When top athletes enter the ring, many of them have practiced a widely respected mind game known as visualization. Either, due to the fact that they have been there before or because they have totally imagined the scenario and practiced their reactions, the act of visualization allows these athletes to perform under pressure with spectacular results. The same is true for women’s fitness, when you practice the art of visualization you can accelerate your workout to a whole new level.

If you are beginning a new exercise, visualize the muscle groups that will be used for this new move. Imagine the muscle stretching and working. As you exercise, your brain will send these messages to the muscles and they will react accordingly. The secret is to be honest during visualization. Imagine the moves as applied with your abilities and strengths. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t reach for the higher level when it comes to visualization.

The great news is that visualizing a good performance can help you achieve good results. For the brain, this act of visualization is almost the same as if you had actually done this task before. You imagine the exercise and the muscles being used and you imagine yourself doing all of the reps and sets suggested. If you visualize each step before actually executing these moves, your success rate will soar.

Visualization also works for sticking to your diet. Go deep into your imagination and uncover your reasons for changing your diet. Really visualize the transformation that you will make in your health, appearance, strength and happiness. Practice this regularly and dieting should not be a problem. You’ll convince your brain to adapt to the diet and that’s half the battle when it comes to dieting.

The art of visualization, along with daily affirmations are instrumental in my strife for the next level in women’s fitness. I use it regularly and I can say it really does work. I always imagine and visualize each new move and have found it makes it much easier and far more effective.

Did you know that what you eat could affect your women’s fitness performance? Eating right can give you the edge to help energize your exercise program and give you the stamina you need to endure a strenuous workout.

Carbohydrates, lean protein and plenty of hydration are needed to provide the fuel you need to support your women’s fitness routine. Women’s muscles rely on carbohydrates like those found in breads, cereals, pasta, rice, fruits and vegetables. These foods are like putting gas in your car, they help to give the body the fuel that it needs to get going and keep moving. Protein is needed to build and maintain muscles. Every cell in a woman’s body depends on protein. These cells deliver nutrients and oxygen to working muscles.

Special attention should be paid to what foods that you eat before a workout and how long you should wait after a meal. That’s why I support a 5 to 6 meal a day program rather than the traditional 3 meal a day plan. By eating every 3 hours, you can be sure that you are getting the protein and carbs you need to support your workout.

The best pre-workout meals should be:
1. Low in saturated fat
2. Contain some carbohydrates and protein
3. Low fiber
4. Water, unsweetened tea, low-fat milk or some substitute of these
5. Foods that your body is used to digesting.

Number 5 just means that you shouldn’t try something new just before working out. New foods might cause indigestion or other gastric disorders. A grilled chicken sandwich or a slice of cheese pizza might fit the pre-game meal description, but stay clear of the greasy, spicy or overly sweet foods. The same is true for high fiber foods, while a normally desirable addition to most diets; high fiber foods are not the ideal choice for a pre-workout meal.

The foods that you eat not only before your workout, but also as part of your regular diet, can affect your women’s fitness program. Fitness4Her makes it easy to choose the right time to eat and the right foods to eat too. A diet you can live by, an exercise program that is easy to follow and a journal to show your fitness results; these are the basics of the Fitness4Her program. So whether you want to lose weight, gain weight or just eat the foods that will give you the energy you need, Fitness4Her will help you to make the best choices to Empower Beauty®.

If you have ever experienced the feeling that fitness is getting in the way of your family time or vice versa, then perhaps the best thing to do is to combine the two. When you participate in a fitness program with your mom, sister or adult daughter, the two of you have the opportunity to spend quality time together and share in a common goal. It’s a wonderful way to express your commitment to a healthier and happier lifestyle that includes you and your family.

Women’s fitness has no age barriers. Women from 17 to 80 are realizing that diet and exercise are fundamental to a healthy lifestyle. Exercise in particular increases circulation, improves flexibility and builds strength, all necessary for every day tasks and a healthy body. Having an exercise buddy makes it easier and more enjoyable for women of all ages to get the workout that they need.

Older women have trouble staying active throughout life. Between the effects of child-birth, caring for others and years of habits that give way to a sedentary lifestyle, older women may find themselves gaining weight and feeling too tired to be active. That’s when a visit to the doctor is recommended to get medical clearance before beginning an exercise program. Once the clearance is given, grab a loved one and find a program that works for both generations.

One of the easiest ways to get started with a family fitness program is to start taking long walks, daily. Walking is an enjoyable activity that is low stress and suitable for nearly all women of various athletic abilities. Most women say they feel safer and more comfortable when they have a walking partner. It’s a wonderful aerobic exercise for moms and daughters, sister, cousins or friends to participate in, especially if they are just getting started with their fitness program. As your fitness program progresses, try adding weights, alternating walking with jogging, or walk further each week.

It might even be fun to keep track of your fitness efforts. Each of you can keep a fitness journal and compare notes on the results. Even though each person is different in the way that exercise benefits the body, sharing the journal entries can be both encouraging and inspiring to keep each of you motivated to meet your own personal goals.

Your brain is the caveat of success. No matter what your goal, if you want to increase your wealth or shrink your waist, your brain is the power source that will get the job done.

But sometimes the brain needs to be convinced that this is truly what you want. You’ve heard the old saying, “Old habits die hard.” That’s because once the brain has familiarized itself with a certain behavior it paves a pathway so that it no longer has to think about doing that particular deed. Your brain forms the habit so that the action can be performed with very little brainpower involved. In other words, your brain is a little bit lazy.

So, how do you instruct your brain to think about what you want and keep it from concentrating on things you would rather forget?

Daily prayer and meditation can help redirect your mind. Once your spirit has been lifted, take your commitment one step further. Begin writing down your affirmations and follow those with your goals. Now your brain has something new and positive to dwell on.

Feed your brain with interesting data, lots of positive encouragement and active participation in your weight loss program. The more you stimulate your brain with this information, the more focus you will be able to direct on your diet and weight loss program.

But you might find that you still slip up and resort to old habits. The brain is tough, so you’ve got to step up your game in order to win the battle. A sure-fire way to keep your brain on track is to keep a fitness journal of everything you eat and drink and all the activities that you participate in each day.

You see, by writing down everything you eat and drink, you become accountable for all the foods that you are feeding your body. It’s important that you record everything because this way you will be able to decide which foods you can keep in your diet and what changes you need to make.

Remember, it takes at least thirty days to make or break a habit. Do you have some habits that you would like to leave behind? This can be day one as you re-train your brain to take on healthy habits and begin a new healthy routine.

Women’s fitness is all about getting better, stronger and faster. As you master the complexities of each exercise that you do, it is important that you strive to make it a little bit more difficult as you go along. This can mean adding weights, increasing repetitions, or mixing up your routines with circuit training. All of these will increase your stamina and endurance to help you move and improve your fitness to a new level.

Climbing to the next level of fitness will certainly provide plenty of physical changes. But it will also bring forth changes in the way you think, too. I’m talking about having more confidence in everything that you do. This new way of thinking will show in the way you handle yourself, the way you walk and talk.

First off, what is your target? What do you hope to achieve? Without this vital information you will never know if you have reached the goal. Successful people choose a target and then take aim. They decide where they want to go, formulate a plan to get there and then stay focused on their goal until they taste success.

Reaching your next level of fitness works the same way. That’s why keeping a fitness journal is so instrumental. Writing your goals out will help to keep you focused for success. Remember to log everything into your journal, even notes about your muscle soreness and any other pain or discomfort you have when exercising.

If you are looking for advanced exercises, check out my Exercise section and notice the Take it to the Next Level or Advance examples. You can add more weights, advance on the ball, or increase repetitions. These moves will build muscles naturally to show off your incredibly sexy feminine curves.

Will you need to spend more time with your workout? Perhaps thirty minutes is not long enough to accomplish all the exercises and cardio activities that you have planned. Be sure to record your start and finish times in your journal. The time of day that you exercise and how you feel afterward will give you a good indication of your energy level at that hour.

As you progress with your fitness routine, reassess your short-term and long-term goals. Reward yourself for a job well done and use your journal to record just how great you feel.