Jump Rope!

Anyone who has worked with me or participated in any of my classes knows how much I love to incorporate jumping rope as a cardio element. It requires no equipment (except, of course, the rope), no instructions/learning curve, and very little space. However, if done with effort, it can be a great way to warm-up, finish a workout, or keep the heart rate up during resistance training.

Some cool "did you knows" about jumping rope ...

• Jumping rope can burn up to 1000 calories per hour, making it one of the most efficient workouts possible
• It tones muscles in the entire body, developing long, lean muscles in all major muscle groups, both upper and lower; primary benefactors are calves, glutes, arms, shoulders and abs
• Jumping rope is great not only for the cardio elements, but also the agility and coordination pieces. Anyone who hasn't tried it in a while will know what I mean when they grab a rope and get going for the first time
• It can make you feel like Rocky or Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter. Is this important in terms of the exercise benefits? Of course not. Is it important in terms of the coolness factor? 100 %.

Now I will admit that jumping rope can be a bit repetitive, but that is easily remedied with some creative design. Try these ideas:

• The first time you "fail," (the rope hits your feet), you do a pushup. 2nd time, 2 pushups. 3rd time, 3 pushups, etc., trust me .. if you jump rope for 5-10 minutes, you'll end up doing quite a few pushups.
• Or, if you have more experience, do 5 pushups everytime you fail
• Do intervals. One of my favorite interval schedules is this one - 120 seconds on/30 seconds off; 90 on/30 off; 60 on/30 off; 30 on/30 off - then work back up the other way. By the end you should be gassed.
• Do double-unders - Crossfitters will be very familiar with these. Watch the video and then try ... they are NOT as easy as they look
• Use jumping rope as active rest between sets of resistance training. I love to grab a jump rope at the gym in the morning and carry it around with me. After a set of any exercise, I'll jump for a minute instead of just standing/sitting around allowing my muscles to rest (works better on upper body lifting days than lower).

Sometimes the simplest things are the best things. You can get a jump rope just about anywhere, and even the best ones shouldn't be any more than 10-15 bucks. Grab one and get going - it's a fantastic, easy way to burn calories and stay active.

Interval Training

Cardio routines easily become boring. Running, cycling, rowing ... whatever you choose to do, if it's the same  each day, you are likely to first get bored, then plateau. Maybe the inverse order. Either way, it's no bueno.

About 9 months ago I started incorporating interval training into all the cardio I do, and I flat love it. It ratchets up the intensity, keeps your body guessing, and gives you a way to constantly change up your routine.

I think some people get a little intimidated when they think of "interval training," but it's really just as simple as setting a baseline exertion level from which to work, and then increasing/decreasing intensity above (and then back to) that baseline in varying time and intensity intervals.

For example: Think about walking on a treadmill at a pace of 3.0 for 5 minutes to warm-up. At that point, instead of continuing to plod on at the same pace, increase your pace to 4.0 for a minute, then back to 3.0 for two minutes. Then up to 4.5 for a minute, then back to 3.0 again for two. And so on.  The intervals, intensities and durations are all up to you and you'll see that it's very easy to figure out an approach that works for you/is challenging if you try it out a few times. Interval training can also work with any modality - recumbent bike, stair climbing, rowing, etc. Anything where you can monitor your time and alter your intensity level.

If you want a good example of one specific interval philosophy, check out this article - keep in mind that this is not how you HAVE to do it, but just one good example. Or, if you want, invite me to come work out with you and I'll take you through a fun but challenging interval program that I like. :)

Why do it? There are many benefits to interval training, including increased aerobic/anaerobic capacity, more effective weight/fat loss when compared to "normal" cardio, improved athletic performance, and the removal of the ever-present boredom factor. So why not give it a shot? Trust me, it's easier than you think!

Do you have any experience with interval training? Share with us!

The Fit Nation

I like to try and be a resource here, so I figured I'd share something with you that I really like. I'm online all the time trying to find good info, and I love how CNN.com has set up the "Fit Nation" section of its Web site.

Check it out here

They have all kinds of information on proper diet, workout types, exercise, weight loss, etc.  Tons of helpful, easy-to-read articles and plenty of videos and interactive elements. I trust CNN as a news source and I think that the majority of the stuff I've read on this section of the site has been on point and worth my time. I hope you check it out and agree!

I'll continue to bring you things I find interesting ... including other resources! Suggestions? Do you turn to any specific places for information on fitness/diet, etc?

Slam Your Balls

Keeping my boot camps fresh, challenging and interesting is something that keeps me up at night. Well, not really, but I try my best to always make them somewhat "new." So, while on the treadmill this morning (where I think best), I had an epiphany - "I am going to make them slam balls this weekend!"

It's not quite what you think. Those of you who have experience with the ball slam exercise know how awesome it is, and the number of "that's what she said" jokes that it allows for. Those that don't should really try it. It's a great core (back/ab) workout and an underrated stress reliever. Here's how to give it a shot:

The basics are pretty simple. You need a slam-resistant medicine ball (careful it's not too bouncy if you're slamming it on a hard surface), a surface on which to slam it, and yourself.

The process goes like this:
1 Pick the ball up (squat down to get it, don't cheat and bend at the waist)
2) Stand with feet at hips width, feet facing forward
3) Put a slight bend in your knees (think 10-15 %)
4) Lift the ball completely above your head, arms fully extended
5) Slam that motherfather down as hard as you possibly can. Bend at the waist, keep arms extended. Catch it and repeat as quickly as you can
6) Be careful of the rebound! I've seen people take one directly in the face. Didn't look fun.
7) Inhale when you lift, exhale when you slam

If you need an image to follow, check out this video.

The key to this is that you have to be EXPLOSIVE. Think of trying to throw it through the floor. Literally. Scream, yell, do what you have to do to get every ounce of effort out of you. Go as hard as you can as fast as you can for as long as you can. If you're breezing through this exercise, you're doing it wrong.

Try sets of 10 at first, moving upward in either reps or resistance if you have different size balls (insert joke here). Work on your speed - count reps in one minute and then try and beat that number. Basically, keep working harder, in some way, shape or form.

Anyone have experience playing with balls? Thoughts?

Caffeine and Exercise - Things to Know

When I started teaching a running 101 course at the YMCA, the most common question I got--believe it or not--wasn't about stretching, technique, or anything like that. It was about caffeine. Strange. Maybe it was because a few articles were published around that time talking about caffeine's effect on exercise. Either way, I figured it would be a fun topic to discuss here ...

The basics:

• Caffeine is a diuretic. It robs your body of water. So, if you're going to drink it before exercise, be sure you make up for it by increasing water intake. A good rule to follow is one cup of water for each cup of coffee (or caffeinated beverage).
• Caffeine releases FFAs (free fatty acids) into your blood, which can help increase energy. The caveat to this is that your body needs to be "trained" to use fat as energy in order to do it efficiently. It's not difficult, but it takes time exercising at higher-than-normal intensity levels to "teach" your body how to use fat as fuel. If you want to learn more about this, read this article (science-speak alert). 
• Once the body is trained to use fat as fuel, caffeine can be a great way to delay fatigue, as the body will burn the fat (released by caffeine into the blood) as fuel first, and glucose later (glucose depletion is the major cause of fatigue).
• Caffeine gives you energy! Duh. This is the reason people ask the question. But it's not stupid to look at the bottom line: if a cup of coffee or tea helps you get out of bed in the morning to exercise, that is a good thing! 
• Recent studies have shown that caffeine increases nitric oxide levels, which promotes better blood flow to the muscles - this means better stamina during resistance training, and a boost in strength/power/endurance

What's the takeaway? Caffeine can definitely help with workouts! Just be careful to drink enough water and, like everything, use it in moderation.

What's your experience with caffeine and working out?? How much do you drink/how soon before you workout? What effects have you seen?  

Drink Water!

I think most everyone knows that drinking a lot of water is good for you, and extremely important if you exercise on a regular basis. However, if you ask 10 people, you're likely to get 10 different answers when it comes to how much to drink and why it's so important. This subject popped into my head last weekend when my dad was visiting and we were discussing ways to avoid getting sick so much (hint: drink more water).

Anyway, I figured it might be helpful to review what "most" health professionals believe about appropriate water intake. As you can imagine, there are millions of articles out there, like this one from livestrong.com or this one from fitness.com.

One thing that is pretty cool is this "water intake calculator" on about.com. 10 questions, including one about activity level, and they give you a suggested amount of water per day. For example, I am supposed to drink about 3.5 liters today (15 cups) because I worked out for 90 minutes, I weigh 225, etc. Very cool, very easy to use.

If you don't want to read any of the articles, follow my key five guidelines and you should be pretty good to go:

• Drink at least 8 cups of water per day, if you're going to err, err on the side of more not less
• If you're exercising at a normal level (not too vigorous, not too mellow), add at least one cup of water for each 15 minutes you exercise
• Drink more when it's very hot or very cold -the body needs it in both scenarios because it is working harder to either heat or cool your body. You need to especially pay attention to this if exercising in hot or cold conditions - the body is very susceptible to dehydration in these cases, which can be very dangerous
• Drink more when you're ill - your immune system is working twice as hard, which means it needs more water to help move toxins, cool fevers and thin mucus (yum yum)
• Drink one cup of water for each serving of caffeine, which is a diuretic and "steals" water from your body

If you want more info, jump online and google "proper water intake." You'll find tons of stuff.

Drink up!