Why A Lack of Exercise Isn't Good For You

Do you think sometimes we are overloaded with information as to why exercise is good for you? We hear see commercials, read it in just about every magazine, newspaper, internet, and if that wasn't enough, we hear about it at work. This post is to remind you of the positive results  from exercising, and the negative results from not exercising. 

Why a lack of exercise isn't good for you

• it keeps you sluggish and tired, and after drowning 3-4 cups of coffee for clarity, you give up, yeah, you just need more sleep.
• your sleep pattern is restless, and you wake up feeling more tired than ever, and others feel the effects of it.
• your sex drive is on the downward slide, after all you barely have enough energy to get moving in the morning.
• you don't feel good about yourself, and it shows in how you dress and the colour of your eyes have lost their spark
• you reach for more foods laden with sugar and carbohydrates for an energy boost, but the rush is short lived.
• your body feels a bit softer, and it is.
• your self confidence takes a hit.
• your clothes are fitting snug, feeling more like spandex material, and you're not happy with the image staring back at you in the mirror - actually, you avoid mirrors at all cost.
• your life span decreases.

Why exercise is good for you

• it improves your mindset - it clears the mind of those darn cobwebs and allows better blood flow to the brain, for a sharper, focused you.
• it enables a more restful sleep - which means you are less crabby during the day, and can handle your work and play day in a better frame of mind.
• your sex drive (aka libido) gets a boost, more enjoyment, and pleasure to give and receive.
• you feel better about your self...yes, you do.
• you are more self aware of what you're feeding yourself - making more nutritious choices
• you lose excess fat - which results in more energy.
• your self confidence takes a massive boost.
• your clothes fits better, so you take a second; heck a third look in the mirror, and why not...you love the healthier you staring back at you.
• your life span increases. 

Make the commitment today, make whatever adjustments to incorporate exercise as part of your daily life. You'll begin to reap the rewards that exercising the body brings.

What type you exercise/s do you enjoy doing and how many times a week do you exercise?

To your health and enjoyment!

3 ways to Avoid Weight Gain over the Holidays

As 2012 comes to a close, our minds - for some begins the inward reflection on how we've done through out the year with fulfilling our goals - specifically, our weight loss goals. We vowed to exercise more, eat less junk food, drink more water, consume less alcohol, and take steps to quit smoking.

Whatever it is you aspired to do, and did on even a small scale, if you "followed through" on your fitness/health goals, you should celebrate, because you are in a healthier place for doing it.

I decided on this topic "avoid weight gain", purely because most material that will be issued from December to maybe March, will be about "how to lose weight". Won't it be better to have effective but simple steps in place to avoid packing on the poundage altogether? Most definitely yes!

Here are 3 proven tips that will avoid weight gain over the holidays

1. Drink more water and drink at least 8 oz prior to eating a meal - drinking water is not only beneficial to your overall bodily function, our brains, lungs, muscle and blood is made up of at least 75% of water, and we need to keep our cells from getting thirsty. Water flushes out toxins from our body - aka the additional alcoholic drinks we'll be knocking back during this festive time. If that isn't enough reason, how about our metabolism? which helps in fat loss and energy level.
2. Exercise throughout the holiday season - a big mistake we make is to take time off from exercising during this time, because our calendar is packed full of parties to attend. All the more reason to make it a priority to "fit" exercise into your schedule. 20 minutes of intense exercise, 4 times a week (and no, you don't need to go out in the cold or rain if you don't want to). Set you timer for 20-25 min, warm up, then incorporate push ups, ab workout, plyometrics movement and if you have free weights - select 2 body part to work and get moving.  
3. Carb Cycle your meals - plan ahead; if you're going to a dinner party that will have a lot of food and drinks flowing all night long,and you know you're going to feast - then make your breakfast, lunch, and snacks healthy choices, and avoid  processed and refined ingredients.  Consume fresh fruit, raw veggies, raw nuts and good protein like salmon, soya, chicken, turkey and wild (not farmed) fish. You'll have more energy, and the extra caloric intake for that night won't have a negative effect on your waistline. 

As a side note - it would be advantageous to exercise the morning after a night out of heavy food/drink indulgence.

There you have it - 3 simple tips that if incorporated now will result in no weight gain over the holidays, and could even find a bonus of a trimmer waistline after all the celebrations are done with.
If you have any proven tips you'd like to share do leave a comment here.

To your health

Make the Time

This may not be the best post to begin with after being away for a while, but hey we all deal with "balancing time". Yeah, we're all confronted with it from time to time:)  no pun intended there!

So, today I'm going to share with you 4 "how to" steps to make time to get your exercise in. We're not going to play these famous cards - don't have time, going to do it later, I'll do it tomorrow; lame, lame and not working for you. 

First, we can all agree on two things - exercise is very important, and no one can do it for you.

Finding time to exercise isn't as difficult as we make it out to be - why? We just need to honestly  answer a few questions, and don't get hang - up about what you've read about morning being the best time to burn the most calories etc.  That statement isn't really accurate and I have proven it.

We need to address the 3 questions below:

1. Best time of the day for you to exercise?
2. How much time do you have to exercise?
3. What type of exercise do you enjoy?
4. What will this do for you?

Answers:

1. Pick  morning, noon or evening.
2. Pick a realistic time - Start low, and go for 20-30 min, and yes, you can have an amazing workout within that time frame.
3. Decide on the type of exercise you like or love and commit to it.
4. Benefits - health increase, sleep better, lose fat, tone, and or build self confidence.

Listen, once you stop and be honest with yourself you will find that carving out the time is easy and you only need to commit to it for 3-5 times a week. That's between 60-100 minutes per week; time definitely well spent...make that invested.

To your health.

What's everyone up to?

I'm still here! Though I haven't posted here in over 6 months or so I am still moving ahead - and embracing the changes in place that life brings. I did notice all the folks I used to connect with have moved on and their blogs are either moved or inactive.

I trust you are all well and living your lives to its fullest - pursuing your passions and expressing your appreciation to others by your continual giving. Yes, giving solely out of a heart of gratitude to others is still the best way to be fulfilled.
I'm going to be back posting on a regular basis come 2011.

Remember, embrace your life, enjoy the moments and refuse to live in regret.

Have a Game Plan A & B

We all know that regardless of what goals we have a game plan in place is a MUST, IF we plan on succeeding. That’s the first step. The second step that I have learnt that is necessary is having a plan B in place. Why? Well though our plan A is the ideal plan, we don’t have control over the “unexpected” that life brings so take plan B as a “just in case”.
I learned the hard way by only having a plan A and when the bottom fell out, I didn’t have a plan B and it took me months to regain my bruised self imaged. Now there is always a plan B in place.

With the focus on fitness after having your game plan A & B in place it is time to set a start and end date – I have always found that setting the start date a week or two head is good, because it helps get the mind mentally prepared for the “execution” of the plan. Being mentally prepared prior to pursuing any goal is wise!

For the next one to two weeks prior to your start date you have the time to get your workout and nutrition plan in place by getting your home success ready for your fitness transformation/challenge. Your workout plan should be no less than 3 weeks and no more than 4 weeks. After 4 weeks you’ll need to switch things up to avoid both boredom and plateau. Along with that you need to educate and encourage yourself in this area by either joining an online support group of like minded people, and forums that you can keep educated and encouraged. I have found www.bodybuilding.com site to be an excellent place to get what you need in the area of fitness, nutrition and support.
These tools along with engaging visualization of where you see yourself at the completion of this goal is imperative to your success.
I have found when I implement these steps I am much better prepared to begin and follow through successfully in achieving my goals.

Remember, it is up to you and it can be done.
To your continual success

It just couldn't be

over a month since my last post. but it is! I've now resigned myself to posting a stickie note on my computer to remind me to post once per week. This forum has helped me in my journey of becoming fit and maintaining a level of transparency that keeps me digging deeper and reaching higher to give, do and be the best.
I am happy to share that I have fully recovered from my lower back injury and my training has become stronger and more versatile. Executing various types of cardio from jump ups to jumping jacks, to step up, to cross over, to sprints to side running, to hill sprints have resulted in rapid changes to my body - which has resulted in doing leg work once per week with impressive changes.
I'm always looking to keep my workouts fresh, fun, and effective. I will share a sample along with pictures soon. I've also found it challenging to incorporate my workouts with my partner Maria who pushes me beyond my threshold and then some.
Well, this it for now...remember it is up to you! You decide!! Make it a healthy decision!

The benefits of Changing up your workouts

When it comes to change as humans we tend to either do a slow crawl towards being convinced that change within our workout plan would not only be a good move, but beneficial as well. Well, let me count the ways

1. It takes away the boredom and keeps things fresh and interesting
2. It keeps you from hitting a plateau and keeps the fire stoked
3. It revs up your metabolism which results in accelerated fat loss and increased lean muscle
4. It provides multiple ways to move and challenge the body
5. It reveals what type of workout works best for you


When I speak of change in your workouts I am not only referring to what you do but where, when and how you do it. Let’s face it you don’t need to belong to a gym to get and stay fit. With a few different size of dumb bells, strength training bands, a mat and a workout ball you’ll set to execute a full body cardiovascular and strength training workout.

Since taking me and my clients workouts outside we’ve been enjoying not only a nice change in scenery but, adding a new dynamics to our workouts. By incorporating circuit training and Tabata training the visible changes are noticeably quicker. In the outdoors the ability to challenge both your cardiovascular The ability to try new things like sprinting for 20 sec up a hill then walking for 10 sec and repeating the cycle from 4-10 times…depending on your level of fitness is wicked for burning fat faster and decreasing the amount of time you workout. If you’re still doing “steady state cardio” to lose BF, I encourage and challenge you to try this on for size at least once per week.
I think you’ll be greatly encouraged by the benefits you’ll experienced and easily add it as part of your regular workout schedule.
A sample of my personal outdoor workout:
· Warm up 5 min up and down a set of stairs or light jog or brisk walk
· Stretch
· Jumping jacks 20sec work/10 sec rest repeat 8 times
· Squats and shoulder press with 8lbs weights 20sec work/10 sec rest repeat 8 times
· Sprint 20sec work/10 sec rest repeat 8 times
· Knee raise 20sec work/10 sec rest repeat 8 times

If that wasn’t enough then just try it on for size of the 5 benefits alone.