work out-related stories
Camryn Manheim's Fit Motivation - Hot Guys
Finding it difficult to motivate yourself to get to the gym for a workout? Actress Camryn Maheim has no trouble, and it's all down to her gym, or rather, the other clientele that attends it. "There's hot guys, they're really nice to me, they flirt with me, so I'm going! If that did not happen, you could not get me in that place!" the single mom recently told People magazine. Hey, whatever works. I just have two questions: What is the name of her gym, and where can I sign up?
Manheim works out with a trainer three times a week for a half hour each session. Her workout of preference? The elliptical machine, beyond socializing with the cute boys, of course.
Kimora Lee Simmons has a belly - and it's giving her a major wardrobe malfunction
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment
Kimora Lee Simmons, Baby Phat CEO and devoted mom, has a TV show -- a little something she calls Life in the Fab Lane. She also has a belly -- a little something she calls a major wardrobe malfunction. Time to do something about it, says Kimora."I want to be fabulous on the red carpet in all my size 2s and everything," says Kimora. She's got a problem though: She hates to exercise, and she doesn't want to sweat too much. "I hate to work out, says the fab one. "I hate it. I can't find the time or the motivation. I'm a little lazy."
Enter Hollywood trainer Jeanette Jenkins, who is helping Kimora get her gut in shape. Kimora calls Jeanette a drill sergeant who pushes her to her limit. Jeanette calls Kimora a cheater who does only what she has to do and not one bit more. "She resists," says the fitness guru. "But that's what I'm here for -- to push back."
Want to see Kimora cheating and Jeanette pushing back? Check out this video.
This star won't work out in public
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment
Martha recently told us that British comedy star Ricky Gervais is OK with being called fat. Go ahead, call him a fatty, he says. Maybe it will make him more ashamed of his overweight status. Maybe it will get him into a gym, for goodness sake -- a home gym, that is.Gervais, 47, says he never works out in public. In fact, he and his girlfriend just bought a place in New York with a gym in the basement. His favorite workout: "My favorite thing in the world is to come home, have a swim, put my pajamas on and open a bottle of wine," he says. "That's it for me."
Maybe it's the mirrors found in gyms that drive Gervais to his basement. Once a fan of staring at himself in the mirror, he now finds the practice quite disappointing.
How about you? Like public gyms? How about mirrors?
5 fitness tips from another Lalanne
Jack LaLanne is known as the godfather of fitness, but don't think he's the only person in his family leading the fitness revolution. Chris LaLanne, Jack's grand-nephew, is spreading the word about the importance of fitness, and whether it's because of his famous last name or the fact that he really knows what he's talking about, people are listening.
He's developed a perfect workout formula, and it's not that different from the kind of workout Jack himself would prescribe. Here are five workout tips:
- Jump rope. It's cheap, easy and effective.
- Mix it up. Routine and boredom will be a drain on your energy level.
- Stick to the basics: Push-ups, sit-ups, lunges and so on.
- Make it intense. It's better to do less reps of more weight than vice versa.
- Stretch before and after every workout.
There's more where that came from -- click here for more tips.
Sleep vs. Exercise: What's more important?
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Motivation
Over at Fitsugar, they recently addressed this question: What's more important, sleep or exercise? Obviously, both are essential to a healthy lifestyle, but if you're so busy that you have to lose precious sleep to get your exercise, which activity should be cut? Their answer: You should always be getting seven to eight hours of sleep, and if that means you can't get to the gym at 6 am every morning, so be it.
Still, that doesn't mean you can't exercise. You owe it to yourself to try to fit in a workout where you can. Some suggestions?
- It's an oldie but a goody: take the stairs, and go up them as quickly as you can. Ten minutes of intense exercise a few times a day can have the same results as a 45-minute non-intense workout.
- Ever considered biking or walking to work or school? It's exercise -- and you're getting somewhere while you're at it.
- Instead of getting up an hour earlier to go to the gym, why not get up 20 minutes earlier and do a workout at home? There are tons of 20-minute workout DVDs out there, or you can make your own workout plan with simple exercises like sit-ups, push-ups, jump rope, etc.
I'm sure you have even more great ideas on how to fit in a workout -- please share!
Your Turn: Do you LIKE exercise?
There was a time in my life when exercise was tedious, torturous even. It was something I did out of necessity -- sometimes to slim down, more often because my high school gym teacher made me. I couldn't wait for it to be over. And, not surprisingly, I didn't keep it up regularly.
But somewhere along the line, things changed. Yeah, I still have days where I check the clock every five minutes, but more often than not, I don't think about time. And even if I do, I keep going because I know the way I feel afterwards will make it all worth it. When I'm feeling lethargic, when I have something on my mind, when I want to start my day right, I head to the gym. And I love it.
But what about you?
3 stay-thin secrets from TV trainer
Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements
Ever watch the Bravo TV reality series Work Out with trainer Jackie Warner? I've caught a few episodes and generally think Warner is a pretty cool gal. She has some cool stay-thin secrets too and shares them in Family Circle's October magazine. Here they are, some commonsense rules that guarantee success.Set sugar limits Warner doesn't eat a serving of anything containing more than nine grams of sugar. Too much of this sweet stuff in your bloodstream makes hunger levels spike, and whatever isn't burned turns to fat.
Blend, don't juice When making your own smoothie creations, blending gives you pieces of whole fruit in your drink -- these have more nutrients and filling fiber than sugary juice alone.
Change is a good thing
Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
There's nothing worse than being religious with your exercise program and treating your diet like gospel, only to have your body look and feel more like an inelegant Las Vegas wedding chapel than the beautiful temple it should be. You work hard for results, be them visible to the naked eye or medical instruments, so you deserve to get them. You deserve to turn heads at the beach, you deserve to have your doctor compliment you on your lower cholesterol level, and you deserve to be able to finish a 5K run. But what if, after all your dedicated effort, you still haven't made any noticeable improvements in these areas for the last several months? What if you look and feel the exact same as you did back in, say, March? Unless you're happy with where you are in terms of your health and fitness (which of course is perfectly OK if you are), you're probably growing more and more frustrated with each passing, unchanging day. You may even be considering giving up for good; throwing in the towel, grabbing a spoon and slipping into a cookie-dough coma. Do not -- I repeat -- do not give into this temptation without at least first trying a little change to your now routine routine.
If you're results haven't changed in several months, it's probably because you haven't done much to change them. Although your current workout may have produced results in the past, your body is well-adjusted to that specific training protocol. Therefore, you have to change things up, or else you'll remain stagnant and stuck on that fitness plateau forever. Bear in mind, however, that change doesn't have to be dramatic (though it can be if you so choose). It can be as simple as an increase or decrease in the number of reps you perform; alternating your grips or stances; switching to a more cardio or resistance training-focused workout; using dumbbells instead of barbells; and reducing or extending rest periods in between sets. These are not major overhauls, but they are enough to get your body guessing again and resume construction on that beautiful temple of yours.
20 "no excuses" exercises
Sometimes, we're our own worst enemies. We can come up with hundreds of excuses to not exercise. "It's raining outside." "Gyms are too expensive." "I don't want to buy/don't have room for fitness equipment." The list of excuses can go on and on. But there is one reason to exercise that totally trumps any excuse you can come up with: your well-being. Exercise will improve your health, boost your energy, help achieve/maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of many chronic conditions, and manage your stress level. Lauren from laurensfitness.com gives us a list of 20 exercises you can do -- without equipment, without a gym membership, and without weights. She walks you through different varieties of squats, lunges, push ups, and dips. Though Lauren admits it's not the ideal workout, it will do in a pinch. So even if you're busy or whatever other I-can't-exercise reasons you can come up with, this is a workout you can do... no excuses.
ER's Linda Cardellini works out strategically
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment
My home treadmill has a strategic location -- right smack dab in my kids' playroom so I can work out and watch my boys play at the same time. ER actress Linda Cardellini has a strategic spot for her exercise equipment too."I have an elliptical machine at my house that I placed between the kitchen and the couch," Cardellini tells Good Housekeeping in the June 2008 magazine. "So I can't sit there and eat bonbons on the couch -- I've got to get up and work out."
Got a strategy for your workout routine? Feel free to tell all.
Control diabetes with exercise
Healthy Habits, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness
Dealing with the symptoms of diabetes, along with treating the disease itself, can be an exhausting challenge. Those of you out there currently dealing with diabetes might be interested in this piece, which says that as little as 20 minutes a day of exercise can help raise energy levels, as well as deal with a number of the side-effects that come with the condition.
According to the information in the piece, daily physical activity can also increase whole-body insulin levels, lower A1C (blood glucose test) levels, and decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Not bad for a short, brisk walk arond the block! And of course, any kind of regular activity is good for your body and mind as a whole, so if you're dealing with diabetes, finding time for a bit of exercise has numerous benefits.
Is it possible to love your workout?
According to Prevention Magazine, it is possible to love your workout -- and the key is having a buddy who is approximately the same age to do it with you. When you're spending time with a friend, it doesn't seem like such a chore to get in some exercise.
Other tips for loving your workout? Find something you like doing -- think dance, kickboxing, yoga ... basically anything that gets your heart rate up.
Do you love your workout?
Working in the Workouts: How much does sweat really count?
Each week, Debbie will share her goals, challenges, successes and tips on how to fit in fitness when caring for a rambunctious toddler.I have a question. How much does sweat really count when you are working out?
I've read that if you don't break a sweat that you aren't doing anything for yourself.
It's also been said that fit people sweat more efficiently, meaning they will sweat at a lower temperature because their bodies know how to cool themselves better.
But does all this dripping make or break a workout?
A better body only 20 minutes away
It's lovely out where I live today and to celebrate I've taken the afternoon off to enjoy the heat, but stay cool on a float with friends. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is putting on my bathing suit. I know that there is flab in places where I don't want flab, and it's only going to look more pronounced in a bikini top. Despite all the talk, I am guilty of waiting too long to tone up.
Since there's still loads of hot weather to come (at least I hope), I know that it's not too late to improve on the paunch at least a little before the last float of the season. I was pretty excited to come across this piece with exercises to tone your abs, arms and legs in a mere 20 minutes a day. I'm working two jobs right now, so it's tough to find time to fit in a really long work-out.
If you've found yourself in the same situation and are still determined to get into better shape sooner rather than later, give the work out a try. The exercises are fairly easy to do and require very little equipment, so it's not going to cost a fortune. Most importantly, the article reminds us all that the best way to get the most out of the work-out is to remember the basics like stretching beforehand, breathing throughout, having good posture and cooling down afterward.























