Lead a Fit and Healthy Life
Archive for August, 2010
Yes, I am a Jersey Girl
11 year ago
The family is headed to my old stomping grounds of North Jersey for the labor day weekend. The kids love going into NYC and I really want to hit up the jersey shore. It’s so funny how you don’t appreciate how close you live to all these great things when you are young. I lived 30 mins from NYC, 1 hr from Philly, 1 hr from the shore. I mean – come on – how great is that and I couldn’t wait to move out of Jersey when I graduated High School.
I want to make sure we have a general plan for this weekend — so Thursday it’s the shore, Friday – NYC. I want to find something out of the norm for the family in NYC though. We have been many times and always do the same thing — 5th Avenue walking, central park, Times Square, and once or twice — the Natural History Museum. I am going to do some research on things to do with Kids in NYC. I was thinking about heading to the Bronx or Staten Island Zoo. I haven’t been since I was a kid and I have a lot of memories of those trips. We could also go to South Street Seaport with the kids — I just have to figure out timing…
Decisions, Decisions!
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
01 year ago
by Stephy
in Fitness/Exercise
I’m like a broken record — I am S O R E from yesterday’s workout. So sore that today, I cut short my bargain basement elliptical workout this morning bc I was just too fatigued and sore. It’s great that I have been doing this boot camp program for over 2 years and can still get super sore — that’s what I love about it. Your muscles never get used to just doing one thing and you end up being sore on a regular basis. That’s good right??
So what I am feeling now is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS for short. Sounds serious doesn’t it? To me it tells me that I worked hard and am building muscle! A lot of people stop working out when they feel it — and although I may not go full on at 100% while my muscles recover/heal but I don’t just stop — sometimes it actually makes me feel better to exercise while sore.. but that’s just me.
DOMS is a familiar experience for athletes at every level and can be described as muscles soreness that occurs 24 – 48 hours following intense exercise. The sensation can range from mild discomfort to debilitating pain.
Delayed onset muscle soreness differs from the acute muscle soreness that can be felt during or immediately following a heavy exercise bout. This is usually attributable to an increase in hydrogen ions associated with lactic acid accumulation or edema that build up of fluid in the tissues often referred to by bodybuilders as being pumped-up.
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/delayed-onset-muscle-soreness.html
Mixing up my workout
11 year ago
by Stephy
in Fashion/Shopping
I’m down in body fat and lbs this week. The 4th week of the 4 week boot camp session we get our body fat checked. While not 100% accurate – it gives you a general idea of where you are. I have been much more diligent about my extra snacking and have been trying something new. Before my 545a workout, I have been drinking 8oz of Fat Free Calorie Countdown Milk with 1/3 of a scoop of chocolate protein powder mixed in – so it’s like chocolate milk. My theory is that I need some fuel to get movin in the morning and so far, I am down 4lbs since I started doing that. I’m not saying that’s what is doing it because I have also curbed my after dinner dessert routine as well.
Because Scott is away – I had my neighbor Tim come over to watch the kids and I headed for a 915a boot camp. It’s good to try a different group every now and then to mix things up. It’s amazing how a smaller group of women can change the entire feel of the workout. Not good or bad — just different.
And I am not sure if it was the heat later in the day or the cup of coffee I drank before I headed off — but I had the dry heaves after finishing this workout. I probably should have eaten something but my routine was all off….or maybe I just pushed myself hard — who knows.
Warmup:
Rockette Kicks
Forward Lunge
Bounding
Backpeddle
Corex2
pilate half-pikes
crunches
bicycle up and downs
25 bottom up push-ups
general stretching
workout
15,12,9,6,3
65lb back squats
power clean press 25lb db
lunge squats x3
ring push ups x2
200m,100m, 200m, 100m, 200m
I’m on a week vacation from work and will be kicking it by the pool today with the kiddos. Ahh… pool time!
Lawn work is a Work out!
01 year ago
by Stephy
in Fitness/Exercise
Lawn work is my workout. I don’t mind mowing and clearing/cleaning up the lawn. I find it very relaxing and it’s a great workout. In about an hour, I burn about 500 calories and I don’t have a humongous yard or anything. It does have a slight incline in the back so that always helps burn the calories. And one of the best parts of doing yard work in addition to burning calories — your yard looks great when you are done (at least in theory).
Managing Sore Muscles and Aches and Pains
01 year ago
by Stephy
in Fitness/Exercise
Managing Sore Muscles and Aches and Pains.
Live fit and SORE right? But how do you manage being sore — even though it’s a good sore…
You work hard all week, so when the weekend finally rolls around you want to play just as hard. There’s nothing like a few rounds of golf, a hike in the mountains, or an intense workout at the gym to reinvigorate you.
Weekend warriors be warned, though — Saturday and Sunday activities can lead to Monday soreness.
What’s Causing My Sore Muscles?
It’s normal to have sore muscles after you work out, play sports, or even do housework, especially if:
* You did an activity you’re not used to (like running a marathon when you normally jog just a few miles).
* You suddenly kicked up your exercise intensity level or increased the length of your workout.
* You did eccentric exercises, in which you lengthened instead of shortened your muscle (like walking downhill or extending your arm during a bicep curl).
These changes to your exercise routine can lead to tiny injuries called microdamage in the muscle fibers and connective tissue. About a day later, you’ll start to feel sore.
“We call that delayed onset muscle soreness,” says Ethel Frese, PT, DPT, CCS, associate professor of Physical Therapy at St. Louis University. “It peaks within about 48 hours and then it will gradually get better.”
The good news is that when you do the same activity again, your muscles will start to get used to it. “You will actually have no soreness or less soreness, because now you’ve strengthened the muscle or connective tissue,” says Allan H. Goldfarb, PhD, FACSM, professor and exercise physiologist at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Strength training is about body, mind and spirit
01 year ago
by Stephy
in Fitness/Exercise
Do you jump right into a workout without warming up? Do you “jerk” the weights when strength training? Do you overstretch in Yoga class because you don’t want to look like a noob? Editors from Fitness Magazine offer some tips in this article, but I’d like to go past the obvious and get to the real story about poor fitness habits. The worst habit of all is working out purely for cosmetic reasons. You know what I mean: pumping weights just to look good instead of developing core strength. Or hanging out in yoga class just to show off how limber your pelvis is.
Weekend Running
01 year ago
by Stephy
in Fitness/Exercise
It’s a gorgeous day in Northern VA. I woke up — got dressed for a run — had some water and headed out. I sometimes use Mapmyrun.com to figure out the distance I go and today I mapped it at 5.16 miles. I am telling you the weather makes such a difference in my cardio workouts. When you have asthma high humidity/heat in the summer and in the winter, cold, crisp air do a number on my breathing and as you know — Breathing is pretty important. As I have progressed in my fitness level, my overall cardio/lung capacity has gotten so much better but it still challenges me on a regular basis.
I use 2 different inhalers to help me — a steroid one called Qvar I use 2x a day (when I remember) and then right before or during/after I use Combivent. When used consistently – they really do make a huge difference. Also — I tend to start to panic when I begin to breathe heavy where I need to catch my breath. I am working on pushing through in most cases because for the most part – it’s more out of habit and conditioning than an actual sign of an asthma attack.
I have a lot to do today around the house. With family in town and the kids off to camps this past week — my house is a wreck and I need to get it back to the half wreck it normally is. Look – I am not a super woman and have prioritized thing that are important to me and a super, clutter free, dust free home is just not at the top of my priority list.
Have a great day and do at least one 20 min session of something cardio today — 100 push-ups, 100 crunches, or 20 min walk. It’s not a lot to ask for and you will feel so much better if you get your body movin!
Ashburn Village Sports Pavilion – Kids Triathlon
01 year ago
Ashburn Village Sports Pavilion – Kids Triathlon SEPTEMBER 18, 2010
As someone who is really trying to inspire parents to not only set a good example by being active and fit themselves, but impact their own family’s perspective on health and fitness — I Love that my Community is doing this type of event! What a great way to start your kids off with a sense of community and fitness accomplishment. It’s open to anyone in the area — so why not encourage your own kids to sign up.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2010
8:00AM / Ashburn Village Sports Pavilion
Ages 6 – 15
Swim, bike and run in the Ashburn Village Kids Triathlon. Swim laps in the AVSP Indoor Pool, bike around the lake and run on a marked course starting and ending at the pavilion.
Kids ages 6 – 15 of all levels are encouraged to compete. All racers will receive a participation medal and prizes will be awarded for winners in the following age groups: 6 – 8 years, 9 – 11 years, and 12 – 15 years old.
* AGES 6 – 8 Years Old: SWIM – 50 Meters / RUN – 1 Mile / BIKE* – 1 Mile
* AGES 9 – 11 Years Old: SWIM – 100 Meters / RUN – 2 Miles / BIKE* – 2 Mile
* AGES 12-15 Years Old: SWIM – 150 Meters / RUN – 2 Miles / BIKE* – 3 Mile
* Bike Helmet is required for the bike portion of this event.
Free Museum Day 2010 on Friday September 25, 2010
01 year ago
September 25, 2010 is…
Museum Day 2010 | Smithsonian.com.
Find a participating museum and plan a family outing!
Museum Day is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian Media in which participating museums across the country open their doors for free to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket.
Nordstrom Uses Web to Locate Items and Increase Sales
01 year ago
Nordstrom Uses Web to Locate Items and Increase Sales – NYTimes.com
I love Nordstrom and its customer focused philosophy. And it shows that by focusing on what the customer actually wants, not what you THINK they want is a win/win situation.
Wal-Mart hoped that deeper cuts in its standard rollbacks would be a draw, but then said the prices went too low. At Saks, perhaps
customers would go for designer labels if the lines offered less-expensive items. And for Macy’s, how about inexpensive clothes by Madonna?
The secret, at least for Nordstrom, has not involved a piercing insight into a customer’s mind. Rather, it has changed the way that it handles, of all things, inventory. And that has brought the department store more success in improving sales than at most of its competitors, whose recent reports signaled that their consumers were still cautious.
