Kendra's Fitness Corner - Lose five pounds during November? You can!! (and a reader's question answered)

It’s getting cold outside and you might not be as motivated to get out the door for a walk or jog – stop the excuses! Try these tips below to burn extra calories this month.

Mondays - do an extra 20….20 extra cardio minutes, 20 extra push-ups (knees or toes), and 20 extra crunches.

Wednesdays - At home, perform the following routine during a TV show: 5 squats (or sit down/stand up 5 times) and 5 calf raises (with legs straight raise your heals off the ground) during EVERY commercial break!

Fridays – Park in the vary LAST parking spot everywhere you go and enjoy the extra walk to your destination.


Every day or almost every day:

At home or work, every time you go up a flight of stairs, run instead of walk or take them 2 at a time.

During your workout, sneak in 5 one minute jump rope intervals spaced 5 minutes apart.

Here’s another tip so you don’t feel like the stuffed Turkey on Thanksgiving...

Pre-burn off your extra T-day calories. For example…if I plan to have 2 glasses of wine and 1 piece of Grandma’s pumpkin pie (totally about 350 calories), I’m going to burn off those calories before I even feed the kids their breakfast. I’ll do a 3.5 mile jog, or 50 minutes of a kickboxing & abs video. Then it’s a no-guilt meal for me!

Reader’s Q & A:

A CMOTC blog reader asks…..

Q: Should I use protein bars or protein shakes after I workout? Are they really necessary or can I build muscle without them?

A: Protein bars and shakes are very convenient and also may have a lot of good vitamins and minerals. These products, however, are not necessary for you to build muscle. For the average exerciser looking to build some lean muscle (not an athlete with a demanding workout schedule) you will need about 1 gram of protein per kilograms of body weight every day. Take your body weight in pounds and divide by 2.2 to get kilograms. Lean animal protein, nuts, beans and dairy are all good choices to supply these amino acids to your muscles. If you choose to get those protein grams from a package, just make sure it’s whey protein. Either way you eat it…just make sure you are getting enough protein for your body!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

~Kendra