Fitness Tag

The Importance of Rest Between Sets

In general, we all know that we need some rest between workouts to allow for recovery and to achieve the best results. What a lot of us don't know is that rest between sets during a workout is just as important (if not more important) and can greatly affect your results. So why is rest between sets so crucial and how much is enough? Intensity Gauge How much rest you need is an important gauge of how hard you are working. If you don't need to rest between sets, then chances are you're not working hard enough. When performing a set of a weighted exercise,...

3 Fitness Myths BUSTED!

They are all around us. As seen on TV, as read in magazines and as heard in gyms across North America are fitness myths. Among the common fitness myths are: A person needs to specifically perform ab exercises especially crunches in order to get a 6 pack. It’s impossible to get a great workout in less than 1 hour You need big fancy exercise equipment to get a good workout It is now time to BUST these fitness myths! A person needs to specifically perform ab exercises especially crunches in order to get a 6 pack? Firstly, no matter how many crunches you get on the...

Fitting in Health & Fitness When Your Life is Jam-Packed: Part 1

Another evening of mottled sleep leaves you wandering around like a strained zombie? Deadlines at work are looming, yet more keeps piling on your plate? When these are your primary experiences, it’s a challenge to make time for exercise and healthy eating. Does your work life stretch you thin and leave no time for extras? Or perhaps your children and busy life consume most of your waking hours and leave you exhausted, with hardly any energy left at the end of the day for more than a glass of wine and some primetime TV viewing. If you find yourself way too...

2011 Must Have Holiday Wish List

If you’re stuck for gift ideas check out Fitness Goop’s Must Haves for the holidays. We have chosen several delicious and healthy food suggestions, as well as fitness gift ideas that are sure to make workouts more fun, and help you or your loved ones stick to those healthy New Year’s resolutions. The Grid Foam Roller ($45.99) Forget everything you've ever known about traditional foam rolling, the Grid takes foam rolling to a whole new level. If you’ve ever had sore muscles you have to get one of these. Simply a must for runners or anyone who sits in front of...

Heart Rate Monitors: Gadget or Fitness Tool?

You have seen athletes training for marathons, triathlons to the guy that has a garage full of every piece of fitness equipment ever sold on TV wearing heart rate monitors at one point or another.  But what exactly is their purpose?  How is it going to give me the body I want?  Should you include a heart rate monitor in your gym bag? No matter what your goals are, whether it is to lose weight, strengthen your heart, relieve stress, improve your health, or build muscle; wearing a heart rate monitor can help you achieve those goals by helping you find...

The Dirty Dozen Workout

This month I wanted to share a workout that you can do almost anywhere. You’ll just need a bit of space to do the workout and possibly a yoga mat and some light weights depending on the exercises you choose. I call this workout "The Dirty Dozen Workout" Pick 12 exercises and do 12 reps of each exercise. Move from one exercise to the next with very little break in between the exercises, then take a break at the end of the 12 movements. Repeat the Dirty Dozen circuit 3-4 times depending on your fitness level. If you do single arm or single leg movements...

Mixing Work and Fitness: Get in Shape with your Co-Workers

Have you noticed that the thought of working out by yourself isn’t so appealing? Or, have you found that unless you commit to someone else, the chances of you keeping your word on a fitness regime are pretty slim? To tie this factor in with the ubiquitous excuse of “I’m too busy to exercise”, a solution that works for many is to build in exercise with the people we interact with most frequently. For many, this would be co-workers. One example of how this might work is the Office Exercise Group. When an office exercise group is formed, participants (who are...