July Plan

Here is my plan for July

1. Eat 5 – 6 small meals a day (200 – 300 cals/ meal)
2. Get 150 minutes + of cardio each week (My plan is to really do at least 1 hour of cardio a day 6x a week but no less than 150 minutes a week at the very least).
3. Take progress pics on the first & last day of your challenge (front & back full length) THIS IS WHAT KEEPS YOU HONEST.
4. Follow these 3 ST workouts, one Monday, one Wednesday and one Friday each week








Warm up
SB Lat pullovers
SB Chest Flyes
SB Back extensions x 10, hold last one 10 seconds
Burpee/ push up x 10
Repeat twice for a total of 3 rounds.
Stretch
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Warm up
Plyo lunges x 10 each leg
Reverse Lunges x 10 each leg
SBHamstring curls x 10 each leg
SB Crunches x 20
Repeat twice for a total of 3 rounds.
stretch.
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Warm up
Lateral raises x 10
Front raises x 10
SB (seated) alternating overhead press x 10 each arm
Plank x 30 sec
Mtn climbers x 40 sec
Close grip/ skinny push ups x 10
stretch.

Barbie Boot Camp's Guide to Workout Clothes....

I recently asked my best friend, fitness guru, Barbie Boot Camp blogger, Pam to write a blog on what to wear when working out.  I myself have spent years working out and one would think I know what to wear by now, but the truth is, I have had one too many workouts wearing too tight of shorts, socks that end up in my shoe not around my foot, pants digging into my bleeding belly button... I googled and I asked friends but got now where.  Pam's blog pretty much puts the nail on the head!







Original Post written by "Barbie Boot Camp":

The 3 C's of Fitness Apparel - Cute, Comfortable and Cheap!

What you wear to the gym DOES matter, I don't care what anybody says! I've literally had to leave the gym because a cheap pair of running leggings must have had some sort of polyester blend to it (scratchy!), and the seams were legit chafing me less than 5 minutes in to my workout. Those went immediately into the garbage (I could not pass along the pain via Good Will or the Salvation Army...nobody deserves chafing when they're making the effort to get in shape!) But cute, COMFORTABLE workout wear can be very expensive!

I'm a Barbie on a budget! And when you work out as much as I do, you need a lot of clothes or you're doing laundry more than you have time for.

Here I will share my favorite workout wear - from head to toe - and some of my favorite ways to cut costs without sacrificing cute or comfort, because let's face it, work out is more fun when you feel good and until you look good naked, you want to at least look good in your clothes!

Read the rest at her blog:

http://barbiebootcamp.blogspot.com/2011/06/3-cs-of-fitness-apparel-cute.html

100 degrees and 40% humidity... No we aren't talking Florida we're talking Bikram!

The primary emphasis of Yoga is overall well-being.  It teaches it’s yogi’s a lifestyle and way of thinking.  Yoga relieves stress, fatigue, improves invigoration and vitality and has anti-aging properties.  Part of my fitness plan and over-all well-being plan is to incorporate yoga into my life. I am currently doing one day a week of HOT YOGA at Earth Yoga in NYC.  Earth hosts a bunch of hot yoga classes that last anywhere from 60 minutes to 90 minutes. 

Hot Yoga or Bikram Yoga is Yoga done in a hot room usually around 100 degrees and 40% humidity.  Any exercise program focuses on warming up our bodies before vigorous activity. The temperature of the yoga room is similar to our body's own temperature. This accelerates improvement in many of the benefits of your yoga practice.  Regular exercisers recognize that peak performance occurs when fully warmed up and your body generates heat from the inside radiating out and into your muscles

The heat means we can get into postures more deeply and effectively - plus the benefits of the postures come quickly. Like thousands before you, you will find that practicing yoga in the warm room creates a satisfying and almost addictive feeling of achievement.

The benefits are many:

1.     Your body burns fat more effectively, fat may be redistributed and burned as energy during the class. It is common to lose inches of shape in a very short time

2.     The heat produces a fluid-like stretch allowing for greater range of movement in joints, muscles, ligaments and other supporting structures of the body

3.     Capillaries dilate in the heat; more effectively oxygenating the tissues, muscles, glands and organs and helping in the removal of waste products

4.     Your peripheral circulation improves due to enhanced perfusion of your extremities

5.     Your metabolism speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids

6.     You benefit from a strengthening of willpower, self control, concentration and determination in this challenging environment

7.     Your cardiovascular system gets a thorough workout

8.     Your muscles and connective tissue become more elastic and allow for greater flexibility with less chance of injury and improved resolution of injury

9.     Sweating promotes detoxification and elimination through the skin - which is the body's largest eliminating organ

10.   Just as when your body raises its temperature to fight infection, the raised temperature in the room will assist in improving T-cell function and the proper functioning of your immune system

11.   Your nervous system function is greatly improved and messages are carried more efficiently to and from your brain

12.   Metabolism improves in your digestive system and in the body's cells (that is food in the gut and nutrients in the cells)

Many of my friends do yoga one day a week and some do it every day of the week.  Yoga is something I love having in my work-out routine both for the physical and mental benefits!  

Those At The Top Of The Mountain Didn't Fall There

Your body's equation is simple.  80% diet + 10% exercise + 10% genetics = 100% your body.  Just because excerise is only 10% of your overall body doesn't mean you should skip out on this.  Working out has great benefits that include things like energy, motivation, excelerated weight loss, toning and so forth.  While what you eat is the biggest contributor for your body, if you don't work out, you could become skinny and flabby.  Who would have thought?  But there are plently of skinny people out there who feel fat and have no toness to them and that is simply becuase they do not exercise! 
There is a huge spectrum of working out.  There's the extreme body builders routine and then there is just simply moving more.  Both are great and my suggestion is start where you feel comfortable.  It's best to start small and work up so that your body as somewhere to go.  The saying "it's not a sprint; it's a marathon" is fitting here.  Working out is a long term lifestyle.  So start small and grow from there. 

My friend Pam helped me achieve a plan which I have outlined below.  I am starting small and slowly working myself up throughout 12 weeks.  I am working out twice a day to maximize my motabism and so that I can get quicker weight loss results.  Within each week, I will be adding different exercises (HIIT and so forth) which I will outline as the weeks go on.  This week I am considering week number one.  I am doing 30 minutes, twice a day on the elliptical at the same speed, hard enough to make me sweat but not too hard that I cannot keep the speed for 30 minutes.

week one - 30 minutes 2 x per day
Week two - 30 minutes am, 60 minutes pm
Week three - 60 minutes am, 60 minutes pm
week four - cleanse and yoga
week five - 60 min 2 x per day
week six - 60 min 2 x per day
week seven - 60 min 2 x per day
week 8 - 90 min 2 times per day
week 9 - cleanse and yoga
week 10 - 60 min 2 x per day
week 11 - 90 min 2 times per day
week 12 - cleanse and yoga