Yes, your Labor Day should have a little labor in it. So here is a fabulous Labor Day workout for you! See if you can beat my time (18:59!) I demo the first few rounds for you in the video above.

1-10-1 Workout:
Jump Squats
Push Ups
Step Ups or Jump Ups (step or jump onto a step that is around 12 inches tall)
Tricep Dips
Sit Ups

First set, perform each exercise one time. Second set, perform each exercise two times. Third set, perform each exercise three times, etc, etc, up to sets of 10. From there work your way down until you are back to sets of 1.

Rest as little as possible between exercises. Time yourself and try to complete workout in under 30 minutes.

This is a workout I’ve used in Boot Camp, but it’s also great for a Home Boot Camp workout on a day you can’t make it to class or as a Travel Workout. It requires very little equipment and little space.

BE SURE TO POST YOUR TIME BELOW!

After years of consistent exercise I can tell you it’s worth it – even when it’s the last thing you want to do. There are many reasons I do it over and over again and cannot imagine my life without it. In spite of the reasons I hate exercise (the pain, the sweat, the early-on breathlessness that makes me want to stop, the matter of squeezing it into my life 6 days a week, the time it takes away from other productive things), these are WAY MORE reasons I LOVE EXERCISE. Here’s my Top 5 Reasons I Love Exercise:

1. I am more balanced and centered on days I workout. I tend to be easily stressed out and overwhelmed. This turns into anxiety if I don’t keep it in check. Nothing like a good sweat eases my mind and my nerves – EVERYTIME!

2. I LOVE to feel like a badass. I like to do things that other people cannot do. I like to feel strong and in control of my body. The entire reason I ran my first half marathon was just to tell people I had done it. This event was one of my most life changing events. Same goes for the marathon a few years later (although, I *really* did not enjoy 26.2 miles of pavement pounding, I’ll stick with shorter workouts, thank you!)

3. I’m totally vain. I like to watch my muscles working. I used to do a ton of hot yoga and I think I can say half the reason I did it was to watch my muscles in the mirror for 90 minutes. I love watching my quads fire, my shoulders engaging, my triceps popping out. You should see me standing in the bathroom mirror checking out my back. Yes, I’m totally vain.

4. I eat better, sleep better and feel better on days I exercise. My days off are typically lazy and cranky. My head just does not work the same without exercise.

5. I have seen the other side. I have lived in a body that was unfit and overweight. I did not enjoy it. I hated feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. I hated feeling like nothing fit. I hated shopping. I still have days where I don’t like the way my jeans fit (BTW, nothing makes me pissier that jeans. They are uncomfortable and unflattering and the good ones cost a million dollars. I have no idea how they are a staple of our culture.) I like to feel good in my clothes and my skin.

Okay, I know I said 5, but there are really six Reasons I Love Exercise:

6. I love to eat! My early workout years were strictly workout-in-order-to-eat years. I don’t workout to “earn” food in the same way anymore, as it’s a really unhealthy mindset. Now I am really good about making healthy, whole food choices 90% of the time. But 10% of the time I want dark chocolate and cheese and wine . . . and a lot of it, please.

Okay, your turn . . . Why do YOU love exercise? Leave your comments below.

You’ll see in the video how my shoes have completely broken down based on my stride. Your shoes may wear quite differently. So look closely at the bottom of your shoes for sign of wear. Inspect both shoes closely, as one shoe may wear a lot more than the other (as in my case).

If you are in Seattle and find you’re in need of new shoes, let me recommend Super JocknJill by Greenlake. They are really helpful in determining what shoe is best for you. Not all running shoes are good for every foot. PLEASE get the ones that are best for you. Any good running shoe store will watch you walk/run in shoes and be able to tell you the most appropriate shoe for you. Don’t buy shoes from a place that cannot do this! With as many steps as you take on your average run, your shoes are an essential investment. They can make or break you, literally. Happy running friends!

You may have heard the new craze in cardio – HIIT. It stands for High Intensity Interval Training and everyone is talking about it. The idea behind HIIT is that you can do a shorter cardio workout with brief high intensity intervals and burn more calories that in a longer, steady state cardio session. With HIIT workouts, the after burn is crazy. After burn is the calories you burn following your workout while your body is still recovering from the workout. With steady state cardio, your heart rate and oxygen consumption returns to normal range more quickly than with HIIT, therefore minimizing the after burn effect. With HIIT, your heart rate and metabolism remain elevated/stimulated for a longer period of time (24-48 hours in some cases!!) This is because the high intensity bouts make you really push the limits of your anaerobic threshold – that feeling when you’re DYING for a little oxygen. After a HIIT session you consume significantly more oxygen to return your body to it’s pre-exercise physiological state. This is called EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption.) EPOC is where it’s at!!! If you can increase your EPOC (your oxygen consumption post workout) it’s like you’re still working out when you’re not!

Here’s a sample study:
A 132 lb person burned about 228 calories in 30 minutes of light jogging (working at 70% of their max heart rate). That person recovered quickly and burned very few additional calories following their exercise session. BUT, that same person doing 30 minutes of HIIT burned 298 calories in their 30 minute session followed by an ADDITIONAL 200+ calories in the following 24 hours. Talk about more bang for your buck!!! The HIIT program of this particular study included 20 seconds working at 90% of your max heart rate followed by 40 seconds working at 70% of your max heart rate. For this person they were running at 9 miles per hour (that’s super fast!!) during their work phase and 5 miles per hour in their recovery phase. HIIT can be done on any scale. So anyone can train this way. You have to work at your level to make it work to your advantage.

Last week on a gray day in Seattle (Lord knows we have lots of those) I decided to hit the treadmill rather than running in the drizzle. I just couldn’t take another run in the rain. Here is the HIIT format I followed for my treadmill workout. Keep in mind, this worked for me at my current level of fitness. This may need to be altered up or down depending on YOUR current level of fitness. Also, this can be done on any cardio equipment. Don’t feel limited to the treadmill! If you’d like to know how to scale this for you, shoot me an email!

Here’s the minute by minute breakdown:

0:00 – 4:00 Warm Up 6.0 mph
4:00 – 6:00 Warm Up 6.5 mph
6:00 – 8:00 7.0 mph
8:00 – 9:00 Recover*
9:00 – 11:00 7.5 mph
11:00 – 12:00 Recover*
12:00 – 13:00 8.0 mph
13:00 – 14:00 Recover*
14:00 – 15:00 8.5 mph
15:00 – 16:00 Recover*
16:00 – 18:00 7.5 mph
18:00 – 19:00 Recover*
19:00 – 21:00 8.0 mph
21:00 – 22:00 Recover*
22:00 – 23:00 8.5 mph
23:00 – 24:00 Recover*
24:00 – 25:00 9.0 mph
25:00 – 26:00 Recover*
26:00 – 28:00 8.0 mph
28:00 – 29:00 Recover*
29:00 – 29:30 9.0 mph
29:30 – 30:00 8.5 mph
30:00 – 30:30 8.0 mph
30:30 – 32:30 Recover
32:30 – 35:00 Walk 4.0 mph

* I recovered at 6.5 mph which was a comfortable jog for me. This let my heart rate recover and I felt energized and ready for the next push each time. Choose a recovery pace that allows you to really recover and feel ready to push yourself again. I have many of my personal training clients walk their recovery. If you don’t recover enough, you won’t be able to really dig deep and push your pace.
** I did longer work phases then rest phases a number of times. When first starting out, you may want to make the work/push phase the same amount as the recovery. For example, 1:00 hard/1:00 easy or :30 hard/:30 easy.

Check out this ab workout from Boot Camp on Tuesday. Good times workin’ on the 6 pack! Do this core workout on your own every other day to bring on your own 6 pack!

PART II:

This is posted in two parts because YouTube won’t allow posts more than 10 minutes. Part I and Part II are intended to be done back to back without rest.

I am posting this workout for two reasons:

1. My clients want a good workout they can perform at home with no equipment while I’m on vacation next week.

2.  I want a travel workout I can do without equipment while I am vacationing.

So, here you go!  This workout is similar to what many of my clients experience at Sync Fitness Boot Camp in Wallingford.  It’s some serious cardio and some great strength training as well.  This workout runs through 13 exercises without rest.  I recommend you PERFORM THREE ROUNDS of this workout, TIMING EACH ROUND.  Try to beat yourself with each round – you can do it!!  Try to limit your rest and REST ONLY BETWEEN ROUNDS, not between exercises.  Are you ready?!  Here’s the workout:

WARMUP:  Warm up of your choice.  Should last 3-5 minutes and be light to medium in intensity.  Some ideas are a light jog in your neighborhood, run stairs in your house, jump rope, jumping jacks.

WORKOUT:  Here’s the good stuff!

1. Forward / Reverse Lunges x 10 per side

2. Burpees (with or without Push Ups) x 15

3. Slow Bicycles x 20

4. 180 Jump Squats x 10

5. Inchworms with Push Ups x 10

6. Cobra x (5x:05)

7. Alternating Jump Lunges x 20

8. Staggered Push Ups x 10 per side

9. Leapfrog Squats x 10

10. Jump Squats x 10 (DO NOT REST BETWEEN LEAPFROG SQUATS AND JUMP SQUATS!)

11. Hand to Elbow Plank x 10

12. Jacknives x 15 per side

13. Airplanes x (5x:05)

COOL DOWN: You can do a cardio cool down, same as your warm up and then some stretching.  Don’t forget the stretching – it’s important!

The posted video goes through one round completely.  Use the video as much or as little as you need to.  Once you’ve got the moves down, feel free to mute my chatter and pump up your favorite tunes.  Happy sweating!

Here are some other highlights from the article:

**  Regular exercise (brisk walking 5 days a week for 30-45 minutes) increases the function of your immune system by increasing natural killer cells that kill bacteria and viruses. Additionally, regular exercise can increase your body’s response to flu vaccines.

**  One study on the effects of exercise on the use of sick days showed that participants who walked briskly 5 days a week for 45 minutes used 25-50% fewer sick days.

**  There are over 60 studies showing a 20-30% reduced chance of breast cancer in women who exercise regularly.

**  A JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) study of 3,000 women with cancer found that those who walked 3-5 days a week decreased their chances of dying by 50%.

**  The most recent studies on exercise and aging are showing exercise decreases the signs of aging on a cellular level.

If that’s not enough reason to break a sweat I don’t know what is.  EXERCISE IS A POWERFUL DRUG!  YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO EMPOWER YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR FUTURE EVERYDAY!

If you can’t get yourself going on an exercise program, let Sync Fitness help you.  We’ve been serving the Seattle area since 2003.  That means we’ve prevented innumerable colds, cancers, heart attacks, viruses and sick days.

**Do three rounds.  Rest 1:00 between rounds.  NO REST DURING ROUNDS.**

**Time each round, trying to go faster each time.**

Overhead Squats (5-15 lb DBs in each hand) x 12

Mountain Climbers x 50

1 Leg Row (5-20 lb DBs in each hand) x 12 per side

Reverse Flyes (5-10 lb DBs in each hand) x 12

Skaters with Floor Touch (5-10 lb DB) x 20

Burpees x 10

Stationary Lunges (aka split squat) with Overhead Press (5-15 lb DBs in each hand) x 12 per side

Jump Squats x 20

V Sit & Twist (10 lb DB)

Happy sweating my friends!

“Does it REALLY matter if someone does crunches instead of sit-ups? Are 50 crunches better than 100 sit-ups? What’s the real deal from the resident fitness guru?”

Here is my reply:

In terms of strengthening your abs without compromising your back, crunches are better. Sit ups are good as long as you they don’t bother your back. BUT – if you’re looking to flatten your abs it’s more a matter of losing body fat. You can crunch till the cows come home and still carry belly weight. Flat abs are generally attributed to excellent nutrition, low body fat and lots of lean muscle mass. I know that’s not a fun answer.

Also, know that a lot of those people you know who have awesome abs also have awesome genetics. Some people are lucky enough to inherit bodies that don’t carry as much around the middle.  That doesn’t mean flat abs can’t be had if you weren’t born with them. But you may have to work a little harder if your belly is the place where you tend to carry your body fat.

Being very diligent about what you put in your mouth and how much you sweat it out can hugely impact your six pack.  I have to brag for just a moment here . . . I have a client who is preparing for her wedding in Seattle in a month.  She has done an amazing job of watching her diet and exercising very consistently over the past few months.  She came into The Fitness Lab for her personal training session last week and asked me, “Can I show you my six pack?”  She has worked really hard and as a result you can see these beautiful lines carving out the abdominal muscles on her belly.

Food that will help you lose belly weight: lean protein, veggies and water – TONS of this and little to nothing of anything else.  Like I said, it ain’t easy!  But nothing tastes as good as a six pack feels!