Your 'Big' Goals.

In an earlier post I talked about setting small, realistic, day-to-day goals to achieve their long-term goals. The important component to that is that you have a realistic long-term goal. For example, My long term goal is to be as functionally fit as I can be and to be the healthiest I can be, so all of my short term fitness goals are with that in mind. This is a healthy type of goal to hold in regards to your exercise goals because it's not focused on appearances. Studies have shown that many people whose fitness and exercise goals are centered on their appearances give up and don't stick with their fitness routines because they don't see instant results. So, if you have trouble sticking with your short range goals, ask yourself why that is. Are your long term goals too unrealistic to the point that you quit because you aren't seeing the results you want?

In other news, I've been reading again! By now, you've probably all figured out that i'm a voracious reader. I love reading, and every time I see something that catches my eye regarding fitness, I read it. The most recent book is Real-world fitness by Kathy Kaehler.

What I liked best about this book is that she's very real about fitness and how you can get it to fit into your life! She also has a rock solid reputation that has been in place for many years.

so, I highly recommend this read.

If there are any books you highly recommend, let me know!

Workout No.1

So - the text again:

"Here's a home gym for KatieFit... I'm watching a movie and just worked the crap out of my quads and glutes. Wanna write a routine for it?"

so, here is your routine! (I'll post a video of the moves later):

go through this set of exercises 2 times (i'm assuming that your step can bear weight):

1) 15 Squats with dumbell press

2) 12 Right leg step-ups

3) 10 Romanian Deadlift and Rows

4) 12 Left leg step-ups

5) 15 Push ups with jumping jack legs

6) 10/leg plie squat with opening chest fly

7) 20 alt single leg toe touches (10/leg)

8) 24 Sumo pulses with legs

9) 5 Matrix ab exercises

10) 10 lunges with right foot on step

11) 25 mountain climbers (double count)

12) 10 lunges with left foot on step

13) 25 dumbell swings (you can use a medicine ball, kettle bell, or weighted sandbag here)

14) 25 bicycles (double count)

if you really want a goal to work for, time yourself and share your scores!

-Katie

A New Challenge for me - A New Opportunity for you!

Hi everyone,

I received a text this weekend I'd like to share with you and it got me thinking about a new thing to try here on KatieFit!

So here is essence of the text (accompanied by this picture):

"Here's a home gym for Katiefit... wanna write a routine for it?"

This got me thinking that this could be a really good theme for this blog- at least for a while. So here's the deal:

send me an email to KatieFitBlog@yahoo.com with a picture of what you have to work out with space-wise, equipment-wise, and let me know what you have to work with time-wise and I'll develop a workout for what you have available to you!

We can make it a further challenge by having you guys post your own varieties in the comments of each post! (if you want :-p)

So- by the end of the day, I hope to have a workout for this one and maybe some more emails to work with for future posts!

-Katie

Accountability

So, last night I wrote about goals and how setting realistic short-term goals can help you achieve your long-term goals of getting in shape (and/or losing weight). Today, I wanted to write a short post about another aspect that helps you achieve your goals. And that is...

Acountability!

yet another 'cliche' about achieving your goals. You've probably heard it a 'million' times - you need some way (or someone) to hold you accountable to your short term goals in order to achieve the long term goals.

So - who do you trust to hold you to your goals? If you trust yourself to keep you accountable, then there is your answer. If you don't trust yourself, and many of us don't, try to find a buddy with whom you can split the 'responsibilty' of both of your fitness. You can work out together and check in with each other to make sure that you are both sticking to your goals.

and, just a side-note: both goal-setting and having some sort of accountability system can help you achieve just about anything you're aiming at; learning/perfecting an instrument, learning a new skill like dance or painting, or training for a sport...

Goal-Setting

After a long while of inconsistent and incomplete workouts (due to the arm surgery) I'm back with a touch of philosophy about why some people succeed in their fitness goals while others struggle and give up, never succeeding in their quest to be fitter, healthier people.

Now that I'm working back into my regular workout scheduling I've been thinking about what it is that makes me succeed in my fitness goals even despite setbacks like the sprained ankle and arm surgery. The answer is very 'elementary school.'

Remember in school when your teachers talked about goal setting? I remember several teachers of mine going into HOW you should set goals. She would say that the key is to set a group of goals, short term goals and long term goals. Most importantly, the goals had to be ACHIEVABLE and REALISTIC.

So, what makes a goal achievable?

When it's something you can actually do, it's achievable. So - Setting a goal to workout for an hour a day, every day of the week if you work 40 hours a week is not realistic or achievable. setting a goal to workout 3 times a week for 20 minutes is far more achievable.

So, my goal to get back into working out regularly again - which is made challenging by my limitations from my arm and my long work days - is to workout or do yoga for at LEAST 10 minutes a day.

My goal for my health in my diet is to drink more water daily and make sure to include as many fruits and vegetables into my diet as I can manage.

What are your REALISTIC and ACHIEVABLE short term goals to improve your health and fitness?

I'm back and I'm answering a question!

Q: Hi Katiefit! so, why does my neck hurt when i do crunches and sit ups?

A: There are probably multiple reasons for this. The first is that your head is the heaviest single part of the body (on average it's 10-12lbs) and in the sit up position it's supported solely by your neck. ouch!- especially if you don't have the vertebrae and muscles aligned into the strongest position. Secondly, a lot of people use their heads and necks to create the action of a sit up. In other words, you're doing a sit up by pulling your head up rather than engaging your abs to pull up your shoulders.

My first suggestion to avoid this is to stop doing sit ups for a little while until your abs are stronger. I highly suggest standing abdominal exercises like these:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/standing-ab-workout

also, try doing the ab bicycle exercise with your head on the ground. reach to your opposite knee with your hand instead of elbow to avoid pulling on the head. Another series of exercises you can try are plank-based exercises. Start in Plank from your forearms or your hands (pushup position). from here, you can do one of these options: a) balance and hold for 30 seconds and repeat, b) lift one leg at a time and balance and hold for at least 15 seconds, c) balance on one leg while you bring the other inside (under you), across (under you towards the opposite shoulder) and to the outside (to the outside of the shoulder on the same side) - then switch legs.

When you go back to doing crunches and sit ups make sure you don't have your hands ON your head. if you feel you should have them there, allow them to float behind your head. or you can cross them across your chest, or just keep them down by your hips (like in high school when they were making sure you went far enough. Was I the only one with this experience?)

Hope this helps!

Katie

references:

http://www.neckpainsupport.com/2010/07/neckpainwhileworkingout.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/378677-neck-pain-while-exercising/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/263465-how-to-avoid-neck-pain-during-exercise/

Oh it's been a while

Its funny how life gets in the way. For an update - I've been working out 2 days a week as opposed to the previous 5 days a week. it seems to be working to keep me in shape and not overtax my metabolism, so that's all good. It's been harder to blog now that I have a 30hr/week job! thankfully it's a job that requires (during the school year/season) a lot of heavy lifting and I actually have biceps now!!!!

Unfortunately my working out is going to get really limited starting tomorrow as I'm having surgery on my arm to remove the plates that have been causing some pain. This means 3 months of no heavy lifting (no pushups :( no pullups, etc.) so this blog is about to become 'the spot where I tell everyone about my experiments with working out since I'm super limited by an 'injury'.'

So, along those lines, does anyone have any suggestions for workouts I can do that don't involve my arm?