As you know I’m also part of the Fatloss Quickie team Nicole Dean put together at NicoleOnTheNet.com. Today she stepped it up and challenged us to a Fat Loss Quickie Squat-Off. Stop by to join us or to see how I’m doing. Do consider joining in. She put together some fun prizes for us.

Here’s the squat challenge video.

If you haven’t had a chance to join The Fatloss Quickie Program, today’s the day to take action, get moving and become healthy, fit and lean.

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After I got done I had just enough to time to shower, get dressed and then walked up the hill to pick up my daughter from school. I could tell this was really working because I could already feel it in my legs while I was walking. Now that we’re back and had our afternoon snack, I’m loving the way this makes me feel. I’m energized and ready to tackle the rest of the afternoon – including the threaded homework (my daughter’s, not mine).

Ready to join in? Click on the image below to order.

Here are my thoughts so far on this product.

Pros

I like the online delivery and all the videos and audios. The workouts are easy to follow along and since my laptop is up and running all the time anyway, it makes it easy for me to sneak in a workout throughout the day.

I also love Scott’s high energy. It’s contagious.

Cons

I have two little problems with this so far that could easily be fixed (and one of them is partially my own fault.). When I ordered this, I received an email right away asking me to confirm my signup, which I did. I was then redirected to the first day of workouts, which I didn’t get around to doing until today (I ordered yesterday). What I didn’t realize was that the email that was sent out right away landed in my spam folder.

Scott – you may want to check your spam score on that email and tweak it to get past.

The second con was in part my own fault. I never made it through reading the entire order page, and thus didn’t realize I was supposed to have an exercise ball and hand weights around for day one. I have the hand weights but will have to do a little bit of creative thinking on what I can use to replace the exercise ball until I can get one (hopefully tomorrow).

As a customer, I would have appreciated a little heads up in the first welcome email. Something along the lines of…

To get ready for Day one of the Fat Loss Quickie Experience you’ll need

• An exercise ball
• a pair of hand weights
• comfortable shoes and clothes

I’m going to do a slighly modified version of the weight resistance portion of the program tonight and will check back in tomorrow with my thoughts on day two.

P.S. Follow along and post your thoughts, questions and progress along the way.

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Some people have tried what seems like everything to find an exercise that works for them and fits into their schedule. We can join a gym but if we never go we are not losing pounds but instead just dollars from our pocket. Ever wonder what people did before there were workout facilities?

They used what they could to get a good workout each day – that’s what! They made the most of their resources. One valuable piece of equipment for exercising that almost everyone has already is a bicycle. Remember learning to ride as a kid? It was hard but oh so much fun. Once you learned, you rode without hands, through the woods, or down steep hills without your feet on the pedals.

Bike riding can be just as fun and athletic as when you were a kid. Warm or cold, a bike ride provides excellent fitness for young and old alike. Don your helmet and pump up those tires. If you haven’t ridden in years, visit a bike shop and find the perfect bicycle for your fitness level.

Besides fun, bicycle riding is a great source of exercise for anyone of any age. What are the benefits of riding a bike? Bike riding is a low impact exercise. For people with knee or other joint injuries, riding a bike won’t hurt those joints. In fact, riding a bike strengthens the muscles in the legs and the buttocks so help ease the pain in your joints.

When you have some time, hop on your bike and take a scenic ride through the neighborhood. Most bikes have tension levers to adjust for a harder or easier ride up and down hills. Mountain bikes are good for neighborhoods with rocky terrain.

If you live in an apartment, opt instead for a stationary bicycle. Even when it’s raining outside you can still get a great lower body workout without having to brave the elements. You can ride a stationary bike with hand weights to increase your heart rate. Add a few military presses, chest presses, or shoulder lifts to your bike riding routine.

Stationary bikes come in many styles. There are bikes that look similar to the bike you might ride outside. Others have a fan in the front wheel that produces wind as you ride the bike. For people with bad backs, a recumbent bike allows the rider to relax back while still getting a good workout. Stationary bikes have electronic monitors so you can measure heart rate, speed, and distance traveled during the workout.

Riding a bicycle was fun as a kid and can be fun again for exercise as an adult. Ride alone or with your family. Use an outdoor or indoor bike depending on your fitness level and preferences.

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For those who don’t know, spinning is an aerobic cycling workout. The classes are usually held in a studio with at least twenty or more stationary bicycles. They look more like a standard bike in a stationary rack than the usual stationary bike you’d see at the gym. Spinning takes cycling to an all new level.

The instructor leads the class through a grueling cycling workout for anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes. It would be boring to sit on a bike for an hour even in a room with upbeat music and other people. In most gyms, classes are offered at least three days a week so those using spinning workouts for fitness get their optimum amount of workouts done each week.

The participants start with a slow warm up on the bike. Then the cycling gets faster and faster. There is a tension knob on the cycle to simulate hills and mountains. Class members don’t just sit on the seat and happily bike away either. They stand and pedal, squat and pedal, and alternate squatting and standing while they pedal up hills and down hills.

This type of interval training is quite effective. Cycling under great tension in a standing position works the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus, and calf muscles. Alternating every five or ten minutes with a much faster downhill aerobic period, will increase the amount of calories burned and build muscle.

Spinning is one of the hottest workouts today. You give your heart and your lower body a great workout. A monitor on the bikes lets you track your mileage, speed, and calories burned.

If you’ve never taken a spin class, begin with a basic class. It will get you used to riding a bike for fitness. Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because you’ve ridden a bike before that this class will be easy. Anyone can ride a stationary bike. Cycling at a high intensity rate for the sake of fitness is another story altogether.

Here are a few things to note about spinning. First, if you plan on pursuing this as a fitness workout, buy a gel seat cover. Those bike seats are extremely small and very hard. Sitting for an hour on one will make you quite sore not to mention the pain in your lower body from the workout.

Also, try classes from several different instructors. A complaint about spinning is the repetition of the routine. If one instructor sticks with the same routine, change instructors in order to actually keep burning the fat.

Spinning is an extreme form of cycling that provides an intense lower body aerobic workout. Standing up on the bike also gives the arms some action. If you are looking to increase your fitness level, this class will whip you into shape.

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Why would anyone want to do such a thing? Boot camp workouts get results, plain and simple. The combination of calisthenics and muscle building exercises done in rapid succession over a short period of time brings the positive outcome that many fitness programs don’t. You may feel like your heart is ready to leap out of your chest but the workout is changing your body.

Boot camp workouts are offered at gyms, private studios, and on DVDs you can work along with at home. If you are new to boot camp workouts but willing to try them, get instruction from a gym or sign up for private classes. The workouts are intense and before starting any workout program, get checked out by a doctor to make sure you are up for it.

The high intensity of these workouts is what draws people to them. If you are physically able to handle the workout, you will get an education in military style exercise. The challenge is being able to make it through the entire class. Moves in these types of fitness routines include drills like mountain climbers, pushups, jumping jacks, running laps, and much more.

If you want to try out the workout on a more human friendly level, choose a DVD. Tae Bo® has a boot camp program that uses aerobic boxing and tae kwon do moves in a boot camp fashion to whip your body into shape – fast.

What makes boot camp workouts so challenging (besides the instructor yelling at you) is that most of the exercises use your own body’s weight. The more you weigh, the harder the moves will be. Use your heart rate as a guide in this type of workout program. If you can barely speak, then you can hardly breathe.

Take it down a notch in intensity but continue with the workout as best you can. Stopping encourages you to give up and quit and that’s not the way to achieve better fitness. You may be sore after the first class but continue to attend at least three to five days a week. Most private classes have a set schedule. Even DVD boot camp workouts ask you to follow a certain schedule for best results.

Boot camp workouts are not for the faint of heart. If you doctor says it is okay, your instructor will be sure not one minute of the class is wasted. You may crawl out on your hands and knees, but your body will thank you.

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The AHA wants to keep you moving. Heart disease doesn’t happen overnight. Instead we help it along with poor nutrition, high cholesterol, and a sedentary lifestyle. Find out about the AHA exercise programs that promote physical activity at every age for the health of your heart.

Choose to Move®

This is a 12 week fitness program promoted by the American Heart Association. The program is designed to show people how to get started with physical exercise and slowly increase it to a level that will be beneficial to their health. Getting physical everyday reduces the risk of heart disease and other conditions associated with it.

You can sign up for the program at the American Heart Association website where registration is free. As a participant, you’ll receive a handbook, biweekly emails containing fitness and activity tips, information on heart disease, and motivational emails to help you stick with it. The program also promotes a healthy eating regimen to help you lose weight and lower your risk factors for heart disease.

When the program is complete you will be able to sustain the results you have achieved. By the end, you will be performing at least 30 minutes of exercise at least five days a week, making better food choices to promote health, and learning to engage in more intense exercises for variety.

Choose to Move can be started as a family, with a social group, or done alone. It begins at your current level of physical activity and proceeds according to your needs making it great for young people and people of advanced age.

Start!®

This workout program is also recommended by the American Heart Association. It is a walking workout geared towards those who spend a lot of time in the workplace. As our jobs require less and less movement and longer and longer hours, we are less inclined to perform physical activity. The world is becoming more sedentary and overweight each and every day.

According to most health professionals, walking is one of the best forms of exercise. It gets your heart rate up and works the entire body at one time. Walking can be done anywhere and you can easily fit the activity into any schedule. It is easy and has great benefits.

The hardest part for most people is getting started. This walking workout encourages companies to get their employees moving. Healthier employees mean lower insurance costs and medical bills.

All the company has to do is set up the program and offer it to their employees. Employers will receive a guide to help the company program administrator keep everyone on the right track. Walking trails are set up and marked at work so employees can use them on their lunch hour or whenever they have spare time.

The American Heart Association wants to see the incidence of heart disease decrease and physical activity increase. Both of these workouts are geared towards doing just that. Check them out at www.heart.org.

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They will allow you to train at any time of the day or night and you will not be dictated to by the weather or gym opening hours. This is particularly important if you live in a cold or wet climate and training in winter is impossible outdoors.

There are many different cardio machines on the market and as there are machines in all price ranges there is bound to be something to suit most people. Some good examples include treadmills, stationary bikes and eliptical machines.

Cardio machines are also very good for people who are recovering from injury as they will help to maintain fitness while ensuring that the muscles and limb movement are maintained in a controlled range eliminating the possibility of more injury.

Fortunately with the advent of the Internet there are a lot more brands on the market and the competitiveness of the industry has seen prices become a lot more reasonable.

There is also the added benefit of not needing to pay gym fees if you decide to do all your fitness training at home on a cardio machine. The saving alone could pay for the machine many times over.

For elderly people cardio machines are excellent for fitness and the health of their lungs and heart. Likewise children can benefit from the use of a cardio machine in the safety of their own home.

If you are considering buying a cardio machine do some shopping around, as there are many options and many opportunities to save considerable money by buying online.

It is always best to invest in quality machines as, not only do they last longer, but they are generally designed better to give you a more complete workout.

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You know how important cardio workouts are for your health and wellbeing, but it’s hard to get a good cardio workout in when you can’t leave to house to go to the gym or for a run. Here are some great cardio workouts you can do right at home. 

Workout DVDs

One of the easiest ways to get your heart pumping with a workout at home is to purchase one (or a few) of the workout DVDs available today. You can find cardio workouts on just about anything from kickboxing to dance. Pick one that looks like fun and start working out. If you just add a new DVD every 3 months, you’ll have a great little library of cardio workout DVDs in no time. Rotate through the different workouts and you’ll never get bored of working out at home again.

Treadmill

A treadmill is a great way to get a good cardio workout at home. You can walk on it briskly or go for a jog or run. Some models will even let you adjust the angle of the walking surface, to simulate going uphill. Keep your workout from getting boring by listening to some music or audio books while you walk.

Stationary Bike

A stationary bike is another great piece of equipment that allows you to get in a great cardio workout just about anywhere in your house. All you have to do is jump on the bike and peddle away. Keep some water close by to stay hydrated. I like to watch TV or a movie while I’m riding my bike. You can also read books or magazines if you are just peddling at a slower yet persistent pace.

Jump Rope

A jump rope is one of the least expensive pieces of workout equipment you’ll ever buy. You can pick one up for a few bucks, or borrow one from your kids. To get a great workout, simply jump rope for 20 to 30 minutes. For a great interval training, jump 100 jumps as fast as you can, then slow down to a more comfortable jump, barely lifting your feet enough to let the rope go through.

Step Workout

You’ve probably seen those fancy step workouts at the gym, or the TV infomercial. Guess what? You can get a great step workout at home without any specialized equipment. Utilize the bottom step of your stairs, or any large, sturdy box you can step on and off. I use an old milk crate at my house. Step up using your right leg first 12 times, then switch to leading with your left leg. Repeat. For some variety try stepping side to side.

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Find out what to eat for maximum fat loss and get that fit, lean body with just 15 minutes of exercise a day.

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What exactly is Interval Training? It is a type of workout that varies the speed and or intensity of what you are doing. It is easiest explained with an example. Let’s say your workout today is jogging. You can turn your jog into interval training by doing the following:

Start out with a slow jog to warm up. After about 5 minutes, run as fast as you can for 2 minutes. Then slow down to a slow jog for another minute to give your body time to recover. Repeat these two intervals throughout your run.

You can easily adapt this to any other cardio workout by changing the speed of how fast you run, walk or ride your bike. You can also walk up a steep hill in a walking workout or raise the incline on your treadmill periodically. On a bike, crank it into a larger gear to make yourself pedal harder.

Interval training really gets your heart pumping and your metabolism racing, allowing for maximum fat loss, not only during your workout, but also for hours later. Getting your heart rate up will also result in more blood being pumped throughout your body and you will breath a lot harder to supply your body with enough energy during the “fast” periods of the interval workout. Both of these will use additional energy. To provide your body with all this extra energy that is needed to keep your body running during the interval training, you are burning extra fat that is stored in your body.

Give it a try. Go out there and walk, run or bike with an interval training session a few times a week and see if you can’t maximize your fat loss and get yourself of that weight loss plateau.

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Fit Yummy Mummy
Find out what to eat for maximum fat loss and get that fit, lean body with just 15 minutes of exercise a day.

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Make Your Cardio Fun

Being bored is not fun and it`s even worse when you know that you have another thirty minutes left on the treadmill. The minutes seem to go by like seconds and you hit the stop button because you simply cannot go on any longer. So what happened? Why does the cardio have to be so boring? This article is going to give you alternatives to the good ole treadmill and hopefully give you enough inspiration to finish your workout.

The first alternative to simple cardio is by the use of workout videos. Workout videos are perfect for those who don`t have a gym membership and are acceptable because of their workout in your own living room. Workout videos are also perfect for motivation because the instructor pushes you all the way to completion. Another benefit of having this instructor on your TV is that you get expert guidance in helping you achieve your goals.

Another great alternative to cardio is by the use of a jump rope. The cardio benefits of jumping rope are tremendous because of its calorie burning effect in such a short amount of time. Jump roping can burn up to 1,000 calories per hour, making it one of the most effecient workouts possible. Jump roping is fun, easy to learn, inexpensive, great for kids, portable, and in my opinion, the best way to make your cardio workout fun.

Heavy bag training is not just for boxers anymore. On top of the great cardio workout that you are getting, heavy bag training also improves your self-defense skills. Heavy bag training also reduces stress, works your muscles, and helps improve hand-eye-coordination. Fitness manufacturers continue to develop new products aimed towards the fighting athlete. As new products are being developed, old training equipment such as the heavy bag are often forgotten.

Now that you`ve learned three great alternatives to dull cardio routines, you should now be able to achieve your fat loss goals much easier. Don`t over-do your cardio and never go over an hour of continuous work due to chances of overtraining. Take things one day at a time and reap the benefits at a later time.

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Fit Yummy Mummy
Find out what to eat for maximum fat loss and get that fit, lean body with just 15 minutes of exercise a day.

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