28 Day Fitness Challenge and a Dare!

We wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! To jump start the "healthy" part of the New Year we are challenging everyone to participate in a 28 day fitness program that can be done during a break at work (wink, wink) or at home. If you are wondering why we chose 28 days it is because studies show that it takes a person 27 days to form a new habit, so for good measure we threw in an extra day.

For this challenge we brought back some of our favorite exercises from past posts. These exercises target arms, legs and abdominal muscles. The chart below lists your challenge (you can print the chart to keep track of all your activity by highlighting it and right clicking for the print option). You can find the instructions for each exercise by clicking on the links below the chart.

Now for the dare. We dare you to move! Get up from your chair. Walk a lap around the building where you work. Get a drink of water from the water cooler. Walk a flight of stairs. Use your legs instead of email to deliver a message to a co-worker. You get the idea. The last column on the chart is for you to indicate that you completed the movement dare for the day. Remember, "sitting is the new smoking!"

Date	Seated Crunches	Desk Pushups	Squats	Bicep Curls	Completed	Cardio
Day 1	10	5	10	10
Day 2	10	5	10	10
Day 3	10	5	10	10
Day 4	10	5	10	10
Day 5	10	5	10	10
Day 6	10	5	10	10
Day 7	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day
Day 8	15	10	15	15
Day 9	15	10	15	15
Day 10	15	10	15	15
Day 11	15	10	15	15
Day 12	15	10	15	15
Day 13	15	10	15	15
Day 14	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day
Day 15	20	15	20	20
Day 16	20	15	20	20
Day 17	20	15	20	20
Day 18	20	15	20	20
Day 19	20	15	20	20
Day 20	20	15	20	20
Day 21	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day	Rest Day
Day 22	25	20	25	25
Day 23	25	20	25	25
Day 24	25	20	25	25
Day 25	25	20	25	25
Day 26	25	20	25	25
Day 27	25	20	25	25
Day 28	Congrats!	Congrats!	Congrats!	Congrats!	Congrats!	Congrats!

Here are the links to the exercises:
Seated Crunch
Desk Pushups (This is on the same post as the seated crunch. Scroll down on the page.)
Squats
Bicep Curls

R & R with Rachel (Rants and Raves with Rachel): The Back Is a Funny Thing

The back is a funny thing. One minute all is fine and the next minute you are in pain. Mets pitcher Steven Matz can attest to that. One day he was feeling great and then he decided to sleep on someone's couch for the evening and woke up with back pain (or "sleep-related back discomfort" as was reported by Newsday). Really, "sleep-related back discomfort"??!!?!? Here's a health tip for anyone who needs their body to perform their job (basically everybody).....Do Not Sleep on a Couch! And, here's another health tip for someone who can afford to stay in a hotel and sleep in a real bed (I am sure Matz can).....Do Not Spend the Night on A Couch! Starting Friday, the Mets will be playing in the NLDS (National League Division Series). Matz has been out since Tuesday, September 29th due to his "sleep-related back discomfort." Mets fans need him back!

Matz is not alone when it comes to major league baseball back injuries. If you have ever suffered from a back injury you too know that your back can go out basically by just breathing too hard. Here are two other incidences that I found entertaining. In 1986 Wade Boggs, in the heat of the pennant race, pulled his back out by putting on his cowboy boots. He missed six games! In 2004 Sammy Sosa missed a game because of back spasms he suffered after 2 sneezes.

There are many websites on the Internet with examples of exercises to help strengthen your back, but it is very important to do them correctly. You will find demonstrations for some back exercises at ACE Fitness.

R & R with Rachel (Rants and Raves with Rachel): Keeping Fit Away from Home

A few months ago I was in Washington, D.C. for a conference. As you may know from some of my previous blog entries I hate to sit. I was concerned that the long full days of classes would mean that not only would I be sitting all day but I would be unable to exercise. Although I am generally not a morning person going for a jog each morning was the only way I would have time to exercise, so I set my mind to do so. Every evening before I went to bed I decided on a destination for the following morning. Washington, D.C. is so chock full of outdoor things to see that I felt like I was sightseeing as well! I jogged past the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, just to name a few sights. One morning I jogged into Georgetown and alongside the Potomac river. I had headphones attached to my smartphone (at a low enough volume so that I could hear everything going on around me!) and Googlemaps to guide me. This was a big help. I did not have to stop and pull out a map at each turn and I felt safer because I did not look at all like a tourist. While running I was also testing out a few of the ios Running apps and I will share that information in a future blog (spoiler alert: Endomondo is the app I have decided to use).

So what can everyone learn from my trip:

1. If you are determined enough, you can squeeze exercise into any trip.

2. Googlemaps or any other mapping app is a great help while you are running in an unfamiliar location.

3. Changing your exercise routine to another time of the day can work (although I have not exercised in the morning since I returned from my trip).

Here is a picture of me at the Lincoln Memorial:

R & R with Rachel (Rants and Raves with Rachel): Let's Get Appy

Recently, I bought a smartphone. While I consider myself technologically savvy I never really had a need for one. Even now, a month later, I don't use it very often. One of the features I do like about the phone however, is that a running app can replace my ancient Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS which was big and bulky on my arm and lost its signal if it was cloudy or if I was running in an area where there were a lot of trees blocking the sky.

Now comes the hard part, picking the running app that is the best for me. I admit, I am a little obsessed with how far I run, walk or bike on each outing so obviously telling me that information is important. I also like to know how fast (or in my case how slow) I have ran that distance. The interface needs to be a large enough font so that my aging eyes can read it. Being able to save the information on my various runs would also be helpful though not imperative, and it would be great if I could transmit those stats wirelessly to my computer.

With all these requirements in mind, I started my research. I never imagined just how many running apps existed! I compiled a long list of apps that were given good reviews in various articles and plan on reviewing and critiquing each one on the basis of my needs. To whittle down the list a little I did start with the criteria of the following: the app had to be available for an ios device, it did not need any other paraphernalia to operate and the basic service had to be free. Here is the list of fourteen apps I plan on testing: Adidas Mi-Coach, Endonmondo, GPS Pro: Garmin Connect Mobile, Map My Run, Nike+ Running, Pear Training, Pumatrac, RunKeeper, Runmeter Pro, Runtastic, Strava, Up, Walkmeter, Wahoo Fitness.

I'll keep you posted! Meanwhile feel free to try some of these apps out yourself and let me know!

Good Advice from Charlie Brown:

Remember change doesn't happen overnight. It's better to start slowly and stick with your exercise program then not to start at all!

R & R with Rachel (Rants and Raves with Rachel): Chef & Chauffeur INCLUDED

Anyone who knows me has heard me say, " I am going to be the most buff retired person ever" (when I actually retire that is). I say this because I will then have endless hours to devote to exercise.

I just found out however, all that is standing in my way of being a buff person right now is $38,000,000. If I had $38,000,000 my partner and I could purchase a home that is currently for sale in Sands Point, NY.

Why would that make me a buff person you ask? Well because the amenities include an indoor basketball court, racketball court, indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, spa, sauna, steam room, and private beach. There is also a concrete path that circles the home and replicates a quarter-mile track.

We would need to learn to play golf because included is a tee box on the roof, putting green and a golf simulator (that doubles as a home theatre).

Sadly, the property is missing a batting cage, softball field and bowling alley. If we don't find a place to add those items that could end up being a deal breaker for us.

Now, all we need to do is find about 72 of our closest friends to invest in the property with us. Anyone interested?

Click on this link if you would like to see some pictures of the home:

http://www.newsday.com/classifieds/real-estate/38-million-in-sands-point-1.9822585#20

We're Back!

Hi Everyone!

Many of our dedicated readers have been asking us if our blog will ever return.   It made us feel happy that we were missed and apparently needed!   We apologize for our long absence.  Sometimes our hectic lifestyles interfered with publishing to our blog.   Although we might not have been posting regularly we were still making exercise a priority.   Hopefully you have all been referring to our previous posts and continuing to exercise faithfully.  Going forward we will try our best to post twice a month.

To get started we are bringing back an old favorite. It is a reminder of a safe way to shovel, something we will seemingly be doing a lot of shoveling this winter.  Boo hoo!

Here is the direct link:     Shoveling Snow Counts as Exercise Too!