Women’s fitness – Beth Burns Fitness

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Is more cardio the answer to your fat loss problems?

March 25, 2016/in Fitness /by Beth Burns

“I think I just need to up my cardio.”

I’ve been hearing this a lot lately, usually in the context of someone who’s frustrated with their progress. Honestly, I cringe a little every time I hear someone say this.

As a personal trainer, who loves to be active and to sweat, I get it. Fitness feels more doable, more enjoyable than changing my nutrition habits. Plus, I know how to do it and I know how to teach it. This was my thought process for many years, but eventually, I could deny it no longer. Exercise alone wasn’t helping my people reach their fat loss goals.

In fact, increasing cardio often times increases hunger and cravings! So you eat more, then you feel like you need to exercise more and it becomes a rather unhealthy cycle.

That’s why I cringe every time I hear a client mention it. That’s why I’m writing this blog. Because I spent years on a literal (and metaphorical) hamster wheel and I know how frustrating it is to be putting in the work and not seeing the results.

So here it is friends: if you really want sustainable results, then you need to accept that it’s going to take a different kind of work. Work that starts with getting to know yourself a little better, recognizing your inner dialogue, and figuring out why you think and do the things you do. Work that starts with changing the way you think about yourself, about health, and about food and fitness.

Trust me, I spent years trying to just up my cardio or get myself on a strict eating plan. My body became addicted to adrenalin and cortisol from high intensity workouts six days a week, which sent my hormones into a tailspin, and I was either binging or depriving myself around food. It wasn’t until I stopped making fat loss and my looks my one and only priority that I was able to make real progress and find balance and joy in a healthy lifestyle.

So no, cardio alone will not help you lose fat. However, adding more movement into your daily life absolutely can have all kinds of positive effects that get the ball rolling into more positive changes.

So if cardio does this for you, then by all means, add some more cardio into your life! Do it for the way it makes you feel. Do it because your body is worth treating with kindness and respect.

CHANGE TAKES TIME. Pursue health and wellness in your body and mind and fat loss will eventually ensue.

How-to: Turkish Get Up

July 17, 2015/in Fitness /by Beth Burns

I consistently get asked how to do the turkish get up, so for those who have asked, today is your lucky day!

The turkish get up has got to be in the top 5 most awesome kettlebell exercises, but I will caution you, this move is sneakily hard and will show you where your weaknesses are. It is excellent for improving your shoulder stabilization, balance, coordination, whole body stability, posture, and pretty much works all of the major muscle groups as well. The reason I most love the get up is because it works the body in two vital skills: working the upper and lower body together as one unit and getting up off the ground.

It requires a high level of skill, so I almost always put them at the beginning of the workout while the body is still fresh. Plus it’ll get the entire body warm and ready for the rest of the workout.

Before I get into the video, here are a few reminders:

*The get up is not something you can just rush through mindlessly, so take your time and ease yourself into it. (Especially when you are first learning!)

*There are 4 positions in the get up: laying down, sitting, kneeling, and standing. At first it can seem like a lot, so the trick is to take it one at a time and just focus on getting to the next position.

*Since you are going to be holding a weight directly over your head and face the whole time, start with no weight until you feel comfortable with the movement patterns! Try to make the movement as smooth as possible.

*Keep your eyes on the weight, your elbow locked, and your arm pointed at the ceiling at all times. If you can’t keep your elbow locked the whole time, move to lighter bell.

Helpful Tips for getting to each position:

Sitting

This is not a sit up! Use your foot to push yourself over onto your side while at the same time, driving your elbow into the ground and punching your raised hand up toward the ceiling.

Kneeling

The bridge is to create enough space to pull your free leg back through into a kneeling position. One thing that can help is adjusting where your hand is. It helps for it to be a little bit outside and behind your bum. (see video)

**Keep your eyes on the bell during this!**

Standing

Make sure you’re using a weight where you can lunge up without bending your arm. From kneeling, curl the toes of your back foot under and, pushing through both feet, lunge up into standing position.

Now go get it…or shall I say, GET UP! 😀

If you guys enjoyed this tutorial and want more, let me know over on my Facebook page!

Lies that keep us unhealthy and unhappy (part 2)

May 13, 2015/in Fitness, Mindset /by Beth Burns

In part 1, I discussed a few popular misconceptions that I believe have really hindered folks in actually achieving their health and fitness goals. Believe it or not, I thought of a few more 😉 So here are 3 more lies that keep people frustrated and unhealthy.

Lie #5. Eating protein will make you bulk up.

Protein is a macronutrient which means it’s essential for life and growth and it’s needed in larger quantities than most other nutrients. Protein aides in just about every metabolic function in the body and promotes a healthy immune system. It also takes more time and energy to digest, helping you feel full for longer!

Moreover, most weight loss is a combination of losing fat and muscle. Since most people don’t want to be soft and weak, the goal is to lose fat while maintaining as much strength (and muscle) as possible. Protein helps your body hold onto the muscle so that you end up with a tighter, leaner bod. It also helps fuel your muscles during a workout, so if you’re looking for a way to feel more energetic during your workouts, make sure you are getting enough protein.

Protein also happens to be sorely lacking in most American diets.

For all of these reasons, you’re probably used to hearing every fitness pro consistently bring up protein. HOWEVER, protein by itself is not some insta-bodybuilder nutrient. Eating too much protein will not make you bulk up (unless you mean gain fat, in which case, eating too much of any macronutrient can make you gain). For fat loss and a healthy lifestyle, there still needs to be a balance of macronutrients and you will still need to perform muscle-promoting exercise in order to maintain (or increase) strength and definition.

Lie #6. Running is a great way to lose weight

Some people will lose weight while running. However, for the most part, long distance endurance-style running is not great for fat loss. In fact, many runners will actually notice that they tend to get a little softer when focusing solely on endurance running. There are 2 big reasons why this happens:

1) Your body adapts quickly to doing the same things over and over. The only way to vary your running is by changing the speed, which most people don’t do. So over time, even if you’re running longer distances you will burn less calories even while doing more work!!

2) The other reason is too much time in the “fat burning zone”. Sounds like a good thing, right? The only problem with this is that when you make fat a primary source of energy, your body is smart enough to realize that it’s burning through a lot of fat and will start storing it so that it has enough for the next run.

Truth: If you’re looking to lose fat, stay away from a long, slow, steady-state running. You need to be switching up the intensity levels with things like intervals, sprints, and ideally, some strength training. For more ideas on how to do this, go here or here. 😉

Lie #7. Strength training is just for building muscle (and will, therefore, make you bulky)

Here’s the deal, unless you want to look like a skeleton, you will have some combination of muscle and fat on your body. That’s normal and healthy! 😉 So obviously, we want more muscle and less fat….or at least, that’s what I always thought. Let me explain…

Since your body works on a “use it or lose it”-type of system, strength training is meant to improve your strength so that your muscles continue to work for you and you continue to have the ability to do the things you want to do. This makes sense right? We like to be able to go up the stairs without feeling like we’re gonna have a heart attack.

Yes, strength training can help one increase muscle mass. I’ve written about this already here and here and here, so I’m not going to go into why it’s really hard for women to “bulk up” from strength training. But what I’m amazed at is how quickly and how often the term “bulky” still gets thrown around with such disgust and fear. “I don’t want to get bulky,” or “Careful, you don’t want to get too bulky”.

As a culture, we have gotten so far away from what health actually is that I’m not sure we’d recognize it if it came up and smacked us in the face. With the emphasis on size above all else, we are quick to think of “bulk” as the ultimate evil. As if the worst possible thing would be to be a little bit bigger or a little more defined than the media has determined is suitable for women. Forget if I’m strong or healthy, gotta fit into that size 2 if I want to be considered beautiful/healthy/feminine/worthy. What’s sad to me is that we have become so obsessed with size that most women really would rather be skinny and weak than have a little definition and be stronger.

I get that everybody is entitled to their own definition of beauty, (I myself admit that I’ve had a lot of time to work through my own process with this whole idea) but this just does not sit right with me.

The thing is….there is beauty in strength, in training your body and your mind to be strong and resilient, in discipline, in confidence, in taking care of yourself, and in being able & capable of doing the things you want or need to do.

Whether we want to believe it or not, we are all products of our culture. I’m not saying that you have to like the look of women with definition. What I am suggesting is that we all think twice before throwing around the word bulky. There are a lot worse things than being muscular!! And strong is beautiful, too. 😀

Loving your body while wanting to change it

February 10, 2015/5,407 Comments/in Mindset /by Beth Burns

The other day I was looking through old pictures and was reminded of the ever so common experience that I’m sure many, if not all, of us have had. You know the one where you’re looking at pictures of yourself from back in the day and think, “I can’t believe I didn’t like my body back then,” or “I can’t believe I thought I was fat there!” This is usually closely followed by: “What I wouldn’t give to look like that now.”Ah yes, this experience is not limited to those who are overweight. I have been guilty of this many a time. In college, I yearned after my high school body. A few years after that, I was yearning after my college body. Until one day it hit me: if I continue to do this, someday I’d be looking back and wishing I had this current body.

I remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, that’s so insightful! Yes, I have to get off this crazy cycle and just love and enjoy my body RIGHT NOW.” The only problem is that’s a lot easier said than done. As much as I tried, all I could seem to focus on were the flaws and imperfections in my current body. I started to wonder: is it even possible to love and accept my body as is and want to change it at the same time?

I absolutely believe it IS possible! Not only possible, but pretty important for balance in your mind, body, and spirit.

Feeling pretty skeptical right about now?? Hang with me….

Let me start with this analogy: I love my life right now. I’m happily married and I have the freedom to focus on going after my dreams. It’s pretty great. However, as much as I love this phase of life, I don’t want to stay here forever. I hope for change in the future and I’m even doing things that are hopefully moving me toward that change. There are days where I do great and there are days where I totally fail in this pursuit. (As a former professional procrastinator, I’m working on my time management skills but they still leave a lot to be desired.) Back in my perfectionist days, every bad day would lead to a downward spiral of self-loathing and all the reasons why I can’t do it.

Now, since putting away all of the BS that is perfectionism ;), a bad day is simply feedback that allows me to re-evaluate and figure out if there’s anything I could change in order to help myself out.

Now let me explain how I got to a better place of loving and accepting my body….

Where do you hang your identity

First, I was able to get to this place by realizing that my job and my success do not define me. In the same way, I can love my body while taking steps to change it.

After all, my body is what houses my soul, my brain, my heart, my personality – all the things that make me me. The shape of it does not determine any of these things. Just like a good book, the best thing about it is not in the exterior at all. My body does not define me and changing it won’t make me more or less worthy of love.

The more I believe this, the easier it becomes to love and accept my body…for the amazing creation that it is and for the life that it provides and for everything it allows me to do each day. The more I hang my identity here, the harder it will be to accept my body as is. The more I base my love for my body on my performance and results, the harsher I will be.

Fighting the urge to compare

Comparison is a heavy burden to place on yourself. It will do nothing but enslave you.

In this auto-tuned, photo-shopped, and social media-driven culture we live in, I think we’ve become obsessed with perfection. It’s doesn’t matter how often we tell ourselves that it’s an illusion, it’s still hard not to compare. Fight this by finding what triggers discontentment and comparison in you and take the necessary steps to help yourself out. Maybe just awareness is enough or maybe it means unplugging more often or switching out your magazines for a book. I don’t know what it’ll look like for you, but it’ll be worth it. I can promise you that.

There is no one alive that is youer than you. That’s pretty cool! No need to worry over being authentic! Be you and you will be.

Ending negative self talk

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” ~Ephesians 4:29

OK, let’s be honest. How many of you have read that verse before and ever thought about the words you say to yourself? I hadn’t.

“So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” ~James 3:5

Our words are powerful and yet, most of us don’t think twice about how we talk to ourselves. Just because no one else hears it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be mindful of the words you say to yourself. Especially when you realize that you are in your own head all the time. So naturally, you’re much more prone to believe the things you say to yourself over what anyone else says to us. So next time you’re looking in the mirror, remember:

“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” ~Proverbs 16:24

So why is it so important to start loving your body now?

Because when you love it, you want to take the time to listen to it, honor it, and care for it.

I was recently reading something from fitness blogger Neghar Fonooni and this quote especially stuck out to me:

“The hard part is separating the different stages of my physique from my feelings of self-worth. The hard part is finding the courage to be fully authentic, to live in my skin with a sense of freedom and ease–to understand and accept, every single day, that I will not suddenly be more worthy of love and acceptance if I lose 10 pounds.”

It is hard. SO hard sometimes. So start small….next time you look through old pictures or look in the mirror, be thankful for the body that holds the beautiful story that is you and be kind to it. This is where it starts.

Are you actually bulking up??

January 28, 2015/46 Comments/in Fitness /by Beth Burns

I was wondering if you would be able to provide some input for me about weight training. It seems like every time I try to incorporate weight training into my workout routine, although I do notice an increase in muscle tone, it also seems like my “fluffy” areas (inner/outer thighs, butt, and abs) just seem to get bulkier UNDER the unwanted layer of padding! I’ve read a lot about how important it is for women to weight train, and that it actually provides a better, more effective fat burn than long periods of cardio – and that all makes sense. I’m really just wondering how long it takes to realistically expect to see fatty areas start becoming noticeably less fluffy? I’ve only been working with weights for 4-6 weeks now, so I’m trying to be realistic and stay motivated – but I guess I’m wondering if there’s some pivotal point where the results start to feel and look less bulky and start to look more lean? ~Aimee P.

Thanks for the question Aimee! I hear these concerns a lot, so I felt like it was time to address it. Honestly, I usually just encourage my clients to keep lifting while focusing on their nutritional changes because I know that if they do that it’ll all work itself out. But I thought I’d get a little more in depth today, in the hopes that by giving you a better understanding of what’s actually going on, it’ll become a little less stressful and scary and allow you to relax and trust the process a little more.

SO, you start strength training and all of the sudden it feels like your jeans are getting tighter and you fear you’re already starting to pack on the muscle. While it actually might not be all in your head, it’s probably not what you think it is either! So here’s the skinny (pun intended 😉 )…..

In the beginning, strength training can cause your muscles to temporarily retain water. When you’re brand new to lifting or getting back into it after a break, it’s a new kind of stress especially for your muscles. (Hopefully you have a great trainer who understands this and therefore, eases you into it as much as possible!) Anyways, due to this, your muscles will retain water in order to relieve inflammation in the muscles’ soft tissues. 4-6 week into training, this retention is most likely what’s making you feel puffy. However, this will not last forever. As your muscles adjust to the stress, they will shed that excess water.

As you continue strength training however, your muscles will begin to change. When not in use, muscles become small, weak, and limp. In this state, kind of like fat, they are going to easily conform to your jeans or move around that tight bra strap as necessary. Now, all of the sudden, they start taking on a shape of their own. A firmer shape that instead of simply conforming is actually starting to push back now! So while those jeans that used to fit around your butt perfectly might not actually be the perfect jeans anymore, this is a good thing! It means the muscle in your butt is becoming tighter and more shapely. As you lose fat and tone up, you’re gonna have to buy new jeans anyways! 🙂

On top of this, quite literally, is the fat we haven’t lost yet. As your muscles start to tone up, that fat might also readjust, making certain areas appear even more lumpy than usual! It is an unfortunate side effect but if you can push through, this too shall pass.

Here are some important things to keep in mind:

*Most importantly, remember that we tend to scrutinize our bodies on a level that not even our significant other does! Most of these changes that are glaringly noticeable to you, are NOT noticeable to those around you.

*The best way to make sure you’re losing fat as you tone up is to also be changing your eating habits as well. However, if you’re taking my advice 😉 and easing into better, more sustainable, nutritional habits, then this may be an issue for a few months. Remember, it took you a while to get to where you are. It’s going to take time to get where you want to be.

*Yes, there are some women with the genetics to build muscle easier. I am one of them. However, the ones that can build a significant amount are rare. So I want to encourage you to keep going! It might take some time for your muscles to settle in a bit. And if you ever come to a point where you are honestly putting on more muscle than you prefer, there are simple ways to reverse that. (And no, it’s not just to stop lifting! 😉 )

*Be willing to give it a solid 6 months. There’s a reason weight lifting is becoming a trend with women, from celebrities to former “cardio queens” to those just getting started. It’s such a breath of fresh air to focus on what your body can do instead of just what it looks like. Chances are you’ll find out that you’re a lot stronger than you ever thought possible, you’ll start getting definition where you never thought possible, and you’ll realize that being strong feels even more amazing than you ever thought possible.

You will become smaller, but you’ll become mightier too. ~Jen Sinkler on weight lifting

I know that the idea of making things “worse”, even if just for a season, is hard to stomach. But the answer to your question Aimee is yes! For those that hang in there, you will come out the other side with a stronger, more sculpted, figure to show for it! And that’s just one of the reasons that make strength training a worthwhile endeavor!

Do you have the Courage to Do Less? (Part 1)

October 8, 2014/6,897 Comments/in Fitness, Lifestyle, Mindset /by Beth Burns

We live in a world that celebrates work and activity, ignores renewal and recovery, and fails to recognize that both are necessary for sustained high performance.*

The other day, I was giving my marathon-running friend a hard time because she was complaining about how hard it is to taper off her running in preparation for an upcoming race. My other friend then commented on how funny it is that I’m the fitness person and yet here I am, encouraging her to enjoy it, to sit on the couch and relax a little more! But this is what most of us think, right? That fitness-junkies and personal trainers are all about this:

For the most part, it’s true. In fact, health and fitness isn’t the only realm in which we hold to this ridiculous type of mindset. This was my own mindset for a long time….

I used to feel guilty about relaxing. I lived on as little sleep as possible, which usually meant 4-6 hours for me. I thought walking, or anything else that didn’t feel challenging, was a waste of time. I thought, along with most Americans, that there was a certain nobility in being busy all the time. To the point where I was even embarrassed if I didn’t have a list of stuff I’d done over the weekend. I pretty much lived in a constant state of anxiety.

I’m not trying to be dramatic. I’ve never had anxiety attacks or needed medication. It was more of an inner struggle, but unfortunately it still caused a whole host of issues for me. My hormones got completely out of whack and I got sick easily. I never listened to my body so my joints ached and I dealt with a lot of injuries. Then, my body just literally started forcing me to rest more. I couldn’t read or watch movies without falling asleep. My progress, both in and out of the gym, plateaued. When I got sick, it took a lot longer for me to recover than it should have. I was a bit of a hot mess. 🙂

So why I am sharing these experiences with you? Because quite honestly, I’ve had enough of it and I want this kind of mentality gone. We’ve got enough imbalance, stress, and guilt to deal with.

Being fit is not about who can do the most or go the longest or endure the most pain. Ignoring pain signals, working out when you’re really sick or already exhausted, making yourself vomit or super sore on a regular basis… these things are not healthy. The all-or-nothing attitude is what leads to burnout, injury, or not even beginning in the first place!

When I started prioritizing rest and allowing myself to rest more, what do you know, I actually became less anxious and more productive! It was like a weight was lifted off of my chest (which probably seems counter-intuitive: most of us seem to think that if we’re resting more, we will be getting less done).

Let’s get away from go hard or go home, perfection or nothing! True health is not found in the person who needs the least amount of rest, but in the person who has found the perfect balance of work to rest. As Dan John puts it: You have to have the courage to do less.

Do you?

Next time, we’ll go over some practical ideas for what this looks like so stay tuned for Part 2! But for now I’ll leave you with this one final quote:

“The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, to be unable to find time for the sunset (or even to know the sun has set at all), to whiz through our obligations without time for a mindful breath, this has become the model of a successful life. (W. Muller)

We have lost connection to the simple but profound message of the Twenty-third Psalm: “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” *

*All quotes from: The Power of Full Engagement by Loehr and Schwartz. I highly recommend. 😉

How much cardio should I do?

September 24, 2014/2,695 Comments/in Fitness /by Beth Burns

Another email question from a reader:

Hey Beth! Are there benefits to doing both short high intensity workouts, then slower longer intensity workouts? Or alternating every day? My main goal would be to get leaner and stronger. I guess I’m wondering if there’s any point to doing longer cardio sessions if they’re not doing me any better (calorie-wise) than 15-30 minute intervals?

Ah yes. I get this question ALL the time. Especially since it’s become a pretty hot topic in the last few years. With all the hoopla, I get how you could feel confused about how much and what kind of cardio you should be doing. Believe me, I get it. Back in college, I too was a cardio queen. I ran 6 days a week religiously. So when I was first introduced to the concept of intervals, I was pretty hesitant to give up my steady-state cardio!!

So allow me to break it down for ya, short and sweet, right here, right now….

Reasons to do steady-state cardio

1) You simply enjoy it. It’s true , there really are people out there that do! (Just kidding…sort of. 😉 ) Seriously though, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: THE best way to stay motivated and consistent is to do what you love.

2) Stress management – The answer to your first question is, yes, there are some benefits to steady-state cardio! Getting outside, alone with your thoughts, and sweating it out can definitely relieve stress. But again, ONLY if you enjoy it! If you despise it and only do it because you think you have to then it’s likely to make you more stressed out instead of less.

Reasons NOT to do steady-state cardio

1) Joint health – High impact, repetitive movements wear down your joints big time. Especially if you’re overweight! If you want to be a runner, prepare your body for it first by strengthening the leg and core muscles and losing weight. If you are a runner, give your body a break and switch it up some!

2) To counteract overeating – Honestly steady-state cardio just doesn’t burn that many calories. So if you think you can throw down a crap ton of pizza and then go run or ‘elliptical’ it off, you are sorely mistaken…no matter how long you go. Calorie burning pretty much stops the minute you stop. With intervals, you will increase your calorie burn for the next 24 hours! That means a MUCH higher amount of calories burned.

3) To lose weight – The reason steady-state cardio has been getting such a bad rap lately is because we have found a better way for people to lose weight and get in shape and yet most people still try to run it off. Yes, you can lose fat by running. Unfortunately the longer you go, the more efficient your body becomes and the less calories you will burn running the same amount!

4) To tone up – If you’re looking to tone up your legs, your best option is getting in the weight room! Period. If you’re looking to tone up your arms, best option is to pick up some heavy stuff. Want to lift and tone your butt? Squats, Deadlifts, lunges, swings, is where it’s at. You get the idea…. 🙂

So is there any point in doing longer cardio sessions instead of intervals?

The answer is no, you do not need to do any steady-state cardio in order to get leaner and stronger. While managing stress is, I think, essential for fat loss and overall health, there are many ways to do that.

So how much cardio should you do?

Basically you’re looking for the minimum effective dosage. I’ve yet to have a client who needed to do any steady-state cardio to reach their fat loss goals. If you are my client and your #1 goal is fat loss and/or strength, then here’s what your priorities are gonna look like:

#1. Nutrition
#2. Lifting
#3. Intervals
#4. Steady-state cardio

**Learn to train smarter, not harder, and you can most likely get away with just 1-2 interval sessions a week and zero steady-state cardio. Woo hoo!

So what can I do if I love to run, but would still like to get leaner and stronger?

The good news is there is a way! They’re called sprints!

Sprints are basically the best of both worlds as they are, in fact, just running intervals! So here are three of my favorite ways to do sprints:

Hill sprints – Find a hill, sprint up it, walk down it, repeat for 5-15 reps. 🙂
Rest-based sprints – Got this from Jill Coleman and I love it. Sprint for 30 seconds, rest as long as you need. Sprint 45 seconds, rest as long as you need. Sprint 60 seconds, rest as long as you need. Repeat as many times as you can in 20 minutes.
Sports/Games – basketball, soccer, football, ultimate frisbee, red rover….need I go on? 😉

For those who are NOT interested in running, I give you this little number:

*By the way, this is a pretty intense interval workout. If you are a beginner, you might want to cut it back to 2-3 rounds to start!

One last note and then I will be done. I think most of us think of lifting for building muscle and cardio for burning fat. This is quite over simplified and just not true. You’d be much better off taking all that time and energy you’re putting into your cardio sessions and put that into improving your diet instead.

If you have to do cardio, what’s your favorite way to get it done? Share below!

The Best Fat Burning Workouts

August 27, 2014/8,420 Comments/in Fitness /by Beth Burns

I say all the time on facebook that movement is life. Your body was made to move and it loves to move. Which is why I’m always telling people that sitting for long periods of time is one of the hardest things for it!! When it comes to the human body, it really is a “move it or lose it” type situation. So I encourage everyone to simply MOVE MORE. More movement is always better than no movement….no matter what kind of movement it is. (Have I said the word move enough yet? 🙂 )

I’m also a big fan of finding things you ENJOY doing for movement/exercise (however you want to look at it). 🙂 So for those who are still trying to find something they enjoy doing, I thought I’d list a few of the best workouts that provide both a slimming and toning effect at the same time!

1) Best Cardio Group Ex Class – Spinning

Spinning is an great way to get your intervals in! It’s really good for slimming but not as awesome for toning…except for dem quadz. 😉

2) Best Group Ex Class – Kickboxing

Not only is this a great way to blow off some steam, but kick boxing will have your lunges burning and your muscles aching. Not to mention, using so many muscle groups simultaneously burns major amounts of calories, boosts your metabolism, and will both burn fat and build muscle tone.

3) Best Gym Workout – Combination exercises

Combination exercises work multiple muscle groups at the same time, which in turn also gets the cardiovascular system rocking as well! Check out the video below for a few example of this. You can also achieve a similar effect by doing multiple exercises back-to-back with little or no rest. This kind of workout will increase your metabolism by working multiple systems at once which leads to a definite slimming and toning effect.

4) Best At-Home Workout – Body Weight Circuits

You’d be surprised how sore you can get from using just your body weight. Not that soreness is a great indicator of effectiveness, but in this case body weight exercises are extremely effective. Between the internet and some pretty creative people, there are now progressions out the wazoo for beginners and advanced fitness junkies alike. Anyone can get a great workout with no equipment at all!

5) Best At-Home Cardio Workout- Sprinting

While sprinting is not appropriate for everyone, it is one of the best ways I’ve found to break through plateaus. Sure, it requires maximum effort but with minimum time commitment and no equipment! It’s a fantastic ab workout. It will send your metabolism through the roof. AND it offers tons of variety! (examples being hills, timed, distance, various sports, etc.)

Hill sprints also gives the dogs a good workout as well :)

Hill sprints with the fam 🙂

6) Best Recovery Workout – Walking

It’s the most basic and fundamental movement of the body.

In normal workouts, you’re lifting and twisting and really pushing your lungs and your muscles. To balance that out, you want movement that restores and rejuvenates your mind & body – like walking. Whether it’s in the mountains or around your neighborhood, walking is excellent for hormone balance and stress management and should really be viewed as more of a necessity than an occasional light workout option. (If you’re interested, I go into a little more depth on this over here.)

7) Best Feel-like-a-kid-again Workout :

*Low Impact – Bike Riding

*High Impact – Tie between Sports & Jump Rope

Yep, all of these exercises will make you feel like a kid again….except you’ll remember it being a lot easier back then! 😉

8) Best All Around Workout – Kettlebells

Come ooon, ya had to know I would end here. 🙂 There’s a reason I decided to invest some serious money and start my own kettlebell classes – because I find them to be the most efficient and enjoyable way to workout! They are low impact. They don’t take up much space. They teach you how to move better. They are extremely versatile and offer a total body workout with minimum time commitment. Plus, they’re just fun! 😀 If you’re interested in learning more, here are some more on the whys and hows.

**Ultimately, the best workout is the one you enjoy! If you don’t enjoy it, you’ll never stick with it and consistency is key to making it part of your lifestyle!

Think I missed something? Share your favorite way to sweat over on my facebook page!

*If you’re interested in learning how to use kettlebells and live in the Colorado Springs area, check out Springs Kettlebells!!