Category Archives: Home Fitness

Workout: ‘Fall Back’ Into Fitness This Season

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Has summer sidelined you from your usual fitness routine? Don’t beat yourself up; just recommit to making exercise a priority as you set your fall schedule.

Easier said than done, though, right? 

Well, give me 20 minutes, and I’ve got a fun way to help get you back on track. Perform this tabata-style routine a few times times a week, and you’ll set yourself up for better success by the time the holiday frenzy hits.

Or if you’ve been consistent over the past few months, this workout is also a great addition to your current regimen. Whether you’re short on time, need to switch up your routine or want improve endurance and speed, it’s one of the most efficient ways to burn fat and build lean muscle.

So set the timer, and get ready for what will likely feel like the longest four minutes of your life!

Are you revamping your fitness plans for fall?

The I’m-Having-So-Much-Fun-I-Forgot-I’m-Exercising Workout

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It’s become a joke this season on our Team LUNA Chix Portland Run team that it’s either scorching or pouring when we meet, so after several weeks of record-high temps I knew it was time to reach into my bag of tricks to get everyone motivated amid the malaise. We did this workout a few weeks ago, and it went over so well that I wanted to share it here.

Ever get one of those days where you’re just struggling to get that workout done? Whether it’s trying to get out the door or waffling on which type of exercise to do, this is the perfect way to fool your body into getting active when your brain’s not having any of it.

The I’m-Having-So-Much-Fun-I-Forgot-I’m-Exercising Workout

What you need: 

  • Deck of cards
  • Marker
  • Track or open place to do some running (at least 100 meters at a time)

What to do: 

  1. Make a list of body-weight exercises (think moves that can be done anywhere, anytime — planks, jumping jacks, squats, lunges, push-ups, etc.)
  2. Get a deck of cards, and write an exercise on each card (I wrote in numbers for face cards: Jacks = 11, Queens = 12, Kings = 13, Aces = 14)
  3. Give yourself a little something special for the Jokers (ours were “Run a lap”)
  4. Shuffle up the cards, divide them into four piles and place one pile every 100 meters along a track
  5. Start the timer, run to the first set of cards, grab a card off the top and do the exercises
  6. When you’re done with the exercises, place the card on the bottom of the set of cards and run 100 meters to the next pile
  7. Repeat until time is up!

We did 20 minutes for our workout, and when I gave the five-minute warning everyone was shocked at how quickly time had flown by.

Between the distraction of the run-exercise intervals and the element of surprise from the cards, I guarantee you’ll have a blast — and get a great full-body workout in the process.

Got any tips for tricking yourself into a workout when motivation’s flagging? 

Get Beach-Body Ready: Summer Sizzler Ab Workout

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A strong core is always in season, so I created this quick and versatile body-weight ab routine that can be completed anywhere, anytime.

Customize it to suit your needs, whether it’s one set on your lunch break or a multiple-set, full-body workout with the addition of short bursts of cardio (warm-up, cool-down and in between sets).

Hint: As always, if you’re not familiar with some of the moves listed, simply Google the term, and you’ll be able to find a description or video of it in action.

And please remember to focus on quality of movement over speed for the best results!

What’s your favorite workout for getting beach-ready? 

Get Explosive: 4th of July Firecracker Workout

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Light up your 4th of July with a plyometric workout designed to build explosive power. Performing these moves regularly can help you increase your vertical jump, speed and strength, which directly translates to better athletic performance.

A few words of warning, though: Plyo work can be pretty intense, so don’t do this workout in the heat of the afternoon or with a full belly. Your heart rate will soar, you’ll work several muscles at once and you’ll torch calories…but the last thing you want to do is pass out or lose your lunch in the process.

So what are you waiting for? Grab a towel, some water and feel the burn before that big family BBQ!

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Hint: If you’re not familiar with some of the moves listed, simply Google the term, and you’ll be able to find a description or video of it in action.

And, as always, remember to go at your own pace and use proper form. Think quality over quantity!

Are you planning a special workout for the 4th or taking the holiday as a rest day?

Bright Idea: Summer Solstice Body-Weight Workout

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It’s almost the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (2015’s sumer solstice falls on June 21) where 15+ hours will pass between sunrise and sunset in parts of the U.S. and Canada.

That sounds, to me, like a great excuse to soak up the abundance of daylight and celebrate the start of summer than with an outdoor workout.

Round up your friends and family, and hit the local lake or beach for an hour of body-weight work while the kiddos can play!

Photo via BrendelSignature at English Wikipedia

Photo via BrendelSignature at English Wikipedia

Hint: If you’re not familiar with some of the moves listed, simply Google the term along with the word “exercise,” and you’ll be able to find a description or video of it in action.

And, as always, remember to perform the moves at a steady pace and use proper form!

How are you taking advantage of sunny days this summer?

Don’t Just Sit There: DIY Standing Desk

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It’s funny how your body can speak volumes to someone without even saying a word.

Case in point: Every time I go in for a massage lately, my therapist gets stuck on my back. Or, rather, my back gets itself stuck, and then my massage therapist has to spend an hour convincing it to loosen up.

You see, working from home is a double-edged sword. Now I’m not complaining — my commute rocks, my workout-wear attire is comfy and my four-legged office-mates are pretty chill (unless they hear a knock at the door, then all bets are off). But the drawback is that sometimes the lack of ergonomics can be a pain in the neck — like, literally.

Some scary facts:

  • The moment you sit at your desk each morning, your calorie-burning rate immediately drops to one calorie per minute
  • Sit for six hours a day, 14 days straight: Muscles stop burning fat, blood sugar rises and maximum oxygen consumption drops.
  • After a year of sitting six hours per day, weight gain would be noticeable, as would higher cholesterol levels and loss of bone mass.

But the real kicker comes 10-20 years down the line. Us desk jockeys may need to augment retirement savings to account for medical bills. Sitting affects almost every part of our bodies from head to toe, raises risk of death by nearly 50 percent and creates a stunning 125 percent increase in the risk for cardiovascular disease.

So I’ve decided I’m not taking this sitting down. In fact, I’m taking a stand…as in, using a DIY standing desk.

Why? Well, our budget is zilch, and we’re lucky enough to have a bar-height butcher block table in the kitchen that works, so I’m trying that out for now. But Plan B is to “hack” our space using the specs and ideas below to create something that’s cheap, comfortable and won’t undo all the good I try do by way of exercise.

So, athletes, consider this my little PSA: We talk about the benefits of recovery because that’s where the body bounces back and the real gains happen. But if you’re sitting at a desk all day, you’re still doing yourself a disservice.

Get up, stand up. Stand up for your life.

Click to Enlarge Image

DIY Desk

DIY Desk
Infographic by CustomMade

Are you ergonomic at work?

Have any tips for doing it effectively (and on a budget)?

10-Minute Bar-Based Core Blaster Workout

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I’ll let you in on a little secret: Ab exercises are my fitness kryptonite. As much as I love working out, I go deer-in-headlights at mere mention of the word “sit-up.”

But skipping out on my midsection isn’t an option; core strength is critical — not just for support and stability but, let’s face it, also fitting into this season’s skinny jeans.

My solution? Sneak in core strength training through a series of compound exercises (working several muscles groups at a time), rather than isolation exercises (working one muscle group), thus avoiding a mid-gym meltdown.

Enlisting the help of some innovative new equipment helps, too: Enter the ActivMotion Bar, which I’ve been experimenting with recently thanks to the folks at Fit Approach. It’s a weighted bar filled with rolling steel weights, which creates instability through a fluid-like motion to better challenge your body during some of your typical workout moves.

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Got 10 minutes? Try this bar-based core series — perform each of the five exercises below for one minute each, and then repeat the entire circuit.

Use a broomstick in a pinch, a weighted bar at the gym, or invest in an ActivMotion Bar if you want to kick things up a notch for at-home workouts.

1. Walking Lunges

Stand tall with head and feet facing forward and core engaged. Raise bar straight above head, straightening arms but keeping shoulders down. Keeping abs and butt tight to stabilize yourself, slowly step out with right foot into a lunge.

Make sure your knee doesn’t go beyond your toes, and try to keep both legs at 90-degree angles. Pressing into your front heel, lift up to a standing position; alternate sides across the room for 60 seconds.

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2. Bar Windmills

Again, start by standing tall with head and feet facing forward and core engaged. Press bar up with right hand, taking care to keep shoulder down and core engaged. Slowly bend to the left side, reaching for your left foot while keeping right arm directly above your right shoulder.

Pause for a beat before rising carefully back to a standing position. Repeat pattern for 30 seconds before switching sides and raising your left arm while bending to the right.

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3. Ab Roll-Ups

Lie on the floor with our feet shoulder-width apart, soles of your feet touching the ground, knees bent and core engaged (think about pulling your belly button through your spine and down to the floor). Using both hands, raise the bar above your shoulders — try to keep some softness in your elbow so you don’t lock out the joint.

Slowly roll up, one vertebrae at a time, keeping bar lifted toward the ceiling and core engaged. Once you’re sitting up, slowly lower back down through each vertebrae, keeping bar raised. Repeat for 60 seconds.

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4. Kayaker Twist

Sitting on the floor with your feet out in front of you and your knees bent, lift feet a few inches off of the floor (option to modify: keep feet on floor). Lean back slightly, but be sure to use core to keep spine straight — no hunching forward or arching your back.

Hold bar in both hands, and with a steady rowing motion, slowly turn to left side and dip the bar toward the ground. Lift back up and through center before twisting to the right and letting bar dip down on that side. Alternating sides, repeat for 60 seconds.

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5. Sumo Side Lean

Take a wide stance with feet slightly turned out. Raise bar straight above head with both hands, taking care to keep shoulders down and back straight. Lower into a sumo squat, checking to make sure that knees are in line with ankles and don’t extend beyond toes.

Slowly lean to left side without twisting; your body should remain in one plane when viewed from the side. Return to starting position and, keeping bar above head, lower to the right side. Repeat, alternating sides, for 60 seconds.

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For more information on this product, check out ActivMotion Bar’s website here.

Disclaimer: You’re doing these exercises at your own risk, so please be careful. If you’ve got an injury or concern, it’s best to consult with your health care provider and/or trainer to make sure you’re cleared to work out and are using proper form.

5 Tips for Building a Budget-Friendly Home Gym

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Bring your workouts closer to home for 2015 — meaning, in it. No matter how small your space or budget, it’s easier than you think to build an effective gym without breaking the bank.

Here are five ways to become a healthier homebody — and for shrinking your waistline, not your wallet — in the New Year:

1. Go weightless.

These aren’t your father’s push-ups and sit-ups; today’s body weight exercises are high-performance maneuvers designed for building and maintaining muscle strength and endurance, along with interval training. Don’t believe me? Check out this video and tell me that’s not an intense workout!

2. Think DIY.

Function often trumps form when it comes to gym gear, so before you buy it, try making it on the cheap. Use hot water bottle bladders under your feet in place of a pricey Bosu balance trainer, tap into your woodworking skills to build your own plyo boxes, and make medicine balls from old basketballs and some sand, for example.

3. Buy secondhand.

Wait a few more weeks, and plenty of New Year’s resolutionists will be hawking their (barely used) exercise equipment on Craigslist. But don’t stop there: Visit stores such as Play It Again Sports to snag a deal on pre-owned gear, scout your local gym for used equipment sales after yearly upgrades or ask for discounts on floor models at retailers.

4. Press play.

There’s an app for that — or a video game, a gadget, a DVD, etc. Whether it’s tracking activity with a Runtastic Orbit, turning your smartphone into you own personal trainer with Nike Training Club or popping in a video from home-fitness giant Beachbody, harness technology to keep you healthy and active throughout the day, not just in the confines of a gym.

5. Embrace co-op.

Finally, if your motivation comes in the form of group fitness, consider creating a co-op gym space with relatives, friends or neighbors. Split the cost of equipment (either by machine or overall, depending on how your crew wants to divvy it up), and store everything at one home where everyone can congregate for workouts.

How do you curb your workout costs? 

6 Simple Tricks for Squeezing in Holiday Workouts

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Have you fallen prey to the “Grinch Who Stole Fitness” this season? Well, the good news is that there’s still time to turn things around before 2015.

If your goal is to celebrate without completely abandoning your regimen, I’ve got six simple strategies for staying on track so you won’t have to dig yourself out of a hole come January 1st:

1. Get the worm. 

Figuratively, that is. Being at the mercy of friends’ and family’s schedules isn’t always conducive to regular workouts, so force yourself to develop a healthy morning routine. Prioritize exercise, and not only will you be more likely to get it done, but you’ll also reap the benefits of extra energy throughout the day.

2. “Run” your errands.

Or walk them. Or park farther away. Or take the stairs. Or lap the mall. However you do it, the idea is the same: Incorporate some additional activity into your to-do list to kill two birds with one stone.

3. Ditch the all-or-nothing attitude. 

I used to think I needed an entire hour in order for a workout to count, but that led to too many skipped sessions during the holiday time crunch. So now I take a different approach: Commit to just 10 minutes of cardio or one mile on the treadmill, and then reassess. If you’re still not feeling it, then stop, but there’s a good chance you’ll keep going once you get some momentum.

4. Make it a family affair. 

There’s no need to sequester yourself in order to break a sweat; instead, make a new tradition of embracing the great outdoors together. Whether it’s ice skating, snow shoveling, sledding or a snowball fight, the whole family can get in on the action. And give each other the gift of a healthy habit in the process.

5. Embrace bribery. 

Sometimes I’ll end my long run at the coffee shop or inspire myself to hit the gym by testing a new piece of gear. The trick is to find out what motivates you, and use that in your favor. Numbers-driven? Try hitting a daily pedometer goal. Competitive? Challenge a friend to a 30-day fitness routine. Bored? Commit to trying something new each day between now and the New Year.

6. Book a race. 

If you’re a regular reader here, this last one shouldn’t come as a surprise to you…because it’s my solution to almost everything. Not only can a holiday-themed race help keep you on your toes, cardio-wise, this time of year, but there’s also no better way to kick off the New Year than with a January race.

And when all else fails, there’s always another of my favorite holiday workouts…

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Happy, healthy holidays!

Booty-Blaster: 5 Band-Based Exercises to Activate Glutes

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Ever since my most recent marathon-training injury, I’ve been on a mission to get my sleepy glutes firing again on all cylinders. Studies link glute weakness to Achilles tendinitis, shinsplints, runner’s knee and iliotibial-band syndrome, along with a host of other overuse injuries (i.e. my medial tibial stress response), so a strong booty is key to not only keeping a steady core, but also the body’s entire kinetic chain from getting out of whack.

My PT prescribed a series of exercises using a Thera-Band, which got me race-ready. But during my post-marathon running hiatus I’ve been kicking it up a notch with the ReXist360 resistance training system, which is designed to intensify band-based workouts without any unwanted pressure added to the back, knees or ankle joints.

Read on for my five favorite butt-busting resistance exercises!

1. Clamshells

Place band above your knees. Lie on one side, prop your upper body up on one arm and stack your legs on top of one another with knees bent. Slowly lift top knee toward the ceiling, keeping feet together and body in alignment. Hold for a second at the top, squeezing glutes, before lowering in a controlled manner. Repeat 20 times before switching to other side.

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2. Glute Bridges

Place band above your knees. Lie with back on the floor, and bring heels close enough to be able to touch them with your fingertips when arms are extended down by your sides. Place hands on hips, and open knees slightly so they press out against band to activate glutes. Driving your heels into the ground, lift hips toward the ceiling, and squeeze glutes before lowering. Repeat 20 times.

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3. Monster Walks

Place band above your knees (or around ankles to make it tougher!). Step legs out until they’re hip- to shoulder-width apart. Sink butt into squat position, making sure that knees don’t extend beyond your toes — think about sitting further back and lowering your behind into the position to protect knees. Maintaining that wide-legged stance, slowly squat-walk across the room. After about 30 steps, turn around and repeat.

As you can see, I’ve still got some work to do on my ankle mobility to get down into the correct position!

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4. Side Lifts

Place band around knees (or, again, ankles to make it more difficult). Use bottom arm to support head and top arm to steady yourself. Straighten and stack legs, lining up hips, knees and ankles. Keeping core engaged and top foot parallel to foot on floor, slowly lift top leg toward ceiling. Pause at the top of the movement, squeezing glutes before lowering. Repeat 20 times before switching to other side.

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5. Squats

Place band above knees. Stand with feet parallel and hip-width apart. Slowly sink your butt back until legs are at a 90-degree angle (thighs are parallel to the ground). Again, take care to keep knees from caving in toward one another or extending beyond toes, and keep chest up as much as possible (I’m still working on my form, hence the mat under my heels). Hold for a second before driving back up through heels to come back to standing. Repeat 25 times.

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Disclaimer: I’m not a PT or a doctor; these are simply some exercises I’ve found helpful for getting those glutes firing again! If you’ve got an injury or concern, though, be sure to check with your own health care provider first so you can make a plan of action together.