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FitYaf's Fitness Friday Workout - Winter Blues

2/21/2014

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Depending on where you live, you might be experiencing the "winter blues" with me.  I haven't had many outdoor runs this winter, but I have my group fitness classes to thank for keeping me out of a serious workout funk!  On Monday nights at the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center, I teach a class called Body Blitz.  It's a 1 hour class that alternates between cardio and resistance training.  What types of exercises do we do in this class?  It's more like what exercises aren't we doing?  I love introducing new (and sometimes a bit awkward) exercises to keep things interesting and fresh, while continuing to work the same muscles in new ways.
Here are some other Body Blitz style workouts:
  • No equipment necessary
  • BOSU
  • Dumbbell
  • Body Blitz style
Notes about this workout:
  • Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact.  Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
  • If you're unsure about any of the movements, check out the videos linked to the name of the exercise or google them before you start the workout.  You don't want to lose momentum, stopping after every exercise to look up how to do them.
  • The warmup and cardio sections of this workout are designed to do in a set amount of time.  This means that you'll work at your maximum level (as hard and as fast as you can) during this part of the workout.  Sometimes this might mean that you'll slow down, but as long as you're still feeling challenged, you'll benefit from the workout!
  • The resistance training sections of this workout are designed to complete a set amount of reps.  Be sure not to rush these movements and perform them in a controlled manner.  Choose your weights so that you can complete the workout, but it is still challenging for you!
  • Rest in between sets if needed, but no more than 1 minute!
  • Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout.  Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.

Warmup

Do each for for one minute, as fast as you can:
  • Jumping jacks
  • Squat jumps (jump out into a squat, about halfway down, then jump back up to standing)
  • High knees
  • Jump rope side to side (use an imaginary rope, moving both feet together, jumping side to side about 1-2 feet)
  • Out & in (jump both feet out, then back in, knees slightly bent)
FitYaf's Fitness Friday Workout - Winter Blues

Resistance Training, SET 1

  • Sliding squats (20 each side) - use a paper plate on carpeted surfaces or a paper towel on tile/hardwood
  • Dumbbell around the world (20 each direction)
  • Lunge pulse (10 sets of 8 on each side) - step out into a lunge position and pulse up and down 8 times before switching to the other leg (challenge yourself by jumping to the opposite lunge position)
  • Alternating bicep curls/reverse curls (20 of each)

Cardio, SET 1

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Workout - Winter Blues
Do each for for one minute, as fast as you can:
  • Sprint in place
  • Side to side floor hops
  • Squat jacks
  • Plank half circles - from a plank position, walk your feet to one side, creating a half circle, then come back the other side (you'll have to adjust your hand placement, but keep them in the same general location)
  • Speed skaters
FitYaf's Fitness Friday Workout - Winter Blues

Resistance Training, SET 2

  • Narrow squats  (40 total)
  • Tricep side push ups (20 on each side)
  • Moving lunges (4 sets of 8 alternating lunges) - with or without dumbbells
  • Alternating crab reach (20 on each side)
FitYaf's Fitness Friday Workout - Winter Blues

Cardio, SET 2

Do each for for one minute, as fast as you can:
  • Heisman 1-2-3
  • Mountain climbers
  • 180 jump squats
  • Suicide jumps
  • High knees
FitYaf's Fitness Friday Workout - Winter Blues

Challenge

Burpee pushup challenge - 8 push-up burpees, increasing the number of push-ups with every rep

Core

  • Hip lifts (20) - try to lift your hips up vertically, and not back towards your head
  • Moving plank (8 sets of 4 'steps')
  • Snow angels (2 sets of 30 seconds)
  • Alternating leg drop (15 each side)
Picture

Stretch

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Workout - Winter Blues
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FitYaf's 30-20-10 Fitness Friday Workout

1/17/2014

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This weekend, I'll be saying goodbye to the year 30!  It has been a great year for me both professionally and personally, but I have a feeling 31 is going to be just as great!  I put together this workout to share with you as a tribute to my 30th year.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.
FitYaf's 30-20-10 Fitness Friday Workout
Notes about this workout:
  • Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact.  Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
  • If you're unsure about any of the movements, check out the videos linked to the name of the exercise or google them before you start the workout.  You don't want to lose momentum, stopping after every exercise to look up how to do them.
  • This workout is designed as a circuit.  Do each exercise in completion (30, 20 or 10), before moving on to the next.  When you finish the circuit, go back and do it again, so that you do each circuit for 4 (beginner), 5 (intermediate) or 6 (advanced) minutes.
  • Rest in between circuits if needed, but no more than 1 minute!
FitYaf's 30-20-10 Fitness Friday Workout
FitYaf's 30-20-10 Fitness Friday Workout
FitYaf's 30-20-10 Fitness Friday Workout
FitYaf's 30-20-10 Fitness Friday Workout
FitYaf's 30-20-10 Fitness Friday Workout

Circuit 1

30 squats
20 tuck jumps
10 pushups

Circuit 2

30 bicep curls
20 overhead presses
10 tricep pushups

Circuit 3

30 seconds high knees
20 jumping jacks
10 in & out abs

Circuit 4

30 hammer kicks (each leg)
20 alternating reach situps
10 tricep dips
FitYaf's 30-20-10 Fitness Friday Workout
How many rounds did you do of each circuit?
1 Comment

FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout

1/10/2014

4 Comments

 
We're 10 days into 2014, and goals and resolutions are still fresh on everyone's minds!  In the spirit of '14, I've put together a brand new Fitness Friday workout for you!
Notes about this workout:
  • Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact.  Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
  • Go through the workout twice for a full 30-minute workout
  • Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout.  Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.
  • If you're unsure about any of the movements, check out the videos linked to the name of the exercise or google them before you start the workout.  You want to be able to do this workout all the way through without stopping to look something up.

Cardio - 14 minutes

Choose your favorite cardio workout:
  • running
  • walking on an incline
  • power walking
  • spinning
  • rowing
  • stair climbing
FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout

The '14's

Push ups

FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout

Squats

FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout

Squat jumps

FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout

Tuck Jumps

FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout

Lunges - 14 on each side

FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout
FitYaf's 2014 Kickoff Fitness Friday Workout
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Death by Burpees and a partnership with FitMAPPED

12/13/2013

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Last weekend, I only had a little bit of time before I had to get ready for a wedding.  I was debating on weather or not to squeeze in a workout, when my husband suggested we do the CrossFit "Death by Burpees" workout.
Death by burpees?  Sounds awful.  Also, it sounded like exactly what I wanted to do!

Death by burpees

With a continuously running clock:
  • 1st minute - 1 burpee
  • 2nd minute - 2 burpees
  • 3rd minute - 3 burpees
Continue as long as you are able!
Don't be deceived by the first few (easier) minutes - as the minutes go by, you have more burpees to do and less recovery time.  I was able to get through the 11th minute with a few seconds to spare.  I probably could have kept going at least one more minute, but it was time to start getting ready (and I was spent)!  Take the FitYaf challenge - start with pushup burpees and when you can't continue with them, switch to regular burpees!
Death by Burpees

My partnership with FitMapped

I'm also SUPER excited to announce my new partnership with FitMAPPED.  FiTMAPPED is a comprehensive, fully searchable directory of fitness studios and gyms in NYC and Los Angeles, and it's coming to Philly!  I'm so excited to be involved with such a great community - check out my first blog post!
Be sure to follow FitMAPPED if you live in NYC, LA, Boston, Chicago or Philly (and check back as we add new cities):
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Google +
  • Pinterest
Also, don't forget you can enter to win my Shakeology Shake-Up package once/day!
How many round of burpees could you do?
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Everything you need to know about P90x 3

12/10/2013

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All good things come in threes, but be warned: P90X3 is far from a trilogy. No, P90X3 is NOT the kid sister workout. It’s the workout that took notes from it’s siblings, then condensed, and accelerated to become the most dynamic and fastest workout yet.

The ultimate excuse buster
Time is the biggest excuse. P90X3 solves that. Every workout is 30 minutes and the clock starts the minute you push play. Before you can say “drop and give me 10,” it’s over and you are one workout closer to the six-pack of your dreams. 
Everything you need to know about P90x 3
Muscle acceleration explained
Many P90X fans were hooked on the science of muscle confusion – which introduced variety to the workouts and prevented plateauing. P90X3 takes a hint from that success and from studies showing the most dramatic body transformations happen within the first 30 minutes of exercise. Enter muscle acceleration, a Tony Horton-approved highly-structured schedule with an incredibly high level of intensity and an unprecedented variety of moves. The gurus behind P90X3 combined exercises and added some twists to maximize your time and keep every muscle challenged for a full 30 minutes.

Say goodbye to boredom
Along with the constant entertainment, P90X3 has the most workouts of any Beachbody program. With 16 workouts in the base kit, they switch it up before you have a chance to consider boredom. From cardio to strength to pilates to MMX, there is something for everyone. 

The ideal P90X3-er
It may seem lofty to proclaim, but P90X3 is indeed a workout for everyone.  Everyone searching for tighter abs and leaner muscles, that is. But fitness novices and experts need not be afraid by P90X3’s come-one-come-all invitation. You don’t have to have any previous P90X experience in order to get killer results. For the beginner, the variety of workouts in P90X3 is the perfect place to discover their fitness style. If the move can be modified there is a cast member showing you how. But don’t expect to be an expert on day one. (Yes, fitness veterans will still be challenged.)

It doesn’t stop there
And of course there are some bells and whistles too good to ignore. First off, the FitYaf exclusive: If P90X3 is purchased any time from December 10th – 31st (including Challenge Packs), you will receive an exclusive P90X3 baseball cap.

And last but not least, we have the app: Yes, now for the first time the P90X app is available on Android and iOS. The app includes P90X guided workouts, tools to track your reps, weights and progress. Launching soon, is the P90X3 addition – which brings you workout specific tracking modules, scheduling options and the motivation you need to power through the 90 days. P90X3 scheduling and tracking will be available on the app for Android on 12/10 and is coming soon for iPhone. Check out the app and get ready to bring it!

The P90X3 Facts:

  • All workouts are 30 minutes long
  • The warm-up is 2 minutes and then constant work for the remaining 28 minutes
  • There is a separate warm-up disk called Cold Start if you need a longer warm-up due to environment, time of day, etc
  • P90X3 is a separate program from P90X and P90X2, not a harder version
  • Anyone can start on P90X3, even beginners
  • The nutrition plan goes back to SIMPLE nutrition basics of Power 90 and healthy eating
  • There are 16 workouts in the P90X3 base System including a new Pilates based workout.
  • If you've done P90X or P90X2, you'll see similar moves and all new stuff too
  • P90X3 will also include an all new Isometrics workout, a new Strength/Balance/Flexibility workout with Static Holds and CVX: Cardiovascular Extreme - a Cardio workout with weights

  • Additional workouts include MMX, a Mixed Martial Arts Extreme that expands the Kenpo workout, Agility X- an all new agility programming, and yes, Yoga is still part of the program, but it's only 30 mins!!!
  • There are 4 schedules in P90X3 - classic, lean, doubles, and bulk
  • 39 out of 40 people in the Test group lost 10% of their body fat!!!!! (Whoa! How awesome is that?!)
  • Equipment needed will include weights or bands (a pull-up bars is great like in P90X, but optional) 
  • Every move in X3 has a beginner/modified, in between move, and challenging/hard
  • This program is based on science that suggests the first 30 minutes is the most effective part of any exercise routine, so we accelerate the workouts to create the most effective 30 minute routine
  • Most of the Abs moves are athletic in nature - some are standing up and many are front facing instead of being on your back
Everything you need to know about P90x 3

P90X3 Base Kit

Click to order Base Kit - $119.85 + S&H
FREE SHIPPING FOR A LIMITED TIME!
  • 16 unique and brand new workouts on 8 DVDs
  • Plus, 5 Free Gifts
  • Fitness Guide
  • Nutrition Guide
  • 90 Day Workout Calendar

  • How to Accelerate Intro DVD
  • 24/7 Online Support
  • Network Exclusive P90X One on One: On One Leg DVD
  • Network Exclusive Premium P90X3 Hat ($24.95 value) - December Only!

P90X3 Challenge Pack

Click to order Challenge Pack - $180 (free shipping)
DISCOUNT EXTENDED THROUGH JANUARY!! - Discount REACTIVATED for May 2014
Price will go up to $205 in February 2014
  • P90X3 Base Kit
  • 30-Day Supply of Shakeology HD
  • 30-Day VIP Team Beachbody Club Membership

P90X3 Deluxe Kit

Click to order Deluxe Kit - $239.70 + S&H
FREE SHIPPING FOR A LIMITED TIME!
Includes everything in the Base Kit PLUS:
  • 3 Elite Extreme workouts on 1 DVD
  • Includes free Elite Block Calendar
  • 1-Month E&E Tub
  • 3 B-Lines Resistance Bands

P90X3 Ultimate Kit

Click to order the Ultimate Kit - $329.55 + S&H
FREE SHIPPING FOR A LIMITED TIME!
Includes everything in the Base & Deluxe Kits PLUS:
  • 1-Month R&R Tub
  • Gym-Quality P90X® Chin-Up Bar
  • P90X® Chin-Up Max
  • Premium Beachbody Jump Mat
What are you looking forward to most about P90X3?
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Fitness Friday Elf4Health Buddy Workout

12/6/2013

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​If you've been following me on Instagram, you may have noticed a new hashtag I'm using - #elf4health.  This hashtag is part of a four week challenge that is running from the Monday Nov 25- Sunday Dec 22, 2013.  There are daily tasks, daily winners, prizes, weekly newsletters, and a Facebook group for support - pretty awesome, right? The challenge is split up into 2 week sessions, so if you haven't joined yet, it's not too late to join for the second half! Yesterday's challenge was to workout with a buddy, which isn't much of a challenge for me, since I teach group fitness classes.  I'm ALWAYS working out with buddies!  Some of the elves who couldn't find a workout buddy participated in a virtual buddy workout, where they were all doing the same workout at home.  The workout looked awesome, I can't wait to try, and now you can too!  Check it out below!
Fitness Friday Elf4Health Buddy Workout
Fitness Friday Elf4Health Buddy Workout



Check out my awesome workout buddies from last night!
Grab a buddy and start counting!  See how many rounds you can do!

Elf4Health Buddy Workout

10 pushups

30 mountain climbers

20 burpees

40 jump squats

50 second plank

Fitness Friday Elf4Health Buddy Workout
How many rounds did you do?  How long did it take?
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FitYaf's Post-Thanksgiving Fitness Friday Workout

11/28/2013

3 Comments

 
I hope everyone had a wonderful time spent with family and friends yesterday.  Maybe you're shopping today, or maybe you're just lounging around, staying warm.  Whatever you're doing today, I hope it's not stressing about the overeating yesterday - it's time to hit reset today!  I can't think of a better way to do that than this post-Thanksgiving Fitness Friday Workout.  Find what you ate yesterday and complete the exercise for each SERVING you had of each dish.  Can't find what you ate?  Just do the whole workout - I'm sure you'll feel better when you're done!
Notes about this workout:
  • Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact.  Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
  • Rest in between sets if needed, but no more than 1 minute!

Turkey - 20 minute run or 30 minute walk PER SERVING

Take these 20-30 minutes and give it your all.  Challenge yourself with intervals if you wish, but I want you to work up a sweat and make this a great run.  If you're walking on a treadmill, ramp up the incline!

Sweet Potato Casserole - 4 minute jump squat tabata

A tabata workout alternates periods of work with period of rest.  When you're doing the 20 seconds of jump squats - give it everything you have, then enjoy your 10 seconds of rest.

Stuffing - 50 squats

FitYa'fs Post-Thanksgiving Fitness Friday Workout

Mashed Potatoes - 50 alternating forward lunges

25 forward lunges on each side

Cranberry Sauce - 25 push ups

On your knees or on your toes, but get 25 good ones in!
FitYa'fs Post-Thanksgiving Fitness Friday Workout

Green Bean Casserole - 1 minute plank

Pie - 25 burpees

25 burpees PER SLICE of pie!  If you sampled them all, you've got a lot of burpees to do!
FitYa'fs Post-Thanksgiving Fitness Friday Workout
FitYa'fs Post-Thanksgiving Fitness Friday Workout
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Confessions of a group exercise instructor

11/8/2013

9 Comments

 
It's hard to believe that it has been over seven years since I started teaching group exercise classes.  According to my quick calculations, that means I've taught about 900 classes.  While according to Malcom Gladwell, author of, "Outliers", I have a long way to go before I become an expert (approximately 9,100 classes), I have certainly learned a lot over these past seven years.  It is often the highlight of my day, and a extra special class can maybe even be the highlight of my week.  I've made such great connections with not only the participants in my class, but the other instructors as well.  When you get a group of instructors together, you can't help but talk about your classes that week, and yes, sometimes we even talk about the participants (mostly good things, I promise).  So, I put together a list of 10 group fitness instructor "confessions".  ENJOY!
Confessions of a group exercise instructor

We like the music loud

And I mean LOUD!  In a perfect world, the music would be so loud that you couldn't hear me, even with the mic - you would be able to read my mind to know what we're doing next.  I may have the music taste of a 12 year old girl (cue the Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift), but I like my music loud.  It gives me energy.  Some people drink Red Bull, I listen to my music loudly!
Confessions of a group exercise instructor
music_w8themes.com

We have bad days too

We all have bad days, but as a group fitness instructor, you check your day and everything that went wrong at the door. You put on a happy face for your participants because they paid to get a great workout in a happy environment.  The beauty of it?  By the end of the class, we usually forget what was bugging us that day.

We are not impressed by all the weight you can lift or pushups you can do if you don't have good form

We put a lot of time into putting together a challenging workout for you.  We aren't keeping track of your weight, so don't try to impress us.  We will notice and correct you if you aren't using proper form though - we don't want you to get hurt!  You want to put a ton of weight on your bar for the bicep track in Bodypump and then do bicep rows the whole track?  Oh, that's nice, but we're curling over here.  We're not impressed.
Confessions of a group exercise instructor

We love it when you smile

Confessions of a group exercise instructor
eofdreams.com

Just like loud music, smiling and happy faces give us energy.  We're not comedians, and I know most of the time our jokes aren't funny, but humor us and give us a chuckle.  It lets us know you're paying attention!

We might not know you're name, but we know your capabilities, potential and preferred brand of sneaker

It sometimes is embarrassing to ask you your name for the third, fourth or even fifth time.  It's even more embarrassing when we've had about ten conversations about your new sneakers, your upcoming wedding, your kids, but I don't even know your name.  Personally, I'm terrible at remembering names, so I apologize.  It doesn't mean I don't remember you.  I remember that you did your first push-up on your toes last week, I remember you finally got that hamstring combo, but I most likely don't know your name.

We encourage feedback (good or bad)

Unless your feedback is that the music is too loud.  Just kidding - it's your class and if you want the music lower, I will begrudgingly oblige.  Some people wear earplugs to my class - just saying.  But seriously, we want to make the class the best for you as the participant, so be sure to let your instructor know your thoughts!

We would rather you didn't bring your cell phone to class

I'm actually pretty lonely in the camp of "I don't care if you bring your phone into my class as long as you aren't disrupting the class", but most (if not all) of my instructor friends think you should leave your phone in your locker.

We take other instructors' classes

At least half of what I've learned about group exercise classes has been from taking other instructors' classes.  It helps us develop as an instructor and also gives us an idea of what else is going on at the gym.

We sometimes prefer to workout on our own

We LOVE teaching group exercise classes.  I mean REALLY REALLY REALLY love it!  But, sometimes, we like to work out on our own too.  It's a much different type of workout, and it gives us time to work on things that can't be addressed in a group setting (and time to come up with those crazy moves we're having you do during class).

You make our day!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - one of the best part about teaching group exercise classes is the connections we make with other people.  We watch people struggle, reach goals, smile, grunt - really every emotion comes out during our classes, and we're there for it all.  This hour is often the best part of our day, and YOU are the reason why!
Confessions of a group exercise instructor
Are you a group fitness instructor with a confession?  Share below!
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A Fitness Friday Survey

11/1/2013

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I have good news and bad news for you Fitness Friday lovers.  The bad news is that I don't have new workout for you today. The good news is that I want to give you more of what you want!  My Fitness Friday workouts have ranged from little challenges that you can incorporate into your workouts to shorter high intensity interval training workouts to longer full body workouts.  I want to know what you like best!  Take a second to vote and let me know what you want to see!  And don't forget, you can always access my Fitness Friday workouts by clicking HERE.

Challenges

A Fitness Friday Survey - FitYaf Pushup Challenge

Other challenge workouts:

How far can you run in 30 minutes?

Body Blitz burpee challenge

Short workouts

A Fitness Friday Survey - FitYaf's Fitness Friday Tabata Workuot

Other short workouts:

Low Impact HIIT
"Insane" HIIT
Gym Rat workout


Full Body Workouts

A Fitness Friday Survey - FitYaf's Body Blitz style workout

Other full body workouts:

Body Blitz dumbbell workout
BOSU workout
No equipment necessary
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Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training

10/30/2013

1 Comment

 
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Launching a new BODYPUMP workout is always an exciting time, and the launch of 87 certainly did not disappoint.  This release is one of my favorite BODYPUMP workouts yet - the music is great and the back and lunge tracks are KILLER!  My favorite tracks are squats & biceps for the music and back & lunges for the challenge.  This year, the launch coincided with our Freaky Fitness Fest at the gym - a full day of free group fitness classes, prizes and even a dance class to learn the moves from the Thriller video.  It was double trouble for me - I started my day team-teaching the 7:30am class with Jackie, and finished things up at the 6:30pm class with Alex and Carrie.
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training
Les Mills BODYPUMP 87 Launch & the importance of strength training

Why is it important to strength train?

It is important to understand the basics of strength training and why you should incorporate this activity into your training program.  Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age.  "If you don't do anything to replace the lean muscle you lose, you'll increase the percentage of fat in your body," says Edward R. Laskowski, MD, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Mayo Clinic and co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center.  "But strength training can help you preserve and enhance your muscle mass — at any age."  It's the good old "use it or lose it" phenomena.  The lean muscle mass that we all work so hard for decreases with age.  If we don't add strength training to our routine then it will turn into fat.  Below are some specific benefits of strength training.
  1. Develop strong bones.  By stressing your bones, strength training increases bone density, resulting in stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis.  One of the best ways you can control bone loss as you age is to add strength training into your workout plan.
  2. Control your weight.  Strength training will not only make you strong, but will also help with managing your weight. As you gain muscle, your body begins to burn calories more efficiently because your body works harder to maintain muscle over fat.  The more toned your muscles are, the easier it is to control your weight. Controlling your weight can also improves your quality of life as you gaining body confidence.  In a specific study where BODYPUMP™ was used for strength training,  An average of 483.1 (males) and 338.9 (females) calories can be burned during a BODYPUMP™ session.  This equates to 8.4 (males) and 5.9 (females) calories per minute.  An additional 10% of calories have been shown to be burned after the cessation of a BODYPUMP™ session, due to Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).  Who doesn't want to burn more calories?
  3. Boost your stamina.  As you get stronger, you won't fatigue as easily.  Building muscle also contributes to better balance, posture and functional fitness.
  4. Manage chronic conditions.  Strength training can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, including back pain, arthritis, obesity, heart disease and diabetes.  It not only builds muscle, but increases the strength of connective tissue, muscles, and tendons.  This leads to improved motor performance and decreased injury risk.  Strong muscles, tendons and ligament build up in the joint and back areas making these areas less likely to give way under stress.
  5. Muscle tone.  The conditioning effect will result in firmer and better-defined muscles.
  6. Improved aerobic fitness.  In the same study as mentioned above, it was found that during a BODYPUMP™ session the mean oxygen consumption was 21.5 ml/kg/min (males) and 19.0 ml/kg/min (females), with an average intensity of 41.6% VO2 max (males) and 39.8% VO2 max (females) observed.  Males spent an average of 11.6 minutes and 3.2 minutes, and females, 8.0 minutes and 0.6 minutes, above 50% VO2 max and 70% VO2 max, respectively, during the same BODYPUMP™ session.  The average heart rate during a BODYPUMP™ session has been shown to reach 138.2 beats per minute (males) and 132.6 beats per minute (females).  Males spend an average of 37.4 minutes, and females 40.2 minutes, above 70% of maximum heart rate during a BODYPUMP™ session.
And when it comes to BODYPUMP specifically?  Well it's just downright FUN!
Have you tried Bodypump yet?  What are you waiting for?
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    Jillian [FitYaf]

    fitness enthusiast.
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