You know it’s coming. The elevator carols are playing, sweets are tempting you at every check out register and desk at work, and you barely have time to sit down for a real meal. Sometimes it becomes nearly impossible to avoid gaining weight around the holidays. The weather’s a little drearier, your family is gallantly catching up over a mountainous feast, and you cannot possibly turn down the festively decorated cookies, pastries, and other goods. So how can you enjoy the holidays without packing on the extra pounds? Try this at-home full body workout that’s effective and easy to fit into an already jampacked holiday schedule. In between schmoozing with the folks and setting the good silverware out, you might even keep your jeans buttoned all the way through dessert.
Workouts
Keeping Fit in the Fall
Those three glorious months of sun, beach and barbecues are steadily coming to an end. But as students return to school and the weather begins to cool, one thing that doesn’t need to change is your fitness regimen. It might not be bikini season anymore but that doesn’t mean your workout routine slows down. On the contrary, fall is a great time to start and maintain a fitness program that will help you prepare for the upcoming holiday season.
Foam Rollers
So what’s all the hype about foam rolling?
Foam rolling is a form of Self-Myofascial Release Therapy that aids recovering muscles. Get familiar with the innovative tool that athletes, coaches, therapists, and trainers have been raving about. Although the foam roller is not equivalent to a professional massage, the foam roller does an excellent job of breaking up adhesions in the muscle tissue to allow you to recovery quicker and maximize your next workout.
First, find a tender spot in the muscle, known as a ‘trigger points’, and rest it there for a moment until the pain lessens. Then finish by rolling over the entire muscle for about 30 to 60 seconds. Then repeat this process about two to three times until the pain has subsided.
Kettlebells
What are kettlebells? What are the benefits of using kettlebells? How do you use kettlebells?
While the name may remind you of cows, kettlebells in fact have nothing to do with farm life! They are the cast iron weights with a single rounded handle on top, thus resembling a kettle, that you have most likely seen lying around your gym. Kettlebells originated in Greece centuries ago and have been used in Russian gyms for decades. More recently they have gained popularity in the west and have become extremely popular in American fitness classes and gyms.
Yoga Styles With a Local Twist
It is not uncommon to see yoga as a top ranking activity on many people’s to-do lists. Yoga is something that people say they will do, “eventually,” “another day,” or “when they are back in shape.” What these very capable individuals do not realize is that now is the time to do yoga. Waiting only decreases your chances of being physically able to participate in the future. People make many excuses to do yoga, but “the best excuse not to go to yoga is that you just got back” (lululemon athletica).
Why Women Should Lift Weights
Alright ladies, we know when you hear the term weightlifting you think of bulging biceps or thunderous thighs that make you look freakishly ripped. But unless you are consuming pounds of protein or large doses of hormones on a daily basis, this will not be the case. Weightlifting has a lot of benefits for women that often go unnoticed. Instead of thinking of it as weight training, think of it as strength training. Research shows that completing two strength-training sessions a week can help you burn more fat overall and sculpt those lean muscles that you are striving for. So take a break from your usual cardio routines and opt for a strength-training exercise a few times a week. Here are some reasons why you should start today!
To The Beat of Your Own Drum: Pump Up Playlists for Your Next Five-Mile Run
No one can deny the immense power of music. When that nostalgic tune from your childhood fills your ears, do you find yourself day dreaming about your past? When your favorite song comes on the radio on your way to work, do you get a boost of energy? Music is a form of expression unlike any other that I have encountered in this lifetime, and it can instill such strong emotions in its listeners, no matter what the genre. Music is so influential, in fact, that it can increase your energy
When the World Ends: Your Musical Survival Kit
The countdown has begun. If the Mayan’s had it right, this December will be our last. Who, if anyone, will make it out alive? On 12/21/12, you may be forced to show the world what you’re made of.
You may wonder if the Mayan’s were on to something, or you might find the idea of the world ending ridiculous. No matter what your belief is on the matter, as you take on these next ten months, what better way to get a good work out than to feel as if your life depended on it? On your next gym visit, beach jog, or bike ride, celebrate mankind’s final year by shuffling through some of the catchiest Doomsday songs of the 20th and 21st centuries. Enter the doomsday zone with…
Seven Falls: The Most Romantic Place to be this Valentine’s Day
As intimate as dinner and a dozen roses might be, it’s slightly overdone. If you want to make this V-day a real memory, why not go on a Valentines day adventure? Make this February 14th a dirty one– one that will make your sweetheart sweat and get em’ a little wet…That’s right, take them on a hike to Seven Falls!
Regular to Ripped in 90 Days?
Do you want to be “absolutely ripped in just 90 days”? Tony Horton claims that his P90X system accomplishes just that.