During the winter, your options for being active really start to dwindle. The cold temperature makes many outdoor activities impossible and when the weather is at its worst, going out to the gym or the local YMCA just isn’t reasonable; it’s best to stay safe at home…Yet, we must stay active!

For those of us who have stationary bikes or treadmills, we naturally can turn to them. Yet, neither seems to be a satisfying alternative to pounding on the pavement or gliding by a changing landscape. Treadmill-running and stationary-biking quickly become monotonous tasks, and it feels easy to let them slide and just forget about being active for a couple days, but we must not let the weather prevail!

Winter is a good time for strength training (for building or toning muscles), an important part of exercise, which you might not do normally. It doesn’t require much room, and if you don’t have your own set of weights, you always can improvise (but remember to be safe)! You can apply the tips from “Use of a Weight Room” within your own home. Strength training doesn’t have to involve weights. In fact, targeting some areas can be easiest without weight. For core training, strengthening your abdominal region, you could try 5 Minute Abs or even yoga!

If none of those options sound appealing to you, perhaps you’re looking for something more “fun”. If your ceilings aren’t too low, jump-roping actually can be brought indoors. It’s a fun, while demanding, activity that you can even include your kids in. (I’d be a little wary of the furniture in this case.) A less traditional but equally, if not more, rewarding activity is jumping on a trampoline. Use of a trampoline can give you all the benefit of normal exercise and can help you increase your sense of balance. Buying a mini-trampoline specially designed for exercise, it will be safe for your joints, might be your next best investment. (You didn’t think I was referring to a full-sized trampoline, did you?)

Last but not least, why not dance? It doesn’t matter what your previous experiences were like, all you have to do is turn up your music and start moving! Who knows? Maybe you can master a cool new move (or perhaps just scare your kids with a resurrection of “Thriller”).

Let me start by saying, I do not enjoy distance running…at all.  I do love to sprint, though.  However, the Air Force requires me to run, and I am tested on my 1.5 mile run time.

Not too long ago (less than a year) I was timed at 11:36 for my fitness test.  A run like that and the other areas of the test scored me a decent score, but I was two minutes away from getting the max points.  I have never been a fan of mediocrity and wanted to get a score of one hundred.  The quest began.

Only running two days a week, I was able to drop almost a minute by my next test.  Then the following one five months after my 11:36 run yielded me a 9:54.  Finally, two months after that we tested again, and I was clocked at 9:35, one second faster than my goal.

One day out of the week I ran for distance and the other for speed.  The distance runs were roughly three miles.  I never really kept time because pushing myself has never been an issue with fitness.  I hate to run.  Therefore, I try to finish as quickly as I can in order to make it stop.  I pick a distance and race to the finish.  Some people might find that running for a set time works best for them, not me.

The other run day was filled with sprints…yea!  I would go to the track and run a quarter mile (400 yards) as fast as I could.  Then I would walk a quarter mile.  Usually, I only would do six sets of these.  Afterward, I was exhausted but would still lightly jog a half mile lap.  Doing this forced me to push through the areas of my run when I was exhausted.

This program is so effective because you are developing all of your run muscles, as well as breathing efficiency.  Distance running builds endurance and running twice the distance of the test track ensured I would not get gassed during the test.  The sprint days taught me I could push my body harder than I was willing to do mentally.

Do you have sore or tight muscles? Have you been itching for a personal masseuse? Well, The Stick can solve almost all of your problems.

At first glance, The Stick looks like a stick with some pieces of cut up PVC pipe in between two handles. However, in reality, The Stick is an amazing device used to compress and stretch muscles. It prevents and predicts muscle injuries, increases strength and flexibilty, disperses the effects of lactic acid, and accelerates muscle recovery. It is made out of a space-age plastic that is designed not to break and the center of the stick is covered by spindles. Each of these spindles is designed to roll independently over certain muscles. With each spindle, you can pinpoint target muscles and really work with certain muscles.

There are many different types of Sticks. For instance, you could get the Original Body Stick ($42.50) that is 24 inches long and has 15 working spindles or you could get the Computer Stick ($40.00) that is 22 inches long that is designed to be extremely flexible and for the computer athlete. There are Travel Sticks ($27.50) that are 17 inches long and have 8 spindles and also Marathon Sticks ($32.00) that have been made popular by world-class distance runners.

The Stick has a great website that shows you all of the different ways you can use a Stick. The site shows all of the techniques you can use to target your lower back, upper arms, feet, and more. Of course, there are general guidelines you should follow. For instance, when using The Stick, you should keep your muscles relaxed during rollout. Also, you should remember that you should not harm yourself when using The Stick and that using The Stick roughly and excessively could cause muscle soreness. You should use the stick before, during, and after workouts in order to aid in its effectiveness.

I own a Stick, and it is possibly one of the best things I have ever owned!

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One of the hardest things for any child or teenager to overcome is the humility in attempting and failing an activity in front of friends and peers. Intensive studies have shown that the two greatest things keeping kids from exercising are the television and the lack of knowledge about sports and physical activities.

As time goes on and technology becomes more and more a part of our society, younger generations begin to rely more on electronics and computers for entertainment. Some of those younger children even choose to remain indoors every day as opposed to playing outside. Part of that is simply due to the fact that the children are never pushed enough to learn certain activities.

Often in the studies, it was found that a large number of children don’t know how to play a part in physical activities, such as throwing a football correctly or kicking a soccer ball. The thought of participating in an activity they have no knowledge or skill in is very intimidating for both children and teenagers. As adults we must play a large role in our children’s lives, and part of that role is making sure they stay healthy and fit. Children generally pick up a lot of habits from their parents. So the first place to start is with yourself.

A great place to begin for the whole family is to go outdoors and play family sports or participate in physical activities. If you go outside with the children and throw a baseball or teach them how to shoot a basketball, chances are next time their friends ask them to play they will go out and enjoy the great outdoors instead of basking in front of an electronic device all day. Often you will even find that the children want to go outside themselves and practice for the next time your family plays some sports.

Having a very proactive and physical attitude will affect your children, so make sure you keep yourself off that couch even when you are ready to relax for the day. Trips to the beach, bike rides, or walks could play a great role in keeping your children away from the electronics. Just remember to stay physical!

“When Chuck Norris does push ups, he doesn’t push himself up, he pushes the Earth down.”  After doing this workout plan people are going to say your name in place of Chuck’s.  All it is going to take is a few minutes each day to do very common exercises.

First of all, this plan is best to supplement your current plan.  With it you will gradually build your endurance and strength.  You will only do one set of push ups, crunches and lunges.

Here is the plan for day one: Do as many push ups as you can on day one. (ex. 40 total push ups, 40 crunches and 30 lunges (each leg).

Day two: Do half that number in the morning (ex. 20 push ups, 20 crunches, 15 lunges). That night do the exact same number. The key is to do them with perfect technique and not cheating form simply to complete the exercise.  It is better to stop a few short than to cheat.

Day three: Add one more push up, crunch and lunge to day two’s morning and night set (ex. 21, 21, and 16 morning and night) .

Continue doing this every day.

Each week you must add 10 to your morning and nightly sets. On some days you will add more than one at a time. Don’t rush it, though, only add 10 a week!

This requires less than ten minutes a day, and in a month’s time you will have added 40 to your totals! You could be doing 520 push-ups per day in a year! All with slow improvements and a lot of discipline.

I did this back in high school and started with 30 and climbed to 200+. My friend Chris Hubinsky continued on and peaked at 1,000! He and I decided to give it another go and just started over, ten years later. I am currently on 40 push ups, 50 crunches and 45 lunges…and am going for 300.  I always wanted to do 300 push ups straight.

I seriously have been debating the acquisition of a pull-up bar.  It would be a huge benefit to my back strength and a great addition to the program.  Does anybody have any other simple workout plans that provide results?

Seldom has there been a workout routine or video that contained the phrase, “Warning: Not For Beginners” plastered all over it. In fact, most workout routines supposedly are tailored to the fitness novice and are designed to get even the laziest of people in good shape. Then again, most of those videos only provide a cardio workout and seldom do their job correctly.

None of that is the case with the P90X Workout system.  The P90X, or Power 90 Extreme, system includes 12 different workouts to help pump your muscles into “beach body” shape. The fitness trainer in the videos, Tony Horton, is not only good-natured but entertaining as well, and he helps keep you on your feet throughout the entire workout. The system does work very well and nearly is guaranteed to get you toned. The main process behind all the hype is known as “Muscle Confusion”.

Muscle Confusion is a process that introduces new moves in every workout routine and keeps your muscles from adapting to one routine. Most personal trainers will tell you that a workout routine must be changed at least every six weeks; this is due to the fact that muscles have somewhat of a memory feature. After an extended period of undergoing the same routine, muscles memorize their function so to speak and aren’t worked as hard.

P90X is certainly NOT for beginners. The system comes with a fitness test; those wishing to jump into the routine must take the fitness test first. If you pass, then you’re ok to jump into the P90X workout routine. If you don’t, then it is not recommended you start with this routine. There is another routine known simply as the Power90 workout, which is a little lighter and makes a better starting point for those who don’t qualify during the fitness test.

Each video is designed to work a different part of your body, and along with that, each video contains very unique exercises to keep your muscles continuously working. The entire system costs a total of $119.85, split into three payments of $39.95 plus shipping and handling. It certainly is not extremely cheap, but each time you finish a workout you’ll feel it was very much worth it.

On my first day at college, I walked out of my Calculus Two class with my mouth gaping wide open. The teacher literally had just started. He walked into the room exactly at 4:35 and said, “My name is Professor Lupi. Everyone remember Integration by Substitution? Good.” He then proceeded to throw ten examples up on the board that were incomprehensible to me, and said, “Go home, the assignment is on the syllabus.”

So I walked out of there almost in tears because I had no clue what was going on; this class was going to be ridiculous! However, my friend convinced me to go to a Group Fitness class at my school, and that turned my whole day sunny-side-up.

I walked into the class right after getting out of calculus. The first thing I noticed that my mud-stained Asics were no match for the white Reeboks of all of the other girls. Now, I’m not much of a person to listen to, “Ready, girls!!?!?! And one, and two, and three, feel the burn!!!!!” but going to Michelle’s Fat Burn class put me in such a good mood. I couldn’t believe that I was actually in that class and kept laughing at myself. However, the perkiness and the optimism in that room brightened my day, and I found myself actually breaking out a sweat! The workouts we did were actually pretty tough. I could feel my abs working hard or my thighs begin to shake from trying to hold myself up against the mirror in a squatting position.

I never thought that those classes were completely serious, but now I have a different opinion of them. Being around way too high of a percentage of testosterone all day (I’m an engineering major) it feels good to be around happy girls. I definitely would recommend classes such as Fat Burn, Cardio, Spinning, and more. It’s a ton of fun and a great workout!

How about some volleyball? Volleyball is my favorite sport. I really enjoy playing on a team but also enjoy playing with my family and friends. At the beach, at a park, or even in your yard, it’s never really difficult to get a match going. All you need is a net, a ball, and some people ready for some fun.

A decent net can be found in most sports stores or department stores for $15-$50 depending on the season and the quality.  The ball itself can be found in the same stores, usually for around $10. If you don’t want a real volleyball, a beach ball is a very easy and safe alternative; it’s great for family events.

The rules of volleyball are fairly simple. One team starts with the ball and serves the ball over the net and into the boundary lines of the other side. The other team is allowed three touches in order to get the ball back over to the serving team’s side. (The basic idea of calling it a “touch” is that you’re never allowed to actually catch a the ball.) If they are successful with that, the serving team has three touches to return it to the other team, and so on and so forth. The most common way to utilize the three touches is to bump, set, spike. The same person is not allowed to hit a ball twice in a row. You can play defense in volleyball by blocking a hit (if you do touch the ball it does not count as one of the three touches). For every fallen ball (even from a serve) or illegal move, a point is rewarded to the team that didn’t make the mistake.

Even though summer’s almost over, volleyball is still an option for everyone until there’s no more grass to play on. (That’s when I play indoors!)

Terminology:

• Overhand Serve - The ball must be tossed in the air by a player who then swings at it ideally with an open hand and while the ball is still above his or her head.
• Pass/Bump/Dig - When a player allows the ball to bounce off of his/her extended forearms.
• Set - When a player passes a ball by pushing it upward with her hands above her forehead.
• Hit/Spike/Kill - When a player sends a ball downward over the net by striking it overhead with an open hand.

“Why would you want to work out? Don’t you know that you only have a limited number of heartbeats before you kick the bucket?” Ah, the finite heartbeat theory that is often the last line of defense for those opposed to fitness. I heard this excuse numerous times during my tenure as a military physical training leader. The theory (aka line of total crap) is that you only have so many heartbeats and by working out you use them faster because you increase your heart rate. To the untrained eye this is a decent theory, and most people have no true comeback – until now.

According to the American Heart Association the average resting adult’s heart rate is in the range of 60-80 beats per minute (BPM) while you are not going through any physical exertion. The more fit the person, the lower the resting heart rate. With that out of the way, let’s run some numbers.

We will assume person A (Alphie) works out three days a week for 30 minutes. He is a fit 25 year old and has a resting heart beat of 60 BPM. In a 24-hour period, his heart beats about 86,400 times. Now factor in a workout day. Here Alphie gets his heart rate to the recommended target heart rate of 166 BPM for optimal cardio benefits. These days total 87,810. On a given week he is at 609,030 heart beats…whew!

It is time to take person B (Bob), who is also 25 and does not work out at all. His resting heart rate is 80 BPM. In a given day, his heart beats about 115,200. That is 27,390 beats more than Alphie on a workout day! Bob’s heart beats 806,400 times in one week. I think we can all agree that the finite heart beat theory is worthless.

Why does this matter? Today I was working out with someone who likens Bob. We were both at the target heart rate of 156 BPM for 25 minutes. However, I was able to go one mile further utilizing the same effort.