Fitness Tip of the Day: Something Different Saturday: The Animal Flow Workout

Which animal are you meant to be?

This workout from Shape Magazine was posted on facebook the other day and I found it quite intriguing.

Here's the opening paragraph regarding the workout from Shape's website:

"Primal-style workouts are one of the hottest new fitness trends—and with good reason! Exercises that use the environment to inspire "natural" movement are not only more fun than traditional strength moves, but they also challenge your entire body at once. And when you work everything from head to toe, you burn major calories."

The routine consists of  9 moves that are based on animals with names like "side-traveling ape" and "the traveling beast" (some of them are taken from yoga--crab and scorpion). These moves are to be done one right after another without any rest which is what a flow workout is.  The whole circuit should be done twice.  It is meant to "build strength, endurance, flexibility and power at the same time."

Unfortunately, this is not a video workout, but the moves are explained well in the side bar of each set of pictures.  It might take a few times to really get the routine to "flow".

If you've got little ones at home, this would be a fun workout to do with them.  As always, do a warm up first and a stretch after.

Animal Flow Workout

Fitness Tip of the Day: Friday's Facts and Findings --The Importance of Good Posture

From WebMd:

"Improper posture, especially when walking, puts increased stress on your back and causes discomfort and damage. The key to good back posture is to keep the right amount of curve in your lower back.  A healthy back has three natural front-to-back curves that give the spine an "S" shape. Although there is much natural variation from person to person, too much curve ("swayback") or too little curve ("flat back") can result in problems. The right amount of curve is called the neutral position. See a picture of the spine  showing the natural curves."

"Head up, chest tall, shoulders back and down, shoulders in line with hips," these are all posture/alignment cues that I use in all of my exercise classes.  But good posture doesn't mean just standing tall and in alignment during exercise class, good posture needs to be maintained all the time.

From IdeaFit:  

"Exercise professionals are committed to maintaining and improving the functional independence and physical performance of their clients. Most exercise professionals agree that good posture is essential for attaining these goals. It is often observed in the literature that a skeletal framework and/or spine that is misaligned may result in a cascade of bodily problems, most notably an impediment of the electrochemical messages of the nervous system (since the spine is the pathway for the nervous system to and from the brain) (Edmond et al. 2005). Healthwise this is of paramount concern, since the nervous system is involved in the control and regulation of most bodily system functions. This article reviews posture from a health perspective. Included are an overview of good and faulty posture; key points to be aware of in assessing lateral, frontal and posterior posture positions; and a discussion of posture as it affects health for different sectors of the population."

When you consistently have bad posture, the muscles that are effected by it can suffer tremendously.  They shorten and get tight or lengthen and loosen causing misalignment of the spine.

More from IdeaFit:

"If the body segments are out of their optimal alignment for extended periods of time, the muscles eventually adapt by either shortening or lengthening (depending on the position) (Hrysomallis & Goodman 2001). Novak (2004) adds that prolonged misalignment adversely affects nerve tissue and function and that the adaptive changes in muscle tissue (whether lengthening or shortening) result in muscle imbalances, which can have a number of health consequences. The particular health issues caused by posture dysfunction tend to vary by population."

..."posture is an important consideration in all activities of daily living (e.g., walking, lifting objects, holding objects and driving) and that keeping good posture can make a considerable difference to the long-term health of the spine. Many postural problems are detectable at very early stages, regardless of age. If not corrected, these issues will become more pronounced.

Exercise professionals are in a leading position to correct spinal misalignments with a well-developed exercise program of flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance, agility and balance training. Educate your clients to adopt a new posture pleasure principle: planning and prevention precludes pain and promotes perfect posture.

A major factor in urinary incontinence in women is weak pelvic-floor muscles. Pelvic-floor exercises have proved successful for treating urinary incontinence (Britnell et al. 2005)."

There are many more points made in the IdeaFit article.  Here's the link to the entire article: http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/the-perils-of-poor-posture

Sorry about the white blocking--I can't figure out how to get rid of it.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Thursday Total Body -- 30 Minute HIIT - The Great 8

I love HIIT workouts (high intensity interval training).  I use these all the time in my Express Interval class.  The great thing about this type of workout is that the "work" is only 20-60 seconds long.  Just keep saying to yourself, "I can do anything for 20-60 seconds."   Also, as I've stated in other posts, because you are "working" for such a short period of time, you can give it all you've got and in the long run, you'll burn more fat and calories than you would if you exercised at a steady pace for the same amount of time.

Today's workout is a 30 minute HIIT routine from RealFit TV that consists of a "block" of  8 exercises that are performed at a rate of 20 seconds of work 10 seconds of rest.  The block is repeated 5 times (the first time is a warm up) with a minute rest in between blocks.  The exercises chosen will give you a head to toe workout.  You only need a mat (or carpet) to do this routine.

Another great thing about this type of workout is that it's easy to change it up with different exercises.  Sometimes I do all cardio exercises, and sometimes I alternate between cardio and strength.  It's really pretty impossible to get bored, or to have your body become too conditioned to the moves because they can always be changing.

Again, the warm up block is pretty intense, so I would recommend doing the warm up video first.

Remember, modify if needed, and/or go slower if you need to to maintain proper form--form is always more important than speed.

Now HIIT it!

Fitness Tip of the Day: Wednesday's Wild Workout -- Boot Camp Intense Interval Training

Today's wild workout is part one of an Intense Interval Training workout.  It is from Day 2 of the Boot Camp Challenge that I posted last Saturday.  This total body workout is meant to help improve speed and endurance.

She uses a jump rope and a step for this workout.  You can do the jump rope part without a rope, just pretend and do the jumps or modify and pump the feet instead of actually jumping off the ground.  You can use a sturdy coffee table or chair in place of the step.  Each exercise is done for approximately 30 seconds.  The jump rope parts are quite intense, take breaks if you need to--but make them as little as possible.

Be careful on the squat pops, don't lock your knees out a the top--I'd really prefer you do regular squats here.

Again, the warm up is pretty intense.  You may want to do the warm up video in the right side bar first.  At the end, walk around a bit and let your heart rate come down before doing the stretches.

Intense Interval Training Workout

Once again, here's the link to the whole Boot Camp Challenge:  6 Week Boot Camp Challenge--Train Like an Olympian

BeFit in 90:  Day 28

Fitness Tip of the Day: Tuesday's Trunk and Core - "Ab Attack"

Little did I know that after last week Tuesday's Pilates post, I would find out that two of my Pilates classes were being cancelled due to low enrollment.  I know it's the Summer session and my numbers are usually lower, but I was really bummed.

So guess what?  I'm posting more Pilates this week!

I know a lot of people who mainly focus on cardio workouts because they want to burn calories.  Yes, that is important for weight loss, but again, strength training and core workouts are vital as well.

Remember, all movement comes from the core, so if your core is strong, your cardio work, whether it be running, swimming or dancing is going to be stronger as well.  The stronger your core, the higher your endurance level is going to be.  The stronger your core, the easier everyday activities will be from walking up stairs to tying your shoes.  The stronger your core, the better your balance.  Are you getting my point? :)

A strong core is necessary!  Remember though, your abdominals are muscles and should not be worked everyday--give those muscles a day to recover just like you would any other muscle group.

BeFit in 90:  Day 26

Fitness Tip of the Day: Monday's Muscle Work -- Tank Top Arms

Today's workout is all about arms.  It's another video from fitnessblender.com.

If doing this workout alone, do a warm up first.  Otherwise, you can do it at the end or in the middle of your cardio workout.  Don't forget to stretch at the end!

Tank Top Arms

I'm having trouble with youtube today. :(  

I'll post the BeFit in 90 link tomorrow. 

Fitness Tip of the Day: Sunday Recipe Share -- Healthy Pasta Salad Recipes

Warm Pasta Salad with Shrimp

Who doesn't love a good pasta salad?  In keeping up with the Summer recipe theme, I decided to post another link from Cooking Light magazine, this time for Healthy Pasta Salad Recipes.

Again, I had a hard time deciding which pictures to post, they all look so good!

Orzo Salad with Spicy Buttermilk Dressing

Here's the link to all 25 Recipes:  Healthy Pasta Recipes

Enjoy!!!