How to get into shape outdoors and enjoy doing it.
By Joe Tong RN, CPT
If you’ve lived in a colder environment, you’ve probably spent the winter indoors with either an exercise bike or treadmill to keep you in shape. Now that summer is here, it’s time to get outdoors and get active.
Warm temperatures and nice visual surroundings can both motivate you to exercise, and help you stick to your exercise program. If you love doing an activity, then you're more apt to do it on a regular base.
But what should you do once you get out of doors? Here I’ve listed some activities you could try that will get you on your way to a healthier mind and body.
1. Swimming
Swimming is a wonderful cardiovascular conditioner that also helps tone arms and legs, and it's very easy on the joints because there is no impact with this exercise. In fact, it's perfect for people who have muscle or joint problems. The weightlessness of the water helps them exercise pain-free.
Swimming will increase your stamina, improve flexibility and burn calories. It will also help you get rid of those unwanted tan lines.
2. Cycling
Not only is bicycling an excellent cardiovascular exercise, but you can travel along many scenic locales that you don’t normally visit such as the beach, bike paths, or trails. Many people even commute to work by bicycle.
Running tends to target the hamstrings (the muscles in the back of your thighs). However, cycling uses the quadriceps (the muscles on the front of the thighs) more, unless you use biking shoes with clips, in which case, you also pull with your hamstrings
It's important to make sure your bike is fitted properly to your body; otherwise, you'll put too much stress on your back or knees. Most good cycle shops offer a fit kit, which measures you for the bike and adjusts the positioning of your seat and handlebars to account for your own unique geometry and biomechanics.
If your gym offers spinning classes, you might want to try these first because they can ease you back into biking shape.
3. Walking
Walking is one of the best activities you can do for your health. It's easy on the joints, you don't need any fancy equipment, and you’ll burn calories, even though it's a more modest amount compared to some other activities.
Walking for only 30 minutes, 5 days a week, at a brisk pace (about 4 mph) can help ward off chronic disease. You’ll decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure as a result of just increasing your level of physical activity from walking alone.
If you're trying to lose weight, you should increase your time to 60-90 minutes of walking most days of the week.
If you don’t have time to get 60 minutes in, try breaking the time up into several manageable spurts. Consider walking the kids to school or the bus stop in the morning. Carry your own groceries to the car or run errands at lunchtime.
Walking helps build cardiovascular endurance and almost everyone can do it, regardless of their fitness level.
4. Jogging/Running
Running does put more stress on the joints -- particularly the knees, ankles, and hips -- than walking. However running is terrific for your heart and lungs, and it greatly improves your stamina. If you're trying to lose weight, it can burn calories more quickly than walking.
The key is to start slowly. The general rule is to increase your time or distance by no more than 5-10% each week. Your heart and lungs can handle a larger increase weekly, but the joints and muscles are a little slower to adapt to the stress of vigorous exercise. If you do too much too soon, you can develop tendinitis or a variety of muscle or joint problems.
5. Hiking
Hiking uses a lot of up-and-down movement, so you get a tremendous leg workout from toning and building your leg muscles along with the cardiovascular benefits. Hiking is a great leg, abs, and butt workout, and it helps build cardio endurance. A 150-pound woman can burn 200-plus calories hiking for 30 minutes.
Hiking is also a great sport to do along with a friend. But it does require you to do some preparation. Make sure to bring an ample amount of water and a first aid kit if you plan to hike in remote locations, removed from civilization. While hiking can give you the opportunity to experience nature in its pristine state, you do not want to find yourself in an emergency situation where the local emergency response will not be able to get to you. So do a little research and find short hikes without too much difficulty. More difficult hikes will offer a greater sense of accomplishment, and for extra adventure and challenge, you might want to try backpacking.
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The Ultimate Glute Workout.
By Joe Tong, RN, CPT
You want a great looking tight butt, don't you? And you want a workout that can help take you there. You've come to the right place because I have a workout that's proven to produce results for all my clients who have tried it. It’s not easy, but if it were, everyone would have a shapely butt.
To get a bodacious booty, you need to follow a diet that is higher in protein and lower in carbs to lose body fat, cardiovascular exercise to burn calories, and weight training for the entire body to tighten your muscles.
You won’t get tight glutes unless you reduce your body fat so that’s why your diet has to be on target. You can be in the gym 24/7 doing all the butt movements on the planet, but it won’t make one bit of difference unless you lose body fat. This is the plain truth and is non-negotiable.
There are only three exercises involved in this program. You will be performing three super sets, by doing all three exercises in a row without rest (that is called one superset). After a 60 to 90-second rest, repeat the super set two additional times (with the same rest between sets).
Angled Leg Press: Place your feet two inches higher than you normally do on the leg press machine in order to place more overload on the gluteus and hamstrings. Your feet can be positioned two or three inches wider than shoulder width. Make sure you lower the weight so that your knees form an angle just a tad below 90 degrees, but no more.
Perform a set of 20 repetitions. Make sure your legs are high enough on the platform so you can really feel your glutes on the lowering part of the movement. Also make sure not to lock your knees.
Walking Lunges: Stand with your feet hip width apart, grasp a pair of light dumbbells with your arms straight at your sides, palms in. Take a medium step forward, and lower your body so that your front knee lines up with your ankle. Make sure your front knee does not extend beyond the front of your foot. If you can see your toes of your front foot after you lunge forward, you are using proper form. Your back knee should almost touch the floor. Push off with your back foot and then take a large step forward with your other foot.
Walk 20 steps and then turn around and return to the start using the same form. You should contract your glutes by squeezing them on the lowering of each movement. After the set is completed, immediately go to the next exercise without a break.
Squats: (Smith machine) Barbell squats are one of the best lower body exercises on earth. It works the entire lower body. However, leg positioning can assist in better isolating the glutes. If you position your feet about two to three inches past shoulder width and toes pointed outward, and then squat to a parallel position, you’ll really feel those glutes being worked.
However, you have to go to the parallel position for maximum effectiveness. Don’t let ego guide you on this exercise. Reduce the weight if necessary; focus on doing this exercise with perfect form. Perform a set of 15 to 20 repetitions or to momentary muscular failure. After the set is completed, immediately go to the next exercise without a break. By the end you’ll have performed nine total sets in minimal time and your glutes and legs will be burning, but you’ll love the results.
PLEASE NOTE: This routine isn’t for everyone because it’s advanced. If you're not an advanced exerciser, follow these guidelines: During the first two weeks, perform one set of each exercise on the days that you train legs. In week three, add a set. Add a third set in week six, but do not attempt the super set. You’ll need four to six months of experience before you can begin the super set routine. However, it is something to strive for.