It's that time of year!  When you're thinking about what to get for your friends and family this Holiday season, why not get them something that will help them to reach their fitness goals?! Top 10 Fitness Gifts for 2012:   1.  Foam Roller / The Stick:  Rolling out before or after your workouts is one of the best thing you can do for your body. It does something called self-myofascial release, and it helps to improve range of motion, mobility, and flexibility. They are a staple in our house and in our boot camps! Make sure you get a high-density foam roller if you get one.  The stick is a little bit more intense than the roller and can get into smaller areas a little bit more effectively. 2.  Valslides: These can be AMAZING for an at home workout.  You'll need a rug or carpet to use them, but they're crazy effective and will give you a serious burn! The Valslide is specifically

Life is busy.  That’s an understatement. And with the holidays upon us, things are likely just going to get crazier during these next few months. But no matter how busy we are, we can surely find just five minutes to do something for our health. And sometimes incorporating small changes can be the best strategy to making big changes in our lives! So in the name of keeping things simple, I’ve put together a list of five ways we can spend just FIVE minutes to better our health this week. I challenge you to split them up and do one every day over the next week.  Five Ways to Spend 5 Minutes to Improve Your Health:   1. Plan your Week At the start of the week, schedule in your workouts, healthy dinners, and relaxation time along with your work meetings, extra-curricular activities, and daily responsibilities. This will help hold you more accountable and less likely so skip a

The other day I came across a blog post from health writer Tina Haupert called 12 Ways To Work Out Despite the Heat. Since it’s been SO hot here lately, I wanted to pass along a few of her tips!  (So there are NO EXCUSES when it comes to working out when it's hot out :-)) These ideas should help you plan ahead and not let the heat stop you from getting in your workouts this summer! “…exercising in a pool or lake is an instant way to cool off…Try a new activity like paddle-boarding, check out your local gym for a water aerobics class, or round up some friends for a competitive game of water volleyball.” “When the sun is low in the sky, I like to take an evening stroll around the neighborhood with my husband and dog. It's a nice way for us to get in some exercise when the temperatures aren't as high -- and also to relax after a long day.” Some of her suggestions are pretty common

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jkPpzXDNYU&feature=related[/youtube] I just saw this movie (Just Go with It) last night and I LOVED it!! If you've been struggling to lose weight and eat a regular healthy diet, then something in your life may actually be out of place.   Mark Sisson from Mark's Daily Apple did an AWESOME blog post about why so many people are NOT LOSING WEIGHT. Here are Mark's 17 Reasons why People are NOT Losing Weight:  1. You think you’re eating healthy, but aren’t. 2. You’re under too much stress. 3. You need to watch your carb intake. 4. You’re adding muscle. 5. You’re not active enough. 6. You’re lapsing into Chronic Cardio.  7. You still haven’t tried Intermittent Fasting. (which I personally do not do either) 8. You’re eating too much. 9. You haven’t overcome bad habits or developed good ones. 10. You haven’t purged and

Stay Home for Dinner.  Eating out can absolutely destroy all good intentions.  If you must eat out, try visiting the restaurants website before you go. Most places now post their nutritional content online.  Look through your options and decide what you’re going to order once you get there.  Don’t even open the menu at the restaurant- it’s too tempting!    Switch It Up & Try Something New.  Doing the same thing this year that didn’t work last year is probably not going to get you results.  Try changing up your routine or switching up the type of exercise you do.  Try something fun like fitness boot camp or Zumba, or something relaxing like yoga.   Whatever it is, make sure you enjoy doing it so you can stick with it this time. Drink More Water.  It’s not uncommon for people to feel hungry when they’re actually just thirsty or dehydrated.  Staying hydrated is critical for

Eat 5-6 Smaller Meals per day to Lose Weight - Your muscles and all other parts of your body need a continuous stream of energy and nutrients to maintain your daily activities. It is very important for your body to become accustomed to a regular eating schedule, to keep your metabolism burning energy at a high rate. This means your body will burn fat at a faster rate and speed up the weight loss process. In addition, try to eat your larger meals earlier in the day so your body had time to burn off the calories you are consuming. Reduce Your Sugar Intake to Lose Weight - America is drowning in sugar. Nearly everything we eat and drink is saturated with it. Your goal is to eat foods that support a fresh and balanced diet plan. Foods that naturally contain sugars (ex. fruit) are a much better choice than processed foods. Limiting your sugar intake will assist in maintaining a more regular metabolism, speeding

"Go after what you want in life now. Procrastination built over many years equals tons of missed opportunities and enjoyment of life. Life is not meant to be dull and boring in which you just clock in hours. Decided what you need to do to be happy and jump into action now. Don't waste your life away watching 8 hours of TV daily and doing a job you hate."  - Mike

For part of our fitness boot camp today we did a fitness challenge.  It was an AWESOME workout so I thought I would share it with you!  Here you go! Boot Camp Ladder Workout: Complete 2 Rounds as fast as possible with good form 10 Burpee Deadlifts 20 Dips on the bench 30 Walking Lunges (15/side) 40 Double Unders OR 120 Singles with the Jump Rope 50 Full Sit-Ups 400 meter run Enjoy!  Just make sure you complete a nice warm-up before you start and cool down and stretch when you are

Try this Memorial Day Workout!  Guaranteed to kick your butt...we did this in our boot camp class yesterday.  This is a VERY HIGH CALORIE BURNING workout! Complete this in the fastest time possible with minimal rest...  1/4 mile run 50 push-ups (regular or modified) 1/4 mile run 50 body weight squats 1/4 mile run 50 floppy burpees 1/4 mile run 50 Jack-knife Crunches (on EACH side) Enjoy! In case you don't know what a jack-knife crunch is, here it is: How to do it:  Lie on your back with one leg extended out and one knee in towards your chest.  Raise your extended leg about 2 inches off the floor and hold in this position.  Crunch repeatedly with your hands crossed over your chest keeping both legs off the ground.  Switch legs and repeat on the other side.  When it is time to switch legs, make sure not to drop your legs to the

Give this kick-butt workout a shot this weekend…I’m doing it today! (Find a park bench and a jump rope and you’re all set!)  This can easily be modified to your level of fitness by lowering the # of reps or decreasing the intensity.) Time yourself and try to beat your score next time you do the workout! 3 Rounds of the Following Exercises:  50 Jump Rope 40 Squats 30 Box Jumps (on the bench) 20 Walking Lunges (10 per side) 15 Push-Ups 10 Floppy