Monday, February 6, 2012

Burn, Baby, Burn: Power Workouts

Greetings and Many Blessings To All! It's mid-winter here in Maine and a rather mild, uneventful one at that. Still not much snow on the ground as evidence of the season, but we do have some treacherous ice that's hanging around preventing outdoor exercise, which is a real downer.

Speaking of exercise . . . I've been revamping my routine of late and am attempting to get the most caloric bang for my exercise buck - if you know what I mean. I'm a very busy person and need to get the highest attainable results in the least amount of time expended. Since I can't exercise outdoors right now, I'm doing power yoga at home and on alternating days, using my Total Gym (an amazing piece of equipment). I exercise semi-vigorously for 30 to 60 minutes per day. I've also rid my diet of all refined carbohydrates and concentrate on wild-caught tuna and salmon for my animal protein, plus beans, raw nuts and seeds, dark leafy greens and vegetables, green drinks, oatmeal with added walnuts, almond milk, and cooked apple, and fruit smoothies with added vegan unsweetened protein powder made by Spirutein "Simply Natural Original Vanilla". At 49, I'm seeing superior results within 8 weeks of doing this program. I'm much more toned all over, my skin is radiant, my perimenopausal "moody" symptoms are more even keel, and my energy level is much better. At my age . . . it takes a lot of work and continuous effort to maintain youth and a feeling of well being! But . . . it's worth it in the long run.

Go for the glow . . . all exercise, but especially semi-vigorous-to-vigorous exercise will increase circulation and blood flow throughout the body, put roses in your cheeks, strengthen the bones, improve skin tone, improve your mood, and in general, promote longevity. Daily exercise = maintained & retained youth!

Burn, Baby, Burn

Today, I'm going to share with you my top exercises that will get you in shape in no time flat provided your diet is in tip-top shape, too. The calories listed by each exercise are based on the energy a 150-pound person would expend in one hour. (I have to say this . . . but if you have been sedentary for quite some time, then ease yourself into a new exercise routine, such as slow walking, and work up from there as you gain cardiovascular conditioning.)

- Cross -country skiing. One of the best exercises for overall body toning, skiing at a 5-mile-per-hour pace, which is quite vigorous, burns approximately 700 calories per hour.

- Snow Shoveling. Try throwing away your snow blower and picking up a shovel - if your back can handle it. This exercise, performed at a moderate pace, burns approximately 600 calories an hour. Caution: Snow shoveling can be extremely demanding for arm and back muscles, so pace yourself.

- Rollerblading. This exercise (one of my favorites) will chisel the saddlebags right off your hips and thighs in no time (think Olympic ice skater legs and buns!) and give your heart a terrific workout. At a moderate skating pace, this activity burns approximately 600 calories per hour.

- Power Yoga. A more active style of yoga that encourages prolific sweating while toning and elongating your muscles and incredibly improving your mind-set. This form of exercise burns approximately 300-400 calories per hour.

- Mowing The Lawn. Using a push-style power mower or push-style non-power mower versus a self-propelled power or riding mower provides all-over body conditioning and burns approximately 450 calories per hour, just don't take too many lemonade breaks!

- Running. Running at a moderate pace, 5.5 miles per hour, burns approximately 650 calories per hour. I don't recommend running for women as it is too jarring to the breasts and other female organs (my opinion) and large joints in the legs. Speed walking is much better, I feel.

- Walking. Speed walking at a 4 mile-per-hour pace works up a sweat and burns approximately 400 calories per hour. Take a friend with you . . . it's more fun and the time passes much faster!

- Bicycling. Pumping those pedals at a moderate 10-mile-per-hour pace burns approximately 400 calories per hour.

- Domestic Goddess Work. This includes washing floors and windows, vacuuming, washing the car, ironing, hanging clothes out to dry, cleaning the bathroom, and other chores, and it burns approximately 250 calories per hour or more. Not bad for drudgery!

- Weight Lifting. Builds metabolism-boosting muscles. Depending on your routing, weight lifting has the ability to lift and tone every muscle in your body - just what's needed when you're over 40 and losing valuable and beautiful muscle tone by the decade. An hour of weight training burns approximately 300 calories. Roll that into aerobic weight training and you can increase the calories burned by nearly 200 or so.

- Mountain Climbing or Vigorous Hiking Up Hills. This is serious exercise - even more than running and cross-country skiing - requiring incredible muscular endurance, but if this is your thing, it burns approximately 500 to 900 calories per hour!


NOTE: This blog was written by Stephanie Tourles, Lic. holistic esthetician, herbalist, and author, and adapted from one of her many published books, "How To Feel Fabulous Today", Storey Publishing 2001. The information is true and complete to the best of her knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of Ms. Tourles. She disclaims any liability in connection with the use of this information.