30 Day INSANITY:THE ASYLUM This will be what my husband and I are doing for the next 30 days!
Rachael Ray
SEE ME ON RACHAEL RAY - JUST CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE! :D
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Quality and Variety, Over Quantity
I've had a lot of people ask me over the last couple of weeks what are the best type of workouts to do... I will try to keep this as simple as possible, but if I get carried away, or you don't understand something, just ask ;) There really is no single "best" workout, but many great workouts, it's just a matter of finding what is best for you, and what you will be able to stick with and maintain.
Ideally, if you were to work out 6 days a week, you should shoot for about 2 easy, 2 moderate, and 2 hard days, with variety being the "spice of life." Your 2 easy days could be considered a long(45-60+ min) bike ride, walk, or hike, light jog, etc... you are in motion, and are getting a light sweat going, but can still carry on a conversation with someone. You won't be getting your heart rate up as high, or burning as many calories, but it is important to give your body an easy or recovery day, especially after a hard day. The better shape you get in, you maybe able to eliminate an easy day and do an additional moderate or hard day. Before performing any workout, it is important to warm up. Cool down and stretch when you are finished.
On moderate days you should be pushing yourself a bit harder, and trying to get your heart rate up higher than on an easy day. A good way to gauge a moderate work out is you should be able to carry on a conversation but be slightly winded. It's called the "talk test." I also like to call it sweating off the doughnut, because you'll have a little bit of a sweat glaze going on. This can be a jog, lifting weights - compound or multi-functional lifts, full body lifts, high incline on a treadmill, swimming, etc. You don't need to go as long(about 30-60min), but if you fuel your body properly and as you get in better shape, you can sustain a good hard workout. This is where the majority of your workouts should be. Programs like P90, ChaLEAN, Hip Hop Abs, Brazil Butt Lift, TurboJam, etc, are primarily in this range, but can be considered hard, too.
Now for the meat and potatoes... your HARD days... This is what can get you through a plateau, burn more calories, is a proven way to increase your metabolism, and get you into great shape. On your hard days, you need to PUSH. Whether it is just going for a hard 30 minute run/jog, doing a hard workout DVD, sprints, or HIIT(High Intensity Interval Training - should do HIIT at least 1x a week), get your heart rate up! HIIT is the best way to go, whatever your choice of torture. There are lots of way to do HIIT, but the most important thing is to get your heart rate up as high as you can for a short duration, then recover for a short duration. Repeat multiple times over a 10-20 minute time frame. Do use caution when doing HIIT, and make sure if you have any heart or medical concerns you are cleared by your doctor.
A popular form of HIIT that can be done on a treadmill, bike, elliptical, or running outside is Body For Life's HIIT, using the RPE scale(Rating of Perceived Exertion) going one minute at a time from a 5 to 6 to 7 to 8 to 9, then back down to 6, then up again to 7, 8, 9, down to 6, back up 7, 8, 9, and on your last cycle, 6, 7, 8, 9... 10!!!, then cool down. It is based on your own level. What maybe a 7 for me, maybe a 10 for you. The idea is to push a little harder each minute, each cycle. It's 20 minutes total. Another popular one is a 90/30 - 90sec warm up, 30 sec HIIT, 90 second recovery, 30 sec HIIT - repeat 6-12 times, cool down. Then there is TurboFIRE, Insanity, Insanity: The Asylum, and parts of P90X. Many of Beachbody's programs are structured around HIIT cardio. That is why they produce results.
From Wikipedia, "A study by Gibala et al. demonstrated 2.5 hours of sprint interval training produced similar biochemical muscle changes to 10.5 hours of endurance training and similar endurance performance benefits. According to a study by King,[6] HIIT increases the resting metabolic rate (RMR) for the following 24 hours due to excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, and may improve maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) more effectively than doing only traditional, long aerobic workouts." This is where I mean quality over quantity. I get a lot of people that will just sit on a machine for an hour or two at a time, day in and day out... I would go bored out of my mind! For me, I want the biggest bang for my buck. In. Out. Done. Go hard or go home. HIIT will increase your anaerobic capacity and threshold, burn more calories in a shorter amount of time, increase your metabolism, and who doesn't feel great after a good hard workout??? This is what I am talking about when I mean quality over quantity :) Just make sure you give yourself an easy day or day of rest after performing HIIT. This is hard stuff and your body needs to recover.
Variety; it is also important to mix it up. Do something different! Our bodies are adaptable. If you do the same thing over and over, it gets used to it and won't want to change. Think of it as shocking your body and keeping it on its toes... you don't want it to know what it is coming. If you are someone who likes a routine, you should change your routine every 6-8 weeks. If you are lifting weights, don't be afraid to occasionally increase your weights and lift heavy. Especially women.
We do not have enough testosterone to "bulk up." What tends to happen is women start lifting weights and their clothes might feel a little tighter after the first week or two... this is normal. When you start lifting, you are tearing and damaging muscle tissue, which leads to inflammation and swelling. Make sure you are eating enough protein, and drinking enough water. Once your body realizes what is going on, and gets through the initial phases of DOMS(Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness), it will get better. We want muscle, muscle burns fat! An additional 5lbs of lean muscle mass can potentially increase your metabolism by 200 calories a day.
To maximizes your results, it is best to do a combination of cardiovascular activities, and weight lifting. Unfortunately, we can't spot reduce, and that is why nutrition is so important. Don't get into a habit of "justifying" a treat after a hard workout. If you are on a mission to lose weight, an occasional treat is OK, but not everyday. If you were to go burn 300 calories in your 1/2 hour of HIIT, but then turn around and enjoyed a Costco blueberry muffin for breakfast(400+ calories!) because you feel like you "earned" it, then you may over eat what you have just worked so hard for. We get into this habit of "self entitlement" which can be destructive. We work our butts off, then wonder why we aren't losing or seeing results... Depending on what your goals are, time to buckle down and commit full circle... or should I say full triangle... My next "Die Fat Girl" (www.diefatgirl.blogspot.com) post is going to be on the "Weight Loss Commitment Triangle" that I created and should help people determine where they are in their goals, and how to be more effective and productive towards them. So thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!
Ideally, if you were to work out 6 days a week, you should shoot for about 2 easy, 2 moderate, and 2 hard days, with variety being the "spice of life." Your 2 easy days could be considered a long(45-60+ min) bike ride, walk, or hike, light jog, etc... you are in motion, and are getting a light sweat going, but can still carry on a conversation with someone. You won't be getting your heart rate up as high, or burning as many calories, but it is important to give your body an easy or recovery day, especially after a hard day. The better shape you get in, you maybe able to eliminate an easy day and do an additional moderate or hard day. Before performing any workout, it is important to warm up. Cool down and stretch when you are finished.
On moderate days you should be pushing yourself a bit harder, and trying to get your heart rate up higher than on an easy day. A good way to gauge a moderate work out is you should be able to carry on a conversation but be slightly winded. It's called the "talk test." I also like to call it sweating off the doughnut, because you'll have a little bit of a sweat glaze going on. This can be a jog, lifting weights - compound or multi-functional lifts, full body lifts, high incline on a treadmill, swimming, etc. You don't need to go as long(about 30-60min), but if you fuel your body properly and as you get in better shape, you can sustain a good hard workout. This is where the majority of your workouts should be. Programs like P90, ChaLEAN, Hip Hop Abs, Brazil Butt Lift, TurboJam, etc, are primarily in this range, but can be considered hard, too.
Now for the meat and potatoes... your HARD days... This is what can get you through a plateau, burn more calories, is a proven way to increase your metabolism, and get you into great shape. On your hard days, you need to PUSH. Whether it is just going for a hard 30 minute run/jog, doing a hard workout DVD, sprints, or HIIT(High Intensity Interval Training - should do HIIT at least 1x a week), get your heart rate up! HIIT is the best way to go, whatever your choice of torture. There are lots of way to do HIIT, but the most important thing is to get your heart rate up as high as you can for a short duration, then recover for a short duration. Repeat multiple times over a 10-20 minute time frame. Do use caution when doing HIIT, and make sure if you have any heart or medical concerns you are cleared by your doctor.
A popular form of HIIT that can be done on a treadmill, bike, elliptical, or running outside is Body For Life's HIIT, using the RPE scale(Rating of Perceived Exertion) going one minute at a time from a 5 to 6 to 7 to 8 to 9, then back down to 6, then up again to 7, 8, 9, down to 6, back up 7, 8, 9, and on your last cycle, 6, 7, 8, 9... 10!!!, then cool down. It is based on your own level. What maybe a 7 for me, maybe a 10 for you. The idea is to push a little harder each minute, each cycle. It's 20 minutes total. Another popular one is a 90/30 - 90sec warm up, 30 sec HIIT, 90 second recovery, 30 sec HIIT - repeat 6-12 times, cool down. Then there is TurboFIRE, Insanity, Insanity: The Asylum, and parts of P90X. Many of Beachbody's programs are structured around HIIT cardio. That is why they produce results.
From Wikipedia, "A study by Gibala et al. demonstrated 2.5 hours of sprint interval training produced similar biochemical muscle changes to 10.5 hours of endurance training and similar endurance performance benefits. According to a study by King,[6] HIIT increases the resting metabolic rate (RMR) for the following 24 hours due to excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, and may improve maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) more effectively than doing only traditional, long aerobic workouts." This is where I mean quality over quantity. I get a lot of people that will just sit on a machine for an hour or two at a time, day in and day out... I would go bored out of my mind! For me, I want the biggest bang for my buck. In. Out. Done. Go hard or go home. HIIT will increase your anaerobic capacity and threshold, burn more calories in a shorter amount of time, increase your metabolism, and who doesn't feel great after a good hard workout??? This is what I am talking about when I mean quality over quantity :) Just make sure you give yourself an easy day or day of rest after performing HIIT. This is hard stuff and your body needs to recover.
Variety; it is also important to mix it up. Do something different! Our bodies are adaptable. If you do the same thing over and over, it gets used to it and won't want to change. Think of it as shocking your body and keeping it on its toes... you don't want it to know what it is coming. If you are someone who likes a routine, you should change your routine every 6-8 weeks. If you are lifting weights, don't be afraid to occasionally increase your weights and lift heavy. Especially women.
We do not have enough testosterone to "bulk up." What tends to happen is women start lifting weights and their clothes might feel a little tighter after the first week or two... this is normal. When you start lifting, you are tearing and damaging muscle tissue, which leads to inflammation and swelling. Make sure you are eating enough protein, and drinking enough water. Once your body realizes what is going on, and gets through the initial phases of DOMS(Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness), it will get better. We want muscle, muscle burns fat! An additional 5lbs of lean muscle mass can potentially increase your metabolism by 200 calories a day.
To maximizes your results, it is best to do a combination of cardiovascular activities, and weight lifting. Unfortunately, we can't spot reduce, and that is why nutrition is so important. Don't get into a habit of "justifying" a treat after a hard workout. If you are on a mission to lose weight, an occasional treat is OK, but not everyday. If you were to go burn 300 calories in your 1/2 hour of HIIT, but then turn around and enjoyed a Costco blueberry muffin for breakfast(400+ calories!) because you feel like you "earned" it, then you may over eat what you have just worked so hard for. We get into this habit of "self entitlement" which can be destructive. We work our butts off, then wonder why we aren't losing or seeing results... Depending on what your goals are, time to buckle down and commit full circle... or should I say full triangle... My next "Die Fat Girl" (www.diefatgirl.blogspot.com) post is going to be on the "Weight Loss Commitment Triangle" that I created and should help people determine where they are in their goals, and how to be more effective and productive towards them. So thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
New Die Fat Girl Post is Up, and New Post Here
Just an FYI, I've got a new Die Fat Girl up at www.diefatgirl.blogspot.com :) Also, I am gettig ready to work on my a new post for AskCandice. I've had a lot of people ask me lately what they should be doing in their workouts at home. I am a strong believer in HIIT(High Intensity Interval Training), and Weight Lifting - 2 proven ways to increase your metabolism, but it's important to do them right, not just do them, so stay tuned!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Post HCG Support Group
For those that are looking for info or help/support on HCG, you can find a great support group on FB under "Local HCG." It is a private group, so it may or may not show up if you search for it. If you can't find it, then friend me and message me, and I will add you.
For those that are coming to an end in their HCG protocol, we have created a group called "Beyond HCG." This support group is for those that are in phase 3 and 4, which is where some people can get lost. They have lost all this weight and now what? This group is to help people connect and to help each other change their eating and exercise habits so they can help keep the weight off. While HCG may work, it is only a temporary solution if you go back to your previous habits or stop caring. Once you stop caring, so does your body.
When I finished my last round of HCG, I went straight into the Beachbody program, ChaLEAN Extreme, and Shakeology. Within 5 weeks I was able to lose a little more weight and tone up! My before and after pictures are on the right hand side of my blog. I love the Beachbody programs and recommend them to anyone. You can even sign up to have me as your coach for free! www.beachbodycoach.com/candiceekberg. Hopefully this will help you find the support and motivation you need to keep the weight off and get into the best shape of your life!
For those that are coming to an end in their HCG protocol, we have created a group called "Beyond HCG." This support group is for those that are in phase 3 and 4, which is where some people can get lost. They have lost all this weight and now what? This group is to help people connect and to help each other change their eating and exercise habits so they can help keep the weight off. While HCG may work, it is only a temporary solution if you go back to your previous habits or stop caring. Once you stop caring, so does your body.
When I finished my last round of HCG, I went straight into the Beachbody program, ChaLEAN Extreme, and Shakeology. Within 5 weeks I was able to lose a little more weight and tone up! My before and after pictures are on the right hand side of my blog. I love the Beachbody programs and recommend them to anyone. You can even sign up to have me as your coach for free! www.beachbodycoach.com/candiceekberg. Hopefully this will help you find the support and motivation you need to keep the weight off and get into the best shape of your life!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Die Fat Girl! The Diary of a Skinny Fat Girl
It's official! "Die Fat Girl" is up and running! I created this blog to talk about the mental/emotional aspects of dieting. Please check it out and feel free to leave any feed back! Future posts won't be as long, I just had to get the full story out to get it started. Hope you enjoy! www.diefatgirl.blogspot.com If you do, please feel free to share it with others :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
WOOT WOOT - AskCandice is growing up!
I'm taking a great leap of faith to help better serve you and keep myself organized and am moving askcandice to a .com website!!! SOOO excited!!! I have a stack of emails I still need to go through, so if you haven't heard from me, be patient, I WILL answer your email, it may just be another day or two :) But stay tuned for the new site, It will be awesome!!!
Friday, March 25, 2011
New Formulation and New Blog Coming
If anyone has been looking to purchase HCG, and shopping around, the company I went through just got their new formulation in. They now offer a 3x, 6x, 12x, 15x, 30x, 60x drops formulation, which is currently the highest on the market. Just click my Rachael Ray picture, or the picture of the bottles to the side, and it will take you to their site. Again, I am not promoting HCG, but I know there are sooooo many companies out there, that you don't know what you are getting. But I know 100%, Local HCG is legit, and that is why I recommend them if you do chose to do HCG. (After researching, educating yourself, and talking to your doctor, right?! :) NEW BLOG! So, I've been contemplating this for awhile, and after reading a blog post from someone else, and seeing lots of comments in the support group I run, and all the emails I get... there is soooooooooo much more to dieting then the act of just doing. There is a HUGE mental/emotional aspect that a lot of diets don't focus on as much, and I strongly feel this is somewhere a lot of people need help, including my self. I started this blog to keep me accountable to my workouts, and it has helped a ton! I went over the last year from doing nothing, to losing 60lbs and becoming a Beachbody coach doing Insanity, P90X, ChaLEAN, running, lifting weights, working out with my track kids, etc - I feel awesome when I am working out! I don't ever want to give that up again! BUT, I still feel like I have a fat girl inside... I've taken care of the outside, but my inside is still struggling... So, I'm starting a new blog to talk about the emotional/mental aspect of dieting, and my own experience... hopefully to keep me accountable, and kill the fat girl inside of me! It will be very personal and emotional, but I'm willing to bare all, if it will help others. I'm hoping to have it up by this weekend, so stay tuned!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Starting Over :P
Over the last couple of weeks of promoting health and fitness, and helping others, I've let my own health and fitness go! GRR! I've been crazy busy on the computer answering hundreds of emails and messages, questions, ect. I love it! Keep them coming! BUT I need to get better organized and start taking care of myself again! Just 2 weeks ago, I was boasting a 6 pack, but it is already getting soft - yikes! Time to get my butt back in gear! I have been working out with my HS track team when I can, and I still do my Shakeology once a day and am maintaining my weight, but it's not enough to compensate for the amount of computer time. So, my new plan - I'm starting ChaLEAN over by starting back with PUSH Phase, and am now adding Hip Hop Abs! LOVE Shaun T!
Here's a preview - http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/CandiceEkberg?bctid=10103956001
I'm only going to dedicate 1-2 hours a day to answering emails, and will go in sequential order. If you email me, you will get a reply, it just may take me 24-48 hours to get back. My Beachbody coaches/customers will come first, but if it is something urgent, please say URGENT in the subject bar. Also, I have been helping with a support group on FB under "Local HCG." Look for the GROUP. This is a private group where anyone can come talk and ask questions freely about HCG with out getting criticized and find the support you need. It is awesome!
If you have any questions concerning the protocol, please ask there, anyone can help you out. You can also find the original protocol by clicking the bottles to the right - it will take you to the company that I went through's website. Just look under their top tabs for "HCG Protocol". I hope you are all doing well and are finding success and happiness in whatever you are doing!
Here's a preview - http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/CandiceEkberg?bctid=10103956001
I'm only going to dedicate 1-2 hours a day to answering emails, and will go in sequential order. If you email me, you will get a reply, it just may take me 24-48 hours to get back. My Beachbody coaches/customers will come first, but if it is something urgent, please say URGENT in the subject bar. Also, I have been helping with a support group on FB under "Local HCG." Look for the GROUP. This is a private group where anyone can come talk and ask questions freely about HCG with out getting criticized and find the support you need. It is awesome!
If you have any questions concerning the protocol, please ask there, anyone can help you out. You can also find the original protocol by clicking the bottles to the right - it will take you to the company that I went through's website. Just look under their top tabs for "HCG Protocol". I hope you are all doing well and are finding success and happiness in whatever you are doing!
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