FitSugar

NikePlus.com Motivates Me to Exercise

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:30:00 PDT

People exercise for different reasons, and everyone should be exercising regularly. That's easier said than done. You definitely have to have a few tricks up your sleeve to help you stay motivated. Here's one of mine.

I bought an iPod Nano ($150) and Nike + iPod Sports Kit ($30) and I use it every time I go for a run or walk. Basically you plug the receiver into your Nano, and attach the sensor to your left shoe. Nike makes special Nike + sneakers (of course), and the sensor fits snugly in the shoe under the foot bed. I like to wear whatever brand of sneaker I want, so I just use a RunAway ($7.99) - it's a waterproof capsule that holds your sensor and attaches to your laces.

Want to know how it works? Then

When you go for a run or walk, the sensor on your shoe monitors your time, speed, distance, and how many calories you've burned (just wish it had a heart rate monitor too). If you hit the center button on your Nano, you'll hear a voice tell you all that info (very cool). Then when you get home, just plug your Nano into your computer and all your data automatically gets sent to NikePlus.com. It keeps track of all your runs, so you can track your progress.

You can even set goals for yourself, like run 12 times in 4 weeks, or run 20 miles in 4 weeks. I set a goal to burn 1800 calories in 4 weeks and when I reached my goal I got a "Congratulations," and a little award in my virtual trophy case. It's kind of like those gold stars I put on my calendar - a little silly maybe, but very motivating.

The bottom line is you need to find what motivates you. Tracking my progress online really gets me on a regular exercise schedule, and because I can see my stats in stone, it motivates me to keep pushing my personal limits.

31 Days of Spring Cleaning: Monitor Your Finances Online

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 06:30:00 PDT

Keep the paper and junk mail in check - start tracking your finances and paying your bills online instead. Opting to get your statements via email (for your bank and other utilities) can keep clutter and paper waste at bay. Plus, online monitoring services allow you to set budgets, get alerts when you've gone over your limit, and track where your spare cash is going so you can save a few bucks. Get your financial life organized with help from the free websites listed below!

Mint - The leader of financial management sites, Mint charts every expense, transaction, and asset with easy-to-read charts, budget progress, and weekly financial summaries.
LearnVest - Similar to Mint, LearnVest presents financial planning from a woman's point of view. Beyond budget and finance tracking, the site provides editorial content such as money tips and the option to connect with in-house financial experts.

See the rest of the list after the break.

Etsy Finds: 10 Great Growth Charts For Kids

LilSugar — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:02:41 PST

Because they grow up so fast . . . tracking your lil one's progress through the years (or even months) with a growth chart is a fun and low-maintenance activity that you can share together. Gone are the days of ticking off a child's height on the kitchen wall, though. Etsy offers up a garden variety of growth chart options for every taste and style.

3 Things to Monitor During Every Workout

Leta Shy — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:03:02 PST

Maintaining a workout routine can be mostly about having the motivation to get up and get out. Even so, you should also have a plan for what you should watch out for while you're sweating. To get the most of your workout, make sure that you're monitoring these stats while you exercise.

Heart rate: You should monitor your heart rate so that you are reaching your cardio goals, such as the right level of intensity in your workouts. It also helps to know what your max heart rate is so that you don't continuously overwork yourself - you should normally be working out at 60 to 90 percent of your heart rate unless you are sprinting or otherwise doing interval training. If you don't want to invest in a heart rate monitor, you'll have to do the math to find out your heart rate manually. Just make sure you're using the newer formula for determining your maximum heart rate; the old school "220 minus your age" formula isn't optimized for women. Learn how to calculate your maximum heart rate more accurately.

Read on for more stats you should be monitoring with every workout.

How I Convinced My Hubby Not to Hate Running

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:30:39 PST

My husband loves his bike and he loves his skis, but he's never been much of a slip-on-your-sneaks-and-go-for-a-run kind of guy. That is until now.

Wooed him with gear: To replace his cotton tube socks, sweatpants, and high school t-shirts, I got him some wicking socks, real running pants, and merino wool shirts. He was amazed that after a run there were no blisters or chafing from his loose pants, and he stayed relatively dry thanks to the wicking shirt.
Added a little friendly competition: It's human nature to be a little competitive, and my hubby is no exception. For a couple bucks, I downloaded the Nike+ GPS app to his iPhone. He loves that it keeps track of his time, distance, pace, and calories burned, and the GPS charts his route. The latest version of the app has the Nike+ Tag feature, which allows you to compete with friends. The object of the game is not to be "It," and in our case, whoever runs the shortest distance becomes "It." The competition has actually motivated both of us to run.

Keep reading for more ways to convince the guy in your life to love running.

Free Online Fitness Journals to Track Your Progress

Heather Dale — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:30:58 PST

I like to think I'm disciplined with my weekly workout schedule, but sometimes I need some additional coercing to get my butt to the gym. Online progress tracking tools are great for keeping you motivated, and for holding you accountable if your healthy habits happen to take a nosedive. With the holidays just around the corner, many of us will be on the road visiting friends and family, making it increasingly difficult to keep up with our fitness routines. So we've rounded up five fitness tracking websites to help keep you on track - and they're all free!

Keep reading to check them out!

Lotta Weight to Lose? Tips to Keep You Going

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:56:14 PDT

Whether you recently had a baby or the scale has slowly been creeping up over the years, if you have 50, 100, or more pounds to lose, the task can seem so daunting, you're tempted to give up before you even try. Here are some things to keep in mind to help you stay motivated on your big weight loss journey.

Keep in mind results won't happen overnight: When you're watching your calorie intake and exercising regularly, it's safe to lose about two pounds a week. That may not seem like much, but over time, those little bits of weight loss will add up. You didn't gain all that weight overnight, so don't expect to lose it that quickly either.
Set small, realistic goals and then celebrate them: Sure, your ultimate goal might be to fit into the jeans you wore in college, but in order to stay motivated, you need to set mini goals along your weight loss journey. Every Sunday night decide what your goal will be - to work out three times that week, eat greens every day, or meet with a personal trainer. Then when you reach your goal at the end of the week, reward yourself in a healthy way with a new water bottle, fitness mag, or some new songs on iTunes to add to your cardio playlist.

Keep reading for more tips to keep you motivated if you have a lot of weight to lose.

Personal Trainer Tricks You Don't Have to Pay For

Leta Shy — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:54:25 PDT

There are so many reasons why splurging on a personal trainer is a good idea. They teach you how to work out safely and efficiently, and show you how to attain your healthy goals. But often it's hard to justify the high price tag if you have other expenses that are also begging for your wallet's attention. If you're not in the market for a personal trainer, here are some tricks that trainers use to whip you into shape that don't require any money at all.

Just a little more: You pay your trainer to deliver results, which often translates to you panting on the floor while your trainer is telling you that you need to do 10 more push-ups. Channel that extra push, sans price tag, during your next workout. Just pushing yourself to go for five more minutes can help you burn up to 60 extra calories. Need motivation? Check out our chart of calories burned with just five more minutes of exercise.

Get creative with your workouts: Trainers have a knack for developing workouts that target muscles you didn't even know you had, but don't think that you can't create your own fun circuit workout that combines cardio with strength training. If you need ideas, try one of our all-over body circuit workouts (like this total-body circuit workout using dumbbells or this belly-fat blasting circuit workout by celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins) for an example of an efficient and trainer-inspired workout.

Read on for more ways to exercise like a personal trainer after the break.

Android's Absolute Fitness App Is For Absolute Fitness Freaks

GeekSugar — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:15:05 PST

There are plenty of fitness websites and iPhone apps to go around, but what about your Android phone? I think I've come across an app that will satisfy the fitness elite, as well as those of us who are just now getting off our butts and following through on our New Year's resolutions to get fit.

Called Absolute Fitness ($5), this app has everything you need to get (and keep) your nutrition and fitness on track - food and calorie tracker, exercise log, and charts and graphs to track your progress, sleep patterns, and water intake. Additionally, Absolute Fitness will send you alerts if it notices that you've had too much of a good thing (like salt or fat) or aren't taking in enough water to stay hydrated. You can even export the data to a spreadsheet for serious analysis by your doctor. If you're making health a priority this year, this app may be worth the dough.