TABATA Workout

Yesterday, I had the honor of joining the Fit Mom Diet team on the FOX 10 News Morning Show to help demonstrate a TABATA style workout. TABATA is fun and you can do it in less than 5 minutes at home with or without equipment! 

Here is a blog post written by Fit Mom Diet and posted on their page, check it out! They even posted a workout to get you going! 

Fit Mom TABATA Workout

Tabata is a popular workout phenomenon right now.  It is high intensity exercises for 4 minutes at a time, 20 seconds intense work, followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds.  Studies show that tabata style workouts have been linked to increased fat loss and improved endurance. It gives you both aerobic and anaerobic benefits, just like you would get from a both cardio and strength workouts.

These time saving tabata sessions work your entire body in less than 40 minutes. For those who have more limited time to workout, consider breaking the tabata workout up by doing rounds one through four.

Tabata workouts can be incorporated into your routine easily as there is no equipment necessary to perform them.

Below is a tabata style workout you can do in the comfort of your own home. Make sure you warm up properly before you begin.  Marching or jogging in place is an easy way to warm-up Pre-workout. Finally, after you’re done do a cool down and stretch.  Because this style workout exhausts your muscles depletes your energy, its important to fuel your body with proper nutrition post workout. Within thirty minutes of working out make sure you eat a snack comprised on protein and complex carbohydrates. Examples include a high quality protein shake such as Isagenix IsaLean, Greek yogurt with a banana, or tuna on Ezekiel bread. Remember to also drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated.

Any exercise can be incorporated into the Tabata training. However the basic outline of the Tabata training method are as follows:

•     4 minutes long (whole Tabata Session)

•     20 seconds of intense training

•     10 seconds of rest

•     Total of 8 sessions or rounds

Check out the Fit Mom Diet Team on Fox 10 Arizona Morning show demonstrating a TABATA style workout: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9445809

I had so much fun with the Fit Mom girls and have loved surrounding myself with like-minded women. It really is good for the soul!

Stay Healthy,
Rene

Excerpt taken from an article on FitMomDiet.com, you can read the full article here.

Change.

Workouts just weren't working out (haha) for me anymore. Either I wasn't able to take my dear little one to the gym daycare because he had picked up another cold from, they gym daycare, or I had too many things going on during the day and just couldn't get myself there regularly. 

Change was necessary. 

I used to go to bootcamp from 5am-6am and friends thought I was crazy. But really it's not that crazy at all. Since my workouts weren't happening as much as I liked I figured instead of complaining about it, or making excuses, I'd set my alarm for 4:35am and get to the gym at 5. 

Today was two days in a row and I feel amazing. I took control, made a change and am already noticing a difference in my mood just from having that hour of "me" time before the rest of the family starts their day. It's nice because, I get home at the time I would normally wake up, groggily, and make my dear husband and my older son's lunches for the day. Not my teenager just gives me a crazy look when I come bouncing in the house at 6am as he's just rolling out of bed. 

I am happy with this change and happy I am dedicating myself to health and working on being a happier person. Make a change, it seems hard, but if you don't try, you'll never know what good it could bring... 

And just for fun... since I'm on a "cleanse" day (which I'll explain more about later) I did a little easier workout today. Lighter weights, enough to spark my muscles but not enough to make myself too fatigued. Here's what my workout consisted of: 

Wide Grip Bench Press with Barbell 

Push-Ups

Cable Cross Over

Planks on a stability Ball 

Side to Side Push-ups

Incline Bench Press with Barbell 

Toe Touch/ Crunch Combo 

STRETCHING! 

Make it a great day!!! And check out today's Deal of the Day from Tinyprints! It's about that time to start ordering Holiday cards!! 

Sweaty, Out of Breath Type of Cardio

For a little over a year now I have been doing higher intensity training. Years ago, when I didn't know better, I'd go to the gym and get on the elliptical for forty-five minutes to an hour, set on the same level. Thinking that's all I needed. Of course, I was twenty-five and my metabolism was much different.

A few years ago when I was just getting started on my fitness path, starting my day with fasted cardio and adding in ninety days of P90X, I still had no idea that the forty-five minutes to an hour on my elliptical wasn't doing the same as what I've been doing for the last year.

Every day, I am learning so much more about fitness, nutrition, and exercise and I'm applying it all in the gym and at home. I am hoping to someday turn my love for fitness and nutrition in to something more, but for now, I'll just stick to sharing some of my workouts and blogging my thoughts...

This was the cardio I did yesterday, and it kicked my booty!!! Sweating, out of breath kicked my booty. Try it and tell me how YOU feel after!

xo

It's only 95 degrees outside, is this August?

The week is half over, or halfway started, which-ever way you look at it, and I've managed to get a lot done surprisingly! With the wee one sick over the weekend, I actually got caught up on a lot of the cleaning and organizing that needed to be done. This left me more time for ME the past couple of days! I have been busy brainstorming, writing and researching for my first blog post on East Valley Moms Blog  (which if you haven't checked it out, you should!) and planning my meals and workouts for the week.

Really?

You think that's all I've done? Ok, so I've paid the bills, cleaned the house (including toilets), done the dishes, taken out the trash, played with the dog, gone to the park, read books to tiny human, played legos with tiny human, changed diapers, etc... Writing in my blog or any blog is just extra stuff I get to do when it's nap time and all of my other chores are done. 

I did manage to have a pretty good workout Monday night, partially with the hubby. He was there and even though we were doing different things, it's fun to be there at the same time. I treasure our newly found gym time hobby. Yesterday I managed to kick my own booty with some good leg exercises that left me walking funny. Wait, didn't I post about legs last time too?? Did I mention LEGS ARE MY FAVORITE?

When I did these yesterday, I was averaging a rest time of 30 seconds to a minute in between reps. My weight has varied over the last few weeks, increasing of course, and I'm quite proud when I have to add weight! 

My Weight Amounts for Tuesday, August 6, 2013 

Leg Extension (single leg) ~ 25lbs

Squats ~ 70lbs

Glute Kickbacks ~ Bar only (on the Smith Machine)

Walking Lunges ~ 15lbs in each hand

Leg Press ~ 90lbs

Deadlift ~ 40lb Barbell

Hip Extension ~ 20lbs 

I'm learning. It's all a learning experience for me right now. I'm focusing on form and learning the different exercises and machines. BUT, it's working. Whatever I'm doing is working. I'm still doing a small amount of cardio (at least 20 minutes a day) and eating a clean diet, consisting of the proper amounts of proteins, fats and carbs, and it's working. My shorts are looser, and while I may be bloated at the end of the day from the gallon of water I have drank or the egg whites I've eaten, I'm still getting closer to where I want to be. 

I drink my MonaVie juice every morning and every night, a RVL shake at least once a day and minimize my snacks. I believe that ANYONE who sets their mind to achieving goals can do it. Whether you want to feel better, lose weight, or just quit complaining, it can be done! I am proof of that one. 

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, registered dietitian, or fitness expert. The purpose of my blog is to share my experiences with food, fitness, and life—not to dole out advice. When it comes to your health and fitness, do your research. All blog content is for entertainment purposes only. This blog contains my own views and does not necessarily reflect the view of MonaVie. 

Today's Workout - Thur, August 1

I decided that I wanted to start blogging about my workouts... maybe not all of them, but most.

Today was "leg" day and I was still feeling my legs from Monday's leg day workout. I want to make sure that I am really changing up my workouts so my muscles don't get used to the same motions over and over. By changing the exercises frequently, your body will consistently stay challenged and you will definitely see results!

I've been waking up at 5:30am and doing fasted cardio first thing (usually 20-25 minutes on the elliptical) and then lifting weights a few hours later at the gym. Today, since I had planned on a higher intensity workout I skipped the morning cardio and snoozed a few minutes longer. (Really, it was like 20 minutes, I just couldn't stay in bed!)

My friend met me at the gym and we got started... Wow, was that a great work out! The first and second set of the circuit was probably the hardest for me, with the fourth being the easiest. I felt almost like doing a 5th! Once I was done with the leg curls I went back to stretch and held a 3 minute plank to really challenge myself. 

It was definitely a good, sweaty, workout and helped to change it up from the normal squats, leg press, lunges, kick backs, etc... and of course I threw together my RVL Vanilla Cream shake in the locker room for recovery! 

Enjoy! Let me know how YOUR legs feel after this one!