Getting the Idea of Exercising from Your Mind to Your Heart

So you have probably polished off the last of the pumpkin pie and have hopefully awoken from your turkey coma. The mashed potatoes and gravy may still feel like they are sitting around your middle but you are determined to get a head start on a fitness routine. Why wait until the New Year? Why not get started now? There is nothing wrong with looking at certain opportunities as the perfect time to start a fitness routine. The fresh start of a new year, the day after your big Thanksgiving feast, or the day you celebrate a birthday…no matter what … Continue reading →

Using Rewards as Motivation

Rewards are very motivating. When I used to work as a preschool teacher, I found it to be a great way to gain cooperation. I have used it as a mother and in a variety of other settings. Children aren’t the only ones however, who enjoy rewards. Adults love to be rewarded for hard work as well. A raise, an extra day off or a promotion are great ways of being rewarded in our careers. At home we might find a reward being the one who gets to pick the family movie. There are all different ways that rewards can … Continue reading →

Why You Need to Take Time for You

There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to the idea of “me” time. You either believe you are deserving of it or you feel guilty if you take it. I used to play the martyr game. If I took time for me, I would lament how everything around me was going to fall apart. So others couldn’t really win with me. But the reality is that we really do need to take time for ourselves. When you think of taking time for yourself, fitness might not exactly be the first thing you think of. But fitness is … Continue reading →

We Can Always Do Better

I remember eating lunch with a friend one time and I ordered a salad. Whether or not I am on a health kick, I always enjoy a good salad. I asked for extra dressing and while I didn’t exactly drown my salad, I had a healthy portion of it covering my greens. My friend made the comment that it did no good to have a salad if I was going to pour all that dressing on top of it. Well, I begged to differ. Wasn’t a salad with lots of dressing better than the juicy, bacon-laden, dripping with cheeseburger and … Continue reading →

When the “Want” Isn’t There

In my last blog I talked about the “start again” routine that so many of us battle. We will start again on Monday, after the next holiday and the list of excuses goes on. When you get serious about fitness there is no “start again” thinking going on. Now is the time. But I also talked about how you have to want to get in shape, lose weight, eat healthier or whatever else you have purposed to change. Yet the truth is that many of us don’t. I mean, sure, on a surface level we want to but if we … Continue reading →

Forget the New Year’s Resolutions

I realize this may not be a very popular thing for me to say but I am starting off my first fitness blog for the year 2011 with this, forget the New Year’s Resolutions. Why? They typically don’t work. It’s like Moses and the children of Israel who wandered around in the desert for 40 years. Do we really want to keep going around and around the same old mountain? I don’t mean to make light of the changes that many of my friends are attempting to make but it is almost humorous to me the Facebook statuses that I … Continue reading →

How to Find Your Mojo

If you aren’t familiar with the phrase “how to find your mojo,” let me enlighten you. It means to do something you enjoy and to do with it enthusiasm and passion. So as we wrap up these final days of December, I want to help you find your mojo in fitness. What it really comes down to is motivation. You have to be motivated to keep fit. You have to want it. Without the drive it simply won’t happen. But it also won’t happen without some work. You have to purpose in your heart and mind to do something about … Continue reading →

Keeping Fit During the Busy Holiday Season

While the holidays is known to be a time of struggle in overcoming the many temptations that face us…Christmas cookies, eggnog and the unending feasts available at Holiday parties…it is also a busy time of year. Busyness can put fitness on the backburner for many people. In fact, December is probably one of the hardest months of the year for fitness enthusiasts. Not only are we faced with many delicious temptations but we oftentimes find we are so busy that squeezing in time for exercise becomes difficult. While you may find your time to be stretched, there are ways you … Continue reading →

Fitness Is Good for Your Health

While many of us look at fitness as a way to lose weight or tone up, we cannot underestimate another benefit to it. Fitness is good for your health. The reason I think this is important to focus on is because there are many out there who have tried fitness and for whatever reason, it hasn’t led to significant weight loss. Sometimes it is a matter of metabolism, your age or if you are a woman, going through a hormonal stage such as menopause. There are times, particularly once you get older, that losing weight becomes difficult no matter how … Continue reading →

Surviving the Holidays

The end of November and into the New Year is when many people struggle with fitness. This is a time of year where weight is gained due to the holiday celebrations. In addition many people who got their exercise outdoors are now stuck inside during these cold winter months and lose their motivation. Then there are people who have no problem letting loose because they figure once the New Year comes, they can start again. You can survive the holiday season and still maintain a fitness routine. It won’t be easy but with some discipline and the right perspective you … Continue reading →