Universal Fitness

Sunday January 20th Today, I switched my workout up a little and went into a gym for weight training. Pre workout warm-up: Elliptical: 30 minutes altering incline and speed Stretching Routine: 5 minutes lower body / core stretches After my initial warm-up I performed 1 set and 10-12 reps of moderate weight for the exercises below. I did this to help avoid excessive muscle soreness / pain and to focus on muscle fiber recruitment for strength. I also monitored my rest between exercises to be between 30 seconds to a minute to add a cardiovascular component. (my enjoyment) Warm-up: Pull-ups:  Dips:  Workout: Bench Press:  Lat Pull-down:  Shoulder Press:  Bicep Curl: Tricep Press: Cooldown: Dips: Push Ups: (to failure) My goal for this workout was to avoid injury and unnecessary  / excessive  muscle   soreness or pain. Both goals were accomplished. I don't believe that exercise should be associated with pain.  Pain is a sig...

Monday January 14th 1 mile jog on the downhill route.  Today ran about 1 mile or so on the downhill path. Did 2 intervals of backward jogging uphill.  Check out this video for downhill running technique:

Saturday January 11   Hill/Jog/Stair workout.  Felt kind of sluggish today.  Completed 2 sets of push-ups to failure and 1 set of ab crunches on a park bench.

The  ACSM recommends  30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise for 5 days per week; or, 20 minutes of more vigorous intensity exercise for 3 days per week. How do I measure whether my activity is moderate intensity exercise vs. vigorous intensity exercise?  Maintain intensity via Target Heart Rate Zone. Moderate Intensity: 50-70% of Max Heart Rate  [(220- age)X.50] - [(220-ageX.70] Ex. 40 year old: 220-40 = 180X.5 = 90; 180X.7 = 126 Target Heart Rate Zone for Moderate intensity = 90-126 beats per minute. Vigorous Intensity:  70-85% of Max Heart Rate  [(220- age)X.70] - [(220-ageX.85] Ex. 40 year old: 220-40 = 180X.7 = 126; 180X.85 = 153 Target Heart Rate Zone for Vigorous intensity = 126-153 beats per minute Another thing to remember in your exercise program is calories! (1 lb of fat = 3500 calories). The  exrx.net  website reports that the ACSM recommendation for caloric expenditure from exercise is 1000 calories per week. That equals about...

Saturday January 6th 1.5 mile run.  No special them for this workout just a light jog.  This run felt much better or easier to go entire distance without stopping.   For more information about the benefits of jogging and/or running, check out this article on the Australian Better Health Channel http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Running_and_jogging For information on how exercise such as jogging can enhance better bone health check out this article http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Bone_Health/Exercise/default.asp

Monday December 31st Approximately a one mile run or so which included hill/stairs workout of San Francisco, CA to focus on legs and balance.  I completed the following exercises focusing on building legs/butt and lower body. First part: 1 mile jog, incline incline hills, intervals with backwards walking up hill 1 minute stair climb, 2 sets Second Part, 12 lbs weight, 2 sets of 12 receptions: Squats  One Legged Deadlifts Jumping Jacks

Saturday December 29th 1.5 run/walk.  Did not feel well today but completed a workout and met my goal.  Point for today is to maintain your goal.  If you don't feel like working out then walking (a most underrated exercise) is better than nothing.  Walking has many benefits which should not be overlooked.  Walking is simple and easy, requires only a pair of shoes and gets the body moving and can enhance physical fitness and well being.   For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking http://www.startwalkingnow.org/whystart_benefits_walking.jsp