP of plain greek yogurt
1 small banana
1 TBSP of your favorite nut butter
8-10 ice cubes
No comments:
Post a Comment