Man it has been a good lead-in to summer. I’ve been outside doing workouts for a couple of months. Hope you have too. My favorite spots are the track at Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn and the park across from my house. I just grab a kettlebell or two and go. There are benches to jump on and over. There are monkey bars to do chinups, sprints in the grass or on the track, run the stairs.
Here are a couple cool exercises for the next time you’re in a park. Pushups on the swings, put one hand on each of two swings, one foot on the ground. Pushups. If that is too much, try both feet on the ground and use a wide stance.
Number two is an inverted row. Stand between two swings, grab a chain with each hand and lean back and do a chinup or rowing movement.
I didn’t quite get to the end of the 30 day challenge before I dropped out. Made it 21 days without sugar. Made it that long without the mindless surfing. Went to visit my folks for Mom’s birthday and had some cookies. They were very good.
The results were that I lost 2 lbs. during this time. I normally eat pretty well anyway so I was mostly cutting desserts and eating more veggie and fruit than usual. The TV probably had more impact than anything. I finished a couple of drawings, wrote some new music and read a great deal. My workouts have been going great. The weather has improved here so I’ve been out for sprints on the track and at the hill. On the last week of a 12 week bench press cycle that has my upper body strength back where I want it. And I continue to work the kettlebells and total body training.
All in all I look at it as successful. I don’t need to lose weight. If you do, I would recommend going off the sugar and processed foods. You will be surprised.
Alright, here is a great test for the beginning of Spring. I started a 30 day no junk challenge yesterday. So I am cutting out sugar and TV for the next 30 days. Processed foods and white bread and white pasta and white rice are gone. My diet is pretty good anyway but I do love desserts. Not until April 14.
You are welcome to join me! I hit 55 years old last month, so I am interested in seeing what kind of shape I can get to. I also plan on getting more done without TV. Doing this during March Madness seems crazy but challenging myself is the whole point. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
Government food subsidies. Take a look. This comes from the Consumerist website.
Also looking at the recommendations pyramid, doesn’t 11 servings of grains seem like a lot compared to 9 fruits and veggies? That is about 80% carbs. Really?
Here we see Karen working legs. First up is one of the great leg exercises you can do. LADIES! This exercise works the quads and glutes in a functional running position. So balance, stabilization and core strength are all challenged during this exercise. When you do a machine leg press, most do not require balance, just a little stabilization and not much core.
This particular lunge is using one of my home-made balance tools, the water pipe. It is partially filled with water and Karen is showing an advanced version of the exercise with the tool held overhead. This requires a great deal of core strength in addition to the great leg benefits it provides.
Stanimal is training clients in Glen Ellyn. If you have fitness or training questions email or leave a comment. Thanks.
Sure everyone kind of believes this yet only 4 of 10 doctors talk to their patients about the importance of exercise.
During exercise there are two types of immune cells released into the body. The effects last only about three hours but there is a cumulative effect also which reduces illness rates. People who exercised 45 minutes 5 days per week reduced their sick days by 25% to 50%. That is just moderate exercise.
Lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lessen cancer risk, you can even lose weight, just exercise.
Saw this article which I suppose isn’t that big of a surprise but surely points out that we aren’t making much fitness progress. Ah the young people are our future. So what’s up young people?
1) Train with Stanimal. If you did train with stanimal you would have increased strength and vitality, improved joint stability, reduced body fat and better cardiovascular performance. Unfortunately I can only train a few folks.
But you need to exercise. We all know this. 30 minutes every day break a sweat from exercising. The end.
No gym membership required, no equipment needed, just 30 minutes and a new attitude. Stop back soon I will give you a killer body weight circuit to do.
2) Eat better! Does this seem to make sense to anyone? If you are eating Twinkies or donuts or worse yet skipping breakfast totally. You’re not trying very hard. Eat smaller portions more often. Five or six “meals” per day, control the portion size. Eat veggies and fruits. Done.
3) Think. Think about the consequences of your actions. A six pack and a pizza once in a while won’t kill you. It will kill brain cells and make you feel bad physically. Watching TV and never exercising will make you depressed, uninteresting and unattractive to the opposite sex. Cool.
4) Challenge yourself. Get out of you comfort zone and try something new. Stop looking for the closest parking spot. Jog it in. Take the stairs. Run the stairs on lunch or go to the high school and run the stairs at the football field. Ride a bike, skateboard, sprint. Take a walk in the fresh air. Increase your activity level with something fun.
Great article for those of you who can’t give up the soft drinks yet.
“Soft drinks contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients. However, it is what they do contain that is the problem: caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars — or worse, sugar substitutes — and often food additives such as artificial coloring, flavoring, and preservatives. A lot of research has found that consumption of soft drinks in high quantity, especially by children, is responsible for many health problems that include tooth decay, nutritional depletion, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.”
Here are a few exercises that I include in my workouts. People often ask me what I do for exercise. These are a few. I also like to add sprinting in between or rowing or some other form of interval work. This makes for a tremendous challenge. If you have questions about my workouts or are interested in how to improve your fitness or would like to lose some weight comment. Shoot me an email. stanimal@trainwithstanimal.com. If you live near Glen Ellyn or Schaumburg, I train in these areas.
