One of the most honest assessments for most of us is that we’re procrastinators. We’ll delay and wait for as long as possible especially if what needs done are lifestyle changes. Take for example the need for more exercise.

We’re a nation of people that sign up at the local health clubs, buy all the expensive equipment then proceed to go round and round the parking lot looking for a close spot so we don’t have to walk so far. Come on, you know that’s true! Who hasn’t seen people at all stores traveling the equivalent of several miles looking for that just right close parking spot.

One thing that seems to work however is to obtain the services of a personal fitness trainer. Fitness trainers typically will be found in almost every gym but can be located by simply calling a cardiologist. Many highly qualified and skilled lifestyle people are associated with cardiologist. Cardiology by the way is the heart doctor, which is what we’ll all be needing if the snack foods aren’t replaced with healthier foods. LOL

A fitness trainer will create a health and exercise plan that will then be monitored for progress. By having someone holding us accountable, the potential for success is greatly increased.
While we’re on the subject of success, we should also practice what we preach and enforce the same type of healthy choice lifestyle on the rest of the family. After all, didn’t someone once say that misery lover company. o

Seriously, here are a few ideas that can help get all of us and our families back into some shape other than “round”

1 Explain the difference between healthy and not so healthy food choices but DO NOT NAG. The idea is to make better choices most of the time not be perfect!

2 Prepare healthy meals. Quit the burger and taco runs and calling that dinner. One of the biggest problems with our diets isn’t that we eat to much but that it’s the wrong kind of foods. And those wrong kind of foods are in most cases sold by corporate conglomerates looking for profits not a healthy customer.

3. Never use food as a reward. If food is a big part of some outing, popcorn at the theater start to change that behavior by having other, more healthy snacks available. Our family would buy candy and oil laden popcorn at the movies and still do but in much smaller quantities. We lower the amount of the bad foods by bringing in bags of those small baby carrots to munch on. It’s now preferred by many of the kids and are considered a movie snack!

4. When you can walk to do something, do it. Don’t just get into the car to go a couple of blocks.

A personal fitness trainer can go a long way to helping with ideas like these. Interview trainers and look for one that’s not interested in changing your world overnight. The best personal trainer is one who sees the progress and works to see those little successes turn into major lifestyles changes.

We all know how difficult it is to stay in shape and find time to exercise – but most especially for women with babies or small kids. Theres the sleep-deprivation factor, no time and priority changes. So what are the fitness options for busy Moms?

The fact is, the more you can take of yourself and the better you feel, the stronger you will be physically and emotionally to take on the day with the little ones and all of lifes challenges.

Below are some quick, but effective, exercises – specifically designed for the busy Mom – for the back and shoulders to keep you strong and prevent future injuries that may occur with poor lifting biomechanics and poor posture. The heavy weight of not just the baby, but also all the fun gadgets youre expected to lug around. Its no surprise that our bodies need a little help to get through the day.

Rotator Cuff Strengthener

For this workout you will need a light theraband. The beauty about this piece of equipment is that its small enough to carry in your bag or your stroller. Now you have no excuses – you can do these exercises on the go, at the park or when you have a few moments to spare.

You can do this exercise either seated or standing; hold the elbows close to the waist with palms facing the sky holding the theraband. Pulling the hands away from each other externally rotating the shoulders

Reps
3 sets of 10-15 reps

Muscle focus

Rotator cuff muscles are the small muscles that stabilize the shoulder joint. If these get weak from over use you could end up with bicep tendonitis or other potential injuries. This is very common with Moms as everything is usually done with one hand while holding the little one in the other.

Tricep push-up extension

This is the one time in your life you are going to need arm strength, the biceps are going to get over worked from the motion of picking up the baby so its important to balance these out and keep the triceps strong as not to put unwanted strain on them.

Hands are directly under your shoulders and knees are on the ground in a modified push-up. The pelvis is slightly pressed forward creating work in the abdominals that stabilize the spine. Place the theraband under the right hand on the floor and extend opposite arm in a tricep extension. Whilst extending the working arm be careful to keep the wrist in line with the hand not to create any unwanted tensionstrain.

Reps
3 sets of 10-15 reps on each side

Muscle Focus
Drawing your shoulder blades down activating your upper back muscles, engaging abs at all times. Keeping your abs strong and being aware of contracting them is very important as they play an important role in stabilizing and protecting the back.

Translating this in to functional activities such as picking the baby up out of the crib will really save your back.

Spine extension with pulses

Over time in pregnancy our posture completely changes due to the increased weight of the baby bringing our body forward and causing the spine to round forward with the shoulders. This causes the back muscles to become very stretched out and weak.

Seated up right with legs in front of body shoulder width apart, hands over your head. Hinge forward from the hips leading with the sternum, biceps are by your ears. Hold this position and slightly pulse the arms behind the body mobilizing the shoulders and working the upper back. Return back to an upright position to repeat the movement again.

Reps
3 sets of 10 Pulses

Muscle Focus

Upper back and hamstring flexibility. This exercise will strengthen the mid upper back and open up the tight thoracic area of the spine, correcting bad habits that the body formed through pregnancy.

Butterfly ab curls

Keeping you abs strong is essential for keeping your whole body strong and restoring poor posture left over from pregnancy.

Lying on the floor with heals of feet together and knees bent to the side in a frog like position. Arms are straight over you head, circle arms around and lift the head neck shoulders off the floor exhaling pulling in the abs hold for 5 seconds and return back to starting position.

Reps
3 sets of 10 reps

Muscle Focus

As you exhale and bring the head neck and shoulders off the floor think of pulling your abdominals in up and back to the spine. Moms, this is a time you can practice doing your kegal on the contraction working the pelvic floor.

Does it seem from time to time that when you go to the gym and do your workout routine, it just takes too long? Maybe youve been noticing that you seem to be spending 20 to 30 minutes longer than you would like to. Well, what you need are some little things you can do that will not only shorten your time in the gym, but will still give you a good workout.

For openers, you can split body parts. Working the legs and arms one day, then working the chest and back one day, then working the shoulders and abdominals the next day is a good, effective way to shorten your exercise time and still give each muscle group a good, solid workout.

Another thing you can do is keep it down to one set. It is usually not recommended to do only one set during exercise despite claims made by other experts that one set can be as beneficial as 2 to 4 sets. But one set, as long as it is one good set, is better than doing nothing at all if time is the issue.

You can also do a circuit style workout with your weight training. All you do here is complete one set of one exercise, then move right along to the next exercise non stop until youve finished each exercise in your routine. Once done, you take a 1 to 1 minute rest period for some water, and then start on set two until youve finished all of your sets.

If you havent done it before, a superset style workout can save a lot of time. This is where you work one muscle, and then work the opposing muscle or you do two exercises for the same muscle without a break. An example would be doing a bicep exercise followed by a triceps exercise. Another would be doing bench press followed by chest flies.

You will need to have a workout plan. A lot of people in the gym wander around looking lost like they are trying to figure out what to do next. That is one of the biggest time wasters there is. Have an exercise routine planned and written out on a log so you know exactly what exercises to do and in what order to do them.

Probably the one single thing that wastes more time in the gym above all is socializing. Either reduce or completely cut out chewing the fat. You may know people in the gym and they may have the time to approach you during a workout for conversation. If they do, just keep moving along while they talk or explain that you are on a time crunch and dont have the time to talk right now. They usually will understand and leave you alone.

More often than not, you can save quite a bit of time by keeping these things in mind and remember to just keep moving. You get more from your exercise program by spending 40 minutes in the gym with 30 minutes exercising than you do by spending 90 minutes in the gym with 30 minutes exercising.

As a certified personal trainer and editor of a popular fitness site, FitnessGear101.com, Ive heard every excuse in the book when it comes to why people dont exercise. However, the one that takes the, pardon-my-pun, fitness cake is lack of time.

A day doesnt go by without one of my clients professing that they simply dont have time for exercise. Well, Ive seen people who want to loose weight badly enough. They will restrict their diets, exercise rigorously for an hour a day and even swear off alcohol gasp and chocolate double gasp! So, dont give me that bull!

People shy away from exercise because they think theyll have to spend hours in a gym. To maintain good health all you need is a healthy diet and a daily walk that can be broken up into increments throughout the day.

Still dont believe me? Ill show you how easy it is to fit brief walks into your day

1 Is Sex and the City a rerun again? It breaks my heart when that happens. Why not go for a 30-minute walk. If its a new episode that you simply cant miss, jump rope during commercials or run on the spot.

2 Does carting the kids to hockey or baseball cut into your exercise time? Take some inspiration from Jr. and stay on your feet during the game. Youll get kudos for being the teams best cheer leader, and your butt wont expand to the size of the soccer field.

3 Are you dying to get your hands on the next best-seller? Buy it as a book-on-tape and take it walking with you. It might have you extending your stroll to finish a chapter.

4 Instead of a sumptuous brunch with the girls, try a brisk 30-minute walk with your BFF. Catching up on all the latest gossip can be just as delicious during a walk plus it wont tempt you to cheat on your healthy eating plan.

5 Remember when people used to run errands? Well many of us still take that term literally. The next time you need a quart of milk, walk to the local grocer.

6 Use your lunch break as an exercise break. I go work out and then eat lunch at my desk. A brisk walk around the block will leave you more refueled for the afternoon than that third cup of coffee.

7 Do you complain about how slow your apartment elevator is? Take the faster route the stairs. Youll burn calories in the process.

8 Its always ironic that those who circle the parking lot looking for the closest spot are often the most overweight. Park farther away where there are spots o plenty. Youll burn extra calories lugging your groceries back to the car.

9 Have you ever heard the phrase hurry up and wait!? Well its not just a humorous observation its a great way to stay moving. The next time youre waiting in a long lineup dont take a chair, pace the floor or do a little stretching.

10 If you have no time to exercise, chances are you dont have time to clean the house either. Housework such as dusting, vacuuming, shoveling and raking is multitasking because it counts as exercise.

If you talk to almost anyone who goes to the gym to workout and ask them how long a good workout usually takes, they will often answer with; it takes a good hour to get in a good workout, or even; if I dont spend 1 to 2 hours in the gym, I just dont get enough from my workout.

Based on these kinds of typical responses, you can imagine how surprised many of these same people appear to be when I tell them that I only workout for 30 minutes a day, yet still get the kind of results that they do! Many of them will say, no way you only workout for 30 minutes a day! How can you ever get results doing that?

The plain fact is there are a lot of people who have such busy schedules that finding more than 30 minutes to dedicate to a workout is just impossible. Its not that they dont want to do it; there just arent enough hours in the day to be in the gym for 1 to 2 hours at a time.

If there was a way to get an effective workout in 30 minutes however, then perhaps they could spend half of their lunch hour in the gym, and the other half eating their lunch. That would be perfect, wouldnt it? But is it really possible to do a workout in 30 minutes that will bring real results? The answer is a definite yes, but you will need a few simple strategies to make it happen.
Here are some tips on how to make your workouts really work in only 30 minutes a day.

To start with, make sure you have a plan for each day. Write down all of the exercises you will be doing for that day and write down all of the weights you will be using for each exercise. Write down how many sets you will be doing for each exercise and how many repetitions you will be doing during each set.

Do split body part routines. For example, on Monday and Thursday, do legs, arms and abs. On Tuesday and Friday, do chest, back and shoulders. This way you only have half of your body parts to work on each day cutting down significantly on time spent in the gym.

Upon arriving at the gym, set up as many things as you can in advance so that when you get started, you can keep moving from one exercise to the other without wasting time getting the next piece of equipment set up. This way, you can go strait through each exercise without stopping, take 1-2 minutes rest, and then simply repeat until you finish all of your sets.

Avoid socializing. While being friendly is ok, dont let yourself get distracted by having a conversation with others in the gym. Remember, you only have so much time and 5 minutes spent talking rather than exercising is 5 minutes wasted. Explain to people wishing to talk to you that you are on limited time and you just cant stop what you are doing at the moment or better yet, put on a pair of headphones before you begin your workout; theyll get the clue.

Always do your weight training and cardio training separately. On days you are not doing weight training, you can spend 30 minutes on the treadmill or on the stair climber. This way you are still only working out for 30 minutes. Combining the two only means you will have to spend more time in the gym and time spent in the gym is what you are trying to cut down on.

In summary, just remember to write out a plan for each day, split those body parts on different days, keep moving during your routine, dont socialize, and dont do weights and cardio on the same day and you will see excellent results in only 30 minutes a day.

There are many women who attend a gym only to use the cardio equipment there. They never touch the weights. Most of them never get noticeable results either. If asked why they don’t train with weights the usual answer they give is “I don’t want to get bulky”. In this article I want to explain why women should not avoid weight training and why training with weights is actually appropriate for them.

Women athletes should not be intimidated by weight training. They think that training with weights will make them look less feminine. This is a very common misconception.

Let me explain why this is not true. It’s very simple – women don’t produce the quantities of anabolic hormones, necessary for excessive muscle growth. As a matter of fact even most men don’t.

In order for a female athlete to develop noticeable muscle mass, she would have to resort to pharmaceuticals that will dramatically increase her anabolic hormone levels. Without them a female athlete, using weights, would mostly tone up her body by eventually gaining some muscle mass and losing body fat.

Here are the facts. Even men, who train naturally, will most likely never develop muscle mass in excess, although they produce the anabolic hormone testosterone in their bodies.

Women produce only one tenth of the testosterone men do. So, the chances a female athlete would have results, similar to what a natural male athlete could have, are really small. Enough said about women and the possibility for excessive muscle mass development.

But why training with weights is appropriate for women?

The biggest reason why women should train with weights is weight training increases lean muscle mass. And lean muscle mass elevates the metabolic rate. This is the tissue that uses fat for fuel. The more muscle mass you have, the more fat you burn not only during workout but also throughout the day.

Every pound of lean muscle mass gained means up to 30 more calories a day burned. This number might not look significant but over the course of a year it translates into more that 3 pounds of fat burned.

Now you see why it’s important to maintain your muscle mass while dieting. Not only maintain but even try to build more, which will help burn the unwanted fat faster. Of course, as I said above, it’s not physiologically possible for women to build excessive muscle mass. So don’t be afraid to gain some that will come naturally.

This is only one of the benefits that comes with weight training. As we all know there are much more. Just keep in mind the following.

First, if you are a female, don’t be intimidated by weight training as this is not going to make you very muscular. It’s just not possible. Mother nature will not allow it.

Second You should actually strive to build more lean muscle. By increasing your lean muscle mass you increase the amount of calories burned during physical activity as well as throughout the day.

Not many personal trainers and female trainees as well are aware of the difference between women’s and men’s physiology. It’s important, however, for professionals to know them. This way they will be able to design training programs that suit better the female athletes’s needs and requrements. Here are the most important characteristics

Women store body fat more readily

The nature has not created things in favor of women as it comes to body fat accumulation. Women are prone to store fat more easily than men. The main reason for that is the female sex hormone estrogen.

Both men and women produce estrogen but in men this hormone is much less than in women. Estrogen possess fat accumulating properties, which, due to the larger quantities in women are a lot stronger pronounced. Also due to the specific fat receptor distribution women tend to store fat mainly in the lower body.

Women produce very little testosterone

Another physiological difference of great importance is the fact that women produce very little of the male sex hormone – testosterone.

Testosterone is an anabolic hormone, which means it promotes muscle mass gain. Why is this important? Its important because muscle mass is the primary tissue that uses fat for fuel. With other words more muscle mass means more calories burned during the day.

Also as opposed to estrogen testosterone is known to suppress body fat accumulation.

Women undergo physiological changes caused by their menstrual cycle

Yet another factor in the female athlete’s phisiology is the fact that women experience hormonal fluctuations due to their menstrual cycle.

That is the reason why sometimes female athlete may not be able to train with the necessary intensity. It’s because of some or all of the following abdominal cramps, nausea, bloating, irritability, depression.

Women go through significant body-altering changes during pregnancy

Women experience major biological alterations during pregnancy. This is the period when the female body produces large amounts of the hormone progesterone. One of the main properties of this hormone is increased appetite, which is the main reason for the increased weight gain.

Another characteristic of that period is the impaired thyroid function. Attenuated thyroid function means slowed metabolism.

These two effects of pregnancy usually continue to exhibit their properties even postpartum, which makes it difficult for some women to get back in the shape they were beforehand.

These were the major differences between women and men. As I said earlier being aware of the characteristics in the female’s physiology is essential for proper training administration. So long as these important facts are taken in consideration everything else is equally valid for both genders.