FitSugar

Sign Up For Self Magazine's Challenge

FitSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:50:00 -0700

Looking for a little fitness guidance as well as a pat on the back for a job well done? Then sign up today for the Self Challenge and get a free Aveda neck and shoulder massage.

Yeah, I meant a literal pat on the back, or rather a muscle rubdown. This is Self's 13th year offering its fitness challenge to help you get ready for bikini season. The three-month challenge is free and includes customized quickie cardio plans, sculpting workouts, a daily eating plan, and motivation. Signing up for the Self Challenge also enters you into a contest for a six-night vacation to Antigua to show off your toned beach body. Everyone that signs up today, March 11, is a winner: Aside from the neck and shoulder massage, you will also receive an Aveda coupon for other pampering treatments and product samples. Why wait? Summer is fast approaching and being fit never goes out of season.

Get It Up - Your Heart Rate, That is: Swimming

FitSugar — Wed, 09 May 2007 08:45:00 -0700

Spring is here and it is getting warm!!! Why not swim outdoors to get your body bikini ready? Remember cardio will burn fat all over your body, helping to get you toned and buff for the revealing fashions of summer and swimsuits.

Here's a workout for you to try:

Warm up:
100 yrds Freestyle - easy
50 yrds kick Freestyle
50 yrds kick Backstroke
50 yrds kick Breaststroke
100 yrds pull Freestyle

The Main Event:
400 yrds Freestyle

Sprints
8 x 25 yrds alternating Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly
(rest :10)
Note: If you don't swim Butterfly, substitute Freestyle

100 yrds Backstroke
100 yrds Breaststroke

Cool Down:
50 kick Freestyle
50 kick Backstroke
100 Freestyle - easy

This workout is 1350 yards, or about .82 miles (a swimmer's mile is 1500 meters, or roughly 1650 yards - 66 laps in a 25 yard pool).

A Week In Review: FitSugar round up

FitSugar — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 04:00:00 -0700

5 things that affect the number on the scale.

Gwen Stefani is one healthy Diva. If we all used her "rider" as our shopping list, we would be eating super healthy.

Concerned with getting bikini ready? Check out how the celebs prepare for swimsuit season.

Curious to test your nutritional knowledge about restaurant menu items? Here are some quizzes on popular dining spots.

I want to know if you like to workout with a mirror or not.

Here are a couple of elbow planks for you to try.

It's the weekend, so now you have time to try Warrior 2. It really works your legs.

Suffering from allergies? Have you tried the rhino horn? It's a neti pot, not some crazy supplement.

Speak up and tell me are unhealthy eaters less attractive?

Here's another reason to eat organic.

Some foods make you feel good and others you should just avoid altogether.

Source

How the Stars Get Bikini Ready

FitSugar — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 03:30:00 -0700

Life & Style is reporting on how our favorite stars are getting bikini ready this year. Looks like they are turning to Brazil. Brazilian trainer and author of The Brazilian Bikini Body Program, Regina Joseph, gives us the scoop.

Drew practices Pilates! Forget dieting! Drew Barrymore prefers to burn calories with a workout that includes Pilates, one of the most popular pastimes in Brazil. For a complete cardio session, fitness pro Joseph details a combo of core Pilates moves and capoeira (a Brazilian martial art that includes cartwheels, kicks and flips) in her book.
Cam eats early in the day! An always active Cameron Diaz gets going with a protein-packed breakfast of eggs and meat. "The beginning and middle of the day are when you need a big burst of energy," says Joseph. "In Brazil, evening meals are smaller and lighter." That leaves plenty of room for desert!
Denise's smart snack! "I need foods that energize me," says Denise Richards, who revs up on the Amazon-grown acai berry (now available in stores like Whole Foods Market. Says Joseph, "An Acai smoothie provides enough fiber and protein to last until lunch."
Kristen never feels hungry! "I stopped dieting because it made me binge," Kristen Cavallari tells Life & Style. The reality show alum solved her dieting dilemma by opting for smaller, more frequent meals (she snacks on almonds) to curb her cravings. Explains Joseph, "Meals and snacks spaced throughout the day help keep blood sugar up."
Gisele fills up on fruit! Brazilian-born Gisele Bundchen can thank her homeland for her supermodel bod. The Victoria's secret stunner says her fav foods are tropical fruits from her country - which she considers to be the "best place to live."

Source

Spinning for Spring Ready Legs

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:00:00 -0800

Spring and summer are approaching really fast... which means skirt and bikini season and you may want to start toning those legs.

One great way to get killer legs is by taking a spinning (or cycling as some gyms may call it) class. The class consists of students, stationary bikes, an instructor and music. Basically what happens is the instructor takes the class on a ride, which can include sprints, hill climbs and other exercises like intervals and circuits -- Some gyms even have a video screen that simulates your ride. It depends on the class but they can run from 45 to 60 minutes long and are typically set to fast paced, pump-you-up music.

Biking on the stationary bike at the gym is not even close to being the same kind of workout. The spinning bikes have a weighted flywheel in the front that picks up speed as you pedal. Also, there's a knob below the handlebars that allows you to adjust the tension, making pedaling easier or harder, as you ride along according to your instructors guidance. It's much more like a real bike than the other stationary bikes you would find in the cardio room at a gym.

Unlike most group classes, spinning does not require major coordination -- There are no complicated moves to follow. However it's still an incredible workout and since you are able to control your own bike's tension, you can stay in an exercise zone that fits your fitness level (but don't go too easy on yourself, it's meant to be a good workout, not easy).

The best part about spinning? The calories burned can add up to 500 calories per class. Plus it is great leg shaper for toning your glutes, thighs and calves.

Ask your local gym what spinning (or cycling) classes they offer. You can also find classes near you and see if there are any free classes offered near you at Spinning.com.

Get Beach-Ready: Hip, Thighs, and Tush Workout

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:00:00 -0700

If you've been working your abs and toning your backside to get ready for bikini season, here are some more exercises you can rotate into your strength-training sessions. This series of exercises from ACE (American Council on Exercise) will target your hips, thighs, and booty.

View Slideshow ›

5 Resistance Band Moves

FitSugar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:50:10 -0700

Our friends over at the American Council on Exercise (ACE) have shared many workouts with us. There's a morning core workout to target your abs, a hip, thighs, and tush workout to get you ready for bikini season, four exercises for a strong and healthy back, and shoulder sculpting moves to get strapless-dress-ready. ACE has shared another workout with us, this time using a resistance band, that targets a few areas of the body that women say are "trouble spots." So grab a band and get started.

View Slideshow ›

Celeb Trainer Valerie Waters on Biel's Booty and Burning Fat

FitSugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:50:54 -0700

There's no hiding bellies or behinds when all you're wearing is a bikini. Shape recruited celebrity trainer Valerie Waters for a few tips on getting ready to bare it all - who better than a woman who has worked with clients like Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel?

Valerie insists that eating clean (and eating breakfast) are big parts of the equation for achieving the body you want, and making your workouts count is the other factor in getting your figure bikini-ready. Her plan: Strength train three days a week, focusing on the big muscles (legs, chest, back, and arms). Increase the amount of fat you burn by doing interval training the other three days.

To learn what Valerie recommends for getting a shapely booty like Jessica's, read more.

Valerie plugged her product when she told Shape, "The Valslide is the secret weapon for a lot of celebrities because it will change your butt faster than anything you've seen. It's like using a slide board except that's it's smaller." She added, "You can do so much to work your butt with no equipment: squats, lunges, step-ups." If you're not in the market for her $30 fitness tool, print out my nine-exercise glutes and hamstrings workout. Take it to the gym with you, and start working that booty.

Print It: FitSugar Glutes and Hamstring Workout

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:00:00 -0700

If you have been working your abs to get ready for bikini season, I am here to remind you not to forget your booty and the backs of your legs. All styles of suits bare your backside, so get your bum beach-ready with FitSugar's Glutes and Hamstrings workout. We made a convenient printable version of the nine-exercise workout.

Download and print this PDF - it looks best printed in color. Tape it to your fridge. Take it to the gym. Just remember to work your booty.

Get the Bod: Valerie Bertinelli's 48-Year-Old Bikini Body

FitSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Valerie Bertinelli is on the cover of this week's People magazine, showing off her lean body in a bikini for the first time since she was 20 years old, just in time for her 48th birthday! Two years ago she was a larger version of herself, at 172 pounds, which she felt was more than 40 pounds over her ideal weight for a person who's 5'4".

So how did she lose the weight and get bikini-ready? To find out read more.

Valerie used the Jenny Craig plan and became a spokesperson for the diet as well. In nine months she was down to 132 pounds. She exercised on her own, primarily walking 10,000 steps a day. After keeping the weight off for more than a year, she decided to kick it up a notch and hired a personal trainer in December, with her goal of feeling gorgeous and confident in a bikini.

Her 60-minute bikini workout was completed four or five times a week. It included running on the treadmill 30 to 45 minutes, but sometimes she switched back and forth between five minute intervals of running and strength training. To get strong and defined muscles, Valerie used a resistance band in combination with dumbbells. She alternated between up to 25 triceps dips, 20 push-ups, up to 30 squats, step-ups, and over 100 sit-ups total. The last three weeks before her bikini shoot, she lowered her daily caloric intake from 1,700 calories to 1,200, and also gave up a treat - champagne. Now Valerie is in the best shape of her life and said "I never, ever, ever had deltoids! Oh my God, when I'm doing exercises and I see them pop out, I'm like, Yes!" She's a huge inspiration for those of us who may be afraid to sport our bikinis.

Source