SUNDAY MORNING WORK OUT - YOUR NEW PRE-FOOTBALL PREP

Football season has arrived. You purchased all the gear showing off your favorite team, you have a chair picked out to yell at the television and all the snacks/ drinks to consume. Unfortunately, along with the enjoyment of this all-American past time comes some not-so-healthy food pairings. You may think working out after you consume the beer and food calories is the way to go, but actually a pre-workout takes less time and is more effective.

The calorie math for your favorite football snacks breaks down like this: Ten chicken wings (550 calories) = 3,000 sit-ups 1/8 tray of taco dip (462 calories) = 46 minutes of jumping rope Handful of nachos (261 calories) = 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer Three stuffed potato skins (189 calories) = 20 minutes of spin class One quesadilla (528 calories) = 60 minutes on the Stairmaster Six-pack of beer (918 calories) = 90 minutes of circuit training Three jalapeno poppers (190 calories) = 20 minutes of sparring Five pigs in a blanket (325 calories) = 45 minutes of Power Vinyasa class

However, don't let these stats discourage you. You can still eat all your favorite football snacks if you dedicate at least a few hours of strength training during the week. If you are going to snack, choose high protein foods (chicken wings) to fuel workouts rather than empty carbs (potatoes). Here is a game-day work out for football fans (via menshealthjournal):

Warm-up Jog for 3 to 5 minutes. Alternate running fast for 1 minute, and recovering with a walk for 1 minute. Do for a total of 15 minutes.

Strength Program Dumbbell Overhead Press + Dumbbell Renegade Rows (get into a plank and row dumbbell up to ribcage, alternating sides). Four sets total, alternating exercises.

Floor Presses (like a bench press, but lying on the floor) and Single-Arm Rows. Four sets total, alternating exercises.

Wide-Stance Goblet Squats (feet should be wider than hip-width, hold one dumbbell at chest). Six sets total.

Bulgarian Split Squats (hold a dumbbell in each hand with one leg lunged forward, opposite foot resting on a table or bench behind you). Six sets total.

*For All Exercises* Do your first set with a low weight and aim for 20 reps to start, and then gradually increase the weight for the next five sets so that you can only do 8 to 10 reps on by the sixth set.

It takes 30 days to start a new habit, enjoy the process, be patient and the results will come.