Welcome to the gun show-Part II

O.k., it's been over two weeks since we started on our arms. That should be plenty of time for you to have gotten a good start on your push-ups. Don't stop what you're doing, but now it's time to move on.

Here's the next step: pull-ups and curls.

Pull-Ups

It will be hard if you don't have access to a gym or any equipment to get pull-ups in, but if you are at the playground with your kids, using the monkey bars is a great substitute. No doubt about it, pull-ups are hard because you are using all of your body weight and gravity as resistance. When you first begin, you probably won't be able to do a full one. Start out half way up if you need to and then use some help to complete the rest of it (like a bench or chair or step). Try to use as little help as possible. Pull-ups work the shoulders, triceps, and back muscles.

Set a goal. Try 5 to begin with. Do as many as you can without assistance and then complete the rest with some assistance. Eventually you will see gains where you will do two, then three and so on. Always remember to complete your full set. If you set a goal to do 5, then do 5.

Curls

It's also time to start adding some light weights. This is where the curls come it. Get a set of barbells (one for each hand). Use about 2-5 pounds if you've never lifted before. Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, place your arms so that your elbows rest just inside your sides. Lift the barbells one at a time without rocking to complete the motion. The only thing moving on this exercise is your forearm to pull up the weight. Use your body as an anchor so that the movement is correct and complete. These work the biceps. If done correctly you will start to see results in a couple weeks.

That's it. Complete 3 sets of 10 resting between the sets for about 1-2 minutes (in the future we'll start what is called a superset where there is no rest so enjoy the breather while you can).

Who said gardening was for the elderly?

O.k., today I can hardly move in any direction without feeling my body crying for mercy. I have been gingerly lowering myself to the seating position and standing up. My core hurts, my sides hurt, the tiny muscles under my underarms ache. I crossed my legs today in church and my quads screamed in protest. The back of neck hurts, shoot my fingertips hurt as I type this post.

Say it with me, "No pain, no gain!"

So what is the source of all this glorious agony? You can guess from the title, gardening (I also danced for 2 hours straight the night before at my sons' elementary school function). Yesterday we started on our new venture and it was truly a way to get moving. I've seen my elders spend hours in their gardens and people profess that it is a stress reliever. Well, either I'm doing it wrong or the only reason you don't stress is cause you can't. My stress muscles hurt!

We have bought a new construction since moving to the NC and the ground around our house is packed red clay. The yard, as a bonus, is filled with rocks hidden beneath the surface. As I attempted to plunge the shovel spade into the ground to make the first dent for the plot, my shovel stopped dead on top of one of these incognito rocks. I had to keep stabbing the earth around it to make any progress. After getting the first piece of ground to budge, it didn't prove any easier.

I managed to remove the top layer of grass from a plot about 9ft x 6ft. I recruited my four children to remove rocks and rake the turned over dirt as I shoveled and took belligerent stabs at the relentless clay. Ok now I know why farm families have so many children. My children, though, would starve or produce a very pitiful crop if our livelihood depended on it. They haphazardly raked the dirt and picked up rocks ever-so-often. Savannah found she preferred throwing the dirt at her brothers and jumping on the lid of the garbage can to the actual task at hand.

Matt joined me after he returned from Wal-Mart with our ten bags of top soil and Miracle Gro. Never hurts to add a miracle when I'm involved with plants. My thumb has been brown and withered in the past. Anyway after watching my children for about an hour I released them, even though I remember very vividly that this entire venture started when Max brought home the apple seeds from his lunch in November. He and the other kids have been bugging me non-stop about having a garden since the first leaves sprouted in our windowsill jar of dirt. Please--they ran to the front yard and happliy passed the shovel, rake and dream of that garden on to me and their father without so much as a glance backward.

Matt attacked the rest of the shoveling and I raked and squatted to remove rocks for another 3 and half hours. The process was bearable as I reminded myself of the great workout I had to be getting. It was only slightly marred as Matt started crazy talk about moving to a farm. He attempted to be somewhat serious until we finally finished digging and raking the ground. As the sun retreated and the natural light became more of a haze Matt was ready to quit, but I made us persevere until the last of the new soil was laid and raked and smoothed into place. He gave up talks of a farm after that.

That's my motto, though. Chug along until what you've set out to do is done (that and my attention span is short--had we stopped I would've lost the garden battle before it began).

So, today's get moving and food advice: buy a house with a crappy yard and: burn some calories and build some muscle, save some bucks in the fruit and vegetable aisles and eat healthier as you enjoy your future bounty.

Working out with your kids makes it fun

Looking at one of the fan photos posted to Get Moving Mom's fan page reminded me about the best way to get in a workout and be a great parent. Work out with your kids.

This is possible at every age. When they are infants, I mean you plop 'em, then you prop 'em in a front carrier and get moving. The added weight gives you a better workout and the babies love it. They get to be close to mom and go for the ride of their lives.

When they get older, they are able to get on the floor and crunch or climb on your back while you struggle through push-ups. Yesterday on our jog back from the bus stop, my five-year old daughter said, "Mommy. Carry me on your back while you run." At first, I looked at her cross-eyed then I thought about the great bun burner and went for it. I made it huffing and puffing to our mail box and slowly squatted to allow her to dismount and proceeded to fall out on the ground from exhaustion. It was fabulous. As soon as I hit the concrete my butt tightened like it used to after running the 400 meter dash. YES!

When you feel it like that, you know it's on. Yeah, you'll feel it in the morning, but it's not a good workout unless you break those muscles down. If you finish a workout and you can breathe normal, your legs and arms are barely misted and not shaking threatening to buckle under you--well in my opinion you haven't even had a workout.

My other favorite thing to do is to meet my kids outside and try to beat them at whatever it is they are doing. Everything they do usually involves running, jumping, spinning and throwing. The older they get the harder this gets, but that's the idea. Your kids will have a great time as they go from getting whipped by you to the day when they are whooping you. I used to leave them all in my dust and toy with their emotions as they grappled for me during our games. Now my thirteen-year old can beat me running and he is loving it--me, not so much. I'm not looking forward to the day I can no longer wrestle him to the ground and pin him easily. He is though and that makes it fun!

Welcome to the gun show!

O.k. y'all, I'm back. It's time to start our quest toward sculpted arms. I know everyone is waiting to get those nice chiseled triceps and biceps. So let's get moving.

Before we get into the exercises, let's talk about the difference in strength vs. appearance. There are different exercises and different ways to do these exercises in order to accomplish strength and appearance. I want to start off with making you strong first. Doing resistance training using your own body weight is a great way to start for beginners and not-so beginners as well. It's great muscle maintenance and something you can do anywhere-no gym required.

For appearance there are two types: toned and chiseled. For toning, you will need to do more reps with lighter weight (or less resistance). For the chiseled look, you will need less reps with more weight (more resistance).

Strength First

Before you all take off to the gym to tackle weights though let's talk about gaining strength first. There are many of you out there that can't even do a real push-up right now and that is the goal before you ever touch a set of weights. When you do graduate to weights, my recommendation will be for you to use free weights instead of machines. You'll gain way more strength and you'll see results faster. The range of motion on free weights can be greater also, working the full range of muscles in your arm (for tone). You can also isolate the same muscles to concentrate on appearance. I'll elaborate on this later.

Start at the beginning

So where do you start? Push-ups if you haven't already guessed. For my short stint at the army academy we never touched the weights and I have to admit I was the strongest I'd ever been at that time. (I've been stronger since :-)

When you start push-ups, I'd like for you to set a goal: 10, 20, 30, 50 in one set. Keep a journal. Document where you start. Maybe you can't do a full push-up, then start with your knees on the ground behind you, feet crossed at the ankles. Extend your body until your upper body is as parallel to the floor as it can be in this position.  Keeping your arms wide is a good way to start, but a more advanced level will have your hands in closer--preferably right under the shoulder blades. (Closer still if you're feeling strong.)

If even knee asistance feels impossible for you, try the wall version of the push up. Stand about a foot or two from the wall. Put your hands on the wall shoulder width apart and bend your elbows leaning into the wall and pushing back out til your arms are straight. Don't get discouraged you'll soon be on the floor with the rest of us.

For those of you who can do a real push-up (without knee assistance), do it. Even if you can only start with one, do it. Make sure your bottom isn't sagging or perched upward giving you the hilltop affect. Keep your body as straight as possible. Take it slow, down and up - pause, then again down and up. Complete three sets a day if possible. Make sure you give yourself ample amount of time between sets (doing the ab workout between sets is a good way to guage; give yourself about 10 minutes between the sets). You may need more time, but make sure you are able to complete the same amount in each set if possible. Add one more to each set if you can. This will help you get stronger and increase your reps in each set over time.

After each set stretch your arms good, this helps your muscles retain what you just did better. That's it the first step to those killer arms. I suggest you at least reach 20 push-ups in one set before moving on to weights.

Next we'll add the pull up and curls!

Moving to a weekly blog

I've given you all something everyday to get you moving> It was important for me to start off with a post every day to get you in the habit. Now the idea is to keep it going. Adding in the short burst runs, snow shoveling and walking, the fab ab workout, the microwave squats and the food advice to your everyday routine will give you a base to work with.

I will plan to give a full post once a week with daily reminders and tips on the Get Moving Mom Fan page.

Please don't fall off between our weekly posts and interact with the group on the fan page. Communication is also one of the best workout tools you have. Keeping daily food logs, partnering up for accountability and talking your way through it are all just as important as the movements themselves.

Peace and less grease til next week!

Microwave Squats

These are just what they sound like. They are short bursts of squats, or any movement for that matter set to the timer on your microwave. The next time you nuke something, use that time to zap some calories as well.

Whenever I put in my tea or popcorn, or if I'm just warming something in the microwave, I run down the timer with some basic moves. I visit the microwave at least four to five times a day so this takes advantage of otherwise unused time.

For a full one to seven minutes I go full blast with it.

Example workout one:

• Put in tea and set timer for 2:00 minutes.
• High knee jumping jacks for the first minute
• Deep squats for the last minute. (kick right leg out to the side and bend both knees. Sit into the squat like sitting in a chair with arms flexed in like a curl.
• Return to standing position and repeat movement with left leg leading.

Example workout two:

• Put in a popcorn bag and press timer (these range from 2:30 to 3:00 minutes)
• Run high knees for the first minute
• Deep squats for the second minute
• Bring it home with scissor kicks (crossing one leg in front of the other and then switching feet quickly. Arms should cross out in front of you).

Example workout three:

• Put in meat to defrost (about 6-7 minutes for one pound of meat)
• Run high knees for 1 minute
• Frog jump for 30 seconds
• Run high knees for 1 minute
• Military run for 30 seconds (hands on floor, alternate legs pulling knees to chest, keep butt low)
• Run high knees for 1 minute
• Deep squats for 1 minute
• Run (jog) for the last couple minutes

Bringing in the Groceries, No help please!

O.k. this everyday activity can work the arms and provide you with some cardio depending on which version you choose.

I like to bring in the groceries on my own. Since my focus is on my arms most of the time, I always grab as many bags as I can carry at one time in each hand and do bicep curls all the way from the van to the kitchen.

It may look crazy to the untrained eye, but it is a really good arm workout.

One time in Wal-Mart--my favorite alone outing, I decided to forego the shopping cart because I only needed a few items. Well like any Wal-Mart trip I ended up with way more than I intended. By the time I made it to the Dairy aisle I had my hands full of four individual natural fruit and veggie drinks, a bag of grapes, string cheese, two cans of refried beans and, "oh yeah, some baked chips.

Shifting the items in order to open the refrigerator door with my index finger, I grabbed two gallons of milk hanging them from my index and fingers on either hand.

I know crazy right? I started trucking to the checkout and caught some stares as I passed by a few shoppers. I ran to the counter and dumped my stuff on the belt. The clerk smirked and when she was done bagging them asked, "Will you be needing any help out tonight?"

"Uh, didn't you just see how gracefully I handled them--without bags," I thought, but  "No thanks," is what I offered.

"Well, go ahead He-woman," she offered rolling her eyes and still smirking as I grabbed my bags. Don't know if she meant it as a compliment, (probably didn't) but I certainly took it that way. 

The trip to the car was a breeze compared to my sprint through the aisles. And yep, I solicited even more stares as I curled my bags all the way to the van.

To sneak in some cardio, substitute the fewer trips carrying more bags with more trips carrying fewer bags. Tell your husband and kids to remain seated and complete the task alone. Make sure to jog from the van to the house, from the house back to the van.

I know it may sound crazy, but you get it in whenever you can when you are as busy as I am. And who cares if those people stare. Soon they'll be staring for totally different reasons. Can you say toner arms and legs?

The Buddy System

Find a partner to help you reach your goals. It's easier to stay on task if you have someone pushing you.

When I was in school, I could always hear my mother's voice in my head, "I know what you're capable of, I accept nothing less."

These words are true in all aspects. And if you can find a person that is truly sold on what you're trying to accomplish, they will be your best push toward that goal.

Make sure she or he is also someone that will tell you like it is. We don't need cosigners when we are on a quest to lose a few--helping you to make excuses to fall off course.

You need to find someone that will tell it to you straight and there will be no hard feelings in the morning. That's how we find ourselves way off base. We think, "how in the world did this creep up on me--my chins, my stomach, my thighs, my butt. It all starts with enablers we've set around us. A real friend should shake us up every now and again and say, "Naw, girl, those pants are getting too tight. I'll see you on the track."

These are the partners that will push you sometimes until it hurts. They'll be your hardest coach and your best cheerleader when it's all said and done.

So, go find you a good friend or two. If you can't physically meet, get an online buddy. We all talk everyday through Facebook. Send updates to check in on one another's progress. Set your goals together. They may be different goals, but the results are the same--to look and feel better. I'm not proposing outlandish dreams like looking like your favorite supermodel. Let's start with what you have and work with that.

Buddy up and remember to have fun with it.

Dance Like David

How many of you watched the Grammy's this week? Well this year I did. When one of my favorite groups performed, I was up dancing like nobody was watching. Actually there were five people watching, but who cares. I love the dance beat of The Black Eyed Peas and for the full 5-7 minute show they put on I was dancing - hard. My thirteen year old was like, "huh?" My 10-year old completely ignored me, and my 6 and 4 year old joined in. It was great and I was sweating and breathing hard. I mean I was keeping up with the background dancers and flinging my hair like Beyonce'.

Taking another concept from my book and bringing it to you here, just dance.

I can remember in the old days when we partied from Thursday night until my 8am class on Monday. I remember dancing into the place, out dancing anyone that would challenge and dancing all the way home. Boy, I was skinny then. Think about it. You spent hours moving constantly without any thoughts about how many calories you were working off. It didn't matter and it was fun.

Time to dance again. I don't frequent the clubs anymore, but I still have the God-given talent to out dance the best of them. I find dancing with my children the most rewarding, cause they are uninhibited and think anything I do is cool (right now anyway).

During the day, I put on some dance music (always upbeat) and ever so often, I push my chair back and jam to a favorite tune. My husband and I work from home now and let's just say he's not been prone to sudden bursts of rhythm. He'll look over the computer monitor at me while I'm shaking my groove thang and say, "Uh, this is a work environment."

To that I say, "Yeah, and I'm working it!"

So, take time to enjoy your favorite song. Go wild with it. Finish the song out panting and parched. Remember it's all for fun!

Simple addition adds up to simple subtraction

When do you get a smaller number by adding 1? When you are adding one more rep, one more set, one more minute.

That is today's everyday to take away. Just add one more.

If you are circling the block and you plan to do four suck it up and add one more round.

If you're walking 20 blocks, keep walking to the next stop sign.

If you do 10 reps in a set, add one more. Feeling strong? Add a whole set more.

If you're doing 20 minutes on the treadmill add another minute.

Over a very short -time you'll notice more weight loss, better endurance and stronger muscles. You'll also strengthen your mind. A stronger, leaner, healthier you all starts with how you think about you.

Mind over fatter!