FitFeat » Weight training http://fitfeat.com/blog Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:27:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Review: OrangeTheory Fitness http://fitfeat.com/blog/2012/01/04/review-orangetheory-fitness/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2012/01/04/review-orangetheory-fitness/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:15:51 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=7973 Hi blog buds!

How is 2012 starting off for you?  I still can’t believe it’s January already. It feels like it was just yesterday that Cory and I were at the Haunted Forest for Halloween!

On the workout front, the year is off to a great start and my “no slacker tracker” is all filled in so far!  I’ve kicked up the intensity for the start of this year as I need to build back some of my missing fitness.  I let some of it get away last year (in both strength and cardiovascular endurance ability) so I’m currently splitting out the body parts in a more traditional bodybuilding fashion, rather than a full body Tabata workout as I’d done a lot of last year.  I plan to continue this for the first quarter and assess my progress.  It looks like this for now:

  • Chest/Shoulders/Biceps
  • Cardio (some intervals, some steady state)
  • Legs
  • Back/Triceps/Core
  • Cardio Legs (hi rep routine w/ lots of lunges, squats and light plyometrics)

I’ll fill in the other days with yoga/hiking/walking/social-cizing, whatever feels fun in the moment.

And maybe some more classes like this:  last week, I had the fun opportunity to workout at a new OrangeTheory Fitness location that will be opening for business next week.   I was invited to attend one of their free mock classes prior to their Grand Opening and I was excited to do something different (and truth be told, have someone tell ME what exercises to do for a change).  It’s a group fitness session that incorporates cardio intervals and circuit training.

It was a really fun workout and the hour flew by.  They provide you with a heart rate monitor and your heart rate is posted on big screen monitors, along with all of your fellow exercisers’ heart rates.  We started out on cardio equipment to warm-up:  half on rowers, half on treadmills.  Then the rowing group moved to the gym where were did giant sets of exercises.  For example, 10 reps each of weighted squats, then dumbbell rows, then chest presses, then lunges, then back extensions and repeat a few times.  We went through three different giant sets along those lines, and it gets your heart pumping.  Next thing you know, 30 minutes has flown by and it’s time to trade with the peeps on the treadmill.  The instructor then led us through a running interval session (or power walking at an incline if you prefer) for the remainder of the class.  Then we cooled down and did a quick round of stretches.  The energy was great and the staff was really friendly and supportive. They also had a lot of fun fitness toys, like BOSU balls and TRX suspension trainers.

If you have one in your area and you are looking to switch things up, give it a try!  I haven’t found any info yet on what the cost is for membership or whether they offer drop-ins.  I’ll update this post when I get that info.

Have you been to an OrangeTheory class?  Or do you have one nearby but haven’t yet tried it?

Have a GREAT day friends!

– Shari B. =)

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]]> http://fitfeat.com/blog/2012/01/04/review-orangetheory-fitness/feed/ 2 Winter Wonderland… and then some http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/12/22/winter-wonderland-and-then-some/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/12/22/winter-wonderland-and-then-some/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:30:23 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=7908 Hi friends!

Hope you are having a terrific Thursday so far!  Mine has been really productive.  Which is pretty impressive considering that I haven’t even left the house (I did shower and do my hair though – BONUS!). I got up and did a killer Chest/Shoulders/Biceps workout for an hour (thank you Cathe Friedrich!), then went outside to run the snowblower and shovel (another hour), tested a couple of recipes for future client cookdates, and sold a piece of furniture that I listed almost a month ago on Craigslist.  The buyer even drove all the way down from north of Denver to get it.  And in this nasty weather:

Brave soul, that one – he didn’t even have 4WD.  Just a little Toyota.  He did get stuck on our street, so a neighbor, Cory and I pushed and pushed and got him unstuck.  He’s giving this item as a gift so I hope the recipient appreciates the lengths to which he went to get it!  I sent him with a muffin to snack on on the way home and asked if he needed the ‘facilities’ since he’d been on the road so long.  I am sure he thought I was either CRAZY or just abnormally nice (I’d say a little bit of both).  Hey, if you buy something from me on Craigslist, show up on time and don’t haggle, I’ll practically invite you for dinner.  :)

If you look at the photo above, you can somewhat see how that snow is higher than my knees.  The news channels say we got about 10″ in our end of town.  Cory’s been on snow duty all year so far – I figured he should have a break today since I didn’t have to work (thanks for taking some action shots, C!).  I definitely got some cardio going on this – I was a sweaty beast when I was all done with our driveway, the sidewalk on our corner, our steps up to the front, our porch and my neighbor’s sidewalk.  I am so thankful for snowblowers!  Now if only it was self-propelled – THAT would be awesome!

I had to lean into it to get it going through all that snow!

Totally playin’ in the snow!

Because we knew the storm was headed our way, we moved up our “light viewing drive” to last night – normally we do it on Christmas Eve.  We had no idea if we’d end up with a blizzard and be housebound for a few days, so we figured we better get out while we still could.  I made a batch of vegan cranberry ‘sour cream’ muffins (adapted from Gena’s version) along with some ginger spice cookies to pack in the car.  We hit up the Starbucks drive-through (soy steamer for me, white hot cocoa for him), cranked the Christmas music on the radio, and the viewing party began.

Here are a couple of the good ones (taken with my iPhone because I couldn’t find my camera on the way out the door):

The snow had just started to fall shortly before we took off and as the evening went on, it was getting pretty slick.  We saw one car completely miss his turn and slam right into the curb on the OPPOSITE side of the street than he was aiming – at that point we figured we best get ourselves home lest WE become the landing pad instead of the curbs.

It was such a festive night – it’s one of my favorites of our little traditions as a couple.  Add to that waking up to all this snow today and I am REALLY in the holiday spirit.  I love it!

Are you getting a lot of snow this season where you are?  How’s your holiday weather looking?  Do you drive around and look at all the decorated houses?

– Shari B. =)

PS:  Thanks for all the great feedback on Keri’s guest post!  I even got some emails about it in addition to the posted comments.  Maybe I convince her to do that for us more often.  ;)   If you missed it, go check it out!

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]]> http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/12/22/winter-wonderland-and-then-some/feed/ 7 My Own Bed Never Looked So Good http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/06/05/my-own-bed-never-looked-so-good/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/06/05/my-own-bed-never-looked-so-good/#comments Sun, 05 Jun 2011 23:34:03 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=6511 Hi FitFeat friends!

Quick post to first say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for the very thoughtful comments and get-well wishes.  I love you guys. It was so nice to read each of your comments while I was in the hospital.  You guys made me smile.

Latest news is that I am home from the hospital (hallelujah!).  At last check my CK numbers were still at 9,000.  I will have to keep having blood drawn regularly until the number is about zero, according to the hospital doc.  No exercise at all until that benchmark is reached.  Supposedly I will experience some overall fatigue for maybe a few weeks or more, and I’ll definitely have diminished strength in the affected muscles so when I do have the OK to work them again, I will have to start them like they’ve never touched a weight before.  After getting somewhere around 7 or 8 bags of saline pumped into me, I totally feel like a water balloon!

I will say that my heart goes out to people who have to spend a lot of time in hospitals. I don’t know how they ever get any rest or solid sleep. I found it the least restful place I’ve ever been.  Sleep is SO important for the body, and especially important if it is trying to heal.  I couldn’t get more than 20-30 minutes of sleep at a time.  The IV’s have automated pumps that make constant sounds, people have to come in throughout the night to keep checking your blood pressure, temperature and heart rate.  The tech who draws blood came in at 4:00 AM the first morning and 5:15 AM the second morning.  And the staff was pretty rambunctious at the nurses’ station (but I don’t blame them – if I had to work the night shift, I’d be doing whatever I could to stay awake too!).  I think the whole time I was there, I got 2 hours of sleep total.  If I had to be there for long periods of time, I think I’d be begging for some sort of sleep meds to be put into my IV.

Needless to say, by the time I left I had dark bags under my eyes that looked like someone clocked me good and my mood was in the tank.  I kind of think they finally released me simply because I was getting on their nerves!

I slept like a baby in my own bed last night and feel like a new woman today!  On doc’s orders I still have to flood my kidneys with water.  I’m at three and a half liters so far today and counting.  My eyeballs feel like they are floating!  ;)

Well my friends, I am going to sign off and hopefully my next post will be much more uplifting!  No more downer hospital talk!  I hope you’ve all had a fabulous weekend and thank you again for all the good thoughts you sent my way!

– Shari B. =)

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]]> http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/06/05/my-own-bed-never-looked-so-good/feed/ 6 Rhabdomyolysis: If You Exercise, Read This http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/06/03/rhabdomyolysis-if-you-exercise-read-this/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/06/03/rhabdomyolysis-if-you-exercise-read-this/#comments Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:16:57 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=6499 So after that last post, I’m sure you’re wondering how I ended up in the hospital!

I’ll explain by rewinding a bit to recap our workouts.

Last Saturday MSP and I did our morning workout.  It consisted of an easy one mile warm-up, and a circuit of squats, abs, pull-up negatives (the lowering portion of the pull-up only) and modified pushups for a number of circuits.

On Memorial Day we did a 10K hike (kind of our nod to the Bolder Boulder 10K, only in a much quieter setting and minus about 55,000 people).  :)

Then on Tuesday morning I ran my favorite hilly loop with a client.

By Tuesday afternoon my arms started to swell around my elbows and biceps, I couldn’t straighten my arms and my fingers were starting to tingle like they were falling asleep.  That was definitely no longer just your typical “delayed onset muscle soreness”.  Yes, slight (I repeat slight) swelling can be normal, but my arms looked a bit misshapen.

Now, I know medical professionals hate it when you Google your symptoms but I needed to know:  Could I sit tight and wait it out with the help of some Advil or did I need to get to the ER?  I was worried that I was experiencing rhabdomyolysis (aka rhabdo) or compartment syndrome.  My symptoms were right on the money with both of those conditions, with the exception of dark urine.  (Severe rhabdo can cause cola colored urine which is bad news, but even if your urine looks fine you could still have it so play it safe!)

Deep down I was scared, and because I know I have a tendency toward being an alarmist, I decided to hold off overnight.  When I woke up there was no change so I called my doc first thing and they got me in mid-morning.

At the doctor’s office they didn’t think I had rhabdo, but they said they’d run the bloodwork in to rule it out and it would take a day or two to get the results back.

I left feeling only slightly better, knowing that I was at least under a doctor’s care, but still frustrated because I didn’t have any answers yet and was still worried.  It was nice to hear that they didn’t “think” I had it, but I’m stubborn and had a feeling.  I’m also impatient so I didn’t want to wait another day or two to know for sure!

The next morning (Thursday) my arms felt a little better and I went about my day, feeling fine.  Late that afternoon, I got a call from the doctor that I did indeed have rhabdo and that the local hospital was expecting  me right away.

So what is rhabdomyolysis? From what I understand, basically it’s defined as the “rapid breakdown of muscle” such as when your muscles are injured in some way, typically from a trauma like an accident or severe fall, which leads to the fibers from the muscle breakdown flooding into the bloodstream and potentially causing the kidneys to clog and worse yet, fail.  When exercise induced, it’s more commonly known to be caused from extreme and lengthy exercise, like marathons.  And it’s more common in the legs than in the arms.

In my case, it was in the arms and from a relatively low number of reps of an eccentric exercise.  While this is something known in certain fitness circles, apparently it is not yet commonly known to a lot of the medical community that it can just as easily happen this way (no offense to my friends in the medical community).

A muscle contraction has a concentric phase and an eccentric phase.  For example if you are doing a pull-up, when you pull your body toward the bar that’s concentric (contraction/shortenings of the muscles involved).  When you lower the body toward the ground, that’s the eccentric phase where the muscles lengthen as the body lowers, yet still being under the ‘load’ of the weight.  (In certain exercises you might not have enough strength for the concentric phase, but you could for the eccentric phase so doing “negatives” means getting assistance lifting the weight but then lowering it of your own strength.  With pull-up negatives [or jumping pullups], if you can’t pull yourself up,  you can hop up and then slowly lower yourself.)  In negatives, the muscles are LENGTHENING and LOADED at the same time with heaver weight than you could lift, and this results in more microscopic muscle damage.   This muscular damage for the most part (in small appropriate amounts) is the goal in weight training in order to get the muscle to grow and repair itself even stronger and I’ve employed occasional intermittent eccentric training in my own workouts for 10 years with no problems.

Nothing much changed in my routine this time around except for that I kind of built up to “a perfect storm scenario” for a number of reasons.  I’d recently had a virus (that crazy cold I had turned out to be pertussis, aka whooping cough) and I’d also been experiencing some fatigue, which could have been a remnant of the virus and which I saw the doctor for the week prior.  And in the days following the workout, I hiked and ran outside in the heat, and possibly could have been a little dehydrated.  Throw all those together, add in a nasty exercise like the ones I chose to do that day (if only for a total of 25 reps) and apparently I bought myself a stay at the local hospital.

Rhabdomyolysis is determined by testing for creatine kinase levels in the blood.  Supposedly it should be in the hundreds, and ideally under 400 [update: my hospital doc said they should basically be undetectable].  Mine came back last night at 27,000.  Today, after 3+ IV bags and counting, my numbers have dropped somewhat to 16,900.  Improvement, but not enough for them to release me.  So I have to stay tonight as well and get another blood draw in the morning to see if it continues to come down.  Plus an ultrasound of my liver later on today thanks to my elevated enzymes.

I’ll keep you posted on the outcome.

What I want you to take away from my experience:

  • Just being aware of what rhabdomyolysis is so that you can aim to prevent it.  Whether you are an avid exerciser or a beginner, do some reading on it to get familiar.  Kidneys are serious business!
  • Listen to your body and especially to your gut instincts.  I may have just ignored my symptoms by “wait and see” if I hadn’t done a little reading first.  I know I drive my doc crazy sometimes, but we work well together that way.  We have to be advocates for our own health because we are the ones that live in our bodies!  And I’ve learned something very important in this process.
  • This is by no means a thorough article on the condition so do some additional reading.  Most of the articles you will find don’t talk about it happening from the short, intense bodyweight training.  Most will talk about traumatic injuries or marathon-type reasons.  Google Crossfit and rhabdo together and you’ll see a lot of experiences people have had with this way of getting it.

This was a long post friends – so thanks for hanging in there with me if you made it to the end!  I’ll post again when I have new info to update!

- Shari B. =)

***

All content on this blog is meant for entertainment purposes only and as a way for me to journal about how I maintain a fit lifestyle, as well as provide a forum for people to share their own experiences.  Along the way maybe it will also inspire some to add physical fitness and healthy nutrition choices to their own life.

While I am a certified personal trainer, I need be clear that I am not a physician.  The ideas, procedures and suggestions contained in this blog are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician.  No intent is made to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, pain, injury, deformity or physical or mental condition. No statements made, inferences, including videos and links to other sites, should be construed as a claim for cure, treatment, or prevention of any disease or as a substitute for professional health care.

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]]> http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/06/03/rhabdomyolysis-if-you-exercise-read-this/feed/ 28 Who Paid Off Mother Nature? http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/12/11/who-paid-off-mother-nature/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/12/11/who-paid-off-mother-nature/#comments Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:19:42 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=5675 Hey friends!  Happy Saturday!

It is December 11 and we’ve still had no snow.  I mean, we’ve had a flake or two here and there, but nothing that’s “stuck”.  One of our local news stations posted a graphic showing the snow we’ve had this season compared to last.

  • Last year between September and December we’d already been dumped on a total of OVER 3 FEET of snow.
  • This year, in the same time frame?  An inch and a half.

Trust me, I’m NOT complaining!  ;)   Last Friday we had a record HIGH temp of 69.  Next Monday and Tuesday we are looking at mid-60s AGAIN.  This is the kind of weather that drew me to this state way back in 1991.

Thank you Mother Nature for giving me the mild start to the winter I’d hoped for, seeing how I have to drive 120 miles a day for my commute to and from school.  I owe ya one!

Which leads me to my Saturday DDSD Challenge update:  we just got back from taking the crazy beasts for a good walk, which had the desired outcome of THIS:

Gotta love it when the dogs are tuckered out!

But before we did that, we also did 45 minutes of weights with a chest/back push pull routine.  Lots of pushups, lots of pulldowns, lots of rows.  Oh yeah, I’ll feel it tomorrow!

Then I followed it up with a 20 oz green post-workout smoothie (1 scoop Vega Whole Health Optimizer, 1/2 scoop Sun Warrior rice protein, 3/4 banana, kale leaves and spinach leaves):

How are you doing on your challenge?  Only 20 days left already!  Look how time flies!  Will you get to the end of that 20 days and think, WOW I DID IT?

Have a SUPER Saturday blog buds!

– Shari B. =)

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]]> http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/12/11/who-paid-off-mother-nature/feed/ 4 Hello Monday http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/12/06/hello-monday/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/12/06/hello-monday/#comments Tue, 07 Dec 2010 01:52:27 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=5618 Hi friends!

Just putting out a quick post to log my movement for the DDSD challenge.  This morning was Upper Body Tabata day.

  • Warm Up
  • One Arm DB Press – 4 minutes (doing arm at a time on this one, especially on a fitball, works your balance and core really well in addition to your chest muscles)
  • Tubing Chest Flyes – 4 minutes
  • Behind the Head Lat Pulldowns – 4 minutes
  • Bent Over DB Rows – 4 minutes
  • Side Lateral Raises – 4 minutes
  • Triceps Kickback (bent arm + straight arm combo) – 4 minutes
  • Biceps Curls – 4 minutes

I feel it already this evening!  I still love love love Tabata style training.  There’s something about focusing on one exercise for 4 solid minutes and then getting to move on that just WORKS for my brain first thing in the morning!  :)

I also want to give a BIG THANK YOU to you all for your comments about how our December challenge is keeping you from skipping workouts.  That’s what it’s all about!!  And I’m so thrilled to hear that it’s working for you that way!  I’m in the same boat right there with ya!

I’ll post more tomorrow about today’s happenings – instead of cooking in class we had a wonderful field trip.  More on that tomorrow.  One of the stops might make Cindy jealous… (it has to do with TEA!)

On that note, I’m off to work on program design for tomorrow’s clients and do some more homework.  Thanks for posting your movement for today – I did see the comments you guys put on the blog today!

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!  Just think how proud we’ll all be at the end of December!

– Shari B. =)

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]]> http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/12/06/hello-monday/feed/ 4 December is “Do Something Daily” at FitFeat http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/12/01/december-is-do-something-daily-at-fitfeat/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/12/01/december-is-do-something-daily-at-fitfeat/#comments Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:23:15 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=5542 Hey blog buds!  Happy December 1st!

I have a little confession to make.  I’ve been struggling here and there to get my workouts in.  When my mind gets “busy” like it has been during the past few weeks (months?), it affects my sleep sometimes, and then feeling tired affects my motivation, and so on and so on.

BUT… I also know that ENERGY CREATES ENERGY.  If I were my own client, I’d be telling me: “Get moving to keep moving.”

So I’m going to CHALLENGE myself and all of you to DO SOMETHING DAILY this month to move your body.  (Yes Cindy, I said “challenge”!)

I know, we’ll all be super busy with the holidays.  Yes, I’ll be busy with school stuff, especially in the next few weeks.  But I am putting my foot down NOW on my excuses.

How ’bout you? Are you with me?

Have you been in a rut or feeling a lack of accountability?  You can be accountable to me by posting a comment here each day with your activity.

I’ll keep you updated on what I’m doing – and I would LOVE to hear from each of you what YOU’RE doing too!  It doesn’t matter if it’s simply a walk with your family or pets, a bike ride or ice skating.  Or whether it’s lifting weights, yoga or running.

The only rule is that if you are working out with high  intensity most days of the week that you allow one day of active recovery each week (like walking or gentle yoga) in place of the high intensity routine.  I don’t want you to overtrain and wear down your immune system, especially around the time of year when the cold/flu bug likes to get busy.

What will you do today??

My workout today was 40 minutes of strength/cardio Tabata:

  • Static Ball Squat w/ Static Shouder Side Raise
  • One-Arm Alternating DB Press on Ball
  • Step Ups with Medicine Ball overhead
  • Seated Machine Rows
  • Planks/Side Planks
  • Wall Ball Squats
  • Explosive Lunges (1 set)
  • Overhead Tricep extension (1 set)

If you feel like doing something but are just plum out of ideas, here are some past posts to get you started:

Now I’m off to have a green smoothie, shower and do some last minute cramming for Day 2 of midterms!

Looking forward to reading your comments on what you’re doing today to get moving!

– Shari B. =)

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]]> http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/12/01/december-is-do-something-daily-at-fitfeat/feed/ 21 Circuit Training for Upper Body and Core http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/09/25/circuit-training-for-upper-body-and-core/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/09/25/circuit-training-for-upper-body-and-core/#comments Sun, 26 Sep 2010 00:28:54 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=4897 Hi friends!  Happy weekend to you all!

As promised, I am back to share with you a little workout I put together last week for one of my ‘in-person’ personal training clients.  She gets a lot of lower body work outside of our in-studio sessions, so we focus on upper body, cardio and core movements.

She enjoyed this one a lot so I thought I’d post it here as well.  Every once in a while I should show you FITNESS stuff in addition to just healthy FOOD stuff, right? ;)

Be sure to warm up for a minimum of 5 minutes (and preferably 10 minutes) in order to get blood flowing to your muscles and raise your core body temperature.  Action pics are included after the list of circuits, to give you an idea of the movement involved.  Get your timer ready because you’ll perform each exercise for one minute!

A1: 1 Minute Punch Presses on the Ball

A2: 1 Minute Seated Rows with Exercise Tube

A3: 1 Minute Reverse Plank Posterior Lifts

A4: 1 Minute Cardio Interval (we ran on a treadmill)

A5: 1 Minute Rest 1 minute

Complete “A” Circuit twice through before moving on.

B1: 1 Minute Pushups (as many as you can full pushup style then drop to modified style on your knees if you need to)

B2: 1 Minute Squatting Punch Rows

B3: 1 Minute Upright Rows into Overhead Presses

B4: 1 Minute Cardio Interval

B5: 1 Minute Rest 1 minute

Complete “B” Circuit twice through before moving on.

C1: 1 Minute Dumbbell Flyes with a ‘Twist’

C2: 1 Minute Swimmers

c3: 1 Minute Bicycles

c4: 1 Minute Cardio Interval

c5: 1 Minute Rest

Complete “C” Circuit twice through before moving on to your cool-down (in the second set, C5: rest should be replaced with cool-down activity.)

Cool down with light cardio or walking for at least 5 minutes to bring your heart rate back down and allow your blood flow to normalize.

Action Shots to give you an idea on the movements:

Punch Presses on the Ball
Head and neck supported, abs and glutes tight, palms facing each other
Alternate arms pressing upward similar to punching

*NOTE* I prefer to keep my upper back, neck and shoulders on the ball and use my core muscles to stabilize my low back.  If you have any issues with your back, roll further onto the ball to ensure your back is being supported, or perform this movement on a weight bench instead.

***

Seated Rows with Exercise Tube
Rowing movement, keeping torso steady

***

Reverse Plank with Posterior Lifts
A Jackie Warner special ;) You’ll feel the whole backside of your body
Notice that the arms stay straight – these are not tricep dips.  You are lifting your butt up and down (squeeze the glutes!)

***

Pushups

***

Squatting Punch Rows
Palms are facing up on this one, alternating quickly right to left arms

***

Upright Rows into Overhead Press
Four step motion here.

***

Dumbbell Flyes with a ‘Twist’
the ‘twist’ here is that you start with your palms facing toward your head and as you lower into the flye, slowly rotate the wrists so that the palms face each other at the bottom of the movement.  Twist again on the way up back to the start position.

*NOTE* I prefer to keep my upper back, neck and shoulders on the ball and use my core muscles to stabilize my low back.  If you have any issues with your back, roll further onto the ball to ensure your back is being supported, or perform this movement on a weight bench instead.

***

Swimmers
Opposite arm/leg flutter to simulate swimming.

***

Bicycles
Fingertips are lightly touching head, NOT pulling on it.  Take elbow across the body to the opposite knee, then switch to other side.

Before beginning any exercise program, it may be recommended that person first consult a physician or other qualified health care provider. A physician or other health care provider can determine what type of exercise, the frequency, and the intensity are appropriate for each individual. A physician or other health care provider may be able to recommend an exercise program that will cater to a person’s specific heath concerns and needs.

Let me know if you have any questions on the workout or what your thoughts were after completing it.  Was it hard for you?  Or too easy?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends!

– Shari B. =)

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]]> http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/09/25/circuit-training-for-upper-body-and-core/feed/ 12 Bottling the Homemade Kombucha http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/09/15/bottling-the-homemade-kombucha/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/09/15/bottling-the-homemade-kombucha/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:30:23 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=4794 Hi friends!

Happy Wednesday – hope the first half of your week has been great!  If not, now’s your chance to turn it around for the second half of the week, right?  ;)

Look what’s in the stores now:

Tiny pumpkins!!! I love these!  So I had a get a few to ‘autumn up’ my table:

Well, today’s the big day.  Time to bottle my first successful batch of the kombucha homebrew.  I may have let the culture grow longer than it needed to, but I’d read that it can take up to a month when you are starting a batch without the culture.  I wanted to be sure mine was GOOD and READY.  Judging from the size of my culture, I’d say it was beyond ready!

I removed the culture and placed it in a ceramic bowl:

Boiled my ‘recycled’ bottles for 20 minutes (no directions I read said to do that but I remember when my mom would can things, the glass jars were sterilized by boiling, and I figured it couldn’t hurt!)

Juice for two of the bottles that I plan on flavoring (using açai):

I’m adding 1 oz of juice to a 16 oz bottle of the tea – these funnels I picked up shopping with MSP’s mom this weekend came in handy today!

Stir up the ‘sediment’ in the tea before pouring in a bottle.

The finished product:

I left a little room at the top of the bottles because I’m not sure how much it expands (if any) while it continues to ferment.  The non-flavored bottle in the middle is a little short because I needed some of the remainder to add to my next batch.

I’ll let them sit at room temperature for 2 days, then I can refrigerate from there for up to 30 days.  Hoping to try my first one on Friday!

But I did sneak a little sip before bottling.  I won’t lie – I was a little scared.  BOTTOMS UP!

It had a pretty strong vinegar taste – we’ll see if that goes away a little as the fizz builds.  But I did like it!  And I’m so excited!

So now I have my next batch getting ready (the tea has to cool to room temperature before I can add the culture).  But since this last batch only made 2.5 bottles I’m graduating to a gallon jar this time.

I’ll be up to my eyeballs in the ‘booch soon!  Wahoo!

Are any of you going to join me in the homemade kombucha endeavor?

***

Did you know that September is National YOGA month?  Click here for more info on getting a free week of yoga at 1,500+ participating locations.  Or you can try some yoga at home.  My three favorite yoga DVDs are:

(BTW: These are not affiliate links – I just really like and recommend these DVDs.)

I really want to try Bethenny Frankel’s yoga DVD.  I’m on the waiting list at the library, because I’d prefer to try before I buy.  If I love it, I’ll let you know!

I don’t practice yoga daily because I also like to lift weights, run, hike and walk.  I’d love to do it daily, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all, since I still want to do those other things I love.  I’ve read of people who say they have reshaped their bodies with only yoga.  But for me personally, I add it in for flexibility, stress reduction and core/balance work.  Weight training and cardio are where I find the most change to my body.

OK, friends – I’m off to get the next batch of kombucha moved into its new jar!  Have a GREAT day!  FEED you body with nourishing foods and MOVE it a little as well!

– Shari B. =)

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]]> http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/09/15/bottling-the-homemade-kombucha/feed/ 9 9 Tips to Ease the Pain of a Killer Workout http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/05/24/9-tips-to-ease-the-pain-of-a-killer-workout/ http://fitfeat.com/blog/2010/05/24/9-tips-to-ease-the-pain-of-a-killer-workout/#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 03:08:15 +0000 Shari B. http://fitfeat.com/blog/?p=4033 Hi friends!

Oh boy am I sore today from Saturday’s leg workout.  After having been sporadically following the Insanity program over the last month, I have used my legs more for sports drill workouts and apparently they forgot what it was like to do a solid strength session!

THE WORKOUT:

Tabata Sets:

  • Smith Machine Squats (8 sets, 4 minutes)
  • Leg Extensions  (8 sets, 4 minutes)
  • Leg Curls (8 sets, 4 minutes)
  • Plyo Lunges (6 sets, 4 minutes)

Followed by:

  • High Step Ups (2 sets per leg)
  • Front Curtsy Squats (2 sets per leg)
  • 11 minutes of ‘dance cardio‘

And all I’ve been saying for the last 36 hours is “oh my legs, my legs!!!”  My hamstrings are so sore, that it is almost painful to stand up completely straight!  Yes, I like to be sore after a good workout.  But I’ll admit this is a step beyond that.  So I figured this would be a great time to share with you the tips I employ when DOMS sets in (DOMS: delayed onset muscle soreness).

1. Move the sore muscles:  blood flow to the muscles will help to speed the repair and move the toxins out faster.  By “move” the muscles, I don’t mean you should strength train those muscles again while they are sore but getting in some light to moderate aerobic activity will do the trick.

2. Light massage of the sore muscles: keyword here is light.  This is not the time to get a deep tissue massage – my massage therapist says at least 24 hours before a deep massage after a tough workout or you risk releasing toxins too quickly.  So I will lightly rub sore muscles by hand, or else I’ll do some easy foam rolling.

3. Light stretching of the sore muscles: again the keyword here is light. You don’t want to cause additional microtears to muscles that are already in the process of repairing.  The idea here is to just get some blood flow in there and keep them from stiffening up.

4. Ice up: I like to use frozen peas wrapped in a thin towel applied to the sore muscles for 10 to 20 minutes every few hours.  This also expedites blood flow to the area.

5. Soak: After (or between) ice applications, take this opportunity to pamper yourself with a hot bath with Epsom salts.  (I usually toss in 1/2 cup.)

6. Ginger root capsules: I got this great tip from Joan, who knows I won’t take ibuprofen.  She introduced me to ginger root capsules to fight inflammation when I had a stiff back and the stuff works!  It doesn’t have the ‘immediate’ relief you get from OTC drugs, but you don’t get the toxic liver either!  And I have noticed a difference when I take two in the morning and two in the evening.

7.  BioFreeze: I’ll use this as a last resort (because I aim to minimize products that contain paraben) but this stuff works wonders when I do choose to use it.  It’s like an extra strength IcyHot.  A chiropractor recommended this to me years ago and I’ve kept a bottle around ever since.  I’ve used it on sore joints, aching muscles, and it also clears the sinuses right out for you!

8. Water: the lactic acid and toxins need to go somewhere and if you aren’t hydrating they won’t move anywhere very quickly.  Be sure to increase your water intake (especially when muscles are sore) and minimize dehydrating beverages like coffee and soda.

9. REST: when you work out hard, rest is extremely important in order to allow the body to repair, adapt and grow stronger so that the next time you do that same workout, it won’t seem as hard and you can do a little more.

What favorite tips do you utilize? Drop a comment!

– Shari B. =)

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