11 Exercise Tips To Help You Get The Most From Your Workouts

I am no expert when it comes to fitness or exercising, but I would like to share a few things I’ve learned from different trainers and some from FITNESS magazine since working out:

1. Only take short rests in between and get off the machine between sets to give your muscles a chance to re-energize.

2. When doing curls, standing is more effective than sitting because it also helps tone your core. To help keep from rocking, use a lighter weight or try standing with your back against a wall while curling the weight.

3. Never lock your knees; keep them slightly bent when doing leg presses, squats, dead lifts, etc.

4. Make sure to work all body parts: legs, arms, glutes, shoulders, back, chest, and core but not the same part two days in a row.  Rest between workouts is important to give your muscles time to recover.

5. My weakness is neglecting the cardio—you should include that too!  Warm up your muscles for 5-10 minutes with cardio and either do more a separate day or after the strength training.

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What Are You Going To Do--Clean A Trash Can? (Writer's Workshop)

This is my most Popular Post of 2011 for this blog with 21 comments and 111 views. Join in with the Best of 2011 Blog Hop over at A Pause on the Path.

You're not always right...no you're not...no you're not...no you're not....tell us about a time you were wrong. This is Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt that inspired this post.

When my husband decided to clean our kitchen trash container, I laughed. It just struck me funny that he would do that but not change the filter on a vacuum cleaner or wash the litter boxes. He seemed to think it was a perfectly normal and sensible thing to do that everyone does.

I on the other hand, I am doubtful that most people do this, not that I minded. I actually think it’s wonderful that he does the cleaning at our house and am happy that I do not have to. So, we are taking a survey by our readers to see if Gerard is right (that most people do wash their trash containers) or if Karen is right (most people do not wash their trash containers).

Please let us know if you do or don’t in the comments. We're curious!

UPDATED 2/10/11:

Well, according to the comments we received, I am shocked that I was wrong about this and Gerard was actually right! Most people do wash their garbage cans. I stand corrected (however, I think if we had a bigger response, it would prove me right. Maybe some people just don't want to admit they don't do it)!

5 Things I Learned This Week-#86 (men, HTML tip, polls)

Real Men

When reading Dad at the Chalkboard I learned there is a Twitter group for dads called #DadsTalking. This was mentioned in the post he wrote on being a good husband which I found through Mrs 4444 Saturday Samplings. Just thought men may be interested in this. I love to see men actually care about being good husbands and good fathers!

Blogging Tip

I discovered how to get your images crawled to show up on Google searches at Design It Chic. In your picture HTML code, there is the word alt. Right after it before the " mark you insert some text that describes your image. (alt="describe your picture here") How simple is that! This is why I have "Design It Chic" on my blogroll--so I am sure to see when she posts tips. You may want to add this one to yours too!

Leadership

I just started a Bible Study on Leadership Training at church and one of the key concepts this week was to look at problems or testing as opportunities that challenge leaders to demonstrate their potential and maturity. "Testing always precedes promotion." Source: Equip Leadership Training Part Two by John Maxwell.

Me or The Dog?

According to a poll of 761 votes on Paw Print Post that was printed in the Life section of USA TODAY on Sept. 7, 14% said If their significant other said, "Either the dog leaves or I do," they would get rid of the dog; 53% would get rid of their significant other instead of the dog (33% would work it out)! Our dog liked this!  Gerard said we would work it out.

Reading For Pleasure

The results of our poll over at Grab A Book From Our Stack revealed that out of 22 people, 16 were turned on to reading for pleasure by a parent.

Stop by Friday Fragments to read more and link up yours.

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Great Household Hint I Had To Share

When I lived alone I seldom dusted and could often write in the dust on my bedroom dresser. I don't ever remember my dad dusting. I sometimes dusted for him when I'd visit, but I waited for it to accumulate pretty good.

Now if you really want a good laugh, head on over to Kathy's post at The Junk Drawer: The Grocery Store Walk of Shame. I laughed out loud all through this post this morning. Her writing can make the dumbest things hilarious!

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How To Save Money On Lunches

I know some people who work go eat out for lunch everyday but that's not me. (I save that luxury for Saturday.) The cheapest sandwich I can find is a hot dog for $1.25 but I am not big on hot dogs and they certainly do not fill me up. The next cheapest is a $3 sandwich. Salads are just as much, but I'm not big on salads either. Pizza is high too, $1.00 for just one slice (it may even be more than that by now.) Domino's Pizza has a pretty good deal--small personal pizza and pop for $3.00; however, I don't like to drink pop regularly and that pizza really is small--like 8 bites in all but it's good! Restaurants in downtown Cleveland are way too expensive for my budget-$8-$10 is the cheapest, plus I don't want to spend my whole lunch hour sitting and eating when I already practically sit all day at a desk.

Buying lunch out every day adds up to quite a bit so I take my "sack" lunch to work. A sack lunch is one you take it in a bag each day in case you are like Gerard and don't know what that is (he laughed when I called it that one day). To save money, we don't buy lunch bags. I reuse bags that are that size that we get from other places, such as the brown bags from Octane Cafe' where I buy our protein bars, Malley's bag from our Christmas candy, Dunkin' Donut bags from work on Fridays, and any fast food bags we get on Saturdays. These bags, if folded properly, last 1-2 weeks. I have to make sure I am the one to put them away though, because otherwise Gerard just bunches them up and they take up so much more space that way! Gerard packs his lunch in one of those lunch cooler containers so the bags are all for me.

Another savings tip is to order pizza on the weekend, but do not gorge yourself on it. Save some for lunch through the week. On Mondays and Tuesdays every week I bring two slices of our leftover pizza in a tupperware container for my lunch and heat it in the microwave we have at work along with Dannon's Light-n-Fit yogurt. I also bring a fiber bar or protein bar too those days for snacks. It makes a very good lunch. Sometimes, I'll even throw in a banana or an orange for a morning snack. Once the pizza runs out, I settle for a sandwich.

I have given in and started buying the protein bars from Octane Cafe' since I started working out regularly again, but they are not cheap so I don't eat them every day. They are very good though and give me some additional protein in my diet for my muscle toning. I just wish they didn't cost so much (Over $2 each--they raised the price of them last year)!

What do you usually eat for lunch? Do you reuse bags too or am I the only one who does this? Oh, by the way, I also fold and pack my garbage neatly before throwing it away when I eat at those fast food places on Saturdays--it's right up there with making the bed--see if you missed it.

How To Bundle Up For The Sub-Zero Days

This is a picture of me when I first got home from work on Friday. It was a very, very burry cold day outside with the high temperature of just 7 degrees! It was -10 when I left in the morning! Even though that is very cold, I was comfortable. The secret is to bundle up and dress for the weather.

Here are my bundling tips:
1. Wear lots of layers, a warm hat, a coat that covers your hips (not just a short jacket), boots, and leg warmers.

2. If you lose some weight, don't get rid of all those big clothes. Save some to wear over layers during those real cold days.

For example, here is the list of what I wore today:

• Long silk L.L. Bean underwear which adds warmth without any bulk;
• Corduroy pants;
• wool L.L. Bean socks;
• Turtleneck top--again, it's light weight but adds some warmth ;
• One of my warmest sweaters over the turtleneck so if I get too warm at work, I can remove the sweater;
• A wool blazer over the sweater which I could remove at work or wear over just the turtleneck without the sweater;
• Quilted lined flannel shirt that I took off at work;
• bomber hat from L.L. Bean which is very warm, better than a knit tousle cap!
• Leg warmers that covered my knees;
• Parka winter coat with hood from L.L. Bean; and
• Boots
• Scarf

Oops, I goofed. There's was an error in the title of this video so I redid it. Who will be the first to spot it?

Can you tell I like L.L. Bean? This is NOT a paid post. I really like their merchandise.