Guest Post : Winter Workouts

Hi all, I am Julie Roberts, a proud wife, SAHM, runner, outdoorsy nature lover, and a fitness fanatic! I also love to write and now that I am a full-time SAHM I have a lot more time to focus on it! Thankfully for me, Vikki has been kind enough to let me share my writing with you, her readers, on her amazing blog. So for today, I have some of my favorite tips to working out in the winter months when it’s so easy to let up on your workouts because of the cold, I hope you enjoy it! Here’s my email if you have any questions or would like to get in touch!

Is it really that time of year again? If the snow isn’t already on my doorstep, it’s in the forecast for sure. Although the cold weather tempts me to stay in with a big cup of apple cider, I still need to stay in shape. After all, the kids don’t feel the same as I do about the snow. They love it, can’t get enough of it, and cannot wait to spend a lot of time outdoors. If I invest in myself and my body, I’ll be better able to enjoy that time with them.


Hard Work Outdoors

Last year, I had an epiphany. I used to have my husband do a lot of the more ornery outdoor chores, such as gardening, raking leaves and shoveling snow and ice off the stairs, driveways and walkways. I reasoned that he’s stronger and it’s probably easier for him. Then I wondered, why is that? He is stronger in large part because he does those activities. So I started doing them. Yes, 20 minutes spent shoveling snow is not how I imagine a luxurious morning. But I was going to exercise anyway, and this is a great way to burn calories! This is like free exercise minutes that pays off in a more comfortable home. I happily do these chores myself now.

Working Out at Home

There are certain parts of the year, however, when outside chores are the only energy I’m willing to spend outside. That’s when I take my exercise routines indoors. I also take the outdoor chores approach to the home interior. I clean the kitchen counters, wash a few dishes, and do some squats. Done! When it comes to proper indoor workouts, I’m a runner who has no treadmill. I have no choice but to get creative. I like to put on my heart rate monitor and push myself with some bodyweight exercises and cardio workout routines. I’m a big fan of interval training, so I create a few plans for myself and go for it. But I get bored easily, working out indoors day after day. So I like to change it up with a few workout videos. If I’m feeling up to an intense workout, I set aside some time with Tony Horton. If not, I will do some stretching videos like Cardio Barre, Pilates or yoga.

Outdoor Fun

The holidays and winter are a fantastic time to get some serious cardio in. For a simple task, I like to take my kids for a long walk in the stroller to see holiday lights. But I can do much, much more than that. My daughter is getting just old enough that she’s asking about going skiing or snowboarding. She has a few friends who have done it, and she’s eager to try it for herself. I thought that we might make it a family-friendly activity this year. We’ll get her into a class, and then we can all go together. And there’s always sledding. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been sweatier than when I spend an hour dragging a child in a sled up a steep hill. Now that is an outdoor workout.

Winter is barely almost here, and a part of me is already longing for spring. Not yet–I need to wait and savor it. Even if I’m not as big of a fan of the cold weather as I was when I was a kid, my kids are. Taking advantage of the cold and snow to keep in shape will prevent the worst of the winter weight gain, and make me look all the better when the weather finally warms up.

Segway, Sweat and Socialising

What adventures have been had in the last seven days? Well last Saturday morning I took my friends 13 year old son  to Dinton Pastures for an off road segway experience as a belated birthday present. The weather forecast had not been favourable and no sooner did we step onto the segways than the rain started and just got heavier over the course of the hour. There were just six of us in the group so we got plenty of help if we needed it. Kiddo took to it like a duck to water (though thankfully didn't drive the thing INTO the water... there path was largely on the banks of the lake) and despite the cold and the rain he had a whale of a time so it was all worthwhile. He ended up at the front of the group right behind the instructor who seemed to take a shine to him and answer all his questions. We may go back in the summer and try it again.

Sunday was ice hockey night again! I could see myself becoming a bit of a regular at the Bracknell Bees games. This time I went with my fella and sat upstairs which meant we could hear the commentator more clearly but I didn't feel quite so close to the action. Although we didn't win the shirt-off-their-back raffle nor the duck/puck game the Bees did win so that's what matters.

My certificates came through for my Gym Instructor qualification and I've and booked my PT module up. It's a long module and by starting in March I'm looking at a June 2014 finish. At that point I'll still have a few modules to complete for the diploma but I will be REPs level 3 PT qualified so I could start taking clients, which is really exciting.

I managed to force myself through a gym session on Monday, doing my intervals and strength routine and seeing small steps towards improvements there, and I've got my PT session tonight for more of the same... My PT runs a circuits class twice a week so I tried it out on Tuesday and followed it up with Body Balance. The circuit was ok, the squat thrusts followed by burpees were killer, but I did pretty well. I'm not sure if I'll make it a regular thing. Staying to do Body Balance afterwards was well worth doing though. I've not been out for a run for ages and I'm missing it a bit so maybe I'll make the effort to get out on Sunday (giving myself a day to recover from PT).

I'm missing parkrun tomorrow as I'm heading up to London for the very first Run Mummy Run social. I know I'm not a mum but they're very inclusive. There'll be speakers and lunch and a chance to just have a natter to other like-minded women. Can't go wrong with that now can you? Continuing with the social theme I met up with Anita for dinner at her gym last night. It's pretty swanky and I got momentary envy but honestly couldn't justify spending that sort of money on a membership. The food was great though and I even had a glass of wine. At the gym!

What have you been up to this week? Lamenting not having achieved something you intended to or celebrating having done something new and exciting?

The 30-Minute, No-Gym Bodyweight Workout [Infographic]

The following infographic was created by The Greatist team and featured on their blog. What an easy way to work out when you're on holiday or at home... I think I'll be using this myself and trying it out with J in one of her PT sessions further down the line.

Get health and fitness tips at Greatist.com.

How to Strength Train for a Triathlon Outside of a Gym Environment

Today I'm especially pleased to be sharing with you a post written for us by Mark Wood, BSc Lead Personal Trainer Course Tutor from Discovery Learning. Discovery Learning is a leading Fitness Training Provider in the UK, delivering training in the weight management and fitness field since 2001. Their mission is to provide and communicate accurate, meaningful information and high quality training relating to all aspects of fitness, overweight and obesity. As you know I took up triathlon this year and while I do have access to a gym, sometimes I would rather exercise at home or outside. To this end Mark is kindly sharing his advice on the best strength training exercises for triathlon and why it's so important to incorporate this at all.

How to Strength Train for a Triathlon Outside of a Gym Environment

Weight and strength training for endurance sports is a widely debated topic and can cause complications and confusion for a lot of competitors. Some athletes think it is unnecessary, while others will favour gym work and other forms of strength training to increase their performance. Personally I believe that any athlete, or member of the general public for that matter, should engage in a sufficient amount of strength training to help improve their performance/lifestyle.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of strength training for endurance events like triathlons. For most athletes you will see that the benefits of strength training outweigh the fear of gaining too much “bulk”.

Injury prevention and improved ligament and tendon strength- making athletes more robust will mean they can withstand higher demands on the body through training, competition and environments. Protecting those knees, ankles, hips and shoulders is a very important part. A large percentage of endurance athletes pick up joint injuries which could be prevented if they strengthen the musculature around that joint.

Correcting imbalances- similar to the above, muscular imbalances can cause major injuries for some athletes. If their technique isn’t perfect and as an example they push too much during the cycle, the quads will become more dominant, leaving the hamstrings weaker and increasing the risk of injury. Or similarly the vastus medialis oblique in runners is usually their weak link which will result in knee pain.

Increased power output- this is a very important factor, the fastest athlete wins!! If you are not powerful, you will not be fast. It is important that you are able to generate force in order to improve how much power you can put down to improve your speed. This will come in handy when powering up hills or pulling yourself through water, lowering your stroke count and improving your efficiency.

Improve endurance- we all have a genetic limitation to how much we can improve our aerobic capacity. Strength training will improve muscular strength and endurance making you more efficient and able to work at a higher percentage of your aerobic capacity for longer.

Increase antioxidant levels and decrease oxidative stress- endurance training has been shown to produce a high level of oxidative stress which can lead to chronic inflammation. Strength training can counter act this and help avoid long term stress.

Best ways to improve strength

Not all competitors are lucky to enough to have access to a gym environment so here are a few ideas to help you improve your strength away from a gym environment.  Cycling in big gears will help improve your bike power. Find yourself a nice long steep hill and attack it in a very high gear which will cause your cadence to drop as low as 40rpm and stay in the seat the whole way up.  Using interval training is another great way to improve your speed and strength. Try this workout of one minute on and 30 seconds off for a total of 20 rounds.

Improving your strength and power for running will have great benefits on performance. Try these following exercises and workouts to help you get faster.

Box jumps- These are great for developing some power in the legs. To perform  this exercise you have to produce a massive amount of power. Try jumping slowly, you can’t! To complete the box jump you must move quickly which means you will improve your power output.

Squat jumps- Another excellent exercise to help you develop power and strength. Combine these with sprints or hill sprints to see some great benefits in your speed and power output.

Hill sprints- A great exercise to improve strength, power, endurance and your tolerance to lactate.

Resisted sprints- This is another great way to help you improve your speed. Try combining resisted sprints followed by non-resisted sprints if speed is something you want to improve.

Glute bridges- An excellent exercise to help you strengthen your core and gluteal muscles. Which are important in both the run and cycle section of a triathlon and will help you generate and produce more power.

Bulgarian split squat- This is a fantastic exercise to really improve the strength in the legs whilst protecting the back if people find squatting uncomfortable. Its also an exercise that can be done anywhere. Try finding a park bench, elevate the rear foot on the bench and away you go.

Single leg squats- An exercise that will really test your strength. Fantastic for improving those stabiliser muscles around the hip to help you not only produce power but also prevent injury. Start by trying this exercise on a stable platform on the floor while using something to support you for balance. As you progress try performing the exercise on a box/park bench to increase your range on motion. Just be aware this is a very advanced exercise that beginners should gradually work up to.

Intervals-  4x1 minute with a 2 min rest- These can be done either on a bike, in the water or running and are a great way to increase your tolerance to lactate.

All of the above strength exercises will really help you improve your performance. Your final thing to think about is tempo. Try playing around with the speed of contractions to really get the best out of your workout. Using slow eccentric phases combined with explosive concentric phases will help improve your power output. Also try pausing for 2 seconds in between the eccentric and concentric phase to start recruiting those higher threshold motor units. 

If you've found this article interesting then do pay Discovery Learning a visit. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter. I will definitely be adding some of these elements to my training routines at home.