If you live in Chicago — or any where in the United States for that matter — summer has arrived! After a long, harsh, wet, cold, (and did I mention LOOONG?), winter, the heat has arrived! So with bike rides, long runs and beach fun ahead, it’s important to stay safe when exercising in the heat.

Here are some tips from E-How on beating this summer’s heat:

• Increase your fluid intake. By consuming hydrating liquids throughout the day, prior to, during the activity–every twenty minutes–and after exercising, you will prevent dehydration and regulate your body temperature.
• Adjust the schedule of your exercise regimen. Avoid peak hours by exercising before 10 a.m. or after 3 p.m., especially if the temperature is rising and humidity is high.
• Wear appropriate clothing during your workout routine.  Light-colored, loose-fitting materials that reflect the sun are recommended.
• Acclimate yourself before attempting to exercise in a new setting.  Allow yourself a good week to become used to a new environment. If you’re from an area with low humidity, trying to exert yourself as normal in an area of higher humidity will only prove detrimental to your physical activity.
• Refuel your muscles with nutritious foods.  Heat often decreases the appetite, but it’s imperative to consume plenty of fruits, vegetables and grains.
• Know when to quit. Pay attention to the warning signs of your body. If you begin to feel the effects of heat exhaustion, immediately cease your exercising and find somewhere to cool down.

Got more tips to beat the heat? Share them below!

In fact, most of the changes we associate with aging are actually a result of becoming less active.  A recent study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that by staying aerobically fit, you can delay biological aging by 10 or more years.  Other research has shown that exercise increases mood and social interaction, helps prevent, delay or improve diabetes and heart disease, as well as strengthens muscles and bones.

The experts at Life Fitness recommend a daily dose of activity to battle aging.

• It’s never too late to start: Even if you’ve lead a mostly inactive lifestyle or let those free weights collect dust, exercising today can help you have a healthier tomorrow. Research suggests exercise can improve strength, balance and flexibility at any age, so don’t delay.  And getting active doesn’t mean training for the next marathon. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise five days a week for good health.
• Focus on mobility and flexibility: While you may love an intense basketball game or ice hockey battle now, odds are those activities won’t sound so good at 75. Create variety in your routine with exercises you can enjoy for decades such as walking, biking, swimming or yoga.
• Add weight bearing exercises:  Our muscle fibers shrink in size starting around age 40, which contributes to a decrease in strength, balance and coordination. Fortunately, resistance training can reverse this trend by increasing our muscle fiber size as well as increasing bone mass, which prevents osteoporosis, arthritis and sarcopenia. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that adults weight train 20 to 30 minutes a couple of times a week.
• Keep skin glowing: Exercise is a proven stress-reliever, which besides sun exposure, is one of the greatest threats to our skin and our psyche. Some blood-pumping activity also brings out that bright, healthy glow at any age.

My Sweet new bike Betty!

This weekend I made the biggest purchase of my life. No, it wasn’t a home or a car or even a fabulous vacation, rather it was a brand new 2009 Cannondale Synapse Feminine 5 road bike.

I’ve been thinking about purchasing a bike for a while. But with prices topping $1,000 a bike isn’t exactly an impluse buy.  After asking friends and exploring bike shops around the city I ended up at Get A Grip in the West Loop. Now, let me tell you, these dudes are a different breed of bike nerd! They know everything about bike fitting, bike racing and anything that has to do with cycling! They have more certifications than other bike shops combined!

So, after my formal fitting I settled on the Cannondale and was able to ride it home this weekend. And boy-oh-boy what a ride she is! She is fast, smooth and just beautiful! I decided after I brought her home, I would name her Betty. Betty my beautiful, blue bike.

This weekend my friend and I rode up through the northern suburbs and back, almost 50 miles! Since it was my first time clipping in, (actually being physically attached to the bike – WHOA!), I was a little scared! I took one really awesome spill but after that, quickly got the hang of it.  

Stay tuned as I continue to blog about my adventures in road biking and my quest to become a cyclist!  

Daily Motivation: Here are all the benefits this blog listed to become a cyclist:

* Reduces the cholesterol levels in the blood.

* Increases the high density lipo-protein/cholesterol ratio in the blood as well.

* Reduces the chances of strokes and heart attacks caused by clotting.

* Reduces the chances of illnesses caused by high blood pressure.

* Is as effective as drugs in reducing high blood pressure.

* Increases fitness and declines obesity, thus helping reduce the chances of diabetes.

I'm Hawaii bound, and fitness bound, in two weeks

 I had a finance teacher in college that always said “blue birds make the world go round.” What he meant was that every once in a while you would be lucky enough to get a large gift of out no where. For some, their aunt Edna dies and leaves her entire estate. But for me, my blue bird came this week when my friend used miles to buy me a plane ticket to Hawaii. And since my roommate works for Hyatt, we won’t be paying to stay either. All in all, I have a free trip to Hawaii. Awesome!

What could be better, free trip to warm weather, beautiful flowers, incredible scenery and fantastic beaches. Yup, I said it. Beaches. The word that makes us all shutter at the mere thought of putting on a bathing suit. But, rather than dread my pasty, overly chubby, body this year I’ve decided to do something about it. 

I’ve got two weeks before the big trip and I’m aiming to lose six pounds, three pounds a week.  Sound tough? It will be. Especially since I’ve already been dieting, exercising and watching what I eat.  So I’ve created the “FitKate Two Week Starvation Diet.”  Sound fun, huh? My plan is to basically follow the South Beach two week plan but add fruit and beer. I know, I shouldn’t be drinking beer, but I have too many fun things between now and then. So in the next few weeks I’ll be drinking lots of water, eating vegetables, fruit and protein and staying away from all things sweet, carby or tastey!

But the plan isn’t just diet. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29122093/showed that people who lose the most weight exercise for 300 minutes per week. Do the math and it equates to about 5 days a week for 60 minutes. We’re not joking around here! So I’m on a quest to exercise everyday and reach 300 to 400 minutes of exercise per week.

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes and what I’m choosing to eat.  Bikini and short shorts here I come!

Daily Motivation: Are you on the pill? Turns out it may not be the best thing for your body if you’re trying to tone up (like me!!) A new study found women on the pill built significantly less muscle when following a strength training program than those not on the pill.

Michelle Obama's Arms have inspired many women (okay, me too!)

By now you have surely noticed what everyone has been talking about, our First Lady. And no, I don’t mean her ‘regular people’ style, or her passion for military families or the fact that she pretends to be Super Mom, no I’m talking about her ARMS.

There are some who say her arms signify strength, or youth, or can inspire young women. But I say Michelle Obama’s arms are a symbol that she is dedicated to health and fitness. Let’s face it, the lady looks darn good!

So aside from the symbolism, here are some quick workouts on how you can get Michelle’s arms from Kacy Duke and AOL Health:

Push, Pull, Kickback
1. Assume a squat position with your legs bent about 45 degrees. Hold a light dumbbell in each hand, arms bent so the weights are positioned just in front of your chest, palms facing each other.
2. Extend your arms straight out in front of you, pushing the weights forward.
3. Then bend your elbows, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and pull the weights back to either side of your chest.
4. Finally straighten your arms out behind you. Do 3 Sets 8-12 Reps.

You’ll Feel It
In your chest, back, shoulders and triceps. You’ll also get a bonus burn in your thighs and booty from performing this exercise in squat position.
Kacy’s Coaching Tips
It’s a good idea to try this one without any weights to start. Engage your chest, back and triceps the full range of motion. That way when you do add weight, you’ll be sure to engage all the right muscles to do the work.

Open with Strength
1. Stand in the power position. (Stand tall, keeping knees soft. Pull your navel to your spine and maintain a straight back and tight firm belly. In this position, you’re guaranteed not to sleepwalk through your exercise or, even worse, fall into sloppy form.) Keep arms by your sides feet close together. Holding dumbbells, lift your arms straight out to the sides so your body forms a T, palms facing down.
2. Keeping your arms extended, rotate your palms front, so the ends of the weights are towards the floor. Squeeze both arms together until their straight out in front of you.
3. Return to the starting position, and immediately repeat the move. Do 3 sets of 8-12 Reps.

You’ll Feel It
Through your entire biceps and into your shoulders.
Kacy’s Coaching Tips
Pretend your elbows are Krazy Glued to your side so you completely isolate your biceps. Don’t “assist” with the move by hoisting your torso backward as you lift. Keep the rest of your body still as a statue but completely relaxed.

There are of course, tons more exercise from the American Council of Exercise. Now, go get those fab arms!

Daily Motivation: There are three major arm muscles in the body, the biceps, triceps and deltoids

Despite the fact it’s Thursday already, I thought I would start recapping NBC’s Biggest Loser every Wednesday. The BL is hands-down my favorite show on TV and also the most inspiring. These contestants move away from their families, quit their jobs and change their entire lives all to lose weight and combat the bad habits they’ve developed. Awesome! 

Since these 20 or so folks are so insipring I thought we could learn a thing or two from them. So, this week’s edition: don’t get angry, get even.

Tara is a member of the green team (and former black team). At the beginning of the show the contestants found out they were playing for individuals rather than teams and they would get to choose their trainers. The first part of the challenge was to put blocks of weight, signifying how much weight each individual had lost, on each other’s scale, essentially shitting on the person they didn’t like the most. Everyone ganged up on Tara. Now, I’m not quite sure why Tara, maybe because she was close to loosing 100 pounds, or the prettiest, or youngest, who knows. But Tara ended up with 257 pounds on her scale. 

Part two of the challenge was to pull a car a half mile around the track with the added weight from part one. The race starts and Sione and Mike race to the front. But it wasn’t long before Tara and her green car came bounding through, all 257 pounds in tow. Tara won the challenge and won immunity (huge!) for the weigh-in.  

The next hour of the show proceeds with the weight-in, Kristin becomes the first women on the BL campus to lose 100 lbs and Aubry and Felipe end up in the bottom two. In the end, Aubry gets voted off and sent home. The saddest part was her “after the show” when we find out in the first two weeks she gained 9 pounds back! Whoa! She’s now down about 20 and hopes to have all her weight gone by the finale –which is when?

This week’s lesson, take a hint from Tara and get agressive. The world may put weight in your car, jobs, kids, business, relationships, whatever it is, accept it and kick butt. You can lose the weight and win the race of living a healthy life.  Don’t get mad at life, get even.

Mmm Cheeseburger

The other day I was chatting with friends in the Twitterverse when I saw a post from  my friend @thewebchild. He said “It’s true that great abs aren’t made in the kitchen and you can’t out train a bad diet.”

It was my epiphany! My Ah-ha! moment if you will.  You see, the truth is, I exercise a lot by most people’s standards. I never miss boot camp, love to spin and turn 3 mile runs into 8 mile runs. But as much as I love to exercise, I LOVE to eat.

And that is the problem. Food.  A recent study found dietary change, eating fewer calories, produced more weight loss than changes in activity levels.  And while I’m by no means advocating anyone to stop exercising, (I do run a fitness blog),  weight loss is measured by what you put in your body.

It was after my ah-ah tweet that I realized I needed to change not what I eat, but how much I eat.  I may order the brown rice and vegetable dish from the Thai restaurant or the vegetarian omelet without cheese at brunch, but the problem comes when I eat too much of it. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.  Not to mention too much of a bad thing…

To keep myself in check I’ve been using Weight Watchers. By counting “POINTS” I have to write down and remember everything I ate. It makes you look at your food and measure it. I’m not perfect at it, but it helps.

So, anyone eat too much too? Here are a few tips I’ve used:

• At a restaurant, ask the waiter for a box before you even eat your meal, put half of it in and seal it up.  Don’t open the box until lunch the next day.
• Half a recipie. If you’re single like me you don’t need to cook for a family of four. If there’s less food made, there’s less to eat.
• Never, ever, ever and I mean ever eat chips/nuts/crackers/cookies straight from the box. Pour in bowl even if you don’t measure exactly one serving size. Because who really eats only 13 wheat thins at a time?!
• Finally, walk away. Get out, leave, adios, see ya later. If you can’t stay at a party without eating the entire bowl of queso cheese dip (and who would ever do such a thing?! ) just leave the party.

This looks like Chicago! Oh wait, it’s Alaska. But it’s hard to tell the difference.  The other day I was walking to the gym and thought I was walking through Antarctica. If you’re brave enough to venture outside for a few minutes longer to get to the gym, good for you! It’s hard to stay motivated in the winter when you have to dress like this. Congratulations and keep it up if you’re getting to the gym a few times each week! Tank tops, shorts, and bathing suits (gasp!) are just around the corner….And by just around the corner I mean another 5 months. Stay Warm Chicago!

 Here is yet another installment of my favorite company’s  FitTips.  Enjoy!

You’ve seen it in spin class, on the treadmill, advertised in magazines – just about everywhere. People all around us are strapping on heart rate monitors. So what’s with all the excitement? Heart rate monitors are one of the best ways to quickly track the cardiovascular quality of a workout, ensure that you are getting the most out of fitness time and monitor progress. 

A heart rate monitor is a two-part device that shows how hard the heart is working by measuring beats-per-minute. A strap is clipped just below the chest and a real-time reading of beats–per-minute is displayed on a watch or a piece of cardio fitness equipment.  

According to Life Fitness, a heart rate monitor tells you how fast (or slow) your heart is pumping blood rich in oxygen to the muscles. It’s the perfect lie detector for exercisers because it clearly shows how hard the body is working.

But before strapping on a monitor, there are two sets of numbers that are essential to know to get the best workout:

1.     Maximum Heart Rate: Your maximum heart rate is the highest number of times your heart can beat in one minute and offers a key figure in determining training intensities. The best way to find your maximum heart rate is to be clinically tested – something not possible for most. Instead, use this ballpark formula to calculate; for women subtract your age from 226 and for men subtract your age from 220.

2.     Ideal Training Zone: Once you know your max, you can determine your ideal heart rate ranges when exercising. If you’re a beginning exerciser, aim to work at about 50 to 60 percent of your maximum heart rate. A moderately fit person should aim for 60 to 75 percent of that number and an advanced exerciser should shoot for 70 to 85 percent.

Exercises like walking, ridding a bike or running on the elliptical machines will help to reach your ideal training zone. Adding a strength training routine and interval training on the treadmill will further increase your heart rate and quality of workout.  

For more information on this, any other Fit Tip or photography, contact Katie Hasse at khasse@cushmanamberg.com or 312-263-2500.

Knowing that it’s virtually impossible to exercise everyday of the week, (minus those unusually dedicated crazy people),  I usually chalk up my busy day and convince myself I’ll workout tomorrow.

Then something hit me. The other day I read an article that said we should all be moving for at least 30 minutes a day. After reading I thought, of course I move for 30 minutes a day, that’s nothing. But then I started to think about it…do I really MOVE for 30 minutes?  That is, get up away from my computer, TV, newspaper and magazines and do something, anything that requires energy.  On a non-workout day this is my schedule:

That’s 18 minutes I move each day. Barely half of the recommended amount. Whoa, I was shocked. I identify myself as an active person but on non-workout days I only get 18 minutes of movement. From now on I’m resolving to move more even if it means walk to the other side of the office instead of send an email or get off the train one stop early. Just because I’m skipping a workout does not give me permission to be a sloth….as much as I may want to be one. 

Are you getting your 30 minutes of movement on non-workout days?

Daily Motivation: The American Heart Association recommends 18-65 year olds get moderate-intensity aerobic (endurance) physical activity for a minimum of 30 min on five days each week or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 20 min on three days each week. (Now that we can do!)