Your January 2011 Snowed-in Workout!

Thinking that maybe you’ll just stay in today and avoid the snow covered roads. Me too! But don’t let your body suffer by skipping your workout. Do the new E.H. Fitness snowed in workout…I’ll be doing it too!

Each Tri-set contains 3 strength moves and 1 cardio burst for a calorie killing circuit workout. Repeat all exercises for 1 minute before moving onto the next exercise in a tri-set and repeat each tri-set three times before moving on to the next. Minimal rest between sets is encouraged to keep your heart pumping as well as getting the most calorie burn and strength gain throughout your workout. In this 30 minutes, you can burn hundreds of calories…so get moving!

Warm up: 1 minute jumping jacks, 1 minute stair climb

Tri-Set #1

Traveling Lunges: Lunge around the house. Make sure to press through your heel on your way up and keep the knee from coming over the toe.

Push Ups: On your toes or your knees…or even against a counter. Just make sure to keep your abs in tight.

Bicycles: Keep your eyes on the ceiling and never pull your head/neck with your hands. Bring your shoulder towards the opposite knee.

Cardio Burst — Squat Jumps: Explode out of the squat and then land with soft knees.

Tri-Set #2

Tricep Dips: Do these off of a sturdy chair or step. Dip down so that your elbows are at a 90 degree angle. Pull the legs in toward the body to make the dips easier or straighten the legs to make them harder. If you need even more of a challenge, lift a foot off the floor.

Walking planks: Start in plank position on your forearms then stay in plank while pushing your body up to your hands, one arm at a time, and then back down again and repeat until your minute is up!

Back Extensions : Get on your belly with hands and legs extended…lift the chest and legs up off the floor while contracting your lower back and butt. Keep your abdominal muscles tight during this movement and make sure to breathe.

Cardio Burst — Stair runs: Go as fast as you can up and down the stairs.

Stretch!

TRAINER TIP: This is an intense workout so make it work for you. If you are feeling too winded or can’t repeat all sets and repetitions, don’t beat yourself up. On the flip side, if the workout is not challenging enough for you, do each move for as long as you can or increase the Cardio Burst times.

Find the right gym for you!

So you've decided to join a gym to get in shape, so what gym should you join? Here are several areas to investigate and questions to ask to make the right choice for you! Happy hunting!

1. Join a gym in a location that you are going to drive to. The gym should be very near (10 minutes or less) from their home or office. If you join a facility that is hard to get to or will make it hard to get a workout done on a busy day, you will not go.
2. Your ideal gym will have the amenities that you want and need.

• Are you social and like to spend time with other people? Then join a gym that has group fitness classes.
• Do you know that you need some extra support and direction to get fit? Make sure that there is personal trainer available.
• Are your children going to accompany you to the gym? Find out if there is childcare at the facility
• Are you expecting to swim as part of your routine? Your ideal gym will have an indoor pool.
• Will you be changing into your workout gear or needing to shower at the gym after your workouts? See if the gym in question has locker rooms with showers, towels and lockers.
• Do you need a 24 hour facility because of your schedule? There are many gyms that are open 24 hours a day. Check out the facilities hours of operation.
• Are you on the road frequently? Many gyms are part of a larger organization that has locations all over the country. For those that get around, make sure that your membership fee includes access to these other facilities.

3. What is the cancelation policy? Life changes, so make sure that there is a reasonable cancelation policy in case you need to quit your membership. Some gyms require a 30 day written cancelation notice while others have lengthy contracts that are difficult and expensive to break. Know what you're signing up for before you sign on the dotted line.
4. Find out what is included in your membership fee. Some gyms have the following benefits included in the membership and some charge extra. Find out how much your membership is actually going to cost you before joining.

• Group Exercise Classes
• Locker rental
• Child Care
• Swimming
• Personal Training
• Fitness Evaluations
• Equipment Orientation

5. Try it before you buy it. You might do this with several fitness facilities to get a feel for what you like in a gym. Most gyms give a few days of free passes to use their location and some even give a 2-week free trial. Take advantage of this so that you know what you're getting.

Trying to lose weight in 2011? Succeed in one step!

SUCCEED AT YOUR GOAL!

According to the Center For Disease Control (CDC), 67% of adults are overweight or obese. No wonder over 80 million Americans go on diets every year and spend an excess of $30 billion dollars on diet programs and products. But the sad part of this is that most people who are trying to loose weight do not succeed, in fact, some have estimated that about there is a 95% failure rate. That is a huge waste of money and time without improving health. So what can you do to improve your odds? Simple..write it down!

Writing down your goal, what you eat every day and your exercise DOUBLE your chances of weight loss success. And how easy is that?! Super-duper easy. Take the following three steps to succeed in your diet and be a healthier you!

1. Buy a journal…or notebook or grab a pad of paper. Yep…this seems simple, but if you don’t have the tools, you can’t start writing things down. It can be anything…a leather bound book, a spiral notebook, anything that you want to designate as your Healthy Living Journal. Don’t use your journal for anything else, just your goals, food and exercise.
2. Make a short term goal. Your goals should be attainable and healthy…not “Loose 30 pounds this week” or “Eat only vegetables” but more like “lose 2 pounds this week” or “eat 4 servings of vegetables a day for the next 7 days.” After your week is up, you can re-evaluate and then move on to your next goal.
3. Write like your life depends on it. Record EVERYTHING…everything you put in your mouth, that is. Whether it’s your breakfast/lunch/dinner or the couple M&Ms that you grabbed from the candy bowl…it must be written down.

Writing things down, like what you eat, is a great way to keep on track because seeing what you are putting in your body every day can be a huge wake up call. If you’re a numbers person and want to see how many calories you are consuming check out one of these free calorie and activity trackers:

Caloriecount.com

Sparkpeople.com

Livestrong.com

Below are a few more tips to ensure that you are on the winning side of your health and fitness goals:

· Tell the world. This is an important step in the road to victory. Tell your friends, co-workers, family, even the cashier at the grocery store that you are vowing to quit smoking, lose 10 pounds, or get to the gym 4 days a week. When your will wanes, the peer pressure that you’ve created for yourself will help you keep on track.

· Be positive. Ever heard of the Little Engine that Could? With his mantra of “I think I can, I think I can I think I can..” he accomplished his goals. Even though the mountain was steep and took a lot of hard work, he kept positive with his eye on the prize.

· Don’t be your own worst enemy. Many times, people fall off the health and fitness band wagon because they experience a set back. Maybe they missed a session with their trainer, had a cigarette at a party or ate half a pan of brownies. No matter what your goal is, you will experience a relapse from time to time. Write it down in your journal and then move on. No beating yourself up…just get back on track.

Good luck and good health!