Staying in shape and keeping active will improve your quality of life and could possibly help you live longer.  However, people know this bit of information and do nothing with it.  This information has become so normal and every day that it has lost its impact.  So we need to take hold of this information and run with it.  Undisputedly, physical activity, no matter how much or how little, improves physical health, mental well being, and decreases the occurrence of disease.  With exercise, the life you live will be healthier.

We have a way to grow old and stay fit at the same time. The key to it is exercising regularly, and if possible, start from an early age.  The thought of exercising seems exciting to many and they jump right into it, only to find it difficult to continue. Therefore, at some point in time, they just abandon it and go back to their usual life.  If you expect results from your exercise regime, you must follow it sincerely and regularly. It may seem difficult to go on with the regime without noticing any results, but with patience and regular exercise, you will soon start reaping the benefits of your workout.

A lot of people do next to nothing physically. Their physical activity ranges from walking from the bed to the couch, to the fridge back to the couch, into the car and from the car to the office, where the sit all day long.  Think about yourself now and decided if you are active enough to live up to 70 years, if not, then start an exercise program today. 

Simply working out will not suffice though.  In order to gain the most health benefits from your exercise you must eat a healthy diet with lots of vegetables, fruits and no JUNK FOOD.  Avoid alcohol and smoking and drink plenty of water.  This will certainly help keep your organs in good shape and provide you with plenty of energy for not only your workouts, but additional energy to function during the day. 

So, if you are going to start exercising to improve your health and live longer, do something you love! If you hate every minute of your exercise program, do something different. Anything that gets you moving and raises your heart rate is exercise. Go for a walk, hike, play, dance, swim, ride a bike, go ice skating.  Just get moving and have fun.
 

If you want to get fit fast, circuit training is definitely one of the best options for you.   Circuit training is a combination of high intensity cardio intervals and resistance training intervals set up in stations.  When one circuit station is done, you move on to the next station.  A good circuit training program is an extremely efficient way to burn fat while building and toning muscle at the same time.   It is also a great way to get fit without getting bored!  A well designed circuit training program will build strength, increase stamina, tone muscles, burn fat, and improve your aerobic and muscular endurance all at the same time! 

Circuit training is my absolute favorite method of fitness training!  The fast pace and constantly changing workouts provide a different type of stimulus to the body and keeps exercisers from getting bored with their workouts.  A circuit training routine can be totally personalized to give you exactly what you want.  Whether you are a beginner to fitness or an avid exerciser, circuits can be designed to emphasize strength, endurance, speed, weight loss, agility, balance, or any other aspect of your fitness that is important to you. 

A circuit training format utilizes a group of 6-10 exercise "stations,” where you complete one exercise right after the other at a high intensity.  Each exercise is performed for a specific number of repetitions or for a designated time period before moving on to the next station.  Each station is separated by a brief rest interval of 30 seconds.  

A warm up should be at low to moderate intensity for 8-10 minutes.   Select 6 to 10 circuit stations for your workout.  Arrange your exercises (or stations) so that they alternate between muscle groups (i.e., triceps dips followed by squats), and work each muscle group during the sessions.  You can also add cardio and poloymeric stations in between weight lifting stations.  Perform 10-12 repetitions of each exercise, using a weight that is challenging yet allows you to perform each repetition with perfect form.  Because the exerciser switches between muscle groups, no rest is needed between exercises.  This gets the heart rate up, which usually doesn't happen during resistance exercise.  To up heart rate further sprinkle cardio and high intensity plyometrics between the resistance exercises.  Leave time for an adequate cool down of 8-10 minutes at the end of your workout.  

Sample Circuit Training Workout:
Squats with an Over Head Shoulder Press:  12 reps
Jump Rope for one minute
Bicep Curls 12 Reps
Step Ups on a weight Bench for one minute
Push Ups: 12 reps
Burpees for one minute
Lunges:  12 each leg
Tricep Dips of the weight bench: 12 reps
Bicycle Crunches for one minute
Jumping Jacks for one minute

If you've never done any sort of circuit work before (even if you think you are fit and in shape), be conservative.  Sore muscles, aching joints and the increased likelihood of injury will be the result if you push yourself harder than your body is ready for.
 

It is that time of year again!  The New Year holiday is right around the corner.  I love New Years.  It is like we get a do over, or a fresh start on things.  We all think we can become a wonderful, happy, productive, healthy, positive, person overnight on this particular holiday.  And some of us do just that, but then it begins to fade and we are right back where we were on December 31st.  While resolutions are well intentioned, unfortunately most people fail at keeping them. With all the hype surrounding these promises, it’s easy to get caught up in them without really taking them seriously.  We simply cannot change these things overnight.  But, there is hope for all of us to develop some resolutions and make them last all year long.  I believe that it is in our best interest to take resolutions about our health and fitness serious.  

So, what’s the secret to successful resolutions?  You can’t just wave a magic wand and make your resolution come true.  But, there are some easy steps to take to make it easier to keep the promises and resolutions that you have made for yourself.

Choose an obtainable goal. Ever hear people make resolutions like: "I'm going to stop getting so irritated with my kids and I'll never yell at them again!"  or "I'm going to start running this year and finish my first marathon!"or  "I'm going to lose 50 pounds in six months!" And you're thinking, yeah sure, and I'm going to sprout wings and fly.  And let’s face it.  We are going to continue to yell at our kids.  That one might just be too unrealistic for us parents.  Resolving to look like a super model is not realistic for the majority of us, but promising to include daily physical activity in our lives is very possible. 

Avoid choosing a resolution that you’ve been unsuccessful at achieving year after year. This will only set you up for failure, frustration and disappointment. If you are still tempted to make a promise that you’ve made before, then try altering it. For example, instead of stating that you are going to lose 30 pounds, try promising to eat healthier and increase your weekly exercise. Expect to slip up.  This is probably inevitable.  Broken resolutions can usually be glued back together. Looking back a year from now, your success will probably have much more to do with how you dealt with your inevitable failures, and very little to do with how long you lasted until you screwed up.

Create a game plan.  At the beginning of January, write out a detailed plan of how you will achieve your goal.  Think of it as a mission statement to yourself.

Break it down and make it less intimidating. Rather than one BIG end goal, dissect it into smaller pieces.  Set several smaller goals to achieve throughout the year that will help you to reach your ultimate end goal. Then even if you aren’t able to reach your final goal, you will have many smaller, but still significant, achievements along the way. If your goal is to complete a 10K race by the end of the year, your smaller goals could be running a 5K, or in addition to your running, you could add upper and lower body strength training to increase your muscular endurance.  Once you have run the 5K, start increasing your distance and then start working on the time it takes you to run the 5K.  Soon enough you will be ready for your 10K.  

Ask friends and family members to help you so you have someone to be accountable to.  Having someone who knows your goals and can keep you accountable is a huge help in keeping the momentum going with your goals.  Support is key in reaching your goals.  So, pick someone that is not afraid to call you out if you slip or lose focus. 

Reward yourself with each milestone. If you’ve stuck with your resolution for 2 months, treat yourself to something special. But, be careful of your reward type. If you’ve lost 5 pounds, don’t give yourself a piece of cake as an award. Instead, treat yourself to a something non-food related, like a massage.

Don’t go it alone! Get professional assistance. Everyone needs help and sometimes a friend just isn’t enough. Sometimes you need the help of a trained professional.  Assistance from a fitness professional greatly imp ...

Depression can be very frustrating and debilitating.  It can make you tired and anxious and hard to pull yourself out of the black hole.  Visiting your doctor should be your first step in fighting depression, but there are other tools that can help you.  Exercise is the last thing on a depressed person’s mind, but it is the one thing that could give you immediate relief.

People who exercise regularly benefit with a positive boost in mood.  When you exercise your body releases endorphins.  These endorphins then trigger a positive feeling in the body.  A euphoric feeling can be felt in the body following a workout and can result in a positive and energizing outlook on life.  Now these positive feelings might be temporary, but they are helping you more than you know.  The more you exercise on a daily basis, the more your body will release these positive endorphins and help you battle your depression.

Support is key for those dealing with depression.  So, joining a group exercise class or working out with a partner may be beneficial.  You will benefit from the physical activity, the emotional comfort and knowing that you have support of those around you.

Exercise during depressive times in your life can:

• Increase your energy.
• Boost your self esteem.
• Distract you from your worries.
• Improve your health, which could consequently lift your mood.
• Reduce stress and frustration.
• Help you sleep better, which is often a problem for depressed individuals.

Exercise also has these added health benefits:

• strengthens your heart.
• lowers blood pressure.
• improves muscle tone and strength.
• strengthens and builds bones.
• helps reduce body fat.
• makes you look fit and healthy.

So, it's time to take action. The first thing I encourage you to do is talk with your doctor.   You shouldn't start a new exercise program without first making sure it is OK medically.   Although exercise has few side-effects, there are some precautions which you may need to take. Once you have been cleared to exercise, commit to a program and make it a part of your daily life.   Make a conscious effort to exercise for the result of a better mood and not for weight loss.  Watching the scales may frustrate you and make you feel like giving up.  To begin with you should just focus on exercising for the sheer benefit of giving you hope, changing your mood and giving you a positive outlook on your life.  Weight loss will likely happen as an added benefit, but at this time should not be your main focus.  Any form of exercise can help depression. Some examples of moderate exercise include: biking, dancing, gardening, golf, walking, jogging, aerobics classes, yoga, tennis, swimming, etc.

Please remember that you are not alone and there is hope.  Exercise is just one tool that can help with your moods and give you a sense of accomplishment, give you something positive to focus on and be proud of.  Stay strong, keep moving forward and love yourself.

If you are finding it hard to keep track of your eating habits and feel you need to lose weight then one suggestion is to keep track of food you eat in a food journal.  This can be what stops your dieting merry-go-round and leads you to some success! I would like you to come up with some goals which are both long term and short term. Long term goals are things such as lose 5 lbs or lose X amount of pounds or even to be able to run 4 miles! Short term goals are things such as eliminating or regulating foods which you are eating more of than you should or maybe to eat more of the good foods you resist such as protein or veggies.

Keeping a food journal does not have to be a chore or time consuming. You can get very detailed and track specifics like calories, protein, fat and carbs for each item.  Just keep in mind this can be tedious and might set you up to fail.  If you keep it simple and track foods and times you eat these foods, you might have better success in the long run.

By seeing the foods you eat and the patterns of your eating, you are able to find areas you can tweak and improve. This could be an eye opening moment for you.  You might say… “no wonder I am not losing weight.  I am eating too much of this or not enough of that…”

By keeping a food journal you can get an accurate view of how many calories you eat and what types of foods you are eating on a daily basis.  You will be able to see extra calories and “bad foods” that sneak into your diet.  Losing weight is a simple equation.  You must take in less calories than you expend.  Monitoring your calories and food intake is the first step to lowering your caloric intake. 

Food journals will help you focus on food choices.  Overeating can be a result of you focusing on something other than what you are eating.  Writing it down and tracking your emotions can force you to focus on emotional eating patterns.  Food journals might prevent binge eating because you will be less likely to consume large amounts of foods if you have to record it and be accountable.  You will be forced to think more about the food you eat based on if you are really hungry or bored and eating out of emotion.

You will be able to track your progress.  Your food journal will be evidence of how far you have come and you will be able to look back and see proof that you are eating better today than you did in the past.  Hopefully you will be more mindful of what you are eating.  The more you think, the less and better you will eat!

Not only will a food journal help you eliminate food, but it will show you if you are getting enough of each food group.  It is important to eat a balanced diet and a food journal can show you what foods you have been neglecting and need to add to your diet.

Food journaling forces you to take a closer look at the foods you are eating. Many people do not realize how much food they eat every day. Others may think they are eating healthier than they really are. So, get a notebook and start journaling.  Make sure you write down what you ate (everything, even that one little Hershey kiss, etc), how much you ate, what time you ate it and the emotions you felt before and after you ate it.  You are about to improve your health and take control of your life.  Your food journal will reinforce your commitment to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.  Each time you journal your food you are expressing and solidifying your desire to change your life and live well. 
 

Weight loss plateau is a common hurdle to get over once you are on the weight loss journey.  Take a deep breath and congratulate yourself first and foremost for being on that journey.  Slow and steady is the best way to lose weight.  If you've ever tried to lose fat for any sustained period of time - you may have hit a plateau. You have changed nothing, but suddenly the fat no longer disappears. The human body is incredibly adaptive, and will do its best to maintain equilibrium.  The plateauing effect has to be the biggest motivation-killer there is. My best advice is to make a change.  Don't make the mistake of doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

Here are some ways to change your routine:
Strength Training:  If you are not doing this already as part of your routine, then start now.  It is a great way to strengthen bones, increase muscle mass and increase your metabolism.  Lean body mass uses five times the calories as fat mass so, the more muscle you build the more calories you burn.  On the flip side, if you do not have a well balanced and nourished diet, your body will go into starvation mode and eat away at your muscle mass.  In turn, you will start to lose muscle mass.  If you lose it, your metabolism drops and your weight loss stops.

Change your exercise routine:  When you start a new exercise program, your body reacts and adjusts to different workloads. So, your muscles are rebuilding themselves which requires and burns all kinds of calories. But, at some point your body will stop adapting to the new workload and, as a result, you burn fewer calories for the same activities.  Don't let your body get used to the exercise. Maintain your body's adaptation period by changing the intensity, duration, frequency and/or the mode of exercise and include interval training.  If you are walking every day, try running, riding a bike, or swimming instead of your normal routine.  If your routines are low intensity, try throwing in some higher intensity workouts such as interval training (bursts of high intensity exercises followed by rest or low intensity exercises), sprint intervals or running stairs.

Change meal frequency:  If you are eating three meals a day, try reducing your portion size and adding snacks in between meals.  Once again, this should boost your metabolism.  Meal frequency could be one of the most important aspects of your nutritional program.  It is recommended you have 6 meals a day consistently to boost your metabolism and keep your body out of starvation mode.  There are three reasons our body might store extra calories as fat.  The first reason is if you consume a large meal, this will alert the body that this is the last meal it may see in awhile and tricks our body into storing extra calories as fat.  The next reason is going too long in between meals.  This kicks our bodies into starvation mode because it may not know when we are getting our next meal.  The third reason for storing extra calories as fat is a severe and sudden decrease in daily calorie intake.  This again tricks the body into starvation mode.  It does not know when and how many calories it will get, so it stores everything possible as fat.  So, the best way to combat the problems associated with our bodies storing extra calories as fat is to eat small and frequent meals.

Caloric needs change as our bodies change:  Our caloric needs change as we lose weight.  So, as you lose weight, it takes fewer calories to maintain that weight.  To continue losing weight at the same rate, you will eventually have to adjust your calorie intake downward.  There are two ways to create a caloric deficit, eat less, or exercise more.  Combine them both and you have the best of both worlds.  Try keeping a detailed log of your food intake.  This log may surprise you and reveal hidden sources of fat and excess calories that may be setting you back.

Making just a few of these changes can help you break that dreaded plateau and get you back on track to lose weight, build muscle mass and lead a healthy life!

• Take a walk together after dinner.
• Let the kids ride their bikes while you walk along with them.
• Get out there and play with them. Play Frisbee, football or baseball in the back yard.
• Make an obstacle course in the back yard. Do things like running, jumping and skipping.
• Climb a tree. You will use every muscle group in your body doing this. And your kids will love it.
• Pack a lunch and go on a family hike.