Workout Tips; Bday Update
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I was in the gym Monday morn & once again, watching what the few people in there do.. it is so early that not a lot of people are around.. YAHOO! That is why I go then! Anyway, it makes me think once again to remind people to slow down, do the exercise right & with proper form. I have talked about this guy before, I have seen him for years now, and he still is doing most everything the wrong way. You would thing that if somebody had been working out for 10 years plus, that he would look different or better or something! I know he thinks he does cause he checks himself out in the mirror a lot. 
So.. some tips below as you move into a stressful season & have the urge to RUSH through your workouts. DO NOT!!!! These tips can be used all year round and keep you from being INSANE!
1. When doing your cardio, you may want to up the intensity or do intervals or even HIIT if you are advanced enough. But as you do this, RESIST the urge to hold on to the cardio equipment for dear life! If you are on the treadmill, you are going to get more out of it my NOT holding on. If you are on the Stepmill, yes, I tend to put my hands on it BUT I don't grip like I am going to be thrown off. Same with the Elliptical machine. Use your own body power to get a better workout.
2. Don't throw the weight around. Yes, I understand the idea of forced reps & trying to squeak out a couple more repetitions BUT when you start from rep 1 throwing the weight & not using proper form, not only are you going to injure yourself but you are not getting the full benefit of the exercise move. People think I lift heavier than I do because I have decent muscles but in reality, I just use proper form at lighter weights. Yes, I do lift a bit heavier sometimes BUT nothing real heavy.
3. Core/Abs. Again, do it right & with proper form. Back to that guy in the gym. He runs around doing a billion different ab exercises & all of them wrong! (It shows, I hate to say). He does lots & lots of reps & all of them incorrectly. I know we have the urge to want to do more... BUT, you are better off doing 10 correct reps, resting & doing a couple more sets, than trying to do 30 reps straight & doing them wrong. Each & every rep, get that mind/muscle link & FEEL IT! If you do that, you are on the right track!
4. Once again, I want to share my two posts for getting through the holidays. Crabby, from Cranky Fitness, was kind enough to share them on her blogher post from Sunday, "Too Busy" for Fitness this Holiday Season? She mentioned these two posts of mine.. THX Crabby! She also mentioned some other fav blogs of ours so go over & read her post! Here are mine: Weight & the Holidays, Part One and Weight/Diet & the Holidays, Part Two.
OK, a bit about my birthday fun. It is not about a party for me, it is all about the cookies!!! Well, not all cookies BUT mostly cookies! It was a chilly 45 degrees in southern California as I got up for my Sunday bday jog. I bundled up & out I went & had a good jog. Maybe from some good cookie bites the day before!!!! I jog for about 90 minutes on Sunday. I also had half of my beloved pumpkin bagel that I love so much! In my 40's, I could eat a bagel a day & have no probs! In the 50's... not so much. I may have one a week but I still have all my healthy breads that I enjoy. Bagels are just too much for the bod now. I can actually have 4 pieces of healthy bread a day & it still does not do to me what 1 bagel a day does to my bod! DANG! I love bagels! After the jog & breakfast, hubby & I just went out & enjoyed... sat, had flavored coffee & ginger molasses cookies for me!!! See, I love my cookies & can only get this flavor this time of year.. 
We did some people watching & nothing fancy. I learned the hard way when I was younger that you don't have to always being running around. Sitting & doing nothing is fun too! Here is my ginger molasses cookie below. My Sunday post shows that great cookie bouquet I got from my friends, Patti & Gregg. Those are YUMMY too! And yes, I ate them too!
I was in the gym Monday morn & once again, watching what the few people in there do.. it is so early that not a lot of people are around.. YAHOO! That is why I go then! Anyway, it makes me think once again to remind people to slow down, do the exercise right & with proper form. I have talked about this guy before, I have seen him for years now, and he still is doing most everything the wrong way. You would thing that if somebody had been working out for 10 years plus, that he would look different or better or something! I know he thinks he does cause he checks himself out in the mirror a lot. So.. some tips below as you move into a stressful season & have the urge to RUSH through your workouts. DO NOT!!!! These tips can be used all year round and keep you from being INSANE!1. When doing your cardio, you may want to up the intensity or do intervals or even HIIT if you are advanced enough. But as you do this, RESIST the urge to hold on to the cardio equipment for dear life! If you are on the treadmill, you are going to get more out of it my NOT holding on. If you are on the Stepmill, yes, I tend to put my hands on it BUT I don't grip like I am going to be thrown off. Same with the Elliptical machine. Use your own body power to get a better workout.
2. Don't throw the weight around. Yes, I understand the idea of forced reps & trying to squeak out a couple more repetitions BUT when you start from rep 1 throwing the weight & not using proper form, not only are you going to injure yourself but you are not getting the full benefit of the exercise move. People think I lift heavier than I do because I have decent muscles but in reality, I just use proper form at lighter weights. Yes, I do lift a bit heavier sometimes BUT nothing real heavy.
3. Core/Abs. Again, do it right & with proper form. Back to that guy in the gym. He runs around doing a billion different ab exercises & all of them wrong! (It shows, I hate to say). He does lots & lots of reps & all of them incorrectly. I know we have the urge to want to do more... BUT, you are better off doing 10 correct reps, resting & doing a couple more sets, than trying to do 30 reps straight & doing them wrong. Each & every rep, get that mind/muscle link & FEEL IT! If you do that, you are on the right track!
4. Once again, I want to share my two posts for getting through the holidays. Crabby, from Cranky Fitness, was kind enough to share them on her blogher post from Sunday, "Too Busy" for Fitness this Holiday Season? She mentioned these two posts of mine.. THX Crabby! She also mentioned some other fav blogs of ours so go over & read her post! Here are mine: Weight & the Holidays, Part One and Weight/Diet & the Holidays, Part Two.
OK, a bit about my birthday fun. It is not about a party for me, it is all about the cookies!!! Well, not all cookies BUT mostly cookies! It was a chilly 45 degrees in southern California as I got up for my Sunday bday jog. I bundled up & out I went & had a good jog. Maybe from some good cookie bites the day before!!!! I jog for about 90 minutes on Sunday. I also had half of my beloved pumpkin bagel that I love so much! In my 40's, I could eat a bagel a day & have no probs! In the 50's... not so much. I may have one a week but I still have all my healthy breads that I enjoy. Bagels are just too much for the bod now. I can actually have 4 pieces of healthy bread a day & it still does not do to me what 1 bagel a day does to my bod! DANG! I love bagels! After the jog & breakfast, hubby & I just went out & enjoyed... sat, had flavored coffee & ginger molasses cookies for me!!! See, I love my cookies & can only get this flavor this time of year.. We did some people watching & nothing fancy. I learned the hard way when I was younger that you don't have to always being running around. Sitting & doing nothing is fun too! Here is my ginger molasses cookie below. My Sunday post shows that great cookie bouquet I got from my friends, Patti & Gregg. Those are YUMMY too! And yes, I ate them too!So, I hope as you move into this busy and stressful season, take time for yourself & even if you have to shorten up your routine, DON'T give in to doing things wrong. Not only do you cheat yourself but you take the chance of injuring yourself as well! Do you manage to resist the urge to "cheat or do it wrong" when rushed?
Don't forget that you still have until 9pm west coast time tonight to win a copy of the book, 6 Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle. See yesterday's post & enter a comment there.
There is a GIVEAWAY over at Feed Me I'm Cranky too! Check it out!
Don't forget that you still have until 9pm west coast time tonight to win a copy of the book, 6 Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle. See yesterday's post & enter a comment there.
There is a GIVEAWAY over at Feed Me I'm Cranky too! Check it out!
"Sitting & doing nothing is fun too!"
>> Does Not Compute!
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You are missing out!!!!
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Hey now. That's not "doing nothing"
...smelling roses takes a shit load of time.
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Great post! A fast workout is not always a good workout
Where did you get a pumpkin bagel??? I so want one!
I have to sometimes breathe and realize that it's okay to take time for *me*. No one else puts you first, so you must do it yourself. So many women sacrifice their own health and mental well being because they put themselves so low down on the list of priorities below everybody else.
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Great tips!!
The one time that I felt that it may be
better to have poor form was when I was watching someone with a very inefficient stroke swimming. They were pretty fit, and getting a great workout because they were doing it poorly, so I let it be
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I don't understand the people at my gym who have the treadmill incline ramped way up, but they're hanging on for dear life. So very wrong.
Glad you took time to enjoy your birthday!
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Belated birthday wishes, and another great post with useful info. Thanks.
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A 90 minute jog! I'd have to tie a stretcher on my back so someone could wheel me back home.
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This was a great post Jody. It's so good to be reminded of taking the time to do workouts the right way. Not only for effectiveness, but also for proper development!
With the bagels - is it the calories or the carbs?
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so glad you enjoyed your birthday. i know if i only have a short amount of time, i'll do something small, yet effective, but still take the time to watch my form!!
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Excellent post, Jody! I totally agree with you on the value of slowing down and making sure you're doing your workouts right. Form is king, and I always have to restrain the urge from going over to people who are doing it all wrong and give them some pointers. However, I have to admit that I also feel the temptations of pride and ego, and will sometimes force out an extra rep or two in order to finish my set even if it means I'm losing the integrity of my form. Ah well!
And delicious looking cookies - yum!
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Great post, especially for those of us always in a hurry in the rest of our lives, lol.
Lovin' the ginger molasses cookies, I have a ginger snap recipe that makes my mouth water just thinkin' about it!
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