I think I mentioned last time that my 7 year old son is running with me, but never in a million years did I envision my daughter, who’s almost 10, to really get into it too!  This is a kid who, up to this point, has prided herself on her love of the indoors and mastering the various online games she subscribes to.  When she said she’d run a mile with us one day two weeks ago, I thought it would be recipe for disaster; surely she’d run about a block and we’d see the tears start to flow as she got frustrated and couldn’t keep up, right?  Boy was I wrong!  I dare say she DUSTED US and maintained speed the whole mile.  I was instantly impressed, astounded & proud.

Since that first run as a threesome, both kids have stayed motivated to run with me three days a week and we’re now up to 2 miles a day, training for the 5k we registered for on September 19.  I can’t help but think that had I not found the motivation to start running myself, I may never have realized that this is a natural talent for my daughter and we may have really missed out on something great.  I have already witnessed the self-esteem boost that running has given her, which is invaluable for a ten year old girl.

While we still have roughly four more weeks to ‘train’ before our first road race, my son is thrilled to see that he is the youngest one registered for the race, to date, out of 300 participants.  Of course, he’s also giddy with excitement over the fact that he’ll get an official number pinned to him that morning, so it really doesn’t take much when you’re seven.  Our plan for the next few weeks is to add fractional mileage to our runs and work on our consistent pace.

One of the best things about running with my kids? They do quite a bit of talking during our runs and now that I’m not huffing and puffing my way through the workout, it’s really becoming a nice way to catch up on our day & spend time as a family.  So turn off the TV, step away from the computer, and get running!

An Iicredible workout with fun people

First of all, for those considering starting a spinning class, or those not familiar, you ARE in fact, on a stationary bike and there is a motivational instructor to lead the class through a series of exercises that work the major muscle groups and muscles you probably didn’t know you had as well. Even if you have bad knees and think biking will be tough on them, there are ways you can adjust the bike, seat and resistance (ask your instructor for help prior to class time) where any affects should be minimal, if at all. The spinning classes are generally accompanied by some real loud, fast music, so if you’re not a lover of some heavier rock or even some metal, there may be a ‘slower’ class that incorporates music more your speed, as well as slower motions. There’s a lot of standing up, sitting down, hovering over your seat and altering your resistance levels, so be prepared to move around much more than you may first think.
So in I walk, already breathless from running from parking lot to gym, up the stairs to the spinning class room, thinking I was late. I purposely chose a bike against the back wall so no one had to face the possibility of watching me fall off the bike or suffer some unfortunate accident; let’s face it; if it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen to me. It’s 9:15am and Metallica is blaring from the speakers in the darkened room (why they typically keep it dark in spinning classes, I’ll never know since the experience is anything but soothing…) Now I’m on my bike, behind an attractive woman in her 60’s (maybe even 70’s but she was so fit it’s hard to say), thinking I can probably keep up with her and she looks like she knows what she’s doing. She helps me adjust my bike height and then says “you think you’re ready for this?” and gives me a wink. Oh no, I’m thinking this can’t be good.
The instructor came in shortly thereafter, with the happy, springing jog of a high school cheerleader, clapping her hands and asking us if we’re ready to Psycho Cycle. Psycho Cycle? (whimper…) guess I didn’t read the NAME of the class… just that it was a spinning class. Darn. There’s no turning back now. All the bikes are full and we’re told to start pedaling for warm-ups. Let me just say here and now that the ‘warm-up’ was what I would have felt comfortable pedaling the whole time, and I have very muscular legs. Soon, the music transitions to a techno beat and we’re pedaling our hearts out, told to increase the resistance. Then we’re pedaling while standing up for 6 turns around, then down for 6 turns around, then up and down every 3rd rotation, then before I know it, it’s up a rotation, down a rotation and had I not been the one doing the work, I would have thought I was on some crazy amusement park ride. Next came ‘hovering’, being back far enough so your bottom is hovering just over the seat of the bike; the more you lean back, the more you feel it. This was described as one of the more difficult spinning class exercises, but I actually found it quite easy; guess all that work on the quad machines and strengthening my hamstrings has served me well.

Typical Spinning Bike

Now for the ‘psycho’ part… (thank goodness it was optional) we had to pedal like mad for 3 minutes on a high resistance, then jump off our bikes, sprint a lap around the indoor track (which is just outside the doorway), stop in the hallway and do 10 jumping jacks followed by 10 squat thrusts, then 3 more minutes back on the back, run, jump, squat, ride… you get the idea. Yeah, whoever names the spinning classes knew what they were doing with that one! I tried the full regimen once and barely made it back to my bike. Oh yeah, and I almost forgot to mention, the 70ish woman in front of me? Barely breaking a sweat and doing the whole thing like an Olympian in full makeup.
I have to say, the one hour really DID fly by, the instructor kept things interesting, the music was really great and although I got an intense work out, I will definitely go back again for another ‘psycho’ Spinning class adventure.

** For those of you that are experts on spinning, please feel free to comment about other important  facts such as equipment, etc, in order to help those of us who are just thinking about starting spinning.

There are actually ab exercises that can be done right at home. One of the best ab exercise is the bicycle exercise, where one lies flat on the floor, legs raised to mimic a bicycle ride movement, the two hands touching the sides of the head near the ear area. While the legs mimic the pedaling movement, the elbows should touch the other knee (right elbow touches the left knee, and so on). The shoulder blades should be off the ground, but the neck should be relaxed. One should feel the pressure on the abs while the raised legs move. Note that the legs should not be vertically raised, but should be raised around 45 degrees from the floor.

Another one that is listed as the best ab exercise make use of an exercise ball, where one lies on the exercise ball, in a way that one does not fall or slide off, with both feet on the ground, and do crunches in that position. While doing the crunches, one should not fall of or the ball should not roll.

Another of the best ab exercise is the long arm crunch, where one stretches his or her arms above the head, with the arms touching the ears. Lying on the floor or mat, with legs bent, one would contract his or her abs, lift the shoulder blades from the floor. One should feel the pressure on the abs.

Lying on the floor and raising the legs, outstretched, up to 45 degrees from the floor, is another of the best ab exercise. The legs should not bend while it is being raised, and should not touch the floor as it is brought down. Before the heel of the foot touches the floor, start raising the legs again. This one focuses on the lower abs. Leg raising up to 25 repetitions would be a good starting point.

Another variation is the reverse crunch, where the legs are bent, feet together, and is raised up. This time, the hips should be raised a few centimeters off the floor. For this technique, the movement should be controlled by the contraction of the abs, and not by the swinging up of the legs.

A combination of these techniques is a full vertical crunch, where both shoulder blades and hips are lifted up the floor by contracting the abs. The legs should be straight and are raised from a horizontal to a vertical position. The hands can support the head, making sure that the neck is relaxed.

A good body building nutrition plan will focus on the schedule of meals, and the kind of foods that are taken. The most basic and important point is to eat small portions frequently throughout the day, preferably every four hours. It is because when one eats frequently in small portions, the body burns more fat, and build on lean muscles. But when the body gets hungry, usually after four hours of no food intake, the body starts to process and “eat up” the lean muscles, and store fat for energy. This is why even for weight loss programs, it is not advisable to starve one’s self.

The next aspect of a body building nutrition program is the nutrients one need, that should be present in all meals throughout the day. The foundation nutrients are carbohydrates, protein and fat. Carbohydrates for energy, protein for muscle repair and growth, and fat for hormonal functions, metabolism and healthy joints. These should all be present in the diet, in these proportions: 40% carbohydrates, 40% protein, and 20% fat. It should be noted that if there is too much carbohydrates, the excess will be stored as body fat, plus one’s energy level will rise, then drop faster. If only protein is taken in, one will not have enough body energy, and protein will not be efficiently absorbed by the body without the presence of carbohydrates. It should also be noted that protein not only builds the muscles, but also make up the hair, nails and skin.

The best sources of carbohydrates include complex carbohydrate foods such as oatmeals, sweet potatoes, pasta, corn, rice, peas, green vegetables such as lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower. Other carbohydrate sources are fruits such as apples, bananas, oranges, pineapples and pears.

Fats are also very important for the proper function of the body. Some think only of fat being linked to bad cholesterol, but this is not the case. Fats help in the production of hormones. Limited fat intake will force the body to store more fats for the body’s daily needs, leading to unwanted body fats in the abdomen and other areas. Depriving the body of fatty foods will actually be more harmful. However, fats have different kinds, and only those that do good for the body should be taken. Polysaturated fats should be avoided, as these are the kind that is associated with high cholesterol. The healthy fats are monosaturated fats, such as fish oils, virgin olive oil and canola oil.

A body building nutrition guide should indicate the serving sized for each food item that would give the best amount of nutrition that is needed by the body. It will also depend on one’s body type, size, and daily activities.