Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Boost Your Workout with Daily Affirmations

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Begin each day by boosting your mental workout and see the results in your physical workout. Your mind is a crucial component to a healthy and successful fitness program. Your mind must believe in order for your body to achieve. Research proves that repeating positive affirmations to yourself helps everything from reducing stress to improving your overall health.
Affirming your commitment to your fitness goals is an excellent way to train your body and your brain to work harder, go farther and see lasting results. Begin with short term goals and graduate into longer term goals. Each hurtle you overcome is a story of success.

Visualization helps to move you closer to your goals. Picture your perfect image of your body. Imagine you looking exactly the way you want to look and feel, not someone else’s idea of the way you should look. Visualize a healthy, firm, toned you.

Affirmations complement your overall fitness program. Combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise, affirmations feed your mind and renew your soul. Affirmations provide you with the power to make changes and succeed.

Daily affirmations should be repeated several times each day. You can repeat them as you get dressed in the morning, on your way to work, before your workout and on your journey home. Writing down your affirmations gives power to these positive words as they make an indelible print on your mind and soul.
Below are a few affirmations that I use in my rotation. I have hundreds that I have used over the years to help me overcome obstacles and give me the positive reinforcement I need to succeed.

I am healthy, I am whole.
My body is a gift that I cherish.
I love my body.
I love feeling healthy and strong.
I can go further.
I feel strong.
I am energetic.
I choose to change.
I am determined to achieve my goals today.
Exercise is fun.
Eating healthy makes me feel better.

Greek Apricot Yogurt Smoothie

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Cool down on a hot day with a delicious apricot smoothie. The beautiful and refreshing color is irresistible and the taste is simply unforgettable.

1 cup low fat plain Greek yogurt
6 ice cubes
1 cup apricot halves
Use Slenda if you need to sweeten

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in a blender, reserving two slices of apricots.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour into tall glass.
4. Top with apricot slices.

Health Benefits:
Greek yogurt is easy to find at most grocery stores. It is a low fat yogurt that is dense and very satisfying. Excellent for its digestive properties, the live cultures in yogurt provide benefits to the body and help to fight free radicals. Apricot is a great source of Vitamin C and Vitamin A and contains a healthy amount of dietary fiber.

Finding The Strength To Take Control

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Taking control of your life will give you the freedom to live your life to the fullest. But taking control is not an easy task. There are many obstacles that stand in the way. Taking control is not for the faint of heart; you must be strong to take control.

Taking control of your life means being in control of what and when you eat. It means making time for exercise, it means giving yourself time for adequate rest and it means controlling the stress in your life. If you want to lose weight and get in shape, you must take control of your life.

Your life is a gift; your body is the treasure. The time you spend on your health and fitness will pay off physically, mentally, spiritually and financially. The better your health, the less money you will need to spend trying to make yourself feel better.

There are so many reasons to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. The problem is that it’s easy to become lazy and complacent. Unused muscles become weak and usually hurt when you first begin or restart an exercise program. It becomes easier to stay home than go to the gym. That is when you must take control. Your muscles will get better, power through these feelings. Take control of your mind, take control of your actions and begin working toward your goals.

Don’t allow anything to stand in your way. Every time you deny yourself the ability to take control, the unhappier you become. It’s a natural right to control your actions. You just have to rise above the temptations and the weakness.

Your health and happiness depends on your ability to take control of your life. You were not meant to be a slave to weakness. You are a beautiful person and deserve the right to take control of your body, your life and your time.

Give yourself the gift of time. Time to plan a healthy menu each day and time for exercise and physical activity. You will never regret the time spent on your health and fitness. You will never regret the time spent with family. Spend your time doing the things that are good for you and things that you enjoy. Find the strength within you to take control.

The Miracle of Motivation

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If you have ever dreaded a task or had difficulty getting started, you know how hard it is to achieve success. There is simply no way to succeed if you don’t start somewhere. The simple truth is, sometimes you need motivation. You need a reason to succeed, something to ignite your imagination and give you the wind beneath your wings.
Many women need to get motivated to begin exercising. If you need help getting motivated, you may need a friend to workout with or you may decide to hire a personal trainer to help you get started. These people can help to motivate and inspire you but to stay motivated, but it’s important to become accountable for your own motivation.
Mentally engaging in your workout will help motivate you to strive harder, go longer and achieve better results. After working out for a while you may become comfortable with the same old routine or worse, you may become bored with your routine. Make regular changes to your exercises, the repetitions, the amount of weight you use and the intervals you mix in.
Get involved with activities such as tennis or racquet ball at the gym or club. These sports give you the opportunity to socialize while getting a great amount of good physical exercise. The engagement of like-minded friends and acquaintances provides a great amount of motivation.
Take long walks and give your mind a quiet time to refresh and reboot. Your mind is the catalyst for motivation. It needs time to rejuvenate in order to focus on the task ahead. Walks are beneficial to your physical health, as well. If you have a dog, a daily walk is good for both you and your pet.
A nice bike ride by yourself or with family or friends is a nice way to unwind in the evening. Getting out in the neighborhood or nearby bike paths and parks can keep you familiar with the community while giving you a great physical activity that everyone can enjoy.
Keeping a journal is a great way to motivate yourself every day. Writing down your goals, focusing on your efforts and going over your achievements at the end of each day will provide you with the motivation to reach all of your goals.

Have A Healthy Happy Heart

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A happy heart is more than just a state of mind. Keeping your heart healthy and happy is one of the best things you can do for your body, mind and soul.
Unfortunately, heart disease is still the leading cause of death for both men and women. Surprisingly, one in four women will have a heart attack and because women experience heart trouble differently than men, many times women ignore or don’t fully understand the symptoms.
Exercising, eating a heart-healthy diet and getting plenty of rest are paramount to keeping your heart healthy. Monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol levels and follow your physician’s advice for taking care of your heart.
Regular cardio exercises like walking, jogging, cycling or rowing can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. These fun activities also burn calories and along with a low-fat, high-nutrition diet, can help you to lose weight and keep it off.
The Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of the two.
That’s about 30 minutes a day, five days a week. If that’s more than you can do, start with 30 minutes a day, three days a week. As you progress, you can add more days or exercise longer, aim for 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity.
Remember if you are short on time it’s fine to break-up your workouts into six 10-minute sessions during a day. You’ll still get the same heart-health benefits.
Interval training provides some great benefits and may help you reach your goal weight quicker. Try combining alternate short bursts of intense activity with intervals of lighter activity, for example, include short bursts of jogging or fast walking into your regular walks.
You can also add exercise to your daily activities with these tips.
• Take the stairs instead of an elevator.
• Walk or ride your bike to work or to do errands.
• March in place while watching television.
• Add weights to any exercise routine.
• Stand longer, sit for shorter periods of time.