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Author: Angie Tinsley

TRUE Residential Workout: Hill Heart Racer

Posted on by Angie Tinsley

Staying conditioned is an important part of your exercise regimen. Not only does it keep your body healthy and up-to-speed, but able to complete difficult physical tasks.

Exercise Goals

This is a great treadmill workout that will work all areas of your conditioning in a short period of time. By using HIIT methods you will fatigue your anaerobic as well as aerobic pathways of fuel. Ending the workout with burpees will ensure a difficult finish and by doing so, you will be sure to burn the most amount of calories in the shortest amount of time.

Tips Before The Workout

Be sure to get some foam rolling or stretching in before you hop on the treadmill for this workout, especially if you will be sprinting during the high-intensity portions. This will help prevent injury during exercise.

Proper Forms to Remember For This Exercise

When completing this exercise, remember the following forms:

  • Running: When you are jogging or sprinting, be sure to try to land midfoot to forefoot. Do not heavy heel strike, as this can lead to long term injuries.
  • Burpee: This movement is about efficiency and not as much about form. Many people will perform this movement safely with vast differences. With a burpee, you want to go from a standing position to a prone position (lying on your chest), and then back to a standing position. To do this efficiently you will “flop” yourself to the floor using the least necessary control as to not hurt yourself or smash your face. Once your chest touches the floor, immediately push yourself up and jump your feet underneath you and stand back up with your feet leaving the floor at the standing position. That is one rep.

Final Thoughts

Focus on your running form and really put forth maximum effort on the high-intensity portions to reap the greatest rewards. Stay in control at all points in time on the treadmill to limit your risk of injury. Log your speeds used on the runs/sprints and simply repeat this workout in a week or so to see how much better you have gotten.

The 4-minute burpee challenge in this workout is a great measure of your conditioning and strength gains combined. When doing burpees for 4 minutes straight, try to keep a pace of X number of burpees for a minute, this will help you push hard the whole 4 minutes. Stay active, eat enough food, and rest enough. All these factors will help you recover faster.

Up Next: 3 Treadmill Workouts To Maximize Your Cardio Routine

Refreshed Residential Cardio for Fall 2017

Posted on by Angie Tinsley

With the change of seasons come new things including cooler weather, changing of the leaves, and new residential cardio products from TRUE. Available this fall, TRUE Fitness is introducing a refreshed design on our most popular treadmills, bikes, and ellipticals for the home. These high-performance cardio machines combine health club-level technology, quality, and design to help home exercisers reach their fitness goals. Continue reading “Refreshed Residential Cardio for Fall 2017”

How to Create Your Own Fitness Challenge

Posted on by Angie Tinsley

Starting a fitness challenge can be a great way to hold yourself accountable for your fitness actions. By including others like friends, coworkers, neighbors or family, the process is typically much more fun to go through and builds camaraderie.

Whether borrowing an idea from an already-existing challenge (like starting your own “Biggest Loser” contest) or setting one up with your own rules and regulations, consider these tips to ensure it goes as smooth as possible: Continue reading “How to Create Your Own Fitness Challenge”

Man’s Best Workout Partner: Working Out With Your Dog

Posted on by Angie Tinsley

Exercising with pets can be a great way to kill two birds with one stone: you get in your exercise and your pet is also getting exercise and socialization. Dogs will especially hold you accountable because they thrive off of routine and always love and remember recurring time spent with you. Do you ever notice that like clockwork your dog is grabbing their leash or waiting by the door anticipating for their usual exercise?

Though sometimes we might be lazy or maybe have talked ourselves out of going for a run that morning and hitting snooze a couple of times, your pet’s energy is contagious and they are ready to get out of bed or off of the couch and get their run in. Continue reading “Man’s Best Workout Partner: Working Out With Your Dog”

Daily Activities To Improve Your Overall Health

Posted on by Angie Tinsley

If you’re trying to get healthy or find a way to get in more exercise, you have to remember that there is a difference between exercise and daily activity. But don’t let that difference get in your way. There are many daily activities that can help improve overall health while completing chores and spending time with loved ones. Continue reading “Daily Activities To Improve Your Overall Health”

Why Hydration Is Crucial For Getting The Most Of Your Workout

Posted on by Angie Tinsley

It seems like the most simplistic and overused piece of advice when exercising: “Stay hydrated.” Though some of us get tired of hearing this advice over and over, it’s an important piece of advice and not at all hard to keep up with. We can all benefit by keeping a bottle or two next to us while exercising. Let’s learn why hydration is crucial to getting the most out of your workout.

Why Should We Stay Hydrated?

It doesn’t matter if you are working out in the winter or the heat of summer – staying hydrated is an essential part of exercising and maintaining our health.

When we sweat, our bodies lose water. Drinking plenty of water is key to rehydrating when the body experiences as much fluid loss as it does when we sweat. Additionally, lean muscle tissue contains lots of water – more than 75%. When the body loses water without replenishment, muscles become more easily fatigued therefore many either can’t complete the workout or need to take frequent breaks. Drinking water also regulates body temperature and hydrates joints. By drinking water, nutrients are transported and give the body energy to keep going during a workout.

What Happens If We Don’t Stay Hydrated?

When working out for long periods of time, there are many dangerous consequences that follow when we do not hydrate properly. A few of those consequences include:

  • Dry mouth
  • Dizziness
  • Overheating (heat exhaustion/heatstroke)
  • Decline in performance
  • Muscle cramps
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Lack of sweating

If any of these symptoms are experienced during a workout, stop to take a break and get something to drink. Safety should always be your number one priority when exercising. Don’t think that you can push through your workout and drink later. Stop and rehydrate before continuing.

How We Can Stay Hydrated

Stay properly hydrated with the following tips:

  • Drink 17-20 ounces of water 2-3 hours before the start of a workout.
  • Hydrate with 8 ounces of fluid 20-30 minutes during warm-up.
  • Drink 7-10 ounces of fluid every 10-20 minutes during the workout.
  • Drink another 8 ounces within 30 minutes of finishing the workout.
  • If a workout lasts under 60 minutes, hydrate with water.
  • If a workout lasts more than 60 minutes, then replace lost electrolytes with sports drinks.

Pro-tip: While sports drinks are a good way to stay hydrated and replace electrolytes, it’s important to balance them out with water since they can be packed full of sugar. If you have trouble remembering to stop and take a water break, set a reminder on your mobile device or exercise with a friend so you can hold each other accountable.

Up Next: Kick Those Bad Eating Habits

Stop Comparing Yourself To Others & Just Do You

Posted on by Angie Tinsley

It’s easy to get caught up in all of the hype whenever we start our fitness journeys.  We research what other people have done to get results and see that this person saw results doing one diet and workout, while someone else recommends trying another method, like supplements. It can become overwhelming and you start to feel like you need to keep up with everyone else or you’re going to be left behind.

On the other hand, you may feel like you’re as fit as everyone else or doing the same things, so you should already be at their level. At this point, you start comparing your own routine to what someone else is doing or how your body looks compared to theirs. This can be a dangerous place if overdone or an exciting and motivating one if you think about it in the right way. Continue reading “Stop Comparing Yourself To Others & Just Do You”

4 Tips to Get Back On Track After A Long Layoff

Posted on by Angie Tinsley

We have all done it; fallen off the proverbial “deep end” – whether it is in regards to nutrition or our workouts, many of us have had a bad streak. Vacations, weekends, or parties all attribute to diet and training program failures. When this happens, the key is to not let it completely derail your goals. Below we will discuss 5 tips to get you back on track toward achieving your goals. Continue reading “4 Tips to Get Back On Track After A Long Layoff”