Hi-Ya!

People are always trying to keep their workouts fun and interesting and they usually do this by trying out different fitness classes. What people often don't think about is incorporating martial arts into their fitness regime. Martial arts are a great source of both cardiovascular exercise and strength building techniques. I am a huge proponent of women discovering the art from not only the fitness aspect, but for the self defense and empowerment that martial arts gives to its practitioners. There is also a sense of accomplishment that comes along with studying martial arts. You have the opportunity to be recognized as you progress with your training by being awarded colored belts. Which is great for those days when you really don't feel like working out, knowing that you will be graded at some point gives you that extra push you might need to get to class. Anyone that practices martial arts will tell you that training should not be about moving up in rank, but about learning and practicing the art to the best of your ability. Here are a few tips if you are interested in taking a martial arts class:

1) Make sure to research different styles of martial arts before committing to one.

2) Go to an introductory class before committing to anything just to make sure you like it.

3) Don't sign a lengthy contract for any martial art school.

The Idiots Guide to Martial Arts is a great book that gives you a good overview of vast number of martial arts. Google is also a good tool to use to research facilities in your area.

Mondays Are Tough

After a long day at work the last thing I wanted to do today was come home, put my gym clothes on, and hit the mat, but I did it! It's tough on a monday to stay motivated. You work all day trying to catch up from the weekend and at the end of your shift you are usually ready to just go sit on the couch, watch some t.v., and chill. What helped me today though was having a workout buddy. Today is not an X-Factor workout day, it's a do whatever you want for 30 minutes or one of the extra DVDs and if I wouldn't have had someone counting on me to meet them at the studio I probably wouldn't have worked out. Today's lesson is get a buddy. They help hold you accountable for getting your workout in. They push you and you push them and it makes your workout world a better place!

Show Me the Abs!

Today was another day on my X-Factor journey. I popped in the abs workout and felt the burn! It was a short workout coming in at just over 16 minutes, but in those 16 minutes I never stopped pushing. I felt that workout all day in my abdomen! It got me thinking about when I was younger and how I use to think that you needed to do 1000 sit-ups a day to get that six pack everyone dreams about, but what I found with age and experience is sit-ups are great, but there are a few exercises that I really enjoy that help get my abs get stronger without my back ever hitting the floor. One of my all-time favorite exercises is the plank. It really gives you a lot of bang for your buck. It not only helps you in your quest for rock solid abs, it also helps you tone the rest of your body while making you stronger and fitter. You will find when you first start planking you won't be able to hold your form for very long, but if you work at it every other day within a few weeks you will see great progress in the amount of time you can hold your form. Another exercise I really like is the squat leg lift. This exercise really works your obliques while throwing in a little something extra for the legs. The greatest part is you never even come close to the floor. You just stand in horse stance, squat, lift left leg, squat, lift right leg and repeat. It's easy and great for people who hate the mundane everyday sit-up. Uppercuts are another great way to work those abs! Keeping the abs tight while throwing some uppercuts gets the heart pumping while helping you sculpt your six-pack. Remember rock hard abs don't happen over night. It's a long journey to the body of your dreams, but if you keep at it one day you will get there.

Pushing!

After a long day at work the last thing I really wanted to do was go home and break a sweat, but something inside me said just do it you, will be glad you did later. So I broke out my X-Factor DVD set, popped in disc 1, and felt the burn. Best thing I did today. I was so stressed out before I worked out, but afterwards I was relaxed and the worries of the work week had faded away. People always talk about a runners high, but in actuality any type of workout can get you feeling good and in a better mood. It just takes 30 minutes a day and you can be fitter and be in a healthier state of mind. People ask me all the time how do I motivate myself to workout 6 days a week and I tell them for me my body is a work in progress. Every time I exercise I change a little piece of it and to me that's exciting. That's the thing, you have to become ok with not seeing instant results. Becoming healthier takes time and you have to get into the mind set that it isn't going to happen over night. I tell everyone get excited about the possibility of molding your body into a work of art you can be proud of.

The Burn Is On!

Last night I was looking through the Wal-Mart sale paper when I stumbled upon an ad for Weider's X-Factor: ST. I have to say I am a sucker for DVD programs that claim to be the whole package and will get you to looking like that lean, mean, fighting machine you have always dreamed of being, so with the tag line, "the body you want in 8 weeks!" they had me hook, line, and sinker. The price really grabbed my attention as well. For $29.99 I figured why not just buy it and try it out. I waste 30 bucks on stupid stuff every month and who knows this could just be the thing I have been searching for. Off to the store I went and was really surprised when I got home and opened the boxed. The program comes with 12 DVDs, two push-up circles, a nutrition plan, a workout chart, and a food diary. The kicker is the stuff you would think would be on paper is actually on a disc. This was a new concept to me since I was looking for a book to thumb through, but the PDF versions work just as well and are more environmentally friendly. The nutrition guide is pretty well thought out, giving you not only a plan to work with, but grocery lists and recipes for you to follow as well. Next I took a look at the DVDs. You get 12 DVDs total. You have 8 DVDs with workouts for the 8 weeks with work outs specific to that week and 5 DVDs that you alternated in every other day. The extra 5 are abs, yoga, glutes and thighs, and total body. The program gives you the option of throwing in which ever one you want to do on the day you don't do the scheduled week DVD. I popped the first DVD of the set in today and really liked the work out. The entire workout was a little over 30 minutes with warm-up and cool down. It was challenging but not to the point where I wanted to throw something at the TV. Being someone with ADD the workout kept me interested and motivated. It really made me want to do it again tomorrow. Let's see if I can stick with it for the full 8wks.