Category: Creative Exercise

Pizza Hut, Isometrics, and Stretching, Oh My!

Morning,

Today is Day 7 after my surgery! And my leg seems to be healing quite nicely indeed.

One of the exercises for which I had been given a go-ahead is isometrics (that of tensing and releasing your muscles). Thus, yesterday saw me, and my husband and my kids sitting at Pizza Hut for a treat. The children were having a blast playing with the menus, and I decided to start isometricizing my surgerized leg, contracting and releasing my thigh muscles ( rectus femoris and vastus lateralis and satorius ) for counts of 5 seconds. This worked out rather well.

At home, I practiced balancing and stretching my good leg. Hey, I can’t do my usual gym workouts, so anything that gets me vaguely moving I view to be a good thing!

This goes to show you, even when you’re physically in lousy condition, you can still turn on a dime and find something, anything, that will give you a bare minimum of exercise. I’m pretty pleased with my success.

Time to make the donuts,

Barbara

ps -Want some thigh workouts? Consider:

Reviews of Shawn’s Hip Hop Abs

Morning,

One of the most popular infomercials out there today is Shawn T’s Hip Hop Abs. The question is, of course…..does it work?

Well, I’m a firm believer in, if something gets you up and moving with consistency, of course it will probably work. But researching it for yourself is a very good idea as well!

Here are some great resources:

I think you’ll be able to get lots of great answers for any of your questions.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – you can get some great hip hop abs over at:

Graduated to a cane, healing going well

Morning!

Well, yesterday saw me graduate to using a cane for my hobbling about. I’m pleased to say it appears that I’m healing relatively well, but of course, I’m making darned sure I don’t push it!!

Yesterday was spent being actually quiet (ha ha! Yes! It did happen! I was quiet!) and resting and designing graphical banners for The Safe and Smart Internet Weight Loss Edge and …well, you know, that sorta stuff. Today I have to write a few ezine issues and then start promoting it to the waiting world. The fun never stops!

Speaking of canes, did you know you can use a cane for self-defense? It’s really quite an extraordinary weapon (especially in the hands of a master). Here are some neat sites about that:

I had the pleasure of taking a cane class from my karate dojo awhile back, and wow, it was great! I hope to attend it again.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – More canes!

Looking for The Biggest Loser resources online?

Morning,

One of the most popular shows on TV these days is the reality show The Biggest Loser – the TV show in which lots of overweight people compete to lose the most weight possible.

It’s quickly developed its own cult following and is extremely popular online. I really have to give credit to the marketers behind the scenes – you can buy Biggest Loser membership access, the Biggest Loser cookbook, the Biggest Loser DVD, the Biggest Loser apparel and much much more. It must be an awesome moneymaker for the investors!

That being said, here are some great resources if you want to commune with other Biggest Loser fans.

These links above, btw, are part of the 900+ categorized resources I offer in the Safe and Smart Internet Weight Loss Edge. Cool, eh?

Enjoy!

Barbara

ps – more BL goodies are:

5 Days and Counting – The Gift of a Day

Morning,

Well! 5 days and counting until the slicing and dicing. And it just can’t come a moment too soon!

But in other good news, today is a positive day for me leg-wise; I woke up feeling rather refreshed and capable. After designing my FabFitMom affiliate tutorial, I went off on my beloved circle walk. It wasn’t too cold but you could tell rain was in the air with lots of gusting wind that buffeted my body while walking.

Oh, it was glorious! It so reminded me of those days in college when I’d sneak out during any rainstorms or hurricanes or what have you and experience the elements. And I realized….this morning was the Gift of a Day for me. In 5 days, I’ll be on crutches and not able to walk for the foreseeable future; I’m extremely grateful to the universe for having experienced this one adventure before I go to the hospital.

Life is never stagnant! Just because you might today possess the body shape of an overgrown eggplant and have the flexibility of a chuck of concrete…that doesn’t mean tomorrow will see you the same way.

The future is yours and what you choose to make of it. So honor yourself…and make it well.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Barbara

ps – want Thanksgiving goodies? Consider:

How to get Flat Sexy Abs and a Flat Stomach and a ….

Good morning,

Flat abs. Flat abs. Flat ABS!

Turn on any TV infomercial in creation and chances are, you’ll see ads for gizmos that guarantee “flat abs” if you use it religiously (and of course, add in diet and exercise and all those goodies too).

The thing is, however, you already HAVE flat abs. Abs, by their nature, are flat muscles. Your abs, however, are probably simply covered with fat.

To get a flat stomach, you need to lose weight all around. You simply cannot decree, I shall drop the 44 pounds that are currently glomping onto my waist! Spot reduction is a myth – you cannot say from where you’ll begin to lose.

Flat AbsI wrote a free report on the ultimate Abs exercise – simply click on that picture and sign up for free to receive it! You’ll find lots of resources for other abs exercises as well…not to mention, the key trick towards successfully losing weight and keeping it off.

Remember, sellers of infomercials and other quick-fix products are often simply selling you the dream. Become a smart consumer instead – you’ll uncover the weight loss and exercise program that works best for you.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Still want abs stuff? Consider:

When your body tells you NO WAY IN HECK!!

Morning,

Well.

Well well.

Well.

I’m due for surgery now in 12 days (that’s the good news!).

The bad news is that my leg problems are increasing daily. I started my beloved circle walk….and after 100 feet, realized…it would be utter insanity to continue it.

So I came back home.

I’m at a crossroads yet again in my life. I want to continue exercising…and at the same time, I know I must give my leg a rest. Thus, perhaps I’ll simply lift weights later on today. But what a personal shock it was for me to realize my current state.

In the interim, I reviewed our dojo’s sword demo, and was able to transcribe all 106 moves. I will bring this paper with me to the hospital; might as well teach myself something while I’m in recovery.

I find myself wanting to be several people at once. I want to run away and hide…yet I want to continue with my karate/self defense until the last possible moment. I want to be by myself so I can drop the confident facade….and at the same time, I want to be in front of my colleagues and conquer all my fear and pain and overcome my current worries. I want to prove to myself that no matter what happens in my life, I will not only survive…but thrive.

12 more days and counting.

And life goes on,

Barbara

ps – Pedometers are great for walking, did you know that?

The fear has disappeared – fighting past your little voice

Morning,

About 1.5 months ago or so, I experienced an amazing array of emotions during one of my Kendo (Japanese swords) classes. It was the first time I had really sparred, and I had been put face to face with utter, blinding fear. You can read about it over at this post.

Well…yesterday I had my beloved kendo practice again, and I was debating about taking it easy (what with surgery scheduled in 12 or 5 days). But hey, knowing me, I threw myself into it with quite a lot of enjoyment…and then it happened.

I realized something most neat!

I have no fear anymore when doing kendo sparring.

True, I’m still quite incompetent in it (although I am learning to block vaguely decently!!). But when I faced off against my opponent, all of that “eeek I’m gonna DIE!” feelings….were simply not in existence.

This experience has shown me that life is never static…what you fear today might be conquered by tomorrow. You should never give into the little voice that bleats, you will fail, you cannot do this, you’re better off not even trying….instead, you should honor your inherent greatness.

It was a very good class indeed. :)

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – a good award for breaking past fear can be:

When your body says no to exercise, introduce it to 300 pushups…

Morning,

Today’s workout in the gym was most unique. I had planned on doing my usual 53 minutes on the treadmill (today was supposed to be cardio day!) but fate instructed otherwise. It seems that the massive physical exertions I’ve been doing in self-defense, karate, teaching my kids, etc.etc.etc…..have finally caught up to me. I didn’t feel anything on Saturday, nor on Sunday, nor on Monday, nor on Tuesday, but today, simply artistic bruising magically appeared on my hips/back and shoulder blades. My gosh, do I ache! I must have bashed deep-muscle tissue last week, and it took this long to come to the surface.

So! There I was, faced with a treadmill and legs that started laughing at me at the mere notion of working out. Cardio was definitely a no-go today!

But that didn’t mean I had to forgo exercising completely. Just because one part of my body was begging to collapse in a heap doesn’t mean I can’t turn on a dime and work out something else!

After considering all options, I decided that walking the track and doing pushups would be an acceptable alternative. Thus, after every 3 or 4 laps, I’d do 50 pushups. I ended up completing 300 pushups in batches of 50 and lost count of my laps.

End result? I did get a workout….and did protect my legs in the process. It goes to show when the going gets tough, you don’t simply stop and say, wah wah, I had better take it easy…you simply change directions and work out to the very best of your limited abilities.

I’m feeling pretty good now, indeed. :)

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Treadmills are still lots of fun, of course….

Review – Taebo and Billy Blanks anyone?

Morning,

One of my absolute favorite workout DVDs is Billy Blanks and Taebo. Have you tried them out yet?

I really like Taebo because of the martial arts aspect and his motivational commentary during the workouts. Most of Billy’s participants are quite in shape and some of them are rather elderly as well!

Billy Blanks by himself is most inspiring as well. A dyslexic child, he could have given up yet chose instead to make something magnificent of himself. He began his study of the martial arts at the age of fourteen and became most proficient, winning several local, state, and national championships. He emerged as a seven-time world Karate champion, and holds a seventh-degree black belt in tae kwon do.

There are some excellent articles about him such as:

Billy Blanks, Tae Bo creator and motivational speaker, asks a lot of questions: What is physical fitness’s great enemy? What is the most powerful thing in the world? What does man think of man?

But the 50-plus fitness innovator, who became an overnight sensation in the late 1990s, seems to have the answers as he speaks to his large audiences. The Erie, Pa., native knows all too well about self-limitations. It wasn’t until he was 35 years old that Blanks was finally diagnosed with dyslexia, which had impeded his learning ability and his financial success.

Physical limitations also proved challenging for this 6-foot, 185-pound, seven-time world karate champion. Blanks took his first martial arts class at age 11 and discovered how the movements helped him correct a hip joint anomaly which impaired his movement. Short tendons that wouldn’t stretch or exhibit flexibility held Blanks down until he began to push himself beyond his own boundaries through determination, discipline and spirituality…..MORE…..

Want to see what others say about Taebo and his workouts? Check out:

If you’re looking for an extremely challenging workout, do yourself a favor and check them out! You can get great deals on Taebo from your local Freecycle as well as eBay and Craigslist too.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Want TaeBo? Check out: