Guest Post: Jentry Nielsen & How to get Fit for Summer!

I am so excited to feature Jentry's post on my blog! She's a fellow health nut and has been a huge supporter of myself and my blog! I love her writing and you will, too! Don't forget to check out her blog and her great posts about everything health and fitness, she knows her stuff!

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I was so excited when sweet AnderBeth asked me to do a guest post for her, yet very nervous! I absolutely love her blog and did not want to let her down with any ho hum post on her baby here! So hopefully this makes the cut to match your amazing work Ander! J

Now with swim suit season coming rapidly, I’ve been a little more conscious of my body and wanting to make sure I’m prepared. Unfortunately I work a lot and go to school, which leaves little time/energy to get in a work out while still having ample time to hang out with friends and the boyfriend, which is what summers are for right?!

So I thought why not kill two birds with one stone, going on some  fun dates or group activities that get us all a little more active! Better than your typical dinner and a movie date, or card game night with friends, where you are sitting down the entire time!

I came across a fun slideshow from Spark People that had a list of active date nights, but felt a lot of them can be done as groups too. So here’s a fun list of ideas we can all do for either your next date night, or group hangout to get us all moving:

Go Dancing: you can do this as a fun date or group outing! This will help get your heart and blood pumping, plus it’s really fun! Check your communities to see if they offer any fun line dancing or ball room dancing lessons. It’s a fun, active way to learn new moves! Or just turn up the jams at home and bust a move! All of these are going to burn calories for everyone involved!

Go Bowling:  although you don’t move around too much here, it’s still fun and better than sitting down for 2 hours straight during a movie!  Plus you and your friends can dance around to that background music for some extra calorie burn while waiting for your turn! Yes you will probably get stares, they are just jealous! J Just make sure you skip the beer and french fries while you’re there.

Play Laser Tag: laser tag gets you running around like crazy! Get a bunch of friends together for a laser tag game night, play a little competitive boys verse girls. This will get everyone more active and have a fun competition as well.

Play a sport: speaking of competition, play a sport. Play a round of golf, and don’t opt for the cart! Or even miniature golf will get you up and moving around hole to hole. Get a group of friends and play basketball, kickball, or even some ultimate Frisbee. All of these will get you running around, all while getting in some quality friend time!

Game night:  now this is not your regular old monopoly and scrabble game night, this is modern day-in-age game night! With all the technology of game consoles like Wii and Xbox Kinect, there are plenty of games that can get you all moving. One of my personal favorites, Just Dance!

Take a hike and eat a healthy picnic: this will be a great dinner and activity date! You can find a fun hike that leads to a place you can lay out a blanket and take in some healthy eats, all while enjoying a great view. Plus it will allow for more talking and getting to know each other, better than when you are trapped in a theater.

Go to an amusement park: Ever noticed how exhausted you feel after a day at the amusement park?! That’s because you are walking around the ENTIRE time, or standing in line for a ride. Then you’ll sit for only those two minutes of that joyous ride! You’ll have so much fun you won’t even notice all the walking you’re doing!

Go swimming: with all the hot weather you’re going to want to cool off somehow! Go swimming with your friends! Swimming is one of the best exercises for burning calories and getting a total body workout. Don’t just float around soaking in the tan though; to get the full calorie burn make sure you are swimming around with your friends.

So get out and try some of these activities this weekend! Anything that gets you up and moving will beat sitting on the couch any day! Thanks again Ander for letting me post on your blog!

About the Author: Jentry Nielsen is a health and fitness nut currently attending school at Dixie State College for nursing with an emphasis in exercise science. She writes about her passion for health and fitness on her blog Such Good Exercise!

The Early Bird gets the StairMaster

I always say: the early bird gets the french fry (who wants a worm?), but I have adjusted my mantra this morning. Today I have done the unthinkable... a day I thought would never come: I was at the gym before 8 am. Crazy? Yes, but life forced me againsted my will. I've have gotten to the point in my hectic college schedule that if I don't exercise in the morning then I won't have time the rest of the day. I feel like like a woman who works 8-5, goes home to make dinner for her cooking-illiterate husband, and then takes care of her 5 crying and pooping children. Maybe not exactly, but this is what a lot of people call life. And life is messy in which we have to adjust.

My way to adjust is going to the gym at 7:45 BUT there are positives to an early workout:

1. I got the good StairMaster, the one that has the working television. Score.
2. I was able to do my NIKE training ab work-out in the aerobics room without receiving strange looks because my phone is talking to me. 
3. and finally, I was able to attend my 9:30 class and know I didn't have to go to the gym afterwards... though I was probably that one "smelly kid" in class (and I apologize to anyone in a 3 ft radius of me this morning).

But to get to the main concern of this post, let me give some background. This morning I was oddly hyper and needed to let it out via StairMaster... below is the result of my energy burst, but let me remind you this is not a commonality for me (though it'd be nice).

Now, this raised a question... how accurate are the calorie counters on cardio machines? Did I really just burn an exponential amount of calories or is Life Fitness lying to me? Well, I've done some research and this is what I found:

According to FitSugar (follow them on Twitter @fitsugar, they always have great fitness and health tips):

The calories burned readout on cardio machines are not known for their accuracy. Some machines are even known to bump up the calorie readout by almost 25% (apparently the feel good factor keeps us using their machines). Furthermore, machines do not always take into consideration all the factors in individual fitness levels and the specificity of the exercise and they're not often re-calibrated after hitting the gym floor, so things can get off set with time. Basically you can (and should) use the calorie readout only as a guideline but not as the end-all-be-all of how many calories you've burned.

Sigh. I feel I've just been told that there's no Santa Clause. Though depressing, this makes us rethink those feel good donuts for a job well done at the gym.

There are ways to help increase the accuracy of your cardio workout: Enter your weight.

Want even more accuracy? Use a heart-rate monitor which will give generate atop notch calorie reading.

But as the take away from this post, don't define your workout by a number. It's like your when you weigh yourself. Sure, it's a number that can fluctuate but it does not control how you feel about yourself. A number can't define a person's being; focus on being healthy and reaching your own personal goals.

Dontcha Wish your Sauna was Hot like Mine

Tis' the season of chilled to the bone temperatures and pasty white people that blend in with the snow we don't have (hooray for grass!). I can usually deal with the pastiness but I crave warmth. This would be the time of year that I would retreat to the tanning bed to soak in harmful rays while being enveloped in a cocoon of heat. In order to apologize to my skin and forgo a future of skin like cow leather, I've swapped the bed for the underrated sauna room. 

My gym has had a sauna forever and for some reason I've never gone out of my way to experience its hotness. Maybe I was afraid of walking in on topless women or melting like the wicked witch.... the reasons are unknown but I've overcome my fears and met my new best friend.

Saunas are beneficial for your health when used appropriately (Don't stay in longer than 15-20 minutes or you'll melt...). Here are some fun health facts that saunas offer:

Increases circulation  

Your heart rate can rise from 60-70/min. to 110-120/min. in the sauna and body temperature rises as blood vessels expands and circulation increases! 

Breathe, my friend.

Burns Calories

Sweating itself takes a lot of energy therefore converting calories into sweat! 

A positive for looking like sweaty, yet healthy and pretty, pig!

 Skin cleansing 

When deep sweating occurs, the skin is cleansed and dead skin cells are replaced, keeping your skin in tip top condition. Sweat rinses bacteria out of the epidermal layer and sweat ducts, its cleans out pores and flushes out toxins therefore making your skin booty-ful. 

Sweat is your friend.

Body relaxation  

Saunas can relax sore muscles (I go after I work out) and the increased blood flow expedites the body’s natural healing process: soothes an achy bod and speeds up of the healing of cuts and bruises. 

I sometimes call the sauna the "magic box".

Mind relaxation

Saunas relax your body and mind and can help create a better night's sleep.

Sweat on my friend. I love these magic boxes. Actually, I may go right now. K, bye!

The picture above was taken for the sake of my blog. The days of MySpace pictures are overrrrr.