Get Fit Quick Tip:

Go All-Out!

When was the last time you experienced true muscle fatigue in your fitness plan? True muscular fatigue means you’re working to your max. Choosing a workout that requires your maximum physical effort and full mental attention keeps motivation high. It’s also a great method to assess your fitness abilities and progress. Experiment with different workouts once a week or once a month to see what requires 100% of your body and your mind. You may even find a new sport to love!

Take your fitness All-Out!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

SLOW DOWN your strength training!

To get the most out of your strength training workout, slow down your pace! Complete the exercise at a pace where you’re able to stop the exercise at any point. Controlling the weight is key to overloading your muscles. A slow pace extends the time your muscle is under tension. Try lifting the weight for 2 seconds and lowering the weight for 4 seconds for starters.

*Consult your physician before beginning workout.

SLOW DOWN your strength training!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Pain should NOT be included in your workout!

Every exerciser will benefit from being able to differentiate between pain (injury, radiating pain, limited range of motion, numbness, tingling) and muscle fatigue (muscle burn, feeling tired.) Pain should not be a part of your workout. If you’re having pain with exercise, STOP! Discontinue that exercise, regroup and try a different exercise or mode of exercise entirely.  The following 4 statements provide a general definition of pain and should NOT be experienced during or after your workout. Common sense is paramount. If an exercise doesn’t “feel quite right” during a workout, it probably isn’t.

Sharp, shooting, stabbing pain in your muscle or around your joint.

Sudden loss, restricted or change of range of motion.

Pain that is nauseating, leads to dizziness or instability.

Pain that worsens with exercise.

No Pain, No Gain?

Here’s how to join:

Log in to your twitter account. Enter #HealthyWayMag to follow the chat. Discussions questions will be posted as Question 1, “Q1″, Question 2 as “Q2″ and so on. Simply note your answer with designation “A1″ as answer to question 1. Tag your answers with #HealthyWayMag. Chat, interact with others and have fun!

Monday February 1, 2016 Giveaway from ROLL Recovery:

All athletes know workout recovery is just as important as the workout itself. Recover well with ROLL Recovery’s award winning and revolutionary massage rollers. The R8 model adjusts for different body areas and sizes, such as the upper leg and lower leg. It’s portable weighing in at only 2.5 pounds, so logging a deep tissue massage is easy just about anywhere.  Their new R3 Orthopedic Foot Roller is ideal to decrease foot pain and discomfort by targeting the inside, outside and center of your foot. It’s compact, non-slip and easy to use on any surface. This roller also works well to target smaller muscles. Follow them via @ROLLrecovery on Twitter to learn more!

Need a Workout Motivation Boost?

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Plan Ahead!

Healthy living does NOT take the weekend off! Keep motivation going by planning your weekend-fitness ahead of time.

Here’s how to keep your workouts (and motivation) happening on the weekends:

Invite friends. Invite friends to join in your workout. You’ll catch up on the week and as the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun!

Race. Racing is a great way to insure your workouts happen on the weekend. Competing side by side with thousands of new friends, the energy will feed your motivation for weeks and months to come.

Go early. Get up early and log your workout before the sun (and your family) rises. Morning workouts likely means fewer interruptions and distractions.

Include physical activity into your daily routine. If a structured workout is difficult, consider adding fitness bursts into your day. Walk the soccer field while your child plays, stand instead of sit, ride bikes instead of driving.

Keep Fitness Motivation Going…

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Take a Break!

Taking regular fitness breaks during your day is healthy for your body and your mind. Commit to a goal of getting up, stretching or walking every 2 hours.

Here’s how to hold yourself accountable to fitness break-time:

Set your phone alarm to signal every 2 hours.

Perform at-your-desk stretches. For example:

Seated Hamstring Stretch: Sit forward in your chair. Extend your right leg straight out in front of you with your heel on the ground. Sit up tall and hold for 10-30 seconds, then release. Repeat with your left leg straight out in front of you.

Reach up and Over Stretch: Reach both arms straight up overhead. Lean to your right, then your left.

Walk the hallway. Get up and walk around your office, the hallway or around the building for ten minutes to increase circulation and decrease muscle tension.

Stand up and breathe. Simply stand up to ease lower body tension, and perform 3-5 deep breaths.

*Consult your physician before beginning exercise.

Do you need a fitness break?

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Get Uncomfortable!

Part of your fitness journey may be uncomfortable, unsettling or uncertain. Guess what? Feeling uneasy about your fitness goals is common! Physical fitness gains, and mental personal growth, happens when we overcome an uncomfortable feeling. We learn about our inner-strength and realize we are so much stronger than we think. It is through this principle that we feel empowered and confident, and these qualities carry over into all aspects of our life. Fitness is about so much more than the time we log in a workout!

Here’s how to get uncomfortable with your fitness (and enjoy it):

Take a class. Been interested in learning about the latest workout craze at your gym? Show up and try it!

Register for a race. Athletic competition is not just for kids. Enter a race and enjoy the motivation boost.

Master a new skill. Never learned to golf? Take a lesson. Always interested in stand up paddle boarding? Take a lesson.

Join a team. Check out your local recreation center to learn about local adult teams and leagues.

Revisit a old short-coming. Did you fall short of a goal previously and then abandon the goal entirely? Consider revisiting the goal again. Doing so will allow you to work through all the emotions that accompanied your efforts. The outcome may be different this time around.

Get Uncomfortable with Your Fitness

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Change up your exercises!

If you’ve been doing the same workout for months and months, your body (and your mind) will benefit from unaccustomed exercise. Unaccustomed exercise simply means changing up your exercise routine! Doing so every 4-6 weeks means your body has to adapt to a new stimulus (or load), and this means your body will continue to get stronger. Changing up your exercise routine is also a great method to keep motivation high!

What are different variables in your workout to change?

Change out a specific exercise. For example, trade out a squat on the squat rack to holding two dumbbells.

Change the order of your exercises.

Add in a different workout component entirely. For example, add in a yoga class to your week.

Change up your rest time in between sets.

Change the format of your exercise routine. For example, try circuit training or super-sets.

Change Up Your Exercise Routine

The interval training principle is simple; work intervals followed by rest/recovery intervals. After a proper warm up of ten minutes begin your work interval. A work interval is performed at a higher intensity level than usual, your choice. Work just until breathing becomes challenging and you feel unable to continue at the same pace. This is where the rest/recovery interval begins. Decrease your effort and work at a lower intensity level, which allows you to recover and breathe easily again. When you feel about 50% recovered then it is time to begin the work interval again. The interval length will vary depending on the cardiovascular fitness level of the exerciser and desired goal. Novice exercisers should begin with intervals 30 seconds to 2 minutes in length, once a week. Perform as many work/rest cycles as desired based on your fitness goal. Follow your interval training with a cool down period to return heart rate to pre-exercise levels.

Intensity can be monitored by heart rate (ask a fitness professional to calculate your target heart rate zone) or by rating your perceived exertion. Rate your perceived exertion on a scale of 1 to 10; 1 is no effort, 10 is your hardest effort. As your conditioning improves you’ll be able to work at a higher level of perceived exertion. Train safely and appropriately for your fitness level. Never work until you’re dizzy, light-headed or nauseous.

Consult a physician before beginning any workout and perform at your own risk.

A walking interval workout on the treadmill may look like this:
Warm up for 10 minutes gradually increasing speed to maintain 3.0 mph. Start your Work Interval lasting for 2 minutes and performed at 3.8 mph, followed by a Recovery Interval lasting 2 minutes at 3.5 mph. Alternate between work interval and recovery interval for 10 minutes total. Finish your workout with a 10 minute cool down gradually decreasing speed from 3.5 mph to 2.0 mph until your heart rate has returned to its pre-exercise level.

Intervals may be also be performed with incline or elevation on the treadmill utilizing a steady state speed. For example:

Warm up 10 minutes incrementally increasing speed to 3.0 mph. For the Work Interval increase elevation grade to a 4% incline, and maintain a speed 3.5 mph. Move into a Recovery Interval with a 1% incline, and maintaining speed of 3.5 mph. Alternate between work interval and rest interval for 10 minutes total. Cool down slowly reducing speed from 3.5 mph to 2.0 mph, along with decreasing elevation grade gradually every minute or so until flat once again.

The interval training principle may also be applied to the Stationary Bicycle through monitoring RPM’s or resistance level, as well as to the elliptical machine varying ramp or incline, resistance level or strides per minute settings.

Outdoor walking or jogging cardio interval training is easily accomplished by simply alternating between a slow pace as defined by you and a fast pace (again at your determination based on effort and energy output) and monitoring distance via driveways, neighborhood blocks or property lines. Bicycling, walking, jogging, rollerblading, hiking, swimming, all provide fun interval workouts, limited only by your imagination.

Interval training helps burn calories and build cardiovascular fitness all in one workout session.

*Disclaimer: Results may vary from person to person.

Interval Exercise for a Workout Boost by Nicole Bryan

Absolutely not! Shorts and swimsuit weather will be here again before you know it, so here are 4 great exercises to incorporate into your workout this winter to get you in a “shapely” shape for this summer. (Always consult your physician before beginning exercise.)

Tricep Dips
When you wave goodbye, does the underneath of your arm continue to wave even after you stop? To tone up your arms, give tricep dips a try.

Starting Position

Sit on the edge of a chair and wrap your hands over the front edge. Walk feet out slightly so your hips are out past the edge of the chair.

Action
Lower hips toward the floor until your elbows are bent to 90 degrees. Press up until your elbows are straight, but not locked. Work up to doing 15 reps and 3 sets of this exercise.

Clock Lunges
Clock lunges are guaranteed to tighten up your booty, slim the hips and give you well defined legs.

Starting Position

Imagine you are standing in the center of a clock. Straight in front of you is 12:00, to your right is 3:00, behind you is 6:00 and to your left is 9:00.

Action
Lunge with your right leg to each of the 12:00, 3:00 and 6:00 positions. Lunge with your left leg to each of the 6:00, 9:00 and 12:00 positions. Each time you lunge, make sure to return to the starting position before lunging to the next position.

Once you have completed each position, you have done 1 cycle. Work up to doing 5 cycles and 3 sets of this exercise.

Plank Up Downs

Plank Up Downs will tighten the entire core, strengthen the chest and give you definition in your shoulders.

Starting Position

Get into a pushup position (on knees or up on toes) with your elbows directly underneath your shoulders.

Action
Slowly drop down into a low plank position (on elbows) one side at a time and pushup yourself back up into the high plank. That is one rep. Work up to doing 10 reps and 3 sets.

HIIT
The best and most efficient way burn fat and torch calories  is through HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training. It’s a short workout that alternates between short blasts of high intensity work with bouts of lower intensity “recovery” periods in less than 30 minutes.

Action

Warm up for 5 minutes. For the next 10 to 20 minutes alternate between 30 seconds of very intense exercise (like running) and 90 seconds of lower intensity exercise (walking or complete rest).  Follow that up with a 5 minute cool down.

HIIT training is very difficult and should not be done more that 2-3 times a week and never 2 days in a row.

Tera Busker is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and owner of Fitness To Go, an exclusive In Home & Private Studio Personal Training Service based out of Roberts, WI. www.fitnesstogo.net

Start your fitness TODAY! By Tera Busker