Fit Your Life

SMART Goals for Your New Years Resolution Near the end of December, most people think about what the upcoming year will bring and what they want to achieve. Setting New Years resolutions should be more than thinking about what you should do, and more about what you will do in 2011. Health and fitness related resolutions are among the top for most goal-setters. I want to make sure that your 2011 resolutions will come true! The SMART goal setting system is one that can be applied to many situations. Here, we will use it to build our 2011 New Years Resolution(s). Specific – we must make sure that our goals are as specific as possible, as this makes them easier to visualize. An example of a specific goal is, “I want to lose 5 pounds of fat mass”, as opposed to, “I want to lose weight”. We can visualize 5 pounds of fat, and we can imagine our body after the loss of that mass. Measurable – to be able to measure our goals is to know that we have achieved what we expected of ourselves....

Christmas is a time that we are surrounded by delicious treats, but this year YOU are going to prevent a Santa belly from forming. My previous posts have given you multiple ways to help make healthier choices and this workout will help to burn the calories from those samples you had off Mom or Grandma's Christmas platter :) The core consists of the rectus abdominis (6-pack), obliques (twisting and side-bending muscles on sides of mid-section), transverse abdominis (deep core stabilizers), and low back muscles. This workout is going to target all four core muscle groups while increasing heart rate to burn calories! This workout is quick and intense ,   so you can add it to the end of a cardio workout, or do it on its own when you are short on time. Let's GO! 5 Station Fit-Tummy Circuit Perform the maximum amount of reps in 50 seconds , then 10 second break before moving on to next exercise. Have a pen and paper handy to record how many reps you did for each exercise. Perfo...

This 16 minute heart-pumping workout will have you sweating and feeling those Christmas cookies melt away from your body! Tabata workouts are based on 20 seconds of hard work, with 10 seconds of rest for 8 sets of one exercise - 4 minutes per exercise. We are going to do 4 exercises consecutively, so it will only take 16 minutes and keep your heart rate elevated the whole time! You will get the cardio benefits of a 3-4 km jog while strengthening and toning your entire body. Let's GO!! If you have an interval timer (most sports watches do) set it for 2 intervals: 20 seconds and 10 seconds and 32 rounds.  1) One-Legged Mountain Climbers targets arms, shoulders, upper back, entire core, quads, hamstrings, and glutes - set up in a high plank/push-up position from toes - bend one knee up and briefly touch toe on ground under chest, then kick it right back to start - perform as quickly as possible while maintaining good form - continue ALL reps on one leg for four sets (2 minutes per leg...

During one of my last boot camps of 2010 I asked each of my participants to come up with a plan to keep up with their hard work over the holidays. We do not want to ruin your hard-earned results during Christmas, however, this does not mean that you cannot still enjoy some holiday favorites! Here are some tips and tricks to stay fit and not feel any food-guilt over the holidays: 5) Bring a side dish of your own! Offer to your host that you bring a side dish to accompany their meal. Not only are you helping them out with less to cook, but you are offering your family and friends a delicious and nutritious recipe! 4) Use a smaller plate. Sometimes, we do not have choice of what will be served, and we do not have a way to bring our own healthy recipe. By choosing to use a smaller plate, you will eat less and still enjoy all of the delicious food provided for you! 3) Sample, do not indulge. Around the holidays, we are surrounded by cookies, cakes, and all types of delicious treats. So, ins...

It has been almost a whole week since my last post, and I apologize! With that in mind, I decided to give you an awesomely intense plyometric workout. Plyometrics use dynamic movements - when we perform these exercises, our heart rate increases (burning calories) and we gain muscular strength and endurance! Pretty fantastic! This is a great way to fit in an efficient workout between all the Christmas season bliss!! These four moves are tough, quick, and will have you sweating in no time.  Perform a complete set of the first exercise, take a 15 second break, continue to do the same for all four exercises. Once you have completed one set of each exercise, take a 1-2 minute break, then repeat two more times (3 set total).  Jack Squats (12-16 reps) Start standing straight with arms at sides. Engage your core and get ready to jump! Bring your arms above your head as you jump, land with legs just greater than hip width apart, into a squat position (knees bent to almost 90...