FitSugar

9 Reachable Fitness Resolutions For 2009

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:00:56 PST

If you're trying to get fit for 2009, you're certainly not alone. When setting New Year's resolutions, sometimes you'll have better luck focusing on several small goals than one major one. Sure, it's easy to say you'll be running a 5k by February, but just in case something gets in the way of your big aspiration, add some easily reachable resolutions to your list as well.

Taking some inspiration from your resolutions for 2009, I've come up with nine health and fitness goals that are totally attainable in 2009. To see what they are,

Resolution Revisit: Gadgets To Meet Your Goals

GeekSugar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:16:39 PST

Welcome to mid-January, time to revisit the completely attainable resolutions (keep up that positive thinking!) you set for yourself on Jan. 1. It's tempting to lose steam in the middle of Winter, so snag one of these fitness gadgets to get back in-line with your 2012 workout goals.

Do you have any other tech tips and motivators to maintain an exercise routine?

Win a Year of KIND Healthy Snacks and a Magimix Food Processor

FitSugar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:30:23 PST

It's the New Year and time to get back on track, jump-start your January, and get fit for 2012. All month long, we're helping you set your path for the rest of the year by breaking down the different fundamentals of a healthy and fit lifestyle. Our focus for the next seven days is how to fuel your body.

We're giving away amazing prizes to help you meet your goals! This week's prize prepares you for a year of healthy eating. For starters, we are giving away a year's supply of KIND Healthy Snacks bars (that's 72 bars a month) - plus some KIND Healthy Grains, perfect for a superfood snack. We're also giving away a powerful food processor from Magimix. The amazing Magimix by Robot-Coupe 4200XL 14-Cup Food Processor, with a juice extractor and smoothie mix attachment, will help you prepare healthy meals, smoothies, and juices all year long.

Enter below and you could be one of two lucky winners to receive a year's supply of KIND Healthy Snacks and a Magimix by Robot-Coupe 4200XL 14-Cup Food Processor!

This giveaway has ended.

Check us out on Facebook, where we will be keeping our own fitness diary and providing tips, advice, recipes, and workouts for all of our fans. If you're craving more fitness gear and goodies, enter our Under Armour giveaway for $500 to spend on Under Armour and our Asics giveaway for a year's supply of Asics running shoes. Good luck!

Love May Keep You From Going to the Gym, According to Study

Leta Shy — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:00:11 PST

When trying to stick to your New Year's resolutions, having a support system can be very important. After all, encouragement from your significant other motivates you to stick to your new diet and exercise regimen, right? Actually, a new study says that all that support from your partner may be keeping you from accomplishing your fitness goals.

The study, published in the new issue of Psychological Science, surveyed 52 women and found that focusing on specific ways their significant others supported them in reaching their health and fitness goals made them decide to slack off more than those who did not think about it. Another group ended up procrastinating longer on a task after they thought about the help they would receive from their loved one.

Turns out, when we realize how much support we're getting from our loved ones, it may subconsciously allow us to give ourselves more leeway, a phenomenon called "outsourcing exertion." In other words, thinking about how much your partner shares the burden of your goals allows you to justify working less hard toward them yourself!

If you're paired off, however, you're not doomed to a couch potato life. The researchers said the effect was only seen when respondents focused on a specific goal, and the respondents' dependency on their partners made them more likely to stay committed to the relationship. So while musing about all the ways your partner supports your daily gym run can be detrimental, their actual acts of helping you stick to a diet and exercise routine are all good news!

Tiny Yet Mighty Tips For Beginner Yogis

Heather Dale — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:50:16 PST

Perhaps signing up for yoga classes was one of your healthy New Year's resolutions? I have found that yoga can be practiced by anyone at any age and it does a body good . . . both inside and out. And contrary to popular belief, yoga is so much more than just stretching - it's a union of the mind, body, and spirit. Here are some tips I've learned after years of practice that should help you get started.

Inhale and exhale: Breathing is an integral part of yoga. It's easy to become so focused on achieving a particular pose that we tense up and forget to breathe. Proper breathing in yoga keeps you mindful of your practice and aware of each movement. Once connected to your breath, balance improves, muscles relax, and you're less prone to injury - hello, oxygen! The best way to breathe during yoga is deep down in your diaphragm (the large muscle right below your lungs). Slowly expand the lungs, pressing down the diaphragm, and causing your abdomen to expand as your lungs fill with air.

Keep reading for more tips.

5 Things Not to Bring to the Gym

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:03:10 PST

If you want to make the most of your gym time, there are certain things you shouldn't take with you. To stay healthy and centered during your workout, leave these five items at home:

Reading material. It's important to stay focused while you're at the gym, not only for safety reasons, but also to maximize the benefits of your workout. If you're focusing on the latest issue of your favorite magazine, you're probably not paying attention to your body. Read outside the gym to zero in on your training.
Energy drinks. Stick to zero-calorie water to stay hydrated. The amount of caffeine in different energy drinks varies, but you should steer clear while you're working out to avoid becoming lightheaded. Prefer something with a bit of flavor? Try adding electrolyte enhanced flavor packets to your water.
A plastic water bottle. Refilling and reusing old plastic water bottles can be dangerous to your health - and the environment. Go green and invest in a stainless steel option instead.

Keep reading for two more things to leave at home.

Conquer Those New Year's Resolutions With Expert Help!

Sponsor — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:00:00 PST

With the new year finally here, what better time than now to get started on those resolutions? Whether you're hoping to fit back into those skinny jeans or reorganize your closet, ABC's new show The Revolution is here to be your daily dose of motivation. The Revolution will be your new go-to for advice on transforming your life, including home makeovers, living healthy, and finance.

Each week the expert panel of judges, including Ty Pennington and Tim Gunn, will help one woman completely transform her life. You will be taken on her five-month journey getting priceless tips and tricks for revolutionizing your own life. Don't miss the exciting premiere of The Revolution on Monday, Jan. 16, and keep watching weekdays at 2 p.m. EST/1 p.m. PST/C on ABC.

Can't wait to watch? Check out the sneak peek below.

The Revolution premieres today at 2 p.m. EST/1 p.m. PST/C on ABC.

Quick Tip: Remember to Start Off Slow

Leta Shy — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:57:38 PST

It's one thing to have a healthy goal (like weight loss) for New Year's, and it's another to set yourself up with unrealistic time lines (like losing 10 pounds by the end of the week). New Year's resolutions can be motivation you need to start the year out strong, but they can also give you unneeded pressure to reach your goals ASAP.

Whether your normal routine has disappeared in lieu of holiday celebrations and cake, or if you've vowed that this is the year that you'll become a gym rat, remember to take it slow. No matter what your starting point, taking it to the next level should involve a slow ramping up and not an all-out body-straining routine, which can not only lead to discouraging aches and pains but also injuries that sideline you even when you want to keep going.

Want some strategies to help you start out slow and build your routine gradually? We've got tips on how to ramp up your workout once you've mastered your current one, how to restart exercise after an injury or sickness, and how to jump back on the fitness bandwagon after your exercise routine has taken a hiatus.

Yoga Series For Runners

FitSugar — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:26:47 PST

If running more was on your resolution list, right on! We love running, and to ensure that your body can handle all the miles, we suggest adding these five yoga poses to your weekly fitness routine. Yoga and running are very complementary: yoga is perfect for stretching out all those muscles worked, and often overworked, while running. Here's a short yoga series created especially for runners by Kimberly Fowler, founder of Yoga For Athletes. This yoga series is great for lengthening shortened hamstrings and opening tight hips - both side effects of running. A little attention to your overworked muscles is a great form of injury prevention. And if you only have time for one stretch, Kim will tell you what to do. And be sure to enter our Get Fit For 2012 giveaway to win a year's supply of Asics running shoes.

Sculpt Muscles Faster With These Tips

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:25:05 PST

Your busy schedule hardly allows for time to exercise, so when you steal away for an hour, you want to make that workout count. If a toned physique is your goal, here are essential strength training tips for quickly achieving the sculpted muscles you desire.

Source: Thinkstock