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Showing posts with label Cardio Exercises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cardio Exercises. Show all posts

8 Benefits of Jumping Rope

Jumping rope for 6 minutes is a great cardio activity that you can do every day and you can see some dramatic health benefits.
  • Fantastic cardiovascular workout that boosts weight loss dramatically.
  • Tones lower body, especially calves
  • Improves co-ordination
  • Improves agility
  • Increases heart and lung capacity
  • Increases endurance
  • Improves heart rate recovery time
  • Great for fat burning programs
The trick about jumping rope is to pace yourself if you haven't done it for a long time.

Start off doing it for 6 minutes every day.

Then work your way up to 20 minutes every day.

After several months of 20 minutes every day then work your way up to 40 minutes per day.

Jumping rope for a minute is roughly 120 jumps. That makes it a pretty tough exercise to do because it requires so much more energy and coordination.

Calories Burned

A 170 lb person burns 539.78 calories during 40 minutes of moderate jumping rope.

A 200 lb person burns 635.03 calories during 40 minutes of moderate jumping rope.

A 240 lb person burns 762.03 calories during 40 minutes of moderate jumping rope.

Note, because skipping rope is such a big cardio exercise it can also trigger the Afterburn Effect, which will cause you to burn even more calories than you thought. Thus 20 to 40 minutes of vigorous jumping rope every day can burn approx. 1 to 2 pounds of fat (or more) per week thanks to the Afterburn Effect.

A 170 lb person burns 323.87 calories during 20 minutes of vigorous jumping rope.

X 7 is 2267 calories per week, which you can then (conservatively) multiply by 1.5 because of the Afterburn Effect = 3401 calories. 3500 calories equals 1 lb of fat.

Thus anyone who weighs 170 lbs or more, doing 20 minutes of skipping rope every day, can see dramatic differences in just 1 week. So how big is 1 lb of fat? See the photo below.


Now imagine all the health benefits if you started off at say 240 lbs and wanted to lose 80 lbs, down to 160 lbs? They would be plentiful health benefits, but lets do the math to see how this could be accomplished.

Assuming an average weight of 200 lbs during this weight loss period, we use that as the number when inputting into a calorie calculator.

A 200 lb person burns 381.02 calories during 20 minutes of vigorous jumping rope.

x 720 days = 274,334.4 calories burned. That is 78.38 lbs of fat in less than two years... and that is NOT counting the Afterburn Effect, that is not counting additional exercises the person might also try / start doing in addition to skipping rope, and that is not counting dietary changes if they start eating healthier.

For best results, I recommend a healthy balanced diet with lots of veggies, lean meat, and a moderately low amount of carbs. To stay motivated I recommend listening to fast adrenaline filled music while doing your rope jumping.

For fun combine rope jumping / skipping rope with other body weight activities like squats, crunches, sit ups, push ups, chin ups, etc for an all over approach to fitness.

:)



For even more fun try to get friends and family involved too.


The Myths of Spot Reduction

Everyone stores fat differently.

And when it comes to losing weight, many people find a stubborn pocket of fat that they cannot get rid of.

So what do you do?

Most exercisers are familiar with the concept of "spot reduction", but what many people don't know is that spot reduction is a myth and doesn't work.

The idea behind spot reduction is the concept of exercising a specific part of your body in an effort to make that body part lose fat. In reality what happens is the spot gets bigger as you grow more muscle tissue in that area, and the fat doesn't go away.

So for example this means someone doing only crunches in an attempt to slim their waist, or for example performing just squats because, "All I want is a smaller butt!"

And then what happens is their ab muscles get bigger from doing crunches, and their glutes (butt muscles) get bigger when doing squats.

So regardless of what exercise you are doing, if you are trying to reduce fat you need to be thinking cardio instead. Cardio cuts fat all over your body - which means wherever your body is storing fat (belly, thighs, sides, etc) then your body will take the fat, use it as energy during the cardio exercises, and your special problem area will be reduced noticeably over time.


So why does Spot Reduction not work???

When exercising your body uses sugar in your blood to fuel your activities. When your blood sugar levels start to get low (like during jogging, cycling, etc) then your body absorbs fat into your blood to provide extra energy, and it absorbs it from ALL OVER your body. Wherever your body is storing fat, that is where the fat will be drained from.

When doing weight lifting / body weight exercises like squats and crunches you are actually doing muscle building exercises - which uses very little energy in comparison to a cardio activity like jogging. That means you aren't using very much blood sugar. So you are not going to lose much fat because the exercise simply isn't using that much energy.

Your muscles will feel tired, because your muscles are not used to being used that way during crunches and squats, but that is primarily due to muscle fatigue.

A better way of determining whether you are actually burning fat is seeing whether you can maintain a conversation. If you are gasping for breath and unable to talk - like someone who is jogging - then you are likely burning fat. If you can talk easily, you really are not exercising that much.

What about Spot Creation???

Weight lifters often want bigger biceps, bigger pecs, bigger abs. Yes, they can achieve some results by focusing only on specific body parts - like the guy who got into professional arm wrestling and only exercised his one arm.

However most people don't want freakishly big Popeye arms.

The thing is muscle building and toning, similar to cardio, doesn't actually happen one muscle at a time - it is a whole set of muscles that are co-dependent.

It is the fact that muscle groups are co-dependent that often causes confusion, because people don't realize that an "all over approach" often builds muscles faster because it targets muscles groups as a whole instead of just one specific part.

For swimmers, cyclists, gymnasts, etc these results will be more obvious to them as they are often targeting muscle groups - cyclists for example tend to get really strong legs. Like the photo below of a man with freakishly big legs.


So what have we learned here?

#1. Spot reduction doesn't work. If you want to reduce fat from a specific spot, go jogging and do cardio exercises to reduce fat all over your body.

#2. Spot creation does work, but if you want better results you are better off doing large muscle groups exercises because they are co-dependent on each other.

HAPPY MYTH BUSTING!

Woodworking as an Exercise

It might sound strange but you can get in some good cardio exercise by doing woodworking.

The beauty of woodworking is that minus the cost of tools and wood, it is relatively inexpensive. You can make lots of things around the home that you need / will use, and you will burn lots of calories during the process of making them without really noticing that you are burning them - because woodworking is itself fun.

All the calorie burns listed below are for an individual who weighs 200 lbs, and a time of 1 hour.

Painting or Wallpapering - 186 calories burned.

Plumbing or Electrical Work - 228 calories burned.

General Carpentry - 286 calories burned.

General Painting - 319 calories burned.

Furniture Carpentry - 319 calories burned.

Scraping, Washing, Waxing Boat, Car, Etc - 319 calories burned.

Painting, Outside Home - 364 calories burned.

Construction, Outdoors Remodeling - 416 calories burned.

Building a Fence or Roofing - 455 calories burned.

Paving New Driveway - 455 calories burned.

Using Heavy Power Tools (Jackhammers, Chainsaws, Etc) - 455 calories burned.

Sawing Hardwood with a Hand Saw - 592 calories burned.

Pickaxe, Shovel, Etc - 637 calories burned.

Walking while carrying anything just over 100 lbs in weight - 683 calories burned.

And this is just a sample of the many cardio / weight lifting exercises a person can do while doing woodworking.

REMEMBER TO OBSERVE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND USE SAFETY EQUIPMENT TO PROTECT YOUR HANDS, EYES AND EARS. ESPECIALLY WHEN OPERATING HEAVY MACHINERY WHICH CAN CAUSE HEARING LOSS.

Over 100 Cardio Exercises you can Try

Below is a list of over 100 cardio exercises you can try - and many of them won't cost you much to try them either.

At The Gym

Arm ergometer (arm cycle)
Box jumps
Circuit training
Elliptical trainer
Interval training
Jacob's ladder (climbing treadmill)
Kettlebells
Plyometrics
Rowing machine
Stair stepping
Stationary or recumbent bike
Step ups
Treadmill walking or running

Household Chores

Changing sheets
Cleaning out the garage
Cleaning the bathtub
Cleaning the gutters
Gardening
Heavy landscaping such as planting trees, shrubs and bushes
Heavy renovations (pulling carpet, knocking down walls, etc.)
Mopping
Moving furniture
Mowing the lawn with a push mower
Painting
Raking
Scrubbing floors
Shoveling snow
Sweeping the patio and walkways
Vacuuming
Washing the car
Washing windows

The Great Outdoors

Cycling
Hiking
Snowshoeing
Downhill skiing
Cross-country skiing
Water skiing
Wakeboarding
Rock climbing
Jogging / Running
Power walking (brisk walking)
Rollerblading
Paddling a canoe
Nordic walking
Surfing
Paddle boarding
Swimming
Water jogging/running
Skateboarding
Bleacher running
Ice skating

Sports

Tennis
Flag football
Hitting balls at the driving range
Archery
Archery Biathlon
Triathlon
Marathon Running
Decathlon
Soccer
Hockey
Basketball
Lacrosse
Boxing
Martial arts
Kickboxing
Kickball
Karate
Jiu-jitsu
Racquetball

Group Classes

Spinning
Step aerobics
Jazzercise
Zumba
Bootcamp
Yoga (Ashtanga and/or Vinyasa)
Salsa dancing
Dance classes or lessons
Cardio kickboxing
Hi-lo floor aerobics
Water aerobics
BODYPUMP
Silver Sneakers
Gliding
Hip hop dance
Sports conditioning
CrossFit
Krav Maga
StrollerStrides or StrollerFit classes
Turbokick

Play Time

Walking the dog
Playing with your children
Dodge ball
Tag
Hooping (hula hooping)
Obstacle courses
Jump rope
Water games in a pool
Playing with your dog
Skipping
Surfing
Hop scotch
Taking the stairs
Jumping jacks
Trampoline jumping (rebounding)

5 Cardio Exercises for People who have difficulty Exercising

Large and heavy people often have difficulty exercising because they get sore joints, they have very low endurance, they feel embarrassed, etc.

But cardio exercises like running, jogging, etc are very beneficial for people looking to lose weight. Thus it becomes a whole Catch-22 wherein they feel they are "too fat to jog" and thus feel demotivated to exercise.

And they're not alone.

Elderly people with sore knees find jogging too painful on their legs, women with very large breasts cannot find sports bras in their sizes that give them enough support get sore backs and chest pain / sore armpits when trying to jog.

And then there are people who might be suffering from a sports injury that makes it too difficult for them to jog. eg. An ankle injury.

Thus I have come up with this list of 5 Cardio Exercises for People who have difficulty Exercising

#1. Swimming - Call it the beauty of swimming, but it is great for exercise as it uses as much or as little effort as you feel like putting into it, and you can do it slowly or quickly depending on your endurance - and it is safe for people with knee injuries and won't be problematic for women with large breasts.

A 300 lb person doing moderate swimming for 60 minutes will burn approx. 690 calories.



#2. Cycling - This might be trickier for people with sore knees or ankle injuries (it can still be done, but take it slower and don't put excess force on your knees or ankles), but it won't be a problem for people who are heavier or have large breasts.

A 300 lb person doing leisure cycling for 60 minutes will burn approx. 450 calories.


#3. Household Chores - Honestly this is a long list and includes everything from washing windows to washing the car, gardening to shoveling snow, scrubbing floors to cleaning out the garage. These activities burn calories and you can do them at your own pace, so you can take it easy - which means you get a workout and a clean home too.

A 300 lb person washing their car for 60 minutes will burn approx. 510 calories.


#4. Power Walking / Hiking / Walking the Dog - Assuming that your knees / ankles are okay with walking, you should also be able to go for "Power Walks" or hikes. Avoid long walks if you have low endurance, and keep it short if you find you have problems with your ankles or knees. If you have a dog try to take them for a short walk twice per day.

A 300 lb person walking the dog for 60 minutes at 2 mph will burn approx. 315 calories.


#5. Dancing - Again if you have ankle or knee injuries, stick to slow dances. Signing up dance lessons or joining a dancing group might be one of the best decisions you've ever made.

A 300 lb person doing leisure dancing for 60 minutes will burn approx. 345 calories.

Burning 3500 calories = shedding 1 lb of fat. It takes time, but you can do it.

NOTE - Depending on your circumstances I strongly recommend consulting a doctor before signing yourself up for anything strenuous. Stick to lighter exercises when in doubt.

15 Health Benefits of Dancing

Dancing encourages freedom of expression and you don't need a lot of motivation to do it.

Dancing is a great cardiovascular activity.

Dancing is fantastic for weight loss.

Dancing is easy on joints and ligaments.

Dancing builds strength.

Dancing improves endurance.

Dancing improves co-ordination and reflexes.

Dancing improves posture.



Dancing supplements other physical activity and is great for cross training.

Dancing is great for social events (parties, weddings).

Dancing improves self esteem and body image.

Dancing helps you get a good night's sleep.

Dancing lowers the amount of toxins in your body.

Dancing helps to bring a shy person "out of his/her shell".

Dancing prevents / reduces Alzheimer's disease.

BONUS!

Dancing is FUN for the whole family!

Calorie Crunching in 6 Minutes

Lets pretend you weigh 200 lbs and you want to lose some weight - specifically fat off your belly, thighs, under arms, etc.

But you aren't sure what exercises you should be doing. Weight lifting or cardio? Or both? And if so, how much? And which exercises produce the best results?

Well when it comes to weight loss your primary goal is to have a caloric reduction. So you should be doing approx. 70% cardio exercises (because cardio exercises burn more fat) and 30% weight lifting (to maintain muscle tone).

So for example if you had 9 minutes to exercise you might do 6 minutes of cardio and 3 minutes of weight lifting. Which is a tiny amount really, but lets do the math anyway. You have 1,440 minutes in a day so 9 minutes is really only 0.00625 of your day.

So in 6 minutes the most calorie intensive thing you could do is bicycle as fast as you can - approx. 20 mph - which would burn 145.4 calories if you weigh 200 lbs.

In contrast 6 minutes of vigorous weight lifting would burn a mere 54.4 calories. So half that if you did it for 3 minutes, so 27.2 calories.

Grant total for 6 minutes of bicycling + 3 minutes of vigorous weightlifting is 172.6 calories.

It is not a lot. But lets pretend you did that every day for a year. 364 x 172.6 = 62,826.4 calories. Just under 18 lbs of fat. (Exact results will vary on the weight of the person.)

Do that 9 minute exercise routine every day, 2 or 3 times per day and you would lose between 36 and 54 lbs in 1 year. Likely more if you add in the Afterburn Effect and a healthy balanced diet. As your endurance builds and weight drops you will start going faster and pushing yourself harder, possibly exercising for a lot more than 18 or 27 minutes per day... In which case you will reach your exercise goals faster than expected.

27 minutes is less than 2% of your day. Isn't it worth 2% of your day to achieve your exercise goals?

INTERESTING NOTE: Compare below the stationary gym bicycle calories burned vs cycling on a real bicycle. You burn way more calories on a real bicycle because you are moving your own bodyweight, whereas on a gym spinning stationary bicycle you aren't moving any weight. You burn way more calories on a real bicycle - which means the people shelling out money for spin classes would be better off just buying a normal bicycle.

The chart below shows many different activities a person can do and how many calories a 200 lb person would burn in 6 minutes doing those activities. The two best for burning calories (and therefore losing weight) are running and bicycling.


Gym Activities Calories Burned in 6 Minutes (calculated for a 200 lb person)
Aerobics: low impact 45.4 Aerobics: high impact 63.6
Aerobics, Step: 6" - 8" step 77.2 Aerobics, Step: 10" - 12" step 90.9
Aerobics: water 36.3 Bicycling, Stationary: moderate, 150 watts 63.6
Bicycling, Stationary: vigorous, 200 watts 95.4 Calisthenics: Vigorous, jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, pullups 72.7
Calisthenics: Moderate, back exercises, going up and down from the floor 31.8 Circuit Training: w/some aerobic, minimal rest 72.7
Elliptical Trainer: general 65.4 Riders: general (ie., HealthRider) 36.3
Rowing, Stationary: moderate, 100 watts 63.6 Rowing, Stationary: vigorous, 150 watts 77.2
Ski Machine: general 63.6 Stair Step Machine: General, without supporting any bodyweight on hand rails  81.8
Stretching: Mild, Hatha Yoga 22.7 Teaching aerobics 54.5
Weight Lifting: Light, free weight, nautilus or universal-type 27.2 Weight Lifting: Vigorous, free weight, nautilus or universal-type 54.5
Training and Sport Activities Calories Burned in 6 Minutes
Archery: non-hunting 31.8 Badminton: general, social 40.9
Basketball: playing a game 72.7 Basketball: wheelchair 59
Basketball: shooting baskets40.9 Basketball: officiating a game 63.6
Billiards22.7 Bicycling: BMX or mountain 77.2
Bicycling: 12-13.9 mph, leisure, moderate effort 72.7 Bicycling: 14-15.9 mph, leisure racing, fast, vigorous 90.9
Bicycling: 16-19 mph, very fast, not drafting 109 Bicycling: > 20 mph, racing, not drafting 145.4
Bowling 27.2 Boxing: sparring 81.8
Boxing: punching bag 54.5 Boxing: in the ring 109
Coaching: football, soccer, basketball, etc. 36.3 Cricket: batting, bowling 45.4
Curling 36.3 Dancing: Fast, ballet, twist 43.6
Dancing: disco, ballroom, square, line, Irish step, polka 40.9 Dancing: slow, waltz, foxtrot, tango, fox trot 27.2
Fencing 54.5 Football: competitive 81.8
Football: touch, flag, general 72.7 Football or Baseball: playing catch 22.7
Frisbee: general 27.2 Frisbee: Ultimate 72.7
Golf: carrying clubs 40.9 Golf: using cart 31.8
Golf: driving range, miniature 27.2 Golf: walking and pulling clubs 39
Gymnastics: general 36.3 Hacky sack 36.3
Handball: general 109 Handball: team 72.7
Hang Gliding 31.8 Hiking: cross-country 54.5
Hockey: field & ice 72.7 Horseback Riding: general 36.3
Ice Skating: general 63.6 Kayaking 45.4
Martial Arts: judo, karate, kick boxing, tae kwan do 90.9 Motor-Cross 36.3
Orienteering 81.8 Polo 90.9
Race Walking 59 Racquetball: competitive 90.9
Racquetball: casual, general 63.6 Rock Climbing: ascending 100
Rock Climbing: rappelling 72.7 Rollerblade / In-Line Skating 113.6
Rope Jumping: general, moderate 90.9 Running: 5 mph (12 min/mile) 72.7
Running: 5.2 mph (11.5 min/mile) 81.8 Running: 6 mph (10 min/mile) 90.9
Running: 6.7 mph (9 min/mile) 100 Running: 7 mph (8.5 min/mile) 104.5
Running: 8.6 mph (7 min/mile) 127.2 Running: 10 mph (6 min/mile) 145.4
Running: training, pushing wheelchair, marathon wheeling 72.7 Running: cross-country 81.8
Running: stairs, up 136.3 Running: on track, team practice 90.9
Scuba or skin diving 63.6 Skateboarding 45.4
Skiing: cross-country, light effort, general, 2.5 mph 63.6 Skiing: cross-country, vigorous, 5.0 - 7.9 mph 85.7
Skiing: downhill, moderate effort 54.5 Skiing: downhill, vigorous effort, racing 72.7
Sky diving 31.8 Sledding, luge, toboggan, bobsled 63.6
Snorkeling 45.4 Snow Shoeing 72.7
Soccer: general 63.6 Soccer: competitive play 90.9
Softball or Baseball: slow or fast pitch, general 45.4 Softball: Officiating 36.3
Softball: pitching 54.5 Squash 109
Surfing: body or board 27.2 Swimming: general, leisurely, no laps 54.5
Swimming: laps, vigorous 90.9 Swimming: backstroke 63.6
Swimming: breaststroke 90.9 Swimming: butterfly 100
Swimming: crawl, moderate, 50 yds/min 72.7 Swimming: treading, moderate effort 72.7
Swimming: lake, ocean, river 54.5 Swimming: synchronized 72.7
Table Tennis / Ping Pong 36.3 Tai Chi 36.3
Tennis: singles, competitive 72.7 Tennis: doubles, competitive 45.4
Tennis: general play 63.6 Track & Field: shot, discus, hammer throw 36.3
Track & Field: high jump, long jump, triple jump, javelin, pole vault 54.5 Track & Field: steeplechase, hurdles 90.9
Volleyball: non-competitive, general play, 6 - 9 member team 27.2 Volleyball: competitive, gymnasium play 72.7
Volleyball: beach 72.7 Walk: 2 mph (30 min/mi) 22.7
Walk: 3 mph (20 min/mi) 30 Walk: 3.5 mph (17 min/mi) 34.5
Walk: 4 mph (15 min/mi) 45.4 Walk: 4.5 mph (13 min/mi) 57.2
Walk: 5 mph (12 min/mi) 72.7 Water Skiing 54.5
Water Polo 90.9 Water Volleyball 27.2
Whitewater: rafting, kayaking 45.4 Wrestling: one match = 5 minutes 54.5
Outdoor Home Maintenance / Improvement Activities 
Calories Burned in 6 Minutes
Carpentry, installing rain gutters, building fence 54.5 Carrying & stacking wood 45.4
Chopping & splitting wood 54.5 Cleaning rain gutters 45.4
Digging, spading dirt, composting 45.4 Gardening: general 36.3
Gardening: weeding 40.9 Laying sod / crushed rock 45.4
Mowing Lawn: push, hand 54.5 Mowing Lawn: push, power 50
Operate Snow Blower: walking 40.9 Paint outside of home 45.4
Planting seedlings, shrubs 40.9 Plant trees 40.9
Raking Lawn 39 Roofing 54.5
Sacking grass or leaves 36.3 Shoveling Snow: by hand 54.5
Storm Windows: hanging 45.4 Sweeping: garage, sidewalks, outside of house 36.3
Trimming shrubs/trees: manual cutter 40.9 Trimming: using edger, power cutter, etc. 31.8
Watering plants, by hand 22.7 Workshop: general carpentry 27.2
Yard: applying seed or fertilizer, walking 22.7 Yard: watering by hand, standing/walking 13.6
Indoor Home Repair / Improvement Activities
Calories Burned in 6 Minutes
Carpentry: finish or refinish furniture or cabinets 40.9 Caulking: bathroom, windows40.9
Crafts: Standing, light effort 16.3 Hang sheet rock, paper or plaster walls27.2
Lay or remove carpet/tile 40.9 Paint, paper, remodel: inside40.9
Sanding floors with a power sander 40.9 Wiring and Plumbing27.2
Home & Daily Life Activities Calories Burned in 6 Minutes
Child-care: bathing, feeding, etc. 27.2 Child games: moderate, hop-scotch, jacks, etc. 36.3
Cleaning House: general 27.2 Cleaning: light dusting, straightening up, taking out trash, etc. 22.7
Cooking / Food Preparation 18.1 Food Shopping: with or without cart 20.9
Heavy Cleaning: wash car, windows 27.2 Ironing 20.9
Making Bed 18.1 Moving: household furniture 54.5
Moving: carrying boxes 50.9 Moving: unpacking 31.8
Playing w/kids: moderate effort 36.3 Playing w/kids: vigorous effort 45.4
Reading: sitting 9 Standing in line 10.9
Standing: bathing dog 31.8 Sleeping 8.1
Vacuuming 31.8 Watching TV 9
Office Activities Calories Burned in 6 Minutes
Driving vehicle to work 18.1 Sitting: light office work, meeting13.6
Standing: filing, light work 20.9 Riding in a bus or vehicle to work9
Typing: Computer, electric or manual 13.6 Walking: work break31.8
Occupational Activities Calories Burned in 6 Minutes
Bartending/Server18.1 Bakery: general, moderate effort36.3
Building Road: hauling debris, driving heavy machinery 54.5 Carpentry Work 31.8
Coaching Sports 36.3 Coal Mining 54.5
Computer Work13.6 Construction: outside, remodeling50
Custodial Word: general cleaning, moderate effort 31.8 Electrical Work31.8
Firefighting109 Forestry, general72.7
Forestry: planting trees by hand54.5 Heavy Equip. Operator22.7
Horse Grooming54.5 Light Office Work 13.6
Locksmith 31.8 Masonry 63.6
Masseur, standing36.3 Moving / Pushing heavy objects >75 lbs. 68.1
Patient Care: Nursing 27.2 Plumbing 31.8
Police Officer: making an arrest 36.3 Printing: operator, standing 20.9
Sitting in Class 16.3 Shoe Repair: general 22.7
Steel Mill: general 72.7 Theater Work21.8
Truck Driving: loading and unloading truck 59 Welding 27.2

Build a Beach Perfect Body - In The Winter!!!

It is November and it is starting to snow in Toronto maybe once per week. By December it will be snowing more regularly. By January there will be a foot of snow on the ground.

But if you count the months until mid June (the start of swimsuit season) then there is November, December, January, February, March, April and May - 7 months to get prepared if your goal is to lose weight and look fit for swimsuit season.

Now pay attention... most people only start trying to get fit a month or two before swimsuit season - and most of them FAIL to meet their exercise / weight loss goal.

The reason why is because they are focusing all of their exercise goals into a month or two month period and then wonder why they failed. When asked why they will point to reasons like not enough time, the workouts were too difficult, they fell off the wagon diet wise, lack of motivation and so forth.

I argue that they need to change their approach.

#1. Stop trying to do everything a month or two before swimsuit season. Start exercising NOW, many months before swimsuit season is even close. Thus their excuse that they didn't have enough time will be null and void.

#2. By doing the first it also means the workouts don't need to be quite so intense. People burn out and lose motivation if their workouts are too intense. In contrast if they start exercising over a 6 month period their workouts will be about one third the intensity of a 2 month workout regimen designed to accomplish the same goal. Thus the second excuse about workouts being too difficult will likewise be null and void.

#3. If you are going to make lifestyle / dietary changes you need to make permanent changes that you can stick with it. Now I admit that means making changes during the Christmas holiday season - a season during which many people are prone to binge eating on chocolate treats, xmas dinners, etc. But it can be done and you can do it if you give it an honest try. Start by making the switch to dark chocolate only (70% or better) - no more sugary chocolate or "white chocolate". Eat more veggies during xmas dinners and make fruits and vegetables part of every meal you eat, and every snack. Find the fruits and veggies you love and stock up on healthy foods you love.

#4. Find ways to motivate yourself. Music I find is a great motivator. Another way to motivate is to use fun activities that you enjoy doing. eg. Ice skating, downhill skiing, or just plain going for an afternoon walk and taking your camera with you.

Wait, its cold outside! I hate going outside in the cold!

Then invest in some thermal underwear. Learn how to layer clothing so you don't feel the cold. Get tight fitting clothes that fits really well and keeps you warm. Wear 3 or 4 layers under your jacket, get good thermal gloves, a neck warmer, hat, thermal longjohns for wearing under your pants/jeans, warm boots, thick socks - and voila! You will probably be so warm you will be unzipping layers!

Dressed like that and you can go jogging / winter walks / ice skating / tobogganing like when you were a kid and you won't really be bothered by the cold at all.

Next you need to avoid the temptation to just relax all winter indoors watching cable television, mucking around on Facebook and nonsensical videos on YouTube. Cancel the cable (33% of it is advertising anyway), take a vacation from Facebook, and go outside and make your own winter oriented videos and then post them on YouTube instead of watching other people's junk.

Things To Do This Winter!

#1. Cross Country Skiing - burns a tonne of calories! Burns 500 to 700 calories per hour depending on your weight.

#2. Take Up the Biathlon - cross country skiing with a rifle on your back! Yeehaw! Who says cross country skiing isn't a manly sport???

#3. Archery Biathlon - don't like guns? Take up the archery biathlon. Basically the same idea, but using a bow and arrow.

#4. Snow Shoeing - also burns lots of calories. Good for balance training too, plus it doubles as weightlifting for your legs. Try it and you will see how hard it is.

#5. Snowboarding - Good for cardio and balance. Works your abs too!

#6. Downhill Skiing - Same as snowboarding, makes for fun cardio.

#7. Ice Skating - Great cardio and balance training.

#8. Hockey - On skates or as Road Hockey, this sport will get you outside and having fun while also providing great cardio. Just don't forget to shout CAR!!!

#9. Shoveling Snow - Okay so technically it is not a sport... but it is very good cardio and weightlifting exercise. Shoveling snow is very hard so if you have a poor heart be certain to take it easy while shoveling snow because it is so difficult people are known to have heart attacks.

#10. Taking the dog for a walk - Seriously. Pets need to get outside and exercise too. So take the dog for a walk as often as you can. Or better yet, try competitive dog jogging.



Three Great Compound Exercises

A compound exercise is a multi-joint movement which utilizes multiple muscles at the same time so you get all the physical benefits of weightlifting / cardio for those muscles.

Unlike a bicep curl, which is an isolating exercise, and only works one muscle at a time, a compound exercise works two or more muscle groups. The classic example of a compound exercise is a bench press which utilizes triceps, deltoids and pectorals.

However, not all compound exercises are geared towards weightlifting. There are compound exercises that seriously raise your heart rate, burn fat, and still strengthen and tone the body. Example: Bicycling uses multiple leg muscles, raises your heart rate dramatically, while building muscles in your legs and burns calories like crazy.

Another example is boxing, which although it is a sport, it utilizes muscle groups in the whole body and makes for a great cardio exercise - and requires great balance and agility.


As such compound exercises are great for people who want more time efficient workouts and want a workout that is more geared towards weight loss, while simultaneously building muscle. Being able to work more than one muscle at a time cuts down on the overall time requirement for your fitness regimen. Such exercises also tend to work the core from having to balance, change levels, and twist / turn.

Here are three great compound exercises for you to try at home!

1. For your lower body, back, and core try Side Lunges + Rowing

In a wide stance holding a dumbbell in each hand, turn the toes out, with your body facing forward. Lunge over to one side, keeping the knee over the ankle and behind the toe. As you lunge row the weight back like a one arm row with your opposite arm. Then place that weight on the floor. Repeat on the other side so that both weights are now on the floor. When you lunge back to the first side pick the weight up and row. Go to the other side and do the same. Alternate between pick up, drop off and rows. This one will really make you sweat!

2. For your lower body, biceps, shoulders, core try Squats, Curls and Raises

With one heavy weight held with both hands go into a squat. Remember to keep all of the weight on your heels, and push your bum far back. On the way back up to starting position curl the weight like a bicep curl and as you stand, raise it over your head. Get the weight back down hanging in front of your body before starting the next squat, curl and raise rep.

3. For your lower body, chest, triceps, shoulders, core try Lunges + Push Ups

Stand in a wide stance. Point one toe away from your body and go down into a lunge, placing your hands onto the floor. Sweep your forward leg back into a plank position and do a push up. Bring the same working leg back in between your hands and lunge back up to staring position. Change sides.

Note

The above three exercises also go well with cardio intervals (like jumping jacks or skip rope), alternated between isolating exercises, or on their own. If you grow bored with them try making up your own compound exercises that focuses on the muscle groups you want to work with the most.


The Piecemeal Workout

The concept of a piecemeal workout is simple. Divide however much time you have to workout into 1 minute segments and then do X different exercises, wherein X is the total number of minutes you have available.

So for example if you have 20 minutes available, you are doing 20 different exercises for 1 minute each. Or if you have 60 minutes to workout you are doing 60 different exercises (possibly with a few minutes break during that time).

I recommend including a couple minutes of doing different kinds of stretches in there too, closer to the middle and the end of the workout. That will reduce muscle fatigue and act like a relaxing exercise in-between harder exercises.

For fun you can also make it into an interval training workout, whereby you alternate high intensity exercises with low intensity exercises.

Or whatever you want to do. Just keep it simple and avoid too many pieces of equipment. It is better if you can limit yourself to say 4 dumbbells, a skip rope and a yoga mat.

You can make the focus of your piecemeal workout on weightlifting, or it can be cardio, or it can be a mix of cardio and weightlifting (like perhaps 70% cardio and 30% weightlifting). It all depends on whether your goals are more to lose weight, build endurance or build muscle or all three.

So for example lets say you did the following...

1. Yoga, 1 minute.

2. Burpees with push ups
, 1 minute.

3. Squats with weight
, 1 minute.
 
4. Push ups
, 1 minute.

5. Mountain climbers
, 1 minute.

6. 2 arm bent row
, 1 minute.

7. Punches
, 1 minute.

8. Alternating front kicks
, 1 minute.

9. Bicep curls on knees
, 1 minute.

10. Lateral raises
, 1 minute.

11. Walking lunges with weights
, 1 minute.

12. Jump rope
, 1 minute.

13. Jumping jacks
, 1 minute.

14. Side kicks, 30 seconds each side.

15. Overhead extension
, 1 minute.
 
16. Wall sit
, 1 minute.

17. Five Sun Salutations
, 1 minute.
 
18. Alternating low back extension
, 1 minute.

19. Bicycle Crunches
, 1 minute.

20. Front plank
, 1 minute.

If you are doing longer workouts you will need a longer list of exercises to do. In which case please browse CardioTrek.ca for more examples of exercises you can add to your list. I have hundreds of different exercises listed on here, especially in the Frugal Exercises section since most of those are bodyweight exercises.

After your workout remember to do some light stretches. Helps reduce muscle fatigue.
Looking to sign up for archery lessons, boxing lessons, swimming lessons, ice skating lessons or personal training sessions? Start by emailing cardiotrek@gmail.com and lets talk fitness!

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