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Posts Tagged ‘working-out’
America’s Hottest Fit Moms- Meet Fit Mom Donna
Hey there Family-First Fitness Folks! Fit Moms and Dads are joining America’s Hottest Fit Moms on Facebook and here at NitasWorld.com to celebrate some of the most inspiring Fit Moms around. This week we are especially excited to introduce a mom who lost weight and inspired a life-change for her son. Meet Fit Mom Donna I. Nehrich! I was blessed to learn about her inspiring journey through her posts in our group on facebook
My highest body weight was 320, I don’t know what my body fat percentage was then because I didn’t care enough to measure it. My current weight is 145 and 13.9 percent body fat, I’m 5’6. Because I had such a tremendous weight loss and also because of my age I do have some skin issues.
I’ve been at my goal weight for over 2 years so I did, 6 months ago, have a tummy tuck-to remove the panniculus and also a breast lift and augmentation. I have great definition in my arms but I have flappers which I am currently scheduled to have removed on February 2nd. I have worked out hard for 2 years and the skin wasn’t bouncing back. Surgery was the only answer because the skin movement can be quite painful. Of course it wasn’t as bad as say someone who lost that amount and didn’t exercise but because I am an exercise fanatic the skin is more troublesome.
My ah-ha moment was when I started having heart palpitations and was sent for an echocardiogram which came back normal. Went back to my primary physician who, as I was leaving her office, poked at my arm and said I think your having palpitations because your retaining fluid let me put you on a diuretic.
All I heard was blood pressure pill and said, “Oh no, I’m retaining fluid because I’m a fat ass!” I walked out her door and said that was it for me I wanted to shed the weigh. I didn’t stop there I decided I wanted to get into the best shape of my life. All thru my life I have been overweight, there are so many down stories to tell. I think the biggest down was having such low self esteem that my choice in men sucked. I always chose men that were abusive and cheaters and always thought that I couldn’t do better.
I think the proudest moment I can remember was when I dropped below the 200 pound mark. it was life changing. I also remember the smaller I got the easier and more fun the exercise became. Another moment was when my son came to my house and I was in bed, and he felt around in the bed and said where are you, where is the rest of you. Made me feel really good!
I wake up every morning KNOWING I’m a fit mom because I will NEVER go back to the old me! My two sons, 23 and 21 love the new me.
Donna and her son after over 100 pounds lost by each of them!
My weight loss caused my younger son to lose 100 pounds himself and my older son is extremely fit now because of my urging! I am so proud it is a family affair. We all have our different loves as far as exercise is concerned and we don’t exercise together but we all exercise!
My favorite exercise is group exercise.
- I love the Les Mills programs.
- Body Attack-sports inspired cardio
- Body Pump, high repetition class using weights
- Body Vive, an all over work out including cardio, stretching, toning with bands
- Body Combat, a martial arts cardio class
- CXWorks, a core training class
- but my all time favorite is Body Step, step aerobics at its finest!
- I also enjoy an occasional 5-8 mile run.
I have gone from 300 plus pounds to actually being a Body Step instructor. My diet is mostly calorie counting and filling those calories with good food. I keep sugar at a minimum, eat high protein and good carbs. I don’t really follow any specific ratio. I just eat good! With all the cardio, I need fuel.
I work out pretty much everyday but I do try to take one day off a week. I log about 12-15 hours of exercise a week. Seems like a lot but I will never go back to where I came from and I enjoy it! Its a family at the gym!
My favorite Fit Mom snack is peanut butter. I get it just ground peanuts, eat it on whole wheat bread with no sugar added preserves.
Most of my inspiration came from within. The determination, the sweat, just the general wanting to be fit was me. I owe a lot though to the instructors at the Brooks Y where I work out. Their hard work and love of exercise and being fit definitely kept me motivated! Also, wanting to live longer and better was a big factor.
I’ll be honest, at first, I thought losing the weight would make my marriage better but I lost 145 pounds in 13 months and 250 overnight! (divorce)
I always tell people I don’t want to be their hero, the determination comes from within and everybody’s health and weight loss is a personal journey for themselves. What works for me may not for another. I am there for support and to motivate but I don’t want to be considered as super human. I ground myself all the time by saying it was a great thing losing all the weight but I shouldn’t have been there in the first place!
Donna
Home-Based Total Body Workout with your Kids, Fit Moms!
If you are a mom, you are on a mission in life, daily to raise effective, proactive, grounded, and happy children. That doesn’t come from spending time away from home. The best way a mother can guarantee her children’s best upbringing is to be around them as much as possible. That’s why I started doing a lot of workouts that would help me spend more time with the kids.
If you have no free weights at home, then the best thing to do for your butt and upper legs is walking lunges. You can do these with weights if you’d like, but they are really effective at shaping up your butt without weightlifting. You can even have the children do them with you! Remember to push through the heels and keep your chest up and shoulders back, along with keeping your core tight! If your children workout with you, a tight core and proper form is essential for safety, so be sure to instruct them on effective exercise form and core-centered focus as well. Go for at least 8 per leg, per set, but eventually, you should be able to do up to 25 per leg, per set (if you’re not using weights). Uphill makes it even more effective and challenging, if you and the kids are up for extra challenge in your fitness feats!
Walking Lunges
Another great workout to do is calf-raises to tone and shape the lower half of your leg. At the base of your stairs or even on a curb, place the ball of your feet on the edge and stretch your heel down for the beginning of the movement. Then, raise your heels above toe level till you are on your tippie-toes! This will burn after just a few, but it’s great calorie burning while shaping up your lovely legs into those fitness model calves you see in the magazines! Remember, burning calories means your body is going into the fat-burning zone! Stay with it, fit moms!
Fit Mom Calf Raises
For your upper body, I swear there is nothing more effective for killing that ugly arm fat that slops over the back of the arms like push-ups, fit moms! Be sure that on all exercises, you are inhaling when you release the muscle and exhaling when you contract the muscle. In the case of the pushups, fit moms, you can remind the children to breathe during the exercise. People tend to hold their breath during a new exercise when they are concentrated on the new movement. Fit moms often need the instruction ourselves, but we learn more when we teach. Moms, and all parents of course, feel free to use the time with the kiddos to educate them in safe and optimal health and fitness while you strengthen your knowledge base. It certainly helps us to ensure our children’s safest measures during exercise while helping the whole family create good habits. With push-ups, start with maybe 5-25 per set, depending on your strength.
Lastly, don’t forget the core. There are a lot of exercises to do for your core. In this case, I’d suggest planks. Pull your belly button into toward your spine, as if you are “snapping” it (like when you snap a snap). Keep your back and legs totally straight. Breathe, remember fit moms, breathe, please! Hold it as long as you can but set a goal for 30 seconds or more on each set.
- Planks for the Core
So there you have it, fit moms and everyone else, you can spend time with the family, have fun, be active and be at home, while still working your whole body out! Keep it up!! Be Phenomenal, You are Worth the Work!
The Will Power for Fitness
I just don’t have the will power is a commonly heard phrase in fitness. Whether it’s a client, a fitness newbie, or someone who just explains why they refuse to even try getting fit.
Long ago, when we finished writing our book, FIT FOR COMBAT, my fitness co-author JD and I started cataloging what makes fitness, figure and bodybuilding competitors different from everyone else. Will power was at the top of the list. Will Power leads to self-discipline. When you want something badly enough, you will for it. In fitness, it’s no different. When you have the will for something, you CREATE the discipline to get what you want. If you want to be leaner, if you want to get into better shape, if you want to compete, or if you just want to be more active and feel more fit, will power is the doorway that leads you into manifestation of that goal.
It makes sense that self-discipline and will power would play a role in being able to stick to the diet and training program required to get into competition shape. We initially thought it would be the real difference between those who succeed in mastering their bodies and everyone else. As we studied what self-discipline really is, we realized that we had fallen into a common trap that social scientists call fundamental attribution error.
Every person has a reservoir of will power to draw on, like a will power battery, but the amount in that reservoir is not fixed at a set level. Research, by Professor Roy Baumeister at Florida State University, shows that our will power battery can be depleted by repeated acts of self control and decision making. Newer research by professors at the University of Chicago shows that our reservoir of will power is affected by whether we think there is a set amount of it or that it is unlimited.
The classic experiment by Baumeister, which has been replicated in hundreds of variations, asked student test subjects to eat radishes while being tempted with a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Baumeister then asked the students to solve an impossible puzzle. The students did not know the puzzle was impossible to solve.
The real purpose of the experiment was to see how long the students who had to overcome the temptation of the cookies would work at solving the puzzle when compared to students who sat down, ate some cookies and then worked on the puzzle and a control group who just worked on the puzzle with no cookies or radishes involved. The results show that the students who had to overcome the cookie temptation gave up on the puzzle quickly. Their battery of will power and resolve was depleted by fighting the temptation to eat the cookies. The students who had to overcome the cookie temptation, used up their reservoir of will power, their reservoir of resolve, and gave up on the puzzle in less than half the time of the other two groups and made far fewer attempts to solve the puzzle. Baumister calls this effect ego depletion. The experiment shows that when we use will power for one thing, overcoming the temptation of a cookie, it drains a little of that energy from the battery making it harder to exercise the will in totally unrelated things like trying to solve a puzzle.
Baumeister showed the energy depletion of decision making in an experiment where students, prior to working on the impossible puzzle, were either forced to make a decision about a task or were assigned a task. The students who had to make the decision gave up on the puzzle faster and made fewer attempts to solve than the students who just carried out an assignment.
So, in fitness, we note that a general 9-5 lifestyle tends to lead to the attitude that “I just don’t have time” or “By the time I get home at night, I don’t want to eat a chicken breast and salad. I just want a quick snack, a TV and a bed.”
In our fitness data research, JD and I found that most people have a lot of power. However, most people’s will power is just all used up with the demands of their jobs, running a household and raising two young girls. Every act of will power, every decision, drains the battery a little bit more, but the battery is not fixed, it is rechargeable and we can have more will power if we want it, just by thinking we have it.
The point being that, Yes, You Do have the Will Power! You are just in need of a budget of your will power! It’s about management of your energy resources, and not about your lack of energy. For fitness, you do have the energy, yet, you have been lacking knowledge. Gaining more fitness knowledge, working out to gain awareness of your body, and learning to listen to your body’s language in terms of what to feed it to stimulate energy is the only real way to go. You can stop blaming your will power for your fitness disasters or your state of health and wellness. The key I have found as a mother, is that fit moms have just learned how to start managing the will power better.
When JD and I first thought will power was the difference between the physique competitors and everyone else, we were making a fundamental attribution error, an error that is endemic among humans. Fundamental attribution error is when we use a psychological or personality based explanation for a behavior instead of the situational explanation. We were too focused on the personality trait of will power and thought that the competitors must have larger reservoirs of mental energy—a bigger battery. When we went back and studied Baumeister in depth, we found a better, situational, explanation for the seemingly large reservoirs of will power of the competitors.
Fitness, figure and bodybuilding competitors are cooler toters, especially when preparing for a contest. Their meals are planned and timed and they carry them around with them. They know what they are going to eat and when they are going to eat it. It is all scheduled and becomes a routine. When something becomes a routine it no longer involves a decision. When it is no longer a decision, it does not require any mental energy.
The physique competitors did not have a larger battery of will power than everyone else, they just used less will power by making many decisions about eating a routine. It was easier for them to stick to the diet because the decisions that take mental energy were removed. The situation, the eating plan to get into contest shape, makes them just appear to have more will power.
When we started looking at the lives of successful physique competitors they nearly all had a structured daily or weekly routine. The diet and training demands precision, the only way to be that precise is with a pre-determined structure. Once the structure and routine is set, there were fewer decisions to be made leaving more in battery to handle temptations as the cropped up.
Most fit moms have figured out the secret. Women tend to be better planners, but that’s not limited to women only, just happens to be a general statistic. What I see in fitness and in the general population of fitness enthusiasts is that fitness minded individuals plan what they’ll eat and make it a routine. With those decisions removed, people are then expending less will power and found that they had more energy. Most of these fitness people and fit moms have ready-made forms of protein around their house, in their car and at their office. JD and I found that common possessions among the successful fitness enthusiasts included powdered whey protein, shaker bottles, water gallons, tuna packs, and pre-cooked skinless/boneless chicken, among the most common possessions. Even if routine is disrupted, there is always an automatic back-up that did not require a decision, like an apple and a can of tuna or a ready to drink protein shake. And of course, every one of them owns some kind of fat-loss grill for their chicken and fish
Removing will-power draining decisions is one way women figure competitors maintain their diet, another is the actual nutritional content of the diet.
A lot of people never even try to get into their best shape because they think they don’t have the will power to do it. They make the fundamental attribution error and think the competitors have more will power than they do. As the research shows, if you don’t think you have very much will power, then you will not have much will power.
The only true act of will power was taking the time up front to set the schedule and routine. After repeating the routine it becomes automatic. Women figure competitors don’t have a larger reservoir of will power than everyone else, they just expend less of it by having a structured routine and fuel their brain with ketones from fat.
For More Fit Tips and Great Articles on how to stay in shape, go to the Fit Tips Blog at NitasWorld.com
Burn Fat Naturally Fit Moms!
Hollywood’s Anti-Aging Secret: The Natural Way to Fat Loss, Youth, and Fitness Longevity for Everyone
Two years ago Dr. Patricia Wexler let one of Hollywood’s fat loss and anti-aging secrets out of the bag–Growth Hormone. “Actresses use it to slim abdominal fat and increase muscle tone and libido,” Wexler said.
http://shine.yahoo.com/
Actresses with insider connections to discreet doctors may inject their way to a youthful, fit and sexy body, but you can boost your own growth hormone naturally without any side effects by exercising smarter, Fit Moms and friends!
Human Growth Hormone is naturally secreted by the pituitary gland to regenerate cells, strengthen bones and make the immune system stronger. Its biggest effect, the ones the movie stars are after, is fat burning, which leads to a lean, fit, sculpted and beautiful physique, of course. Growth Hormone turns your body into a fat burning machine. Most women produce less than 10 nano grams of GH per milliliter of blood. A nano gram is one-billionth of gram, which means a little GH goes a long way.
The natural way for all you Fit Moms and Friends to boost your natural GH levels, and get the same effects as the starlets, is to ditch the pink dumbells and treadmill for sprints and real weights. Yes, weight training can lead to fat loss, Fit Moms, without leading you to a “bulky” physique (which is a common misconception that Fit Moms and most of our female friends have yodeled for years!). Weight training is the key to fat loss, anti-aging, and even well-maintained weight loss! Fit Moms and Friends, read more to learn the key to unlocking that potential in your body through weight training and sprints!
The results of an experiment on the effects of sprinting on women published in Oxford University’s journal Acta Physiologica found “Women elicited a greater response of serum GH to sprint exercise” than men. They always say men are the stronger gender physically, but it seems that in this trend, nature is possibly trying to bring ladies into a balance in this sense. Even the body’s nature is to bring balance between the sexes! The swedish scientists who conducted the experiment concluded, “this may contribute to explaining the earlier observed muscle hypertrophy in women in response to sprint training.” If you want toned, shapely legs, Fit Moms and Friends, well, even the doctors and scientists are suggesting that you run sprints. If you don’t run, then look at our other fat burning articles on interval training, which will yield similar results.
Yes, this is Empowerment for Everyone- Mother nature has in some ways leveled the playing field. We Fit Moms can get stronger with this work as we continue to do it, without gaining the muscle that a man will. Women cannot get big, bulky muscles from natural GH, but they get larger percentage increase from GH boosting exercises than men and a few extra nanograms will deliver a flat stomache and tight butt fast.
The quickest way to boost GH is to run sprints (as I stated earlier, check the fat burning category of articles at http://nitasworld.com/blogs for further articles on interval training, which will deliver similar results). The research shows that they key to effective sprints are the intensity, the speed you run, not how many you do or how far you sprint. When I use the word “effective” I am relating the “effective” results of sprinting or interval training to how well this exercise style will burn fat, helping the body look and feel sculpted and lean and beautiful, which is what every woman is striving for when we do any workout. Am I right, Fit Moms? I mean, seriously, which one of us wouldn’t kill (or sprint) to have Selma Hayek’s killer calves, and that Fit Mama’s fit and sexy thighs?
Do you think that it’s inconvenient to do sprints? Well, it takes less time than cardio to burn the calories you can burn in just a few minutes of sprinting, so time is not an issue, Fit Moms. And all you skeptic friends and fit moms are sure to realize that location is easier with sprints than going to the corner store. You already take your kids to half the places you can sprint, fit moms, and all the pet owners take their “kids” (pets) to the other places. None of this is rocket science. Not one of these places is an inconvenience Fit Moms and Friends, because you already go there!
Fat burning Sprints can be done anywhere: An empty parking lot, a low-traffic residential street, the play ground on the weekends at our kid’s school, the park while the kids play, or the sports field or running track at your teenager’s high school at night or on weekends. If you haven’t sprinted recently, don’t jump in head first running as hard as you can the first day, start by doing strides at a pace faster than a jog for four repetitions of 50 to 100 yards. Gradually increase the speed you sprint until you can do four of them all at all out racing speed. When you can do four at full speed, add an extra sprint every week. To make sure your intensity stays high, use a stop watch to time your sprint workout and push yourself to get them done in less time.
By running sprints three times a week and adding some negatives to your weight training, you can boost your natural Growth Hormone levels, burn more body-fat than you do with cardio, and save more time while you preserve your joints and bones, since sprinting is better for your bones and joints than jogging.
Here is a clip of my business partner and co-author JD Johannes running sprints:
http://www.youtube.com/
As good as sprints are, the scientific research shows the super GH booster is lifting heavy weights.
An experiment conducted at the University of Virginia found, “For each incremental increase in exercise intensity, the fractional stimulation of GH secretion is greater in women than in men.”
That means the heavier weights you lift, the more GH your body produces. The biggest boost in natural GH came when women used weights that were heavier than they could actually lift. When you use a weight that is heavier than you can lift up with good form, but that you can control on the way down, your GH levels skyrocket. These types of lifts are called negatives and
an experiement published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that heavy negatives boost natural GH more than anything else. Pull ups, curls, squats, lunges and other types of weight training are really effective for this type of effect, and all these exercises will help you get a sculpted, toned, beautiful physique.
Weight lifting makes us fit moms feel more Powerful!
beginners start here, but you can work your way up to military style, which is the goal
fit moms can get sculpted, fight cellulite and look more beautiful with squats! www.nitasworld.com
And Dr. Patricia Wexler does not approve:
“Human Growth Hormone is unsafe. I know dermatologists and actresses who use it to slim abdominal fat and increase muscle tone and libido. But it can accelerate also a hidden cancer to grow. It can cause funny bone spurs to grow and enlargement of the heart … just to name a few of the many reasons why I consider it unsafe.”
Women get more out of sprints than men. More GH, etc. “Women elicited a greater response of serum GH and insulin to sprint exercise. This may contribute to explaining the earlier observed muscle hypertrophy in women in response to sprint training.”
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
“The findings suggest that the acute metabolic and GH responses in the 90/70% condition were more favourable compared with the 70/70% condition, and a significant correlation between the optimal ECC load and 1RM per BM-ratio was observed.”
Heavy eccentric load produces best hormonal response…heavy negatives
University of Virginia, Journal of Applied Physiology
“For each incremental increase in exercise intensity, the fractional stimulation of GH secretion is greater in women than in men.”
Fit Moms, Runners, Cardio Does Not Work!
Bodybuilders don’t run, and nor do obese people. But I’m not a bodybuilder, or an obese person. I’m a fitness chick, a fit mom, and a fitness personality. My goals are obviously different from a bodybuilder’s goals, and definitely, I have a different lifestyle choice than a person whose main goals involve constant fulfillment of my taste-bud compulsions.
At this stage in my life, my goal is always to become truly fit and achieve prime longevity. As one point in my career as a fitness competitor, I was running a lot and lifting weights with an extremely high carb, high protein diet, and only then I was starting to resemble a bodybuilder. People who didn’t know better thought I was one.
But you know what kind of fit physique athletes have a lot of muscle, and are really lean, with Olympic level stamina and power? Women’s Fitness competitors.
They run. They run a lot. They do weekly sprints, middle-distance, plyometrics anything that will get their heart to the bursting point.
And if these women can carry body-toned muscle around, while running and with the power and stamina to do our fitness routines—well they are worth at least probing into the minds of. Where I learned about my own fitness interval training from was from my ex-husband, who was basically my trainer before I met my trainer of 13 years, Tim Sparkes, at Die Hard Gym in Arizona. My ex-husband was a former track and football star in high school and college.
What I learned from my ex-husband is that I was doing my running all wrong. First of all, I jogged, and I did so very lazily. I loathed the cardio work, so I dragged myself through it. It didn’t matter that I was a fit mom, a fit chick, or a fitness athlete in training. I was thinking about my cardio conditioning the wrong way, as most of us do for the first few years of our fitness quests.
Just about every fitness center has some serious runners as members. These “fitness” people log 20 to 40 miles a week and are in great cardio vascular condition—but most of them look remarkably average. They do not have much muscle and many of them are skinny fat. Sure they have strong hearts, but some of them store more body fat and subcutaneous water than the person who is walking into a gym for the first time. These runners are not in poor health, but their shape is generally not of the optimal fitness aesthetic grade considering the fitness workload they are undergoing. I believe in running, I do. I also like working out smarter, and distance running for fitness is definitely the harder path, if you’re trying to look better and even feel better.
The best explanation for this phenomena may be controversial, but the facts are right in front of us. Cardiovascular exercise DOES NOT WORK to lose body fat long term, period!!
Why is this? Let’s take a hypothetical individual: Female, 30 years old, 145 pounds, sedentary. She decides she wants to be fit and “get toned” (keep in mind, everyone has a different idea of this word, so it’s subjective). So she takes up running on the treadmill for an hour a day 5 days/week. Nothing else in her life changes, her diet and lifestyle remain the same. In the first week she loses 5 pounds. If she maintained her consistency 5 days a week, would she lose 250 pounds this year? Of course not, and why is this?
Firstly cardiovascular activity is very efficient at chewing up muscle tissue, the steps are as follows:
1. Conversion from fast twitch muscle fiber to slow twitch muscle fiber, by
acquiring mitochondria and relinquishing contractile protein. Smaller fiber, less
RMR.
2. Excessive Cortisol released in response to the damage to the fiber as a result of the exercise. Cortisol acts as a natural analgesic, but severely hampers protein synthesis and muscle repair. It also damages the immune system, and ultimately will contribute to all of our deaths – so I’m not sure why anyone would do anything that would accelerate this process.
3. It has been shown that high volume cardiovascular exercise can completely deplete satellite cells in muscle fiber, which means no new fiber can grow or existing fiber be repaired, and as we age, we have a natural propensity to lose muscle as well as bone density. Muscle helps our metabolism and enhances bone density.
4. Growth Hormone levels decline with high volume cardiovascular exercise, which also hampers the repair process. Low growth hormone also accelerates aging.
5. To sum it up, you can’t train all day, and you can’t stop eating, but you can always build a bit more muscle, so quit the cardio and concentrate on the weight lifting.
Secondly, after all these details about how cardio fitness training eats up muscle, you must know that the first week of ANY fitness program, and likely the first month even, you will lose weight with rapid results. That’s water weight dropping off because you are actually getting off of your butt. That’s not the “weight” you are losing, it’s the water. You are not really getting more fit, but your body is filtering out a bit so that it can set a better foundation for you to start getting fit.
Your weight-loss will look more like 8-12 pounds monthly if you’re doing it right and if you expect it to stay off. If you’re an athlete or you’re training for an athletic event, your body requires more training than average, and more extreme dieting than average, but that’s not average for a person who is just trying to lose weight and just starting to get fit.
That was a very strong argument for not doing cardio. But I need to be able to keep up with kids, work, training clients, caring for my household, and still having stamina in the gym. Cardio conditioning is a must for me. Plus, I need strength and power.
The solution was to train like a professional female fitness athlete—specifically, one that always wins the fitness routine portion of the contest. And what does the fitness athlete woman do? Sprints.
For women who run, but they want a great physique:
With high-intensity interval training you “sprint” on any cardio exercise for short bursts that go for less than two minutes, and then you slow to moderate, and sometimes even low-intensity pace for a short burst. You want to go high intensity to kick your heart rate way up, and then you drop the intensity to less your body rest, while not giving your heart rate enough time to drop out beneath a fat-burning zone. If you do this for short bursts of time, you don’t give your heart rate a chance to drop severely, and therein, you are able to keep your body burning fat, burning calories, and staying hard at work, even though you won’t feel like you’re working hard while your body recovers during your lower-paced durations.
Like cardio, this too can strengthen your heart, and keep you from feeling sluggish. On the other hand, in comparison to cardio, interval training burns fat for longer periods of time. You will burn fat for up to 13 hours post-workout with intervals, whereas with cardio at a constant moderate rate will only burn fat efficiently for up to 2 hours post workout. So, why would you spend more time and burn less fat, much less want to gamble the possibility of kicking out cortisol? This is why many fitness professionals who know what they are doing will not recommend long dull high, low or medium-intensity periods of cardio.
The best way to gain cardio conditioning and maintain muscle is to do what all fat-burning physique athletes does—sprints.
As sprinting becomes the core of your cardio conditioning program and distance running becomes the ‘functional’ training, so you do it for form, awareness, and monitoring. It’s a means for measurement when needed, but it’s not necessary for the actual progress.
When I started doing sprints in the morning for my cardio, my strength gains in the gym accelerated a little bit and I started to get leaner without really trying, and my husband noticed an extreme difference in how my body was responsive to my diet and weight training. My lines and cuts in my muscles showed up and they never had before I started sprinting. My workouts were more exhilarating and I could produce more within them because my fitness level and stamina was increased through sprinting.
Now I was able to get more in my fitness routines, I could run with my daughter in her stroller for better bursts so I wasn’t gasping for air. I was stronger than I would ever need to be on the fitness stage or in the gym. I had burst speed and explosiveness and I had the stamina and endurance to keep up with any of the guys at the gym.
So, I am not advising the novice to average fitness person to sprint, but I am encouraging those of you who run– just try this for 6 weeks and see how rapidly and extremely your fitness levels, your energy, your stamina, and your physique changes. See how lean you get and watch a sculpted physique appear that you never knew you had.
As for the fitness enthusiast who is new to the world of fitness and fit physique training, try intervals, we have more blogs on the Fat Burning Workouts categories to your left here in the blog at nitasworld.com. Check it out. Be well, Be You, BE PHENOMENAL! You are worth the work!
-Nita Lee Marquez
America’s Hottest Fit Mom ™
Fitness Empowerment Author
Miss National Fitness
Proud Mother of Three
Healthy is the new Skinny & Strong is the new Sexy! We’re up Fit Moms!
To all of America’s Hottest Fit Moms: What a delight I find today in celebrating our culture’s fashion industry magazine Glamour for it’s PHENOMENAL layout of the beautiful Lizzie Miller, a 20-year-old healthy, beautiful, real and believe it or not, FIT woman. See all fit moms realize that fitness is a lifestyle, not a dress size, and Hot Fit Moms are Hot because they actually like themselves! The Fittest Moms in the world are the ones who work to stay active to produce for their family and set good examples, not necessarily working to fit into that size 6 dress for the high school reunion. Fitness is a set of choices that yields an energy produced by nothing else in this world. The fit mom energy is beautiful and hot because it is Vivacious and confident. The hot fit mom reads, and she reads to her kids, and she loves her family more than she loves the mirror, and yea, she’s pretty easy on the eyes too! 
fit moms celebrate being real and enjoying life by making fit choices!! www.nitasworld.com
There is nothing in the world more beautiful and radiant and powerful than a woman who works out and stays active AND she’s a fit mom who cares for family first and above everything. As a fit mom, you have the physical capacity to keep up with your kids and live a long life that assures you will run around after those grand-babies with vigor yourself! Fit Moms are women with confidence, not just cardio endurance 
There is a lot to be said for Glamour for being so authentic and for featuring this astonishing reality of what beauty stands for. I believe honestly that fitness in general is an industry that tends to push the envelope of vanity just as much as the fashion industry does. No doubt, you get what you sign up for, but being mothers who love fitness doesn’t mean we have to be consumed by what a panel of judges would think of us at all times. Sure, when I compete, I compete to win, so I want to hit that stage looking my best. That was for a competition, and I always felt like it would be lame to get that caught up in the illusion all year round. The reality is that the stages of competitions are meant for us to present the best illusion of our own best physique. You hold that perfection for about two hours though. The rest of the year, I wanted to be fit still, but I didn’t want to spend every ounce of my good energy struggling to fit into that mold that people put me into because of how I looked on stage. I wanted to live fit but I wanted to put my family first. After all, that was why I got into the sport of fitness to begin with.
It’s still important to work out even when we are not training for fitness competitions, but at the same time, the sacrifice of fitness does not have to be at my children’s expense. As well, th fitness lifestyle of today’s fit moms do not have to entail sacrificing time away from our family. Sure, it’s nice to make my time at the gym a time to pay attention to myself, but I can also spend my fitness-devoted time with my kiddos if I want to!
It’s important to us as mothers to keep our children integrated into the routine of our fitness lifestyle. They learn by what we do in their presence, not just what we say to teach them. Why not make some of our fitness time For instance, instead of cardio at the gym all the time, I would go to the track and the children would run around and play while I did my run. When their father and I were still married, we all went to the gym and the track together, and made family time out of my workouts when I was training for a competition.
My trainer would let the kids work out at his gym too, and we always had a blast with that. It’s great because the children are absolutely inundated with fitness lifestyle choices that our family has lived out over the years.
America's Hottest Fit Mom Fit Kids
Another great option is hiking. Fit Moms have Fit Kids, right? My kids and I love hiking almost every weekend. When we lived in Arizona, we hiked Squaw Peak, and here in California, it’s Runyon Canyon or Fryman Canyon. I love doing Fit Moms Phenomenal Fitness Boot Camps at Fryman. It’s no joke out there, it’s still a challenge in the way I train the fit moms, but at the same time, we can take the kids with us.
The point is that fitness is EMPOWERING! It does not have to be a habit formed for pressure of society’s view of what you should look like. I mean, just look at Lizzie Miller’s smile in the picture above. That glow, that laughter, THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF FITNESS. That’s what we are really striving for. Fitness is the delight of energy and loving yourself, and yes, that makes you a bad-ass in my opinion It’s just about loving your body! If you love your body, care for it in the most fitness-oriented ways, but if you love yourself, maintain balance. You are WORTH THE WORK!!
I would love to hear from women, whether you’re a fit mom or a not a mom at all, please comment and share your thoughts on this blog, on the Glamour photo shoot of the Lovely Lizzie Miller! Remember to sign up for your free newsletter!
Nitasworld.com is the official website of America’s Hottest Fit Mom, the brand that means FITNESS EMPOWERMENT FOR EVERYONE!
Hydration vs. Dehydration can mean Life or Death: Top 10 REASONS TO HYDRATE
Even if you’re not a fitness enthusiast, a fit mom, or even fitness curious, this article is a must read, as it will change your life forever should you heed it’s advice, and your life will be longer as well if you follow this one rule. This article will give you power in all aspects of your health and wellness. Read on to hear not only facts, research, and fitness tips, but you must read this because it could literally save your life, or someone close to you. While this is a blog specific to America’s Hottest Fit Moms(tm), fitness enthusiasts and the fitness curious, I do not limit the material to diet and exercise. There are sometimes life or death matters that will affect how you live forever as well as how long that life is. Today’s topic could have literally saved someone’s life at an event I attended yesterday.
When thinking about fitness, most women (and men) think of the way they look, or they think fitness is all about working out and dieting. Yes, certainly there is merit to all ideas of fitness that women and men concede to. What many fitness enthusiasts do not realize is that there is one necessary component to fitness that matters in women’s health and wellness that is neither diet or exercise. Hydration is the heart of any fitness program. Water detoxes, replenishes, cleans our insides making them efficient for digestion and continued energy for working out, even if you’re just walking. There is no substitute for the importance of water. Water is fundamental to your life, at all times. Today, I had two conversations with fitness clients about the importance of hydration for ALL of life’s functionality, from our physical to even our psychological efficiency. In making such a statement about dehydration, I have noted some cases below that are real scenarios that I have actually been witness to that prove the statement to be inpenetrably true. Yes, while water is an absolute necessity in your fitness goals, I also wanted to address the absolute need for complete hydration as it pertains to your other bodily functions, longevity, digestion, energy levels, and so on.
Cases in point:
1. Injured Muscles: For me, as an IFBB Pro Fitness Athlete I have had only one injury and it was a few years into my athletic career. When preparing to go on stage to perform my fitness routine, I was severely dehydrated, as many athletes tend to be, which is normal for the day of the event. You see, we athletes in the competitive physique world often have to dyhydrate in an effort to get our cuts in our bodies to show up on the stage. The lighting tends to smooth out your look, and back then, well, the more cut you were, the higher you were scored in your physique round. The overall judgement on our presentation for the fitness shows was contingent to your body round combined with the fitness routine’s athleticism (flexibility, explosiveness, endurance, entertainment).
Fitness Competitor America's Hottest Fit Mom Nita Marquez
I always came in really lean, but at one particular show I had gotten so dehydrated and because I wanted to come on stage looking exceptionally ripped. I dehydrated to look more ripped than usual to a physical point of appearance that we call “dry” in the competitive fitness world, I actually ripped my calve muscle on my right leg, and when I collapsed (just twenty minutes before the fitness show was set to raise curtain), I was then attended to by paramedics. The diagnosis was that severe dehydration had impacted my muscles to the point that my calve literally just ripped during a step. Had I not been so dehydrated, I would have succeeded in my career without any injuries, as this was my only time of ever getting hurt in all these years of being a competitive fitness athlete.
2. Digestion and Gastrointestinal Health Dangers: Another extreme case comes to mind from my industry (bodybuilding and fitness), but I want to share that one with you last, as I wrote this blog today knowing that someone literally died from dehydration, but first, let me give you a normal scenario regarding someone I know who is not in the fitness industry.
My aunt went to the doctor recently, as she was having extreme conditions of pain due to gastrointestinal issues. The cause: dehydration. She drinks nothing but coffee and diet soda all day. She could not recount the last time that she had more than one or two cups of water (if any) throughout the day. The doctors said that her conditions were “extreme” because she had likely been dehydrated for months. Thus, it’s fair to conclude that you are having an extremely negative impact on your body’s ability to digest. Other results of dehydration and insufficient digestion are lowered metabolism, toxic buildup (which to more issues in other areas of the body), and sleeplessness.
3. Muscle-cramps: There are a lot of people who I know that don’t work out like a “fit mom” or like an extreme athlete. Some people just don’t exercise much. In such cases, even dehydration with minimal activity have caused major issues like back and muscle spasms, and extreme foot cramps.
4. Halitosis: EEW! Bad breath’s number one cause is ongoing dehydration. If you don’t mind offending everyone with bad breath, be my guest. If you’re not drinking enough water, it causes the worst odor inside your mouth, and the longer you go, the farther your bad breath will travel. Yes, dehydration causes stinky breath. If you don’t want to drink water, if bad breath doesn’t offend you, well, then go ahead and pass gas in a crowded room and fog it up. When you have a conversation with bad breath, that’s basically what you’re doing.
5. Energy Levels: My neighbor recently started getting into drinking more water. He went out and bought four stainless steel BPA-free water bottles to refill every day, and at the tender age of only 28, he said that he has never had more energy in his life, than since he started drinking four liters of water every day. He goes to a place that sells reverse osmosis water, alkaline water, and mineralized structured water. Water has literally given him a better quality of life. He now has more energy to go for bike rides occasionally (on a bike that’s really expensive and used to just sit on his patio and collect dust!). His work ethic has revved up, according to him, too, and he feels more creative with his art as well. That’s a great testimonial.
I have another male client that said the same thing when he started training with me recently. He said that not only did he feel weight coming off, but he also felt very energetic. He said he literally crapped the toxins out for about two weeks after increasing his water intake and starting to work out. After that, he noticed a major rush to his energy throughout the days and especially at work. Again, water cannot be disputed as increasing energy and quality of life.
6. Cellulite: Taking in more water can help release toxins and clean out garbage that is stored in the fat cells that comprise your cellulite. More water equals less cellulite.
7. Skin: You can literally anti-age because water increases the retention of youth through maintaining certain functionality in your body that shows up on your skin.
More water = Less wrinkles
8. Fatloss: Your body is will be less likely to hold toxins, slow metabolism, and store fat with increased water intake.
9. Headaches: There have only been two times in my life that I have ever had a headache. Once was during a case I suffered of Viral Meningitis. The second time was when I was dehydrated because I had gotten sick from a flu. Even for a week after I overcame the flu bug and was able to go back to the office (I worked at a marketing firm), I had a horrible headache because my body had gotten so dehydrated during the spell of illness.
10. The extreme case- Death: A man who was competing in a bodybuilding show here in Los Angeles yesterday died of a heart attack, and doctors attributed his heart failure to severe dehydration. Sadly, I would agree that there are a lot of things that could have contributed to this man’s heart failure, but the reality was that the dehydration was the hair that pulled the trigger.
Dehydration can kill you, literally. While there is no doubt you can get away with drinking only sodas and juices for many years, eventually, the lack of water wears on your system. Or, if you are not in perfect health already, then not drinking enough water can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, so to speak. Your health, wellness, vibrance, fitness, metabolism, appearance, and your life literally depends on consistent water intake.
I recommend at least 1/2 gallon a day for women to start, but eventually, 1 gallon should be your regular intake ladies. Women’s fitness has come so far, and we can look so much more intensely fit than we used to be able to because of technologies and updated information about fitness and exercise and diet (especially on a higher protein diet, a woman’s body looks so much better).
For men, I recommend 1-2 gallons daily, depending on your size and your fitness goals. At minimum though, any man should be taking in a gallon of water daily.
As for how to take it in, many people do what I do, which is to always have a BPA-free gallon jug of water filled and on my person at all times. Other suggestions for maintaining a healthy water intake for overall life fitness and wellness are that you can carry around a 1-liter BPA-free container filled with water and continue to refill it with alkaline or reverse osmosis water throughout the day, at least 3 times. That’s what I do when I cannot carry my big jug, but either way, water is a life source, and not having it can be death. Please fit moms, know that this is a heartfelt push for life from America’s Hottest Fit Mom products and services. All the products and services and fitness knowledge in the world helps nothing when you are not taking in enough water. Mothers, impact yourself, your children and your whole life by hydrating highly. Be well, Be you, BE PHENOMENAL!
Real Fitness Solutions for Busy Moms
Listen, moms, I’ll be the first mom to agree that fitness for mothers does not come easily, as our whole lives, every second of the day is dedicated to someone else: kids, bosses, employees (if you’re a manager or business owner), and general life requests of others. We mothers take not only big bites, but we practically inhale those bites (no pun intended)! We are busy! There is no doubt that children are the priority, and they always will remain so to their mommies, but as their mothers, it IS OUR DUE DILIGENCE to teach them about balance. Thus, we have to make time for ourselves. Me, personally, I get up at 4-4:30 daily and I either hike or workout at the gym at 5-6am. I like the quiet time, the personal space, and the freedom and ability to focus on just ourselves. The early morning workouts are generally very peaceful and focused, as I have no one requesting that I go into mommie-mode, or that I return a phone call, text or email, or go to any meetings. It’s my time for me, Mom-time. I personally love getting up before the rest of the world. The reality is that not all moms are like me.
The reality of fitness for me has not always looked this way. I wasn’t always crazy about getting up that early, as some other fit moms or fit-moms-in-training may also not enjoy the early mornings. What can we do to stay fit that we don’t have to wake up at 4-6am for? What can we do that adds to our schedule and also adds to our time with our kids? There are so many great workouts I did over the years that my children enjoyed with me, and things that my children did for my workouts to help me train for my competitions!
There are realistic solutions for fitness for busy moms. Today’s blog is all about those solutions.
1) You don’t have to sit down for dinner EVERY night, on summer and spring evenings you can take a walk to your local park and have a light meal from a picnic basket.
2) When you have dinner together, play carb counting to make it fun to learn about healthy eating.
3) Start talking at dinner with your family about protein and why it’s important
4) Workout together! Go to a rec center or a community gym and do a circuit training workout together
5) Go to the track together, time each other’s sprints, or even have races!
6) Do walking lunge contests with each other to see who can do the most without giving up!
7) Exercise together by playing together! They don’t have to be the only ones playing on the monkey bars! Have fun being fit mommy!
My favorite game is “can’t” -When the kids say that they “can’t” do something, I make them do push-ups, and I do them too, so that no one feels ridiculed, but they get the point that “can’t” is a bad word in our house
9) Learn some fun plyometric workouts you can do together in your back yard or on your front sidewalk!
10) If you have a two or three-story home, do a tag-team step-run in sets of 10!
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- Marquez Family
These are quick, easy, cheap and accessible workouts that put the family first, while they build the fitness level of the whole family as everyone spends time bonding and hopefully laughing a lot even if you’re breathing heavy!
Setting the goals that Changed my life Forever: Fitness is a soulful experience
I have always held firmly to the belief that everything in life has a purpose. Challenges as they occur in our lives certainly do not deviate from that truth. In the case of my weight challenges, there has become a parallel to my life’s flow.
I never felt good about myself growing up, and it was not easy getting fit. However, it is so clear to me now that there was a strong purpose in my having learned so much about my body and what has been necessary to become and stay physically fit. There is nothing in the world that can drive a person like purpose. Purpose is a word that has become the driving force of every choice I make, and the reality is that I never could have become this way had it not been for conquering my fitness challenges.
Because of my weight issues, I have learned tremendous amounts of coping which have helped me in all other areas of my life. I learned to accept the reality of not fitting in, realized the pain of it, cited wherein that pain I had control, and learned through persistence how to gain and assert that control over my weight.
Having conquered so much in the events of my weight issues, I was becoming more and more convicted within myself. Pushing out all the drudgery and just powering through these challenges, it was becoming more apparent to me that I was not meant to just understand this new-learned conviction. The point in learning is to share what we learn through our actions and conversations with others. How that was going to take place I did not know, but to me, getting fit was more than just a weight matter. It was about overall health— the mind, body and soul balance. Everything started from recognizing my strengths, as it will begin to form for you as well.
It is never just about getting thin, it’s about gaining control. That comes from acceptance of what hurts, accepting that it hurts badly, and finding where you can control the pain, learning how to control the compulsions, and then asserting that control. Once this process is complete, you will have conviction, and with conviction, there is a sense of purpose for one’s self. Therein, we can own our strengths, and that is where the big picture finally starts to become clear.
In Book 1, I have laid it all out there for you to understand my approach in hopes that I could support you learning your own self-development through fitness. You accepted the pain that fitness was not present in your life, whatever your case was. Upon the completion of the first two steps of the process of weight management (acceptance of what hurts and accepting that it hurts badly), you moved onto step 3, which was learning where you could control the pain, and thus, you looked toward health-filled mind/body/soul books and other forms of learning for help in your quest. Step 4 was your upon finding your sources for learning, you actually gained the knowledge and then you finally, in step 5, asserted that control. We go this process repeatedly with any situation, and I am so both hopeful & thankful to see that you will make/have made it through so many times and now you (will) have gained conviction from it all.
Today, You own Yourself. You own the mistakes, the pains, the learning, the hard work, and best of all, you own the rewards. So what’s next for you? Where will you re-apply some of those steps? Where will you parallel those experiences? Where and through what area of your life can you acknowledge and empower yourself with the lessons and work ethic you learned in getting fit? From where you were to where you are, you have had some basic strengths and talents, and you know you can do well with those somewhere. Once you have become fit, it’s time to make new goals. Keep yourself charged by re-igniting the fire of these processes that helped you succeed in this area of your life. Use those processes and their lessons to keep growing in love and respect for yourself. Empower yourself, and it will help you empower others. Your family will benefit, your work can benefit, and your soul will be the ultimate beneficiary, because you are now living with purpose as your driving force.
Where will you go from here? Have goals that are specific to working up your strengths, and I guarantee that as a result, no matter how happy you think you are, you are going to be happier. Let that happiness invigorate those around you! As misery loves company, your Company Loves Happiness! Happiness is infectious. That’s a great deal to be a part of. It’s ongoingly reciprocal and ever-expanding. Thus is the law of attraction. Put something out and you will find it reciprocated to you from vast and sometimes unpredictable sources, and it will be amplified as the cycle continues. In other words, you get out what you put in, and you will get more and more of it as you continue putting it out there. This law was in effect for me and I didn’t even realize it, but that is why I am writing this book. I learned that the lessons of my path to fitness were attracting more good toward greater goals just because I was working so hard. I knew that stopping just with weight maintenance would be stifling, so my goals, my visualizations of competing in shows remained vivid.
I went on from learning to get fit to hoping to compete at some point, and eventually, that was exactly what I did. With the disciplines that I accumulated in losing weight and balancing my health, there was no reason that I could not get on that stage. I didn’t feel like I would necessarily kill the competition, but I knew that I could do the show. Despite the nerve-wrecking effects of being subjected to the scrutinies of a panel of judges and an audience of hundreds of people, there was a definite reward on the other side of that. There was a goal there though, just like there had once been with my weight, and for me, doing a contest was going to balance the healthy trinity: mind, body, and spirit. Absolutely everything inside me was telling me that my spirit would benefit tremendously if I just got on that stage. Remember when I said in Book 1 of this series, that you have to learn to speak your body’s language? Well, the same goes for your spirit, if you don’t learn to speak with it, how can it communicate to you what will help you flourish? Whatever your beliefs are, if you speak you communicate, when you listen, you learn.
Goal Setting is a spiritual and mental thing. Leading up to the goal is spiritual, and powering through it is both mental and spiritual. The goal of being fit took the spiritual sense to feel the misery of my lack of health, and the expedience required to reach that goal was a combination of holding onto the faith that I could get fit while I mentally acclimated myself with the knowledge and tools of getting fit. I had no interest in going small. If you are going to do something good for yourself, there is no sense in doing it half-assed. I knew that going balls-to-the-wall was going to be the only way to live this out, and so I got fit by learning and applying and maintaining. Once I got on auto-pilot with the weight stuff and I decided to compete, the vigorous attitude has spanned beyond getting fit into the area of my competitive career.
The day I decided to compete in a show, I was completely unfamiliar with the schedule of events in the competitive world of bodybuilding and fitness. Of course, finding a show was the first step. I looked around to find out about what shows were coming up. You can find out about shows in your area by checking the internet, looking for posters at your gym, as well as simply asking people around who you know to be a part of that world. Some of my favorite sites to learn show schedules are npcnewsonline.com and bodybuilding.com.
Once I had decided which sport, for me it was Fitness, I wanted to compete in, and then decided on a show, it was a matter of getting the right team. I was pretty much my team at that point, and I knew that there would be a lot of expense. I sized up the expenses: suits, shoes, grooming, tanning, etc. That being the case, I knew that I would need to work and find a sponsor. How does one find a sponsor?
The best thing you can do is type your expense list up on a spreadsheet, and then you can decide who to go to for sponsorship. You can ask friends who own businesses, which is what I did,or you can go to fresh sponsors. It’s very challenging to find new companies to sponsor your cause, so that’s why it is very important to look polished in your approach. They need to hear and see, if possible, why they should give you money. If you are thinking of looking for sponsorship, get a great package together, and offer them incentives to sponsor you. Can you be a poster child for their products? Can you be a model for them once or twice monthly at some kind of product booth? Is it possible that you have already accumulated some publicity that would show them that you are notable? The point is you want to find every reason for them to work with you and you want to show it, share it, sell it, and let them take advantage of whatever it is that is special about you in order to bring their products some sales. There has to be a trade-off. What I did was get a spreadsheet of my expenses, a letter sharing with them how they could recoup their monies by writing their sponsorship off as an advertising expense, and any newspaper clippings or news appearances I had made were listed for them to see for themselves. Some people said yes, and some said no, but I got through to my first show nonetheless. I had one child at the time, and a husband, but we did not have much money, so I sought out sponsorship dollars. I went to places that had to do with my industry and restaurants that I favored. After telling them what I was doing, I shared my package with them, asking that they cover one or more expenses on the the list, and eventually, I got them all covered. When you want something badly enough and you never give up until you get it, oddly enough, you get it. I was never pushy or psycho, but I was definitely persistent. That was absolutely necessary. Like all things, it never got any easier, but I just got better at it as I went along. There was never a doubt in my mind that I was going to get what I needed to, but there were always obstacles.
I was fortunate that the juice bar at my gym was run by a gentleman that I could approach about sponsorship. The Power Station Juice Bar was run by Tim DuPriest, who was also a photographer. He was starting a photography business, and I was starting my competitive career. I was really happy that he was so helpful, but it never would have come from him without my continued effort. Sometimes, people just see your heart, and even if it’s a crunch for them, they will try to help you because people like supporting each other. Where there is a dream, there must be a person with heart, and the people who have a heart for others will show up to assist, even in the smallest ways. We agreed that I would model for him for free in trade of him being able to write off advertising expenses. There is a lot to be said for intention. Someone once said though, “No one ever built a reputation on what they were going to do.” So, even if I felt like a dork, I just went for it, because, as i said, it doesn’t get any easier, you just get better as you go. My sponsorships were available through the law of attraction, but the law of attraction only works after you have put forth the efforts necessary to communicate your intentions. Looking even deeper into it, there is nothing that can happen if you don’t persist until it manifests. Another one of my favorite phrases: “Everyone gets what they want in this world, when they don’t give up until they get it.” Pretty elementary stuff, but no one seems to realize that this is the stuff I lived by (and obviously still do) when I was seeing a fit woman instead of a fat girl when I looked into the mirror. Remember, acknowledge it hurts, acknowledge the pain, acknowledge you can manage it, figure out how to manage it, and then manage it. I say the same thing a million different ways, but the process remains the same. It will also always remain that YOU ARE WORTH THE WORK!
Weight Training Tones!
I was speaking with a woman at the gym today who is an attorney (obviously a very sedentary job), she genuinely loves to take care of herself, and I found it interesting that she was a very avid workout enthusiast. I mean, where does an attorney find the time!? It’s just like being a mom, THE RESPONSIBILITIES NEVER SLOW DOWN The point is, she was someone so busy, I thought it would be a very impressive blog because she had a wonderful energy and she looked great, and in working out, isn’t that what we’re all after?
Being a mother, we have to manage our time effectively as well as our choices as to how we spend that time, because we have other lives which are completely reliant on our efficiency with our time. What I thought was interesting about Sandy, the attorney, was that, like I said, she is BUSY! Yet, she still makes time to work out and feel and look great. How does she do it?
At one time she was a runner. At another time she got into kickboxing and MMA training. The reality: NONE OF THESE METHODS OF FITNESS WORKED WELL FOR HER and they took up a lot of time. “When I started weight training, I immediately noticed my arms were getting tone, and MY BUTT! Wow!” I loved hearing that because women are always saying “I don’t want to use weights because I just don’t want to look bulky.” The reality: there is nothing more effective on your body’s toning ability than weight training. If done correctly, with the right form and technique, weight training is SAFER, MORE TONING, AND MORE FATBURNING IN THE LONG RUN THAN CARDIO. (see more at nitasfitnessdirectives.com)
Even more beneficial, you don’t have to weight train for 2 hours a day to get results. 30 minutes three times a week is a good start, and for mothers, this a manageable time structure and a good ongoing method of training. We spend 30 minutes three times a week watching tv or doing something else that’s mindless and unfulfilling and ineffective for ourselves. If motherhood is about time management, weight training is the perfect answer to create a fitness regimen through.
Reality: Weight training tones more than anything else, it helps strengthen our bone density (osteoporosis occurs in many women with age- weight training can help!), it is a great way to burn fat, you can do it and see results in just 1.5 hours weekly.
Conclusion: Weight training doesn’t have to bulk you up…
Weight training tones your body! 
