Fortunes Food & Fitness LLC

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the “Workouts” section of our blog, and our first workout post: The Intense Ball Workout. The primary focus of the content in this section will be exercise and physical activity as a means of achieving physical, mental, and spiriutal wellness. We will be posting workouts and information regarding phycial fitness in this section. It is not our goal to discourage and cause frustration, so please give us your feedback so that we can make this information easy to understand and apply. We want you to be able to immediately utilize this information in a manner that is both safe, and cost-effective.

Speaking of safety, it is important to be safe when you exercise. Please consult with your physician before begining an exercise program. I know everyone does not consult with their physician before starting an exercise program, but it is especially important if you have any health problems (the Physical Activity Readiness – Questionairre, or PAR-Q, will be discussed below as a tool to determine whether you are safe to begin an exercise program, but there is no substitue for physician). Being physically active has some level of risk associated with it. It is normal to experience fatigue and muscle soreness, as well as other physiological changes with the respiratory (breathing) and circulatory (heart and blood vessles) systems during and after exercise. The respiratory and circulatory changes include elevation in heart and breathing rates, and elevation in blood pressure and the rate of blood flow. The increase in heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure will tend to be greater depending on the amount of energy required during the activity. Low activity level tasks require the use of less energy than high activity level tasks. Let’s compare some low activity level tasks with a high activity level task. It is likey that you will be in a restful state during calm prayer/meditation. Washing the dishes may also be a restful activity that does not require a lot of energy. These low activity level tasks are often associated with a lower heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure than a more intense physical activity. If you go jogging, your activity level increases. This is likely to lead to an increase in heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure as jogging is a high activity level task. This means that your heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure will likely be higher when you are jogging than when you are washing the dishes, and higher when are washing dishes than when you are seated in quiet prayer/meditation. That is your basic physiology lesson for the day!

We are all at different stages in our health and wellness, and it is important that we listen to what our bodies are telling us. There is a difference between experiencing a challenge during exercise, and experiencing a red flag. Pain is not the goal of exercise. In fact, exercise should be a means of relieving, or decreasing the risk of, pain. I’m not saying that exercise won’t make you sore. Trust me on that one! I’m saying that exercise should not leave you hurting. Pain is usually an indicator that something is wrong, and should not be ignored. Ignoring pain is like ignoring the check engine light in your car. The check engine light lets you know that something is not right, and you need to get a mechanic to take a look at the car. Pain indicates that something is not right in your body, and you need to seek a healthcare professional (likely a doctor) to investigate the problem and to get information as to how to remedy the problem. I would be foolish to not also make it clear that even with the best efforts, exercise can cause changes in the body that could lead to death. Exercise itself is not often the cause of death in these instances. I recall hearing of a young man who collapsed during his high school basketball game. This young man had an enlarged heart, and due to his heart condition, in spite of his otherwise good health, he died. Sometimes, these things cannont be prevented. There are, however, instances in which proper health management, and having a good ear to listen to your body, can decrease the risk of developing major health problems.

Be kind to the doctors. If the doctor says, “your knees hurt because you need to lose weight,” try not to get too upset if he/she does not provide you with any further information than that. Doctors are not specialists in exercise. You wouldn’t take your dress pants to a plumber for repair would you? Not unless that plumber was a skilled seamstress. So go easy on your doctors. When you come in with a complaint, they focus on fixing what is wrong in the body. Often, doctors are not trained in how to prescribe exercise or rehab. There are other professionals that are skilled in those areas, so remember to go to the right person for what you need.

If you are considering a personal trainer, please take the decision seriously. First, ask yourself what you need from a trainer. Do you need a drill sargent? A motivator? An educator? Someone to help you remain accountable? Do you want to improve your sport performance? Do you want to improve you running for an upcoming 5k? Do you want to lose weight? Are you looking to improve your health and decrease your risk of health disorders (such as decrease your risk of diabetes)? Research the trainer and be sure he/she is right for you. Do a background check by talking to some of their current clients (if the clients are willing). If you are seeking a trainer in a gym, talk to other staff at the gym and find out what the general opinion is regarding that trainer. In a non-scary stalker way, observe the trainer with his/her clients (maybe try watching quietly from your treadmill). See how the trainer interacts with his/her clients. What is the trainer’s educational background and is the trainer certified by a reputable organization? What is the trainers style? Is the trainer a drill sargent or less authoritative? Is the trainer a motivator? Is the trainer supportive? Is the trainer attentive? Is the trainer teaching? Does the trainer have a specialty or special skill? Does everyone get the exact same workout regardless of fitness level or goals? Once you have obtained the answers to your questions, you will be ready to make a good decision about a personal trainer.

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) is one of my favorite resources for health and wellness. The PAR-Q is one of the tools from the CSEP that I like. Click on the PAR-Q link above, to access the PAR-Q form. The form will help you identify some areas of concern regarding begining an exercise program, and there is also a useful Physical Activity Guide. I am not affiliated with the CSEP, but I do find the information provided through the society to be useful in my pursuit of health and wellness.

So, let the fun begin! This is the first workout we are posting. This was our first time shooting an exercise video (Robert and I), so there are some quirks. I could defintitely use more space. I know that with the tight space I could likely injur myself, so rest assured that we will work on getting more space or making our current space safer. Also, lighting is a minor issue, and we may need to get a bit of a better camera. Then there is the dog…she seems to feel the need to be in the exercise room when I am exercising, so you will see my baby girl in the video. I think that is it. We are hoping to get things looking better over time. Please bear with us as we are new at this.

Workout 1: The Intense Ball Workout

1) Kettlebell Swing

2) Medicine Ball Sumo Squat

3) Burpee Push-up with Row

4) Lunge with Medicine Ball Press and Twist

5) Curl Up with Medicine Ball

* For exercise number 3, if you cannot do the modified version, then do push ups on the floor from the knees or toes for 20 reps. You can also do push-ups from standing, by placing both hands on the wall and bending the elbows to bring the body close to the wall, then straightening the elbows and pressing the body away from the wall.

Tags: burn fat, cardio, exercise, fitness, food, fortunes, kettlebell, lose weight, reps, strength, total body, workout
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