I am so bad! I forgot to post week 3! I am sorry about that. As you might guess, week 3 is identical to week 2 except for three minor changes. The first change is the amount of rest, which is now 30 seconds between sets. The second change is on the third day of lifting, when you do the dreaded burpees, do as many sets as you can in 20 minutes! That is right - AS MANY SETS AS YOU CAN! The last change is in the cardio section. This week, your three days are still two interval sessions and one 45 minute continuous workout. However, on the interval days do 40 seconds on - 40 seconds rest(18 reps) and 1 minute on - 1 minute rest for 12 reps! That's it!

I hope that you are all enjoying the workout. Please let us know if you are having difficulty or have questions about the routine!

Hope all is well... Karen and Christine!

So, how is everyone doing? You should have just finished week 1 and I hope that you enjoyed it. Christine and I just began week three and I must say that we are really enjoying the change. I have been a cardio fanatic forever and the shift to a total body workout has been a very welcome change. Although our goal is not to lose weight, I do feel as though I am becoming a little stronger and gaining a little definition.

The workout for week two is identical to week one but you get 15 seconds less rest between sets. For example, on day 1 you will still do your warmup but when you get to the core workout - you will get 45 seconds of rest between each set, not 1 minute. I know that it does not sound like a lot but it makes a huge difference. Also, if you can,  try and increase the weight that you are lifting. If you are using 10 lb weights, try and do 12. If you are using 12 lbs, try for 15. If this is too large of a jump, stick with the same weights but no more than 45 seconds of rest!

Enjoy week 2 and please send any comments or questions that you might have.

Karen and Christine

Week 1

So here it is.  Took longer than we thought and it was late at night so I'm sure we missed a few things.  If you can, invest in a pull up bar that goes over the door.  They are inexpensive and needed for a few of the exercises.  You can figure out another way to do things...but this is the most effective.  

Since I don't think I can attach a PDF here, I will send to your email addresses and try to post on Facebook as well.  

We have included the first week of workouts.  We have included links to youtube videos that demonstrate the exercises.  This workout is for beginners and intermediates.  The point is to really challenge yourself without getting hurt.  Use your judgement.  Use heavier weights if you can but keep in mind that you will increase weights each week.  You will also decrease rest time and increase cardio intervals.  Week one you will do 30 sec intervals.  Week 2 you will do 1 min intervals.  Week one you rest 1 min between sets.  Week 2 you rest 45 sec between sets.  ''

Gather your equipment.  Decide when you will begin.  Look over the workout.  Watch the videos and make some notes if necessary.  

Remember you will get out what you put in.  The harder you work, the more effective the program will be.  What you eat is important as well.  If we can help on this front, let us know.

Karen and I have been doing it for a week.  I have to say I'm really liking it because it is short but intense.  I feel like I've worked out but don't feel completely wiped out.  I actually feel stronger already.  I'm sure that's because this workout uses all muscles and makes you aware of them.  You feel your muscles.  You feel that you have worked. 

Good Luck!   Let us know how it is working for you and if you have any questions.  

2009...here we come!!!!!

Health Is It

Health is everything.  We've heard this a million times.  We know it's true but what do we really do to keep our health?  How much time and energy do we actually spend educating ourselves about the effects of eating, drinking and exercise?  Probably not a lot.  We tend to spend more time researching the laptop we want to buy rather than the foods we put into our body or what we need to do to manage our weight, our fitness and our overall health.  

At the age of 16, Karen fell while skiing and broke her back.  She was in the hospital for 6 months immobilized by 2 braces.  She was able to use one pillow.  That was all the movement allowed.  After these months, she was unable to remain upright without fainting.  She was unable to walk due to non use of her muscles and joints.  It took months to resume the fitness she had before the accident.  Since then, Karen vowed to care for her body having experienced what it's like to not be able to do what she loved to do.  Be active, be outdoors and be physically fit.  

I've been active my whole life enjoying many different sports.  I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and had an 8 hour surgery.  Two weeks after I was swimming in the ocean.  I believe my ability to recover so quickly was because of my fitness level.  Nearly 9 years later, I believe strongly that being cancer free has been due to my commitment to exercise and eating well.  Let me clarify something.  I eat  pasta, ice cream, rice pudding, Smart Puffs and a hot dog every fourth of July.  I drink wine regularly and have an occasional cocktail.  My diet is not perfect.  I believe in moderation and paying attention to how I feel before during and after I eat. Check out the difference in how you feel after eating a bowl of ice cream or after eating a salad with grilled chicken.   Ice cream tastes great going down....but then comes the inevitable crash.  

We are beginning this program to work on some areas we have been neglecting.  We've been heavy on cardio and light on weight and strength training.  As post middle aged women, we notice that despite the hours of cardio,  many parts are going south.  We want to firm up, get stronger and remain fit.  

We will be sharing programs designed for beginners and intermediates.  We are not trainers.  We are not certified.  You should probably check with your doctor before starting this or any other exercise program.  We are combining  pieces from many different sources, all of which we have utilized.  

This program will be as effective as you make it.  We will provide workouts, nutritional info, links to demonstrations of various exercises and lots of support.  It will be up to you to do it.  It will be up to you to find time, make time to do what you need to do.  If you require more information on anything, let us know.  We will do our best to get it for you.   

Here are the basics of the plan:

Exercise:

warm up

6   30-45 minute workouts a week

3 weight/strength workouts

2 cardio  interval workouts

1 active day (30-45 min of continuous exercise)

3-6  abs/core workouts

Nutrition:

3500 calories = 1 pound

Your body needs a certain amount of calories to live on each day.  

You can exceed this limit and gain weight or decrease and lose weight.

Basic formula:  Weight x 12 = # of calories needed per day to maintain current weight

Example:   130 lbs. x 12 = 1,560 calories a day to maintain weight

This means if you weigh 130 lbs. and consume 1,560 calories a day you will maintain your weight.  To lose one pound, you must decrease intake of  3,500 calories or burn more calories. So,  if you drink a 20 oz. Coke a day, eliminating this for 2 weeks will make you lose a pound.  Or keep drinking the coke and burn 250 extra calories a day.  Do both and you will lose 2 pounds in 2 weeks.  

We recommend eating 3 moderate meals a day with a couple of snacks.  Here is a list of the foods we think are best:

All vegetables

Skinless chicken

fish

whole grain bread

brown rice

nothing white (rice, bread)

fruit  berries and citrus are best

yogurt

salsa

beans

nuts

lean meat

sweet potato

no fried food (or very limited)

salad

vegetable soup

turkey chile

whole grain burrito with grilled chicken, brown rice, beans, avocado, salsa

oatmeal

vegetable omelet  (try 3 egg whites and one whole egg) 

protein helps to keep you from getting hungry.  if you eat eggs in the morning, you will feel less hungry in an hour than if you eat a bagel.  

There are tons of diets out there.  You have to find what works for you.  Something you can easily follow.  Eating right should not be looked at as a diet.  It is a lifestyle.  Something you want to do.  Something you do every day.  Not just for a limited period of time.   I think it is all about making choices.  You can choose to have a cheeseburger and fries or you can have a grilled chicken salad.  You can have a coke or a glass of water.  It's about choosing the best option most of the time.  Not the other way around.    I like Fit for Life.  I don't practice it because I actually lost too much weight doing it.  The premise behind Fit for Life is combing food.  You can eat whatever you want as long as you don't mix types of food.  You can eat steak with vegetables and or salad but not potatoes.  You can have pasta with veggies and or salad, but not with meatballs.  You can have any protein or starch with veggies.  You can't have protein and starch together.  This frees up the digestive system and leaves you with a lot more energy.  It works anywhere as well.  You can easily order a steak in a restaurant with veggies, no mashed potatoes.  Fit for life also says to eat fruit until noon.  This cleanses your body.  Fruit till noon works for some and not for others.  This "diet" is possibly outdated.  It's been around since the 80's.  I think it works and may be a good place to start.   Think about how you feel after eating certain foods.  Think about your lifestyle.  What do you think is the best way to approach a healthier eating pattern for you?  Something realistic and something different.  This is about changing what is not working.  

Equipment needed:

Good athletic shoes

Workout clothes

Dumb bells ( you will increase weight each week. you should start with something manageable but challenging.  women should not worry that you  will get big from lifting weights)  I recommend starting with 5 pounds the first week.  Men should start with about 20 lbs if you haven't been lifting.  

Good to have:   jump rope, bicycle, pull up bar, exercise ball, timer or watch/clock with second hand

Can use:   stairs, track, street, gym

We will post the first 3 weeks of workouts by Sunday with a Monday start date.  Sorry for the short time.  We are traveling and will be home late Friday.  

Any questions?  Post here or email.

Christinebenjamin@earthlink.net

KOrczyk1@mac.com