What Comes First--Cardio or Strength Training?

My patients often ask me if it matters whether they do aerobic or strength training first in their workout. The answer is yes, it matters, depending on what your goal is.

If you want to lose weight, you should do strength training first, cardiovascular training second. "Why?," you ask.

When you lift weights, you can deplete your glycogen stores. (Glycogen is the storage form of glucose, or sugar, that is stored in the muscle and liver. It is used for high-intensity and short-duration exercise. Liver glycogen gets low after about 20 minutes.) With your glycogen stores depleted, you'll burn more fat during your aerobic workout.

Caveat: You'll need to spend a few minutes warming up and stretching before lifting. Also, if you expend a lot of energy during strength training, you may be too tired to finish your aerobic workout.

If you do your cardio workout first, your muscles will have a good warm-up before weightlifting. You'll save time by combining your warm-up for lifting with your aerobic workout. The down side is that you may be too fatigued to lift with proper form and increase your risk of injury.

It's important to replenish your depleted glycogen stored within 45 minutes after your workout to keep your metabolism elevated. Also, remember to drink plenty of water before, during, and after your workout. It is an essential key to fat metabolism.

If you haven't been strength training, hopefully this will motivate you to start.

Twenty Nine Years

Twenty nine years ago today, my husband and I walked down the aisle as a newly married couple. It seems like yesterday and yet it seems like we've been married forever. It was a day much like today--sunny and cold. (Next time, we're getting married in the summer. The pictures will be so much better.) We were going to get married in May, but as we tried to coordinate the church, photographer, reception, etc., the date kept getting pushed forward. So, March 27th it was.

As we planned our honeymoon, I thought it would be great to go skiing. I had gone to Aspen with the Ann Arbor Ski Club the year before and had had a blast. I thought about how romantic it would be sitting in front of the fireplace. So we booked a flight, a hotel, bought my hubby some skis (he told the guy at the ski store that he wanted the extra long ones so he could go fast) and we were all set.

A few weeks before the wedding, we thought we should give the new skis a trial run, so we went to Mount Brighton. ("Mount" in the name is a big stretch.) I was slaloming down the hill and turned around to see how my stud fiance was doing, and there he was coming down the hill backwards. I could see him killing himself right then and there, and I wouldn't even get the insurance money. No more skiing until after the wedding.

When we booked our flight, we wanted to save money, so we decided we would fly out of Chicago (a 3 hour drive from where we were getting married). We were on the 8:00 a.m. flight, so we stayed at the Hyatt right across from the terminal. We left our reception around 10:00, checked into our hotel around 2:00 a.m. and had a 6:00 a.m. wake-up call. We were young--no problem. We ended up getting up late, didn't have time to go park in the cheaper long-term parking, and to make a long story short, missed our plane. We should have recognized this as an omen.

After a long day of travel, we finally made it to Aspen. Everyone walking around had great skiers' tans from the obviously great sunny weather. We couldn't wait to hit the slopes--actually we were exhausted and fell into bed. The next morning we got up, looked out the window and could see nothing. It was snowing sideways. We had ski passes that were only good for four days, so we decided to give it a try. As we were getting our ski clothes on, my husband was struggling with his ensemble. We had gotten him boots and skis but had forgotten about clothes. There he was in jeans, a gray sweater, and an old brown down vest.

He said I looked like Ski World, he looked like Farmer's Almanac.

And if you're on a budget, Aspen isn't the place to shop. (It was recently named the most expensive city to live in in the U.S.) We ended up getting him some navy pants and a navy hat to go with the brown vest--definitely not a fashion statement.

The first day of skiing was rough. At one point, my Mr. fell and put a hole in his boot with his ski pole. He banged his head so hard everything looked green. The highlight of skiing was getting back to the hotel and sliding into the hot tub. By the third day, the sun came out. We had a wonderful time skiing Snowmass until the final run, when we skied down to the buses back to Aspen, and Mike fell in the slush and mud right in front of a busload of people. His ego was definitely bruised.

We had one more day of skiing, but when we woke up, I just didn't feel good. We thought we would go down to the hot tub and see if I felt better a little later. Big mistake. I was in the hot tub for about 2 minutes when I felt my stomach start to churn. We made a beeline for the room where I made it just in time to lose my breakfast. I was sick all day. Miguel ended up playing Pac Man all day in the lobby while I slept. His only injury from Aspen was a blister on his thumb from the joystick on the video game.

The next day I felt a little better. We drove back to Denver for our flight the next day.

Everything went smoothly although it was a bit rough on the landing in Chicago. The high winds we had in Aspen had made it to the Midwest. Our plan was to drive to my parent's house, spend the night, pack up our wedding gifts and head back to Ann Arbor the next day. It was fine until we got about 90 miles from home. We ended up in a blizzard. The visibility was so poor we couldn't see from reflector to reflector on the highway. We went about 20 miles an hour. We finally made it to my parents street where we got stuck in the snow. Thankfully, my dad and brother helped and we got the car out without any problem.

Here we are 29 years later. I've learned a lot since 1982. On our next honeymoon, we're going to a resort with a beach.

Welcome Spring

There's nothing like springtime in West Michigan. On the second full day of spring, we had a winter storm warning posted by the National Weather Service. It turned out to be a non-event. We had some freezing rain, but the roads were fine. However, on Wednesday morning, when I backed out of the garage and into the turn around, I found a huge branch blocking the driveway. Since I was running a little late for work, this was not good. I pulled out my cell phone to call my husband (who was sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast) to come out and move it for me. I then remembered that the cable was out, which means our phones were also out. I tried his cell phone, but that was turned off. I could have rung the doorbell, but I decided I'd just move it myself. As I got out of the car, all the deer in the yard, which I hadn't noticed, scattered. The limb wasn't as heavy as it looked, and I had it cleared in less than a minute.

(So much for my New Year's resolution of being on time, and I was doing pretty well.) I was finally on my way. (The pictures were taken after work, otherwise I probably would have been fired.)

Thankfully, we weren't very busy at work. The weather people had everyone scared and they stayed home. Either that or they were having a party somewhere and I wasn't invited.

Amazing Benefits of Blueberries

I love blueberries! I've been having a love affair with blueberries since I was a child, except for one particular day in the early sixties when I went picking with my mom and brothers. I couldn't resist eating them. They kept going into my mouth instead of my pail. I spent the rest of the day in the bathroom with intestinal distress. But even that couldn't dampen my affection for the little buggers. Even now, when blueberries are in season, my husband and I eat about ten pounds of blueberries every week.

Several years ago, new studies came out about all the health benefits of blueberries. They are the miracle berry and all you need is about a cup a day. They can do amazing things, such as:

Fight Aging (and who doesn't need that)

Improve Memory and Learning (I can tell it's winter and I haven't been eating as many)

Lower Cholesterol

Improve Vision

Prevent Macular Degeneration

Improve Brain Function

Prevent and Fight Cancer

Prevent Urinary Tract Infections

Aid In Weight Loss

Act as a Sleep Aid

Fight Osteoporosis

I always freeze some blueberries. I just pour them into Ziplock bags straight from the box and put them in the freezer. I rinse them just before I use them. They are great in baked goods. Here's one of my favorite recipes that is low cal and low fat.

Blueberry Crisp

3 cups frozen or fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/3 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup flour

Combine blueberries and lemon juice in a pie plate. (I usually sprinkle a little Splenda over the blueberries because my husband complains it's a little tart.) Combine butter, sugar and flour until mixture is crumbly.

Sprinkle mixture over blueberries. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Resistance Training: Heavy vs. Light Weight

People often ask me if it's better to lift heavy weight for fewer reps or lighter weight for more reps. The answer depends on your goal. The rule of thumb is this: if you want to develop strength and larger muscles (hypertrophy), use heavier weight, fewer reps. If your goal is endurance and toning, use lighter weight, more reps.

For strength and hypertrophy, use a weight you can only lift for 4-10 repetitions.

For toning and endurance, use a weight that you can lift 12-20 repetitions.

In either case, the last few reps should be to the point of fatigue.

For myself, I use lighter weight with more reps. As a result, I actually lift more weight than if I were using heavier weight. For example:

Bicep Curls: 20 lbs. x 10 reps = 200 lbs. lifted

15 lbs. x 20 reps = 300 lbs. lifted

As far as sets go, 1-2 will do it for toning and endurance and you'll want to lift 3 times a week.

If you want hypertrophy, you'll need to do 3 or more sets, 3 times a week.

It's a lot of work, but the rewards are great. You'll love having toned arms and legs, especially with summer coming.

Of course, you can always skip that lower body workout and just buy yourself a Booty Pop. For only $10, you can look like a million.

Not Your Ordinary Oatmeal

Oatmeal for breakfast has been my M.O. for years. I add a little soy protein powder and soy milk, along with fruit and walnuts. Then I have a complete meal--carbohydrate, protein, and heart-healthy fat. I've used Quaker Oats for all my life but recently decided to try something different. I first bought some Irish oatmeal, but it has a flavor that I really don't care for (no offense to my Irish mother-in-law). I then purchased steel cut oats and I love them.

The only downside is cooking time. They need to cook for an hour. On days that I workout for an hour, I put them in an oven safe bowl and bake the oatmeal in the oven. When I finish my workout, the oatmeal is ready.

You can also cook it in a slow cooker overnight. (It's a little more clean up but a convenient option.) It's really worth the extra effort to make the steel cut oats. It's so good.

Warning: Don't forget to add 6 parts water to one part oatmeal, otherwise the oatmeal comes out really thick and not quite done.

Baked Oatmeal

1/4 cup steel cut oats

1 1/2 c. water

Place in oven safe bowl. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Top with chopped apples, blueberries, and/or walnuts.

Makes 1 serving.

The Ride

Every year, Mercy Health Partners puts on an indoor stationary bike race to increase awareness of cardiovascular fitness through exercise and healthy lifestyle choices. Teams of eight cyclists ride bikes on mounted trainers for 25-minute intervals and compete for team trophies and individual medals. There are trophies for various categories from the most spirited team, best theme or costumes, oldest team and, of course, most miles ridden. This year fifty eight teams competed. Our team's theme was Construction Workers (for the heart).

There are some professional teams that ride, also. They are separated from the novice teams.

We have done this since 2005 and have raised over $250,000 for the HEART Center. The money goes toward educational equipment, health fairs, exercise equipment and for patients who need cardiac rehab but have limited financial resources. The Ride takes place at the local mall and is a lot of fun.

I have ridden in The Ride with other staff members from the HEART Center for 6 of the past 7 years. This year, however, I had a specific goal to reach. One of my patients has been egging me on for the last year about how he wanted to race me. He wanted me to bring my A-game because he was bringing his. I had to beat him this year, unless I wanted to listen to his grief for the next 12 months. Thankfully, he rode before me so I knew the mileage I had to have. I beat him by .3 miles.

The sad thing about this is that he is 12 years older than me and has had coronary artery bypass surgery. I should be able to beat him by a lot, but I had to go for all I was worth today. Our bikes weren't the same, so it wasn't totally equal, but still. This has shown me I need to work a little harder in my workouts. No more lolligagging around. Just wait until next year, Luke.