November 19, 2010
It’s getting cold out and suddenly there is no looming beach body day on the calendar. Here are my tips to stay in shape before the “heavy holidays” hit!
1. Make yourself an upbeat
iPod play-list or CD and dance around as you straighten up at home; find a hip-hop or African dance class at the gym; learn to belly dance at an adult education class or at the Y; plan a girls’ night out dancing.
2.
Hire a personal trainer if you have the money. If not, many gyms also offer free training sessions with a new membership. You’ll learn some new moves and if you have to meet someone for a planned session, you’re more likely to show up.
3. Heat yourself up by staying inside with a new
fitness DVD (like my new Fit Travel Workout www.fittravelworkout.com that was shot around the world and requires no equipment) or fitnes channel on TV. Just hit play and before you know it you’ll be done.
4. If you’re not up to a rigorous workout,
yoga is as easy as rolling out your mat, or slipping on your “yoga paws” (a travel set of yoga gloves for hands and feet). You will warm up, get blood flowing and ease stress.
5.
Get a slow-cooker/crock pot for hearty, veggie-heavy meals with minimal preparation and dishes.
6.
Put one sneaker in front of the other. Many of us waste too much time saying we need to work out but dread the process. Trick yourself by just getting dressed for it and not really thinking about the next step. If you take it one step at a time, before you know it you will finish the cool-down and feel amazing.I even sleep in my workout clothes, so I just wake up and throw on sneakers and a sports bra!
7.
During lunch breaks walk the stairs, or layer up and go outside. Take a walk with your child, pet, husband, wife, or neighbor. Or just walk and talk on the cell phone. Put it in your calendar at noon. If it’s an appointment, you’re more likely to keep it.
8.
Try outdoor winter sports like ice skating, snow shoeing, skiing, or sledding. Go build a snowman or igloo with the kids. Shoveling the driveway, as much as you hate it, is a workout too.
9. Waiting on hold on the phone?
Do 10 crunches. Getting ready to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner? Do 10 push-ups before your meal. Putting groceries away? Do 10 bicep curls and bent over rows for your upper back with soup cans. Brushing your teeth? Do 10 squats. Making pasta sauce? Do 10 calf raises. You get the idea. It sounds extreme, but if you do this for one minute every half an hour during your day, that is around 30 minutes of toning exercise.
10.
Keep reading fitness websites and magazines. Whether it’s a new and healthy dish you can make, news about a recent medical study, interesting moves to try at home, or another person’s story about how they reached their goals, any inspiration will help.
11.
Do the window shopper’s workout. Walk through the mall at a brisk pace and take the stairs. Do not take your wallet. Just browse. Note some of the new spring styles. You can always go back and buy something in a month when you’re in even better shape. Take along a healthy snack so you’re not tempted by the food court.
12.
Start social sweating. Instead of going out for drinks and fried food with friends or work colleagues, try something else. Hit the gym and chat while you’re both on a treadmill, or layer up and go outside. You can brainstorm while you walk.
13.
Get on the scale. Studies have shown that if you weigh yourself each day, you will keep your fitness and nutrition goals in mind. Skipping the scale for weeks at a time can lead to problems. You may put on weight and not even know it. A weigh-in a day keeps those pounds away.
14.
Try something new. Never took a spin class? Never gone cross-country skiing? Never gone hiking? What are you waiting for? Surprise your body and learn something new.
15.
Pay it forward. If these above tips don’t work, give a friend 50 dollars and have them hold it for a week. You only get the money back, in 10 dollar increments, when you go to the gym. Sometimes you just need the cold hard cash for cold dark days.
Fitness - Fit it in!Nikki
NikkiFitness, Nicole Glor, is an AFAA certified NYC personal trainer, group fitness instructor at Crunch in Manhattan and fitness columnist for Military.com. Her workouts focus on multitasking toning and cardio intervals to cut workout time in half and boost metabolism. She has 6 DVDs and downloads on Amazon including the new Hard Core Abs DVD, Fit Travel Workout DVD, Booty Camp, Military Wife Workout, Baby Bootie Camp, and the Beach Bride Destination Wedding Workout. Nikki's workouts have been featured in over 60 national media outlets including Fox and Friends, CNBC, Shape Magazine, Women's Health, Fitness, Girls Life, First, Woman's Day, Martha Stewart Radio, Health Magazine, NEw York 1 TV News, WABC TV, Pilates Style Magazine, Oxygen, Ladies' Home Journal, Parents TV, The New York Daily News, US Air Magazine, The Knot.com, The Washington Post, Military Spouse Magazine, Get Married TV, Destinations Wedding Magazine, and many more. Get her newsletters, music playlists, video demos and DVDs at www.nikkifitness.com