Hey friends, How the times have changed over the past 8 to 9 months. Friday was my first time back at the gym in about 3 months!

Not so fast, I’ve actually but running out doors! That’s right, so don’t go telling your friends I’ve been lazy.

I have some amazing stories to share with you all. So stay tuned, I’ll recount the pain and suffering I experienced when I ran a 5K trail event last month!

I’ll also share some insight on how to recover from a rough workout or other physically straining activities.  There’s plenty of tips and insight to go around.

Other Happenings

I’ve been busy promoting and writing for a new blogging magazine. We’re going through some adjustments at the moment, but the opportunities has certainly come my way!

My personal blogging site is called Simply Blog. It’s only a few months old. I’ve also done some writing over at Tech Suave.

On simply blog, I use the Thesis Theme by Chris Pearson. Just in case anyone was interested. Go a head, Take your fitness blog to the next level!

As always, Thanks for visiting! Remember to drop by soon!

The proof is always in the pudding. Studies show that when your focus is only on what the scale reads, you are likely to fail.

[Read more →]

Health Blogs Around The Blogosphere

Hey Everyone! Sorry but Graduation was this weekend and my family is in town for the weekend.

The past month having been a mess because of exams, hotel arrangements and everyone or thing demanding my attention, I finally have a little extra time to post about a few sites I stumbled upon.

Enjoy!

[Read more →]

Health and Fitness Blogs Around The Blogosphere

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share more health and fitness blogs I stumbled upon. I found these sites at Forbes.

It is nice to view other blogs on the topics I write about, or at least somewhat similar. I find it refreshing to discover new sites around the net to interact with, along with people you might wish to partner up with.

[Read more →]

Hit a weight loss plateau?

I stumbled upon an interesting article that reminded me of how necessary it is to change up our workout routines, especially when your body reaches a weight loss plateau.

[Read more →]

Occasionally, I’ll discuss or provide links to different Health and Fitness blogs I stumble upon. These sites are worth visiting. Swing by, connect with new people, and enjoy their articles!

I recently stumbled upon the following health blogs sites:

• Working On My Fitness
• smarterthanagrade5
• AlmostFit
• chillibody
• Paul’s Health Blog

Check out these sites and drop a comment.

Also, here is a helpful tool called the Metabolic Rate Calculator

Have Your Say! Please Share Your Blog Fitness Site.

According to this article, home gym equipment in America topped $5 billion in 2006, while 2007 sales increased an additional 3 percent.

Apparently, current numbers are suggesting that more Americans are investing in treadmills; sales surpassed almost $3 billion last year.

I run outdoors because outdoor training has proven most beneficial for me. Remember, just because something worked for me, does not mean it will do the same for you. Everyone is different, and everyone has specific needs. I remember training with treadmills, and soon realizing, to my displeasure, that I was not as conditioned as one might think.

So, I wanted to ask my readers, because I’m sure many of you, like me, have seen treadmills go unused in many homes.

The article offers a list of home gym equipment, of course the lower-cost alternatives to expensive exercise equipment.

• A yoga mat
• Small free weights
• An exercise ball
• A jump rope

Here is the entire article. [Home gyms race hearts, but make them personal]

What kind of home gym equipment have you invested in? What would your dream fitness home gym consist of ?

What is Overtraining?

Simply stated, when a people pushes themselves to hard without proper rest and recovery. This can occur with any workout program.

How do I know if I’ve Overtrained?

Normally, if your experiencing some of the following symptoms:

• Lasting soreness and stiffness in muscles, joints, and tendons
• Loss in training interest
• Lack of progress
• Problems sleeping
• Headaches
• No energy
• Loss of appetite

Overtraining is self defeating! Your goals are to avoid injury, increase strength, lose body fat, etc

The Secret to your Success!

• Give yourself time off! Stay away from the Gym for several days, or how ever long it takes.
• Relax, spend sometime with family, or friends. Maybe even get outdoor!
• REST! Try to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night.
• Take a multivitamin (daily)
• Food intake should be high in protein and carbs, salads, fresh fruit and veggies.
• If you feel like your overtraining, STOP TRAINING!
• Lose the Pride! Don’t try to become someone your not.
• Patience, spread your workout throughout the course of the week.
• REMEMBER, always avoid injury! Take a few days off, instead an injury forcing you to take several months off.

What would you add?

What habits have helped you avoid over training and avoid injury? Do you have any ideas and tips to add to this post? Let us know what you think! Thanks!

What would you add?

I recently did a post on my ‘Ten Tips for Improving Fitness.‘ I want to know what you might add to this list? Maybe you have or had great results from a set of habits or tips developed for improving your fitness, and or to promote weight loss. Please share your set of tips, feedback and ideas.

Remember, don’t assume if something works for you, it will work for everyone else. People have different and specific needs.

Well, in this case, only if the items of this list become apart of your lifestyle.

Here are ten tips that help me improve my fitness.

1. Eat smaller meals; six meals, instead of three big meals.
2. Concentrate on carbs
3. Quality activity
4. Reduce sugary foods
5. Stop drinking pop/soda/coke
6. Find a workout buddy
7. Write down what you eat
8. Plan your workout schedule
9. Don’t overtrain
10. Be patient

1. Eat smaller meals; six meals instead of three big meals.

Your body can quickly digest small meals. Avoid over eating! Big meals slow you down and leave you feeling lazy, sleepy, etc

2. Concentrate on carbs

Remember, not all carbs are bad. See my article on ‘3 Reasons Why you should eat carbs‘ for more on this.

3. Quality activity

This may not be possible for some of you. Aim for three to five days of quality exercise every week. Get creative, get outdoors, don’t settle for just going to the gym.

4. Reduce sugary foods

We all know which foods these are. Remember, you can enjoy a snack, just don’t treat yourself everyday. I find that a reward system works best for me. Pick one day out of the week to eat what you want!

5. Stop drinking pop (soda, coke)

Depending on where your from, we all have different names for it. Try replacing coke with water. This will make a huge impact on your waist line. These kinds of soft drink will slow you down, and add on the weight.

6. Find a workout buddy

A workout partner is necessary for many reasons. This topic could be a post in itself. I find that I’m likely to remain consistent with a partner rather than alone. A workout partner could offer motivation and ensure safely.

7. Write down what you eat

Keep a little note pad with you throughout your day. Review a record of the food you consume daily. This will shock many of us. Keeping a food log will help you to become aware of the junk food you forgot you ate earlier. You can always review these records to determine the foods that should be added or removed from your daily intake.

8. Plan your workout schedule

Remember that old saying, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” I heard this statement often as a child. Take it one week at a time, plan your workout schedule and stick to it. People often schedule events and activities they plan on completing or remaining committed to.

9. Don’t overtrain

It is better to under train instead of over train. Preventing injury is always a must! Never use the same muscle group in consecutive days. Always allow muscles to recover.

10. Be patient

Growth and development never occur over night. Fight the temptation of doing to much. Build discipline , remain consistent and enjoy your workouts.