Taking body fat measurements requires some practice even then it’s not 100% accurate.  Even so it’s a great inexpensive way to track progress and it’s much more reliable than the scale.  For instance, I’m 4 pounds heavier than I was for my first competition but my BF% is down by 1-2%.  Which hopefully means I did gain a little muscle and lose some fat!!

Below are some links to calculators and directions on how to measure using calipers.  I used both and they came up with the same percentages. Personally, I really like the Rusty Iron site because you take 3 measurements at each site and it averages them together.  The trick to accuracy is taking the measurements in the same place every time, just like when you are using a tape measure.  If I have a freckle or mole at the site I use that as a marker.

ExRx Body Compostition Calculator

and

Rusty Iron Body Fat Calculator

For calipers I am using the Accu-Measure Fitness 3000 Personal Body Fat Tester.

Amazon has these right now for $5.91. When I bought mine a few years ago I paid $19.99 at some vitamin store. What a racket.

Hugs and High Fives,
jenn

If you enjoyed this this post please Subscribe to the RSS Feed.

or

Sign up for up to have posts emailed to your inbox.

The post How to measure body fat % ? appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Generally speaking if you are trying to build muscle (and I hope you are) then strength train first while your glycogen (the body’s main source of fuel) stores are high.  This way you have maximum energy for your workout. If you are working on building endurance, such as training for a race, then do cardio first.  You will need the energy to complete your run.  Another possibility is to alternate days.  Do strength training one day and cardio the next (I prefer HIIT cardio).

Maybe you want to ax cardio-only sessions all together and do workouts that combine both. These workouts are usually combinations of  compound lifts, plyometrics, sprints, and  body weight exercises with little to no rest in between exercises.  Think “boot camp” style workouts.  You are building strength while elevating your heart rate.  This is my preference.  It’s fun, fast, and efficient.

Everyone has an opinion on what is “best”.  But if you don’t like that “best” then forget it and do what you like because doing something is better than nothing.  If you have a nutso schedule and can only exercise 3 days a week and for whatever reason hate to strength train first then don’t.  You may not build the muscle you could otherwise but at least you’ll be doing more than the majority.    Fitness is like life, can’t fit it into a box.

xoxo
j

The post Should I lift weights or do cardio first? appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Did you get rid of all white flour products when you stopped sugar?  I am thinking about getting rid of sugar all together, but I’m afraid I will binge on other “white” things and stuff, so I’m thinking about eliminating it all, but that is hard also.

Ahhhhhhh!!!  I know.  I know. I know.  You’re so right.  It is hard.  No, I didn’t get rid of all white flour products when I gave up refined sugar.  This was the right choice for me.  I think it would of been too hard and I might have gotten discouraged given up.  Although, I have a feeling that my choice to keep other refined foods in my diet contributed to my depression.  And I know that’s why I didn’t lose weight when I stopped eating refined sugar, I made up for it with piles of nachos.  About 5 months after giving up refined sugar, when I decided to train for my competition, I stopped eating the other refined “white” foods.  Now I rarely eat “white” products.  I save those for free meals.  Even then I have to mentally prepare to battle the cravings that will come afterwards but overall it works for me.

And did you replace anything with natural sweeteners like xylitol or agave?

Yes, I do use natural sweeteners.  I couldn’t give up the sweet taste forever.  I have to be really careful though.  I’ve gone overboard on agave nectar and honey a few times.  But I’ve found that I’m waaaaaay less likely to binge on these things than I am peanut m&m’s or other refined treats.  Not sure why.  Probably because they don’t taste as good.  I think in the beginning it’s better to eliminate it all.  After you’ve built up some CONFIDENCE in your ability to resist a binge and you’ve gone a few months without it you may want to try using these products in CONTROLLED amounts.   I always measure agave with a spoon.  I know for me once I’ve been binge-free for a while I don’t want to mess it up my clean streak.

What do you drink? Do you have coffee? Or just tea?

I drink coffee and tea.  I drink my coffee black and have learned to love it that way.  I also drink many types of teas.  I love Jasmine Green Tea.  SOOO GOOD.   Sometimes I drink blueberry tea if I have a craving or I take a large mug of it to sip if I’m going to be somewhere where everyone is eating sugary junk.  As far as juices, I don’t drink them unless I juice them myself which is rare because I’m lazy.

What did you do with things like yogurt? Did you eat it plain?

Yogurt is a gray area.  Occasionally I’ll have a traditional yogurt cup.  But mostly, I eat plain yogurt with agave nectar and ground flax now.  Or I’ll use fruit, like in my Banana Nut “Sundae”.  If you are having a craving I certainly think yogurt is a better option.  There are lots of things about yogurt that are good for you.

What do you think about corn tortillas or tortilla chips?

YUMMY!!! Those are one of my BIGGEST temptations.  I eat them only for planned sane(free) meals.   It depends on your goals and your triggers.  If you just want to get off refined sugar and they don’t cause intense cravings then keep eating them.  If you want to get off sugar and lose weight then I’d say stay away for a few months.

Did you limit your children’s sugar when you gave it up?

Yes, I limit my children’s intake of sugar.  They have what are called “Sugar Saturdays”.  No sugar during the weeks unless it’s a special occasion like a class party.  I’m not going to be that mother.  Saturday comes and they can have as much as they want.  Which may sound crazy but it usually doesn’t turn out to be all that much  because we don’t keep any in the house.  Their dad usually takes them out for ice cream or buy them a special sweet treat.  Oh and they get to eat the “bank suckers” they’ve been saving all week. If Halloween just passed – forgeddaboutit – let the mayhem begin.

I hope this has been helpful.  If you are thinking about giving up sugar you may want to check out 10 Ways to Help Break a Sugar Addiction.  I know it may sound ridicously depressing and nearly impossible but trust me life without sugar is not that bad.  

I love hearing from you. Always feel free to email me with questions or to share your success story!

xoxo
j

The post Questions for the refined sugar-free freak. appeared first on Girl Heroes.

I’m so happy to hear you have found a great plan and one you enjoy.  Yay!!!!!!  Keep it up!

“When will I see results?”  I think this is the biggest question we all have when we start a new plan.  It was mine.  I also know in the past I’d give up because I wasn’t seeing them fast enough. Two weeks..no changes..I quit.  I wish I had the exact answer to this question.  Everybody’s body is different so people see results at different rates.  Generally speaking, if you are challenging yourself every workout and your nutrition is spot on you should start to see some small changes around 3-6 weeks.  Most people can see major changes between 12-16 weeks if they are consistent with a challenging plan. My advice, to anyone anxiously waiting to see changes, would be stay consistent and be patient.  Take pictures and measurements.  If you are lifting you will most likely not see huge changes in the scale and can easily get discouraged.  I remember not seeing or feeling like I had changed until I saw the pictures and could compare. When I’d get down on myself I’d look at my pictures to remind myself of where I had come from. I’d suggest taking pictures every 4-6 weeks.  A lot of times the results are there we just don’t see them when we look in the mirror.  Measurements help too.  My first photos are about 2 months apart and the rest of them are each about 4 weeks apart.  You can see with time that the changes are still happening just not as obvious.

Wherever you are in your program don’t give up.  If it’s been 6 weeks or more and you are not seeing any changes in your pictures (don’t trust your memory) then maybe it’s time to ask yourself some questions. Are you really pushing yourself during your workouts?  Is your nutrition as good as it could be? If it’s only been a few weeks then keep being consistent and give yourself some more time.

I’d love to hear back from any of you.  How long before you started seeing changes.  Do you track your progress.  If so do you prefer pictures, measurements, BF%, or (whispered) the scale?

Have a great weekend.
xoxo
j

The post How long until I see results? appeared first on Girl Heroes.

What is HIIT cardio and what does it entail?

HIIT cardio is a form of torture derived from the prisons of Abkhazia. Not really.  HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training.   In a nutshell, it is a series of intense bursts of activity followed by short rest or recovery periods. And example would be a 10 minute walk/run.  A minute of walking alternating with a minute of running or sprinting.  

I don’t know about you but I don’t necessarily exercise because I don’t have anything better to do. While I enjoy exercise it’s not at the top of my list of “super fun”. So when I do it, I want to get the most bang for my buck.  Which is why I like high intensity interval training. I can continually challenge myself, burn more fat all while spending less of my precious time working out.  To challenge myself I can increase intensity by making the high intensity intervals harder by increasing speed or resistance (depending on the machine).  Or I can shorten the recovery or rest intervals. 

Our bodies are extremely adaptive.  For example, if you are running 2 miles a day after a few weeks your body will adapt.  In other words, running that same two miles will become easier and easier requiring less work of your body.  If you are happy with your level of fitness and want to maintain you current fitness level then keep at it.  But if you want to continue to improve or burn more calories to burn more fat you will either have to run farther or faster.  It won’t take long for your body to adapt to your new speed or distance so you will have to once again run farther or faster.  Thanks but no thanks. If you’re crazy and you decide you want to try to go faster every time you will at some point you reach an intensity that will take you out your aerobic zone (aerobic means with oxygen) and move into the anaerobic zone (anaerobic).  Aerobic exercise uses oxygen to make energy and anaerobic uses your bodies own chemistry without oxygen to produce energy.  Jogging is aerobic and sprinting is anaerobic.  So instead of working up to the anaerobic zone you can just start there using HIIT cardio.

High intensity interval training can be adapted to any fitness level.  A beginner might walk 2 minutes and jog 30 seconds.  As you improve you can gradually shorten the rest periods and lengthen the high intensity intervals.  Or go faster during the intervals.  As you can see it’s super easy to customize a workout for your own level of fitness.

How hard should you push yourself on the high intensity intervals depends on your current fitness level.  I use the category-ratio scale of perceived exertion or a scale of 1-10 with 1 being extremely easy to 10 being my hardest.  At 1 it feels like the effort I put forth petting my cat and 10 feels like I am climbing the Eiffel Tower with greasy hands.  So when performing HIIT cardio, an average healthy person will want to alternate between periods of exercise being done in the 8-10 (preferable 9-10) range with rest periods in the 2-5 range.  If you have any sort of cardiovascular or respiratory disorder please be smart and talk to your doctor first. The key to finding your 10 is to really listen to your body. A 10 for one person may be a 4 for another.  Make sense? I know when I can push a little harder and I know when I’ve reached my limit. I’m not out to prove anything to anybody except myself. Play with the intensities to add variety. I may do a minute at a 4, a minute at a 8, a minute at a 9, then 30 seconds at a 10, and finally recover for two minutes at a 2 before starting over.

Another benefit of HIIT cardio worth mentioning is EPOC (excess post-exercise consumption).  What this means is that the fat burning doesn’t stop after you stop exercising.  HIIT cardio has shown to keep your metabolism raised after you stop exercising for longer periods of time than traditional (slow and steady) aerobic exercise. Ummm…I’ll take it.

Personally, I think the beauty of HIIT cardio lies in being able to really push myself.  It helps because I break my workouts into 30 sec – 2 minutes intervals.  Like mini-mini-goals.  I’ve found it much easier to push through a minute at a 9 or a 10 then to stay at a 4 for 40 minutes. The time goes by fast and the reaching new levels of intensity is very satisfying. 

Does this mean you should give up all traditional cardio?  Not if you like it.  While I prefer HIIT cardio and have found it to be more effective for fast lost and time management I’m not all hardcore.  I think the best exercise is exercise you want to do and will do.  If you love your step aerobics class then keep going.  You many want to play with making that an interval training session by varying your intensity throughout the class.  There are benefits to steady cardio as well such as improving the bodies ability to use and consume oxygen and lowering the bodies resting heart rate. Personally, I really enjoy the mental relaxation of a long power walk or a long jog. So I do try to incorporate some steady state cardio each month. But my overall preference is HIIT.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend.

xoxo
j

If you enjoyed this this post please Subscribe to the RSS Feed.

or

Sign up for up to have posts emailed to your inbox.

The post HIIT Me Baby One More Time: What is HIIT cardio? appeared first on Girl Heroes.

This is follow up to  “How much should I lift?” from last week. I totally understand the fear of bulking up.  It wasn’t long ago I didn’t think muscles were attractive on women.  Or at least that’s what I said. Now I flex my bicep in the mirror when I brush my teeth!  But to answer the question NO you WILL NOT get “bulky” and you will NOT look like a man.  It takes a lot of effort and time to build muscles. Not too mention, genetic gifting if you really want to (naturally) build some serious muscles.  It’s just not that easy.  Women simply don’t have enough testorone to bulk up.  For some women even pictures of figure competitors are too muscular and they shy away from lifting heavy.  We each have our own aesthetic opinions but don’t let those pictures keep you from lifting heavy.  Most figure competitors don’t look nearly as muscular when they are not on stage but have tight tiny bodies that look really good in swimsuits and jeans.

You want to build muscle because the more muscle you have the more calories you’ll burn, even when you are zoned out in front of the television. Building muscles help prevent injuries. Building muscles relieve joint stress.  Buidling muscles promotes graceful aging.  Building muslces decreases risks of coronary disease.  Building muscles is one of the best ways to prevent bone diseases. There is an older woman who works out regularly at my gym. One time we were talking I mentioned something about age and she told me she was 75.  My jaw dropped to the ground because she looked and acted at least 20 years younger.  I asked her what she did and she said “this” motioning to the weights.  She said she has always made strength training a priority in her life. I’ve watched her lift before and she lifts some serious weight.  She’s been doing it for over 50 years and she doesn’t look anywhere close to She-Hulk.  She’s petite and defined, like a retired Wonder Woman.  More importantly she is energetic and she said her doctors told her she had the bone density of a 25 year old.  So if you are sticking to the 1 pound dumbbells because you’re afraid of getting bulking “lift” assured that you won’t bulk up but you’ll be improving your health and appearance. And if by chance you are a genetically gifted women who builds muscle really easily you can always lighten up if you feel like you are looking too cut.  But don’t tell me.  I’ve been working really hard to try and build muscle on my upper body and it’s a very s-l-o-w process.  No worries about turning into She-Hulk, most of us will have to work our butts off to look and feel like Super Girl.

xoxo
j

The post She-Hulk – Will I get bulky? appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Thanks for sharing your workouts but I don’t see how much you are lifting.  I’m not sure how much weight I’m supposed to be lifting. Can you help me?

First you’re welcome!!  Everyone is at different levels of fitness and therefore there is not a one size fits all weight for women or men.  Here are some guidelines I follow.

1. There are two ways to figure out how much weight to lift. You can find out your 1RM (1 rep maximum, i.e., the most weight you can lift once) and then lift 70-85% of that load for a set number of reps OR trial and error. I’ll go with trial and error.  Because I like to keep things simple and avoid math whenever possible. Plus if you use the 1RM method you have to keep testing your 1RM and figuring out that the % of weight is your going to lift. Who has the time to do that?  I’ve always used trial and error to find my weights.  It’s really quite simple.  By the last rep of my last set I want my muscles to be nearly fatigued.  In other words, if I’m doing 3 sets of 10 bicep squats by rep 10 of my 3rd set (rep 30) that barbell should feel like it weighs almost a million pounds.  If it feels more like a broomstick then you need a heavier weight.

2. If I’m training with high reps I will use lighter weights.  If I’m training with less reps it will be heavier weights.  Pretty simple.  The goal is the same: to lift what feels like a million pound weight while keeping good form when you reach your last reps.  This may be 5 pounds or it may be 500 pounds depending on your strength.

3. For the first set I always go lighter to warm up the muscles. The second set I go heavier.  I continue to add weight until I’m pretty darn sure that it’s going to be HARD to finish my last set.

4. I  lift until muscle fatigue.  Now this doesn’t mean failure although occasionally I do work until failure. Most of the time I lift enough weight that my last rep is hard not excruciating.

5. If you are just starting out I recommend going lighter until you figure out good form (see #6). So depending on your strength this number will be different.  For some people just starting out this may be 5 or 8 pounds. Who cares what your lifting as long as you are challenging yourself! For people who’ve been training a long time this number will be much higher.  Again, if you’ve complete all your reps and it feels equivalent to dusting the house, you need to go heavier.

6. This one is more for the guys!  Sorry that’s sexist (I’ll own it.) but I see waaaayy more guys at the gym with sloppy form then women!  Probably because most of the women are lifting 1 pound dumbbells because they are afraid of “getting bulky”. But not us…we know better!   Anyhoo use good form so you don’t hurt yourself and end up depressed in front of the TV eating Kentucky Fried Chicken because you can’t work out. It’s important to keep good form while lifting not only so you don’t hurt yourself but so you actually use the muscles your supposed to be using. Use some common sense. If you have to start throwing your body weight backwards to curl a barbell then your biceps have probably reached their max.  Some people’s opinion are different on mine than this but I’m very cautious when it comes to lifting.  I think most movement (excluding power movements like power lifts and ballistic drills like kettlebell swings) should be slow, not slow motion, (although some people swear by the super slow method) but CONTROLLED.  If you pay attention to your form keeping good posture by engaging your core muscles and using controlled movements it’s unlikely you will hurt yourself. I’m speaking of basic moves, the things you see in all the books, not power lifts.  If you are going to go out in your backyard to try to hang clean and press the extension ladder in your garage then consult a trainer to teach you how to do Olympic style lifting correctly.  You want to fatigue your muscles using good form.

7. Lastly, keep a journal. I think this has been the biggest key to my weight loss and muscle gain. I carry a journal to EVERY workout session so I don’t have to remember how much lifted last time.  Each workout I record the number of reps and how much weight I lifted.  Carrying a notebook around the gym may seem like a pain but if you’re anything like me it’s MUCH MORE of a pain trying to remember numbers from the previous week.  That’s what I used to do years ago and every time I worked out I’d get discouraged trying to remember what weight I used for what body part. I would think I could curl 70 pounds then nearly pull my back out trying to pick up the weight.  Not too mention it I kept thinking my memory was going and since I’m a hypochondriac I don’t need anything else to worry about.  So I save myself the time and frustration of trying to find the correct weight every time by jotting it down in my notebook.  Then the following week I try to lift a little more.  If the weights don’t go up in small enough increments I keep adding reps until I can move up to the next weight.  Or I move up the in weight but do less reps and work up.

I hope this clears up any confusion as to how much you need to lift. Sometimes I think “experts” overcomplicate working out (Bill Phillips does not. Which is one of the reasons I like the Body for Life book.) and people feel overwhelmed by all the info. So they put off starting an strength training program. For the average person, like me, it doesn’t have to be rocket science.  When I was training for my figure competition I kept it simple.  Life too dang complicated already to turn exercise into molecular science.  Cavemen moved boulders 1000’s of years ago, we can move iron without making it too difficult.  Just lift heavy using good posture (something cavemen didn’t do…at least not according to the movies) and controlled movements.  Don’t be the lady whose is all slouched over swinging 1 pound dumbbells for weeks on end wondering when she is going to see results!

You are all awesome.  I hope this helps clear up the “how much weight should I lift” question. Have a great weekend.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at New School Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post How much weight should I lift?? appeared first on Girl Heroes.

In response to a reader’s question I like to share with you what supplements I am taking or took during my competition prep.  Choosing a supplement or supplements can be confusing.  Just walk into any supplement store or health food store and you’ll have hundreds of choices each claiming to be the secret to a sculpted butt, 6-pack abs, smooth face, or a cancer-free life.  It’s easy to walk out of those stores overwhelmed and broke.  I’m not an expert on this subject all I can do is share what worked for me.

Personally I like to keep it simple.  Right now I’m only taking a whole food multi-vitamin and a whole food B-complex (so I don’t end up in jail during a very specific week of the month). Not sure if I’d call these supplements but I also like to drink a shot glass of apple cider vinegar and 1-4 cups of green tea a day.  I do this for the anti-oxidants, caffeine, and I happen to enjoy it (the tea).

When I was preparing for my show I was taking glutamine (when I could remember) post workouts. This assists in muscle recovery. But more often than not I would forget to take it just like I forget to pluck my eyebrows.  I also drank whey protein for convenience to get my protein in when I was on the go.  I like EAS 100% Whey.  Lastly, 5 weeks before my competition, I tried creatine for 3 weeks. Creatine increases the production of ATP.  ATP is the energy your muscles use for short bursts of energy, such as weightlifting. In other words, when you are taking creatine you can lift heavier weights or more reps before your muscles hurt because they have greater energy stores available to them.  As a result you get more muscle growth.  At least that’s my understanding.  It did work for me as far as my strength.  I could lift heavier but it wasn’t like I doubled my weights.  It was a matter of a few pounds or a rep or two depending on what body part.  Naturally I can lift more with my legs than my shoulders so I saw the biggest increases in the larger muscle groups.  I don’t think I used it long enough to see a visible difference.

Honestly, although I’v tried a few supplements, I’m personally not a big fan. For one, they are really expensive and I’m really frugal. And two, I agonize over taking a Tylenol or aspirin. I believe plenty of water (I drink a gallon a day), the right nutrition, an effective workout plan, and a good nights rest are all you really need.  I don’t think there is a weight loss supplement out there that will get you results you want if you are not feeding your body the proper nutrition or pushing yourself at the gym.  I know the magazines are full of advertisements for fat burners and the like with these beautiful buff fitness models but remember  these girls work their butts off at the gym and eat squeaky clean for weeks leading up to their photo shoots. “Fat burners” are misleading they don’t actually burn fat but stimulate your nervous system therefore increasing your metabolism a little or give you more energy for more cardio.  No thanks.  I’m not a fan of endless hours of cardio.  If energy if what you’re after, you can get that from caffeine without the risks. I was going to research the risks but instead I came this post from an clearly well informed and not to mention funny blogger.  She shares her story of taking an ephedra product (weight loss supplement) and ending up in the cardiology unit.  Enough said.

I’d also like to add if you need to take supplements for energy all the time then there is a good chance your training is out of whack. If you are not getting the results you want I think the first step is to be painfully honest about your nutrition and workouts.  I always find being honest with myself is really tough but necessary.  Often times I look at my diet and see that I need major improvement if I want to see the changes I’m aiming for.  Then I have to re-evaluate my reasons and motivations for setting these goals and make sure they are goals I really want.  Here are the basic questions I ask myself.

Are you eating too much?  Little bites here and there may not seems like much but when you are down to the last few pounds they can hold you back.

Are you eating too little?  This is can slow down your metabolism and slow down fat loss.

Are you timing your meals and not skipping meals?  I rarely go more than 3 hours without at meal.  If I do disaster strikes and I will turn my kitchen into the Hometown Buffet of carbs.

Are you REALLY pushing yourself in the gym?  Can you lift heavier?  Can you run faster on your HIIT cardios? Are you tracking your progress? Have your weights been going up?  Is your speed increasing?

Are you getting enough sleep?  If not you can seriously hinder your progress.

Are you overtraining?  Muscles need time to recover after they have been worked really hard.  I usually rest a muscle group I have worked out at least two days before working the muscles again.  Too much cardio can eat away at hard earned muscle.

Are you getting in your post workout nutrition at least 30 minutes after exercising?  This helps with muscle recovery.

This are the questions I start with when I hit plateaus.  And what worked for me for the majority of my 5 month figure preparation.   That said if someone really wants to add supplements to their plan I would recommend glutamine, creatine, and a whole food multi-vitamin.  Some people don’t like creatine because it can cause water retention.  I didn’t have a problem but then again I only took it for 3 weeks.

Hope you find this helpful!  Since I’m clearly lacking in supplement experience I’d love to hear any of your experiences or recommendations.

xoxo
j

The post Supplements for a Strong Body appeared first on Girl Heroes.