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12 Weeks to Weight Loss - Day 15

From Paige Waehner,
Your Guide to Exercise.
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Increase your Intensity

Cardio Focus: Interval Training

Each week, you've been doing interval workouts--increasing your intensity for short periods of time and then recovering. This allows you to work harder and burn more calories, while building endurance in a shorter period of time. This week, I've posted a more advanced interval workout than what you've been doing, but feel free to go back and do previous workouts if they work better for you. The goal is to make it for 25 minutes, but I won't argue with you if you want to do more.

Beginners: Try this more advanced Treadmill Interval Workout (remember, you can do this on any machine you like)
Intermediate/Advanced: Try my new Treadmill Medley Workout

Strength and Flexibility Focus: Flexibility

Do your Stretching Workout after you cool down from your cardio workout.

Nutrition Focus: Protein

Are you getting enough protein or too much? You can use this formula to calculate how much protein you need:

1. Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 = weight in kg
2. Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8 gm/kg = protein gm.

Use a lower number if you are in good health and are sedentary. Use a higher number (between 1 and 1.8) if you are under stress, are pregnant, are recovering from an illness, or if you are involved in consistent and intense weight or endurance training.

Example: 154 lb male who is a regular exerciser and lifts weights
154 lbs/2.2 = 70kg
70kg x 1.5 = 105 gm protein/day

Read more on your protein needs.

Motivation

We often focus on our flaws rather than on the positive aspects of our bodies and lives. Today, your challenge is to focus on the positive. Take some time today to figure out what you value about your body--what do you like about yourself? What is your body good at? Appreciate all that your body does for you and try not to think about how it looks. Be a little kooky and spend some time focusing on the spirit in which you exercise, rather than the drudgery of it. Sometimes adding a positive spin to things can make all the difference!


Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Week 3 Calendar | Week 2 | Week 1

Updated: May 7, 2004
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