Robin's One Stop Fitness

North America is in the midst of a heat wave! Temperatures across much of the USA have topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit for several days. How can you stay cool and exercise outdoors? When the weather is sweltering, you have to take extra precautions to avoid dehydration and overheating. Your body sweats to help keep you cool, but when the temperature and humidity are high, your sweat will not evaporate. This can lead to high body temperature and even heat illnesses. Heat-related illness can be life-threatening, so you must take steps to stay cool when exercising outdoors on hot, humid days when the temperature is 80 degrees or above. 

Exercise in the early morning or evening hours. The temperature will soar once the sun is shining brightly in the sky and won’t drop until after sunset. Midday is the hottest time of the day, so avoid strenuous activity outdoors during this time. 

Drink plenty of water! During hot weather, drink at least 2 eight ounce glasses of water every hour. Consider drinking a sports drink with added minerals and electrolytes to replace salts and minerals lost  from sweating. Wear loose-fitting clothes so that your skin can “breathe” and wear a hat with a brim to protect your face from the sun. Be sure to use sunscreen to protect exposed skin. 

Consider working out indoors. If you normally run outdoors for 60 minutes, ride a stationary bicycle or jog on a treadmill indoors instead of running outdoors. Go swimming at an indoor pool for 30 minutes instead of running to get a great full body aerobic workout. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can be deadly. Take some precautions and stay hydrated to avoid heat-related illness. 

Working out with a partner can be fun and motivating. You can workout with a spouse, a friend, a co-worker, your children or your neighbor. Play a game of one-on-one basketball, tennis, racquetball or table tennis. Walk together or ride bikes as a team. Try some of these easy-to-do, effective exercises with a partner.

Throw a medicine ball back and forth. A medicine ball is a weighted ball that can give your arms, chest and abs a great workout. Stand about 10 feet apart facing each other. Plant your feet solidly on the ground about hip width apart. Hold the medicine ball at chest height and toss the ball to your partner. The catching partner should also be braced with feet planted solidly on the ground. The catcher should keep their hands at chest height to catch the ball. Toss the ball back and forth 10 times or more. Try different throwing forms, overhand, underhand and straight from the chest tosses. 

You and a partner can get a good workout pulling on some resistance bands. Stand facing each other. One partner loop a resistance band around his or her back and the other partner grasps the handles of the band. The partner holding the bands can perform some biceps or triceps curls while the other partner braces his or her entire body to resist the pull of the partner. Do 10 repetitions and then switch places. 

Do some exercise ball squats with your partner. Stand back-to-back with your partner. Place an exercise ball between you and your partner. Slowly lower your body toward the ground in a sitting position. Hold the position for 5 seconds and then slowly stand up straight again. Repeat the exercise ball squat 10 times. 

Cool, sweet bell peppers and juicy tomatoes are a couple of the delicious vegetables and fruits that are versatile. They can be eaten raw in salads, stir-fried with other vegetables or added to soups and stews. A couple of tomatoes, a bell pepper and cucumber combined in a juicer makes a refreshing, healthy vegetable drink. Stuffed peppers or tomatoes with whole grain pasta, shallots and topped with low-fat mozzarella cheese for a healthy, low-fat lunch. Peppers and cherry tomatoes are a delicious addition to grilled foods. There are many health benefits to eating bell peppers and tomatoes. 

Both tomatoes and bell peppers are loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C and lycopene. Lycopene may help protect against cancer, such as prostate cancer. Lycopene also helps keep LDL cholesterol low. Beta carotene is an antioxidant that has been associated with a healthy immune system. Bell peppers are a good source of beta carotene. Add some fresh summer tomatoes and bell peppers to your diet and start enjoying the flavor and the health benefits of these great summer foods. 

Summer means short skirts, short pants and skimpy swimsuits. It’s never too late to get started on a fitness program. Add some thigh-trimming exercises to your regular workout and healthy, low-fat diet. Walking, swimming, bicycling, jogging and running are great ways to burn calories and trim down overall. Walking, stair climbing and bicycling are especially good aerobic exercises for burning fat and for toning and trimming the hips and thighs. In addition to your regular workout routine, add a couple of easy-to-do exercises that target the muscles of your hips and thighs. 

Strength training is an excellent way to tone and firm the muscles of the hips. Women are sometimes reluctant to strength train because they are concerned their muscles will get too big. Bulking up big muscles requires a high-calorie, high carbohydrate and protein diet combined with heavy weight lifting.  It is unlikely that a woman eating a nutritious, low-fat diet will “bulk-up.” Strength training for the legs, hips and thighs will firm the muscles and give you a toned, strong appearance without the rippling, bulging bumps of huge muscles under your skin. 

The step-up exercise works the front and back of the thighs. The back of the thighs can be a trouble spot for many women. Use a step aerobic stool or stand in front of some steps or a staircase. Stand close to the stool or stairs. Hold the stair rail or use chair for stability. Hold on to the chair and stand up straight. Step up onto the stair with your right foot. Push your body upright using your right foot and bring your left foot beside your right. Step back down from the stair on your right foot. Bring your left foot back beside your right foot. Once you get the rhythm it’s step up, step down, step up, step down leading with the same foot. Do 20 repetitions leading with the right foot and then 20 step-ups leading with your left foot. 

The side leg raise works your hips and your thighs. Lie on the floor on your side with your legs straight out in front of your body. Keep your legs close together and one foot on top of the other. Lean on your elbow and support your head with the bottom hand and place the top hand on the floor in front of your belly for balance. Point the toes of your top leg and slowly lift your leg straight up toward the ceiling as high as possible without causing pain. Hold the stretch for 5 seconds and then slowly lower your leg back on top of your other leg. Repeat this exercise 10 times on each side. 

Most everyone has heard of the four basic food groups. We’ve learned that we should eat a variety of foods from each group every day. How can we be sure we are eating the right foods in the right amount? The old food pyramid has been replaced by the food plate. The food plate is an easy-to-understand option to determine whether you are choosing the right combination of foods.  At least half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables. One quarter of your plate should be grains and the final portion of your food should consist of proteins. Your protein should consist of lean meats with all the fat trimmed off prior to cooking, beans, eggs or poultry. Your whole grain choices can include brown rice, wheat, barley, quinoa or whole grain pasta side dishes. Try to avoid over-cooking your vegetables to preserve the flavor as well as the vitamins and micro-nutrients. Try steamed, grilled and raw vegetables instead of boiling. The fruit portion of your plate should consist of fresh fruits and fruit desserts made from fresh whole fruits. Low-fat yogurt with fresh berries is a delicious, nutritious dessert option. Drink water and low-fat or skim milk with your meals to get the extra vitamins and calcium for healthy bones.

Combine your healthy diet with regular exercise and enough sleep and you are on your way to a leaner, healthier you!