Good afternoon my friends! Hope everyone is having a beautiful day so far and is staying as COOL as possible...it's OVER 100 degrees today in Arizona to which I say "HELLO SUMMER!" Now hopefully, you have also managed to find the time to get in some exercise today or plan on later this evening when it cools down. I myself, had a very quick weight training session this morning before having to get my son dressed and ready for some movie fun and a day of running all over town...
Which leads me to today's blog topic which one of my blog followers asked me which is "how do you do a quick warm-up before lifting weights if you don't have access to cardio equipment?" So I'm going to answer this question for you and probably shock you with one of my shortest blogs yet!
So here's your answer! Take it back to old school PE class...I'm talking arm circles! Bring your arms out straight to your side and roll your shoulders and arms forward 20 times and backward 20 times to get the circulation flowing in your arms. Then do a quick jog in place while pumping your arms for 30-60 seconds. After that, go into a squat stance and do some cross punches...25 punches each way and follow that with 25 jumping jacks. Lastly, do at least 20 push-ups (modified on your knees is fine) and guess what??! YOU ARE WARM AND READY TO ROCK YOUR WEIGHT SESSION!
Remember my friends, exercise should be fun and easy. You don't have to belong to a gym or own a home gym to be able to tighten and tone up your body. Which leads me to this...I know I promised a new "Fitness is Fun with your Kids!" video for today, but I've gotta be honest; we enjoyed our 3 day holiday weekend with NON-STOP activity of going bike riding all over town to going to an awesome Wildlife World Zoo. So I promise THIS weekend we will officially shoot our June "Fitness is Fun with your Kids!" video in which Pry'nce and I will cover our favorite exercises for the month of June.
Thank you for reading today's blog and I hope this helps give you ideas on how to get warm before your next weight training session. If you enjoy my blog, please join today as a FOLLOWER and check me out on twitter (FITDIVAFAMISHA) in which I post updates on upcoming Bootcamps and Fitness ideas as well. Summer IS here my friends so get MOVING!
As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
WHAT IS MY MOTIVATION???
Good morning friends! Today I decided I would talk about a question that a lot of people ALWAYS ask me which is "Famisha, how in the world do you find the motivation to exercise?!" Well, I'm going to break it down from the beginning...so here you go!
Growing up, I was always an ACTIVE child...dance classes, dance classes and more dance classes. While being involved in dance...then theater, I had a Superstar athletic brother who started getting recruited by Division 1 Colleges by the age of 14 (I believe he had 5 shoe boxes overflowing with letters of "interest" starting that young and then the offers started flowing in going into his senior year). Well, in between my dancing, I enjoyed and was actually really good at track...I ran the 4x100 relay and was also pretty darn good at the high jump. Besides doing the sports team thing though, I remember going outside and just PLAYING with the neighbor kids in my cul de sac while my mom chatted it up on her phone watching my brother and I as kids play from the front window. There were no hours and hours of tv watching and video game playing...just good old fashioned PLAYING.
Ok, don't want to go backwards...so moving ahead. My sophmore year in highschool I learned what the word DISCIPLINE truly meant when playing a sport. I decided to hang up my pointe shoes (which by the way had to be special made because of my BIG feet) and play basketball. Now when you're brother is the STAR that is on the McDonalds All American team...you kinda hope no one EXPECTS you to be as good as he is; especially since he was dribbling a ball at 6 years old not 16 years old for the first time. But I put my mind to it and decided to play...I was NOT going to embarrass myself or my family with NOT being good, so my dad made me go to the weight room (umm...isn't that where GUYS work out?! Girls, don't lift weights!) but I did it because my motivation was to NOT be an embarrassment so I did all the strength training necessary to be a strong "post" player and then I was put into one of the best Summer basketball leagues for two years in a row in which I played against girls who made ME look SHORT...yep! 6 foot 2 was no longer TALL compared to the 6'4-6'6 girls that were playing in these basketball leagues...LONG STORY SHORT...I was offered an Athletic Scholarship to a Divsion 2 school for BASKETBALL?! A sport I LOVE to watch...not necessarily love to PLAY...but it got to me to a great school in the beautiful OC. What's funny is...I was #3 in rebounding for Division 2 and only had to play 2 years...keep my scholarship and became a college cheerleader for a year and eventually got back into what I really loved to do which was dance and host my own tv talk show at my University.
I know, I know enough of my life story right?! But I feel it was important to know that my MOTIVATION has always been NOT TO FAIL...and also, I loved the way it felt to run as fast as I could...dance and dance like there was NO TOMORROW and then got involved while still in college by sharing my love and fun for exercise by teaching hip hop dance classes at gyms...then step classes...then Fitness Modeling...so of course my motivation was to workout hard so I could "book the gig!" But I always LOVED how it felt to push myself to do something I never truly realized I could accomplish while increasing my fitness level at the same time.
Well, we all know I eventually studied and got certified by many highly accredited certifications and 11 YEARS LATER has now been loving getting others to feel the same joy and sense of self accomplishment that I feel EVERY time I push myself to do a new exercise or a longer distance in my cardio, etc..etc..
If you ask me NOW...what is your MOTIVATION after all these years of being active??? Aren't you tired of working out? Aren't you too busy to workout? You have to make the time! If you have kids, it's VERY SIMPLE your kid(s) should be your MOTIVATION to want to be HEALTHY and live long enough to see your kid(s) grow up, graduate from school and go on to possibly one day start their own family. Whenever you feel like NOT working out, take a look at your kid(s) and ask yourself do you want to be healthy for your family???? And I hope that answer is YES...
If you don't have kid(s), ask yourself where do you see yourself in 10 years? If it's NOT on high blood pressure meds, high cholesterol, etc...etc..make it a point today if you haven't done so yet, to start an exercise program TODAY.
And yes...I'm normal, there are days I don't want to jump on my elliptical...but I do it because I feel so GREAT after I do it! Stronger heart...mentally de-stressed...and a smaller waistline!
Thanks for taking the time to read my NOVEL today! But for those of you who know me as either your Friend, Trainer or Bootcamp Instructor know...I am a very passionate person and can never answer a question with a SHORT and SWEET answer. Instead it's LONG and SWEET! :-)
So get out there today and find your MOTIVATION to get moving and get some calories burning...and remember BURNING IS EARNING!! And FITNESS IS FUN!!
Next week, I will have a new Fitness is Fun video with my son Pry'nce and I showcasing our favorite exercises for June! If you haven't done so yet, join my blog TODAY as a follower...make this a HAPPY and HEALTHY week! Also, if you want to check out my "Fitness is Fun with your Kids!" video go to YOUTUBE and search with my name Famisha and you will find them. Thanks as always for reading...
As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)
Growing up, I was always an ACTIVE child...dance classes, dance classes and more dance classes. While being involved in dance...then theater, I had a Superstar athletic brother who started getting recruited by Division 1 Colleges by the age of 14 (I believe he had 5 shoe boxes overflowing with letters of "interest" starting that young and then the offers started flowing in going into his senior year). Well, in between my dancing, I enjoyed and was actually really good at track...I ran the 4x100 relay and was also pretty darn good at the high jump. Besides doing the sports team thing though, I remember going outside and just PLAYING with the neighbor kids in my cul de sac while my mom chatted it up on her phone watching my brother and I as kids play from the front window. There were no hours and hours of tv watching and video game playing...just good old fashioned PLAYING.
Ok, don't want to go backwards...so moving ahead. My sophmore year in highschool I learned what the word DISCIPLINE truly meant when playing a sport. I decided to hang up my pointe shoes (which by the way had to be special made because of my BIG feet) and play basketball. Now when you're brother is the STAR that is on the McDonalds All American team...you kinda hope no one EXPECTS you to be as good as he is; especially since he was dribbling a ball at 6 years old not 16 years old for the first time. But I put my mind to it and decided to play...I was NOT going to embarrass myself or my family with NOT being good, so my dad made me go to the weight room (umm...isn't that where GUYS work out?! Girls, don't lift weights!) but I did it because my motivation was to NOT be an embarrassment so I did all the strength training necessary to be a strong "post" player and then I was put into one of the best Summer basketball leagues for two years in a row in which I played against girls who made ME look SHORT...yep! 6 foot 2 was no longer TALL compared to the 6'4-6'6 girls that were playing in these basketball leagues...LONG STORY SHORT...I was offered an Athletic Scholarship to a Divsion 2 school for BASKETBALL?! A sport I LOVE to watch...not necessarily love to PLAY...but it got to me to a great school in the beautiful OC. What's funny is...I was #3 in rebounding for Division 2 and only had to play 2 years...keep my scholarship and became a college cheerleader for a year and eventually got back into what I really loved to do which was dance and host my own tv talk show at my University.
I know, I know enough of my life story right?! But I feel it was important to know that my MOTIVATION has always been NOT TO FAIL...and also, I loved the way it felt to run as fast as I could...dance and dance like there was NO TOMORROW and then got involved while still in college by sharing my love and fun for exercise by teaching hip hop dance classes at gyms...then step classes...then Fitness Modeling...so of course my motivation was to workout hard so I could "book the gig!" But I always LOVED how it felt to push myself to do something I never truly realized I could accomplish while increasing my fitness level at the same time.
Well, we all know I eventually studied and got certified by many highly accredited certifications and 11 YEARS LATER has now been loving getting others to feel the same joy and sense of self accomplishment that I feel EVERY time I push myself to do a new exercise or a longer distance in my cardio, etc..etc..
If you ask me NOW...what is your MOTIVATION after all these years of being active??? Aren't you tired of working out? Aren't you too busy to workout? You have to make the time! If you have kids, it's VERY SIMPLE your kid(s) should be your MOTIVATION to want to be HEALTHY and live long enough to see your kid(s) grow up, graduate from school and go on to possibly one day start their own family. Whenever you feel like NOT working out, take a look at your kid(s) and ask yourself do you want to be healthy for your family???? And I hope that answer is YES...
If you don't have kid(s), ask yourself where do you see yourself in 10 years? If it's NOT on high blood pressure meds, high cholesterol, etc...etc..make it a point today if you haven't done so yet, to start an exercise program TODAY.
And yes...I'm normal, there are days I don't want to jump on my elliptical...but I do it because I feel so GREAT after I do it! Stronger heart...mentally de-stressed...and a smaller waistline!
Thanks for taking the time to read my NOVEL today! But for those of you who know me as either your Friend, Trainer or Bootcamp Instructor know...I am a very passionate person and can never answer a question with a SHORT and SWEET answer. Instead it's LONG and SWEET! :-)
So get out there today and find your MOTIVATION to get moving and get some calories burning...and remember BURNING IS EARNING!! And FITNESS IS FUN!!
Next week, I will have a new Fitness is Fun video with my son Pry'nce and I showcasing our favorite exercises for June! If you haven't done so yet, join my blog TODAY as a follower...make this a HAPPY and HEALTHY week! Also, if you want to check out my "Fitness is Fun with your Kids!" video go to YOUTUBE and search with my name Famisha and you will find them. Thanks as always for reading...
As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Modifying exercises...you CAN still get a great workout!
Good morning friends! Hope you are all having an absolutely happy, healthy one so far! I just had the best weight training session! I tell you the best way to accomplish a LEAN and TONE body is to incorporate a weight resistance program into your fitness routine...plus you feel so powerful afterwards! At least I do...
So today's blog is a question one of my awesome followers asked me which was to please describe MODIFIED versions of exercises. Now I don't want to bore you today by explaining how EVERY single exercise that exists out there can be modified so I'm going to choose my TOP 3 Exercises. If you still have questions about an exercise that I didn't mention today, then please shoot me a question and I'll answer how to modify it for you. That's what I'm here for!
Okay...Exercise #1...Push-ups! If I hear one more female client say to me "I can't do MEN PUSH-UPS!" I just may scream! Okay, well I talk so loud most of the time so my client probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference in my response. There is no such thing as a "male" push-up and a "female" push-up. One is a FULL EXTENSION push-up and the other is a MODIFIED push-up. So the modified version since that's what I'm speaking on today is to put your knees down on the floor keeping everything straight (definitely don't cross your ankles) and bring your hands out to a wide grip and bring yourself all the way down keeping your neck straight as you push up EXHALE. If you practice this 3 times a week starting off with 10 reps moving up to 20 to 30 reps, you will be on your way to Full Extension in no time!
Exercise #2...Prone-iso Abs (also known as the PLANK). Forearms on the floor with your hands in blades (relax, there is no need to clinch your fists!) and once again stay on your knees keeping everything straight...not crossing your ankles and gently bring your body up. Push your body up from your shoulders and keeping your neck straight, ENGAGE your abdominals (act as though there is a string attached to your belly button and pull it towards your spine) and breathing hold this position. A plank is the BEST way to wittle that waistline down, tightening and toning your abs. Start off holding this position for 10 seconds working your way eventenually up to 60 seconds...you can do it!
Exercise #3...Lunges....I LOVE LUNGES! Facing a railing, bannister, or counter top, roll your shoulders back so that you have good posture. Engaging your abs, gently bring one leg behind you and bring your foot up on your toes with your knee bent on your back leg and with your front leg, bend your knee and be sure that your knee does NOT go over your toes. Keep your front foot flat (dropping to a 90 degree angle). After you bend your front knee, stand back up nice and tall. As you bend your front knee and back leg...EXHALE, inhale as you stand back up. Try doing 10 reps on each leg. By holding onto something, this will help you with your balance and get you used to how a lunge feels. Eventually work yourself up to 20 to 30 reps and prepare yourself for inches LOST and tighter, toner legs! AND...a lifted glute (butt!!) To that I say....YOU'RE WELCOME! ;-)
As most of you who know me can see, I named my FAVORITE 3 EXERCISES today! By learning how to do these in modified positions, you will find yourself on your way to a toned and sculpted chest, back, arms, mid-section AND legs! Get ready for Summer my friends!!
Thanks as always for reading my fitness blog and feel free to share this with your friends if you enjoy it! As I mentioned last week, I will now be showcasing ONE "Fitness is Fun with your Kids!" video a month on me and my son Pry'nce favorite exercise(s) of the month. You can find the videos on Youtube by searching Fitness is Fun with your kids! If you haven't joined my blog yet as a follower, do so TODAY. Have a very HAPPY and HEALTHY week my friends!!
As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)
So today's blog is a question one of my awesome followers asked me which was to please describe MODIFIED versions of exercises. Now I don't want to bore you today by explaining how EVERY single exercise that exists out there can be modified so I'm going to choose my TOP 3 Exercises. If you still have questions about an exercise that I didn't mention today, then please shoot me a question and I'll answer how to modify it for you. That's what I'm here for!
Okay...Exercise #1...Push-ups! If I hear one more female client say to me "I can't do MEN PUSH-UPS!" I just may scream! Okay, well I talk so loud most of the time so my client probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference in my response. There is no such thing as a "male" push-up and a "female" push-up. One is a FULL EXTENSION push-up and the other is a MODIFIED push-up. So the modified version since that's what I'm speaking on today is to put your knees down on the floor keeping everything straight (definitely don't cross your ankles) and bring your hands out to a wide grip and bring yourself all the way down keeping your neck straight as you push up EXHALE. If you practice this 3 times a week starting off with 10 reps moving up to 20 to 30 reps, you will be on your way to Full Extension in no time!
Exercise #2...Prone-iso Abs (also known as the PLANK). Forearms on the floor with your hands in blades (relax, there is no need to clinch your fists!) and once again stay on your knees keeping everything straight...not crossing your ankles and gently bring your body up. Push your body up from your shoulders and keeping your neck straight, ENGAGE your abdominals (act as though there is a string attached to your belly button and pull it towards your spine) and breathing hold this position. A plank is the BEST way to wittle that waistline down, tightening and toning your abs. Start off holding this position for 10 seconds working your way eventenually up to 60 seconds...you can do it!
Exercise #3...Lunges....I LOVE LUNGES! Facing a railing, bannister, or counter top, roll your shoulders back so that you have good posture. Engaging your abs, gently bring one leg behind you and bring your foot up on your toes with your knee bent on your back leg and with your front leg, bend your knee and be sure that your knee does NOT go over your toes. Keep your front foot flat (dropping to a 90 degree angle). After you bend your front knee, stand back up nice and tall. As you bend your front knee and back leg...EXHALE, inhale as you stand back up. Try doing 10 reps on each leg. By holding onto something, this will help you with your balance and get you used to how a lunge feels. Eventually work yourself up to 20 to 30 reps and prepare yourself for inches LOST and tighter, toner legs! AND...a lifted glute (butt!!) To that I say....YOU'RE WELCOME! ;-)
As most of you who know me can see, I named my FAVORITE 3 EXERCISES today! By learning how to do these in modified positions, you will find yourself on your way to a toned and sculpted chest, back, arms, mid-section AND legs! Get ready for Summer my friends!!
Thanks as always for reading my fitness blog and feel free to share this with your friends if you enjoy it! As I mentioned last week, I will now be showcasing ONE "Fitness is Fun with your Kids!" video a month on me and my son Pry'nce favorite exercise(s) of the month. You can find the videos on Youtube by searching Fitness is Fun with your kids! If you haven't joined my blog yet as a follower, do so TODAY. Have a very HAPPY and HEALTHY week my friends!!
As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)
Thursday, May 10, 2012
WHAT DOES MUSCLE SORENESS MEAN????
Happy Healthy day to YOU my friends! It's another gorgeous day and I decided to take a quick break in my beautiful morning to blog to you my friends before I go back out and enjoy this 80 degree day with my son Pry'nce. So what's today's topic?? Well, one of my fabulous blog followers has asked the question: What does muscle soreness mean and when is it too much?
Here's my quick answer to a very good question....before I explain to you what muscle soreness is, let me first say DON'T BE ALARMED if you are a NEW exerciser and are feeling muscles you didn't realize you had screaming "really??! you just HAD to do all those lunges yesterday?!" Where you of course answer back to your leg muscles yelling at you "why yes I did...that's why I can wear skinny jeans and cute shorts, so YOU'RE WELCOME legs!"
Here's the deal, "delayed" onset muscle soreness is a normal response to unusual exertion and is also part of an adaption process that leads to GREATER stamina AND strength as your muscles recover and build. So being "sore" after a workout is a good thing! Usually, most soreness isn't truly felt until around the 2nd day after you've worked your muscles really hard and to that I say...don't give up! Continue to work hard and introduce your muscles to a stretching, flexibility, foam rolling program because it will definitely help you recover better from either beginning a new exercise program or an increase in your intensity level.
Now to answer when it's TOO MUCH is if you feel stabbing sharp pain rather than an annoying reminder of the 90 minute Hatha Yoga class you just had to try for the first time yesterday...it's more than just muscle soreness. It could actually be a tear, sprain or pulled muscle. You do not have to feel like you can't lift your arms or bend over to feel you got a "great workout." Feeling sore is good but feeling pain is not.
So what did you learn today??? Fitness is fun and if you push yourself to a point where you find yourself a little bit uncomfortable during your exercise...then you are on the RIGHT TRACK to obtaining the RESULTS that you want! And why is that...because Hard Work is What it Takes!!
Today's video clip is me and my son Pry'nce showing our favorite exercises for the month of May. Do these exercises 3 times a week and you will find yourself on your way to a leaner, toner YOU! Be sure to do 3 sets of 10-15 reps if you are a beginner if you are more of an advanced exerciser, then step up your reps to 20-30 reps each...and have fun! You're on your way to RESULTS!
Here's my quick answer to a very good question....before I explain to you what muscle soreness is, let me first say DON'T BE ALARMED if you are a NEW exerciser and are feeling muscles you didn't realize you had screaming "really??! you just HAD to do all those lunges yesterday?!" Where you of course answer back to your leg muscles yelling at you "why yes I did...that's why I can wear skinny jeans and cute shorts, so YOU'RE WELCOME legs!"
Here's the deal, "delayed" onset muscle soreness is a normal response to unusual exertion and is also part of an adaption process that leads to GREATER stamina AND strength as your muscles recover and build. So being "sore" after a workout is a good thing! Usually, most soreness isn't truly felt until around the 2nd day after you've worked your muscles really hard and to that I say...don't give up! Continue to work hard and introduce your muscles to a stretching, flexibility, foam rolling program because it will definitely help you recover better from either beginning a new exercise program or an increase in your intensity level.
Now to answer when it's TOO MUCH is if you feel stabbing sharp pain rather than an annoying reminder of the 90 minute Hatha Yoga class you just had to try for the first time yesterday...it's more than just muscle soreness. It could actually be a tear, sprain or pulled muscle. You do not have to feel like you can't lift your arms or bend over to feel you got a "great workout." Feeling sore is good but feeling pain is not.
So what did you learn today??? Fitness is fun and if you push yourself to a point where you find yourself a little bit uncomfortable during your exercise...then you are on the RIGHT TRACK to obtaining the RESULTS that you want! And why is that...because Hard Work is What it Takes!!
Today's video clip is me and my son Pry'nce showing our favorite exercises for the month of May. Do these exercises 3 times a week and you will find yourself on your way to a leaner, toner YOU! Be sure to do 3 sets of 10-15 reps if you are a beginner if you are more of an advanced exerciser, then step up your reps to 20-30 reps each...and have fun! You're on your way to RESULTS!
Thanks for ready and watching my fitness blog!
As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)
Thursday, May 3, 2012
How do I get the most out of my workout when doing CARDIO???
Hi friends! It's another gorgeous sunny day that I myself have been enjoying all day with my son Pry'nce and realized....I need to talk real quick to my blog friends. Now the topic I am going to speak on briefly today is how to get the most out of your cardio workout. So are you ready?? Here you go!
Okay, we have all seen that person at the gym with their treadmill hiked sky high (so far so good...work those glutes!) but when we take a second glance, we notice not only is the treadmill hiked up to the max, but the person on it is holding on for dear life...pounding on it like this "THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD!" You get the picture! Did you see this person today? Were YOU that person today? I hope not! Listen, if you're planning on burning some serious calories and want to get the most out of your cardio workout on the treadmill, then put your incline at a level that is challenging but still allows you to pump your arms for extra calorie burn and lower the speed so you aren't about to fly off into the person on the treadmill behind you or even worse...through the glass window! You definitely get an A for effort and for being ambitious enough to hike the incline up, but once again do it at a level that allows you to maximize the benefits out of that exercise which is being able to move your arms while walking at that incline...
Now, I personally could stay on the elliptical for hours...all I have to do is dvr a bunch of my favorite Reality shows (yes, I'm one of those people!) and I'm good to go. But if you're READING a magazine or book while on the elliptical, you are NOT getting the most from your workout. First of all, I would have a major headache from moving up and down while trying to read at the same time...the lines in my magazine or book would blur. Instead of doing that, PUMP YOUR ARMS as though you are running stairs and bring your intensity up to where you perform high knees at 5 min intervals. Your heart rate and calorie burn will thank you later!
Finally, the last piece of cardio equipment I'm going to speak about today is the Stairclimber. You know the machine I'm talking about...the one that you see the same people on EVERYDAY for hours at a time while carrying on conversations hunched over as though they are about to collapse. Here's the deal, the stairclimber is great! Evil...but great! I'm not going to tell you to pump your arms on this machine, but I am going to say if you really want to get the maximum amount of benefits from it, STOP leaning over it like you are about to die, stand up straight and move at a quick pace. This machine is great if you want to build your glutes. Switch it up into intervals...10 minutes at a quick pace of steps around level 10-12 for about 10 minutes than slow it down at level 7-8 and do straight leg kick backs for another 10 minutes then if you really feel ambitious, put it on level 18-20 and jog up and down for 2-5 minutes to really get your heart rate up. But no more leaning over...open your lungs!
So I hope you found my personal and professional opinion on how to perform cardio more effectively helpful today...and don't worry if you were one of "those people" I spoke about, it's okay! It's never too late to change! Get the most out of your workout...
I have now decided that every month I'm going to showcase one video for the month rather than a new one every week...so today's video is going to be one of my personal favorites which is outdoor fun with my son Pry'nce. If you haven't worked out yet today, grab your kids when it cools down and go have some fitness fun! Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed today's blog and fitness video. As I always say...if you haven't done so yet, join TODAY as a follower of my blog if you enjoy it. Have a fabulously fitness filled week!
As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)
Okay, we have all seen that person at the gym with their treadmill hiked sky high (so far so good...work those glutes!) but when we take a second glance, we notice not only is the treadmill hiked up to the max, but the person on it is holding on for dear life...pounding on it like this "THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD!" You get the picture! Did you see this person today? Were YOU that person today? I hope not! Listen, if you're planning on burning some serious calories and want to get the most out of your cardio workout on the treadmill, then put your incline at a level that is challenging but still allows you to pump your arms for extra calorie burn and lower the speed so you aren't about to fly off into the person on the treadmill behind you or even worse...through the glass window! You definitely get an A for effort and for being ambitious enough to hike the incline up, but once again do it at a level that allows you to maximize the benefits out of that exercise which is being able to move your arms while walking at that incline...
Now, I personally could stay on the elliptical for hours...all I have to do is dvr a bunch of my favorite Reality shows (yes, I'm one of those people!) and I'm good to go. But if you're READING a magazine or book while on the elliptical, you are NOT getting the most from your workout. First of all, I would have a major headache from moving up and down while trying to read at the same time...the lines in my magazine or book would blur. Instead of doing that, PUMP YOUR ARMS as though you are running stairs and bring your intensity up to where you perform high knees at 5 min intervals. Your heart rate and calorie burn will thank you later!
Finally, the last piece of cardio equipment I'm going to speak about today is the Stairclimber. You know the machine I'm talking about...the one that you see the same people on EVERYDAY for hours at a time while carrying on conversations hunched over as though they are about to collapse. Here's the deal, the stairclimber is great! Evil...but great! I'm not going to tell you to pump your arms on this machine, but I am going to say if you really want to get the maximum amount of benefits from it, STOP leaning over it like you are about to die, stand up straight and move at a quick pace. This machine is great if you want to build your glutes. Switch it up into intervals...10 minutes at a quick pace of steps around level 10-12 for about 10 minutes than slow it down at level 7-8 and do straight leg kick backs for another 10 minutes then if you really feel ambitious, put it on level 18-20 and jog up and down for 2-5 minutes to really get your heart rate up. But no more leaning over...open your lungs!
So I hope you found my personal and professional opinion on how to perform cardio more effectively helpful today...and don't worry if you were one of "those people" I spoke about, it's okay! It's never too late to change! Get the most out of your workout...
I have now decided that every month I'm going to showcase one video for the month rather than a new one every week...so today's video is going to be one of my personal favorites which is outdoor fun with my son Pry'nce. If you haven't worked out yet today, grab your kids when it cools down and go have some fitness fun! Enjoy!
As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)
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