January 2026
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

Archive for the ‘Exercise and Working Out’ Category

Cardio Party

Posted by terrepruitt on December 5, 2009

Cardio Party Mix 1, this is the main workout that is on the Beachbody DVD by Chalene Johnson. Its the Turbo Jam DVD with five workouts on it.

Timer says 43:26 total time and 3:51 for the warm-up

Warm up starts at about 3:24. And all the warm-ups that I have seen are basically the same.

“Roll them shoulders”. Then some bobs and weaves and punches and jabs.

Then there is the “Punches & Wheels” section for 7:12 minutes. Then for 7:28 there are “Squats & Kick”.

Then the next portion is called “Speedbags” and that is a series of movements, punches, hips, and a variety of things including speedbags for 7:18.

Then the “Turbo” is clocked at 1:30 including 15 seconds of jumping rope. The Turbo is where you really push it and give it ALL you have. It is moves that you are familiar with but done at high speed! The break is 21 seconds. A break does not mean stop, it just means get water and mop off — but KEEP MOVING. And Chalene reminds you of that.

The next section, “Recovery Dance Party” is timed at 6:04. This section goes into the next a bit.

The timer shows that the “Finale” starts at about 4:44, but, it really doesn’t start until about 3:44. So at about 3:44 you start the “Finale” which is not anaerobic like Turbo, but it is the final little push before the DVD takes you through the cool down.

The next to the last bit times at 3:00 Finesse / Cool Down. Chalene calls it a “stylized way of doing kicks and a few stretches.” So you do a few steps starting with one leg then you do it on the other side.

The next section is called Tai Chi / Stretch and timed at 1:38.

So with this DVD you really get about 35 minutes of Cardio if you don’t count the warm up. To me it is good to know how much cardio or aerobic workout you are going to get so you can plan accordingly. If you want to get 45 minutes of cardio in and you grab this DVD thinking, “Eh, 43 minutes is close enough.” Well you are actually only getting about 35. It is important to warm up and cool down so it is great that these DVDs contain that. I just like to have a breakdown of how long the warm up and cool down is.

I really enjoy my Turbo Jam DVDs. I hope my descriptions will allow you to make an informed choice so that you will know what you are getting and enjoy them as much as I do.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: aerobic, aerobic workout, anaerobic, Beachbody, cardio exercise, Cardio Party, Cardio Party mix 1, cardio workout, Chalene Johnson, finesse, Tai Chi, Turbo Jam, Turbo Kick | 2 Comments »

Push Workout – Sample

Posted by terrepruitt on November 24, 2009

–Push Ups (So many versions, pick one)
–Squats on BOSU (standing on the rounded side)

–Chest press with dumbbells lying on stability ball
–Wall Squats with stability ball

–Flyes lying on stability ball
–Air bench (“sitting” back against wall)

–Triceps Dip
–Side Step Drill using BOSU

–Triceps Kickbacks using bench
–Calf raises on BOSU (standing on the rounded side)

This is just a generic sample of a push workout. There are so many ways to do push ups you should do them however you safely are able and however best fits your goals.

Squats on the BOSU can also be done standing on the flat side, which would be more of a challenge.

With the chest press and the flyes on the stability ball you are keeping your upper back supported by the ball, but to get a bit of lower body in there and some stability practice your hips are off the ball and level with the floor.

Wall squats can be done with one leg.

The side step drill can be timed.

This was initially created for the exercises to be done in pairs as listed; one set of push-ups, one set of squats, then back to push ups, then squats, then on to the next pairing. But just like the Pull Workout, the weight used, the reps done, the speed in which do it and how many times you do it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Try squeezing a workout in between all the Holiday Happenings and New Moon risings, even if you have to do it during the twilight hours.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: BOSU, exercises, Holiday happenings, Pull workout, push exercises, push workout, push-ups, stability ball, Twilight New Moon, workout | Leave a Comment »

Pull Workout – Sample

Posted by terrepruitt on November 21, 2009

–Lat pull down while squatting (on Machine)
–Bicep dumbbell curls with walking lunges

–One arm dumbbell row (on bench alternating sides)
–Hamstring curls using stability ball

–Kettlebell swing
–Stability Ball Hand/Foot Pass Sit-up

–Back extension on stability ball
–Straight leg deadlift with Kettlebell alternating legs

–Wide grip row on Machine
–Single Leg Squat using bench

As you can see the first two exercises prove that the generalization of push muscles being on the front and pull muscles being on the back is not great, but for some it is helpful although not entirely accurate. You use your back muscles and your biceps to pull. With most movements more than one muscle or more than one muscle group is being used, but usually we say the exercise works which ever muscles it works the most. As with the Lat pull down, it is called a Lat pull down because the Latissimus dorsi is responsible for most of the effort, however in most cases your biceps are assisting. There are other muscles in your back that are putting in some effort too and it depends on which kind of lat pull down you are doing. Yes, there are different kind.

Usually when the exercise being done is with free weights there is less muscle isolation. Some machines do a great job of muscle isolation. Sometimes an exercise can be considered both or neither and it is add to a workout to work a “popular muscle”. The sit ups were added because most of the time people want to work the abs. I think of the single leg squat as either a push or a pull because sometimes I really feel it in the glutes and sometimes I swear it is all quads.

This is just a sample of what a “pull workout” could look like. The weight used, the reps done, the speed in which do it and how many times you do it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. This can be done different ways. It could be done all in a row as listed or done in sets. Depends on what you want.

The picture is of the Cable Cross Machine at least Freemotion calls it that. I call “the Machine”. It lives at the gym in San Jose.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Hamstrings | Tagged: dumbbell, Freemotion Cable Cross Machine, Hamstrings, kettlebell, Lat Pull Down, Pull workout, San Jose exercise, San Jose Gym, San Jose movement, San Jose Workout, Sit-up, squats, stability ball | Leave a Comment »

Push-Pull Workout

Posted by terrepruitt on November 17, 2009

Recently I was listening to a discussion about Push Workouts and Pull Workouts. One person wasn’t understanding the Push/Pull phrase because technically (as the other person pointed out) all muscles pull on bone to move it. We move because a muscle contracts and pulls the bone in the direction of the contraction so the Push/Pull workout wasn’t registering for this person.

What the Push/Pull Workout phrase means is that the muscles USED to push or pull are being worked. So a push workout would primarily work the muscles in the front of the body and a pull workout would work the muscles in the back. That is just a generalization for some people it helps and some people it doesn’t because it is not entirely accurate. As you know for some muscle groups and for some exercises it is not possible to JUST use one muscle group or one side of the body

A pull workout works “primarily” the lats, back, biceps, glutes, and hamstrings. Where a push workout includes exercises that “primarily” work the chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, and calves. It would typically be done on alternating days.

This type of workout could be seen as a functional type workout since when you think about it we do a lot of pushing and pulling. Think of grocery shopping, who has not had to yank a cart out of a row of carts, then pull the groceries out of the cart once they are bagged, then push them into the back of the SUV, then pull them out again. Pull, push, pull, push . . . . Its a very functional workout.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: exercises, functional exercises, functional workout, Push pull workout | 3 Comments »

List Of Ten Favorites (Exercises)

Posted by terrepruitt on November 12, 2009

Today is “whatever” Thursday, I wanted to find some pictures to post, but nothing really struck me. I have thought about it all day and I couldn’t come up with anything. Then I thought of lists. People are always posting lists. In fact, my last post was somewhat of a list; a list of benefits of resistance training. On my short drive after class from Santa Clara to San Jose, I decided to post ten of my favorite exercise in no particular order:

1) Dumbbell Chest Press (especially on a stability ball)
2) Upright Row (on one Pilates DVD I have she calls this the “Zip Up”)
3) Lat Pull Down with Alternating Backward Lunge
4) Tricep Kickback (with a dumbbell)
5) Standing Tricep Pushdown
6) Heel Raises
7) Wood Chops
8) Bent-Over Row
9) Bicep Curl
10) Sit-ups (on the BOSU) (she did NOT just say that, oh yeah, I did)

Of course, I love Nia for my aerobic (cardio) workout and with that I get a lot of these same motions as some of my favorite exercise, but this is just a list of some of my favorite exercises I like to do with equipment and/or weights.

Comments? Questions? What are your favorite exercises? What do you like to include in your workout?

Share your list.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: aerobic classes, aerobic workout classes, Backward Lunge, Bent-Over Row, Bicep Curl, BOSU, Cardio classes, cardio workout, dumbbell, Dumbbell Chest Press, Dumbell Chest Press, exercies classes, exercise, exercise equipment, favorite exercise, Heel Raises, Lat Pull Down, list of exercises, Nia Classes, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia workout classes, Pilates DVD, San Jose exercise, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, San Jose Pilates, San Jose Workout, Santa Clara exercise, Santa Clara Nia, Santa Clara workout, Sit-up, stability ball, Standing Tricep Pushdown, Tricep Kickback, Upright Row, Wood Chops, Zip Up | 4 Comments »

Resistance Training Benefits

Posted by terrepruitt on November 10, 2009

Resistance Training has many benefits. I say resistance training because the resistance may be any force the body has to overcome. It does not have to be weights, it can be bands, springs, or even your own body weight. In addition to doing something that you like you want to train according to your goals.

Some of the benefits of resistance training:

Increase in strength, power, and endurance in the muscles
Increase in size of the muscle
Increase in lean mass (or maintained lean mass)
Increase in the tone of the muscles
Increase in metabolism
Increase in bone density
Increase in energy
Improvement in the body’s muscle to fat ratio
Improvement in mood
Improvement in Insulin Sensitivity

and

can assist in lower your resting blood pressure
can assist in preventing sarcopenia
can assist in lowering your resting heart rate

I met up with a friend today in San Jose at the gym we had a nice workout. We played with some of the equipment and managed to get a great set of exercises in. It is nice to be reminded of why resistance training is important.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: blood pressure, bone density, endurance training, hypertrophy, muscle to fat ratio, power training, resistance training, resting heart rate, San Jose excercise, San Jose Gym, San Jose training, San Jose weight training, San Jose Workout, sarcopenia, strength training, toning muscles, training, weight training | Leave a Comment »

Turbo Jam

Posted by terrepruitt on October 27, 2009

I am not aware of how many DVDs there are in the Turbo Jam Library. I have the Five Workout Series, Cardio Party Mix 2, Cardio Party Mix 3, Fat Blaster, and Punch, Kick & Jam.

In this post I am going to give you a breakdown of the workout times for the “Learn & Burn” and the “20 Minute” (Workout). First let me say that I bought my DVDs a few years ago. Then, not long after I bought mine, a co-worker bought hers and while I think the workouts are the same hers were arranged differently. She had one DVD where I had two.

1) Learn & Burn

The DVD cover states the “Learn & Burn” portion of the DVD is “approx. 25 min.” It states that in the burn portion you will get a 15 minute workout. So that would be 10 minutes of her explaining the “Elite Eleven”. My computer timer shows the “Burn” portion starting at 12 minutes.

Now learning the moves might not be a cardio workout, but it would be a short toning workout if you are actually participating as Chalene Johnson suggests. Then when you get to the “burn” part the timer on the bottom* (something I LOVE about the Turbo DVDs) shows that there is 16 minutes and 54 seconds (16:54) to the “burn” portion.

There is about 4:40 minutes worth of warm-up.

Then there is 6:00 minutes worth of “Knees and Punches”.

Then there is about 4:50 minutes of “Kicks”.

Lastly there is about 40 seconds of cool down.

This is a great little start to learning Turbo Jam, I think. I think that it is one of those workouts that you can do when you want to move, but don’t want to go all out. And you can do it twice to make it about 30 minutes of movement.

2) 20 Minute Workout

Timer shows 19:18, but you start the workout at about 18:50.

You get about 3:25 of warm-up.

About 3:30 of “Upper Cuts & Punches”.

Then 4:00 of “Crosses and Kicks”.

Then you have your “Turbo” which is the anaerobic portion of the DVD. She says it is 1:30, but the timer shows 1:30 and the first 15 seconds is jumping rope while she talks. (About 1:15 of “Turbo”)

After the anaerobic portion there is a 25 second break. So remember that when you want to quit the Turbo portion, just power through it and then you will have a water break after. During the break keep moving, but you made it through the anaerobic part and the rest is a piece of cake.

The next part is 3:55 of “Recovery Dance Party”. Which is Turbo twists, jabs, crosses, knee lifts, punches and kicks.

Then the timer says 1:58 “Finesse / Cool Down”.

I have to say that watching this to get the break down as I type on my computer makes me want to get up and do it. I actually haven’t looked at this DVD for a long time. I seem to gravitate toward Cardio Party Mix 2. But in all of the ones I have, Chalene makes me laugh every time.

Do you have any Turbo Jam DVDs? If so, which ones? What is your favorite?

*The DVDs show a timer in the form of a “grow bar” at the bottom of the screen. It shows you the full time as a count down. As the video progresses through each section it indicates the time of each section.

P.S. Regarding the photos: It is really difficult to take a photo of a DVD cover because of the plastic. Without a flash it is blurry, with a flash you get the bright flash spot. So, these photos are not great, they’re just to let you know what the cover looks like. 🙂

_____________________________________________________________________________
Beachbody is the same company that puts out the P90X workout.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: 20 Minute Workout, anaerobic, Cardio Party Mix 2, Cardio Party Mix 3, Chalene Johnson, Fat Blaster, Kick & Jam, P90, P90X, punch, Tony Horton, Turbo Jam, Turbo Jam DVDs, Turbo Workout | 7 Comments »

Collage Video

Posted by terrepruitt on October 24, 2009

There is no substitute for going to an exercise class. The energy and the camaraderie you get from BEING IN a class is uncomparable, but sometimes class schedules don’t mix with yours or you want to just get a quick workout in.

Like me recently, my husband and I were going to go see a play at the last minute at a little theater in downtown San Jose, but before we went I wanted to do a workout. I pulled out a few of my videos to see the “total workout time” and did a few quick calculations. I decided on Turbo Jam Cardio Party two. But it got me thinking about how I love Collage Video because they do a great job of breaking down the “total workout time” on a DVD.

Do you know what I am talking about? Has something like the following happened to you? You want an Aerobic workout DVD because you want to get your cardio done at home, you buy a DVD and that states it is a 60 minute workout. You put it in your machine and what it actuually turns out to be is 15 minutes of warm up and 15 minutes of cool down leaving you really with only 30 minutes of an aerobic workout. When you were expecting 60 minutes or at least 50 minutes and you only get 30, it doesn’t make for a satisfying purchase (or workout).

Unfortunately you can’t get Turbo Jam from Collage Video so you can’t see a breakdown of workout cycles of those DVDs, but Collage Video has hundreds of other DVDs. One way you can pick the DVD is by workout type: Aerobics, Muscle Toning, Both (Aerobics & Toning), Stretch/Yoga/Tai Chi, Pilates, Interval training, Dance, Kickboxing, Latin & Salsa, Bootcamp.

Collage, then gives a detailed breakdown of the total workout time, just as I had mentioned before. Which can be really helpful, when planning your workouts. If you want to get a combo DVD with Aerobics and toning it is good to know how much you will get of each. Here is an example.

The above shows you will get 4 minutes of warm-up, 37 minutes of floor aerobics, 11 minutes of standing toning, 6 minutes of toning, and 4 minutes of stretching. This allows you to plan both your purchases and your workouts better. You can see exactly how much time you will be spending on each cycle. I think that is very important.

If you are going to be able to make it to your favorite class, do you have a favorite workout DVD that you do instead?

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: areobics, Cardio Party, Collage Video, dance exercise, Dance Workout, dance workout class, exercise class, exercise cycles, muscle toning, San Jose exercise class, San Jose Pilates, San Jose Workout, San Jose Yoga, toning, Turbo Jam, Turbo Jam Cardio Party, Turbo Jam Cardio Party 2, workout class, Workout cycles, workout DVD | 2 Comments »

BOSU

Posted by terrepruitt on October 13, 2009

Know what a BOSU is? It is a piece of exercise equipment. Picture a stability ball, you know those round ones full of air that you can sit on? Picture that cut in half with a plastic “cap” on the flat side. It is very versatile. It can be used for a variety of exercises and it can be used on either side. The flat side can be placed on the ground so you are working on the rounded side or you can place the rounded side on the ground and do your work on the flat side.

Either way–depending on what you are doing–you are going to be challenging your stabilizing muscles in addition to the muscles you are exercising. That is a great way to get more muscles working during your workout, burn more calories, and make you a more strong and stable body.

You can stand on either side (the flat side or the rounded side) and do dumbbell work: biceps curls, shoulder presses, upright rows, lateral and rear deltoid raises, bent over rows, etc.

You can lie on either side (the flat side or the rounded side) and do dumbbell chest presses, supine triceps extensions, curls, crunches, and sit-ups to name just a few.

Using either side you can do push-ups, mountain climbers, or add it to your burpee.

With push-ups you can either put your feet on it or hold it with your hands.They can also be used for cardio work. They can be jumped on and off of, they can be used for lunges, or as I mentioned before, they can be used for mountain climbers and burpees.

I think they might be a favorite of personal trainers because there is so much you can do with it.

To me they are a little easier to store than a stability ball because they take up less space, but unlike a ball they won’t really challenge your muscles just by sitting on them. But as I mentioned above you can use them for a lot of different exercises and they will add an additional challenge to almost any workout routine. I think I have see them in the Target by my house in San Jose, so I am sure you can buy them at Targets or stores where they sell sports equipment/exercise equipment.

As with any exercise equipment you use and as with any exercise you do–caution is required.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: BOSU, crunches, dumbbell work, exercise equipment, exercise routine, exercises, push-ups, San Jose exercise, San Jose Personal Trainer, San Jose Target, San Jose trainer, San Jose Workout, sit ups, sports equipment, stability ball, stabilizing muscles, stable body, strong body, Target, workout routine | 4 Comments »

Aerobic Activity

Posted by terrepruitt on October 6, 2009

I always say that people need to find an exercise they like and do it. This is really important because if you like it, you are more likely to do it consistently. Hopefully your favorite exercise is aerobic. If it is not, and you are interested in being healthy, then you have to buck up and do something aerobic anyway, whether you like it or not. The heart is a muscle and it needs exercise just like all of our other muscles. Our respiratory system benefits from aerobic exercise.

From the American Heart Association website:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the No. 1 killer in America.
Lack of physical activity is a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

An aerobic activity or what is now being called “cardio” is required for cardiorespiratory fitness. Cardiorespiratory fitness is the most important factor when it comes to living a long and high quality life. How well your lungs and heart function affects everything you do. The better your lungs and heart are at getting oxygen rich blood to the parts of your body that need it, the better you will feel and be able to move.

And according to Science News:

Persons with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness have a lower risk of all-cause death

And this post kind of ties in with my previous 30 Minutes Per Day post, but I am trying to emphasize getting your heart pumping. I also wanted to point out that doing so — getting your heart pumping — does not require jumping or impact of any kind. You can get your heart rate up by just bending down at the knees and coming back up fast enough and long enough to get your heart working. Impact is not required, but intensity is.

A lot of people don’t like to do “cardio” because it is boring or uncomfortable, but it does not have to be . . . again . . . find something you like. There is all kinds of stuff out there. If you are reading this and are wanting something new or different to try in the area of cardio and you want some ideas, contact me and we can do some brainstorming. There is something out there that you will love.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: aerobic, Aerobic Activity, aerobic exercise, American Heart Association, cardiorespiratory fitness, Cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, exercise, No. 1 killer in America, physical activity | 4 Comments »

« Previous Entries

Next Entries »

Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

Email Subscription

My Bloggey Past

******

The days I have posted are highlighted, you can click on one.

Categories

Subscribe

***********************

HelpYouWell’s Tweets

Other Blogs I enjoy