Robin's One Stop Fitness

You spent a lot of money to stock your pantry. You have snacks, canned foods, quick meals, flour and oil. You’re stocked up for the month and chances are you will be eating what is in your pantry. The food choices in your pantry might be one of the reasons you can’t drop those last 10 pounds no matter how much you work out. Check your pantry for those diet-defeating goodies.

The worst foods for you and your family include those that are high in sugar, salt, solid fats and refined flour. Soda and sweetened drinks are the worst offenders for empty calories from sugar. Foods with empty calories are high in calories, but provide little or no nutritional benefit. Energy drinks are on this list too. Opt for tea and water instead. Sweetened cold cereals made using refined flour are big diet disasters. Choose cold cereals made with whole grains without any added sugar. 

Cakes and cupcakes are obviously going to add empty calories to your diet. Choose whole grain muffins, fresh or dry fruit and yogurt for deserts and snacks.  Popcorn can provide some fiber and nutrients, but steer clear of the extra butter and movie theater butter varieties. They can be loaded with saturated fat and sodium. The same is true of chips and cheese flavored snacks. Unsalted nuts are also a healthy snack choice. 

You expect Pop Tarts to be full of sugar (about 16 grams of sugar each) but you might be surprised to learn that even the more healthful sounding cereal bars or packaged muffins contain about the same amount of sugar (or more) than your typical toaster pastry. Otis Spunkmeyer brand muffins contribute about 30 grams of sugar per 4-ounce muffin, Weight Watchers muffins add about 20 grams of sugar per 2.2-ounce muffin, and a small Nutri-Grain cereal bar has 13 grams of sugar.

Most canned soups and canned vegetables contain a lot of sodium. Most canned foods contain an entire day’s worth of salt in just one serving. If you have high blood pressure, kidney disease or are just trying to cut down on your salt intake, these foods are a no-no. Select no-sodium or low-sodium varieties of your favorite canned soups. Buy fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned foods.  

You probably have some pasta in your pantry. Is it made with whole grain or refined flour? Switch to whole grain pasta to eliminate refined flour and add more fiber and nutrients to your pasta dishes. Use extra virgin olive oil and canola oil for cooking and salad dressing to eliminate saturated fat from your diet.

“I don’t have time to exercise.” Have you said this? No matter how busy you are you always have time to exercise. It would be best if you could find time to do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise each day. If you can’t manage a whole half hour, set aside just 15 minutes each day to do some cardio exercises. Your body will thank you. 

Exercise machines are available in every gym. These days even most small towns have a gym with a treadmill, an elliptical machine, a stair-stepper and an exercise bike. Plan your route to and from work so that you have to drive past the gym to remind you to stop in for 15 minutes and work up a good sweat before going home. Stair-steppers, ellipticals and stationary bikes are low-impact exercise machines, so they are easy on your joints. Your legs and abs will get a good workout too. 

Swimming places virtually no impact on your joints, but is a whole body strengthening cardio exercise. The water supports the weight of your body so swimming is ideal for people who have knee pain or have difficulty doing weight-bearing exercises. The water creates resistance that your muscles have to work against as you swim through the water. Even if you don’t know how to swim, you can still take advantage of your local swimming pool. Water walking is a vigorous cardio workout.

Try some equipment-free cardio exercises in the comfort of your own home in less than 15 minutes. Jump roping, mountain climbers, dancing, stair climbing, burpees, jump squats, kickboxing and jogging are all excellent choices to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time.

The easiest way for busy people to get a good cardio workout is to walk. Walking is low-impact and you don’t need special equipment to do it. Walking increases your breathing and strengthens your heart. Because walking is a weight-bearing exercise, it’s good for your bones too. A brisk 15-minute walk each day before work, during your lunch break or after work can help you stay fit. Combine your walk with a low-calorie diet and you can lose weight, too.  

Can too much exercise be a bad thing? Exercise is an important part of your healthy lifestyle. You should get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day and strength train a couple of days each week. Your body needs good nutrition, adequate sleep and moderate exercise to remain healthy and humming like a well-designed machine. But you can overdo it. Excessive exercise can cause serious health problems and interfere with a balanced life. If you experience any of the signs of excessive exercise, slow down and rest. 

One of the signs of excessive exercise is poor performance and fatigue. Your muscles need time to recover from exercise, especially strength exercises that work your muscles hard. You might misinterpret poor performance as the need to exercise harder and longer, but the opposite is true. More exercise only makes you feel more fatigued and decreases your performance even more. You might be exercising too much if you feel tired instead of energized after a workout. Take 2 or 3 days off from exercising to rest and allow your body to heal. 

Your heart rate naturally increases in response to exercise. After exercise, your heart rate returns to a normal resting rate. If your heart rate is taking longer and longer to return to a normal rate following exercise, you might be overdoing it. If your heart rate is still elevated after a cool-down, slow down and exercise less. Headaches after exercising are another sign that you are working your body too hard. Most people sleep better when they exercise regularly, but if you are over-exercising you might not sleep well. You may wake throughout the night or have trouble falling asleep. 

Muscle soreness that doesn’t go away in a couple of days and exercising even when you are injured are definitely signs of excessive exercise. Your muscles need time to heal after a strenuous workout. You only need to do strength exercises 2 or 3 times each week on non-consecutive days. Choose a less vigorous workout or take a few days off to recover. When your muscles are no longer sore and your injury healed, start slowly and stick to a regular exercise routine. 

Most people will experience back pain some time during their life. Some back pain may be attributed to sitting for long periods of time. Your weight can also contribute to back pain. You can help to reduce your risk of back pain or prevent it altogether by doing some basic stretches that help to strengthen the muscles of your back and improve your flexibility. Losing weight by doing regular exercise and eating a healthy diet can help reduce the stress on your back muscles and may alleviate back pain. If you have a back injury or suffer from severe back pain, see your doctor before doing any stretching or strengthening exercises on your own. With your doctor’s okay, try some stretches while lying on your back.

Stretch your lower back muscles by lying on your back with your knees bent. Reach forward with your hands and grasp your left knee. Pull your knee as close to your chest as you can. Keep your other foot flat on the floor. Hold the stretch for up to 30 seconds and then relax and then repeat with your right knee. Do 3 or 4 repetitions on each side twice each day.

The next exercise is easy but will help stretch your muscles to relieve tension, especially in your lower back. While still on your back, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Press your upper back and shoulders flat on the floor. Roll both of your knees to the right as far as you can. Hold for up to 30 seconds and return to the middle. Repeat on the left side. 

Lifting your pelvis off the floor can help stretch the muscles of your lower and middle back to relieve tension and alleviate pain. Start in the same position as the previous two exercises with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Arch your lower back until your pelvis lifts toward the ceiling. Hold this position for 10 seconds and then relax. Press your lower back to the floor by pulling your abdominal muscles in toward your spine. Pull your abs in and press your back down until your pelvis tilts toward your head. Hold for 10 seconds and then relax. Try to do 5 repetitions of this exercise in the morning and another 5 in the evening. 

The weather is turning colder. The wind is blowing. Maybe there are a few snow flakes in the air. You just don’t want to go out into that blustery weather for your daily run. What can you do to stay on track with your exercise routine? Even when the weather turns cold and wintry, you can stay in shape by doing activities you enjoy or exercise indoors.

Use resistance bands at home while watching television or listening to your favorite radio station to strengthen your muscles. Rent or buy a couple of exercise DVDs and try some new dance aerobic and strength training exercises. Even doing regular housework is good exercise. Vacuuming, sweeping, mopping floors and carrying laundry are all ways to get exercise without having to brave the bad weather. Run up and down stairs or quickly jog from room to room. While watching television, drop and do 10 push-ups during commercial breaks.

Your local gym is another alternative to running or jogging outdoors. Use the treadmill to get your daily run or jog. Try out some new machines, such as a stair-stepper or elliptical machine. You might even want to try the cable machine or other resistance exercise equipment. 

If you do decide to go outside, bundle up with layers of clothing to stay warm. Beware of over-doing it and drink plenty of water. Other outdoor activities that are fun and give you a good workout include ice skating, skiing or even shoveling snow and raking leaves. 

Want to jump-start your metabolism to burn calories all day long? Exercise in the morning. Make exercise part of your morning routine until it becomes a healthy habit. It’s easier than you might think. Set your alarm clock 20 minutes or 30 minutes earlier than you normally wake. Start right in your bedroom with some stretches followed by some bodyweight exercises, such as sit-ups, push-ups or crunches. Do a little cardio, including some jumping jacks, marching in place or even jumping rope, before breakfast. Before work or the start of the rest of your day, eat a whole grain, low-fat, nutritious breakfast.

People who exercise for about 30 minutes before eating breakfast typically burn more calories throughout the day than people who do not exercise. As you lose fat and gain muscle mass, you will burn even more calories. Muscle requires more energy than fat, so the stronger you get the more calories you burn.

You can sleep better at night if you start your day with some exercise. You may also be in a better mood all day long. When you exercise your brain releases endorphins, or the “feel good” hormones, that improves your mood and gives you a sense of well-being. Start your day energized and feeling good. You’ll lose weight and have more energy all day long. 

Many people want to lose weight, especially fat on the belly, hips and butt. Belly fat is especially hard to get rid of and it’s dangerous to your health. Belly fat contributes to heart disease, diabetes and even some cancers. Doing exercises to strengthen your abdominal muscles will help you develop strong abs, but ab exercises alone won’t help you get rid of belly fat. Squats will help you build strong leg and back muscles, but won’t burn butt fat. Spot reduction or burning fat from just one part of your body doesn’t work. You have to burn fat all over your body. To burn fat, get plenty of aerobic exercise and eat a healthy, low-fat diet. An exercise ball can help strengthen your muscles on the days you aren’t sweating away fat by doing aerobics.

Doing sit-ups on an exercise ball strengthens your entire core, works your chest muscles and strengthens your legs. Sit on an exercise ball and spread your feet about 2 to 3 feet apart or until your body feels stable on the ball. Put your hands behind your head or cross your arms over your chest to help maintain your balance. When you do sit-ups, lift your body upward using your ab muscles. Avoid pulling your head up with your hands. Do push-ups by placing your feet on an exercise ball and your hands on the floor. This exercise is great for your upper arms, shoulders, chest and abs. 

Who doesn’t want a firm, strong, lean butt? There is no secret to getting a slim, trim butt. Diet and plenty of exercise can help you achieve the slim, firm figure you want. You can increase the intensity of some of your favorite butt exercises by adding dumbbells to your workout. Holding a pair of dumbbells when doing exercises for your glutes adds extra resistance and improves the effectiveness of your workout.

Take your step-up exercises to a new level by holding two 5-pound dumbbells during the exercise. Hold the dumbbells so that your palms are facing your body. Stand in front of an aerobic step-up bench. Pull your shoulders down and back slightly to straighten your spine and spread your feet about shoulder-width apart. Put one foot on the step-up bench and then push up to lift your body upward and then step onto the bench with your other foot. Step back down with the same foot you led with and do about 15 to 20 repetitions. Any exercise you do for your lower body can be made more effective holding some dumbbells. Hold a 5 or even 10-pound dumbbell in each hand when you do squats and lunges.

Improving your balance can be as easy as shifting your weight from one leg to the other. Stand up straight with your feet about hip-width apart. Place your hands on your hips to help you maintain your balance. If you are unsteady on your feet, hold onto a chair or table for balance assistance. Shift your weight to your left foot and raise your right foot off the floor about 2 inches. Hold this position for up to 30 seconds and then lower your foot. Repeat on the other side. Hold the position longer or do more repetitions as your balance improves.

Balancing on a pillow or Bosu ball works your leg muscles and improves your proprioception, or your ability to sense the position of your body. Balancing exercises shift your body’s center of gravity, which requires numerous adjustments by your muscles to maintain your balance. Place a pillow on the floor and stand in the middle of the pillow with your feet slightly apart. Slowly lift one foot about 2 inches off the pillow. Balance on one foot on the pillow for up to 1 minute and then change legs. Increase the length of time you stand on one foot or close your eyes to make the exercise harder when you can hold the position for more than 1 minute without wavering.

Heel-to-toe walking is a challenging balance exercise. Hold onto a table or counter if you have balance problems, feel unsteady or waver when trying to do heel-to-toe walking. Stand up straight and look straight ahead. Slowly place your right heel in front of your left foot and touch your left toes with your right heel. Lift your left foot, step forward and place your left heel against your right toes. Walk 10 or more feet. When this exercise becomes too easy, try it with your eyes closed.

Plyometrics is jumping, bounding, leaping and hopping to improve your muscle strength and increase the spring in your sprinting. It sounds like child’s play, but plyometrics is a serious workout that can improve your sprinting speed and endurance. Plyometrics, also called jump training, stretches your muscles out before contracting them and then exploding upward, forward and outward with great power. You and your coach can design a sports-specific plyometric training workout to help you become a faster sprinter.

Since sprinting requires forward motion horizontal to the ground, horizontal plyometric exercises just make sense. Horizontal jumps help to improve your lower body strength and stride length which equates to faster, more powerful sprinting. You should start to see results in faster sprinting times in about 10 weeks if you do plyometric training twice each week. Bounding is a good example of horizontal plyometric jumps. Bounding is like running using giant leaps forward by pushing off powerfully with your back leg.

You should not begin a plyometric training routine on your own. Your coach or a fitness expert should train you in proper technique. While jumping sounds easy and looks easy, if you don’t land properly, you could injure yourself and be on the sidelines for the rest of the season. The two foot ankle hop is an easy, but effective, plyometric exercise for beginners. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and stand up straight. Leap straight up using only the muscles of your ankles to propel you upward. As soon as you land, immediately leap straight up again. Jumping up onto and then down from a box will strengthen your calf muscles for explosive take-off power. Stand in front of a box about 12 inches high. Squat down a little by bending your knees and slightly hinging your hips. Leap up onto the box and then leap backward off the box.

Low intensity jumps are effective without putting a lot of stress on your joints. Squat jumps will help you develop an explosive take-off. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and lean slightly forward. Bend your elbows and keep them close to your sides. Slowly lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground and then explode upward. Land on both feet and then repeat. Stand beside a box about 12 inches high to do lateral jumps. Lower your body slightly by bending your knees and leaning forward from your hips. Jump up onto the box. Step down and repeat on both sides.

When you are ready, some high intensity plyometrics can take your training to the next level. High intensity jumps can take some practice, so don’t be disappointed if you don’t get it right the first few times. Prepare to do the highland swing plyometric exercise by standing up straight with your feet together. Bend your knees slightly and then jump forward as high as you can. Keep your knees bent and swing one leg forward and the other leg backward. Jump again alternating the forward and backward position of your legs as soon as you land on both feet. Get in a lunge position with one leg forward, the other back and your knees bent. Leap up into the air lifting your forward knee as high as possible while simultaneously pushing your back leg farther back. As soon as you land, leap up again. Do about 10 repetitions and then switch your leg position and do 10 more.