Happpy New Years

Happy New Years!

Its a big time for new goals and resolutions.

So I wanted to share a few tips with everyone.

 1. If, like everyone else, you decided to hit the gym in January - here are some things to keep in mind

- the gyms push sales and target resolutioners in January - and pretty much abandon you come February

- because of this gyms can be super crowded during the first month of the year

-so do be frustrated.

instead of joining the gym right away, start small at home

Start by walking 2 nights a week.

During a tv show you watch in the evenings, do push ups, sit ups, or walk up and down your stairs during the commercials

-after a month of success, if you want, start looking in to the gyms. - you'll be more confident, and already be used to being a little more active

-if exercising at home works for you, think about an exercise dvd, add another night of walking, or walk farther or faster.

2. when it comes to making your new years goals here's some tips:

-write them down - and post them where you can see them every day

-tell people about them, sharing them makes you more accountable

-make them very specific, and measurable (ex. instead of "walk twice a week" make your goal "walk Monday and Wednesday evening, for 20 minutes, right after dinner"

-don't be afraid if you have to adjust them after a few weeks - having goals set in stone can make you feel bad if you cant succeed. 

-With New Years its easy to want to set big goals and think about the whole 12 months at a time

but its okay to start small, start with one or two weeks at a time.

it will be a lot less daunting and you will be more likely to stick with it!

What are your goals for this up coming year - health and exercise related and everything else?

30 Day Shred

I Love the Biggest Loser. I watch as often as possible and I think they teach some really important information on the show. I think one of the biggest flaws of the show is that they send home the people who don't lose enough weight - the people who obviously still need to be there.
I think everyone should get to stay at the ranch the entire time and then who has lost the most should win.
Anyway thats not the point of this post. The point is Jillian Michaels. She is one of the trainers on Biggest Loser. She has a huge amount of products on the market right now, one of those products is the exercise DVD 30 Day Shred.

The idea is to do 20 minutes of intense interval training every day for 30 days. And it is intense. It is a combination of full body strength exercises, isolated strength exercises, ab/core exercises and cardio. I have never done the 30 days in a row because I am always sore the next day.
Im not sure about the 20 pounds in 30 days thing. To lose 1 pound of Fat,  you need to have a calorie deficit of 3500 calories. And if you dont have that calorie deficit, you have lost water - not Fat.
But I would definitely recommend this DVD to people who are looking for a short, intense at home workout.
All you need is maybe a mat, and some 5-7.5lbs weights. It is hard work, it is effective, and it is perfect for people who don't have a ton of extra time in their days.
If you try it, let me know what you think!

5 day fit yoga continued

mom and i did another session on the 5 day fit yoga dvd last week... but we don't know which one. it was number 5. the descriptions on the back of the dvd case aren't numbered, and once you put the dvd into the player, the menu only has numbers - no titles. we think it was the stress relief yoga. but it was more frustration than relief because we were not told of the props we needed prior to the exercise beginning. this exercise was lead by suzanne and i felt that her descriptions and reminders were very technical whereas rods were more about feeling the move and your breathing.
i was having a stressful week with exams and i did feel much better after the dvd - sometimes just getting moving is all that helps. focusing on breathing rather than what i have to study is helpful too. it was a relatively short exercises, around 25 minutes so it was perfect for quick pick me up before dinner. aside from the props and the lack of titles i still enjoyed this exercise and think its a good dvd for beginners.

here are moms thoughts on this exercise

we tried unit #5 on the 5 day fit yoga by gaiam dvd - we think it was the stress relief yoga - described as 20 minutes. unwind soothe and relax yourself with the calming workout and revitalize your mind body and spirit. props recommended yoga mat, yoga block yoga strap optional props eye pillow, wedge.

We didn't notice the props recommended or optional until after we started the dvd, and there was no mention of them at the beginning of the program, that we might want to have the strap and wedge available. This little reminder at the beginning would have been helpful, as we were 5 minutes into the dvd when we were instructed to grab the strap..... which wasn't handy at all..... stop dvd, run find strap...and start over again! 1/2 way through the dvd, when Suzanne Deason recommended we grab the wedge....which we don't have, and went on without.
Now the wedge isn't critical to the move if your low back and hips are flexible, but if you are new to yoga, they can make the difference to the both the ease of the posture, and the results. I would recommend having these two props handy.
All in all Suszanne is good at reminding us what is important about each of the postures, and to breath, there were a few postures I was not familiar with, and it did turn out that this program was 24 minutes long.
I think the lesson to be learned, is that it would be good to watch an excercise videos through the first time, so that I have realistic expectations, or just smile go with the flow, and enjoy doing what I can with each new video, and not to be too uptight about getting everything just right, after all it was a stress relief yoga dvd, and we are moving in a healthy way!

5 day fit yoga

here are the reviews finally!

Moms review of Gaiam 5 Day Fit Yoga - AM Peak
day one of am peak performance yoga,
28 minutes, described as s series of gentle morning stretches that will help awaken the body. I have not done much yoga over the last year, and think this routine over the next little while will be just what i need to get back into a nice stretching routine. Rod stryler, moves quite quickly from one pose to another - following the breath, the narrator helps to guide the moves, and reminding us during each posture, of some of the intricricies, what is important ie - keeping a straight back on forward bends.

it is short enough that most people, especially those starting out, could find an extra 1/2 hour in the morning, or as we did it, right after our dinner went into the oven, but before it was ready, and in the late afternoon it provided an energy boost for the evening. (much better for you than happy hour and a cocktail)

My Review
I am not a huge fan of yoga - it takes a lot to get me to go to a class, but I actually enjoyed this. The 30 minutes was a good length of time for starting out. The poses were not out of my range and Rod moved fast enough that it was a stretch not a strength workout.
The narrator was good to remind you to breathe in and out at certain times. Over all it was a very relaxing half an hour and I had a ton of energy afterwards.
I would recommend this DVD for anyone trying to get moving, or trying to get into yoga but is a little intimidated by the classes.