Day 19: Preparation for tomorrow’s SPA Day & A New Exercise for Inner & Outer Thighs

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Brendita

Good Morning and HAPPY SATURDAY, New Leaves! We have 11 days left in our Turn Over A New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge. For those of you who have been with us from Day One: Congratulations! If you’ve been sticking to the guidelines I gave you, you should be feeling pretty comfortable with your routine by now. By the end of the challenge, you will be well on your way to incorporating your new workout techniques into your every day lives.

For those of you who are just joining the challenge: WELCOME ABOARD! You have some “homework” to do! I would like for you to read ALL of my blog entries for the 30 Day Challenge: Any and all questions you may have will most likely be answered in one of the entries I have made. If after reading everything, you are still confused, post your question here and I will do my best to find an answer for you.

Your next strength/cardio combination workout will be on Monday. If you are using my 45 Minute Workout DVD AND you have been using it since the beginning of the challenge, it’s time to start using dumbbells! If you are just joining the challenge and you don’t have a workout regimen, you can order my DVD: Use discount code 30DayChallenge through midnight EST TOMORROW, 25 October 2009 to receive 30% off the regular price of the DVD. I will mail it out to you on Monday, so you’ll be ready to workout next week!

Your workout schedule should look like this:

Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays:

Cardio (20 minutes MINIMUM) and Strength Workout, followed by stretching OR my DVD

Tuesdays and Thursdays:

Exercises from “Day 8” PLUS Inner Thigh “Scissors” with your leg raises. To do these, after EACH leg raise, when your legs are straight up in the air, with the soles of your feet facing the ceiling, open your legs as wide as you can. Hold them in that position of 2 seconds and then bring them almost together (don’t let them touch one another). Once your legs are together, go ahead and do another leg raise, as demonstrated in my video clip. This addition to the leg raise will work your abductors and adductors (inner and outer thighs).

Next week, I’ll ask Cas to film me doing this exercise with a slight modification and then we’ll add it to your Tuesday and Thursday workouts for the remainder of the challenge.

As far as your eating plan goes, please continue to follow the guidelines I gave you at the beginning of the challenge. Remember, you can (and should!) have a small dessert after dinner every night. This way, you won’t feel so deprived and you’ll be less likely to go on a sweet/junk food binge. When the challenge ends, I will continue to blog about “strategic” grocery list planning & shopping, cooking, preparing meals, exercising, etc. I promise, I won’t just leave you to fend for yourselves!

Tomorrow, I will post a DIY spa routine that will use those tea bags you have in your refrigerator… you did save them, right? I hope so! If you didn’t save them or if you’re just joining us, please brew a cup of black tea (Lipton is fine) using two tea bags. Don’t let the bags steep for too long. Once the tea has cooled, remove the tea bags, put them in a Ziploc bag and put them in the refrigerator. I will tell you what’s next tomorrow!

Have a GREAT Saturday! And, please… give me a shout out and let me know what’s up! Holler back!!

Day 17: The Not So Obvious Rewards of Exercising & Eating Healthy Foods

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Brendita

Good Day, New Leaves! I am in a REALLY, SUPER, FABULOUSLY GREAT mood today!! It’s just one of those days where I find myself feeling lucky to be… well, to just be.

I’ve been reading your posts on various forums about the 30 Day Challenge, so I want to take this opportunity to give you a virtual pat on the back. The intent of the Challenge is to think about healthful food and regular exercise as a part of your lives. You cannot “fail” at it: It is an opportunity to think about how eating properly and exercising regularly will enrich your lives.

I am NOT an exercise fanatic. Honestly and truly. It took me about 3 months to get used to waking up early in the mornings to work out. I do it because I have no choice: I have had numerous injuries to my back and one very serious injury to my head. As a result, I live with chronic pain on a daily basis and if I don’t exercise regularly, the pain can (and usually does) reach a point where it is often times unbearable to do something as simple as bend over to pull my socks on or get up from a chair that doesn’t have arms on it.

When my husband and I launched Brendita’s Body Works in 2007, we both had to rework our schedules in order to make the company successful. I had to find time to make and pack my skin & hair products as well as find time to exercise, cook, etc. We both still work full time jobs outside of BBW. Waking up early is the only way I can get everything done. If you picture me energetically bounding out of bed… singing & skipping through my house in anticipation of my work out, your image couldn’t be further from reality. Let’s just say, you would NOT want to meet up with me when I wake up at 4:15 in the morning. Luckily, my cats know enough to just stay out of my way until I get warmed up.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is this: Exercise is its own reward. Injuries aside, when you strengthen your muscles (including your heart) the effects spill over into every other aspect of your life. You will have more energy, you will sleep better, you’ll look better: the increase & improvement of blood circulation makes your skin look better. Your posture will improve due to stronger back and abdominal muscles. The decrease in body fat that results from regular aerobic exercise means your strong muscles will be more visible. It’s a win-win proposition. So, do what ever it takes to get yourself to where ever it is that you workout and know that the rewards will be well worth the time.

I have not spent much time addressing “good” and” bad” foods. I believe that every one knows what a healthy meal or snack should be. I also know that tasty food (which is often times not the healthiest) is one of the things that make life enjoyable. If you are exercising regularly and the majority of your meals are healthy, I believe you SHOULD take pleasure in some rich, decadent food… IN MODERATION. For the Turn Over A New Leaf Challenge, however, I do ask that you keep the “bad” foods to a bear minimum: A small portion of dessert after dinner is fine.

Well, that’s my rant for the day. Please share your thoughts… PLEASE!

Day 8: Demonstration of Some Basic Exercise Moves

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Brendita

Good MORNING New Leaves! One full week under your ever loosening belts! I will give you some new menu options this week: Yesterday we were quite busy, so I didn’t have time to write them up.

In order to keep up the rate at which your body burns fat, you must keep making your workout challenging. Tomorrow and Thursday, I would like for you to do the following workout, at the same time of day that you normally do your regular workout:

Do one set of how ever many repetitions you can do of each exercise. TRY to do as many as you can. I want you to work to failure. That means, you work your muscles until they “fail”… until they cannot do any more. OK? No cheating. REALLY push yourself!

Do the warm up portion of the DVD (or whatever warm up you normally do) and then:

1 Set of Leg Raises

1 Set of Twisting Bent Knee Sit Ups

1 Set of full push ups

1 Set of alternating lunges OR 1 Set of stationary lunges

All exercises are demonstrated below.

How to do a full pushup:

How to do lunges:

How to properly workout your abs:

The Important Role of Exercise During the Turn Over A New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Brendita

Good Morning My New Leaves!

This isn’t THE post for the day, but this morning I received an email from a good friend, who is also participating in the 30 Day Challenge. The email exchange made me think of a few things that I wanted to share with you all.

I wanted to address a few key issues for those of you who will be using my 45 Minute Workout DVD during the challenge*. You already know my exercise related resume, so I won’t bore you again. I do, however, want to give you a brief history of how the exercises in the DVD came into existence.

I began teaching lunchtime exercise classes (at my other job) in the autumn of 1995. I taught three 1 hour classes on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays for about 10 years. In 2006, my work schedule changed and I had to drop one of the weekly classes. In the spring of 2008, a year and a half after my husband and I created Brendita’s Body Works, LLC, I discovered that I no longer had the passion or desire to teach my lunchtime classes. I was so excited about our new business venture, it was very tough for me to drum up the enthusiasm needed to teach my class.

I had developed quite a following of loyal students, all of whom gave up their lunch break two or three times a week to come and sweat with me. In 2003, I suffered two serious back injuries: The first was in June and the next was in October. I was bed ridden for nearly three months. When I was well enough to return to work and finally to teaching, my students asked me to film my workout, so they could “attend” my class on days when I was not able to teach in person. We filmed two separate workouts. Some of my former students still do my video taped workout, once or twice a week.

The 45 minute DVD workout was originally intended for my former lunchtime students, because they’d been exercising to the same 2 workouts for five years. So, I began making plans to film another workout.

I asked a dear friend of mine, Derrick Roberts**, if he could recommend a photographer. Derrick owns and operates a highly successful production company appropriately named “Derrick Roberts Production”. He kindly offered the services of his company and one of his best photographers, Paulio Shakespear. The whole concept of filming the workout in our living room was Derrick’s idea. He said it would be an excellent way to convey the fact that the workout could be done in the comfort of one’s home, without any equipment. Brilliant!

The morning of filming arrived and Paulio came to our house with his film crew (him and his lovely wife) along with all of their equipment. To ensure clear, crisp sound, we had to close all the windows, turn off all the ceiling fans AND the air conditioning. It was July and it was HOT! One of the lights Paulio brought along had a 700 watt bulb! Up until that moment, I had no idea that 700 watt bulbs existed! You can probably imagine the amount of heat a light bulb of that much wattage generates. In my minds eye, I had envisioned us filming the 45 minute workout in an hour, give or take a few minutes. After everything ready, lights in place, music cued, mini microphone and power pack attached, we started filming.

Twenty minutes in, one of our three cats, Pasha, walked in front of me and decided he wanted to be part of the DVD. We didn’t think that would be a good idea, so I carried him downstairs and asked my son, Johnny, to keep an eye on him. 30 minutes into the re-take, yet another one of our cats, Mugsy, decided to come to the living room and sing along with the music. I yelled “cut”, Paulio stopped filming, but good old Mugsy kept right on singing. I knew that our third cat, Ramekin, would be the next one to make a cameo appearance, so I decided it would be best if we put all three cats in home office, with Johnny and a closed door.

We began filming, from the beginning, for a third time. We were able to get about 25 minutes on film and then the batteries in my microphone pack ran out. We replaced them, started from the beginning again and thank goodness, the fourth and final attempt was successful! The next day, having done nearly my entire workout 4 times, back to back, I was UNIMAGINABLY sore… and happy to have finally completed the DVD. Derrick’s staff worked its magic with the two plus hours of footage and Cas created all of the graphics. I am, as you know, was very pleased with the end result. I certainly hope you will be pleased, too!

If you find that the workout is too difficult to do in its entirety, just do what you can. If you can’t do the whole workout, you MUST make sure that you do the warm up and cool down. If you’re a beginner, push yourself as much as you can: Do as many of the exercises as possible and after about 2 weeks, I am quite confident, you will be able to do the entire DVD. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I will also going to give you a series of exercises to do for the days in between your DVD workouts. A little later today, I will post your grocery shopping list, food preparation tips and a blueprint for your meals.

I hope that you will ALL take a “Before” picture of yourselves today or tomorrow. You don’t have to post it, but I’d like for you to have it for yourself. At the end of the challenge, I hope that some, if not all of you will decide to share your photos with the rest of the Turn Over A New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge participants.

I must go and finish our grocery list!

Kindest regards,

Brendita

* The Goal of the 30 Day Challenge is to get everyone on (or back on) the road to a fit and healthy lifestyle. You do NOT have to use my workout DVD to participate in the challenge: If you already have an exercise regimen that works for you, by all means use it! Kindly note, I have designed this challenge with the idea that you will be doing an aerobic and strength training workout three days a week. If you will not be using my DVD, please make sure that your workout includes a proper warm up followed by an aerobic workout (that will keep your heart beating within its target range for a minimum of 20 minutes), resistance exercises and cool down stretches.

**For more information about Derrick Roberts Productions, please visit his website: http://www.derrickrobertsproductions.com/

You can read an article about his wonderful company by visiting this website: http://www.dcsocialite.com/derrick-roberts-productions

Preparation for the “Turn Over A New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge”

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Brendita

As promised, these are the goals for Brendita’s Body Works first ever 30 Day “Turn Over A New Leaf Fitness Challenge”:

Make exercise a regular part of your life
Think of and know that “DIET” is a bad, bad word!!!
“Teach” your body to burn fat for energy
Increase your overall strength, including the strength and efficiency of your heart
Increase your endurance and stamina
Increase your body’s flexibility
Decrease your resting heart rate.
Make healthier food choices through strategic and well planned grocery shopping (BONUS: You’ll save money!)
Eat regularly scheduled healthful meals
Increase your daily water intake
Cut down on or eliminate caffeine
Eat more “live” foods (uncooked foods, like lettuces, green leafy vegetables, carrots, spouts, radishes, etc)

The 30 Day Challenge will begin on Monday 5 October 2009. Over the next 6 days, I will detail the steps we will take to achieve the goals I have listed above. There are 12 goals listed above, so I will address 2 a day.

I’ll post a grocery shopping list tomorrow, so you will have ample time to get everything you’ll need. I will also advise you on optional items you might want to have on hand such as dumbbells and ankle weights. You will need them if your fitness level is intermediate or advanced. I carefully planned the exercises in a manner that allows you to make the workout more challenging as your strength and endurance builds increases.

Exercise is obviously a HUGE part of this challenge. I really want you all to do your workout in the morning: When you get your workout done, first thing in the morning, you will feel a HUGE sense of accomplishment; you’ll increase your chances of exercising on a regular basis because you’ll virtually eliminate the chances of finding an excuse (real or otherwise) to skip the workout as the day goes on. Finally, working out first thing in the morning jump starts your metabolism. Your body begins the fat burning process early on and continues to do so for hours and hours after your workout has ended. How cool is THAT?

So, tonight, Monday 28 September, before you go to bed, please set your alarm clock for seven minutes earlier than your usual wake up time. Do the same thing each night so that you’re waking up 7 minutes earlier every morning. Example: You normally wake up at 7:00 am. Tomorrow you will wake up at 6:53. Wednesday you will wake up at 6:46. By Monday, you will be waking up a full 49 minutes earlier: This will give you enough time to do the whole DVD workout. Let’s face it: We could ALL use more than the 24 hours we’re allotted each day, but that’s not going to happen. The ONLY way you can get more done in a single day is by waking up earlier. More on this later in the week.

Next week on Sunday, 4 October 2009, before you go to bed, you are going to:

Find your workout clothes (socks, yoga pants, t-shirt, sneakers, etc.),
Fill up your earth friendly water bottle and put it in the fridge
Get the largest towel you can find for use as an exercise mat and
Locate your copy of Brendita’s 45 Minute Workout DVD

You are going to put all of the above items (excluding the water, of course) in whatever room you’ll be exercising in, so they’ll be ready for your workout the next day. This way, you’ll have NO excuses for skipping your workout. Examples of some possible excuses for not working out:

“I was going to workout, but I didn’t want to wake my husband/kids/roommate up looking for my clothes”

“I would have worked out, but I left the workout DVD in the baby’s room”

“I was THIS close to working out, but I didn’t have a towel”

“I was all set to go, but wouldn’t you know it, I was fresh out of cold water. I can’t workout without cold water, ya know!”

Do NOT weigh yourself. As a matter of fact, no weighing allowed for the next 36 days. Please, don’t concern yourself with numbers on a scale. You can take your measurements, if you’d like. I’ll explain my prejudice against scales later.

Ready? Here we go! I am REALLY looking forward to seeing lots and lots of posts here from everyone who will be turning over a new leaf!!

Turn Over a New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Brendita

Fall Leaves

Its official: Fall 2009 has begun! The leaves are beginning to fall, the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler. To celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of a new season, we have decided to host our very first Turn Over a New Leaf 30 Day Fitness Challenge!

I will post video clips, information about exercise, meal plans, grocery shopping lists and much more so stay tuned!

Preliminary Posts:

For the Full 30 Day Fitness Challenge Posts, please see the main page or click here.

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