Saturday, July 10, 2010

Day 12 - Bikini Body Boot Camp

If you are exercising correctly your workout should leave you feeling like you worked really hard but you feel really good. After a good workout you should feel calm and invigorated. If you feel worn out, beat-up or like you need to lie down and take a nap, you are either working out too long or too hard, or both, for your fitness level. This is one of the reasons that I love "Fit Fast" exertion and recovery cycles. You can tailor them to your fitness level, whether you are an elite athlete or a total beginner and every level gets an awesome workout that leaves you feeling great and burning fat for 24 hours after you stop.

Here's how you do it. Warm-up for 3 to 5 minutes by walking and then start your first exertion cycle for 30 to 60 seconds. You need to push yourself hard enough that when you stop and come into recovery you are breathing hard. Then walk till your heart rate and your breath recover. How long you walk will depend on your fitness level. Those that are fit should walk for about 60 seconds and everyone else needs to listen to their body to know when they are recovered (you can use a heart rate monitor). By the time you end your third exertion cycle, you should be gasping for breath when you come into recovery. If you are very fit you'll want to sprint during your exertions, if you are a beginner start by walking as fast as you can pumping your arms hard or you can jog slowly.

Do 3 to 8 cycles depending on your fitness level and how you feel. It is important that you don't go over 20 minutes during your workout, so you don't cross over into the fat burning range. With this type of exercise you burn carbs during the workout and fat after you stop (for up to 24 hours!) With cardio/aerobic type exercise you burn fat during the workout but there is very little after burn effect and you are training your body to store fat for your next workout! That's why most people lose weight initially by doing aerobic/cardio exercise and then they plateau and stop losing or start gaining some of it back.

I love working out this way! I've been doing it for the last four years and I've gone from a size 8 to a size 2. I feel fabulous! - and it's so quick it's easy to fit in, even on busy days!

*****Make sure you check with your doctor before starting any new exercise routine!

6:30 am – water, coffee and banana while I meditate, do EFT and write

9:00 am – Teach Total Body Strength Circuits class (1 hour)

11:00 am – few slices of chicken with baby carrots

1:30 pm – large salad of baby greens, cilantro, avocado, tomatoes, onions and chicken w/olive oil and lime juice

4:00 pm - ½ cup strawberry Hagendaz ice cream

7:30 pm – grilled steak, stir fried veggies, salad of mixed greens w/mandarin orange dressing

9:30 pm – glass of coconut milk, bowl of fresh cherries

10:30 pm - bed

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