Leg Day

 When I go to the gym I always do cardio. I always do some AB workouts and I always do some weight work.

I work my biceps and triceps.  I work my chest and shoulders. I work my back. I don't always work my legs. My legs have always been larger than my arms so I feel out of proportion most of the time. I do try to work the legs once a week to keep them strong and toned.

I usually work out alone most days and don't have a gym buddy so I have nobody to remind me about leg day.

I'll just leave these photos down here to help motivate you to remember to work the legs too.

Morning Workouts

When my Wife and I started eating better and exercising more we had joined a local nutrition club where we learned a lot and we exercised with them as well as at home. They helped us get started but they have moved their club to be closer to where they want to be. I'm very happy for them but I miss the Boot Camp workouts they did weekly.

Since they moved I've had a harder time doing workouts at home. Many of us have busy lives and fitting in a solid 30 to 45 min workout sometimes is hard between helping with homework or cooking dinner or the thousand other things families have to do.

We decided that if we wanted to maintain our level of fitness that we would have to workout at different times during the day, so we joined a gym. My wife goes during her lunch break for a 30 min workout and heads back to the office.

I can go to the gym after work, but I sometimes cook dinner so we plan it out that my afternoon sessions coincide with a slow cooker dinner. What I really enjoy is hitting the gym before work. There are only a handful of people there, I have my pick of the machines and the locker room is cleaner. I only have to get up a half hour earlier and can get in a 45 min workout most days and still get to work on time.

I pack my lunch the night before and put my work clothes in the car. I get up, put on my gym clothes and head straight out. Then I feel good for the whole day and I can still go home and walk the dog after dinner and maybe squeeze in 20 min of yoga for a good end of the day stretch. We still get out on the weekends for hikes and bike rides or just a walk around town when time allows. The goal is to find what works for you.

Find the time to workout when you can, wherever you can, for as long as you can. Just Get Moving!

Workout Calendar

I was looking for some new motivation as Iv'e just got back from vacation and needed some motivation and came across this image. I like the idea of putting a sticker or stamp on a calendar to mark when I do a workout and what type. If I do Yoga or hit the gym and do cardio. Each activity can have a different sticker. Or simply mark the calendar with a marker, sharpie or highlighter.

Just put the calendar in a place where you will see it everyday and know of you skipped a workout or not.

You can find this and much more Motivation over at The Berry.

Percy's Peaks New Hampshire, USA

We embarked on a trek with the goal of reaching the summit of North Percy peak last week, but due to the rain that had fallen making the steep trail slippery we decided to call it a day early.

Percy's Peaks are a twin mountain formation with a north and a south peak with North Percy topping out at 3430 feet. It was a sunny day and we had a great hike up to about 2200 feet where the trail got steeper. It was a good place to stop and have lunch.

Large bolder left by retreating glacier.

View of the valley at approx 2200'.

View looking up the mountain from 2200'.

Push Up Routine

Push-Ups. Yes the most basic of body weight exercises can be the most boring right after sit-ups. I know I should do more of them and most routines can be too difficult for some of us just getting back to this exercise.

One of my personal goals is to be able to pass the Army Fitness Test I had to pass when I was enlisted. That meant being able to do 40 push-ups in under 2 minutes. The Army administers the test differently today giving points to how many reps you do based on your age. You must score 60 points in order to get a pass for the push-up portion of the test.

To get myself back to that "Combat Ready" level, I've tried a new way of doing push-ups.

Its really simple. I started at 8 push-ups, then rest for 8 seconds, then I do 7 push-ups and rest 7 seconds, repeat in descending order until you get to 1. Do the math. 36 push-ups in about 3 min. Based on the current Army fitness test standards for my age group I scored a 70.

Now I was really struggling at the end and you should start where you feel comfortable doing the exercise with the right posture. Continue doing them until you can get through them all, then start at a higher number.

After doing this routine every other day for awhile I should get to 42 push-ups pretty quickly, and that's the passing score of 60 for a 17 to 21 year old. Hooah!

Before and After Workout Eating

In the past year since my Wife and I began learning how to live our healthy lifestyle, we learned volumes about nutrition and how our bodies utilize the different compounds.

Now that we are working out regularly and I am hitting the weights more often we wanted to make sure that we were fueling our bodies to be able to work out. Yes, the goal is to burn calories that are stored as fat, but you need more to go on to get the fire going to get the fat burning.

So I did some checking and many people have the same opinion on eating prior and after a workout.

Fitter Brain, Fitter Body

My Workout - Boot Camp

I try to attend a Boot Camp style workout at least once a week. I've found that its a good change of pace from the regular workouts I do and challenges many of my muscles in ways I could not imagine. 

The one's I've been attending have been done through my nutrition club but many gyms have been adding them to  their workout schedules. I've even seen trainers offer them as personal training classes. If you haven't tried one yet, I suggest you do. Especially when its performed outdoors. 

Most Boot Camp Workouts are a variety of body weight exercises, push ups, sit ups, squats, etc. or variations of the same combined with core building, jumping and running. Boot Camps can be done where everyone does the same exercise at the same time or broken into smaller groups and you rotate through different stations, or both.

Its a great way to challenge yourself and improve your cardiovascular health while building your muscle strength.

Do NOT Skip Meals!

Rapid Guacamole Ala Fieri

For a quick and simple Guacamole take three Haas avocados, seeded and the meat scoped into a bowl. I like to rough chop the avocado so its chunky. Then add three tablespoons of Guy Fieri's Salsa Verde and mix it up. Let it sit for an hour and serve.

Serve with Ryvita or Wasa crackers for a great tasting healthy snack. You can add more salsa to taste or your favorite spices to jazz it up some.

No, I'm not getting paid for this. It's just good and easy.

My Workout - Office Abs

During the Winter months its hard to get out at lunch time for a walk or a run and my fitness center is too far away to get a 30 minute workout done during lunch.

I do have space at work to do some simple exercises to keep my abs toned up and I don't feel like I'm wasting the day not getting a workout in.

Below is my 10 min Office Abs Workout.

1 Min 30 Sec: Seated Knee lifts

·         Sit up straight, lift both feet off the floor 3 inches and contract your abs, hold for 10 seconds. Repeat.

1 Min: Seated bicycles

·         Sit on the edge of your chair and lean back some; start moving your legs in a pedaling motion for one minute.

1 Min: Seated Russian twists

·         Sit on your desk or floor, lean back and keep your knees bent and feet off the floor. Hold a water bottle, or clasp your hands together and drop your hands next to your hips to the left, then the right. Repeat for one minute.

1 Min: Front plank

1 Min: Left side plank

1 Min: Right side plank

1 Min: Crunches

1 Min: Leg drop

·       Raise both legs toward the ceiling. Breathe in and tighten your abs. Exhale and slowly lower your legs until they’re about four inches above the floor (or as low as you can go without lifting the small of your back). Pause and breathe in. Breathe out as you raise your legs to the starting position.

1 Min: Scissors

·         Raise both legs toward the ceiling. Keeping them straight, lower your left leg until it’s about six inches off the floor. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor and grasp the back of your right leg, gently pulling it toward you. Switch legs and repeat on other side.

30 Sec: Seated Bicycles 

Rest for 15 seconds between exercises.

If you are feeling ambitious, do a second set with a 1 min rest between sets.