Monday, February 28, 2011

Life Span of Exercise Gear

Workout Gear: Water Bottle
Life span: 10+ years
"We've seen people whose water bottles have lasted more than a decade," says Tiffany Teaford, product manager at Nalgene Inc. The bottles that last the longest are impact-resistant, dishwasher-safe, and they don't retain taste or odors, she says.

When to replace: "When tiny fingerling cracks start to appear in plastic water bottles, it is a sign that the material is breaking down," says Teaford. "You should get a new one, because it will soon loose its ability to remain leak proof."

How to make it last: Regular cleaning is crucial for safeguarding yourself against germs, but Teaford recommends top-rack loading when washing your bottle in the dishwasher. This will keep it away from strong heat that can cause some types of plastic to breakdown. Also, dry thoroughly to prevent mold.


Workout Gear: Sports Bra
Life span: 6 months to a yearThe longevity of a sports bra varies based on the amount of wear, intensity of workouts and whether or not you rotate your bras, says Alma Androvic, designer of the new Nike Rebel Bra. "If you're wearing the same bra for three to four workouts a week, you should replace it every six months to ensure the best support."

When to replace: Buy a new sports bra if you experience bouncing, the cups have become lax and are too big, or the band rides up in the back indicating that the bra is loose. "Once the fabric has lost its stretch and recovery—meaning that when it stretches it doesn't bounce back—it is time to get a new bra," adds Cassandra Sze, innovation designer for Lululemon apparel.

How to make it last: "For bras that come with hooks, it is best to put the hooks on the loosest setting when you first wear it, as this will allow you to tighten it as the bra begins to stretch out," says Sze. She recommends choosing bras that are hot wash and dryer friendly. "Choose a detergent that does not contain fabric softener, as this will prevent the fabric from wicking away sweat properly." Rotating your sports bras—rather than wearing the same one every sweat session—will also make them last longer.


Workout Gear: Running Shoes
Life span: About 8 months—or about 400 miles—for an average runner (10 miles a week)
Every runner is different, but a good pair of running shoes provides sufficient support for about 300 to 400 miles, says Johanna Bjorken, merchandise director of JackRabbit Sports stores in New York City. Just because the treads on the bottom of your running shoes don't look worn down, it doesn't mean they're still in good condition: The real wear happens in the midsole of the shoe, which is the spongy material that's usually made of air-injected foam inside the shoe under your foot.

When to replace: Pain—such as shin splints, knee soreness, or ankle aches—is usually the first sign that you need to replace your running shoes. But you can also find clues by examining the midsole, says Bjorken. When it starts to look wrinkled or like a dried-up sponge, your shoes have hit their limit.

How to make it last: Heat can break down sneaker's materials, so never put your shoes in the hot trunk of your car or through the dryer.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Additional Ways to get more from Your Walk

Go for a Goal
If you feel like you're always scrambling to get your walks in, setting goals may provide the structure you need to stick to your exercise plan. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that workplace programs that encouraged employees to set time-specific, realistic fitness goals (such as how many steps or how long they'd exercise daily or weekly) got twice as many people to exercise regularly than a control group that set no goals. According to study author Rod K. Dishman, PhD, professor of exercise science at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia, clear objectives helped goal-setters know what they were working toward, and this motivated them to make time in their schedules for exercising.

How to get started: Set yourself up for success. Choose a goal that's challenging but also attainable. In other words, don't make it so grandiose that you can't achieve it, like upping your daily steps from 5,000 to 10,000 in one week, or walking five miles a day, five times a week. When setting your goal, also be sure to decide exactly how much you plan to bump up your activity level and in what period of time, says Dishman. For example, you might increase your exercise time by 10 percent each week, or aim to take 1,000 more steps a week. To make that even more doable, create daily goals that will help you achieve your larger one. If you're aiming to walk 1,000 more steps over the week, aim to walk about 150 extra steps a day. Every two weeks, evaluate your progress and readjust, if necessary.


Change Up Your Routine
You might have a favorite walking route, but you should literally veer off the beaten path, especially if you're trying to lose weight. Eventually, your body gets used to your everyday workout (it's called a "routine" for a reason), and your weight loss and strengthening gains will stall. German researchers found that untrained individuals who did a three-day-a-week jogging/walking program saw cardiovascular fitness improvements for the first six months, but after that, nothing, according to a study from Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. To keep progressing, researchers recommend changing your workouts so you continue challenging your body.

How to get started: Boost the intensity of your workouts. Another recent study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that obese women who did three high-intensity sessions of walk-jogging or walks plus two low-intensity walks a week lost substantially more weight over 16 weeks than obese women who did either low-intensity exercise five days a week or nothing. Intimidated by the sound of "high-intensity" exercises? Don't be. According to study author Arthur Weltman, PhD, director of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia, it's "something anybody can do, as it's based on your own capabilities." He suggests you try this: Walk at an easy pace for five minutes. Then, increase your pace so that walking feels hard. (For example, if you're measuring your exertion on a scale of 1 to 10 with one being effortless and 10 being super-hard, you should be working between 5 and 7.) Hold that pace for the majority of your walk—if you're walking for 30 minutes, for example, you would try to maintain that pace for about 20 minutes—before cooling down with easy walking. Repeat three times a week (every other day).


Make Your Walks Enjoyable
Feeling like your workout is too tough could leave you with an unexpected consequence: Weight gain. A study in the journal Obesity found a connection between how difficult formerly overweight women perceive exercise to be and how much weight they regain. Women who had completed a year-long diet and fitness program took a treadmill test that measured how hard they thought they were working and how much they actually exerted themselves. A year later, the women who found the test most difficult had gained more weight—an average of 12 pounds—than those who thought it was easier. (How hard they actually worked out didn't predict weight gain.) The reason for their extra pounds? Because of their negative experiences with exercise, the weight gainers simply worked out less.

How to get started: Find a way to make your walks fun. "If you're slogging through something you don't enjoy, you won't stick with it," says lead author David W. Brock, PhD, assistant professor of exercise and movement science at the University of Vermont, in Burlington, Vermont. However, if you turn your walks into something you look forward to, you'll be more likely to work out regularly. Try inviting your best friend to stroll with you once a week, or take a new route through an area with pretty scenery.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Easy Ways to Get more from Your Walk

Schedule a Morning Sweat
There's a good reason to be a morning walker. According to a recent study in Journal of Applied Physiology, mental fatigue—a.k.a the brain drain you feel after a long day of working or dealing with family obligations—significantly affects workouts. When your mind is tired, exercise feels more difficult and you can't keep at it as long as you can when you're mentally rested. In the morning, your brain is refreshed from sleeping and not processing thoughts for hours on end, and your walks may feel easier during that time.

How to get started: Since most people become mentally fatigued during the afternoon or evening, aim to walk before you start your day. To ease into a morning routine, try leaving your walking gear and some grab-and-go fuel (like a banana) by your bed, so you'll have everything right there when your alarm rings in the a.m. If you're really not a morning person, try strolling during your lunch break, instead.

Log Your Miles
If you regularly keep tabs on how far you walk, it's almost guaranteed that you'll up your activity level. Men and women walked 15 percent more each day when they wore pedometers and recorded their daily steps in a diary than when they just wore pedometers but didn't track their progress, according to a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. The walkers who logged their strides also often tried to beat, or at least maintain, their step counts from the previous day. "Wearing a pedometer and recording your step counts gives you feedback on your activity levels, which may lead to personal goal setting and greater confidence in walking," says Stacy Clemes, PhD, the study's author and lecturer in human biology at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, United Kingdom.

How to get started: Purchase a pedometer and start keeping track of your daily steps. Aim for 10,000 a day, but don't get discouraged if you're not there yet—the average woman takes about 5,000 daily. To boost your number gradually, add 500 more steps a day, every few days, until you hit the magic 10K.


Walk to a Beat
Here's a good excuse to download some new songs: A recent study from the Journal of Sports & Exercise Psychology found that music can literally move you. When people walked in time to fast-tempo music (approximately over 120 beats per minute) with a strong rhythm, they walked 15 percent longer than those who sweated in silence. Why the big increase? Music improved participants' moods, motivated them, focused their attention, distracted them from feeling tired for longer periods of time, and helped them to move more efficiently, according to lead study author Costas Karageorghis, PhD, of Brunel University in West London.

How to get started: Use music to maximize your walking workouts by loading up your MP3 player with rock or pop songs that are around 120 to 145 beats per minute. To calculate beats per minute, simply count the beats during 15 seconds of a song and multiply that number by four. Sound too complicated? We've already done the math and created walking playlists for 15-, 30-, and 45-minute walks, plus playlists for walking at easy through speedy tempos.

Trek Uphill
Add some inclines to your walk and you'll torch some serious calories. A 150-pound woman walking at 3.5 miles per hour on level ground will burn 132 calories in 30 minutes. But walking at the same speed on a five percent grade, she'll burn 171 calories in a half-hour. "Walking up hilly terrain requires the muscles to produce more force to propel the body upward, which helps you burn more calories," says Julia Valentour, spokesperson and programs coordinator for the American Council on Exercise. Bonus: Walking uphill may boost bone density and will tone and strengthen your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.

How to get started: Once you've established a steady routine of walking on flat terrain, try walking hilly routes one to two times a week. (Avoid walking those routes on back-to-back days so your body can recover.) If there are no hills in your neighborhood, go to a local school and climb up and down the stadium steps, or try the stairs in an office or apartment building. At the gym, hop on a treadmill and add an incline. Start with a five-minute walking warm-up with no incline, then increase to an incline you can sustain (anywhere from five to 10 percent) for 60 seconds. Drop back down to no incline for 1.5 to two minutes so you can recover. Work your way to walking uphill for 60 seconds and resting for 60 seconds. Repeat this several times during your workout. "The incline should challenge you but not so much that your breathing and heart rate accelerate rapidly," Valentour says.

Friday, February 25, 2011

TGIF

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” ~Thomas Jefferson

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Playlist for Walking

15-Minute Walking Playlist #1
"The Sweet Escape" - Gwen Stefani
"My Life Would Suck Without You" - Kelly Clarkson
"This Love" - The Veronicas
"Rain" - Creed
"Face Drop" - Sean Kingston
"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" - KT Tunstall

15-Minute Walking Playlist #2
"The Sky's the Limit" - Jason Derülo
"Bulletproof" - La Roux
"The Middle" - Jimmy Eat World
"Break Your Heart" - Taio Cruz
"Naturally" - Selena Gomez & The Scene

30-Minute Walking Playlist #1
"Haven't Met You Yet" - Michael Bublé
"I Feel It All" - Feist
"Say Hey (I Love You)" - Michael Franti & Spearhead
"According to You" - Orianthi
"Whataya Want from Me" - Adam Lambert
"Wild Wild Life" - Talking Heads
"Viva la Vida" - Coldplay
"Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson

30-Minute Walking Playlist #2
"I Won't Back Down" - Tom Petty
"Shut Up and Let Me Go" - The Ting Tings
"I Gotta Feelin" - Black Eyed Peas
"Somebody to Love" - Queen
"Let the Feelings Go (Radio Edit)" - AnnaGrace
"You Sexy Thing" - Hot Chocolate
"Don't Stop Believin?" - Journey
"Rain King" - Counting Crows

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Week 7 Results

What in the world happened during week 7???? Four contestants were able to maintain their weight. Which is better than gaining however the over all goal is to be losing weight!! One contestant gained weight and I am still waiting to hear from two contestants.

There is only two top contestants this week:
1. Melissa Van Dam with a weight loss of 0.64%
2. Amber Neale with a weight loss of 0.62%

Congratulations to Rebecca Post and Bill DeVree for taking advantage of gaining another piggy pass.

There is only 5 more weeks! Make every one of these weeks count! Set a goal for yourself for each week. Maybe that goal will be to drink 8 glass of water. Or maybe you set a goal to exercise for 30 minutes every day. Or maybe your goal is to drop at least a pound each week. Find a goal that will work for you and stick to it!!!

GOOD LUCK to you all!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Week 6 Results

We are half way through this weight loss competition. Are you half way to your goal??? Are you giving it your all? Are you making wise food choices and making exercise a priority???

I am very happy to report that as a group we lost a total of 7 pounds.

The top three contestants for week 6 are as follows:
1. Bill DeVree with a total week loss of 1.71%
2. Melissa Van Dam with a total week loss of 1.55%
3. Mary DeVree with a total week loss of 0.72%

To date all contestants have used their piggy pass. Would it be nice to have another piggy pass in your back pocket for the second 6 weeks?? Well here is your chance to earn another piggy pass. You need to contact me (email/phone/text) between now and Tuesday, February 22 what you have been doing to help you lose weight and reach your goal.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL! I hope we have another successful week!!!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Playlist

Need a new playlist to work out to? Try this one:

"Get Down Tonight" - KC and the Sunshine Band (113 BPMs)

"Rock and a Hard Place" - The Rolling Stones (129 BPMs)

"Dancing with Myself" - Billy Idol (176 BPMs)

"Eye of the Tiger" - Survivor (109 BPMs)

"Burning Up" - Madonna (138 BPMs)

"Beat It" - Michael Jackson (139 BPMs)

"Walk This Way" - Run-DMC (106 BPMs)

"Strike It Up" - Black Box (118 BPMs)

"Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes (124 BPMs)

"Stronger" - Kanye West (104 BPMs)

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Chocolate Cheesecake

Chocolate Cheesecake
Makes: 14 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup crushed graham crackers
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup fat-free milk
2 8-ounce packages reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 8-ounce package fat-free cream cheese, softened
8 ounces fat-free sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Chocolate curls

Directions
In a bowl, stir together the graham crackers and butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan. Chill while preparing the filling.
In a saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the milk; let stand for 5 minutes. Stir over low heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat; cool for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheeses with a mixer until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla; gradually beat in the gelatin mixture. Divide the cream cheese mixture in half; gradually stir the melted chocolate into one half.
Spread half of the chocolate mixture onto the crust. Spoon half of the remaining cream cheese mixture onto the chocolate mixture in small mounds; swirl them together with a butter knife.
Spread the remaining chocolate mixture on top. Spoon on the remaining cream cheese mixture, and swirl again. Cover; chill for 6 hours or until set.
Loosen the cake from the pan with a knife before removing the side of the pan. Cut the cake into wedges; top with chocolate curls.

Nutrition facts per serving (1 slice): 216 calories, 17g carbohydrate, 13g fat (7g saturated), 1g fiber


Make Dessert More Diet-Friendly
Toss the Eggs
Most cheesecake recipes call for eggs, but using gelatin as a binding agent cuts calories and fat, says Marisa Moore, RD, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson. Bonus: No baking makes this dessert a cinch.

Trim the Fat
The average slice packs 38 grams of fat (22 of them saturated). We cut two-thirds of the fat but didn't nix it altogether, because it delivers that classic creamy, silky texture.

Raise the Bar
"Bittersweet chocolate has less sugar and more antioxidants than milk chocolate," Moore says. Its disease-fighting nutrients help decrease plaque buildup in your arteries and may improve blood pressure.

Top It Off
To create perfect curls, run a vegetable peeler along the edge of a chocolate bar. For a bigger antioxidant boost, Moore suggests using a small mesh strainer to dust the cake with cocoa powder before serving.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Week 5 Results

Can you believe we only have 7 more weeks left of this competition????

CONGRATULATIONS to the following three contestants for losing weight during week 5:
1. Amber Neale with a weekly weight loss of 0.91%.
2. Cadence Seeley with a weekly weight loss of 1.35%.
3. Scot Van Dam with a weekly weight loss of 0.18%.

I am bummed to report that only 3 contestants lost weight this past week. One contestant was able to maintain which is much better than gaining!

SO....What is happening??? Is it because you pigged out at a super bowl party? Did you find it hard to fit exercise in your schedule this past week??

What can we do to have a better week? I know we can all do better than this! We should be able to drop at least 10 pounds as a group every week! I hope this week we all give it 110%.

Top Three Contestants of the competition:
1. Cadence Seeley with a total weight loss of 4.30%
2. Amber Neale with a total weight loss of 3.58%
3. Mary De Vree with a total weight loss of 2.19%

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL THIS COMING WEEK!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Get Motivated!!!

Below are two websites to check out for some additional motivation:

Get Motivated Online: 43 Things

What is it? 43 Things is a collection of lists of things people want to do, from running a half marathon and taking a photo every day for a year to keeping a notepad of awesome moments and empowering girls and women to be free-thinkers and be self-sufficient.

Not only can you list your dreams, but you can add others' to your list (including things you never would have come up with on your own, but are great ideas). Some are predictable, some, not so much. One recent day, "grow wings" was one of the most popular goals. But so were "stop procrastinating" and "lose weight."



Get Motivated Online: Diary of a Fat Woman

What is it? The story of Joanna, a 28-year-old mom of three, full-time student and part-time teacher who's on a quest to lose 113 pounds to get to her goal weight of 150 (she's lost 60 pounds already).

Joanna finds smart ways to sneak healthy activity into her days—by running around with her kids at the park ("Sitting on the bench and watching them doesn't count!"), participating in a Biggest Loser contest with coworkers, getting rid of junk food in the house ("The kids will get over it"), and waking up at the crack of dawn for exercise ("Painful, but feels so good when it's over"). If she can do it, you can, too.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Stretching 101

How many times have you heard the advice "Don't forget to stretch?" But when it comes to stretching, there are so many mixed messages from when you're supposed to do it (before exercise? after? before and after?), to how long to hold a stretch, to the best ways to do it, to why to do it in the first place. Here's a primer to help you get to the bottom of all those claims and unanswered questions.

Why stretch?
A systematic review of studies that addressed the impact of stretching on sports injury risk published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise notes that the jury is still out on whether or not stretching can prevent injury among competitive or recreational athletes. However, flexibility exercises when done after a workout or at least after a brief cardio warm-up do help to maintain circulation around the joints, keeping muscles healthy where they're most apt to get injured.

Stretching allows the body to move more efficiently and perform at its peak. During the course of a workout, muscles begin to shorten as they fatigue. This impedes your ability to generate speed and power and leads to a less efficient, shorter, more shuffling stride. Stretching keeps muscles elongated, reducing this tendency.

It can make you stronger. Some research shows that stretching the muscle group you just worked between sets can increase strength gains by 19 percent.
It's an incredibly soothing way to connect your mind and body, and it simply feels great!

When to stretch
You can stretch anytime you feel like, or you can do so in conjunction with other activities. Just remember: After any type of physical activity—cardio, strength training or sports—stretch every muscle group you used, holding each for 30 seconds. Muscles are warmer and more pliable then, making them easier to lengthen. Vigorous stretching before exercise, when muscles are cold and less pliable, will produce less benefit and may leave tendons more susceptible to injury. A good rule of thumb is to start your workout with a five-minute cardio warm-up, stretch gently, follow your usual routine, then do more serious stretching after.

Mistakes to avoid
Don't bounce. Using momentum to increase your stretch can activate the body's protective reflex, causing the muscles to contract instead of stretch, which can lead to small tears.

Don't stretch to the point of pain. While you may experience a little discomfort in an area that is tight, actual pain is your body's way of letting you know something is wrong.

Don't forget to breathe. Not only is oxygen exchange necessary for the muscle to respond in a beneficial way to a stretch, but holding your breath may temporarily increase blood pressure.

Focus on inhaling as you get in position for the stretch and exhaling as you move into it. Keep your breathing slow and regular.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Healthy Smoothie Recipes: 4 Ways to Make Any Smoothie Better For You


1. Use fresh, not frozen fruit (most of the time).
Fruit loses nutrients, vitamins and flavor during both the freezing and unfreezing processes. Stick with fresh, seasonal fruit whenever you can to get the most nutritional and flavor bang for your buck in your smoothie recipe. If you just have to have peaches in the middle of winter or any other out-of-season fruit, opt for frozen. Fruits are frozen at their prime and will retain more nutrients than a piece of fruit that has to travel thousands of miles to get to your grocery store.


2. Nix the fruit juice: Use a natural, zero-calorie sweetener.
Skip the sugar, the high fructose corn syrup and the fruit juice (yup, fruit juice is a major source of sugar and calories in smoothie recipes). Instead, use a natural zero-calorie sweetener like stevia. This type of sweeter significantly reduces calories and cuts sugar in half—from about 60 to 70 grams per 16 oz smoothie to about 30 to 40 grams. What's more, sweeteners derived from the stevia plant, like Pure Via, are natural and contain no extra preservatives or color.


3. Build it with yogurt and ice.
Smoothie recipes should be cool and refreshing, but stay away from ice cream and sherbet. Why? "The sugar found in 100 percent natural, nonfat yogurt is from natural sources (including those naturally found in milk in the form of lactose)," says Red Mango founder Dan Kim, who uses this type of yogurt in his smoothies. That's far better, he says, "than unhealthy additives like high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners that are used in ice cream and sherbet." What's more, real yogurt (but not fro yo) is lower in fat and calories and contains probiotic live and active cultures that help support the health of your immune and digestive systems.


4. Leave out artificial ingredients.
You may be intending to avoid artificial ingredients but get them anyway: Many "healthy" smoothie recipes sneak in artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, stabilizers and high fructose corn syrup. Using high quality, fresh ingredients (or making sure your favorite smoothie shop does the same) will give you all the flavor and nutrition you need without unnatural additives.
Taken from Shape

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Week 4 Results

I hope you were able to survive the Blizzard of 2011 that we experienced last night and today!

I am happy to report that we as a group lost 4.4 pounds this week. I am still missing the results from two contestants. Just a reminder....if you fail to report your weight loss or gain by 3:00 PM you will be fined $3.00 if you have already used your piggy pass.

The top three contestants from week 4 are as follows:
1. Bill DeVree with a weekly weight loss of 2.21%
2. Cadence Seeley with a weekly weight loss of 0.75%
3. Jodi White with a weekly weight loss of 0.23%

The top three contestants of the entire competition to date is as follows:
1. Cadence Seeley with a total weight loss of 2.95% (Note: Cadence was the big winner last time!!)
2. There is a tie for second place between Amber Neale and Mary DeVree with a total weight loss of 2.67%.
3. Bill DeVree with a total weight loss of 2.61%

If you are struggling with getting into a rhythm of working out and eating right consider the month of February a new time to start. We have only 8 weeks left! I hope you make the most out of those eight weeks!

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!!