Sweat: Sweet Savings

Why is it we, myself included, spend massive amounts of cash on fitness? It seems we are willing to pay everyone, and buy everything that is suggested to help us get in "dream" shape. We spend "x" amount on trainer,  on runners, on gym memberships...etc. The problem from my perspective: is that in paying other for our fitness aspiration we outsource our commitment and fitness motivation to third parties. Fitness is a personal goal, something we can only achieve through our own personal motivation and commitment. We are each responsible for our own fit lifestyle. I am a huge Tracy Anderson Addict, I love her workouts. They are portable, and constantly change. I can make an hour for myself at home, to plug in a DVD and get my sweat on. 

My friend at Sparkles and Spinach posted a pin about a "fit money jar" a few week ago. The idea is incredible. After a workout, you pay yourself for committing to your fitness goal. Since Tracy's workout includes a cardio section, and muscular section I pay myself 2 dollars for completing my workout ( and an extra dollar for sticking to my diet). The fit money jar sits on my desk and serves as motivation. I know that if I stay committed to my workouts and diet I will save $90  in one month. The money I save can be used to buy new lulu lemons or be put towards something I really want. 

Above is a quick 10 minute toning workout. Follow along, and pay yourself a dollar for completing the routine. 

Sweat: Beachen Bod

Instant Body Boosters

Wear the right clothes:

To accentuate your a$$, wear the right pant. Wear pants with narrow legs; that are fitted around the tush. A cigarette leg is classic and elegant because the fitted pant projects the image of an hourglass figure. 

To accentuate your midsection, look for a high-rise pant that frames the natural curve at your waist line. Add a big belt to break up the look, and enhance the illusion of voluptuous curves.

To highlight your beautiful broad shoulders look for a tops with a boat neck. 

The shoulder line of your shirt should always hit just below where your arm and shoulder join. This gives your arms the illusion of length. 

Go Indigo:

When choosing jeans, and knit sweaters pink an indigo hue. The dark color is figure flattering, without the harshness of noir. Dark denim, can be flattering in all washes and textures. When a choosing a lighter denim opt for a thicker fabric, a heavy white denim will add more shape to your figure while camouflaging problem areas. 

Tone It Out:

The more muscle tone you have, the better your body will fill your clothes. Aim to 

fit in 15 minutes a day for an easy toning workout. Alternate between major muscle groups. When you target your arms you engage core/support muscles that help to tone the lower body as well.  

Sweat: Long Lean Arms

I'm built like a gymnast; small and compact. I have broad shoulders and a a tendency to "bulk" in my arms. I have always felt somewhat self conscious of my arms (until now).

I aspire to tone my arms, not to bulk them up. Traditional arm strengthening routines were not giving me the results that I desired. I love the concept of designing long lean ballet arms that is promoted in both the Tracy Anderson Method, and Ballet Beautiful. The secret to achieving perfect Ballet arms, is combining strength with stretch. Long Lean arms, are the product of perfect posture and concentrated exercises.


I spend hours hunched over text books, and a key board. When I slouch I can feel my shoulders tightening up and my arm muscles contracting. This forced tension created by poor posture negates the exercises and work I have done to tone and lengthen my arms. When toning your arms, remember the principles of posture: Shoulders down, core engaged and neck long.

This 15 minute arm routine is designed to tone your arms while focusing on posture. No equipment is needed, just follow along and breath through the work. Transform your arms!

Tone: Sleek Arms

Nothing screams that you are fit, and confident more than sleek and toned arms. Our arms are always busy, and almost always visible. Toned arms, look great in tank tops, tees, and long sleeve shirts. When arms are sleek, they refuse to be hidden; and they can wear every style so effortlessly. 

Besides the huge beauty and body confidence boost that having toned arms produces; its fun to know your own strength! Understand that you are a modern day super woman capable of anything life through at you. My arms, are my strength; and through them I constantly push myself and redefine my limitations. 

So much of our daily routine, and chores is reliant on upper body strength. Constantly being hunch over a keyboard, or glued onto a steering wheel can wreak havoc on our muscular alignment. By toning and strengthening our upper body muscles we can prevent lifestyle injuries while seemlessly flowing through life and its accompanying stresses. 

This is a simple arm workout, inspired by the Tracy Anderson Method, or as my friend Fiona calls her the "tiny blond devil". Follow along and focus on keeping your whole body actively engaged as you perform the movements. The routine is only 13 minutes. I know you can make the time. 

No excuses! Exercise anywhere.

A few minutes a day, or exercise has huge benefits to the body and mind. Just 10 minutes a day will boost ones overall fitness level;  (aerobic, cardiovascular, and muscular). An increased general fitness level, allows one to enjoy more recreational activities such as skiing, snowboarding, hockey, and hiking with out fear of injury or exhaustion. Daily exercise is beneficial not only to our physical appearance but also to our internal health. Daily exercise improve ones health by strengthening the immune system, and forcing internal organs to work through the process of converting stored calories into energy. Daily exercise is like fiber for the body, it helps to clean the body out, while exercise promotes the production of serotonin a mood lifting natural antidepressant. 

It can be a challenge to fit in the time for a workout every day; especially when your daily routine is a little out of sync. I have a month of for winter holidays from university and personally the though of a single month of gym/yoga fees is enough to disinterest my very positive fitness intentions. I always travel with a gym bag and my computer. You do not need an expensive gym membership to squeeze in your daily workout. All you need is a bit of time you can set aside, and a room that have some extra space for moving around. 

This is a quick 10 minute workout low-intensity workout, that can be done anywhere. The only piece of equipment that you need in a chair. Check out Tracy Anderson's site for motivational tips and tunes to accompaniment your workout. 

Many fitness clubs over air condition their facilities. When you workout at home or in a hotel the room temperature tends to be warmer. Go with it! The more you sweat, the more you will work your internal system granting you the most benefits of your workout. 

workouts to-go

My Grandma certainly knows the key to my heart. For Christmas my lovely grandma not only spoiled me with home-made goodies but also took me on a shopping spree to lululemon where I got a fabulous pair of Paris Pink work out pants, and a no limit tank top. 

My brother is a percussionist, and is working on a cruise ship, For New Years, my family is off to surprise him on the boat. I'm excited; a 3 day cruise in the Caribbean, and more family time. ( The joke being on my brother whom attempted to avoid the stress of a family holiday by running off to entertain sea folk for the holidays.)

When ever I travel, I always pack my workout wear to make it easy to get my fitness in. Many hotels chains including The Fairmont, The Hyatt, and The Hilton's like to keep room temperature just slightly above a comfortable heat. The practice of keeping hotel rooms un-noticeably uncomfortable is an industry trick to  manipulate guests into ordering in-room entertainment, food services, and to encourage guests to take advantage of hotel amenities. For me, the warmer rooms just motivates me to do my Tracy and reap the benefits of  a"hot" workout. Hotel rooms make for amazing workout spaces. They always have bottled water ( 2lb weight), a chair, mirrors, and a sturdy desk to place your computer. 

I've designed this arm and leg workout to work with the furnishings of any hotel room. This leg and arm toning workout does not require must space, and the hot hotel room will really increase your body's ability to stretch into the movements while sweating out extra toxins. 

 

Tramping about, sans Jingle

It is so easy to forget about your arms during cardio workouts. A lot of cardio exercises are either  repetitive which focus on the large leg muscles, since they require more energy to move. Or cardio workouts challenge balance, which intuitively forces the exerciser to concentrate on core stability rather than movement. 

Adding arm choreography to a workout can spike the overall effectiveness of the cardio. Our arms are comprised of large muscles; and when we focus on increasing arm movements in cardio it switches the exercisers attention from: shortness of breath to a specific body part. 

The switch in focus increases the exercisers endurance, while challenging balance and increasing muscle awareness/memory. 

I personally struggle, with remembering to incorporate my arms into workouts. I tend to keep my arms quiet. This urban rebounding workout is intended to focus on the arms first, and the jumps second.  

Follow along once or twice, and each time you replay the workout try to focus on a different muscle group. You will be shocked by how much the attention to "details" can transform your workout!

Enjoy!

Jingle Free Arms

Every woman has a different body; and that is essentially what makes us all beautiful. The trick to sex appeal is working with "what we've got." I'm 5'4, and no matter how many leg lifts that I perform I will never have the uber lean, lengthy and sculpted legs of Gwyneth. Instead I can achieve perfect legs, and perfect arms in perfect proportion to my body. 

My arms are my point of contention. I find them exceeding frustrating to tone, with out bulking. Historically, pre-TAM, I would be on the verge of self congratulations when at the last minute my state of victory would be defeated by a mini-armpit muffin top poking out from a strapless look.  

I like to use light weight and my own body weight to tone. In this mini- arm workout, all you will need in a chair. Follow along, and be sure to extend the energy from you arm as best you can. If you need more of a challenge, put on 1-3 lbs wrist weight on each arm.