Fit by 14 | Week 5 | Cardio

Welcome to the FITH week of my Fit by '14 Series!  I've enjoy this experience and have learned a lot through writing it!

We have about 7 weeks left until the new year comes raging in like a roaring lion!  How are you doing on finishing up your 2013 goals?

So far I have talked about the importance of ....

Water
Eating Right
Strength Training

And today....

CARDIO

So, we already understand that Strength Training is SO important, and that it is necessary to incorporate it into your workout routine.  You don't need a gym to do strength training either!  A lot of the strength exercises that I do, I could easily do a home!

But just because strength training is important, doesn't mean that you get to write off cardio!

Cardio is short for cardiovascular exercise...So basically, it's exercise for your heart and blood vessels.  It gets your heart pumping which pushes more blood and oxygen throughout your body and to your muscles!  The more efficient your body gets at cardio, the stronger and more efficient your heart gets so it doesn't have to work as hard, and you build up your endurance!

Cardio is SO good for your heart and lunges!  And it helps prevent heart disease!  It lowers blood pressure, maintains weight loss, helps lower bad cholesterol while raise your good cholesterol!  It also helps improve your mood, and helps you sleep better!

SO...now that we have established that cardio is still a necessary evil...

There are so many differing opinions out there about which cardio is the best.  Honestly, and this is my own personal opinion, just do whatever you want to do that get you up and moving, and your heart pumping for 30 minutes, 4-5 times a week.  If that means walking at a brisk pace, running, using the elliptical, boxing, body pump, spin classes, whatever it takes.  Just do it! 

For me?  I generally choose to run.  I don't particularly enjoy running, but I desperately want to love to run.  So I run.  I'm currently using the C25K App on my phone, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!  I was in no way, shape or form ready to run 30 minutes straight.  Goodness, I could barely make it for 3 minutes straight what I first started out.  Not that I'm much better now, but I know that I can run in 5 minutes increments with short spurts of walking between sets.  So, for you non-runners out there that want to start running, my advice is to use the C25k program!  Tomorrow I'm supposed to be running 8 minutes, and the workout after that has me running for 20.  I don't know how they figure I can jump from 8 minutes to 20, but by golly, I'm going to try! 

I will admit, on days that I feel kind of puny, or am at home, I do workout on the elliptical.  For some reason I feel like the elliptical is easier, probably because I know that how fast I go it up to me, and not just a speed that I set and have to keep up with!  But, that's not saying that the elliptical isn't work, because it most definitely is!

Weekly Stats:

Current Workouts: Still plugging away at the C25K app 3 days a week, but I've also incorporated 3 days of circuit/strength training into my routine!  I'm loving The Garage Workout, the Military workout (blog coming later), and I've recently found an app that has TONS of circuit workouts!
# of work outs: 7/7...kinda.  Not gonna lie, I may have counted grocery shopping on Friday night as a workout.  Sure I didn't get my heart rate up and break a sweat, but I did walk around various grocery stores for like an hour. 
Total Weight Loss: 18 lbs from start of #FB14 (27 lbs total)
Inches lost: 10! (down another 2 1/2 inches from last week!)
Best Workout: Hands down it was my Garage Workout!  I LOVE it!  It makes the time go by SO fast, and I'm always spent by the time I go home!  The MR. did it with my on Saturday afternoon, and that was a lot of fun!
Thoughts towards running/working out: I'm actually really beginning to actually enjoy it!  My run yesterday finally wasn't struggle, and when my day is stressful I actually look forward to going to the gym because I know that I can unload all the stress there!  I just wish there were a few more hours in the day!  I literally feel like all I do is Go to work, Go to the gym, Go home cook dinner, prepare for the next day, clean up the kitchen and go to bed!  Yup...that really is about all that I do!  Eating healthy and exercising is totally worth it, don't get me wrong, but it sure does take up a lot more time!  There are nights when I miss the quick processed meals and the subway/Wendy's lunches just because it' so much easier!  It's not that I even crave the food that we don't eat anymore, I just crave the time that it saved me!









PS.  Don't forget about the giveaway that I'm doing with Simply Clark!  You don't want to miss out on a free $350, do you???