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Friday, March 27, 2009

MSN on Cellulite

My friend Shawna sent me a link to this article. I thought it was a great work-out plan to combine with our leaps and bounds changes in becoming aware of the number of calories we eat and the food we choose to give us those calories. It's an 8-week plan, just in time for Spring weather to make it possible to get out and DO MORE!!! I am going to post several exercise ideas/options on here because the truth is that YOU JUST HAVE TO FIND SOMETHING THAT YOU ENJOY AND CONSISTENTLY DO IT. So, depending on your personality, I want to give some honest feedback on ideas and also my experience trying them. My sister and I are going to talk about workout videos we've tried and our thoughts on them and WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANY FEEDBACK FROM YOU on things you have tried -- especially things that you can do during the dreary winter months, even when your spouse's schedule doesn't let you get out and walk/run like you might like to. So - I really liked this one. It's very similar to the 8-week program I found for building up your endurance to run 30 minutes without stopping (the minimum for the marathon training I found and will comment on at a later time). So -- look over it; try it for a week or so; see what you think and either keep going or try something else. Either way, let us know what you think!

Pregnant mommies: WALK, WALK, WALK, WALK, WALK! If you aren't a runner before you get pregnant, you probably shouldn't pick up an intense running program while you are pregnant. HOWEVER, you can walk -- and walking will help you to feel good, prevent the formation of those EXTRA FAT CELLS we want to avoid and shrink, and make your delivery (and recovery) much easier. No matter what week you are in, 0-40, YOU CAN GET OUT AND WALK!!!! And you can lift light weights to keep your upper-body and back strong. REMEMBER: THE MORE YOU DO NOW, THE LESS YOU WILL HAVE TO DO LATER!

Breastfeeding mommies: You should be fine to do this AS LONG AS YOU KEEP UP YOUR CALORIE AND NUTRITION GUIDELINES. I'm going to write a post tomorrow JUST FOR YOU to show you what I've been learning that you should be eating every day in order to HAVE THE MILK YOU WANT FOR YOUR BABY and LOSE THE WEIGHT YOU NEED TO FOR BOTH OF YOU!!!!!

ENJOY!!!!

Wipe Out Cellulite

Link: Click Here to go to the MSN website's version of this article.

Last year, American women spent nearly $100 million on creams, lotions, and other topical treatments in hopes of eradicating cellulite from our thighs and butts. We're going to make a wild guess that very few of those products worked as well as you'd hoped. That's because, despite its infamy, cellulite is just plain old fat (albeit dressed up in slightly more offensive attire), and a key to minimizing it is to drop pounds, according to a 2006 study published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

But how you lose weight matters: Crash dieting can make cellulite worse by reducing skin's elasticity, making more of those little puckers noticeable. Gradual weight loss (to better preserve skin's suppleness and reduce fat) accompanied by targeted muscle development, which firms and smooths underlying tissue, is the most effective cellulite solution, says Glynis Ablon, M.D., an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at UCLA.

When Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., co-author of No More Cellulite (Perigee, 2003), tested such a strategy on 115 women, all of them reported a reduction in cellulite appearance at the end of 8 weeks, and ultrasound measurements confirmed a higher proportion of muscle to fat in their thigh areas.

Now, it's your turn. This comprehensive exercise and eating plan—based on Westcott's findings—will burn fat, build muscle, and shed pounds safely. We know it's not as easy as applying a cream. But it's more effective. See for yourself.

The workout: A science-based, fat-blasting plan for a firmer butt and sleek thighs.

This two-pronged exercise program helps minimize the lumpy, bumpy appearance of cellulite. Aerobic exercise like walking and running burns fat, while lower-body moves such as squats and lunges build muscle.

To maximize fat loss, you'll do 200 minutes of cardio a week—the amount found to produce the greatest weight loss—including high-intensity exercise to rev your calorie burn for up to 19 hours after a workout. You should see the slimming, smoothing results in four weeks!

The expert: Chris Freytag, contributing fitness editor and creator of Prevention's "Fight Cellulite Fast!" DVD, designed these workouts and models the moves.

Your plan at a glance

Part 1: Burn off cellulite (five days a week)

Blast fat with two types of cardio routines: Intense Workouts (an interval program that builds from fitness walks to calorie-blasting runs) and Moderate Workouts (any aerobic activity you enjoy).

Part 2: Tone, smooth, and firm (three days a week)

Tone your muscles by doing six strengthening moves. (Take a day off between these workouts.)

  • Weeks 1-2: Do one set of 12 repetitions of each exercise.
  • Weeks 3-4: Repeat the circuit twice so you're doing two sets of each exercise.
  • Weeks 5-8: Repeat the circuit three times, so you're doing three sets of each exercise. On the third set, instead of holding each move, pulse for three counts by lifting and lowering a few inches before returning to the start position.

PART 1: BURN OFF CELLULITE

Week 1

  • Intense workouts (three days a week)
  • Brisk walk interval, two minutes; run interval*, one minute
  • Number of intervals: 10
  • Total workout (five-minute warm-up, five-minute cool-down included): 40 minutes
  • Moderate workouts (two days a week)
  • You choose: walking, swimming, or cycling, 40 minutes

Week 2

  • Intense workouts (three days a week)
  • Brisk walk interval, one minute; run interval*, one minute
  • Number of intervals: 15
  • Total workout (five-minute warm-up, five-minute cool-down included): 40 minutes
  • Moderate workouts (two days a week)
  • You choose: Walking, swimming, or cycling: 40 minutes

Week 3

  • Intense workouts (three days a week)
  • Brisk walk interval, one minute; run interval*, two minutes
  • Number of intervals: 10
  • Total workout (five-minute warm-up, five-minute cool-down included): 40 minutes
  • Moderate workouts (two days a week)
  • You choose: Walking, swimming, or cycling: 40 minutes

Week 4

  • Intense workouts (three days a week)
  • Brisk walk interval, one minute; run interval*, four minutes
  • Number of intervals: Seven
  • Total workout (five-minute warm-up, five-minute cool-down included): 45 minutes
  • Moderate workouts (two days a week)
  • You choose: Walking, swimming, or cycling: 40 minutes

Week 5

  • Intense workouts (three days a week)
  • Brisk walk interval, one minute; run interval*, six minutes
  • Number of intervals: Five
  • Total workout (five-minute warm-up, five-minute cool-down included): 45 minutes
  • Moderate workouts (two days a week)
  • You choose: Walking, swimming, or cycling: 40 minutes

Week 6

  • Intense workouts (three days a week)
  • Brisk walk interval, one minute run interval*, seven minutes
  • Number of intervals: Four
  • Total workout (five-minute warm-up, five-minute cool-down included): 42 minutes
  • Moderate workouts (two days a week)
  • You choose: Walking, swimming, or cycling: 40 minutes

Week 7

  • Intense workouts (three days a week)
  • Brisk walk interval, one minute; run interval*, eight minutes
  • Number of intervals: Four
  • Total workout (five-minute warm-up, five-minute cool-down included): 46 minutes
  • Moderate workouts (two days a week)
  • You choose: Walking, swimming, or cycling: 40 minutes

Week 8

  • Intense workouts (three days a week)
  • Brisk walk interval, one minute; run interval*, nine minutes
  • Number of intervals: Three
  • Total workout (five-minute warm-up, five-minute cool-down included): 40 minutes
  • Moderate workouts (two days a week)
  • You choose: Walking, swimming, or cycling: 40 minutes

*If you have joint problems, you can substitute fast walking for running.

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