Category Archives: Cardio
Death by Cardio
Tomorrow, Friday and Saturday I will suffer death by cardio – 16 hours of spin. At least my suffering is for a good cause!
A few of the riders from last year!
I have three comments to make about this death by cardio though.
One….
BLEHHHHHHHHH! Have I mentioned before I hate cardio?!?
Two…
I’m prepared for my body to hurt after all of the hours. Not my muscles necessarily, but my butt and my knees. Because I knew I would be in enough pain, I didn’t want to be sitting on the bike super sore from heavy lifts this week.
I did lift heavy Monday (my butt and hamstrings are still sore) and I did lift yesterday (my shoulders, triceps and chest were brutalized), but today I chose to do a short and killer cardio bodyweight workout. It is bad enough being sore when I teach two classes let alone ride for 16 hours!!!
So if you are looking for a great cardio, bodyweight workout, try this workout of the week!
10 rounds:
10 Ab roller
20 Box Jumps
30 Double Unders
Shoot for under 20 minutes!
Three….
Mark Sisson had an interesting post the other day about trying your own little self experiment.
I’m going to be trying my own little experiment the next couple of days. I’m going to prove that you don’t need to eat all those crap gels and simple carbohydrates to survive such an intense workout session.
While everyone else will be drinking Gatorade and chowing down on crap carbs, I will be eating my delicious Primal meals and snacks. Nuts, fruits, all sorts of protein and some veggies. I may even throw in some potatoes on Friday after 7 hours of spinning tomorrow. BUT we will see!
I’m betting I will feel better than everyone else…What do you think?
Also, thank you to all of those who donated! A special thanks goes out to our mystery donor who made our day today!!!
Thank you all! Wish the Man Bicep Team good luck! I hope my butt survives!!!
The good, the bad and the simply stupid
The Good
- Vin Goat is a wonderful little shop that carries artisan and farmstead cheese and cupboard essentials. They also host lectures each weekend about their products. The other weekend Ryan’s parents went to a lecture by Anne Willan, a founder of a famous French cooking school among other culinary achievements. In her talk, Anne Willan supported the use of raw milk to make cheese (saying it made the cheese better!) AND talked about cooking with butter or lard NOT vegetable oil. All in all her lecture was apparently a Primal/Paleo eaters dream. Glad to know there are people out there supporting the consumption of raw milk and fat!
- Here is a little preview of a jump rope video Ryan is helping me making for the Under Armour Challenge. It was also part of my “do something new” workout challenge for this weekend. I’m by no means an awesome jump rope-er so this was definitely a challenge! If you want to do your own jump rope slide and send it to me, I’ll add it to the video!
- Coconut oil is about as close to a magical health pill as you get. Fat-a-phobs shy away from this oil because it contains saturated fat, but what they don’t realize is that the “saturated fat” in coconut oil is a form known as lauric acid, which has been proven to protect your heart by reducing total cholesterol and enhancing HDL cholesterol levels. Even Dr. Oz says so….WOW something he is right about!
The Bad
- I like dried fruit as a treat on occasion. BUT you have to be very careful when purchasing dried fruit as many have added ingredients. Actually I was surprised by how many WEREN’T simply dried fruit when I was at Trader Joe’s. It actually is more difficult than you think to find pure dried fruit. Next time you buy dried fruit make sure you are getting exactly what you want! Read the ingredients list!
- Just another reason to take medicine! NOT! Common painkillers tied to lower skin cancer risk! Ok but to get the benefit you must take these medicines in large quantities. BUT the large quantities have proven health risks. “The drugs have also been linked to an increased risk of kidney cancer and come with known bleeding risks.” So here we have an article telling our population to take painkillers to reduce their risk of skin cancer but we still don’t know if the benefits of taking large quantities of the medicine are worth the risks that have already been linked to the drugs…Hmmm…I think I’ll pass on the painkillers…
- Every time I think Paleo/Primal is becoming more accepted I see stupid articles like this one on IndyStar.com. I can’t believe a dietitian claimed that the diet is not only low carb but also lacking in some vitamins and minerals. Uhm hello!?! When you stop wasting calories on grains, you eat more fruits and vegetables…So how can the diet be “lacking?” If it is lacking in vitamins and minerals, than what word do we use to describe the average American’s diet…Non-existant in vitamins and minerals!?! (Ok I know that doesn’t work…but hopefully you get my point.)
The Simply Stupid
- Dennis, Ryan’s brother, sent this to him. Definitely a healthy breakfast…NOT!
The back of a Nutella jar.
Ok this isn’t simply stupid…It is actually awesome…
The moves you love to hate…
So one of the challenges for the Under Armour challenge was to film the move you “love to hate.”
It was sort of hard to pick one…just kidding…but not really…
There are so many moves that I really don’t like doing, but at the same time I love them because I know that I only hate them because they are super good for me.
Usually the moves I love to hate are moves that never seem to get easier and almost always leave me feeling tired and sore the next day. They are moves that the masochistic me likes.
The Top 10 Moves I Love to Hate!
- “Walking Lunges” – So these are in the video I made for the challenge. I wear a weight vest while doing them, which only really makes them more “lovely.” To do them you jump up and slightly forward as you switch and lunge on the other side. There is something about this plyometric “walking” forward that is torturous. Your legs burn and you get winded. Definitely a move to love to hate.
- Balance Lunges – These are always uncomfortable and painful. Maybe it is just that my balance isn’t awesome but I never have fun doing these. With these, your back foot is up on a bench and you are balancing in a lunge position. Like with the split squat, you just lower the back knee to the ground without going forwards or backwards.
- Dips – These are also in the video. I did them with a weight vest. They suck enough without it though. These for me are just frustrating. There are some days when I can easily bust out ten in a row and other days when one seems impossible. A great upper body and core exercise though!
- Step ups – I can’t explain why I hate these so much, but it might have to do with the cardio aspect of stepping up and down quickly with weights while my legs burn. I like isolating one leg when I do step ups. I don’t alternate legs and I make one leg do all the work while climbing.
- Overhead presses – I think I don’t like these because my shoulders are weak. Also the burnout of such a small muscle group always gets me. Try not to arch your back too much as you press weight straight overhead.
- Planks – I always seem to do planks after I’ve done shoulders, which makes planks extremely un-fun. Plus I hate any exercise where you have to hold a pose…Maybe that is why I “love/hate” yoga….
- Wall sits – Again…I have to sit still why my legs burn and begin to shake. Who doesn’t love/hate that!?!
- Burpees – So if I’ve killed my upper body, my arms hurt a bit during burpees. If I’ve killed my legs, my legs hurt during burpees. If I haven’t killed anything, I get out of breath and my lungs hurt during burpees. Anyway you look at it, burpees are torturous for some reason!
- Rowing – I’m honestly not sure why I hate rowing so much…Maybe it is the fact that my legs feel like they won’t function and I feel like I’m going to puke when I’ve gone all out on the erg…Yea…I think that might be the reason…
- Pull ups – So actually I love pull ups. Sometimes they frustrate me, but I still love them. I feel like this exercise though is definitely one that most women love to hate…or well just hate for that matter!
What moves do you love to hate?
P.S. Foam rolling video coming at the end of this week!!!
Spin To Cure
From June 14-16, Candy, Brian and I will be participating in a 16 hour Spin-a-thon to raise money for the PMC (the Pan-Mass Challenge).
We will all be riding all 16 hours.
Will we survive?
I’m not sure.
I’ve participated in the Spin-a-thon every year. The first year I did only 2 hours. Last year, I did all 12. And this year, I will attempt all 16!
And I’m prepared for my butt to be extremely sore for days afterwards!
I’m not a huge fan of cardio, but because it’s a challenge and because it will raise money for a GREAT CAUSE, Candy, Brian and I will do all 16 hours.
I would love for any of you in Boston to join me and the Man Bicep Team and ride in the Spin-a-thon! And if you can’t ride, you can always donate to support the Man Bicepers by clicking here! In the notes section, write that you are sponsoring the Man Bicep team!
If you have any questions, email me at manbiceps@gmail.com!!!
I love bright colors but I SERIOUSLY HATE BARBIE WEIGHTS!
When Ryan and I were out in California, I couldn’t believe how many women we saw out running or walking with Barbie weights in their hands.
WHAT THE HECK!?!
While I love this color, they will not be my new walking accessory.
And then one of my clients said to me, “I think that running with light weights is the best way to tone my arms!” Mind you…this is also the same client that told me that push ups were making her bulky.
I’m sorry but walking with weights IS NOT the best way to tone your arms.
Women who run with weights are IDIOTS who are AFRAID of getting bulky!
I know why people supposedly do it….Extra calorie burn and toning, but I’ll let you in on a little secret….It really doesn’t do either!
For one, you can’t spot reduce an area and part of being “toned” is low body fat. Even if walking with weights did make your arms stronger, it wouldn’t specifically cut the fat off your arms!
Secondly, yes the dumbbells could result in a few extra calories being burned but not if you have to slow down to walk with them. Plus if you simple walked/run and then did a weight workout you would burn even more calories than if you walked/ran with weights.
OR you could do a quick circuit that included weights and cardio and, in half the time you spent on your cardio with your stupid dumbbells, get twice the results!
Thirdly, swinging dumbbells when you run or walk really doesn’t build muscle. For one, if the weight isn’t challenging it isn’t going to do anything. You need to use CHALLENGING weights to get results! Also, the movement of swinging your arms isn’t really specific enough to be used to build or tone muscles.
And lastly, carrying the dumbbells may alter your movement patterns and could create imbalances and lead to injuries.
And why risk injury or imbalances if there is no chance of you seeing any results!?!
Seriously, go for a walk then head to the gym and do some true strength training!
Let’s Make a Bet – 20 minutes vs. 1 hour
What do you want to bet that a 20 minute workout can be better than an hour workout?
I’d bet just about anything.
Circuit training - killing two birds with one stone....Candy also made a good point - this is what we look like when we are working out.
It kills me to see people in the gym who think they need to slave away for hours to get results. It kills me to hear people say that they don’t have enough time to workout.
It kills me that people WASTE THEIR TIME doing long, drawn out workouts when they could get better results in 20 minutes.
And I’m not saying you should never workout for an hour…I’m just saying that you don’t need to!
Why spend 30 minutes on the treadmill and then 30 minutes doing some slow isolated muscle group weight workout when you could accomplish the same thing (and more!) in only 20 minutes?
Don’t waste your time! Try circuit training! It will help you get great results in less time.
When I say circuit training, most people think of quick circuits and light weight…barbie weights actually. But that isn’t what a true circuit is.
A true circuit is one in which you use challenging weights while taking minimal breaks between exercises. A great circuit also alternates the body parts worked so that you can keep moving from exercise to exercise without having to take any rest.
And the other benefits of circuit training besides saving you time:
- You improve your cardiorespiratory system WHILE you build muscle. With traditional weight training workouts, you take super long rests between sets, which allows your heart rate to recover. But with circuit training and less rest, your heart rate remains elevated throughout the entire workout, helping you reap cardiovascular benefits without going on the treadmill for 30 minutes after your weight training circuit.
- You burn more calories AND fat in less time! Now who wouldn’t want to do that!?! More work is performed in less time equaling a greater calorie expenditure. A 185-lb. exerciser performing a 30-minute weight training routine expends 133 calories. To compare to circuit training, the same 185-lb. person performing a 30-minute circuit training session burns 355 calories. These statistics show that circuit training burns more than double the amount of calories than a standard weight training workout.
- You also burn more calories for longer! Circuit training triggers a response in your body that accelerates metabolism for up to 48 hours. You burn more calories after your workout because of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, which is affected by exercise intensity. Since circuit training is more intense compared than the typical weight lifting workout, circuit training will help you burn more fat after you workout!
- You build muscle! Most people think that circuit training equals light weights which equal no strength gains. But the lack of rest actually increases the amount of testosterone released, which helps build muscle. Also, because circuit training workouts are shorter you avoid cortisol releasing, which it does typically during lengthy cardio sessions. Cortisol can actually start to breakdown muscle tissues!
Hopefully, now you are thinking to yourself…Why don’t I do any circuit training? If you are looking for a great circuit, try one of the workouts of the week!
Cardio I Like? – Tabata Training
So usually when I talk about cardio, it is to rant against it. I HATE long, steady-state cardio.
I do however, really really like sprints. And tabata training falls within the sprint category.
Tabata training is essentially performing as many reps of an exercise as you can for 20 seconds. This can be running, jumping, squatting…anything. After 20 seconds of work, you get 10 seconds of rest. You repeat this process 8 times.
The whole set of 8 rounds is 4 minutes. But boy is it a deadly four minutes. I swear 20 seconds has never felt so long or 10 seconds so short!
In that 20 seconds you work as hard as you can – you give 100% effort. And in the 10 seconds that follow, you barely recover before your right back to work.
Yesterday, Candy and I did a squat jump and burpee mixed tabata. We alternated exercises each round and trust me…our legs and lungs burned. The first round of squat jumps, you feel the burn but you bust out about 1 per second. Then you go into burpees and your legs feel like jello. The 10 seconds of rest feels like nothing when you start jump squats again. Your legs burn after three and the 20 you did the first time seems like an impossible number to reach. But you push on, trying to complete as many reps as you can in that 20 second. And you keep pushing – through all 8 rounds.
After the 8 rounds, we did two minutes of jump rope and then repeated the four minutes of burpee-squat jump hell before two more minutes of jump rope.
12 minutes.
That’s all it took to make our legs and lungs feel like we’d done cardio for an hour…12 minutes. Of course the push up/pull up pyramid we completed before definitely didn’t make us feel any better…but even if we hadn’t…that 12 minutes would have been enough!
And the thing is, you don’t even need 12 minutes to get in plenty of cardio. You just need 4.
On Tuesday after a heavy leg workout, Candy and I did tabata sprints.
We jacked the speed up to 10.5 (which isn’t our fastest but give us a break it was after legs!). We jumped on and sprinted for 20 seconds. The first one wasn’t fun, but it felt doable. We jumped off to the sides and rested for 10 seconds. The second one was ok, but you could tell the last few were going to be a struggle.
After 8 rounds, I was wiped out. Four minutes of sprints…that was all it took to give me a great cardio workout.
4 minutes.
So why are you wasting 60 minutes on a treadmill when you can get great results just doing 4?
You save time by doing tabata workouts. You’ll burn more fat. And unlike long, steady-state cardio, you will not only improve your aerobic system, but also your anaerobic system.
I thought this was a great site for more information on Tabata training! Try it!! I guarantee you’ll get a great workout!
Cardio Queens
Ladies – Step away from the cardio machines. PLEASE!!!!!
I taught an hour of spin today, which in my opinion is way more than enough cardio….for like the week haha.
But to my amazement there were females that decided to do MORE cardio after my class.
WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU LADIES!?!
I couldn’t believe it. I was stunned. I would understand if they decided to do weights after, which is what I did. But more cardio?
I almost wanted to walk up to them and tell them that they should have just worked harder in class, but I didn’t.
I just couldn’t believe it. These women spend hours doing cardio.
And guess what?
Their bodies never change. They never look any more toned. They never stop looking soft.
They just stay skinny-fat (or anorexic looking).
Don’t they realize that they don’t need to slave away for hours doing chronic cardio if they want to look amazing?
Don’t they realize that weight lifting and diet are way more important if you want a toned, lean body?
Apparently not.
But I guess it isn’t totally their fault. Even trainers prescribe too much chronic cardio for clients that want to lose weight.
Not me though. For one, I don’t like to make my clients do anything I wouldn’t do…and I definitely avoid long cardio sessions like they are the plague.
For two, I honestly don’t think you need to do ANY cardio to lose weight. Yes it can help make the process a bit easier, but you really don’t need cardio to lose weight.
The first key to losing weight – DIET. The first thing I ask my clients about is their diet. While technically I can’t prescribe a diet plan, I do make recommendations…aka I tell them how well Primal works! Diet is 80%…maybe even 90% of the weight loss battle.
The second key is a good weight lifting routine. By lifting weights, you will add muscle, which will not only make you look more toned and fit but will also help you burn off the unwanted fat!
And if you do a fast weight training circuit, your heart rate is going to go up and you are going to burn a TON of calories.
There is no need for long, steady-state cardio sessions.
I mean if you really want to go do cardio, do some interval training or some sprints. But PLEASE lay off all that chronic cardio. It really isn’t going to help you look the way you want to…I guess of course unless you WANT to be skinny fat or anorexic looking…
P.S. For those of you diehard Cardio Queens who aren’t convinced here are some more articles to look at. Not only is chronic cardio not the key to weight loss but it truly isn’t that good for you!
I think she looks way better as the muscle machine, but hey....
Burn Body Fat – 8 Reasons why you should lift heavier weights
Here is an article about how important diet is to weight loss.
Love the Support
So yesterday I stumbled upon two different articles that support the Man Bicep beliefs.
This first article basically states that eating like a Caveman is good for you! THANK YOU!!! The diet can help you lose weight and improve your health – it can lower your blood pressure AND your cholesterol. Seems like carbs may be a bigger problem when it comes to high cholesterol than fat is!!
Of course, this article does recommend lean meats, which you may think is contrary to what I’ve said in the past, BUT I support eating “fatty” naturally raised meats such as grass-fed beef. Grass-fed beef, even the fatty cuts, is leaner than it’s grain-fed counterparts. So yea…eat “lean” aka grass-fed, naturally raised animals! 🙂
Second article that I LOVED is about NOT RUNNING! This is a post about weight training and dieting to lose weight/fat NOT running. I totally agree that cardio isn’t the best tool for weight loss and that there are actually a lot of negatives to chronic cardio.
So if you want to look super hot, stop the chronic cardio and start weight training! 🙂
Chalk up two more points for Man Bicep and 0 for Conventional Wisdom!
I don’t usually write about cardio
BUT today I taught a VERY fun hour of spin with Dave. It was a “dueling” spin .
We divided the room in half and each of us led our halves through a TORTUROUS hour of spin. The competition was super fun.
AND we had a huge running joke going (that amused me at least!). The joke was “Who has the bigger bicep?”
Of course I do!! I have a MAN BICEP!!! (I think I’m a bit obsessed with biceps…)
Man Bicep 