Reach Your Fitness Goal with These Top 10 Tips

Canice Barbone

By Canice Barbone

1) Work out even when you don’t feel like it.  Most of the time your workout will end up being a good one, and you will feel better because you did it.  Let the reason you don’t want to work out become the reason you need to.

2) Make a list of the areas of fitness you want to improve upon. For example: endurance, strength, flexibility, etc.. This will take the focus off of the areas of your body that you are obsessed with.  In addition, when you focus on “fitness” not just your body – great things begin to happen.  As I have always said “fitness is a lifestyle, not a ‘thing’ that you do once in awhile”.  If you make fitness your life, the body WILL get into shape.

3) When you are feeling sluggish around 3-4 p.m., don’t reach for caffeine or candy – get moving.  Take a walk through the parking lot at work, climb some stairs, do some push ups – just move.  This will increase the blood flow and oxygen and bump up your metabolism.

4) If you are looking to give your backside a lift, try spinning.  Especially a strength spinning class.  In addition try squats, lunges and dead lifts –all are designed to give your backside a boost.

5) For a tighter tummy – you need to work the entire core.  Crunches won’t get rid of anyone’s muffin top.  The most effective abdominal workouts will incorporate all muscle groups of the core. Focus on movements that make you bend side to side, on an angle, as well as forward and backward.

6) Avoid injury by cross training.  Most injuries occur when muscles are continually overused (repetitive motion).  By substituting new activity you will give some muscle groups a rest while recruiting others during your workout.  Not to mention it gives the body a reason to change — same thing day after day makes the body complacent.

7) If you find that your fitness efforts are not getting you the results you hoped for, talk to a fitness professional and find out what you can do to tweak your workout so that your time spent on exercise is effective.

8) Get out of the rut you are in.  It may be physical, mental or emotional, but all ruts pull us down and steal away opportunities for growth.  Identify them and battle them with a solid and effective fitness program.  Get yourself around people who are high energy and can lift you up. 

9) Keep a fitness and food journal.   If you feel like you are just going through the motions,  then you are.  A journal will help you stay accountable to yourself, your fitness program and your nutrition.  Have someone measure your inches, body fat and weight, and repeat this once a month. Track your workout progress.  If it isn’t progressing you are not pushing yourself.  What you are able to accomplish on day 365 should be far greater than on day 1.

10)  Lift weights.  Did you know that most people believe that cardiovascular conditioning is the best way to lose weight?  It is, but not enough to keep it off.   On its own, cardio is not nearly as effective for weight management and fat loss as is a program that incorporates strength training and a healthy  nutritional plan.  Strength training produces a more defined toned body with a significantly more efficient metabolism.  In addition, women who do not strength train can expect to lose 5 pounds of muscle and gain 15 pounds of fat for each ten years after the age of 30!   SCARY!!!

BOTTOM LINE:   Health – nutrition – and exercise are the keys to a more improved quality of life.   Your body is your car, you need to drive it for a long time. Take the keys you’ve been handed, and start your drive today.

By Canice Barbone:
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ufbootcamps@yahoo.com
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1328 Palomares – La Verne, CA 91750

Ultimate Fitness Boot Camps begin new sessions starting March 8, with orientation this Saturday, March 6, 2010, starting at noon. For information, please see the flyer below: