Thursday, October 29, 2009

Take It Inside With Body Weight Circuits

As the weather is getting colder in Canada I have noticed a strange trend at the gym where work. Members are not coming for their early morning workouts, probably due to the fact that it is dark until 7:30am now. This baffles me, this is the time of year when you want to think about bringing things indoors, focus on some of your much needed muscle balancing rehab exercises, flexibility and power up with resistance for the Christmas Fat Blast. Many people reading this blog probably run/jog/walk or hike as one of their activities for the week. Enjoying the outdoors is wonderful and allows you to appreciate physical activity and your surroundings while de stressing. What happens when this goes by the wayside because it is too dark in the morning for your jog, to windy, cold, rainy, or icy out. Your stress level may have just tripled because you are thrown out of your routine by something you cannot control- the weather and season. Be prepared for these seasonal mishaps that will soon be here to stay for 4-5 months. Take it inside anywhere, anytime with some body weight circuits. You do not need anything, you can even do them in bare feet. A few key exercises such as glut bridges allow you to strengthen your gluts and hamstrings while working on hip flexor flexibility. Bulgarian split squats again work the same muscles and you get great hip extension in your back leg. Love them or hate them pushups and pullups of any version are challenging enough to get your heart rate flying for some anaerobic fat loss work. Add a few burpies and there your have a great recipe for an indoor, anywhere, anytime no equipment needed full body workout.

As women we need to be weary of our surrounding and doing these simple circuits in your back garden in the early morning and dusk is another great way to safely enjoy the outdoors weather permitting.

PHOTOS





























Perform 8-12 reps of each exercise, work continuous and swiftly.

1. Glut Bridge

2. Front Plank

3. rotational plank

4. Bulgarian Split Squat

5. pushups

6. modified pullups (you can use 2 chairs with a sturdy bar across them or under your dining table- be creative)

7. Burpies

repeat 2-3x with 1-2 minutes rest between circuits, this should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.


To get more great workouts sent to your inbox with the photos and descriptions sign up for my complimentary newsletter, or better yet get the full Baby Bump Fitness Mom Package with 16 weeks of circuit programming for you.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Swine Flu Prevention

7 Simple Techniques to Minimize Your

Swine Flu Risk



It is that time of the year when the weather changes in most parts of the world and the common cold starts rearing its ugly head. Flu season also begins. This season is causing more anxiety amongst the general population because of the H1N1 swine flu.

There is almost a panic because the experts feel that this flu virus is more severe than the others.



Let me give you some statistics.

• Seasonal flu annually sickens 5-20% of the population.
• More than 200,000 people are hospitalized with flu complications
• About 36,000 people die from influenza related complications each year in the United States alone.
• 75 million work days are lost each year
• 1765 deaths are due to influenza annually

Now I didn’t give these statistics to scare you or alarm you. I provided these to show you that these statistics are from what we know as general flu, which means that the swine flu is not necessarily more harmful.

This means all flu may be potentially harmful and life threatening. That is why you need to take the proper steps to avoid all types of flu this season and not just worry about the swine flu.

The National Institute for Health and Center for Disease Control also states that 62 million cases of the common cold are reported each year.

So what are we to do?



We have all heard of the common tips that we should be doing and these are pretty powerful.

1. Consistently wash your hands
2. Avoid contacting your face with your hands unless you have recently washed them of germs.
3. If you are in contact with public areas where germs tend to thrive make sure you wash your hands afterwards and avoid touching your face prior to washing your hands.


Did you know that your nutritional habits play an important role in combating the common cold and flu?

More and more research is showing that Vitamin D can play an important role in fighting off the flu.

The problem with this is we have become so scared of the sun and skin cancer that we tend to cover our bodies in sunscreen, which limits the amount of Vitamin D we can absorb from the sun.

The result is we are actually starting to see a deficiency in Vitamin D, which the experts thought would never happen.



Which type of Vitamin D should I take?

PROGRADE


You can take a good multi-vitamin that has Vitamin D in it, but many multivitamins contain Vitamin D2 instead of D3. Both are usable forms of Vitamin D, but D3 converts 500% faster and binds with protein more effectively than D2.

The other solution is to spend 10-15 minutes a day in the sun without sunscreen on. This is more difficult in climates where the wind is blowing and the temperature is 20 degrees during the winter months. That is why a good multi-vitamin that contains Vitamin D3 is a good alternative.

Many experts believe this is why flu is worst in the fall and winter because most people spend their time indoors because of the nasty weather.

Here are 7 simple inexpensive ways to dramatically boost your immune system and reduce the risk of the cold or flu this year.

1. Vitamin D through sun exposure or a good multi-vitamin that contains Vitamin D3
2. Avoid sugar and processed foods
3. Exercise
4. Daily Omega 3 fats from krill oil to boost your immune system
5. Get enough rest. Some believe getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night dramatically increases you chances of contracting the flu
6. Wash your hands thoroughly throughout the day
7. Consume anti-oxidants to help fight off free radicals that can weaken your immune system

If you're looking for the way to stay healthy this year then that means following all 7 seven steps above.

Can you think of any reason not to take care of your health this year?

Now there is no one miracle solution and relying on the swine flu vaccination which for many won't be available until sometime in December is not the safest route to go. Combining as many solutions as possible is going to give you the best defense against colds and flu this season.

We have put together a package for you that is called our Total Wellness package. The name says it all. It provides total wellness. After researching the cold and flu remedies we realized that it makes a very good cold/flu defense system by helping to boost your immune system.


Don't risk your health on poor nutrition.



Order your Total Wellness Package Right Now!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Toronto's Top Independant Trainer

Today, I have been featured as one of Toronto's Top Independent Personal Trainers. Please read the article at Experience T.O. The link to the front cover is Front Cover , I think you can pick me out, I'm the only female. Anyway it's a fun read take a look.

Kasia has issues with her hair, already. I mean it's thick and long, but to brush it is painful and she is wimpy. Since my husband has to do her hair in the morning before school I make it easy on everyone and thin out her hair often with thinning shears. Last time I did this she did not let me cut her bangs, I guess 35 seconds to focus is too long for a 3 year old. Tonight was my chance. I trimmed her bangs in the bath. Just as I snipped, she hiccuped and well, you get it. She now resembles Joan Jett from the Blackhearts.

See full size image joan jett 006joan jett 003

Todays Busy Mom Fitness program- I felt back on track today and did some speed work max 5 reps on cleans then went into conditioning followed by a great busy mom fat loss interval. I started with 65 lb and did 20 deadlifts followed by 2 core exercises. Rest and then did 50 barbell deadlifts. I finished with a brutal Tabata 20 sec work/ 10 sec rest interval program of for 8 sets straight. Burpee pullups with speed squats.

I had a great workout the fact I had to burn off the stress of cutting my daughter hair like Joan Jett and I know eventually someday she will read this blog. I will be accused of living out my 80's ROCK and ROLL fantasy through her.
 
>; Add to Technorati Favorites