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It is that time of year again where we sit down and set goals for the new year.   This year, I am going to take a different approach and reflect on my past instead.

It is 10 years ago this month that I started my fitness journey.  I had just gotten married and was going on a honeymoon cruise.  I had a few pounds I wanted to lose before going on my trip so I decided I would start to exercise.    After looking at this picture again, it is painfully obvious I had more than a few to lose!

Are you surprised that I have not always been fit?

I know, most people who meet me now cannot believe that I used to be a very lazy couch potato. I would eat a bag of Oreos while watching hours of TV.  I hated any form of exercise and clearly avoided it like the plague.  I partied a lot in college (sorry,Mom) and packed on the pounds.  At the time I didn’t even seem to notice.

So with my “cruise-goal” set on paper, I joined a gym and made an effort.  I woke up early every single day for a month and went to a 5:30am step class.  I made friends,  lost weight and discovered that I LOVED exercise.  I felt alive.  I felt strong.  I felt important.   The weight came off (slowly) and I had a fabulous time on that cruise.

Two years later, I was in the best shape of my life and started to make my vacations active ones.  My family thinks I am crazy because I would rather be biking in Utah than sipping drinks on the beach.

Back then, I never would have believed that I could run marathons, become a personal trainer, or teach aerobics.  I was never that person and never believed I COULD be.

Yet today, I am that person.  Fitness makes me who am I am and most people don’t know me otherwise.  I love to be active and make it my goal to do something every single day.  Even 10 minutes of stair climbing makes my day better.

Yes, I have had my share of setbacks and I am no longer as fit as I was in that picture.   I do however have two wonderful little boys who love me no matter what size I wear.

For me, the goal is to simply keep looking forward.  I don’t ever want to slip back into that couch-surfing lifestyle that absolutely sucked the energy out of life.

My only resolution this year is to continue to be active.  I just want to keep on keeping on.

As one of my Twitter friends is always saying  “Don’t ever give up on your journey”.
You CAN do it gang.
I have. 
HAPPY 2009!

For those of you in the US, have a wonderful Labor Day! If you are not in the US, Happy September 1st!

I hope the weather cooperates and you get to have fun with family and friends outside. If you are going to a barbecue or picnic today, remember to make healthier choices:

• Think 1 burger, not two
• Have one beer, not six
• Have some raw veggies, instead of chips and dip
• Skip the potato and macaroni salad and have some fruit instead
• Have one small piece of cake, not a huge chunk with a bowl of ice cream

Whether you are at a party, or just at home, make today an active day.
Get up early and go for a walk or run. Take a bike ride or jump rope. Play tennis with your kids, go swimming before the pools close up, do some yoga, or spend extra time enjoying your brand new Wii Fit!

Life is all about choices gang. Make the choice to move more and eat less today!
photo credit: astaa

The heat and humidity of summer is tough for runners, especially when you are trying to train for a fall half or full marathon.

Here are a couple of tips that have helped me:

• Start very early or very late:
  Get out before the sun rises or go out after the sun goes down. Be safe though, either run with a friend or be sure cars can see you. You can get a reflective Nathan LED Runners Vest here.
• Hydrate often.
  Either bring water with you, (my favorite carrier is the Fuelbelt Helium 4 Bottle Belt) or plan to have water somewhere along your route. I freeze water bottles and put them in my mailbox or hide them behind trees along my path. Not only does it help keep me hydrated but it gives me something to look forward to as I am running!
• Make great use of sprinklers
  Run through them and cool yourself off. (just don’t trample the flowers while you are going through your neighbors yard!)
• Rest if necessary
  Heat exhaustion is nothing to fool around with. If your muscles begin to cramp and you start to feel dizzy and/or nauseous, it is time to call it a day. It is so important to listen to your body.
• Treadmill
  When all else fails, bring your run inside and log your miles on the treadmill. Pop in a great movie or show and enjoy the air conditioning!

Do you have any tips to share?

Accountability is king here in the land of health and fitness. If I know that someone is waiting for me at the track or that I only have fruits and vegetables as snacks in the house, it is much easier to stay focused on healthy living.

So when I heard about the “Tweightloss Challenge”, I jumped at the chance to be a team trainer. We are using Twitter as a means of support, motivation, and accountability. It doesn’t matter if you want to lose 1 pound or 100 pounds, your team members are there to support you along the way.

So the next time I get tempted by that stray brownie or feel like skipping a workout, I’m going to ‘tweet’ it to my crew and know that one of them will help me make a better decision! (Go team Twit Fit!)

Interested in joining in on the challenge? Please visit Audrey’s blog for more information. (she is a mom to FOUR boys under the age of 4. If she can do this, you can too!)

Now get up, get moving, and enjoy your energy gang. No excuses!

Christopher William McCombs runs Positively Fit Personal Training in Beverly Hills, California. Chris stumbled on a very different approach to losing fat one day which he uses to help people all over LA County. Chris is also teaches Marketing for Personal Trainers and helps personal trainers all over increase their income while cutting down their hours.

If you have been exercising for a while, you have probably experienced the dreaded plateau on more than one occasion. This is the time when you discover that you stop being able to run any longer or faster, haven’t been able to make progress with your weights for a while, or can’t seem to increase your flexibility any more for yoga. Some people can be content achieving a base level fitness, but for the more ambitious, these plateaus can be a tad discouraging.

If you want to bust out of your plateau, follow these simple tips.

Take a Break - Believe it or not, one of the greatest culprits of plateaus is over training. If you are the type who likes to exercise often, there is chance that you hit your plateau because you just work out too hard or too often. So taking a week off from exercising might actually give your body just what it needs to recover from how hard you are working it. You may be surprised by just how energized you feel once you get back into the swing of things after the break. You should also do you what you can to get a solid eight hours of sleep every night, as lack of rest might be preventing your body from recovering.

Try Different Exercises - Another major cause of fitness plateaus is doing the same exercises over and over again. Once you find a basic exercise routine that you like, it can be tempting just to stick to it week in and week out. But the fact of the matter is that after a while your body just kind of gets accustomed to the same old workout, and then stops developing. It helps if you do a major shakeup in how you exercise every couple months. If you really like jogging for your cardio, you might try jump roping. If you have never done plyometrics before, now might be the time to give them a shot.

Neglecting Post Workout Nutrition - Exercise is a powerful appetite suppressant, so many people choose not to eat anything immediately after a workout. This is typically a mistake, as for about half an hour after your work out, your body is very receptive to absorbing the kind of protein and carbohydrates that can make you stronger, faster, and healthier in the long run. So be sure to have a plan to consume your post workout meal very quickly after you complete your workout. It won’t just improve the quality of your workouts, it will also make you feel a little better after working out by raising your blood sugar.

Decrease Time in Between Sets - This one is specific to weight training. When working out, many people make the mistake of taking long breaks in between each of their sets. They might set the weights down and chat with their workout partner or go get something to drink and lose track of time. But if you spend to much time resting, you actually won’t put enough stress on your muscles, which means that you won’t be getting as a good a workout as you could. That’s why it’s best to keep the rest between sets less than ninety seconds. It won’t only get you more fit, it will also actually make your workouts shorter.

photo credit: hrtmnstrfr

I will be using my ValSlidethis weekend and doing a circuit workout from Valerie Waters Red Carpet Ready. My legs are nervous just thinking about it!

I am also doing the 100 Push up Challenge, along with many others here. We are gearing up for a very challenging week #3. I am feeling strong, how about you?

And for those of you training for your fall marathon (Rachel, Fitarella, Nap Warden, JD, who else?), have a great run this weekend! (and please run a mile or two for me, ok? thanks!)

Now gang, how are you going to make your weekend an active one?

photo credit: Maryam S.

Thanks to JD over at Get Fit Slowly, I have signed up for the challenge to do 100 push ups. My plan starts Monday which means by the end of July I should be able to do 100 push ups!

I am not sure if it will work but it will be fun to try! Check it out here.
Who else wants to join in?

The vacation is over. The memories were made, the sand castles were built, and the ice cream was eaten. (Oh, how the ice cream was eaten!)

So now what?
It is back to reality with a vengeance.

Here is my post-vacation recovery plan.

Sensible diet
Issue: Coming off a week long free for all of cookies, ice cream and other treats. Ugh.
Plan: The focus will be on eating a minimum of 3 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables every single day. If I am tempted by junk, then I need to remember my ABC plan.

Reduce the Diet Pepsi
Issue: I consume mass quantities of this drink. Aside from being expensive, it is also full of chemicals that are doing who knows what to my system. I find that when drinking diet soda, I really crave salty foods, such as fries or chips. Does anyone else have this issue?
Plan: Cut back to two cans a day. (and yes, this is a major reduction for me!)

Exercise
Issue: I’m a cardio-aholic. I love to run and bike but sometimes I slip into a comfort zone while doing them and the activity becomes too easy. I need a challenge and changing up my standard workouts is just what the trainer has ordered! (everyone should change their workout routine every so often–challenge yourself gang!) This is also necessary due to the current condition of my foot.
Plan: Three days a week of full body strength training. (dare I dream to have arms like MizFit?)

Stress:
Issue: I realized over the past week that I waste too much time worrying over things that are really not that important. (so what if the pantry is a mess, who really cares other than me?)
Plan: I will take at least 15 minutes each day to do something relaxing, either some gentle yoga or just reading a book. I am worth 15 minutes!

It is all about choices in life and I am choosing to make small changes for better results.
How about you gang, what changes are you making these days?

and one more thing…have you been active today? I hope so!

photo credit: eyeliam

This is a guest post by Jean Christofferson who lives in Greenbrae, California and is the mother of two active teenagers. Jean rows with Marin Rowing and runs Relevant Tools, an internet services company. Her latest venture is Swim Coach Direct, an online source of swim workouts and training tips that she developed with her daughter’s swim coaches. Check out the weekly swim blog.

I admire all of you Workout Mommies. I have teenagers and am just a Workout Mom. It is a lot easier. I don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to change diapers or chase monsters away. When I go off to do my workout I don’t have to worry about getting a baby sitter - my son is the baby sitter. I don’t have to figure out how I will get my daughter to and from school and sports - she drives.

But it wasn’t always this way. Back when they were babies the only exercise I got was pushing the stroller up hill. I certainly wasn’t running marathons but it was a start. We coaxed the kids on family hikes with the promise of a beanie baby if there were no complaints (yes, bribery works). Then they got old enough to start doing their own sports.

My daughter started swimming at age six on the local summer league swim team two blocks from our house. She loved it and by the time she was eight she was swimming year round. In addition to healthy snacks and changes of clothes for all weather I kept the mini van loaded with bikes and balls to keep my younger son active while my daughter swam. I tried to get him to swim as well but that wasn’t his thing and when he was old enough he finally settled on lacrosse as his sport. While they were both at practice I had an hour or two to go for a run or pop into the gym.

Once my daughter was old enough to drive I had even more time for myself and started rowing. Now we are both getting up at 5 am and she goes off to swim practice and I go rowing. It is great to have each other’s encouragement, especially on cold dark winter mornings.

So all you Workout Mommies, the pay off is coming when you graduate to Workout Moms with Workout Teenagers.

Yesterday was the annual Boston Marathon and once again I was following from the sidelines.

I always get so hyped up by all the race day news (did you know that both Lance and Kristin Armstrong were running?) but at the same time I feel insanely jealous that I am not one of the runners.

I just have to hold on to my hope that someday I will be a Boston runner instead of a spectator. I guess the bright side of getting older is that I now get five extra minutes to qualify, thanks to my most recent birthday. (in order to run in the Boston Marathon, you have to get a qualifying time from another marathon.)

I want to send out a big “CONGRATS” to Judith over at Autismville. She ran yesterday for her son Jack and his school, Nashoba Learning Group. Judith, I hope you have your feet up right now and that you are getting some much needed rest! (and did you see Lance?)

Now just in case you are thinking that YOU could never run a marathon, think again.

PBS had a special on last week called “Marathon Challenge”. It is a documentary that follows

“13 generally sedentary people through a training regimen designed to prepare them for an ultimate test of stamina and endurance.”

They go from being non-runners to marathon runners in a matter of 9 months! You can watch it online here. It is very inspirational, so be sure to keep your running shoes nearby. (and tissues too.)

All this talk of marathons makes me want to go running.
How about you, what activity are you doing today?