What is the best exercise recipe?

Well, I discovered I had a legitimate fear in what Bill would do to me for standing him up yesterday. I think the trick is to not give him any free time to think of new torture devices and routines.

Bringin’ Sexy Back asked me to post some exercise tips. I have shared a few in previous blogs, but will try and do a better job of posting more as I go forward. One question she asked is how long she should work out while dieting.

I am not a personal trainer, not by a long shot, so I don’t know if I can really answer that for you, but I’ll do my best. I guess that would depend on your overall health condition. An exercise bike and treadmill are good tools for cardio, at least that’s what Bill tells me.

Bill has had me start out at a level where I break a sweat and then continue to increase the frequency and length of the workout as I build stamina. So, if your treadmill and bike has been used as clothes hangers more than exercise equipment (as my treadmill was), you should start out slow and gradually increase the intensity and frequency of your workout.

I’m currently working out about an hour a day and some days I’ll add a short 15-20 minute workout at home, too. I’ll try and get in some bonus crunches, sit ups, leg lifts or other easy-to-do-at-home exercises.

Bill has also had me working out with some light weights, working on my upper body strength. You can pick up light weights fairly inexpensively, especially this time of year as many stores have them on sale. If you don’t have weights and can’t get them, you can substitute canned food for the weights. You can do curls, presses, punches and a variety of other moves with the cans and get just as effective workout as you would with weights.

I would also like to suggest to anyone working to do this on their own on a limited budget to make sure you attend the lecture series offered by Mat-Su Regional Medical Center on Wednesday nights at 7pm. The lectures are held at the Urgent Care Facility on the corner of Bogard and Crusey in Wasilla and they are absolutely FREE! The topics vary from nutrition to exercise and everything in between. The series has been getting rave reviews from those who have attended and they have had many Trim to Winners attend, with attendance increasing each week.

I know that making a lifestyle change is not easy, and finding support for your efforts is critical to our success. We will have days that we struggle, but we’ll have many days where we succeed. We have two months to go in this journey to good health, and just think about how awesome we all will feel by then!

Keep up the good work and I hope the tips help.