March 19, 2024

Become A Beginner!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Become A Beginner With Your Fitness!

A great method to increase motivation and maintain interest in your fitness is to learn a new sport or skill. Be vulnerable and put yourself out there as a beginner. What activity would you love to try? Here’s how to get started:

To get ideas ask your friends what workout or sport they enjoy?

Do an online search to see what gear and knowledge is involved, as well as where the sport is offered in your community.

Poll your friends for their impressions about the facilities and instructors your internet search revealed. Still sound interesting?

Sign up! Better yet, invite a friend to join you!

 

Build strong legs and core!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Strong Legs and Core

Build stronger legs and a stronger core with this one move. Begin on your hands and knees. Place your hands directly below your shoulders, and your knees directly below your hips. Keeping your torso stable, lift and extend one leg so it is parallel to the floor. Lower your toes to the floor, then lift about 12 inches. Perform 10-15 reps lifting each leg.

 

*Consult your physician before beginning exercise.

Circuit Training for Every Situation

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Circuit Train!

What’s one workout mode that can be done indoors or outdoors, with or without equipment, whether you’re a beginning or advanced exerciser? Circuit training! Circuit training means moving from one exercise to the next without rest.

Set up a circuit of exercises. Choose from 3 exercises to repeat, on up to 10 or 12 exercises to perform consecutively.

Choose your format. Circuit strength exercises only, or alternate strength exercises with cardiovascular exercise in a circuit format.

Circuits are limited only by your creativity. Use whatever is around you, with safety as primary concern. Tables, chairs, benches, trees, steps, wall can all be used to assist your exercises. For example, Wall Squats, Bench Pushups, Chair Tricep Dips.

 

*Always consult your physician before beginning exercise.

Get Motivated!

Get Motivated!

Join #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat every Monday at 5pm(Pacific)/8pm(Eastern) on Twitter.

How does a Twitter Chat work?

Consider a Twitter Chat an online or virtual club meeting. Instead of holding a meeting in person at a location in town, we all agree to meet on Twitter on the same day, at the same time, via the hashtag #HealthyWayMag. Join in by following questions noted as Question 1 “Q1″, Question 2 “Q2″, and so on. The questions are our discussion points. Tweet your answer by noting “A1” to designated Answer 1, etc. Chat, interact, have fun with other participants. Pick up workout tips, exercise ideas and GET MOTIVATED!

 

 

Monday June 8, 2015 #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat Giveaway from RaceDots:

Do you race, participate in community events or organized athletics? Every athlete needs to know about RaceDots. An alternative to traditional safety pins, race dots are reusable magnets that hold your bib in place without damaging your treasured race apparel. It’s time to ditch the cumbersome safety pins and stop fussing with your race number! Race numbers and bibs stay in place and secured, and the magnets are so light-weight you won’t even know they’re there. Now you can focus only on your athletics. They also make a great gift for the athlete in your life. Check them out on Twitter @racedots for more info!

How to Encourage by Nicole Bryan

Encourage, don’t Discourage

It’s tough to watch someone we care about make poor lifestyle choices. And yet it seems the more we “suggest” how or “recommend” they should get in shape or take their health seriously, the more the power struggle ensues. Here are a few ideas how to encourage a loved one’s healthy living choices.

Lead by example. “Stop nagging me!” Words such as these, we often hear from our spouse upon gently reminding them to head out for their daily walk. Changing our approach to simply lead by example encourages better results. For example: it’s a beautiful day outside, let’s walk to breakfast. The grand kids will be here soon, lets walk to the corner to greet them. Parking is a bit tight, let’s walk from the dry cleaners to the grocery store.

Make it social. Exercise is way more fun if we’re doing it with our friends. Combine getting healthy with social outings and experience less resistance from your significant other. For example: coordinate a coffee-group after the morning gym visit. Schedule a walk and talk visit with long time neighbors who’ve been traveling. Enlist the help of an exercise professional and plan for a small group circuit class along with your favorite music; the small informal fitness format will be less intimidating.

Get inspired. Encouraging friendly competition or goal setting is an instant way to improve motivation for others and ourselves. Register to participate in an event that supports a cause near and dear to your heart. Many communities sponsor walk or athletic events with a local non-profit as the beneficiary. Your spouse will be inspired to head out for daily walks to prep for the event, knowing his/her participation is raising awareness. Encourage others to join you to form a team, or choosing to participate in honor of a loved one will also encourage activity.

Focus outward. Instead of making it about them and their needing to exercise, make it about helping someone else. Offering to walk an ill neighbor’s dog a few days every week or offering to push your friends’ wheelchair around the neighborhood will take the focus away from exercise and the negative connotations many associate with the term. You’ll now be simply focusing on helping your friend or neighbor, and getting healthy at the same time.

Eliminate the punishment. Many of us were raised where physical activity was used as a punishment. For example, not paying attention in gym class- take a lap! Not following directions- 20 pushups! Exercise should make us feel good, which means we should not be wishing for it to end or staring at the clock every minute! Changing the intensity and mode of what we’re doing will instantly change the meaning we associate with it. Nonchalantly suggest one new activity a month “accidentally” until finding enjoyment. Walk a little further, dust off the old bikes in the garage under the pretense of cleaning them up to sell, revisit dancing at the local non-profit gala for example. Look for opportunities to letting exercise into your day randomly and unplanned, without calling it “exercise!” Getting healthier doesn’t always mean wearing certain clothes, having certain gadgets or equipment, having set aside a certain time frame or even being in a certain location; moving our body is moving our body and all moving burns calories and will strengthen our heart and lungs.

Give up the power struggle and use your energy to get healthy. Simply moving is more important than winning an argument after all, right? Be creative, think of outside of the box exercise options and never ever admit that you were up to something!

Stay Moving on the Road by Brett Klika, C.S.C.S.

For those of us who strive to stay active when traveling, we can find ourselves in suboptimal exercise scenarios in regards to safety, time, and facilities.

Whether you use fitness as your fuel to perform or are merely trying to stay consistent on a program to improve your health, there are a few “hacks” I’ve found along the way that have helped me stay consistent (and safe), even in the most unpredictable situations.

1.    Workout pajamas
When you’re on the road, your schedule is often very concentrated and time is of the essence. I’ve made it a practice to go to bed in my workout clothes and set the alarm to give me an extra 30 minutes in the morning. When the alarm goes off, I pop out of bed and throw on my shoes.  I start slow, and build up to 20-30 minutes of sweat-inducing splendor either outside, in the gym, or even in my hotel room.

2.    Pack- hacks!
Becoming a master of packing for travel allows you to travel light while still having everything you need to stay active.  I now only need a school- sized backpack for trips up to 5 days with dress, casual, and workout clothes, in addition to all electronics.

a.    Thin, quick-drying workout shirts and shorts don’t take up much packing room and you only need 1 pair of each.  When you’re done working out, shower in them (with soap), then wring them out and hang them up. They’ll be dry by the time you come home in the evening.

b.    Get some minimalist shoes.  If you’re a distance runner and you plan to do mileage on the road, you may want to find another option depending on your needs.  However, these packable shoes take up very little space, can be crammed anywhere, and work great for basic workouts. They are often designed to be worn without socks, so there’s another bulky item you can forgo.

3.    Plan
A little planning goes along way for the active traveler.  Hotel websites have their gym information.  I know some people who go as far as to pick their hotel based on the workout facility!

If you like getting out and about, spend 5 minutes on a Google search of the area for suggested running paths, safety information, and landmarks that may constitute cool areas to workout.  Beaches, trails, parks, and sometimes monuments are cool areas to break a sweat.

If you are short on time and need to exercise right in your hotel room, try this short, no equipment routine.

Humans are perpetual motion machines. Our mind, body, and soul work best when exercise is part of our day, even when we travel.  Use the 3 hacks above so strange lands, bad weather, or packs of wild animals never stand in the way of creating your best, most energetic self.

Brett Klika, author of the Underground Workout Manual- Fat Loss Results for Busy Adults (www.undergroundworkoutmanual.com) is an award winning personal trainer, author, and international motivational speaker.  He inspires men, women, and children around the world to create a culture of wellness in their home and live the best version of their life.

Contact Brett with questions or comments at brett@spiderfitkids.com.

Mind your Manners! By Jody Goldenfield

Mind Your Manners…in the Gym!

We all know that the start of a new year means New Year’s Resolutions. A very large percentage of people vow to lose weight as part of that resolution for the new year. Many of these people will join a gym to assist them in their efforts to lose weight. There are standard rules in a gym that you should follow along with some “unwritten” rules of gym manners.

1. Do NOT stay on the cardio equipment longer than the posted time limit during peak gym hours. I get it! 20 minutes on a piece of cardio equipment is like a warm up to many. If the gym is crowded, you can either get off and get back in line OR go do some weights and/or core work and then go back for more cardio. I opt for # 2 to keep your body moving and making better use of your time. This applies for weights too. Do not monopolize machines or weights during peak hours. Offer to let people work in!

2. Please do not talk on your cell phone while doing your cardio or weights. Yes, absolutely there are emergencies, however to talk just to talk and in a loud voice is rude. In addition, if you are easily chatting away and working out at the same time, that means that you are not working out hard enough. Put down the phone until you are done.

3. If you are not coming from work or some other destination, please do not wear perfume or cologne. Deodorant is enough. Perfumes and cologne scents will be intensified with sweating and can make those around you feel ill.

4. Locker room thoughts: Please respect personal space! The best advice is NOT to talk to people unless they have on a robe or clothes while they are getting cleaned up.

5. Please respect others right to work out. I understand that you may want to ask a fellow exerciser advice on form, etc. However, it is most appropriate to ALWAYS wait until the person is finished with their set or exercise. Ask them if it is alright to ask a few questions. People want to focus on their workout while they are at the gym. Like many, they have only a specified amount of time to get it done.

Written by Jody Goldenfield. I love weight lifting and am a health, fitness & workout enthusiast for over 30+years. At just short of 55, I am making sure I stay fit & healthy long term! I am also a FitFluential Ambassador. You can follow me at my blog Truth2BeingFit,  Twitter @truth2beingfit, Facebook, Pinterest at Truth2BeingFit, and Instagram at Truth2beingfit.