Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Get Fit For A Healthy Lifestyle

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Daily exercise is essential to women’s fitness and any healthy lifestyle. Not only does it regulate the body’s ability to process the foods that we eat, it also helps to burn excess calories and reduce fat. Exercise, just 30 minutes each day, can help to balance hormones, lessen the risk of many illnesses and restore your vitality of youth.

Making exercise a priority is sometimes hard to do. Day to day responsibilities and activities take up a good portion of your day, I know. But, daily exercise is just as important as eating every day, so why not make it a regular part of your daily regimen?

Just like going to your job each day or cooking dinner in the evening, in order to give exercise the importance it deserves, you must make it a priority and let it become a habit that is impossible to break.

You know that it is entirely possible to enjoy exercise and make it something you wouldn’t dream of missing. You’ve no doubt seen countless others, who make exercise a must do rather than a sometimes do. So what separates them from you? Do they have some sort of magical abilities or are they stronger willed than you? Break free of your excuses and give exercise the attention that your body deserves.

There are many ways that we can plan ahead to be sure we get the most of our gym time. It is entirely possible to get a full blown workout in as little as 30 minutes a day, but to be sure you get the most of your workout time, you might want to consider the following tips.

1. Come to the gym in your workout clothes if possible. Less time spent in the locker room will give you more time to dedicate to your workout.

2. Empty your bladder before beginning your workout. You can’t always help having to disrupt your workout when nature calls, but a quick stop when you first get there will allow you to spend your time exercising rather than running to the restroom to pee.

3. Alternate days for working different areas of the body, this way you can spend your time working hard on specific areas at each session.

4. Take shorter rests between sets. This will move your workout along and allow you to burn more calories. When you take shorter rest times, your heart rate is increased, therefore giving you a mild cardio workout too.

5. To boost cardio benefits, while still saving time, mix strength training with cardio. Between sets of resistance exercises, do 2 minutes of jumping jacks, jump on the elliptical machine for 2 minutes or hop on the treadmill for a quick 2-minute run.

Sexy Shoulders, Amazing Arms

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Balance, symmetry and proportion are the words that describe a fit women’s body. Every muscle group is firm and toned to reflect ample exercise and activity that builds muscle and strength. If you want strong, sexy shoulders you have to be willing to work on every part of your body, equally. I suggest alternating days of strength training and cardio, dedicating two days a week for your upper body.

If you haven’t lifted weights in a while, or never lifted weights before, go easy in the beginning to be safe. Start off with 1 to 3 pound dumbbells and then as you progress you can increase your weight.

A good rule is that during the exercise program, your muscles should feel challenged but not struggling. Usually the day after your workout, is when you can tell whether you lifted too much weight or just the right amount. The muscles that you worked may feel sore, this is a condition known as delayed onset muscle soreness. It’s a natural response to exercise.

The following three exercises will help work your pectorals, deltoids and triceps for strong, sexy shoulders and shapely arms that will look amazing in all the latest fashions.

Seated Dumbbell Press
Start: After selecting your weight, begin in a seated position on a flat bench, feet flat on the floor, sit up tall, back straight.

Finish: Holding the dumbbells lengthwise, at ear level, palms forward; Press the weight up until the arms are nearly straight, be careful not to fully lock the elbow joint. Slowly return the dumbbells to ear level and repeat.

Most deltoid isolation movements are some form of a raise. They involve lifting the weight from a hang to shoulder height while keeping the wrists and elbows stationary. Reverse the movement and repeat. Keep in mind, you will not be able to lift a heavy amount of weight without compromising your form.

Front Dumbbell Raise
Start: Standing, knees soft (not locked out), holding Dumbbells in the frontal plane of the body, knuckles forward.

Finish: Raise the Dumbbells to shoulder height only, keeping arms straight, lower back to front of thighs, and repeat. Lift the weight, do not swing it up.

One Arm Row
Start: Standing with your feet hips width apart, a dumbbell in one hand with the other hand resting on your thigh, keep your abdominals engaged.

Finish: Inhale and extend your arm to lower the weight towards the ground, exhale flexing your elbow and pull your arm back with the weight to your hip. Repeat on the other side.

Skipping Meals Will Not Help You Lose Weight

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We all know that in order to lose weight, we must reduce the number of calories that we consume. But does that mean we should eliminate breakfast or lunch in order to cut out the most calories? This is a mistake that dieters often make, but forgoing just one meal a week for a year can do major damage, including messing with your metabolism and not in a good way.

When you deprive yourself of regular meals, the levels of the feel good serotonin get thrown out of kilter, leaving you feeling cranky and craving carbohydrates. Your metabolism slows down, as your body struggles to conserve energy. When your metabolism slows down it makes it necessary to exercise more in order to burn the same amount of calories. You must keep your body fueled with food in order for it to work efficiently and keep it burning calories.

Let me repeat that last sentence. In order for your body to work efficiently and burn the most calories, you must keep it fueled with food. So be sure to enjoy your meals, because people who eat regularly are more likely to keep off unnecessary pounds. Don’t ever feel guilty about eating.

Negative thoughts like guilt, produce negative results and reactions. Your diet is your way of life. You must make changes that you can live with and that will help you live better. Try not to restrict your diet to the point that you aren’t happy. But on the other hand, don’t binge on foods that aren’t good for you and that will lead to you feeling tired, anxious or unhappy with yourself.

Lessen the temptation to eat foods that you are trying to refrain from by always planning ahead to your next meal. This way you can try to keep a healthy snack ready to eat. You will be less likely to skip a meal or leave yourself open to calorie laden temptations.

I like to prepare healthy snacks and meals the night before. When I awake in the morning, I can grab the snack or take out some cut fruit and blend a tasty smoothie before I go out for a jog. Staying proactive in your diet will assure you get plenty to eat, while maintaining a low calorie, healthy meal plan.

Most importantly, don’t skip meals. You may lose a little weight in the beginning but those results won’t last long. In order to keep the weight off and maintain a healthy lifestyle that gives you the energy to have lots of fun, you must make most every meal you eat, a healthy one.

Go Nutty With Snacks

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Are you looking for a quick protein snack to nibble on? You can’t go wrong with nuts. Almonds, cashews, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts and peanuts are all great choices—of course, you need to eat these in moderation. I always say toss in a handful of nuts, and really that’s all you need. Balance them with a little fruit and maybe a slice of cheese and you have a great little meal that will satisfy your hunger and give you the energy you need.

• Almonds are high in fiber and rich in vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant. Sliced or whole almonds help to lower blood sugar and assist in weight management. Recent studies have shown almonds raise the levels of good bacteria in the gut that boosts the body’s immune system.

• Cashews can make you smarter. Cashews are rich in magnesium, which helps improve memory function. These nuts also contain high amounts of zinc and iron essential to the body’s immune system. Eating cashews can also improve eyesight.

• Pecans are high in oleic acid, antioxidants, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. They are great crushed, halved or whole. Pecans promote digestive health, improve heart functions and build healthy bones and teeth. High in calcium, magnesium, copper and iron and helps to reduce inflammation and reduce blood pressure.

• Pine Nuts give you energy and are an excellent source of vitamin B-complex, which helps to improve the body’s metabolism. Pine nuts are also high in vitamin E, copper, vitamin K and iron. All of these nutrients support heart health. Furthermore, pine nuts are an excellent source of monounsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fat is a healthy fat that helps reduce cholesterol.

• Walnuts contain a large amount of antioxidants and rich in Omega-3s, which fight inflammation, help you to lose weight and can improve your mood. Walnuts help to reduce bad cholesterol in the body, improve metabolism, and control diabetes.

• Peanuts contain many of the same antioxidants as red wine. They are chock full of monounsaturated fat, a heart-healthy fat. Peanuts feature an array of other nutrients that, in numerous studies, have been shown to promote heart health. Peanuts are good sources of vitamin E, niacin, folate, protein and manganese.

Nuts aren’t just for snacking. Add them to your salad to give you a nice healthy crunch, or sprinkle some on your fruit and yogurt to add a good source of protein that’s as delicious as it is nutritious.

Fitness Journals Take The Guesswork Out of Dieting

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Many women who have successfully lost weight and kept it off have attributed a lot of their success to keeping a fitness journal. It can make or break your training progress. Not only does it help to keep you accountable, a fitness journal also helps to improve discipline and perseverance. Keeping track of your exercise, in particular, helps it to become a routine.

Logging in your food intake each day, helps to organize your meals and monitors your intake daily. You can determine the amount you are eating and whether you are getting the nutrients needed for your body. When consuming calories, you want to make sure you are getting the most “bang for your buck.” In other words, will the food you eat provide the energy you need without excess fat storage?

Keeping a fitness journal will take the guesswork out of dieting. Fitness journals make it easier to diet; it’s a wonder that everyone is not journaling on a regular basis. It doesn’t take that much time, and it adds an extra layer to your diet and fitness program.

It generally takes me about 2 minutes after each meal to update my food log. I write in my exercise routines after my workout, taking about a minute or two, more. Certainly, you can dedicate an extra 10 minutes per day to improve your focus and invest in your fitness program.

For times when you might not be seeing the results of your efforts as quickly as you like, your fitness journal can provide you with the boost you need to keep you working towards your goals. By comparing where you were last month or last week to where you are today, will help you to realize just how far you have come. Remember, fitness is a life-style with benefits that will last a life-time.
Keeping a fitness journal helps to determine your exercise patterns. If you have been struggling with a mixed workout schedule, you can look back through your journal and see what times have proven more successful. Do you have a better workout in the morning or in the afternoon?
You can nip complacency in the butt with your fitness journal. If you find yourself losing interest in exercising and making excuses not to work out, you can use your fitness journal to create a plan for better consistency.
Use your journal to determine your emotions. Different types of exercise can affect the way you feel. You may notice that each time you do a particular type of workout you end up feeling elated for the rest of the day. Finding what works best for you is the key to prolonged success.