Mix and Match

One of the key factors to consider when working out is habituation. Not only do our bodies get “tired” of our workouts, but our minds do as well. To keep ourselves interested, and to make sure that we are getting the most effective workouts, it’s important to mix up workouts and do them in a rotation. My piece of advice – try every piece of equipment in the gym, just once. This will help you to figure out which machines are your favorite, and choose which of those you would like to include in your workout rotation. Today, I decided to split my workout between three machines: the treadmill, the Stairmaster, and Jacob’s Ladder.

Try this workout:

10 minute run on the treadmill

5 minutes on the the Stairmaster

10 minutes on Jacob’s Ladder

The beginning run will warm your body up, and get your muscles ready to work hard on the next two machines. Set the pace to something comfortable, but not at an all-out sprint. Your warm-up should raise your heart rate to about 50%-60% of it’s maximum. Everyone has different levels of endurance, and only you know your own body, so it’s at your discretion how hard to push yourself.

The Stairmaster targets calf-muscles, but is still considered a cardio workout. It keeps your heart rate up, while working your calves as if you were walking up a flight of stairs. Adjust the settings to what feels best for you – the more steps per minute, the better cardio workout you will get. 5 Minutes on this machine will be enough to send your calves to the edge of burning out.

Jacob’s Ladder is one of my favorite machines. This rung-ladder machine provides an intensive full-body workout. You need to use both your legs and arms at all time to climb up the ladder, which causes higher calorie expenditure than does a machine that isolates arms or legs. My favorite part about this machine is that similar to cycling, it is completely self-motivated. There are no settings; it is all about how fast you decide to climb up. If this is your first time on this machine, you may find that you need to take a break somewhere in those 10 minutes – the intensity of this full-body workout will may tire you out more quickly than you would expect.

Jacob’s Ladder can only be found at Penn State’s White Building - get there early in the morning if you want to avoid a line!

Thursday’s Post-Workout Meal:

Make your own salad from Fiddlehead soup and salad cafe to complete your “mix and match” day.

My favorite salad:

mixed greens

walnuts

grilled chicken

grapes

bleu cheese crumbles

herb trio vinaigrette