At CafeMom, a blogger posted about how she has no time to exercise. She said her doctor raised a questioning eyebrow but she swears that between work, kids and home commitments there is zero time left to exercise.

I don't think there are too many moms who wouldn't sympathize with that; motherhood is a ridiculously busy game. But no time to exercise? I don't buy it.


Taking care of your health has to be a priority in your life. And if you're overwhelmed with other commitments, then it's time to reevaluate to see what can be adjusted or eliminated. Here are a few ideas:

• Family workouts. Choose exercise options that the whole family can do -- hiking, biking, or even a walk around the neighborhood.
  
• Child-friendly gyms. Find a gym with a child care facility. You can get your workout in while your kids are safe and close by.
• Skip the sidelines. If you attend your child's sporting practices, go for a jog or a brisk walk during the practice. You may be able to get some of the other kids' parents to join you, too.
• Listen to the tried and true. The standard pieces of advice -- get up a half hour early to exercise and work out during your lunch hour -- are often repeated because they really do work.

Source

It's tempting to use parenthood as an excuse not to exercise; after all, between work, school and family commitments, parents are pretty busy people. But with a little creativity, you can squeeze in some exercise every day ... even with kids in tow! Here's how:

• Make good use of the bike trailer: Cycling is great exercise, but tow 30-75 pounds of kid on your next ride and you'll immediately give that workout a boost. Plus, your kids will get some fresh air too.
• Rather than creep along beside kids who are old enough to ride on their own, ditch your wheels and jog next to them instead.
• Monkey around. Your kid can cross the monkey bars; why can't you?
• Have a new baby? Try sitting on your fitness ball while holding her. You'll strengthen your core muscles, and the bouncing motion might put her right to sleep.
• Squeeze in strength training whenever you can: Do one squat for every push you give your tot on the swing, do tricep dips on a park bench or walk laps around the shallow end of the pool while your kids swim.
• Never sit and watch at the playground. All that running, climbing and swinging is good for you too.
• Start a new tradition -- the family walk or bike ride -- and stick to it every day, before or after dinner.

If you're a parent, share your favorite ideas with us for staying fit while spending time with your kids.

For many, it's not always so hard to find time for a workout -- what's hard is finding time to get ready for something else immediately following a workout. You can certainly work up a sweat in 20 or 30 minutes, but how do you get your face looking fresh and fabulous for work, or for lunch with your friends, in the few minutes remaining after you take a shower? Not to mention the fact that, even after the shower, you're still feeling a little hot and sweaty. Or, at least, I usually am.

5 Minute Post-Workout Beauty from Kristen Seymour on Vimeo.
Because I care about you so very much, I've done a video (on which I appear with absolutely no makeup) to show you how you can go from completely barefaced to fully fabulous in less than five minutes. Aside from the "how-to," I have some tips for streamlining your beauty routine when you're on the go.

• Keep everything you need together, and remove everything else. I have tons of "fun" makeup, but all of that stays in a separate makeup bag. I only have a few products I use every day, and all of those products live together in their own makeup bag, so if I have to take it with me to the gym, it's easy.
  
• If you're getting ready somewhere other than your home, avoid bringing more tools than necessary. I have a nice set of makeup brushes, but for my "on the go" beauty routine, I only use products that come with their own applicators so I have less to remember.
• Do the maintenance when you have more time. Things like well-groomed eyebrows are important, but try to take care of that at night before bed so you don't have to worry about it when you're rushing. Additionally, do your deep-cleaning routine on days when you have more than five minutes to get out of the house.

Day 5: It's kind of fun trying to find ways to squeeze in a few minutes of exercise here and there.

For instance, today was dance day -- a day of the week I've come to dread. It's an hour and 45 minutes of sitting on a bench, waiting for my kids to get done with their dance lessons. Sure, they're getting their exercise, but by the time we get out of there, I'm tired and grumpy from all that sitting. Today, though, the weather broke a little, and I took a brisk 15-minute walk around the neighborhood. Next time, I'll go 30!

Here are some other quick and easy ways to get in 10 minutes of exercise:

• When you go and get the mail, keep on walking for five minutes, then turn around and walk back.
• Do jumping jacks or lunges during commercials.
• Cooking dinner? Put your hands on the counter-top and do push-ups while you wait for the water to boil.
• Don't nag your kids to get ready in the morning. Blow off steam and do standing jumps onto your lowest stair step. Step down and repeat. Or use it like a step aerobics box for 10 minutes.
• Jump rope for 10 minutes ... or just five if you can't make it that long.
• Be really enthusiastic in your house or garden work. If your heart rate is elevated, it counts as moderate physical activity.

Day 7: "Really?" A friend said to me today. "Taking a walk around the block a couple of times a day really adds up to a regular workout?"

Well, yes and no. At my fitness level, getting in three 10-minute spurts of moderate exercise every day is an improvement over my past exercise routines, which usually involved sitting on the couch and thinking, Wow, I really should exercise. So yes, right now, three daily walks (or other short bursts of exercise) is enough for me.

But if you're pretty fit, then you're going to need to step up those 10-minute workouts to get them to work for you. About.com has an example of a relatively intense workout that's just 10-minutes long.

That said, the science is pretty firm. If you've never exercised, even 10 minutes a day can improve your quality of life. And once you can do 10 minutes of exercise, finding time for 10 more, then 10 more, won't seem so hard.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Two-time Dancing with the Stars Champion Cheryl Burke has had quite a year. Five tiny pounds on her little dancer's body caused tabloid hysteria, and now she's starring in her own series of workout DVDs called Disco Abs. She came clean with me on the inspiration behind this belly blasting workout, her infamous weight gain, and who she'd love to partner up with on DWTS. She even shares expert advice on dancing in stilettos; definitely read it before you try it.

Fitz: Tell me about Disco Abs.

Cheryl: It's a series of three workout DVD's set to disco music. The workouts are based on a bunch of fun dance moves, and that's what I love most about them. They're so much fun that you forget you're working really hard.

Fitz: Fun is vital to people sticking with it. And what component is directly geared towards abdominal training?

Source

I do a lot of interval training for many reasons. For one thing, it's been shown to increase fat loss, plus, interval training is still good for my heart. Add to that the fact that it helps to suppress the appetite, keeps me interested, and is touted by one of my favorite celebrity trainers, and you should understand why I shy away from doing too many long, steady-paced jogs.

Interval training also allows you to burn a lot of calories in not a lot of time, and Tabata intervals take that a step further. Rather than going hard for a minute and taking it easy for a minute (or two), Tabata relies on really short, really hard intervals.

Start out by warming up (of course), then throw yourself into a hard run (or whatever your cardio choice is) -- aim for a 9 on the RPE scale. Stick with that for 20 seconds, then slow waaaay down, but only for 10 seconds. Then, push it back up. DietBlog suggests trying to repeat this six times, but if you can't do it right away, don't worry -- just keep working at it!

Source

The Obama family has a Christmas tradition of visiting the President-elect's home state of Hawaii. This year is no exception. And, while Barack Obama is ridiculously busy selecting cabinet members and preparing for his transition to the White House, I'm glad to see he's keeping a family tradition intact.

Daily Mail has a photo snapped of President-elect Obama while on vacation, and he's looking kind of ripped. Not surprising, really. We already knew how important fitness is to the Obama family. What is surprising is when you scroll down the Daily Mail article and see the photo of Barack Obama that was taken on his vacation last year.

When you compare his abs from 2007 to 2008, it appears that in the midst of his hectic and stressful campaign, Barack Obama has toned up. Whatever your opinion of our up and coming President is, you have to admit that's inspirational. If he can find the time to get more fit while campaigning to be President of the United States, than surely the rest of us can find time, too. And, as Barack Obama certainly knows, physical activity is the healthiest way to manage your stress level.

Source

This is the second part of my interview with trainer to the stars Gunnar Peterson. He already dished about his celebrity clients, and now he's sharing tips on working out faster and smarter. Why spend an hour when you can get your workout done in half the time, right?

It's not just celebs who benefit from Gunnar's expertise. All of us are busy and want the most out of our workouts, and he has some great suggestions. Say you only have half an hour to spare. "Work the big muscle groups," he said, "and incorporate multi-joint exercises [like lunges with lateral raises or squat press and jumps, which work the upper and lower body]. Do cardio blast intervals in between." For example, if you're doing bench presses, go from that to working your abs with the bicycle movement, then do a series of squat jumps, followed by a quick sprint on the treadmill.

In terms of strength training, he occasionally has to do a little convincing with new female clients. "Big weights don't give you big muscles -- big food gives you big muscles," he explained, saying the belief that "big weights add bulk, light weights tone, and cardio burns fat was written by one guy living in a cave in the 1980s -- there's more to it than that." He bases the size of his clients' weights on where they are in their workout, not on whether they're male or female.

How long do you think your cravings last? You might be surprised.

Source

Did you know that, when times get busy (like now, with the holiday craziness), about half of all women admit to skipping workouts, as opposed to only 20 percent who cut back on actual work. We all know it's important to get exercise during these stressful times, but I'm the first to admit that it doesn't always happen.

I keep hearing that I should just jog for 15 minutes, but the thing is, a 15-minute jog still requires me to change into a sports bra, lace up my sneakers, and afterward, I need a shower. So, 15 minutes is really more like an hour, and sometimes, I just can't squeeze that in.

When I saw the headline "5 Minute Workout" in the December issue of body+soul magazine, I was pretty excited. I probably won't get too sweaty in just five minutes, and none of the exercises were so high impact that I can't do them in my regular clothes. Don't get me wrong -- I'm still going to get to the gym as much as I can and work up a good sweat, but check out the gallery below to see what I'll be doing on those days when the gym just can't happen.

Getting fit and staying fit is tough stuff. A top hurdle is most definitely finding the time to work out. Finding the motivation is an obstacle too.

Blogger "Intrigued"over at Trusera has a suggestion for those of you who whine about working out: Remember the results. Says this smart one: "Whenever I find myself starting to whine, complain or (ahem) curse during a workout, I catch myself, stop the negativity, and say out loud, 'I love the results.'"

Attitude, as well as practice, really does make a difference. "I love the results!" Why not make it your mantra too?

Source

Here at That's Fit, we're constantly telling you what we think about things, but sometimes it's nice to know what you think. So from time to time, we'll ask you a question. Don't be afraid to speak up -- we love feedback.

How nice was it to get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday? Over in my neck of the woods, it was fantastic. I was even able to make it to the 9 AM drop-in fitness class at my gym -- on a normal Sunday, I wouldn't move a muscle until the 11 AM class. And this morning, I was early getting to work -- that almost never happens -- so I got off the train a stop early and had a brisk early morning walk.

What about you?

Pressed for time? Try one of these ideas for exercising when time is tight.

Source

The switch to and from daylight savings time can affect your health -- specifically, your heart. But that's not all -- disrupting your sleep by a mere hour can have significant effects on your sleep patterns, your mood and even your social life. Eek!

Now that we're switching back over to standard time, let's not let this change our healthy habits. Here are some tips:

• An extra hour of sleep means you're sure to be well-rested. Which means you have no excuse not to hit the gym. Come on, get moving.
  
• Bear in mind that it's going to get dark sooner, but don't let that affect your fitness routine. Running in the dark may not be ideal, but the gym has indoor lighting.
  
• Sleep affects mood, and mood affects eating habits. So if you find yourself craving comfort foods after the time change, be aware that this is probably why, and don't give in.
  
  

How do you handle the time change?

Source