Posts Tagged ‘workout’

Beating that workout slump is easy peasy. You know the slump, right? When you are just about to run up that super steep hill or pump your last set of iron, and your mind is telling you should just quit right there? Or when you just can't get yourself off the couch? (That's happening more to me now that the weather is a little cooler.)

Here's how I motivate myself to keep going: I find that song that I just can't get enough of, and I let it take me through my workout. Lately, Florence and the Machine's Between Two Lungs, and anything and everything by Queen have been getting me through my long marathon-training runs.

These artists almost never fail to take me right out of a slump and put me in my zone, motivating me to move faster (or just helping me reach the end of my run).

On those days I just don't feel like going for a run, I ask my iPod to play me some Florence and the Machine. Gets me motivated and out the door every time ...

I asked our Facebook and Twitter friends what to share their favourtite workout tunes are. Here's what they had to say:

From Facebook:

1. Tragically Hip (Gillian Meyer)

2. Sloan (Connie Altieri Bearden)

3. Janet Jackson (Karin Tarras-Fothegill)

4. AC/DC (Sonia Esquivel Chen)

5. Don't Look Back, by Boston (Catherine Climpson)

6. Strong beat make all the difference. Lately it has been Flogging Molly. (Jennifer Pruitt)

7. Madonna (from the 90s). Songs like Express Yourself. (Jeanna Gale)

From Twitter:

8. Davina and The Vagabonds! (@mskapay)

9. It's gotta be @ladygaga or nothing!!! (@AshleneFitz)

10. New Order. Great energy to sustain a heart-pumping workout. (@JaxMiddleton)

Do you listen to music when you work out?

Hands up if you hate your thighs. Looks like that's about the majority of you. You're all silly! You're beautiful people and you shouldn't worry about your thighs. But it is almost swimsuit season, and with that in mind we're all a little eager to look our best. Might I suggest adding a great thigh workout to your fitness routine? It will boost your confidence and you'll be ready to show off your new bikini.

Don't let that swimsuit scare you. Put it on and work it. You look fabulous!

In this video, fitness expert Pamela Mazzuca Prebeg shows you an amazing at-home thigh workout. To get optimal results, complete the circuit three times a week.

Find more great fitness videos here.

What's your favourite workout?

I LOVE yoga. It took me some time to get properly acquainted with my new-found love. But here I am. Smitten.

Dear Yoga: I love you. Yours truly, Daniela.

4 reasons why I love yoga

1. It's a loner activity
OK, you may be thinking that yoga is far from a loner activity when it usually takes place in a room full of people getting their yoga on. But I love that you don't have to talk to a soul. It's an hour and a half of quiet time. Who can get that much peace and quiet anywhere else? It's glorious.

2. Shavasana
Most people end their practice in shavasana - also known as corpse pose. It is one of the most relaxing poses, and it's a great way to de-stress and clear your mind. It's the perfect way to start or end the day.

3. It makes me stretchy
If you can't touch your toes, it may be time to take up yoga. Since I've started to go a couple of times a week my flexibility has improved so much. I love realizing I can finally get into a pose after weeks of slowly working up to it. What a great feeling.

4. I'm finally getting some muscle
Those who know me would laugh if I say I've put on muscle (no matter how hard I try I still look scrawny). But through yoga I've been developing some long, lean muscles. It's true! I notice when I flex my arms while looking in the mirror. (Don't judge! Don't you flex in the mirror?)

Do you yoga?

(If you don't practice yoga but have always wanted to try it out, here's a great yoga video to get you started.)

Do you need to lose weight? Do you hate going to the gym? Do you love watching TV? If so I have the perfect solution for you: Work out at home! Honestly, it's genius. The other night I watched Jeopardy and did an upper body workout. I learned fun facts, while trying to improve my body. It doesn't get any better than that.

And now for the giveaway!
Home Workout might be what you need to help you put together the perfect home workout. Just leave a comment here telling me why you want a chance to win this book. I'll select a winner on Monday, January 31.

Do you ever workout at home?

Waaay back on August 25, I asked you to tell us about your favourite Health & Wellness Club workout and fitness video for a chance to win one of three mini-libraries featuring books from all nine of this year's Read for the Cure authors, including Ian Brown, Margaret Atwood, Linden MacIntyre and more. (For more information, visit readforthecure.ca.)

Congratulations to our winners, Jeanette R., Irene and Kara!

Jeanette R. says:
"I really got a lot out of viewing Boot Camp Workout - Week 2.  The "mountain climber" was just the challenge I needed, as I feel like my workouts have been feeling a little drab lately. This is an excellent video!"

Irene says:
"I love the Boot Camp Workout Video - Week 4 where Pam, the fitness instructor, teaches how we can increase our strength with simple equipment that is not too expensive. Simple exercises with dumb bells, which I already have, are very useful. I could do them even when watching TV."

Kara says:
My favourite video is the Boot Camp Workout - Week 5 video. I really like the wood chop move as it works your whole body and you can feel every one of your muscles working. The videos have definitely helped me tone my muscles and I have discovered many new moves, such as the wood chop, to vary my workout and keep me motivated!

Hey - have you checked out our fab, new Yoga 101 video yet?

Also! Did you know that we'll be running Sexy Boot Camp after the holidays? Starting January 3, it's time to shake those January blues and get your groove back with six weeks of free daily e-mails to inspire you to become your strongest, sexiest, most confident self in time for Valentine's Day.

You'll receive fun daily challenges and make-at-home menus for romantic Saturday night dinners. Plus you'll get great workout tips, style guides and advice for how to heat things up in the bedroom. Yeow! Sign up for the newsletter today!

If you're like me, you totally blew your diet on the weekend and didn't get all your workouts in.

And if you're exactly like me, "blowing your diet" meant indulging in pineapple upside-down cake, bacon and a couple of pints (not all in one sitting, though).

While it's tempting to think you're a failure and quit the process all together, why not just relax, recommit and try to do better today?

Start by checking out the Week Two Boot Camp Fitness Video and the Day Seven Bikini Boot Camp Menu.

Did you blow your diet this weekend? Did working out slip your mind? Post a reply and let us know how your weekend went and how you're recommitting to Bikini Boot Camp today.

My Lord, that Boot Camp workout is tough stuff! But I'm glad it's hard because that's how I know it's working.

There are six videos, one for each week of Bikini Boot Camp, but we actually filmed all of the videos in one day last October.

Filming each video required several takes, from a few different angles, which means that our fitness expert, Maureen Hagan, was exercising all day long.

Maureen is truly an incredible, inspiriting — and very strong! — lady. She's a licensed physiotherapist, fitness instructor and she's the vice president of operations in charge of group exercise and instructor training at GoodLife Fitness Clubs. She's also the creator of Newbody, GoodLife Fitness's exclusive group fitness class. She serves as the director of education for Canadian Fitness Professionals (Can-Fit-Pro) and is involved in the development of the country's largest fitness certification programs. In 2006, she won the IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year award and she's a regular contributor to Canadian Living magazine.

And she's an author.

If you're loving Maureen's online workouts on CanadianLiving.com, you'll want to win a copy of her new book, 6 Weeks to a New Body. For a chance to win, just Subscribe To This Blog and post a reply telling us which part of the Boot Camp workout video you find most challenging.

You have until Sunday, May 31 to let us know. I'll announce the winner here on Monday, June 1.

Wow, Bikini Boot Camp is off to a great start. The menu is delicious, the workout is super-challenging, I'm drinking a ton of water, I've swapped my daily latte for green tea and I didn't eat any popcorn during that fabulous Pittsburgh/Washington hockey game last night.

I hopped on the scale this morning and it showed I had lost 0.2 pounds.

0.2 pounds?

I was so well behaved yesterday, I should have lost 10 pounds!

I wondered, briefly, if I should workout harder, eat fewer snacks, gulp water constantly and stop watching hockey and start playing it.

But then I remembered the lessons I learned during the January Boot Camp:

1. Trust the process. If you keep eating well and working out, the results will come.
2. If I lost 0.2 pounds a day, it would add up to 1.4 pounds a week, which is a healthy, normal rate of weight loss. During the January Boot Camp, I lost a pound a week and have kept it off.
3. The scale is a real jerk sometimes. Don't rely on it to measure your progress. A better indicator is how well your clothes fit.
4. The older I get, the harder it is to lose weight. In my 20s, I could easily drop a few pounds in a few days. Now it takes a bit more effort.
5. The hard work is worth it. Keep at it and you'll be proud of yourself and delighted with the results.

How did your first day go? Post a reply and let us know how you're doing so far.

Welcome to Bikini Boot Camp! The first edition of the free, daily Bikini Boot Camp e-newsletter will be released this morning. Have you signed up yet?

Also! The super-fabulous Bikini Boot Camp Six-Week Menu is now online.

Our experts will be online in the Boot Camp Forum Tuesday afternoons through June 9.

• Counsellor Bev Behar, MASc, will be online Tuesdays from 2-3 p.m. EST to answer your emotional eating and self esteem questions. Weight is often an emotional issue, so get to the bottom of what's holding you back with help from Bev.
• Canadian Living's Assistant Fashion & Beauty Editor Julia McEwen will be online Tuesdays from 1-2 p.m. EST to field your style and beauty questions. When you look good, you feel good. From flattering wardrobe choices to how to apply self-tanner, Julia has all the answers and advice to help you look your best.

You can post a question for our Bikini Boot Camp Forum experts any time and expect a response from them in the forum on Tuesday, so post your questions today!

The new online Meal Planner and the Food Journal are accessible through your MyCL account to help you get organized track your progress, so check these cool tools out today.

And don't forget to work out with international award-winning fitness instructor Maureen Hagan in our specially designed Boot Camp fitness program. There's a new video for each week of Boot Camp, so get started today with the Week One video.

Yes, it's a tough workout. This is Boot Camp, after all! But the beauty of Bikini Boot Camp is that you will see (and feel!) results in just a few short weeks. So get energized, get engaged, get excited and get off the couch! It's time for Bikini Boot Camp!

That smile is a lie!

When I was chatting to Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper the other day, I was explaining to him that I'm a bit of a fatty because I'm not one of those people who like to exercise.

I told him that whenever I think about getting off the couch to workout, I involuntarily think "NO! I DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT!"

Bob laughed and said, "So do I".

Wait — what? I thought he loved to exercise! He's in such great shape. I thought it was easy for some people to stay fit because they really enjoyed exercise. Somehow, these people were finding pleasure in the muscle pain, exhaustion, excessive sweating and loss of breath.

I, on the other hand, do not like those things.

But it turns out that they probably don't love it, either. "That's when resolve and self-discipline come in," said Bob. "If you're actually ready, you're going to find that gumption to get up and go to the gym."

You can tune in to The Biggest Loser Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on E!.