Weekend Roundup: Excess candy, breakfast cereals, kettlebells, more

I don't do round-up posts as often as I'd like, but as we've reached the end of another month, I thought it was about time I put another one together. So here are some of my favorite (and timely) posts of the past few weeks:

If you took my advice in my Halloween Candy post (How to avoid Halloween candy nightmares), you should now have a big bag of candy that you need to get out of your house. If taking it to work isn't your thing, and the financial side of you can't justify throwing it in the trash, here's an alternative idea from Fairly Odd Mother: Got Candy? Here's how to get rid of it.

And since we're on the topic of sugar-laden treats, let me share a great post from "Food Sociologist" Dina Rose. In A Spoonful of Sugar, Dina shares the results of new report by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity (Yale University) that shows not only how frequently cereals are marketed to kids, but just how sugar-laden most of those cereals are. If you aren't familiar with my thoughts on breakfast cereals, read an oldie but goodie from my own blog in Breakfast Cereals: Healthy or not? And then go eat some eggs.

On the Kettlebell front, there are two posts I wanted to feature. The first is from Josh Hillis of Lose Stubborn Fat. His post Beware of Dangerous Kettlebell DVDs talks about how some of the brand DVDs and kettlebells we find in our local store may NOT be the best way to learn about using kettlebells. Good commentary! The other is actually not that recent, but I was reminded of it when Josh Hanagarne posted a complete list of his recent guest posts. It's called "Stay Away! Four Reasons Kettlebells are NOT for you." In his normal sarcastic style, Josh explains why he wants you to leave kettlebells alone and just lie down and eat candy instead.

And since I'm a huge fan of Josh, let me also share his guest post, "Do You Want It? Prove It!" If you are someone who WANTS to be thin, but just can't seem to get the motivation to do it, this post might just be the kick in the rear that you need.

Well, those are my latest favorites. If you have a favorite post that you've read or written recently, please share it with me. I'd love to hear what you're reading!

Weekend Round-Up: Kettlebells, Loving your body

It's been a while since I shared some of my favorite posts from around the web, so I've accumulated quite a few. I've retweeted a few of them, so if you follow me on tweeter, you may have seen a few already. I love getting inspiration from others, and I hope you do too!

First, a stop at my neighbor to the south, Sandy Sommer of CharmCityKettlebells. Sandy wrote an amazing and fair critique of Jillian Michaels new kettlebell workout program in Why Jillian Michaels is Bad for Kettlebells. If you, like me, are a fan of Jillian's, you owe it to yourself to read this. Unfortunately, as great as Jillian is, she's gotten into kettlebells without proper training. So please learn from experienced and certified kettlebell trainers like Sandy - he'll show you what Jillian does wrong so that you can avoid it at home.

Next, I've been loving this all month long, but I Love My Legs! is an inspired post from Rachel Cosgrove's online journal. (Rachel is an accomplished trainer and fitness competitor who runs a gym with her husband, author Alwyn Cosgrove, and is an author in her own right as well.) Rachel hits the nail on the head for women who are overly-critical of themselves and helps to teach us all a lesson about appreciating our bodies.

On the nutrition front, I have a few great selections for you. At the Precision Nutrition blog, a recent post on Research, Big Food, and Science: Cooking up a Conspiracy caught my eye. Anything that helps you take food claims with a huge amount of skepticism is well worth your time to read, and this certainly fits the bill!

And I've found a new blog that I absolutely adore. The blog is It's Not About Nutrition, and is a great resource for parents struggling with helping their kids eat healthy. As someone who gets stressed about what my kids are eating, I find the common sense and educated posts of Dina Rose, PhD to be a breath of fresh air. My selection to share is The Potato Chip Challenge: How we decide what snacks to give our kids. In this piece, Dina shoots holes in the idea that crackers, granola bars, and (sweetened) yogurt are substantially healthier snacks than potato chips. It's a good lesson for snackers of any age!

Finally, on a personal note, I'm very proud of two "friends" that I've met through the on-line fitness community who recently were certified to train kettlebells. Sarah, of StrongSarah was among the first to become Hardstyle Kettlebell Certified. You can read about her experiences in Happy to be Hardstyle Kettlebell Certified, parts I and II. And Anna, of Path to Fat Loss shared her RKC Experience after accomplishing the extremely difficult task of achieving the the status of a Russian Kettlebell Certified trainer! So please read about what these women did and what it means to them and join me in being inspired!

If you've written a post you think my readers would enjoy, please email me and let me know! I'd love to post more round-ups and feature more great blogs and authors!

What is the best form of exercise?

People spend an amazing amount of time trying to find the best exercise. A google search on the words retrieves millions of articles on the subject, and there are nearly 20,000 books on exercise! People search through dozens of these resources looking for answers. They'll look for the best exercise for weight loss, muscle growth, whittling their waist, or whatever their current goal is at the time. Then they'll spend hours each week sweating away at whatever exercise is the recommended one of the era, even if they hate it the entire time. It's a recipe for failure. If you're going to stick with an exercise program for the long-term, it has to be fun and something you enjoy.

So when you're answering the question "what is the best form of exercise," the best answer I can give is "the one you'll do regularly."

Love running? Fantastic! Plan distance runs, high intensity interval sprints, and hill runs to hit different body parts and increase your ability. Hate it? Don't do it! There are so many wonderful alternatives, and even though most people want to do some "cardio," running is not the only way to do it!

What about weight lifting? Enjoy pumping iron? Wonderful! Find yourself an olympic barbell and lift away! Hate lifting weights? No problem! Once again, there are lots of alternatives to a traditional weight workout, and hefting dumbbells or barbells is not the only way to do resistance training.

When you've found something you really enjoy, you'll know it, because the next time you don't feel like exercising, and force yourself to do it anyway, you'll feel energized and excited about 5 minutes in, rather than feeling bored and forcing yourself through the entire workout.

So here's a list of FUN and sometime unconventional exercises that can be used for cardio and/or resistance training. If something sounds interesting, give it a try! It's certainly better than trudging through another hour on the stairmaster!

• Kettlebells - Gaining in popularity in the past year, kettlebells are a way to get resistance training and cardio in a single workout, with just one weight! You swing, lift, and hold the kettlebell while doing moves like squats and lunges. It's challenging and many women who try it are surprised at how much they enjoy it, especially relative to traditional weight lifting. I will say that I recommend trained instruction - I train with an RKC certified instructor. Want more information on kettlebells? Check out Dragon Door and read up on Kettlebells at Charm City Kettlebells, which is a blog/site run by a fantastic RKC certified instructor, Sandy Sommer.
  
• Dance - While there are lots of fun dancing options for exercise, another hot trend is ZUMBA! In these instructor-led group sessions, you dance to fantastic Latin music. The movements are structured to give participants an amazing cardio interval workout, and the classes are amazingly fun and filled with energy. Find a class here: http://www.zumba.com/us/
• Group Weight Lifting - Great for people who like lifting weights but are intimidated by the "weight room," Group Power classes put weight-lifting into the relative safety of an instructor-led group exercise class. You get all of your resistance training for the day in a one-hour class, set to music, with an exercise routine that's been predetermined by your instructor. As you get stronger, you add more weight. Need a light day? Use less weight. It's up to you. More on group power here: http://www.quantumfitness.ca/programs/power.asp
• Play Like a Kid - Remember hanging from the monkey bars, jumping rope, and hula hooping? Well back when you were a kid, you did them because they were fun, but did you realize they are all great exercise as well? Plus, they're inexpensive, you can do them at home, and you can even have fun getting the kids involved! Jumping/skipping rope and hula hooping are great cardio workouts. Next time you take the kids to the park try using the monkey bars and you'll add some resistance training.
• Play Like a Grown-up - Made popular first in Southern California, Pole Dancing Exercise classes are springing up all over the country! Pole dancing can help strengthen your core, giving the benefits of resistance training, while an intense dancing session can also give a great cardio workout. For your comfort, classes should be women only, and there should be a beginners class for those who are new to the concept.
  

So these are just a few fun ideas that will take you out of your current bored, tedious exercises and give you something new and fun, that will hopefully keep you engaged for years to come. Which of them is the best form of exercise? Only you can answer that question!

Evolution of a fitness plan

In the final post in my one-year look-back series, I wanted to walk my readers through how my fitness plan has evolved over the past year - as well as how my physical fitness has improved. I didn't start out doing 30 push-ups in a row, cranking out chin-ups, or running a mile without getting winded. Not even close!

Perhaps it might help if I dial back a bit further, just to give you some context. I am not a traditionally athletic person. Those of my readers in the U.S. might recall doing those "Presidential Fitness Tests" in school. Well, I was the annoying girl who hated running so much that she insisted on walking the required "mile run," while the rest of her class sat on the bench and waited for her. I can see the physical education teachers rolling their eyes right now! While I enjoyed swimming, dancing, and horseback riding, I only did the latter competitively. I was not a soccer, softball, lacrosse, or field hockey player. The closest I came to running track was being half-sibling to an alum of my school's cross-country team. So I didn't have any personal experience to pull from, or default mode of training to fall back on.

But running...hate it though I did, I had forced myself to do it once before, back in 2002, and dropped down to a svelte 117 pounds. So that's where I decided to start.

It begins...
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 was the first day of my new workout plan. My neighbor was waiting outside for me at 6:00, and she'd kick my butt if she got up early and I was a no-show. So I made myself get out of bed and get outside. As a physical education teacher, she had the plan. We walked to warm up, and then did jogging intervals, running for about 45 seconds at a time, and then walking for two minutes to recover, with a cool-down walk at the end. It took us 33 minutes to do 2 miles, with about 8 minutes of running and about 25 minutes of walking. I have to say, it was REALLY hard for me. Every time we started running, I wanted to stop almost immediately! Later that night, I did 20 crunches on a stability ball.

That was the first day. Each day after that, we ran a little longer, and walked a little less. As the days wore on, we added a "long run" in the middle, skipping one of the walking intervals. And every few days, I'd do some crunches on the stability ball.

Two weeks into this, I started doing a routine of stability ball exercises, which effectively were a form of resistance training. This included crunches, push-ups, wall squats, hamstring curls, etc. I did these exercises in the evening, while I continued the running and walking intervals in the morning. By this point, the running and walking had progressed quite a bit. I was now running as many minutes as I was walking (about 15 minutes each). It was getting easier, and we kept pushing ourselves to make it harder again.

Then came Friday, August 1. The local running store was holding "Friday Night Runs" in August. It was a timed run on a flat, paved trail near our home. You could run 2.5 or 5 miles. I had never tried to run 2.5 miles without stopping to walk, but decided to try. And I did it! After just 6 weeks of training, I ran the 2.5 miles in 28 minutes! So much for the girl who couldn't run a mile! Just after Labor Day, I ran a 5K. I had done a few, years ago, but never was able to finish without walking at least once. This time, I ran the entire race, finishing in 33 minutes.

I also started the 100 Push-ups program for the first time in August. I tested my regular push-ups and could only do two, so I started with the lowest level in the program, switching to knee push-ups when I couldn't do anymore regular push-ups. Although I stopped the program when it started interfering with other workouts I was doing, I was able to do 30 regular push-ups by November. Look for some video showing me back in August, trying to do push-ups, and a follow-up one that shows the change in my ability. I'll post that separately later this week.

I introduce some "Turbulence" to my training
By the time October rolled around, I was ready for a more intense resistance training program. That's when I started Turbulence Training. I started off with the 4-week bodyweight program (which I send all of my email subscribers for free), and switched to the TT 2K3 workout (2K3 = 2003, the year Craig Ballantyne created the workout) near the end of the month, when I was able to start working out with weights.

Here is a sampling of the weights I used in that workout (all weights listed for two-handed exercises are for both hands), along with the weights I used last week for the same workout:

October 2008
Chin-ups 3x6 chin-ups at -52lbs (using an assisted chin-up machine)
DB chest press 3x8 at 40lbs
DB 1-arm elbow out row 3x8 at 15lbs, repeat other side
DB low-incline press 3x8 at 30lbs
Decline push-ups - could only do 6 per set 3x6
DB incline curl 3x8 at 20lbs

Forward lunges 3x8 30 lbs
Side plank 3x30 sec per side
Romanian Deadlift 3x8 40lbs
Jackknife w/ ball 3x15 reps
Step-ups 3x8 40lbs
2-leg Hamstring curl w/ ball 3x15 reps

June 2009
Chin-ups 4 unassisted chin-ups, 1 + 5 assisted (-22 lbs) in remaining 2 sets
DB chest press 3x8 at 70lbs (+30 lbs)
DB 1-arm elbow out row 3x8 at 30 lbs, repeat other side (+15 lbs)
DB low-incline press 3x8 at 40 lbs (+10 lbs)
Decline push-ups - 3x15 (+9 reps per set)
DB incline curl 3x8 at 30lbs (+10 lbs)

Forward lunges 3x8 60 lbs (+30 lbs)
Side plank 3x60 sec per side (+30 seconds)
Romanian Deadlift 3x8 75lbs (+35 lbs)
Ab-Pike 3x15 reps (Same reps - harder exercise)
Step-ups 3x8 60lbs (+20 lbs)
1-leg Hamstring curl w/ ball 3x15 reps per side (Same reps - harder exercise)

As you can see, my strength has very much increased over the course of the last 8 months. For the curious who are also using the Turbulence Training Program, here are the names of the other workouts I did in the following months:

TT 2K4
TT 2K5 (only 2 weeks)
TT for Female Strength Phase II
TT Gain Muscle Lose Fat
TT for Buff Dudes and Hot Chicks (BDHC)
TT Fusion Fat Loss Intermediate
TT for Meatheads
TT 2K3 (tried again specifically to see how far I'd come since I started)

I get serious about Kettlebells
The Turbulence Training programs recommend you replace "long, slow, boring cardio" with high intensity interval training (HIIT). I started off doing treadmill sprints for my intervals, building on the running I had been doing over the summer. But running inside is far less interesting, for me, than running outside, and I found myself skipping HIIT sessions because I dreaded stepping onto the treadmill.

But my friend Anna, from Path to Fat Loss was a kettlebell enthusiast, and her descriptions of what she was doing piqued my interest. There were several kettlebells at my gym, and I decided I would learn to do the Kettlebell swing (the most basic kettlebell move), and use swings for HIIT at least once per week.

So, near the end of November, I replaced one of my normal HIIT workouts with kettlebell swings. I did 30 seconds of swings, with 90 seconds of recovery for six total intervals. I used a 12kg kettlebell to start, but found it was very difficult to keep good form on the last three intervals, so in future sessions, I switched to an 8kg kettlebell. Within two months, I was consistently using a 12kg kettlebell for swings. Then, at the end of February, I started working a 16kg kettlebell into my routine. I would do half of my intervals with the 16kg, and the other half with the 12kg. I loved how I could get a great HIIT workout that left me out of breath and exhausted in just 12 minutes.

In April, I started working with a RKC certified trainer in a weekly group class. She helped refine my swing, and taught me a few more exercises. Now, here's the kind of circuit I might do for a quick HIIT session after my weight lifting workout:

30 seconds 16kg swings
5 weighted squats (16kg)
30 seconds rest
---
30 seconds 12kg overhead swings
30 seconds 12kg one-hand alternating swings
30 seconds rest
---
30 seconds 16kg swings
30 seconds jumping jacks
30 seconds rest
---
30 seconds 12kg overhead swings
5 weighted lunges (12kg) per side
30 seconds rest
---
30 seconds 16kg swings
5 burpees
30 seconds rest
---
30 seconds 12kg overhead swings
30 seconds 12kg one-hand alternating swings
30 seconds rest

In conclusion...
It amazes me to look back and see how far I've come in the past year on all levels - appearance, nutrition, health, and fitness. But there's one common thread in all four posts, and that's that none of these changes happened overnight. Dozens of small, incremental changes accumulated to influence my physical ability, health, appearance, and diet. So if you look at the way I live my life now, and think "that's great, but I just can't do that right now," don't be ashamed. If you asked me a year ago, I would have said the same thing!

Find one thing - just one - to change and start there. Maybe it's eating real food for breakfast, or starting a daily walking habit with a friend. Maybe it's signing up for a yoga class or cutting back on alcohol, sweets, or fatty foods (whichever is your vice). But whatever you do, don't let it stop there! Once you've acclimated yourself to that first change, decide on the NEXT thing you will change.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. "
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Training with Kettlebells. Is it for you?

I know I've mentioned before that I train with kettlebells. When I mention this to people, most people say, "kettle what?" So while kettlebells have been catching on lately, they are still unknown to many people. Let me tell you a little about kettlebells so that you can decide if you might benefit from training with them.

What are kettlebells?
According to Wikipedia, a kettlebell is a traditional Russian cast-iron weight looking somewhat like a cannonball with a handle. They've been around for decades, but are now gaining popularity in the U.S.

How do kettlebells work?
Most kettlebell exercises are based on the concept of functional movement. Functional training involves the entire body in the movement, engaging the core and giving you a total body workout. They build strength and stability, giving you a great workout in a short, efficient burst of activity. My trainer likes to call them a "portable gym."

Who can benefit from working with kettlebells?
Although kettlebells got their start as an exercise tool for muscle-bound Russian strongmen, they can provide a fantastic workout for a wide range of people at different levels of fitness, including:

• Men
• Women
• People looking to lose fat
• People looking to build muscle
• Bodybuilders
• Military/Firefighters/Police

So you can see that they can really do something for everyone, even people at the early stages of their fitness journey. You can use them for building strength, and also do fast circuits of the larger movements to replace traditional cardio. It's quick, fun, and fat-blasting!

What kind of results might you get from Kettlebells?
I can share a few things I've seen or experienced myself from my kettlebell workouts. First, I've seen and heard about women and men who start working out with kettlebells, and without even trying, they go down a size or lose weight. For instance, two women I know have been working with our trainer since February. Both of them went down a size within the first 6 weeks of starting their workouts.

Then there's the cardio benefits. I went for a 2.5 mile run in February. It took me 25:30 to finish. After doing my normal weight training workouts and using kettlebell circuits for my cardio for two months, I went for another run. I had not run over a mile since February. I ran at a pace that felt easy, and when I finished the 2.5 miles, it had taken me 24:30. I shaved a minute off my time, without sport-specific training or even pushing myself. With stronger legs and a body trained to use oxygen more efficiently during my killer kettlebell circuits, I was able to gain benefits in an entirely different form of exercise.

There are dozens of amazing kettlebell success stories on the Dragon Door site, here.

How can I get started?
If you think kettlebells might be something you want to try, then you'll want to know how to get started. The basic movement is the kettlebell swing, and it's what you'll want to learn first. While I did start with the kettlebell swing based on videos I watched, I have since found there is no replacement for in-person training with a professional. You certainly can start with DVDs or books, but even one session with a trainer could get you doing a proper swing in no time. I've also seen people work without a trainer and get too ambitious, trying advanced moves without being able to check their form. This can lead to injury, so please train safely!

If you do go with a trainer, choose one who is specifically certified to train kettlebells. Any trainer will not do. You might have seen Jillian Michaels demonstrate a kettlebell swing on The Biggest Loser this season. As much as I love Jillian, I'm sorry to say that even she was doing the moves incorrectly, simply because she didn't know any better. I work out in a small group with a certified Russian Kettlebell Instructor, or RKC for short. You can find out whether there is a RKC certified trainer in your area by checking here.

Is "Cardio" a four-letter word to you?

I was talking to a colleague today at work about fitness and weight lifting. We were talking about using kettlebells, and he mentioned how he has trouble motivating himself to do cardio. He complained that it's boring and it stresses his joints.

Sometimes it seems like "cardio" is a dirty word. At least, it is to some of us! Fitness should be fun. You should find a variety of things to do that are interesting, challenging, and leave you wanting more. I grew up so anti-cardio that I think I was infamous among my school's physical education teachers for refusing to run the mile we were required to do for the Presidential Fitness Test. (I walked it EVERY YEAR.) So as someone who ran as an adult because it worked, and not because I liked it, I thought I'd share some of my favorite ways to get my cardio.

First, let me say that if you're doing 40-60 minutes of cardio, NO WONDER YOU'RE BORED! The key to shorter, more effective cardio workouts is through High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT for short. Remember how my workouts were so effective when I first started running? Well the 2 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking was interval training! Once I could run the entire 2.5 mile circuit, I wasn't putting out the same level of effort, and ended up in a weight and fat loss plateau. And as a busy working mom, I didn't have an hour a day to spend just on cardio!

That's why HIIT is so great. It's MORE effective than "regular" cardio (some say up to 9 times more effective), takes less time, and allows you to incorporate a wider variety of exercises. The calorie burn from HIIT doesn't stop when the exercise ends. Because you've pushed your body so hard during the exercise, the calorie burn continues long AFTER the exercise is complete. This is called EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) and it means that even after you get home from the gym and are vegging out on the couch with your family, you'll STILL be burning fat - more fat in total than if you'd spent an hour jogging on the treadmill. Read more about HIIT here.

So now let's talk about some of the different ways to do HIIT. There are really only a few requirements. First, your training needs to have what are called "work intervals," where you are pushing yourself to an extreme level of effort. Second, your training needs to have "recovery intervals," where you allow your heart rate to return to a more normal level. Third, you shouldn't overdo it. Limit yourself to no more than eight intervals per session. If you can do more than that, you need to increase the intensity. And on that note, let me reiterate that your work intervals need to be REALLY tough. I know I'm exercising at the right intensity level when I'm wondering whether I can make it when there are 5 seconds left on the clock.

With all that in mind, you can really use any exercise to do HIIT. In my personal workouts, I tend to alternate between three different styles:

1) Sprinting - classic intervals, I do these on the treadmill. I sprint as fast as I can (and with me admittedly not being a runner, that's frankly not very fast) at a small incline, and then walk during the recovery intervals. I still don't like these a ton, but they're over quickly, and I'm always really proud of my progress.

2) Kettlebell swings - one of the most basic and easy to learn kettlebell exercises, the swing can really get your heart rate elevated! I swing a 16kg kettlebell for 30 seconds, and then walk for 30 seconds.

3) Bodyweight exercises - this is where you can get really creative. I might do things like bodyweight squats, push-ups, jumping jacks, lunges, or really any exercise that uses a lot of the larger muscles in the body. Usually, I do a complete circuit, rest, and then repeat the circuit one or two times.

Those are the exercises I use for cardio, but there are many more! You can use a spin bike, rowing machine, stair stepper, or you can do jump roping, burpees, man-makers, or any other exercise that allows you to really push your body to its physical limits over a short period of time.

So now it's time to say, "no more excuses." You can have your cardio AND enjoy it. And my colleague? He'll be trying kettlebell swings for his cardio next time, and I bet he'll be a lot more excited about them than he was about running for 40 minutes on the treadmill!

Share with me! How do you do your HIIT?