Workout Wednesday

Today's workout is what I did a lot of while on vacation SWIMMING!! I think it is one of the best exercises because besides all the benefits it has it is a lot of fun. I mean don't you have more fun swimming than doing say 200 burpees? So onto the good stuff why is swimming so great other than being so fun?

Swimming offers something no other aerobic exercise does: the ability to work your body without harsh impact to your skeletal system. When the human body is submerged in water, it automatically becomes lighter. When immersed to the waist, your body bears just 50 percent of its weight; dunk yourself to the chest and that number reduces to around 25 to 35 percent; with water all the way to the neck, you only have to bear 10 percent of your own weight. The other 90 percent is handled by the pool.
This means that the pool provides an ideal place to work stiff muscles and sore joints, especially if you're overweight or suffer from arthritis.
In its recommendation for the right types of exercise for people with arthritis, the Arthritis Foundation suggests those that stretch muscles, those that strengthen muscles, and those that provide an aerobic workout. A few laps in the pool combine all three!
If the pool is heated, so much the better for arthritis sufferers, as the warm water can help loosen stiff joints. In fact, people with rheumatoid arthritis receive greater benefits to their health after participating in hydrotherapy than with other activities. It's also been proven that water-based exercise improves the use of affected joints and decreases pain from osteoarthritis [source: CDC].


Swimming is also a great way to increase muscle strength and tone. Have you ever seen a flabby competitive swimmer? Yea I didn't think so. For example when you are running you are only moving your body through air, but when swimming you are propelling yourself through water, which is about 12 times as dense as air. So every kick and arm stroke become a resistance exercise. Resistance exercises are the best way to build muscle strength and tone. Swimming has also been proven to help increase bone strength.

Unlike doing a machine exercise in a gym where you are only working one body part at a time, swimming is working your whole body at once. You are increasing your flexibility while swimming through water as you are stretching your whole body all at the same time.

In addition to helping tone the visible muscles you are also building up your cardiovascular health. Because swimming is an aerobic exercise you are increasing the strength of your heart. You are making it more efficient in pumping which leads to better blood flow throughout your body. The American Heart Association reports that just 30 minutes of exercising a day, such as swimming, can reduce coronary heart disease in women by 30 to 40 percent.

Swimming is one of the biggest calorie burners out there. So it is great in helping keep your weight under control. The exact number of calories you burn is based on your own physiology and the intensity in which you are swimming. A general rule is, however, for every 10 minutes a breast stroke burns 60 calories, backstroke 80 calories, freestyle 100 calories, and the butterfly 150 calories. That sounds fantastic right? To boost those calories try intervals. Work hard for short bursts then recover. Go all out for 50 yards then rest for 10-15 seconds, then repeat. You will be tired at the end, but will have burned a lot of calories. Make sure you refuel with healthy snacks and plenty of water afterwards.

There is also research that shows you can help lower your cholesterol, help control asthma symptoms, lower your risk of diabetes, and help lower stress. So it sounds like one of the perfect exercises right? So get out and swim swim swim!! Your body will thank you.

 

 

 

                                                                    

 

 

 

                       

                                

                                        

                                

                                

                                

                                

                                

                                

                                

                                

                                

                                

 

Back to Basics

I have not really been blogging that much the past few days because we were on vacation. I was focusing on spending time with my family. We had a great time. It is important to take time for family. That is the most important thing. I did not eat bad during vacation. I had some meals that were not in my normal eating routine, it's vacation you need to enjoy right :), and I will say that I did not drink as much water the past few days as I should have. I did workout some. I ran, swam a lot, walked and did a few other things. So I did not go crazy, but I did enjoy my vacation. Today I can tell that I did not eat my normal foods the whole time. My body feels achy and my stomach hurts a lot. It goes to show that when you purge your body of all that crap you feel so much better. So since vacation is over it is time to get back to basics. I love the way I feel when I am working out, and even more so when I am eating right. So I am excited to get back to my normal routine again.

Throwback Thursday

Yes I know it is Friday and not Thursday. I am writing this as I am currently staring out at the ocean. I am thinking about our family vacation last year. I had an amazing time then, but I was definitely not happy with myself. Looking back on my pictures I think about the fun times we had, but I felt awful about being out there with the way I looked. Now this year I am not yet where I want to be, but I am a heck of a lot closer than last year. I can't wait for our pictures next year because I know I will be much further along. Here are some of y photos from last year. Like I said we had an amazing time then, I just was not happy with myself.

Workout Wednesday

Let's focus on the back today. This is probably the biggest area I struggle with as far as what to do for it. I like to work my back and shoulders together on the same days. Usually when I go to the gym I do 3 days a week of strength training, back and shoulders one day, legs one day and biceps, triceps and chest another day. I am thinking about changing it to 4 days and doing one day chest and abs. We will see how that works. These are just my days in the gym of strength training. I do cardio there sometimes, not that much I am thinking about adding some more of that to my routine, and of course I do lots of other things at home.  Anyways I have gotten side tracked again. Back to the back :) (See what I did there). My go to exercises for the back are dickersons, lat pulldowns and seated cable rows. I do other things as well, but those 3 are in my routine every week.

Let me explain those three to you.

Dickersons (straight arm pulldown)
You are standing on this one, I like to use the short straight bar. Attach your bar to the cable machine at about shoulder height. Grab the bar walk backwards a little bit, and pull down with your back not your arms.

 

 

 

Lat pulldowns

You are seated in this exercise. Sit down on the pulldown machine with a wide bar attached to the top pulley. Grab the bar with the palms facing forward. You can do a wide, medium or shorter grip depending on what you want to work on exactly. Pull the bar down in front of you, not behind your head, until it touches your chest. Once again you should be using your back to pull it down. Slowly raise the bar back while staying seated.

 

 

 

 

 

Seated cable rows

You are also obviously sitting in this one at a low pulley row machine with a V-bar. Sit on the machine with your feet on the platform and grab the v-bar (your palms will be facing each other). Your knees should be slightly bent. Your back should be slightly arched with your chest sticking out. Keeping the torso stationary pull the bar back towards you (once again using your back to pull) also try to keep your elbows close to your body.

 

 

 

 

What are some of your go to back exercises?





Remember today

As most Americans will for the rest of their lives I remember exactly what I was doing on this day 12 years ago. I was 18 years old still living with my parents. I remember waking up and walking in the living room seeing my dad watch the news and tell me what had happened. I did not at first fully grasp what was going on. I kept watching the news horrified about what had happened. I was watching as they showed the 2 plane hit. I just remember crying. My younger brother was a senior in high school. Shortly after seeing this we went to pick him up from school. I remember going to the store with my mom later that day, and everyone seemed to be just a little bit nicer to each other. All of the stores closed early that day. I do not think as a nation we have ever been closer to each other then on that day. I remember them playing I'm proud to be an American over and over on the radio, to this day I cannot listen to that song without tearing up. I have seen countless videos, footage, photos, remembrances of that day and every time I see them they make me tear up. This morning as we woke up I tried to explain to my 4 and 6 year old sons the significance of today. I told them what happened, not in gruesome detail but something that a 4 and 6 year old could understand. They said why would someone be so mean. They both seemed upset. So we took a few moments of silence while they were both sitting in my lap, and prayed together. We prayed for the country, the families that lost loved ones, the loved ones lost, New York city, the police men, firemen, and EMT workers, and also for the "bad guys" (that is what they said in their prayers). I was touched that my children could be so thoughtful. I know they do not fully grasp the situation, but just having them even for just a few moments think about others and pray for them was very heart warming. So please take this day to remember the ones who lost loved ones and the loved ones lost. Take today to love each other and do something for someone else.

I was at school last year on September 11. We spent our whole class time talking about where we all were, watched videos and prayed for everyone. This video here really touched me a lot out of all the videos we watched.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZFkZiwMLZ4

Tasty Tuesday

Since fall is coming up I know a lot of us will be pulling out our crock pots to do some easy cooking, although I must say I use mine year around. So today's recipe is going to be a crock pot recipe. Now we do not eat beef that much in my house. We prefer to eat the lean meats, we mainly eat chicken, turkey and fish. Occasionally we do have beef or pork. It is a "special treat" sometimes. So here is a beef recipe for you that is yummy, easy and healthy.

Beef roast

3-4lb grass fed London broil (I like to get mine at the farmer's market, but anywhere that you can find one is fine) with all the fat cut off
1/2lb portabella mushrooms cut in half(you can use a different kind of mushroom, but this is what I like)
2 cups low sodium organic vegetable broth (you can use chicken or beef and you can also make your own)
1/2 purple onion chopped
4 organic carrots chopped
1tsp garlic powder
dash black pepper
1tsp oregano
1tsp parsley

Add your broth first, then mushrooms, carrots and onion. Place the roast on top of this and add seasoning to the top of the roast. I put it on high for 2 hours then low for another 3-4 hours. Now if you are putting this on in the morning before work or something you can just do low for about 6-8 hours or so. I will check it about 30 minutes to an hour before serving and mix it up and make sure it is all shredded.

My whole family loves this especially my picky husband and picky 6 year old. They usually have seconds on it. I have served it with a lot of different things. You could do sweet potatoes, brown rice, wild rice, whole grain pasta or quinoa pasta. Typically we will have steamed broccoli with it (that is my husband and 6 year old favorite veggie), but you could really do any kind of veggie with it. The best thing is with having a bigger roast there is typically leftovers. It is actually much better then next day. You could eat the leftovers the same way or try it as a sandwich. You decide what the right size roast is for you. You can do a smaller one just make sure you cut everything in the recipe down, or you can do a bigger one just make sure you are adding more of everything else as well. I hope you enjoy this as much as my family does. As I said we do not eat beef often so this is a treat meal for us.

This is a pretty good broth to choose, but the best would of course be homemade. I will get together a recipe for that to post.



Motivation Monday!!

You know one thing that motivates me to keep going? To be able to go into a store, and buy any outfit I want and not just the ones that are in my size. I never again want to have to go to a "special" size or store. I do not want to see that little W after the number or an X in front of another letter. I want to walk into a store, and if I like something just get it. I do not want to just settle for the clothing that is in the larger sizes and will help hide my body.