Exercise | Amber Keinath: Healthy & Fit Women

Fitness Adventure Spotlight: 7 Surprising Health Benefits of Kayaking

May 062013

No secret here: I get bored easily. I am tired of the same old workouts. There are thousands of programs all over the internet with lots of quick little workouts you can find on Facebook status updates, pinned to Pinterest, or tweeted across Twitterville.

They are all good in theory and I am guilty of sharing and pinning them as well. They have their place. Judging by the obesity crises in the US, it’s hard to say these little workouts are being utilized on a regular basis. In my opinion, they are great for getting results, but they aren’t very fun. Who wants to slave away all the time whether at the gym or in your living room? There are so many other ways to enjoy life and stay healthy and fit at the same time!

What I would like to do on this blog now is to highlight the fun adventures life provides that will get you up and exercising (and loving every minute of it). After all, I am here to help inspire you to find the healthy and fit lifestyle YOU actually love!

Today’s Spotlight: Kayaking!

My most favorite memories growing up center around the water (maybe has something to do with growing up in California which has plenty of water to play in). More specifically, we would go camping every year to Shaver Lake located up in the beautiful Sierra Nevadas. Kayaking first thing in the morning would be the best time on the lake to take in all the beautiful pin tree covered mountains rising out of the lake everywhere you turned. The nice cool breeze of fresh air as you paddled around the lake checking out the deer and other wildlife going on about their business in meadows with all sorts of different color wildflowers. All the times I spent enjoying the lake from a kayak, I didn’t realize how many health benefits came along with it (after all, how great is a workout when you are sitting?).

So, what is so great about kayaking that is good for your health? I turned to the Google+ community of Kayaking and met some nice people in the process! Here are four of their responses about enjoying kayaking for fun and staying in shape:

What do you think? Kayaking sounding better for exercise by the minute?

Here is my list of the main health benefits that this little known exercise gem offers:

Relaxing

Are you a busy person and truly appreciate those rare moments you can actually take a deep breath and relax? With working full time and being a new momma, I find myself trying to cram more and more into my day. We get so caught up in getting everything done that we tend to put our mental health on the back burner. We need to remember to take those moments to rejuvenate so we can better attack all we must accomplish on a daily basis. Kayaking is a great way to help you de-stress by getting you back to enjoying nature. God created such an awesome world for us to enjoy. Get out on the water, get those wonderful endorphins pumping up your mood, and enjoy God’s beautiful creation!

Weight Loss

Kayaking can help you lose weight by burning, on average, 300 calories for a 130 pound women who is paddling at a moderate pace for an hour (exercise.com). Crank up the intensity as you get more comfortable in the kayak by trying out sea or white water river kayaking or even sprint racing and burn at least 2 times that amount!

Cardiovascular Endurance

Get off the boring treadmill and elipitcal machines inside that boring gym, and get out on the water, have some fun for once while you are working at strengthening your heart. Kayaking is a great way to keep that ticker of yours healthy and happy!

Core Strengthening

With all the paddling, lifting, pushing, balancing, and twisting you do while kayaking, your core muscles (back and abdominals) will get quite the workout. Become a regular kayaker and you will find yourself getting that stronger more toned core- no sit-ups in sight!

Upper Body Muscles

Can’t forget all that paddling you do kayaking really works your upper body muscles of your back, shoulders, chest, and arms. Do it on a regular basis and you will definitely start noticing an increase in your arm muscle circumference. Kayaking produces great results if you are looking to build your upper body muscles for that desired toned look- no dumbbell curls in sight!

Low-Impact Exercise

Kayaking is great for anyone with lower body issues such as knee pain. It does not have the constant beating on your leg joints that you have with running or other exercises. It can be very beneficial for runners to give their legs a rest by cross training with kayaking.

Lower Body Muscles

Yes! Kayaking does work your lower body. You are applying pressure with your legs to help with stability which is giving your legs a little workout at the same time. It won’t be as big of a leg workout as you would get with rowing, but that is a fitness adventure for a different blog post.

I encourage you to try out kayaking even if you don’t want to become a regular. It is a great way to change things up in your workouts to keep it interesting. The first time you go out kayaking, I highly recommend you find a group or local kayaking expert to show you proper form in order to avoid injury. For information on where you can go kayaking locally, I recommend checking out your local visitors or welcome center and check out meetup.com.

Have you ever thought about changing up your workout by going kayaking? What your #1 favorite outdoor activity? Leave a comment below…

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This blog post is part of a healthy blog linkup at Thank Your Body!

photo credit: flickr/MangroveMike

Top 5 Favorite Fitness Apps to Keep YOU Fit & Healthy

Posted by Amber Keinath

Apr 222013

We all know how important it is to stay physically active for a healthy lifestyle. So, why do we struggle so much sticking with a program?

I have found most people struggle because they get bored with their program, burnt out, or lose motivation to exercise. Don’t worry; there’s an app for that! Using these tools will help you find a plan you love and help you stick with it!

Apps can help you get in shape, lose weight, or keep you motivated for a healthy lifestyle.

So, after checking out quite a large number of fitness apps, I have come up with my top 5 favorite {free} fitness apps to keep you on track to reach your fitness goals. These are all free (at the time of this blog post) to download to your tablet or mobile device.

Couch-to-5K

A 5K is a great activity to get involved in to help you live a healthier lifestyle. With them taking place all over the country, you are sure to find one that is close to you. It is a lot of fun and a great activity to do with friends!

The Couch-to-5K app is a great motivational tool to get out there and train for a 5K. It gives you a 30 minute per day, 3 days per week, for 9 weeks program to take you literally from your couch to being able to run a 5K. If you are already running a 5K, it also has a program to take you from the 5K to a 10K.

The program consists of alternating walking and running. It even allows you to listen to your favorite music during your training and will just give you audio alerts when it is time to change it up. The great thing about this program is the short amount of time commitment that is needed, giving you plenty of time to heal and rest in between. Finally, it has tons of motivational quotes, exercise tips, and healthy recipes to keep you going on your path to a healthy lifestyle.

Nike Training Club

Looking for a new workout? The Nike Training Club app has 100s of workouts for women that were designed by pro athletes and top trainers. You start with your goal, fitness level, and then choose your workout. There are great video demos you can pause that help make sure you are performing the exercises with the correct form. It really is a great tool to get a full body workout and it’s like having a personal trainer with you any time of the day.

At the end, it gives you a summary of your workout. There are also rewards and bonuses that you can earn with each workout.

The first time I tried this app, I was not a huge fan. It felt like just a bunch of exercises that came with videos on how to do the workouts.

When I was doing some research for this blog post, I gave it another shot and it actually won me over this time. I love how I can customize my workout each time. I am glad I didn’t skip this app for this blog post!

FitID

I felt this app was a little cumbersome to set up on a mobile device, but really has proven to be a valuable tool. You can track your meals by taking pictures and getting feedback from friends. You can track your workout stats and add videos and photos. Submit your before and after photos which makes it a great progress tracker. You can get great feedback from the community.

FitID contains the most popular diets and training programs. They have thousands of workouts to browse through. It’s a great way to get ideas for new workouts so you don’t get too bored with the same program.

This app allows you to share to twitter and Facebook. You can also find and connect with local people, trainers, and gyms. Overall, it is a great community with lots of information to keep you motivated with your fitness goals.

RunKeeper

This is a great app if you are a runner. There are many times when I have gone out for a run and ended up “not feeling like it” so I walked quite a bit. This app is like having a personal trainer running beside you. You can put in your desired pace for the run and it will let you know along the way how you are doing for that pace. It works on your smartphone using GPS to track your distance, time, and calories burned. It is a simple app but can be a valuable tool to keep runners motivated to “go the distance”.

Fitocracy

This is truly a fitness social network. You can track your progress by recording any activity that you participate in. You are able to connect with others. There are many different community groups where you can make friends, have followers, and create your own little mini support system. Fitocracy does a great job of making fitness a game with challenges and incentives to keep upping your fitness level. Give it a try!

Fleetly

I know in this blog post, I said I would introduce you to my top 5 favorite fitness apps, but here is a sixth app. Have you heard of fleetly? According to the reviews about it, it supposedly makes fitness even more of a game to earn points, create virtual teams, and participate in challenges to earn medals and be on leaderboards. It allows you to track your progress and share results. I haven’t used this app enough to know whether to recommend it to you or not, so I was looking for a little feedback from you.

So in the comments today: Have you tried Fleetly? If so, what do you think of it? Do you have another free fitness app that you love?

Healthy & Fit Success Habit: Should you Keep an Exercise Journal? {Free Printable}

Posted by Amber Keinath

Apr 032013

How many times have you ever started an exercise routine only to quit once your motivation waned? I have found that women who are naturally healthy and fit keep an exercise journal of some sort.

What is an exercise journal? It can be a notebook, spreadsheet, app, or online tool where you keep track of your workouts. In an exercise journal, you record information about your daily workouts such as how often, how long, the intensity, how you feel before or afterwards, type of workout, etc.

There are many different types of exercise journals on the market today in addition to all the different printable ones I have found all over the internet. If you are looking for a journal already put together in a book format, I highly recommend the FitBook. I love this book so much that you can find it through my affiliate link: Get the FitBook Now. It is an awesome tool to keep (detailed) track of your eating habits and exercises.

I encourage you to find an exercise journal format that works best for you. Personally, I like having a hard copy to look back on my progress with. However, I have yet to find a printable exercise journal on the internet that looks cute and will let me write what I want to keep track of.

Why do Healthy & Fit Women keep an exercise journal?

Keeps track of your progress: where you are and what you need to work on.
Breaks down goals into manageable chunks. Helps you keep track of what workouts you do.
Helps you plan your workouts. Makes sure you are including cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and some flexibility training in your regular workouts.
Might help highlight hidden barriers to you reaching your goals.
Help you keep track of sleep patterns which may interfere with your energy and workouts during the day.
How you feel during the day when you work out vs. when you don’t work out.
Helps you maintain a consistent plan and not just work out on a whim.
Keeps track of how you feel before your workouts vs. after your workouts.
Keeps track of what exercises or workouts you like or dislike. Tracks your progress even if the scale or measurements stay the same. Having a regular way to keep track of what physical activities you do is important for any successful fit plan because it will help you set goals, measure progress, stick to a program, and plan improvements.

So what do you usually record in an exercise journal? Date, time, activity/type of workout, goal duration, actual duration, level of difficulty, how I felt before/after, my plan for today, did I meet my plan for the day, and a weekly roundup where I ask myself what the biggest challenge of the week was and what was the biggest triumph of the week.

I added these in an easy to use format that you can download and print for free. I just ask that you leave a comment below letting me know what your biggest goal is right now and what your biggest challenge is toward reaching that goal.

Click Here to Print My Weekly Exercise Journal

I want you to be successful in reaching your goals. Find what will work best for you to keep track of your progress. You can do a quick search and find many different forms of keeping track. I highly recommend the FitBook if you are like me and like to keep a hard copy of what you are doing. If you would rather a printable sheet you can write the information down on, you can always download my printable exercise journal.

Question of the day: How do you currently keep track of your workouts? Leave me a comment below…

8 Reasons Why Working Out with a Buddy is a Must for Success! – Part 1

Posted by Amber Keinath

Mar 252013

I recently mentioned a great way to stay motivated to working out is to find a buddy. I got some mixed reactions from a few of my readers and social media followers regarding some of their experiences. So, in great social media fashion, I turned to my twitter universe to find what the benefits to having a workout buddy are and what makes a workout buddy relationship successful.

Connect with me on Facebook or Twitter to get involved in future blog posts!

Before I dive into the 5 ways to find a great workout buddy, I thought it would be important to start with the 8 top benefits to actually working out with a buddy.

Less Negative Self-Talk

With a workout buddy, you will find yourself being more positive about your body and your health. You have someone going through it all with you. I don’t know about you, but when I would work out alone, I would find myself getting into the vicious cycle of negativity if my motivation failed or I got in a rut. With a workout buddy, there is less chance of your motivation running thin or getting into that workout standstill.

Strength in Numbers

This old saying definitely applies to having a workout buddy! Having another person around working out with you, you will be more apt to participate regularly in physical activity. It makes it personal. When one person’s motivated wanes, the other person can encourage. It’s a mutual game of “keep the other person going”.

Support for Goals

What better way to reach your goals than having a built in support system? Research after research has found that you have a better chance of reaching your goals when you have a rock solid support system behind you. If you are constantly being beaten down by a negative support person around you, it will be a lot tougher for you to be motivated to reach your goals. Constantly hearing “you can’t lose that weight”, “working out won’t get you anywhere”, “you are too far gone to get healthy” will just drag you down. A workout buddy, on the other hand, will most likely have the same priorities for health that you do, will be there to lift you up when you are feeling down, and will support and encourage you toward you goals.

No Debates

Who hasn’t fought with that inner voice saying “I am too tired to workout” or “I am so bored with that workout so I am just not going to do it”? Having a workout buddy will keep you on target to reaching your goals. You will be less likely to turn down that workout when you have someone relying on you to help them reach their goals. When you both have similar goals toward your healthy and fit life, you can help each other beat out those inner debates!

Less Workout Boredom

Working out alone can get boring. It can start feeling like the same thing over and over again. If I would go for a walk by myself for the 2 mile loop in my neighborhood I like taking, it would feel so long. My hubby has been great for going on these walks during this pregnancy with me, and after our long days at work, it’s a great way for us to unwind and talk about what is going on in our lives. (Great for marriage, BTW) When I go on this 2 mile walk with my hubby, before I know, we are done. Time seems to fly by!

Less Stress

What better combination of stress relief are a great workout and the ear of a friend. Having a workout buddy gives you someone else to share what is going on in your life with and to help work through any struggles you are facing. They can be a great social support and can be almost better than therapy. Getting all the stuff off your mind along with getting those endorphins pumping will make for some great stress relief in addition to the other physical benefits you will get.

Overcome Fears

I have been terrified to try a new class or new workout before. It is a lot harder to make that first appearance to that Zumba class or to that 5k. However, if you have a workout buddy that is interested in sharing those activities with you, it is a lot easier to have the confidence to face those new environments. Plus, that brings us to the last benefit I will cover in this post:

Increase the Fun Factor

Workout buddies can make exercise more fun. This is a simple statement with huge implications for your long term fitness success. Why would someone stick with working out when they do not enjoy it at all? People who are more successful at losing weight and getting fit, have fun doing so. They have found the activities they enjoy that get them off the couch, away from the computer, and up and moving. There are so many different types of exercises out there not to mention all those activities/hobbies you can start participating in that will get you moving without you feeling like you are involved in a grueling workout. You don’t have to feel the pain of a gym workout to find health benefits. Having a good workout buddy will help you find activities that are more fun and will give you someone to go have fun with!

Get out there, find a fitness buddy, explore activities, and have fun getting fit!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog post where I will cover how to make sure your workout buddy relationship doesn’t fall flat!

If you are having trouble finding someone to support you through your workout goals, shoot me an email at amber (at) amberkeinath (dot) com or connect with me on facebook or twitter to let me know what your goal is! I don’t want anyone to have an excuse not to reach a goal. I am here for you…let me be a part of your support network!

Question of the day: Do you prefer to work out alone or with a buddy? Leave a comment below…

Photo Credit

Top 10 Reasons to Exercise during Pregnancy

Posted by Amber Keinath

Jan 172013

Do you know that exercising through your pregnancy can help both you and your baby, not only during the 9 months of pregnancy, but also during your recovery and well into mommyhood?

I had started doing some research about pre/post-pregnancy fitness and nutrition when I first started OB nursing. I enjoyed my OB patients and they had lots of questions, not only on motherhood and taking care of baby, but they wanted to know what they should do and how long it would take to get their bodies back.

You can get your body back but research has found it can be easier if you stay active and fit during pregnancy.

Now that I am expecting, I have been doing exhaustive research about exercising while pregnant because I want to know WHY I am putting in all this extra work daily when most of the time I just feel like putting my feet up and eating for 2 or 3! There has got to be some benefits!

Is it really going to help with the unflattering signs and symptoms that come with pregnancy such as all that swelling and bigger bun cakes or chubby thighs? Will it give me the cute basketball bump with no evidence of the pregnancy from my back side?

Every woman is different with how her body adapts to the pregnancy and where she seems to gain the pregnancy weight. Exercising during pregnancy does come with some benefits though!

Here are the top 10 Reasons to have a Healthy & Fit Pregnancy:

10. Increase flexibility

Due to the hormones during pregnancy, your muscles like to tighten up and can cause some back pain. Increasing flexibility will help with some uncomfortable symptoms during pregnancy and will especially help for using all those different positions during labor and delivery of that cute little baby!

9. Better muscle tone

This will definitely come in handy with all the weight redistribution that happens during pregnancy as well as all those muscles you will discover when taking care of a newborn during mommyhood.

8. Decrease in signs and symptoms such as swelling, nausea, constipation, back pain, and varicose veins.

What more can I say about this? Those not so great symptoms that come along with the changing proportions of your body and those crazy pregnancy hormones can be managed! Exercise helps decrease these uncomfortable parts of pregnancy.

7. Better sleep (which mom couldn’t use this?)

6. More energy!

5. Better functioning placenta.

The placenta is your baby’s lifeline during pregnancy. It is what provides all the nutrients and oxygen to your baby. A better functioning placenta will help grow a healthier baby!

4. Faster recovery.

So, you are already thinking about how you are going to get your body back after your little one arrives. Well, if you exercise throughout pregnancy, your recovery can be quicker and less painful than if you didn’t exercise.

3. Lower weight gain and fat accumulation.

Now, I am not talking about unhealthy habits during pregnancy. I am talking about not gaining more than the recommended amount of weight. If you are a healthy BMI before pregnancy, and are only carrying one baby, recommended weight gain is between 25 and 35 pounds.

By exercising throughout your pregnancy, you can help maintain a healthy weight gain and a healthy amount of fat accumulation.

2. Leaner baby and child

I thought this was really interesting. By you exercising throughout your pregnancy, you can help give your baby a healthy start to this world that might even carry on even until Kindergarten!

1. Easier Labor and Delivery

Shall I say more? You will be more prepared for the endurance and using those muscles that are needed for this tough time. Research has shown that women who exercise throughout the entire pregnancy have 1/3 shorter labor times, less complications, and there is a dramatic increase in those women who are able to deliver naturally without having to be induced. Talk about motivation enough!

There are some great labor and delivery benefit statistics here at my previous blog post: “Can I Exercise during Pregnancy?”

After finding the known benefits of exercise, I am definitely even more motivated to keep healthy and fit in order to help not only me but my little guy who is still cooking.

For Christmas, I got some great pregnancy workout DVDs, books, and routines that I will soon try out and write up a review for you. So far during this pregnancy, I have been using Lindsay Brin’s Pregnancy Workout Series which I reviewed in my previous blog post: “Review: Lindsay Brin’s Workout”.

Question of the Day: Which of the above 10 reasons to have a healthy and fit pregnancy is the most motivating to you for staying healthy and fit during pregnancy? Leave a comment below!

Sources:
http://momsintofitness.com
http://acog.org
Exercising Through Pregnancy
Can I Exercise during Pregnancy?

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