Fitness Tip of the Day: Saturday Something Different -- Madonna's Chair Workout

You will never look at a chair quite the same way again!

Whenever I pull out chairs for the strength training portion of my class, I hear groans and "not the chair!"

All you need for this workout is an armless chair.  Make sure it is on a surface where it won't slide.  If you have a yoga mat, set the chair on top of that.  Otherwise, depending on the surface at bottom the chair legs, carpeting or tile will be better--see which one has better traction.

These are just a few exercises that you can do using a chair--and no, you won't be sitting!!!  This video is from PopSugar.  Please do a warm up first.

I first saw this workout in Fitness Magazine.  Here's that workout.  Only one of the exercises is repeated from the above video.

If you want to add more cardiovascular work to the routine, do 30-60 secs of sitting down/standing up in between each exercise--keeping your chest lifted and feet planted firmly on the ground as you do so, going as fast as you can with control.

Don't forget to stretch!!!

Want to see more?  Go to YouTube and type in "chair workout" or "chair exercises"--there's lots to choose from!

Fitness Tip of the Day: Friday's Facts and Findings -- Top Restaurant Food Swaps

Today I thought I'd post some food swaps from some popular restaurants.  My source is the Eat This, Not That website (there is a link to the website on the right side bar)

Number One:

McDonald's Top Swaps Quarter Pounder   Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich (0 Reviews) 0   (0 Reviews) 0 B-   C+ Calories: 410 cal Fat: 19 g Saturated Fat: 7 g Cholesterol: 65 mg Protein: 24 g Carbohydrates: 37 g Fiber: 2 g Sugars: 8 g Sodium: 730 mg   Calories: 530 cal Fat: 17 g Saturated Fat: 6 g Cholesterol: 90 mg Protein: 40 g Carbohydrates: 52 g Fiber: 4 g Sugars: 12 g Sodium: 1470 mg

For more on McDonald's here's the link: McDonald's  Note:  These are not the best and worst--there are items lower in calories and fat and also higher.

Number Two:  Chili's

Chili's Top Swaps

Sizzle & Spice Firecracker Tilapia		Citrus Fire Chicken and Shrimp Fajitas
(0 Reviews) 0		(0 Reviews) 0
B-		F
Calories: 470 cal Fat: 23 g Saturated Fat: 5 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Protein: 0 g Carbohydrates: 0 g Fiber: 0 g Sugars: 0 g Sodium: 1520 mg		Calories: 1360 cal Fat: 73 g Saturated Fat: 20 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Protein: 0 g Carbohydrates: 0 g Fiber: 0 g Sugars: 0 g Sodium: 4570 mg

For more on Chili's:  Chili's  Note:  These are not the best and worst--there are items lower in calories and fat and also higher.

Number Three:  Dunkin' Donuts

Dunkin Donuts Top Swaps

Ham Egg & Cheese English Muffin Sandwich		Multigrain Bagel
(0 Reviews) 0		(0 Reviews) 0
B+		C+
Calories: 350 cal Fat: 14 g Saturated Fat: 5 g Cholesterol: 205 mg Protein: 19 g Carbohydrates: 35 g Fiber: 1 g Sugars: 8 g Sodium: 1300 mg		Calories: 500 cal Fat: 15 g Saturated Fat: 7 g Cholesterol: 30 mg Protein: 18 g Carbohydrates: 75 g Fiber: 5 g Sugars: 12 g Sodium: 980 mg

More of Dunkin' Donuts:  Dunkin' Donuts  Note:  These are not the best and worst--there are items lower in calories and fat and also higher.

Here's a link to the entire list of restaurants:  Restaurant List

Fitness Tip of the Day: Thursday's Total Body--Weight Loss Yoga: Total Body Sweat and Tone

The more I do yoga, the more I am really beginning to love it.

Today's workout is the first of another series that I found on YouTube.

Tara Stiles is a well-known Yoga instructor.  She developed this 4 week weight loss program several years ago.  The workouts are meant to be done 3 times a week, adding a new workout to the previous one each week, so that by week 4, you'll be doing all 4 workouts one right after another.

The first week's workout is called Sweat and Tone--it is approximately 7 minutes long.  Week two is detox, week three is abs and week four is opening and releasing tension from the hips.

Week 1 Total Body Sweat and Tone

Even though yoga is gentler and without the bounce of other workouts, I do recommend doing a warm up first.  If I remember, I'll post week 2 next week.

I recently took this book out the library--that is how I found out about Tara Stiles.  I found it quite interesting.  Once, I can get into a routine, I'm definitely going to try some of the "yoga cures" more regularly for certain ailments I have, like arthritis/wrist pain, stomach issues, and my neverending thyroid issues.

While I researched her, I found her YouTube Channel and she is also on the LIVESTRONG Woman channel and has quite a few "Yoga Solution" videos, some of which address the same issues that are illustrated in the book.  Here's a link to the LIVESTRONG Woman channel:  The Yoga Solution

She also has a website:  http://tarastiles.com/

 

Fitness Tip of the Day: Wednesday's Wild Workout -- Fitness 550 rep outdoor workout

Okay, how is he doing this?

Today's intense workout is done outside at a park, however, only one piece of park equipment is used, so you don't have to be at a park to do this workout.

The workout consists of 10 exercises for a total of 550 reps.  After each set, she does a hill run down and back--if you aren't near a hill, you could just jog in place.  If you are inside and have stairs, you could go up and down the stairs once or twice depending on how many there are.

She gives lots of modifications, do this at your own pace, pause the video until you are finished with the exercise and then start it up again.

There is no warm up or cool down included, so please do those--they are really important!

550 Rep Workout

Make sure you stay hydrated, whether you are outside or not, this is an intense workout.

I also found this video when I searched "crazy workouts."  When we lived in Des Plaines, there was a park near us that had workout stations like this one, although we never did some of the crazy stuff this guy does.  How does he jump so high???!!!

Crazy Park Workout

Fitness Tip of the Day: Tuesday's Trunk and Core -- Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones

I'm not a fan of the way Jillian Michaels trains the contestants on The Biggest Loser--I so don't believe in yelling and belittling people when I train or teach a class--I know, a lot of that is for TV, and I also know that some people actually like that kind of training, but it's not for me...

I am, however, a big fan of her workouts.  She's a completely different person in her videos.  She's encouraging and she compliments the participants in the video as well as the viewer.

Today's workout is circuit 5 of a 7 part series from Jillian Michaels called No More Trouble Zones.  Circuit 5 focuses on the abdominal muscles.

I'm going to post the 5 minute warm up video first (or you can do your own).  You can do this workout alone, or along with your cardio or other strength work.

Circuit 5 is approximately 6 minutes long.

Circuit 5

I've also included the cooldown

Cool Down

If you are interested in doing the entire workout (circuits are 5 - 7 min each), here's the link to all the videos in order:

Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones

Fitness Tip of the Day: Monday's Muscle Work - Tank Top Arms Round 2

I agree!!!

My laptop is acting up, so this is going to be a short post.  Today, we are going for Tank Top Arms, Round 2 from Fitness Blender.

Again there is no warm up or cool down included, so make sure you do those.

Just a few modifications:  On the first exercise--Lateral Raises, do not lift your arms higher than straight out of the body--any higher is a risk to your shoulder joint.

If the Ventral Raises are too difficult, you can modify by taking the weights up and straight out of the body at the shoulder level and lower down without taking them all the way up.  If you're having trouble with your back arching, you can do these standing up against a wall.  Put your back and head against the wall tucking your pelvis slightly, feet are away from the wall about a foot or so.  Both of these modifications protect your back.

On the Close Shoulder Press, take the weights a little bit to the front of the body, not directly overhead, again, protecting the shoulder joint.

On the Dumbbell Jerks, keep the elbows in line with the rest of the arm--do not raise them higher, again protecting the shoulder.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Sunday's Recipe Share -- Cooking with Beer

Today's recipes are in honor of Father's Day and my father in particular who was a beer drinker.

I knew that my father approved of my boyfriend Rick (who later became my husband) when instead of just buying his usual Old Style when he (Rick) came over, he bought MGD or Michelob because "that's what Rick liked," (Rick despises Old Style).  He wouldn't have done that for just anybody!

My father also liked to cook (although I never saw him follow a recipe), so when I saw these recipes on Cooking Light's website, I had to share them.

Belgian Beef and Beer Stew

I make beer bread all the time, and use beer when making brats.  I usually cook more with wine, so I'm definitely going to try some of these recipes myself.  Don't worry, there will be a post regarding cooking with wine in the future!

Chicken with Honey-Beer Sauce

I did make this chicken recipe--it was delicious and easy!

Here's the link to all of the recipes:  Recipes with Beer