In the Media
Edmonton Journal Monday, February 13, 2006
Body & Health
New Year New You: Week 4
Chris Zdeb; journal staff writer, Edmonton
Even sickness couldn’t stop Bobbi Robbins from working out this week. The hardest part was convincing herself to go to the studio after work because you just want to go home and curl up, she says. “But I think it’s good to sweat,” Robbins added, toweling off her glistening face.
“I’m feeling tired and achy all over. I’m just not myself, but I’m glad I came,” She said at the end of her workout Thursday.
The general rule for exercising when you’re sick is if you’re not feeling well from the neck up, you’re probably still OK to work out, says Robbins’s trainer, Alexandra Senkow, fitness director at Defining Eve personal fitness studio.
“If you have a fever, you risk overheating, which is bad, but if you have a cold, it’s generally safe to exercise, but at a slightly lower intensity.
“If you have a cold in your chest, it’s usually better not to exercise, because it’s more difficult to breathe,” Senkow says. And you don’t want to make other people working out around you, sick.
The highlight of Robbins’s week was spending 50 minutes on a stationary bike Monday. She’s training her body, strengthening her core muscles in preparation for adding a spin class to her now three-times-a-week workouts, starting Saturday, Feb. 25.
The last month has also seen Robbins go from someone who rarely had time to eat during the day to becoming a regular healthy snacker, a surprise to some of her colleagues at Ross Sheppard high school where Robbins is a teacher’s assistant.
“They say every time they see me I’m eating,” Robbins says with a grin.
“Good,” Senkow tells her. Robbins’s body will allow her to burn fat more easily, if it knows it can depend on her to keep fuelling it on an ongoing basis.
“I’m also drinking lots of water,” Robbins says. “I drink three bottles of water during the day, two when I’m here and three in the evening.”
She says she’s amazed that a third of her personal training sessions are now behind her.
Her weight remained unchanged from the previous week, which was a relief she says, because with the onset of her period, her body retains more water and she was worried that her weight had actually gone up.
Starting weight: 199 pounds. Week 4: 196 pounds.
Bobbi Robbins won 12 weeks of personal training with Alexandra Senkow, fitness director at Defining Eve personal fitness studio, in The Journal’s New Year, New You contest.
HEART RATE
To reap the health benefits of aerobic exercise you need to work at an intensity that raised your heart rate for at least 30 minutes a day, three to give times a week. To lose weight, you have to exercise aerobically at a moderate intensity for 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week. If you’re new to aerobic exercise, aim for a target heart rate that’s 60 per cent of your maximum. To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. Once you’re in pretty good shape you can work up to 90 per cent of your maximum heart rate.
Prevention’s Best No-Fail Fitness Tips
