Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Sleep Like A Baby – Look and Feel Fabulous

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Aw, to sleep like a baby…peacefully, without any worries. Although, babies don’t always sleep restfully, one thing is for certain, they are not worried about what the next day brings. For many women, shutting off the to-do list is difficult and a worry-free night’s rest is exactly what they need to look and feel fabulous.

Beauty sleep is not just a coined phrase for night creams and sleep aids. Getting adequate sleep will make you look younger and more attractive. Sleep helps to relax your face as it does your entire body. On the opposite side, lack of sleep can make you feel on edge, anxious or tense. Sleep deprivation can mean unsightly bags and dark circles under your eyes and could cause fine lines and wrinkles to become more pronounced and noticeable.
But beauty aside, not getting enough sleep can be bad for your health.

If tomorrow’s worries are keeping you up at night, there may be a simple solution to help you manage those concerns. Try keeping a journal of all of your responsibilities. Many times we worry about the same things over and over. Writing all of your worries down on paper may help you to manage the amount of time you spend contemplating the results. Write it down, reflect on it and move on. Leave the worries for another day. Your health is more important.

I have said many times that time invested in your body is time well spent. You will never regret the time you spend on your body, whether that is time spent exercising, dieting, taking care of yourself or most importantly, sleeping.

A good night’s sleep can make you feel fabulous. There is nothing more refreshing to the body when it is in need, than sleep. So, if it’s so wonderful, why deprive yourself of this wonderful gift?

For many women it is a matter of time. Not enough time equates to not enough sleep. Women more than anyone else, will deprive themselves of sleep in order to complete all the tasks in their schedules. Ironically, women more so than men, compromise their health when they go without adequate sleep. Women need 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night, but getting that amount of rest can be a challenge.

Sleep therapists suggest making your bedroom a work-free zone, no televisions, computers or phones allowed–nothing to distract from sleep or intimacy. Lavender scents are another suggestion known to help you sleep. One thing they all agree on, no caffeine for 4 to 6 hours prior to bedtime. Just a little bit of caffeine can disrupt sleep.

Chamomile tea is a great substitution for caffeine-laden beverages and can actually help you fall asleep. You will rest well and in the morning awake feeling fabulous and looking absolutely beautiful!

Long Lean and Alive – The Benefits Of Staying Fit

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What is so great about women’s fitness and why is it so important to stay fit? Not only will maintaining fitness keep your weight down and give you a long, lean body, it also plays a major part in keeping your body healthy and alive. It has been proven time and again that regular exercise, a sensible and nutrient rich diet and an active lifestyle are important factors in keeping your body working to its maximum potential.

Simple tasks such as bending to pick up a child or reaching for a book on a shelf can be potentially harmful and can result in injury when our fitness is compromised. Delicate muscles, especially those in the back and neck can be injured easily when they are not exercised and strengthened regularly. Once injured, it takes a muscle even longer to reach a healthy fitness level. That’s just one of the many benefits of staying fit through a women’s fitness program.

Staying alive is probably one of the most vital benefits of maintaining your fitness. While nothing guarantees our longevity, it has been proven that a fit and active lifestyle does make a big contribution towards it. Your heart is strengthened through cardiovascular exercise and these exercises also burn calories to help you lose weight. Building your cardiovascular strength means it will be much easier to complete every day tasks without fatigue as well as those unusual times when you may need extra strength to accomplish a new challenge. For instance, if you have to chase down a taxi, it will be much easier if your heart and legs are accustomed to running short sprints.

Keeping your body in shape with resistance exercises will probably mean less chance of injury when you perform a task that your body isn’t accustomed to. Staying agile through exercises such as yoga or Pilates, is also a great way to keep your body long and lean. Each exercise works various muscle groups, to lengthen and strengthen your muscles, organs and improve your health to make you healthier mentally, physically and spiritually.

Having a long, lean body is an achievement many women only dream about. The truth is, no matter what your body type or level of fitness, you can make improvements and increase your overall fitness ability. Set goals for yourself, write them down and make a solid plan to achieve them. Don’t allow anyone or anything to stand in the way of your women’s fitness program.

Motivational Moments In An Otherwise Crazy Schedule

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Most days I stay busy from sun up to sun down. It’s not that I like to have such a crazy schedule, but there are so many things I want and feel the need to do each day that it’s hard to take it easy. I confess, I do take a restful day usually on Sunday, to enjoy time with family and friends because I believe one day of rest is needed to recharge and refresh. All throughout my busy days however, I find motivational moments that inspire and encourage me along the way.

Motivational moments are those tiny gusts of motivation that hit you for a minute and if you aren’t quick enough to grasp them they are gone like tiny sands in the wind. These tidbits of motivation come from various sources. I may look out the window and spot a butterfly moving from flower to flower, or see one neighbor helping another. I may watch a football game and feel motivated from the team spirit or listen to a heartfelt story of someone’s struggles that emulate my own challenges.

These motivational moments are not unique to my world and my life. Each and every one of us is blessed by these occurrences every day. It is how we use these occurrences that determine whether or not we are taking advantage of the motivational moments in our lives.

Motivational moments or any type of motivation is the key to sticking with your diet and exercise program. As a women’s fitness trainer, I have seen so many women who start out motivated to lose weight and they stay that way for about the first 30 to 45 days. During that time, they are full of enthusiasm and usually proud of the weight they are losing. However, around the 7th week or close to the 45-day period, the weight loss hits a plateau and they become discouraged because they aren’t experiencing the same euphoric success they felt in the beginning. These women are literally starving for some motivation to keep them going and when they don’t find it, many give up and return to a sedentary lifestyle.

Although I try to head off these low points and offer lots of encouragement to the women I work with, I know how hard it is to stay motivated in the face of low to no results. Women start to feel as if they are exercising more than ever and eating less than ever but still not achieving the weight loss goal that they have set for themselves. The good news is that if you switch to a healthy diet and combine that with an active lifestyle, you will do much more than drop a dress size. Every part of your body will benefit from these healthy changes.

Your motivational moments can turn into a motivated and purposeful life. Once you harness the power of self-motivation, you can be a motivational guru to those around you. People looking for motivation will see the enthusiasm that you have for life and will want to achieve the confidence and improved self-esteem that is apparent in everything that you do.