cardio

The most common reason people give for not getting enough exercise is: “I’m too busy.”

But remember that just because you are BUSY doesn’t mean you are ACTIVE! Being busy and being active are not synonymous. You can be busy all day long sitting at a desk or driving in a car without being active.

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 Alison Davis-McLain

A girlfriend of mine forwarded a blog to me about brides who go overboard to try to lose weight for their wedding day. It said nearly half were willing to adopt extreme dieting strategies including skipping meals, taking unprescribed diet pills, liquid diets, and even smoking, laxatives or induced vomiting!

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.

By The FIRM Master Instructor Alison Davis-McLain

Bootcamp-style workouts not only bring on the sweat — they can also turn up the fear factor! You might think bootcamp workouts are only for advanced exercisers. But even novices can do a bootcamp workout and reap its total-body benefits.

It’s not only during February (‘Go Red’ and Heart Health Month) that the benefits of regular cardiovascular exercise are always in the news. Study after study shows that exercise does everything from strengthening your heart to lowering your blood pressure to just plain making you feel happier. Yet the news on how long or how hard you should exercise always varies.

With all the demands in your busy life, no doubt you feel a huge sense of accomplishment if you simply get in a walk on any given day. And you should! But one form of exercise isn’t enough. So instead of trying to fit ANY form physical activity into your schedule, focus on getting FOUR kinds of exercise — including core training as well as cardio, strength training and flexibility moves. You don’t necessarily have to add MORE workouts into your week; first just make sure that you’re alternating between these four types of movement in your routine, or combining them into any given workout.