Lazy day hotel room workout

May 20th, 2013 No Comments

On the road, unless I can find a good studio nearby or the hotel gym is well-equipped, I usually decide to take a couple days off to let my body rest. Recovery is an important part of building strength.

On the other hand, we’ve already discussed that even in foreign countries, we still have TONS of fitness options at our disposal. Sometimes am just flat out lazy. I’ll try to make excuses as to why I can skip it. I think most of us fall into this camp.

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know I post about vacation workouts when summer rolls around. Traveling for work or other obligations makes exercising a different story. You know you shouldn’t detract from your normal regimen/level of intensity. And still, motivation is the hardest part about the whole endeavor.

Such was the case on my recent quick trip to Louisville. The gym at the hotel was awesome, but I didn’t have a lot of time to exercise…I wasn’t in the mood….but I knew if I got my blood pumping I would feel better. (The previous day’s activities needed purging if you know what I mean.) So I went back to the blog and found this video to get me started. No excuses, I just did what Richard told me to do. (I miss BLAST900 so much!

**Click here to watch a video on how to train your body to do pushups NOT on your knees.

Once I got going, I kept thinking of exercises to add in: tricep dips, a variety of crunches, hip raises, etc.

Before I knew it, I had completed 20 minutes of exercising AND felt a hell of a lot better (as expected).

A few other options to get you going:

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Taking the “work” out of working out

May 13th, 2013 No Comments

When I know I’m coming back to Houston, the first person I call aside from my parents is Cederick, my trainer. He’s not just my trainer, he’s a light in my day and a huge source of positive energy for me. He’s seen me at my worst, destroyed in tears, and I still show up for him, without shame, because I know that not only will the workout be good for me, but being in his presence and hearing his nuggets of wisdom will be even more beneficial than getting my heart rate up.

I tell people this ALL the time, but the message never became clear to me until I was doing this exercise with him the other day. While I do these pull downs, he stands behind me so I can rest my head on his stomach as he keeps his fingers on my lats to help me focus. My thought was that even though the exercise was a struggle, it was pleasure not pain or “work.”

You all ask me CONSTANTLY, how do I stay motivated to exercise regularly. Cederick is one of my many answers. And man, in Houston was he hard to find. Like most of my favorites, he was referred to me by a friend. BLAST900, JoyYoga, Level10, and SoulCycle are more favorites that were referrals actually. If I don’t have a recommendation, I don’t seek out, I HUNT DOWN workouts I enjoy so I want to go do them. I don’t just join the gym next to my house, I commute if I have to. If I’m stuck and I need to exercise in a way that’s not fun for me (like Zone 3 days on the treadmill), I find a way to entertain myself (Nashville Star on my iPad).

So this week, I encourage you to take an assessment of how much you actually like the exercises you do. That could mean individual movements, entire days, classes, studios, trainers, whatever. If you feel yourself cringe at any point, drop that exercise and HUNT DOWN a seemingly-enjoyable replacement.

It took me years to find my routines. Mostly because I move around so much. But you should be able to find activities that fill both your exercise and entertainment buckets all at one time.

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Change is a good thing!

April 22nd, 2013 1 Comment

Mary Rambin workout weights

Last week I wrote about my workout routines. Routines are comforting because we know what lies ahead and we can anticipate any discomfort. For our minds and bodies, that’s not necessarily a good thing when it comes to our workout. You need to challenge yourself to make them stronger. Keep your body on its toes!

This week, I encourage you to take your workouts to the next level simply by changing one little thing. Add on weight, resistance, an incline, just something so you FEEL a difference in your muscles when you do a movement.

For example, here’s what I do to turn up the intensity:

Add 2 pounds when using light weights (so go from 3 to 5 lbs)
Add 5 pounds when using heavy weights
Start my treadmill workout at a 3.o incline instead of 0
Jog and run 0.5 faster
Add 2 pushups in my chaturangas
Put an extra turn/gear on my resistance while spinning
Do 30 crunches instead of 20

You get the idea.

Just make sure you aren’t compromising your form to carry the extra intensity. If that’s the case, back off. Form is truly the key to being successful, no mater what your goal. You can also decrease your reps by 2-5. Just see how you feel.

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My workout regimen is based on location, location, location.

April 15th, 2013 2 Comments

As a matter of fact I have! But that could have been 3 years ago…after so many years of blogging I lose track :)

If you’ve been following me through those years, you know I’ve moved a handful of times – New York, LA, Houston, Mexico, Atlanta. As much as I would like to take my workout with me as I bounce around, I can’t because of the facilities and studios specific to each city. In some ways that’s good so I don’t get burned out and my body doesn’t become accustomed to a routine. As we all know, one of the most important parts of changing our bodies and getting stronger is challenging your body.

The basis of my workout is always the same: cardio, weights/strength, aerobic/zone 3 heart rate/fat burning days, yoga. How I accomplish those things is based on where I am and my heart rate goal for the day (cardio = zone 4-5 for 1 hour, fat burn = zone 3 1 hour). Here is an approximate breakdown of what I do where. If you click the links, you’ll get more details on what my workouts entail.

New York

SoulCycle – 3 days a week = cardio
Blink/Equinox – 2 days a week = weights + zone 3
Yoga – 1 day a week (haven’t found a studio here yet)

To answer Jaclyn’s question, SoulCycle isn’t enough FOR ME because it misses 2 major muscle groups (chest and back) during the arm segment and doesn’t allow for building muscle with heavy weights. However, the arm section is amazing to tone your shoulders, biceps, and triceps.

Los Angeles

SoulCycle – 2 days a week= cardio
Runyon Canyon – 2 days a week = 1 day cardio, 1 day zone 3
Equinox – weights or group fitness classes (they have THE BEST!), 1 day yoga

**I still haven’t figured out my scheduling of these yet.

Houston

Spinning at fit gym – 3 days a week = cardio
Personal Trainer Cederick – 2 days a week = weights + zone 3
Memorial Park – 3 mile job, 1 day = zone 3
Joy Yoga Studio – 1 day

Atlanta

BLAST900 – 3-4 days a week = 3 days cardio, 1 day zone 3
Private gym – 2 days a week = weights + zone 3
Chastain Park - 6 mile jog or walk with weights = zone 3
Spinning at home – 1-2 days a week = cardio or zone 3
Atlanta Hot Yoga – 1 day a week

Mexico

My beach workouts – 3 days a week = 1 day cardio, 2 day zone 3
Gym – 2-3 days a week = weights + cardio
P90x – weights, resistance bands, 1 days a week = weights
Yoga DVD (haven’t found a favorite yet)

Traveling

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Do you think I worked off the Super Bowl snacks??

February 5th, 2013 No Comments

The easy answer is “no!” I’m guessing I consumed a lot more than 775 calories during a 5 hour snack fest. The truth is that I did burn the calories I consumed, just over a longer period of time. Let me explain

The good thing I’ve learned over the last six months is:

Calories IN does NOT equal Calories OUT.

This has always been my gut feeling, but it’s nice to have it validated by educated professionals :)

There are three principles I can identify at work:

Muscle burns calories, even when you are sitting still. That’s why weight/strength training is important.
High intensity training (anaerobic, heart rate zones 4 and 5) revs up your metabolism so it will work harder longer. At least 24 hours after you killed it at the gym.
Aerobic training (heart rate zone 3) teaches your body to burn fat. Carbs not burned off turn into fat, so this is very important.

Click the links for my experience with each. You can also find TONS of exercises for each by looking under the “Fitness” menu on the top navigation.

The bottom line here is an active person has the ability to burn more calories even when they’re not working out. When an excessive amount of calories is consumed (at parties), you can rest assured that you’re not going to pay in pounds. Soooo, if you exercise and maintain a healthy diet, you’re able to have cheat days and treats!

I hope this serves as a little motivation for you Ainsling! I’ll get into your specific workout details soon. Thanks for the question!

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How to make your workout not hurt so much

November 26th, 2012 No Comments

Last week in my BLAST900 class, the instructor Bri said,

“Have you ever noticed how when you start working out, it’s really HARD to do stuff you think should be easy? Like your body hurts.”

Yes…

“Then in the last 20 minutes of a class, when you think you should be exhausted, you feel like the exercises are easier and you could keep working a little longer?”

YES!

“Well, that’s because it takes a while for your body to get warm. Those people who come and walk on the treadmills before class aren’t fanatics, they’re smart. They know that a warm up will make the workout less painful and allow their body to work harder.”

Well, that makes perfect sense!

Here’s the reasoning from “The Art of The Warm Up” :

Increases muscle core temperature, thus decreasing work required for muscle contraction and making movement feel easier.
Allows higher maximum cardiac output and oxygen consumption. (Translation: It increases your endurance and speed.)
Causes blood vessels to dilate, which aids the transportation of oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles (so you can run faster and jump higher).
Increases your range of motion by heating the synovial (lubricating) fluid in your joints,improving flexibility.
Warms you up mentally, increasing motivation and focus.

So, there’s good news and bad news. Which do you want first?? The good news is that our workouts and group fitness classes don’t have to be SOO painful. The bad news: we have to carve out an extra 10-15 to allow our bodies to warm up. And, the greater your fitness level, the LONGER it takes for your body to warm up. For me, I don’t feel the change for at least 30 minutes. (Yeah, that’s not fun.)

You can really do anything you want to warm up: walk, jog, jumping jacks, squats, kick boxing, spinning, elliptical, etc.

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My no-escaping-it workout plan for winter

November 19th, 2012 No Comments

Even though my bf and I came into our new little house without any of our own furniture, we did have a few key items: his spin bike and my crystal stemware. What else do you need?!

The spin bike has been my saving grace to all of my excuses to NOT workout. I know you all think I’m super motivated to workout every day. Well, I wish that were true. I come up with excuses just like everyone else.

For example:

I’m exhausted from my long day at work.
It’s too cold to go for a run.
The early onset of nighttime is deceptive.
My gym is too far away.

Sound familiar? I’m sure it does. But after setting up my own little ghetto Soul Cycle (yes, in the entry way that no one uses) and a goal of 500 calories in my heart rate zone 3, I can usually hop on with a decent attitude and get off feeling at least 75% better. Not bad!

Do you have a winter workout plan? I always need one to help me get through the cold months. Especially with the holiday treats bombarding me from every direction. I’ve found that if I can stay active, then I really don’t indulge much.

If you don’t have equipment in your house, I say go for the DVDs or website subscriptions: P90x, Physique 57, iTrain, YogaGlo…and there is always the MTM Fitness archives where you’ll find plenty of “anywhere” exercises.

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When your workout falls down the list of priorities

November 5th, 2012 No Comments

I hate it when I can’t find time or make time or am just flat out too exhausted to work out. In all of those moments, a glass of wine is just so much easier and enjoyable.

Last week I was slammed with work and had to dig deep to find that hour for my workout everyday. As I expected, at the beginning of the week I was able to make it to BLAST or the gym. By Thursday, the hour and my energy wasn’t there. The day flew by and then I had a pee wee football game to attend. Obviously that was more important than a workout.

But on Friday, my BUSIEST day of them all – a day that started at 6am, involved an 8am Target run, an hour drive to and from the location, and a 5 hour photo shoot (picture of me directing above) – I decided at 5pm I wasn’t making any compromises. The hour was mine. I was completely defeated, so I chose something easy: a 6 mile zone 3 workout (jogging and power-walking with weights, yes, I look like a mommy from the 90′s). An hour and 600 calories later I was dead, but in a good way. I felt like I finished the week strong and showed my stubborn self that the exertian did make me FEEL better. Because I stayed on track, I didn’t make excuses so I could chow down on Halloween candy or not work out on the weekend.

My point is: I know you’re busy, I know you’re tired. My goodness, I am too. But if you can find the hour to do ANYTHING to get your heart rate up, you’ll see so many rewards.

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