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Posts Tagged ‘cardio’
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
Fall is here! It’s the season of dramatic color and chilly nights. In the colder and darker areas of the country, the decrease in sunlight signals our bodies that it’s time to hibernate. (California might not experience it to the same extent but trust me, we feel it here, too.) It can be difficult to find motivation, but slowing down is not necessarily an obstacle, just merely a bump in the road on our long and exciting journey to a healthier body and lifestyle.
A big part of living a healthy life is listening to what the body needs, and accepting the changes it goes through. Let’s invite some new movement to play with, to get the body going and the mind motivated again. Here are a few things that bring the fun into staying fit…
 Hula hoops
Go back to the old days when you were hula hooping on the playground! Did you think that it was exercise? Hula hooping can be a fun cardio workout as well as core and abs all in one. It can burn up to 400 kcal per hour! It’s very important to stretch before and after, but other than that, it’s a safe and fun exercise. There are hoop DVDs, but the easiest thing is to go to the nearest Target, pick up a hula hoop, and get going!
 TRX Suspension Training
These are traditional strength exercises performed while hanging suspended from the ceiling. Your core must be involved and you will be working out your entire body, as you use your own body weight as resistance. Of course, it is important to receive proper guidance to avoid risks. In my business of personal training, everyone seems to have a TRX Suspension Training strap available for anywhere and anytime training!
 YOSPIN fusion
Mix 30 minutes of yoga with 30 minutes of spinning for an excellent body-mind workout. The cardio-intensive cycling followed by flexibility-increasing yoga helps stretch and condition muscles. Switching between the two activities can lead to injury, so a mindful stop and switch – waiting until the heart rate recovers before starting yoga – is imperative. If you don’t have spinning or yoga at your gym, go to a spinning class, download yoga to your MP3 player, and do your own thing!
Of course, you can also create your own fusions of your favorite exercise routines! Do you have any tips to trade? Any fun workouts like hula hoping that you would like to share? Please let us know!
Live Life Loud!
Want the tools to develop life-long health habits?
Check out my e-book, Your Life Force: Training for Strength & Harmony.
Images: AmandaLouise, Amazon.com, Fitness Anywhere, Gaiam Restorative Exercise for Relaxation Kit
Tags: abs, body weight, cardio, core, flexibility, fun, hula hoops, motivation, movement, resistance, spinning, suspension training, TRX, yoga
Posted in Body-Mind Health, Fitness | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
 Q: Hi, Tanja. I can’t seem to get rid of my love handles and flatten my stomach. What should I do?
– L.
A: Hi L., Love handles are deposits of excess fat, and the best way to battle them is to do fat-burning cardio workouts (have you done my Reebok Bootcamp DVD yet?!) and slowly start excluding processed sugars, grains, and other unnecessary foods from your diet. If you have gone on many yo-yo diets, the love handles and other deposit pockets might be more pronounced and harder to get rid of. DON’T GIVE UP!!! The same goes for excess fat on the stomach but you can also do Pilates exercises for the core and abs! The Pilates Core Challenge DVD with Ana Caban is a good one.
Best,
Tanja
Do you have a question? Don’t be shy – ask it here!
Tags: abs, cardio, core, love handles, Pilates, stomach
Posted in Ask Tanja, Fitness, News | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Has your workout hit a plateau? To be effective, working out should be balance between following a routine until your body adapts to it, and then changing it so your body can feel a challenge again. This is important for your body to grow and achieve the results you want! Here are a few ways you can change your routine:
Weight lifting
Change any of the following: the number of sets, fewer or more repetitions, more or less weight, the speed with which you lift, basically anything you DON’T usually do or haven’t done in awhile. When you feel your body has to work harder to keep up, you know you are doing the right thing!
Cardio
When doing fat-burning training, you can change the machine you are working on, do an uphill hike instead of a run, or ride a bike outside instead of a stationary bike indoors. Whatever “shocks” your body is good for progress and creates better results.
Of course, changes should be implemented one at a time and not all at once. And for people who exercise constantly and have a tendency to over-exercise, a break of several days may actually be the change that is needed and the most effective.
Image: lu_lu
Tags: cardio, change, comfort, fat burning, plateau, plateaus, routines, strength training, weight lifting
Posted in Fitness | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Need an energy burst to get you going in the morning or at the end of a long day? Try this routine for explosive muscle strength and increased metabolism. It’s also fun to do with a family member or friend. Kids really get into it, too!
Time yourself after you complete the first set, note the time, and check whether you can beat your own record next time.
- 20 regular squats
- 20 frog jumps (jumping squats)
- 20 push-ups
- 20 reverse lunges
- 20 Russian get ups (lie on your back on the floor, get up without using your hands, reach your arms over your head)
- 20 tricep dips (in the gym or on a chair)
- 20 lateral slide jumps (like skating)
- 20 crunches
- 20 criss cross twists (oblique crunches with the bicycle)
Repeat the cycle 3 times, and rest whenever you need to. The resting time will decrease, and your ability to move in a flow will improve. That is when you know you are improving in cardiovascular ability and explosive strength, not to mention working out like a rock star!
Image: evilerin
Tags: cardio, energy, explosive muscle strength, interval training, metabolism
Posted in Fitness | No Comments »
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