Some fun fitness facts and a funny cartoon I came across

Did you Know?

* Bodies are creatures of habit. The more you exercise, the more your body learns to burn fat rather than storing it

* The best way to judge whether or not you are exercisinf at too high of an intensity is to see whether or not you can carry on a conversation. If you can't, you may want to back off of the intensity just a little until you can

* If you are always in a bad mood then getting fit just may help. Regular exercise can enhance your mood and overall well-being

* The top three factors that determine whether or not you will stick to your exercise routine include having support, finding a workout plan that you like and knowing what you are doing

* Your recipe for fitness success just may be working out with a friend doing something you love after having recieved formal education on how to do it

* In spite of what you may have read, there is not "best time to exercise." It turns out that the best time to excerise is when it works for you!

Double Dose of Working it Out with Liz!

Today is a special double dose of Working it Out with Liz! Unfortunately, I was unable to post last week as I was bed-bound due to possibly the worst flu experience I have ever had in my life. Thankfully, my immune system is strong and I was able to fight it off quite quickly. So here we go!

I feel the best part of the body to start my personalized workout plan is the upper body. While I am quite comfortable and happy with my upper body, it never hurts to tone it up.  

Most interestingly, I found while researching that upper body exercises which focus on your chest muscles underneath the ‘ladies’ can actually make them look perkier. This really is not a problem for younger women, but hey, it can never hurt to start young.

Exercise 1

The Shoulder-Shrug Plank

1) Begin in a normal push up/plank position, making sure that your body is completely straight (no bums sticking in the air) and your hands and feet are shoulders-width apart.

     

2) Squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold for three seconds. (Your chest should change from hollowed out to pushed out towards the floor when you squeeze)

3) Return back to the normal push up/plank position and repeat nine times.

This exercise is nice because it tones the chest muscles without having to physically do a push up.  This means you can perk up without bulking up your arms. Also, holding a plank position works is great for your abs!

Exercise 2

Push-up with a Twist

      1) Starting in a push up position again, put your knees on the floor and arms shoulder-width apart.

      Slowly bend your elbows and lower yourself into a conventional push up.

      2) On the way up, instead of just extending your elbows back up normally, push back up, rotate your body to the right and raise your right arm so it is in line with your right shoulder.

     

      Hold for three counts, then, return to beginning push up position. Repeat four more times and switch sides.

For those days when you feel like working out your arms! This workout will not only great for  your arms and chest but for your core muscles as well.

So there it is, the double feature. Next week: abs, abs and more abs.

Fun Little Fitness Fact!

While searching for my first addition to my customized workout plan for this week, I was drawn to this month's edition of Cosmopolitan. Right on the front of the magazine it stated "Flatten Your Belly."

I was pretty stoked about the idea of toning my stomach circumference, but when I flipped though to the fitness section I was pretty upset.

"Tone Your Booty-Fast" was the title of the section. What? How could Cosmo go and lie to me like that, especially when I was amped up for some serious core strengthening? I was in shock and awe.

Then, low and behold I flipped the page and there it was, not a workout tip, but something better; my fun fitness fact of the week.

In a three month experiment recently conducted at Virginia Tech, researchers found that drinking more water is a great diet/fitness aid. They found that participants who consumed about two cups of water anywhere from 15-30 minutes before a meal lost five more pounds than participants who did not.

The head of the research team, Brenda Davy, PhD, RN, stated that "The water drinkers consumed noticeably fewer calories at meals but still reported being satiated."

This is the first step of my customized workout plan, and is very important for me. After reading this article, I sat back and really thought about how much water I drink. The verdict: not a lot. Hell my cats drink more water than I do, which is weird because cats are notorious for not drinking enough water. Who is my new bestie, that's right, H20.