Personal Training Certification 3-Day Workshop in 2 Weeks

I'm getting excited and nervous. The first weekend of March I will be taking a 3-day personal training workshop from Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. I'm hoping to gain a lot of knowledge and pass the certification exam so I can get started in helping others enjoy working out and changing their lives. This will be a very intensive 3 days. I'm excited about what I hope to learn, but nervous about the exam. I've never been very good at testing. I received the study guide and text book a few months ago and have read it cover to cover once, now in the process of re-reading. I'm afraid I'll forget it all. I'm hoping that the hands on workshops will help reinforce the information and thus make it easier to retain.

If someone had suggested I become a trainer a couple of years ago, I would have thought them crazy. I've enjoyed going to the gym or exercising outside for several years now, but wouldn't have thought of helping others, not professionally. Then I was laid off and spending a lot of time at the gym, cycling and swimming and really realized how much I love working out and that it might be fun to help other people with their fitness goals. Exercising has been something along with dance class that helps ease stress, especially the stress of not working.

I don't know what this will all lead to, but I'm looking forward to starting something new. It's scary to make a big change, but can also be very rewarding. If you have something in your life that you want to change; your health, job, home, don't be afraid, embrace it. The roads in life are full of side roads and can lead you to some beautiful places. You have to be willing to take them.

I'm still nervous, but am confident I'll do well and so will you!

End of January, Have You Given up on Your Resolution to get Fit?

It's the end of January and the day you made your New Years resolution seems like a distant memory. Question now is have you stuck by your commitment to get fit and eat healthy or has that fallen by the wayside? It has been said that it take ~28 days for a new behavior to stick, so if you haven't given up yet, then you may not and good for you. If you have, why? Unfortunately people make a resolution expecting to see results right away. Often expecting too much too soon and not considering the big picture. Great, you joined a gym and have been putting in a few more hours a week, but have you also changed your eating habits, are you having fun or doing enough? Resolutions or goals, which is what I would rather call them, should be realistic, fun and may take time. As I've stated before, becoming fit and healthy is a life time endeavor. It's a well thought out plan with many factors you need to take into consideration. Here are some things to consider. Exercise, yes, it is recommended one does moderate-intense exercise at least 30 min/day for 5 days of the week, more to promote weight loss. With this you should also eat a healthy, balanced diet. It's also important to do something fun, why workout with something you can't stand, you're only setting yourself up to fail and lastly, make your workouts a balance of cardio and strength training, you'll get more out of it. My workout schedule each week looks something like this: M,W & Sat, 1 hour of strength training class and 15-30 min of cardio (running, swimming, cycling), One-two days of yoga and one of dance classes (2Hr). Spring, summer and fall it changes with the nice days as I take my workouts outside; hiking, running, cycling, swimming...

If you keep all of this in mind and set smaller goals, you will maximize your exercise and improve your progress.

Keep it up, you can do it!

New Year

It's been the first ten days of the new year, hope yours is going well. The gym has been busy as expected and I'm pretty sure it will continue to have more visitors over the next month. I've seen many more people touring lately and the classes have been full. The gym overall buzzes/hums. So far it hasn't been too disturbing. I have, however, encountered the one thing that irritates me the most, people who forget that they are not alone in the gym. The person who stops in the middle of the running/walking track to change their music and forgets the others running around them or, the person who sits in the sauna talking on their cell phone. Seriously, really? I can deal with those who don't wipe the equipment down or even spend extra time on a machine or bench, but forgetting that others are around is more than I can take. As I posted previously, I m glad more people are taking their health and well-being seriously, but can't help but think many of these newbies will be gone before summer even turns the corner from spring. It's encouraging to see the Les Mills Body Pump classes or yoga classes be full every day, one can only hope it continues.

I will state again that I hope people will realize how important their health is and stay/change for a lifetime. This country is losing the obesity battle. I watched the first episode of The Biggest Loser 11 last week and it's heartbreaking to see the contestants, who seem to get bigger and bigger every season. I'm sure part of the shows strategy is to find the biggest people they can, but with this show and another one called Heavy, it's looking more like the norm and I find that very sad. For those of you who are working out and eating healthy/clean I applaud your hard work and keep it up. You are worth it!

Here's to a great year of well being!

New Year's Resolutions: Not a Fad, But For Life

Happy Holidays! I had a wonderful Christmas, hope you did too. Now we are in the week before the new year or the calm before the storm. If you've been like me you have spent some time working out at the gym and have found it nice and quiet these last couple of weeks. Don't have to jostle for a space in classes or wait for someone to finish with equipment. I like it! Starting next week, this won't be the case, all the resolutioners, as I call them, will be joining the gym, (I've already seen them touring), and will be finding their way around, trying to figure out what that does and which classes they want to join. Things will feel crowded. As a nation of unfit people, I think it's fantastic that people decide to make a change to get fit and be healthy. The problem is that many will make the New Year's Resolution, workout for a couple of months and then give it up. They will then, next New Year's make the same resolution and consequently quit. That is the problem I have with making these resolutions. They are easy to make and just as easy to break. It's the New Year's fad. What I want to see are people choosing a healthy lifestyle for life. Living a life full of eating clean, exercising and wellness, is a full-time commitment and quitting shouldn't be an option. We all slack off, but if we value the benefits, we never quit outright. As much as I enjoy the quietness of the gym right now, if I knew the people joining and being kind of annoying the next few months were going to stay for the long-haul and blend in with the rest of us lifers, I would get used to a busy a gym and think it was a good thing. Happy exercising. I'm off to a quiet class...

Happy New Year!

Compassion, not taunting

On October 25, 2010, Maura Kelly, a Marie Claire blogger, wrote a distasteful post regarding obese characters on TV and wether viewers would want to watch them make out or would that make them uncomfortable. She had a lot more to say and you can click above to read the full post. Kelly later posted an apology after an outpouring of messages, mostly upset (rightly so) about what she had to say. Here is a follow-up report from Today. I've watched "Mike and Molly", and I like that the characters meet at an overeaters meeting. It shows that they recognize they have an issue and are trying to do make a change. I also feel the show has written in some very real obstacles; family, although loving, somewhat sabotage Molly by eating cake or drinking in front of her and giving excuses such as big-boned, having to make food choices when eating out, and their own self-consciousness about how they look in the eyes of each other. I find this show more realistic and would rather watch than that of "Real Housewives" of anywhere USA. I think what would truly make this show great would be a conscious effort of the actors/characters to lose weight and become healthy over the course of the show. That would continue to show viewers that you can make changes. Anything is possible. I applaud other shows such as Thintervention and The Biggest Loser as well as the trainers, Jackie Warner, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, for showing the Nation that there is a real problem, what you can do about it and that it is done with compassion. Obesity is a real, physical and emotional problem. We need to help each other with love, compassion and sincerity, not torment or taunt. It is sad if we can't do that.

I consider other countries around the world to be "food" nations; Greece, Italy, France.. but we have become a bad, fast-food nation. Excuses, "I don't have time", "It's too difficult", Good food costs too much", "I/my family won't like/eat it". There are so many good recipes out there that are fast, easy, and everyone will like them. As for cost, well think of it this way, would you rather spend a little more, eat well, lose weight and become healthy, or not and spend even more on medical bills, because diabetes or clogged arteries have set in and you have to work that much harder to become healthy for fear of a heart attack or something else that will shorten your life? I know what I choose.

These same excuses come to play with exercise, the biggest being no time. If you have time to sit and watch TV for 30-60 min at night, you have time to go to the gym, workout at home or outside. You have to be committed.

Below are some great links for eating clean and working out:

Tosa Reno is Fabulous

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/minisite/ce_index.htm

http://www.oxygenmag.com/

http://www.mytrainerbob.com/

http://www.fitnessrxmag.com/

Don't Let The Scale Weigh You Down

I read some different fitness blogs and follow fitness on Facebook as well as Twitter. The information often times is redundant, but sometimes new and always interesting. Today before a body pump class at the Y I read Jillian Michaels' post about how you might get discouraged if you've been eating right and exercising and yet you step on the scale and it hasn't budged or even fluctuates a pound or two in both directions. Interestingly enough, today happened to be my day to come home after class and re-read the information as I had been loosing a pound here and there, but not this week. I worked out hard all week, ate healthy and nada. Remember that as stated in the JM blog, the weight didn't appear suddenly and it will take time to disappear. Also remember that as you exercise and eat right you will be building muscle and that does weigh more than fat, and that your body may have it's days (bloating...) that it may just hold in more water. I don't own a scale as I don't want to be obsessed by what it says. Basically your scale lies and as long as you are fitting better in your clothes, eating well, exercising (and enjoying it) you are doing the right things and eventually you will see the results of your hard work.

Another blog from fit Bottomed girls might be helpful if you've gained weight and not sure why. Or you know why and want to understand the reasons in depth. I know that for myself being out of work last summer, even though I was working out practically every day, contributed to my not loosing weight. Your home, stressed and the food or beverages are in the kitchen calling your name. It's very easy to be sucked in. You have to take control. I'm still learning this, it's a daily issue, but if I can do it so can you.

Labor Day has Passed, but Summer isn't Over!

So Labor Day has come and gone, the outdoor community pool is closed, the kids are back to school and the stores are full of fall fashion. According to the world summer is over. Don't fret, you can still enjoy summer for a little bit more. The weather hasn't gone frigid yet, you can still wear the summer clothes and workout outside. In fact weather that is a tad cooler (not in the 90's) is better for being outside. Might not be pool temps, but the pool is closed now, anyhow. Time to hit the hiking and cycling trails and do some running or kayaking. Take the gym workout outdoors. I tried an outdoor boot camp class from Custom Fitness Concepts here in DC. It was a really great class and worked all the muscle groups. You don't need a class to achieve the same results, but if you find one, it's always great to workout within a group for motivation. All you need is a yoga mat/towel, jump rope and exercise band. You can get in your cardio with running, jump rope, jumping jacks, running in place, mountain climber and high knees. The mat is good for crunches and push ups and the band is great for resistance training in place of hand weights. Believe me if you work hard for an hour it will feel like an hour in the gym.

Speaking of classes, I've started trying some different ones recently, including the one mentioned above. The YMCA here has some great offers and I'm sure most Y's across the country do as well. The Les Mills body pump one is very popular. It's a barbell class and works most muscle groups. When asked by the instructor if I was new to the Y I said no, just checking out some of the classes. I had found that although I can and do regularly work out on my own it had become routine and thought it might be time to mix it up a bit. Taking classes will help motivate and wakes up the body. Your body can get used to the usual and won't perform as well unless you change things a little and make it work harder again. It gets bored. I also have tried a kickboxing class at LA Boxing and hope to do the YMCA equivalent and also a class called CSI (Cardio Strength Intervals), this is what it says, cardio and weights. Very tough.

Don't be afraid to try new things and mix it up. You never know what you might find you enjoy.

With that it's off to dance class tonight. Been a break for a couple of weeks. Will be nice to see what is new for this semester.

So although the "so called" end to summer has come and gone, rest assured it's not quite over yet and you can still enjoy summer fun.