Today’s Tip: Beat the heat with indoor workouts

Bringing your workout indoors is a great way to stay active when it’s too hot outside. There are no excuses not to get in your daily exercise when it comes to the weather.  You can achieve similar results as you would outdoors only with different scenery.

In home walking, Wii/Wii Fit, exercise bike, treadmill, elliptical, workout DVD’s, stair climbing, jump rope, mini trampoline and going to the gym are only a few of the type of indoor workouts you can do.  There are even workouts on cable TV and you can check out Exercise TV and do workouts from your computer.

I enjoy various outdoor exercises but I really enjoy indoor workouts. Working out at home is top on my list but I like going to the gym and attending various classes and using the equipment there.

When you’re outdoors in the heat, you need to be cautious not to overdo it.  If you absolutely must exercise outdoors in the heat please make sure you take precautions.  Here are a few quick tips:

*Stay hydrated
*Wear light clothing
*Workout in the early morning hours or later in the evening when the sun goes down
*Wear sunscreen
*Exercise in water (pool, ocean, whatever your fancy!)

I’m not saying NOT to exercise outdoors, I’m just providing an alternative idea for when the heat is too much to handle.  It’s fantastic that no matter what the weather condition, you have a place to workout.

Do you prefer indoor workouts or would you rather brave the heat and exercise outdoors?

Today was Day 2 of the 30 Day Shred and it was another sweat fest!  240 calories burned in under 30 minutes.  I love the fact that I can burn that many calories in such a short amount of time.  Jillian Michaels is my new personal kick butt trainer and I like her philosophy when she says, “Pushing yourself, that’s what it’s all about”.  I’m definitely feeling it on Day 2!  But I like it and I’m going to keep pushing it!

Here are my stats:

July 2, 2009

28 minutes
240 calories burned
Max Heart Rate: 87%/162
Average Heart Rate: 72%/135

I woke up this morning feeling it in my arms and a tiny bit in the knees but it’s very little knee pain, nothing a little ice can’t take care of right?

Here’s a little more info about the 30 Day Shred workout.  In addition to warm up and cool down are the 3 circuits.  The circuits are fun but tiring!  In each circuit you are doing the moves multiple times and Jillian does not cut you any slack so there is hardly any time to breath HA

Circuit 1:

Push ups, Squat & Press, Jump Rope, Crunches, Reverse Crunches

Circuit 2:

Dumbbell Row, Lunges & Biceps, Butt kicks, Punches, Crunches

Circuit 3:

Chest Fly,  Side lunge w/anterior raises, Jumping Jacks, Butt kicks, Punches, Bicycles

So that’s a bit of a circuit overview.  I’m not very good at lunges due to bad knees but also balance. I can’t seem to stay standing but I’m bound to master them along with push ups. Today I used the Perfect Pushup’s that mom bought me a while back and it’s so much easier on my wrists to use those to do push ups.

I can’t seem to fast forward through Jillian’s video welcome and intro.  It would be great to be able to skip ahead and just start the workout instead of having to listen to that every time.

Beside the fact that I’m really struggling with the shin pain during the workout, today was another good 30 Day Shred workout.

If at anytime you care to join me, don’t forget to pick up yourself a copy of the 30 Day Shred from Amazon.  I noticed the price went down from yesterday!  $7.99 is today’s great deal, wonder how long that one will last.

Make it a great day,

Angie

P.S. Here is my overview of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred.

Overall first impression of the 30 Day Shred workout video was good.  I liked today’s workout and by the time it was over I was a sweaty mess!  Of course that’s a good thing.  I look forward to seeing what the next 29 days bring!

30 Day Shred
Day 1-Level 1

July 1st, 2009

28 minutes
247 calories burned
Max Heart Rate: 87%/162
Average Heart Rate: 73%/136

This was my first day doing the 30 Day Shred.  Of course I started with level 1 and as of right now, I plan on doing level 1 for 10 days. I was really nervous about doing any type of lunges throughout this workout because my knees are so bad but I was able to modify some of the moves by following Anita in the video and just did my best.  During the workout, my shins hurt like crazy doing the butt kicks so that was the only thing that annoyed me.  So far I have no knee pain or any other pain so that’s a plus.  The three 6 minute circuits were great but were challenging because I was up then down on the mat, rinse and repeat plenty of times.

I used 4lb hand weights but I might switch to lighter ones every other day but we’ll see.  I used a mat even though I’m doing the workout on carpet and you don’t want to forget to have a water bottle and towel too.  I’m using a heart rate monitor so I can keep track of how many calories I burn and so I can keep a log of my max and average heart rate as well.

I love one of Jillian’s quotes in the video, “If you want results they’re not coming for free”

There are quite a bit of jumping jacks in this first level and Jillian cuts you no slack because as she says she has 400 lb people that can do them so there is no modifying, no excuses.  I love jumping jacks! Just make sure to breathe and you’ll do fine.

I weighed in and took my measurements today so here are the stats for that.  Yep, I’m putting it all out there. Yikes!  I’m not happy that I have gained back weight and inches over the past few years but I’m bound and determined to meet my goals so no looking back.

Weight= 224

Chest= 45 inches
Waist= 45.5 inches
Hips= 48.5 inches
Thighs= Left- 27.5 Right- 27.5
Biceps= Left- 14 Right- 14

(hopefully I measured correctly!)

I will re-measure again at the end of the 30 days but you can keep up with any weight loss at my Weekly Weigh In’s.  And here you can read my overview of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred.

Here is a quick overview of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shredworkout video for you before I get started posting my experience over the next 30 days.

As many of you know, Jillian Michaels is one of the trainers from The Biggest Loser TV show.  I really enjoy her training style on the hit show so I knew this workout was definitely something I wanted to try.  I noticed that the 30 Day Shred was a very popular topic a few months ago in the blogosphere and everyone seemed to be doing the workout.  I decided to buy it due to the rave reviews I found online.  Many of those people that said they did the workout mentioned losing a fair amount of weight and inches so that got me really quite excited.   I am definitely hoping to lose both!  I will be doing other workouts in addition to the 30 Day Shred so I can’t really base my numbers on the 30 Day Shred alone.

There are 3 levels to this workout video (10 days at each level) and each workout is approximately 20 minutes  in length.  The circuit is divided into 3 minutes of strength moves, 2 minutes cardio and 1 minute abs.  The 3-2-1 formula is supposed to be effective at getting the fat off and building lean muscle.

When I first received the DVD, I wanted to see what it was all about so I watched the intro and a bit of each of the levels.  My initial opinion was that is seemed simple enough because it’s moves I have done before but it still looked like a good workout (notice I didn’t say easy!)

I like the fact that in the video they demonstrate different options like making a modified version of various moves possible and I really like that Jillian gives good instruction on proper form for the moves.  It seems like the workout is geared more towards women but I’m sure men could benefit from the 30 Day Shred as well.  The biggest thing I question if it’s really OK to do this workout for a full 30 Days in a row without giving your body a break.  I plan on listening to my body no matter what!

The only items you’ll need during the 30 Day Shred workout are hand weights and a mat if you’re using a hard surface.  Pretty simple!

I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of results I get from this workout.  And accomplishing something for 30 days straight will feel great too.

Have you done the 30 Day Shred? Please feel free to share your experience.

If you would like to get started too, you can purchase Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shredthrough Amazon.

I’ll be posting a 30 Day Shred case study so be on the lookout as I take you through my experience of this workout video.  At the end of the 30 days, I will write a full review of the 30 Day Shred workout as well.

Let’s SHRED!

I think I’ll stick to using my actual scale to weigh in rather than the Wii balance board because that is what I have been using all this time anyway.  So I was not nervous to weigh in today because I’m pretty excited about starting Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred today.  I’ll be heading downstairs in a bit to do that and will have some posts later on about it. Hubs was going to shred with me but he ended up in the ER yesterday (headache, dizziness, etc.) and since they aren’t sure what’s going on, he’s going to pass on the 1st round.  If I don’t croak by the end of the 30 days ha ha, I might be willing to do it again next month with him, if he’s up for it.

OK, off to take measurements to track while doing the 30 Day Shred.

Stats for the week:

Current weight: 224 (looks like a 6 lb loss but not sure if that’s accurate since it was on the Wii Fit board last week and scale this week)
Goal weight: 140
Pounds left to go: 84

How did you do this week?  Check in!  Stay accountable.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday-

Pasta w/asparagus, ham and mushroom sauce

Tuesday-

Chicken, homemade baked beans, veggie

Wednesday-

Mini pizzas (seasoned ground turkey and veggies on multi grain flatbread)

Thursday-

Breakfast for dinner

Friday-

Spaghetti w/homemade veggie sauce and seasoned ground turkey meatballs

I’m not sure how I feel about having two days of pasta but that’s the plan for now.

What is on your menu plan for the week?

Not much to report this week.  It’s been quite the challenging week with a sick dog as most of you already know from Twitter and Facebook.  I did the best I could with exercise and hubs and I might do Wii Fit tonight but still not sure.

Workout stats for the week of June 22-28, 2009

Monday-

*Elliptical
Time: 17 min.
Calories burned: 179

*Personal training
Time: 20 min.
Calories burned: 200+

Tuesday-

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Wednesday-

*Walk Away the Pounds Walk Slim
Time: 35 min.
Miles: 2
Calories burned: 320

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Thursday-

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Friday-

*Walk outside
Time: 20 min.

Saturday-

*Mow lawn
Time: 47 min.
Calories burned: 557

Sunday-

Day off

How did you do this week? Feel free to share your workout accomplishments here or on your blog if you have one and give us a link.

Had my 3rd green monster smoothie yesterday and it was quite tasty.  Kev took a video with my camera but I have no idea how to edit it so until then you’ll have to just imagine me drinking it LOL!

This green monster smoothie consisted of 1/3 cup blueberries, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 tbsp flax, 1 banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 8 ice cubes (not sure why it took that many this time) and 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder.  Tasty!

Make it a great week!

Happy Friday!

Today’s Tip:  How to keep a positive attitude

There are a variety of ways to help you stay positive.

1. Listen to upbeat music
2. Read positive attitude quotes
3. Read inspirational books and stories
4. Visualize what your life will look like in 1, 5, 10 years down the road
   * Looking ahead helps you to keep a positive attitude because you have goals to reach for and I always tell myself that no matter what, I have to keep going despite any setbacks or challenges I might face.
5. Daily Positive thoughts
   * A lot of people use daily affirmations and maybe they will work for you too.  Keeping daily positive thoughts will help you accomplish anything you set your mind to.

Here are some sample affirmations you might use.

• I’m fit and toned
• I love the way healthy food makes me feel
• I feel strong
• I have committed to living a healthy lifestyle
• I am beautiful

Which brings me to Operation Beautiful.  I love that Caitlin, a food and fitness blogger at Healthy Tipping Point came up with this in hopes to end all the fat talk and encourage positive body image.  I personally know how difficult it can be to overcome the ‘talk’ but once you do, you can move on and learn to love yourself.  Be sure to check out Operation Beautiful and let me know what you think.  I want to participate!

There are many benefits to having a positive attitude so try to always look for the good in all situations and be open to changing your perspective on things.  If you commit to keep a positive attitude on a daily basis, you will be amazed at how your thinking shifts and what all you will accomplish.

How is YOUR attitude these days?

I’ll be honest, I have been totally challenged this month to keep a positive attitude.  With all the weight gain, injuries and my dog being sick this week, it has been hard to find the good in a lot of things BUT I am usually a very positive person and don’t like to be negative or around negativity so this post was perfect timing for me.

Book recommendation: The Power of Positive Thinking

I mentioned in Sunday’s post that I set up a Monday meeting with one of the LA Fitness personal trainers.  Kev and I went to work out on the Elliptical beforehand and then met with Kyle.  I had previously talked to Kimberly but she was helping two other ladies and they asked if I was OK working out with a male.  I was cool with that so Kev and I sat down with Kyle and went over a lot of questions, checked our body fat and all that fun stuff.  Once that was done, hubs had to leave to get home but I stayed and had my complimentary training session and Kyle kicked my butt.  It was GREAT and I loved every minute of it.

At this time funds stand in the way of me grabbing any of the personal training packages they are offering but I could definitely see how it would be helpful.  I highly recommend it!  Hey, LA Fitness if you are reading this I would be happy to be your next success story.  If you want to sponsor my weekly personal trainer sessions, you can use my success story in your advertising.  What a great deal don’t you think? *wink*

Honestly, it was such a great experience working with Kyle.  He really pushed me above my comfort zone (I did a real plank for the first time!) and even though I forgot to start my HR monitor, I estimated that I burned 200+ calories in our quick little session.  A.MAZING!

I really would love to use one of the LA Fitness personal trainers but at this time it looks like I’ll have to manage on my own and I’m bummed that I will have to tell Kyle that today.  I’m looking at the possibility of joining the Fat Loss Quickie Club because I know Scott & Angie can whip me into shape (in a nice but firm way of course LOL).

Do you have a personal trainer?  If so, tell us all about your experience.

I really did not want to step on the scale this week but I did anyway.  Actually we have been checking in via the Wii Fit ’scale’ and I was surprised at what it weighed me in as BUT I was wearing clothes and it’s THAT time so I won’t get up in arms about it.  So without further discussion or excuses ha ha I give you my update for the week.

Stats for the week:

Current weight: 230 (it’s THAT time LOL)
Goal weight: 140
Pounds left to go: 90

How did you do this week? Check in!  Stay accountable.