Thursday, September 22, 2011

Fall into Shape!



Hi guys,

It's been a while, I know, I know. Sometimes it's so hard to keep up with the blog, work a job and a half, and still see my husband when I get home!

So, we finally went on our official honeymoon (to Kauai) and it is SUCH a great place to get your active on! Seriously, even people who aren't usually active find themselves being super active and acting like they're fit! ;) Even me, during my sluggish and lazy teenage years (as you can read here). Why is this?

Hawaii is such a naturally beautiful place, that you want to be out in nature. Many of the sights, you have to do some sort of little hike or other to see, so that gets you going with little spurts of movement. In the 2 times I've been to Hawaii, all 3 places we (first my family and I, then Ethan and I) required that we climb at least 2 sets of stairs to get to them. This is, of course, not always the case, but it didn't hurt my experiences of Hawaii! There are a lot of beautiful places to hike, and you don't want to sit out! Most of them are not crazy difficult and therefore completely accessible - who wants to sit out on that kind of opportunity!?
Then there is the water and the water sports. Most hotels/condos/resorts/timeshares that you stay at will have a pool for the guests. The ocean is warm (well, warmer than the pacific in NorCal) and so swimming in the ocean is comfortable. There are lots of opportunities to; Kayak, SUP, Surf, Boogeyboard, snorkel, scuba (if you go for that), and just swim with the added challenge of swimming or treading water with waves. So, when you're only there for a week or two and want to do as much as possible, there is no way you can be anything but totally active!

Anyway, it's fall again and what other season is there that is better for change?


The awesome thing about your journey towards getting fit, in shape, and healthy is that you can start small. You don't have to jump right into a 6 mile run in order to get into shape. In fact, doing that is the worst possible idea. So, how are you going to make this change in your life?

First steps first - start small.

Today or tomorrow or just soon do an assessment of where you are, fitness-wise. ask yourself these questions:
*how many pushups can I do?
*If I go for a run, how long can I run before i'm so uncomfortable, have cramps, joints start talking?
*how long can I jump rope for before I have to stop?
*how many crunches/sit-ups can I do?



once you've gotten some idea of where you are, find something small that you can do on a daily or bi-daily basis. It doesn't have to be anything big. There are a lot of resources available to you - Gyms, classes, the internet.

I'm going to give you a short, quick start to get you boosted and on your way, but first there is a list of resources I want you to look at. See if any click for you and are something you can stick with:

1) Netflix - yes, they have workout videos that you can order or stream.
2) exercise.tv - amazing website, you can buy workouts inexpensively or take advantage of the free ones.
3) bodyrock.tv - I wax on and on about this website because it's methods work. because it's workouts are accessible and only take 30 minutes or less to complete most of the time.
4) Hulu - yes, they actually have workout videos on hulu too! check them out here.
5) Your gym - there are gyms all over the place; 24 hour, California Family Fitness, 19 fitness, YMCA. There are a bunch around and they all have equipment to work out and most have classes you can take like aerobics, zumba, yoga, etc. and many have personal trainers who can help you on your journey.
6) The pavement outside - run, walk, jog, bike, roller skate. the pavement is calling.
9) Yoga studios. They are all over the place. Just keep your eyes open and check out yelp.com for local ones.

Now, these are just a few of the resources you can check out. Don't let my suggestions be the end of where you look! Look for something that you love and can stick with.

Finally, here is your fall kickstart - a workout that uses no equipment but you, that should take no longer than 30 minutes (hopefully fewer) and will get you started on your journey. For most of my workouts I use a gymboss timer.

Fall into Shape:

go through this set of exercises 3 times.

1) 10 pushups -if you can't do full pushups, do girly ones off of your knees
2) 10 jump squats - if the jumping kills you on first go for normal squats - no jump. if too easy try for squat jump tucks.
3) 10 pike pushups
4) 40 high knees - each knee up counts as one rep
5) 30 bicycles - each knee in counts as one rep.

here are your exercise explanations:
Push up-

jump squat

squat jump tuck

Pike pushups

high knees

bicycles


One of these days I'll figure out my technology and get videos of myself up here!

~katie