My husband and I are a bit ridiculous when it comes to movie rentals. We really enjoy watching movies and since it’s one of our biggest pastimes and something we immensely enjoy doing together, we’ve both gotten memberships to online DVD rental services.  Both of them are pretty well known services.

And both are chock full or workout DVD’s good and bad as well.  Have you ever bought a fitness DVD that you got home, tried out and absolutely hated? How angry were you that you already opened it and were likely now stuck with an exercise DVD that would probably just sit on your shelf and collect dust?

Well, I was tired of that happening. And Lord knows there are plenty of workout DVD’s sitting on my shelves that have not been used in the years since they were purchased. So I decided to start renting the videos before I bought them.

If I rented them, tried them out and could see myself doing them without hating every minute of it, or I wasn’t totally annoyed by the instructor or the background music, or even the exercises themselves, I would then go out and buy them. I would likely buy them from Amazon.com because they usually have the most competitive prices on DVD’s and blu rays that I’ve found.

Or you may get lucky and get them on sale or have a great coupon for a brick and mortar store too, who knows. At any rate, before wasting any more of your money on these types of DVD’s, if you have a membership with Blockbuster or Netflix, they have quite a few workout DVD’s in their rental libraries.

Plus they often have user reviews so you can see what others thought about the workout before you even rent it. Sometimes just the reviews are enough to convince me to not even rent the video.  This way, you can have DVD’s around that will make you actually want to work out.

I especially love the condensed, hard workouts that use plyometrics and other hard moves to elevate heart rate quickly and get you more of a workout in less time.

You may have seen these strapped on contraptions that people can wear to increase their sweating during workouts in targeted “problem areas” like the arms (lunch lady arms – a typical problem for women), or outer thighs or of course the huge buzz word – the abdomen or belly area.

The “bands” are designed to be tightened around the area which you want to spot reduce during your workouts. This way, they make that area sweat more, supposedly increase the circulation to the area and the sweat output, and result in helping you zap the cellulite and extra fat cells and weight that you carry in that particular area.

Of course, experts may say there is no truth to these claims, but people swear by these contraptions and I’ve actually worn one before and noticed that it seemed to take a few centimeters off my designated area, so no complaints here. Plus, these workout accessories are very affordable, which helps.

Well, arm bands that are worn typically on the upper areas of the arms where the arms tend to be flabby, where women tend to hold extra weight a lot, may actually be interchangeable and used on the thighs for women too.

These are two very common problem areas for women, and using these sweat bands can help to increase the sweat and the circulation, and over time can also work by the mere principle of compression to compress the tissues and make the area smaller by force essentially.

Sweating is an important part of working out. Whether or not you believe sweating in localized areas increases your odds of losing weight in targeted areas, the fact is that where there is sweat, there is increased and improved circulation of blood. This means that cellulite and fat are easier to break up, and it’s overall a really good thing for your body.

It helps your body to detox as well, since you need good circulation in order to detoxify your body and carry toxins out via your body’s natural waste elimination processes – and sweating is a major one. The next post will be about a product called Sweet Sweat. I know I know, the name is kinda gross, but the product gets some very interesting feedback from users.

We’ll give you the scoop on that next time we talk.  Tootles!

Compound moves are one of my favorite ways to really cut down on my exercise time while not cutting my body short on the cardio effects it needs to keep my metabolism humming and get my bodily functions working to their best ability.  Not only does doing these two-punch moves help me to elevate my heart rate into fat burning territory, but they also help me to work on my coordination.

I’m terrible with coordination usually. So much so that I used to really shy away from any type of hand-eye coordination sport in high school and grade school. I was so bad that I couldn’t see a ball coming until it practically hit me in the face.  Of course, some of this had to do with naturally poor eyesight which got resolved a little later in life, but a lot of it has to do with my natural inability to coordinate body parts in an orchestrated fashion.

Compound moves, which usually make two levers of your body work at once – ie legs and arms, are really hard and they’re a great way to amplify your weight training. They make your heart work more in a short period of time. So in the end, you can really cut your workout in half by doing them because your body is outputting so much more effort in figuring out how to coordinate sending blood to several areas of the body at once.

The blood sends oxygen to these areas, and that burns calories in turn, which makes us all happy campers because in the end, that’s what exercise is for – burning calories, burning fat, and keeping a fit, healthy body in the process that isn’t overburdened with extra fat layers.

When you are doing a move like a sumo wrestler squat with dumb bell rows or shoulder rows, you are really forcing your body to send that blood to all those areas, making it work harder and making it go through way more calories than if you were just moving either the arms alone or the legs alone.

This is a great thing for those of us that are busy (who isn’t these days really).  I love compound moves because they allow me to do in about a half hour what I previously couldn’t do in an hour. They really work me hard, and I feel it the next day.  They also get my endorphins going almost as well as the “runners high” I experience when I run, which really lets me know I’m doing something great for my body.

Looking back on 2011, there were some interesting additions and revisions in the fitness workout world.  For building strength, a few standout workouts include Krav Maga and Rushfit.  Krav Maga classes are strength building self defense style workouts.

Krav Maga lasts about an hour and is a combination of punching and kicking that will definitely build stamina and strength.    Rushfit, byGeorges St-Pierre, is another strength building fitness workout that is a mixed martial arts style.  It is a well rounded workout that puts all of your muscle groups to the test for fitness.

To build endurance and speed, most of the standout workouts are the cross training approaches and the barefoot and minimalist running.  Cross training is beneficial for endurance athletes because they tend to do the exact same activity repeatedly.

Cross training introduces new activities to their routines by doing things such as adding weights and swimming.  While barefoot and minimalist running has been around for decades, it has gotten a lot more focus and attention over the past year.

A newly revisited approach to distance training is always good to assess how to become a safer and faster runner.  Some of the fitness workouts focus on balance and coordination.  Capoiera is a Brazilian martial art that is becoming very popular for a form of exercise and working out.  Agility, dexterity and coordination are a must for this form of fitness workout.

Your coordination will definitely improve with this activity.  Paddle surfing is another newer workout aimed at improving balance and coordination.  This involves standing on a surfboard and paddling to stabilize yourself against the waves of a lake or any natural body of water.

Some of the newer workouts developments have their focus on flexibility and therapy.  These would include aerial yoga and the Compex device.  Aerial yoga uses a suspended fabric sling to assist you to do yoga poses and stretches more readily.

The Compex device uses electrical charges to your muscles to shorten recovery time after a workout.  As a relaxation therapy for sore muscles after a workout, it is quite effective.  Any of these workouts would, when combined with a sensible, reduced calorie diet, be effective for weight loss also.

A recent fad that has been circulating through Hollywood for a while, and is starting to make its way to the mainstream is drinking coconut water for better hydration as a sort of more natural alternative to sugary, chemical-laden sports drinks.

Sports drinks like Gatorade purport to hydrate you better than water because of their high electrolyte content. Electrolytes are merely minerals, and they fuel our body with hydration better than ordinary water can because they help balance the hydration better in our bodies more quickly.

If you’ve ever noticed, Gatorade and other sports drinks are a great way to hydrate when you’re sick and throwing up or are losing a ton of water through diarrhea.  My husband and I drink the grape flavor and eat a ton of saltines whenever we’re sick.

Well, coconut water is advertised as having electrolytes such as magnesium and sodium in it, and these are two things the help add electrolytes to your body and add to your hydration and energy.  However, recent tests came to the conclusion that only one brand of coconut water on the market actually has the amount of these ingredients that it claims to.

Coconut water can be seen in lots of celebrity’s hands these days in the tabloids. I just saw one of Ellen Pompeo (the girl from Grey’s Anatomy) carrying a bottle of the slightly sweet water under her arm after what looked like a workout.  Other celebs have been photographed with it as well, always looking like they were coming from the gym or taking a yoga class.

However, one may not want to add sugar to their body right after a workout. If you’ve ever read about HGH production, then you may have heard that your body does not go into overdrive making HGH like it does without any sugar when you consume sugar after a workout.

For that reason, it is recommended that, although sugar is the one thing you mostly crave after working out because it’s quick expendable energy, it’s the one thing you should stay away from.  Sugar after working out actually slows down the body’s production of HGH that occurs afer physically exerting yourself.

One of the main benefits of exercising is increasing your HGH production, so if you negate that, you negate a major benefit of working out!

There are many different levels of commitment to reach potential fitness goals.  You can buy or rent DVD’s and do a 30 minute or more workout at home whenever you can find the spare time.  Other people may join a gym or health club and sign up for various fitness classes.

For the really motivated individuals, there are exercise classes called boot-camp workout sessions.  Depending on your motivation and personal fitness goals, this venue for exercise may be for you.  Some people find this is the best route to become toned and strong if they have an upcoming event in a few months, such as a reunion or wedding.

Often, people want to look their very best and fittest to reunite with people they haven’t seen in a long time.  The boot-camp workouts usually offer a choice for the time of day that works best for your busy schedule.  Ideally, a boot-camp class should offer a combination of cardio and calisthenics.

Instead of promising quick weight loss results, boot-camp classes should focus on improved overall health.  Boot-camp classes should ideally be run by certified instructors.  Many boot-camp classes meet about twice a week and consist of one hour long “drills”.

The name, boot-camp classes, may scare some people off.  But the fact is that your usual boot-camp classes do cater to all levels of fitness coming in.  This style of workout has actually gone mainstream.  Boot-camp style workouts often go for approximately six week sessions.

If you are late or miss a workout session, your instructor will usually call you on it.  This often works to keep motivation strong and enhances a degree of commitment.  The majority of people who sign up for boot-camp workouts are women.  Women tend to like the group training more and the comraderie with others while attaining a fitness goal.

A good boot-camp workout series of classes keeps it interesting and keeps the class flowing.  A full body workout should be offered in a quality boot-camp workout session.  You want to see a combination of aerobics such as running or jumping jacks with interval training such as lunges.

To see if boot-camp workouts are agreeable with you and your fitness goals, many gyms and trainers offer a one week trial for free.  This way, you can see how it fits with your lifestyle, goals and schedule.

Ideally, after about six weeks of sessions that meet two times a week, you should be feeling stronger and more fit.  In a good boot-camp workout series, your instructor will find workout variations to “raise the bar” a little more and still let you use your muscles and still feel a little burn to further your strength even more.

One huge benefit that I personally notice from working out, is that I seem to keep a lot of the mushy, smushy pesky water weight off my problem areas like my thighs and my belly (althought that used to not be a problem area, as I get older, it’s getting harder to maintain). 

Why would working out regularly help you to lose water weight? Well first off, you lose a lot of that water weight through sweating. When you lead a sedentary lifestyle, you probably don’t sweat a whole lot, which means you aren’t getting rid of excess water weight on a daily basis.

Not sweating can be very bad for your health, as this is the way that your body not only gets rid of water (besides urinating), but it is also the body’s way of getting rid of some of those toxins that can build up in your body as a result of your diet or lifestyle, and environmental toxins that can enter our body.

I notice a huge difference in my body when I’m working out reguarly – the kind of workout where I sweat a lot – aka, where I do lots of tough cardio work.  I notice that my body seems more sleek and streamlined, and I can fit into my clothes better, even if I have not changed my diet at all.

Anyone who has lost five pounds (which is almost all water weight usually, since the first five usually are, especially when lost quickly), can tell you what a huge difference this small weightloss can make in the way your clothes fit. It can make a large difference in your tummy area, your butt and thighs, all of which are the buzzwords for most women.

Guys will notice it a lot in their bellies, which always tends to be one  of the problem areas for men.  Men tend to get jiggly here, and they tend to retain water there and in their love handle region, on the sides of the belly, when they retain lots of water from consuming too much salt or not working out enough and sweating.

Working out and moving, and doing intense cardio, not only helps you keep water weight at bay, but it also keeps your circulation going, which can help with everything from cellulite to water retention.  The cellulite reduction part is obviously very appealing to women. 90% of women (at least) admit to having cellulite.

I am constantly on my husband about stretching before and after he works out. He never does it, and always wonders why he easily gets injured. While I can get him to do it occasionally, he stubbornly believes that he doesn’t need to stretch before he exercises, especially if he’s just weight lifting.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. You should always warm your body up before you work out, no matter what kind of workout you’re doing. Think of your muscles as a rubber band. If you warm a rubber band up, it would be less likely to snap and break or tear because you’ve warmed it by stretching it out, making it more pliable and less brittle.

Your muscles are really no different. They need to be warmed up, stretched out, and made more pliable by physically warming them up. Why do you think so many people get injured when they’re moving heavy furniture, or doing things where they would not normally warm their bodies beforehand?

It’s because they haven’t warmed that muscle yet, and go right into using it when it’s still in a sort of dormant, brittle state.  This is how you get muscle tears, pulls and over extensions.  I’ve done it myself, and guess what? It was always when I knew I had not adequately stretched my muscles and gotten them warmed up!

It’s especially easy to do it when you haven’t been as active in a while. Doctors see an influx in patients with injuries in the spring time. People tend to over do it in the spring because they’ve been couped up all winter long, and tend to get outdoors and go overboard, or go overboard with their other exercises in the spring time .

That spring fever hits, and you forget that your body isn’t adequately prepared to be vigorously worked any more.  It’s especially important when your body isn’t used to physical activity, to make sure that you feel those muscles are “warm” before attempting anything like running or jogging, or doing any type of vigorous, high impact working out.

Dynamic stretching, which is light jogging in place, or moving one part of the body like the arms, to warm up the muscles and get the blood pumping to the muscles so they can become warmer, is very good for any type of workout. In fact, dynamic stretching should be done before working out, not static stretching, which should only be reserved for after the workout.

So I just had my first opportunity to really get ou tand about in the yard and do some yard work. It was a perfect day to do it. At first I thought it was a bit chillier than I would have wanted but once I got going and got my heart pumping and circulation going and started to really work, I was glad it was only about 55 degrees!

I also like the fact that it is before it starts to get all buggy outside. The bugs always bother me when I’m gardening, and it’s definitely one of the reasons I don’t like doing that “yucky” work when it’s eighty degrees or higher outside.  Although I will say you get more of a sweat and probably a better workout when it’s hot outside.

What I did today was mulch three large garden beds. Before I could actually spread the mulch though, I had to clean the beds out. There was a lot of debris in the way of dead branches, leaves and other things leftover from last fall and more. That in itself is a lot of work.

There is a lot of lifting, bending and walking with heavy items and wheel barrows when you mulch, especially when you live on a really graded piece of land like we do.  First, I had to hoist bags of mulch that weighed about fifty pounds each into the wheel barrow, then wheel them down fifty feet or more to the garden beds, then I had to spread the mulch shovel full by shovel full.

I was beat!  I’m hoping I really burned a lot of calories because I feel famished and I also feel like I could take a nap after the four hours outdoors!  Welcome SPRING!!! I’m so glad you’re here. It was great to get outside and get a natural workout with some cardio and muscle work in and also feel a huge sense of accomplishment when I’m done.

I will say, there is nothing more peaceful that yard work once you get into it, and the feeling of gratification knowing that you did something to make your yard look beautiful is really the best part.  Oh, and the calories burned and muscles worked. Except now I think I may need an Aleve for my back

You’ve seen a lot of the sports drinks that are sold as a good electrolyte booster, and replenishing aid to help you re energize yourself during and after a workout, and help to balance those electrolytes that are lost in the sweat your produce when working out.

I know that I will occasionally buy some Gatorade for my husband when he is sick, because he says that is the only drink that makes him feel better. However, I know that it’s a terrible idea to actually use them after working out, or even before. 

The majority of the composition of your typical energy drink or sports drink is really sugar, when you get down to the nitty gritty.  Because of this, you are actually pushing your body to NOT produce HGH, which is Human Growth Hormone.

Human Growth Hormone helps your body to produce lean muscle and helps the body to get rid of body fat, among other things.

When you put sugar or carbs into your body either during or right after a workout, you actually shut the HGH production off, and you stop producing it when it’s at peak production time, which is when the body is recovering from a rigorous workout.

It is recommended that you actually don’t drink or eat anything containing sugar or carbs for about one hour before working out, and for as long as you can stand it, after you work out.  When you do this, you sabotage your body’s own natural abilities to produce HGH, especially after you’ve stopped producing a lot.

As we age, our bodies slow way down on the HGH production, so we need as much help as we can get in this aspect of our declining youth hormones as we age. Working out and getting great, complete sleep are two of the best ways we can cump up our HGH naturally.

Taking HGH supplements also helps, but nothing can substitute the lifestyle habits that help to increase its production naturally.