FitSugar

Learn Cheerleading Skills With Paula Abdul

FitSugar — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 08:17:03 PST

Do you love Paula Abdul and cheerleading? Of course you do. Now you can have it all with Cardio Cheer. The complete 5-Disc set is only $74.98.

She got her start cheerleading with the Laker Girls. Paula says, "It's the fundamentals I learned in cheerleading that have been my foundation for success."

This exercise video involves stretching (yoga), power moves, lunges, clapping (that's right), and jumps. "Practice until the moves become a part of your body, and watch how your confidence grows and grows."

Paula ends with, "Now let's get lean, get toned, and get the legs, abs, and arms you always wanted by giving it your all."

I have to say, it looks really fun, even though it is slightly on the cheesy side. A lot of girls always dreamed of being cheerleaders, so here's your chance to learn those moves.

Healthy Dose Link Time: Enjoy the Holidays Without Weight Gain

Michele Foley — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:38:18 PST

Three no-fail ways for staying slim during the season of nog, cookies, and booze - Shape
Why Ryka sneakers are a smart choice for those dance cardio classes - Fit Celeb
Spread healthy cheer by donating good-for-you food items - Daily Spark
Make your vegan happy with these soy nog snickerdoodles - Healthy Happy Life
20 ways to burn 200 calories without having to see the light of a gym - Health
One good food done five ways: arugula - Vegetarian Times
Winter weather taken a toll on your health? Do these yoga poses - Yoga Journal
Never forget: 10 ways to to keep the mind sharp - Prevention

Healthy Gifts That Won't Offend

Jenny Sugar — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 03:07:08 PST

If you're trying to get a friend or relative to hop on board the healthy train, you want to be sure not to overstep your boundary and give a gift that could potentially offend. A fitness DVD titled Cardio For the Overweight will definitely send the message that you think they need to lose weight - not exactly spreading holiday cheer, are we? Of course, nothing compares to the gift of health, you just want to do it in a way that's thoughtful, sensitive, and effective. Here are six gifts that are sure to inspire a healthy lifestyle without offending the receiver.

Barry's Bootcamp's Joey Gonzalez on Why Your Workout Isn't Working

Shape — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:05:07 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Barry's Bootcamp (BBC), the high-intensity workout that helps celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Jessica Alba, and Jake Gyllenhaal stay in amazing shape, has opened its first East Coast location in Manhattan! The studio is known for its nightclub-meets-boot-camp-style during hour-long classes that mix strength training with treadmill intervals. The result is a high-intensity workout that burns fat (up to 1,000 calories per class) and tones muscles.

In an exclusive interview with Shape.com, Barry's Bootcamp co-president Joey Gonzalez reveals where he thinks most women's workouts go wrong - and what they can do to fix it.

Common Misconceptions: Where Your Workout Goes Wrong

1. You do one or the other: cardio or body sculpting. "Don’t get me wrong, half of our class is cardiovascular, but the strength training is equally as important, and that's really what helps kick metabolism into high gear," Gonzalez says.

2. You ignore weights. "What you're doing when working out is building muscle, and muscle is an integral part of actually burning calories throughout the day. With weights, your body is burning 'x' amount of calories more an hour than it was before you did it - and that’s not true of cardio. That’s why women who tend to use weights and bring it into their regular exercise program are not only stronger and healthier, but on average have better bodies. If you touch their arms they're strong, they're not soft. Women complain about 'flarm' (laughs), the flabby arm area, and, really, the best way to target that is working your triceps."

See the rest of Joey's tips after the break!

6 Reasons to Row Your Way to Fit While Burning 800 Calories

Self — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:08:43 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Self here on FitSugar!

Once upon a time, rowing was considered a man's sport, beloved by preppy Ivy League boys and lake fishermen. Times have changed. Here's what happened: we ladies found out it was fun. You know what else is fun? Being toned. And, contrary to popular belief, rowing accomplishes that for more than just your upper body.

Just ask ultra-endurance athlete and World Rowing Champion, Josh Crosby, who created the now internationally practiced Indo-Row workout with partner and fitness developer Jay Blahnik. (They even collaborated with WaterRower on a special Indo-Row Machine that uses actual water.) Though the first classes began in 2005, Indo-Row went global in the last three years and is now offered at over 50 clubs from Equinox and Sports Club LA to The Mayo Clinic's Wellness Center. And, as with any growing trend and especially ones that start in California, Hollywood has caught on. Though the Indo-Row team is hush-hush about A-list clientele, a few names have leaked out like Nicole Kidman, Estella Warren, Kevin Bacon, and Jason Patric.

In the creator's own words, "Indo-Row was designed to bring the benefits of rowing to the masses." See Crosby's top six reasons to row after the break!

The Best Time to Exercise, Eat Your Meals, and More

Heather Dale — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 03:06:39 PDT

Between work, friends, family, and social commitments, we're lucky if we can manage to get enough sleep, eat balanced meals, and squeeze in enough time for exercise. But did you know that there's a right time to do some of these things? And by right, I mean that there's actually an optimal time to eat, exercise, go grocery shopping, and more to benefit our overall well-being? Get your pencils and pads of paper ready because you may be shocked at some of these results!

The best time to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner: You should always eat breakfast within an hour of waking up. About 4.5 hours after that, you should have lunch, and a couple hours after that, dinner. If you delay these times, you're going to be hungry, and the hungrier you are, the more likely you are going to cheat and eat fatty junk food. According to Dr. Oz, the big rule of thumb is that you need to have dinner more than three hours before you go to bed, so that you aren't going to bed with a full stomach.

To find out best times for other daily duties, keep reading

Ali Sweeney Talks Weight Loss and The Biggest Loser

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:00:14 PDT

I think having two TV gigs definitely qualifies actress Alison Sweeney as a working mother. Besides her longstanding gig on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, she's also the host of The Biggest Loser. Alison recently sat down with Working Mother magazine to discuss balancing home and a demanding career, her lifelong struggle with weight, and the controversy surrounding The Biggest Loser. Here are the highlights:

On going from struggling with her weight to getting fit and healthy: "From the time I was 12 I was overweight, and as a teen I definitely struggled with my weight. I tried very extreme diets, like the papaya diet. It was about me feeling insecure and lacking confidence. Overcoming that was a long process. It involved changing my mindset from wanting to be skinny to wanting to be healthy - and that allowed me to reach my goal."
On staying in shape: I eat healthy meals - my husband is a great griller. I schedule going to the gym into my days. I do a lot of cardio, especially spin classes. I also run, hike and do circuit training and yoga. I typically work out four or five days a week. Of course, sometimes it’s three days, sometimes it's seven days. In my new book, The Mommy Diet [available in October], I encourage moms to take care of themselves."

To find out what Alison has to say about the rapid weight loss of Biggest Loser contestants, and what's in store for the finale,