FitSugar

The Beach Is a Workout Waiting to Happen

FitSugar — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 23:30:00 -0700

Who doesn't love spending time at the beach? Cameron is one starlet that takes advantage of all the beach has to offer. I love that she doesn't just lounge on the sand, but plays in the water practically non-stop. Which is great since I believe the beach is a workout waiting to happen.

If you are lucky enough to live near the ocean or will be vacationing soon by the shore, you too should take advantage of all the beach has to offer. If you want a hard core workout try the Beach Body Workout on the beach. But let me tell you, there are more casual and playful ways to burn some extra calories while hanging out at the shore.

Here are some ideas:

Walking in the Sand: Sand provides way less traction than concrete sidewalk or asphalt roads. So take advantage of your disadvantage and walk the beach. Do walk in both wet and dry sand to challenge your body in different ways. There will be good people watching to entertain you too. Who knows maybe you will even see some wildlife.

Walking in the Surf: Just walking in ankle deep water is a great challenge. Add the ebb and flow of the tide and you have yourself a great lower body workout.

Playing in the Waves: Jumping up and down in the surf is great fun and a challenge to your entire body. Diving under waves and swimming against the tide is a great way to workout with the ocean providing extra resistance.

There's more to do at the beach, and there are more photos of Cameron frolicking in the waves. So just read more
Swimming: Swim out past the break and try some laps in the ocean. The current creates a natural challenge. Make sure you stay in sight range of the lifeguard. Remember: If you can't see the guards, they can't see you.

Body Surfing: Riding the waves without a board is a fun way to experience the ocean. You don't need any gear, although fins do help. eHow tips on body surfing are very helpful - check them out.

So get out there! Play in the waves - it is a great way to help maintain your beach body. Plus, it won't feel like a workout, it will just feel like fun.

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Source & Flynet

Get It Up, Your Heart Rate, That Is: Elliptical Speed Play

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:47:11 -0700

When it comes to which type of cardio machine you all prefer, the elliptical won by a decent margin. To celebrate the machine, I created this workout. It's rather straightforward (that's a clue that there's no backward pedaling in the workout), but fun due to all the speed changes. Check out the speed-play workout when you read more.

Time	Resistance	SPM*
00:00-3:00	3	130	Warm up
03:00-5:00	5	140	Warm up
05:00-06:00	7	140-150
06:00-07:00	7	150-160
07:00-8:00	7	160-170
08:00-9:00	7	170-180
09:00-10:00	7	180-190
10:00-10:30	9	190-200	Sprint
10:30-12:00	7	140-150
12:00-12:30	9	190-210	Sprint
12:30-14:00	7	140-150
14:00-14:30	9	200-210	Sprint
14:30-16:00	7	140-150
16:00-16:30	9	200-210	Sprint
16:30-18:00	7	140-150
18:00-18:30	9	190-200	Sprint
18:30-20:00	7	140-150
20:00-21:00	7	180-190
21:00-22:00	7	170-180
22:00-23:00	7	160-170
23:00-24:00	7	150-160
24:00-25:00	7	140-150
25:00-27:00	5	130-140	Cool down
27:00-30:00	3	130-140	Cool down

*SPM = Strides Per Minute
If you have trouble slowing down in the recovery periods after sprinting and during the cooldown, try going hands free. This will force you to go slower and challenge your core. Click here to print a photo-free version of this speed-play workout to take to the gym. And another thing, my elliptical has a set incline of about 20 percent so work in that range if you can.

Get It Up, Your Heart Rate That Is: Urban Speed Play

FitSugar — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 04:00:00 -0800

Playing with speed is a fun and effective way to workout, and when the Swedes do it they call it fartlek. How could a word that sounds so silly not be fun? Fartlek means "speed play" and it is a kind of interval training, but using sprints varying in length from eight seconds to 2 minutes. This type of training is great to do in urban areas using blocks and half blocks as physical markers for the end of your sprinting time.

Here's a variation I came up with based on a Runner's World program:

Activity	Duration	Extra Details
Warm up	3 minutes	Brisk Walk
Warm up	5 minutes	Jog
Easy Speed* 5x	1 minute	1 minute Recover*
Sprints 5x	1 block length	1 block length Recover
Short Sprints 4x	20 seconds	1 minute Recover
Cool down	5 minutes	Jog
Cool down	3 minutes	Brisk walk

* Easy speed is not a full sprint, but running at a fairly quick pace
**Recover means jog, so your heart rate can slow down

This is a rough guide, but you get the idea. Speed play is very flexible and you can work your urban environment into a plan by using blocks to keep track of distances for sprints, or you can use fire hydrants or street light. So run at an accelerated pace to a bench ahead and then do a full out sprint to the corner, then recover by jogging past three street lights. It is kind of like playing Candy Land but you get to make up all the rules.

Source

Exercise, Weight Loss, and the Fat Burning Zone

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:50:01 -0800

Much has been made of late about exercise and its relation to weight loss. There was the Time cover story The Myth About Weight Loss and a recent article on the topic in the New York Times, which recommended working out in the fat burning zone.

You see the phrase on all types of cardio machines: the fat burning zone, aka the "weight loss zone," means working out at a lower intensity to burn fat as fuel. But these workouts also burn considerably fewer calories. I was confused about how we should all be spending our cardio time, so I took my questions to exercise physiologist Jason Karp, who also happens to be an avid runner.

When I asked him if we should all be scaling our workouts back and aiming for the fat burning zone, Karp explained that it's not the type of fuel your body is burning, but the overall calories that count. "It doesn't matter if you're using fat or carbohydrates. In order to lose fat from your waistline you don't have to be using fat as fuel during workout," he said. He offered up the example of sprinters; they don't train in the fat burning zone, but they're mighty trim in the torso. Losing weight comes down to math - you want to be in a calorie deficit to shed pounds and body fat. Higher intensity exercise puts you at a higher burn rate. To burn the most calories in a cardio workout, skip past the fat burning zone and work out with more intensity. To really burn up calories, Karp recommends intervals. To learn why, read more.

Essentially, interval workouts give you the most bang for your sweat buck. Karp explains that with "intense exercise you're pushing your body more out of homeostasis," that is, the equilibrium of energy the body prefers to maintain. During the few hours after an interval workout, the body must go through a recovery period, and a lot needs to happen to return to the body to pre-exercise levels. "You've got to drop the heart rate, synthesize glycogen for the muscles, remove lactate from muscle and take it to the liver," says Karp. All these actions require energy, which raises the metabolic rate for many hours after exercising. Thirty minutes of exercise at a low intensity doesn't place nearly as much stress on the body as intervals, so you burn fewer calories both during and after the workout.

Before you hit the track and start running intervals, Karp recommends building a strong cardiovascular fitness base and working with a trainer for guidance. Even if you're not ready for sprints, play with your speed during your next cardio session. Slow and steady might win the race, but intervals will burn more calories.

Source: Flickr User pistoldrawn

P.L.O.W. (Play List of the Week): Oscar Best Song Winners

FitSugar — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 03:00:00 -0800

With the Oscars airing tonight, how could I NOT do a play list of Academy Award winning songs. I couldn't pass up Jennifer Hudson's nominated song from Dreamgirls. I guess you can tell where I cast my vote in that category.

Speaking of ballots, have you cast your Oscar ballot on BuzzSugar? Did I mention that you should because there are prizes (good ones too) involved. Don't miss out, vote today!

This mix is good for a medium paced workout sandwiched between two mellow songs for warming up and cooling down. It is about 35 minutes. I had no idea that my favorite Disney songs were Oscar winners.

Want to check out the list and listen (just click on the green button), then read more

Game Review: Your Shape For Wii

FitSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:50:08 -0800

There's a new fitness game in town and it's ready to work you out and make you sweat. Your Shape ($69), a new Wii game by Ubisoft, makes Jenny McCarthy your workout coach and training buddy so you don't have to sweat it out alone.

The game comes with a camera that you perch on your TV; it captures your image and plays it on your TV so you move with a reflection of yourself, like looking in a mirror. The camera also monitors your movements, and if you slack off, Jenny will let you know - she also gives you praise when you make a correction. Who couldn't use an ego boost mid-workout?

To learn more about the game, continue reading.

P.L.O.W. - Featured User Addition

FitSugar — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 03:00:00 -0800

I recently asked you guys what songs were moving you to workout (or while you workout) and you all gave some great songs. A few of you even listed entire playlists! I am loving this playlist from fashionhore because it combines oldies an goodies. Plus, any play list with "Baby Got Back" on a it is alright in my book.

"Rag Doll" - Aerosmith, 4:24
"La La" - Ashlee Simpson, 3:44
"Ring the Alarm" - Beyonce, 3:27
"Ya Mama" - Fat Boy Slim, 5:38
"Hollaback Girl" - Gwen Stefani, 3:20
"Any Way You Want It" - Journey, 3:22
"Hung Up" - Madonna, 5:37
"Just a Girl" - No Doubt, 3:29
"B.O.B." - Outkast, 5:04
"Misery Business" - Paramore, 3:31
"It's Tricky" - Run-DMC, 3:03
"Baby Got Back" - Sir Mix A lot, 4:24
"Faster Kill Pussycat" - Paul Oakenfold ft. Brittany Murphy, 3:14
"This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" - Fall Out Boy, 3:32
"Bullet With Butterfly Wings" - Smashing Pumpkins, 4:17

Total P.L.O.W. = 60:10

Source

P.L.O.W. (Play List of the Week): Get Your Irish Up

FitSugar — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 09:15:57 -0700

Nothing gets your heart rate up like dancing a jig. The Irish definitely have that down. While this play list contains no songs from Lord of the Dance, it is chock full of fun Irish music to move to.

This Irish play list is about 40 minutes long. About 33 minutes (that was Larry Bird's number when he played for the Celtics) of music for cardio, followed by 2 slow songs for stretching.

To listen to the playlist just read more

P.L.O.W. (Play List of the Week): Prince Mix

FitSugar — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 07:35:00 -0800

Here's a great mix featuring Prince. His music makes me want to get up and groove. Have a listen and hopefully it will make you want to move too.

Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:00:34 -0700

Another use for ripe bananas. It's smoothie time - Vitamin G
More overtly Photoshopped Ralph Lauren models turn up down under - FitCeleb
Ladies playing rugby on a pier in NYC: scrum anyone? - Social Workout
The real housewives of the big apple do cardio for cupcakes - Fresh Fitness Tips
Calling all carnivores: learn the health benefits of marinades - Mark's Daily Apple
Yet another reason fashionland is messed up - That's Fit
Hypnosis plus yoga equals Hyp-Yoga - Vital Juice