Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Firm Up For A Fit and Flattering Figure

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A flattering midsection can make you look fabulous. But you won’t need to cinch your waist in order to get an hourglass figure. You can learn to do exercises that will help you to firm your tummy muscles and tighten your core. The exercises are simple to learn and easy to execute. As they become easier, you can add weights for more resistance and better results.

For the absolutely sexiest abs, try the following exercise:
1. Standing with your feet slightly wider than hip’s width apart, hold your arms at shoulder height, with elbows bent in 90-degree angles.
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.
3. Move your rib cage to the left and extend your arms to form a diagonal line.
4. Keep your palms facing downward. Arms held back.
5. Return to your starting position. Squeeze shoulder blades together, again.
6. Move your rib cage to the right and extend your arms to form a diagonal line.
7. Keep your palms facing downward. Arms held back.
8. Return to your starting position.
9. Do 25 reps.

For strong, sleek and sexy arms, try this arm firming fitness routine:
1. Stand with feet slightly wider that hip’s width apart.
2. Hold arms straight out on each side, palms facing down.
3. Squeeze shoulder blades together.
4. As you release, shift your torso to the right, leading with your right hand and rotating palms until they are facing back.
5. Pull shoulder blades together again and repeat the same move on the left side.
6. Do 25 reps.

Exercise can transform your body and make it look fantastic. But appearance isn’t the only benefit that a good fitness program will provide. Building a stronger, healthier body is far more important than getting into your skinny jeans. However, being proud of a fit and beautiful body is perfectly healthy, too.

The truth is, one of the reasons that a fit body is so desirable is that it looks healthy. Firm muscles and a sculpted body give off the impression of a body that is strong and durable. Keep that in mind, when and if you are ever tempted to succumb to fad diets that just promise weight loss. The beauty of a slim and trim body is amplified when it is the result of a healthy lifestyle. Firm and fit, it’s the most flattering look you can have.

5 Ways to Get Fit Outside the Gym

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Ready for some fresh air and warm sunshine? When you can’t get to the gym or if you are looking for an alternative to working out indoors, there are many activities you can participate in that will give you a full workout–body, mind and soul.

From stretching to cardio, these are 5 activities that will help you put the “fun” in a functional workout.

Walking is one of the best ways to stretch your legs, arms and mind. It is a low impact cardio activity that strengthens the body, improves flexibility, and destresses the mind. You will run faster and longer with a short walk before you start.

Jogging burns calories and is an excellent cardio activity. 30 minutes of jogging can burn up to 350 calories. Remember to start out with a short walk before launching into a full jog to prepare both your muscles and your heart for the activity. Jogging outdoors lets you get lots of fresh air and sunshine.

Sprinting is a complete body workout. It promotes muscular growth, burns fat and improves heart function. You will want to warm up with some lunges, side steps, high knee lifts and running in place. If just starting to sprint, try walking for 2 minutes, sprinting for 30 seconds to 1 minute and repeat for 20 minutes of fun.

Bicycling outdoors takes you on an adventure that works the body, mind and soul. Choose a route with some inclines, curves and long straight paths. Map out a distance that will take about 30 minutes to an hour to complete. You will burn approximately 200 to 400 calories and have lots of fun.

Set up your own bootcamp and mix revved up cardio moves with strength training exercises. Design your own time-based interval circuits with just a few pieces of equipment. A set of hand weights, a jump rope and a stability ball will provide you with enough gear for a killer workout.

Lose Weight and Never Miss a Meal

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The best way to lose weight is to eat nutritious food, in sensible portions, several times a day. Eating frequent, small meals will help to keep you from overeating at any meal and from making unhealthy food choices.

Going for long periods of time without eating causes your metabolism to sort of shut down to conserve fat and energy. A slower metabolism burns less calories. When you eat three large meals per day, you will often eat more food at each meal to satisfy your hunger. If you have a slow metabolism, it will be more difficult to burn off those calories.

Large meals can make you feel tired and sleepy after eating, as your body works to digest the big meal. The idea is to keep your body satisfied with food, but not overindulge yourself which leads to weight gain.

If you are active, five meals will not only satisfy your hunger but will sustain energy longer, keeping sugar levels from falling and rising which may cause you to become hungry, tired and irritable.

A sample meal schedule might look something like this: 7 am: breakfast. 10 am: snack. 1 pm: lunch. 4 pm: snack. 7pm: dinner.

Below are some sample meals for two days. As you will see, the portion sizes are adequate and with the frequency of five meals per day —you should never feel hungry.

Breakfast:
Fresh fruit salad sprinkled with wheat germ or 1 tablespoon flaxseed

Morning Snack:
½ whole wheat pita
2 egg whites
¼ avocado
1 thin slice tomato

Lunch:
5 oz grilled salmon
½ long-grain brown rice
1 cup spinach and garlic

Afternoon Snack:
½ whole wheat pita
1 scoop humus
1 cup raw carrots

Dinner:
Italian-style turkey meatballs (small portion, baked)
Whole grain pasta with tomato sauce (small portion)
Tossed salad with balsamic vinegar

Day Two

Breakfast:
½ cup of cooked oatmeal
½ cup of blueberries or strawberries
Add flaxseed, wheat germ or bee pollen

Morning Snack:
½ cup low fat, plain yogurt
½ cup fresh fruit
1 teaspoon granola with nuts and raisins

Lunch:
Black bean burrito
1 small apple

Afternoon Snack:
Grilled chicken or turkey breast
Whole wheat wrap
Add some veggies like carrots, cucumber or tomatoes

Dinner:
Grilled or baked halibut or other small white fish filets
such as red snapper, tilapia, sea bass, or cod.
1 small sweet potato (seasoned with cinnamon)
1 cup steamed broccoli

Stay Hydrated and Healthy

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Drinking plenty of fluids is important, especially when you work out hard. Staying hydrated is essential to peak performance. Without proper hydration your muscles become fatigued and may begin to cramp. Hydration helps to prevent heat exhaustion and enables your body to recover quicker.

Proper hydration is connected to dieting as well as exercise. Drinking a glass of water before a meal will help to control your appetite. Water is wonderful for keeping dehydration at bay, but there are many other beverages that help to hydrate the body while adding other benefits as well.

Milk provides calcium, protein and vitamin D while giving you the energy to power through your workout. Research has proven that milk fights dehydration better than many other beverages because it stays in the body longer.

Flavored or infused water is great for hydrating the body without adding calories. There are many flavored waters on the market as well as infusers that allow you to make your own flavored waters. Simply add sliced fresh fruit to the infuser chamber and ice-cold water to the container, allow time for the fruit to flavor the water.

Tea, hot or cold can be restorative and refreshing. By itself, with no additives, tea is virtually calorie-free and healthy. Brewed tea is a good source of flavonoids, which help your body stay healthy by fighting off free radicals. Tea contains caffeine, so be mindful of your intake compared to the benefits.

Coconut water is a favorite of many and it boasts a long list of health benefits. It is full of vitamins and minerals, such as potassium and sodium, which balance the water levels in the body, helping to prevent dehydration. It provides energy, improves digestion and helps to control cholesterol, resulting in a healthier heart.

Fruit juices are healthy, hydrating beverages that provide lots of needed vitamins and nutrients but can also contain sugar and added calories. Some fruit juices can make you feel bloated if consumed before a workout so be mindful when drinking these fruity, delicious drinks. To keep a handle on the sugar in your fruit drink, squeeze your own fresh juices.

Take care of yourself and stay hydrated with healthy drinks and plenty of restful breaks. Whether you are out for a walk, working in the garden or just finished a strenuous workout, keep plenty of beverages on hand to quench your thirst.

Discover How a Fitness Journal Can Work for You

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Maintaining a fitness journal can have a great impact on your workout. It helps you plan and maintain your focus for better results. By keeping a journal and monitoring your achievements, you can get a good idea of what exercises work best for you.

If you have ever kept a food diary, which is crucial when dieting, you know to keep accurate recordings. Throughout the day, write down everything that you eat. By doing this, you are taking responsibility for the food that you put in your body. You can include the caloric intake if you wish, but the important thing is to remember to record everything you eat and drink in your journal.

There are two problems with basing your diet on strict calorie-counting: 1) some find it difficult or dull, and dieters with the best of intentions often give up on calorie-counting after a few days; 2) it’s almost impossible to do with any great degree of accuracy.

Just as calorie counting is difficult, it is not always easy to track how many calories are expended by exercise. Most treadmill and other aerobic machines will do this for you, but if you take a walk around the neighborhood, engage in a set of tennis, or roller skate for an hour, you can only guess how many calories you’ve burned.

Remember, it’s not so much the exact amount of calories burned that you need to track, but the trends in your exercise. Is exercise becoming easier and more enjoyable? Are you increasing the sets and reps? When you have start adding weights to your workout be sure to log in the amount of weight you work with each time.

When training for any fitness goal, be it losing weight, body building or completing a strenuous boot camp program, a fitness journal is the secret to greater success. It keeps you accountable offers proof that perseverance and commitment, mixed with lots of hard work and sweat, really will make a difference in your life.