Pilates Workouts

Working out at home can be fun and easy!  

Motivation

We all need a little motivation every now and then. Here's a Storify dedicated directly for this!

Get up and get to work!

http://storify.com/AlyssaHeard/motivation

Goal Setting

Goal Setting is the most important part of being successful in any fitness or weight loss endeavor. To simply say that you want to lose weight or say that you want to be skinny is unacceptable and unrealistic. Writing out your goals and making them specific and obtainable is the best way to achieve them. Below are some tips on how to write realistic goals.

Put serious thought into what you are trying to accomplish
What exactly do you want to do? Do you want to have a smaller midsection? Would you like more toned legs? What about you are trying to improve on? When you become specific it is easier to develop a plan of action around this goal.

Research the best way to achieve your goal
You don't have to reinvent the wheel. There are a plethora of tools that you can use to research the best techniques to achieve your goal. There are fitness magazines for women, men, and several different popular exercises. You can also take a trip to the library and check out a book that talks about healthy eating or great exercises for the area you are trying to improve on. Google is also your friend. Don't be afraid to look for some tips to help you.

Set a schedule and stick to it
Setting a schedule helps you visualize everything that you need to accomplish your goals. If you have to run on Monday's and Thursday's be committed to running and actually do it. You can't get where you want to be without putting in work, don't be lazy, make a schedule and stick to it.

Death by Insanity

The most challenging DVD exercise program that I’ve ever struggled with is Insanity. The exercise was demanding and I began to question whether I could finish the program instantly. I gripped my inhaler with the little energy that I had left and thought, “If this is the warm-up how hard is the actual exercise?” At the lifesaving stretching period of the DVD, “Plyrometric Cardio Circuit,” Even though I was already drenched in sweat, I caught my breath and relished in this break period. “Insanity is possibly the most difficult, cardiovascular-based DVD workout program on the market today,” according to Michael Esco, PhD, WebMD Expert.  The 60-day program consists of ten   challenging DVD’s ranging from Plyometric Cardio Circuit, to  Cardio Power & Resistance.

The exercises are a combination of aerobic and anaerobic intervals. “Burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour and get the most insane body in 60 days,” claims the programs website. The program is lead by trainer Shaun-T, who has made  several appearances to promote the exercise DVD including the Tyra Show.

“Overall, I really enjoyed the program. It was definitely tougher than I expected but once you get the hang of things, it isn’t too bad,” said Chelsea Ayers,  Sophomore at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. She completed the program over the summer in efforts to fit back into her prom dress.  “My favorite aspect is that it’s a really good workout for your entire body and it comes with a extremely doable meal plan. Upon purchase of the DVD set you receive a complementary Elite, Nutrition Plan, Fitness Guide, Insanity Workout Calendar, and free online support tools.

The meal plan consists of different meals that directly correlate with the program to help the participant loose weight. Each meal plan has  10 options to choose from. Each  meal contains  about 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. This balanced diet  is recommended for the intensity of each workout. “Insanity is an excellent method of exercise for people who desire to lose body weight/fat and increase cardiovascular fitness,” Esco said in an article for WebMD. You will get a great workout with each DVD if you can maintain such intense exercise.

Not everyone raves about the DVD program. “I love the idea of DVD’s but I can’t stand them myself.” Nicele Hoskins, Senior Health and Fitness editor at “Heart and Soul Magazine.” Hoskins explained that she is “sometimes concerned about the safety” of the program. You don’t have a professional there with you to ensure that you are not putting yourself in harm she commented.  Much like other participants Hoskins did like the amount of cardio that the program features.

“It had a lot more cardio than I expected. You had to max out instead of just getting to a number in your head,” Brian Hinds, Junior at Howard University, commented. Hinds exercises three times a week but enjoys the strong emphasis of cardio of the program. “Overall, I like P90X better. It helps you gain weight and build muscle and that’s my ultimate goal. It’s great for losing weight and staying slim. If I wanted to drop some pounds I would like it better.” 

In order to lose one pound you have to burn or cut 3,500 calories. To do this in a week you need to cut 500 calories a day. However, one pound isn’t what rumors have built it up to be. To further illustrate this, one pound is “equivalent of four sticks of butter,” according to Tracy Teare in her online article for fitnessmagazine.com.

Angelo Wong, a graduating Senior at Howard University , realized how out of shape he was after the completion of the first DVD titled “Dig Deeper & Fit Test”. “The workout allowed me to get a great sweat going. It was definitely worth it.” The first DVD introduces you to the typical exercises that you’ll be doing in the DVD program. Variations of jumping jacks, sport drills, and plyometrics are all used to identify where the participants starting point of their fitness levels are

The rest of the DVD’s in the 60-day challenge incorporate max-interval training, Insanity’s defining piece. Traditionally when trainers use interval training the participant completes short periods of exercises followed by long periods of rest. Shaun T and the Insanity team flipped this concept and the participant completes long intervals of exercises and short periods of rest.

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There is a long list of supporters that say great things about the DVD program.“I loved it. It was one of the hardest workouts I have done,” stated Michael Madden Jr., sophomore at Howard University. Madden continued to say, “it’s totally worth it. I know people who did it twice and I wish I could do it with them. I would use it again.” 

A Solid Push

Trainers. They push, yell, and motivate us to do our best. They have the solid rock abs that we drool over and sweat out our perms to achieve. Trainers are a critical aspect to our fitness success. In honor of Black History Month, I’m going to introduce the world to my trainer.

Natasha Ballard is a 20 year-old exercise enthusiast. She is the CEO and Founder of NLB Fitness, which stands for Now vs. Later Battle. She began training because she “love[s] the idea of teaching others how to be healthy, happy, and change their outlook on exercising.”

Weekly she trains a small group of students, on the Banneker Track in Washington. The participants complete several different routines, which incorporate Ballard’s favorite exercises. The high intensity training sessions that she conducts generally last an hour and a half but the results last much longer.

“I was still sore three days later,” said participant Reshod Hamilton. “I enjoyed it… I would work out with her again.” Hamilton is a sophomore, broadcast journalism major at Howard who is already in relatively great shape. With his favorite exercise being cardio, he constantly sings praises about Ballard and his experience with her training sessions. “She properly motivated me and others,” said Hamilton. “I enjoyed the feeling after and the satisfaction of knowing that I am helping my body.”  

Ballard is a junior, accounting major at Howard University from New York and Connecticut. She is also a brother of Alpha Kappa Psi, Professional Business Fraternity, Psi Tau Chapter.   

Arguments

Arguments do two things.  One they show you how strong the relationship truly is. If you can make it through an argument then that means you are committing to the relationship. Whether it is a friendship, family member, or loved one, if you make it through an argument you are saying “I want to work on this with you.” If you don’t make it through the argument then your relationship probably wasn’t worth the efforts in the first place.

            The second thing that they do is show you a person’s true colors. When someone is upset and they dismiss you off jump they probably aren’t someone that you should trust. If they curse you out and call you everything but a child of God then that’s how they feel about you. They tell you your place in that person’s life, whether you want to believe it or not.

            The truth is that when you enter a relationship with a person, a relationship of any form, you are signing up for arguments. You are signing up to butting heads every now and then. You are signing up to have disagreements and to not see eye-to-eye on every issue.

            However, the beauty of relationships is you can choose if you want to enter into this agreement. You can choose if you want to argue with someone and move past it. You can choose to not deal with someone. You have a choice. “I believe in the brotherhood of all men. But I do not believe in wasting brotherhood on anyone who doesn’t want to practice it with me. Brotherhood is a two way street.” You don’t have to deal with someone who doesn’t want to treat you right.

            The bottom line is if you love someone as much as you claim you do, you’ll get past the argument. If you don’t, then move on. 

Insanity Woes

My next exercise is trying the Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit DVD. According to the website I will “burn fat with intervals of intense lower-body plyo and sweat-inducing cardio.”

I’m scared.

I know it will be hard but a lot of my friends have raved about the DVD program and it is time for me to get started.

Wish me luck!