Workout #1 S#5 "Shoulders/Triceps"

Workout #1             
(sequence #5)

Shoulders/Triceps

 

*Single Exercise* *3x ea. ~ 10-12 reps ~ 60-90 sec.rest periods* 

Moderate-Heavy

1. Military Press ~
2. Seated Side Lateral Raises (Rear Delts) ~
3. Lying Close-grip Tricep Extension w/EZ bar (Skull Crushers)~
4. Tricep Push downs w/V-bar ~
5. Cable Up-right Rows ~
6. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press~
7. Seated Dumbbell Tricep ~
 

#1 Seated Barbell Military Press

#2 Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raises 

#3 Lying Tricep Extentions (Skull Crushers)

 

#4 Tricep Pushdowns

#5 Cable Up-right Rows

 

#6 Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

#7 Seated Dumbbell Tricep Press

 

 

Fitness Myths Exposed #10 "A sports drink is a workout must have"

Fitness Myth #10: A sports drink is a workout must-have. Staying hydrated during a workout is important, but unless you’ll be sweating it out for 90 minutes or more, don’t drink anything but water.The body’s not working so hard that it’ll run out of electrolytes or glucose, so a sports drink will only add unnecessary calories to your diet.But go for a sports drink with longer workouts: Its electrolytes help you sweat more efficiently so you retain precious water.

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Fitness Myths Exposed #9 "Exercise doesn't help shed pounds, so why bother?"

Fitness Myth #9: Exercise doesn’t help shed pounds, so why bother?  Most of us want to drop a few pounds, but weight loss shouldn’t be the only reason to get moving. In fact, if you stopped focusing on the scale and how your body looks, you might notice that exercise makes you feel better.A regular dose of cardio, strength-training, flexibility and balance exercises fights stress and improves brain and nervous system function. Working out isn't and shouldn't be just about weight-loss, it's about over all well-being, health and of course maintaining or working towards a fit, healthy body is one of our driving forces of working out. But, it's not just about having a beautiful, fit body, it's about a living your best, healthy fit life you can while you can and for as long as you can. Love your body and your body will love you right back in more ways than one. Live fit and healthy and reap the benefits that come with the living fit lifestyle.

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Fitness Myths Exposed #8 "If the Scale hasn't budged, you're not making progress"

Fitness Myth #8: If the scale hasn’t budged, you’re not making progress. Don’t be a slave to the scale. A pound is a pound, whether it’s made up of muscle, fat or feathers. Density, not weight, is what matters. Picture a pound of lean ground hamburger you buy at the grocery store – that’s what a pound of muscle looks like.Double that, and you have a good idea of how big a pound of fat is.Muscle is more compact than fat, so it takes up less space in your body. Which explains why the scale may not budge, even as your belt gets looser and clothes fit better. Muscle also weighs more than fat does and a better way to see if you have made progress is by taking your body measurements and by just looking at yourself in the mirror naked or in your underwear. The mirror doesn't lie and you will be able to really see your progress and also the see parts that may need more work. If you feel the need to weigh yourself then do it once every two weeks or once a month, don't do it on a daily basis as your weight does fluctuate a few pounds each day depending on exercise, eating and time of day. So, weight yourself at a set time of the month and also take your body measurements so you're not only relying on the scale and that way you'll get a better idea of your progress overall.

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Fitness Myths Exposed #7 "Morning is the Best Time to Workout"

Fitness Myth #7: Morning is the best time to work out. There's no single perfect time to get in those workout moves. It depends on you. If you constantly hit the snooze button to postpone a 5 a.m. workout, rethink your goals. The best time of day to exercise is whenever you’ll actually do it. That could mean lunchtime, after work or later in the evening when the kids are in bed. If working out in the evening replaces sitting on the couch, watching TV and eating junk food, do it.For many people, a morning workout plan is best because they’re less likely to be distracted later on.
As the day goes on, excuses tend to pile up and eventually workouts are skipped altogether. So, pick a time when you have the most energy, need the stress release or have the best chance of making exercise a habit. I have worked out morning, lunch time, late afternoons and early evenings and I always have my best workouts and most energy in the early to late afternoons and even evenings. Early mornings are a nice change and I do love the feeling I get after I am done and it's still not even 8am, but I know my body isn't at it's best or most efficient that early in the morning so if possible and it has worked in my schedule I have and do workout out after lunch time between the hours of 1-6pm when my body is at it's best. 

So, find that time when you're at your best and your body has the most energy and if it works in to your schedule workout at that time. If you cannot because of your schedule then find the best time that will work for you and stick with it and you can train your body to become accustom and more comfortable at the time. If it is early morning and it is hard for you, a suggestion is the go to bed early and get enough sleep and once you have trained your body to get up early to workout and get enough good sleep you will find it a little easier to workout earlier in the day. If you have to train in the afternoon or evenings when you prefer mornings you will have to do the same thing and push through being tired from the day and not wanting to workout.Get enough sleep and eat throughout the day so you keep your body fueled and ready to train in the afternoon or evenings after you've worked all day. You may not want to workout because you are tired, but you need to push through that feeling and do it anyway. Once you do you will find it will give you more energy and relieve any stress you may have from the day. No matter what time you choose or forced to workout you will have obstacles of many kind that will stand in your path way to getting and keeping fit. Push through them all,commit, and dedicate yourself to your workouts as it's part of your life and you will be a better you everyday!

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Fitness Myths Exposed #6 "If I work out, I can eat what I want"

Fitness Myth #6: If I work out, I can eat what I want. True, exercise burns calories, but not enough to make up for a daily French fry habit.Weight loss requires burning more calories than you take in. It’s just easier (not to mention smarter) to control what you take in. For example, running a mile is hard, yet it only burns 100 calories. And a grueling 3-mile run (300 calories used) won’t make up for a large 500-calorie packet of fries.But there’s good news:Great workouts can help balance an occasional high-calorie splurge. Exercise allows you to eat some of the things you crave, but you still have to eat well [regularly] to balance your diet.

You don't want to put all that hard work in at the gym doing your workouts every week only to eat up all that hard work you've done.You cannot out exercise a "bad diet" so, don't ever think you can no matter how much you exercise, eating unhealthy day in and day out will only sabotage all your hard training you're putting in. Now, if you commit to eating clean and healthy everyday you can allow yourself a designated cheat meal or cheat day once a week or once every other week depending on the shape you are in. If you are trying to get in to shape and lose weight I would suggest a cheat day once every two weeks or one cheat meal once a week. You need to put in the time and sacrifice to get to you goal weight and to the fit body you want. So, be disciplined and commit to your goal and keep any cheat meals to a minimum even if they are allowed. You will reach your goal weight faster and be much happier seeing the changes in your body then you would be with a cheat meal or even a cheat day. It's worth the sacrifice!

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Fitness Myths Exposed #5 "Lifting Weights is Only for Men"

Fitness Myth #5: Lifting weights is only for men. Sure, a weight room can be intimidating for women, but it’s not a men-only zone. Lifting weights can help women tone up, slim down and still keep their girlish figures.

Don’t worry about getting muscle-bound: Women aren’t wired to build bulky muscles because they don’t produce enough testosterone. (Yes, women make the male hormone too.) Weight-lifting can help women develop sleek muscle, which improves body shape and fitness. Plus, resistance training increases a woman’s bone density and allows more efficient fat burning. It also improves posture, muscle tone, endurance and strength. Don't be afraid of lifting heavy either, as many women feel it will make them look like a man or get to bulky. This is very rare and only happens if a women wants bigger, manly muscles and even then takes more work than you can ever imagine to even get to that place. The heavy weight is what builds and shapes the beautiful, sexy muscles so get to it and starting lifting and shaping your sexy, fit body girls.

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Fitness Myths Exposed #4 "A Short Workout is a Waste of Time"

Fitness Myth #4: A short workout is a waste of time. Who wants to spend hours pounding a treadmill? You don’t have to. Shorter workouts can get you in the best shape of your life and still allow time for work, raising kids and cuddle time with your honey. Mini-workouts – 10 minutes three times a day – are just as effective as a continuous 30-minute workout, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. But there’s a catch: You have to work harder. The key to spending less time in the gym is to keep the intensity high..Revving your heart rate with intervals,plyometrics (explosive movements, like jumping) and a variety of exercises. Another way is doing intervals sprints. I do these a lot both on the treadmill and on while I am running outside of the gym. When I do them at the gym I used the treadmill and set a time of 15-20 minuets and try to do 10-15 sprint intervals at 45-60 seconds per interval. I go hard and fast for that time and then take the speed down and walk at a moderate to fast pace to recoup for my next sprint interval. It's hard and uncomfortable but does the job and works your body beyond belief. 
I have done this same process on the stair master and elliptical too. You go super hard, at a high speed for a short burst of time 30-45-60 minuets and then take the speed down to recoup for the next interval.You want your recovery to be a short amount of time to keep the high intensity, so don't take too long to go into you next interval. If you're doing 60 second intervals then your recovery time shouldn't be more than 60 seconds, and less if you're feeling powerful and want to push yourself harder. This also can be done with your weight training doing supersets and trisets keeping the intensity high and rest periods short. Keep your body moving and push hard in those shorter burst of energy. It's explosive and powerful and makes you really sweat. Try incorporating these in your weekly training and or on the days you may not have a lot of time to workout. If you have at least 15-20 minuets you have enough time to do a HIIT workout. So, there's not excuse to not workout. Instead there's every reason to workout and create the fit, healthy awesome body you want and deserve to have.

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Fitness Myths Exposed #3 "Sit-ups Blast Belly Fat"

Fitness Myth #3: Sit-ups blast belly fat.If you do 100 crunches, you’d expect to burn major belly fat. Unfortunately, your body just doesn’t work that way. There’s no direct metabolic connection between abdominal muscles and the fat cells surrounding them. The body pulls fat from all over. It’s sent to the liver to be converted into fatty acids, which travel back to your muscles as fuel.That means any fat your body recruits for energy when you're doing repeated sit-ups could come from the arms, thighs, butt and tummy. So what’s the secret to shedding belly fat – or any fat? Follow a balanced program of cardio and strength training, plus eat a healthy diet. But don’t give up the crunches. Even if you’re not losing tummy fat, an ab workout plan helps tone and suck in that flabby belly, giving the appearance of a slimmer waist. Plus, toning happens faster than weight loss. It’s one of the speediest ways to see changes in your body. 

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Fitness Myths Exposed #2 "You Need to Break a Sweat for Exercise to Work"

Fitness Myth #2: You need to break a sweat for exercise to work. Many women think, If I’m not dripping with sweat, I’m not working hard enough.

But sweat isn’t a good indicator of how hard you’re working. That’s because too many factors affect perspiration, Repovich says. “People sweat at different rates.” Plus, weather – the temperature and humidity – makes a difference too.

A better measure of effort is your heart rate or the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), which ranks how hard you feel your body is working. It’s based on several physical sensations, including increased heart and breathing rates and muscle fatigue. On a basic RPE scale, zero is “no effort,” such as sitting on a couch, and 10 is “exhaustion.” The recommended RPE for most people is usually 3 (moderate) to 5 (strong) Even easier? The talk test, During moderate-intensity exercise, you should be able to speak but not sing. Sweating is great for getting all the toxins out and it does make you feel great, but it's not the clear cut sign that you're working hard. 

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More Fitness Myths Exposed ~ #1"No Pain, No Gain"

The truth behind 10 common fitness myths and share real-world solutions you need… If your workout partner says sit-ups help tone your tummy and get rid of the spare tire, she must know, right? Well, maybe not.Your girlfriend’s or bro's top workout moves could lead to injuries, not a loss of inches from your waistline. People create beliefs based on partial truths and pass them on as law
Plus, we want to believe in fast fitness fixes. People give full credence to one ‘magical’ fix.“In reality, it’s a combination of things – better sleep, eating less, working out more, drinking plenty of water – that yields true results.”
Chances are you’ve fallen for one or more of the following #10 fitness myths. Who hasn’t? 

Fitness Myth #1: No pain, no gain. If you haven’t worked out in a while – or you’re trying a new kind of workout plan – you’ll probably be sore the next day. Believe it or not, that’s a good thing.These aches are called “delayed onset muscle soreness".It means that the workout created “good” micro-tears in the muscles, which heal on their own and make you stronger. But how can you tell the difference between soreness and muscle damage?
If soreness lasts more than 48 hours, you’ve overdone it, This level of muscle damage can take six weeks to heal. It's important to know and listen to your body and know the difference between a good, hard, workout muscle soreness and a bad muscle soreness that could lead to or cause more lasting damage if you're to continue training without recovery time. 

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Motivational Note✿ "My October Promise"

 

Today is a brand new month and a Monday the first of October...It's Time for you to make "Your October Promise" What will that promise be for this month? How will you execute it and make it happen? Write it down and put it somewhere where you can see and read it everyday. Make every effort to do what is needed to do to make those promises on your list happen. It's all up to you to have a super fit, healthy month and be able to look in the mirror on October 31st and be happy with what you see. Are you ready.. Lets do this! Make your October promise and make it happen! ✿

Inspire Me✿ Bring Sexy Back...Workout !!!

Skinny has taken a back seat to being fit and healthy. Women all over are bring sexy back and working out and becoming in charge of their own bodies. Taking charge of your own body and creating what you want it to be and not just starving yourself in hopes to be skinny or to be like the women you see in the magazines. Become one of those women in the magazines and more than that become that person you want to be. Work for the body you want to have and train hard for it. Be proud, be fit and healthy and bring sexy back to your life! #Workout 

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Inspire me✿ "Forever Strong"

Go Green and Drink Yourself Thin and Healthy

If coffee gives you the caffeine jitters, it’s time you discovered a better morning brew. With less caffeine and more health benefits, green tea is a healthy way to jump-start your day, especially if you’re sensitive to caffeine. Green tea has long been known to posses numerous disease-fighting qualities. Rich in antioxidants, this tea is a lean, green, disease-fighting machine. And disease isn’t the only thing it battles – it fights fat too. Green tea is rich in an antioxidant known as ECGC, which has been proven to boost metabolism and stimulate weight loss. Just swapping your daily cup of coffee with green tea could help you lose more weight. That’s a simple change anyone can make, so ditch that cup ‘o joe and go green instead. Just remember to keep the cream and sugar out of your mug, and you could be drinking to a slimmer, healthier you in less time than it takes to brew a pot of coffee. 
 I try drink a cup or two of green tea everyday, not because I don't like coffee or coffee gives me the jitters but because green tea is so good for you and does have so much health benefits. I do love coffee but only drink on a rare occasion. My family has been in the coffee business for over 25 years in Hawaii and it's very easy for me to get the best coffee ever, but I would prefer to start my mornings with some green goodness for my body. Go green and drink yourself fit and healthy.   ✿

Feeling Down? Get Up and Get Moving!

Exercise is probably the last thing on your mind when you’re feeling like it’s you against the world. But just 30 minutes of it could help lift your gray mood better than popping some Prozac and downing a carton of ice cream. Why does exercise make you feel so much better about yourself? At the most basic level, exercising stimulates healthy blood circulation to your entire body, delivering fresh oxygen and nutrients throughout your cells and providing energy to all your body’s tissues, including your brain.

Exercise also reduces stress levels by giving you an outlet to release your frustrations and pent-up anxiety. It can help you overcome sleep problems, which are thought to be a trigger for depression. On a psychological level, exercise increases self-esteem and provides a sense of mastery that can make your troubles feel like they aren’t that overwhelming after all. Overweight people who lose weight through exercise have the added advantage of actually being able to see their progress, which can be a powerful catalyst for change in other areas of their life.

So the next time you’re feeling blue or feeling like your world is spinning out of control, leave the ice cream in the freezer and strap on your gym shoes instead.

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"Picture Perfect"

Many women hang up pictures of supermodels for extra motivation to exercise. But instead of striving to obtain an unrealistic weight or turn your pear-shaped frame into a stick, use your own body as your guiding light. First, find a past picture of yourself when you were happy with your weight. If you’ve put on a lot of pounds over the years, seeing a photo of yourself at your slimmer size will motivate you to take control of your life and get your body back. One word of caution: Be realistic. Choose a picture from within the last five years or so!

Once you have your inspiration, start tracking your progress. Twice a month, take a picture of yourself. Heidi Klum took nude photos of herself when she was losing her post-pregnancy weight. If you’re too shy to do that, then wear a bathing suit instead. Store the photos in a special picture album, and if you’re modest, keep it under lock and key.

As you progress in your fitness program, you’ll start to see subtle changes the scale won’t necessarily reflect. You may notice your triceps are more defined or you’ve added a 1/2 inch of muscle to your rear. Keeping an eye on your progress will help you see how well your exercise program is working, and it will also let you know when you need to take your workouts up a notch.

After a few months of exercising, compare your latest photo to the one you took in the beginning of the program. Even if you still have more work to do, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come and how much you’ve accomplished. How’s that’s for a photo finish? =)

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Do the Numbers on Your Gym Equipment Lie?

Do you ever wonder if those 200 calories your elliptical machine says you’ve burned in 30 minutes is truly accurate? If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to know whether or not the amount of calories the cardio equipment at the gym says you burned is really proportional to how much energy you expended.Some cardio machines can overestimate how many calories you burn by up to 15%.

Three factors determine how many calories you’ll burn: your weight, the gym equipment and your level of intensity during a set duration. First, if a machine doesn’t ask you how much you weigh, it probably assumes you weigh 150-160 pounds. But remember, the more you weigh, the more calories you burn, and the less you weigh, the less calories you burn. 

If you’re looking to lose weight, treadmills and elliptical machines tend to burn the most calories, but again, you have to consider the previous factors as well as the time you spend on each machine. Finally, the more intense your workout, the more calories you’ll burn in less time. Increase the resistance on your bike and peddle faster, or set the incline of your treadmill to 5%-10% to challenge your body to work harder. Also, try choosing your workout setting on something other than manual, such as random or hill, and if you’re on a machine with handles, don’t lean on them.

All of these tips will help you to get the most out of your workout, but if you’re still worried about getting an accurate calorie burn, I would suggest investing in a heart rate monitor, which will personalize your calorie burn better than anything else.I personally own a Polar brand monitor that I love. It tracks my heart rate, training time,calories burned, etc.Plus it keeps my weekly workout summary stored which is great so I can go back and up date my training journal with my workout information for that week. Nike also has a great one called "Fuel Band" which I have heard great things about too. If you decide to purchase a personal monitor to have more accuracy then the gym equipment might have, you should research a little and find the best one for your own training. It's a great investment in your fitness training.

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"Break the Workout Plateau" #9 Tips for getting in better shape!

It’s easy to start an exercise program. But if you’re serious about getting in shape this year, you have to find a way to keep going after the initial excitement and results wear off. Adding variety and expert motivational tools will get you through those early plateaus and make fitness a way of life. Here are 9 trainers’ tips… 
You start an exercise program full of drive and determination: This summer, I will wear a two-piece on the beach! But soon, you stop seeing results and start making excuses to skip exercising. Workout plateaus are normal, but they can quickly derail your exercise plan. They’re also one of the reasons more than half of people who start an exercise program quit within 3-6 months, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.If you give up then, you’ll miss out – just when you’re likely to start seeing results.Understanding why plateaus occur and finding ways to prevent or overcome them will help you stick with your program. Read on for 9 ways to stay motivated – and keep seeing results – while getting in shape.

Plateau breaker #1: Change up your routine. Variety is the key to success in an exercise program.If you do the same workout at the same time, place and intensity, your body is going to adjust to it.You’ll still be experiencing benefits and getting fit, but you won’t see the same level of improvement you did in the beginning.The burn-out can be psychological too. Not only will you get bored with the same old moves, you’ll experience less of a boost from the “feel-good” chemicals – serotonin and endorphins.It’s like seeing your favorite movie over and over again. After a while, it loses its appeal.To stay motivated, change your workout routine, the time of day and place you exercise – any variables you can control. If you’ve been working out alone, try a class, or find new exercise routines on DVDs or YouTube.

Plateau breaker #2: Move with the seasons. Changing your workout plan according to the weather can help you with getting in shape. It keeps your routine from getting stale and kick-starts your results too.Alter your program every 8-12 weeks, or when weather conditions change.Ski in the winter, hike in the spring, bike in the summer – or find other seasonal activities you enjoy. If you walk or run on a treadmill, go outside and get a whole new workout.But give your body 2-4 weeks to adapt.Running on a treadmill, which absorbs more shock when you land, is vastly different from running on the ground.To avoid sore or strained muscles when switching gears, start off by doing half your usual workout, and increase reps and times from there.

Plateau breaker #3: Make routines playful. To avoid boredom when getting in shape, try workouts that make you react to other people or objects – like a competitive sport or exercise class. They stimulate more motor development than regular exercise.

Plateau breaker #4: Add random intervals. Interval training – alternating strenuous exercise with more moderate rest periods – has been shown to burn more fat, build more muscle and boost metabolism more than other types of exercise.You can get even better results with a method called fartlek training (fartlek is Swedish for “speed play”), in which you vary your walking, running or cycling routine at random. If you’re walking by yourself or with a partner, pick out an object like a mailbox and jog or run to it, then return to your regular pace. Repeat this by targeting various objects along your route. When biking or running, race up a hill or sprint to an intersection or stop sign. If you’re with a partner, take turns shouting out the next interval to maintain an element of surprise.Your body will have a hard time adjusting to the unpredictable activity, so you’ll gain endurance and power more quickly.

Plateau breaker #5: Learn a new skill.  Local colleges, activity clubs and sporting-goods stores frequently offer instruction on activities you may not have tried, like rock climbing and kayaking. These give you mental stimulation and new goals while getting fit. Plus, these group activities offer social interaction and an opportunity to be around other active people.By adding elements of adventure and discovery, you can make exercise about more than just getting in shape 

Plateau breaker #6: Slow down. It may sound counterproductive, but lowering the intensity of an exercise program can give you a jump-start when results start to slow. If you have an established routine, take a “taper week” – cut the distance or duration of your workout by half.When you return to your full workout, you’ll see results again.This works particularly well if you’ve been training too hard.The longer you’ve been working out, the more important the recovery time.

Plateau breaker #7: Set multiple goals. Create different objectives for each part of your fitness plan to avoid total routine burn-out. In other words, set separate goals for nutrition, diet, flexibility and strength. Flexibility goals could include stretching for 10 minutes after each workout.Strength goals might mean doing a certain number of push-ups or weight-lifting reps with a certain amount of weight. A dietary goal might be replacing junk food with five servings of fresh veggies or fruits a day. Even if your progress wanes in one area, your success in others will keep you from getting discouraged by the slowdown.But make sure your goals are attainable – or break up your ultimate dream into smaller, more reachable steps. For example, instead of saying, “I’ll run a marathon in six months,” focus on running a few blocks, then a mile, then five miles.

Plateau breaker #8: Adjust your thinking. An optimistic attitude toward fitness is just as important as the details of an exercise program.If you feel it’s too inconvenient, expensive or time-consuming, you won’t stick with it.Instead, focus on the positive aspects of getting fit – what you want and can reasonably expect to achieve: I want more energy or I want to look good for bathing-suit season.This aligns your attitude and behavior, making it less likely you’ll fall off the wagon.

Plateau breaker #9: Bribe yourself. Eventually, getting in shape will become its own reward – but until then, it may help to treat yourself in other ways.Motivate yourself with rewards – or have someone else reward you – for good behavior. You could buy yourself a new book when you lose 5 pounds, or go see a movie when you’ve worked out three times a week for two weeks.A new pair of shoes or workout outfit if you've worked out four to five times a week for straight month.Pretty soon – when you notice new strength and stamina, the pounds start disappearing and you begin to enjoy a more active lifestyle – you’ll have all the benefits you need.

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The 15-Minuet Fat-Burning Workout

Interval-training workouts give you better results in less time – no wonder they’re popular in gyms around the country. But they don’t just help you burn fat fast. They build stamina, boost cardiovascular fitness and can be done just about anywhere. What exactly are they? Read on to find out how to incorporate intervals into your fat-burning workout...

When time is scarce, exercise is often the first thing to go from the to-do list. For busy women, it can be difficult to manage even 30 minutes a day, the minimum recommended by research organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine. But what if you could squeeze in a fat-burning workout in half that time? Instead of spending 30-60 minutes plodding along on a treadmill, you can get the same benefits from 15 minutes of interval training, researchers have found. “Regardless of your fitness background, intervals are more efficient,  Interval training alternates strenuous exercise with moderate rest periods every few minutes or less. Because your body has a hard time adjusting to the unpredictable activity, you gain endurance and power more quickly, studies show. 

In a 2010 study at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, participants sprinted on a stationary bike for 10 one-minute periods with 75 seconds of rest in between, three times a week. They experienced the same improvements in fitness as those who performed hours of conventional biking at an easy pace.In a 2009 study, participants did 4-6 intervals, alternating 30 seconds of high-intensity cycling with four minutes of easy cycling. They raised their metabolism, making their bodies more efficient at using glucose, after doing just six of these workouts over the course of two weeks, according to researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Interval-training workouts widen the network of blood vessels that supply muscles and boost the number of mitochondria (structures that produce energy within the body’s cells), thereby increasing endurance.But, fair warning: You do have to work hard during the high-intensity periods to make this a fat-burning workout – maybe harder than you’re used to. I prefer interval training just for the fact that it pushes me harder and takes me to a place that not many people really want to go, it's uncomfortable and hard but in the end makes you feel so f--king good! Try it!  ✿

Inspire Me✿ "Be a Hill Seeker"

It's not secret that I love climbing hills when I run.. There is something about climbing the steepest hills I can find, it gives me a sense of great accomplishment and also makes my body stronger. Make yourself stronger and start climbing those hills you see around you instead of going the easy flat route. I promise it feels so much better climbing then staying flat! Challenge Yourself!

Inspire me✿ "Be a Champion"

Written by: Me

Motivational Note✿ "Feeling Sorry For Yourself?"

Written by... Me =)

Fantasy Island or Gilligan's Island?

If you were an island, what island would you be? Today I am going to offer you two choices from TV’s past. First, you have “Fantasy Island.” This is the island of choice and the destination of all who are working on creating healthier lives. Fantasy Island is the island of wise choices, healthy food, exercise, and positive thinking. This island represents the lifestyle of your dreams and the life you want to lead. On this island, you live in a magnificent health resort.On the other hand, your other choice is an island of no exercise, negative thinking and foolish nutritional choices called “Gilligan’s Island.” This is the island that many of you, unfortunately, presently inhabit. This is the direct opposite of Fantasy Island. This is not a health resort; it’s a comedy of health errors full of junk food, no exercise and poor nutritional choices.

Even though you want to do the healthy things necessary to get to and stay on Fantasy Island, you most likely find yourself constantly drifting over to Gilligan’s Island. Just consider every slip you make as a trip to Gilligan’s Island. Since I’m a great believer in the power of mental imagery, I think this image may provide you with the mental focus you need to get back on track when you slip.From a behavioral point of view, the initial goal is to shorten your stays on Gilligan’s Island. For those of you who are not at the stage where you can stay on track consistently, shortening your occasional trips away from the healthy lifestyle you seek is a great beginning.

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"Why Isn't the Weight Coming off?"

You've gone to the gym regularly for the past month and have been watching what you eat. You’ve been trying harder than you’ve ever tried before, so why isn’t the extra weight budging? It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you’re working hard enough to lose weight solely based on the fact that you’re giving it your all. But if you kept track of your workouts and food intake, you just might be surprised at how much room for improvement there really is.

When it’s in black and white, it’s much more difficult to “forget” about that workout you skipped last week, or those cupcakes you baked and ate twice daily for a week. The solution? Make yourself a training log so you won’t have this problem again. Use a calendar and write down your daily workouts in detail. Include the duration and intensity of effort you gave that day and how you were feeling (mood, emotions) before and after working out. This will help you recognize why you may have had a weak or particularly high-energy workout for no particular reason.

To pump up the volume on your weight loss even more, keep a food diary. Pour a lot of detail into your records and you’ll identify the many reasons why your diet could be sabotaging your efforts in the gym. Whether it’s exercise, diet, or both, chart your progress and you’ll know without a doubt why the weight isn’t coming off.

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Motivational Note✿ "Be Stronger"

Sometimes life can be so hard and painful it can strip you of who you really are deep down inside.. This is when you have to dig extra deep and get back up and fight back. You have only two choices... To lay there and wallow in self pity or dig down deeper than ever before and "Get up" and keep  fighting. Get up and "Be Stronger" Be stronger than the hard times, the pain, the difficulty life dishes out, because it will always be there and it's up to you to rise above it and fight for you life! Be  Strong... Make yourself stronger everyday! ✿

"Ditch Your Diet Obsession"

There comes a point in every hard-core dieter's life when she must ask herself, "Have I become so obsessed with weight loss that I'm actually compromising my health? Dieting serves two purposes – looking better and feeling better. But when dieters become more concerned with being skinny than with being healthy, they hand over control of their life to food. This paves the way for eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating.
Coming from having a eating disorder myself, anorexia nervosa for a good 5-6 years I know what it's like to look in the mirror and not see what everyone else sees. I also know what it took to pull myself out of the disease and become something better, more healthy and far more attractive than what I thought was me striving to be perfect as I thought I had to be to be accepted. My sole mission was just being skinny and I trained as a swimmer back then and would exercise half of the day with only a apple and a glass of milk some days. I see so many girls/women today just trying to be skinny and starving themselves on what they call dieting? Their goal is just being skinny no matter what the cost to their health. What these girls/women don't realize is in striving to be thin and beautiful they are clearly robbing their beauty to become thin, skinny because they feel that's what being beautiful is. There is nothing beautiful about a starving, malnourished body! Nothing beautiful at all... It's decay and death not a diet.

Surprisingly, an obsession with calories, the scale and fad diets can backfire, causing you to gain weight. Here are some classic symptoms of an obsessed dieter:
1. You ignore your body's hunger pains
2. You no longer enjoy eating food
3. You constantly deprive yourself of indulgent food
4. You rely too heavily on designating "bad" foods from "good" foods, ignoring the concept of portion control.
5.You avoid social situations where food is a centerpiece out of fear of temptation or feeling self-conscious for eating.
6. You fixate on achieving a nearly impossible standard of beauty.

Stop dieting and live a healthy, fit life style and once you do this you will see how much more in control you are about how you look and feel. It's not just about your body being skinny, it's about how you feel inside as well as outside. You can workout, eat clean and see you're true beauty blossom before you like never before. This is NO diet, it called Fit4Life!   ✿

"Can Being Fit Lead To Better Sex?"

So what’s the greatest advantage to being fit? Dropping a few pounds will directly increase your confidence. And when you feel confident, you immediately have an advantage in life. Having healthy self-esteem will dramatically impact your relationships in both your personal and professional life. Feeling good in your own skin will most definitely affect your sex life in positive ways. You're not worried if the lights or on or off, or if your partner can see the parts you the you're trying so desperately to hide. That alone adds stress to your sex life and how can anyone feel free or confident if they are always worried about hiding parts of themselves during sex. It can be down right  exhausting and very sad to have to feel this way during something that suppose to be so amazing. So, that alone should give you the motivation and incentive to change your body and start feeling good about yourself while doing something that's so amazing and so natural with the person you love. So, it's a big yes to being fit can lead to a much better, healthier sex life. And even more good news: Good fitness positively affects your sex life. A University of Minnesota study explored the effect of body image on a woman’s sexual behavior. The researchers discovered that women who were more satisfied with their body were more likely to initiate relationships on an intimate level. They also enjoyed sex more and felt more comfortable when they were naked than those who were dissatisfied with their bodies. Now, this doesn’t mean that being fit is all about sex – it can mean you’re more comfortable approaching someone you think is  attractive at a grocery store or even just wearing a cute swimsuit to the beach. It’s all about creating strong self-esteem that you exude everywhere you go.  ✿  

"Cheat Meals vs. Cheat Days"

Many people are embracing “cheat meals” instead of “cheat days” as a way to save calories when they indulge. Single-meal-cheaters think they are doing their body a favor by only indulging in one calorie-filled meal in a cheat day, but this type of cheating isn’t sufficient when it comes to weight loss. Research has repeatedly shown that it takes anywhere from 8-12 hours of increased calories for the anti-starvation hormone leptin to respond adequately. A single cheat meal simply won’t get it done. So next time you are thinking about having just one cheat meal, or perhaps even skipping your cheat day altogether, remember today’s tip. Yes, it takes a leap of faith, but when you see your measurements continue to drop week after week, you’ll never trade in your full day of dietary cheating again.

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"Balance Cardio With Strength Training"

I’m sure you’ve learned by now that skiing on the elliptical machine or jogging on the treadmill isn’t producing the dramatic results you’ve been hoping for. As wonderful as cardio is for your heart, it isn’t the most efficient or effective way to sculpt your body. An entire hour of moderately-paced walking only burns about 150 calories. Since there are about 3,500 calories in one pound, you can imagine all the walking you would have to do to burn the equivalent of one pound. The other problem with solely doing cardio is that once you stop exercising, your body’s calorie-burning ability slows dramatically. Strength training, on the other hand, allows you take advantage of your body’s natural ability to maintain an “after-burn,” known as Excess Post- Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). The after-burn is the extra calories your body burns after you complete a workout. Your metabolism will stay elevated for anywhere from 15 minutes to 48 hours, depending on the intensity and duration of your workout. So aim for just 30 minutes of cardio three times a week, and spend more time strength training. Add the iron to your workout and make it a intense strength training workout for at least 30-45 min. You shouldn't have to spend more than a hour strength training at one given time. Just be sure that in that 45 min. you're focused, training with intensity, then 45 min - 60 min. is all you need. If you double up on your workouts to excel your weight-loss then make sure to space your strength training workouts at least 3-4 hours apart. Push yourself hard during your strength training workouts and your metabolism will have a nice long after burn and you'll be burning some extra calories for hours after you're all done. ✿

Motivation ~ "Just Do it"

It's a brand new month and a fresh start for you to make it happen... So let's "Just Do it"

"Become a Better Lover...At the Gym"

If you’re really dragging your feet at the thought of all the hard work it’s going to take to get in shape, kick up your heels at this thought: Getting fit could make you a better lover. That’s right – hitting the gym can get your heart pumping for a number of delicious reasons, not just for better health.           

  
One of the most wonderful side effects of regular exercise is it boosts your confidence, which can be a big help in the bedroom. In fact, in an endless number of surveys, men and   women alike say that confidence is one of the sexiest qualities a partner can possess. How can regular exercise boost your  ego in the bedroom? Seeing your body transform itself from   flab to fab is an obvious confidence booster, but that’s not the only reason exercise makes you feel good about yourself. Feeling good about yourself not only inside but on the outside can do wonders for your confidence in every aspect of your life. Feeling confidant with your honey in the bedroom is a  huge plus and one that just might be a #1 motivator for many  of you. So, get to it and start shredding the fat and shaping your gorgeous body today as the payoffs are BIG! ✿   

"Grin for Inner Peace"

Today I want to share with you a simple trick that will help change your mood for the better and jump-start your motivation. How? Change your brain’s chemistry by naturally increasing the levels of a special neuron-transmitter called serotonin. Research has shown that higher amounts of serotonin in our brains make us feel better, while lower amounts make us feel depressed and scattered. The key to maximizing serotonin is not found in Prozac or St. John’s wort. It’s in a smile. You can literally increase the amount of serotonin in your brain by changing your facial expression. By smiling, you change the flow of blood to your brain and provide an internal environment ideal for producing serotonin  So if you want to immediately feel better, just smile. Even better, smile while you get busy performing your weekly core exercises! Do your strength-training sessions 2-4 times a week, and remember to focus on different muscle groups with each session. ✿   

"Are Your Habits Make You Fit or Fat?"

If you had to rank your lifestyle as “fit” or “fat,” which would it be? Don’t let your weight influence your decision; think about your activity level and both the good and bad habits you have. Do you circle around the parking lot waiting for a good spot, or do you park farther away from the store entrance for a little impromptu exercise? Do you snack on celery and carrot sticks, or are you more likely to grab something from the vending machine? 

When you think about it, it’s not just the big choices you make that influence what kind of a lifestyle you lead; it’s really in all the little choices you make every day. If you’re truly looking to shape up and ship out bad habits, it’s really important to take a moment to dissect your everyday doings to figure out why your lifestyle may be more “fat” than “fit.” Start with one or two changes, such as switching from pepperoni to fresh veggies on your pizza and putting your sneakers in your car for a mid-afternoon power walk. Make more changes little by little and you’ll soon be leading a fit lifestyle you can be proud of.

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"Are You Cheating? On Yourself"

You skipped you workout and decided to stay home to watch TV...for the third time this week. It's OK, because nobody's watching, right? When you're the only person you are accountable to for your actions, or lack thereof, you're walking in dangerous territory. Why? Because it's easy not to feel guilty about skipping a workout if nobody is there to chastise you. And when you fall off the workout wagon completely, who is going to be there to point fingers? Nobody. You may be getting away with being lazy now, but an unhealthy lifestyle will catch up with you sooner rather than later. And when it does, you'll wish you hadn't plopped down on the couch with the TV remote in hand every night.

If you don't have someone who can help reinforce your healthy lifestyle needs, it's clearly up to you to learn a little self-discipline. But what if you don't feel like exercising today? Think about the implications laziness will bring tomorrow. So what if you'd rather have the pepperoni pizza than the grilled chicken salad...your body doesn't need the extra 500 calories. You're not outsmarting anyone when you cheat yourself out of the healthy body you deserve. You're just delaying the healthy rewards that are rightfully yours if only you'd practice some self-discipline now. Yes, it's difficult to overcome the day to day temptations, but it's also so worth it . 
Each time you are tempted to cheat, remind yourself that the only person you are hurting is you. After all cheaters don't prosper, or have a fit, healthy body. Remind yourself of how you want to look and feel when you're tempted to cheat and miss your workout or eat unhealthy food choices. Hang some motivational pictures that are sure to inspire you and when you see them they will trigger that inner motivation and get you out of your lazy comfort zone and back up in to your healthy fitness routine.

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"Sculpting a Full Belly Muscle"

You’ve seen him in the gym - the guy on the biceps curl machine who grunts loudly as he yanks on the bar with such speed that the weights clank loudly with each repetition. He’s loud, he’s annoying and he’s also not lifting correctly.

If this guy (or gal) is you, listen up: If you lift a weight too fast, your body will rely on momentum, not on muscle, to complete the set. This means that your muscles won’t work as hard, and you’ll cheat yourself out of the amazing benefits of strength training. If you want to get the most benefit from your resistance workouts, slow down. Feel the weight as you lift it and feel it as you're releasing it. It's not a race to see how face you can go or get a set done.

Just yesterday I was in the gym and there was a guy doing dumbbell rows and doing them too heavy that he was only doing half of the movement he should of been doing. It was like he was in a race to see how fast he could do the 8 reps he was doing, yet he was only doing half of the entire movement he should of been doing. I guess he only wants half of the muscle, because he was lifting half ass and way too fast for his muscles to get full benefit from the exercise. I see this a lot and I it's sad that they don't realize that they aren't getting the full benefit of their lift when they try to go too heavy and not complete the full rep. Just go a little lighter and do the full movement from start to finish and really feel the weight you're lifting and releasing. If you want a full, beautiful muscle you need to do the reps, strict, controlled from start to finish. Don't try to go so heavy that you rush and try to out speed the set by going fast and compromise the full complete movement. It's just not going to benefit you or your muscles. Don't train half ass and cut corners to get the workout done, or to show off that you can lift heavy because you're only hurting yourself and you're body because a half ass lift makes for half ass muscle growth if any at all.

If you’re doing a biceps curl, count to two as you lift the weight, and then count to four as you slowly lower the weight. Spending more time on the “lowering” phase of your lift will strengthen your muscles eccentrically (as they lengthen) as well, instead of improving only the concentric (muscle shortening) movement of your lift. You want long belly muscle and lifting correctly and executing the full movement is essential to obtaining a full belly muscle. If you’re going to spend time working out, you might as well do it right, otherwise you’re wasting your time. 

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"Don't Be a But Head"

If there is one thing I can point to that definitely interferes with one's ability to get fit and healthy, it's the dreaded But Syndrome. I think we all know some 'but people,' and you may actually be one yourself. Now don't misunderstand me, because I'm not referring to any physical feature here. The 'but' I'm talking about is the word. It's the one word that follows almost every sentence that 'but people' complete regarding getting fit and healthy.
 

Here are a few examples I am sure we've all heard before or even said ourselves... I was going to exercise after work but... I didn't want to eat that piece of cake but... I was going to start my diet today but... If you want to have that fit body and healthy life you dream about, it's time to get off your 'but.' Butt! Get off your butt and start doing, moving and making it happen instead of using but excuses to keep you from achieving your fitness goals.

It's really true when you think about it. That single word negates everything said before it, and it's that very word that separates you from healthy living. Just to drive this point home even more, you will notice that 'u' is right smack dab in the middle of 'but.' Excuse my pun here, but 'u' have got to get your 'but' out of there. Your assignment for today is to give this some honest thought and decide if you suffer from the But Syndrome. Listen to your sentences today regarding healthy living, and see how often they end with this debilitating word. It's time to stop this nonsense and get your 'but' moving. And I suggest you move it far, far away from your procrastinating and excuse-making sentences. Once you do that, healthy living is close at hand.

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"Challenge Your Comfort Zone"

Why is it that every time life starts to get a little more comfortable, something comes along to force you out of your comfort zone? Because it makes you a better person, that’s why. And the same is true for your exercise routine. If you’re feeling too comfortable, it’s time to kick it up a notch. For example, if 30 minutes on the stationary bike is barely making you break a sweat, take your workout to the treadmill. You might find you can only complete 15 minutes of running, whereas you could go forever and ever on the bike. That’s because you were stuck in the same old, same old comfortable routine. Same thing goes for the treadmill. Running on the treadmill day in and day out your body will become accustom to it. Push past that and go outside and hit the pavement, grass or track and do some real live running and see how different you feel and how much harder it is than the treadmill. It is extremely different and you will see once you try it. One thing I do when I use the tread mill at the gym, I will do interval sprints to keep my body from ever being comfortable while on the treadmill. I will do 12-15 60 sec. interval sprints to 60 sec. rest and I will do this until all 12-15 sprints are completed. Once this becomes easy and I feel too comfortable I will change the speed from 7.0 to 7.5 - 8.0 and also change rest time to only 30 sec. between 60 sec. interval sprints. Just keep pushing yourself and keep yourself out of that comfortable zone and easy going exercise style. It's not suppose to be comfortable, it suppose to be uncomfortable and we need to make it that way be excelling and pushing ourselves past that breaking point. "Uncomfortable Zone"

Don’t forget to take this lesson to the weight room with you too. If you’re still using weight machines and have hit a weight plate plateau, you’ve mastered the machine and would be better served by switching to free weights. Since free weights (dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, etc.) literally have no strings attached, they force your muscles to work harder to stabilize the path of the movement. On a machine, the attached pulleys and levers are doing it for you. I'm a firm believer in mainly using free weights with a few exception machines for legs, and back. I was raised on free weights from my first days of learning to be a bodybuilder and competing. Free weights are much harder and take more strength. They make for better, bigger muscles and they surely take you out of your comfort zone. So, leave the machines alone for awhile and only use for defining or finishing off a muscle group. Use the free weights to hit your muscle groups harder and to get you out of the regular weight plate plateau and push yourself past your comfort zone                                                                                                                                       

So if you want to see results at the gym and in front of the mirror, it’s time to step out of your comfort zone. You're body will show the results I promise you that. It's worth the pain and being uncomfortable to see your body become unstoppable in all that you set out to physical challenge it with, and to see the beautiful changes in the mirror every day. 

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"Are You Undereating?"

Sure, overeating is a big problem for many people, but chronic undereating may be an even bigger problem. Most people get caught up in the idea that the less they eat, the more they’ll lose. But, unfortunately, the body is a bit more complicated than that.The problem with severe calorie restriction is that it sends your hormones out of whack.  When you try to speed up weight loss by skipping meals or by eating extremely small portions, the body begins to think it’s starving, and ultimately you get the exact opposite effect of what you’re working so hard for. Fat-burning hormones plunge, and fat-maintaining hormones spike in order to hold onto the fat you’re trying to lose as a survival mechanism

I can admit this happens to be one of my problems that I fail to eat enough food, and knowing that I have to really stay on top of myself or I will easily slip into not eating enough calories for my body to be satisfied. I feel it comes from having suffered from anorexia and it's and aftermath that even after many years it sticks with you. Just like an alcoholic or drug user when they have become clean, but they will always have to be careful not to slip back and will still be called Alcoholic or user even if they have been clean for 20 years. It's sad to think of it that way, but it's reality and for me it's never done deliberately or knowingly yet it happens sometimes and comes the disease. Just like people who over-eat there are used to eating a lot and it's easy for them to do if they aren't careful or aware of it being a problem. Mine happens to be not eating enough and I work on it daily so that it doesn't effect my body. I do fall short some days as I am sure many do, but if you're aware of the negative effect it has on your body you can take steps to make sure you feed your body enough food each day to keep it happy and burning those calories off.

Remember this: The fastest fat loss always comes with moderate calorie restriction. For most women, that means consuming somewhere around 1,500 calories daily, give or take. Keep your body happy with adequate calories and you’ll really begin to see the scale drop.

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