What’s Your Summer Slimdown?
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By Glenn Mueller
Senior Writer/Editor
You are no doubt familiar with the summer of love, but how about the summer of slimming?
Well, personally, I intend to use these summer months to whip myself back into shape. Writing about health and fitness all day doesn’t do my body any good unless I decide to practice what I preach.
Not everyone who works for eDiets.com is a model of health and fitness, but I’ve certainly got plenty of competition here on the content team. One of my co-workers is a former college gymnast, who still looks like she could be a walk-on for the Olympics in August if the U.S. team needed her. As you may remember from reading her blog post, our Senior Copy Editor ran a full marathon in February, and plans to do another one soon. And even though you’ve seen videos of him stuffing his face full of bacon candy, our staff writer rarely ever misses his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class after work. Then there’s me. I’m the one with the beer belly.
Granted, I am nearly a decade older than my three amigos on the content team, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse (especially since I am younger than our Senior Director of Merchandising, who is quite possibly the fittest person in the company right now). So, I asked her for advice on the best way to get back in shape and she suggested I try spinning.
Now, I've only been spinning for about a month, so I'm not going to claim to be an expert on the subject. But, to my surprise, spinning classes not only provide a great workout, but they are also a lot of fun. In case you've been hiding under a rock, spinning is an aerobic workout in which you use a specially designed stationary bicycle called (get ready for a shock here) a spinning bike. As you pedal away, motivating music blasts out of the loudspeakers while the instructor takes you through a sort of simulated outdoor cycling ride.
One of the great things about spinning is that you can control your own pace by adjusting the resistance knob on the bike. Also, since you are riding on a stationary bike, spinning provides less opportunity for embarrassment than other aerobic workouts. For in
stance, you don't have to worry about accidentally jumping to the left when everybody else in the class jumps to the right (believe me, I've done it).
And, perhaps best of all, you don't actually have to dress in those goofy-looking Spandex clothes that many bicycle enthusiasts wear. Some people choose to wear them, but you'll never see me coming to class in anything like that. It is bad enough that I had to wear a Speedo when I was on the swim team in high school.
Anyway, I have found spinning to be a great way to kick off my summer slimdown. In fact, this weekend, I am participating in a spinning fundraising event called "Spinning Nation." And I have to give a quick shout out to my gym, Michael's Body Scenes in Boca Raton, Fla. They've raised more money for this event than any other participating gym in the country, and I think that is really awesome.
Enough about me… What about you? What's your summer slimdown? Let us know by posting a comment below.
Labels: clothes, fun, weight-loss, workout
Comment: Friday, June 27, 2008 7:00:00 AM - 
said...
I am in pretty good shape and have been a walker for years, but this Summer I started running a little during my walk and I lost weight so much faster that I am adding healthy calories into my diet daily and working to maintain my weight, not lose! The difference is amazing.
Comment: Friday, June 27, 2008 10:08:00 AM - 
mowen@handmark.com said...
MORNING WORKOUTS! :) I know it sounds exausting...who wants to get out of bed at 5 in the morning to head to the gym?? I think Summertime is a great time to get in this habit, because you don't have to worry about layers in the morning and the sun is just about coming up. It also leaves you time after work to enjoy the summer nights with a nice glass of wine and a chicken salad for dinner relaxing on your deck :) I've never been a morning person, so I KNOW anyone can do this!!
Comment: Friday, June 27, 2008 12:31:00 PM - crissy27blue said...
Yoga,Pilates,push ups,lots of crunches,swimming,waluking,jogging on the treadmill at an intense pace.I am skinny though and should not do the jogging part but I love doing the yoga,pilates and walking.Yoga and Pilates I do them in the mornings on the week ends.During the week I am guilty of living with my sister for the summer and eating not so healthy food sometimes.I try to eat healthy when I can but come on I am 23(almost 24) and weigh 120 lbs!I do push ups at night increasing the # of push ups by one per day!
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