This week we challenge you to get in at least 15 – 30 minutes of moderate to intense cardio 3 times this week! Now, don’t get overwhelmed, that is still 4 days you get “off” or, we suggest, with active recovery (easy to moderate exercise such as walking, swimming, vacuuming etc. Activity you do at a low intensity to allow your body to recover, while still getting the blood flowing and moving).
Cardio vascular training and strength training are essential components of a healthy lifestyle. Exercise increases energy and concentration, reduces risk for heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke, metabolic syndrome, depression, cancer, arthritis, etc.
Now, we do not suggest this so you can eat all the unhealthy food you want, but suggest it because exercise can actually help you make better food choices throughout the day. Furthermore, exercise releases hormones that not only improving your mood but also releases hormones that can suppress your appetite.
However, you must be careful to not let the conditioned “reward” voices in your head take over sucking you into the self talk of “I deserve this” etc. Instead find other non-food rewards such as putting aside $10 every time you do cardio to save up for something big you really want.
So, give it a go this week and let us know how you do or where you need help on our community forum or at the bottom of this page under the comments.
Ideas on how to get your cardio in this week:
Don’t pigeon hole yourself into just going for a run or walk. While this is perfectly acceptable there are other options too!.
1. Meet up with friends for a walk or jog or at the gym to catch up instead of for a coffee or beer.
2. Go to a local track (by yourself or with friends) and sprint the straightaways and recover on the curves. If you go with a friend, race each other.
3. Find a hill or steps. After you warm up, run up (the hill or stairs) and recover on the way down. Do a few laps and then cool down with a walk or jog back to the car.
4. At home or in your hotel room? Give one of the following circuits a try alone or meet up with other flight crew members (or family members) and do it together! It’s quick and fun to have others doing the same routine helping to motivate you to go harder:
Do each exercise for 50 seconds and recover for 10 seconds before you start the next exercise. Complete 3 rounds for a total of 12 heart pumping minutes. If you need a little more recovery time you can split it into 45 seconds of works with 15 seconds recovery or even 30 seconds of work with 30 seconds of recovery.
Circuit 1:
– Jumping jacks
– Shuffles (two steps to the right, tap the ground and then two steps to the left, tap the ground. Repeat as fast as you can)
– Mountain Climbers. Start in a plant position and alternate pulling your knees up toward you chest/between your arms.
– Burpees
Circuit 2:
– Jump lunges (or alternating lunges if the jump lunges are too hard on your knees)
– Joey Jumps. Start in plank position and jump both feet (close together) to the right and then up and over to the left, as though there were a log under your body.
– Squat jumps
– Quick Feet
Circuit 3:
– Sumo Squat pulse jumps. Start with your feet wider than hips and your toes pointed at out a 45 degree angle. Squeeze the inner thighs to jump a few inches up and land in the same position. Keep repeating
– Run in place
– Curtsy jump lunges. Jump to the right and land on your right leg while your left leg goes behind your body and your left toe touches the ground as you lower into a lunge with your left knee to the outside of your right ankle. Repeat on the other side..jump to the left, landing on your left leg and as your right leg goes behind the body and your toe touches the ground with your right knee to the outside of your left ankle. Continue to repeat.
– Plank Jacks. Start in a plank position and jump the legs apart and back together as quickly as you can while maintaining proper forum.