Workout Challenge and Weekly Round-Up

Happy Monday all! Well…not if you’re a Broncos fan. That game was painful to watch. Anyways, onto the good stuff. Another week has gone by (happy February!), and we are hungry for more workouts! First, let’s see how we did last week. You can see in this post, what our plan was for this past week. May not actually match up completely, but maybe we didn’t do so badly.

Hungry

Chris and Piper (a dog we babysit)

Monday: Rest day (stress and rescue scuba class)
Tuesday: Rest day (stress and rescue scuba class)
Wednesday: hour long lower body strength workout, hour long lower body circuits focusing on box jumps and jump rope
Thursday: filmed two hours of swimming instructional videos, arm strength workout using circle grips to increase forearm strength
Friday: 75-90 minute shoulder strength workout focusing on pre-exhaustion and the shoulder support system (hurt right shoulder, somehow, and couldn’t lift arm rest of day!)
Saturday: Was Hangry & Fat (lots of video games, pizza, soda, and cookies)
Sunday: 60 minute chest and triceps strength workout

Fit

Getting ready to chow down at our favorite gourmet pizza place

Monday: Legs and Elliptical
Tuesday: Arms/Shoulders (at home) and long walk
Wednesday: Core (at home) and elliptical
Thursday: 1 mile run
Friday: Chest/Back and 20 min elliptical
Saturday: Rest day (being Hangry and Fat, lots of pizza and video games)
Sunday: 2.75mi walk

So maybe we didn’t hit our mark exactly on the dot, but we didn’t fare too poorly either. I’ll let Chris write his workout plan for the week, but I’m going to be doing something a little different this week. This is the Workout Challenge. My friend, Jamie (you can see pics of her in this post), sent me this link of various workouts in “Superhero” formats. At my job, I’ve been creating a Superhero workout program, so it definitely interested me. Before I can critique or properly review it, I must try it. It’s 8 workouts so I’ll be doing it Monday to Monday. It slightly screws up my own workout split, but I’m okay with it because I’m still going to add separate cardio and do certain exercises (like squats, bench press, and pull-ups) when I would have anyways. I’m excited to tell you guys all about it at the end! Do it with me!

Hungry here…Last week didn’t work out so well because of a nagging cold, with lots of congestion, some shoulder issues, and being attacked by a dog, so I won’t set the bar so high this week. Maybe I’ll just try to get better, get rid of my cold, rest my shoulder and knee, etc.

Hungry

Monday – Back and biceps workout, using circle grips to activate forearms more in every exercise
Tuesday – Isolated core workout focusing on all the abdominals, lower back, and hips.
Wednesday – Recovery day, easy swim, hot tub, sauna, eat a lot
Thursday – Shoulders and arms, working on strengthening those shoulder as always
Friday – Lower body, lots of hamstring work and pickup basketball, if the knee is feeling better
Saturday – Chest and core, lots of planks and pushups
Sunday – Back attack!!!

Fit

During a morning at-home core workout!

Monday: the “Flash” workout, heavy squats, and elliptical
Tuesday: the “Jedi” workout and run
Wednesday: the “Batman” workout, pull-ups and swim
Thursday: the “Thor” workout, bench press, and run/elliptical
Friday: the “Spiderman” workout and swim
Saturday: the “Stormtrooper” workout
Sunday: the “Arrow” workout and elliptical

So that’s the plan for us, I’m betting we will stick to it pretty well. Mine is perfectly prescribed which makes it easy to stick to and Chris’ week isn’t as crazy as last week. Remember that making a workout schedule for the week really helps keep you on track. Is anyone with me to try the week of these “themed” workouts? It’ll be fun! Make a workout schedule to stay hungry and fit!

Question of the Week: Do you ever do themed workouts?

BONUS…SNAKE PIC!

Dovah wants to be brass knuckles

Jan092014

Keeping Fit While on a Hectic Schedule

This is a guest post from The Park Club. Follow The Park Club on Twitter for more health and fitness updates.

In today’s world, where everything is in fast pace and everybody is in a hurry, keeping fit becomes a challenge. But not to worry, as long as you are aware of it, many things can be done to address the challenge.

Eating the Right Food

Taking breakfast in the morning sustains the day’s activities. Without it, you can get agitated easily even with petty things in the work place. The meal need not be too heavy or you will feel sleepy. A balance plate with cereals, meat or fish, eggs, dairy, and fruits or juices should be enough.

At lunch time, a couple of sandwiches will do. Anyway, they are already complete with vegetables and cheese in them. But for rice eaters, a complete meal is still good like a cup of soup to start the meal, a main course, a salad maybe, and a dessert, of course the rice too.

Dinner can be a lot heavier depending on the days of the week; weekdays may only have shorter time for evening meals than weekends. Dinners can be for soup, appetizers, a main course or two, desserts, and probably coffee or tea to end the meal.

You should also be conscious of meal intervals; taking heavy meals within 3 to 4 hours and light snacks in 2 hours in between. Of course, there are times you will miss these, but that’s okay. It’s normal.

Wow, but with a hectic schedule how could that be possible? It’s easy. Start by planning ahead of time. With proper attitude and constant regularization of the habit, everything is possible.

Getting Enough Sleep

Sleep becomes rare when you are in a hectic schedule. Seven to eight hours of sleep is good for adults. Sleeping has been part of us since the time we were born, yet this could be a problem to many if they are too busy. Too many worries can delay sleeping. Stresses at work are brought home until the time of sleep. Try as much as possible to unload the stresses and worries before going to sleep. You can do it by talking to someone, writing it down in a journal, or praying it to the Lord.

You must find time to sleep. Just as you are running to meet deadlines, equally important is getting enough sleep to last a lifetime.

Doing Appropriate Exercises

Exercising relieves stress and aids in enhancing sleep. After work you can walk, swim, or workout. Choose the kind of workout that suits you taking into consideration the health assessment of yourself and after having seen your doctor so he can advise on the type of exercise you will take.

Look at kids; they are very active during the day and sleep well through the night. Why is that? It’s because they are already tired. People can easily get stressed out nowadays because their works deal mostly with mental exercise rather that physical. Exercising therefore removes the stress by providing tiredness after the activity, enough to make us fall asleep. When we wake up the next day; surely it will be a brand new day.

Dec112013

Give To Charity Just By Staying In Shape

Staying in shape is something that you do for yourself, but wouldn’t it be great if it could help others as well? Well, the good news is that it can. There are lots of different ways that you can give to charity just by exercising – and it won’t cost you a cent. It’s amazing how much more motivated you feel when you know that all that sweat is going to a good cause.

Image source: http://ak6.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos/2289761/preview/stock-footage-young-woman-jogging-in-the-forest-slow-motion.jpg

One incredible place to check out is the Plus 3 Network. This organization has donated over $1 million to charity so far, thanks to fitness buffs who log their exercise on their site. Simply sign up online – which is free – and then record the exercise you do. This can be anything from running and cycling through to weight training and even yoga. Everything you log gets rewarded with kudos and a donation on your behalf to a charity of your choice. Don’t expect to see hundreds of dollars donated every time you take a walk around the block, but over time it all adds up. The site has corporate sponsors that support it – which is why they are able to make the donations, but all you have to worry about is that you are making a difference. In fact, if you can track your exercise using a device such as a Garmin or iPhone, the site will double the donation.

Did you ever think how much you spend on fitness every year? There is the gym membership and all the healthy food you eat, as well as clothing and supplements. Why not pay for all of these on a credit card that makes donations to charity on your behalf? There are lots of charity credit cards out there, and you can also donate your cashback to charity automatically if you have a Discover Card. In fact, Discover makes an additional donation each year to the charity that receives the most donations from its card members– so your favorite charity could benefit twice. While you’re at it, remember to spend your health and fitness dollars at merchants who give to charity – for instance, Stanton Optical helps the Sparrows Nest.

Image source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AvCOzxKSFT0/TM2dDA3-iWI/AAAAAAAAHz4/lyuFsXNf2Lo/s1600/Chicago+Marathon+Chinatown.JPG

Finally, there is the big one – getting sponsored for staying fit. Obviously, the best known way of doing this is running in an event such as the New York Marathon – 47,000 people did that last year. However, there is no reason that you shouldn’t participate in local charity sporting events – and if there are no events, why not think about getting together with some people in your community to start one? Obviously, you’ll want to let your friends and family know that you’re participating so that they will sponsor you – and don’t forget your colleagues at work. To make it easy for people to donate, register with a site such as Crowdrise, which specializes in running online charity fundraising campaigns – once you have successfully completed the event, your sponsors can make their donations directly on the site. These are seriously great ways to stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria was NOT pleased to be put in a leopard-print santa hat

Jun052013

Nerds Unite and Stay in Shape!

Fit and I are considered “interesting” individuals because we are a mix of very physically active and extremely nerdy. Somehow, we find a way to balance everything and although we aren’t quite as fit and don’t have as much time to play video games as we want, we still get the best of both worlds. Sometimes it is difficult to balance busy lives, and sometimes there isn’t motivation to do something that you don’t want to do but we are always stressing to individuals to stay healthy and active.

You don’t need to be a professional athlete, bodybuilder, or martial artist to be healthy and active. You need to maintain a healthy ratio of lean muscle mass and body fat, eat nutritional and wholesome foods, stay hydrated and well-rested, maintain proper hygiene and be able to control your own body. Absolute strength is your total power output, but relative strength is your strength to weight ratio and your ability to handle your body. I am proposing that everyone, even those nerdy people that love to sit down for hours and play MMORPGs (we would love to do this when we have time), try to achieve what I consider a healthy and active lifestyle and here’s a few steps of how we can do that.

1. Eat healthier! I know that Red Bulls, Mega Monsters, and Mountain Dew are great ways to keep you awake through your dungeon raids but they are nutritional black holes! Consider other electrolyte heavy drinks such as Gatorade, Powerade, Smart Water, Vitamin Water, or even some supplements to keep your energy levels more naturally high. I logged 72 straight hours of Final Fantasy XII the night that it was released and I didn’t have one energy drink or sip of soda the whole time. My good health helped me stay energized and if you can increase your endurance and conditioning it could help with long nights of playing.

Captain American: Master Chef

2. Exercise! Working out helps us increase muscle mass, decrease body fat, create definition in our muscles, increase our metabolism and more. You don’t need to buy expensive clothes, equipment or memberships to work out. If you’re reading hundreds of issues of manga or comics at a time like I do, try to set goals. Every week when my new manga are released I blaze through them in minutes. After waiting a week and sometimes more! Make the volume last a little longer by doing 10 pushups and 20 crunches after every few pages. Set goals for yourself. Try to do body weight exercises such as pushups, variations of pushups, crunches, abdominal and core exercises, planks and more every few pages. If you’re playing a video game, set requirements for every time you level your character up or beat a major boss. These little things can make a big difference.

Planking–keep it tight!

3. Sleep enough! I am not asking you to sleep 10 hours a night. Try to get at least 6 hours of sleep or quality rest every 24 hours. Really try to get 7 hours and push yourself to get 8 on the weekends if you can. Your body needs to rest and recover to continue operating at a functional level. If I tried playing a hard platform sequence in Ninja Gaiden while I was exhausted, then I would have no hope. If I’m playing Settlers of Catan and can’t think straight because my brain is trying to sleep, I won’t be able to compete against my opponents if they’re well-rested.

Zzz

I am speaking out of experience and trying to help my fellow nerds. And please do not take offense to the term nerd. You could be a console gamer, PC gamer, manga fan, anime fan, comic book fan, RPG fan or any other person who enjoys these types of fun activities. We enjoy all of them and are proud of it. So if any of this relates to you, if you think that you could better your diet, exercise, and sleep then please consider some of our suggestions. If you are really interested in turning your life around contact us for our help because that is what we love to do. We want everyone to stay nerdy while being hungry and fit!