By definition a newbie is someone who is a novice, newcomer, or inexperienced in that activity. While some people use this in a more negative light; the honest truth is that we were all newbie’s at some point in time. But the nice thing about being in that place is that there is nowhere to go but up!

So here you are, new to the ideas of working out. There are tons of machines and exercises available. Plus it is very confusing because you see so many people doing all different things. Should you copy that incredibly fit runner or instead follow a routine done by the strongman looking gentleman in the back?

The simple answer is neither.

Being new to working out means your body is not ready for the demands of intermediate or advanced training. So with that in mind, beginner workouts are often very simple just to get your body used to the stress that breaking down muscle fibers will put on it. Plus you need to be accustomed to the motions.

Beginner Program

The basic idea is to start working out 3 days a week. The first day will be weights followed by a rest day. Then there will be a cardio day followed by a rest day. Finally there will be another weight day followed by 2 rest days. Ideally you can do this program on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Day 1 – Machine Weights

Start with 15 minutes of light cardio like walking or cycling to warm up followed by a few minutes of light stretching. All exercises will be performed for 3 sets at 8-12 reps each. Good form is very important in this learning phase. Make sure to stretch again after the workout.

• Machine Leg Press
• Hamstring Curl Machine
• Standing Calf Raise Machine
• Lat Pull-down station or machine
• Chest Press Machine
• Side Deltoid Machine
• Bicep Curl Machine
• Triceps Press Machine
• Lower Back Machine

Day 2 – Cardio and Abs

You should pick a cardio machine and go for 1 hour of cardio. The Fat Burning programs are often challenging enough to start with. But after a few sessions you can try interval training for variety. After cardio use any available ab machines with very light weight. Your goal is reps in the 30 range. Exhale as you contract your mid-section to really tighten up. You should shoot for 2-3 sets per machine. Ideally you want to work the front and sides of your midsection. After that go, stretch your body out to hasten the recovery process.

Day 3 – Machine Weights

Start with 15 minutes of light cardio like walking or cycling to warm up followed by a few minutes of light stretching. All exercises will be performed for 3 sets at 8-12 reps each. Good form is very important in this learning phase. Make sure to stretch again after the workout. You can repeat Day 1, but these exercises will hit muscles slightly differently.

• Machine Leg Extensions
• Single Leg Hamstring Curls
• Seat Calf Raise Machine (or station)
• Rowing Machine (works the mid-back)
• Chest Fly Machine
• Shoulder Press Machine
• Bicep Preacher Curl Machine
• Triceps Dip Machine
• Lower Back Machine

Summary

This intro program is great for the first 4-8 weeks of training. It allows your body to slowly get used to the stress and strain of the gym. You also get a chance to become familiar with how various exercises feel and the proper motions by using the machines. Often people jump into hard programs or free-weights without proper instruction and form and just end up hurting themselves. After you have some basics down then you will be ready to move on to the next phase.

Ben Sanderson is an author for Nutribomb Bodybuilding Supplements. Nutribomb is here to provide you with up to date information on the best supplements available on the internet.

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by lululemon athletica

So you’re a gym rat, but you aren’t quite seeing the results that you wanted to, or maybe expected to? You’re running, you’re lifting, you’re doing yoga – but maybe you aren’t prepping your body the way that you should be in order to really reap the benefits, and feel the impact.

Interval Train

So, you’re running at the gym, whether it’s treadmill, track or elliptical. But how are you running? Are you just running slow and steady or are you exploding and then resting, over and over? It really is evident that interval training is much better for your fitness – and much more effective. On average, if you spend 15 to 20 minutes interval training, you’ll burn the same amount of calories that you would burn running steadily for an hour on the treadmill. Plus – interval training will stay with your body (and your metabolism) longer than running at a steady pace.

Don’t Forget About Your Core

If you’re sitting at a desk all day, slouching in front of your computer, you’ve probably not only got flabby abs, but a weak core (and no, your “core” is not just your abs, but an entire system of muscles). And so many of us when we exercise, no matter what we are doing forget to engage our core muscles.

It’s amazing if you actually keep your core engaged when you’re working out how much more…well, difficult…it makes the exercise. But the burn is so much more rewarding! Engaging your core muscles is not just for sit-ups or crunches.

Do Push Ups

It’s amazing what one little exercise can do. Push ups are probably one of the greatest exercises that you can do to engage and move your entire body – but, of course, only if you keep proper form – no hip sagging or arching your back – everything in a straight line!

Drink Chocolate Milk

Yes, really – though wait to imbibe this sweet drink until after your workout is complete. Chocolate milk has basically everything that your body needs after a workout – fat, carbs and protein (plus a little sugar) will help you build muscle, recover and not get too sore.

Don’t Stretch!

Yes, you heard me right – don’t stretch! Stretching done just before an activity can actually reduce your power output and increase your risk for injury. You are still going to want to warm your body up, though – so instead of stretching you’re going to want to do some simple body weight movements that will get your muscles warmed up without overtaxing yourself before you even get started.

Jackie Ryan is a freelance writer who does her best to hit that gym flooring and train with proper form, but knows that exercise isn’t always that easy for some. It’s all about finding the exercise that works the best for you – whatever that may mean.

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Mr Thinktank

Bodyweight exercises may be overlooked by some fitness experts, but the truth is they are very beneficial. Whether you’re doing squats or heel lifts, these exercises should not be overlooked. Here are just a few benefits of bodyweight exercises.

Keeps You Healthy

Believe it or not, bodyweight exercises can actually make your heart healthier. How is this possible? Exercises such as swimming, squats and heel lifts work to provide the heart with enough oxygen. This helps ensure that your heart stays healthy.

Can Be Done Anywhere

One of the biggest benefits of bodyweight exercises is that it doesn’t matter if you’re in the checkout line at the grocery store or waiting for the laundry to finish drying, you can do a number of different exercises. You might do squats while retrieving clothes from the dryer or even do heel lifts while waiting for your food to heat in the microwave. Why waste those minutes standing around when you could be exercising?

Are Easy to Learn

Many bodyweight exercises are easy to learn. You can find a number of diagrams online as well as videos. While these exercises are easy, you need to remember to perform them correctly or you could risk injury. And, just because they are easy to do doesn’t mean you should overdo it or you could prevent yourself from exercising for weeks while you recover from an injury.

Can Be Done in Short Bursts

You don’t have to block out an hour of your day to do these exercises. As mentioned above, you can do these exercises while waiting. That means you could do a few here and there throughout your day. This is a wonderful option for those that aren’t able to exercise for long periods of time due to chronic pain or being out of shape.

Are for More than Just Fitness

While you will see fitness related benefits from bodyweight exercises, you will also see other results. For example, yoga is an exercise based on bodyweight and is used for everything from weight loss to stress reduction. These exercises can also reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol and improve blood sugar levels.

Bodyweight exercises should not be overlooked. Whether they help improve your health or emotional well being, these exercises should be a part of everyone’s routine. Try doing a few squats while watching TV or heel lifts while cooking dinner. You’ll be surprised at how much better you feel after doing these simple exercises.

About the Author: Ada Mapps is a female bodybuilder who enjoys working with amateurs, teaching them how to get ripped fast and maintain both their regular and competition bodies throughout the year.

It’s the holiday season, which means that it’s that time of year when our waistlines tend to expand. But there are things that everyone can do that will reduce the chances of horrible weight gain.

Keep up (as best you can) your workouts. You may slack on your diet (if you are on one), but it’s imperative that you try and keep up a regular workout schedule – keep those sneakers where you will be able to find them – and feel guilty if you don’t use them! You’re throwing so many more calories at your body during the holiday season, not keeping a regular exercise will very well make it worse.

Watch your alcohol intake. Beer and wine equal empty calories – keep count not just for your alcohol consumption, but remember that those are calories, too.

Eat slowly and don’t stand by the food. This seems like something straightforward and easy, but it’s amazing how much a difference it makes when the holiday season comes – a switch turns on, and for some reason people decide that they need to take a man and a van and pile all that food onto a plate and then put it in their body in two seconds flat. Don’t do that. Eat slowly, maybe slower than your normal rate, and allow your body the chance to recognize it is full. Those 20 minutes can make a huge difference. This way you won’t feel like a towing company has to come in and roll you out of the party.

I’ve done it before, too – we all have – and it is definitely not a fun experience.

Sleep! This is another thing that people forget to take into account – but with the holiday season comes long days (and nights) of travel. Make sure that you keep as similar a sleep schedule as you can – as with your workouts and your caloric intake, our bodies do not always adjust well to the change from new stresses – so one of the best things to do is to keep your body as regulated as you can.

Move! Don’t stay on one place: go walking, playing or traveling!

Overall, the best thing that you can do for your body is try and keep all your other routines as best you can – and eating a healthy meal before a party isn’t a bad idea, either – that way you’ll be less tempted to eat all the deliciously bad food before you.

Ashley Dean looks forward to the holiday season every year, and actually enjoys swapping out her Carolina boots and her man’s Dunham work boots for snow boots. She’s been writing for as long as she can remember, but only recently started doing so professionally.

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by *clairity*

Calorie counting and tracking workout intensity through software can often be a bit of chore. FitRabbit is a mobile app (currently only supported for the iPhone) that puts a twist on traditional diet and fitness software by turning your fitness goals into a fun, social game.

Through the app, you can win prizes for healthy activities and share your meals and workouts with your friends. Since it’s mobile (as opposed to being a web or desktop app), it makes it pretty easy to track what you’re doing. It pulls calorie information from the USDA (through an API called FatSecret) and has a heartrate monitor. And finally, the app was created by me, a normal programmer chick who’s just trying to stay fit

Fitness (and everything else, for that matter) is becoming increasingly social with the rise of Facebook, Twitter and now Google+. For me personally, there is nothing more inspirational to me than knowing that Julie and Steph buy delicious and healthy fruit from the Farmers’ Market. Or knowing that Chris lifts weights at the gym almost every day and then has a home cooked meal of salad and chicken cordon bleu. Through FitRabbit, I can see what healthy activities my friends are up to (if they choose to share that info with me.)

The app spices things up a little bit by turning the achievement of your health and fitness goals into a game. The Garden and Moo Prizes, for example, go to users who eat fruits and vegetables four times a week or drink enough milk. The Body Builder Prize (winning requires working out 5 days a week) can give users the incentive to get in that last workout at the end of the week. The capstone FitRabbit Prize can only be won by users who work out frequently, eat enough fruits and veggies, and avoid sugar.

The app tries to strike a balance between being advanced and, at the same time, fun and accessible to ordinary people, who are too busy to track every little thing or pore over multiple graphs and reams of data. Activity entry is pretty easy through FitRabbit. The user can snap photos of their meals and then do the calorie lookup later. I use the app while I’m on the elliptical. With a few taps and zero typing, I am able to track my heartrate while I’m working out. The apps aims to be useful, without being distracting.

I hope others will find this app as helpful as I have. Check it out and write a review! Or contact me at help@fitrabbitapp.com. I am constantly iterating on the app, and I would love to hear your feedback! Thanks!

The word endorphins seems to be one of the buzz words within well-being lifestyles, and it’s for good reason. All of us contain natural feel good chemicals commonly known as endorphins, and when these chemicals are released it makes us feel a sense of euphoria and can greatly influence our outlook on many things.

If you and your partner worked on releasing these endorphins collectively, on a regular basis, absolutely everything in your lives will be positively impacted.

Regular exercise reduces stress hormones such as cortisol. Releasing endorphins, dopamine and serotonin through exercise on a regular basis will literally give you a natural high. The release of these natural chemicals have the ability to mask pain as well as allow people to overcome depression. You’ll perform better at work and have more energy to play with the kids. And of course, your relationship will also reap the benefits. Your sex life is also set to prosper as a result of choosing to lead a healthy lifestyle. Make a commitment with your partner today to stay fit and healthy in unison.

Most couples who remain together for a long period will commonly face several health issues related to lifestyle. 1/ Their diet suffers. 2/ They fail to integrate any form of physical fitness into their routine and will generally find some kind of justification or excuse for neglecting this extremely important life choice.

In order to experience all the wonderful benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle within a relationship, the effort must be combined and not just for one partner. Any health expert or fitness advisor will tell you that a training partner greatly assists in maintaining motivation and consistency.

Getting started is quite often the hardest part, but the good news is that the majority of your efforts should be focused in the kitchen. Think of it this way, 80% of your focus should be aimed at diet and nutrition and 20% on exercise. Cooking and experimenting with food is a great way to spend quality time with your partner, more so when there is a mutual goal being established. Make regular visits together to the local organic fruit and vegetable markets. Map out your meals at the start of each week. The food you eat is the single most defining element to weight loss or weight gain – exercise is just the icing on the cake, so to speak.

Lead by example

Complacency is where you’re likely to fail. One partner must take the lead and be mindful not to resent the other partner if it seems like a one sided affair. Developing a healthy pattern requires more than just a routine, try and mix things up a bit so your routine becomes fun and diverse. You could enjoy fitness workouts like swimming, running at the beach, hiking, bush walking, a fitness class, walking, volley ball and tennis. Exercising does not mean you should have to slog it out at the gym six days a week. Make it fun and mix things up.

Whether you’re in a committed relationship or leading a life as a single person, maintaining your health takes motivation. Motivation can be achieved simply by leaving the house, inspiration then comes easily. Instead of watching TV, go for a run, or read a healthy lifestyle magazine to maintain enthusiasm. Aside from all the wonderful benefits you’re set to gain within your relationship, you’ll also reduce the risk of stroke and diabetes, increase flexibility, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as improve your own self-confidence.

You’ll start experiencing the natural exhilaration of healthy living within the first ten days, it’s quite common for people to become addicted to this lifestyle, and this is one addiction worth having!

Matt Fuller is a contributing author for several leading dating sites in Australia and social network blogs. Matt has been an active contributor to the online dating Australia sector for more than ten years and works as a matchmaking consultant.

If you’re currently on a muscle building workout plan and have been finding lately that you’re seeing less than optimal development, chances are you’ve hit a growth or strength gaining plateau.  This is a very normal occurrence for almost every trainee because as the body adapts to the workload being given to it, it fully manages to overcome it and then no longer sees a reason to change.

If you want to keep your body responding as best as possible so that you can move forward and see greater results, you have to push it back out of its comfort zone so it has a new reason to sit up and grow stronger.

Coming up with innovative ways to shock your muscles into growth is the perfect solution to do this.  Remember, sometimes you don’t necessarily have to completely restructure your workout around to create the change necessary for growth.  Often it’s a matter of a little tweak here or there that can do the job perfectly.

Let’s look at a few ideas for you to consider.

Reverse The Order

The very first way to shock the muscles into growth is to reverse the order of the exercises you’re performing.  Do you normally start out with bench press and then move to incline bench and finish with chest fly’s?

Try doing this the other way around.  In doing so you’re going to be much more fatigued by the time that you hit the bench press, thus your muscles will be forced to work that much harder.

Note that you likely won’t hit any personal bests when doing the larger, compound exercises later, but that’s not the point.  The point is to work through fatigue and grow stronger so that then when you do go back to your usual order, you’re now able to handle more weight.

Utilize Half-To-Full Reps

The second thing to consider is utilizing half to full reps.  This is an excellent way to bring on a high level of fatigue and really get those muscles responding.

To perform these you simply move all the way down through the first half of the movement, but then rather than returning all the way to the start, only come up half way.  Pause for a moment, go back down to the bottom of the movement, and then come all the way back up once again.

Perform all your reps like this in each set of that exercise and you’ll definitely be feeling it by the end.

Change The Grip Position

Third, another good way to bump up the intensity of your workout program and get greater growth is to change the grip position.

For instance, if you always do your pull-ups with an overhand grip, try an underhand grip instead. Likewise, if you’re doing bent over rows with an overhand grip, an underhand grip can be used here as well.

Often this simple change will entirely alter the stress on the muscle tissues and provoke that much greater strength gains.

Do Timed Reps

Another way that you can change around your workout set-up and see greater results is to perform timed reps.  With this technique, instead of doing your normal set of say 8-12 reps, what you’re going to do is see how many reps you can complete in one minute’s time.

Note that the point here is not to reduce the weight so you can lift for a minute straight, but rather, keep the weight at the same level and squeeze out as many reps as possible, even if breaks have to be taken.  If you’ve reached fatigue, pause until you can go again, and then continue on with your reps.

Once the minute is up, switch to a new exercise.

Try Single-Limb Exercises

Finally, the last way to shock your muscles into experiencing better growth is to use single-limb exercises.  In some cases you may have one muscle that’s stronger than the other that’s overcompensating for the weaker muscle group.

For instance if you’re doing a bent over barbell rows and one arm is significantly stronger, the other may not be pushing as hard as it should.

By switching this up to dumbbell single arm rows instead, you eliminate this problem from occurring.

So keep all of these quick and easy changes in mind. It’s vital that you’re constantly seeking out new ways to further stimulate your body so that you can take your strength and muscle growth to the next level.

This article has been contributed by Aishwarya Vohra. She works for Offshore Ally- a leading online source for reliable virtual assistant and SEO link builders.  She is a avid reader and enjoys practising yoga. Connect with her via Twitter.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Ron Sombilon Gallery

Today, when there are so many responsibilities and social roles women play, not many of them have time to take care of themselves and their health. However we all know that any woman cannot accept the fact that she is not beautiful.

It is a common practice for people to think that most workouts can be done only in gym. But that is not the whole truth. In fact, you can workout whereever you feel comfortable.

For Arms

Many women are interested in exercises that target a particular area. Most women with chubby arms are often insecure and less confident. They don’t feel comfortable wearing shirts with short sleeves. For them hand workouts can be a good choice.

Some effective and suitable hand workouts include Pushups, Tricep chair dips, Cable curls, Skull crasher and Dumbbell curls etc.

For Legs

Legs are another problematic area for women. Especially thighs that are fat can be a big source of discomfort for many women. This can be prevented by performing few effective leg workouts. Leg workouts may include Leg raises and Squats.

Leg raises greatly helps in shaping your thighs and strengthening your leg muscles. Squats perfectly tone your thighs and buttocks. Squats should initially be performed without using any weights but once you get a hang of it to have better results you should start using some weights.

Penned by Jeffery Martin with P90X retailer. To help you obtain Leandro Carvalho’s Freshest exercise routine take a look at brazilian butt lift workout.

Life these days become so busy that it seems impossible for a person to spare some time for workout but ways described in the following list can help you a lot to include exercise in your daily life without much efforts and you can maintain your fitness automatically.

Everybody is familiar with the need of physical fitness and mental soundness. Basics of healthier lifestyle are to workout more and eat better. Although, it can be difficult to include health exercise into your daily life, especially for those who are stuck in a sitting job but still there are some tips for them to make their body more functional and movable during the whole day.

Luckily, you have many ways to include different activities in your daily life in order to reduce your weight or to remain fit. It will make you healthy and active.

1. Try to brush your teeth not just standing in front of the mirror. You can lift knees and mark time. Also try to tighten abdominal muscles while lifting knees.

2. Morning walk is recommended because of high quality oxygen available at that time in the atmosphere. Try to include it at least twice a week in your life.

3. Try not to bother your half to make breakfast for you, prepare it for yourself and try to put all the stuff back in the kitchen. That can improve your relationship as well.

4. If your office is not far away try to walk rather than using your car.

Instead of elevator you can use stairs.

5. If you are using car then you can get rid of some of your calories by parking your car farther away from your destination but don’t get late from your office by doing this.

6. Experts also suggest jaunting down and up the stairs or have a walk for some time in the office and do not be seated all the time.

7. For eyes it is recommended by the ergonomic experts that take of your eyes every hour or so from the computer screen.

8. Tensing and releasing the stomach and back muscles is also an excellent exercise.

9. Try to chat with your colleagues often while walking in the office. It not only increases your physical activities but also leave a good impression on your mates.

10. After lunch, spend the remaining lunch time in walking. You can take walk within your office building. This activity will help you in settling food.

11. When you come back from your office don’t restrict your life to only TV, try to socialize with your neighbors.

12. You can reduce some calories while gardening and housework.

13. When your family gets together try to plan an outdoor game instead of watching TV or board games. Try to arrange games like horseshoes, badminton or just kick a soccer ball around.

14. You can lift dumbbells or walk on treadmill while talking on phone with your girlfriend or wife when they are away from you, because in such case call must be long and you have much time for workout.

15. You can join your children for bicycle ride at weekends.

16. Workout when your children do. If you have to pick your child in the afternoon game practice, instead of talking with another partner or reading a book consider, walking or running around the perimeter till your child completes the practice.

17. Workout in front of the TV while watching your favorite program. You can walk instead of lying on couch or you can triceps dips off the edge of the coffee table during the commercials.

18. Try to wear casual clothing’s, it will provide an opportunity to your body to relax and movement of your body can be increased by it.

19. Take remote control and find out exercise TV channel, there are several and you can even chose. Don’t exercise too long, workout until you like it.

20. If your neighbors are fond of sports never fight with them because you can miss the opportunity to lose some calories while playing with them.

21. Try to spend a little time in your kitchen in cutting vegetables and helping your soul mate in cooking, this activity not only good for you relation but also for four body fitness.

22. If you have little babies then you can lift them and can play with them to burn your calories, it not only makes you slim but can also bring pleasure for you as well as your baby.

23. Availability of treadmill at home can increase the probabilities of doing more exercise daily. 3 minutes walk is more than 0. Don’t aim on long exercise, do as long you can and want.

24. Try to have a little walk after having a supper and plan your sleep time at least two hours after dinner.

25. Yoga is also an excellent exercise; you just need a piece of carpet and a quite room. 10 minutes of yoga can do miracles for your body and mind.

26. When weather is not good, go in a shopping mall and do window shopping. You can go further by trying clothes just for fun.

27. Giving a wash to your car at weekend can also help burning some of your extra calories.

28. Try to adopt a light hobby like painting or playing lawn tennis in your courtyard to bring your limbs into motion.

29. Drink lots of water and herbal tea – you will go to toilet more often and spend less time sitting. Don’t prepare a jug of tea, instead of this walk every time to the kitchen to prepare the next tea.

30. Take a pet and take care of it. Dogs need every day walk.

Try to remain physically active and involved in all the issues going on in the office as well as home. It will keep you busy physically as well as mentally occupied and you will never be bored from your life.

Rumiana Ilieva is author of exercises for women website, where women can find exercise videos, diet plans and cellulite treatment advices.

First things first, I’m not a fitness expert by any means. BUT if you’re anything like me, you are starting to get frustrated with all of the “experts” out there. Telling you to first “do this,” but then a new study comes out and really, “doing this,” is actually hurting your physique.

As I am a fairly modest person, I hate to even admit that I am actually in good shape. Of course I have the occasional terrible-no-good-for-you-in-any-shape-or-form meal or snack…but hey, I’m not claiming to be perfect.

Although I may fall off the healthy food wagon sometimes, I always at least balance it with a good workout schedule. I am someone who puts fitness as a part of my daily routine. I schedule it right into my agenda so I know I will get it done. Where did I gain this mandatory-workout mindset? I got it from being an athlete.

I grew up with sports. Tennis, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, cheerleading… you name, I did it. For those of you who think kids these days are over-worked, take a good, long look at the obesity totals in children today…I’m sure your viewpoint will change. Obviously there is a fine line of “living through your kids” and just making sure they stay active, but you get my point. I am so thankful that my parents enrolled my sisters and me in sports as children because it taught us that staying active was just a part of life! All three of us continued to play sports throughout middle school, high school, and even through college (two played NCAA DI tennis, while I played NCAA DIII tennis and 2 years of collegiate track & field). Now, as adults, we have the same mindset to stay active and make it a part of our daily schedules.

All sounds fine and dandy, right? No, not so much. I’m human. I get bored with the same workout routine, working out at the same time every single day, and sometimes not having the extra push to get to the gym. Here’s the thing…I can’t let these annoyances or boring workouts get the most of me. So how do I combat them? Below I have provided a few tips that may help you when you find yourself in a workout rut. Keep in mind, just because these tips work for me it doesn’t necessarily mean each will work for you, but I thought I’d share:

1. Spice it up. Try a new activity or sport. Belong to a gym? Sign up for classes. I can definitely say, from experience, this works! I signed up for a 6-week boot camp at my gym. While the 5:15 AM workout did not seem appealing at first, I knew I would feel better and even gain some new tips to enhance my personal workouts! Man, I noticed results after the first two days (no, I’m not exaggerating). Having an instructor push you to try your hardest really put me back in “athlete mindset.” I had a practice. I had a coach. I had to work my butt off to stay on top of everything. In the end? I was ready to sign up for another session!

2. Sign up for a race. Registering for a future 5k, 10k, Half or Full Marathon, etc. will give you the extra “umph” to workout. After dropping some moolah for a race, you’ll be SURE to train your best so that on the race day you will feel SUCH a sense of accomplish and of course get your money’s worth.

3. Make it work. Make working out a part of your daily schedule. Have plans after work? Get a workout in during your lunch. Have plans at lunch? Get yourself out of bed a little early and get to the gym. Making your workout a vital part of your day will ensure that you’re getting at least your 30 minutes of daily activity. Also, with a couple weeks of this mindset, adding fitness to your daily routine will become a no-brainer!

I hope some of these tips will help you increase your fitness activity and help you get moving on a daily basis! I guess I should mention that I also have an additional motive…I’m engaged to be married in the fall. Fitting into that wedding dress and having toned arms for the wedding pictures are a must!

When Ali isn’t running, playing tennis, or trying new workouts, she can be found promoting fitness to all the techie guys in the office. In addition to fitness, Ali also promotes clothing and formal wear such as the prom dresses found at Peach’s Boutique (which is fun since she is searching for bridesmaid dresses for her wedding!!).