(written for LAsthePlace.com View accompanying photos at LAsthePlace.com)
When time is of the essence, kettlebell training incorporates all elements of fitness for a full-body fat blasting workout in just 30 minutes.
A simple cast iron weight can replace an entire gym full of equipment. Yes, you read correctly. Everything you need to become leaner, faster, stronger and more flexible is contained in a tidy, but heavy, package called a kettlebell.
Continue reading ‘Re-Shape Your Body and Burn Fat Quickly with Kettlebells’
The American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s Authority on Fitness®, just released its annual popular fitness trend report. Topping the list? No surprise here. Budget-friendly workouts and time-saving boot camp-style classes.
The economy has taken its toll on everyone, and the fitness industry is not exempt. Every year ACE surveys its worldwide network of personal trainers, group fitness experts, lifestyle and weight management consultants, and advanced health and fitness specialists to see what’s hot, and what’s not, in exercise.
The top two trends reflect our current economic woes, but there is a definite positive element. Though people are cutting back on expenses, they are still thinking of their health as their best investment. For many, it’s simply time to get creative with their exercise routines. The following are ACE’s “Top Workout Trends” for 2009. See what other people are doing for their health and fitness.
Continue reading ‘Money Crunch and Saving Time Shapes Fitness Trends’
The amount of exercise you need a day is a difficult question to answer.
Celebrities often claim they exercise two hours a day. On TV, weight loss shows feature people exercising more than four hours each day. Health advocates say 30 minutes of daily activity is enough to keep you healthy.
So…how much exercise do you really need?
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, it’s more than previously thought.
Continue reading ‘How Much Exercise Is Enough to Lose Weight?’
January 1 sported plenty of people out jogging…apparently folks who usually do not jog. They struggled. They ran barely above crawling. They limped. And yet onward they jogged, full of agony. Why? Because their new year’s resolutions told them to.
How long will these joggers keep running? Not long enough. Of the 70% of people who make new year’s resolutions every year a large majority will not keep them. They set unrealistic goals, do not have a proper plan in place, and believe that on an arbitrary date things will “be different.”
THE FRESH START APPROACH
The “fresh start,” or clean slate, concept is what motivates many people to make new year’s resolutions. It also gives them license to “be bad” up until that date, knowing that on the magical day of January 1 they will be transformed into strong-willed exercise machines. Unfortunately, as someone who has seen many a January 1 (or many a Monday) come and go with no miraculous change within myself, I can attest to the fact that there is one big problem with the fresh start approach: The date may be fresh, but you are still…you. With the same life, same issues, same problems you had on December 31. Until you resolve those problems and change your thought patterns, your resolutions will start, stop, and stay unfulfilled.
Continue reading ‘New Year’s Weight Loss Resolutions’
(written for lastheplace.com)
The holidays. They are here, once again. Endless days of parties, pastries, shopping and stress. Everywhere you look and everywhere you go temptation abounds. Clients bring edible gifts, friends deliver baked goods. The office holiday party overflows with food and drink.
With enticement everywhere, what do you do? Give in and pay the price in January? Or sacrifice now and start the new year without a brand-new muffin top? To make it easier on you, here’s a guide to enjoying yourself sensibly.
(continue reading at LA’s the Place)
What Do You Really Put in Your Mouth?
(written for suite101.com)
Recording what you actually eat vs. what you think you eat can be a valuable tool in the struggle with weight loss.
It’s a common phrase among people who start writing down what they eat: “No wonder I’m not losing weight.”
They discover they may not be eating enough. They discover they may be eating too much. They discover they are just eating the wrong things.
How do you stack up? Do you know if you are eating the right amounts and types? Knowledge is power, and in this case it’s a simple fix: start keeping a food journal.
It may seem boring and it may feel tedious, but keeping a record of what you eat can make the difference between weight loss failure or success.
(continue reading at suite101.com)
(written for Mad Dogg Athletics)
I cried that day—all the way up the side of the mountain.
I walked, pushed my bike, stopped and cried some more. Yet, I continued to press onward. It was a sight: a small, tough and usually cheerful Spinning® instructor now sobbing her way up 12 miles of mountain.
When I finally reached the top, my fellow Spinning instructors (the “real” cyclists who rode with me that day) swore they would never tell a soul of my miserable trek. But I decided to share with my students how I had cracked, to show that there was an actual human being behind the Spinning machine I had become.
(Continue reading at spinning.com)
Published on
July 15, 2008 in
tips.
(written for LAs the Place.com)
Now that temperatures are soaring, exercise may be the last thing on your mind. That hot, sticky feeling is often a great workout de-motivator.
However, we have an opportunity to turn this de-motivator into a motivator: exercising in the pool. Using water as a way to get in shape is both effective and fun. No longer associated only with seniors, aquatic fitness allows us work our bodies hard, yet stay cool and comfortable.
Athletes, housewives, rehabilitation patients and even children are catching this next wave in fitness, and a wide variety of workout options are now available.
(continue reading at LAs the Place)
(written for Suite101.com)
Weight loss is a challenge. But here are a few simple tricks that will help you on your road to weight loss success. They are simple, free and most of all - painless.
(continue reading at Suite101.com)
BUT I LIKE IT
When a personal trainer says she is sore, that’s either a good thing or a bad thing.
In this case, it’s a good thing.
I am testing Russian kettlebells. From my article on building a home-based gym, “Kettlebells provide a thorough, whole-body workout that incorporates strength, endurance and flexibility. The kettlebells’ off-centered weight forces you to use more stabilizer muscles with each move, thus involving many muscles simultaneously. Your core stays active and your body’s muscles learn to work smoothly as one unit.”
Uhm. Yes. And my butt and legs, more specifically hamstrings, are very sore.
The kettlebell professionals at Iron Core in San Diego, California, sent me a kettlebell to experiment with. After very casually playing around with it for two weeks I started yesterday on a six week training program to see how effective kettlebells are in shaping my body. Cardiovascularly I am very strong. However, I am discovering that even as a personal trainer and Spinning instructor there are muscles I apparently miss when I hit the weight room or ride.
I will write a complete review for my LA’s the Place fitness column (with a link from here and my plentyofwords site), with thoughts and progress notes, in about six weeks. Until then, I walk like a rodeo rider.
(written for One More Set - a health and fitness blog)
Yes, that’s correct. You actually heard a woman say that she loves her thighs.
My thighs are not particularly attractive: They are neither long nor thin nor tan. In fact, they are kind of short, bulky and pale. So why do I love them?
Continue reading ‘A Woman Says, “I Love My Thighs”’
(written for lastheplace.com)
If sweating and grunting in a room full of strangers is not for you, do not fret. An effective workout can be had inexpensively in the privacy of your own home or office. All you need are a few basics and some creativity.
Continue reading at www.lastheplace.com
…to anyone who visited this site in the last couple of days. Apparently a drug distribution company hacked my site and placed links to their products under my blogroll. I am definitely NOT an endorser of any pharmaceutical products or companies. In fact, I consider myself the “anti-drug.” I have fixed the security glitch. I apologize again.
Helen
(Written for CitiHealth Publications)
I remember my first Spinning® class vividly. With 50 pounds left to lose, an out of shape body and baggy black sweat pants, I wore my insecurity like a badge. As I hesitantly got onto the Spin bike the instructor walked in - and I froze. Taking one look at his very lean frame, I thought, “Uh oh. I’m in trouble.”
Continue reading ‘Spinning: Up Close and Personal’
Training in water brings fitness to a new level
(Written for CitiHealth Publications)
Nancy and Bob Dubay of Temecula are very fit. The couple strength trains, walks, golfs and performs regular cardiovascular exercise. So when they signed up for private aquatic training last summer both were unsure of what to expect. They were pleasantly surprised
“It’s a good workout,” says Nancy Dubay. “The intervals were hard and got my heart rate up. But I felt refreshed after – full of energy.”
“I was very pleased with how easy it was on my body, while still being challenging,” adds Bob Dubay. “I wanted to try working out in the water because my back was bothering me from other forms of exercise. My heart rate was elevated, my legs and core definitely felt it. And core strength is important for back health.”
Continue reading ‘Aquatic Fitness – Not Your Grandmother’s Water Aerobics Class’
(by Helen Ryan. Written for LA’s the Place)
Most things I know about life I learned in Spin class.
It’s true.
The stationary bike has been my teacher, and I have spent hundreds of hours learning from it.
Four years ago when I saw my first Spin bike it seemed like…just a bike. Made of cold metal with an unwelcoming seat, it did not look very comfortable. I felt physically awkward: I was very overweight and out of shape in a room full of really fit people. I wanted to leave, to run as fast and far as I could, but did not want to be seen as chickening out.
The first half hour was hell. My behind was numb, my legs were shaky and my heart was pounding. But then I felt something inside. A little spark that ignited a part of me…a part I thought was long gone. That spark re-ignited my pilot light and eventually changed - and saved - my life.
Continue reading at LA’s the Place…
The boot camp concept is here to stay. People are interested in functional fitness (i.e. exercises that help you do more in your daily life rather than just moving isolated parts).
So take a peek at our new Temecula boot camp FitCAMP web site (and our demo video) at myfitcamp.com. My partner in crime, Teri (the blond one) and I hope you enjoy it. And if you are ever in Temecula, come join us!
Published on
December 28, 2007 in
tips.
(Written for CitiHealth Publications)
Every January begins the same: You vow to eat better, exercise and become healthier and fitter. A few months later you read an article on “bikini bodies by June” and wonder, “What happened to those vows?”
You are not alone. 60 percent of people drop their fitness resolutions within six months of making them. This year, be one of the 40 percent who succeeds. With these 11 steps, it’s easier than you imagine.
Continue reading ‘11 Ways to Fit Exercise into Your Life’
Published on
October 3, 2007 in
tips.
(by Helen Ryan. written for LA’s the Place)
Not much happening in the metabolism department? Need a change to get things going? Here are eight (nearly) painless ways to stoke your metabolic fire.
Continue reading at LA’s the Place….
How do you stay motivated to exercise? How do you get out and run when you don’t want to? What makes you get on your bike when you are tired? Share your tips and thoughts.
