Sunday, October 31, 2010
Alternative Exercises to Tony Hortons Plyometrics
Years ago I used to do these box exercises daily for volleyball training. They improve your agility and get your heart rate up quickly depending on the routine your doing. They are good for increasing your jumping height also.
I have recently been doing a lot more with the box jump exercises using them as a substitute to Tony Horton's plyometrics. The man in the video gives a nice explanation of what plyometrics are, as well as, a nice base jump, along with some basic ideas to keep in mind while box jumping.
As you advance in your box jump exercises you can increase the size of your box. I would start out with a small box like the man in the video and then increase box size as you see fit. Also the boxes are very simple to make - my dad built me one out of plywood. However when you make your own out of wood, it lacks support and you are more prone to shin splints. The best way to avoid shin splints are to wear a pair of shoes with good support. You could also add insoles to your shoes for more support
Here is a website with box jump routines:
http://agilitynerd.com/blog/agility/courses/steve/BoxDrills.html
My Experience with Reebok EasyTone Shoes
I have had my Reebok EasyTone shoes for almost a year now. When I first got them I wore them almost everyday for 6 months. I didn't exercise in them or even take walks for the purpose of exercising - I just went about my day in the shoes. I was doing a lot of walking across campus from class to class may be about a mile or so in distance daily.
After my first day of wearing them my legs were fairly sore. After wearing them for almost 6 months consecutively I noticed significant results in my calf muscles and barely noticeable results in my gluts.
I really like the shoes, I think they are very comfortable and convenient for toning your calf muscles.
I also have the Reebok EasyTone flip-flops. I got them in April and wore them all summer. I have been using the EasyTone shoes for almost year now and my legs still get sore depending on the distance that I walk. My calf muscles seem to be remaining toned just from wearing the shoes. It doesn't seem like they shoes have stopped working even after a year now. I must say that I haven't been wearing them that regularly now and I know if I would wear them tomorrow my legs would be sore for sure. There doesn't seem that my legs are becoming immune to them at all.
In my opinion the wearer of the shoes has to at least have some muscle for the shoes to work. I don't think they would work for anyone over 200lbs with not a lot of muscle tone.
I was wearing the shoes while doing the p90x workouts, but I will not be wearing them anymore doing the workouts due to the research found in the article posted below which was found in The New York Times.
I didn't feel that was getting any better of workout with them on regardless.
Reebok EasyTone Shoes History and Current Research
The Reebok EasyTone shoes have been around now for a few years but there is still some controversy over the idea of getting in shape just by changing your shoes. I found an Article that was published in the New York Times on December 8, 2009 that gives information about how the shoe works, who created them along with why and how, and the most recent research on the shoes.
If you already have the Reebok EasyTone shoes or you are considering getting them, here is some background information about the shoes from the article and some current research on the shoes.
If you would like to read the entire article - which isn't very long here is the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/health/08well.html
Highlights for the Article
The Creation of Reebok’s Easy Tone Shoes:
The EasyTone was created by a Mr. McInnis, a former NASA engineer, who said he was interested in the stability balls used in gym workouts and wanted to translate the technology to a shoe. In particular, he was intrigued by the Bosu ball, a small half-sphere that exercisers stand on during workouts as a way to engage leg and core muscles better.
In designing the EasyTone, Mr. McInnis and his team sought to mimic that concept by adding "balance pods" to the toe and heel of the shoe.
How The Shoes Work:
The "balance pods" are located in the toe and heel of the shoe. As the person walks, the air pushes back and forth between toe and heel, and the person sinks into the shoe. The effect is similar to that of walking on a sandy beach which requires more work, balance and muscle engagement than walking on a flat surface.
Design elements like curved soles and Reebok’s "balance pods" are said to force the wearer to engage stabilizing muscles further, resulting in additional toning for calf, hamstring and gluteal muscles.
The Test Study for the Reebok EasyTone:
In that study, done at the University of Delaware, five women walked on a treadmill for 500 steps wearing either the EasyTone or another Reebok walking shoe, and while barefoot. Using sensors that measure muscle activity, the researchers showed that wearing the EasyTone worked gluteal muscles an average of 28 percent more than regular walking shoes. Hamstring and calf muscles worked 11 percent harder.
But the claim that the shoes offer muscle toning is backed only by this single study involving just five people, and not published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
Today’s Research and Why the Shoe May Work:But it remains to be seen whether such effects will make a difference over time. In a July 2008 study of instability boards and balls, Canadian researchers found that among experienced exercisers, moderate instability balls like the Bosu had little effect on muscle activation.
The shoes are designed only for walking, and because of the instability design, wearers are discouraged from running, jumping and engaging in other athletic activities while wearing them. So the real effect may come from simple awareness that they are wearing a muscle-activating shoe, causing them to walk more briskly and with purpose.
But the studies don’t show whether more engagement leads to meaningful changes in muscle tone or appearance over time. Nor is it clear whether the high level of engagement continues once the walker becomes accustomed to the shoe.
If you already have the Reebok EasyTone shoes or you are considering getting them, here is some background information about the shoes from the article and some current research on the shoes.
If you would like to read the entire article - which isn't very long here is the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/health/08well.html
Highlights for the Article
The Creation of Reebok’s Easy Tone Shoes:
The EasyTone was created by a Mr. McInnis, a former NASA engineer, who said he was interested in the stability balls used in gym workouts and wanted to translate the technology to a shoe. In particular, he was intrigued by the Bosu ball, a small half-sphere that exercisers stand on during workouts as a way to engage leg and core muscles better.
In designing the EasyTone, Mr. McInnis and his team sought to mimic that concept by adding "balance pods" to the toe and heel of the shoe.
How The Shoes Work:
The "balance pods" are located in the toe and heel of the shoe. As the person walks, the air pushes back and forth between toe and heel, and the person sinks into the shoe. The effect is similar to that of walking on a sandy beach which requires more work, balance and muscle engagement than walking on a flat surface.
Design elements like curved soles and Reebok’s "balance pods" are said to force the wearer to engage stabilizing muscles further, resulting in additional toning for calf, hamstring and gluteal muscles.
The Test Study for the Reebok EasyTone:
In that study, done at the University of Delaware, five women walked on a treadmill for 500 steps wearing either the EasyTone or another Reebok walking shoe, and while barefoot. Using sensors that measure muscle activity, the researchers showed that wearing the EasyTone worked gluteal muscles an average of 28 percent more than regular walking shoes. Hamstring and calf muscles worked 11 percent harder.
But the claim that the shoes offer muscle toning is backed only by this single study involving just five people, and not published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
Today’s Research and Why the Shoe May Work:But it remains to be seen whether such effects will make a difference over time. In a July 2008 study of instability boards and balls, Canadian researchers found that among experienced exercisers, moderate instability balls like the Bosu had little effect on muscle activation.
The shoes are designed only for walking, and because of the instability design, wearers are discouraged from running, jumping and engaging in other athletic activities while wearing them. So the real effect may come from simple awareness that they are wearing a muscle-activating shoe, causing them to walk more briskly and with purpose.
But the studies don’t show whether more engagement leads to meaningful changes in muscle tone or appearance over time. Nor is it clear whether the high level of engagement continues once the walker becomes accustomed to the shoe.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
A Great Lunch
There is no real recipe - all you do if you want to make it is cook your broccoli, chicken, and rice separately and then add them together - you chose your portions. I recommend starting the chicken first because it will take the longest to finish and then the rice, and then start your broccoli.
Another suggestion would be to add soy sauce to this dish.
I have also been doing a lot of cooking with salt substitute which was recommended to me by my doctor. If you enjoy salting your meals - salt substitute is a must!
www.thatsfit.com - An Interesting Website
My home page is aol.com and always read the news and interesting storys they have featured for the day. Today I came across a story about a woman who was inspired by Oprah to lose 160lbs. I clicked on the story and it took me to a really cool website, the story was a typical Oprah story - I wasn't too interested in it - it just made me wonder why Oprah isn't inspiring herself to lose a couple of lbs - anyway the site is http://www.thatsfit.com/.
The website contains dieting tips and dieting reviews. It also has a list of workout from a-z with detailed instuctions and expected results. The exercises from the website that I would be most likely to try would be the 15 minute workouts because they would be the easiest to work into my busy schedule.
The part I found the most interesting in the website was the Finess Myths Demystified. The fact that I found most interesting was that current research shows that stretching before exercise actually increases your chance of getting injured and may decrease your workout performance. This I found strange because Tony Horton preaches in the p90x videos about stretching. This is another fact I found every interesting There's no such thing as spot reducing -- that is, you can't magically zap the fat from an area by exercising it. Wyche says that you could do 5,000 crunches a day and still not see any improvements until you burn the layer of fat over your ab muscles, which is done by trimming your diet and burning more calories.
This really is an extremely interesing website that if you have the time is worth exploring - I think if your into fitness you will really enjoy the website - it is a website you could spend hours on just reading and learning new things about fitness as well as learning new exercises and diets.
I won't spoil anymore details about the site - but if you travel I would recommend checking out their piece on travel fitness. Another one you have to read is Stop Doing These Exercises - Extremely beneficial!
http://www.thatsfit.com/
The website contains dieting tips and dieting reviews. It also has a list of workout from a-z with detailed instuctions and expected results. The exercises from the website that I would be most likely to try would be the 15 minute workouts because they would be the easiest to work into my busy schedule.
The part I found the most interesting in the website was the Finess Myths Demystified. The fact that I found most interesting was that current research shows that stretching before exercise actually increases your chance of getting injured and may decrease your workout performance. This I found strange because Tony Horton preaches in the p90x videos about stretching. This is another fact I found every interesting There's no such thing as spot reducing -- that is, you can't magically zap the fat from an area by exercising it. Wyche says that you could do 5,000 crunches a day and still not see any improvements until you burn the layer of fat over your ab muscles, which is done by trimming your diet and burning more calories.
This really is an extremely interesing website that if you have the time is worth exploring - I think if your into fitness you will really enjoy the website - it is a website you could spend hours on just reading and learning new things about fitness as well as learning new exercises and diets.
I won't spoil anymore details about the site - but if you travel I would recommend checking out their piece on travel fitness. Another one you have to read is Stop Doing These Exercises - Extremely beneficial!
http://www.thatsfit.com/
A New Toy : )
I got a new fitness "toy" this past week - a 3 lb hula-hoop. If you have ever enjoyed hula-hooping, you'll love this fitness "toy". It's actually fairly challenging. When I first tried it I found it tough to go for 1-3 minutes consecutively. The reason I found it so difficult to go consecutively is because of the shape of the hula-hoop. It isn't a smooth circle like a normal hula-hoop; it has dips in it, which I would image add to the way it tones your body. The dips in the hula-hoop I found to be painful, this wasn't like an extreme pain but enough to make me want to quit - The person who recommended the hula-hoop to me said that the pain was normal and the more I did the hula-hoop the more I would get used to it. I experienced some bruising and a little soreness which was nothing compared to my soreness from p90x. After doing the hula-hoop for a week it is no longer as painful as it was and I am still a little sore but I feel as though i'm getting a nice workout in. I started out doing it for 1-3 minutes consecutively and I am going to increase to 3-5 consecutive minutes this week. The person who recommended the hula-hoop to me does it for 12 minutes and uses a 5lb hula-hoop. I'm not sure how long she has been doing it but she has lost 3 inches around her waist and as far as I know all she does is eats semi-healthy and does the hoop. I find it to be a nice light workout to start your morning or a nice way to end the day. I highly recommend this product. I will keep you posted on my results from the hula-hoop but I think it will be hard to say where my results are coming from because I have been trying a lot of new fitness equipment and workouts in addition to my scattered p90x routine. If you have any questions feel free to just ask!!
Here is the link to the site where I bought my hula-hoop:
http://www.sports-hoop.com/
I am also pretty sure you can purchase them through amazon.com
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Jackie Warners Tips for Getting Fit
I first learned about Jackie Warner by way of her t.v. show Work Out. This was on a few years ago. The show was alright but more focused on the drama rather than working out. If you've never seen it I'm sure you could find an episode out there somewhere on the web. I only took away from it a handful of useful exercises. More recently Jackie Warner had a show called thintervention - I didn't watch this show at all but I did catch some of the workout tips during Bravo commercials (the show aired on Bravo). Anyway, I thought this video was interesting and helpful. Enjoy!
To learn more about Jackie Warner you can go to this site:
http://www.jackiewarner.com/jackie_warner.aspx
Saturday, October 9, 2010
P90X Offical Website
I was just thinking that some people who come across my blog may not know much about P90X or may be super interested in it and want to learn more about it. And there may also be those of you who are so inspired by my journey that you may want to try it to. To meet everyones needs - Here is the offical link to the P90X website.
http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do?gclid=CLXQgr20x6QCFQNM5Qodc2cAjA&code=SEMB_GOOGLE_P90X&extcmp=164269951&ef_id=1908:3:s_7766f1b0ed0672718fec88aaa5054b44_5980657693:TLE6SQqoEEQAADTB5vwAACFC:20101010040009
http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do?gclid=CLXQgr20x6QCFQNM5Qodc2cAjA&code=SEMB_GOOGLE_P90X&extcmp=164269951&ef_id=1908:3:s_7766f1b0ed0672718fec88aaa5054b44_5980657693:TLE6SQqoEEQAADTB5vwAACFC:20101010040009
Dinner!
Snacks!
Breakfast
It's Getting Serious
I'm sure your all just dying to know how the yoga went - - I must say that it went better than last week but not by much. It took me double the time to get through the video because I was determined to do every move right and to really get the flow of the yoga workout. What helped me to get through the entire video was to watch Tony do it first and then rewind it and go through it again with him - I did have to pause a few times even after that. I still wasn't getting the flow down because there was so much stopping and starting but I feel like I have a much better handle on the yoga and I am looking forward to next time. I think that I could really and enjoy it once I get into the swing of things. It seems to me that if I do conquer this yoga I'm going to be more flexible than I've ever been in my entire life.
As for legs and back - it's still by far my favorite video hands down. And towards the end of the video when you do the exercises that consist of laying down is my favorite. However once I'm down there I don't feel like getting back up - it's like break time. I love the exercise (forget the name - I really should write down the ones I want to refer to) that that you have to put your arm on the opposite shoulder and do like a side-ways push-up - those of you who do the workout have to know what I'm talking about! It's really hard but I'm actually pretty good at it. I can do 15 without stopping and taking a break.
I finished up the this week with the X Stretch video - I'm actually pretty fond of this video as well. I was feeling pretty sore and I didn't think I was up for the Kenpo X this week. I thought the X Stretch would be a good note to end on - and plus it’s easy and I needed the confidence going into week 3. I found the X Stretch video and a nice warm bath were just what my body needed to rejuvenate itself and start out strong for next week. I’m feeling pretty good going into week 3.
As for week 3, I’m thinking it’s just going to be week 2 - seeing how I slacked off so much in week 2 - I need a redo - - I touched on this in my last post. Plus I did a lot of shopping over the weekend and bought pants 1 size smaller for some inspiration - it’s time to get serious!
Stay tuned!!
As for legs and back - it's still by far my favorite video hands down. And towards the end of the video when you do the exercises that consist of laying down is my favorite. However once I'm down there I don't feel like getting back up - it's like break time. I love the exercise (forget the name - I really should write down the ones I want to refer to) that that you have to put your arm on the opposite shoulder and do like a side-ways push-up - those of you who do the workout have to know what I'm talking about! It's really hard but I'm actually pretty good at it. I can do 15 without stopping and taking a break.
I finished up the this week with the X Stretch video - I'm actually pretty fond of this video as well. I was feeling pretty sore and I didn't think I was up for the Kenpo X this week. I thought the X Stretch would be a good note to end on - and plus it’s easy and I needed the confidence going into week 3. I found the X Stretch video and a nice warm bath were just what my body needed to rejuvenate itself and start out strong for next week. I’m feeling pretty good going into week 3.
As for week 3, I’m thinking it’s just going to be week 2 - seeing how I slacked off so much in week 2 - I need a redo - - I touched on this in my last post. Plus I did a lot of shopping over the weekend and bought pants 1 size smaller for some inspiration - it’s time to get serious!
Stay tuned!!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Forgive me Tony Horton, for I have sinned...
I would first like to start out by apologizing for my lack of blogging this week. I must admit that my blogging has been going just about as well as my workout. It has just been really hard to find the time to squeeze in that hour workout this week. I didn’t do the workout on Sunday because I had to work at both of my jobs plus I had a ton of school work. By the time I got home and got all my school work done I was exhausted and just went to bed. Monday I did the workout for the day, plus the workout I should have done on Sunday.
Both workouts went fairly well. I exceeded what I accomplished last week with in each workout of the arms DVD by 1 or 3 reps, except for that over under pushup. For the life of me I just can’t get the hang of it. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions as to how to take on this exercise? I also switched from the pull-up bar to the bands. Even though I can now do a pull-up, I find the bands to be more convenient and they don’t exhaust me in the way that the pull-up bar was. I also felt a huge difference in the workout I was getting – I think this was because I could get more reps in with the bands.
The plyometric video went well; I always enjoy the plyometric video. I really like the exercise (sorry blanking on the name) that incorporates the stool. I get a really good rhythm when doing it and I can really feel the exercise targeting the right areas. An exercise that I’m not that fond of in the plyometric video is the runner position jump – the one where you’re at runner’s position and squat and turn 3 times and on the 4th time you jump – hate this exercise . I feel like I’m getting absolutely nothing out of it! Towards the end of the plyometric video I was getting fairly worn out but I finished it.
At first I thought doing 2 DVD’s in one day was a great idea and thought maybe I will do this more often, when I don’t have time. I most certainly wasn’t thinking that when I woke up on Tuesday morning. I was extremely sore, especially my abs. Another question, is it normal that I’m still getting kind of sore from the workouts? Or should that have only last during week one?
So back to my laundry list of excuses, Tuesday I was sore and just didn’t feel like doing it and by Wednesday I was so out of sync with any routine that was starting to form I again just got busy and didn’t do it or even think about it - I actually went out to watch the Yankees game.
I will say that the diet hasn’t gone as far south as the work has. I will admit I haven't been following the diet as of late, but I have been making fairly good decisions about food and drinks except for last night. Last night, I had a few gin and tonics, which by the way is one of the worst alcoholic drinks according to “Eat This not That.” And the gin and tonics only lead to more bad decisions – bar food; which might just be one of my favorite kinds of food. I’ll spare you the details you can imagine how it ended.
I've decide that the past few day didn't count! That wasn’t my real turn – the dice just slipped out of my hand. I want a do over.
I’m going to finish up strong this week - bring on the yoga tonight!
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