The shape of things

I found this article today on webmd (man they have a lot of good stuff!) about the top 9 fitness myths busted. Most of them I had known were mythological, but it's a good article to read just to either freshen up from all that gym-talk you'll hear or if you just got started in fitness and healthy living.

My favorite busted myth: Machines are a safer way to exercise because you're doing it right every time.

This isn't so folks. I find that a lot of women only stay on the exercise machines because they either a) fear weights, b) don't want to be the only woman in the weight room, or c) just never thought to try anything else because they think the machines are doing just fine.

Truth is those machines not only can be dangerous if not positioned correctly (from the article: "Unless you have a coach or a trainer or someone figure out what is the right setting for you, you can make just as many mistakes in form and function, and have just as high a risk of injury, on a machine as if you work out with free weights or do any other type of nonmachine workot") They don't give you a great range of motion.

What I mean is when you have two dumbbells in your hand and laying on a bench doing chest presses you're utilizing a lot of muscles in addition to the chest to work. Your core is balancing and stabilizing you and your biceps and triceps are also working to lift the weight. But if you were to do the chest machine, you wouldn't get all these extra benefits.

Read the article to find out what else you've been hearing at the gym (or even from trainers, maybe) that just isn't so. Oh, and get over your fear and get in the weight room! You'll feel great and your muscles will end up looking great!

I love new workouts. Especially ones that have new ways to target the muscles I'm working. But sometimes, I want to go to the gym and hit up the main body parts quickly and effectively instead of hanging around trying to figure out a new move. If you've ever felt that way, then this workout is just for you:

Women's Health put together a list of the best exercises for each body part most women target. Perhaps not so surprisingly the moves that target and work your body the most effectively are also some of the most basic and simple moves. (Like the triceps dip, chest press, and chin up).

Here's an overview of the no-nonsense workout:

1. Triceps - the dip

2. Biceps - The Chin Up (this one is tough - especially for us girls - they suggest having a friend help with this one, I suggest using that maching in the gym that you load an amount of "help weight" stand on a platform, and do the chinup with some assistance. (so instead of doing a chin up lifting your 130 pounds, you do one lifting 80 pounds, or whatever your body can handle). Just try to keep making the help weight ligther and lighter.  

3. Shoulders - Military Press 

4. Upper Back - Dumbbell Row

5. Abs - Reverse crunch 

6. Low Back - Alternating Superwoman (sounds more complicated than it actually is)

7. Chest - Chest Press 

8. Calves - Toe Raise

9. Quads - Squat

10. Butt - Romanian Deadlift

If you do all these moves at the gym one day you will target all areas of the body and get a great all-over workout. Have fun. Print out the workout here.

I recently received a question about one of the workouts posted in this blog. It was from a young woman who had been doing the workout for a couple of days and wanted to know when she would start seeing results and how she could lose some weight.

Often I take for granted that I've done a lot of food/diet/nutrition/fitness research and forget to give the basics here in the blog. I don't want that to happen. I want this blog to help you be the healthiest you've ever been and be in the best shape of your life - no matter where you are in your health and fitness goal.

Therefore I put together a list of articles, sites and other resources that are great for newbies and beginners, but also good for those of us who sometimes forget the basics.

These range from the basics in strength training, to what is a calorie. Please visit the sites and if you have any other great resources leave them in the comments section. I wish you all the best.

Helpful links:

Food, Diet and Nutrition: These have answers to your questions about calories, a simple plan that helped me lose weight, online food journal tracking device, etc.

http://www.shape.com/eatright/7847 - Answers to your top ten questions about calories (GREAT, basic and easy to understand!)

http://www.self.com/challenge/welcome the self challenge – how I lost 28 pounds (a simple way to exercise correctly and eat right)

http://mypyramid.gov/ - the best way to find out what foods your body needs

http://www.fitday.com – How to track your calories easily and effortlessly with this online food journal.

http://www.calorieking.com – Online database of calorie counts, including fast food chains, restaurants, and other common foods

http://www.dietfacts.com – Great resource for calorie counts in restaurant items. Features an A-Z listing of all restaurants in their database.

Fitness, Exercise and Workouts:

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/fitness-beginners-guide - Fitness 101 great advice and definitions - a great place to start if you're new to exercising or always feel like you don't know the names and definitions thrown around

http://www.self.com/fitness/calculators Once you start working out, find out how many calories you are burning with different activities (sometimes it's a lot less than you think or maybe even more). It's good to know so you don't overeat or undereat.

http://www.shape.com/tools/calc/burned/ Another place where you can calculate the amount of calories burned (based on weight, activity and length of time)

http://inshapewoman.blog.com/1832539/ - You'll soon find out that walking doesn't burn nearly as many calories as running. Get over your fears of jogging and read my post called "Beginner Runners"

http://fitsugar.com/218213 - why strength training is important for weight loss - You don't just need to do cardio, you also need to pick up the weights - and this article tells you why!

http://rodale.typepad.com/coachjenny/2007/06/losing_fat_gain.html - You might find out at first you're losing fat and gaining muscle - but don't fret if the scale actually goes up when you start this new lifestyle, it's most likely only temporary and this article explains why that is.

I am at a healthy weight, I workout regularly, and eat healthy. But there are still a few unfinished "goals" out there that I have not reached. Nothing huge, nothing that would make me fall in to an eating disorder or exercise obsession, but fitness goals that I have yet to reach.

These goals are best embodied in the following pictures. Both are a part of my body that I'd like to be a little more toned. Try to guess who these two lucky gals are. Once you think you know, click on the picture and you'll find your answer.

Happy guessing.

1. Arms and Shoulders - yum

2. Those abs are rock hard.

What is your fitness goal? Who is your inspiration or ideal? (Please please don't say nicole richie)

My all-time favorite columnist, Chris Rose, wrote a wonderful piece a few days ago about the lack of quality playgrounds for children in New Orleans. He tried taking his children to several playgrounds that had only one piece of equipment and over-grown grass and were quickly deemed "boring" by his kids. He heard about a company named Kaboom! that donated money and resources to build dynamic playgrounds for children in the hurricane-devastated communities. When Mr. Rose tried to bring his kids to one of the new "Kaboom!" playgrounds, they found them locked and chained (on a Saturday during the summer!!). This prompted him to write a very interesting and witty (like always) piece on how the children of New Orleans have nowhere open to play. That's a very sad thing.

The column brought back great memories of going to the park when I was a kid and sliding down that impossibly tall slide that made you go so fast you thought you were flying. It reminded me of all the summers we spent outdoors playing pirates, orphaned children and boxcar kids (yeah, like the children's book series). It reminded me of riding our bikes around the neighborhood pretending to be on horses (or unicorns). Ah, it was so fun. And the best part was that we were outside, using our imagination, sweating up a storm, and getting tons of physical activity.

I don't have kids - but I've worked at several day camps and it seems to me that a lot of today's children aren't playing outside as much. They have so much to occupy them indoors - video games, tv, internet, myspace (eek), etc. - that the art of playing outdoors and coming up with elaborate ways to keep yourself entertained all summer is completely lost on that generation.

And then I read this article about children (as young as 6!!) getting personal fitness trainers to help them lose weight, get fit, and "gain balance" WHAT?!? Yes, our kids are overweight, and yes, we need them to be active and fit... but outsourcing our children to gym trainers seems outrageously ridiculous and so "American."

Why can't these parents encourage their kids to go outside, ride bikes, go swimming, take up a recreational sport, throw a ball with them outside? I know they might be busy, but are you so busy that you can watch your child eat themselves into obesity??

It all coincides. Because then you have fathers like Mr. Rose, who really wants his kids to play outside, use their imagination and go wild, but unfortunately due to the idiocy that is New Orleans politics, his kids are limited to lame under-kept parks.

And so goes the cycle. We need to end it. We need to make sure every child has access to incredible and safe parks. We need to give them some outlet where they can be fit without going to a personal trainer! We need to encourage our kids to use their imaginations and have fun outdoors even if they don't have a Kaboom! park. We need to make sure our kids know that being active isn't a chore (like going to the gym to be with your trainer) but that it's a part of life. And it's a fun part of life. We need to go outside with the kids, and teach them "balance" on our own.

They're not going to be children forever, and the values you instill in them now will last a lifetime. So come home early from work, don't go to the gym, stop going to happy hour drinks, don't sign up for another professional association and GET HOME and PLAY WITH YOUR KIDS.