Moms (and Dads) are overworked, stressed, and care so much for others that they forget to do what they need for themselves. Find out what you need to get checked out, and what you can hold off on at scarymommy.com
Yours In Good Health
B
Category Archives: Fitness
Do You Need a Workout Partner? Be Active Together!
I have a rather hectic schedule, and I work out at times when most of my friends are sleeping (to be honest, when most of the world is sleeping), and my motivation to get out running every day happens to be my dogs. If they don’t want to go out running in the bitter cold at 5am? I basically dig deep with every excuse to get out there, but there are days that I just am dead in the water and I really need some inspiration. For me, and for everyone else who needs that motivation to get out there and either try something new or just have a buddy to workout with, there is actually an app for us: Be Active Together. It’s a dream come true when we are lacking inspiration and motivation!
What is Be Active Together?
It’s an amazing new app, and the goal is to make you healthier by inspiring you and giving you the motivation to work out! Basically you fill out a profile of what activities you like to do, what you level of experience/intensity you work out at, and then you can go ever further and fill out calendar preferences of what days you want to work out, times, and match! The app will match you with someone who works out at a similar intensity with whichever activity you choose to, in your area. Not only does it help you meet people who are interested in the same activities, but it gets you that motivation you need; once you lock in to meet up and work out with someone, you are more likely to do it. There have been many studies showing that people are more apt to stick to health and fitness goals when they have people to meet their goals with, and when they are held accountable. Be Active Together helps you to make yourself accountable: you set a workout “date”, and you then have a reason to be there on time, because if you don’t, you are leaving someone hanging and negatively impacting their workout too, so you better get your butt there! (Just a little friendly pressure to not be a flake and keep the dates you set!) It’s almost like paying for a trainer to hold yourself accountable, except people are choosing to meet up for free!
Step 1: choose your sports/activities
So many activities to choose from!
Step 2: scale your level of experience and intensity of your workouts
For me, who is a runner that knows people run when I do, but I just don’t know them personally, it’s a great app: we can meet when the rest of the world is snoozing, it makes me get out of my warm cozy bed, meet up with another non-gym going runner, and we get it done together! And, you can even meet with people who go to your gym; if you are new to a city, or not but looking for some people with similar healthy interests, this is perfect!
Step 3: Pick your schedule and search for a work out partner!
It takes commitment to get out there and get in shape, and with Be Active Together, you might just make some new friends in the process of getting fitter AND it just so happens to be one of my favorite things: free! So download, the app, tell me what you think, and let’s all hit those healthy New Years Resolutions!
Yours in Good Health
B
A Risk Factor for Hearing Loss: Being Overweight?
We all know that being overweight can increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, among other issues, but there is a new health issue associated with being around 20lbs overweight: hearing loss.
“I can’t hear you!”
What is the deal?
Harvard Nurse Health study, which has followed over 68,000 nurses from 1989-2009 (and actually they still follow tons of nurses, collecting lots of data, in relations to all aspects of our lives) found this connection between hearing loss and being overweight…but there’s a little more to the story. It appears that people with higher Body Mass Index (BMI) numbers, have higher rates of hearing loss. People with a BMI of 30 are 22% more likely than those within the “normal” BMI to have hearing loss, and those with a BMI of 40 are 25% higher at risk. And, because sometimes because a BMI isn’t always totally an accurate measurement of being overweight, they broke it down in another way: if your waist is 34 inches you have a 27% higher rate of hearing loss than those who have a 28 inch waist (or smaller). It makes researchers believe that belly fat is the main risk factor.
(Your BMI is calculated by using your height and weight and the easiest way to calculate it is to use an online BMI calculator, like the one offered for free by the National Institute of Health.)
How does this work?
Researchers are working on finding out how exactly being overweight diminished hearing loss, but there is a really strong link, and it is more prominent in females, granted this study was performed on primarily females, so we can wait for further research before we get too upset about that! While the true relationship of increased weight and hearing loss is not totally known, it is a reality, and we can stay tuned for the details of the pathophysiology!
And, this is just one more reason to get you living that healthy lifestyle and getting fit and keep down that belly fat, so you can hang onto that hearing for as long as possible….along with decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke! So let’s get out and get fit!
Yours in Good Health
B
Already Faltering with Your New Years Resolutions?
I’ve heard of so many people that made these really intense New Years resolutions related to health, fitness, weightless goals, etc. which I give kudos for, and I think is awesome, however some of you all have set yourselves up for failure. Now, I am never someone who will tell you not to shoot for the stars, however, I am a realist, and I want people to make attainable goals, so that you set yourself up for success. Success and feeling positive about a change, is the key to it sticking, so set some goals you can keep up in the dawn of this New Year.
Overzealous weight loss goals?
It’s super easy to put in your head that you can lose 3, 4, 5 lbs a week so you can hit that magic number by the time you take your winter holiday in someplace tropical and warm and you get to wear your bathing suit. The reality is that with working out, and eating a healthier diet to cut down your caloric intake to a safe and healthy level (for most women the lowest you should go is around 1500 calories per day), you should be losing around 1 lb a week for sustainable weight loss. Plus, anyone who has read my blog before knows that I am not a huge fan of people having set weight goals; I truly believe that you should set your goals based on your clothes, and shoot for looking fly in those skinny jeans, as opposed to staring at a number on a scale, which is bound to disappoint some days due to normal weight fluctuations. So don’t get bummed because of a number, feel good because you look awesome in your clothes, and they slip on just a little bit easier now!
Hardcore Workout Regimens:
Making mental commitments to working to 7 days a week, or jumping in with 4am workouts every day when you normally work out at in the evening….or not at all, can also backfire! Although, this one can go either way; some people feel a total addiction to working out and love that endorphin rush and make a complete life change, which is great, but others can get totally overwhelmed, not get that endorphin rush, and completely give up on their goals or feel like a failure if they can’t hit that mark every day. So set your goals based on what you actually can add into your life based on your current life schedule with work and life commitments: if you can only get to the gym 5 days a week, or you go some mornings and some afternoons, it should be considered a win! And you do need to be careful about jumping in too fast and over-training, you put yourself at risk for injury, so listen to your body!
Cleanses and other Radical Diet Changes:
People hear about “nutrition” or weight loss fads all the time and decide they are going to do it, because some random celebrity lost 10, 20, 30+ pounds adding/deleting something form their diet. I know that you all know this is the truth: fad diets don’t work! If you want to change something about your diet to be healthier or lose weight, it needs to be a lifestyle change that you are actually able to commit to and stick with, otherwise it is completely pointless. Do you really want to cut out all sugar from your life? Or do you really want to be vegan? Do you know the implications and you can commit to that? Well then, as long as it’s been well thought out, and what you want to do, I stand behind you and will cheer you on, but don’t make changes because of some silly trend you read about.
The best New Years Resolutions for health and weight loss are those that you can actually attain, and that you feel positive about. Set goals that will make you feel good, and keep you motivated all year long, so next year you can make another goal that will lead you into an even healthier lifestyle! Lifestyle changes take time to get used to, as you are changing learned behaviors and patterns; allow yourself a few mess ups, but get right back at it, and keep positive! Plus, it helps if you have a friend or loved one that supports you and is actually making the changes with you! Plus, there is no rule that you can’t alter a resolution for which you may have set the bar too high…you will meet your goals, just stay positive and set yourself up for success: It’s a New Year, so be a New YOU too!
Yours in Good Health
B
Snow Storm Safety!
For all those, like me, who are affected by snowstorm storms during the winter, and possibly confined to their homes because of it, I just wanted to drop a reminder a few ways to keep yourself safe:
1. Make sure to get food and some water before the storm hits! Whatever food you can eat, and plan on possibly losing power, so you may have to eat PB&Js for a couple of days, or canned goods, just make sure that you have enough food to eat and fresh water to drink. You don’t want to have to go out during the storm (plus, stores won’t be open!)
2. Snow falling can be gorgeous, and you may want to go out for a walk in it, but please do not stray too far out heavy snowfall alone; with poor visibility, it is easy to get lost especially in poor lighting (dusk and nighttime.)
3. The same goes for your animals, off leash, they can easily get lost with poor visibility and poor lighting. If you have small creatures, like mine, they can fall below the snow line, so keeping them on leash ensures their safety. It can also be harder for you to hear them with snowfall and plows around, so you may not be able to visualize them OR hear them. 
4. When shoveling, take breaks: the exercise when shoveling is a lot more exertion than people think, and it is easy to strain muscles and/or exert yourself to the point of heart attack (we see a lot of cardiac arrests during snow storm shoveling). So please take breaks, and ask for help, or if you have a plow, do a favor for someone who might not be able to shovel themselves out. If you have the means, maybe call a company to help plow you out in heavy snow.
5. Be careful with snow blowers: they can get clogged up, sometimes requiring you to pull out rocks, branches, etc. but make sure that the motor is off and the blade has stopped spinning. There are always some pretty nasty snowblower accidents that come into the Emergency Department every snowstorm! Even though it isn’t as exerting as shoveling, take breaks! Being exhausted and operating any sort of motorized equipment is as unsafe as being under the influence of alcohol, so please be safe and take breaks as you can.
6. If you have chronic medical conditions, or are unwell, have a plan to get to medical assistance if necessary. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will be up and running, but they need to be safe getting to you, so times may be slightly delayed, and it is something to keep in mind. If you have someone driving you to the hospital, give yourself ample time and drive slowly and safely to get there. For example, if you are pregnant and due to give birth during a predicted snowstorm: have a plan in place!
7. Please be mindful of driving bans, it’s for your own safety! if you HAVE to drive, for emergency purposes (and no that doesn’t mean you forgot extra wine) be careful and take your time. Make sure that you have a cell phone, or a way to contact EMS or roadside assistance if you need to, but please use good common sense, you do not want to be one of the statistics.
8. Use common sense, it seems fun to go out and do crazy things in the snow, but temperatures are cold, visibility is low, snow drifts are higher than expected, and transportation can be really difficult. So, if you have to get your crazies out, bring a cell phone and a friend, and let people know what you are up to/when you are going. Especially if you have been drinking to pass the time (remember to eat and to hydrate well!)
9. General winter warning: Don’t go skating on ponds unless it is posted that it is safe to do so. Many times ponds/lakes appear more frozen than they are!
10. To stay healthy? Remember you don’t need a gym to get exercise when you get stir crazy, you can always rock out with some yoga, jumping jacks, burpees, squats, etc. there’s way to keep moving even when confined to your home.
Otherwise, enjoy the snow, have fun, and hopefully you will be able to escape your homes safely soon enough! Remember: Helping someone out is a good feeling, so if you are fit and have the means (a plow/snow blower/shovel), help someone who might be completely snowed in and unable to get themselves out. Pay it forward and keep it safe!
Yours in Good Health
B
December Exercise Challenge: Beat the Holiday Weight Gain!
This exercise challenge was created to beat the holiday bulge, strengthen your core muscles, keep working and improving leg strength, and increase upper body strength. It is a mixture of exercises that will help us ladies feel good and look good! And every time you want to swear at me for making you do a push up, think about the fact that you are tightening your pecs and helping to keep your upper body nice and toned and perky!! Join me, get mad at me, and show me up by getting fit and healthy and preventing the holiday weight gain!!
The main exercises we will focus on are:
Squats: Strengthen your lower body and core muscles such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, calf muscles, gluteals, lower abs, and lower back muscles. To perform a squat appropriately, you want to squat straight down (feet hips width apart) as if you are about to sit in a chair (think butt out) as far down as you can go keeping your balance and posture, then stand back up straight.
Planks: Strengthen your upper, middle, and lower core such as the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, oblique muscles, pectoralis, serratus, and the quadriceps muscles. You can perform a plank from your knees OR resting on your elbows with your forearms resting on the ground (modified) OR from a high plank position with your hands shoulder width apart, straight body, and on the balls of your feet. Hold steady keeping your back straight and butt in!
Push-Ups: Strengthen and tone abdominals, pectoralis, triceps, and bicep muscles. You can perform a push up from your knees (modified) or from a high plank position (hands shoulder width apart, straight body, and on the balls of your feet), with a straight body, in a controlled motion, lower your body to 6” off the ground, and push back to the top position.
Top (starting and ending) Position
Bottom Position
Reverse Crunches: strengthen and tone the lower abs, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Perform laying flat on the ground (with hands under your lower back from comfort, if necessary), pull your knees into your abdomen, then push out to straight legs with pointed toes 6” off the ground, and pull them back in.
Oblique Crunches: Strengthen and tone the external oblique abdominal muscles. Perform with your legs at a 45 degree angle raised 6” off the floor and your upper torso also 6-8” off the floor, either with a medicine ball or pretending to hold one, twist to the left with your upper torso and keep your legs in the same position, then go back to center and repeat on the right side. Each side is considered one “crunch”.
Straight Crunches: Strengthen and tone your core abdominal muscles. Perform with your hands interlaced behind your head, not pulling on your head or neck, and with your knees bent and back flat on the floor, pull up using our core abdominal muscles to a 45 degree angle and release, in a controlled fashion.
The Challenge (should you choose to accept it):
Day 1: 50 Squats & 2 minute Plank
Day 2: 75 Squats & 3 minute Plank
Day 3: 85 Squats & 25 Push-ups
Day 4: 100 Squats & 40 Push-ups
Day 5: 50 Push-ups & 3 minute Plank
Day 6: 4 minute Plank & 100 Squats
Day 7: Rest Day
Day 8: 5 minute plank
Day 9: 40 Reverse Crunches & 110 Squats
Day 10: 50 Reverse Crunches & 6 minute Plank
Day 11: 60 Reverse Crunches & 50 Push Ups
Day 12: 50 Oblique Crunches & 50 Reverse Crunches
Day 13: 7 minute Plank
Day 14: Rest Day
Day 15: 50 Push Ups & 80 Oblique Crunches
Day 16: 120 Squats & 8 minute Plank
Day 17: 140 Squats & 60 Oblique Crunches & 60 Reverse Crunches
Day 18: 100 Straight Crunches
Day 19: 60 Push Ups & 60 Straight Crunches & 60 Oblique Crunches
Day 20: 8 minute Plank
Day 21: Rest Day
Day 22: 100 Reverse Crunches & 75 Push Ups
Day 23: 160 Squats & 120 Straight Crunches
Day 24: 170 Squats & 80 Oblique Crunches & 80 Reverse Crunches
Day 25: 80 Push Ups & 140 Straight Crunches
Day 26: 200 Squats & 100 Oblique Crunches & 100 Reverse Crunches
Day 27: 9 minute Plank
Day 28: Rest Day
Day 29: 90 Push Ups & 150 Crunches
Day 30: 100 Push Ups & 230 Squats
Day 31: 10 minute Plank
And as always, if you have any medical problems, please speak to your HCP before starting the challenge, and you can always modify the exercises to prevent any injury!
Yours in Good Health
B
November Exercise Challenge: Beat the Holiday Bulge!
As always, please check with your healthcare provider if you have any specific healthcare needs, and to make sure that you can partake in this challenge. You can always feel free to add or omit weights based upon your personal fitness levels. And before and after pictures are always a plus so we can see how much we’ve all improved our form!
Since I haven’t posted an exercise challenge in a couple of months, and we have been left to our own devices, I’m going to start it slow, and use some exercises we have done in the past, change-up a few, and then add some new stuff in! Get excited, and get ready to kick up your exercise and get ahead to prevent that dreaded holiday bulge! This month we will be working on our core abs, hips, and legs, to keep strong and feeling good heading into the holiday season.
Kick lunges work your quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, and calves. From and standing position, legs hip width apart, start by lunging backwards with your left leg until your right thigh is parallel with the ground, then rise up and kick your left leg out in front of you (hip height), return to the standing position, then repeat on the other leg.
Side leg lifts work your abductor, AKA hip, muscles (can be made more challenging with a resistance band or ankle weights). Lay on your side with the leg you are laying on bent at a 45-degree angle, with your upper arm on the ground, bend your elbow and rest your head in your hand. Keep your top leg straight, and lift it directly up to hip height, then slowly bring it back down to the resting position, switch sides. 
Back Kicks (or Donkey Kicks) work your core abdominal muscles and your gluteals (can be made more challenging by adding a resistance band or ankle weights). Rest on your hands and knees, slowly kick one leg back until it is straight back until it is hip height, then slowly bring your knee into your chest, then down to resting position, switch sides. 
Day 1: Kick Lunges (KL) 10 on each leg and Side Leg Lifts (SLL) 15 on each leg
Day 2: KL 15 on each leg and SLL 20 on each leg
Day 3: KL 20 on each leg and SLL 25 on each leg
Day 4: KL 25 on each leg and SLL 30 on each leg
Day 5: KL 30 on each leg and SLL 40 on each leg
Day 6: KL 35 on each leg and SLL 45 on each leg
Day 7: REST Day!!
Day 8: KL 40 on each leg and SLL 50 on each leg
Day 9: KL 50 on each leg and SLL 60 on each leg
Day 10: KL 60 on each leg and SLL 70 on each leg
Day 11: KL 70 on each leg and SLL 80 on each leg
Day 12: KL 80 on each leg and SLL 90 on each leg
Day 13: KL 90 on each leg and SLL 100 on each leg
Day 14: REST Day!!
Day 15: KL 100 on each leg and Back Kicks (BK) 20 on each leg
Day 16: KL 110 on each leg and BK 20 on each leg
Day 17: KL 120 on each leg and BK 40 on each leg
Day 18: KL 130 on each leg and BK 60 on each leg
Day 19: KL 140 on each leg and BK 80 on each leg
Day 20: KL 150 on each leg and BK 100 on each leg
Day 21: REST Day
Day 22: KL 100 on each leg, BK 20 on each leg, and SLL 50
Day 23: KL 110 on each leg, BK 20 on each leg, and SLL 50
Day 24: KL 120 on each leg, BK 20 on each leg, and SLL 50
Day 25: KL 130 on each leg, BK 20 on each leg, and SLL 50
Day 26: KL 140 on each leg, BK 20 on each leg, and SLL 50
Day 27: KL 150 on each leg, BK 20 on each leg, and SLL 50
Finished! You are looking better, feeling better, have a stronger core and leg muscles, and are ready to continue to dodge that holiday bulge throughout December! Strong core, gluteal, and leg muscles help to stabilize us and make us actually feel stronger. Keep up the good work! And join our Facebook Fitness Challenge page to get added tips, ask questions, and cheer each other on!
Yours in Good Health
B
Pickle Juice: What is this trend?
I have received quite a few emails at this point asking about pickle juice, why kids are drinking it, and if there are any health benefits or detriments. I must say, I had not heard of this trend, and wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I found quite a few uses for pickle juice that some people advocate for. Honestly, I’m not sure I’m reaching for a jar of pickle juice any time soon, but you read and on decide for yourself.
What are the main reasons for drinking pickle juice?
–As a Sports Drink: Some athletes are big believers that the sodium in pickle juice helps to replenish the bodies electrolytes lost during strenuous exercise, not much unlike gatorade, or any other sports drink. Some studies have shown that drinking pickle juice when sports related cramps are present, they will be relieved in under 85 seconds, which is 45 seconds faster than water. Along with sodium, pickle juice contains calcium chloride and vinegar which makes it more acidic, and easier for your body to absorb in that state.
–To prevent Restless Leg Syndrome: Now this is more of a home remedy that has not been studied, but many sufferers report drinking a few ounces of pickle juice before bed and being able to sleep without the leg kicking that normally keeps them awake. How (or even IF) it works has not been studied, but it is touted as a treatment by many different people.
–To Aid a Sick Stomach: This is also a home remedy, and it has not been studied, but apparently people used to frequently ingest vinegar and honey to soothe a sick stomach (including heartburn) and those are two ingredients in many pickling agents, so ingesting pickle juice may give you the honey and vinegar people seek to soothe their stomach woes. I couldn’t imagine feeling sick to my stomach and drinking pickle juice, but there are many reports that it makes people feel better.
–To cover the scent of alcohol: Some teenagers and other underage drinkers will take a few swings of pickle juice to cover the smell of alcohol on their breath to get their parents off the trail. I guess seeing as it replaces lost fluids and sodium/electrolytes, it’s not a horrible idea, but it seems like a gross choice of beverages, and it will help to prevent that imminent hangover!
–To relieve Sunburn: There are multiple reports of blotting sunburns with pickle juice, stating that the vinegar helps to take the burn sensation out of the sunburn. Now, this really has not been studied at all, and I am not sure how it would be soothing to burned skin, other than by replacing some fluids that may be lost through the skin. But, if you are without aloe, oatmeal, or any other form of soothing relief, you may want to give pickle juice a try!
Are there Side Effects?
There are really no true known detriments to drinking pickle juice, but if you have a family history of gout, ingesting a lot of the acidic pickles/pickle juice can cause a build up of uric acid in your joints, which can be really painful. Other than gout, as long as you don’t have to be on a low sodium diet for cardiac or renal issues, you should be pretty safe drinking the pickle juice.
So, in short, the only real research that promotes the ingestion of pickle juice is for cramping related to electrolyte and fluid loss from strenuous exercise. All other reasons may be perfectly valid, but they have not been studied….and sorry teens that I may have outed, but if your parents smell pickles on your breath after a party, you may be getting grounded! And feel safe drinking that pickle juice, it really won’t harm you. If you do have any medical issues and take medications, you may want to check with your Healthcare Provider (HCP) before adding this regimen to your daily intake.
Yours in Good Health
B
Take your workout outdoors for more benefits!
People think I am absolutely insane for working out at the hour in the morning that I do during the week (I fully admit 430-530am is early, but it’s just how my life rolls) and the fact that I work out outside year round here in New England adds a whole new level of bonkers! I run outside so that I can be efficient, work out while getting my dogs their daily exercise (a kill two birds with one stone kind of thing), but who knew that my daily outdoor exercise was even more beneficial than just those two reasons? Apparently, it might not just be in my brain that my daily runs are like my daily therapy sessions; there’s now a little bit of research to back that up.
What are the benefits of outdoor exercise?
From the University of Toronto, some research has come out that shows actual physiological benefits foo running outside as opposed to working out indoors. When people work out in nature, amongst trees and far from the every day stressors of life, they have improved moods, less tension, anxiety, and stress. For example, it was found that people running outdoors, due to lower stress levels, had a lower heart rate than those running on a treadmill, showing there is less stress on your body.
I know the next argument: increasing your heart rate is good for you when doing cardio, why do you want to keep it low? Because the runs feel/are less stressful on your body, people tend to run longer and harder when they are working out outdoors as opposed to those in a gym. You also tend to work your body in different ways when outdoors; in a gym running on a treadmill, it is a very stable surface, whereas outdoors, you are jumping curbs and cracks in concrete, running on grass, sand, concrete, etc. which makes you use different muscles to stabilize your body, and your workout tends to burn more calories.
Plus, getting out of the gym, helps to change-up your routine and challenge your body more, you might try an alternate route running, or do lunges instead of running up a hill, find a low branch and pump out some pull ups. I fully realize that people think I am bonkers when I am running, then drop into 100 push ups, or do some pull-ups and dips, but it changes my workout, helps me relax, and after an awesome workout, I always feel amazing a ready to take on the challenges of the day in stride.
My phone, pager, and computer tend to be a major source of stress for me at work, and I find myself despising my work email as it chimes onto my phone when I’m not at work; even though it tends to make me more efficient, perhaps I am too efficient. When I am running, just me, my dogs, and my music, I don’t think about work, I don’t think about email, I think about the now. I focus on my breathing, how my body feels, and some days, on pushing myself to an extreme for speed, others for distance, and some days, I just jog along lost in my thoughts. It makes complete sense that being in nature and disconnected would decrease your stress and anxiety, so now you have even more of a reason to get your butt out of the gym and get into nature!
Yours in Good Health
B
July Exercise Challenge: Lose that Arm Jiggle!
Ask and ye shall receive! I was asked for more upper body sculpting in the July challenge….however there was a lot of dislike for the June Challenge push ups (which are a fabulous upper body workout!) So, despite the fact that I have been trying to keep these workouts as “prison” workouts (i.e. you need nothing more than your own body to make them happen), we will be stepping it up this month and we need to use dumbbells for this one, so use whatever weights you are comfortable with (2lb-6lb to start) and then increase as you feel comfortable throughout the month. We want to strengthen our triceps and biceps, to make the upper body, shoulders, and arms looked toned and taught. In conjunction with the planks, squats, push ups, and bicycle crunches we’ve been doing, our bodies should be rocking right now!!
We will we focusing on two main exercises:
Bicep curls: Tone your upper arm muscles AND make activities of daily life easier, like carrying kids, groceries, lifting various items, and you will look better in sleeveless outfits! hold your dumbbells, with you feet shoulder width apart, palms facing forward, shoulders and back straight, elbows in to your sides, and squeeze your biceps to pull the dumbbells up, then slowly go down to the starting position.
Starting point
Chair Dips: Helps to get rid of arm jiggle and tone, strengthening those
Ending point- Bicep Curl
triceps! How to do it? Sit on the edge of a chair, while sitting on the chair, grasp the side of the seat, move your butt off the edge of the chair (with your legs straight in front of you), keeping your back straight and shoulders at a neutral position, lower your self down as far as you can go, then pull yourself back up in a slow controlled motion.
For everyone who has been doing the previous challenges (April, May, and June) , I encourage continuing with 75 crunches a day, 5 minutes of planks, 50 bicycle crunches, and 25 push ups….and some cardio (at least 15-20 minutes of brisk walking, running, biking, etc) then we are adding these on top! This is starting to get REAL 🙂
The July Challenge Schedule:
1: 5 Chair Dips and 10 Bicep curls
2: 10 Chair Dips and 20 Bicep Curls
3: 15 Chair Dips and 25 Bicep Curls
4: 15 Chair Dips and 30 Bicep Curls
5: 20 Chair Dips and 35 Bicep Curls
6: 20 Chair Dips and 40 Bicep Curls
7: Rest Day
8: 25 Chair Dips and 45 Bicep Curls
9: 30 Chair Dips and 50 Bicep Curls
10: 30 Chair Dips and 55 Bicep Curls
11: 35 Chair Dips and 60 Bicep Curls
12: 40 Chair Dips and 70 Bicep Curls
13: 45 Chair Dips and 80 Bicep Curls
14: Rest Day
15: 50 Chair Dips and 90 Bicep Curls
16: 60 Chair Dips and 100 Bicep Curls
17: 70 Chair Dips and 110 Bicep Curls
18: 75 Chair Dips and 120 Bicep Curls
19: 80 Chair Dips and 130 Bicep Curls
20: 90 Chair Dips and 140 Bicep Curls
21: Rest Day
22: 100 Chair Dips and 150 Bicep Curls
23: 100 Chair Dips and 160 Bicep Curls
24: 110 Chair Dips and 170 Bicep Curls
25: 120 Chair Dips and 175 Bicep Curls
26: 125 Chair Dips and 180 Bicep Curls
27: 130 Chair Dips and 190 Bicep Curls
28: Rest Day
29: 140 Chair Dips and 195 Bicep Curls
30: 150 Chair Dips and 200 Bicep Curls
Remember if you are having pain or discomfort, focus on your body positioning, and you may need lower weights, or just to take a break. I have added in a break every 7 days, but listen to your body and if it needs it, take a break; you will be sore, so drink plenty of waters to flush out the lactic acids, but if you feel more than sore, and you feel pain, then reassess and take a break, if you need to. And, as always, if you have a medical condition, please check with your Healthcare Provider (HCP) that it is OK to be a part of this challenge.
*And don’t forget to join our Facebook group for added tips and group support!
Yours in Good Health
B
