Tag Archives: home workout

February 5, 2014 · 6:45 am

The Ultimate Guide To Good Posture & Better Posture Workout: Exercises To Improve Posture And Prevent Hunched Shoulders

I have never really told you what I do for living. Without going too much into the detail, I work in the financial industry. Working in the finance, as you can imagine, very often means that I sit all day long and stare at the computer screen while doing my best at securing my clients’ financial future. So the key word in the previous sentence was SIT… Sit all day long! It wouldn’t be too bad, but I have a horrible habit of sitting in the ways that are not good for my back. Most of the times you will see me sitting on the edge of a chair, even when I’m eating at home, which is a big no-no, or with my legs crossed. I don’t even know why I do it because it is not even a particularly comfortable position! *I know, you can call me dum-dum from now on!*

medical-postures-chiropractics-posture-chiropractic-bones-mban3797l

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Anyhow, with  RRSP season (Registered Retirement Savings Plan: a Canadian program to help residents save for retirement and reduce their taxable income at the same time) quickly approaching, my days are getting busier and busier. Thus, the last thing on my mind will be thinking if I’m sitting properly. So I decided to be proactive and educate myself a little bit more about what I could do in order to keep my back straight and avoid injury.

Posture

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As you also know, good posture is critical to a runner’s success. Try this workout to improve your posture and to prevent hunched shoulders.

Now it’s your turn! Does your job require sitting for prolonged periods of time? How do you stay aware if you’re sitting properly?

xoxo
Olena

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January 29, 2014 · 6:45 am

The Dangers Of Sleep Deprivation And Unbreakable Strength & Fat Burning Cardio Workout

Happy Hump day my dear friends! We’ve made it so far! Wooohooooo! I don’t know how about you, but once Wednesday comes around, I am a happy person again haha!

You know what else can make me happy? When I get a decent amount of sleep! However, I think, I’ve got a real problem: On work days when I have to wake up at 6.30 am, I could EASILY sleep until 9-10 am *or at least that’s how my body feels*; yet, on a weekend, when I actually can sleep in, I can’t!!! Like, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH ME?!

I can't sleep

I definitely don’t suffer from sleep deprivation because I always get at least 7 hours of sleep, but I do remember how I would pull all nighters when I was still at school. I mean, I definitely didn’t feel my best on those days, but I really didn’t think of it much. However, there are some serious problems that could stem from sleep deprivation. Take a look at it!

The Dangers of Sleep Deprivation

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That’s some serious stuff! I found some good tips on how to sleep better here, but this is a quick summary:

  1. Keep a regular sleep schedule: set a regular bedtime, be smart about napping
  2. Naturally regulate your sleep-wake cycle: increase light exposure during day time, turn off TV & computer at night (record your favorite late shows), change your bright light bulbs
  3. Create a relaxing bedtime routine: keep noise levels down, keep your room cool, make sure your bed is comfortable, create bedtime relaxing rituals (read a book or magazine, take a bath, listen to soft music)
  4. Eat right and get regular exercise: stay away from big meals at night, avoid alcohol before bed, cut down on caffeine, quit smoking 
  5. Get  anxiety and stress in check: deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, practice yoga

counting sheep

Let’s move on to my planned workout for today. According to my 12-week plan, this is what I gotta do:

Unbreakable Strength Plus Run

Repeat four times (3-minute rest between sets):

Run 20 minutes with heart rate in zone 3. However, since I won’t be able to make it to the gym today, I decided to do the following Fat Burning Cardio workout instead of the run.

What does your workout look like today? Also what are your secrets to getting a proper amount of sleep? 

xoxo
Olena

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January 24, 2014 · 6:45 am

Ending The Week On a Flexible Note: Pilates Flexibility Workout Routine

It’s finally Friday! I’m so happy that I am literally doing an imaginary twirl right this moment. You should try too, it’s so much fun! Haha!

It’s been a long week because our little puppy *or shall I say our little shark… wait… I think I’ll settle for piranha…* is teething. For those of you who’ve never dealt with a teething puppy, think of a thousand needles piercing your body at any given point of time, all day, EVERY DAY. Add some curiosity a.k.a. constant running around and you’ll end up with this:

Bella on my laptop

Little punk!

Anyhow, I felt that it would be appropriate to finish the week off with a nice stretching routine to de-stress, re-energize and make my muscles relax – a perfect way to start the weekend off the right foot. I chose the following under 20-minute pilates flexibility workout. It’s fairly straight forward, all you have to do is to hold each position for 30 seconds.

Pilates Flexibility Workout Routine

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You can also check out this quick Yoga workout and learn the benefits of each pose, if you’d like.

mailman-being-chased-by-dog-stretching-first

What are your thoughts on this workout? What are your favorite ways to relax and re-focus? I’d love to know!

xoxo
Olena

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January 21, 2014 · 6:45 am

On A Mission To Have Killer Legs: Leg Slimming, Butt & Thigh Workout With A Ballet Twist

Okay, I’m about to tell you something which is kind of ridiculous and doesn’t really make sense, so PUH-LEASE don’t laugh at me. I saw this picture and it INSPIRED me to do a leg workout…

Leg day before & after

Yup, you heard that right, I was inspired!

The truth is I love to feel sore because I know that my body is becoming stronger. And I feel… well… ALIVE! Plus, I’ve never met a girl who wouldn’t want to have beautiful strong lean legs. I mean, isn’t it sexy?!?! To top it all off, working your legs facilitates building the rest of your body. Unfortunately, however, leg training is frequently underestimated or, even worse, ignored.

I started off with this Leg Slimming Pilates.

Followed by a Ballet Leg workout.

Let’s make those legs shaky!

Last but not least, I wanted to share this picture with you which I think is HILARIOUS. Didn’t we all have this problem at some point of time? I remember that time when I tried Insanity for the first time *and was really out of shape*, I could barely walk for a few days after that: a bathroom was definitely perceived as a torture chamber. Haha!

After a leg workout

What are your favorite ways to work your legs out? What are some of the funniest stories that happened to you when you worked out just ‘a tiny bit’ too much?

xoxo
Olena

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January 16, 2014 · 6:45 am

Don’t Get Left Behind—Strengthen Your Glutes: A 30-Minute Glute-Building Bodyweight Workout

My first ever Super Spartan Race is only 5 months away!WOOP WOOP! For those of you who don’t know what exactly it is, the Super Spartan obstacle mud race is 13+ km (8+ miles) long and provides 20+ obstacles. If you can’t successfully complete any given obstacle you have to do 30 burpees. In other words, if you’re really bad you can and up doing 600+ burpees along the way! And we all know that burpees aren’t fun, like, not at all!!!

Spartan Race

As someone who started running barely 6 months ago, I am excited and terrified at the same time. Wait! How dare you think that I’m scared of the distance?! *Pfffff! Haha!* I feel very comfortable running it. However, I’ve always been a very competitive person and simply want to have a better time than the middle of a pack. So I’ve got quite a challenge cut out for me! What do you think?

Currently, my training involves a lot of strength training *which I still have to bump up a notch or TWO!* and quite a bit of running, in order to improve my endurance. But in order to have a better time, I have to run FASTER. *OKAY! It didn’t take me THAT long to figure it out! Haha!* 

While doing a little research, I found out that a ‘secret recipe’ could be in my BUTT. *That didn’t sound right!* No, you are not hallucinating! Apparently, Gluteus Maximus muscles can make a huge difference when it comes to speed and, therefore, time. *I’m telling you, I always knew that my behind was a powerhouse! Haha!*

running-funny-pictures

According to Nikki Kimball from Runner’s World, “When we run, the glutes hold our pelvis level and steady, extend our hip, propel us forward, and keep our legs, pelvis, and torso aligned. So when our glutes are faulty, our entire kinetic chain gets disrupted. Studies link glute weakness to Achilles tendinitis, shinsplints, runner’s knee, and iliotibial-band syndrome. Indeed, many injured runners I treat come to physical therapy with strong abdominals and backs but weak glutes.” 

Some quite serious stuff, if you ask me! *By the way, in case you missed it, you can check out my previous post to learn more about common running injuries and how to prevent them.*

Got Glutes

I came across this 30-minute glute-building bodyweight workout, which means that it could be easily done at home without any equipment required!!! *a definite BONUS in my books!*

Running and Glutes: The 30-minute glute-building bodyweight workout

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What are your thoughts? What are your favorite ways to strengthen your glutes? How do you improve your speed?

xoxo
Olena

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January 13, 2014 · 6:45 am

Dealing With An Unforeseen Injury + A Great 20-Minute Total Arm Workout

Last week was really unsuccessful for me in terms of running and, to be honest, I was really looking forward to a 10 km weekend run. However, it wasn’t meant to happen.

Early Saturday, I decided to take my little German Shepherd pup Bella for a nice walk outside. My walk lasted a whole 2 seconds as I slipped off the top step of  our condo entrance with the little princess in my arms and flew down to the ground. To help you picture my grand fall, think of Kevin’s sleigh ride from a house stairway…

home alone

Just without a sleigh, on my back, and off this stairway:

Home Sweet Home

I know, I’m laughing it now, but it was really scary! There was  black ice on the stairs and the next moment all I saw was the sky. Anyhow, I’m glad that I didn’t hit my head as I was falling down and, thus, am still alive, and that my puppy didn’t get hurt either! Poor little thing!

As you can imagine, I really hurt my lower back and have to wait to run again for a couple of days, just to be safe. Oh well! I decided not to dwell too much on it and work on my arms meanwhile instead. *All I want is nice toned arms, is it too much to ask for? Haha!*

I started off my workout with this  Strong Arms, Back & Shoulders Yoga Routine from Tara Stiles for a warm up.

*I KNEW IT! You reaaaallyyyyy missed my recent plank workout! WINK WINK*

Then, since I don’t have any dumbbells at home, I grabbed two 1-litter jars of tomato sauce *That’s how you know I married an Italian!* and went ahead with the following Total Arm Workout.

Okay, I have to admit that I’ll probably have to invest in a set of dumbbells because doing Curl & Flip with JARS was somewhat *definitely an understatement!* challenging.

By the way, here is my *BY FAR* favorite ‘weight’!

Arm workout with Bella

What is your favorite arm workout? Also, how do you deal with injuries?

xoxo
Olena

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December 16, 2013 · 7:58 pm

7-Minute Workout That Will Keep You In Shape

On the days when the temperature drops to close to -30 (Celsius), it may be very difficult to convince yourself to go to the gym. It’s like, thanks, but no thanks! Also, with Christmas only a week away, everyone is busy doing last minute gift shopping. *Yup, I’m talking to YOU, procrastinator!* So whatever your reason may be, I wanted to share with you a workout I do on the days when I simply can’t make it *or don’t want to make it… Hey! I gotta be honest!* to the gym. Let me introduce you to a 7-minute workout.

7-minute workout
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As the name implies, the workout lasts only 7 minutes. *Even a super lazy person will find it hard to refuse such a deal!* It was initially published in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal and involves 12 exercises that have to be done in a rapid succession with 10-second breaks in between them. Each move has to be done for… wait for it… a GRAND total of 30 seconds! In a fancy fitness world, they call it High-Intensity Circuit Training; between us, simple people, all it is is an interval training, meaning that you have to put maximum effort into any given exercise and do as many reps as possible within a 30-second time frame. Sounds simple enough, right?!

Well, don’t be fooled by an apparent simplicity of this workout! Since it was invented by SMART people a.k.a. scientists, “even a few minutes of training at an intensity approaching your maximum capacity produces molecular changes within muscles comparable to those of several hours of running or bike riding.”; and that’s according to the New York Times. *WHOA!*

So don’t be shy, give it a try! And if you feel EXTRA frisky,go at least 2 or 3 times through the entire routine. Believe me, your body will be grateful, especially AFTER the holidays!

Now it’s your turn! What do you do to stay active when going to the gym is not that much of an appealing option?

xoxo
Olena

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