Sweat: Tramping into spring

As far as I am concerned there is no better workout than the Tracy Anderson Method. I love how her method centers around the importance of cardio and muscle conditioning. I religiously follow my Tracy Anderson workout; changing up my muscular routine every 10 days. Once the body gets to familiar with an exercises it will rely on "muscle memory" to perform the action. When our bodies rely on muscle memory, they get lazy and look for short-cuts. While muscle memory is great for learning choreography and new tricks- it is kryptonite for body transformation. To break through fitness plateaus- Muscle Memory has to be avoided.

I tend to get lazy with my cardio. It is the same 30-60 minutes a day. They play list might change, but the moves are repetitive. I made this 30 minute urban rebounding routine to help me break through my fitness plateaus. I'm using an urban rebounder, to build muscle stamina while burning maximum calories. Urban rebounding is a great aerobics alternative, because it provides incredible intensity at a low impact. Urban rebounding helps shake out the lymphatic system while being an acceptable form of exercises for people with joint and impact injuries. 

Hope you enjoy!

Part one is 15 minutes, starting with a warm up:

And part 2 is 15 minutes, finishing with a light cool down:

Sweat: Exercise Detox!

I am really for February. January is always such a long and depressing month: the days are long, and the excitement of the new year fades with each past dated party invite. February, on the other hand is just a baby of a month where no subject is too taboo. I'm excited. For the month of February my friend and I are attempting a detox of sorts. One month of no alcohol, and no junk foods. One month, just to restart!

Exercise is an important component of any detoxification process. Aerobic exercises helps release toxins through the breath, and through perspiration. Aerobics are my guilty pleasure. I love the high energy. The Tracy Anderson Method combines an aerobic dance routine with a muscle toning routine to redesign the body. 

Dance Cardio, and Urban Rebounding are among the best exercises for body detoxification. Jumping on the mini tramp allows an exerciser to work out at a higher gravitational force witch helps to strengthen and rebuild muscle tissue.  While dance cardio requires an element of mental engagement to follow along.

Follow along, to this quick 15 minute Cardio and muscle toning routine!

Here are some detox benefits of urban rebounding and dance cardio:

•  Strengthens the glandular system
•  Helps to increase circulation and oxygen flow.
•  Conditions and strengthens the heart which allows the resting heart to beat less often.
•  It provides an extremely effective 'no impact' exercise
•  It increases metabolism which assists the body in burning more calories.
•  Increases the performance of both the heart and the circulatory system
•  Stimulates the flow of lymph fluid through the lymphatic system
•  Enhances digestion, relaxation, sleep patterns, nerve impulses and muscle fiber

Tramping about, sans Jingle

It is so easy to forget about your arms during cardio workouts. A lot of cardio exercises are either  repetitive which focus on the large leg muscles, since they require more energy to move. Or cardio workouts challenge balance, which intuitively forces the exerciser to concentrate on core stability rather than movement. 

Adding arm choreography to a workout can spike the overall effectiveness of the cardio. Our arms are comprised of large muscles; and when we focus on increasing arm movements in cardio it switches the exercisers attention from: shortness of breath to a specific body part. 

The switch in focus increases the exercisers endurance, while challenging balance and increasing muscle awareness/memory. 

I personally struggle, with remembering to incorporate my arms into workouts. I tend to keep my arms quiet. This urban rebounding workout is intended to focus on the arms first, and the jumps second.  

Follow along once or twice, and each time you replay the workout try to focus on a different muscle group. You will be shocked by how much the attention to "details" can transform your workout!

Enjoy!

Shred the slopes; Get Fit.

I love winter! More specifically I love Snowboarding. I know that , I'm kind of the opposite of most people; because of my love for snow I am fitter and more toned in the colder snow filled winter months. The satisfaction and adrenaline of "dashing through the snow" on technical sled is unbeatable. A day skiing or snowboarding is not only great for your spirit, but it is a total body workout that requires large muscle movements to hold and edge, mixed with interval of anaerobic exercise. 

A single day on the slopes can zap over 1,000 calories ( and can help prevent the dreaded seasonal weight gain). 

For ski and snowboard reviews of resorts, check out: Board the World. My Personal favourite place to shred is the Canadian Rockies. I love Sunshine Village Ski Resort and Marmot Basin in Jasper.

There are a lot of great ski/board clubs; that can enrich you social life. Whether you are learning to ski or snowboard, or getting back into; you need to be patient, listen to your body, eat health foods, and always remember the importance of pre ski and post ski stretches.

So go,  get out, and enjoy winter!

Tramp vs. lack of motivation

Well friends, the seasons have shifted. Fall is here, and morning are a little bit cool. The thought of getting up and heading straight out the door for a cardio burst is a little less inviting then it was a month or even a couple of weeks a go. It is so easy to loose interest in your fitness goals once the weather changes; it's cold, it's wet, it's messy...etc. There is no reason to be fair weather "sweater," exercisers who stay committed to their fitness goals all year are the exercisers who see and get results. 

Pick a fight, against your lack of motivation; and destroy whatever thoughts are holding you back.

There are so many ways to stay fit and motivated through out fall and winter. Take advantage of seasonal activities and invest it a good pair of running shoes and some home fitness gear. I'm obsessed with the Tracy Anderson Method; which combines a dance inspired cardio workout with a muscle structure workout. It's challenging, and the program delivers results.  Cardio workouts have typically been cursed by boredom; they are repetitive, and  require no mental engagement. Holding the philosophy that cardio is boring will negatively impact your workout. Exercise is a mind and body activity. To challenge your fitness your mind has to be involved. I'm a huge fan of mini trampoline workouts because of the mind/body necessary involvement. Functional fitness aims to train the body in a real world manner, active mental engagement in workouts can help improve mental engagement and pattern recognition in other areas of your life. So go on, get jumping and stay motivated this cold season. 

Remember to always start with a warm up. This will get your muscles ready for work and help prevent workout related pain.

Grab some water, and keep it up.

Great job! Try to incorporate a cardio challenge into your routine at least 5 times a week. 

Such a Tramp

Trampolining, or Rebounding is a fantastic workout. The tramps, unpredictable surface density forces your core muscles to engage in order to maintain balance, while the jumping movements stimulate the fast twitch muscles in our legs to burn more calories.

A trampy workout is a the best way to maximize the cardio benefits of impact training, without risking the chin splints or joint pain associated with traditional high impact. I like to wear Nike Free training shoes when I tramp, because they are less bulky than other runners. This is just my personal preference and I encourage you to do what works.  For your own health remember the importance of a warm up and a cool down.

Enjoy! 

grab some water....

catch your breath...

Congrats! Now, just remember to stretch. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Dance for fitness

As if you need a reason to dance, but in case you do: exercisers who opt for dance aerobics or dance inspired cardio and conditioning have less concentrated body fat. Dance freaks, typically have flatter tummies.  Dancing is believed to reduce the Buddha Belly syndrome because the whole body is engaged in the movements, which tricks us into performing. 

Dance is fantastic because our largest muscles (which burn the most calories) are in our legs.  Dance utilizes minor and major leg movements through the incorporate of a wide variety of leg movements including plies, leaps, kicks, and attitudes. The whole body is working- 

The challenge of following choreography and keeping up with the beat stimulates the mind. Focus is required. The active memory engagement compliments and enhances our short term memory.  

The high energy music can boosts our moods. Leaving us more positive and willing to add our own personal twist to the movements. This further engages self expression which builds confidence.

 SO in short I'm saying Dance; You'll look better, feel better, and even remember more. The Tracy Anderson Method is my personal favorite: try her, or take a zumba class.

 I don't care- Just dance.