Finding difficulty in getting to the gym?

The hectic-ness of life can easily get in the way of living a healthy lifestyle and getting into a daily exercise routine. Between juggling a family, work, school, a social life, and sleep, exercise can easily start to slide onto the back burner.

This is something I had to deal with when I started a new job that was getting me up at 4am while going to nursing school. My daily workout routine soon vanished and my nights were spent in front of the T.V. It wasn’t until I realized that my pants wouldn’t fit that I realized that my health was being neglected.

So how can exercise and fitness be made a priority while having a busy lifestyle?

Here are some tips that bring exercise off the back burner and to the front:

1.) Wake-Up Early

Many times I have great intentions to get to the gym after work, but there are so many things in life that can get in the way at 7pm… not to mention my energy level is usually at a zero by the time I get home from a 12 hour shift. Once the alarm goes off in the morning I don’t even give yourself time to think about the snooze button. Hit the ground running immediately and you will never regret your workout at the end.

2.) Set a Goal

Whether it be a 60-day exercise plan or training for a half marathon, goals are a great way to force yourself into an exercise routine and keep your eyes focused on the end prize.

3.) Lunch Breaks

Lunch breaks are a perfect time to get in a half hour of exercise. No need to find a gym, get outside and start walking. If you don’t work in a great area for walking, hit up the stairs in your building… nothing raises a heart rate better than running up and down stairs!

Getting a group of co-works together is even better accountability! I remember always seeing a group of women from my alumni college out in the quad walking laps while laughing and talking with each other.

4.) Pack a Gym Bag

Not a morning person? Packing a gym bag in the car that sits in the front seat . . . a great reminder that you need to get to the gym.

5.) Lay out your workout clothes

I prefer to just wear my workout clothes to bed, but for those of you that are PJ people, laying out your workout clothes the night before is another great reminder and preparation for what is planned ahead with the alarm clock goes off.

While these tips can motivate and get one to the gym, sometimes Nike himself reigns over all in that, “Just Do It”

Question:

Are you placing your workout routine on the back burner?

How to do ensure that your workouts are a priority in your life?

A few months ago a co-worker of mine started talking about the Beachbody Insanity Workout by Shaun T. Every day she would come into work talking about how difficult her workout was the night before.

Here is was going to the gym every day, working my butt of and thinking, “please, your workout can’t be that hard!” The more and more I heard about her workouts, seeing the meals that she was eating, and the results she was getting, the more I started to become intrigued by this workout… 3 weeks later I broke and bought the 10 CD set off amazon.com.

I wanted to see what the hype was all about!

Here I sit in Week 6, day 4 of the Insaniy Workout and my entire body hates me. My arms are burning, my legs yell at me every morning when I swing them off the side of the bed, and my abs cringe when I laugh. But the best part is that people are starting to see how toned I’ve gotten.

I’m not much for weight lifting… I know, I know, muscle burns fat, but I just can’t get myself to lift weights. It’s so boring to me. I’m definitely a cardio girl by heart. The Insanity Workout is a perfect mixture of cardio and muscle building through your own body-weight.

The Insanity Workout is a total of 60 days- 2 months. The first month is only a foundation for what’s to come in month 2. This week marks the first month of month #2 and I love every sore minute of it. I’m drenched in sweat before the stretching hits and by the end of the CD’s I’m lying on the floor attempting to catch my breath and quickly apologize to my muscles while convincing them that they won’t regret it in the end. My body is starting to transform and I love it!

With a total of 10 CDs, this workout is by far the toughest workout video that I have ever attempted. The one thing that I have learned throughout this experience is dedication. It was so much easier to workout when I was just a student, but now I’m balancing being a student, wife, and work. The minute I started having to wake up at 4am for work was the minute my workouts were thrown out the window.

With this 60 day workout plan, I have learned that with dedication, a workout can never be missed. I dedicated the next 60 days to this workout the minute I pressed play to the Insanity Workout. No matter how tired or how sore I am, I continue to press play because of the goal I set for myself.

Even though you might not be doing something like Beachbody’s Insanity Workout, what are you exercise goals? Do you find it easier to get off the couch and head out to the gym when you have set a goal for yourself?

Congratulations to Jody from Truth2beingFit.com for winning America’s Nutrition exercise mat!

Be sure to check out her website… she has some great articles on exercise and nutrition!

For more great products from protein cookies to exercise equipement, check out America’s Nutrition for leading brands and low prices!

Sorry for such a short post, but the Bachelor Pad on ABC

Be on the look out for a great review on sugar-free, 30 calorie chocolate bars on Wednesday!

As Yoga and Pilates becomes the new crazy, a durable exercise mat is important to have in the safety, comfort and effectiveness of stretching and working out.

Hard flooring can be very dangerous on your body when exercising, causing joint, bone, and muscle damage. The spine is vulnerable to even greater damage without an exercise mat to protect the vertebrae while practicing poses and exercises.  In fact, exercising on improper flooring can lead to arthritis, degenerative disc disease of the back, and breakdown of cartilage in the knees.

From sit-ups and jumping jacks to the Childs pose and Pavenmuktasana pose in yoga, an exercise mat is a necessity! For this reason it is vital that you pay special attention to the type of exercise mat that you purchase.

In considering the purchase of an exercise mat, one should not only consider the durability and thickness of the mat but also the size. A small exercise mat for a large activity can lead to the risk of slipping off the mat and causing severe injuries such as injuring the tailbone or spraining an ankle. In finding an exercise mat that works for you, ensure that it is large enough to be used in a vast amount of activities.

So where is a great place to find a safe and durable exercise mat?

America’s Nutrition is the only place to look. From protein powders and health supplements to exercise mats and yoga towels, America’s Nutrition has it all. America’s Nutrition is a new up and coming health and nutrition supplement website.

The Valeo Exercise Mat, which can be found at the America’s Nutrition website, is a high-density foam mat that is great to protect the body from injury. With a ribbed surface on one side and a smooth side on the other, this mat is sure to stay put while exercising. This mat measures 2’ width by 6’ length, which makes for a perfect fit for most people. With Velcro straps, this mat is perfect to transport to and from any exercise location.

Sounds amazing, huh? Well it’s your lucky day cuz I am giving away a Valeo Exercise Mat from the AmericanNutrition website to one lucky winner

For a chance to win the Valeo Exercise Mat:

You Must Go to America’s Nutrition and let me know what product you would like to try in order to be entered in the drawing

Additional Entries to Win:

1.) Add www.she-fit.com to your blogroll

2.) Subscribe to www.she-fit.com

3.) Post this giveaway with a link back in the article

4.) Follow me on twitter @shefit

5.) Tweet about this giveaway

Whew… that is a lot of chances to win! Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each extra entry! Get it, Got it, Good!

The Giveaway will end in on Friday, August 6^th and the winner will be announced the following day… so be sure to head over to America’s Nutrition.com!

Good Luck!

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Day in and Day out I had my set workout routine. Wake up and head straight to the gym. I had my own elliptical… or so I like to THINK that it was mine! The first ellitpical over from the right of the treadmills. Everyday but Sunday I religiously rode that thing for 45-60 minutes. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I added on 20 minutes of a full body weight lifting routine. . . the same weight lifting routine every time. After a while I noticed that my body started to platue. I wasn’t going anywhere in my workouts and getting so frustrated for not seeing my exercise pay off. It was then that I learned the importance of mixing up my workout.

Why is mixing up a workout / exercise routine so vital?

Mixing up a workout can prevent boredom and burn out. For years I had confined my cardio workouts / exercise to the elliptical. I had missed out on the fun that could have been put into my workout for so many years, like hiking, swimming, dancing, circuit training, kick boxing, and bike riding. Boredom from a workout can easily lead to burn out and eventually lead to becoming a couch potato!

Second, mixing up one’s exercise routine can prevent hitting a plateau in workout performance and ultimately and decrease in training results. The body’s physiology systems, such as the cardiovascular system, adapts to a workout within 6-8 weeks. Keeping the same workout routine will ultimately lead you to a dead end if you don’t increase the intensity or mix up your workout to shock your body of the mundane workout routine. Mixing up your workout plan will speed up the weight loss process and shred inches on the waistline.

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Ways to increase the intensity of your workout can include anything from short bursts of sprints during a jog to walking up hills during a brisk walk. One can also throw in different types of workouts such as swimming one day and biking the next.

There are so many different options to a workout without plateauing or boredom! So go out there and have some fun!

Question

What do you do to prevent boredom in your workouts?

What’s your favorite workout routine?

I love that feeling of a great run when everything is going right and the weather is beautiful… then all of a sudden the side pains come along. You know what I’m talking about… those evil little cramps that creep into your side that slow you down and ruin a perfectly good run.

These side pains are actually called “side stitches”

Side stiches are caused by muscle spasms of the diaphragm. The diaghragm is pushed downward as the lungs fill up with air when we inhale. Sometimes air can get trapped right below the diaphram causing it to cramp up.

What causes these side pains and how to you prevent them from occurring during a run?

These side pains can be caused by eating right before running or skipping over your warm-up and jumping into a vigorous run too soon. They’re common in beginning runners who tend to breathe quickly and shallow. According to research, drinking before a run does NOT cause these side stitches.

There are several things you can do to ensure those side cramps don’t appear during a run.

For one, avoid eating about an hour to an hour and a half before a run. Your best bet is to eat a light snack consisting of a carbohydrate that is low in fat and protein, like a banana or a slice of bread.

Change up your breathing and striding pattern. If you tend to exhale when your left foot hits the ground than try exhaling when your right foot strikes. Make sure you are breathing in and out of your mouth. This type of breathing will force you to have a slow and controlled breathing pattern.

Cold temperatures can also cause side stitches. The diaphragm doesn’t know what to do when the air coming in the lungs is cooler than your inner body temperature. Try breathing through a scarf or neck warmer to warm up the lungs while introducing it to the chilly temperature.

And if all else fails, you may have to slow down your run to a brisk walk while keeping your hands above your head. Once the side stitches go away you can continue with your run.

Happy Side Stitch Free Running!

Question

Do you get side stitches when you run?

How do you get rid of them or prevent them?