Category: Exercise

Lightning-fast reflexes in the morning!

Here’s a funny parenting thing.

I had to awaken my daughter early this morning. After she left her room, she hid right by my room with the nefarious plan of jumping out and scaring me.

Well! I walked out, didn’t see her, did see something move towards my face, and executed a perfect(I mean utterly perfect) karate block without thinking.

My gosh, was she startled and surprised (I had enough control to pull my block back before I made contact with her face)! “Mom, you were supposed to be scared, not prepared!”

Mommy rules! :)

Barbara

ps – I personally hate scary movies. These are much better:

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:

 

Believing in your children, believing in your students…believing in yourself

Morning,

Yesterday’s karate class was (as always!) quite an eye-opening experience. Ever since last week when our beloved sensei drilled us until exhaustion (but he didn’t break us!), my family has adored going to Wednesday classes. We view it as an Ultimate Challenge – will we survive without asking for a break? Will our warrior will beat that of our sensei? etc.etc.etc.

Anywhos, alas, yesterday brought a number of newcomers to the class, so the desired “Go ahead! You can’t break me!” test of wills didn’t happen. Wah! But! During one of our drills, we had to kick a pad down the room one way, and then back up the next.

My eldest daughter went against our beloved sensei…and when she threw her first kick, he….

Didn’t budge.

Didn’t move.

Just gave her a look that said, you honestly expect me to believe that’s your best?

It took three kicks before he finally did move. And he kept up that intensity the whole time….resulting in my daughter doing approximately 3 times the number of kicks the other students did.

Now, keep in mind the following. I had given permission for my kids to be tested at the toughest level possible….and wow oh wow, but my daughter finally gave a performance she didn’t realize she had in her.

Simply because….her sensei held her to a high standard.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to let kids know you believe in them…and to shun half-buttocked attempts and demand the very best they can do. My family is really lucky – all of our senseis at our dojo really know how to bring out the best in kids (adults too!).

So! The next time your child whines about something being too hard…and you know they can rise to the challenge – demand it. You might be surprised at the response.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Need some good study aids? Consider:

When the weight loss going gets tough, the smart and safe get savvy

Wouldn’t it be simply peachy and mango-y if all you needed to do to lose weight is simply eat less and sit like a couch potato?

Alas, life just isn’t fair (if it was, those white chocolate macadamia nuts would burn up 849 calories upon consumption), and to really lose weight effectively, you simply must exercise. Get up and go, move those muscles, get the blood flowing and the energy moving…..it’s a plain fact of life.

Exercise works.

But! What happens when you’re on track with your exercise routine and suddenly….life happens, and you have to turn on a dime?

That happened to me last month, actually…and let me tell you, it’s quite a difficult thing through which to work.

You see, I have a lousy bone structure, so intense jogging is out for me. Instead, I used to love becoming one with my beloved elliptical machine at the local YMCA – I had it down pat! HIIT activities, slow paces, fevered dashes, why, I could even do my karate blocking drill while walking backwards!

In a word, I had my exercise routine down perfectly for my particular body and shape.

Well, over the past few months, my weight loss has produced an astonishing negative side-effect – all of that disappearing fat seems to have aggravated a bone tumor I have on my right femur. Joy! Not! All of a sudden, going from sitting to standing started to cause physical pain – it’s gotten to the point that I have to hold in my thigh whenever changing positions like that.

Now…think about this on the elliptical. Knees go up, knees go down, tendons snap over my exostosis, and pain erupts. Wah! No more ellipticals for me!

But….but…..but. It would have been ‘way easy to simply sit down and give up…my delusional healthy view of myself has been shattered by reality!

I gave myself some time to feel a ton of self-pity…and then picked myself up and looked for alternatives. It turns out that the treadmill doesn’t aggravate my condition at all….and so now instead of ellipticalizing, I simply walk on the treadmill at a 15 level incline for 30 minutes, and spend the rest of the 23 minutes at various speeds/levels/etc.

End result? I get drenched in sweat, my cardio workouts seem to get easier and easier….BUT! Because I didn’t choose to give up, I’m still on the right path for my overall health.

Which brings me to my point!! Life….it happens. And when it happens, sometimes you have to simply accept the fact that you’re no longer in the same peak of health you used to be. But that doesn’t mean you must roll over and give up!

Instead, let out the inner warrior in you…give yourself permission to say, I might be down now, but I sure as hell ain’t out! And then pick yourself up and make your success happen. After all, if you cave into fear….nobody else will be there to make things right for you for the future.

The future….it’s in your hands, and your hands alone. Meet it boldly….your body will thank you for it.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Want to see treadmill goodies? Consider:

Resources for step aerobics workouts

Ever get an insane urge to beef up your aerobics routines?

If so, did you know there are bunches and bunches of places where you can download free workout music and uncover new choreographed moves?

’tis true! Here are some useful sites for you.

TurnStep.com

John’s Aerobics Routines

Expert Village Videos

iTrain

There are many different types of aerobics you can do! Step aerobics, even chair aerobics, ball aerobics, lots of aerobics. You can even get free previews (or even entire sets!) from YouTube like so:

YouTube Step Aerobics

Should you try the above out, do let me know what you think.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – need more great aerobics stuff?

Shapely Secrets, lose weight by breathing … is it for you?

Morning,

Over at one of my favorite forums, the question about Shapely Secrets still rages.

For those not in the know, Shapely Secrets uses isometrics to help tone/exercise your muscles in 7 minutes.

That’s the exercise.

If you look at the website disclaimer, you’ll also notice:

*RESULTS VARY. TYPICAL RESULTS ARE 1 SIZE AND 6 POUNDS IN FIRST 14 DAYS. RESULTS BASED ON 7 MINUTE EXERCISE AND 7 SECRETS DIET/LIFESTYLE PROGRAM. CONSULT A PHYSICIAN BEFORE BEGINNING THIS OR ANY EXERCISE PROGRAM. NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY CHILDREN OR PREGNANT WOMEN.

Methinks that “AND” is a pretty huge AND. If you’re on a good diet and lifestyle program, of course you’ll lose inches as well. It’s common sense.

Here are more resources for Shapely Secrets:

Fitness Infomercial Reviews

Makeup Talk Shapely Secrets

Bella Online Shapely Secrets

What’s that, you want to lose weight by breathing? Check out:

Breathing Exercises

Tree of Fitness

Oxycise

Ah. The joys of wanting to get something for the least little bit of exertion….it truly is inherent within us. But having now been on my weight loss journey for 11+ months, I really do believe that the most optimal way to get healthy…is the one that forces you to confront your personal barriers/limitations and break past what you thought you could never achieve.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – here’s what Oxycise looks like!

I am Woman, I am Mommy, I am Me, hear me Roar!

Morning,

A few days ago, I experienced one of the most empowering karate sessions in months! Class size was at a minimum (6 kids plus yours truly – many parent teacher conferences), so our beloved sensei decided to drill us in hand techniques until ideally, our arms fell off.

Now, here is some background. We did the same thing last week only with legs, but because I cannot kick well, I wasn’t able to participate fully. But this time, hand techniques are my specialty, so I decided to ramp up the intensity by proclaiming, hah, you can’t break me!

30 minutes later everyone’s arms in class were quite aching, but nothing that was utter agony for me. But! Our next challenge was to do 10 punches and then 10 pushups, ….repeated a total of three times.

It never fails. If I’m preparing for a massive physical effort, be it pushups, sparring, fighting, etc., I mentally go into myself, the world fades, and all that’s in my vision is my goal that I must first conquer and then utterly decimate. My kids noticed me getting quieter and quieter and more and more focused, and when it was my turn, I …. whupped everyone’s rear with my abilities! :) In other words, I was the only one to successfully complete the challenge without collapsing; I knew I’d succeed and didn’t have to think about it twice.

That by itself was wondrous, but the next hour capped the physical exertion – it was kendo “let’s watch Mrs. Ling get toasted with her non-existent blocks!” time! Lots of the class was spent doing footwork drills and then during sparring, yet again, I felt the full power of one of our main kendo guys. But this time, no fear ensued – I simply learned from the experience and then thanked him again.

After that hour, I picked up my kids – they had wilted due to aikido and the earlier karate time, while I was pumped up and ready to spar anything that looked at me askancely. :) My gosh, have the times changed….I may be a weee bit older than, say, the last Ice Age, but wow, I’m doing peachy. It’s really quite an eyeopening thing.

Time to start the morning,

Barbara

ps – Being toasted can actually be a good thing! Consider:

I can do a 20 pound assisted pullup!

Morning,

This is major news for me!

You see, back in early 2007, I made a promise to myself that by the end of summer, I’d be able to do one (only one!) pullup by myself.

At the gym, we have this super cool assisted pullup machine – when I started, I worked against a 90 pound offset (‘course, I was 170+ in weight).

I’m now 133, and am able to do an assisted pullup against 20 pounds! This means that instead of lifting 80 pounds, I can now lift 110 or so via my beloved biceps, triceps, deltoids, etc.

I really enjoy trying pullups. They’re quite a super exercise for strength training!

Need a good site? Consider Mistress Krista! She writes:

…..

Pullups are a cool exercise. They look tuff, they feel butch, they’re low-tech, and they are one of the best exercises for all-round upper body strength. Not only are your back, biceps, forearms, and shoulders involved, but you may also feel them in your abs. (Gawd, my abs were sore for a week after my first attempt at pullups… felt like I’d pulled my ribcage out through my nostrils)

Pullups are also darn hard for the average woman to do. Most untrained females who are older than 10 and heavier than 50 lbs can’t do them. The good news, though, is that most trained women CAN do them. It just takes practice, patience, and time. So, if you’ve always wanted to do a pullup, or you have to do a few to pass a military or police fitness test, this article is for you!

The first thing to mention is the role of strength relative to mass. The heavier you are, the more weight you’re going to be pulling up. If you need to do pullups for something like a job-related fitness test and you have excess body fat to lose, then consider dumping some of that body fat overboard (of course, using a sensible nutrition plan of moderate caloric restriction and perhaps some interval training, as recommended elsewhere on this site). The lighter you are, the better your chances. That being said, the heaviest woman I’ve ever seen do a pullup was nearly 200 lbs., so it can be done even if you’re bigger. It’s just that this is one of those areas of physical unfairness where it’s better to be smaller….MORE….

And here’s another inspiring article:

….

On January 1, 2001 – I set a goal to be able to do five chin-ups and three pull-ups by December 31, 2001.

A chin-up is when you pull yourself up with your palms facing you (using a lot of biceps) and a pull-up is when your palms face away from you (using a lot of back muscles). Most people find the chin-up to be the easier of the two.

Looking back to when I first set my goal I remember that my course of action was to gather as much information as I could, make a plan, commit to it, and then make the necessary adjustments along the way.

I gathered information by speaking with several different people including, exercise physiologists, personal trainers, fitness trainers, and athletes. Some thought that a girl wouldn’t be able to do a pull-up, others thought that a girl shouldn’t worry about doing a pull-up; others simply knew a girl could do a pull-up and gave suggestions on how to go about it.

One trainer told me not to worry about doing chin-ups or pull-ups from a dead hang. He thought it was too hard for a girl to do because of her physiology. Does that also mean….MORE….

Now, true, it has passed the summer…and I still cannot do one pullup by myself. Oh well! I can honestly say I did do my best….and there’s always next year as well. Every day is one step closer.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – want a pullup bar?

Courage consists of hanging on one minute longer

It’s amazing what the body can do when the mind is in the zone.  Virtually the entire time at karate was spent by me repeating to myself, I can DO this… I CAN do this.   It was a mental struggle for me but I overcame it.  I think I’m getting closer and closer to the end of my rope; I really hope I can get my leg surgerized soon.

Witnessing my own deterioration is rather character-building, I must admit.  I view that I have two choices – I can either give into despair, or challenge myself to succeed (without damaging my bones, of course).   It’s truly amazing how you can discover wells of personal strength you never really knew you possessed…until it flourishes to your very being.

I survived both classes today, I’m proud to announce.  But the neat thing was when I walked out the dojo door, I noticed for the first time the big huge tree on the other side of the street.  The wind was picking up something fierce, and the leaves/branches were whipping back and forth with great intensity.  BOOM!  I was transported back to my college days, when I walked the golf course during a hurricane (betcha you weren’t expecting that!) – I had become one with the passion and fury of nature and simply gave myself up to the experience.

It reminded me of how when I was 14 years old, I used to roam the forests and lands around my home with my dog Buddy (a german shepard collie mutt, named for the first Seeing Eye dog back in 1927).  When emotions got tough to deal with, I used to “go to ground” in nature; I’d listen to the secrets whispered by the pines and learn the wisdom of the winds.   Fierce buffeting winds never frightened me; instead I saw my soul commune with the nature around me.

And now, decades later…I find myself still returning to my roots.  After coming home from karate and seeing how the wind picked up, I decided to do my circle walk one last time….and became one with the winds whistling through the trees.  Gosh it was cold, but my soul was quieted and calmed.

I can DO this.  I can, and I will.

You see, when the going gets tough and you want to give up, you simply have to repeat to yourself, I can DO this, and perhaps, courage consists of hanging on, one minute longer.  And then after that, one minute more.  And another minute, and another… and soon you’ll see you have overcome your challenge.

You are who you are…but you can also choose who you become.  And right now, methinks I’m on the right path for me.

Night night,

Barbara

Making treadmill workouts fun

Morning,

Today’s workout at the gym was most enlightening. True, while I took it ‘way easy (yesterday’s kendo class had completely toasted my wrists, so I chose the ‘super slow’ method of weight lifting today), it was commented to me in the locker room that ‘oh, you can use the treadmill? I get soooo bored on it!’

Bored? How on earth can you be bored on a treadmill? There are lots of ways to ensure you get a good workout and allow the time to fly by, including:

  • TV! I always watch The Discovery Channel or the History Channel while doing my workouts. It’s difficult to be a clock-watcher when you’re entranced with the programming on the screen! ‘How It’s Made‘ is one of my favorite treadmill shows.
  • Personal challenges. If I find myself getting bored, while I never do, mind you, but if (just if!) I did, I can lose myself in my mind and craft the most elaborate scenarios for adventure (which always involves running). Bump up the level to 15, pack on the speed to over 5 mph, …. it all adds to the variety.
  • Homework. I always prepare extra mommy work for my kids, so I can use the treadmill time to work my brain and decide what math/creative problems I can give my kids after school.
  • Singing. Singing makes everything go faster! I have a set repertoire that I can sing thru again and again (my current favorites are songs from Beauty and the Beast and Fiddler on the Roof).

The above are just some ideas to help you make your treadmill workout fun! Push yourself. You have the ability – you only need to let it be free.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some neato treadmill goodies are: