Tag Archives: Toning

Saturday Morning Drill: 30 Minute Fitness Fusion with Ivy Larson

Everybody wants to be fit, but let’s face it; making a commitment to an exercise program can be a mega time-zapper. The good news is, if you learn to exercise smarter you can still get amazing results in a very short amount of time. If you commit to a well-designed circuit-style workout that overloads all of your major muscles, works large muscle groups with compound movements and keeps your heart rate elevated the entire time then you can get fit, lean and strong exercising just 30 minutes, three days a week.

If weight loss is a concern, as long as you keep moving quickly from one exercise to the next to keep your heart rate elevated you don’t need to run a single lap or put in any extra cardio time either. That’s because hormonal changes occur with circuit-style resistance exercises that create a fat-burning environment (1). For the best weight loss results you will of course also need to watch what you eat. A “clean cuisine” style diet is your best bet for healthy, long-term weight loss.

As for picking the best exercises, I prefer a “full fitness fusion” approach that fuses a variety of exercise disciplines and focuses on full body moves rather than isolation exercises. If you want to get fit fast you will get much better quicker results doing compound exercises like push-ups as opposed to an isolation exercise like biceps curls. As with anything, the smarter you work the less time you need to spend and the better your results will be.

View Saturday Morning Drills: Full Fitness Fusion Slideshow (more…)

You Can Have Better Sex by Valentine’s Day – Our Experts Show You How

A lot goes in to a good sex life, and for women it can be more of a mind game with our conscience than anything else: Are my legs shaved? How’s my breath? Am I bloated? What’s he really think of my naked body? It’s common for women to over analyze things and want everything to be perfect to be “in the mood,” but that can be the biggest antagonist of them all.

We’ve got four weeks to get you ready for a romping good Valentine’s Day night. So follow these four key tasks our experts have identified to help you work on body image, toning, flexibility, and a little weight loss. There’s a good chance you’ll be the one wanting to skip dinner and head straight to the sheets…

Body Image

We all have insecurities about our bodies, but realize how important a positive body image is for enhancing our sex lives.

“Even without changing your body, learning to love it (or parts of it) can do wonders for you in the bedroom,” says Brooke Randolph, LMHC, our resident mental health expert. “If you hate your body and want to hide it, it’s hard to really relax and be tuned into your partner and what you’re experiencing. When you feel good about yourself, you’re more likely to not only try to seduce your partner, but you’re more easily seduced by them as well.”

Try these sexy self-confidence boosters: (more…)

Rock Wall Climbing Challenges Both Body and Mind

Last week, our team here at Diets In Review decided to step away from our desks for an afternoon of practicing what we preach by doing something active. Our activity of choice? Rock wall climbing.

We met up at a local health club that houses the state of Kansas’ largest rock wall, strapped on our gear, and raced to the top. Not only did we all have a great time together, but we also got in a pretty descent workout.

Indoor rock wall climbing can be beneficial to many parts of the body. For one, it’s a great cardiovascular activity. If you’re new to climbing, try starting out easy by climbing for about five minutes at a time. You’ll eventually get the hang of things so you can work your way up to 30 minutes or more.

Rock wall climbing is also great for toning and increasing muscle mass. Some of the areas that get most challenged are your chest, back, arms, shoulders, forearms and legs. In addition, with all of the stretching you do in order to reach that next blue mount ahead of you, you’ll also be working on your body’s balance and flexibility.

Obviously this activity helps the body physically, but did you know it provides mental benefits as well? (more…)