Finally Fit in 2010: Secrets from Belly Bootcamp

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We'll bet the farm this resolution is on your list....

Resolution déjà vu?  Make that fitness resolution for the last time this year and finally achieve it with these secrets from the popular Belly Bootcamp fitness classes for modern mommies.

Start by choosing a realistic goal with a specific timeline – instead of “I want to lose all my baby weight,” try “I will weigh 145 pounds by April 1” or “I will run a 10K race on May 20.”  Then break that goal down into manageable steps – figure out how many pounds you need to lose per week or per month, or how many minutes you need to run each week as you work your way up to your jogging goal, for example.

Got your goal set and your path laid out?  Every fitness achievement starts with effective workouts (and a healthy dose of willpower).  Take a page from the Belly Bootcamp bible and steal these women’s fitness secrets that help our mommies get their fittest ever:

1. super sets (and circuits) are super. Structure your workout so you perform two exercises working different muscles back-to-back.  Try pairing up one leg exercise with one upper body exercise or one core exercise with any large muscle move using the legs, back or chest.  Complete one set of each in succession, then rest 30-60 seconds before your next set. Cardio junkies will love squeezing in 1-5 minutes of sprinting, cycling or stepping as well – try completing one circuit of 8-10 different exercises, then a bit of cardio before completing a final set of each exercise.
2. power up your cardio. Interval training uses short bouts of high-intensity cardio (approximately 85% of maximum heart rate) with periods of active rest (65-75% of MHR) to blast off more calories in less time and boost your metabolism for hours after you step off the treadmill.  After a 5-10 minute warmup, try 1 minute running as hard as you can with 2 minutes jogging or speedwalking; repeat 6 times and cool down.
3. use your downtime. Instead of completing a set and resting 1-2 minutes before starting again, recover those lost minutes by performing a lighter exercise while you recover from your main move.  Try a standing shoulder press while you rest your legs or some crunches while you rest your back.  By the time you finish those crunches your back will be ready to go again! 
4. go for compound moves. These are the moves that really get your heart rate up in half the time and burn tons of calories by incorporating two exercises into one, such as a squat with a shoulder press or a bent-over row with a triceps kickback. Perform these moves as you would any others, in succession with no rest until you complete the set.  Not for the faint of heart!
5. know how much is too much. There is a difference between feeling “the burn” and feeling like you’re about to pass out.  Your workout should be challenging enough to make you grit your teeth a bit as you finish those last few reps or the last few minutes of your cardio.  If you breeze through it, it’s not stimulating your muscles and brain enough to make the impact you’re looking for.  If it’s downright painful or causes faintness, dizziness, or extreme fatigue, chances are you’ll burn out or become injured long before you’ve had a chance to reach that goal of yours. 

One last secret of Belly Bootcampers?  You can get fit without a gym membership, without much equipment and without spending a lot of money.  For tons of trainer-tested exercises you can do at home or to try a Belly Bootcamp class near you, visit www.fitfamily.ca or www.bellybootcamp.ca.

I don’t remember my jeans being THIS tight…

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- Beth Beauchemin (Read About Beth)

Wow!  Who can believe that the leaves have changed, the jack o lanterns are out with the compost, and November is upon us.  It feels like only yesterday that Max and I were still bouncing out the door in shorts and tee-shirts.  Now it’s coats, sweaters and jeans!  I love fall (it’s my favourite season!), but the cooler (grey!) days often leave me wanting more fatty foods and less runs around the neighbourhood.  The 2 of those combined (plus a few yummy Thanksgiving and birthday meals, along with Halloween goodies!) usually have my jeans feeling a “little” tighter than I like them to!

So, what’s a girl to do? Well, if these were my pre-baby days it would be MUCH easier – cut down on carbs after lunch, slightly increase my protein intake, increase my water consumption, eliminate “white (sugar, flour, etc), and throw in a few more workouts.  Humph, sometimes I miss the ease of my pre-baby life!  Max is a very healthy eater, but I think I would have a revolt if supper turned into chicken (or fish!) and steamed veggies every night of the week.  Exercise is another story:  I now dream of getting 3 workouts in a week, let along the 5-6 that I easily pumped out in my former life.   And cut out sugar?  Are you crazy? How are you supposed to drink coffee (which is a new life necessity!) without any sugar in it?  You must agree… this is quite a dilemma!  It’s also one that I can’t afford to get too lazy on.  Christmas is around the corner and the last thing I want to do is to go into Christmas already worrying about how tight my jeans are. That means they definitely won’t fit come Jan 2!

It’s clear my old tricks won’t work.  Let’s have a serious look now at what I can do within the boundaries of my current life as a mom.

1. Start looking at what I’m eating. I don’t know about you, but at each meal I was eating my portion, plus often half of Max’s.   If I was to add that all up over the course of the past few months…. (especially including the dessert part) – yikes!  That would explain the tighter pants!  If you are like me, a phrase similar to “we can’t waste food while people are starving” runs through your head when you look at an unfinished plate.  IT’S OK!  People are not going to be any less hungry because you forced yourself to finish not 1, but 2 plates.  In fact, they may even be a little upset with you.  Whatever your child doesn’t eat, either: a) wrap up and save for another meal; or b) toss it into the compost.  Perhaps your servings are too big and you can make them a bit smaller, or perhaps the little one wasn’t hungry.  Either way, keep your fork on your own plate.  It’s much better this way – trust me!
2. Cut out white things. Unfortunately there is no shortcut on this one.  White sugar and white flour (the cornerstone of all things “bad”) are just not good for you, and if you cut them out not only will your midline smooth, but so will your moods.  Need another reason to cut out the white, white sugar has a significant effect on your immune system, and decreases your body’s immune response up to 6hrs after ingesting it.  YIKES!  With the flu scare this season, I need my immune system running at full capacity.  No white for me!  (No, I still haven’t given up on caffeine completely, but I’m taking it in a form that doesn’t need sugar – hello green mint tea!)
3. Increase my water intake. Did you know that the body misreads the “I’m thirsty” trigger, and sends you an “I’m hungry” thought?  When you are hungry, first have a big glass (or two) of water.  If you are still hungry in 20 minutes, then you are really hungry.  If you aren’t, then you were just thirsty!  I’ve just bought a new, really cool stainless steel water bottle – no leaving home without it!
4. Schedule in my workouts. This is an absolute must!  Like anything else, if workouts are not written down they will not happen.  I have found a terrific pilates studio that is on the way from home from where I teach Belly Bootcamp classes (you could just come to our wicked Belly Bootcamp classes – awesome workout AND get to hang with other cool moms!).  It’s a great way for me to sneak my workout and “me time” in!  I also have started to use Max again as a weight… now that he’s a toddler, “games” for him are workouts for me.  Singing “zoom zoom” and lifting him up in the air is a fabulous full body exercise; I combine that with a few (thousand!) laps chasing him around the living room, then finish with him crawling all over me as I try to hold a plank – voila, a very kid and mommy friendly, doable, workout that will make a difference!

So, there is my game plan for the next 6 weeks or so….. stop finishing Max’s food, get rid of white (which also includes that big barrel of Halloween candy that I won’t let my kid eat, but I’m somehow allowed to. What a bummer!), drink even more water (ideally 2-3L/day), and make a promise to myself, via my daytimer, to get my exercise in.  I’ll report back in a few weeks and let you know how it’s going!

Have a great November!

Let Go and Lose Weight

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meet your new workout buddy...

A few weeks ago, I saw a client (let’s call her “J”) who has just had her second son.  She’s just 6 weeks postpartum but very serious about getting back into fighting shape and losing the baby weight.  Before her second son she weighed about 140 pounds.  I was quizzing her about her pregnancy weight gain and her current versus ideal weight.

“So, how much did you gain with this pregnancy?”

J’s eyes roll upward and you can practically SEE mommy brain setting in… “57 pounds.”

My eyes bulge out of my head.  Not because it’s so much weight.  It is a lot of weight to gain in pregnancy but not more than I’ve heard before.  I can’t help my reaction because J doesn’t look to me like she’s got more than 10-15 pounds to lose, max.  Where did all that weight go in 6 weeks?  I envision horrible crash dieting.  “So, at your heaviest you were?…” I wait for J to fill in the blank.

“177 pounds,” J says, a little embarrassed.

A bit of quick math: “So you gained 37 pounds!  Not 57 pounds.”

J is astonished but relieved.  All this time she thought she had gone completely overboard and gained 57 pounds in this pregnancy.   Mommy brain is a powerful thing; J works in business and deals with numbers all the time.  Not even a PhD in Quantum Physics can protect you from mommy brain (okay, okay, J doesn’t have actually have a degree in quantum physics, but you catch my drift…).  A few weeks of sleeplessness and you’re lucky if you can remember your own name.

But now J realizes if she only gained 37 pounds, maybe it hasn’t quite been melting off her as quickly as she thought.  About 20 are gone and the other 15-20 are clinging, as they always do, to her tummy and especially to her hips and thighs.

J and I worked on a number of things that day, especially how to work with her son in his carrier or in her arms through her workout, something we deal with during our Belly Bootcamp classes.  There were also intermittent breaks for nursing, cuddling, jiggles, bounces and burps.  Sound frustrating?  It can be.  But what’s more frustrating is not making the time at all.  Sure, an uninterrupted workout would be wonderful!  Blissful, even!  (If a workout can be blissful.)  But an interrupted workout is better than no workout at all.

Let go of your idea of a “workout.”  I guarantee you will actually get more exercise if you do.

• Think you can’t stop moving the entire time? Not true.  Break your cardio into 5- or 10-minute chunks with nursing, cuddling and chatting breaks as needed.  Do half your cardio in the morning and half in the afternoon.  Do what you can!  The heart has no stopwatch.

• Think there’s no point in exercising if you can’t do cardio? Not so.  Strength training burns lots of calories and revs your metabolism for up to 72 hours after, working for you long after you stop exercising.  Strength training can be done at home with very little or no equipment.

• Think you can’t get in a good workout without your equipment, gym, trainer or class? Doing the same workout over and over can cause you to stop getting results; when you can’t do your usual thing, take advantage of the opportunity to shock your body by doing something new. 

• Think you won’t get any results if you don’t do a whole 30 (or 40, or 60) minutes? Study after study have shown that even 10-minute workouts produce results – plus, if you are exercising for just 10-20 minutes you can probably exercise every day without having to schedule rest days as you would with longer workouts (not to mention you don’t have to schedule childcare or naps around a 10-minute workout; even the fussiest baby will lay happily for 10 minutes and watch you do jumping jacks and squats).

stress less to lose more

Stop thinking of exercise as a black-and-white part of your life. Not every workout has to be long, organized or planned.  Turn your walk into a workout. Pop in a DVD you haven’t tried in a while and exercise your heart out until the baby (or kids) start fussing.  Plop baby in his carrier or corral the kids into doing squats and lunges with you.  Invite a friend to try a new class. Or just run up and down your stairs for a few minutes, a few times a day.  No exercise is wasted. Each little bit adds up.

And did I mention it helps clear up mommy brain?

Secrets from Belly Bootcamp: outdoor workouts

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Tips from the mommies in training...

On the go, on the cheap… there are tons of reasons to skip the gym (and the babysitter and the line-ups for treadmills and the creepy guy who keeps lifting his shirt to ‘wipe his face’ and show off his six-pack).  Summer is an especially tempting time to forego the gym altogether.  But skipping the gym shouldn’t mean skipping your workouts!

This summer, even I have put my gym membership on hold.  Normally the gym is my break in the day – my hour or two of sanity – but this summer I am pregnant and teaching Belly Bootcamp pre and postnatal fitness classes several days per week.  These classes are keeping me more than active enough, together with my own walking and playing with my toddler.

There are tons of exercises you can do with little or no equipment.  If you’re not so keen to spend an hour at the gym while the sun is shining outside, put baby in the stroller (or head out solo) and try these great moves from Belly Bootcamp, guaranteed to get your heart rate up and your muscles working:

• Push your stroller forward while lunging.  Take a big step forward with your left foot into lunge position.  Lift your right heel and bend both knees until your right knee is close to the ground.  Press up and step forward with right leg to repeat.  Do 10-20 lunges; try uphill for an extra challenge!
• Turn sideways and push your stroller with one hand (stroller faces forward, you face sideways).  With your right hand pushing the stroller, step your right foot to the side until your feet are quite wide, like a sumo wrestler.  Squat, then press up and step your left foot in next to the right.  Repeat 10-20 times on the right, then 10-20 times facing the other direction and leading with your left foot.  For an extra challenge, hold each squat in the bottom position for 1-3 counts before pressing back up.
• Try mini sprints to rev your heart rate and make a big impact on your metabolism for the rest of the day (translation: burn off more of that baby fat).  As you walk, spot a tree, sign or building you’d like to aim for and sprint as quickly as you can to that point.  Slow down to a walk or jog once you reach your goal, recover and – when you’re ready – pick your next target!  Aim for 5-10 sprints.
• A picnic table, bench or other sturdy surface is perfect for push ups.  Place your hands on the table or bench and hold your body in a straight line from your toes to your head.  Bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the edge of the table, pause, then press up until arms are straight.  Do 10-20 push ups – try a set with hands wide to focus on the muscles of the chest and back, then a set with hands right under the shoulders to tone the arms and shoulders.
• Try a birth squat burpee for full body toning!  Find a patch of grass and turn the stroller so baby can see you.  Squat down low, as in a birth squat, with bum below knees and heels flat on the ground.  Place both hands directly in front of you on the ground and step both legs back (one at a time) into plank position.  Hold for one count, squeezing your belly up toward your spine to activate your core.  Step both feet back into your birth squat, hold for one count and press up to stand and say hello to baby!  Repeat 8-10 times.

These moves can be performed 3-4 times per week, with one rest day in between each workout.  Try one set of each exercise, then walk for a while and do one more set of each again.  Make it interesting!  Play around with the order, bring a friend along, try a new walking route or even do these exercises in your back yard for a quick 10-15 minute workout that delivers!

Asking questions has never caused a sore knee or pulled hamstring!  If you have any questions about the advice above (or any exercise-related questions) please ask first, shoot later.  Email me at dara(at)fitfamily(dot)ca or visit me at www.fitfamily.ca or www.bellybootcamp.ca for more information about exercise for pregnancy, postpartum and every stage of life.  Be well!

Top 5 Weight Loss Drinks

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Part of what makes Fit Family so special is that we stick to what we know.  We don’t sell you stuff and promise it will solve all your problems.  But when we know something works, we want to tell you about it.  So let me save you the confusion: diet drinks, pills, powders and potions are a waste of money and a risk to your health. They are untested, unproven and unregulated. Nature has created its own “diet drinks” and, unlike the potions they’re hawking at your gym, these drinks are scientifically proven to work!

1. water. It had to top the list, of course, as it is not even a drink but an essential component of life itself.  Dehydration slows your metabolism, dampens your thinking and can ultimately lead to serious illness and death.  There has long been a rumour that water “flushes” the fat from your body and now it has been proven.  Regular water consumption throughout the day does, indeed, speed your metabolism to make you burn more calories.  Plus it keeps your mouth busy.  So drink up!

2. milk. In our #2 spot is the oft-slandered, very controversial milk (bovine, that is).  Whether you take it no fat, low fat, organic or whatever’s on sale, milk does a body good.  Dieters who consume more servings of low-fat dairy per day have been consistently proven to burn more fat than dieters who consume little or no dairy but follow the same program otherwise.  If you can’t or won’t drink milk, the same benefits can be derived from eating yoghurt, cheese, cottage cheese and other low fat dairy products.

3. coffee. Okay, okay, it’s third on the list because I’m personally a bit partial to it but coffee is an antioxidant and metabolic powerhouse.  It contains a fair amount of caffeine, of course, and drinking it before a workout has been proven to have a positive effect on strength and endurance performance.   Since caffeine has a short-term effect on your metabolism, a couple of cups of coffee over the course of the day will give you a bit of a calorie burning edge for much less than the cost of an energy drink.

4. green tea. As much as we love coffee, we would all do well to give it up entirely and switch to green tea.  Green tea, cup for cup, outmatches coffee in the antioxidant department and has a unique and incredible ability to spike your metabolism with each cup.  Compounds in green tea called catechin polyphenols work with other compounds in your body to optimize fat burning.  About 3 cups per day is necessary to achieve the desired effect.

5. red wine. It might seem a bit strange to put booze on a healthy drink list but red wine is a natural, delicious and figure-friendly way to get your antioxidants if you watch your portion sizes.  In addition to its well-publicized antioxidant effects, red wine contains resveratrol, a chemical proven to help control blood sugar.  Stable blood sugar levels help control fat storage.  Since red wine comes in at about 120 calories per glass, consuming more than a glass can put a wrench into your weight loss plans.   But one planned, sipped, savoured glass is good for the heart and the hips!