Each week, I’ll be bringing you my favorite move at the gym that is guaranteed to make you sore the next day. Because let’s face it, if you aren’t sore 24-48 hours after a good workout, you weren’t pushing yourself enough. A few overall items to note that I have learned via my trainer and attending bootcamps over the years:

• Strategize your plan of attack before you step foot into the gym. There are a few reasons for this, including the hot guy that you’re trying to get the attention of.  People – you are at the gym to get fit and look ugly doing it (because you best be sweating your ars off), and you’re there not to be that bitch who stands there in her designer outfit not breaking a sweat. No distractions. That means figuring out your game plan before you even pick up a weight. This also prevents you from doing the same boring routine every time you get into the gym. I think we all know by now (thanks P90X) that muscle confusion is key to getting a cut, lean body. So each week, make sure that you are doing a different routine. Your hot arms will thank me later.
• Don’t skimp out on your warm-up. Have you noticed that your weight routine is a lot more difficult to do after you’ve run for 20 minutes on the treadmill? It’s because your heart rate is already elevated! And that’s a good thing. I’ve found that 10 minutes isn’t enough of a warm-up for me anymore, so I make sure that I get a good 2-mile run in before getting started on weights. And as a result, I’m sweating for my entire weight routine. (Sidebar, make sure you’re cleaning off whatever weights your using… it’s gross when people don’t do that)
• Start with your biggest muscles first, then isolate. That means work on your chest and back first before doing any biceps or triceps. For example, if you are doing a chest press, you’re working out your chest muscles, but you’re indirectly working out your biceps too. So, if you wear out your biceps by doing curls at the beginning of your workout, you won’t be able to manage as much weight when you get to your chest. Your biceps/triceps should be getting an indirect workout throughout your entire sequence of weights and exercises (even if you are doing push-ups or planks), so you don’t need to worry about those guys near as much!
• Group “team” muscles together. When developing a weight room strategy, I try and group my muscle groups together. So, chest and back sets go together. Bicep and tricep workouts are paired up into a grouping, etc.
• Keep that heart rate up. If you’ve been reading the blog for awhile, you know how much I adore my Polar Heart Rate Monitor. They come in at a variety of different price-points (from $50 to more than $200), but really, I use mine to track my calorie exertion (great for determining how much food you need to consume to make-up for your workout) and to make sure my heart rate is at an elevated place for the majority of my workout. If you aren’t willing to spend the money on a monitor, try not to take more than 30 seconds between your sets unless you really need to catch your breath.
• Always try and workout more than one muscle. For example, I do my chest presses on an exercise ball while doing a bridge. Or I do my shoulder raises while lunging. Or I ride the stationary bike while doing a bicep curl. I’ll even do a squat while holding a medicine ball and turning to each side to work out my love handles You’ll get a more efficient workout this way (while keeping that heart rate up), and maybe save yourself a couple of minutes in the process..

Need an example plan of attack? Check out some of our suggestions here, here and here. You’ll notice, for the most part, we keep our heart rate up by injecting stairs, squats, lunges, sprints and jump roping between sets. In my workout this week, I’m doing two sets of five flights of stairs (skipping a step) between my ab group routine. It’s horrible but really keeps my heart rate up while I’m doing my crunches.

Image from healthwellness.info

Anyways, now to the point of this blog…  I’ve been back into my regular workout routine now for about a week and a half. And while I’m sore, I’m not terribly sore, which sucks. Remembering the dead lift routine the girls and I would do at Pilates, I did 2 sets of the following sequence with two 15 lb. dumbbells: 10 reps of dead lifts with my feet aligned with my shoulders; 10 reps of dead lifts with my feet touching; and 10 reps of dead lifts with my toes touching and my heels slightly apart (like a diet cheesecake slice…). Today I hurt. And it’s awesome. Each stance works out a slightly different part of your butt, stomach, legs and back.

BUT a word of warning: If you do not keep your back straight, you are going to hurt yourself. So, I encourage you to ask a trainer at your local gym to make sure you’re using proper form. OR if you work out at home, you MUST watch yourself in a mirror. Make sure you keep the back straight and the weights close to your legs when you are bending. And go on YouTube, because there are tons of videos there to help you out.

 Good luck!

Growing up, I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the idea of swimming. As a young child (we’re talking about two or three — so one of my first memories) I remember my mom taking me to the local fitness facility in my hometown and having a swimming lesson. I vaguely remember having to grab rings at the bottom of the pool and it seemed like it was 20 ft. deep. Obviously, I was two. From a ratio perspective, I don’t think my mind is exaggerating the experience too much.

Swimming took a bit of a backseat after that point because my sister would always come down with an ear infection EVERY TIME we went to the pool. And to prevent her from feeling left out, I didn’t get to go swimming too much. So no season pass for me to Wet n’ Wild. DANG IT.

Then in second grade, I almost drowned. It’s a horrible memory, and I faintly remember trying to scream but my mouth filling up with water. I’ll never forget that moment and since then I’ve been scared of the water.

Justin’s parents had a pool while we were in college and I loved walking it. Sort of ridiculous, but I never thought I was a great swimmer but wanted to get some benefit out of the pool. And Justin honestly feared for my safety in a pool because I sucked so bad at swimming. Haha. True story.

Then earlier this year Kristine and I decided to start training for a triathlon (which neither of us ended up doing. though I’ll definitely try again next year!). Obviously, a triathlon involves swimming — and in this case, involves a half-mile swim or 800 meters.

I had just wrapped up an excellent half-marathon training program with Rogue Running in Austin and read on their site that they had a Swimming 101 program. Essentially, people who could swim but needed to learn proper form. So Justin, Kristine and I signed up (Justin was a doll for doing it with me) and took four classes… in January… outside… but in a heated pool. Definitely an experience.

And shockingly, due to the stellar training of the instructor, Amy Marsh (a pro-triathlete), I lost my fear of swimming and I’m actually pretty decent at it now!

So now that I’ve gone through my entire life story as it relates to swimming, the question you’re probably asking (or should be) is, “Is it helping with your weight loss?” Short answer — I have no idea. Medium answer — it didn’t help in January, but I use it for my cardio training so it can’t hurt. Long answer — studies have mixed results when it comes to swimming and weight loss and my doctor said it is a nice to have, but not great for fat burning.

Confused? Yeah, me too. I wear my trusty heart-rate monitor when swimming and it is clear I have an elevated heart rate during my workouts (depending on the particular drill, it averages at about 150). But literally, the second I stop working out or pause, my heart rate drops to 100 in nothing flat.

According to “experts” (I use that term loosely because heck, I could be considered an expert in some circles though I’m definitely as clueless as the rest of us), the reason behind the dropped heart rate is the cooling effects of the water. Unlike running, where you are having to work harder because it is usually warm outside (especially in Austin), my body does not have to work as hard as it does on land to cool down after a workout. Fitness Magazine had an expert try and explain this effect, but truth is, no one knows for sure.

That said, the About.com article said that swimming makes you eat more following a workout, which I could argue that running (or any workout) does the same to me. Using this incorrect logic, my weight gain from August to February could be attributed to the fact I was logging in 20+ miles a week training for a half-marathon instead of the fact that I simply had no self-control when it came to eating after my workouts (though the Don Juan definitely made 12-mile runs feel a lot better!). 

Pre-Fatroll, that logic would have worked on me and I would have given up. Post-Fatroll I’ve learned that any exercise is helpful to losing AND maintaining a proper weight, as long as you watch what you put in your mouth. So in my case, I know that I’m still burning calories for an hour when I swim, I try hard not to overeat afterwards and I mix up my workouts to make sure my body has no idea what the heck I have planned for it the next day! The Fitness article recommends taking a 15-minute walk after a swim (I do 15 minutes in the sauna) to get the body warmed up so you aren’t as hungry.

So my opinion — try out swimming. And if you have a wedding or event coming up that requires you to rock a strapless, this is the workout for you! You will see a noticeable difference in a month if you swim two times a week. My shoulders and back OWN. I also just found this great swimming drill sequence on Fitness Magazine researching this post, so I’ll let you know how it goes.

I could quote Madonna songs all day long, but I won’t.

This weekend, I had an absolute blast — from running, standing in line to buy awesome jeans, hanging out at Whole Foods and then Barton Springs, seeing The Hangover, eating a spaghetti dinner with some adorable kiddos, waking up at 11, going to Whole Foods again, hitting golf balls, swimming, and then later today taking family photos — I’m zonked.

But what’s made it the best was a secret little tool to help keep me accurate and accountable: my Polar Heart Rate Monitor. My monitor is set to my weight, height and age and lets me know exactly how many calories I burn during a workout. This is especially helpful because my heart rate typically runs higher than an average person, so the calorie burning estimates typically found on Web sites are not the same for me. For example:

• An hour of running followed by a cool down with ab work: 526 calories
• Hitting golf balls in 93 degree weather: 260 calories
• Swimming for 20 minutes with a 10 minute steam: 235 calories

By wearing my heart rate monitor, I can know exactly how many additional calories I should eat each day. If you don’t have one and are super committed to losing weight, or at least wanting to keep track of your workouts in terms of calories, buy one through Amazon (they’re typically $10-20 less than at the store).