2012 is just around the corner....

2012 is almost here! With the new year, comes new years resolutions. It's a good excuse to take the time out to sit down and write down some small, medium and big goals. If you write them down, and post them up to see everyday, you will be reminded of your dreams and desires. Don't be afraid of failure. Doing your best, and making an effort in whatever you desire, will definitely not do any harm! Setting small goals to reach a big goal is a great way to achieve your goals. Set out a game plan so that you have direction and write down the steps you will take to accomplish what you want. Baby Steps! :)

I have some of the same health and fitness goals I did in 2011, but here goes:

Goal: Run Portland Rock and Roll HALF Marathon in May
Steps to get there: Start training in March, running 3 times a week, (two short runs and one long run a week).


Goal: Do Pistols (yes I'm still working on these! So effing hard but I'll get them some day!)
Steps to get there: One leg squats, Assisted Pistols, Working on depth of my squat once a week.

Goal: Give up cream and sugar in my coffee
Steps to get there: Drinking my Coffee and Americanos black. Having a mocha or using creamer rarely on special occassions!

Goal: Get that six pack abs again! Which means lean down to 125. Lose 4 lbs of body fat.
Steps to get there: Continue with core training, making sure to stay challenged and doing a variety of exercises to strengthen core. Watch my diet a little more closely. Limiting alcohol consumption to 1-2 days a week and eating clean.

Jump Rope Training.... Get Fit, Fast!

Starting in January, I'll be teaching a new jump rope training class called Cardio Jump. This class will be a thirty minute, intense, fun, and challenging way to meet your cardiovascular, fitness and weight loss goals. It will blast calories, improve strength, balance, power, endurance and agility. Adding jump rope training to your exercise routine is a great way to break through to the next level if you feel stuck in your current fitness plateau. An often quoted study suggests that 10 minutes of jumping rope can provide cardiovascular benefits to 30 minutes of jogging! Rope jumping not only emphasizes lower-body muscle groups, it also develops your shoulders, chest, back, wrist and forearm muscles. Jumping rope is nearly as effective as running in burning calories. Combining jump roping with different arm and foot movements, and other agility and plyometric drills will get you fit, fast! The class will be fast paced, fun and geared to all levels of fitness. Hope to see you in class next year!

Stic Man Back on my Regimen

Stic.Man's new album... The Workout! I'm feeling his positivity and attitude towards working out and health. Although, I'm not sure if I'm feeling the Vibram FiveFingers shoes! :)

This thing again.....

Take no prisoners Workout!

Yeah! Another Workout! I'm really excited to share this workout, myself and a few of my classes did this week. I can guarantee your legs, booty and abs will feel the burn. I'm sore as I'm typing this out, the good sore of course!

As the Year comes to an end, I hope your holiday season is healthy and happy! This might be the last workout I post for 2011! Looking forward to many tough ones next year! Okay, here's the breakdown of this killer workout.

Equipment:

Timer
Dumbbells
Mat

Breakdown:

You will do 2 rounds of the following exercises.  You will do 1 min and 30 seconds of each exercise with 30 seconds to recover. The second round you will switch your timer to 1 min 40 seconds of work, and 20 seconds rest!
Good Luck!

1. Lunge Jump with Oblique twist   modify with reverse lunge with twist

2.  4 tuck up crunches and 4 sit ups

3. 3 Froggers   1 triceps pushup on toes or knees

4. One leg Burpees  alternate legs  ( no pushup unless you want to make it harder) modify with reg        burpees

5. Speed Skater Squats with dumbbells on shoulders

6. Single arm triceps press with one leg,  switch arms and legs half way through interval

7. Kneeling one leg up hops    modify with bench step ups if you have a step nearby or eliminate the hop

8. Plank row to twist on toes on knees,  switch arms half way through interval

9. In/Out jumps with weights on shoulders

10. Side swoop steps (get low!) over mat with weights on Shoulder

11. Burpee with/without a pushup then tuck jump combo  ( this one kills)


Repeat!!  Remember next round is tougher  1:40 of each exercise with 20 seconds rest......

See video below for exercise examples! I had just finished this workout when filming this! Look how drenched I am in sweat!

No Excuses 30 minutes of Cardio

There's no excuses to squeeze 30 minutes of cardio into your day!   This simple, effective and intense cardio workout will challenge you, have you sweating, and be over before you know it.  Whenever I hear someone tell me they don't have time to workout, I won't  accept it. We all have time for a 30 minute workout on most days! How can you afford to neglect taking care of your health, body and spirit? If you don't strive to be healthy, strong and fit, how can you really bring the best "you" to the table?  It's all about what you prioritize. If you want something badly enough, you WILL make time for it. Put you and your health first, and everything else will fall into place. You will sleep better, look better, have more energy, lift your spirits, perform better at work......the list goes on and on! Have you ever worked out, and then regretted it?  Exercise is my religion.... it keeps me sane, happy, feeling young and puts the pep in my step!

You can do this one at the gym, at home, or on the road. All you need is:

1. Jump Rope
2. Timer

That's it!!!
Set your timer to 15 rounds of 2 minute intervals with 20 seconds rest. ( I use the free Round Timer App on my iphone) or you can just use a clock with a second hand to keep track of your time.


2 minutes skip rope
20 sec rest
2 minutes burpee with 2 plank jumps
20 sec rest
2 minutes skip rope
20 sec rest
2 minutes squat jumps
20 sec rest
2 minutes skip rope

repeat this 3 times, for a total of 30 minutes of work!

For exercise examples see vid below!

Workout pants that make any bum look AMAZING! (for the ladies)

Sorry guys, this one's for the ladies!
I just wanted to do a brief post about my favorite brand/style of workout pants. Lululemon's wunder under crop! These are seriously, hands down my favorite pants to workout in. I own several pairs, and even if they are a bit pricey- they are worth every penny. Why? They are extremely durable, and after hundreds of washes, they still look amazing! They are flattering, and make your booty look awesome! The thick waist band prevents the yucky "muffin top" bulge, and they come in tons of colors and they are reversible so you can change up the look if you want.

http://www.shop.lululemon.com

Ass and Abs!

Once again here's another challenging workout with limited equipment. All you need for this one is a mat, a timer, some dumbbells and your BODY!

The breakdown of the workout is one min of each exercise with 15-20 seconds rest. After you complete one round, take a minute to two minutes to recover and then repeat. With warm up and cool down, this workout will take an hour to complete. Remember to push hard, focus on your form and try to do as much work with good form in the minute interval! This workout is a full body workout with a little extra emphasis on your abs and ass! I've included a video to explain the following exercises.

Warm up 5-10 minutes

1. Right Leg Reverse Lunge with Kick
2. Left Leg Reverse Lunge with Kick
3. Monkey Pushup with Tuck Jumps
4. Commando Pushups
5. Snow Boarders
6. Diagonal Plank in/out Jumps
7. One leg dumbbell row right side
8. One leg dumbbell row left side
9. Staggered pushups
10. Sumo Squat Pulses
11. Weighted sit up or Sit up to Squat
12. V-sit oblique twist or Bicycle crunch
13. Supaman Burpees
14. Alternating Leg Glute press in bridge
15. V-sit with 45 degree biceps curl
16. Right Single Leg Squat hop or touch
17. Left Single Leg Squat hop or touch
18. Shoulder Fan Dumbbell raise
19. Hip Thrust, leg drop, Toe touch, leg drop.....

rest one-two minutes

Repeat!!!

Cool Down and Stretch

If you have any questions or would like any modifications email me jocelynstreng@yahoo.com

Bootcamp Butt Kicker 12/6

Hi Guys! Here's the breakdown of the workout we did today in bootcamp. It's pretty simple, yet brutal. You wind up completing 16 minutes of strength with 16 minutes high intensity cardio drills. This workout, with warm up and cool down should take an hour or less to complete. You don't have to have all the equipment to perform this workout on your own... but here is what we used this morning. I will post a video to demonstrate the exercises below

You will need:
Dumbells 8-15 lbs depending on your level
Bosu
Kettlebell 12-25 lbs
Exercise Mat
Dip Station/Squat rack/ or 2 chairs....
Timer

Workout Breakdown

You will do a minute of each exercise with 15-20 seconds of rest between each exercise


Warm up 5-10 minutes

Part One:

One minute Overhead Triceps Press on Bosu 8-20lbs dumbbells
One minute 10 mountain climbers 10 tuck jumps
One minute Lateral Lunges alternate sides with dumbbells on shoulders
ONe minute 10 mountain climbers 10 tuck jumps
One minute Sit up with right and left rotation
One minute 10 mountain climbers 10 tuck jumps
ONe minute Wall sit
ONe minute 10 mountain climbers 10 tuck jumps

Repeat


Part Two:
One minute Reverse pushups
ONe minute Burpee with 2 squat jumps
ONe minute Overhead dumbbell squat 5-10 lb dumbbells
One minute Burpee with 2 squat jumps
One minute Staggered pushups on knees or toes
One minute Burpee with 2 squat jumps
One minute Kettle bells swings 12-25 lb kettle bell
One minute Burpee with 2 squat lunges

Repeat

Cool down and stretch



Whoops- was one year ahead!! 12/6/2011 :) and this is what I look like at 6:30 am in the morning!! hahaha

Is this for real?

One Thousand Reps of Fun

This was the workout we did last night in Strength and Stamina. It was brutal, challenging and had all of us dripping in sweat. All you need for this workout is some drive, an exercise mat and a bench. The workout consists of ten exercises. The goal of the workout is to complete 10 reps of each exercise, ten times for a total of 1,000 reps. This is a time challenge, so you want to get through this workout quickly, without losing the quality of your form. See video below for exercise breakdown and modified versions for beginners. This workout should take anywhere from 45 minute to over an hour depending on your fitness level. Take breaks when necessary.... but don't quit!

Repeat ten times:

1. 10 Burpees with knee to shoulder kick

2. 10 Squat Bench Jumps

3. 10 Pushups

4. 10 Toe Touch V-ups

5.  10 Bench dips with Leg Lift

6.  10 Tuck Jumps

7.  10 Plank Jax 

8.  10 Low Jumping Jacks

9.  10 Leg over with bench

10.  10 Kneeling one leg hop ups

In the video below, I forgot to explain Low Jumping Jacks.  Come down into the low part of your squat with hands behind your head.  In this position, jump the legs in and out in a jumping jack motion, without coming up out of your squat. 

We did a similar workout this morning in bootcamp. Instead of a bench, we used dumb bells. Here is the workout breakdown of today's bootcamp:

Repeat ten times:

1. 10 Burpees with knee to shoulder kick

2. 10 Jumps Squats with dumb bells resting on shoulders

3.  10 Pushups

4. 10 Toe Touch V-ups

5.  10 Body weight dips with Leg Lift

6. 10 Tuck Jumps

7.  10 Plank Jax 

8.  10 Low Jumping Jacks

9.  10 Reverse Lunge with dumb bell row

10.  Kneeling one leg hop ups

Workout of the Day!

Here is the breakdown of the short, intense 30 minute HIIT workout that I'm about to do today. It's pretty simple, you can do this one at the gym, home or on the road. You need a  timer, jump rope,  and either a stair, bench or ball. The workout is composed of six,  five minute intervals with one minute of rest between. I will post a video of the workout.... but for now, here is the break down.

Make sure you are properly warmed up before you begin, 5-10 minute of light jogging, cycling, etc.

1.  2 minutes skipping rope ( high knees to make it harder)  
     2 minutes burpees (with or without a pushup)
     1 minute bench/ball/stair taps
(no rest between exercises)

rest one minute


2.  3 minutes skipping rope (high knees to make it harder)
     1 minute mountain climbers
     1 minute squat jumps
(no rest between exercises)

3.  2 minutes skipping rope ( high knees to make it harder)     

     2 minutes burpees  (with or without a pushup)

     1 minute bench/ball/stair taps

(no rest between exercises)

rest one minute

4.  3 minutes skipping rope (high knees to make it harder)

     1 minute mountain climbers

     1 minute squat jumps

(no rest between exercises)

5.  2 minutes skipping rope ( high knees to make it harder)     

     2 minutes burpees  (with or without a pushup)

     1 minute bench/ball/stair taps

(no rest between exercises)

rest one minute

6.  3 minutes skipping rope (high knees to make it harder)

     1 minute mountain climbers

     1 minute squat jumps

(no rest between exercises)

Cool Down and Stretch

You should feel pretty gassed out after this workout. That's the point! These short, intense workouts are just what you need to break out of your fitness plateau! Instead of suffering through 60 or more minutes of mundane, boring cardio... you've  hammered it out in 30 minutes- and you are dripping wet with sweat, boosting your metabolism and ramping up your fitness level! I use a free app on my iphone called round timer for my workouts, or you can use a stop watch or clock to time your intervals and rest. Go ahead, try it, let me know how it went!

Get your Ass off the Elliptical

The next few times you go to the gym, make a few observations.  Notice that the cardio equipment is busier than the weight room area? Yes!   Notice usually, the elliptical machines are the most popular? Yes! Now look at who's in the weight room, or on the treadmill running at a decent pace?   Wow they look pretty fit (usually)!  Why aren't very many people running intervals, getting their squats in, or doing their burpees? BECAUSE THOSE ACTIVITIES AREN'T EASY!

Now pay attention to the physique's of who is in the weight room or running on treadmills compared to the busy elliptical machines.....  Are the fittest gym members on the elliptical machines?  Usually not the case! Why are so many people in love with the elliptical? BECAUSE IT'S EASY! 

My question to you is, why spend 30-60 minutes of comfortable cardio when you aren't getting the results you want?  Why not spend that 30-60 minutes, hell even 15-30 minutes, and do something that will give you results?

"The elliptical machine is sneaky, and it fools us three ways. First, you can get your heart rate up really high and easily. Second, you can get a big sweat on. And third, the machine tells you that you have burned an awful lot of calories (even though the calorie counter is likely inaccurate, as was shown on a CBS news report).

So why doesn't the elliptical work? Because you just don't do as much mechanical work as you do when you run or cycle. Basically, it's just easier and less effective. Getting your heart rate up is not the key determinant of fat loss.

Your body is a well programmed machine. It's 'wired' to increase heart rate and breathing as soon as it senses motion (that's why you start to breathe heavily after taking a single flight of stairs - it's not just because you are unfit).

The key factor in fat loss is the amount of work done. Until you learn to separate the influence of the two, you won't be using intervals in the best possible manner.

As fat loss expert Alwyn Cosgrove explains, "The problem is not the elliptical itself -- it's just that it tends to allow/promote momentum (as most people have the resistance too low) from bodyweight alone. So unless you crank up the resistance and actually produce some force and/or MOVE your bodyweight - it's nothing but momentum. So if you're not actively using your muscles to produce some sort of force you aren't burning many calories.".......But even then, I still don't think using a high resistance level on the ellliptical will get you the results you are looking for. Yet despite their ineffectiveness, elliptical machines and the like remain a popular training method. But that's only due to the human condition - like flowing water, we seek the path of least resistance. We'll will do anything to get around obstacles rather than doing the real work required to overcome the obstacles. Given the choice, humans always go with the easiest option......Training in your comfort zone is useless. Your metabolic rate will increase when your body is forced to change. The harder and smarter you train, the greater your increase in metabolic rate." ( *Craig Ballantyne) 

To make wiser and more efficient use of your cardio conditioning  try jumping rope, running, sprinting, cycling, spinning .... but remember keep your body guessing. You body is smart and adapts quickly- you have to constantly be switching up your routine.  HIIT ( High Intensity Interval Training) is key for fat loss and to actually see CHANGE. By adding short periods of high intensity exercise to your workouts, you will burn more fat, ramp up your fitness level, with the bonus of shorter workouts. 

Along with your HIIT workouts, it's important to build lean muscle mass by doing strength training twice a week. The best way to ramp up your metabolism for the long haul is to build lean muscle mass. Muscle will always need to burn more and more calories even if you are just sitting down. The more muscle you have, the more you burn. 

In future blog entries I will provide workouts using the HIIT principle..... and in the mean time, stay off that darn elliptical!!!!!

If you are extremely over weight, or have any kind of heart condition, DO NOT DO HIIT. Also, if in doubt, consult your doctor first. HIIT workouts are not easy. Just be warned that it will be very tough if done correctly. 

I do believe there are some cases the elliptical can be beneficial. For overweight and for  low fitness levels, the elliptical is a comfortable and low-impact exercise. It is also beneficial for those suffering from injury and can't perform high-impact exercise. 

*Craig Ballantyne is a fitness expert and regular contributor to Men's Health and Women's Health magazines, and is on the advisory board for Oxygen Magazine. Craig's trademarked fat burning workouts, help men and women lose fat fast in the comfort of their own homes. Learn more at http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

A great article to check out!

I wanted to post an article my friend shared with me. It's highly informative, I recommend you read it! There were a few surprising foods mentioned.
"Grocery stores may sell them, but experts won't touch them; what you should know about your food."
Here's the link: http://www.wakeup-world.com/2011/10/06/7-foods-experts-wont-eat/

If you click on the title of this blog entry- it will take you right to the article! Let me know if there were any surprises for you too!

Have a great Turkey Day, don't forget an average Thanksgiving Dinner is around 4,500 calories!!!!

One Goal Finished... on to the next one

The marathon is over! I successfully finished... and no, I didn't win! Out of about 40 thousand participants, I finished about 18,000th haha. I completed my training and the race injury free, and was happy about my training. Will I do another one? Most likely not! I ran about 30 minutes slower than my goal, but running with the whooping cough makes things a bit interesting. The Chicago Marathon was a perfect marathon to run, the course was flat, there were so many spectators, it was well organized and the weather was perfect in the high 70's. I had a lot of fun, up until about mile 19, which at that point, my legs were dragging and every time I slowed down at the aid stations, my lovely cough came back to greet me.

After training, tapering and completing the 26.2 miles, I've concluded that half marathons are more my thing. Endurance wise I feel in shape, but the training took up so much time, energy and focus, I lost a lot of strength, speed and power. I don't feel very well rounded as an athelete... and I'm looking forward to being able to do other types of workouts, skateboard and feeling like I have more "pop"... the long runs really drained me for a few days a week.

It felt great to set a goal, work hard and accomplish it. I can apply what I learned about endurance training to any future clients that want to train for half and full marathons. I'm looking forward to taking on some of my other goals... pistols and practicing more yoga, which I had no time to work on before.

Another Awesome APP

Today after my bootcamp class, one of my students showed me an awesome app she uses on her smart phone when she works out solo. It's the NIKE NTC (Nike Training Club) app, which offers intense 15, 30 or 45 minute workouts for fitness levels ranging from beginners to advanced exercisers. I checked it out and I think it's a great tool. The workouts are varied, intense, and target specific training goals. The app is really simple to use, free, does a great job explaining exercises and even offers video demos of each exercise. The equipment necessary to perform the workouts is very minimal, dumbbells, mat and a medicine ball. This would be a great tool to use if you were traveling, bored with your workouts, or needed some direction the next time you went to the gym. Just find it in your smartphone's app store, download it, and Boom - you're ready for action.

Check out the link below to find out more information.

http://www.nike.com/nikewomen/features/ntc?locale=en_US

There's no "Easy Button"!

(click photo above to enlarge)



Reebok Has to Refund $25 Million to Consumers for False Claims About its Toning Shoes

If only it took a pair of shoes to have a booty like that.... :)

THis looks super fun

One of my friends posted this up the other day on their facebook page. What a cool concept, to make your runs entertaining and fun. I can't wait to try it out.

Small Changes can make a Big Difference

Trying to get in shape and lose weight can be overwhelming. There's so many "diet" plans, pills, shakes, philosophies, and workout programs available it can be daunting when trying to choose where to even start. If losing weight were easy, then the global market for Weight Loss wouldn't be worth US $586.3 Billion by the year 2014. In the big picture, weight loss is pretty simple.... calories in vs. calories out. It's just learning how to truly apply this equation to your everyday life, and making small, simple changes that will set you up for success.

There's no miracle diet or pill that's gonna help you lose weight permanently. Sure you can take diet pills for a week and lose a few pounds, buy you are screwing up your metabolism, and you'll most likely go right back to where you started, wasting your money and taking the unhealthy approach. Your main reason for losing weight should be for your health, and taking this route isn't going to benefit you. It's making lifestyle changes, that will keep the weight off permanently and improve your overall health.

I wanted to provide some examples of simple ways to make the "calories in vs. calories out" equation work for you. A pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories. A healthy, realistic goal for weight loss is to lose 1-2 pounds a week. So that's creating a weekly 3,500-7,000 calorie deficit until you reach your goal weight.

Let's say you go to Starbucks three times a week and order a 260 calorie Grande mocha with 2% milk and no whip cream. If you substituted a coffee or americano, with one oz of cream (37 calories and and 1 TB of sugar (48 calories), you'd be taking in 525 calories less per week, which totals 2,100 less in the course of a month. There's a half pound right there, from just a small tweak in your diet.

Then let's add a little exercise into the mix. Just adding 30 minutes of exercise 3 days a week can really make a difference. A 140 pound person, will burn roughly 320 calories jogging 30 minutes. That's 960 calories burned in a week, totaling 3,840 calories for the month, which is a little over a pound shed.

My advice is to write down or take a mental note of what you eat, and how much you are exercising for a just a few days. Start by making small changes, like adding 10 minutes more to your workouts, walking to work, substituting healthy food options for indulgent, high calorie meals. If you drink a 6 pack of beer (900 calories) after work, or a bottle of wine (500 calories) with a meal, 3 times a week, that totals 6,000 to 10,800 calories in a month, which amount to 1.5- 2.5 pounds. (Click chart below to enlarge)

A big mistake is to think you earned that pizza or ice cream because you worked out. Don't get into this mentality... you will be basically treading water. It will take you 2.5 hours of walking to burn off just 2 pieces of pizza, which took you about a minute to eat!

So take a deep breath, rise above all the weight loss gimmicks out there and remember:

The photo above was taken before the Warrior Dash I did this weekend... The photo below was the aftermath.

Why you are fat..... the simple truth whether you like it or not.

One of my friends kept talking about this book, "Skinny Bitch", by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. I needed something to read on my way back home from San Diego, so I decided to give it a go. It was a quick read and highly informative. It honestly really struck a chord with me and reinforced the importance of eating a clean and healthy diet. After reading the book, I was a little scared to even go in a grocery store... My boyfriend was rolling his eyes while I was inspecting every single food label making our grocery shopping trip last three times longer than it should of! (Another thing for me to get OCD about!) So much of our food is pumped up with crap, you can hardly even consider it food, more like genetically modified garbage. With all the hormones, preservatives, pesticides and chemicals we are consuming, it's no wonder cancer, obesity, heart disease and diabetes are plaguing us. I'm already on an organic kick, but what I took home from this book was altering some of my choices when it comes to consuming meat and dairy products. It is a little overwhelming trying to eat a "perfect" diet... but the more information you have, the better your chances of making healthy choices. The only thing I can't give up is my coffee.... No way! I don't want to give away too much, but if you are looking for a book that doesn't hold back, and tells you like it is, I'd suggest reading it. Especially if you need some incentive to change up your eating habits and make a lifestyle change, it really does the trick. In the end, it's all up to you... I don't believe in excuses or slackers, and that's why I liked this quick, amusing and worthwhile read.

Abs are Earned

I teach two, thirty minute Ab/Core focused classes a week. Here are a few of my favorite abdominal exercises to strengthen the core at the moment.







Being able to see muscle tone in the abdominal region takes some discipline. Unfortunately we can't "spot reduce" one area of the body. I see people doing hundreds of crunches and sit ups, getting discouraged from not getting the 6-pack they have always dreamed about. To be able to see some definition, you have to lower your body fat. Too much body fat and you won't be able to see your abs. In order for men to start seeing some of their abs they need to be at 10% or below. Women, on the other hands, start to see lines at 13% since women typically store body fat in other areas such as the hips and glutes. There's no quick fix, no miracle diet... you have to earn your Abs! Eating a clean diet (whole foods, and the removal of fast foods and sugar), strength training and including high intensity interval and cardiovascular training are components to losing body fat. Looks aside, what really is important is strengthening your core to avoid injury, prevent back pain and to be able to maintain a healthy quality of life.

My thoughts on marathon training so far....

I'm in my 4th week of official marathon training. This weeks long run is 11 miles, my farthest run in about ten years. I've been very cautious and a little nervous about the high mileage of marathon training. I've honestly never been a huge advocate of marathon training... seeing so many clients, friends, teammates, and students suffer from running related injuries. A lot of people lately have asked me, "Then why are you doing it?". Well I have several reasons for why I'm training for the 26.2 mile adventure in October. I have the typical "bucket list" reason, gotta cross if off my list of things to do in life. I also like working towards something, having a goal and training has pushed me out of my comfort zone. It's easy to fall into a routine, so it feels good to have a little fire under my ass to shake things up. Leaning out is another reason, obviously the extra calories burned will shed some poundage but most importantly I want to be able to learn from this experience and take in all that I can. I want the necessary tools to help future clients and friends with their running goals and training. When I take advice from someone, I find it hard to take them seriously if they lack the real experience. By going through the training and the entire race, I will have the knowledge, the empathy and experience to back me up.

So why am I nervous and training cautiously? You might guess, I'm worried about not being able to accomplish my goal of running 26.2 miles, but that's honestly not it. My biggest concerns are injury and overtraining. My job relies on my body... chronic injury is basically the death of my career. 8 out of 10 runners, fall victim to running injuries. It's the brutal truth, and I've seen many people suffer chronic back, knee, foot and hip pain for the rest of their lives from marathon training. I'm also trying to balance teaching Spin classes, strength training classes, boot camps, etc on top of the running mileage I've added to my weekly routine.

So not only is my goal to run 26.2 miles, but to do it injury free, without feeling completely physically exhausted. (I'd still like to be able to squeeze in a few sessions at the skatepark without my legs feeling like two blocks of concrete). So what's my plan of attack?

I will only be running three days per week, consisting of a short, medium and long run. Most marathon training programs call for at least four days of running, but with all my classes, my legs would be fried if I attempt four days.

I'm following the ten percent rule. This two-part rule specifies: (1) do not increase your weekly mileage by more than 10 percent nor (2) increase the distance of your long run by more than 10 percent per week.

I will have two days of rest per week, just light exercise like walking, tennis, skateboarding, mellow bike riding etc.

I will be Spinning twice a week, which will keep my quadriceps, (the muscles in the front of my thigh) strong. Running is very back of the leg, hamstring focused. Cross training is important to keep your body in balance.

I will include weight training and stretching, which is easy for me because I have to! I get paid to strength train and stretch.

I'm using the foam roller (These are so awesome, if you haven't discovered them, get one!) to help with the recovery process. Hot tub soaks after hard workouts also help fatigued muscles recover. I also plan to use ice baths, I absolutely hate these, but they work to speed up the recovery process by forcing more blood to your muscles.

I'm following the Hard/Easy concept with running. I'm not doing hard workouts on back to back days, and I'm using a sports periodization approach to training. Which in a nutshell, is the 18 week marathon program that I am following.

(These are the Nike 2011Air Maxes I'm training in)



And lastly, on my attempt to stave off injury, I will be swapping out my running shoes about every 400 miles. But can supportive and specially designed running shoes help prevent injury? This brings up a whole new tangent that has been recently brought to my attention. Over the past 30 years, with all of the latest technology and research, running injuries have not gone down. So those fancy, expensive, new shoobie doobies, haven't done much to aid with shin splints, plantar fasciitis, ankle sprains, runners knee (IT band syndrome)... My brother brought this up to me when we were discussing marathon training and he asked me if I had heard of the barefoot running movement. I told him I had heard a little about it, but I kinda scoffed at the idea of running on the pavement in my bare feet. He recommended the book, "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall, and I was intrigued when I read all of the reviews. I started reading it last night, and I can't wait to pick it back up and finish it. So far, I think this book may help my quest to run injury free and might change my position on long distance training. I guess we will wait and see. Cross your fingers for me being injury free this marathon season. And for all you former/current marathoners, if you have any tips, advice or suggestions on marathon training I'd love your feedback!

Why does alcohol make you a fatty?

The difference between this:

and this:

May be what you are drinking!

Okay, so most of us have been know to throw back a few beers, have a little wine with dinner or celebrate with some shots. We are all human, and it's fun to party and socialize with a couple of drinks (I'm guilty as most of you all know). But unfortunately, there's a price to pay, and that's not including the headache the next morning. The purpose behind writing this blog entry isn't to preach and tell you to stop drinking all together, but rather give you some knowledge and insight. If you are trying to lean out, build muscle or lose weight, minimizing your alcohol consumption is key.

So how can alcohol contribute to weight gain? When you consume an alcoholic beverage, alcohol is split into two compounds, fat and acetate. The fat is stored, and the acetate is taken into the bloodstream and is your primary source of fuel. What this means, is that rather than burning carbohydrates, proteins or fats, your body is using the acetate from the alcohol as energy. That hamburger you just had with your beer, is basically just put on hold to digest, until the acetate is burned off. So you have this surplus of carbs, protein, and fat circulating in the body with nowhere to go. So where does it all end up? You guessed it...it's converted to fat and deposited on your pretty little waistline.

It takes about one hour for your body to metabolize .5 oz to 1 oz of alcohol. So if you have 5 beers in one sitting, that means your body's digestive system will be put on hold for 5 hours, until the acetate has been metabolized. What makes this even worse is if you are snacking while drinking... Which usually goes hand in hand right? Pretzels and beer, wine and cheese, nachos and margaritas. All that food is just sitting there, not moving... waiting next inline to be used for fuel.

Theres more unfortunately. Man, I sound like a real party pooper don't I? Alcohol is high in calorie content. Carbohydrates and proteins, have 4 calories per gram, and fat contains 9 calories per gram. Alcohol, which has no nutritional value, contains 7 calories per gram. A glass of wine has about the same amount of alcohol and calories as a 12 ounce light beer or a shot of 80 proof liquor. A regular, non-light beer, is even higher in calories, since it contains over twice as many carbohydrates as light beer. So, let's say you relax with a nice big glass of red wine every day, that's about 110 calories a day, about an extra 1000 calories per week, which turns into a lovely 12 pounds of fat per year!!! Below is a chart of the lowest calorie alcoholic beverages, to reference the next time you hit the bar.

Sorry guys, once again there's more. Not only does that hangover slow you down and keep you from getting off the couch, but just a single binge of heavy drinking will vastly increase the levels of the hormone cortisol, and significantly decrease the level of the hormone testosterone. So what does this have to do with your training? Cortisol causes the body to breakdown muscle and suppresses recovery from exercise, while low testosterone makes the body less likely build lean muscle or to burn fat as a fuel. So if you don't like the cute, bulging beer belly, with skinny little arms, legs and butt... think again before you slam those tequila shots!

So any tips when it comes to alcohol consumption and weight loss? Well, obviously we are not all saints, and there's nothing wrong with enjoying life and having fun. I don't expect you to cut alcohol completely from your diet, but if you are serious about leaning out and losing weight, keep it to a minimum. My advice is moderation. Moderation is key. Instead of having a few drinks every day after work, keep it to the weekends. Don't mix your liquor with soda pop, juice or any other sugary beverage. Mix liquor with soda water, a non-calorie beverage or drink it straight up or over ice. Try to drink light beer instead of regular beer. Indulge on top shelf liquor or a really nice wine, and sip it slowly, savoring it. I'm a pretty social person, so it's tough for me not to want to go out all the time, socialize and relax with a cocktail on a sunny afternoon. For me personally, I have to chose 1 or 2 days out of the week, and designate those days, as my "party" nights... the rest of the week I stay in, or stay away from alcohol. Sometimes it's hard to say no, but it's worth it when I wake up in the morning feeling great, look down at my tummy and breath a sigh of relief that I still have a waistline.

So now that I have you all excited about the weekend! Cheers and Good luck!

Squats

I incorporate squats into all my strength training workouts. It's one of the best ways to train and strengthen your lower body. Learning how to perform a squat correctly, will help prevent injuries, build muscle and strength, boost your metabolism and improve your overall look. To get a tight, round booty and shapely legs - you have to do your squats! I never get bored with squats, there are so many variations, it's one of those exercise that will always keep you challenged. By adding more weight, changing your foot stance, doing them on one leg, adding a jump to them... the possibilities are endless.

The squat is a compound, full body exercise that targets the muscles in your thighs, hips and butt. The primary muscles that the squat targets are your Erector Spinae (Lower back), Gluteus Maximus (glutes), Quadriceps (quads- front of thighs), and Hamstrings (back of thighs).

I'd recommend starting with a basic body weight squat, then once mastered, trying different variations. Some of my favorite variations are, one legged squats, squat jumps, sumo squats and overhead barbell squats.

Here are some tips for perfecting your squat that I got from the ACE exercise library:

Step 1
Starting Position: Begin standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width, with the toes turned slightly outwards with your hands by your sides so the palms facing inwards. Depress and retract your scapulae (pull the shoulders down and back).

Step 2
Stiffen your core and abdominal muscles (“bracing”) to stabilize your spine. Hold your chest up and out, tilt your head slightly up, shift your weight back into your heels while pushing your hips towards the wall behind you.

Step 3
Downward Phase: Start the downward phase by first shifting your hips backwards then downwards to create a hinge-like movement at your hips and knees simultaneously. As you lower your hips the knees will then start to shift forward slowly, but try to control the amount of forward translation (movement) of the tibia (shinbone). Maintain tension in the core muscles (continue bracing) and attempt to keep your back flat.

Step 4
Continue to lower yourself until your thighs are parallel or almost parallel with the floor, until your heels begin to lift off the floor, or until your torso begins to round or flex forward. Monitor your feet, ankles and knees, ensuring that the feet don't move, the ankles do not collapse in or out and the knees remain aligned over the second toe.

Step 5
From the Lowered Position: the knees should continue to remain aligned over the second toe and body weight should be evenly distributed between the balls and heels of the feet. From the side, the position of the tibia (shinbone) and torso should be parallel with each other and the low back should appear flat or showing the beginning of some rounding.

Step 6
Upward Phase: While maintaining your back, chest and head-up position, exhale and extend the hips and knees by pushing your feet into the floor through your heels. The hips and torso need to rise together while keeping the heels flat on the floor and knees aligned over the second toe. Continue extending until you reach your starting position.


This is a great example of what a squat looks like in motion...



Remember, building muscle boosts your metabolism, thus helping lose fat. Don't get stuck in the cardio trap that I see a lot of people at the gym doing. They spend hours doing cardio, and don't see results. The more muscle you have, the faster you burn calories all day long.... So if you haven't already added squats and strength training to your routine.... DO IT!!!

Love it...

Exercise Bulimia - the "new" eating disorder

Exercise Bulimia is an eating disorder that is difficult to detect in a society that praises and admires those that adhere to a rigorous exercise program. I know all to well about compulsive exercise, and how easy it is to hide behind the title "elite" athlete... Nobody second guesses or questions you when adhering to an exercise routine right?

From the age of 18 to 22, I was competing in NCAA cross country and track for a Division 1 University, Racing and Competing for the National Junior Olympic Triathlon team, and a closet compulsive exerciser- or exercise bulimic.

It was easy to hide, exercise is a positive and healthy outlet, right? My parents thought I was extremely motivated and were proud of my hard work and determination. What they didn't know was that I was running, swimming and cycling for all the wrong reasons. I was so worried about gaining weight, and keeping my body fat down that my exercise routine was getting in the way of all other aspects of my life. I would skip class to exercise, I wouldn't attend social events if it was conflicting with a workout, and I would constantly monitor what I was eating. I was extremely fit, and the attention from friends, guys and coaches only snowballed this compulsion at first... My life revolved around when my next workout was gonna be. I was winning races, training at the Olympic Training center, yet my obsession to exercise was the only importance to me. I crossed the line from fitness enthusiast to compulsively burning calories by excessive exercise.

My body could only take my 2-3 hour workouts for so long. Now that I look back on my career as a college athlete and Junior Olympic athlete, I'm sad. I had so much potential, but my over training, and unhealthy motives hindered my progress and success. At first, my running times were strong, I was improving and getting faster... but the long workouts and not giving myself time to recover and rest, started to catch up with me. While training at the Olympic Training Center, one of my coaches suspected something was up. They made me wear a heart monitor at all times so they could track my workouts, I was sneaking workouts and he caught me. I was crazy, here I was at the most prestigious and elite facility to train and excel, and I wasn't following proper protocol because I was so worried about gaining weight? Yeah stupid, but at the time, I was so caught up... I was clueless that I had a "disorder". Exercise Bulimia wasn't really acknowledged yet like Anorexia and Bulimia, to most people I was just an extremely fit and motivated girl... but if I didn't get 2-3 hours of exercise in a day, I'd freak out.

Running for one of the most highly acclaimed college running programs, made me a small fish in a big pond. I was running on a team of the best college runners in the nation. While training in Colorado, I was recruited by a smaller school in Southern California, it was a full ride, and I had nothing to lose... so I jumped on the opportunity. I was on my way to become a big fish in a small pond... or so I thought.

When I got down to California, the first thing my new coach said to me was that I looked like I had gained weight since the last time she saw me. Obviously this freaked me out, being my worst nightmare... I started to amp up my workouts. I was pretty naive about nutrition and over training, and my times started to suffer. My new coach was so hard on me, she criticized me about my weight, my times... and running, once my passion, was now my worst enemy, I hated it. My body wasn't happy, all the overtraining was beginning to catch up... and I threw in the towel, and it was like a light bulb went off in my brain, and I knew things were messed up.

So what happened, how did I learn balance? Well I stopped exercising cold turkey for awhile, and I began to enjoy food. Did I gain weight? Hell yeah I did... but it was what I needed to do at the time. I needed to learn about balance, nutrition, rest and exercising right. I needed to see food as nourishment and enjoyment, and I needed to live a normal social life. Part of my recovery process was talking about my exercise compulsion. I was an Americorps member for two years, and I put on eating disorder workshops, and taught health and exercise classes to middle school and high school girls. I slowly began exercising again, and started teaching exercise classes and personal training. Recovery from exercise bulimia isn't like some other addictions. Unlike an alcoholic who gives up drinking, it isn't realistic for an exercise bulimic to give up exercise for life. I have to constantly monitor myself, give my self rest, and put my life and people I love ahead of my workouts.

That part of my past was quite along time ago. I'm grateful that I was able to overcome and conquer it. I am so much happier, put emphasis on making my workouts fun, rather than just a means to keep my weight down. I am healthier and wiser now, still a bit crazy, but I don't think that will ever go away!
I was 21 years old in this photo drinking beer!!!!

Winning first place at Vineman, qualifying for the Junior Olympic Triathlon Team

Crossing the finish line at another race I won the women's division... even though I was skinny- I still couldn't lose that butt! haha

Me now... 10 years later, healthier, wiser and happier!

Burpees- The Ultimate effing Exercise!

People often ask me, "Jocelyn, what is your favorite exercise?" Without a doubt, I always answer Burpees! Burpees are the shit. In my opinion, they are the ultimate exercise. What are burpees? A burpee is a compound exercise: a combination of a squat, a push-up, and a vertical jump. It is similar to a squat thrust, but there is a jump at the end, which separates the "boys from the men". It requires strength, balance, endurance, and flexibility. It increases cardio endurance while working the entire body, including the core muscles. The burpees is a highly challenging and effective exercise. I love incorporating them in my classes and personal workouts. The burpee can also be modified in different ways, which can stave off boredom.



To perform a basic burpee, just follow these instructions:

Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you.
Kick your feet back to a pushup position.
Immediately return your feet to the squat position.
Leap up as high as possible from the squat position.
When performing burpees, the key is to perform them in quick succession in order to get the conditioning benefits this exercise is famous for.

Benefits of Burpee

Strength Training- Burpees are a great exercise in order to build and strengthen muscles. Some of the muscles worked during a burpee include trapezoids, lower back, pectorals, deltoids, triceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, quadriceps, and abdominals.

Aerobic Exercise- Doing burpees for 15 to 30 minutes constitutes a full cardio workout. This exercise will keep the heart rate up at a maximum rate. (A great workout to do when you can't get to the gym or on vacation).

Flexibility- Burpees provide an increase in flexibility in areas of the body such as the back, hips, legs, and core.

Weight Loss - Burpees are a great fat burner and can be used effectively to lose excess weight. It's pretty apparent, when you are gasping for breath and your muscles are burning, that you are getting you ass kicked by these funny named exercises.

Cardiovascular Endurance- Burpees are useful for reducing muscle fatigue for long athletic events, as they improve cardiovascular endurance.

Tone Muscles- Because the burpees work numerous muscles and areas of the body, muscle tone becomes much improved with frequent exercising, creating a better looking appearance.

Time Efficient & Convenient- The burpee is a very convenient exercise; it requires no equipment and can be done almost anywhere. Also, this exercise is not time consuming and does not require going to a gym or getting out any equipment.

Inexpensive- Because the burpee requires no gym or equipment, it provides a highly inexpensive workout.

Since most muscles of the body are used during a burpee, some say that they stress the body into producing higher levels of testosterone, which is useful in building more lean muscle and dropping excess body fat.



Drawbacks of Burpees

The burpee is a great exercise, but it should not be the one and only aerobic and strength exercise used. It does not adequately train some of the muscle groups, such as the pulling muscles (unless a pull-up variation is included). You can do a burpee underneath a pull up bar, and jump up to the bar and complete a pullup- CRAZY FUCKING HARDCORE!
For these reasons, burpees should be added to a well-rounded aerobic and strength training workout program.

On Monday, I'll be doing the 100 day burpee challenge... any takers?
Day 1 = 1 burpee.
Day 2 = 2 burpees.
Day 100 = 100 burpees.
Day 101 = Rest.
Day 102 = "Hey, shouldn't I be doing burpees?"