Healthy Eating | Ladies Learn

Okay so we’re slackers, but better late than never right!

And the winner of our iPod shuffle contest is…

Rachel Snider!

Rachel, please email contact@ladieslearn.com to claim your prize!

Fan #70 on Facebook!

We entered all our Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and two entries for every blog widget into our contest. Thanks to everyone who has shown their support for Ladies Learn!

Stay tuned for our next contest!!

And congrats to Loni Theurer for being our 100th Facebook fan! Loni won a $10 iTunes gift card!

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By Sarah | Tagged contests | Comments (0)

A hot, new trend is joining a Bootcamp class. I guess you could say that I’m obsessed with how much I look forward to mine. It has all the ingredients for the best workout.

social, upbeat, motivating instructor, accountability, crazy cardio, plenty of strength training and did I mention, social?

My bootcamp is indoors, but most other bootcamps meet at a park or high school. The only drawbacks could be…

1. They typically take place in the early morning

2. The investment ($40-$100 a month)

Yet, when compared to personal training it is a bargain, and I am definitely a morning person.

Using your own body weight and all the abs exercises give you amazing core strength.

For upper body we workout with some smaller free weights, medicine balls and of course, we do plenty of push-ups

Every workout is different so it keeps your muscles from pattern overload, and it’s exciting to see what challenges the instructor comes up with.

There is also the nutrition counseling and someone always pushing you to give it your best.

Okay, sorry, this one I made them do because this is how you feel when you are done. Happy that it’s over and a perfect way to start your day. I have to give props to this bootcamp instructor; her name is Jessica Walters and this is her website www.fitnessrevolutionaz.com. It has great articles and more information about her bootcamp class. Thanks Jessica, you amaze me.

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By Aubry | Also posted in Cardio Routines, Strength Training | Comments (2)

I remember sitting in a class on skin care and having the instructor tell us that a Dermatology friend of hers said that if people with acne/blemish prone skin would first try drinking a gallon of water a day for a whole week, they would lose a lot of money. That has always stuck with me and when my skin is looking less than healthy I realize that I should be drinking more water.

75% of your body is water and 90% of your brain. Shouldn’t that tell you something? Nothing can replace the benefits of keeping a water bottle handy.

I can’t even imagine how much waste we create with all those plastic water bottles we go through, so in an effort to “go green” an aluminum water bottle is the trick. It also makes the water taste great. I also like to add lemon to my water to add some extra vitamins and freshness.

Here are some of the functions of water in your body. I got this image from the Mayo Clinic online.

If you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and your pee comes out clear, your fluid intake is probably adequate. So try to stay away from those sugary drinks and keep a water bottle handy.

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By Aubry | Also posted in Fitness Tips, Tidbits | Comments (1)

When we exercise we not only are burning calories for the moment, but also strengthening our muscles to continue burning throughout our day. This is done because when we enlarge our muscle tissue, it raises our metabolic rate.

Aerobic (with oxygen) activities are ones where we feel our heart pumping and we’re breathing heavier, ie. running, jumping rope, swimming, tennis, bike riding, fitness class. This is also mostly just referred to as “Cardio”.

Anaerobic (without oxygen) activities are mostly referred to as lifting weights. This is when oxygen is not used for fuel, like it is when you are running.

Soooo, which one is the best for burning the most calories?!?

For instant calorie burn: Aerobic

For long term calorie burning: Anaerobic

This might have been just a review for you, but it’s nice to clear things up and know the certain vocabulary for what you are trying to accomplish.

Putting these two into your routine makes for a perfect combination. So for you big cardio people, you are missing out on a huge piece of the puzzle if you don’t strength train. I’ll go into more detail about my favorite strength training routines soon.

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By Aubry | Also posted in Cardio Routines, Fitness Tips, Strength Training, Tidbits | Tagged calorie burning, cardio | Comments (0)

Whether you are at a gym or your home, stability ball workouts are the bomb. It puts your body in a proprioceptive (i know, fancy word) environment, where you activate your core muscles. This not only gives you a much more balanced workout, but also allows you to burn more calories. Which, for me, is always the goal… maximizing calorie expenditure. I got these great stick figures from www.performbetter.com. This has been my favorite reference for creating my stability ball workouts. So here’s my recommendation:

20 min cardio

choose 2 upper body exercises — 3 sets of 15 repetitions

choose 2 lower body exercises — 3 sets of 15 repetitions

choose 2 ab/core exercises — 3 sets of 15 repetitions

and call it a day.

Don’t forget to make it a nonstop workout. While your upper body rests do a lower body exercise and then keep alternating it until you reach 3 sets. Then start on a new combination.

It’s a great challenge to master this big, awkward ball. Yet, once you workout with it for a while, you’ll see how much fun and what a great test of strength it is. Oh, and here is one more site that I like that teaches more great stability ball exercises.

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By Aubry | Also posted in Cardio Routines, Strength Training | Comments (2)