The shape of things

Random title.

Somedays I finish work at 4:30 and the last thing in the world that I want to do is hop on the treadmill and run for 30 minutes. So it's those days that I turn to some alternative heart-racing cardio activities.

Yesterday was one of those days. So I turned to my November issue of Shape Magazine for some motivation. And I found this very interesting feature on metabolism. Basically the article was about how working out and doing the same things at the same intensity day after day does nothing for our metabolism. In fact, our bodies get very used to it.

So they present a few ways to stoke your metabolism from time to time to make sure you're reaching your calorie-burning potential. I did a circuit that combined cardio with strength moves, here's what they had to say about it:

"This high-intensity sculpting routine helps you get that permanent metabolism boost by building muscle, but it also keeps your real-time calorie burn on high—so you get the best of both worlds."

Unfortunately, the routine I did is not available online. So if you want to try it pick up the November 2007 issue of Shape. But, they do offer a few alternative routines on their Website that have the same metabolism boosting results.

After doing the first half of the 30 minute routine I was winded and ready to quit - I drank some water and finished it and felt great. It was definitely harder than running for 30 minutes - but it felt great to be doing a high intensity work out.

Try the alternative routine today.

Women's Health picked out their list of the nation's top trainers and had each one of them share their secrets and a toning move. The result is awesome. The article features a section on why they were selected as one of the top trainers, and then it shows you how to do one of their "signature moves." I can't wait to try these at the gym.

My favorites on the list are:

1. This move is by trainer Sherri McMillan. It's called the Double Arm Airplane Row and works almost every musle in your body.

2.This move by Mark Verstegen looks like it's totally tough! And I love that. If you've ever done normal pushups on a stability ball you'll know how hard it is - and now imaging doing it with one leg in the air! nice...

3. I can already feel my sore glutes just looking at this Sumo Dead Lift by Paul Chek. Not only does it target major muscle groups - it also will improve your posture!

4. And this one will be the perfect cooldown. This stretch using a foam roller will release tension in your shoulders and lats (which get real tight if you sit at a computer all day). It was developed by Jeremy Cheung.

(Images Source)

Read about the trainers here and try their workout moves today at the gym!

One last favorite is from Tom Holland who will help you release your "inner speed demon" with two cardio workouts.

One cardio workout is the famous tempo run I described in detail last week. And the other is a unique speed interval training workout that I just had to post here for you:

Do It: Warmup jog or walk, 5 minutes. Go hard (a bit faster than your average pace), 5 minutes. Sprint, 30 seconds. Go hard, 1 minute. Sprint, 45 seconds. Recovery jog, 1.5 minutes. Sprint, 1 minute. Recovery jog, 2 minutes. Go hard, 45 seconds. Recovery jog, 2 minutes. Go hard, 30 seconds. Cooldown jog, 10 minutes.

If you've been reading my cardio routine posts you'll notice that I've been mentioning a "tempo run" for runners to add to their weekly repertoire. I've realized that I have not done a decent job of explaining this type of run - so thanks to the Nov. issue of Runners World, here's an explanation:

Technical things: In order to run your best distance you need to have an excellent "lactate threshold." I'll spare you the details (because frankly I don't really understand it too well) but basically doing a tempo run trains your body to become better at buffering the lactic acid - which comes down to you will be able to run faster and longer.

If you run too slow you won't produce the excess lactic acid that is necessary - if you run too fast you'll build up the lactic acid too quickly and you'll be fatigued before the 15-20 minutes that is necessary to gain the desired effect.

If running faster and longer is appealing to you - read on to find out how to find your tempo pace:

1. Exertion: First way is to use the perceived exertion chart I mentioned in this post. You need to be running at a speed that is comfortably hard - so an 8 out of 10 on that chart. (Which is a difficult pace, being able to maintain a conversation takes a lot of effort)

2. Breathing: A normal easy pace should put you at three strides while breathing in and three strides breathing out. Tempo pace should be two strides in and two strides out.

3. Race Pace: Add 20 to 30 seconds per mile to a recent 5K pace, or 15 to 20 seconds to your 10K pace. So if you ran a 5K in 27 minutes - your tempo pace would be around 9:20 minute mile. (Which translates to 6.4-6.5 mph on the treadmill).

So now you know your tempo pace: here's how you should do this tempo run -

If you're new at tempo runs do a 10 to 15 minute warm up and cool down every time. For WEEK 1 do 3 minutes at your tempo pace, and 60 seconds at a very easy jog. repeat 5 times. Then WEEK 2 do 4 minutes at tempo pace with a 60 second jog after - repeat five times. On WEEK 3 do 5 minutes at temp pace and 90 second recovery jog - repeat 4 times. And finally on WEEK 4 do a 20 minute steady tempo pace.

Not new at tempo runs? Warm up 2-3 miles at an easy pace - do a steady 20 minute tempo run - and cool down for 1-2 miles at an easy pace.

I showed you last week how to do a hills workout which is a great way to get your heart pumping and keep your muscles guessing.

Another great way to vary your cardio is to do sprints or interval training. Basically it helps your body (your heart, specifically) become more efficient because it's working harder at almost maximum intensity for short bursts.

This is a workout I created and did yesterday on the treadmill. I was sweating up a storm after! Try it soon:

• Burns 370 calories (based on a 145 pound woman, self.com)

0-3 minutes: Walk 3.5 mph, 1% incline (keep it at 1% the whole time) (RPE: 3)
3-3:30: Sprint at 7.5 mph (RPE: 9)
3:30-4:30: Recover, jog at 5.0 (RPE: 5-6)
4:30-5:30: Sprint at 7.5 mph
5:30-7:30: Recover, jog at 5.0
7:30-9:00: Sprint at 7.5 mph
9:00-12:00: Recover, jog at 5.0
12:00-14:00: Sprint at 7.5 mph
14:00-18:00: Recover, jog at 5.0
18:00-18:30: Sprint at 7.5 mph
18:30-19:30: Recover, jog at 5.0
19:30-20:30: Sprint at 7.5 mph
20:30-22:30: Recover, jog at 5.0
22:30-24:00: Sprint at 7.5 mph
24:00-27:00: Recover, jog at 5.0
27:00-29:00: Sprint at 7.5 mph
29:00-32:00: Recover, jog at 5.0
32:00-35:00: Cool down, walk at 3.5 mph

If you don't have 35 minutes, split it in half and finish your last sprint/recover at 18:00 minutes and do a 3 minute cool down.

The RPE is rate of perceived exertion: RPE 1 is laying in bed and hitting the snooze button, and RPE 10 is your ultimate maximum exertion (all out can't go any faster sprint). Look at the end of this post for more details.

Obviously if you cannot currently run at a moderate pace for 30 minutes straight, this will be a little too intense for you. A great way to modify it is to either walk during the recovery periods (a brisk walk, though, like 4 mph). And if that's still too much, instead of sprinting at 7.5 mph, maybe do 6 mph.

Like I said before if you're a runner or if you want to start training for a race you really need to keep your runs varied. You'll need to do one set of interval training a week - but make sure you either REST or do a very EASY run the next day.

Here's a typical run schedule: Intervals (1 day), Tempo/Race pace Run (1 day), Easy Run (1-2 days), Long Run (1 day)

RATE OF PERCEIVED EXERTION (RPE)

RPE Intensity Level
3-4 Easy to moderate; you should be able to maintain this level and carry on a conversation with minimal effort.
5-6 Moderate; you can maintain this level and have a conversation with some effort.
7-8 Difficult; maintaining this level and having a conversation requires quite a bit of effort.
8-9 Peak effort; you won't be able to maintain this level for more than 3-4 minutes.
10 No-talking zone.

I saw this article today on Webmd that claims they have the best exercise to lose weight.

So what is it? Well, just any type of exercise that you will actually do! They're all good. Point being, even if running an eight minute mile will burn more calories per minute, if you can't or won't ever do it, that's no good for you. So you need to find the exercise you will do - and DO IT!

If you're really interested in losing pounds you have to create that calorie deficit I talk about so often (calories in have to be less than calories out - 3,500 calories to lose one pound). And the best way to do that is to do cardio/aerobic exercise.

They interviewed a kinesiology professor about strength training and he claims that the idea that building muscle means you burn more calories throughout the day is a MYTH! I was shocked to read that - apparently the only studies that found that you burn more calories with strength training were with weight lifters who were lifting at their max for 60-90 minutes a day!! And they only burned like 5 - 10 more calories per day!

Of course, don't interpret that as you shouldn't strength train - just don't count on your muscles burning that much more calories when you build muscle.

But when you want to burn calories you need to do cardio - vary your intensity and vary your selections of cardio workouts. Read some more weight loss through exercise tips here.

The past couple of months my cardio workouts have been very blah. I've been getting on the treadmill setting it at 6.0 and just jogging for either 2-3 miles, getting off and going home.

Yesterday I found an old cardio workout from Shape Magazine that incorporates speed training and hills into it. So I decided to give the old workout a try - and man it kicked my butt!

I'm not sure what you're cardio workouts consist of, but if you find yourself in autopilot mode, it may be time to rev things up. So in that spirit I will share a few cardio workouts that beat boredom and will help you burn more calories.

Hills workout (the one I did yesterday) - treadmill

• 0-4 minutes - Warm up at 0% incline at 3.5 mph
• 4-5 - 1% incline, 5 mph
• 5-6 - 2% incline, 5 mph
• 6-7 - 3% incline, 5 mph
• 7-8 - 2% incline, 5 mph
• 8-9 - 1% incline, 5 mph
• 9-11 - 0% incline, 5.5 mph recover
• 11-13 - 1% incline, 6.0 mph
• 13-15 - 2% incline, 5.5 mph
• 15-17 - 4% incline, 5.0 mph
• 17-19 - 2% incline, 4.5 mph
• 19-21 - 1% incline, 4.0 mph
• 21-23 - 0% incline, 5.5 mph recover
• 23-24 - 1% incline, 6.0 mph
• 24-25 - 2% incline, 6.0 mph
• 25-26 - 3% incline, 6.0 mph
• 26-27 - 4% incline, 6.5 mph
• 27-30 - 0% incline, 3.5 mph Cool Down

(Obviously, you should choose the speeds that are best for you. Before I was running comftorbaly for 30 minutes, I'd walk during the recover periods instead of jogging. Modify it to fit your physical activitiy level)

Here's a few links to some other workouts:
1. Elliptical Workout
2. Treadmill Big Hills Workout
3. Long list of Fitsugar's Cardio Workouts

If you're a runner you'll want to mix up your runs throughout the week. For example, you'll want to do one workout with sprints, you'll want to do one long and steady run, you'll want to do some easy runs, and some tempo runs (tempo is like a race pace, but shorter than race distance).

The benefit of mixing up your runs and your cardio workouts is that your heart and body will have to work harder than when you're on auto pilot, which means you'll burn more calories and you'll keep getting fitter and stronger.

Don't know if you're a fan of tennis or not - but I've been watching the primetime U.S. Open matches the past few nights. I love watching pros play because their games are so fast and so calculated! When I play tennis and hit the ball I just hope it goes over the net and into the lines - definitely haven't gotten to the point where I'm strategic with my shots (want to get there though).

Tennis is a great workout and a fun sport to play after you're out of school. It only takes two people to play and you can always go to a practice wall and hit by yourself. A lot of people "play" (I put it in quotes, because people say that they play and really haven't since high school) but regardless it's not difficult finding a partner.

The sport is relatively cheap too. You need a racket (you can find an entry level one for $30-50) and you need tennis balls and that's it. If you get more competitive you might want to invest in real tennis shoes, but for just getting started any sneakers will work.

Besides being a great cardio workout, it's also a great upper body and core workout. If you play a match you'll feel sore in your abs, obliques and all over your arms, back and shoulders the next day!

Still aren't convinced to try? Well, you can wear some really cute outfits when you play! Tennis skirts, dresses, tanks, shorts, visors, hats, etc. So much fun. I have a great collection of sassy skirts and cute tank tops and they are all so functional.

Center court has turned into a fashion runway lately. Maria Sharapova (pronounced "sha - raw - pah - vah" not like "share - a - poh - vuh" this according to my Russian-speaking husband) and Serena Williams have such great contracts with Nike that they get new dresses designed for each grand slam (Maria has three for the U.S. open, a white "day" dress, a black "night" dress, and her special sassy "center court" red dress.)

I saw the press conference when Sharapova "unveiled" her dress and thought it might be a bit over the top. Then I saw her in this picture and I thought - man, she's got it going on in that red dress!

(Courtesy AP)

If I've convinced you to try tennis I've got two suggestions:

1. Tune in to USA network tonight and the next few nights and watch the prime time tennis matches.
   
   
2. Go to google and find out if there are some beginners lessons you can take in your area. Sign up and learn. It's the best way to really learn tennis because you get the basics from someone who knows what they are doing and you'll gain confidence to play. (Check your local YMCA or university, they may offer lessons)

Skinny jeans or wide leg? Starbucks or the local coffee shop? Paper or plastic? (hopefully the answer is "none, thank you, I brought my own bags.")

Much like the many other decisions we have in life - it's the same in working out. Usually you spend around 1 hour at the gym 3-4 times a week and you may find yourself asking "cardio or strength?"  And if you're not asking that question and just jumping on the elliptical every time, you need to start asking that question.

Women's Health put together this face off between cardio and strength by separating a few fitness "goals" and figuring out which is better for acheiving that goal, cardio or strength. If you're still afraid of strength training, hopefully this article will change your mind.

The first goal is to get rid of fat and keep it off. The winner? Strength training. The reason?

"Lifting weights gives you a metabolic spike for an hour after a workout - That means you'll fry an additional 25 percent of the calories you just scorched during your strength session, Westcott says. "So if you burned 200 calories lifting weights, it's really closer to 250 overall." 

"For every 3 pounds of muscle you build, you'll burn an extra 120 calories a day -- just vegging -- because muscle takes more energy to sustain," Westcott says. Over the course of a year, that's about 10 pounds of fat -- without even changing your diet."

So next time you find yourself juggling between how to spend your precious workout time, refer to this article to help you make a smart decision.