Tool Talk Thursday!

Here we are again at another tool talk. Today's piece of equipment is a bit ghetto I suppose but I'm a firm believer in using what you have around you. It's fine to get the fancy equipment but it's awesome to get into a routine of using what you do have around you first!

So today I'm pleased to introduce you to...

Your Dining Room Chair!

Yes that's right. You can do so much with your dining room chair. From cardio to strength. You can hit your arms, legs, chest, back and butt with this little baby. In fact the next three move it mondays will be utilizing your dining room chair. 

Keep in mind it's best to use a chair that doesn't have fabric. Purely for the sweat factor. Make sure that it's sturdy and not too high.

So we'll be back on Monday with me and my chair to show you some unique moves to tone you up!

Sarah

Tool Talk Thursday!

Thanks for stopping in for today's tool talk. Today I'm featuring one of the cheapest, most efficient pieces of cardio equipment you can add to your home gym. It's portable and can be used pretty much anywhere. Today I introduce to you (or should I say re-introduce) the....

SKIP ROPE!!!!

If the last time you pulled out one of these babies was on the playground double dutching as a 9 year old, it may be time to take another look at this childhood favorite.

Skipping rope has a multitude of benefits so lets go over a few and give you the basics of how to use one.

1. Skip ropes are cheap! You can find a great one for under $20.
2. Skip ropes are a GREAT cardio workout. You can burn up to 1000 calories an hour. That's a chocolate bar burned in 20 minutes!
3. Skipping is fantastic for bone health. The low impact helps to build bone strength.
4. Skipping is great for the whole family. Challenge your kids and their friends to a skip rope contest and everyone will have a blast!
5. Skipping works not only your cardio but also tones your calves (think summertime!) abs and arms.
6. Skipping is great for your co-ordination, agility and endurance.

So the first thing you need to know is the appropriate size. Most boxes will come with a sizing chart but if not, pull it out of the box and make sure it reaches your armpits. If it's a little to big you can tie knots up by the handles but if it's to short, skip it (pun intended).

Secondly, opt for a speed rope. These come usually come with a swivel or bearing action at the handles allowing the rope to turn faster.

So now that you have your rope, how do you do it? First things first, skipping will quickly become annoying if you keep getting tangled up in the rope. The most common reason for misses is that your muscles are becoming fatigued.  To avoid this, switch up your skip every 30 seconds or so. Start with a basic jump, then move to jacks, then to one foot, etc. By changing it up, you prevent your muscles from burning out.  Start with a goal of 5 minutes and gradually increase your time to build up your endurance. Keep in mind that skipping at a quick pace is the same cardio benefits as running an 8 minute mile!

So head into your attic, dig out that skip rope and blast some calories!

As with any other physical activity, please consult your physician before any exercise program.

Have a great night and we'll see you tomorrow for Foodie Friday!

Sarah

Tool Talk Thursday!

Good Morning all!  Today I'm continuing on with the basics that I feel will help you get the most out of your workouts whether you're doing them at home or at a gym.

Today's product is the gymboss interval timer. I love, love, love this product! Literally I don't do a workout without it. Unfortunately you can't buy it locally as far as I can tell and I haven't come across a comparable product in stores. 

So here's the dealio... This little guy is useful for every workout from running to flexibility to interval training. Head over to www.gymboss.com for all the specs.  I mainly use it for the interval function although the stopwatch function is used often too! If it doesn't seem like I'm speaking english, this is what it really does. Lets' say you want to do some speed training for a run.  You can set the timer to beep to indicate when you should sprint, and also when you should pull back. You can also set it for as many rounds as you'd like. In the picture above, I would be doing six rounds of ten second sprints and a thirty second slower paced recovery jog.  You can set the timer to beep at you , vibrate, or a combo of both. 

In reality you could use a digital watch but I found that for the short interval times, I was spending way to much energy focusing on the watch instead of my workout. So for the $19.99. This is a definite top pick of mine!

Have a wonderful day everyone!
Sarah

Tool Talk Thursday...

Welcome to the third feature here at Lighten Up Fitness! Thursdays will be dedicated to tools of the trade. I'll give my reviews and advice on all the fitness world has to offer to get you into shape. The first weeks of this series will be featuring my "must haves" for anyone wanting to venture into the world of physical activity.

So first up is a workout journal. Wow, there really are so many reasons for keeping a journal but I'll highlight a few. 

Keeping a journal will keep you motivated: Once you're in the swing of things recording your workouts, not having anything to input on a day that's a scheduled workout day, can be enough in itself to get you into your sweats to torch some calories.

Keeping a journal will boost your confidence. On those days where you feel like no progress is being made, looking back in your journal can reveal just how far you've come.

Keeping a journal is educational: This is the big one for me.  After keeping your journal for a few weeks you'll really begin to see where your personal pitfalls are. Does your workout suffer on the days you have 6 hours of sleep? Or do you feel sluggish on your run when you've had too much coffee and not enough food? These may seem obvious but often when we see the evidence in black and white, we're much quicker to take action.

Keeping a journal can help prevent injury: As anyone who has participated in physical activity can tell you, injuries happen and are just a part of life. Many however can be avoided with a little common sense. Far to often there are lead up signs to an injury. If you look back in your journal and notice that when you pushed yourself after a few days of repeated ache, and then suddenly your groin was pulled, you can use that info to help avoid this in the future.  Far to often we dismiss these tell tale signs but again seeing a history can help knock some sense into us before we re-injure ourselves. 

So after all that, what should you look for in a journal? Honestly a plain spiral note book will do but if you're doing it on your own, you should be recording the following at a minimum: Hours slept the previous night, type of cardio conditioning and duration of activity, types of strength training exercises as well as info on reps, sets, rests,  as well as a comment section for how you feel your workout. If you really want to go all out you can include dietary choices as well. There are plenty of premade journals available and they will set you back about $15.00. This is one of my favorites. There are also a ton of online printables if you do a search on workout journals or logs.

So grab a pen and paper and get ready for the changes in your body!

See you tomorrow for Foodie Friday!