Monday, October 28, 2013

The End Is Only the Beginning

Have fun during your workouts, just like Otto. 
He is the happiest when he is running and playing.

Another month almost over. I think here in Utah we are going to be saying good bye to our beautiful, warm fall weather, loved it while it was hear. But, that does not mean moving is over.

Through this month's challenge, what I was hoping you would gain is an insatiable appetite for working out! OK, maybe that you found joy, new found energy, feeling better about yourself, but mostly wanting to continue to move your body. Understanding the benefits, feeling those benefits in your body and a desire to keep on keeping on.

Working out should be fun and enjoyable. If you are not enjoying your regimented workout or what you are currently doing, change it up. This is a time to enjoy what you are doing and love yourself.
You can workout anytime, anywhere.
Work out should be play time.
Move your body frequently, every hour. Do not let an hour slip by, that you are awake, without moving.
Have fun!
Lift some heavy things, laundry, grocery, kiddos love to be held and thrown in the air, be sure to catch them at the end. Kettle bells are a blast to swing. I am sure you can find something heavy to move around once in a while just be creative.
Have fun working out!
Move quickly on occasion. Start where your ability is. Maybe today you cannot sprint, but who is to say by Spring time next year you could not be sprinting for 30 seconds, minute rest, and repeating the cycle five times? Only you can decide if this is not something you are capable of, push yourself.
Listen to your body and honor it. When you need a break, take one. Allow your body to rest and recoup. Then go back at it.
Have fun, play!
Everyone's body is different, every body will respond differently to exercising and a nutrient dense, real food lifestyle. That is awesome! Who wants to look like everyone else?
Love your body, take care of it and it WILL take care of you and love you back.
Stop comparing yourself to everyone else. If you wish yourself away, the world will not have YOU in it. We need your abilities, talents, gifts, beauty, so go out and be the you we all need. Nobody else will.
Have more fun playing! Have I mentioned that. Enjoy this one life you have been given.

Building a workout is not hard or difficult. Take two to three different upper and lower body exercises and put them together. Some days to them timed, other times see how many sets of a set number you can accomplish in an allotted time period. Add some weight occasionally. Change it up. Unless you are training for a specific event, like a triathlon, fitness competition or a specific sporting event, you do not need set in stone workouts. As long as you are moving your body, that is all you need. Unless you need a set in stone workout, then get one. No excuses.

Just because next week begins another challenge does not mean this one should end, about moving, this is just the beginning, the starting block. Keep it up and see what your accomplishments are next October. Track your progress. I want to hear what you have been able to achieve in a year.

Saving the world one stick of butter, and a work out, at a time.
God bless,
Jenn

Monday, October 21, 2013

October Moving, Do You Lift Heavy?


I know as of late, this photo has been all the rage and focus of much attention. Before we get into today's post, I thought I would give you my few thoughts regarding this Mom, Maria, who you can find on FB here.
Wow, to achieve what she achieved with three little ones, two business, and everything else she has in here life is simply amazing. Here is the thing, she has obstacles just like the rest of us do. We all have situations in our lives we could easily uses as excuses, but rationalize them in our heads to be very solid "reasons" as to why we cannot do something, anything, whatever it is. The difference between this amazing mom and those who choose to allow their excuses to be their driving force and the reason "Why they cannot do something" is, she does not allow herself to have those excuses. She knows what is going on in her life and worked around it, over it, through it, under it, she did not allow herself excuses. She makes time for herself, heart, mind, body and soul. Things we all need and should be doing. Stop allowing yourself to use excuses. Figure out a way around them, be bigger than your problems.
If her picture and question invoke such feelings of hatred and anger for someone you do not even know, it is a simple picture with a simple question, I think you need to take a hug step back and ask yourself a few questions.
1. Why am I SO angry at someone I do not even know?
2. Why am I taking my anger out on her?
3. What is it that struck a cord SO deep within myself that I feel hatred, hanger, hostility towards this woman?
4. Did she make you face reality SO strongly, you want to take it out on her, but you are actually angry with yourself for what you have done to yourself, the excuses you have allowed to become your reality?
5. Maybe you need to seek some help to over come your own deep anger and hatred of yourself so you do not take it out on someone you do not know and is trying to be an inspiration.
6. You are the one who allows yourself to feel inferior to anyone else. No one can do this too you. Take responsibility for you and why you are giving this power to someone else. Take it back.

For women, we need to stop destroying one another, being our own worst nightmares. Instead, we need to build each other up, support one another, be there for one another through the amazing achievements and the struggles.Stop destroying one another.
For everyone, if you would not say something to someone in person, refrain from saying it in writing, whatever form that may take.

Onto today's scheduled post. Do you lift heavy? If you do not, you should. Here are some reasons why:
build muscle
improve joints
strengthen bones
have the ability to take yourself or someone else out of a dangerous situation
make everyday life easier
faster workouts

You might be thinking this is crazy, considering I have been talking all about body weight training. Well, body weight training is also a form of lifting heavy. Do you have the strength to do a pull up? A push up? Can you jump knee height, hip height? These are all fantastic forms of body weight training that are very difficult to accomplish. In fact, pull ups and push ups are considered to be some of the hardest exercises to do. When someone can do a pull up, heaven and earth will know about it.

Along with our regular body weight exercises, it is good to add in some extra weight, to push ourselves, strengthen and build muscle and bones. This is extremely important for us as women. As we age, we lose muscle and bone, equating to more fractures. An easy way to prevent this is adding in some weight bearing exercises along with some heavy things.

Heavy lifting can be as simple as carrying the laundry basket, your groceries, carrying as many grocery bags as you can at once, picking up anything and moving it around your house. Or, you can add weight to your regular exercises. As much as you can handle, safely. One of my favorite ways to do this is, carry a bag of dog food up and down my stairs, I try to run. Then I do squats with said bag. This is a workout, total body, plus a fantastic cardio workout.

Do you need to add weight every set, every rep, every time you workout? No. One day a week add in heavy weights. The rest of the time, do body weight. You will begin to notice greater changes in your body and at a more rapid pace. We need muscle to build the physics, bodies, we want.

I know women are always afraid of heavy weights, they believe by lifting heavy they are going to look like a body builder. NOT true. To reach that state, takes years of heavy lifting and I mean HEAVY lifting, pushing protein like it was going out of style, supplements, and many are doing dangerous stuff. It might not be steroids or banned ingredients for competitions, but I still question the safety of what some women maybe taking. We as women also do not have enough testosterone to build mass amounts of muscle.
I have also heard, women should not lift more than 20 pounds. Really? How much does your toddler weigh, or your friends? What about the laundry basket full of heavy winter clothes? Bulk items you might purchase, that bag of dog food? You weigh more than 20 pounds. If you think about it, this is absurd. We lift more than 20 pounds in our every day lives. By following this, you are going to cause muscle and bone lose, which will cause osteoporosis later in life, resulting in more hip fractures and a mirrored of other health issues. PLEASE for the love of all that is good, stop listening to this lie. Women need to lift and heavy.

For anyone looking to build some bulk and more muscle with body weight, like a competitive gymnast, here is a great link with you in mind. Enjoy!

I believe I have gone on long enough for this post. Go out and lift heavy! Find a rock, or a child you can through around, ask permission first, but I am sure the kiddo with love it! Enjoy your life and live it to the fullest.
Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God's many blessings,
Jenn


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

October Moving Continues....Cardio

Otto, my hunter, running
And the battle rages on.... to cardio or not to cardio? Is it healthy? Should we be pounding the pavement? Do you need it for weight lose?
I will try to break this down easily, yes, yes, no, some. My thoughts.

I will confess, I am not interested in running a marathon, or even a half for that matter. The 5K I did, was more than enough for me. I am not a fan of distance running or for the matter, any type of exercise done for long periods of time taxing the heart and body. We should be able to walk for several hours, our ancestors did this most days, probably, hunting and gathering. However, walking at a slow pace, with stops, is far different than running distances, cycling hours on end, this type of movement is just not healthy. There is much evidence to support this and it is mounting, hereherehere or a little searching on Mark's Daily Apple. To sum up what these studies are finding, you can have permanent, long term heart damage, even from one marathon or distant event.
  Pounding the pavement can cause ankle, knee and hip damage that can result in replacement.
 Muscle lose. I am sure you have seen the pictures of a distant runner vs a sprinter, asking how you want to look. After approximately 20 minutes you begin burning muscle and not fat. Bad thing.  Upper respiratory infections at several a year.
 Cancer. Our bodies do not have the ability to cope with this much stress, mainly oxidative stress and this type of stress causes diseases, cancer being one of the big ones. Recall how many distance athletes end up with cancer and heart problems. It is many and those with heart conditions requiring surgery, pace makers implanted, ending a career, or death is mounting.

With all this info, does it mean we do not do any cardio? Not at all. Enter in smart cardio.
What I mean by this is moving slowly frequently. HIIT, high intensity interval training, intervals, sprinting, going for a walk or a slow bike ride being able to maintain a conversation and enjoy the beauty around you.
The beauty of training with HIIT and intervals, is you have a one fell swoop of a workout. You do your cardio and weights at the same time. Saving time and getting the maximum benefit from your workout. These workouts range from four minutes to about 20 minutes.
How HIIT or intervals are performed:
Do an exercise for 20 to 60 seconds as hard as you can.
Rest, or active recovery, walking, stretching, deep breathing for 10 to 60 seconds.
Repeat the cycle, anywhere from four to 20 minutes in length.
An advanced form of this is Tabata's, not for the faint of heart or the beginner. Do something like this that is between 30 to 60 seconds of exercise with the same amount of rest is a good place to begin. You can do this with any exercise, mix and match for a full body workout.

Some of the health benefits:
Save time
Builds muscle, including the heart muscle
Burns fat
Does not cause excessive amounts of stress on the body
Burns calories for hours after, even days
Only needs to be done two to three times a week
Release of good feeling hormones, those that help make you happy
Can be done anytime any where

A great time to go for a short walk is right after you have done a workout like HIIT. Strength training, like this is going to release the fat from you body, the cardio at this point will help to burn it up. This walk dose not need to be long or excessive, about 15 minutes at a light pace will accomplish the task.

Moving the body every day and frequently, is important. Try and go for a walk, with a friend is even better, every day, 20 to 30 minutes. This is healthy, but keep the pounding, grueling, excessive cardio down to HIIT and intervals 20 minutes two to three times a week. Your body will thank you. So will your waist line.

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God's abundant blessings
Jenn


Tuesday, October 8, 2013

October's Is About Moving


This is how I am moving!



How is moving more going for you? Did you try doing any of the basics movements from the video?
Did you try the workout? I sure hope you have at least tried.

Today we are going to talk about moving more frequently and over training. Let's begin.

Our bodies were designed to move, to be going from place to place, hunting and gathering food, playing and enjoying our lives. But in modern society, we spend most of our time on our butt's. This is killing us. I am sure you have heard this already, but we need to hear it again and again. Our bodies need to move. Movement helps move the blood and oxygen, brings nutrients and takes the bad stuff out, stabilize blood sugar, improves mood, the list goes on and on. The movement we need to be doing is frequent, low intensity type moving. Going for a walk daily, standing when we are talking on the phone, taking the stairs, for no reason other than moving, stand up and do 10 squats, it is about frequently moving the body, slowly. If you watch children playing, not sitting in front of some electronic device, you will see them be still for a time, then move sometimes fast and sometimes slowly. This is the more natural way of movement and what we are needing to incorporate into our lives to be healthier.
Make a commitment to yourself to move your body more.

As important as moving is, we do have to watch for symptoms of over training, which causes significant amounts of stress in the body. Over training is not going to be caused from moving like we talked about above. This is caused from excessive amounts of training.

Some symptoms of over training:
  • fatigue
  • inability to recover
  • not seeing the results you are looking for
  • insomnia
  • low sex drive
  • hormone in balances
  • irritability 
  • not able to complete workouts
  • soar muscles that just do not ever seem to improve 
  • working out hard every day
If you are experiencing some of the symptoms, you might want to think about resting for several days. If you begin to feel better, than over training is probably what is going on. Take a week or two or three off and then go back. Once you begin training again, if you experience any of these symptoms again with in the first week, take more time off until these symptoms subside. Begin concentrating on more frequent slow movement instead of hard training. Keep the hard stuff to 2-3 times a week for short duration, about 20 minutes a time will do just nicely. By doing this, you will lesson your chances of over training. Also, be sure to have scheduled into your program periods of rest. 

Go forth and move.
Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God's abundant blessings,
Jenn
A VERY HAPPY Otto running 

Adorable Mungo Happy to be hiking