Work Life Tips

Education for Personal Trainers – Women Fitness Tips

When evaluating a potential personal trainer’s education, it is important to go beyond the basic certifications. In addition to a well-regarded certification like the ACE or ACSM, women should look for trainers with college degrees in fields like kinesiology, biology, or sports medicine. Finding a personal trainer with a degree in a physical-fitness related field will help insure that the trainer is knowledgeable and professional. A highly qualified and educated trainer is more likely to be familiar with the injuries women are prone to and will be able to offer tips and advice on how to avoid injury.

Making Your Family Your Fitness Allies – Women Fitness Tips

Instead of guilting, manipulating and cajoling your family into your fitness scheme, make them your allies by setting goals and rewards together. For example, you can make it a goal to run a 5K charity race as a family, and have a reward night for the family with a movie and dessert night. Not only will you lessen your family’s resistance to eating right and exercising, you will help your kids develop good eating habits themselves.

Starting Out Small with Your Workouts – Women Fitness Tips

If you have never exercised regularly or haven’t exercised in a long time, it is very important to start your workout routine conservatively. To avoid pain and injury, women should do less than what they think they can for at least the first few workouts. When you are first beginning an exercise routine, it is much more important to avoid injury and build a solid fitness foundation. See your doctor or a trainer for more information on starting a fitness routine appropriate for your level of fitness.

What is the Best Way to Stay Hydrated? – Women Fitness Tips

Over the last few years, research has shown that the amount of water a person needs to stay hydrated can vary widely among individuals. Some doctors believe that 40 ounces of water per day is the minimum amount most women should be drinking to stay healthy. Scientists do know that your body needs a constant supply of water to stay properly hydrated throughout the day. Start developing a taste for water by taking little drinks all day. Try stopping by the water fountain on your way back from the restroom or keeping a bottle of water handy. Water not only keeps your body running smoothly on the inside, most women are pleasantly surprised to find that being properly hydrated improves their hair, nails, and skin and that they are less reliant on expensive lip balm, body lotion and hair conditioners.

Journaling Your Way to Good Health – Women Fitness Tips

Whether you want to lose a lot of weight, get into better shape, or change some unhealthy patterns, experts agree that journaling is one of the most important elements for success. Many women overeat or partake in other unhealthy activities as a result of too much stress. Additionally, there is evidence that suggests that stress in and of itself may cause weight gain, high blood pressure, and insomnia, among other ailments. Women can release some of that stress through journaling. Keeping a diary or a journal helps women think more clearly about their eating and fitness habits, identify the bad influences, and come up with better solutions to achieve her goal(s).

Importance of Behavior Modification – Women Fitness Tips

Research shows that many women who lose a significant amount of weight in a very short period of time will gain the weigth back. One of the hallmarks of women who have successfully lost weight and kept it off is that they actually changed they way they acted and reacted. Women who are successful at losing weight or reaching any fitness goal have used the process of losing weight or getting in shape not as a means to an end, but as an opportunity to change they way they think about food and exercise and have learned to substitute more appropriate activities for eating. Women who modify their behavior for the long term are more likely to remain in good shape after an intense period of diet and weight loss is over.

Yoga Promotes Women’s Fitness – Women Fitness Tips

If you have never tried yoga, find a beginner class and check it out. You may get hooked. Yoga is a great part of any women’s fitness plan because it is low-impact and doesn’t put pressure on the joints. Also, the deep stretching you do in yoga helps combat delayed-onset muscle soreness after tough workouts. Yoga can be especially helpful if your have joint problems or if you are recovering from an injury or trying to get back in shape after pregnancy.

Speaking of pregnancy, if you are pregnant, prenatal yoga helps you maintain a basic level of fitness even into the third trimester, and studies have shown that women who practice yoga and do other forms of moderate exercise during pregnancy are more comfortable during labor and delivery.

Beginner Walking – Women Fitness Tips

Have you ever noticed that city people are sometimes slimmer than their suburban counterparts? The answer is simple: They walk. A lot. At first it may seem overwhelming to venture somewhere without the speed and efficiency of your motorized vehicle, but you become slimmer and feel overall more healthy when you start walking as often as possible.

Begin with a 10 minute workout walk everyday. It is important to establish a routine that you become accustomed to. Ease into it by walking at a comfortable pace, which will typically be around 2.5 mph. In order to stop your daily walk from becoming boring, venture to new places, parks or interesting architectural buildings. Explore. Discover the area in which you live. After a week of consistent 10 minute walks, raise the bar to 20 minute workout walks and you will feel even better. Here is some more information for your fitness walking routine:

* If you push a 2.5 mph walk, you will burn 35 calories per every 10 minutes. A 3.5 mph pace burns 42 calories every 10 minutes.
* Make walking a social experience. Invite your friends along for a walk to a park you discovered. Bring a picnic to reward yourselves.
* Try walking while holding 5lb weights to spice up your routine.
* Buy a pedometer to track your progress.

Tips For Healthy Cooking – Women Fitness Tips

Learning to cook healthy meals means knowing what ingredients you can alter. It also means knowing how to prepare foods for the table. Healthy food recipes begin with substitutions. If the recipe calls for butter, you may want to use margarine. Serve low fat sour cream with baked potatoes instead of regular. Use seasonings such as ground pepper and herbs rather than salt whenever possible. There are many cookbooks that include healthy substitutions, but here are a few simple ones to get you started:

* Instead of eggs, use egg whites.
* Instead of whole milk, use skim.
* Instead of regular cheese, use low fat varieties.
* Instead of peanut butter, use reduced fat peanut butter.
* Instead of jelly, use fresh fruit.
* Instead of ice cream, try frozen yogurt.

When baking or cooking, you will want to be sure that your substitution will not alter the recipe. You can usually find out this type of information on the Internet. Some recipes will also alert you as to when you can or cannot substitute.

In terms of meats, baking, broiling and steaming are healthier options than pan frying. Steaming vegetables is a healthy way to prepare them; you can also serve them raw. Avoid things such as heavy cream sauces and seasonings that are loaded with sodium whenever possible.

Cardio that Cuts the Fat – Women Fitness Tips

Almost any cardio fitness exercise is great for your personal fitness and will help you lose weight. But here are some specific cardio moves that are known to cut the fat:

* Walking- That’s right, one of the easiest things you can do actually helps you lose weight. Make sure you walk at a brisk pace at least four times per week. Incorporate hills and other challenging obstacles into your walk. Try hiking, which is one of the best thigh exercises and will work your butt as well.
* Running- This is a high-intensity workout that is great for all the muscles in your body. When you run you burn fat and also strengthen your abdominal muscles because you naturally hold them in while you run. If you really want to burn fat, vary the speed of your workout. Run at a high-intensity for three minutes and a moderate-intensity for five, cycling between fast and slower paces.
* Swimming- Swimming will give you a wonderfully lean body. It incorporates most of your muscles and is a great thigh workout. Swim laps for 30 to 40 minutes every other day to get your body slim and trim. Vary your stroke. It doesn’t matter if you prefer the freestyle, back stroke, breast stroke or butterfly. Just don’t doggie paddle!