I’ve noticed lately (more than usual anyways) that folks are either extremely dedicated to working out or they have no interest in it all.  There are still a good number of folks that exercise here and there, but not with much consistency.  I know I’ve been talking a lot about consistency lately, but it’s really key to seeing results and maintaining them.

In fact, during a yoga class I took this evening, my instructor pointed out that doing even just a little bit of work each day is far better than doing one marathon session a week.

Yes!  She gets it!!

Earlier in the day I also drove past a car with a bumper sticker that read, “Children learn what they live.”  Which brings me to the main part of my post.  Why do you workout?

I personally workout so that I am healthier and have less of the common disease and disorder found in the sedentary population.  I also workout to keep my body strong so that I’m able to do a good number of daily tasks on my own.  This is the short version of course, and I’d be more than happy to expand at a later date in the future.

If I had kids, I’d work out just to keep them active, not sitting in front of the television, not spaced out on some new game system, but to show them the fun behind working out and all the creative things you can do to be active.

So, why do you workout?

Tags: exercise, womens fitness by Pamela
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Last week I talked about motivation, or MOT.i.v.a.t.i.o.n. to be more exact.  The basic concept of that post was to help you realize that you need to find that thing that gets you moving, the reason why you want to lose weight or get stronger, keeping in mind that anything you had previously and lost, you didn’t lose over night.

So what’s next?  Hopefully you left a comment on the last post and let us all know what your goals are moving forward.  Your specific goals, the ones you want to achieve and are so serious about them that you’ve posted them on this page  and you will succeed in reaching them!

Back to what’s next…take ACTION.

Post this somewhere you can see it everyday, at least 10 times a day, and remember that actions you will be putting in place.

Set up a plan to get your goals in motion.  Hold yourself accountable, and if you don’t have a local friend or family member that will do that for you, use this site.

Do your goals mean that you will exercise a minimum of four times a week?

Do your goals mean that you will watch your nutrition and be mindful of the foods you chose to consume?

Do your goals reflect a lifestyle change that you will embrace moving forward?

Tell us what your next step is, and let me know if you need and help along the way.

Tags: exercise, fitness philadelphia by Pamela
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My three favorite kettlebell exercises are Turkish get-ups, windmills, and single leg deadlifts. The video above combines two of my favorite kettlebell exercises with push ups.

The idea behind this workout is for a focus on strength. The turkish get up and the single leg deadlift should both be performed slowly and under control. For each kettlebell exercise chose a weight that allows you to work hard, but not go to failure.

When you get to your push ups, I like to do my push ups with my elbows tight to my torso. They are a little harder to do this way, but make for a much stronger push up.

The full workout:

3/3 Turkish Get Ups
5/5 Single Leg Deadlifts
10 Push Ups

Based on the amount of time you have to workout and your fitness ability, try completing between 4-6 rounds.

Tags: exercise by Pamela
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One of the best nutrition sayings I ever heard was,

“You can’t out-train a shitty diet.”

Sounds pretty harsh right up front, but the statement couldn’t be more true. You can workout daily, several times a day in fact, but if you don’t eat well, it will eventually catch up with you. In multiple ways nonetheless.

There are a few scenarios here…

First – What if you aren’t interested in losing body fat? You’re already lean and you workout because you like to.

If this is you, that’s great! If I never had to worry about my figure I think I’d be elated. Even if this were true there comes a point in time when you have to start concerning yourself with the types of food you fuel your body with. If you chose better food options your training will also improve.

Second – What if you’re content with the way you look for the most part, but you wouldn’t mind losing about 5lbs?

If you start a consistent exercise program you will start to see changes in the way you look, maybe not the scale exactly, but your shape will start to change. After several weeks of sticking to your program you will have to start paying attention to what you eat. Similar to the first scenario, what you put in is what you get out. If you eat pizza several times a week and sandwiched for lunch, soon you’ll be competing with your exercise program.

Third – You’ve never really worked out, you’ve never really followed a good nutrition program.

This is sometimes the best, but can also be the hardest place to be in. If you’ve never worked out or paid much attention to your nutrition, the initial changes you will make will seem like miracles! I’m not saying that you won’t be working hard, but this is the first time in your life that you are making positive changes. You will need to continue to make changes in both your workouts, either the number of times per week or the intensity, and constant improvements with your nutrition.

My long winded rant is because of this.

Nutrition plays an equally important role in any sports performance training program.

Nutrition plays an equally important role in any weight loss program.

Nutrition plays an important role in life.

After all, you can’t out train a shitty diet.

Tags: exercise by Pamela
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The other day I was on the phone with the customer service department for either a utility company or a credit card, I can’t remember. I do remember the conversation I had with the woman on the phone.

I was in my kitchen making a cup of coffee. She asked for some information that I had to look up. I asked her to hold on as I quickly walked up the two flights of stairs to my attic office. She said no problem.

Of course after I gave her the info, she then asked me for more info, this time I had to ask her to hold on as I quickly walked down the same two flights to get back to the piece of paper I left in the kitchen. That’s when I couldn’t believe what she said to me.

“Well at least you’re getting your exercise today.”

Is that really exercise? No

Does she really think that was good exercise? Sadly, probably.

I walk up and down from my attic office to the kitchen more times than I can count in a day. In between all that I also do an actual real workout, one where I sweat and lift weights.

Have we, as a collective whole, really become so sedentary and inactive, that walking up and down two flights of stairs has been classified as exercise?

I almost forgot to mention that my house is set up off the road, so I also have to walk up and down about 15 steps every time I want to leave my house or come home.

Crazy exercise I get with all those stairs!

Tags: exercise, pamela macelree, womens strength training by Pamela
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