4 Fitness Moves you need to try

Fitness is full of trends and new must try workouts & gadgets that will make you in excellent shape.  So what am I going to tell you about that is so radically new or improved, well nothing.  I'm just going to shed light on some moves you might have forgotten about or didn't realize would benefit you as much as they could.

Don't let the number on the scale get you down

1. Body Weight Workouts- People think that the only way you are going to get results is by going to a gym with a ton of equipment.  That is really not the case.  I have trained various women from the comforts of their own home and have seen amazing results.  So don't use the lack of money for a gym as an excuse.  Below is a great living room workout you can do from the comfort of your own home.

2. Plank- This is one of my favorite moves that you can do anywhere.  It is great for those who are in         excellent shape or those just starting out.  You can hold it anywhere from 20 seconds- 1 minute.  This move is wonderful to do right away in the morning to keep your abs in nice and tight if that is not in your morning routine it will work anytime throughout the day.

3. Tabata Training- Tabata training is all about burning those calories after the fact.  Tabata was found to be effective at increasing ones cardio respiratory system just as much as running 6 miles daily.  The great part about tabata is it is only 4 minutes long.  The work part is 20 seconds and the rest part is 10  seconds.  You will repeat either 1-4 moves depending on how difficult you would like the workout to be.  Below are some great tabata workouts you can give a try this week!

1. Jumping Jacks

2. Pushups

3. Squat Jumps

4. Mountain Climbers

4. Interval Workouts- When working out you need to change up your pace.  You will start slow & then go fast, or slowly build speed up from a slower pace, then medium, to a full out sprint.  When doing an interval workout you can do this via cardio, or weight lifting.  As far as intervals go you can range them from 30 seconds to 3 minutes.  Depending on how hard you want to push yourself you can vary how long you run for or do the lifting routine for.  Just make sure you get your rest into your routine.  Rest is typically 30 sec.-1 minute.   Below are interval times you can choose to use in your workout routine.

Work   /  Rest

3 Minutes /  1 Minute

2 Minute/ 30 Seconds

1 Minute / 20-30 Seconds

30 Seconds / 10-15 Seconds

Try these workouts out today and let me know how you enjoyed them.  If you want even more free content sign-up for our newsletter below.

First Name * Email *   In good health,  Andrea

No time to workout this week? Try Tabata Training

What is tabata training you ask?  Is it like intervals while similar but it involves exercises and is not just limited to the treadmill or other cardio machines.

Tabata training is performing an exercise for 20 seconds as hard and as fast as you can.  Your heart rate should be very high well doing these exercises.  You than will get a 10 second rest and than repeat the exercise for 20 seconds and rest again for 10 seconds.  This is the pattern you will be doing during your tabata training.  Your workout will only last 4 minutes.  If your not tired by the end of the 4 minutes you need to push yourself even harder.

Below are some sample tabata exercises you can do in your own home.

*Note do not perform these exercises if you have a heart condition or were suggested  your doctor to not get your heart rate above a certain beat per minute while exercising.

Below workouts will be done 20 seconds and than rest 10 seconds before performing the same exercise one more time and than resting and move onto the 2nd exercises on the list.  So every exercise is performed twice before moving on.
Workout #1- recommended for beginners 
1. Jumping Jacks
2. Push-ups
3. Squats
4. Up/down planks

Workout #2- Intermediate to advanced 
1. Split Jumps
2. Donkey Kicks from side to side
3. Split Jumps with a reach to sky and touch the ground
4. Plank Jacks w/push-up

Workout #3- Intermediate to advanced
1. Butt kicks w/jumping jack arms
2. Squat Jumps
3. Burpees
4. Plyo-Jacks- (Jumping jack w/a jump off the ground)

Enjoy the holidays and get a quick 4 minute workout in to burn those calories!!
Check out www.safiretraining.com for more workout ideas.

Plan ahead how to make those fitness goals a reality

How to plan ahead for the new year and finish 2012 strong.  First what are your fitness goals in the next week or two?  Write them down, put them on the fridge.  Maybe your goal is to not gain any weight.  Put a plan into action how are you going to accomplish that goal?  Avoid eating extra sweets, lets be honest a cookie now and again over the holidays is almost unavoidable and I don’t blame you.  Just don’t eat the whole batch.  Now that you are thinking about the upcoming weeks think ahead to the coming year.

2013 what are your fitness goals in the next year.  It doesn’t have to be a resolution of sorts but you should have an idea of where you want to go with your fitness levels.  Maybe over the next year you want to lose 50lbs, 10lbs or lose 20 inches, lose 10% body fat.  Think about what you want at the end of the year and work backwards from there.  If it is lose 50lbs plan that out how are you going to get there?  If you don’t know how maybe investing in a trainer to help you is a good idea.  If it is to do a fitness show of sorts sign up for one and start planning.  If at all you don’t know how to make your goals happen ask for help. There are good people out there who enjoy helping others achieve their goals.  So invest in yourself if you need to, everyone should invest a little in themselves after all.  

So map out that year what are your goals and how are you going to make that happen?  If you want more information about reaching your goals check out SaFire Training or get motivational tips at www.facebook.com/safiretraining

Bucket Lists and Fitness Do Go Hand in Hand

I most recently went through a mini-fitness photo shoot (a sample picture above and one below).  I had always wanted to do one, I guess you could say it was on my bucket list.  I decided to actually make a bucket list.  Now not everything on my list is fitness related but quite a few things are.  I like to be organized so I even organized my lists into I want to do in the next year, next 5 years, 10 years, over the span of many years.  Once I separated my lists I put the next year lists into months.  One of my bucket lists challenges I'm going to attempt to do is run a 10K and the other is doing a fitness show in the bikini category.  My goal is to do one in April.  I'm very excited and will start my serious journey in December.  I will update my progress and workouts throughout the journey.  

So my challenge to you make your bucket list today.  Put things on there that will push you outside your comfort zone.  I have quite a few things I would have never tried but am now excited to, decorating cupcakes, going to a cooking class.  To some that may sounds easy but my food presentation is not always the best.  Get started today and experience yourself in a new light.

Ladies workout like a guy

A lot of women when we work out are afraid to lift heavy weights because we are going to get bulky.  Well that cannot happen and I'm here to let you in on a secret the guys have the weight room area figured out for the most part.  Ladies we can take a page from their book.  Below I will tell you what we can learn from how a man trains.

1. Women you will NOT get bulky.  

That is the number one fear of my female clients who were never taught how to lift weights or what lifting weights can do for your body.  

Ladies you will NOT look like the above picture contrary to what you believe.  This particular female worked hard for this body and trained to get herself this way it does not come from just lifting 3 times a week for 20-30 minutes.  You have to eat extremely healthy to get this lean and be lifting weights almost daily.  So in a nutshell this is an extremely hard physique for women to get to kudos to those who take the time and dedication to get there, as most will not even come close to that.

2. Lift your upper body ladies.  

Quite a few males lift what we call the beach muscles.  If they take their shirts off they look impressive, the biceps, the chest, abs.  Sometimes they forget the rear muscles groups but we as women will not.  Make sure when you are lifting you don't just lift lower body and work your butt.  Don't forget about the arms.  When women get older they complain about the chicken arms, or waving skin underneath their arms.  Working those triceps helps tone up the backside.  Fun fact the Triceps makes up 70% of the upper arm so work the back of the arm to tone up your arm in general. 

3. Play Games

You will always see some pick up basketball games, football games, soccer or even hockey games in the early mornings or on weekends.  Most of these leagues are adult males.  I know it gets harder for women to be involved in these leagues after kids but tell your hubby to watch the kids for an evening because its your volleyball night.  You get a workout in plus you get to mingle with friends at the same time.  It's a great stress release as well.

4. Be more focused on building muscle than in losing fat

Far to often we are concerned with how much fat am I burning when I'm lifting weights?  I should be doing cardio right now I would be burning so many more calories.  Well actually the more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest.  So pumping iron and getting stronger will lead to more overall calorie burn in the long run.  So don't be afraid to get in that weight room with the big boys and show them what you can do!

5. I don't know what to do at the gym besides cardio

Honestly this is not just a women's issue but a men's issue as well.  I just had a conversation today with a guy who is doing the same routine he learned in high school because he doesn't know what else to do.  So if your walking into the gym without a plan you probably will throw around a few weights and call it good.  Ask a trainer for help or even hire a trainer if your completely clueless.  You will just get frustrated if you don't know what your doing and want to quit going to the gym.  The trainers are there to help you tell them what your goals are and ask what are some exercises I should be doing to help me reach those goals.  A good trainer will be able to help you out. 

     

Senior Fitness

 No matter your age you can still get a great workout.  I am just starting to venture into senior fitness.  There are so many people who want to stay active and fit but don't know how to go about doing it.  I am here to help you out.  If you personally are not 75+ maybe you have a relative who is and is looking for a workout they can do.  When you get older your fitness goals change.  One of the most important things to work on as you age is your flexibility.  That is something that keeps your body lose and limber.  As well as staying mobile.  Below is a great workout that you or a loved one can do at home with minimal equipment.

*Note this workout can be done while sitting in a chair or standing.

 Warm-Up
*Swimming in place
*Arm above head and stretch to side
*Shoulder Shrugs
*Shoulder Rolls forwards and backwards
*Toe touches
*Legs-Abduction and Adduction- Meaning keeping your legs raised and bringing them together and apart.

Workout with bands
*Bicep Curls
*Chest Press
*Triceps Extensions
*Seated Rows

No bands needed
*Squats while holding onto something sturdy if necessary
*Push-ups onto a wall
*Kayak- Pretend you are in a kayak and paddling-this works your abdominal muscles

Balance
*Stand on 1 leg-you may need to hold onto something
*Kick one leg forwards, back and to the side- you may need to hold onto something here again

Stretch
*Spinal Twist
*Chest Opener
*Triceps Stretch
*Hamstrings- Reach and touch toes

Body Weight Exercises

After working this last week with youth athletes who are amazing to work with by the way.  I have a renewed sense of bodyweight exercises and how effective they are.  Most young kids do not need to lift a ton of weights but doing body weight exercises is a plus.  Below is a great workout you can do all with your own bodyweight.

1. Push-Ups-  The main thing you need to do is make sure your butt is not up high like a mountain and not to low like a valley- just holding straight like a board. Pretend there is a tennis ball below your chest drop all the way down and push back up.

2. Squats- Make sure your knees don't go past your toes.  Sit back like your going to sit in a chair and chest up.

3. Plank-Hold up in a basic position to advance tap your feet out side to side like shown in picture.

4. Mountain Climbers- Put yourself in a high plank position and tap your feet up towards the front of your body like you are running.  Keep repeating as fast as you can.

5. Lunges- Alternate legs as you take a regular stride length forwards and than step back.  Make sure you knee doesn't go past your toes and your abs are zipped up nice and tight.