Well, I'm back from my cruise! It was an incredible experience, and I still managed to get a lot of exercising in, in between sampling many delicious dishes...
Today, I wanted to talk about workout clothes. Personally, I don't buy new active-related outfits all that often; I have the basics and tend to re-use/re-wear what's in my drawers until it's time to replace it.
Reading through e-mails today, I came across a Summer Fit Wear list from stylist Rachel Zoe (whom is certainly fashionista and not fitness guru, but still). The picks that stood out to me were the Heidi Klum for New Balance black trainers, Marc Jacobs sport watch, and colourful sports satchel.
Do you have sportswear brand loyalty? Say, Athleta, Lucy, Lululemon? Classics like Nike or Adidas? Gap Body? I hear good things about Victoria Secret's athletic line, too.
Let me know what your favourites and recommendations!
I didn't mention this in the last post, but as of much later today, I will be on holiday for the next week. It came as an enormous surprise from friends the other day, but God has seen fit to bless me with an amazing, spontaneous adventure on an Alaskan cruise ship.
There will limited internet access during my time away, so the next post will come upon returning. Meanwhile, I can't wait to walk around the ship deck and make use of the ship's gym facilities (made all the better with friends)!
See everyone in 10 days! Until then, I am out to sea...
This post is especially for one of my dear friends. She asked me what a "Tabata workout" was, and I told her I would dedicate some time to blogging about this approach to exercising.
Tabata is particularly popular in the professional sports world, where you have athletes that are in peak physical condition, and accustomed to serious workouts (and therefore able to handle the intensity).
Some call the Tabata Protocol "The ultimate cardio workout", or "The world's greatest fat burning workout". For those looking to magically shed pounds, this isn't a cure-in-just-four-minutes; however, pair working your hardest in that short amount of time, combined with a proper diet, and you definitely will see results. Judge for yourself!
The idea behind Tabata is to burn fat in a very brief amount of time, with high-intensity interval training. Research indicated that the optimal ratio of intense work to rest was 2:1.
Start with a proper warm up, proceed to 20 seconds on (full-swing!), 10 seconds off (rest period), back into a burst of 20 more seconds at full-intensity, then another 10 seconds rest. Repeat 8 times. There are many different exercise variations you can do in those 4 minutes of hell. Body weight exercises are fantastic (think Squat Thrust/Burpees, which are tough!), and also using free weights (such as a kettle bell).
Here is a Tabata-inspired workout with modified timing (hence the "inspired"). It takes a little easier pace, and is great for beginners.
Be sure to check out more 4 Minute Tabata workouts from Bex; she has at least 10 different videos that I've tried out in this series! I like all of the different variations.
I originally learned about Tabata workouts a few years ago. Basically, the exercises are to be so gruelling that you can barely finish. It's four minutes of major pain, to gain (or complete HELL... but you make it through)!
I will confess, though, that I did my first Tabata exercises under the absolute worst of conditions. I was in my second or third week of recovering from quite possibly the scariest illness I've ever had (combination of "the Swine flu"/Pneumonia), and in my delirium, had the not-at-all-brilliant idea to do a series like the one below.
Please don't EVER do what I did, unless you want to seriously injure yourself! Only consider a Tabata workout if you are in really good shape. I felt like I was going to die... Go figure!
What do you think of the Tabata Protocol? Are you inspired to increase the intensity of your workouts by incorporating this kind of exercise into your weekly regimen?
"Fat burn is greater when exercise intensity is high."
Do you ever have "one of those days" or weeks where there is no end in sight? Well, you are not alone. Since being sick earlier in the week, I've been struggling to regain my usual energy, which has been frustrating.
What kind of things (distractions, diversions) do you use or do to pull yourself out of a bad day? I often turn to exercise. It brings the energy and rejuvenation needed to make the day a bit brighter!
Bring on the burn, thanks to these fab exercises from Sarah Dussault of Sarah Fit.
Really concentrate on getting the most out of each repetition!
