Push-Up Challenge Update (I Still Hate Them)

As you may know, this year I have been participating in a Push-Ups challenge.  For the entire year.

First, I committed to doing one hundred push-ups every day for the month of January.  Then I continued in February by committing to 50 push-ups every damn day for the rest of the year.

I hate push-ups.  I STILL hate push-ups.  But I’ve been doing them.  Consistently since January 1.

And I was getting really good at them.  I was flipping them out without a hitch.

Then back in March I (somehow – not push-up related) injured my shoulder.  In fact, I injured it quite badly tearing the rotator cuff in two places.  And now, 6 months later, it’s still not any better.  I’m finally in physiotherapy for it.  I’ve seen a couple of doctors, had an x-ray (pointless, BTW), and was prescribed some medication.  None of it has helped.  I have another appointment with a doctor in a few weeks, but for now it’s just pain, pain, pain.

And ripping out those stupid push-ups was almost nil for a while.  But I found a way to do them that does not cause me pain (or a lot of swearing!) and for months, I have been practicing modified push-ups with a shoulder rotation.  Now I’m sort of back to the point where can use more body weight and do a few that way, but after about a dozen or two, I have to break or go back to a modification.

But, I will continue with my challenge of 50 push-ups each day until the end of the year.  And you should consider doing them too.

Here are 5 reasons (there are many more!)why you should being incorporating push-ups into your daily activity – even if you’re not exercising regularly:

1. Builds Upper Body Strength: you can build upper body strength without having to use a ton of weights. Push-ups target the shoulders, pecs, and triceps which will develop a strong and defined upper body.
2. Strengthens your core: most people don’t know that a strong core is key to a push-up. Ever wondered why your hips sag or hike during your push-ups? Your abdominal muscles are acting as stabilizers during the push-up just like they would in a plank.  Weak abs = poor push-up form.
3. Increases energy quickly: Sure does! Popping off a few push-ups can immediately boost your energy, increase circulation, fire up the brain, and heat the body .
4. Increases Bone Mass: Bone mass naturally declines with age, which can leave bones prone to fracture. It’s crucial to perform weight-bearing exercises to keep bones strong. Since push–ups strengthen major muscle groups as well as the wrists and elbows, your risk of injury will be reduced because you‘re keeping these body parts strong.
5. Weight loss: Since the push-up is a total body movement it will increase your heart rate quickly and, in turn, can/will/should/may result in burning more calories, promoting weight loss and overall improvement in your body composition.

~FB

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Why I Stopped Tracking My Workouts (and Macros)

A couple of years ago I got myself a FitBit.  At first, I had complete buyer’s remorse and wanted to return my tracker immediately.  But I hung onto it and eventually, I fell in love with it.  I loved being able to set goals, and alarms to keep me moving, and I especially loved being able to track my sleep pattern.  I definitely do not sleep as much as I think I do.

FitBit Charge HR

My main reason for getting the FitBit was the heart rate monitor.  If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time, you may recall that I have a heart condition.  As a fitness professional – and participant – I thought it was important to be able to keep an eye on my heart rate during my workouts.  Though, sometimes I still overdo it and find myself gasping for breath or wanting to barf because my heart rate if out-of-control high.

Last year in July, my gym friend introduced me to an app that links with your fitness device (i.e. my FitBit) and will pay you to log your workouts.  The app will sync with your device and gives you points in accordance with your goals – activity, sleep, workouts, and will give you points for taking surveys or referring friends.

Once I started using this app, I began logging my workouts consistently.  Every.single.time.  Anytime I went for a walk or lifted weights or participated in a class, I would log.  Log. Log. Log.  I never missed logging a single workout.

Via FitBit

Then several months ago, I also started tracking my macros.

The program I used allowed me to log my food and water intake in accordance with my goals – which were in accordance with my height and weight and workout regime.  I was also logging my workouts on this app in addition to my the other two programs.

For months on end, I logged every single food and drink I consumed.  If I put mayo on my sandwich or milk in my coffee, I had to log it.

I had to make sure I was getting enough water and burning the calories I was taking in.

After months and months and months of basically tracking my entire life….I just stopped.  I was suffering from tracker burnout.  Tracking my workouts and my macros became less about doing it for my health and more about “keeping up with the Joneses”.  It became an obsessive chore.  I would feel guilty if I was over my macro intake for a day – even though I was/am in a major calorie deficit nearly every day (usually being under calorie by around 1,000 daily) – if I indulged one day I had a hard time letting go of my “over consumption” (<— see – we all battle our demons).  Having battled eating disorders in my younger years, I realized that my tracking behavior was bordering a line I did not want to cross and so I just gave up.  I let it go.

It has been several weeks or more since I stopped tracking.  And although I partially stopped because of pure laziness and forgetfulness, I had been growing tired of the efforts I put in to tracking everything – and tired, physically.  You know, sometimes I just don’t care if I’ve eaten a donut.  Sometimes I feel like I’ve earned that donut and I don’t feel like my macro tracker should be telling me otherwise or making me feel guilty for using up my carbs and sugar intake for the day.  And although that I am 90% consistently healthy in my eating choices, sometimes I just want the damn donut!!

So, I let it go.

Until I get back to the point in my life where I am tracking my workouts and macros for health reasons, I will not be keeping watch on what I’m doing or eating.  I don’t need to.  I know I am healthy and I know I am fit.  I don’t need to be in constant competition with myself in order to validate my health or fitness level.  No one does.

~FB

PS – Eat the damn donut!

Weight-lifting – Why Reps are Ruining Your Gains

Once upon a time, somewhere along the way, someone came up with the magic number for reps in a weight lifting set.  A set of 10 or 12 or 15 reps in set is considered key….and this ideal number may be ruining your gains.

via Men’s Health

The idea of a 12-rep set stemmed from studies that your time under tension (how long a muscle is under strain during a set) is surpassed at 45 seconds and gets closer to 60 seconds in a set.  Your tempo in your performance should be considered more important and valued higher than your reps.  Your tempo should be enough to elicit hypertrophy (the growth and increase of the size of muscle cells) and the main goal is to prolong the eccentric contraction (or negative) on the way down in your lift (i.e. 1-2 second contraction on the way up and 3-5 second contraction on the way down).

Our fixation on the 3 sets of 12 (or 10 or 15) is killing our gains because is does not reflect on the study of how we got to the “magic number”, but instead, focuses solely on the “magic number”.

Most people, when weight lifting, instinctively start out with a weight that is comfortable in order to ensure they have the energy to get through all reps.  What would be more beneficial to muscle growth (or hypertrophy) is to start with a heavier weight and lift to failure.  If this means you max out at 8 or 11 reps, then so be it.  Focus on the time and effort you are putting into a rep and not on the number of reps in a set – and on your time under tension – and watch your gains increase.

~FB

Should You Do a 30-Day Challenge?

I was recently posed the question, “should I do a 30-day challenge?”

My answer: YES!

As this blog has shown, I am a huge supporter of 30-day fitness challenges.  Over the years, I have offered a plethora of challenges: abs, plank, squats, etc.  And, of course, the push-up challenge (which I am still participating in).

Here’s why I like 30 day challenges.

1. First of all, it takes about 30 days to build a habit.  You may not be able to transform your body or reach your fitness goals in one month, but you can certainly create a fitness routine in 30 days that will put you well on your way to those goals.  The challenges can be a great way for someone new to exercising to start out, or it can be a great complement to your already existing fitness regime.  All one simply has to do is commit to 30 days (that includes rest days) of the challenge and put the time in to complete the daily task.  Sometimes, it is mere minutes of one’s day.
2. Another reason I like a fitness challenge, because they can only take those mere minutes of your day.  For many beginners, the idea of putting in hours in the gym or for a workout can be exhausting to just think of.  So, the idea of completing these daily exercises in just a short period of time is certainly more welcoming.  Getting the task over with and moving on with your day can be exciting and rewarding in itself.
3. The challenges provide structure and guidance and progression.  You don’t have to put the time and effort into your exercising.  The challenges tell you what to what to do, how to do it, and when to amp it up.  There is no guess work in your workout.
4. Committing to, and completing the challenge is a often its own reward.  First, committing to something and sticking with it can be a big deal.   I am one of those people who, when I commit to something, I make darn sure I am committed.  No if, ands, or buts.  But that is not always the case for many people.  For those people, making that commitment and sticking with it, can also mean a huge personal growth.  Reaching the 30 day mark can mean big gold star for some and the amount of pride that comes with completing that last day/full challenge can be enough to push one to starting a full-time fitness schedule.

There are plenty of reasons to start a 30 Day Fitness Challenge.  And there are many challenges to try (seriously, just type in “challenge” in the search bar above).  Whether you’re just starting out in the exercise world or you want to add something to your regular routine, try committing to one month and see your success.

~FB

Healthy Snacking

I am not 100% healthy all the time.  I admit it.  I am human and occasionally, I like to indulge in snacks that are not the healthiest choices.  (Who doesn’t like popcorn at the movies?)

But most of the time, I try to be very conscious of what I’m eating and I like to know what I’m putting in my body.  So, when it comes to snacking and making those healthier choices (and opting not to stick to just fruit or vegetables), I often like to go the homemade route.

My recent obsession are homemade protein nut butter cups.  They’re made with just a few ingredients – dark chocolate or cocoa or chocolate protein powder, coconut oil, and nut butter of choice (I use almond hazelnut).  Melt and mix and freeze.  Easy peasy.

I’m also a huge fan of making my own “Larabars“.  It’s definitely a lot cheaper than buying actual Larabars, and I can throw in whatever I want.  I also like healthy cookie dough dip (made with chickpeas but you’d never know it!) and black bean brownies.

And, in the summer when it’s super hot, I might make a little “nice cream” – a healthier version of ice cream made with frozen bananas.  This is a great compromise for people like me who are also allergic to dairy.

Knowing exactly what I’m eating is definitely important to me, not only because of the obvious benefits of eating healthier and cleaner and knowing my ingredients, but also because I can eliminate as much garbage from my diet as possible.  This is especially important when I’m following the Whole 30 Program and eliminating sugar and processed “foods” and other junk.

However, as I said, I am human and I do like to indulge on occasion.  But that doesn’t have to equal eating garbage.  There are plenty of healthier options on the market – even for your favorite “junk foods”.

For example, Amplify Snack Brands – the makers of Skinny Pop popcorn – have some wonderful snack products that are comparable in taste to your regular snacks, but without the garbage and the guilt.  Their Paqui Tortilla Chips use non-GMO corn, are trans-fat free, are nut, soy, and Gluten-free, have no MSG, and are certified Kosher.  Oh, and they come in a bunch of crazy flavors (Haunted Ghost Pepper, anyone?).

Amplify also in their roster, Oatmega Bars – grass-fed whey protein bars offered in a plethora of flavors – and Tyrrell’s Hand Cooked Potato Chips– which offers “no iffy ingredients”.  And of course, let’s not forget the  Skinny Pop brand of popcorn and other products, which are also “free of all those things, including GMOs, MSG, peanuts, soy, tree nuts, and Gluten”.

As you can see, there are many options on the market for snacking better and it’s commendable to see companies with a conscience – ones that care about our health and the ingredients they choose to put into their products (and therefore, that we put into our bodies).

So, if you’re on the go or not able to making your own healthy snacks (or have no interest in it), check out Amplify Brands (or at the very least, ensure you check your labels for ingredients on your snack foods) to see what product might become your next favorite snack.

Be kind to your body and what you put into it.

~FB

10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT VEGAN DIETS* (Guest Post)

(By Michelle Hannan)

“Veganism is as old as humans themselves, but with time, we have somehow lost our track of how good this path full of veggies is. I am not against meaty diets or people who love meat, I just prefer those diets that have veggies and fruits more than any other thing.

People may opt veganism due to their religious belief, moral values, or merely to lose weight in that particular manner. Here it is essential to understand that veganism is not just restricted to your diet, but it is a code of conduct, the way you choose your life to be. click HERE to see the food list that is not only delicious, but healthy too 

A vegan diet has so many benefits, and for you, ten of them are listed below.

1. The medical fraternity accepts 150-200 mg/dL to be a standard range of cholesterol. According to a recent study, an average Americans cholesterol level is 210 mg/dL, and the level of a vegan is 146 mg/dL. Well, it is safe to say that it is better to be under than above.

2. People may think that vegans do not consume dairy, so they lack in protein and calcium, but to their surprise food like broccoli, bok choy, calcium-fortified orange juice, collards, kale, and Chinese cabbage are an excellent source to meet the deficit.

3. With the vegan diet, men and women are less likely to be a subject of cancer, and the rate goes down to approximately 36%. Cancer is one of the most common and deadly diseases, but with this diet, you may save yourself with this trouble.

4. Elizabeth Blackburn, Nobel Prize winner, came up with a study that claims that vegan diet changed more than 500 genes in just three months. Apparently, veganism turns off the genes that cause cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other diseases and turns on the genes that prevent infections.

5. Products that are listed as non-cholesterol are often vegan as bad fat is a product of meaty food.

6. Vegan diet not just brightens up your skin, it also makes you feel active and energetic for the longest time. So, if you feel frustrated and fatigued throughout the day than a properly cooked vegan meal can may you feel better.

7. While there are so many benefits of vegetables and fruits, if they are overcooked, all the benefits it carries go down the drain.

8. When one person decides to be a vegan that person helps saving the entire acre o a forest from demolishing. How? For meat production, forests are being cleared out to grow crops to feed the animals. I am not asking not to feed animals, but in order to fulfill the huge meat need, drastic measures have been taken.

9. To produce one pound of meat 2500 gallons of water is needed and to grow one pound of wheat, only 25 gallons of water is required. Considering the rumors that the third world war will be on the water, I think we should do more to save up this precious thing than wasting it.

10. Celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Sia, Pamela Anderson, and Peter Dinklage are the ones who believe that veganism is not just healthy, but it is also the right way to live.”

*The views expressed in this post are strictly that of the author, Michelle Hannan.

 

 

Staying Inspired

I have been having a very emotional and stressful week.  I normally am an upbeat person and always on the go, so when stress and lethargy run high in me, I’m not sure of the best outlet. Because I normally don’t deal with it.

Earlier this week my cat of 12 years started seizing and his health is in jeopardy and I’m a basket case. Dealing with my own heart condition is one thing, dealing with a heart condition in a very loved pet is another.  The thought of losing my long-time companion has me feeling like I’ve been punched in the heart.  Literally.  This pain is real and it’s taking my breath away.

And although I haven’t had much of an appetite lately, part of me has been thinking about comforting my pain by stuffing my head with chocolate and all that kind of goodness.

Oddly enough, a new-found friend has also been suffering through an emotional and stressful week – probably the hardest one he’s had in a very long time , but instead of easing his pain with the kind of garbage one would find in comfort food (like my craving for all that is chocolate), he turned down my offer of coffee and a pastry and instead kept to his healthy journey.  What a man!  What an inspiration.

This is his actual lunch – I was very jealous!!

So…thanks to him, I said no to drowning my sorrows in chocolate and red wine and instead picked up some carrot sticks and hummus.  I don’t yet have the appetite, or frankly the desire to eat anything, but when I’m ready, my healthy choices have already been made.

~FB

Fitness Fads to Avoid in 2018 (Guest Post)

(By Scott Reid**)

With every New Year it seems a new fitness fad comes along, promising quick or instant results with very little work. But we all know that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is, and when it comes to our health some fads are not only a waste of time, they can actually be harmful.

So, let’s pledge to make 2018 fitness-fad free!  Good old-fashioned exercise and nutrition are what is needed to get in shape and there are no quick fixes unfortunately. Here is a quick guide to the top fitness fads to be avoided this year.

1. Cutting out all carbohydrates

One of the reasons this fad is still popular is to start with, if you stop eating carbs you will see a rapid weight-loss, but this is due to water loss rather than any kind of fat loss, and it will soon balance out again.

But if you are trying to work out and exercise to build up a good physique, you need carbs for energy and to perform at your best. If you want to increase muscle mass and have stable, consistent energy levels, then you need to eat some carbohydrates.

1. Eating Small Meals Every Couple of Hours

 There is a myth that if you eat small meals regularly it helps to cut down fat by boosting your metabolism but the difference between this and eating fewer larger meals is actually negligible – it’s just another fitness fad.

In fact, if you are eating every few hours, your body is constantly digesting food which can make you lack energy and feel very lethargic, making it hard to concentrate and get tasks done during the day.

The best time to eat meals is when you feel hungry and when it suits your body and your lifestyle. There is no magic timing procedure for eating which results in weight loss.

1. Only eating one type of food

We’ve all heard of the notorious cabbage soup diet and no doubt seen numerous detox programs which advocate giving your body or system a break by only eating one type of fruit or vegetable all day.

These are just bad fitness fads. Your body needs a variety of food groups to stay balanced and get all of the nutrients you need to keep going all day. Eating just grapes for a day doesn’t rest your system; it pushes it out of whack and will probably give you an upset stomach for your troubles.

A balanced diet, with real nutritious food, is the way to go – don’t cut out particular food groups and don’t rely on only one food even if only for a day – it really won’t have any kind of positive impact on your overall health.

This goes hand in hand with cleansing routines – these are fads which often proclaim eating a single food to cleanse your system – let’s knock these on the head for 2018.

Try something like the 105 Plan.

1. Changing your exercise routine each time

There is a new fad out there about changing up your exercise routine, never doing the same exercise twice, with the bizarre premise that your muscles will get used to the routine otherwise and stop responding.

Muscles don’t work that way – they respond to whatever movement you carry out so if you are not seeing results then you are not working out hard enough or correctly so seek advice from a personal trainer. It may be that you need to add some more weights to increase the challenge.

However, if you constantly change what you are doing, how can you measure results as you will be exercising different muscle groups each time, with no consistent approach? This is a fad which doesn’t work.

It’s great to vary your exercise but just jumping from one thing to another every day isn’t going to produce any kind of consistent results.

There are many fitness fads out there and no doubt new ones will spring up throughout the year endorsed by some celebrity or other and picked up by the media as the latest and best way to get fit, reduce fat or whatever it might be.

But anyone who is serious about their health and fitness knows full well that these types of fads are just that – fashionable trends which will be discredited and disappear as quickly as they arrived and should just be ignored.

The only way to get fit and healthy is to change the way you eat, to a healthy balanced diet, on a permanent basis, and to include regular exercise into your daily routine. It’s that simple. Unfortunately, it involves gradual change and hard work, whereas our society seems to demand instant results, which is why all these fitness fads become popular in the first place.

Rather than spend a fortune on the latest fad, only to be disappointed, let’s all agree to make 2018 fitness-fad free.

(** The views and opinions expressed in this post are that of the writer.)

 

Push-Ups

Let me say this:  I hate push-ups.  I’ve said it before.  And I will likely say it again.  I hate push-ups.  I have hated push-ups for as long as I can remember.  I’m not sure why, but I would rather do 100 burpees than do 10 push-ups.  Don’t get me wrong.  I do them and I make my class participants do them.  It doesn’t mean I enjoy them.

I think my disdain for them originated because I had such little upper body strength.  Therefore, I had a difficult time performing them.  Then, a while back, I started doing them all the time.  I even got a set of those perfect push-up handles and my push-ups improved and increased.  Then, I had a terrible back injury and my push-up ability sort of went down the toilet.  And I guess I lost any motivation to improve them.

 So, for the month of January, I committed to and participated in the 100 a Day Push-up Challenge.

Ugh.  As soon as I committed to this I dreaded it.  But I committed…

I started the challenge by doing 10 here and 10 there.  I’d do all varieties of push-ups – regular, modified (from the knees), triceps, etc.  Eventually, I moved on to doing 30 regular push-ups, followed by 20 triceps push-ups twice (50 and 50).  Eventually, I was doing as many push-ups at a time that I could do.  Sometimes that would be 50, sometimes it would be 70, and by the end, it was 100.  I did my push-ups anywhere I could…at the gym, in my living room, or even in the lunch room at work.  I made sure I got them done.

Over those 31 days I noticed that my arms and back and stamina for those wretched push-ups because stronger and increased.  I didn’t dread getting down to the floor to do the darn things as much as when I first started.  I was able to fling off more and more at a time and it made me happy.  (Not as happy as when I finally finished the challenge.)

I had fully intended to continue doing a push-up challenge – committing to doing 50 push-ups a day for the year.  I started off okay, but then I got hit with bronchitis and a throat infection and the flu and my push-up training came to a bit of a halt for a week or so.  But, the last few days I have gotten back on track and have completed (at minimum) my 50 push-ups a day.  My hope is that by the end of this year (Lord, give me strength..we are only in February) I will finally enjoy doing push-ups.

If you want to get in on this, comment below and let me know you are going to COMMIT to doing 50 push-ups a day, every day, until the end of 2018, and watch your body change and your strength increase.  It takes just minutes a day.  Why not commit to this with me?

Cheers.

Ellipticals

If you’ve been a follower of this blog for some time, you might recall that my fitness routine initially started with an elliptical I had purchased (from Sears) at least a year prior.  I had every intention of utilizing this machine in order to lose weight.  But, the first time I tried it I found it “too hard” and didn’t bother to use it again.

When I hopped on it more than a year later, I was at a place in my life  where I was fat, (not just overweight, but fat), sad, depressed, and overall unhealthy.  I was now determined that it was time for a change.  I lugged that darned elliptical machine into my living room, turned the TV on to Oprah, and I powered (read “struggled”) through that workout.  I was hot and sweaty and out of breath.  My heart was beating and I felt like I was going to die.  But I continued.  I made a point to get on that elliptical every day.  I would make a point to set my goal each day and, as soon as I was close to achieving it, I would set a new one.  Eventually, the three minute workout that initially “nearly killed me” the year before, turned into a 20, 30, 60, and eventually 120 minutes routine.  It became part of my daily habit.  And I swear, that elliptical saved my life.

When I came across Reviews.com, a great site that offers comparisons and reviews on tons of products, I had to check it out.  The people are Reviews.com do the work for you by researching and reviewing anything you might be looking for – including the Best Elliptical Machines.

The Elliptical Reviews pinpoints what exactly you should be looking for in the machine, who they consulted, which ones were tested, and how they chose their overall best.  They compared prices, as well as the “luxuries” of each model reviewed.  It really is a useful site and I would encourage anyone wanting to invest in an elliptical (or anything, really) to check out the site and invest the time, too.  Buying any piece of exercise equipment is a big deal and can often run you a lot of money.  Your health is definitely worth it, of course, but I would suggest examining the research at Reviews.com and see if all of your questions are answered.  Perhaps they even answered questions you didn’t know to ask.

One of the greatest things I love about my elliptical is that the strides are short.  I’m 5’6 but I have fairly short legs (my torso goes on for days) and the strides are perfect for my little stumps.  What’s interesting to note about this is that every single elliptical machine I’ve been on in my lifetime, aside from the one I purchased, has incredibly long strides and I feel very awkward on them.  Is that something I would have researched back then?  No, I really just lucked out with that one.  But, now that I know there are different lengths of the strides, it is certainly something I will look for should I plan to purchase another one in the future.

So, if you are in the market for something (anything) new, pop over to Reviews.com and do a little comparison shopping.  You never know what you might be looking for.

~FB