Monday, September 15, 2008
Meteor Garden
Friday, September 12, 2008
Working Out
Circuit training is a great exercise that combines the benefits of lifting with cardio. If you are completely unfamiliar with how circuit training works, here is a brief guide to get you started. I’ll cover most the basics and provide some exercises and tips you can use at home. If you want to really get into circuit training, I found that most local gyms have at least one class.
The reason that circuit training gets its name is because you will do two circuits of each type of exercise. For example, you’ll do one circuit of cardio, before moving immediately into one circuit of strength training. By keeping your heart rate up and not stopping, you’ll be able to get a much better workout and you’ll see results a lot faster. I find that the benefits of a cardio workout and circuit training is one way to get the best of both worlds.
When I was first starting out with circuit training, I found it best to use six exercises for each circuit. Each exercise will have a different time frame, from thirty seconds to more than five minutes. You may need to adjust these times when you are first starting out. As always, before starting your exercises, you might want want to warm up - get the blood flowing. I’ve found that 5 minutes of brisk movement and stretching really helps loosen me up. Your final routine should include stretching to minimize any post workout pain.
With the warm up out of the way, it’s time to look at the techniques. One way to start is with the cardio portion of the training. First, often times, I like to start with some simple squats - using no resistance or weight. I focus on proper form and making sure that I’m not bouncing on the way down or up. I try to do these for about minute. Next, I may jump rope for a minute or move into lunges.
When doing lunges, you still want to focus on using the right form. The knee should never cross the plane of your foot. Hold each lunge for thirty seconds and then switch sides. I then switch from lunging to walking, jogging, or running (depending how Lazy I am currently feeling) for the next five minutes. You’ll want to build up your intensity and then slow it back down at the end of those five minutes.
For my last two exercises in this circuit, I would recommend doing pushups for about a minute. You don’t need to do 100 pushups like I’m trying to do. I then finish off with some jumping jacks. Congratulations - you’ve just completed one circuit!
Your options for circuit two will depend on how experienced you are with strength training. If you’re just starting out, you can repeat the same exercises above, but add a few light weights. The plank is also a great exercise for this circuit as is the back extension. Remember, each circuit should be identical in the amount of time spent.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
New friend
Its always nice to meet new friends. Specially when you’re like me that had left a lot of friends back in my own country. When i first came here in the US i longed for my friends and of course my family. Our neighborhood was very quiet specially in the winter. You don’t see anybody outside just chatting and laughing. It was hard. I cried, and cried, and cried some more. I almost told my husband to send me home,lol! Of course i didn’t! I came here because i wanted to be with him so here i was. Anyway, i met a new friend today! Her name is Rica. She was one of my friends in friendster for a while. Come to find out she just live the same town i do! Of course we set up a date to meet and today was the day. We had fun! I picked her up someplace because she doesn’t drive yet. We had some chips and salsa dips at the house and some soda. We also went to the dog park with my dog Marley. Rica met my step-son Zach. We took a bunch of pics. Rica is a very nice young lady and she is very tiny too. Makes me jealous! lol. I will see her again one of this days and i’m looking forward to it!
Shopping for a dress
Don't you think shopping is so much fun?? Specially when you cant find the outfits in your size? When it takes a couple of hours when you finally found the one?? Yeah Right! My husband and myself are invited to a friends wedding and that means i need to find a dress. I never owned a dress ever til yesterday, yup til yesterday! We went to the mall, and take note i went there with my husband! We looked at different stores. First we went to Boston store and i found a couple dresses that i liked, well actually one of them was the one that i liked the most but it was not on sale. .It was for $140 and i didn't want to spend that much on a dress,hehheh. The other dress was on sale for $85, and its a kind of dress that you have to suck your "love handles" in so you wont look like you're pregnant, lol! So after a lot of thinking which one to get i've finally decided to put both of them back to their respective racks,lol.
Off we go to check out JC Penny and guess what? I found the perfect dress!!!! ( at least that's what i think,lol) It's a reddish, burgundy'sh color. It's haltered that's why i loved it. You will see a photo of it below. Then of we go to another store to find a pair of shoes to go with my pretty dress. My husband was very kind to help me and give honest opinions on what looks nice and waht not. Most of the time he was pointing at ugly dresses, he had no idea, hahhaha! So i found my shoes and we were done. Im telling you, we were in that mall for 2 hours!! I was tired and hungry after.
I was a bit frustrated when i was trying all those clothes. You know why?? I;ve gained 20 lbs since i came here in the states!! I need to lose some fats in my shoulders area,hehehe. I need to do some abs workout. The wedding is not til after 2 weeks so now my goal is..............to workout at the gym everyday!! Work my butt off! I need to look good in that dress that i bought!! I will keep an update on my blog about my work out so keep checking it. Above is a photo of the dress.