Taking your fitness to the next level - at home

When I mention to friends that I do most of my workouts at home, they often tell me that they prefer to go to the gym. They’ll mention the social part of gym membership – the fact that it’s easier to force yourself work out if you know that someone’s waiting to meet you. I can’t disagree – I like working out with other people. It’s fun to take group classes, then hit the coffee shop afterwards to catch up.

But here’s the downside – most people only get to the gym 2-3 times a week. They might intend to go work out every day – and I know there are people who do. But people get busy, classes get cancelled, and things come up which can make it impossible to carve out 2 hours every day for the gym (travel time, workout, cool-down, shower, etc.)

While it’s possible to maintain a basic level of fitness working out a couple of times a week, it is often not enough to achieve the kind of results that many people hope for- reaching their ideal weight, creating defined, sculpted arms, and even finding those long-buried abs.

Achieving a high level of fitness requires careful attention to nutrition and a regular, non-negotiable exercise program, 5-6 days a week. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that you have to jump around your living room for 1+ hours a day. Today you can choose from a wide range of 25-30 minute workouts that will build endurance, develop muscle definition and keep you in fighting form.

For me, hitting the gym or a class is a bonus. It’s something I do in addition to my scheduled daily workout. For me, these home workouts are non-negotiable. They ensure that I stay strong and flexible, can wear all the clothes in my closet and am able to take on any physical challenge I choose. They make it easy for me to get in 3+ hours of high quality exercise every week, without leaving the house. I’ve got my body back, and now I know how to maintain it.

Effective Ways to Lose Body Fat!

Lets face it - most people start a workout program because they want to lower their body fat percentage. There are countless diet and exercise programs out there, many of them contradicting the other. All of them promise certain weight loss, and few of them deliver the goods.

This weekend, I read a really good, straightforward article which explains some of the most effective ways to cut body fat. I'm not a bodybuilder, and I'm not aiming for 10-15% body fat. I just want to lose a few more body fat percentage points to achieve the look I want.

This article really cuts to the basics of what a good fitness and eating program aimed at fat burning should include, and applies to anyone looking to get in shape Even though it's a bodybuilding website, the article is written in a way that applies to everyone, whether they have 5, 50 or even 100 pounds to lose:

Bodybuilding.com fat loss article

Some of the highlights of the article include:

1) The use of moderate aerobic exercise, which increases in intensity as fat loss occurs. High intensity interval training should be used by intermediate to advanced exercisers to speed fat loss. Insanity, anyone?

2) Cutting out saturated fats from your diet (fats that solidify at room temperature) - but keep the omega-3 and -6 fats which can enhance your metabolism.

3) Cutting out bad carbs - but keep the good ones! You don't want to go carbo-crazy, but you need some carbs to fuel your body. Foods like brown rice, beans and oats are great for you - and don't forget to eat enough fiber!

4) Drinking a lot of water

5) Incorporating weight or resistance training (which starts during T25 Beta)

There's a lot more info in the article, and I highly recommend it, since it highlights a lot of what I believe in, and I think it's very consistent with the T25 program that I'm currently doing. Tomorrow evening I'm planning to put together a list of foods that contain healthy fats and good carbs - I'm looking for some inspiration in my kitchen, and that seems like a good place to start.




Laura

Counting calories - Where to start?

I first want to say that I do not religiously count calories. I do not track every bite I take in myfitnesspal.com or any other calorie tracking program. However, over the past six months I've taken a much greater interest in the number of calories in my food, along with the amount of fat, carbs, proteins, vitamins and other content. While I refuse to obsess over the caloric content of every bit of food that crosses my lips, I think it's useful to know how many calories I should consume to maintain, and how many I should consume to lose. I'm currently trying to maintain my weight (over the summer), but come fall I want to lose the last 3-5 pounds, so I'll need to be more careful.

So, to figure out my baseline, I've used the Harris Benedict-Equation, which determines a target caloric intake based on your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). The Insanity program uses a calculator based on this. BMR is basically the number of calories your body needs to stay alive and healthy. Once the BMR is calculated, you add an "allowance" for physical activity to determine the number of calories you should consume to maintain your current weight. From this number, determine a healthy caloric deficit based on your weight loss goals (this will vary greatly from person to person; you may want to chat with your doctor to determine the right level for you).

As a rough estimate, healthy weight loss is approximately 1-2 pounds a week, requiring a caloric deficit of around 3,500 calories to lose one pound. So, a deficit of 500 calories a day is probably a reasonable target if you're trying to lose weight. Like I've said in the past, I'm entirely opposed to diets. For me, it's all about eating healthy food in the right amounts, and permanently changing your approach to food.

THE HARRIS-BENEDICT EQUATION:

1. Calculate your BMR:

        Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

        Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

2. Multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

           Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2

           Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): BMR x 1.375

           Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): BMR x 1.55

           Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): BMR x 1.725

           Extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): BMR x 1.9

NOTE: For Insanity, most people choose to apply "Very Active" or "Extra Active". I think that for T25, "Moderately Active" is probably more accurate (though if you do other physical activity during the day, that will bump you to a higher category).

3. Your final number is the approximate number of calories you need each day to maintain your weight. For weight loss, determine the mild to moderate caloric deficit that is right for you.

So in my case:

Female, 148 pounds, 70 inches, age 42: 655 + (4.35 x 148) + (4.7 x 70) - (4.7 x 42)= 1429

Multiply 1429 x 1.55 (moderately active) = 2,215 calories a day to maintain my weight. With this information, I will probably aim for 1,900 over the summer, since I'm basically maintaining until fall (though dropping a pound or two wouldn't be unwelcome!)

 

Quality over Quantity - Paying Attention to Form

When I was doing Insanity, often I was trying to pace myself to some degree, making sure that I could get through the whole thing without bonking. This summer, I'm doing a new program called Focus T25. It's designed by the same trainer (Shaun T) as Insanity, but it's a very different approach. First of all, the workouts are 25 minutes long, compared with 40 minutes - 1 hour for Insanity. There are no breaks - the idea is to push through the entire workout, using proper form to most effectively work out the various muscle groups. It's not as intense as Insanity, but I'm still seeing good results (down 5 more inches overall during the first four weeks).

In T25, Shaun T repeatedly makes the point that you should use the fullest possible range of motion when doing the exercises. He talks about this during one of the push-up sets, asking you to get your chest to the floor to the best possible results.

For me, the "fullest range of motion" concept is the key to T25. Its true that the workouts are shorter and less "intense" than Insanity, but if you push through every move with correct form, you will get a good burn and see real improvements in muscle tone.

Take squats, for example. Shaun T clearly loves doing squats, since there's all kinds of them in T25. It's easy to cheat when doing them, by dropping just half way down and leaning into your toes. But do them right every time - back straight, weight in your heels, knees behind the toes, dropping into it so your thighs are as close to perpendicular to the floor as possible - and they will burn and fatigue your quads (in a good way). When you come up, squeeze the gluteus muscles and bring your buttocks back under your hips. You'll be sure to see results.

So, regardless of which kind of fitness program you are doing, always mind your form and technique. Even if you wind up doing fewer reps, you'll most likely see greater benefits from your program if you commit to practicing proper form!

Laura

How not to eat right...

I haven't written about healthy eating and nutrition on this blog. I will at some point in the future, when I'm actually eating healthy. Right now, I'm on summer vacation ... enough said.

When I started Insanity back in March, I spent a lot of time looking at what (and how much) I was eating. I was absolutely floored by the number of calories that were crossing my lips, so I cut back my food intake significantly. I didn't diet - I don't believe in diets because that word implies a temporary solution, as if you could later go back to your old ways and all will be well. But I put a lot of thought into what I eat, adding in what is healthy and eliminating what is not. I also learned a great deal about which foods pack a ton of fat and calories.All in all, I've developed a healthy approach to eating and food selection.

Now, up to this past week I've been diligently applying this new approach. I plan accordingly if I occasionally want to treat myself, and it's gone very well. But now we're at the river. I'm eating a healthy breakfast and lunch, but then I have a beer (or two) in the afternoon, a bit of wine in the evening, then pulled pork, mac and cheese, crab dip (all homemade, of course!), and it's all really good. Basically, in the evenings I fall off the rails.

I've debated whether to feel guilty about this, and I've decided not to bother. I could choose to forego these things, but instead I've chosen to relax and enjoy. Instead of guilt, I realized that I've been maintaining my exercise program like a champ (Focus T25! I really like it), that we'll be here for less than two weeks, and that I'm staying active. Before I know it, summer will be over, then we will head off to the UK, and I will get myself back on track immediately. Untill that time, I'm going to enjoy my Northern Neck cuisine.

To justify all of this, I have a theory. It has absolutely no basis in scientific fact, but here it is: I've been at a plateau with my weight since early June. I only have 4-5 pounds to go, but they must enjoy my company. So, according to my theory, so long as I don't completely overdo, a few weeks of eating less than healthy foods (and in somewhat higher quantities) will prime my body to drop the additional weight once I restart my eating plan. Of course, this won't work if I pack on 10 pounds over the next two weeks, but so far I think I'm ok.

Come September, I promise to report back on whether this "theory" shows any promise... I hope so, because I really don't want to give up my crab dip altogether.

Happy summer!

Don't forget to rest!

I'm currently in the middle of a Beachbody program called Focus T25, which calls for 25 minute workouts 4 days a week, plus a double workout (50 minutes) on Fridays. Sunday is reserved for stretching, but Saturday is reserved for rest.

I'm really glad to have a rest day today. We've had a long week of moving furniture and boxes, and my shoulders are sore! I've kept up with my fitness schedule this week and haven't missed a workout, but I'm going to embrace this day.

Rest days are an essential part of a fitness program. Even elite athletes schedule easy days into their overall training plan. During the week, you work your muscles hard, causing microscopic damage to your muscle fibers. This is a good thing, because as the muscle recovers, it rebuilds itself stronger than it was before. This is how we gain strength and tone.

If you don't give the muscles a chance to rest, this can lead to fatigue and overtraining, which can compromise your overall fitness program. If you're new to working out, take the day off on your scheduled rest days (except for walking or other low impact activity). If you've been regularly working out for a while, it's fine to do an easy run or another activity that you enjoy, but be sure to give those muscles a rest. You've earned it!

So no T25 for me today - I'm planning a nice easy kayak trip with the kids! Tomorrow I'll enjoy a stretching/yoga session (which will hopefully get rid of any remaining soreness). Then Monday morning, back to the program...

It's all about scheduling...

Tonight I'm not thinking about form or technique. I'm thinking about scheduling, specifically how to get through a fitness program without falling off track.

I'm proud to say that I survived two rounds of Insanity, and hardly ever missed a workout. I worked out on holiday, in the morning, late at night, in the smallest hotel fitness room that exists anywhere on the planet - whatever it took. That said, I did not always follow the schedule to the letter. For me, I need some flexibility in order to successfully incorporate fitness into my life. Where do I draw the line? I make sure that I complete all of the workouts for a specific week during that week. If I had six workouts and one rest day scheduled Monday-Sunday, each of those workouts needed to be finished by Sunday, rest day included, with a double if absolutely necessary.

There are some people who would strongly disagree with me. They hold the view that the trainers design the program as it is to be done, and any deviation from the schedule disrupts the program. I respect this view, but I don't accept it. In my view, if I complete the scheduled workouts within the week, then I'm going to achieve gains in fitness and keep moving forward with my plan. If I refuse to deviate from the schedule, my motivation may start to waver when "life happens" and I may fall off track.

For example, I'm currently doing T25. I have a double workout scheduled for Friday. However, I know that we're going to have a house guest staying in my preferred workout space on Thursday night, so I may not be able to find a peaceful corner of the house for a 50+ minute workout session. So, I've decided to swap Thursday's and Friday's workouts, so I'll have a shorter session to fit in on Friday.

Every week, I think about the week ahead and plan accordingly. Even if the week ahead looks packed, don't plan to skip your workout sessions - instead, look at what's possible, schedule accordingly, even miss a couple of hours' sleep - and make your fitness and health a top priority.

Today's work-out: T25 - Total Body Circuit

I hate oblique push-ups. Honestly, I hate push-ups of all kinds, even though I know they're good for me. Trying to lift my knee to my elbow while (attempting) to push my chest to the floor is not something my body does without a fight.

The Total Body Circuit is a solid workout, and it really does work you from top to bottom. It's packed with lunges and squats, frog jumps, push-ups - all kinds of things that create a good burn. Like all T25 Alpha workouts, Tanya Baron, who is head of operations for Shaun T Fitness, demonstrates modifiers for most of the moves. Even if you're a fitness novice, T25 can work for you.

SUMMARY

Total Body Circuit starts like most of the Alpha workouts do, with a run progression (standing  knee lifts, then knee lifts on your toes, progressing to a slow high knee jog, then a high knee sprint.

Shaun T then moves to hop squats with hooks, followed by shoulder taps in plank position combined with push ups. During the next cycle, front lunges progress to a lunge squat progression (lunge left, center squat, lunge right). At this point in the video, my quads are were on fire.

Next come a series of jab moves, culminating in moving jabs. I'm definitely not a boxer, so at times I felt like I had two left feet.

After the jabs, Shaun T turns back to plank work. Starting with a plank hold, you incorporate plank walks that combine in-out abs.

Plank work is followed by a series of power squat moves. Because you're using the large muscles in the lower body, you build up a great sweat throughout this section.

Towards the end of the workout, Shaun T incorporates spider lunges, which are combined with push-ups. The end of this section includes the dreaded oblique push-ups, at which point I question whether I'll ever be able to do them like the people in the video.

Most of the last five minutes are known as the "Burnout", which goes back through the most challenging sections of each progression. At this point Shaun T is pushing everyone to give it their all, since there's less than 5 minutes left in the video.

GENERAL THOUGHTS

I like the progressions in this video. That said, I'm having a hard time maintaining the same pace as the people the video, and sometimes my coordination is not what it could be. I'm surprised, because through two rounds of Insanity, as tough as it was, I never had any real problems with the footwork. I appreciate the fact that T25 has revealed a real weakness (agility) and will hopefully help me improve.

I'd like to see more stretching incorporated into the workout. After the 25 minutes are done, there's a 3 minute stretch section built in. While this works for me as a cool-down, it seems a little thin (though you can only accomplish so much in 25 minutes). I think the answer could involve incorporating the Stretch video or a couple of yoga class into the week. Particularly for people who are new to working out, its important not to shortchange yourself on stretching. This can lead to injury, which will knock you right out of your workout program.

Tomorrow morning's workout is Speed 1.0, which I love...

Focus T25 Stretch!

I admit, I had a great time on Saturday night. A good friend in the neighborhood had a party, and I didn't head home until late (putting it mildly). So the T25 Stretch workout was a great way to shake off any fatigue and make it through the way.

The workout is exactly what it says - long, slow stretching and yoga movements to improve flexibility and balance. Shaun T walks the group through a series of exercises and active stretches that include:

Knee holds (to stretch the glutes)
Squats and hip flexor stretches
Lunges (groin stretches)
Downward dog series
Pigeon yoga poses

...among other exercises.  All in all, its a nice, no-impact video that gets your body ready for the next week of T25.

Tomorrow I start week 3 of the Alpha round of T25, which means another go at the Total Body Circuit. Even after two rounds of Insanity, this video is tough.