Not just any girl

Something else I got from the wise Katiethat I wanted to share

More calories are burned during short bursts of high intensity exercise, making it more effective at inducing fat loss while strengthening the cardiovascular system and reducing instance of injury that often accompanies non-stop, repetitive activity. Additionally, it gives you the chance to increase your intensity without burning yourself out (cause you know the cool down phase is coming real soon).

If you have been walking or jogging, why not try a little interval work (short bursts of intense activity alternating with intervals of lighter activity) during your walk/jog.

After warming up, you might increase the intensity for 30 seconds and then resume your normal pace. The next burst of more intense activity may last two to three minutes. Or…walk/Jog for 5 minutes at your regular pace, then challenge yourself to go faster for 1 to 2 minute intervals, before settling back into your usual pace for the next 5 minutes. If you are jogging paths or trails or streets, you can pick a landmark in the distance to get to as quickly as you can, then slow down till the next landmark (i.e. between certain trees or houses or mailboxes). The intervals can vary throughout your workout.

ADVANTAGES:
You’ll burn more calories. The more vigorously you exercise, the more calories you’ll burn — even if you increase intensity for just a few minutes at a time.

You’ll improve your aerobic capacity. As your cardiovascular fitness improves, you’ll be able to exercise longer or with more intensity.(Imagine finishing your 60-minute walk in 45 minutes — or the additional calories you’ll burn by keeping up the pace for the full 60 minutes!)

You’ll keep boredom at bay. Turning up your intensity in short intervals can add variety to your exercise routine.

Alternating bursts of intense exercise with easier intervals will help reduce the buildup of waste products in your muscles, resulting in more comfortable exercise.

“Failing doesn’t make you a failure. Giving up, accepting your failure, refusing to try again does!” - Richard Exely

So, I refuse to be daunted by the Firm. I have put my mind to tougher things and been successful. SO… last night, I popped it in again and totally sucked at it. It only goes up from here. I will keep plugging away at it until I own it!

Even though I suck… My arms and legs are burning today so it must have been somewhat affective!

So I have been hearing about the firm lately. On impulse I bought a “The Firm Ultimate Fat Burning Workout” dvd. I tried to do it last night and WOW. That girl just shoots right out of the gate like a race horse. I didnt know the moves, I couldnt keep up, or get in sync. I felt totally foolish and inept. I had to stop. Maybe its just me, but you need to slow down at first so I can figure it out.

Then…I put in a dance away the pounds workout video that i bought a while ago and never tried. That one at least has a section where she teaches you the moves before the workout. (even though she is TOTALLY annoying) I still just couldnt keep up. I wont chuck that one totally I think I need to do it a few times to get comfortable with the moves and I can get over the her being annoying part.

Finally, I just switched back to my trusty WATP dvd. Those other ones just make me appreciate the easiness of the leslie videos so much more. None of the moves are akward yet you still get a great workout.

Tonight I am going to try the fat burning pilates video. I will let you know how it goes.

I joined a new challenge yesterday over on Danielles Blog! Just the perfect thing to keep me in check and motivate me right out of my self imposed slump! Click here to read the February Freedom Challenge (freedom from an old, unwanted habit)!

Here’s what I have posted for my February Goal:

Jacki (Not Just Any Girl)  - bad habit: skipping exercise good new habit: exercising 3 days per week

If you look at my weekly exercise log below (also borrowed from Danielle) I am off to a good start!

Go me!

Exercise Journal

Goal (Week 1 - 02/04/08 )				Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
10,000 Steps per day, at least 50,000 per week				10485	5778	9743	9324	-	-	-
Pilates at least 3 times per week				-	-			-	-	-
1 hour workout video at least 3 times per week					-			-	-	-
20 AP’s per week				8	0	6	8	-	-	-
if daily goals accomplished					-			-	-	-

Heart Rate Monitors: There are WW’ers who wouldn’t even work out without one of these gadgets. As their name implies, they monitor heart rate, and also let you know how many calories you have burned (Did you know that 1 AP = 100 calories burned? That’s nice, huh? So when you earn 3 AP’s you’ve burned 300 calories. After burning those 300 calories, it almost doesn’t seem worth it to consume a 3 pt snack in under two minutes! Anyway, when they learn how many calories have been burned, they then just do the math to determine AP’s).

Right now I rely , more or less, on the Borg Perceived Exertion Scale (AND the activity points calculator)

This is a cute -tho accurate enough - interpretation of the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion:

Level 1: I’m watching TV and eating bon bons
Level 2: I’m comfortable and could maintain this pace all day long
Level 3: I’m still comfortable, but am breathing a bit harder
Level 4: I’m sweating a little, but feel good and can carry on a conversation effortlessly
Level 5: I’m just above comfortable, am sweating more and can still talk easily
Level 6: I can still talk, but am slightly breathless
Level 7: I can still talk, but I don’t really want to. I’m sweating like a pig
Level 8: I can grunt in response to your questions and can only keep this pace for a short time period
Level 9: I am probably going to die
Level 10: I am dead

In general, for most workouts you want to be at around Level 5-6. If you’re doing interval training, you want your recovery to be around a 4-5 and your intensity blasts to be at around 8-9. As you’ll see below, working at a level 10 isn’t recommended for most workouts. For longer, slower workouts, keep your PE at Level 5 or lower.

The real Borg Scale actually goes from 6 - 20:

6 No exertion at all
7 Extremely light
8
9 Very light - (easy walking slowly at a comfortable pace)
10
11 Light
12
13 Somewhat hard (It is quite an effort; you feel tired but can continue)
14
15 Hard (heavy)
16
17 Very hard (very strenuous, and you are very fatigued)
18
19 Extremely hard (You can not continue for long at this pace)
20 Maximal exertion

I am trying to decide whether an HRM is worth the cost. Anyone have one? Which do you recommend?