If you are trying to lose weight and you are not sure about what to exercise for, cardio or muscles, then this video is for you.
This quick video will help you determine how much cardio and how much strength training your body needs according to your body type. It gives a quick insight into what you should do to help your body with the weight loss process.
Good luck,
Nura
Women have realised the importance of incorporating weights into their training and work out routine. Not only it will make ladies toned and less flabby, but it will also increase their strength in their day to day activities such as lifting heavy groceries, keeping up with their kids, and running errands. I have listed my top 5 favourite strong hijabis, and provided the link to their instagram account for your ‘stalking’ (i.e. reference) convenience.
A trainer based in Canada, she shares how she balances her daily life as a mom, fitness instructor, and CrossFit student.
Her passion for fitness inspires me to press that “follow” button on instagram. It’s not just her hobby – it’s a way of life. Her lively posts showed the importance of cultivating healthy habits from young through her kids, such as encouraging them to be active in sports and eating ‘clean’. Hopefully, when I have children of my own I can adopt some of her tips and healthy lifestyle for my family.
A trainer from Malaysia, she became an icon as there are not many hijabis locally who are proud about about sculpting their bodies. She is also passionate about making Malaysians a healthier nation by collaborating with well-known fitness icons and trainers such as Kevin Zahri.
She faced comments from haters regarding her body, but that only made her stronger. Her positive content, humour, and activities are relatable to most Malaysian girls in their 20s and 30s, proofing that strong is indeed successful and beautiful. I hope this will spark more interest and change the perception towards ladies who lift.
Based in UK, Nesrine breaks stereotypes by being an instructor at a gym. Not only does she trains weight lifting classes, she also trains muay thai. She is definitely one strong woman that you don’t want to mess with!
Her videos and photos are always fun to see, showing women from various background, shapes and sizes working hard to get fit. Sports can indeed be a powerful uniting tool! Nesrine also proofed that staying modest does not hinder your performance in sports, and she gets creative with layering when she practices muay thai.
Haya Alsharhan is a trainer in the 1st affiliated Crossfit box in Kuwait. She also competes in Crossfit Games Asia Regionals 2013 where she finished as the top 50.
In a world where Crossfit is dominated by women who embraces their muscles in sports bra and shorts, I follow her because she is one of the few professional Crossfit athlete who wears a hijab. Crossfit is a fast-moving, dynamic sport that requires jumping and inversion movements such as handstand push ups and gymnastics. As a newbie in crossfit, I still feel conscious about what I wear as ‘wardrobe malfunctions’ still accidentally happen from time to time when I’m in the box. I take pointers on how she dresses up, because sometimes all you need are minor tweaks to the regular work out clothes so it becomes hijabi-friendly.
A familiar face in the running scene, she requires no introduction as her photos with Nike’s Pro Hijab became sensational worldwide. She does not practice crossfire, however she teaches cycling and strength training as she is also a NTC (Nike Training Club) instructor.
What I like most about her is that she opens up about her personal life as well. It gives a glimpse into the cultural nuances and preferences from the Middle East, which can be studied and further developed into a collaboration. Despite the misleading, conservative images that the main media portrayed, I see immense potential in the fitness industry in the Middle East, and I hope that Mani Rostam continues to be a positive influence.
Last Saturday I unleashed my inner beast mode and did my very first CrossFit Open Games even though I have not registered for it. It was crazy brutal – I have been doing CrossFit for almost 8 months, yet this was the first time I was unable to finish a WOD (Work out of the Day). I knew this was something I had to do every week. So without much hesitation, I immediately signed up, paid the US$10 fees, and uploaded my score to https://games.crossfit.com.
What is CrossFit Open Games?
A typical CrossFit class will consist of 3 components: Warm Up, Strength/Technique, and Workout of the Day or WOD (this is the highlight of every class). Usually, it is up to the coach to determine what WOD will it be. But for CrossFit games, a WOD will be announced via the CrossFit Games website. The WOD announced must be completed within Friday until Monday, 5pm Pacific Time. Then, participants will upload their scores on the website and their coaches will verify as judges. The best part is anyone can participate! If they could not do the Rx (more advanced techniques and heavier weights), then they can do the Scaled version, which was what I did. Everyone is encouraged to do to the best of their abilities.
I can’t do a pull up. I can’t do double unders…and the list goes on. But I registered anyways. *all photo credits in this post goes to Fuelprime Crossfit
Why did I do it?
1. I have always been curious about how do I fare against other athletes. Based on the scores that I have to submit weekly, I know where I stand.
2. Running all the time can be boring and mundane. Yet, I needed an outlet to feel competitive, so I turned to CrossFit Games.
3. Peer pressure – Thanks to my CrossFit gym buddies, I wanted to be a part of the hype too!
What was the WOD that I had to complete?
WOD 17.1
This WOD is capped at 20 minutes. For female (scaled), I used a 10kg dumbbell, 20-inch box and I could step up on the box instead of jumping.
How did I fare in the end?
My score. I could not complete the last 15 step up over box burpees.
My ranking on the Leaderboard
I rank 27 out of 50 for Female Malaysian athletes in the scaled category as of 8.44pm, Malaysian time. I am sure more scores are being uploaded and verified as we are speaking.
Conclusion: I love how this CrossFit Open Games is inclusive, regardless of their level of experience. Everyone is encouraged to try and submit their scores. I’ve seen videos of 85 year old grandmothers doing dumbbell snatches and a one-legged amputee doing box jumps. So no more excuses! I am nervous yet excited for next week’s WOD!
These crazy people made me do it!
I have always noticed that the ability to run a full marathon (or even an ultramarathon) does not always equate to being in shape. Running is a non-discriminatory sport – anyone can participate regardless of your shape and size, so sometimes non-competitive, casual runners like myself, take strength training for granted. Sculpting our bodies seem secondary, we are more focused on chasing the mileage. However, being in shape is always advantageous. It differentiates you from the rest of the crowd by preventing injury, powering up our strides so we can run faster and finish stronger, plus not to mention a balanced, leaner appearance. Even professional athletes from almost all types of sports will incorporate strength and weights into their training.
So at 7.30 am, my running group and I were bright and early at Revelation Republic, ready for some strength training class known as Body Conditioning. Since the coach knew that the room was full of experienced runners, he did not go easy on us! My LSD the following day had to be cut short, because I was very sore all over. This level of sore-ness even exceeds my previous experience at the Les Mills GRIT Strength Class! We spent more than 2 hours for a full body work out. But the focus was our legs, most importantly our thighs, hip flexors, and glutes.
What do runners do when they are not running? They go for body conditioning classes! (Photo credit: Mark Chin)
We did not use a lot of fancy equipment, as most of them used such as the rowing machine, kettlebells, and bicycle were commonly found in most gyms. But our instructor taught us the most effective way of using them to obtain maximum results and benefits. Even the simplest moves can be very tiring if done in several repetitions and sets, such as stepping up on boxes.
WIP – Work out In Progress. (Photo credit: Mark Chin)
We also did explosive, anaerobic intervals as a switch from our usual aerobic running routines. We had to do 10 goblet squats and 100m sprints, as much repetitions as we could in 12 minutes. It left most of us gasping for breath at just half way!
Today’s class showed us that there are always room for improvement, even for seasoned runners. Therefore, in the pursuit of clocking in the mileage and going the distance, we must also learn how to balance our fitness routines with some weight training in the future.
One with the instructor. How did he even got up there?!!
For more info, visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/revelationrepublic/
Until next week,
The Weekend Runner.