Sometimes I like to sleep in. Correction – Sometimes I like to set my alarm for 6:30 and hit snooze every 10 minutes until 8. And since I’m a morning-workout person, this tends to cramp my exercise style. But, a new study has opened my eyes to mini morning workouts. It claims that just 10 minutes of brisk exercise (I’m thinking Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred or maybe a little Sweatin' to the Oldies!) triggers a metabolic change in your body lasts at least an hour.

Rich and I, we go way back. I like to call him Slimmons.

I know “metabolic change” sounds a bit coded, but I think it’s a good thing.

Researchers put 70 healthy people on treadmills and found a bunch of their “metabolites” changed during the workout. Some of the metabolites that revved up process fat and some stress-causing metabolites decreased with exercise.

Of course thinner people had greater hikes in a metabolite that's involved in blood-sugar control.* And people who were more fit burned more fat than the less fit.**

"We have a chemical snapshot of what the more fit person looks like. Now we have to see if making someone's metabolism look like that snapshot, whether or not that's going to improve their performance," said Dr. Robert Gerszten of Massachusetts General Hospital.

So, I guess this doesn’t mean we should shrink our hour at the gym to just 10 minutes, but if you’ve got a dime of time to spare, hit up that new workout video, or go for a quick jog.

What’s your favorite mini workout? I’m a fan of the jump rope! Doesn’t take up a lot of space and definitely gets my heart pumping.


Also- I forgot to remind y’all to send me your Weigh In weight loss updates yesterday, so send them along! We’ve got less than 2 weeks before the beginning of summer and the end of our contest. If you haven’t been so successful, don’t give up now! You’ve got 2 weeks to jumpstart your weight loss!


*Damn skinny people.
**Damn fit people.

Labels: 10-minute workout, Jillian Michaels, weigh in

Working out can be as simple as popping in a DVD and grabbing two tubs of Skippy. (see photo below) A coworker of mine actually sent me this picture yesterday. She didn't have any weights at home and the 10 oz. cans of SpaghettiOs just weren't cutting it. (Plus, she ate them for lunch!) I think Jillian would approve of 3 lbs of peanut butter -- as long as you didn't dip into the jar post-workout!

What McGyver moves do you use when working out?

Labels: fitness DVDs, Jillian Michaels, workout

While technically you’re supposed to workout with Jillian every day, I was a tad bit overly cocky at first. I thought, “I exercise every day … and this workout is only 20 minutes. This’ll be nothin’.” So I used heavy weights, I did super squats, I lunged my legs out, I practically double dutched when she told us to jump rope. The result? Old lady hobbling for days. I’m amazed by how many muscles Jillian can reach with only 2 dumbbells, a mat and 20 minutes.

If any of you are “Biggest Loser” fans, you know Jillian Michaels as the hard-a$$, no-frills trainer who makes 400lb men cry. And she’ll make you cry, too. If you let her.

Her 30 Day Shred is definitely a DVD worth having in your repertoire. She doesn’t dally with super-long warm-ups or many breaks. Her workout is 20 minutes and she works you hard for every single minute. But then you’re done in less than half an hour. And I guarantee you’ll feel it. Her routine isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s quite effective.

How do you stay in shape in the winter? What’s your go-to workout video?

Labels: Jillian Michaels, weight loss, winter workout

The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels is with us again this week to share another slim-down secret.

“Always look for foods that are whole, meaning foods that came from the ground or had a mother. Then you'll get a healthy balance of protein, fat, and carbs throughout the day, and you’ll be getting the most nutrition for your calories!”

Sounds so simple, right? But American households spend 90% of their food budget on processed foods, according to Readers’ Digest.

Sticking to whole foods will help you avoid partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colorings, preservatives, flavor enhancers, sweeteners, salts, artificial flavors and trans fats.

Trans fats
Research shows trans fats cause 30,000-100,000 premature heart disease deaths in the US each year.

Replacing trans fats with good fats could cut your heart attack risk by a whopping 53%, according to RD.

But be careful. A food that claims to be trans fat free may in fact contain up to 0.5 grams of partially hydrogenated oils, a source of trans fats, according to WebMD.


Refined Grains
Studies show those who eat more whole grains have 20-30% less heart disease. But don’t take packaging at face value. WebMD warns a food that trumpets itself as containing whole grains may actually have more sugar than grains. To find the sugars, look for ingredients that end in the word ‘ose.’ Research suggests high-fructose corn syrup upsets the metabolism and raises the risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Salt
75% of the sodium we eat is hidden in processed foods. And too much salt raises your blood pressure. So stick to 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day – less than a teaspoon of salt.

Labels: Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels, packaged foods, reading labels

Few things scare me: Snakes, The Hills Have Eyes, sky diving and Jillian Michaels. If you’ve seen any episode of The Biggest Loser you know her as the tough trainer with chiseled arms and an intimidating tone. But she's good at her job and being scared skinny isn’t the worst thing in the world – as many of The Biggest Loser contestants can attest to.

Jillian is joining us today with a tip on getting in shape:

“Intensity is what is going to get you to your fitness goals. You should work at 85 percent of your maximum heart rate to burn the most calories in the shortest possible time,” Jillian suggests.

You won’t burn enough calories if you train below your target heart rate, but if you work out too hard you’ll start burning calories anaerobically, meaning inefficiently.

Don’t know how to measure your intensity? Sparkpeople.com has a great reference guide for this.

Maximum heart rate
To find your maximum heart rate, take your age, subtract it from 220 and the number you’re left with is your maximum heart rate. So for me, being 27, my maximum heart rate should be 193. And 85% of my maximum heart rate would be 164 beats per minute. If you’re 50 years old, your maximum heart rate would be 220 – 50 = 170, so 85% of your maximum heart rate would be 144 beats per minute.

This is something you’d have to work up to. Don’t expect – or try – to join a gym and hit a high heart rate on day 1.

Talk Test
But you don’t always need numbers to calculate how hard you’re working out. There’s also the very scientific method called the Talk Test. Now this is very complicated, so you may want to write this down: If you can sing or gab comfortably you’re not working out hard enough. Conversely, if you’re channeling a cave man and can only say one word at a time, you’re working out too hard. You should be able to speak, but not carry on a conversation.

Duration
Try to maintain this intensity for at least 20 minutes, 3-5 days a week. If you’ve just ditched your sweat pants to sweat in spandex, I’d suggest not paying any attention to what I just told you. Set your own pace at first. Worrying too much about numbers and heart rates may be overwhelming and drive you right back to the Ding Dongs. But after you’ve got a routine going, amp up your intensity to get the biggest bang for your buck.

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Labels: Jillian Michaels, trainer tips, weight loss, workouts