The Strength

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Elliptical

The elliptical trainer is one of the most popular cardio machines at the gym because it requires a negligible learning curve to use this equipment, and is low impact and easy on the joints.

It targets the quads, glutes and hamstrings and can pack a 10 calorie per minute punch when done at a moderate intensity.

A wonderful machine for people recovering from plantar fasiitis, as it is a non impact cardio machine.

Workout example:

Time Resistance Crossramp Goal SPM

0-4 6 10 170+

4-8 7 10 170+

8-12 8 10 170+

12-13 12 10 170+

13-14 2 10 120+

14-15 13 11 160+

15-16 2 11 120+

16-17 14 12 150+

17-18 2 12 120+

18-19 15 13 140+

19-20 2 13 120+

20-21 16 14 130+

Repeat minutes 12-21 one more time until you reach 30 minutes. Cool down for 5-10 minutes.

Give it a try the next time you get on your favorite elliptical!

The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent! Arnold Schwarzenegger

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Motivation

Meet Samson! He is the new addition to our family! I know...how cute! But where is the motivation?!

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog!

What are you fighting for??

Think about that one for a bit :)

Friday, September 16, 2011

I know that this is not technically a "Health and Fitness" subject...How ever I think "mental health" is just as important as overall health! I firmly believe that if you love something you must share it with your friends....I'm lovin The Salon by Marian Davis!

For years I colored my own hair...years! Occasionally I would get it trimmed, I have long hair...no style. It worked...so I thought! I started getting darker and darker. I thought I looked exotic! Not so much...Apparently death warmed over was more like it! Someone actually asked me if I was going "Goth"! At 42?! I don't think so!! So I went to a,salon (not The Salon,) to get my hair lightened ...long story short...I had brown yellow/orange hair, I looked like a calico cat! I freaked!

A friend of mine, who has the most beautiful hair, suggested Marian. I went and fell in love with her and her salon! Not only is she honest with you and your locks, and she makes you feel like a Rock Star when you're done! The time that you get to spend at The Salon is awesome, from the cool boutique in the front room, to the incredible head massage during the shampoo! Marian makes you feel like you are a queen! If only for an hour or 2!

Maggie, Lauren, Nikki, and Gretchen...(I'm forgetting one! I'm sorry!) are all wonderful as well! If you have not been happy with your hair color or cut and are close to Harmony Pa. (even if you're not, it's worth the drive!) I highly recommend them! Oh! And they also give fantastic pedicures (thank you Maggie!) manicures, and waxing!

Go pamper yourself ! You're worth it!!

There is nothing permanent except change

More Spaghetti Squash recipes!

I have a plether of spaghetti squash from this seasons crop!

Here is another wonderful dish...I went vegetarian...no, just kidding! The recipe is though!

2 cups spaghetti squash

3 oz portabella mushroom diced

tomato

2 cups organic baby spinach

1 oz onion chopped

1oz yellow pepper chopped

garlic clove minced

1 tbls reduced fat blue cheese

2 tbls lite rice vinegar

Steam spaghetti squash in microwave (1 minute per pound). Saute onion, pepper and garlic, add portabella mushroom, spinach, tomato and rice vinegar. Cover and let the spinach and mushroom cook down.

Place 2 cups of spaghetti squash on a plate and add the spinach mushroom mixture over squash. Sprinkle reduced fat blue cheese over top and dig in!

Nutritional info:

Calories: 175

Fat: 3.51

Carbs: 32.8

Protein: 9.2

The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Broccoli...Yummmm

I love Broccoli! It was one vegetable in my garden that I did NOT give away...Mine, mine, all mine! You should love broccoli too, and I'll tell you why.

Broccoli is full of nutrients and phytochemicals thought to reduce cancer risk. Broccoli helps maintain bone structure, boosts the immune system and supports the digestive system.

Broccoli is an excellent vegetable to eat if you are fighting a cold or flu bug due to its high vitamin C content. A bowl of steamed or cup of juiced broccoli may be more potent than orange juice.

Broccoli is rich in folate and carotenoids, including betacarotene and luten (great for the eyes). It is also rich in vitamin K and has adequate amounts of zinc, manganese, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, sulforaphane and indole-carbinol.

Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Bodyweight Exercise Cardio

Try turning body weight exercises into a cardio circuit. To set up your circuit, select a calisthenic exercise (jumping jacks, mountain climbers, burpees) an upper body exercise (pushups, pull-ups, and chin-ups) a lower body exercise (squats, lunges) and an abdominal exercise (mountain climbers, lunges, stability ball jackknifes).

Use a repetition range of 10-15 reps per exercise and do the circuit continuously until you complete the time you are going for. The continuous motion keeps your heart rate up and helps build muscular endurance.

Beginners should start out with 10 minutes of body weight cardio intervals, 15 minutes for intermediates and 20 minutes for advanced. These are a great replacement for long boring cardio sessions on the treadmill.

There is nothing permanent except change.~

Monday, September 12, 2011

Goals

I am a goal oriented kind of girl. When I was 208 pounds, my goal was to exercise everyday during my boys nap time. My goal was to get out of my husbands jeans and into mine. It took almost a full year, but I lost 60 pounds.

One winter after I packed away many holiday treats, I needed a new goal. I decided to train for a sprint triathlon. That summer I participated in 3 sprints, one June July and August and I lost the 10 pounds I had gained over the winter!

Create an attainable, realistic goal. Now take that goal and break it down into short weekly goals. For me to look at the 60 pounds that I wanted to lose, was daunting! So I broke it down to small attainable goals, like exercising during nap time, 2 pounds weight loss per week. If I lost 1 pound one week, I felt like "Half way to 2 pounds, not bad". If I looked at that same pound and my ultimate goal, I would have been like "Big freakin deal...I've got 59 more to go, I suck!" Accentuate the positive! It works!

So think about where you want to be, make a goal, break it down and achieve it! You can do anything you set your mind to!

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.~Unknown Author

Motivational Quotes

You must act as if it is impossible to fail.
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself!
Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.
Whether you think you can or you think you can't, your probably right!
If you are sick of starting over, you have to stop quitting
You won't fail if you're not perfect, you'll fail if you're not committed to improving yourself slightly each day.
We can reverse years of damage to our bodies by deciding to raise our standards for ourselves, then living differently. Old wounds heal, injuries repair, and the whole system improves with just a few changes in what we put into our bodies and how we move them.
Failure is not fatal; failing to change will be."
Food for Thought: The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Strengthen Your Desire! Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.
Success is not a race, be patient.
It's not about how good you are, but how bad you want it!
Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go..."
"Never trade what you want the most for what you want at the moment"
"Success is not a place that we aspire to, it is a process in which we live by. Often the only ingredient being the ability to not quit"
Be specific in what you want, and use specific words. Empower yourself, and become the person you dream about
That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased."
The odds of hitting a target go up dramatically when you aim at it." ~Mal Pancoast
At the beginning of any task, more than anything else, your attitude will affect it's successful outcome.
Do or do not. There is no try.~Yoda
Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means, effort, pain, difficulty.
Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear."
There is no one giant step that does it. It's a lot of little steps."
Start doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you'll be doing the impossible!
"My life tomorrow will be the result of my attitudes and the choices I make today."
People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily. Zig Ziglar
"Clear your mind of can't." ~Dr. Samuel Johnson
"Any experience can be transformed into something of value. Everything depends on the way you look at things. You cannot have the success without the failures.
What are stumbling blocks and defeat before you, can be stepping stones to victory if you remain determined.
Listen closely: the only time it's too late to change yourself is when you're dead. Until then, you're simply making excuses or lying to yourself.
If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got!
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently". ~Henry Ford
What we think or what we know or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do. ~ John Ruskin
Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality." ~Ralph Marston
One definition of insanity is: Doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result.
"If we defend our habits, we have no intentions of quitting them."
Your past does not equal, nor does it dictate, your future
Do you choose to simply know the path, or do you choose to walk it?
Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down...
When one approach is not working to reach the desired goal, that's not a reason to abandon the goal. Instead, it is time to devise another approach."------Ralph Marston
Discipline is remembering what you want.
Knowing is not enough, you must apply.
Make the decision, then do something - no matter how small - toward accomplishing what you want.
Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable. ~Wendy Wasserstein
Food for Thought: The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Strengthen Your Desire! Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.