Fitting in a quick 30 minute workout is the LEAST you can do for your body and to ensure a good quality of life as you age. Of course the recommended amount of exercise is at least 30 minutes most days of the week of moderate to vigorous exercise and 2 days of resistance training, but the following ‘quickie’ workout is a good start. If you are a more advanced exerciser, modify these exercises by adding more resistance. Try to rest no more than 15 seconds between each set and 30 seconds between each exercise:
1. Beginner Squats: If you are not used to doing squats, try using an exercise ball to help you maintain proper form throughout the sequence. Squats are great since they work multiple muscle groups including hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps. As you descend, be sure to sit your hips back to help your knees stay behind your toes and engage your abdominals throughout the exercise. As you come back to a standing position, try don’t lock your knee joints. Perform 2 sets of 12 repetitions.

When you can maintain proper form with the ball, remove the ball and progressively make the exercise more challenging by adding an overhead press with dumbbells.
2. Rear row: Begin with one foot in front of the other in a staggered stance with the front leg bent while supporting your upper body with one of your hands. Holding a dumbbell, bring the elbow up and back toward the wall behind you. Keep your shoulders relaxed and be sure not to twist your upper body as you raise the weight. Do 2 sets of 12 repetitions with each arm.

3. Push ups: A great exercise that strengthens chest, tricep and core muscles and requires no equipment. For both the full and modified versions, be sure to keep your hands a little wider than your shoulders while the placement of your feet should create a straight line with your shoulders. As you descend, keep your core muscles engaged and your back straight. If this is too much work, try placing your knees on the floor and perform the same movement.

For variety, place an exercise ball under your knees, hips or feet. Perform 2 sets of 12 repetitions.

4. Lunges: Great for strengthening the quadriceps and glutes. Take a big step forward bringing one foot in front of the other with about 3 feet of space between the front and back foot (more space if you are taller, less if shorter). Maintain an upright position with your upper body while you bend both knees while keeping the front knee behind the toe. Step back to the starting position and repeat with the other leg. Increase the challenge by adding dumbbells and adding shoulder presses before you take each step forward.

5. Bicep curls: These can be performed in a standing, seated or lying position however we will focus on the standing position. Standing with your feet a little wider than hip width apart, begin with your arms holding the dumbbells comfortably at your side. Keep your elbows close to your waist as you curl the weights up toward your shoulders and back down again at an even pace. Repeat for 12 repetitions.

6. Shoulder press: These exercises can also be performed from a standing or seated position. Holding the weights in your hands, sit or stand with an upright posture with your shoulders down and away from your ears and your core muscles engaged while you raise the weights over head and slightly in front of your head, not behind. Repeat for 2 sets of 12 repetitions.

7. Bicycle crunch: Lying on your back, place your hands behind your head as you bring one knee in to the opposite shoulder while extending the other leg out. Try not to relax your upper body on the floor at any point during the exercise. This exercise is great for strengthening your abdominal muscles, specifically the obliques. Repeat for 2 sets of 25 repetitions on both sides.

These strengthening exercises should take about 20 minutes to complete if you are taking the recommended amounts of short rest periods between sets and exercises.

Wrap up your workout with 10 minutes of interval cardiovascular training using a treadmill. Start by walking at a moderate pace for about 1 minute. Increase the pace until you are walking or running at the highest speed you can tolerate for 30 seconds and then decrease the speed until you are where you started for 30 seconds. Continue this pattern for 4 minutes. Take the next 4 minutes using this same pattern, but using resistance as the variable instead of speed. Spend your last two minutes stretching, making sure to hold each stretch for about 10 seconds.

This 30 minute quick exercise routine should be modified as you progress and of course as you find more time throughout your week to exercise. More cardiovascular activity is needed during the week so make it a priority to find time to fit it in. Exercise is only one piece of your prevention plan, nutrition is just as important.

Thanks for reading! Have a healthy week!

Onion Blossoms- Watch your hips blossom and expand while you eat this appetizer.  Anything that is fried is taking on the calories and fat content of whatever type of oil it is fried in.  Typically this appetizer contains over 1500 calories, 80 grams of fat and over 5000 mg of sodium!  Onion blossoms are one of the worst appetizers if you are watching your diet.

Spinach Artichoke Dip Just because this appetizer has the word ‘spinach’ in it doesn’t mean it counts as a vegetable serving.  This appetizer could count as a full meal or more since it contains 1200 calories and 75 grams of fat.  Skip the ‘dip’ part of this appetizer and opt for a spinach salad instead.    A salad made with spinach or other leafy greens can be quite filling and research shows that you will eat 10% less during a meal when you start with a salad.  Top it off with a tablespoon of vinaigrette dressing for a total of about 150 calories.

Vegetable Kabobs If they are not on the menu, you can ask for them!  Yummy grilled onions, red and green peppers, zucchini and mushrooms make great kabobs and they are super easy to make which means most restaurants can whip them right up.  One kabob has only about 50 calories.

Cheese Fries Eat these only if this will be the only thing you plan to eat that day.  Cheese fries have more calories than the main entrée, packing in up to 2100 calories!  Some restaurants even offer them up with bacon bits sprinkled on top, adding even more calories to this ‘appetizer’.  Suggestion: Skip them altogether or share them with a friend.

Shrimp Cocktail is very low in saturated fat and calories. To keep the calorie count low, stick to tomato-based sauce.   A 1-cup serving of shrimp cocktail contains around 183 calories. Within that serving, 100 calories come from protein, while 65 calories are provided by carbohydrates. Fats make up just 18 calories. While shrimp cocktail is a good source of calories from protein, it is very high in cholesterol, with 285 mg per serving or approximately 95 percent of the daily recommended intake. The American Heart Association suggests keeping your daily amount of dietary cholesterol under 300 mg to help reduce the risk of heart disease.  Balance this with a meal low in cholesterol to stay under the recommended daily allowance of cholesterol.

Make wise choices when ordering your next appetizer based on these tips.  If the menu doesn’t have something that you want, ask for it anyway!  They may be able to whip it up for you if it is simple enough to make.  Of course appetizers made with veggies are the most nutritious choice but if you want to splurge, split it with someone or get a half order.

Thanks for reading!  Have a healthy week

Contributors: Kim Farmer and Andrea Williams of Mile High Fitness.  Visit w ww.milehighfitness.com where you can sign up for bi-weekly health and fitness newsletters. Mile High Fitness offers in-home personal training and corporate fitness solutions.  Email inquires@milehighfitness.com

The good news about this is that CVD risk and cholesterol levels can be moderated through diet and exercise! There are inherited genetic factors that can predispose some individuals to CVD, but for most of the population, preventative steps can be taken.

The average American diet these days consists of 35-40% of total daily calories being consumed as fat. If a person eats 2000 calories a day, they are consuming about 800 of them in the form of fat.  And of those 800 fat calories, 15-20% of those are saturated fat, which is a main contributor to raising cholesterol levels. Saturated fat is solid at room temperature – think of butter, cheese, and meat fat. This manner of eating is why the average American is struggling with weight, cholesterol, and other health issues.

So what can you do to mitigate your risk of high cholesterol, or to lower it if you’ve already been diagnosed?

1. Work at reducing your body weight. Fat stored in the body, particularly in the abdominal region, can increase cholesterol levels. Reducing your caloric intake and exercising to reduce your body fat is a step in the right direction.

2. Modify your diet. Track what you eat, and read the nutrition labels. Aim to eat no more than 30% of your daily calories in the form of fat. Choose foods higher in mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats. These are typically liquid at room temperature and are plant-based (olive oil, nuts, avocados).

Of your fat calories, keep your saturated fats between 7-10% of your total fat calories.  Some ways to do this include choosing a lower-fat ground beef (93/7 instead of 80/20); choosing cheese made from 2% milk; switching to fat-free milk; limiting yourself to one egg a day; and saving full-fat butter for a special splurge and switching to a butter/canola or olive oil blend for daily use. Portion sizes matter  as well! Moderation is important.

3. Make sure your exercise is weight-bearing.  What this means is that you need to support your body weight – walking, running, tennis, hiking, and weight lifting are all good examples.  Weight-bearing exercise has been proven to lower total cholesterol levels by increasing the levels of the “good” cholesterol in the body; aim for 30 minutes a day.  A brisk walk is a great way to start!

Thanks for reading!  Have a healthy week!

Your trip to the supermarket can make or break your healthy eating plan so listen up.  Making unhealthy foods and drinks harder to reach in your fridge and cabinets is just one strategy you can use to stick to your new lifestyle and not deprive yourself in the process.  Tame the Ben and Jerry’s cravings  and take control of your taste buds with these tips:

1.       Make it hard on yourself.  If you like ice cream (who doesn’t, right?) it’s ok to eat it but control your intake (or inhale) of it by placing it strategically in the very back of your freezer or in a freezer that is located some distance away (like in the garage).  This will make it inconvenient for you to eat it which might make you grab something closer to the front of the fridge.  From now on, you will place all fruits and vegetables very conveniently located in the front of the refrigerator to grab easily.

2.       The same thing goes for your cabinets—don’t put the chips and cookies right in the  front of the cabinet where you see them every time you reach for a snack.  Place healthier snacks in front like granola bars, almonds, dried fruit, canned fruit or light popcorn so you will be tempted to reach for these first.

3.       Replace carbonated drinks with a healthier drink like green tea.  Its antioxidants have been shown to boost your metabolism and help you burn more calories when combined with consistent exercise throughout the week.  Ditch the soda since it causes bloating which works against your fitness goals.

4.       Chop your veggies in advance.  Do this at the beginning of the week and you will save yourself the trouble of doing it later.  Plus you will be more likely to snack on veggies that have been prewashed and chopped than if you have to chop them later.

5.       Do you have a stool in your kitchen to sit on while you cook?  Get rid of it!  Instead of sitting, march in place, do a few squats while the rice or noodles are cooking or do some standing abdominal twists.  Use your kitchen and your cooking time to your advantage and burn some calories while you work.  Use your counter for pushups, or your step stool for step ups.

There are many ways to give your kitchen a makeover, and keep yourself slim in the process.  Start with these strategies and add your own variations based on your specific tastes and the possibilities of your kitchen space.  The same sound principles of eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies apply so make it easy on yourself by reducing temptations!  Plan and prepare for a time-crunched week ahead of time and reward yourself for sticking with the plan.

Have a healthy week!

But there are some ways to keep it going.  Many people have committed to their own high level of fitness by exercising everyday and eating the right foods.  Regardless of schedules, energy levels or desire, these gym regulars are on a first name basis with club owners.  How do they do it?  What is their secret?  Based on my research and observation, here are the things they do consistently to make exercise a habit:

1. The location of the gym (or other resource) is extremely convenient.  With a gym on just about every other corner these days, this is easy to do.  For most people that use a gym, it is located no further than about 5 miles from home or work, or it is located on their employer’s premise itself so that lunch work outs are easily scheduled.  It also makes it easier when the gym is located between home and work so that you don’t need to pass your house to get to the gym—the temptation of stopping in to grab something ‘real quick’ could easily turn into skipping your workout that day.

If you don’t have a gym membership, it is important to have something in your home to work with like exercise videos or equipment (e.g. treadmill or elliptical machine), or near your home like a walking or biking trail.  The more time it takes to start exercising will lead to finding an excuse not to do it at all.

2.  Exercise first thing in the morning.  A lot of people prefer this since you usually feel refreshed and energized and it is hard to allow other activities to invade on this early timeframe.  For people with children, this time is considered valuable ‘me time’ before the kids wake up and grab your time and attention.  Even if you don’t have kids, you will feel good about the rest of your day knowing that you have already squeezed your workout in.

3.  Do it no matter what.  No matter what! Easier said than done, but necessary.  Without this kind of attitude, you will let any and everything interrupt your schedule and it should be non-negotiable.  Being disciplined is definitely part of the equation since there will be days that you simply don’t feel like doing it but this is no excuse.  If something comes up that is unavoidable (i.e. you get sick or injured), get right back on track as soon as you can.  Ease into it a little slowly if you’ve been down for a while, but make it a priority to get right back into the routine that you set before you stopped.

4.  Tell somebody about your commitment.  Sounds simple, right?  Well it is simple to tell them, but it becomes more challenging to actually do what you said you would do.  By telling someone that you are going to start working out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays every week and then asking them to hold you accountable, you are more apt to actually do it.   For some people, this could be as simple as telling your partner or spouse, a friend or relative.  But for others that have a much harder time sticking with it, a personal trainer could be a viable solution since a trainer needs you to do what you said you would do to comply with your exercise program and get results.

5.  Vary your workouts.  For most people that have been able to make exercise part of their daily activities, variety is important to helping them stick with it.  If you keep walking on the treadmill or jogging on the same path, you may eventually get bored and stop.  So try a new step class or that salsa class.  You are still exercising and having fun in the process.  Keep your workouts fresh and fun and you will find that sticking with it is a lot easier.  Not to mention you should continually challenge your muscles in new ways with different modalities.

6.  Reward yourself.  Whenever you reach a certain milestone, it is important to recognize your progress and congratulate yourself.  These milestones could be as simple as getting through 2 weeks without missing a workout or as big as losing 15 pounds.  Obviously the reward should fit the milestone like buying yourself a massage for small triumphs or a piece of furniture or electronic device for larger ones.  You should be proud of your accomplishments no matter how small they are!

You know yourself better than anyone, so use what strategy you know will work for you.  Perhaps morning is not the best time of day for you to exercise, so choose a different time of day and stick with it.  Or maybe you just love your new elliptical machine and don’t want to change just yet.  That’s ok too, as long as you recognize the first signs of boredom and act promptly.  Doing something is better than doing nothing so stay on that elliptical (or whatever it is that you like) if its working for you.

Just remember that exercise falls into the same category as everything else when it comes to taking 21 days to develop a habit.  And with a healthy activity like exercise, you definitely want it to be a pattern that you can stick with for the rest of your life.   So mark it in your calendar and don’t negotiate that timeframe for something else if you can help it.  Make it a priority and it will become a habit over time if you make it part of your everyday routine.

Happy exercising!

Kim Farmer is a Certified Personal Trainer and Clinical Exercise Specialist working in the Denver metro area.  Visit her website at www.milehighfitness.com or email her at kfarmer@milehighfitness.com

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