When in doubt, walk it out!

No time? No equipment for a workout? Walk! Walking for fitness doesn’t require expensive equipment, proper clothing, a specific location or a baseline of fitness. Simply grab your keys, phone and go. Instead of focusing on a target pace, set a goal to walk at a sustained pace, of your choosing, for a specific time.  Begin with 5 minutes and build from there. Unsure of walking outdoors? Walking may be done indoors for safety and comfort via the grocery store, mall, hallway or even around your living room. Indoor walking provides restrooms and chairs as soon as they’re needed. And the benefits are the same! You’re strengthening your heart, lungs, muscles, balance and agility. Go fast, go slow, go long, go slow, go outdoors, go indoors… JUST GO!

When in doubt, walk it out!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Get Functional with Stairs!

Stair climbing is one of the most functional exercises. Think of how many times you may step up or step down during the day. Stair climbing strengthens your heart and lungs, your muscles, your balance, your agility and coordination.  Start slow and easy after a proper walking or range of motion warm up of 8-10 minutes. Form is important when climbing stairs for exercise. Keep your upper body straight up, with your ears over your shoulders and your shoulders over your hips. Even though you’ll be looking down to insure safe stepping, focus on looking down with your eyes only rather than slouching your entire upper body forward and down. Ten stairs is a great repetition range to begin, followed by walking or marching in place to keep heart rate moderate during rest periods. Then, climb the next set of 10, and so on.  So whether you revisit the classic stair climber machine at your gym or find a flight of stairs in your community, consider adding function to your fitness with this exercise.

*Consult your physician before performing exercise.

Add Function to your Fitness with Stairs

Make fitness opportunities!

You may not have the time or finances to join a gym, but that shouldn’t stop your workouts. Look around you to create fitness opportunities in your everyday environment. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Make an obstacle course out of the playground equipment at your local school.

Use the picnic tables at your neighborhood park for pushups and planks.

Use the track at the high school for a cardio sprint-interval workout.

Use a flight of stairs to log a stair-climbing workout.

Make Fitness Opportunities

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Cross-Train once a week!

In a workout slump? Mix up your workout to keep motivation high and interest fresh. Take your favorite workout and tweak it slightly for a new challenge. Cross-training doesn’t have to be complicated. Change the angle at which you’re working muscles, and the result is your body (and your mind) has to learn something new. A slight adjustment will do. For example, love to run? Try the elliptical machine. Love to cycle? Try water jogging. Love to swim? Try running. Love the stationary bike, try walking on the treadmill.

Cross-Train for Motivation

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Get creative and make up your own fitness!

Remember summer days as a kid when you simply ran wildly without worry or structure or concern with…biomechanics? Revisit your childhood and run, jump, hop and skip. Here are a few moves to get started:

Side Shuffle. Side step to your right 20 paces. Stop quickly, and side shuffle to your left 20 paces.

Forward Hop. Place both feet together and hop forward.

High Skip. Skip forward trying to jump as high as you’re able with each stride.

Jog and Jump. Jog forward 5 paces, on the 6th step jump straight up reaching both arms up overhead, then return to your jog for 5 paces again.

*Consult your physician before beginning exercise.

Make up your own fitness!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Fitness opportunities are everywhere!

LOOK around you, there are fitness opportunities everywhere! Not all exercise has to be structured to count toward your fitness. With creativity and imagination, fitness opportunities can be found in a park, school yard, soccer field, housing complex, and so on. Here are a few to get started:

Wall: Wall Squat- Stand with your back against a wall and your feet about 12 inches from the wall. Keeping your torso on the wall, slide down the wall about 12 inches. Hold for ten to thirty seconds.

Stairs: Stair Intervals- Jog up 10-20 stairs. Turn around and immediately walk down the stairs. After ten seconds rest, repeat the stair interval.

Bench: Pushups- Place your hands on a bench about shoulder-width apart. Extend your legs out straight so only your toes are on the ground. Keeping your torso straight, lower your chest toward the bench, and then return to your starting position.

*Consult your physician before beginning exercise.

Fitness Opportunities are Everywhere!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Elbow to Knee Plank

Want to challenge your abs? Add this exercise into your workout! Begin in a plank on your hands and toes. Lift your right foot up off the floor, next bend your right knee and bring it toward your right elbow. Extend your right knee to and return your foot to the floor to complete one rep. Next lift your left foot up off the floor, bend your left knee and bring it toward your left elbow to complete two reps. Repeat until 10 reps are performed.

*Consult your physician before performing exercise.

To challenge your abs…

Get Fit Quick Tip:

4 Racing Basics

There are a few racing basics important to keep in mind heading into your race day. Here are 4 to commit to memory:

Embrace your nerves. Many athletes experience pre-race nerves. Nerves mean the event is important to you and you want to do your best. Nerves happen with uncertainty or with the unknown. Accept your anxiety simply as part of the process. Instead of allowing nerves to paralyze you, enable them to empower you.

Master the art of letting-it-go. You’re distracted by someone along the race course? Let it go. Your pre-race ritual was interrupted? Let it go. Another athlete cut you off at the hydration station? Let it go. Focus on your race, your miles.

Stick to your race plan. Never try anything new on race day. Only do what you’ve practiced in training. Stick to your pre-race meal plan. Your clothing. Your hydration schedule. Your pace.

Visualize your finish daily. Every night before going to sleep, visualize in full detail finishing your race strong. During your race when miles become tough, play back the well rehearsed mental picture of your strong finish. You’ll be able to change your emotional/mental state mid-race and reset your resolve to keep moving forward.

Racing? Here are your race prep basics.

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Try new exercises on a regular basis!

Our body (and our mind) likes unaccustomed exercise! Expand your fitness horizons by trying new exercises every 4-6 weeks. Here are 3 ideas to get you started:

Ask your friends what physical activities they enjoy. Tag along!

Revisit your childhood activities. Did you love a particular sport or physical fitness activity growing up? Try it again.

Research. Google search sports and fitness for your home town and see what activities pop up.

Expand your Fitness Horizons

You’ll find all of this and more at #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat every Monday at 5pm(Pacific)/8pm(Eastern) on Twitter. JOIN US to super-charge your workout motivation!

Here’s how to join:
Log onto your Twitter account and follow @HealthyWayMag to view the chat questions. Questions for discussion will be posted as Question 1, “Q1″, Question 2, “Q2″ and so on. Join in the conversation by offering your opinion and experience via answers to Question 1 noted as “A1″,  your answer to Question 2 as “A2″ and so on.  Consider our weekly fitness chat as your virtual fitness-club meeting! You’ll chat with others who share your passion for healthy living!

Monday December 7, 2015 #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat Sponsored by Knuckle Lights:

Great for all outdoor activities from running to hiking to walking your dog! The only light designed to be worn on your hands, at the perfect angle to see your path AND be visible to others. Knuckle Lights are 50% brighter than similarly-priced lights, boast 3 settings including a blinking light, are weatherproof, and have adjustable straps to fit every hand and glove. They are light-weight and easy to carry. Whether your concern is fall prevention, increasing visibility to fellow pedestrians or simply not missing a workout due to the shorter days of winter, Knuckle Lights is there for you. They make a great gift idea, and they offer free shipping to US and Canada! Follow them on Twitter @KnuckleLights.

Make TODAY the day you choose fitness!