Get Your Cardio On!

Ok, you've been trying to be healthy lately. You've been increasing your physical activity and watching what you eat. Maybe you've been taking a walk here and there and you're ready to tackle more...but what?

We've talked about the components of fitness, and we've touched on resistance training & flexibility. Today we're going to spend some time on cardiorespiratory fitness.

Cardiorespiratory exercise (aka 'cardio' or 'aerobic') defined:

The ability to perform repetitive, moderate to high intensity, large muscle movements for a prolonged period of time.

Examples of this would be walking, biking, running, swimming, aerobic dancing. Got kids? Be creative with your cardio and include them! Kids are natural exercisers, they can be enormous motivators if we let them.

Benefits include:

*Increased caloric expenditure (burns calories). Burn at least 150 calories per day, or 1,000 calories per week.

*Stronger heart

*Lowered blood pressure & cholesterol

*Increased metabolism

*Stress relief

*Many, many more. Try it & see for yourself!

Training guidelines:

Do some form of cardio a minimum of 3 times per week for a minimum of 20 minutes. More is better, but if you're just beginning, this is a good start point. If your goal is increased fitness or weight loss, work up to 5 times per week for 30-60 minutes.

Remember that when you're working on your cardiorespiratory fitness, it's important to know how hard you're working. Click here to learn how hard to work.

It's also important to find an activity or two that you enjoy. In other words, if you enjoy being outside, take a bike ride or go to the park for a walk.

Whether your goal is to lose weight, increase your fitness or just get healthy, adding some cardio to your workout routine is a must. Try it!

Don't forget this rule: have fun with your cardio! Challenge yourself, find a friend to workout with, be creative & try something new. Have FUN getting FIT!

Hey, if you have a favorite form of cardio, we want to hear it! Leave us a message below.

How Dwight Schrute Inspires Me

I like comedy. The sillier, the better for me. Watching crazy situations that would never really happen make me laugh. If you've ever seen the tv show called The Office (NBC), then you know what I'm talking about.

I like it not just because it's ridiculous, but I love this character named Dwight Schrute. As crazy as it sounds, watching him has inspired me to be bold in my fitness goals.

Dwight is quite the oddity. He pictures himself a militaristic leader, believes that smiling is a form of weakness and is abundantly confident.

If you're familiar with Dwight, you may think he's just an example of what not to be and that I'm crazy. Let me explain this perspective...

Dwight has something that we in the fitness industry call a 'zest for life' that's unmatched. Yes, he's nutty. But no matter the circumstances, Dwight, in his odd way, always finds the bright side of life. He goes head on into everything he's involved in.

An example of this is in the episode Traveling Salesman/The Return. Dwight lost his beloved position (assistant to the regional manager) at the office and was forced to job hunt. Did this discourage him -- no way! He picked himself up and went out in the middle of winter and worked it. My favorite quote sums it all up:

"I am ready to face any challenges that may be foolish enough to face me."

What would happen if only we had that attitude when things aren't going our way? What if we tried new things or did something completely out of our comfort zone?

I try to keep Dwight's attitude when I'm in the water at the start line of a triathlon shivering with nerves, or when I face a long day and my adrenal fatigue has kicked in full force.

I'm also working on stepping out of my comfort zone this year. I'll be thinking about Dwight this summer during my first mountain bike race (yikes!)...

What have you always thought about doing but never had the nerve to try?

We all have challenges in life. Maybe it's weight we need to take off, health issues or trying to juggle a career and family. Bottom line, whatever you are facing take a fresh perspective & learn from Dwight Schrute!

If you need assistance getting started, let us help! Contact us

Have you conquered a fear? We'd love to hear from you!