The video gives a couple of exercise options—I use the chest press option a good bit—but a lot can be said for simply incorporating more push-ups and dips into your routine as well.
Showing posts with label women's health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women's health. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Hey Ladies, Don't Forget to Exercise Your Chest Muscles!
I try to train every part of my body and that includes the chest. Contrary to popular belief, doing so will not transform a woman's breast area into something "manly", but it can certainly lift the breasts as well as give you that toned physique you love to flaunt during tank-top season.
The video gives a couple of exercise options—I use the chest press option a good bit—but a lot can be said for simply incorporating more push-ups and dips into your routine as well.
The video gives a couple of exercise options—I use the chest press option a good bit—but a lot can be said for simply incorporating more push-ups and dips into your routine as well.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
I Welcome The Spoils
The one thing I always tell myself when I'm at the point in my workout where I feel like one more set might kill me is: to be better than I was yesterday and stronger than I am now.
Pretty simple.
I approach each workout full bore because I want to challenge myself. I don't care if it's hard and I'm not looking for anyone to pat me on the back and say, "good job", I just want to be the very best physical version of me that I can and I know that won't come without me doing the necessary work.
So, I welcome the spoils of my labor—sweat, pain, and more of both where that came from—because I know that I am headed somewhere good physically if I never allow myself to get too comfortable with where I am now.
I know I can always get better.
Pretty simple.
I approach each workout full bore because I want to challenge myself. I don't care if it's hard and I'm not looking for anyone to pat me on the back and say, "good job", I just want to be the very best physical version of me that I can and I know that won't come without me doing the necessary work.
So, I welcome the spoils of my labor—sweat, pain, and more of both where that came from—because I know that I am headed somewhere good physically if I never allow myself to get too comfortable with where I am now.
I know I can always get better.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Truth in Individualty
I can be a tough woman to please. My mood shifts on a dime, I'm constantly obsessing over something that to most people would seem petty, and I'm never altogether certain if I'm where I want to be–emotionally–on any given day of the week.
Exercise, for me, offers a way to remain connected to my body (and hence myself) long enough to figure out what my goals are and where I need to refocus my attention in order to meet them.
However, if I make the mistake of going astray from my food diet or not getting the sleep I need the night before–often leading to a lackluster workout—then I'm prone to regress into bad habits as willingly as any other.
Simplicity comes easily only if you're life isn't complicated or cluttered. And if the only person you have to worry about is yourself, chances are it'll be easy to step away and not be as accountable for your misgivings because there won't be anyone there to call you on it.
That said, if you're presenting your life to the same people on a daily basis, any mistakes or missteps you make will undoubtedly be on display. You can try to run from their critiques for a while but, eventually, you will be forced to endure the opinion of that person who feels the need to "keep it real" with you.
The thing I've tried to learn from my numerous trips down the road of imperfection is that I'm likely always going to be my own worst critic. As such, the bar I've set for myself is one that has to be flexible, realistic, and open to success and my failure.
Truth in individuality is the key to becoming better as a person and more focused as a woman/man of good health (both physical and mental).
Take the three steps forward as a sign of progress and any regressions as your personal message that no improvement can be complete without first revisiting where you began.
Exercise, for me, offers a way to remain connected to my body (and hence myself) long enough to figure out what my goals are and where I need to refocus my attention in order to meet them.
However, if I make the mistake of going astray from my food diet or not getting the sleep I need the night before–often leading to a lackluster workout—then I'm prone to regress into bad habits as willingly as any other.
Simplicity comes easily only if you're life isn't complicated or cluttered. And if the only person you have to worry about is yourself, chances are it'll be easy to step away and not be as accountable for your misgivings because there won't be anyone there to call you on it.
That said, if you're presenting your life to the same people on a daily basis, any mistakes or missteps you make will undoubtedly be on display. You can try to run from their critiques for a while but, eventually, you will be forced to endure the opinion of that person who feels the need to "keep it real" with you.
The thing I've tried to learn from my numerous trips down the road of imperfection is that I'm likely always going to be my own worst critic. As such, the bar I've set for myself is one that has to be flexible, realistic, and open to success and my failure.
Truth in individuality is the key to becoming better as a person and more focused as a woman/man of good health (both physical and mental).
Take the three steps forward as a sign of progress and any regressions as your personal message that no improvement can be complete without first revisiting where you began.
Monday, January 23, 2012
There's More Than One Way to Approach a Healthy Lifestyle
I recently had a conversation with a friend about how she can adjust her eating habits now that she's a retiree, and no longer required to start her day at the crack of dawn.
Her dilemma was a simple one, with a not-so-simple solution: to continue her routine of eating five-to-six meals a day, but doing so outside of the structured day that she once led as a full-time employee.
Sounds easy, right?
Well, you'd be surprised the difference a few hours can make in your day when you're attempting to squeeze in the same number of meals–particularly if you aren't, as in the case of my friend, enthusiastic about eating in the first place.
My suggestion to her was to refocus her attention on the calories as opposed to the all too well known industry recommendation of "six-meals-a-day".
Many of us buy into the aforementioned approach, and have a reasonable amount of success following it, but what if your situation is similar to that of my friend, who now has no alarm to rule her day?
Her biggest problem is cramming more food into a shorter period of time. How do you do that without jeopardizing your desire to eat? Or, worse than that, skipping multiple meals altogether?
I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist, but I can tell you the one thing I've learned over the years where following a strict regimen is concerned, it doesn't matter when you eat so long as you're managing to eat right regularly.
What has always–and continues to–work for me is to shoot for a set amount of calories per day and spread the amount out over the course of my productive hours.
It doesn't matter if that means I'm eating three, four, or six meals in a day, so long as each meal is as balanced–caloric and nutritional wise–as possible.
By doing this, at least in my case, I'm able to adjust my food intake to the length of my day as opposed to depending on food intervals (breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, etc.) to dictate where my day begins and ends food wise.
The primary reason–in my humble opinion–most nutritionists offer the six meal a day suggestion plan is to get people who don't exercise good eating habits into the mode of eating regular meals. Regular meals are a necessary part of any successful fitness plan.
However, your plan has to work for you and what works for you may not be what works for everybody.
The key, in any case, is to keep your metabolism moving in the right direction and that can be done in any number of ways–even if that way appears chaotic and unstructured in nature.
Find what works for you and do that because there is certainly more than one way to approach a healthy lifestyle.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Her dilemma was a simple one, with a not-so-simple solution: to continue her routine of eating five-to-six meals a day, but doing so outside of the structured day that she once led as a full-time employee.
Sounds easy, right?
Well, you'd be surprised the difference a few hours can make in your day when you're attempting to squeeze in the same number of meals–particularly if you aren't, as in the case of my friend, enthusiastic about eating in the first place.
My suggestion to her was to refocus her attention on the calories as opposed to the all too well known industry recommendation of "six-meals-a-day".
Many of us buy into the aforementioned approach, and have a reasonable amount of success following it, but what if your situation is similar to that of my friend, who now has no alarm to rule her day?
Her biggest problem is cramming more food into a shorter period of time. How do you do that without jeopardizing your desire to eat? Or, worse than that, skipping multiple meals altogether?
I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist, but I can tell you the one thing I've learned over the years where following a strict regimen is concerned, it doesn't matter when you eat so long as you're managing to eat right regularly.
What has always–and continues to–work for me is to shoot for a set amount of calories per day and spread the amount out over the course of my productive hours.
It doesn't matter if that means I'm eating three, four, or six meals in a day, so long as each meal is as balanced–caloric and nutritional wise–as possible.
By doing this, at least in my case, I'm able to adjust my food intake to the length of my day as opposed to depending on food intervals (breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, etc.) to dictate where my day begins and ends food wise.
The primary reason–in my humble opinion–most nutritionists offer the six meal a day suggestion plan is to get people who don't exercise good eating habits into the mode of eating regular meals. Regular meals are a necessary part of any successful fitness plan.
However, your plan has to work for you and what works for you may not be what works for everybody.
The key, in any case, is to keep your metabolism moving in the right direction and that can be done in any number of ways–even if that way appears chaotic and unstructured in nature.
Find what works for you and do that because there is certainly more than one way to approach a healthy lifestyle.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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