The first one is familiar to most, where people allow themselves to become stuck doing the same workout for months on end and seeing diminishing results, which is discouraging. When a routine becomes boring, you might wind up working out less over time. If this were not rectified, then you would be cheating yourself out of better fitness. A rut is bad for fitness because it presents a diminished challenge for the body, which has become accustomed to the same intensity and duration of the routine. Additionally, a body stuck in a fitness rut becomes more injury-prone.

Thus, aim for variety when it comes to working out. For example, run on a different route or terrain, or further. You could also try joining a spin or dance class, or simply lifting heavier weights and/or with more repetitions.

Another bad habit is exercising on an empty stomach. Although the intention is to make the body burn more of its own fat stores, what actually happens is that muscles begin to be broken down for fuel after the body uses up all available blood sugar or glycogen.

This leads to a higher chance of sustaining an injury over time, and can actually have an adverse effect on workout quality, meaning you don’t perform as well as you should, as well as feeling tired and dizzy; therefore, it is advisable to have something light to eat 45-60 minutes before a workout.

Somewhat related to a workout rut is the tendency to just go through the motions during an exercise routine. You only obtain results if you make the requisite effort, so don’t cheat by taking it easy; maintain the form required, feel the burn, and know that it all pays off in the end.

Conversely, there are those who push themselves harder than their bodies are able to handle. This can result in injury, which will definitely push you off the fitness track. Taking proper care of yourself means that you will miss less workout days due to illness or injury.

Researchers have found that exercising seems to trigger this messenger, and they believe that this could have health benefits. Irisin is a protein that seems to “talk to” various tissues in the body. Irisin levels can rise through exercising, and when irisin levels rise, it seems to have a powerful effect on fat tissue deposits called adipose. These deposits have white fat, and white fat stores excess calories.

Increasing irisin levels seems to switch on a gene that converts white fat into brown fat. Brown fat is “good”; brown fat burns off more excess calories than exercise by itself. Adults don’t have too much brown fat, but the benefits from brown fat seem to be getting more apparent, so researchers are thinking about ways to increase brown fat in adults. Irisin seems to stimulate brown fat development, but it also improves glucose tolerance.

This doesn’t mean that you can go to the gym once a week and magically have brown fat deposits instead of white fat deposits. From the studies, they found that the increase in irisin levels actually is a result of doing repeated amounts of long exercise. The researchers found that doing short-term exercising does not seem to have the same effect on irisin levels.

The researchers are now doing tests to see if they can inject irisin into people and have its effects work without the exercise. They don’t expect to see that people will be able to start skipping the gym in order to get the same effect as they currently are getting from irisin, but they think that they might be on their way to a cure for many diseases.

For now, keep exercising and eating healthy. The goal is to get brown fat cells and not white!

1. Warm-up – Strength training is more effective when your muscles are warm. Begin by jogging up and down your stairs five times. You can always make this a bit more difficult by carrying some weights, wearing ankle weights, or adding a few extra reps.
2. Lunges – Take a big step up using the right leg first, skipping one-three stairs depending on your staircase and the length of your legs. Keep your left leg on the floor. Lean into your top leg until your knee is almost 90 degrees. Hold your lunge for ten seconds. Dip down slightly further and then, if possible without reaching for the railing, lift your lower leg to meet your upper leg. Now step up with your left leg and repeat the exercise. Keep going until you reach the top of your staircase. Then jog down and repeat again. Aim to do 10 lunges on each side, or 20 total.
3. Side steps – Start at the bottom of the staircase. Turn to face the wall. Now step slowly up the stairs , doing the lunges move, but leaving one step in-between. Repeat this up the staircase facing the other side.
4. Squats – Put your right leg on the first step and leave your left leg on the floor. Squat down into a deep squat. Now step your left leg up another step, so that it is one step above your right. Squat down into a deep squat, bending your knees and sitting as if you are in a chair. To keep your balance, reach your hands out to the side. Only hold the railing if it is necessary.
5. Jumps – Start at the bottom of the stairs and jump up to the first step. Continue all the way up to the top of the staircase. Walk down and repeat three times.
6. Stretches – Stand at the edge of the stair and lean into your heels. Hold for 10 seconds and then raise again. Repeat five times.

If you are looking to make a more complete work-out, you can walk/jog the stairs for ten to twenty minutes. This is great to help lift the glutes and to improve cardiovascular health.

If you work out in the morning, your body’s blood sugar levels are typically pretty low. Before starting your walk, have a banana or a granola bar to keep your blood sugar level up. Go ahead and try some foods to see what makes you feel the best; I personally like bananas or apples.

As far as taking in food during exercise, there are many products that the elites use that we have found work well and are quickly digested by the body. Products such as flavored gels and nutritional bars are proven workout supplements. In general, you will want to look for something that your stomach can handle, is quickly digested by the body, and is easy to manage while on the go.

How long should you wait before going for a walk? Well, it all depends on your level of exercise. If you are going to do a tough walking workout, you may want to wait at least an hour for your food to digest completely; however, if all you ate was half a banana, then that wait time could be reduced to 15 minutes or so. If you are only going for a stroll, you may not have to wait more than 15 minutes even if you had a big meal. It really just depends on the exercise and the size of your meal.

1. Try taking contrast showers. This is where following your workout, you head to the showers and spend a minute in warm water and a minute in as cold water as you can tolerate. Keep repeating this for several cycles, about four or five should do the trick, or more if you really over did it. Just a couple of words of warning. Obviously, those who have heart conditions should proceed with caution (that cold water can be a bit of a shock to your body), and also keep the water on your body, as exposing your head to this can lead to headaches. Baths work even better if you can get two together.

2.Taking fish oils will provide your body with Omega 3 fatty acids that help to reduce the inflammation response in the body. Fish oil is a blood thinner, so if you are in the armed forces, a police officer, or already on a blood thinner, you may want to take less than what the label says. Also, if you’re on blood thinners already, ask your doctor before starting this.

3.Use spices such as ginger and turmeric. These are both very powerful anti-inflammatories, and they can help make your food much tastier too (an added bonus).

4. Of course, stretching and getting regular massages are staples in dealing with muscle soreness and should never be over looked.

I hope these tips help to reduce any pain and stiffness you may have, so that you can continue pursuing your goals!

Slides, also known as sidestepping, involve putting your feet together, taking a wide step sideways, and then bringing the trailing foot back beside the leading foot. The distance to slide is the same as that of the length of a tennis court (78 feet), and back again while facing the opposite direction to switch leading feet. If this seems too far, try sliding the width of a tennis court, which spans 36 feet.

Also sideways, the carioca sees the person going sideways down the length of a tennis court at a constant speed. The trailing foot crosses in front of and then behind the leading foot as the leading foot steps to the left (or right, depending on which you prefer). Again, this traverses the length of a tennis court, and you use a different foot to lead back up the court.

An apparent extension of the reverse lunge, with some difficulty thrown in, angle slides see the person starting out with their back facing the intended end point. The person then slides 2 times backwards at a 45° angle to the left (or right), and again to the opposite direction, down the length of a court.

There’s also the wedel, for which you make small jumps to cover a total distance of 36 feet. These jumps are made with more of a sideways motion than forward, while keeping the feet together.

The slide and sprint should be carried out with another person, although it’s also possible to do it alone. As the term suggests, it involves sliding and sprinting. Starting as a regular slide down the “court,” the 2 people turn to face the other direction when one person says “turn.” The pair slides along until the same person says “sprint,” following which they will run forward until the first person says, “slide.” The 2 people then face one another and slide to the end of the court.

Yet, this should not be the case. As with other aspects of fitness, a person should be able to work strength training exercises in to his or her daily routine without a noticeable “loss” of time.

For example, we all know the tip about taking the stairs instead of the lift, or parking further away from a building to build aerobic fitness. By the same token, you wouldn’t have to wonder where you’re going to find 30 minutes or an hour in a day to build strength if you can space out 15 pushups, a 1-minute plank, or 15 sumo squats throughout the day.

Personally, I favor doing a set of pushups after sitting for 45 minutes or so. Although the individual mini-sessions might not appear to have much impact initially, this has made a difference over time.

In addition to working out for short intervals throughout the day, try incorporating strength training moves into regular movements. For example, do lunges instead of walking down a corridor. As it would look strange, you don’t have to do them on the way back up the corridor. The key is to incorporate such exercises frequently enough for them to pay off.

If the “free and easy” approach appears too vague, then using resistance bands can provide more structure in addition to a flexible approach to time taken for strength training. These are easy to transport, and they can be used virtually anywhere and anytime, which somewhat negates the need to find a time and place to carry out strength training.

Maintaining a fit and healthy lifestyle can be a difficult task for some people, while others just carry on with no worries or obstacles at all. By being an advocate such as myself, I have an image I must uphold because who would listen to someone who was a sloth or ne’er do well. Eating healthy, exercising, positive thinking, and sleep are all vital elements in one’s choice to live a healthy lifestyle.

An average fit adult exercises 30 to 90 minutes daily, and there is a point where one needs to rest and sleep if they want to continue to live their lives to its full potential. I found conflicting reports about how much daily sleep an adult should be receiving. After reading an article from the National Sleep Foundation, studies have shown that we should be gaining between 7-9 hours of daily shuteye. I never realized that by not sleeping enough (or too much sleep) would take a tremendous toll on your body. I suppose it never occurred to me because I never experienced either issue when it comes to rest and relaxation. I know several adults who have chronic sleep issues, and I certainly have compassion for them.

If you are unfortunate and suffer from sleep deprivation or obtain too much sleep, you may be at an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, heart problems, depression, or motor vehicle accidents, just to name a few. It was recommended in the article to chronicle your sleep habits and to discuss them with your physician at your next visit. Do you know if you snore? Sleep apnea is a common disorder, which should also be presented to your doctor. There are solutions; don’t be afraid or embarrassed to seek help.

Here are some suggestions to maintain a healthy sleep pattern as posted by the NSF (National Sleep Foundation):

Establish consistent sleep and wake schedules 7 days a week.

Begin a relaxing routine about an hour before bedtime, such as a hot bath or soothing music.

Make sure your mattress and pillows are comfortable.

Use your bedroom for sleep and not for watching TV or your using your computer.

Finish eating 2-3 hours before your regular bedtime.

Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco products close to bedtime.

I typically exercise in the early morning and in the early evening approximately 1 hour a day, which I know helps me feel sleepy at bedtime. Sleep tight and pleasant dreams to all!

1) I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The best way to detox your cells of the holiday sludge is…WATER,WATER and more WATER. Remember to drink ½ your body weight in ounces a day. You’ll know your well on your way to a clean body when your urine is light yellow to clear.

2) Indulge by adding some of these Detox Delish Superfoods into soups, smoothies, or salads. If you’re like me and don’t carry the “Chef” gene in your blood, you may want to try what I call the “Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup” route. Try mixing a bunch of vegetable and spices with some vegetable broth and simmer for an hour. Add some of these wonderful ingredients to super clean your insides.

Note: Remember that conventional produce and animal products can be contaminated with chemicals, so it’s best to choose organic when possible. Wholefoods Market or farmers markets are your best bets. Click here for a list of local Toronto markets. Yes – some of them are even open in the winter!

3) Need a quick fix? For a week, try switching your coffee to a herbal detox tea instead. Yogi brand, Lemon and Peach Detox teas are some good bets.

4) The best way to push those lingering toxins out of the body is to move. Our lymph and circulatory system needs an extra push this time of year due to the overload. Movement, especially in the form of Yoga and stretching can help to stimulate our organs and push those toxins clear out of the body. Try this super detox pose from the Yoga Journal.

Wishing you all a healthy and happy 2012!

Sarah Harris

If you have a family fitness routine, it means that you will spend time with your family regularly. The problem of not spending enough (quality) time with your loved ones soon becomes a thing of the past. It’s also a better way to spend time with each other compared to passive activities such as watching TV, which does not leave one feeling rejuvenated; you feel fatigued after a 3-hour movie marathon.

Aside from the obvious health benefits of exercising regularly with your loved ones, having a family exercise plan also enables a family to try out new activities together and enrich their lives. Imagine this: if my brother had not been so insistent on out family playing paintball, my mother would never have discovered that she is uncannily accurate at hitting whatever she aims at!

Having a shared interest helps to forge stronger family bonds, the effect of which tends to be transferred to other activities and avenues in our lives, such as work or school. Similarly, a family workout can help put a bad day at the office into proper perspective.

Another benefit from working out with the family is that you have your own cheerleading squad. Unless a family is severely dysfunctional, each person would encourage another, who might be on the brink of giving up, into persevering with an activity and have fun while doing so, increasing the sense of achievement afterwards. If you don’t perform as well as you hoped to, you can usually count on your family to provide much needed encouragement.

Exercising together can also make a workout seem easier if you are new to exercise. This might be because people tend to feel safer and more at ease in a group when trying out something new. Thus, working out regularly with your family can actually cement your commitment toward fitness.