Workout Rut

Feeling like your workout is in a rut? If you have been just one size away from you “skinny jeans” for so long you’ve given up hope or know the exact sequence of your favorite group exercise class so well you could teach it, you need a kick-start! Consider these tips adapted from Women’s Health Magazine and get ready for jeans and tank top season!

Figure out how many calories you should be consuming: If you have lost weight since you first estimated your daily caloric needs your basal metabolic rate is probably lower, which means your body needs less calories to sustain the smaller you. Figure out your BMR:
Divide your current weight by 2.2 pounds.
Multiplying this number by 0.9, and then by 24. (Or calculate it at bmicalculator.net/bmrcalculator.)
Multiply your BMR by 1.2
This is the average number of calories your body burns each normal activity day. (Add another 300 to 500 on days you do an hour of moderate to intense exercise.)
Subtract 500 to find out how many calories you need to eat to lose a pound a week, or 300 to lose 2 pounds a month!

Make sure you are eating enough, never decrease your calories to less than 1200/day. If your body is not getting enough nutrients, your brain will try to conserve energy by signaling your metabolism to slow down. This can decrease activity of endocrine organs like your thyroid, making you feel sluggish and making weight loss extremely difficult.

Switch your workout around. Anytime your body has to do something different than what it is used to it has to work harder. If you have been going to the same fitness class or running the same 3 mile route for 6 months, switch things up! Run the route in reverse forcing you to do the big hills at the beginning or add on an extra ½ mile. Try using weight machines rather than attending your regular weight class. Even simply swapping lunges for leg extensions works. Whatever you choose, make sure you are switching your routine up at least every 6 months.

Give yourself a rest. Your muscles need time to replenish and grow stronger. Try resting for one day between 2 hard workout days. This not only allows your muscles to get stronger and therefore burn through more calories but will also allow you to work harder when you return to your routine. Just try to limit your rest days to 2 in a row.

Speed up your metabolism. We already talked about how to use exercise to make your body work harder. You can also give your metabolism a boost by eating good fats (mono’s and poly’s) and healthy lean protein. Spicy food and distributing your calories over several small meals throughout the day may also do the trick.

Now get out there and storm through your platea!

I ROCK!
Women's Health magazine is one of my favorites. I have been an avid reader since its recent conception and am siked to be part of their reader's panel. Check me out in April's issue and visit their website for tons of great information: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/

If you are bored with your current workout or finding yourself in a bit of a slump, heart rate interval training may be for you! You may have heard of training in your "target heart rate zone" but aren't sure what that is. A person’s heart rate during exercise tells a lot about how hard their body is working... more so than workout time or running speed. What is intense for one person may not be as hard for another and by observing your heart rate you can personally challenge yourself. Heart rate training doesn’t have to be complicated and everyone can and should learn the basics of this valuable exercise concept.

Before we get started, practice finding your pulse using your radial artery on the thumb side of your wrist, or your temple artery on your temple in front of your ear. Try not to use the carotid artery in your neck to find your pulse. The receptors here amay cause your heart rate to slow down when you apply pressure to the area.

Find your heart rate training zones using the formula below or by visiting this website and using the Karvonen formula: http://pages.prodigy.net/edc3/imusa/heart_rates.html

Karvonen approach

Step 1: Find your estimated maximum heart rate (MHR) 220-age.

Step 2: Find your resting heart rate (RHR) by taking your pulse for 10 seconds while you have been resting for at least 5 minutes. Multiply this by 6 to get beats per minute (bpm). You should get a value between 60-100 bpm.

Step 3: Plug your numbers into this formula:

Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) = MHR – RHR

Step 4: According to the American College of Sports Medicine, to improve cardiovascular performance, you should work at 65%-85% of your HRR. Use this formula to find your target-training zone.

Target Heart Rate = HRR x Intensity + RHR:

65% = (HRR X .65) + RHR

85% = (HRR X .85) + RHR

I recommend a heart rate monitor to accurately monitor your heart rate without having to stop during exercise (these can be found at any sports store). You can also take your heart rate during exercise by briefly slowing down and taking your pulse for 10 sec. Make sure you multiply this number by 6 to get your bpm!

Interval Training can help improve cardiovascular fitness, increase speed, improve overall aerobic power, burn more calories, break-through a plateau, increase workout duration, reach new exercise levels, expand your workout options and increase your workout threshold. Whether you are running, swimming, cycling, etc, warm-up by gradually increasing your heart rate to 65% HRR for 5-10 minutes. Then, do some intervals. Increase your intensity or speed so that your heart rate reaches a value close to 85% HRR or higher. Keep this pace for 30 sec – 2 min (depending on your current fitness level). Slow down and recover at a heart rate of 110-120 bpm for 1-2 minutes, and then repeat. If you have a stopwatch, you can set your watch to beap every 1-2 min. to keep track of your intervals, or alternate between work and recovery every time your song changes on your mp3 player. Interval workouts can be intense so try to start at 15-20 minutes of intervals and work up to 30-45 minutes, 2-3 days/week. Make sure you finish your interval workout with a 5-minute cool down and lots of stretching!

If you are new to exercise, use your rate of perceived exertion (RPE) rather than or in addition to your heart rate for interval training. On a scale of 1 (Easy)-10 (Extremely Hard), alternate working between a 3-4 for your recovery intervals and a 7-9 for your hard intervals.

Happy training!