Sweat: interrupted.

Every month I am pestered and bullied, like most women, by my own body. In the days leading up to Aunt Flow's arrival I find myself cranky, irritable, somewhat emotional, and insatiably hungry. It sucks. 

Of course, Auntie has no concern for special events. She comes as she pleases. 

I dispose my monthly visits. The uncomfortable silence, the blotchy skin, the bloating. When Auntie comes for a visit I feel my sexuality vanish as I seek solace in flattering sweats, (no they don't exist). During her visit, the thought of exercise becomes a chore. I find myself making silly excuse like: "I probably can't even fit into my workout clothes right now." 

The problem with making excuses is that it only perpetuates the problem. To achieve results in anything one must remember to: first breath, then to think pro-active, and re-active. Dragging your self to the gym for a good old fashion sweat to burn off period related steam has been proven to help  reduce the severity of:

Cramps:

By releasing endorphins the body's natural painkillers, 

by increasing blood flow, 

loosening muscle tension, 

and eliminating excess water. 

Bloating:

By waking up the large muscle groups and eliminating toxins through sweat.

Improve mood:

 Through the release of serotonin, and other feel good hormones.

Improve skin tone and elasticity:

 Which totally helps to remind you of how beautiful you truly are. 

Exercise helps to get you feeling yourself again. Break out a sweat; you'll thank yourself. 

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

Cardio Toned.

Toning Balls help increase the intensity of any workout. The weighted ball helps to tone the body by safely adding resistance. Toning balls are great for targeting problem areas, and are safe to use; especially  for those with injuries. I like to use a small weighted toning ball (max 3lbs). Toning Balls are in expensive and easy to find. I got mine at Target for $10.   

When you ad resistance to a cardio workout, your body is forced to concentrate on the slower toning movements, as opposed to just wandering in the happy cardio thoughts. I day dream all the time during cardio.  Adding resistance to my cardio helps me, to stay present and receive the most benefits of my cardio workout.

I've been incorporating a small toning ball into my tramp workouts, and have been enjoying the shift in focus. This routine: is a low impact workout that require focus. 

If you are considering getting a rebounder, or just want to try it out. My fitness Idol, Tracy Anderson, had just added rebounders to her online store. They are selling for $70 dollars, which is a fair introductory price (and allot cheaper that a treadmill). 

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!

Post-Thanksgining Cardio

If you are anything like me you have been enjoying the goodies of the season and starting to feel a little umm...burnt out/ worried that you might not be able to fit into that wicked New Years cocktail dress you've been eyeing. My solution is a Tracy Anderson inspired trampoline Cardio session.

 Urban Rebounding has recently been featured on "The Doctors." The show highlighted the massive health benefits of rebounding which include: a lymphatic shake, increased muscular strength, increased balance, and an easy on the joints cardio workout.  Urban rebounding is a fun way to bounce back into fitness; just 10-30 minutes a day on a mini tramp can transform your workout,  detoxify your body, and burn off all the Thanksgiving feasting.

Tracy Anderson my fitness idol has long incorporated urban tramps into her workouts, and I have added a new low impact high calorie tramp workout  as a holiday workout bonus.  

For more Info on the benefits of Urban Rebounding.