Good Vibrations...

This time of year can be particularly stressful for all of us in one way or another. Transitioning into a new school year wreaks havoc on even the most laid back child or parent. As the summer drifts away, we realize we’ve got a lot ahead in the coming months; be it work, school, holiday gatherings or end of year quotas to meet. With the precarious economy and unknowns in the workplace, we could spend our entire day worrying about what’s to come. Being a professional worrier, it’s particularly hard on me. Over the years I’ve looked for ways to calm the anxiety from meditation to medication, but I’ve found my best results through exercise.
As I was growing up, my mom believed that exercise was the key to life; even back in the 1960s. If something was bothering you, just go for a walk. According to her, it solved everything. Even when my dad became ill she still took him on a long walk daily. He was able to overcome some symptoms for a time, but more than anything, I think the walks help my mother cope with his illness.
It took me a while to follow her example, but I coped with the stress of my first teaching jobs by taking aerobic dance classes, and even went into labor with my first child during a class. The anxiety of being a new mom was lessened as I walked for miles, pushing my children in the stroller, and pumping up my heart rate.
According to The American Council on Exercise, exercise provides an outlet for negative emotions such as frustration, anger and irritability, and promotes a more positive mood and outlook. Our mood is improved by the production of positive biochemical changes in the body and brain. Regular exercise also reduces the amount of adrenal hormones your body releases in response to stress, decreasing the stress hormones such as cortisol and increasing endorphins. Endorphins are the body’s natural feel good chemicals, and when they are released through exercise, your mood is boosted naturally.
Over the years, spending time lifting weights or on a cardio machine at the gym, going on a walk, or taking a fitness class has helped me cope with the stress of moving to a new city, job changes, and trying to be a “supermom” (Sorry, there’s no such creature!!). In a way, working out has been a selfish act. It’s MY time to focus on my reps, my miles, my heart rate, my progress and forget about whatever is gnawing away at my nerves. It’s still there when I’m done, but I’ve had some time to clear my head and it never seems as difficult to deal with after I’ve exercised.
And unlike the weight loss, body shaping and physical health benefits of exercise, it doesn’t take long to reap the emotional benefits. Even 20-30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise can kick up your mood. A leisurely walk may activate a couple endorphins and let you forget your worries for a bit, but an intense run or aerobics or spinning class could make your day.
I’ll admit it. Mom was right. Exercise is the best medicine for coping with stress. So make and take the time to get your heart rate and your mood elevated. The payoff will be worth it!

ABsolutely Perfect

Whether we’re sporting a 6-pack on our belly or more of a keg, we’re always looking for the elusive perfect abs. Ask 10 trainers what the best exercise is for abdominals and you’ll get 10 different answers. It seems research on “core” training and abdominal work changes daily, but the key to working your abdominal muscles is really knowing where they are and actually working those muscles; not assisting with your hip flexors, arms, back or neck. Going too high on a crunch can be counterproductive because the abdominals are MOST involved up to the point that your shoulder blades come up off the floor or bench.
As always, quality over quantity is a must to effectively train your abs. Speed is not the key to perfection. Exercises performed too fast will end up recruiting the wrong muscles. I’ve seen people trying to rush through their obligatory 100 sit-ups, hurting their neck and back, while completely missing the muscles they thought they were working.
Personally, I like to work my abs every day, but I only do 3-4 sets of one type of exercise per day, varying it throughout the week. That way I focus more on the specific exercise than “getting my abs done”. Since I change my workout about every 6-8 weeks, I usually pick and choose from the following abs exercises. I’m open to new and different routines, but here are a few that work for me:
Exercise Ball Pass with Leg Lift
Lie face up on the floor with your legs extended, holding an exercise ball overhead with your shoulder blades just off the floor.
Lift your legs and place the ball between your lower legs. Return to the floor; your torso remains still thru the movement.
Reverse the motion to return to the start. Repeat for about 10-12 reps.
If your back starts to arch, don’t lower your legs as far or you’ll lose the contraction in your abs. The contraction is more important than how high or low your legs go. You can also slightly bend your knees.





Decline Bench Sit-Up
Set a decline bench to appropriate angle for your level. (Lower is easier, higher is more challenging). Secure your feet underneath the rollers.
Lie back with your torso, shoulders and head just off the bench.
Inhale and contract your abs to lift your lower body.
Curl your shoulders up to raise your torso, stopping short of a 90⁰ bend at your hips.
Exhale as your lower your torso halfway back down. Repeat 10-12 reps



Seated Leg Lift
Sit crosswise on a bench with your glutes slightly off the bench and your hands gripping it just outside your hips.
Lean back and raise your legs off the floor, knees slightly bent.
Lean torso forward while bringing your legs slightly toward the chest.
Exhale and tighten abs, then return to start. Repeat 10-12 times.




Roman Chair Knee Raise
Although I really prefer to do a hanging knee raise holding straps from a high bar, most gyms either don’t have the straps or make them hard to locate. The roman chair is usually more accessible.
Rest your forearms on the pads so they are parallel with the floor.
Inhale and bring your knees up in front of you at a 90⁰ angle and hold in the raised position for 1-2 seconds as you exhale.
Keep your elbows stationary and use your low abdominal muscles to lift; not the momentum of your hips or shoulders. Return to the start position.
You can also work your obliques by raising your knees to one side of your body, then down, then raise to the other side. Repeat for about 12-15 reps.




(The women demonstrating this exercise are my college roomates. When we got together last fall, we learned a lot from one another during our group workout)
These are my “go to “ ab exercises, but I will add more in future posts. Again, even though I know you don’t want to hear this, abdominal training strengthens the abdominal muscles, but it does NOT decrease the size of the adipose cells, skin fold thickness or abdominal circumference- You need to reduce your total body fat through both exercise and NUTRITION.

Blame it on the ca-a-a-a-a-alories!

Summer seems to bring out the exerciser in all of us. Nice weather, fewer clothes, and for many, more time. Without the burden of the school year and extra activities, we can devote more time to working out. The gym floor is busier and the aerobics and spinning classes are crowded. People are sweating, turning red, and spending extra time training. But, the chief complaint I hear from people is, “I’m exercising like crazy, but I haven’t lost any weight!”
If you've increased your exercise time, but aren't getting the weight loss results you expected, it could be that you've also increased the number of calories you consume. It doesn't take much food to cancel out the calories burned through exercise. And while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. Then it causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued, and on and on and on.
You might be eating more without even realizing it. Maybe you feel that because you've had a good workout, you deserve a reward or maybe you feel hungry due to the increased calories your body burns post exercise. Whatever the reason, you need to plan your food as carefully as you plan your exercise. Remember that water hydrates better than any sports drink and doesn’t add calories. If you eat before you exercise, choose a glass of skim milk, a small container of low or non-fat yogurt, or a piece of fruit ( around 100 calories each) and skip the sports drinks and energy bars which can add anywhere from 200-350 calories before you even start.
After you’ve sweated up a storm, what do you do? During a study of two weight loss groups (both were given a list of foods to include or leave out of their diet, but only one group exercised) conducted by Dr. Timothy Church of LSU, he discovered that the group who exercised felt they deserved “compensation” after a hard trip at the gym. Consequently, they either ate more or moved less throughout the day. Do you swing by Starbucks for muffins and coffee or hit Panera for a bagel? Even the “healthy” smoothie at your gym can pack about 400-500 calories. If you’ve worn your heart rate monitor (and that’s how you’ll really know what you’ve burned. Remember, the machine calorie counters are LIARS!!) , you’ll see that you’ve likely only burned 200 or 400 calories, which you're going to neutralize with that first sip or big bite!
The bottom line to weight loss is burning more calories than you eat. Calories in vs. calories out. If you eat 2,500 calories a day and only burn 2,000, you gain weight; if you eat 1,500 calories and burn 2,000, you lose weight; if you eat 2,000 and burn 2,000, maintain weight. Duh!!! Exercise alone has little impact on the scale because it's far too easy to eat back all the calories you burn exercising. Walking very briskly for 30 minutes burns about 150-200 calories—the equivalent of a bowl of oatmeal. Even if you run 7 miles in an hour burning about 800 calories, you can wipe it out with a plate of pasta and caesar salad.
So make all of your hard work count for something! Diet and exercise work together, so write down what you eat and write down the results of your workouts. Keep exercising, but don’t use it as a free pass to gluttony!!