Health Redesigned Blog

This post is going to talk about why squats may not be the best exercise to get a nice booty. I know what you’re thinking. “Shawna, you’re crazy because squats are one of the best exercises to get a nice derriere.” I’m not going to disagree on that. There are, however, a few reasons why they may not be right for you.

One of the reasons why might be that you don’t have great technique. You may have poor technique because a) you’ve never done squats before or b) you sit at a desk all day long. If you’re not at work, you’re sitting in your car on the way home, sitting at the dinner table or sitting on the sofa in the evening. Between all of that sitting, your hip flexors tighten, pull your hips forward and change the position of your pelvis. Even though you may know how to do a squat, you may not be able to get into the correct posture or position to do it properly. If you aren’t in the proper position, you may not be...

This post is all about busting the myth that you need to be coordinated to a tee, and looking model perfect to be able to go to the gym to workout. I’ve spent more than 10 years working in gyms and that myth is absolutely not true.

Myth Buster #1

Going into a gym, you may look around and see picture perfect outfits. It’s curated tops, bottoms and shoes, where everything matches just like on Instagram. This is what you’re thinking that everyone needs to wear. 

Myth? If you look model perfect, it doesn’t actually matter what you do in the gym. It just matters how you look. Your hair needs to be styled. Makeup done just so. And of course, a matching outfit. If you’re going to sweat, you need to have a light glisten all over your body. 

Busted! This picture-perfect curated life is incredibly fake. If you need to be done up to feel comfortable with yourself, fill your boots. Otherwise, roll out of bed, throw your hair up in a messy bun and just...

This post is going to bust the myth that lifting weights is going to make you bulky. Many people think the only way to work out is to use light weights or do lots of cardio. I’m tired of seeing myths like this out there. There are so many women that think that they can only lift light weights or do exercises for their smaller stabilizer muscles. Then they wonder why they aren’t seeing results or losing weight.

That type of workout is filled with 1 pound dumbbell curls, elastic tubing and takes way too long to produce results, much less sweat. That’s not to say that those exercises don’t have a place. They are great for rehabilitation after an injury or to help strengthen stabilizer muscles. They are not as great for helping with weight loss or increasing muscle mass.

Working with a client the other day, I was reminded of how important it is to lift heavy weights to get real results. Especially for women, as we get older, and I mean beyond 20 or 25, we need to...

There is an increasing trend of doing short, high-intensity workouts. These workouts are referred to as HIIT or high-intensity interval training. It’s a form of anaerobic conditioning (without oxygen) that can deliver faster results than other styles of training. HITT workouts include doing repeated short bursts of maximal intensity or high-intensity effort. They come in all shapes and sizes, with varying exercises. The number of sets and repetitions can also vary from workout to workout. Generally, workout sessions are short and sweet, lasting less than 30 minutes.

HIIT workouts were intended to supplement training. They were never designed to be your entire fitness program. I love HITT when it’s done properly. It can deliver amazing results. HITT can yield significant changes to body composition in a relatively short period of time. The biggest problem with HIIT workouts is the way they are executed. If you do intense workouts day in, day out, by the end of a month or...

You understand there are a ton of amazing benefits from exercising, but you may not be sure what exactly you should be doing. There are lots of different types of exercise programs out there, such as fitness classes, weight training, swimming, biking running, yoga, and pilates. New types of exercises and new fads are coming out all the time. What they all have in common is that they target components of fitness, giving you benefits specific to that exercise. Let’s explore the different components of fitness to give you a better understanding.

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular fitness, also called cardio, is the heart’s ability to deliver blood to working muscles and their ability to use it. As you gain cardiovascular fitness, you’ll be able to work harder or faster with less effort. Some examples of cardiovascular fitness include walking, running, hiking, swimming and biking. What three activities (or more) will you try that will boost...

There are some days that I literally want to rip my hair out because of what people count as exercise. Walter works from home and would go up and down the stairs three times in the day, counting that as his exercise. He also thought that walking at the grocery store and shoveling his four-foot-long sidewalk once a week was exercise. I couldn’t convince him otherwise. These things are NOT exercise. They are activities.

Activity

Activity is any physical movement of the body that uses up energy. Most people count their activities of daily living (ADL) as exercise. These ADL’s are the things you need to do in the day like cooking, laundry, housework or yard work and often involve going up and down the stairs a few times in the day. General activity can also include taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking at the back of the parking lot so that you have to walk further.

Marina is a nurse on a busy unit. She works 12-hour shifts and is up and down the unit all day....