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.

The second part of the video is a bridge movement with stability ball. More core work is included with a difficult hamstring and glute move. Look at her face, quite a nice challenge, she is working hard.

Stanimal is training clients in Glen Ellyn. If you have fitness or training questions email or leave a comment. Thanks.

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?

See the article here.

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.”

Read the whole article here.

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.

Live from Schaumburg and Glen Ellyn, Stanimal demonstrates a figure eight and a wood chopper. These are both safe and effective core training methods. Dig it!

Saw a great article about the benefits of exercise, even for the oldest of people. Tell your parents and grandparents, it’s not too late to start.

From yahoo health.

Haley is pregnant. Who would’ve guessed. She is exercising just like always. She feels better when she works out. She and the baby will be healthier because of it. And she will recover faster after the baby is born.

Please no excuses about not working out. They just don’t hold water.

Ouch, bad pun.