burn-calories

By The FIRM Master Instructor Annie Lee

My philosophy is all about the 3 E’s: effective, efficient exercise. Here’s a quick how-to video of my personal total body workouts that focus on the 3 E’s.

We typically think of  “swim suit season” as the time of year we all focus on our buns. But I’ve been inundated with booty questions lately, so I thought I’d write about how to firm it up!

The total body conditioning class I teach is always packed — like 70 people. Each participant literally gets about a 3 x 3 foot area to move in, and we use a step platform, hand weights and a resistance band. I had a gal after class today come up to me and say, “We are packed in this room like sardines, but we still get such a great workout.” She’s correct. I often remind the class that we are burning like 600 calories yet barely moving out of our little space — that’s amazing.

By The FIRM Master Instructor Rebekah Sturkie

Which is more effective: A sprint? A marathon? Or is it something else altogether? When plotting your course to weight loss, you can’t help but wonder if you should plan to work out harder or longer. The answer depends on your time and ability.

By The FIRM Master Instructor Rebekah Sturkie

Power moves — exercises that involve high intensity and explosive movement — are extremely beneficial for developing strength and coordination. And we all want to do that, right? This type of training is the way to go if you want to burn major calories in a short amount of time.

Have you ever exercised a bit harder because you had ice cream the night before? Ever justified making a poor dietary decision (dessert/second helping/third cocktail) by thinking, “I’ll work out twice tomorrow,” or “It’s OK, I ran 10 miles today”?

By The FIRM Master Instructor Emily Walsh

I have a new move that I LOVE and I have been doing in class lately. It’s actually a series of moves I call the Bodacious Burpee! It’s a good burn, and good cardio pump, and fun! Here is a little video how-to plus detailed instructions.

They are FINALLY over! Don’t worry if you consumed too many calories this season. Holiday weight gain doesn’t stand a chance against my turbo-boosted Sun Salutations.

Adding core-toning work in the transitions between poses in the classic Sun Salutation series amps up the benefits of all the poses. I call these Core Salutations. When you follow this sequence, you’re doing twice the yoga in the same amount of time. It’s a calm centering practice that will burn off those sugar cookies and eggnog, fast.

Everything is done at a faster pace and bigger fashion at the holidays. You eat more, drink more, spend more money and sleep less. You feel time crunched; you do your last minute shopping; and as fast as you create the holidays, they disappear.

There are many ways to intensify your workout.  Adding an element that you don’t usually add can bring up the calorie expenditure.  Here are three of my favorites:

1) Add an empowering affirmation when you’re doing your cardio workout. I love this technique because it engages you on a physical, mental, and emotional level.  The biggest challenge we have when training is to stay engaged at a level that will increase our strength and endurance.