Drop it like it's hot

I lost a workout buddy this week due to an injury. This stinks! Workout buddies are the best; they give you that little extra motivation to get to the gym or work harder. She tore a ligament in her knee and was told to rest. I really feel bad for her, I have other workout buddies, but an injury like this can set you back and cause a relapse in weight gain and a backward slope that is difficult to reverse. I felt that today's post should focus on best practices on how to avoid injuring yourself during your workouts.

Bad advice: "No Pain, No Gain" or "Pain is just weakness leaving your body"
Good advice: "If it hurts, drop it like it's hot."

Following this advice first requires you to know the difference between regular muscle strain and pain. I find that a good muscle to try this out on is your hamstrings. It's usually a pretty tight muscle so when you stretch it, it can feel a little painful, that is usually a good test of what a stretch is supposed to feel like. Anything that feels like it's affecting your joints is a bad sign, and you either need to check your form or bag out of the exercise all together.

Next: Stretch. Stretch your muscles before and after your workout, and if you have the opportunity to do so, stretch during your workout. When you muscles are tight, they will not function properly and they will not be kind in return. Loose muscles on the other hand make your less prone to injury, you'll get a more efficient workout, and it will help with the amount of muscle soreness you feel the day after a workout.

Second, buy good sneakers and keep them for the gym, unless you're exercising outside, but that's another story. Also, if you're using them regularly, replace them every 6 months. When I replace my gym shoes, the old, seemingly perfect sneakers become my casual sneaks. That way I'm getting a year out of the $70-$100 pair of shoes that I invested in.

Lastly, don't try to compete with anyone else but yourself. No one knows your body better than yourself. Some workout days are going to feel harder than others, and you have to adjust your exertion accordingly.

Always challenge yourself but know your limits, because there is nothing like an injury to put the kibosh on your weight loss goals.

Step it Up!

Everybody has one exercise that the love, for me it's Step Aerobics.  Step Aerobics became popular in the late 80's, early 90's when everyone at the gym looked like Olivia Newton John in the "Get Physical" video. Here is that video for your view pleasure, sorry about the ad.  Does anyone else remember when the Internet was free? But that's another soapbox for another day



Step Aerobics is great because you can set your own level starting with no step at all and you can burn anywhere from 300-600 calories depending on your step level and impact approach, low impact (meaning no bouncing around) to high impact (jumping around the step like a rabbit on hot coals.)

Having a fun Step class depends on three things: A good instructor, fun music and a good handle on knowing your right from your left.  I am, how would you say, "directionally challenged."  My first Step class was embarrassing. I was all over the place, partially because I didn't know the moves, but mostly because I have a mental disability to be able to know my left from my "other left."  When the class was over, everyone in the class gave me encouraging words, shared the stories from their first time, and urged me to keep coming back, which I did. 

After a few weeks I could follow the routines, and after about 3 months I was able to complete the routines without stopping!  Most of the Step Aerobics classes that were available at my gym have been replaced with Spinning or Zumba or some other "en vogue" workout, but Step is a great way to burn calories and build endurance.  There are plenty of DVDs out there but it's really hard to follow a Step instructor on DVD because they are facing you, and if you're like me the whole "right/left" thing is blown totally out of the water making it impossible to follow.

If you are able to find a Step class here's how to prepare:

1. Drill yourself on how to walk up and down a single step.
2. Develop a taste for dance/party music, the kind where dude is hanging his head out the window because it's too loud in his car.
3. Get good sneakers. Be it low or high impact, it's still Impact so wearing good sneakers will protect your knees and feet from getting injured, Plantar Fasciitis anyone?
4. Know that it will take a few classes to get acclimated and learn the moves.
5. Bring a water bottle and a towel, because there will be a lot of sweat involved with this workout.

That is pretty much it! Hopefully you get a chance to try a Step Aerobics class before it goes away with the leg warmers it came in with.

Next post: "Don't drink your meals."

What's your motto?

Dieting and exercise clichés are a dime a dozen.  Let’s see if I can give you your 10 cents worth.

1. 1. “Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.”
2. 2. “You are what you eat.”
3. 3. “A moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips.”
4. 4. “No Pain, No gain.”
5. 5. “Eat to live, don’t live to eat.”
6. 6. “Everything in moderation.”
7. 7. “Eat wise, drop a size.”
8. 8. “Slow and steady wins the race.”
9. 9. “Quitting is not an option.”
10. 10. “Pain is just weakness leaving your body.”
11. 11. “If hunger is not the problem, food is not the solution.”
12. 12. “Commit to be fit.”

These are all clever; some of them are inspirational, yet others make me want to barf!  It’s often helpful to have words of inspiration to help you with any goal, especially diet and exercise goals.

Your motto should be as unique to you as your goals.  This will take some soul searching.  Write down on paper what your weaknesses are in regards to your goals, and think about where it is that you need inspiration.  You may find that you need to eat better or exercise longer.

I found that my motivation was lacking.  Trying to lose weight for summer, or for a wedding, or to fit in my old cloths wasn’t working so I searched deeper for a reason that was more long term, and also incorporated my exercise goals.

My motto has changed as needed.   For example when I first started exercising I need a goal that would help me finish my work out.  Hence the motto, “I can do anything for 5 minutes” was born.  This motto would go through my head during the hardest point on my work out, and it helped me get over the hump straight through to completion.

Today the motto still stands during more difficult workouts, but a new one has begun to emerge that is more geared towards my eating habits.  The new motto I have is “Do I really want it, and it is worth it?”  If the answer is yes to both than I have it, in moderation.

Everyone is different, so don’t try to cater your individuality into my or anyone else’s program, you’ll need to find what inspires you and go for it!

I’d like to hear your mottos, so comment and let me know!

Good Luck!

Next post: “Step it up!”

Spinning out of Control!

“We’re coming up on a team from UPENN, check out their matching uniforms. Get ready Team Animal, we’re going to blow past them on the left, in 3-2-1 Go –Go! PUSH, PUSH, PUSH! Faster than that! Faster than that! Yes you can! You can do it! AND… Recover. Bye-bye UPENN”

Nope I’m not on a cycling team. In fact, I’m not actually on the road at all, although I AM going about 100 MPH. This is my Tuesday afternoon Spinning Class at the Drexel University Recreation Center, led by Deb. Deb is a little powerhouse who likes to play 80’s hair metal and tries to make us throw up before the end of class, and I keep going back!

I never took a Spin class before this term, and here is my list of excuses why:

1. “I would feel like I was exerting all of this energy and not getting anywhere.”
2. “I prefer to do my work outs standing up.”
3. “I don’t want to buy special shoes”
4. “My legs would get huge.”
5. “Sitting for an hour, I think my butt would hurt too much.”
6. “It’s not a good time.”

Bullshit, all of it. The truth is I was a little scared. Spin class was an unfamiliar situation, I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t know how to set up my bike, I was afraid my butt was going to look ridiculous on that little seat, all of these things prevented me from stepping into that room of bikes.

What I learned during my fitness assessment is that I needed to add more cardiovascular activity into my workout schedule, so I took the leap. I went and talked to the instructor and she helped me set up my bike and I went at my own pace. At the end of the class, I had fun, I was covered in sweat, my legs were like Jello, and I’m totally hooked.

Moral of the story, be honest with yourself and don’t be afraid to try new things.

Next post: “What’s a motto? Nothing, what’s the motto with you?!”

Squats…why do you have to hurt so much?

I’m not, how would you say, the most graceful of ladies. In fact, I once acquired the nickname “Accident prone Andi.” Currently I am nursing a broken left middle phalanx, otherwise known as my left index finger. If there is a slick sidewalk, I WILL fall! If there is a low ceiling, I WILL hit my head! I’m more of a danger to myself than Bella Swann in the Twilight saga! I’ve been known to walk through screen doors, It looks a lot like this:

One time on my way to work at Taco Bell in Willow Grove, I was running to catch a bus that I thought was getting ready to leave, so I attempted to jump a small rail. I hyper extended my knee, and then proceeded to land on the same knee. It caused me so much pain that after I got to work, I blacked out and was rushed to the ER. Insurance you say? Not so much, I was 18 years old. This has become an injury that haunts me to this day.

After my last child was born, I developed crippling sciatica; back pain to the point where I was stuck on the floor, in the prone position for 2 days. When I was finally able to go see a doctor, she prescribed physical therapy. I’ve never been to physical therapy before, and I soon found out that it’s a sneaky term for exercise. 2 hours a day, 3 days a week for 3 months and I was feeling like a new person, I was hooked. Not only did this routine make my back feel better, it took away my winter blues, and I didn’t catch that cold I usually got around Christmas time. After graduating to a home program, I began to get bored exercising by myself, and that is when I discovered group exercise.

I picked a class that I noticed was doing exercises similar to my physical therapy, made a few friends and learned now to do squats. The woman next to me was easily 70 years old and made me look bad. Did I mention how uncoordinated I was? After the warm up, we did squats; everyone in the class was holding 2 8-10lb weights! 8-10lbs?! That is a pair of large newborn twins! I went with a pair of 5lbs and then placed them down on the floor 3 squats in.

Important things to know about squats:
1. While your butt goes out, your chest stays up.
2. Weight goes in your heels, so you are able to lift your toes off the ground.
3. Knees stay over your toes.
4. Squeeze your glutes to push back up.
5. You WILL be sore the next day, like “No, no son, you can’t sit on Mommy’s lap today, or the rest of the week” sore, so don’t try to keep up with the 70 year old lady holding 10 lbs weights because she’s been doing this a lot longer than you!

Group exercise is a part of my routine now. I’ve done most of them: Step aerobics, Yoga, Les Mils Body Pump, Spinning, Abs, Boot Camp, Circuit challenge, etc. People who attend group exercise classes are supportive and encouraging.

This is Lauren Dalton from the Drexel Recreation Center on group fitness.

If you have the opportunity to try one jump on it, and be sure to tell the instructor that’s it’s your first class and address any concerns that you might have. If you bad knees, wrists, back, they will be able to give you a modification to an exercise so that you can still challenge yourself without it feeling like it’s impossible. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll eventually learn to be more graceful.

Next post: “Portion control: Seriously, that’s the entire meal?!”