Jump Rope, Calves, Cardio, Recipes, and Deadlifting

by Nia Shanks | Follow her on Twitter here

Today is going to be another “random posting” day. There are a few things I want to share with you, so this is the perfect place to do so.

1) Jumping Rope – Lately I have been jumping rope several times a week. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite conditioning methods because it’s quick, effective, and can be done anywhere. Plus, a jump rope only costs about six to 10 dollars.

There are two main ways I perform my jump rope workouts: 1) I’ll jump rope for 15 minutes and only take very short rest breaks when needed. 2) I’ll perform intervals; jump rope for 30 seconds hard, and rest for 15 seconds. If you have never tried jumping rope for conditioning and fat loss, I highly suggest you do so. Also check out this older article for more ideas and information => Fat Burning Jump Rope Workout.

2) Training Calves – Jason Ferruggia had an interesting post last week on training calves. If you want to improve your athleticism and/or you directly train your calves, then you’ll really want to check out this article. You can find it here.

3) Fennel Salad – Last week I stumbled upon a new website that has some amazing recipes. I wanted to try something different so the first thing I have made from the website is fennel salad. This was my first time eating fennel, and it was wonderful. You can check out that recipe here, and I suggest you scan the website for other great meal ideas. I have several lined up to try for myself.

4) Cardio ADD – I get easily bored with my conditioning (a.k.a. “cardio”) workouts. I usually change things up every couple of weeks, if not every week to keep myself from going crazy. Here lately I have been doing hill sprints, jumping rope, burpees, kettebell snatches and swings, and a combination of those. If you’re bored with your cardio, check out this article => The Cure for Cardio ADD. You’ll find some great ideas to change up your conditioning workouts and speed up your fat loss.

5) Deadlifting – This is by far my favorite exercise. Why? Well, there are a few reasons. One, you don’t need a spotter; you just load up a bar and pull. Two, there’s no cheating with this exercise (unless you count hitching); you either get the weight locked out or you don’t. Three, this exercise has greatly improved my back, glutes, and hamstrings. Four, I’m good at it. Five, I love lifting more weight than 90 plus percent of the guys at commercial gyms. : )

Oh, and by the way. For women who want to “lose fat and tone up”, you should be deadlifting too. Forget about leg curls and the inner and outer thigh machines. Deadlifts will do far more for your physique than all of those useless exercises combined. Check out Why Women Should Deadlift.

Okay, everyone. Have a wonderful weekend!