Part 2: Motion is Lotion

 


Ok so you read part 1...got the book, went to the grocery store and have already seen the positive changes taking place in your life! And now you are saying...but I want more!! More muscles, less fat, shredded abs, that V shape that everyone wants etc. So here's where we talk about that other 10% that you CAN control. Remember...it's 80% nutrition, 10% exercise and 10% genetics. If you were to spend time and money on one area...it would definitely be the nutrition. I gaurantee if you ate clean everyday and never exercised, you would still be smokin hot! But we are never satisfied are we?? We want more!

Here's where I'm kinda sad to share my secrets with ya'll. This is the part where I could totally play super-mom and act like I workout 3 hours a day, work full time, raise 2 perfect children, maintain a clean home, eat clean everyday, and volunteer at the homeless shelter. (Ok so we all know that I fail at most of those things on a daily basis...but let's pretend here).  HOWEVER, I vowed to help people and show you all how easy this is. I literally woke up one day and looked down to the beginning formation of a 6 pack. To my amazement...I was NOT spending hours in the gym like I have in a previous life. Here's my story...

I've always been a cardio junky, which is no secret to most of you. I live for a pounding pavement, sweat pouring, joints crushing, runners high. I kept hearing all this jargon that I need to be lifting in addition to all the cardio I was doing. I hired a personal trainer, got the fancy gym membership, and began spending 2 hours a day trying to become lean and mean!  1 hour of running, 45 mins of lifting, and 15 minutes of core about 5 times a week. I kept a journal to make sure I was consistently getting stronger...I was doing everything right...or was I? You can believe my shock as I tried to pull my pants on one day and I couldn't get them over my quads. I had morphed into this bulky beastly pile of muscle covered in a nice little layer of fat. Sounds hot right??  This was Totally NOT the look I was going for...at all! My shirts were tight in the biceps...I looked goofy and had wasted hours of my life achieving that look. Most of the reason I experienced this disappointing result was due to nutrition. Sure I had packed on muscle mass, but was not feeding my body the proper nutrition at all.

1) Cardio alone is not the best way to lose weight and get fit. Muscle burns more calories than fat...we know this. I'm lazy...(ok I'm not really lazy but I dont have time...like I barely have time to go to the ladies room and am frequently jumping around the house doing the potty dance while trying to serve the kids dinner). So wouldn't it be nice to pack on some muscle and burn hundreds of calories a day by doing nothing??? Yeah that's what I thought. The thought alone of sitting on the couch eating ice cream carrots and burning extra calories gets me giddy!

2) Steady state cardio sucks!! Yep! Marathons are fun..(did I seriously just type that?) but they don't give you the physique you've been craving. Have you ever compared a picture of a marathon runner to a sprinter?




Marathon runners almost look flabby don't they? Meanwhile sprinters have that chiseled body with every muscle sticking out saying look at me!!! Which one would you rather resemble? That's a no brainer for me! And I happily cut 20 mile runs off my to-do list without hesitation. (I'm not saying that steady state cardio is bad for you, we all know cardio is good for you. But to get the best bang for your buck, this is not the way to go on a daily basis.)

3) Lifting weights alone is not the way to go either! Have you ever seen those meatheads at the gym chugging protein powder and doing a billion bicep curls? But then they turn sideways and you look past their ripped out arms and see a belly protruding from their tight under armour shirt? Not hot! Lifting alone definitely builds muscle mass, but unless you superset and get your heart rate up, you probably won't get that perfect bod.

So now you are thinking...how the heck am I going to have time to do all of this? What if I told you that you could get ripped in as little as 20 minutes a day? 20 minutes!! No fancy gym membership, no hours on the treadmill, no personal trainer screaming in your face and you don't even need to buy a home gym. Just a few dumbbells and a DVD. Meet Jillian Michaels!


Some may know her from the biggest loser! She is an amazing personal trainer that has made  some awesome workout DVDs. I highly recommend the 30 day shred!









Jillian uses a 3-2-1 principle of 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of core. Basically its an all encompassing workout. There are 3 different levels and let me just warn you that level 2 is the devil. When I started doing this workout...I was simply trying to find a workout that would take the shortest amount of time. I had read a bunch of articles recently saying you don't need to work out 45-60 mins at a time. You can actually achieve greater levels of fitness in 20 minutes if you BUST IT! That was right up my alley! (Remember not having any time and doing the potty dance?) I love that I never have to worry about whether I hit a specific muscle group or not...or whether I've done cardio...or core. This bad boy has EVERYTHING in 20 minutes. No one has an excuse to not workout for 20 minutes. And even 4 times a week will give you great results. So if you are a full-time working parent like I am....set a goal of trying to do this DVD twice during the week and then Sat & Sun. Aim for 2 out of the 5 days...and I guarantee once you start seeing the results...you'll start squeezing it in even more often. This DVD can be found on Amazon.com for $7-10 or Target and those types of stores. You need a few dumbbells...3 lbs, 5 lbs and maybe 8 lbs. But that's it. Everytime I finished this workout...I would be half naked by the end and dripping in sweat. 10x more sweaty than when I would run on the treadmill for 5 miles. Heart rate was THROUGH the roof! Here is another one I highly recommend that is very similar.


 This is based on the same system as the 30 day shred, but there are 4 levels. She does a lot of combination moves (think Lunge, twist with Bicep Curl) which kills 3 birds with one stone (legs, core, biceps). Basically with the combination moves...its the equivalent of a much longer workout in a shorter amount of time. I'm all about killing birds with stones. (A little angry today)  I think Ripped in 30 is my favorite of her DVD's so far.


If you don't like Jillian Michaels or have something against lesbians...try something else. P90X....(great results with P90X but its more like 50 minutes a day). If you don't want to use DVD's as workouts...just make sure you are getting some high intensity interval training in the mix. Sprint intervals on the treadmills are good for jacking up your heart rate. Follow it up with a little kick boxing and weight session.You have to be careful with too much cardio because you burn your muscles off, We WANT muscles...remember...free calorie burning? Sign me up! And honestly...if you truly think you don't have time for 20 minutes a day....get creative. I may or may not have invented a way of working out in the operating room while standing in one place and no one noticing. (Ok work peeps...if you see me doing weird leg things I'm probably secretly trying to work out!!...shhhh!...it heightens my focus too :) Take the stairs...clean your house as fast as you can....rake the leaves...use your kid as a kettle bell! (I may or may not have tried that too!!...they love it!) Just do SOMETHING! There's nothing wrong with hiring personal trainers, having fancy gym memberships, or home gyms. All of those are great if you have that luxury. But all I'm saying is that you don't NEED any of that. For me...the extra 15 minute drive to and from the gym was adding an easy 30 minutes to my work out.....which I didn't have time for once I had kids (potty dance anyone?). These DVD's are great because I can do them while the kids are napping (yes I've mastered getting 2 kids to sleep at once....which I'm more proud of than any degree I've ever earned).

Maybe someday I'll get back into running marathons for fun. But for right now...I learned the hard way that I don't have to! I don't have to work nearly that hard and I can look much better! Sounds like a good deal right? I'm much leaner and happier with my physique now by working out 20 minutes a day vs. 2 hours. You can do it too!....and I'm Christine Moore and I endorse this message :)