What's My Workout?

One of the first blog posts I did was about what my workout was.  However, that has changed as my life has changed so I thought I would fill you in some.  I have been VERY honest with you guys and my motivations since May has been *ahem, cough, cough* lacking.  However, I still try/attempt/strive to get moving at least five days a week.  Here's how that looks. 

Monday/Wednesday/Friday (really whatever days end up working): A friend and I meet to walk/run for an hour.  We normally get 3 to 4 miles in.  Some days we are slower and some days we are faster.  I love it because we also get to catch up so the time flies.  

Tuesday/Thursday (really the opposite days of my walk) I attempt to do a dvd with either weights, Pilates, or Yoga.  I honestly LOVE this workout and have asked for this set for Christmas.  

Picture by Amazon

I have also just used several of the weight workouts that Lynette and I have posted here on this blog!  

My workouts have obviously changed as the challenge of looking for a house to buy added some stress.  Now the stress of packing and waiting on a closing date has settled over the house.  Added to that, my bootcamp membership expired and I didn't want to renew while things were up in the air.  Then, I bought a Groupon for a yoga studio and that expired.  So now I am just winging it, and I LOVE it!  I am working out at my own pace, whenever I have the time.  Some days I only have thirty minutes; other days I have longer, and that's okay!  

What are your workouts looking like?

This post contains affiliate links that Mom 4ce receives compensation for.  This money is used to keep our blog up and running and one day if we ever have excess money from these affiliate links we plan on buying more fitness equipment.  We will NEVER post a link for something that we wouldn't use or do use in our own homes.

Time Is On Your Side

 

When I first started working out I felt like the longer I worked out, the better my workout was.  

Then I fell into the time trap and wouldn't workout if I didn't have an hour to an hour and a half to my workouts.  Well, here's the deal; you don't NEED an hour or more to workout.  In fact some of my best, body shaking, sweat dripping workouts are done in fifteen to twenty minutes.  That's right, you heard me.  

I know that we have all heard that thirty minutes is optimal and I will agree with that but an occasional short workout here and there are fine.  

Let's be real for a minute.  If you are working out for an hour; unless you are a machine like Lynette, there are times that you are not truly focused on your workout.  There are probably even minutes here and there that you have stopped and are getting a drink, checking the time, standing still to catch your breathe, and whatever else you can do to make time pass faster.  We all do it and that's fine.

Now, let's take a crazy day.  You oversleep and only have twenty minutes.  That is too short of a time to pop in a dvd.  You can run around the block but it's raining.  Well great, you might as well just skip your workout today or try to get it in tonight.  NO!  Crank up the stereo and let's get to work.  

You will need your HEAVIEST weights for this. You might need to double up your weights to really push yourself, the end of each move should be a struggle.

Start off with some light jumping jacks to warm you up.  

Once your heart starts to pump do one minute of  fast jumping jacks.

20 push ups (do not modify if at all possible, push yourself)

30 sit ups (not crunches)

30 dumbbell curls (get on your knees and do each arm separately, really focus and use control)

1 minute of mountain climbers

30 squats (go as low as you can, stick your bottom as far out as it can go.  Make sure your knees don't go past your toes!)

30 chest presses

30 toe touches (lie on your back and take your arms above your head with a weight in each hand.  Put your feet in the air and try to touch your toes with the weights.  Keep your hips on the floor!)

30 walking lunges 

30 tricep extensions

30 plie squats

15 forward arm circles with weights (make sure there is a slight bend in your elbows)

15 backward arm circles with weights

GOOD WORK!  Now stretch it all out. 

Why Weights?

Last week I debunked some of the myths about women and lifting weights.  This week, I want to tell you why it's important to lift weights and then give you an easy weight workout that you can do in the comfort of your own home.

Building muscle has implications on the quality of your life- for your entire life!

The most obvious benefit is an increase in muscle size and strength.  The stronger you are, the easier it is to do things.  

You can change how your body looks!  If you take the same weight of fat and muscle, muscle will take up less space.  

Your body burns more calories in the hours after a hard weight workout than you do a cardio workout.  Even thought the calorie burn during the workout, your body continues to burn calories as it repairs muscle damage.

Weightlifting can help increase your flexibility.  As you take the weights through your full range of motion, your muscles respond like they do during a dynamic warm- up.

Lifting weights increases bone density.  This is especially important as you age- when most people start to lose bone density.

Weight training can help reduce your risk of injury by making your bones, joints and muscles stronger.

With a properly designed (and executed) program, weight training can improve your posture and balance.

Weight training improves strength, body composition, flexibility, bone density... Feeling better and looking better can lead to improved self- confidence.  

And now for your workout =)

Warm- up for about 10 minutes before your start.  Jog in place, arm swings, leg swings...  Some sort of dynamic warm- up.

Then you're going to do 3 sets of the following.

50 walking lunges (25 each leg)

10- 30 burpees (fewer if starting out, more if you've been working out for awhile)

1-2 minute plank

25 squats (add weight if needed)

10- 30 unmodified push- ups (on your toes!  no girly push- ups allowed!)

After 3 sets, cool down.  Easy walking and stretching.

Mythbusters: Mom 4ce Style

There's a lot of myths out there about women and weights.  You've probably heard a lot of them.  And a few of them have probably kept you out of the weight room.  But you know what?  Most of them are untrue.  And I'm here to bust a few of them.

The biggest myth is "If I lift heavy, I'm going to get all big and bulky."

Source

This is the biggest lie.  The truth is, unless you have abnormal amounts of testosterone, take steroids and work out for ungodly amounts of time, this will not happen to you.  Even for guys, it can be difficult to put on this much muscle mass.

Why is this a myth?  Because women do not have as much of the correct type of muscle to build strength and size.  There are two types of muscle tissue.  Type I which is responsible for endurance type movements and Type II which is responsible for strength and power.

In your average woman, she will have about 45% Type I muscle fibers and men will have about 35%.  What that means is that the man will have two thirds type II fibers and the woman will have just over half.  The man will have more potential to build size and strength as compared to the woman.

Which leads me to the second myth.  "Women should lift light weights with high reps."

This myth originated because women have more type I muscle fibers...  You know, the ones responsible for endurance type movements.  Most trainers figured if women have more type I, then they should use programs that *develop* those muscles.

But the problem with this is that you're not building muscle by lifting *Barbie* weights for lots and lots of reps.  All you're doing is building your endurance.

Let's think about it this way.  As a runner, I can run for miles and miles because I work on my endurance- by running miles and miles.  But, if I want to run those miles faster, I have to work on my speed- which means doing work outs that develop those type II muscle fibers.  The benefit is then I can run those miles and miles faster.

Same goes for lifting weights.  If you want to get stronger, you have to lift heavier weights.  Which means decreasing the number of reps you're doing.

All this talk about endurance leads me to needing to clear up a few definitions.  These words are used to sell thousands of fluff fitness magazines.  The words that need to be redefined (or at least have the right definition used) are tone, shape and sculpt.

Tone is what your muscles are like when you're not doing anything.  Sweet Pea has really low muscle tone.  When you hold her, she feels soft and floppy.  A baby with normal muscle tone seems solid.  The purpose of muscle tone is to keep you primed and ready for action.  Muscle tone also creates heat and keeps your muscles healthy.

The myth that women's fitness magazines are selling you is that you can change your muscle tone by using light (*Barbie*) weights and high reps.  But the truth is, you can't change your muscle tone.

Shaping  your muscles seems to imply that you can target specific muscles and give them a different shape.  But, the truth is, your muscle shape is determined by your genetics.  The only thing you can do by working your muscles is make them bigger or smaller.

And that leaves the term sculpting.  How many of you want to sculpt the perfect body?  Many of us have been lured into thinking that by doing certain workouts we can sculpt a lean, long dancer's body.

Really?  You can make yourself taller, longer?  The truth is that unless you already have that dancer's build (or runner, or swimmer or whatever type build you can think of) you cannot sculpt your body into it.  You can only work with the build you've been given.

Instead of falling for the routines that the fluff fitness magazines are selling, focus on what your goals are and find a program that works for you.  My favorite weight lifting program can be found in The New Rules of Lifting for Women.  The workouts are challenging, but the results are amazing (or so I've been told ;) )

So, there you have it.  Some of the most popular women and weights myths busted.  Now, get out there and start lifting heavy to look like a goddess!