Me, doin' the Laundry Workout...

I hope you’ve been enjoying my January fitness series called Release your Inner Olympian. The goal is to reach new fitness levels, but also doing it in a fun, frugal way. For today’s post, I’m bringing in the professionals! My pal Ruth is a personal trainer who started the site TheFitGirls last year. She has a heart particularly for those moms out there that struggle with balancing fitness and family life. I asked her if she would share some thoughts today on working out from home. Here are her thoughts on the topic!

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Designing your own workout is both enjoyable and easy. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I look at all of the different exercises and ways to put them together. Here are 4 basic steps to help you get started. (It is recommended to see a physician before you start any exercise regimen.)

STEP 1 – Find a realistic commitment level and make the best use of your time.

The first question you should ask yourself is, “How many times can I commit to working out?” Your answer will help you choose the right workout for your commitment level. Can you commit to 2-3 days per week? Can you commit to 4-5 days per week?

STEP 2 – Find the most effective workout for your time commitment.

Based on your answer in Step 1, you can now begin looking at different types of workouts. Here are two of my favorites:

 The Peripheral Heart Action System: This system is for women who can only workout 2-3 days per week or women who have no access to cardiovascular equipment or aerobic videos.

 This is a variation on circuit training and involves going back and forth between upper and lower body exercises with minimal rest. (Click for larger image.)

Visit The Fit Girls for a sample workout.

Split Routine: I use this mainly with women who like to train 3-5 days per week and have access to cardiovascular equipment or aerobic videos. This type of system involves breaking the body parts to be trained on separate days so that you can perform more work. It also gives each body part time to recover. 

Visit The Fit Girls for a sample workout. You can also check out this online Exercises Guide site for demonstrations on how to perform some of the exercises above.

STEP 3 – Work out for the right amount of time.

A good workout takes no more than 1 hour. If you are spending 1 ½ hours working out then you need to up your intensity level. Typically a weight training routine will last between 20-30 minutes followed by a 30-40 minute cardio workout. I try to keep my workouts between 45-60 minutes as I find I lose weight faster when I go past the 30 minute mark.

STEP 4 – Eat the right amount of calories and don’t sabotage your hard work.

Diet is 90% of the solution when trying to slim down. An easy calculation to find out what your body needs to maintain its weight is 13 X (your body weight). If you want to lose weight then you need to lower this number either by diet or exercise. Keep in mind that 1 pound is 3500 calories. If you want to lose 1 pound per week then you need to reduce your calories by 500 either by your workout or diet.

I hope that you can discover the joys of being your own personal trainer and make your workouts fun and something that you look forward to. The possibilities are endless and if you put in the hard work you will find success. Make fitness a part of your everyday lifestyle.

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Ruth Weger is a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She is passionate about helping women learn about fitness and basic nutrition and hopes to see women implement better choices in their homes. She has two children and is happily married and lives with her family in Puyallup, WA. You can visit her at The Fit Girls.

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For today’s fitness series post, I would like to tackle a topic that seems to come up a lot with working out: boredom.

How many of us have been gung-ho about getting fit again, only to slowly find that 30 minutes on the elliptical everyday or doing the same at-home workout video everyday is just….well, boring! When we’re talking about running in particular, things can really get monotonous if you’re running the same route day after day after day.

So today I’d like to share some ideas I’ve found helpful particular for those of you that like to run. Some of these ideas would work well for walkers, too. Why run or walk? Remember, this series is about getting fit frugally! And aside from a great pair of supportive running shoes (a MUST), the expense to get started with this sport is very small. Plus, it’s extremely effective.

Idea #1: Start a Running Group

Now I’ve run in groups before and it can be a fun thing. It can also be a very frustrating thing if you’re like me and maybe one of the slower ones and you watch as your “group” sprints off ahead of you! So here’s an idea I came up with a couple years ago. Meet at a track.

I think I had just put something as simple on my Facebook status one day as “I’m going to be running at such-and-such a track at 3pm Sunday. Join me.” This actually worked out fantastic! Some of us would run 3-4 miles, others 2. Some would walk. But it wouldn’t matter. We were all still together and since we were going in circles, we’d frequently pass each other and cheer each other on. I loved this. (And I’m thinking I need to start this up again!)

Idea #2: Fartlek

Before you start snickering at that word, let me add that it’s a Swedish term. So, no snickering!

Fartlek means “speed play.” Notice the word play (so make it fun!). The idea is that you are going to intersperse intense bouts of sprinting into your normal workout. I personally love a run that incorporates intervals of pushing myself.

There are different ways you could do this, but here’s what I like to do. As I’m running or walking, I’ll look ahead and find some sort of object out in the distance – perhaps a tree, parked car, or light pole. I will tell myself that I’m to run as hard and as fast as I can until I get there. Once there, I will take a minute or two to recover, and then find another object. If you’ve never done this, I totally recommend it. It breaks up the boredom a ton. I often feel like I have gotten a better workout when I spend 20 or so minutes running like this than say, 40 minutes of just slow jogging.

If you are new to running, this might be a great option! You could start by walking, and then add bursts of jogging at a good pace.

Idea #3: Find a New Route

I’m going to share a tool that I love: Map My Run.

You can use it to map routes from your home, place of business, wherever you may be. I found it invaluable for my marathon training to make sure I was putting the mileage in I needed to. But it’s also just great if you’re looking to find a new 2 or 3 mile course around your home!

There are other ways you can find new routes, too. Ask around – I found my neighbor Susan has a route she normally does, and it’s completely different than mine! I tried it one day and found it was nice to have a change of scenery. Also consider just getting in the car and driving to a new spot. In Tacoma, I love running along Ruston Way and I’m a big fan of the trails around the University Place Golf Course. While this might not be practical every day, once a week or so it might be nice to head somewhere different.

Running at Chambers Bay, University Place

Final Thoughts

When it comes to something that can become monotonous, consider:

1. Variety. Change up the speed, the location, the approach.
2. Community. Who can join you? Where? How?
3. Goals. Working towards a goal can help give your workouts focus and help you see the improvements you are making.

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Completing my second marathon - my dad is in the back, snapping a photo of me! - 2005

Today I’m continuing the January Fitness series I’m calling “Release your inner Olympian” by talking about setting fitness goals. (In case you missed it, you can read the introduction post from last Monday.)

Why I like setting Fitness Goals

The times I have been fittest in my life where the times I was working towards achieving some sort of fitness goal. Attempting to summit Mt. Rainier. Training for a marathon. Training for a triathlon. Working towards a goal helps keep you focused, and on track. I spent some time reflecting on this and here are some of the reasons I came up with for why fitness goals can be helpful in your journey to become fit.

1) Heightened sense of accountability. So you just signed up for your first 5K…chances are, you’re going to want to tell people, right? Or maybe you are training to complete this with a friend. I see this as a very good sense of positive pressure!

2) Measurable results. If your resolution for the New Year was “get healthy,” I’d like you to reconsider. That’s about as vague as saying “I like music.” One reason I’ve enjoyed participating in races is that there is a date involved. This forces me to work backwards on the calendar into a training plan. Replace any vague resolutions with one(s) that are specific and measurable.

3) Focused training. I enjoy saying “I’m training for…” rather than “I’m working out.” It just sounds like something more concrete, and reminds me what I’m working towards.

4) Healthy eating and weight loss become a means, not an end. I find it’s easier to tell myself that I need to get in shape to complete some sort of challenge or goal than just “losing pounds.” You’ll naturally want to eat better to fuel whatever type of training you’re doing.

5) Personal accomplishment. When you complete a sizeable fitness goal, there is a sense that you’ve actually done something. You can now say you’re a marathoner, that you’ve biked from Seattle to Portland, or that you’ve stood on top of Mt. St. Helens. I’ve found this to be such an empowering experience. Not only do you realize you are capable of achieving success physically, but you’ll begin to wonder where else in your life you’ve sold yourself short. I credit completing my marathons as much as my Bachelor’s Degree in helping me achieve success in my professional life!

Incidentally, don’t you think this is how Olympians train? They know others are counting on them to succeed. They constantly have to measure how they are performing and keeping their bodies in shape through healthful eating and proper training will only get them closer there. And can you imagine what must well up in them as they take the podium to receive their medal?

Ideas for Fitness Goals

I’ve spent some time brainstorming a number of different fitness goals to get you going.

1) Run a race. If you’ve never run a mile to save your life, a 5K would be a great first goal. Beyond that, there are 10Ks, half and full distance marathons, and beyond. Do some research and find a good race – they are NOT all created equal! Some races draw thousands, while others may draw just dozens. Some courses are hilly, or in challenging times of the year (for instance, the Seattle Marathon is in late November). Other races might have an emotional draw – for instance, I did the Walt Disney Marathon in 2007, and it IS truly magical running through Cinderella’s castle ! Ask your friends that have done races. See if you can’t find someone to train with you, or at least encourage you at the finish line.

Enjoying the post marathon sense of achievement! - 2007

2) Get on the bike. There are all kinds of events for bicyclists too! If something like the Seattle to Portland race intimidates you, consider doing a local bike tour. I participated in a Tour de Pierce a few years back that was very low key, and a lot of fun.

3) Reach a summit. If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you might consider getting out there and doing some hiking or climbing! There are LOTS of wonderful and challenging places to go hiking. Perhaps your focus right now would be training on the stair climber or walking around hilly neighborhoods until some of the hiking trails would be more accessible. Look for trails and get reports of conditions over at Washington Trails Association.

4) Walk/run/bike to a destination. Figure out how many miles it would take to walk from your house to your grandma’s place in Nevada. Or, if you could walk to Hawaii. Or, to some other fun destination. Then, start tracking your miles on the treadmill or bike everyday. This might be an effective way of feeling like you are actually “going somewhere” versus just spending half an hour walking in place. For fun, you could get a map and pin your progress. If you had the funds, you could even reward yourself when you reach that goal by going to that destination.

5) Reward yourself for working out. Another thought would be to reward yourself for every workout. Perhaps you decide for every workout you complete, you’ll give yourself $1. Or perhaps $10 for completing 5 workouts in a week. If you miss a workout, you have to put that money back. At the end of the year, you can go shopping for your new fitter self! The idea here is seeing how all those workouts are really adding up to something tangible.

The key is to finding a goal that inspires or excites YOU. Make it something a bit more than you think you can do, and plan on congratulating yourself when you meet that goal.

Have you set a fitness goal for 2012? Any other ideas for fitness goals? 

Join me next Monday for the next installment in this series.

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