Laura's Workout Ways

Laura & I have been pretty good about going to the gym over the past year however we decided to step up our game considering we are in a wedding in Atlanta in less than a month. Motivating her is quite different than motivating myself, trying to offer advise to my wonderful Fiancé can sometimes become emotional.

"Are you going to make me Hot & Skinny?" were her exact words... Trick Question!!

So we decided to document the plan: 4 weeks working out 30 - 45 minutes 5 days a week with limited equipment at the gym. Start simple and work our way up.

Day 1: Legs

• 50 Walking Lunges
• One Legged Squats
• One Legged Calf Raises
• Wall Sits Between Lifts
• 15 Min Run at 5º Incline

Day 2: Cardio

• 45 Minute Interval Treadmill Workout
• Credit to @IowaGirlEats

Day 3: Core

• 2x THP Ab Workout
• Romanian Deadlift
• One Arm Dumbbell Snatch
• Head up to keep your back straight

Day 4: Cardio

• 30 Minute Incline Treadmill Workout 
• Credit to @PBFingers

Day 5: Arms

• Tricep Dips on a Bench
• Incline Seated Bicep Curls
• Dumbbell Military Press on a Bosu Ball
• 50 Girl Pushups :)
• 10 Min High Intensity Run

We will let you know how it goes!! Enjoy...

Fast Twitch Muscles

I am a firm believer that the world would be a better place if everyone was able to admit when they are Wrong!! After some research, one of my first posts on The Multidisciplinary Workout, which focused on Ab Workouts, was not necissarily the best advice...

I recommended 4 different Ab Exercises to be repeat once maybe twice; I will now admit this is not the most efficient workout because Abs are Fast Twitch Muscles ie they fire strong and will get exhausted fast. Therefore for Fast Twitch Muscles it is more efficient to perform aggressive exercises than multiple sets at a lighter weight. 

Back to Abs the best practice is subjective, especially when using your self weight but note that 100s of sloppy sit ups will not get you 6 pack abs. Personally I still stick to my core core lift of Super Crunches, squeezing at the top to emphasize the resistance. I also found a great new exercise, Side Plank with a Knee Tuck. No more than 20 slow reps and repeat... but maybe repeat the next day :)

It's hard to confirm exactly which muscles are Fast Twitch vs Slow Twitch as everyone is different. Sprinters will typically have a higher percentage of Fast Twitch Muscles compared to Distance Runners. If you want Size & Power check out these Tips for you body to develop Fast Twitch Muscles. If you're like me, a non specific athlete, and just want to be as efficient as possible in the gym heres one rule of thumb: Fast Twitch Muscle are likely pull muscles ie Biceps, Lats, & Hamstrings therefore respond better to less reps with heavier weight.

For the athlete seeking Muscle Tone & Endurance; check out guide to Slow Twitch Muscles!

NY Resolution Fail

I am ashamed to admit but after a month of my New Year Resolution I am giving up... Not because I can't handle it or too busy or one of the other thousands of excuses. I am giving up on my goal to run 1000k in 2012 because I lost 6 pounds in a month: Yep 164 pounds to 158... 

Now some of the weight was fat, more was muscle which was is not my goal... L says I look too skinny but the tipping point for me is my arms look small!!

I do enjoy the Cardiovascular component to running however prefer to focus on maintaining muscle mass so Sunday I got back to my normal Chest routine. The new Polar Heart Rate Monitor I got for my birthday :) beeped at 165bpm after my first set. Then it hit me... I can keep my Heart Rate in the Cardio Zone while Lifting!!

My New New Year's Resolution: Log an equivalent amount of time in the Cardio Zone as I would by running 1000k... Swimming, lifting, biking, playing soccer, abs... the skys the limit!!

With some simple Algebra I extrapolated a constant from my past runs I refer to as The Multiplier. A ratio of pace over my average heart rate. The beauty of this is I can now compare ANY workout taking my average heart rate and time to equate the equivalent distance!! Example:

Using this same multiplier and working backwards from 1000k I would have to log 93 hours of exercise keeping my heart rate at 140bpm.

Let the games begin!! I've already logged 6:45...

The Multidisciplinary Workout

I feel everyone's perception of the way to a perfect stomach is through crunches... lots and lots of simple crunches. The issue with crunches is only works the upper part of your abs. There is a lot more muscle between your ribs and hip bones then we realize, wrap the muscle all the way around you body and you get your core. I got my fitness assessed at the start of this whole journey and my core makes up the same muscle mass as one of my legs, a quarter of my bodies strength...

I watched a video back when that recommended "If your abs are sore, keeping working them... everyday!!" I would fully support this, even if just a little bit to make sure they know you still care. So what I started to do is integrate abs into every other workout I can; which is what I refer to as The Multidisciplinary Workout. For instance:

• Standing one legged EZ Bar Curls and Dumbbell Tricep Extensions
• Incline Dumbbell Bench and Flys with Leg inverted
• Dumbbell Front Raises or Curls while chair sitting against a wall
• Lunge start, barbell shoulder press and push the back leg forward to finish with one knee in the air

The last one is my new favorite!! Also can be done with cables lower chest raises with the cables down low, the further forward you go the harder it is to hold your arms outstretched while balanced on one leg. After a few weeks of this plus moderate ab workouts every other day I really started to feel my abs flexed throughout the day, much more stable. Try out my typical ab workout:

• 10 short scissor kicks followed by a leg raise, consecutively repeat 10 times
• 20 super crunches with elevated feet like the image above, I like to stagger my legs
• 20 finger pushes, with legs elevated 12 inches off the ground place your hands flat by your side and push your fingers forward 3 inches or so...
• 100 bicycle kicks then planks until I collapse
• Repeat twice with reduced reps as needed
• Try not to fall out of bed in the morning

The Forest

In the spirit of the holiday weekend, cheap plane tickets, and my new found ambition to get healthy Laura and I booked a last minute trip to Nepal... A nice resort in The Gokarna Forest just outside Kathmandu. A place to read and write and relax with amazing spa deals and spiritual enlightenments. Now I don't want to turn this into a travel blog by any means but this place was pretty sweet!! Mornings filled with Nature Hikes trying to avoid the leaches and monkeys while the Himalayan Massages consumed the afternoons.

I think more than anything the time away from reality... the opportunity to gather my thoughts was the major highlight. We woke up each morning to the sound of rain outside our open window, a situation I rarely find myself in these days, and went to the 8am yoga class. Now I've yoga'd before but by no means would I appear to know what I was doing. Luckily the class mainly consisted of some light calisthenics, some twisting, stretching, breathing funny, closing eyes, opening them slowly, etc... very minimal up dog tree airplane stuff. My favorite part, however, was the mediation... 20 minutes at the end of each session where we could escape to a tranquil place and relax our minds... relax our face, relax our arms and our legs. Our first instructor pretty much asked us to relax every bit and piece you can think of, with no filter. Quite entertaining. 

Either a run or a quick sauna session in 72 degrees celsius, depending on the rain, usually followed. Then onto breakfast filled with fresh juices, omelette guy, some nice morning curries, and an assortment of fruit. One in particular I recently found out is a superfruit, Papaya  http://ow.ly/5tXDP along with Pears and Pineapples and Mangos and Cute Little Bananananas made me very happy as I prep'd for the busy day ahead!! 

That afternoon we took a trip through the winding dirt roads and into the heart of the city. Lots of shopping and strenuous negotiating took place over the next couple hours. One spot "Boudha Stoupa" was filled with monks praying and tourists commingling as we all walk clockwise around this specular circular monument, we must have made at least 15 laps. Upon return we went straight to the spa and contemplated the next indulgence as we sipped on our seven spice tea. In Proper Healthy Fashion I decided upon the Detox Algae Wrap not really sure what to expect other than a small Nepalese women rubbing green paste all over me. It started with a nice scrub down followed a quick shower and an invigorating algae lotion application. Laura was next to me laughing when they started wrapping me up like a big burrito fueling the giggling masseuses. Anyways, they put the heat on and massaged my face for about a half hour and all I could think about was tearing free in a cloud of hissing steam, transformed like superman with a perfect 6 pack. That obviously didn't happen but hey, at least it removed some of my harmful toxins... and much easier than a leach would, hehe. Will just have to work on those abs.