10 Ways to Stay Active Between Workouts

A big part of the fitness lifestyle is to stay as active as possible when you aren't working out! By staying active, you keep your fat burning enzymes and metabolism active.

Don't make the mistake of laying around as much as possible until your workout. Research proves that your fat-burning enzymes SHUT DOWN when you SIT DOWN! Get up and move around during the day to keep your metabolism ramped up all day and burn more fat and calories.

You can't always workout. You have to let your body recover and rebuild itself. Over-training is common with many people. How do you know if you are over-training? Here are some signs:

1. Sluggishness
2. Lack of control during exercises
3. Longer rest periods are needed between sets
4. You are usually tired before your workouts
5. You are stressed out (when exercise should be your stress-buster!)

Here are 10 Ways to Stay Active between Workouts:

1. walk 30 moderately-paced minutes,
2. go swimming or play water volleyball,
3. walk-in-place while you watch television,
4. take a 30 minute bike ride after dinner,
5. take walking breaks at work,
6. walk or bike when you can instead of driving the car,
7. walk your dog,
8. do yardwork, (stop putting it off),
9. do your house chores (right!) and
10. walk at least 5 minutes every waking hour.

Remember, all movement burns calories. If you have other ideas, let us know!

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Top 5 "No-Brainer" Fat Loss/Weight Loss Tips

You should be able to do some fat loss and weight loss techniques without even thinking about it--they are called "no-brainers." Instead of waiting for the next big fat loss secret (lie) to hit the market, just use some good ol' horsesense and start burning more fat!

Here are my Top 5 "No-Brainer" Fat Loss Tips:

1. If you severely limit candy, donuts, cookies, sugary drinks, calorie-packed desserts and other sugary products (while continuing to exercise), you will burn belly fat and lose weight.

2. Walk as much as possible (i.e., stay active during the day), exercise 4-5 days a week, stay with your meal plan at least 90% of the time and you will burn fat and lose weight!

3. If you don't replace bad foods (like sugary foods) with good foods like fresh fruits, you will probably continue to eat massive amounts of sugary foods. Try the replacement method--it works!

4. If you don't REALLY COMMIT to improve your quality of life with exercise, healthy nutrition, active lifestyle, etc., you probably won't change your bad habits for very long!

5. If you continue to try every new fad diet that hits the market (to get quick weight loss), you will continue to see your weight yo-yo and your health worsen.

Make the commitment to fat loss with regular weight training and cardio exercise! In time, this will burn fat, give you a lean body and good health!

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Top 3 Metabolism Boosters to Burn Fat

Keeping your metabolism active and ramped up is a matter of consistently doing the things that work. You need to do the things that significantly speeds up your metabolism day to day and over the longhaul.

Metabolism is basically the rate at which your body burns calories. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories you'd burn if you did nothing all day (or the amount of calories your body needs to maintain itself). You don't need to strictly count calories but you do need to have a good idea of how many calories you need each day to reach your goals.

Here are my Top 3 Metabolism Boosters to Burn Fat:

1. Do not skip meals (eat 4 to 6 small meals a day). Eating regularly, or about every 3-4 hours, keeps your metabolism humming during the day. Starving yourself or severely cutting your calories will only slow your metabolism and cause your body to store fat as a survival mechanism.

The type of food you eat and timing of what you eat is very important for your metabolism to work properly. Your body needs adequate amounts of the macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) to function properly.

Some of you have thrown your metabolisms "out of wack" by consistently eating "like a bird." If you have been eating 900-1,000 daily calories (to lose weight quickly) for a long period of time, your metabolism is messed up.

Quick weight loss leads to slowed metabolism, a weaker immune system, hormonal imbalances, loss of lean mass, increased body fat, decreased energy levels, disrupted sleep patterns, short-term results and yo-yo dieting!

Eat protein with every meal. Your body has to work harder to digest protein. This burns more calories and also helps you eat less during the day (you will feel fuller for longer).

Protein is also critical to repair and build muscle after a tough strength workout. One of the knocks on fad diets is that you feel like you're starving most of the time.

For example, a study published in Nutrition Research shows that a breakfast including eggs reduces hunger pangs and decreases calorie intake for the rest of the day.

Get a healty meal plan based on foods that you like. You are more likely to comply with a meal plan that you like. Be prepared to eat more nutritious and sometimes more food with less calories.

You need to maintain a caloric deficit (burn more calories than you eat) to burn fat and lose weight.

2. Regular exercise (cardio 3 days a week/weight training 3 days a week). Building muscle mass will speed up your metabolism because your body has to work harder to maintain muscle. If you are doing mainly cardio exercise, you ARE NOT building muscle mass! You have to regularly hit the weights.

The more intense the exercise, the more calories you will burn during and after your workout. So, high intensity interval cardio and circuit weight training will give you more fat burn and calorie burn.

Exercise Post-Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) causes your body to burn more calories and fat after a tough workout. Your body has to work harder to get back to its pre-exercise state.

Breaking up your workouts also works well to speed up metabolism (i.e., two 20 minute workouts instead of one 40 minute workout). Research proves that two 20-minute workouts will burn more fat and calories than one 40 minute workout.

Doing a second workout during the day (even a short one) keeps growth hormone levels high throughout the day. This will give you even more body fat burn.

3. Get enough sleep and stay away from long-term stress. Experts agree that you need 7-8 hours of sleep each night. These two imposters will wreck your metabolism and health!

Psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Tracey Marks, has written a great book entitled, "Master Your Sleep: Proven Methods Simplified."

The book has helped me. In particular, my busy lifestyle can sometimes affect the quality of my sleep. You'd be surprised at how many disorders there are that can hinder your sleep patterns.

Do these 3 things on a consistent basis and you will get the fat loss and weight loss you want!

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Top 5 On-The-Go Workouts To Burn Fat

Working out on-the-go is popular for one main reason: it is a timesaver! The pace of life gets more frantic as technology progresses (it should be the opposite!). You still need to workout to improve your health, energy and well-being. Technology won't burn fat and eat right for you.

And, just because you're always crazy-busy, it does not protect you from being stressed-out, overweight and out-of-shape! You gotta get the workouts in on a regular basis.

Keep your exercise equipment with you. Pack up your gym bag, dumbbells, medicine ball, swiss ball--be ready to "exercise on-the-go."

Here are my Top 5 On-the-Go Fat-Burning Workouts:

1. Keep your walking/running shoes with you! Walk as much as possible during the day. This will keep your fat-burning enzymes active all day. After work, do a quick 20-minute interval cardio workout. Just find a school ground nearby and get after it.

2. Take advantage of dead time and get in your workout. Here's an example: Exercise during your kid's practices. Why sit around for 1-2 hours watching kids practice? You could get in a good 30-minute bodyweight workout.

3. Take advantage of running trails in your neighborhood. These trails usually have exercise stations so you can mix in pushups, pullups, inverted rows, lunges, step ups, squats, etc. between running intervals. This is one of the best fat-burning workouts.

4. If you're traveling overnight, do a bodyweight workout in your hotel room or workout in the hotel gym. You could download a good workout on your iPhone. Some of you travel for work 3-4 days every week. If you don't exercise on-the-go, you probably won't exercise at all.

5. Do an old-fashioned home workout before or after work. It takes away the excuse of "I don't have time to go to the gym." Download these Free 20-minute fat loss workouts!.

The truth is that you have plenty of time during the day to get in your workouts! Just commit to do it.

Do you have your own stories of "exercise on-the-go?" Let us know!

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Top 5 Power Exercises to Burn Fat

Improve your fat burning with power exercises. This will also shorten your workouts because of the intensity. Speeding up your exercises will burn fat from your body faster. If you need to ramp up the intensity and break through your weight loss plateau, use faster paced exercises and workouts.

To get your muscles to improve power (how fast your muscles can produce force), do your exercises at full speed. You will shape your bulkier, fast twitch muscle fibers when doing exercises this way.

Burn more fat with these Top 5 Power Exercises:

1. Medicine ball diagonal chop (pictured above) - The diagonal chop helps you work multiple muscle groups in different planes of motion (at the same time). Injuries of the torso (such as oblique strains/pulls) hurt like crazy and are hard to recover from....its better to avoid these types of injuries!

2. Medicine ball squat jump - The medicine ball squat jump will shape your legs, improve your speed acceleration and power. Bodyweight squat jumps should be mastered first. The fastest runners usually have the highest vertical jump heights.

3. Running sprint intervals on grass or sand - If you're serious about toning your body, do sprint intervals for your cardio exercise. The faster you run, the more fat-burning benefits you will get.

Sprinting activates and shapes your bulky, fast-twitch muscles fibers better (think butt, hips, thighs and calves). Your upper body and core will also get quite a workout.

4. Lateral cone hops - Use lateral cone hops to burn leg fat and improve your strength and power in the frontal plane of motion.

Lateral cone hops are done as fast as possible. Also, your feet should remain on the ground as little as possible as you do the hops. Focus on hopping (not jumping) from side to side (on the balls of your feet) with very little vertical height. You are working to improve lateral strength and power with this exercise and not vertical power. As you progress, you can begin to do single leg lateral cone hops.

5. Medicine ball soccer throw superset with the medicine ball two-handed chest pass - The medicine ball soccer throw is a great power exercise to help burn upper body fat and improve your core strength.

The medicine ball two-handed chest pass will work the frontside of your upper body and core.

Power up your workouts and sculpt your body faster!

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Top 5 Stubborn Body Fat Solutions

Stubborn body fat is, well, stubborn! That's why we hate it....its hard to burn off.



Here are some common body fat areas that are sometimes hard to lose:

--belly fat,
--butt/hips/thighs fat,
--low back fat and
--upper back arm fat

Any of those fat areas sound familiar? I think we all have dealt with one or more of those stubborn fat areas. Do you know what to do about it?

First, stop wasting money on fitness gadgets! You don't need them to burn fat and lose weight.

Second, don't spend any more money on fat loss and weight loss pills. You don't need those supplements either. And finally, forget about quick weight loss programs. They don't work long-term and that's why they are called quick!

This is what you need to do to burn total body fat:

1. Start a healthy meal plan filled with whole, natural foods. Fruits, vegetables, lean meats, low-fat diary products and whole grains fit the bill. Severely limit sugars, fast foods, processed foods and foods in a box or bag.

Base your daily caloric intake on your basal metabolic rate, your daily activity and your goals. This way, you won't eat too much or too little (severe calorie restriction).

You need to maintain a daily caloric deficit to burn fat and lose weight.

2. Drink only water and unsweetened drinks most of the time. Drink about half your body weight in ounces every day. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, drink at least 75 ounces of water every day. This will improve your health and help with weight loss.

3. Start building muscle mass and burning fat at the same time. You must change your body's composition to more muscle and less fat.

This will speed up your metabolism and help you burn more calories every day.

Your body will also shrink because muscle takes up less space than fat. Over time, you will begin to lose weight and the weight will stay off. Do full body circuit strength training 3 times a week, about 30-40 minutes a session. When you get really good at it, 20-minute strength training sessions will be enough to get the job done.

4. I recommend doing interval cardio sessions (about 20 minutes a session) 2-3 times a week. Sprint interval cardio works best, especially on inclines on grass.

Bodyweight exercise interval cardio also works well. You might have to work up to being able to do 20-minute interval cardio sessions. If you are doing 60-minute cardio sessions, stop now! It is wasting your time and precious muscle mass.

5. If you have stubborn fat areas like lower ab fat, you can do extra strength exercises on cardio days to address those areas. Never do spot training only. It doesn't work. Aim to burn total body fat first and local area fat second.

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

3 Top Fat Burning Cardio Workouts

Fat burning cardio workouts should:

--Improve heart health
--Burn calories (during and after your workout)
--Burn fat
--Spare muscle mass

Keep your cardio workouts at about 20 minutes. That's all it takes to help you reach your goals. And, it will keep you from the boredom and muscle-wasting that's built into long cardio sessions.

Intense interval cardio workouts will increase your body's growth hormone. Research has also proven that the benefits of anaerobic exercise (like sprint interval cardio) is superior to aerobic exercise for fitness and heart health.

Here are 3 Top Fat Burning Cardio Workouts:

1. Run sprint intervals on grass or sand. Never run on hard surfaces like concrete and asphalt. Sprints are absolutely one of the best ways to blast fat and sculpt your body. You don't have to be fast, just run as fast as you can! To make it more challenging, run uphill or on stadium steps.

If you want to tone up your body and look more sculpted, you should perform the majority of your cardio exercise using intervals such as sprints.

Doing sprint intervals (and jumps) will activate your bulky fast-twitch muscle fibers to give you a more lean and toned body. Just take a look at an athlete who competes in a speed sport. Their bodies are "ripped" for a reason (most of their training is fast).

2. Jump training or plyometrics. This is high intensity and high risk. Perfect your jumping and landing techniques before advancing to full speed jumps. You may want to start with exercises like jump rope, jumping jacks, hops and squat jumps.

Plyometrics remains one of the best ways to help burn fat, lose weight and really sculpt your body. If your body has the needed strength and stability, plyometrics will improve your body's composition (more muscle, less fat) faster.

You could do at least one cardio workout a week that includes mainly jumping exercises.

3. Bodyweight cardio. Try rotating sets of exercises like step ups, squats, pushups, pullups and lunges for 20 minutes. That's a tough, fat-burning cardio workout!

Bodyweight cardio is a great way to change up your routine. Also, you will tone your body faster because of the strength component in the workout. Bodyweight exercises help you develop strength that allows your body to stabilize itself.

If you have been needing to "ramp up" your cardio to burn more fat, any one of these workouts would work for you!

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

5 Things Stopping Your Weight Loss Progress

If you're not making progress with weight loss and fat loss, there are reasons. You need to identify the reasons or you will continue to go in circles. Some of you are so frustrated that you have stopped trying to transform your body to lean and toned.

If you are in this situation, get help from a personal trainer. Part of the first fitness consultation with a personal trainer will include you identifying why your fitness goals have failed in the past.

Another part of the consultation is for you to visualize and set realistic fitness goals you are willing to work towards.

In my experience with clients, these 5 things slow or stop progress towards weight loss and fat loss goals:

1. Fear of failure. Many of you have tried over and over to lose fat and weight. When fear or deep frustration creeps in, it can paralyze you into doing little or nothing to reach your goals. Its hard to keep trying. Its easier to quit.

According to the Mayo Clinic, you should focus on the process rather than the outcome.

The Mayo Clinic goes on to say, "Exercise regularly is an example of a process goal, while "weigh 145 pounds" is an example of an outcome goal. It's changing your processes — your daily behaviors and habits — that's key to weight loss, not necessarily focusing on a specific number on the scale. Just make sure that your process goals are specific, measurable and realistic, too."

In my practice, that means clients commit to regular strength training, cardio training and changing eating habits.

2. Low self esteem. This affects every area of life and not just setting and reaching fitness goals.

According to Cognitive Therapy Associates, "Self-esteem, self-confidence, self-image...these are the trio that intertwine and perhaps have the most significant impact on a person's well-being and enjoyment of life."

"Therefore, we find that self-esteem is often at the core of a variety of psychological difficulties. Low self-esteem shows up in depression, anxiety (especially social anxiety), eating disorders, addictions, relationship problems, communication problems, and more. One may have rather high self-esteem under certain conditions, but in others, it may waver."

3. Achieving fitness goals takes hard, smart work. Unfortunately, some just don't want it that bad.

4. Confidence in the methods. Many of you have used weight loss and fat loss methods that don't work such as fad diets, weight loss pills, patches, powders, etc. So, you are skeptical as to whether a personal trainer's methods will work.

5. Perseverance. Commitment to a fit lifestyle trumps all other fitness goals. There will be setbacks and failures along the way. If you commit to the fit lifestyle first, you will reach your goals with the right guidance.

Every day, try to take steps forward to reach your goals. Even if you take a step back today, don't let it stop you from taking steps forward tomorrow.

You have to be honest with yourself to set fitness goals. Sometimes the truth hurts. That's okay. Just make the commitment and get the guidance and support you need to reach your goals.

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Top Eating Tip for Weight Management

There is one weight management eating tip that you need to do every day. Eat protein with every meal.

At any meal, get full on protein foods first. It will help you eat less of the condiments, desserts and other high-fat foods. Nuts, ham, eggs, turkey, low-fat dairy, chicken, fish, etc. are great foods to eat for protein. Eating protein also helps control your blood sugar if you happen to eat carbohydrates.

It takes your body longer to digest protein, so you will fill fuller for a longer period of time by eating more foods rich in protein (this should help you eat fewer calories during the day).

Protein is also used by your body to repair and rebuild damaged tissues as a result of a tough workout (especially weight training). Quickly digesting protein shakes work well after a workout.

Other daytime and nighttime meals could be comprised of slowly digesting protein (such as lean meats) that will give a constant release of amino acids into your system during the day and overnight.

How much protein do you need each day? The following is a good guide to follow:

Daily protein targets (grams per pound of body weight) are:

--Recreational exerciser, adult 0.5-0.8
--Competitive athlete, adult 0.8-1.0
--Growing teenage athlete 0.7-0.9
--Adult building muscle mass 0.8-1.0

Your body will excrete excess protein intake.

For example, if you weigh 140 pounds and want a high protein intake (1.0 gms/lb), you'll need 140 grams of protein per day.

So, when used right, protein will help you build a lean body and help your weight loss/fat loss efforts.

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Top 10 Fitness and Weight Loss Tips

You never need to try a quick weight loss program. You will end up regaining more pounds than you lose. Focus on improving your health and fitness. This includes burning fat and losing weight. Take a long-term approach to your health and fitness.

Here are my Top 10 Fitness and Weight Loss Tips:

1. Improve Health and Prevent Injuries - The main goals of any exercise program should be to improve health and prevent injuries. Infomercials will try to convince you that weight loss is the most important thing in life. Don't settle for those lies!

Because people are living longer, quality of life becomes a big issue. If you take care of your body throughout your life, your body will reward you.

2. Fitness and Nutrition Assessment - If you've never had a fitness and nutrition assessment done by a fitness professional, you should have it done. Among other things, it will tell you how much body fat you have. Belly fat is particularly dangerous to your health.

The assessment may also show that you need a full physical exam. For instance, trainers need your doctor's release if you have high blood pressure.

3. Postural Assessment - Many injuries happen because your posture has dysfunctions that need to be corrected. These postural deficiencies are identified during your fitness assessment.

Many times, low back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain and hip pain can be traced to long-standing postural problems.

4. Flexibility - Muscle imbalances (including tight and lengthened muscles) also cause many injuries. Your fitness assessment will tell you where your muscles are tight, weak or lengthened.

5. Core Strength - The core is much more than your 6-pack abs! Most people have inadequate core strength. All movement begins with the core so you should strengthen it first.

6. Balance - Balance is important to prevent injuries, especially later in life. Your exercise routine needs to include balance exercises on a regular basis. For example, one-legged exercises will improve your balance.

7. Body Composition - Fat loss is more important than weight loss! Resist the urge to lose pounds as fast as you can and concentrate on changing your body's composition. Build muscle mass to speed up your metabolism and keep the fat and weight off for good. It takes longer, but the results are lasting (if you continue to train).

8. Resistance Training - Full body strength training is necessary to increase your muscle mass and change your body to lean and toned. Full body strength training also corrects your muscle imbalances.

9. Cardio Training - Twenty minutes of intense cardio is enough to burn body fat and give you superior heart health. Interval cardio (such as speed intervals) will give you even better results.

10. Planes of Motion - Workout more with dumbbells, medicine balls and bodyweight and less on machines. Among other things, machines limit your natural movement patterns and work you in only 1 plane (sagittal) of motion.

You turn, twist, rotate and bend your body many times a day. So, you need to train your body in the transverse and frontal planes of motion as well.

Side lunges, medicine ball lunges with rotation and medicine ball rotational throws are some examples of training in these planes of motion.

Train your body for the life you need to live.

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Fad Weight Loss Diets--7 Tips To Help You Avoid Them

The best solution for fat loss and weight loss success is a combination of healthy nutrition and regular exercise. After 100 years of weight loss history, doctors and fitness professionals are in agreement with this solution.

Don't look for shortcuts. Your health is at stake. Invest in yourself.

Here's 7 tips that will help you avoid fad weight loss diets:

1. Make a commitment to a lifetime of fitness and not some weight loss plan! I cannot stress this point enough. This commitment trumps all other fitness commitments. Without it, you will always fall prey to the inevitable obstacles and pitfalls (like fad diets) along the way.

2. You MUST change your body's composition! You must increase muscle mass to become a “fat-burning machine.” You don't need to be a body builder but you need to burn the fat (to an acceptable body fat percentage) on your body while building muscle mass.

So, make the commitment to regular full-body strength training. Besides building muscle mass, it will speed up your metabolism (the body has to work harder to maintain muscle) and help improve your bone density.

Note: You must do more than cardio exercise to change your body composition!

3. I don't recommend any diet that omits one of the macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat).

Your body's metabolism needs all 3 macronutrients to work efficiently. Establish a good foundational meal plan before trying special tactics like carb cycling.

4. The various "body organ cleansers" out there on the market are not the key to your fat loss and weight loss. Regular exercise (weight training and interval cardio) and good nutrition are your tickets to a permanent lean and toned body.

Healthy foods such as fruits and veggies play a role in keeping your body clean (and alot less expensive)!

5. There are no magic pills, powders or creams that will give you a permanent lean and toned body.

6. Make the commitment to change your eating habits to healthy menus that you can maintain and reach your goals. You won't be hungry and you will end up eating more with less calories.

7. Set your daily caloric intake based on your basal metabolic rate and your activity level. This way, you won't eat too much or too little.

Maintaining the right amount of calorie deficit (burning more calories than you consume) is one of the keys to burning fat and losing weight.

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Are You Blaming Weight Gain on Your Job?

There seems to be a new reason reported every week explaining why we are gaining weight and getting fat.

Sedentary jobs have been listed more than once as one of the main causes of weight gain for many people. There's one problem with that theory: I know many people (and so do you) who have "sit-down jobs" and are very fit.

I also know people who work on their feet at health clubs who are very overweight. So, its not where you work that determines whether you will or are gaining weight.

Our culture encourages us to blame someone or sue someone in court to fix our problems. That works fine unless you are the cause of your problems.

In the fat loss and weight loss arena, YOU largely determine how much you will weigh. There are medical and genetic exceptions to this weight gain rule but that's a subject for another article. For purposes of this article, you are ultimately responsible for your body fat and body weight.

Despite the popularity of many "other reasons" for our nation's overweight and obesity problem, I still maintain that the primary reason for your weight gain is a caloric imbalance.

Simply put, you will gain weight and fat if you consistently eat more calories than you burn. Some will say that theory is outdated. Don't believe them.

I realize its important to eat the right types of foods for nutrition and health. But, you will also gain weight if you eat too much of the healthy foods.

So, if you have a "sit-down" job, I would recommend that you move more.

Research proves that when you sit, your fat-burning enzymes basically shut down....when you stand during the day, those fat-burning enzymes go to work for you!

Try to stand as much as you can during the day and take walking breaks and lunches to activate your fat-burning enzymes! Any activity is good to go along with your regular workouts. All movement burns calories.

Don't blame your job if you're gaining weight. Make changes to your exercise, eating and lifestyle habits. These are the primary keys to you shaping and maintaining a lean and healthy body.

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Quick Fat Loss and Lasting Weight Loss

Would you like to burn fat at a faster rate, lose weight and keep the fat and weight off? You CAN have it all. Just make adjustments to your exercise routine and work hard until you achieve your goals.

Many of you need a huge change from your regular workouts in order to make progress. Some of you just need a jumpstart. And, some of you don't know what in the world to do about your body's shape! Relax and keep reading.

If you have been doing the same workout for months, you need a change to break through your plateau. If your workouts are 2 hours long, you are spending too much time in the gym and your body may be breaking down from over-training.

You can get better results with less time and burn fat and inches off your frame. You don't need a gym membership. You can do your program at home or anywhere you like.

Your strength workouts don't need to exceed 50 minutes and interval cardio workouts don't need to exceed 20 minutes! You will have to work out VERY HARD but you will be rewarded.

Get off the yo-yo weight loss and weight regain wagon. Leave the fad diets and quick weight loss programs behind because they never work long-term!

You can stop the weight loss/weight regain cycle with regular, intense exercise and healthy menus. Its that simple but you may have to change your previous beliefs about how to lean and tone your body.

Work hard and never quit until you reach your goals.

Learn how to blowtorch body fat and build your lean body!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Weight Loss Lessons from The Red Sox?

The Boston Red Sox can teach you plenty about weight loss. Yes, Red Sox fans, you are 0-6 to start the 2011 season with the hated Yankees and Derek "Jetah" coming to Fenway this weekend.

Nine out of ten experts picked the Red Sox to go to the World Series this year. It might happen since there are still 156 games to go. Or, it might not happen if you know anything about the "heartbreaking" Red Sox history. And, this history is where you can learn some weight loss lessons.

1. The Sox and their fans have had to bounce back from huge disappointments. Let's see....remember.....

--Bucky "bleeping" Dent's winning homer over the "Green Monster" in game 163 to give the Yankees the 1978 division championship,

--Bill Buckner's World Series blooper in 1986 that eventually led to the Mets' series victory and

--Aaron "bleeping" Boone's winning homer (pictured above) in game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series (ALCS) that gave the Yankees the win and series.

You will transform your body to lean and toned after tons of hard work, disappointments, setbacks and trial and error. If you can't keep "getting up and trying again and again and again and again," you will never reach your goals.

2. The Sox waited 80-plus years to finally win another World Series title in 2004. Fenway Park has been sold out every game no matter what because they never give up.

You can't put a time limit on your health, fitness and body transformation. Do what it takes for however long it takes. If you keep running into a brick wall, get some guidance from a personal trainer.

3. Win against seemingly impossible odds. The Sox finally won the World Series after coming back from a 3-0 game deficit to win 4 straight games against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. Nobody thought they could do it---except themselves.

Do you have seemingly impossible barriers holding you back from fat loss and weight loss success? Do you believe you can do it? Its never impossible, you just may need some help from health professionals to help set your path.

4. The fans of the Sox are a close-knit bunch. They have been through alot together over the years. Grandchildren are tied to the Sox' dreams of grandparents. Red Sox Nation is real and don't mess with those "chowderheads."

You need help to reach your fat loss and weight loss goals. That could be a trainer, workout buddy, spouse or friend. Don't try to do it alone. Research proves that you are more likely to succeed when you have social support.

Work hard and never quit until you reach your goals.

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Do Cardio to Burn Fat

Your cardio should burn fat and improve your heart health. There are many ways to do cardio but keep these two goals in mind.

Boredom is built into cardio exercise because of the repetition. You can avoid the boredom by changing up your routines and keeping the sessions short.

Use cardio as a major calorie burner. It does NOT require long cardio sessions to burn major calories. Too many long (such as 45-60 minutes) cardio sessions will waste away your muscle mass.

Here are some cardio tips to burn fat:

1. Traditional long, slow lower-intensity aerobic exercise on treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, etc. is good for beginners or those who have been inactive.

2. Research has proven that the benefits of anaerobic exercise (like sprint interval cardio) is superior to aerobic exercise for fitness and heart health. The progression of your cardio exercise should be low-intensity aerobics to moderate/high-intensity aerobics to high-intensity anaerobic exercise.

3. High intensity cardio (HIC) and high intensity interval cardio training(HIIT) will give you faster body fat burn in less time. You only need to do 20 minutes per session, 3 times a week.

4. High intensity cardio (HIC) and high intensity interval cardio training (HIIT) will: a) significantly boost your metabolism--during and after exercise, b) give you less lean body mass loss, c) give you a faster rate of body fat-to-energy conversion and d) significantly increase your VO2 Max capacity.

5. Circuit weight training (including bodyweight circuits) has dual benefits as a strength/cardio workout.

6. If HIC or HIIT is too hard on your body, you might want to try a HIC, HIIT and moderate intensity combination during the week. Just get to know your body so you know when to back off.

The evidence is clear----if you want maximum body fat burn in the least amount of time, then HIC and HIIT is the way to go! I personally do 2 days of HIIT, 2 days of HIC and 2 days of circuit weight training per week. I know it works.

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get FREE eBooks: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips," Free Fat Loss Meals and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Avoid Springtime Weight Loss Gimmicks

Don't fall for the many springtime weight loss gimmicks coming your way. Makers of weight loss pills, fat burn supplements and quick weight loss plans continue to get rich because people "buy in" and buy the products.



Don't get your body in shape for summer. Start transforming your body for a lifetime! You need a plan that will help you develop good exercise and eating habits for the longhaul.

If you need to accomplish something fast to help motivate you for a longterm commitment, I do recommend a quick fat loss program that continues with a progressive longterm plan.

The goal is NOT quick weight loss when doing a quick fat loss program. During the quick fat loss program, you may lose weight or experience very little weight loss.

But, you should experience significant fat loss and inches lost from your frame. This is the sign that your body is changing. The goal is to burn fat fast--with resistance training, cardio training and a healthy meal plan.

This is usually accomplished with a reduced calorie structure, for 7 to 14 days, designed to help you maintain a negative calorie balance (300-500 daily calorie deficit). There is usually one cheat day per week of some sort.

A quick fat loss program is definitely not severe calorie restriction. But, you will have to change your eating patterns. You will eat more nutritious food and you will eat every 3-4 hours to maintain your energy. You may actually be eating more food but fewer calories. You will eat enough to start building muscle and burning fat.

Its up to you. If you have been yo-yoing with weight loss and more weight regain, stop the cycle. Start working to transform your body, not lose weight! If you don't know what to do, I can tell you that weight loss pills and quick weight loss programs are not the answer.

Make the commitment today to start transforming your body. Springtime is a good time to start because many things around us are starting to come to life again. Take advantage of the momentum.

Learn how to get started building your lean body

Mark Dilworth at My Fitness Hut