Are You Ready for the New Year?

We are two weeks away from New Year's Eve, are you ready for the start of 2015? If you are like me you've tried to accomplish many of the things you set out to do in January 2014. Maybe you went on a long-planned trip, or finally made it to the gym several days, weeks, months in a row, adopted a healthy habit, bought a new house, or just lived every day to its fullest. Whatever your goals were for this year, remember to continue to make the best of every day and the goals don't end just because the calendar changes, we just change, add to or expand on the ones we already have. Didn't really reach that goal, don't give up now. Keep going. You'll get there.
Now is the time to reflect and then continue to move forward. Take the time to plan what's next and figure out how you'll get it done. Make it happen! You can do anything as long as you stay motivated and committed.

I'll be sharing more ideas about goals and how to make them happen in the next posts.

Remember our motto, Because You Can!

Lori

Breathing Techniques to Enhance Your Workouts: A Fix.com Article by Annabel Fitzsimmons

This article was shared with me and has some really good information about different activities and breathing techniques so I wanted to share with you.
Breathing is very important during workouts and we don't always think about it, because we don't usually have to. But have you ever noticed when doing something hard that we hold our breath and have to be reminded to breathe?

I hope you enjoy the article written by

Annabel Fitzsimmons

http://www.fix.com/blog/workout-breathing-techniques

Make it a great day and remember to breathe!

-Lori

Train Your Whole Body

Some athletes only train one way, whatever it takes to be the best_(fill in the blank:tennis player, swimmer, cyclist...) This is important for their sport, but can seriously overwork certain muscles. It's important to train in many ways. Strength, endurance, balance and agility are all things that help you functionally. Having a balanced body will help keep you healthy or help you recover faster. I use cardiovascular training (running, cycling, swimming, plyo-exercises, dancing to keep my heart healthy, to keep me going longer and to work the muscles in a different way. I use balance and agility training keep my mind healthy and prevent falls and I use strength training so I can get myself back up if I fall. I'm not kidding. Strength training strengthens muscles and bones. You can be the best runner in the world, but if you don't have the strength to get yourself back up after a fall, running isn't going to do you a bit of good. Next time you are in the gym think about all the different ways you can work your body/mind to have a complete body workout and live a longer healthier life.

Wow, How Did That Happen?

I decided this morning that I wanted to share a couple of my workouts (WOD) because I'm often asked, "what do you do when you are in the gym?" I was trying to think of the easiest way to write up and share these and thought, I'll post on my blog. I logged in and couldn't believe my eyes when I looked to see that my last blog post was over a year and a half ago! Where has all that time gone? It's been a busy year and a half with classes and training sessions, fitness conferences and certifications, countless workouts, races and outdoor activities. Whew!

So now to the task at hand. I'm going to post a complete upper body workout and then a lower body one. These are what I completed this week. Keep in mind I don't always do the same thing every week and actually one should change things up occasionally to keep the body guessing to not hit a plateau.  Every week I make sure I get in at least 2 days of strength training and 2 days of cardiovascular training. The other 3 days are made up of rest days and fun workout days (bike rides, hiking etc.)

Upper Body:
2-3 sets, 10-15 reps of each
Single arm row: 30lb
Dumbbell pullover: 30lb
Shoulder press: 20lbs
Reverse flye: 15lbs
Front raise (one weight, both hands) 20lb
Unilateral side raise: 12.5 lb
Lying flye: 15lbs
Chest press: 15lbs
Pushups
Triceps extension: 25lb
Headbangers: 15lbs
Triceps dips
Biceps curls: Full range, bottom half & top half: 10lbs (it's a lot of reps, keep in mind when choosing your weight)

Lower Body:
3 sets,10-15 reps of each

Rock star jumps
Barbell squat: 40lbs
Walking lunges holding dumbbell overhead: 25lb
Barbell deadlift: 40lb
Split squat: 20lbs
Squat up to relevé: 20lbs
Weighted glute bridge: 25lb
Sumo squat: 35lb
Plyo lunges: 10lbs
Plyo side lunge on step

I also add abdominal exercises to EVERY workout 3-4 exercises, 3 sets, 15-20 reps
Give these a try and let me know what you think.

Now that I've posted on my blog again I'm going to try and update on a more regular basis (not every year and a half :0) especially when I have new, fun or exciting information to share.
Have an awesome day and upcoming Halloween weekend!
Remember to eat candy responsibly!

-Lori