Category: Fitness Tips

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Finding Time for Fitness

5 Tips for Finding Time for Fitness

Busy, busy, busy! Our days are jam-packed with meetings, appointments, and responsibilities. Finding time for fitness is virtually impossible.

We’re so concerned with everyone else that we don’t really look out for ourselves. In fact, we may have every intention of getting in a quick workout. But that intention does nothing but remain an intention.

There are those who have no problem setting aside a specific amount of time for exercise every day. Then there are those who sacrifice their work out to meet the needs of others.

If you’re having a little trouble finding time to workout, I hope you find these tips helpful.

Tip #1: Use Your Lunch Break

Regardless of where you work, you get some type of lunch break. If you’re a teacher or you work in an office, chances are you might have a tendency to work through your lunch. If you’re a stay at home mom or homeschooling parent, your lunch may be surrounded by little ones of a place of solitude. If you work from home, you might forget to take time for your lunch, but we’ll address that another day.

However, you can sneak 15 to 30 minutes of fitness into your day by splitting your lunch break in half. Take the first half to work out. Take a brisk walk around the building (or outside, if the weather permits). Find a quiet space to do some yoga or pilates. Do a couple of my six minutes workouts.

It doesn’t really matter what you do, just get moving for half of your lunch break, then eat a light, sensible lunch before heading back to work.

Tip #2: Have a Walking Meeting

We sit down A LOT when we’re at work.

Instead of sitting in the conference room or the classroom when it’s time for your team meeting, why not take it outside and have a moving meeting.

Research indicates that exercise stimulates your mind, so you may come up with solutions to a couple of problems while you’re moving. Plus getting as little as thirty minutes of daylight can help improve your sleep.

Tip #3: Skip the Elevator

Taking the stairs is one way to add a little more fitness into your day.

Waiting for the elevator – and the subsequent ride to your floor – wastes some really awesome calorie-burning time.

By simply taking the stairs instead of riding that elevator, there’s no telling how many extra calories you can burn each day. You can even incorporate some strength building by taking the stairs two or three at a time. Doing so is very similar to doing a set of lunges.

If you work in a high-rise office building, it might not be feasible for you to take the stairs the whole way. Consider taking the elevator a portion of the way and walking the rest of the way.

Tip #4: Skip the Email

It is so easy to shoot an email to a colleague while you’re sitting there working on a project.

However, walking from your workspace to their workspace does two things: 1) It allows you to get a little more exercise into your day. 2) It helps build a relationship by adding human interaction.

Tip #5: Take the Scenic Route

Another way to sneak some fitness into your day is to go out of your way to complete daily tasks.

Walk to the restroom that’s on a different floor or section of the building instead of the one that’s really close to your workspace. Park in the space that farthest away from the door. Take the long way back fo your desk after a break. Do everything you can to sneak a little more fitness into your day.

Don’t forget to hop on that scale today and see where you are. If you didn’t lose anything, but you maintained where you were last week…that’s a major win!

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Eight Gliding Disk Exercises

Eight Gliding Disk Exercises

In my last video, which was posted AGES ago, I told you about the five things you absolutely must-have in your home gym…which is simply the place where you get fit at home. Today I’m going to talk about 8 gliding disk exercises that you can do at home.

There are two upper body exercises, three lower body exercises, and three core exercises. Even though we’re will target specific body regions, so to speak, you will be able to feel all of these exercises in your core. For that reason, it is very important for you to keep your core engage while you are performing these. In order words, suck in your gut like you’re trying to get your belly button to meet your spine.

This video is actually first in a five-part series, so let’s get to those exercises. The asterisk (*) in the options indicates the option featured in the video.

Upper Body Exercises

Wax On/Wax Off

  • Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
  • Keep gliding disks under your hands
  • Transfer weight to left hand and both feet
  • Draw a circle on the floor with the right hand
  • Return to starting position
  • Options:
    • Stay on one side to complete continuous reps
    • Alternate arms*
    • Rest on knees instead of remaining on your feet

Plank Push-up

  • Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
  • Keep gliding disks under your hands
  • Slide right hand out to the side while performing the down phase of a push-up
  • Slide right hand back to the center while performing the up phase of a push-up
  • Return to starting position
  • Options:
    • Stay on one side to complete continuous reps
    • Alternate arms*
    • Rest on knees instead of remaining on your feet

Lower Body Exercises

Gliding Jacks

  • Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
  • Keep gliding disks under your feet
  • Slide right hand out to the side
  • Slide right hand back to the starting position
  • Options:
    • Stay on one side to complete continuous reps
    • Alternate legs
    • Move both legs out and in at the same time*

Knee Tucks

  • Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
  • Keep gliding disks under your feet
  • Bend both knees simultaneously and slide them toward your chest
  • Return to starting position
  • Options:
    • Slide knees to the center toward the chest*
    • Alternate knees to right elbow then left after returning to starting position
    • Slide knees to the right-start, center-start, left-start, center-start, and repeat

Mountain Climbers

  • Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
  • Keep gliding disks under your feet
  • Bend your knees and slide them toward your chest and back one at a time
  • Options:
    • Slide knees to the center toward the chest one at a time*
    • Slide R knee to L elbow then L knee to R elbow

Core Exercises

Up/Down Plank

  • Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
  • Keep gliding disks under your feet
  • Bend right arm and left arm to lower into elbow plank
  • Straighten arms to return to straight arm plank
  • Options:
    • Start in elbow plank and transition to straight arm plank
    • Start in straight arm plank and transition to elbow plank*
    • Perform a push-up while in straight arm plank, then transition to elbow plank

Inchworm

  • Start in a straight arm plank position with weight evenly distributed
  • Keep gliding disks under your feet
  • Keep your legs straight and slide your feet as close to your hands as possible
  • Walk your hands out to the starting position
  • Repeat
  • Options:
    • Slide legs forward and slide legs back
    • Walk hands toward feet and slide legs back
    • Slide legs forward and walk hands out*

Sliding Side Crunch

  • Sit in a “mermaid” pose with right leg in front
  • Extend right arm to the floor with a gliding disk under your hand
  • Slide to the right, maintaining your balance
  • Return to starting position
  • Switch to the left side

The Next Steps

In the coming weeks, I will post four different Tabata style workouts based on these exercises.

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Reasons to Get Fit at Home

4 Reasons to Get Fit at Home

We’re one week into the new year! If you drive past any gym or fitness facility, there’s one thought that probably crosses your mind…”There’s a TON of people in there!!!” A lot of people resolve to lose weight or to get fit when January rolls around. But losing weight and getting fit are among the top 10 resolutions that are broken.

Why? Mainly because people who haven’t been to the gym in a long time decide to go several times a week. Unfortunately, some don’t really know what they’re doing. Others become intimidated. In both cases, they stop going.

There’s nothing wrong with a gym membership. In fact, if you have the money, like working out in the company of others, enjoy the variety of fitness classes that are offered, and have the opportunity (and discipline) to go on a regular basis then a gym membership is perfect for you.

However, if you’re pretty much starting at the beginning, here are four reasons you may want to get fit at home.

Convenience

Getting fit at home gives you the opportunity to exercise when you want.

Most fitness facilities aren’t open 24 hours. Even when there’s a gym that is open for 24 hours, you typically can’t access all areas and programs whenever you want.

When you get fit at home, you can work out at a time that works best for you.

Comfort

Sometimes working out in public is a little unnerving. You may get the sense that people are watching you and judging you.

Truthfully, they’re probably not paying attention to you. People go to the gym to work out, but that still doesn’t stop you from feeling as though the eyes of others are upon you.

Getting fit at home eliminates those feelings of discomfort because you can more than likely arrange things so that you are working out alone – without an audience.

You can get fit at home!

Privacy

Fitness centers are definitely not private.

You could bump into virtually anyone at the gym. Your kid’s teacher. That weird person you dated once. The neighbor you’d rather avoid.

Getting fit at home preserves your privacy because no one knows that you’re exercising except for you.

Affordability

Gym memberships cost money. There are some places that have a sliding scale, so you can pay what you can afford. But you still have to pay. Some people can budget for that. Others don’t have money to spare.

Getting fit a home helps you save money while working on that new healthy habit.

Don’t forget to hop on that scale today and see where you are. If you didn’t lose anything, but you maintained where you were last week…that’s a major win!

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Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight

Four Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight

Weight loss! It’s one of the many positive side effects of getting fit. However, you may get to a point where you’re doing everything you know to do, but the scale never changes. If you’re facing that right now, please know that there are specific reasons you’re not losing weight.

For several weeks, I’ve hopped on the scale every Wednesday, and I can honestly say that the numbers on the scale have been consistently inconsistent. Sometimes the number goes down by two pounds one week, but the next week it goes up by 1.5 pounds. Since I’ve also been counting my calories, monitoring my water consumption and tracking my exercise, I’ve noticed some interesting trends.

I’ve come to realize there are four distinct reasons why my weight fluctuates from week to week. Because you’re on this fitness journey with me, I’ve decided to weigh in on why we’re not losing weight.

Reason #1: You’re Not Eating Enough

Logically speaking, if you want to lose weight you should eat less, but when it comes to the human body nothing is logical. Calories are energy, and we all need a basic amount of energy to simply get going. Though it may sound hard to believe, not eating enough can actually cause you to gain weight. You can’t run on empty; no one can. If you consistently consume fewer calories than your body needs, it will simply “hold on” to what you’ve eaten, storing it for later because it’s not sure when the next round of energy (meal) is coming.

The amount of calories you need to consume depends on how much you weigh and how active you are. In short, the more active you are, the more you’ll need to eat. Healthline.com has a Calorie Calculator  that will show you how many calories you should consume on a daily basis to maintain your weight, to lose weight, or to lose weight fast. However, it’s important to note that all calories aren’t created equally.

Reason #2: You’re Not Eating The Right Foods

You know that you’re consuming the proper amount of calories, but you’re still not losing any weight. Maybe it’s time to look at what you’re eating. What you’re eating is another factor that comes into play where weight loss is concerned. Suppose you wanted to consume 300 calories for breakfast. You could have (Option A) one scrambled egg and a cup of rice, (Option B) one glazed doughnut, or (Option C) a vegan omelette with a side of berries.

Certain foods such as raw fruits and vegetables help expel waste from your body. The more of those foods you eat, the more you’ll be able to lose unnecessary waste in your body.

Reason #3: You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

You may have heard that water flushes out impurities. That means water helps eliminate toxins from your system, toxins that could be causing you to hang on to extra weight.

If you’ve ever attempted to drink the recommended amount of water for your weight, you’ve probably wondered about a few things. Like why you have to pee ALL the time, why your pee super dark, or why it smells, it’s because of the impurities or toxins that are in your system. If you stick with it, you’ll notice that you will have to use the restroom less and your urine will become more clear. The more clear your urine is, the least toxic it is.

Did you know that water can serve as a natural appetite suppressant? Drinking water before a meal causes you to feel somewhat full prior to taking your first bite. If you sip water between bites during a meal you will end up eating less. In both cases, the end result of drinking more water would be weight loss.

Reason #4: You’re Exercising Enough

You may already know that there are some amazing things that happen when you exercise: your metabolism increases, you burn calories and your bowels are stimulated. All three of those amazing things provide solid proof that exercise is the most effective avenue for losing weight.

Even so, there are times when you getting your workout in every day and working up a good sweat, but nothing is happening in terms of weight loss.

During those times, it is imperative to reassess your exercise regime. If all you do is cardio, it might be time to do some strength training. If you take a thirty-minute walk every day, it might be time to up the ante by transforming that walk to a jog. Making even a very subtle change to your workout schedule can result in a couple lost pounds in one week.

What now?

If any or all of those reasons you’re not losing weight resonate you’re probably thinking, “What in the world am I supposed to do now!?!?!”

My free email course, 5 Steps to Creating a Healthy Habit will lead you through everything you need to do.

Hopping on the Scale!

Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!

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How to Know You’re Fit

How to Know You’re Fit: Five Ways

Since I keep asking people to get fit with me, and many have joined me on this fitness journey, I figured it’s time for me to weigh in on what “fitness” means and identify how to know you’re fit.

Fitness can be defined as “the condition of being physically fit and healthy”. However, that definition does very little to help you understand what fitness truly means because both “physically fit” and “healthy” could mean totally different things to different people.

To make sure we’re on the same page, the Get Fit with Charity definition of fitness is:

being in good athletic condition;
being physically, mentally and emotionally strong;
being relatively free from injury and illness

There are tons of ways to determine if you’re fit, but I’ll weigh in on five of them…the last one will probably surprise you!

#1: You embody the components of fitness

There are five main components of fitness:

  • Cardiovascular Endurance – exercises like running, swimming, dance fitness, etc.
  • Muscular Strength – how much weight a person can lift or carry
  • Muscular Endurance (i.e. how long [in repetitions or time] a person can sustain an exercise involving specific muscle groups,
  • Flexibility (i.e. the range of motion of a person’s joints)  and
  • Body Composition (i.e. the amount of fat vs. muscle that a person’s body has.)

You know that you’re fit when you notice improvements in any of those areas. Perhaps you notice that you’re not breathing heavily after a brisk thirty-minute walk. Maybe you’re able to move a forty-pound box from the floor to the table with no problem. It’s possible that you can reach down and touch your toes for the first time in five years or you’re able to hold a forearm plank for nearly a minute. It’s possible that some of your favorite clothes are a bit loose on you because your body has gone through some positive changes.

#2: You look forward to your workout

I’m sure you remember what it was like before you started your fitness journey. “Working out” wasn’t part of your vocabulary. You didn’t care to spend your free time getting sweaty, but things have changed. Now you’re excited about taking that walk, going for a swim, or heading to your fitness class. You know that there may be a little discomfort, and there are TONS of other things you could be doing right now. You’re exercising for you. When your workout becomes your happy place, you know you’re fit.

#3: You have more energy

Energy produces energy! In other words, incorporating more movement into your day and working out more gives you increased stamina. You might still get a little tired at work between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm, but you won’t wake up tired. You might even start replacing that morning cup of coffee with a morning run because you realize the run actually clears your head and prepares you to face the day at work. When you no longer wake tired and you feel more energized than you’ve felt in a good long while, you know that you’re fit.

#4: You’re more cognizant of what (and when) you eat or drink

Something pretty amazing is going to happen to you as you’re trucking along on this fitness journey. You’re going to be more mindful of what you eat and what you drink. That’s a sure sign that you’re fit because non-fit people typically don’t take their food and beverage choices into consideration. When you decide to avoid consuming a particular drink because you’ve realized that it zaps your energy or you make a different meal choice because you want something that’s both filling and healthy, it’s pretty safe to say that you’re fit!

#5: You realize that you’ll never arrive

As strange as it sounds, you know that you’re truly fit when you realize that fitness isn’t a destination. It’s a journey. Our lives are similar to the ocean. There’s high tide (i.e. time when we’re in the best athletic condition), and there’s low tide (i.e. times when we’re emotionally week). Then there’s the occasional squall, like when an illness or injury comes out of nowhere and sidelines us for a bit. Being fit means that you understand that you will never arrive at a state of ultimate fitness. You will ever and always strive to be the most fit you that you can be.

Putting It All Together

It’s crucial for me to stress that this information on how to know you’re fit should be seen as building blocks or sequential steps. You don’t have to master one area and then move on to another area; each area can stand on its own. Although these indicators are connected, they aren’t interrelated in the sense that it’s all or nothing. You can have success in all five areas at the same time or you can shine in a few areas.

Hopping on the Scale! Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!

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Four Benefits of Tabata Training

4 Undeniable Benefits of Tabata Training

If you’ve been checking in for the past few weeks you know that I’m a huge fan of both Body Weight Training and Tabata Training. I almost got a bit carried away last week and went into information overload. Then something occurred to me! I could continue that conversation by weighing in on the benefits of Tabata Training.

Although there are countless benefits of Tabata Training, I will only focus on four that simply cannot be denied.

Benefit #1: Improves Aerobic and the Anaerobic Energy Systems

Aerobic means “with oxygen”. The aerobic energy system requires blood or oxygen to operate. Aerobic exercises are typically continuous, repetitive movements that greatly benefit the heart.

Anaerobic means “without oxygen”. The anaerobic energy system doesn’t require blood or oxygen to operate. Anaerobic exercise typically includes intense physical activity, and usually can’t be done for a long period of time.

Tabata Training allows you to activate both systems simultaneously so that you improve both your endurance level as well as build muscle.

Benefit #2: Easy to Customize Workouts

One Tabata round is four minutes long. It consists of eight 20-second rounds that are each followed by a ten-second rest period. You can do one exercise for all 8-rounds. Or you could do four rounds of two different exercises. You could even opt for two rounds of four different exercises…it’s all up to you.

Tabata workouts are extremely easy to customize. If you know you’re only going to have to exercise for 20 seconds, that really opens up tons of possibilities. You can include exercises that you either don’t like or you can’t do for a long period of time.

Benefit #3: Experience “After Burn”

Like other forms of high-intensity interval training, Tabata Training works on the theory of EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption). In other words, once the workout is complete, your body still continues to burn calories.

Admittedly, it’s a bit more technical and scientific than that. However, to help put this in perspective, other forms of exercise don’t work that way.

When you’re done running, you stop burning calories. The same goes for swimming and other forms of cardio (aerobic) based exercise form.

Since Tabata Training activates both the anaerobic and aerobic systems, it allows the body to respond differently to exercise.

Benefit #4: Burn Tons of Calories

The average person burns about 100 calories per mile, so if someone were to run for 20 minutes, they could burn up to 200 calories, provided that they were able to run ten-minute miles. However, that same person could burn about 15 calories per minute when participating in a Tabata Training workout.

In other words, a twenty-minute Tabata Training workout could allow someone to burn 300 calories during that workout out. T

he key to burning more calories lies in the intensity of your workout, so be sure to give your all during the twenty-second exercise round, so you can burn the most calories possible.

Talk is Cheap

You’ll be able to find several Tabata style workout video on the Get Fit with Charity YouTube Channel. I want you to experience the benefits of Tabata training first hand.

I can’t wait to start working out with you!

Hopping on the Scale! Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!

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High-Intensity Interval Training vs Tabata Training

HIIT vs. Tabata Training

Today’s Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in will be a little different. I will be talking about HIIT vs Tabata (or High-Intensity Interval Training and Tabata Training).

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about my specialty area: Bodyweight Training.  Tabata training is my preferred method for incorporating bodyweight exercises. People are often confused when we talk about Tabata training. Most of them have never heard of it. Some of them even ask me how Tabata Training is better than High-Intensity Interval Training, and they typically walk away. They say that they prefer High-Intensity Interval Training, and Tabata Training sort of sounds like a gimmick to them.

What is High-Intensity Interval Training?

High-Intensity Interval Training or HIIT is a form of exercise that’s gained quite a bit of popularity lately. In short, HIIT is exactly what it sounds like, but it’s easier to explain by breaking it down.

The word “intensity” refers to the amount of force, strength or effort it takes to do something. In terms of exercise, there are low, moderate and high intensity levels.

“Low intensity” exercises require minimal effort. They can be done for prolonged periods of time without leading to exhaustion. Things like walking or dog or pushing a sleeping baby in a stroller. On a scale of 1 to 5, low-intensity exercises would definitely be a 1.

“Moderate intensity” exercises require a little more effort, but why still aren’t that strenuous. A brisk walk or a light jog would fall in this category; these are exercises that you can do for a while. However, you would have to pace yourself, so you don’t tire out too easily. Moderate intensity exercises would score a 3 on a 1 to 5 scale.

“High intensity” exercises require all of your energy and effort. Since you give your all during these exercises, you won’t be able to perform them for very long. These are difficult exercises, like burpees or mountain climbers. They would be the highest on the one to five scale.

An “interval” can be defined as a space or span of time. So interval training is an exercise form consisting of an exercise period (or interval) immediately followed by a resting period. The intervals repeat in an AB pattern.

Putting It All Together

High-intensity interval training alternates between strenuous exercise and rest for specific periods of time.

Generally speaking, the resting interval in HIIT is a bit shorter than the exercise interval. That’s because it gives the body just enough time to recover but not enough time to relax. There is no specified amount of time for HIIT intervals. One can exercise for 40 seconds and rest for 20 seconds. Or you could do a 60 second “on” and 30 second “off” workout or some other combination. The key to maximizing your HIIT workout: make sure you’re able to go all out during the exercise interval. That’s where Tabata Training comes in.

What is Tabata Training?

Tabata Training is a HIIT format adapted from a 1996 study conducted by Dr. Izumi Tabata and a group of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. The results: workouts with short bursts of high-intensity exercise had better effects than workouts with longer moderate-intensity exercises.

A Message from Dr. Izumi Tabata

In the featured video clip, Dr. Izumi Tabata said, “Tabata Training is a form of high-intensity interval training which enables us to improve both aerobic and anaerobic cardiac systems simultaneously.” In other words, Tabata Training allows you to strengthen your heart and develop your muscles in less time than a traditional workout. However, Dr. Tabata stresses that the exercise interval should bring people to the point of exhaustion for them to receive maximum benefits.

Dr. Tabata stated that when the papers were published in 1996 and 1997, he expected that high-level athletes would participate in the training. He was surprised that many members of the general population are creating their own Tabata workouts.

What’s the difference?

I want to recap the common questions associated with HIIT and Tabata Training are:

  1. What’s the difference between Tabata Training and HIIT?
  2. Which method is better: HIIT or Tabata Training?

There’s really no way to answer those questions because (1) Tabata Training is a form of HIIT, so there’s no difference between the two. Beyond that (2) HIIT and Tabata Training follow identical formats of exercise/rest/repeat, so it’s not possible for one to be better than the other.

Perhaps a better question is: what is the most effective form of HIIT? The answer – without a doubt – would be Tabata Training!

Hopping on the Scale!
Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!

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3 Tips for a Guilt-Free Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday! So I thought I’d weigh in on how to handle birthday treats. That way you’ll have a guilt-free birthday when you’re on your fitness journey.

When you’re younger, birthdays are the best! There are parties with your school friends. Parties with your other friends. Family celebrations. And TONS of presents.

When you’re older, birthdays sort of lose their pizazz! They do nothing more than remind you that you’ve gotten year older.

That’s why I did some research several years ago and discovered a bunch of places to go for free stuff on your birthday. Then I looked a little deeper and found even more free stuff for your birthday.

I joined pretty much every birthday club on my lists…and a few more. As a result, I have nearly twenty birthday coupons to redeem and most of them are food-based. I’ve been struggling with how to celebrate my birthday responsibly without overindulging in sweets and other foods that I probably shouldn’t be eating.

Even though you may not have as many coupons to redeem, I’m sure you can probably relate to the challenges associated with food-based birthday celebrations – whether you’re celebrating your own birthday or the birthday of a friend or loved one.

I’ve come up with three tips for guilt-free birthday celebrations.

Tip #1: Allow Yourself to Celebrate

Healthy eating doesn’t have to only consist of fruits and vegetables. It’s okay to eat sweets and not so healthy foods…on occasion. If you have a ton celebrations to attend or coupons to redeem, simply set some limits and decide what will and will not do. Giving yourself permission to celebrate actually releases you from guilt and enables you to truly enjoy your day!

Tip #2: Pace Yourself

Although your birthday only happens once a year, you can redeem some of your coupons up to four weeks after your birthday! That means you won’t have to cram all of those desserts and free meals into one day. You can space them out over a month, so that you’re still able to maintain a sensible eating plan and avoid feeling guilty.

Tip #3: Share Your Gifts

Let’s be real for a minute. One person doesn’t actually need to consume five free desserts, three free drinks, two free meals and three free appetizers on their own. That’s a ton of calories – most of which will do more harm than good. If you share your treats with friends, you’ll have the opportunity to have a totally guilt-free celebration and still enjoy your special day.

Hopping on the Scale!
Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!

Click to join “The REAL Get Fit With Charity” Facebook Group!

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What is Bodyweight Training?

Every personal trainer has a specialty, a niche, an area of fitness that is near and dear to their hearts. It’s not that they have no regard for other specialties or think they have no value. It’s just that something about that specialty area stood out to them pretty early in their career.

Some are really into Crossfit. Others have a passion for functional fitness. This week, I’m weighing in on my specialty area: bodyweight training.

What is Bodyweight Training?

In the event that you’re unfamiliar with this area, bodyweight training is precisely what it sounds like. It is a form of strength training where you use your bodyweight to tone, strengthen, and condition your muscles rather than free weights or machines.

Before I give you the reasons why weight training is amazing, in my opinion, I want to give a little bit of a backstory.

As I’ve mentioned before, I gave up my gym membership nearly two decades ago. Although my main reason for letting my gym membership code was due to the fact that I wasted tons of money by only going once a month every other month or so, I also gave it up because I simply didn’t feel comfortable. I felt as if people are ogling me or sizing me up. I’m sure that probably wasn’t the case, but it certainly felt that way.

Discovering Bodyweight Training

I really wanted to exercise in the comfort of my own home, but I didn’t have the equipment. Somewhere along the way, I’d bought into the notion that you had to lift weights or exercise on cardio machines to get fit, but I was wrong.

When I finally released the gym membership, I bought some of the equipment that I used at the gym – minus the machines, of course. I had a mat, a stability ball, and several sets of dumbbells.  I thought that I would use that equipment to help me stay in shape. However, since I use them about as much as I used my gym membership, I proved to be wrong once again.

Somewhere along the way, I rediscovered bodyweight training. I remembered the exercises my sports teams did when I was a high school athlete. We did very little weightlifting, but we were amazingly fit.  In fact, my junior year of high school was the time that I remember being my most fit and most flexible, and I don’t recall spending any time in the weight room.

As I prepared to weigh in on this topic, it occurred to me that there are four main reasons I’m sold on bodyweight training.

1. There’s No Need for Any Equipment Whatsoever

The main reason I’m sold on bodyweight training is the fact that you don’t need any equipment to workout or get fit. Of course, you can use things like gliding discs, resistance bands, or figure 8 tubing to enhance your workout, but you don’t actually NEED those items. You can learn how to use your own bodyweight to get amazing results, and I’m excited to show you how.

2. You’re Able to Workout Any Time, Anywhere

One major flaw that both weights and exercise machines have in common is the fact that you simply can’t take them with you. BUT your body goes everywhere that you go, so no one can say that they don’t have the right equipment to workout. As long as you have yourself, you have everything that you need.

3. Positive Changes are Easy to Identify

When you do bodyweight exercises, it is easy to sense when you’ve gained strength or increased your fitness level. You can easily tell if there is less discomfort when you do plié squats. You’ll quickly notice that you can hold your plank longer than you did the week before. You will see that your legs don’t give out as quickly on you during wall sits as they used to. In as little as four weeks (maybe sooner), you’ll be able to identify major progress on your fitness journey.

4. Bodyweight Exercises are Practical than

I will readily admit that weight lifting is effective, but nobody does bench press type moves during the course of a day. However, we do a little squat every time we sit. Whenever we stand from a sitting position, we do what resembles a sit up. Bodyweight exercises are more practical because you can mimic activities are you do you do during the course of a day.

Hopping on the Scale!
Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!

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Five Must-Haves for Your “Home Gym”

Welcome to the first video blog for Get Fit with Charity! I’m Charity, and before I get too far ahead, I want to sincerely thank you for joining me on this fitness journey! As you probably know, my goal is to show you how to get fit in the comfort of your home without using a lot of equipment. In the future, video blogs will consist of me either showing you bodyweight exercises or leading you through Tabata workouts. Today’s vlog, will be more informative as I talk about five things you simply must have for your home gym.

You can see that I’m sitting in my “home gym”, which doubles as my living room. Your “home gym” doesn’t have to be your living room. It can be your basement, your den, your guest bedroom, your garage, or any other space in your home that is large enough for you to workout and do jumping jacks, lunges, squats and a variety of other bodyweight exercises.

As we’re getting ready to start working out together…in our respective homes, of course…there are five items you simply must have either for the sake of comfort or in order to add resistance or help intensify your workout.

Yoga Mat

The first item that you’ll need is a yoga mat. This will serve as a cushion if you’re on a hard surface, and it will protect you from rug burns if you’re working out on a carpeted surface.

Water Bottle

Second, you’ll want a water bottle. Although most of our workouts will be about six-minutes, there will be times when you break a sweat. It’ll be a good idea for you to have a water bottle handy, so you can stay hydrated.

Towel

This third item will be really useful if you do sweating; it’s a towel. You don’t need anything large, but you may want something to make sure you not dripping on your mat or the floor.

Figure 8 Tubing

The fourth thing you’ll need is a little piece of equipment that provides an awesome alternative to weight. It’s called Figure 8 tubing, and it can be used to add resistance to both upper body and lower body exercises.

Gliding Disks/Core Sliders

The fifth and final item that you’ll need is easily my most favorite piece of equipment because of its versatility. These gliding disks can be used for upper body, lower body, and core exercises. In fact, the majority of the exercises that you do with gliding disks will require you to engage your core. You can purchase gliding disks to use on hard surfaces or carpeted surfaces. I would actually recommend double-sided gliding disks, like these because you can use flip them over depending on what surface you’ll be using. If you have a slab in your basement but decide to work out in your carpeted den one day, you’re totally set.

Where Can You Find The Stuff?

I didn’t want you scouring the internet trying to find all of these things, so I’ve added some items from Amazon to help you stock up your home gym ASAP.

The Next Steps

Stay tuned for some new workout videos on YouTube. I will show you some of my favorite bodyweight exercises using both the Figure 8 Tubing and the gliding disks. Then I’ll take you through a couple of Tabata workouts geared specifically to each item.

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