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Let the New Year Roll On!
We made it to the very first Motivation Monday of 2015!2. Put Healthy Activities On Your Daily To-Do List. Between my iPhone, old-fashioned day planner and countless note pads in my apartment, I’m an avid list maker. I always have “Cardio at NYSC” or Physique57 Class” on my daily task lists, and it feels great to cross out the endorphin-portion of my day when it’s done. So, put “exercise” on your calendar – even if it’s “10-minute walk” penciled into your lunch hour. (Remember, 10 minutes of something is always better than ZERO minutes of nothing all day!) If it’s a rest day, put other healthy tasks on your list such as “buy produce” or “prep veggies and other snacks for lunches.” You’ll be surprised by the boost you get from crossing out something as simple as “buy bananas” on that list on your fridge. Consider it a visual affirmation that you did something good for yourself on any day of the week!
3. Be Realistic. Enthusiasm is the key to getting anything done, but don’t let it get the best of you. If you put “work out” on your planner for seven straight days, you may be setting yourself up for failure. As soon as you miss that first day, you may think, “Well, I just blew the whole week!” A more realistic approach would be to aim for three days each week for the first month. As you start experiencing the endorphin-rush and other benefits from exercising, trust me, you’ll want to increase the frequency of your workouts. Just remember no matter how much you love working out, everyone should take a minimum of one day off each week to let the body rest.
Finally, I leave you with this reality: there will be “off” days. Even as a lifelong fitness enthusiast, there are days I simply don’t want to workout and all I want for dinner are wine and chocolate. It happens. Just don’t let one bad day throw you off course. Just wipe away the crumbs, prep your gym bag and remember tomorrow is your next chance to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
A LauraLovesFitness Holiday Tradition Returns!
On this Motivation Monday, another Hanukkah has come and gone and we’re just three days away from the Christmas of 2014. I’ll be spending the week with my family, and before I leave the Big Apple, I wanted to leave all of you with what’s become a holiday tradition here at Laura Loves Fitness.
Before I re-launch my fitness-minded twist on a holiday classic, I want to wish all those who celebrate a very Merry Christmas! Thank you to all who’ve offered your ongoing support in 2014. I’ll be taking a little holiday hiatus, but can’t wait to hit the ground running in January with a whole New Year filled with infinite possibilities to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Now without further ado, I give you…
“The 12 Days of Fitness”
On the first day of fitness, my workout gave to me…a huge rush of endorphins.
On the second day of fitness, my workout gave to me…two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the third day of fitness, my workout gave to me…three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the fourth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…a four-minute Tabata, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the fifth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…five fitness apps! A four-minute Tabata, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the sixth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…six static stretches, five fitness apps! A four-minute Tabata, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the seventh day of fitness, my workout gave to me…seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! A four-minute Tabata, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the eighth day of fitness, my workout gave to me….eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! A four-minute Tabata, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the ninth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…nine neuromuscular benefits, eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! A four-minute Tabata, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the tenth day of fitness, my workout gave to me….ten minutes rowing, nine neuromuscular benefits, eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! A four-minute Tabata, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the eleventh day of fitness, my workout gave to me…eleven eccentric muscle actions, ten minutes rowing, nine neuromuscular benefits, eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! A four-minute Tabata , three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
On the twelfth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…twelve reps of lunges, eleven eccentric muscle actions, ten minutes rowing, nine neuromuscular benefits, eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! A four-minute Tabata, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a huge rush of endorphins.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Give the Gift of Fitness
With Hanukkah and Christmas creeping closer by the minute, this Motivation Monday is all about keeping things as simple as possible!
That means I’m offering reminders from holidays past to help you get through this season without completely falling off the health and fitness wagon.
Click on the following links for refreshers on:
1) Navigating your way through a healthy holiday party circuit
2) An ideal workout option for your time-crunched schedule
Finally, I offer three simple gift ideas for the fitness buffs on your list:
- Sparkly Soul headbands and SportsFood, Inc. electrolyte strips make for perfect stocking stuffers!
- Yoga mats, reusable water bottles and iTunes gifts cards are perfect for athletes of every fitness level
- Professional blenders are an option for serious smoothie lover
I’d love to hear about the items on your wish list! In the meantime, I send tidings of joy and and wishes for a season filled with plenty of chances to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Make Time for Your Health
We made it to another Motivation Monday, but this one comes in the midst of full-blown hustle and bustle time. I’ve already reminded you about the importance of keeping exercise and healthy food prep on your holiday to-do lists. Today, I’m here to remind you about another crucial factor in staying healthy: be sure to keep up with those preventive checkups.
I recently saw my dermatologist for my annual mole check. As a fair-skinned, light-eyed Italian gal with lots of moles from head to toe, this has been an annual and sometimes bi-annual ritual since around the time I turned 30. More often than not, a suspicious mole is scraped and sent to a lab for a biopsy. I’ve always received the all clear, but sometimes only after a second scraping of the area in question after some abnormal cells were detected. That’s what happened after this last checkup. So while my doctor assured me there’s no reason to panic, he does want to excise a bit more of the area for further testing and just keep an eye on it extra closely at my future checkups. I will see him again at the end of this week. Then I can move on and enjoy my Christmas without this extra “thing” on my mind.
Listen, I know how ridiculously busy life can be. However, if there’s a choice between getting a manicure and getting a mammogram during your only free hour of the week, choose the test. My friends who are moms sometimes tell me how they’re long overdue to get to the gynecologist for a checkup, but they haven’t been able to fit it in with all the “stuff” going on with the kids. I tell these amazing women they need to find the time to take care of themselves so they can continue to be there for their kids.
I realize there are only eight days until Hanukkah and 17 days until Christmas. So between working, shopping, baking, gift wrapping, card writing and party-going, this may not be the ideal time for a trip to the doctor’s office. However, if you know you’re due for a checkup or follow-up with one of your health care providers, why not put a 10-minutes aside to make a simple phone call and schedule an appointment for January. (Many doctors offices today even give the option of scheduling your appointments online.) Consider it one of the easiest ways to kick off the New Year with a renewed gusto to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Gobble Gobble Prep Time
Is anyone else blown away by the fact that this Motivation Monday marks the 10-day countdown to Thanksgiving 2014? In anticipation of the delicious, calorie-loaded holiday, I thought it would be a good time to offer a few easy reminders on how to burn a few extra calories at the gym and keep the diet in check. Paying closer attention to your healthy habits in the days leading up to a holiday or other special occasion is a great way to have less guilt when you do sit down to gobble up the goodies and celebrate!
Move Just a Little Bit More: Three easy ways to burn a few more calories on a daily basis:
- Add one Tabata to your workout. Click here for a refresher on the four-minute high intensity workout formula.
- Jump rope for 30-second intervals (60 for the more advanced fitness fiends) between exercises. If you’re lifting weights, add a jump rope intermission as you move from one machine to the next or every other move.
- Add more steps to your day by taking the stairs and parking your car further away from the entrance to your office or even at the shopping center.
Fast Food Fixes: As seen on a recent episode of the Working Woman Report, here’s a little show-and-tell about how a little prep can go a long way in making healthier food choices.
As we move into this fun, festive and food-filled time of year, it’s good to know some simple choices can help us enjoy the season and still have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Countdown to Candy…
This Motivation Monday brings us four days closer to that fun, candy-filled celebration known as Halloween. If you’re still trying to figure out how to score that sold-out Frozen costume for your kid or what you’re going to wear to that grown-up holiday party, I figured I’d throw in a few reminders about how to manage the tricks and treats without slipping into a candy coma.
It’s important to remember you’re getting this advice from a real candy girl. As you repeat readers know, I love my chocolate. Throw some peanut butter or crispy wafers under the milk-chocolate madness, and now I’m faced with my kryptonite. So, here are a few ways I get through the holiday with as little guilt as possible:
Going to extremes: Buy candy you DON’T like. Since I’m a chocolate nut, buying fruity candies like Skittles or Starbursts is an easy way for me to avoid finding too many wrappers in my trash on November 1st. You can also hand out sugar-free gum. At about five calories per stick, if you chew on a few of those during the holiday, it’s obviously not going to blow your healthy eating habits to smithereens.
Middle-of-the-road options: Here are a few treats that will help keep the calorie overload to reasonable levels:
- York Peppermint Patties: who says you can’t enjoy a full-size candy bar without a side order of guilt? This cool treat drenched in dark chocolate is 140 calories with 2.5 grams of fat. (Compare that to a full-size Snickers bar that has 280 calories and 14 grams of fat, and you’ve got a good reason to be satisfied by all that minty goodness!)
- Mini Three Musketeer Bars: Three minis register at 24 calories each and less than one gram of fat.
- Hershey Kisses: Three chocolate smooches register at 67 calories and 4 grams of fat.
- Tootsie Roll: One piece has 26 calories and five grams of fat.
- Candy Corn: You can enjoy a handful of 10 pieces for only 64 calories and 0 grams of fat.
- 100 Calorie Packs: A good alternative to candy bars, these individual packs can satisfy your sweet tooth and take the guess-work out of portion control.
FINALLY Getting In On the SUP Craze!
Think you can’t get a good workout and have fun at the same time? Then you need to give stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) a whirl!
I’ve been wanting to get in on this growing craze for a long time and finally took the plunge last weekend in Nantucket. After the first 60-minute attempt, I understood why nearly one-point-two million people gave SUP a try in 2013. It’s an activity that can help anyone improve balance and strength regardless of his or her fitness level. The bonus: if you wipe out – which I did at least a half-dozen times – you get a nice shot of cool refreshment to motivate you to get back up on the board.
Why does SUP provide such a good workout? It’s simple: in order to remain upright and propel yourself in the water, you need to stay balanced. That means you use virtually every muscle in your body to stand on a surface which can grow increasingly unstable depending on waves and currents. While I felt a good burn in my legs, I really felt my core muscles firing especially as I focused on keeping my navel drawn-in and glutes engaged in order to stay standing. The paddling also got my arms, back and shoulders pumping, but I was careful not to pump as hard or as often with my left side as I continue to nurse my left shoulder back to health.
What I also like about SUP is that it can truly be tailored to various fitness levels. Newbies can start on their knees before moving to a stand-up position. More seasoned enthusiasts may want to take their skills to rougher waters where bigger waves and stronger currents can present more of a challenge. Either way, you’re getting a low-impact workout which makes it kinder to the joints than running or high-impact group exercise classes. If you have access to the sport and like being on the water, your search for a new cross-training activity could be over.
What about calories, you ask? Just like any other activity, you’ll burn more calories as your intensity increases. For a “casual” hour, you can burn between 250 and 350 calories. If you’re paddling hard, that number goes up. I’ve read some SUP articles that include racers burning more than 1,000 calories in an hour.
While I won’t be adding a board and paddle to my New York City apartment decor anytime soon, I will be keeping my eyes open for SUP opportunities on future getaways. Whether it’s SUP or another activity, let this Motivation Monday post serve as a reminder that adding something new to your routine is still one of the best ways to stay on track with your goals to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Ready for Action!
On this particular Motivation Monday I find myself in a bit of shock trying to re-adjust to the concrete jungle after spending a few days surrounded by sand and palm trees.
The sound of the ocean has been replaced by the horns and sirens that scream up and down Broadway. Instead of a salty sea spray, my nostrils are filled with the aroma of hot dogs and other “street meat” wafting from countless food trucks and vending carts.
The beach is my safe haven. It’s not only where I get to mix up my fitness routine by banging out squats or planks in the sand. It’s also where my brain can truly reboot. Whether I’m sitting under a sunny sky or a veil of darkness with nothing but the stars as my light, the beach provides the space where my mind can wander and feel free. It’s where my dreams never seem to big or too foolish…and where positive energy is restored. Now as reality sets in, I know I can close my eyes and escape to that peaceful spot in my mind whenever the stress starts creeping in.
To Enjoy Some Treats Later!
Started Each Day At the Gym…
My wish for you as we start another week and a brand new month is that sometime in the near future you can find the time to escape to your happy place. Maybe it’s a true vacation lasting a week or longer. Maybe it’s a full day or just a few hours in another town. It could even be an hour of solitude sitting in your backyard or on a cozy couch. Get there. Dream a little and make some plans to start going after what you want. While you’re add it, why not get up from that recharge and take a walk, go for a run or check your group exercise schedule for your next class.
I DID Miss Physique57!
Here’s to a great new week and month ahead and all the opportunities we’ll have to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
A Motivation Monday Shout-Out to Two Very Special People
This Motivation Monday happens to fall on a very special occasion. Today is my dad’s 78th birthday. Since it’s also the day after I joined the rest of the country celebrating the special women called moms, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate time to acknowledge the positive force these two people have had on this crazy ride called life. Mom and Dad – you’re simply the best!
Sure, my parents and I have had our share of disagreements and heated exchanges during the 40 years I’ve been on this Earth, but at the end of the day, I know they always have my back. Whatever dreams I’ve pursued and continue to chase down in my professional and personal life, they’re behind me. Having that kind of support helps me stay focused on my goals and keep the fear of failure at bay.
I realize not every family is tight. However, I’ve also learned family ties extend beyond a blood line. Even though I’m an only child, I’m lucky to have friends who may as well be siblings. I also have many “Aunts” and “Uncles” thanks to my parents’ talent at nurturing and maintaining their own friendships. Between these special people, those I’ve met at different junctures in my life – school, work, fitness adventures and even here in Cyberspace! – I’m grateful to have some solid teammates in my life.
My wish for you on this Motivation Monday is that you recognize and embrace the people in your own life who give you strength. I also hope you find the strength to no longer waste your energy on those who wear you down and hurt your spirit. Life’s too short to deal with negative energy. Whether you’re trying to turn your health and fitness goals into a reality or pursuing a new career, do yourself a favor and surround yourself with as much positive energy as possible.
Speaking of strong people, I wrap today’s post with news of another exciting opportunity. Competitive bodybuilder, personal trainer and life coach Curtis Harwell asked me to be today’s guest on The Harwell Fit Radio Talk show! I’ll be chatting with Curtis and his co-host, Kelli Richardson, about health and fitness. Here’s the link where you can tune in and listen live at 6 pm ET: http://bit.ly/SDL4se (If you miss it, you can always pull it up in the archives.) As always, Mom and Dad are my biggest cheerleaders as I gear up for this latest opportunity. I thank my readers and followers for your ongoing support, too.
Remember, whether it’s Motivation Monday or any day of the week, be sure to surround yourself with the positive people and energy you need to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Motivation Monday x Three!
One Fit Chick…Photo by Leslie Hassler
We made it to the first Motivation Monday of May! Every month brings new opportunities, and I’m happy to report this one started off with a bang. Once again, I can thank my time in Twitterville for making it happen.
It’s been nearly two years since I met fellow fierce fitness femmes Monica Gauntt and Lori Ross. They’re actually part of about a dozen tweeps that make up our #fitfam. (For you non-tweeters, that’s short for Fitness Family.) We live in all different parts of the country, but during the past couple of years, we’ve said virtual hellos almost every morning to get moving; sent multiple shout-outs to keep us energized throughout the day and even sent hugs and prayers via cyberspace to help each other power through injuries, job losses, divorces, deaths and other challenging times.
Monica and Lori took their relationship beyond Twitter to become 2fitchx. Each fabulous “Frista” has overcome major hurdles in her quest to find a healthy balance in this crazy ride called life. Lori lost 125 pounds and Monica broke free of the yo-yo dieting prison and other unhealthy habits. They share their very personal stories along with tips and motivational messages in a weekly radio show. I was honored to be a guest on that show just this past Friday.
Meets 2FitChx, Lori & Monica
Please click here to find out what happens when three fit chicks get together. (The fact that we’re all blonde just adds to the fun!) I hope you’ll find some motivation to stay on track with your own health and fitness goals in our candid, fun-filled banter ranging from the workouts we love to how “stripping” has changed our lives. (Bet that piqued your curiosity!) Be sure to catch Monica and Lori’s future shows on Fridays live at 11 am CT or 6:00p CT for the replay. Listen on Indio Radio via the tunein app on your smartphone or IndioRadio.com. You can check out the archived shows 24/7 at 2FitChx.podomatic.com.
I’m still blown away by some of the amazing people I’ve met through social media, and Monica and Lori are part of a group of that keeps me motivated. Even positive peeps like me can have a low day now and then, and I’m thankful for 2FitChx and the other members of my #FitFam who inspire me to chase my own dreams to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
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