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Informative Articles

Current Dietary Recommendations in Strength Training
Efforts to expand the limits of human strength and endurance have kept the scientist and the athlete occupied for centuries. The quest for another pound of muscle, or to lift next couple of kilos has been relentlessly pursued in the gym and the...
Ho, Ho, Holidays, Stress, and EFT
Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas, or to some, Bah, Hum Bug. The holidays are once again upon us. What once used to be "I can't wait until Christmas" has now turned into "I can't believe it's almost Christmas again." For many the beginning of the...
No Time For Exercise? Try This!
“Fitness” is an elusive term covering a vast array of attributes: flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, strength, power, balance, coordination, body-fat percentage and more. While its generally accepted that multiple 30-60...
Review of Curves
Review of Curves by Renee Kennedy Overview: According to their web site, Curves is the largest fitness franchise in the world. Curves offers a 30 minute circuit training course. They have 13 pieces of equipment. All of the equipment is hydraulic,...
Targeting Those Trouble Spots
Wouldn’t it be great if you could get rid of that excess fat on your stomach or tighten up those hips and thighs? How many times have you tried diet and exercise to target your trouble spots only to see slow or no progress? How many people do...
The In-Office Emergency Nutritional Kit
Tired of having stare-downs with those boxes of Krispy Kremes, trays of brownies, and platters of cookies some well-intentioned but nutritionally clueless co-worker brings into the office? Be prepared for these and other nutritional setbacks at...
 
A Cardio Snob's Workout


As I peruse the pages of various holiday issues of my favorite fitness/womens magazines I notice many articles about the benefits of practicing yoga at this stressful time of year. At the risk of sounding like a cardio snob, if I have 30 minutes a day (if I’m lucky) and i have to get into a special outfit in about a month and a half. I am not spending that 30 minutes taking cleansing breaths and stretching.

Don’t get me wrong, if you exercise regulary year round you can absolutely benefit from a yoga class 1 maybe 2 times a week. However, if you are now just starting a routine in hopes of fitting into a size 8, then mama get ready to sweat. Here is the routine I recommend.

Pick 3 (or at least 2) cardio activities to save you from burnout (see list below).

Perform 1 of these activities at least 30 minutes (45 or 60 minutes if your schedule allows) 4 times a week. This should include a 3-5 min warmup and 3-5 min cool down (you can stretch while you wait in the deli line).

Perform strength training moves using free weights, stability ball or nautilus machines for 30 minutes (preferably 45 or 60 mins) 2 times


a week. This should include 3-5 min warm up and 3-5 mins stretching. Make sure to concentrate on whatever body part will be exposed (arms, back, calves, legs, shoulders...you get the point).

Do remember, after this routine kicks you into gear and gets you into your holiday outfit... CONTINUE!!! You can add wonderful activities like yoga, kick boxing, pilates, meditation and the benefits will be: a strong body, a beautiful posture, tons of energy and a radiant glow. But for now you just need to get into that halter dress!

Cardio options:

running

walking

treadmill work

elliptical trainer

spinning

aerobics and/or kick boxing

bike riding

roller blading

stair climber

Valerie is mother of 2 and co-founder of www.million-dollar-mama.com" target=new>http://www.million-dollar-mama.com a website devoted to helping mothers rediscover their favorite hobbies like travel, fitness and girls night out.

val@million-dollar-mama.com