Abs, Please! Top 5 Abdominal Exercises

It never fails. We are constantly searching for the quick fix to flat, sexy abs. What’s the Hollywood secret? Well, we know eating clean, metabolism boosting foods, rest & recovery, and hydration have to accompany are hard core, awesome workout! Well I’ve got the 5 exercises you can’t live without …that’s if you want hot, well defined Fit Fem abs. What’s even better, no equipment needed here! Next time you’re at the gym, try these 5 exercises that you absolutely can’t live without.

1. Hanging Knee Raise– Don’t get scared of this one. Here’s what you gotta do. You can either jump up to grip the chin up bar or use a chair whichever is easier. Grip the chin up bar with your palms facing forwards. Exhale as you raise your knees upwards towards your chest in a smooth controlled way to avoid swinging your body. Contract your abs inwards at the top of the motion and hold the position for a few seconds. Inhale as you lower your legs straight down.
2. Decline Crunch– decline sit up board and determination are the only things you need to obtain flat abs. Choose a decline bench to lie down on. Your feet should be higher than your upper body. In a controlled way, pick your shoulder blades off the bench to do a safe crunch without straining your neck. If you feel this is too easy for you, then do a full on sit up….hell if you can handle, add on some weight by holding a weighted plate to your chest.
3. Exercise Ball Crunches–the madness about the exercise ball made it to the 5 exercises you can’t live without list. The crunches made through it relieve the pressure from your back and just focuses on your abdominal muscles. Make sure you sit nice and steady on that exercise ball without losing balance. Then proceed to perform your standard crunch.
4. Bicycle Crunches–its effectiveness is enough to include it in the list of 5 exercises you can’t live without. It is quite tough as it caters to both the upper and lower abs. You extend your one leg and bend the other. You would reach the bent one with your opposite elbow and will do it also on the other side.  Watch out if you take my classes… I usually make my class members perform these for 2 minutes straight!
5. Squatting–you may think that this is a leg exercise but it can also work on the abdominal muscles as it helps in keeping your body safe and straight throughout the exercise; hence, it can be counted as one of the 5 exercises you can’t live without for flat abs. Execute your squats by standing up with feet shoulder width part and toes and knees facing forward. Bend your knees till your hips are comfortably at its lowest position (knees over the ankles, not over the toes) and stand back up until your legs are straight. Squatting can provide resistance to your abdomen, making them work together with your legs.

What’s your top abdominal exercise you so can’t live without?

Keep on rockin’!

Keeping the fun in fitness!

Are You In The 3%?

I’m going to get really serious on you. Let me ask you something - are you in the 3%? Check out this statistic: 97% of you will FAIL. 97 PERCENT, holy smokes!!!  Yes that means that every time you set a goal for yourself, including fitness and weight loss, you are going to fail. That’s a large group of you. And only 3% of you will SUCCEED. Seriously, this is a fact. If you don’t believe me, Google it yourself. 

Ok ok I know, you don’t want to face the facts. But what kind of trainer would I be if I didn’t get YO face!

The Harvard Business School told us that the majority of this world’s population, 97% to be exact, just watches life pass them by.

We passed New Year’s Resolution time, you set goals – you set goals for your relationships, your careers, your love lives, your finances, and of course your fitness!!! Are noticing you are kinda falling of the tracks? I can guarantee a lot of us have already given up.

Here’s what happens - You sign up with your trainer at a gym, or hire me, or you diet and what happens you FAIL like a week later. And then what happens, I have to hear about how miserable you are!

“Why can’t I lose weight?” “It’s no use”, “Whatever I don’t have time”, “I can’t afford it”…BLAH BLAH BLAHHHHH.  OMG if I hear one more time about how you think fitness is expensive, I’m going to have to give ya a whoopin’. What’s expensive are your future medical bills, prescription medications, your weekly your therapy visits because of the depression you have. This is real life! This isn’t a joke!

SO what separates the top 3 from the rest? Well it sure as hell isn’t just about goal setting and taking small action steps, even though it’s a good start. But there are distinguishing SUCCESS factors that the top 3 exhibit. They are:

Drive, hard work, patience, resilience, organization, focus, ambition, accountability & a CAN DO attitude (of course here is where you have to smile).

You see, I really can’t stand 97% –the one who gives me all these excuses!! Nothing ever comes easy, but nothing is impossible. So get what you freakin’ want already! Do me a favor, do NOT be the 97%. I want you to be the top 3!! You deserve to be your own success story. You deserve to love your body, and you deserve to love your life.

What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of posting “non pretty sweaty pictures of yourself”, are you afraid that people will hold you accountable to your goals, are you one of this people that give up so you avoid the challenge together, are you one those people that are weak?  Fear is debilitating.

Here is your homework. In the comments I want you to write this statement: “ I AM IN THE TOP 3%” .  Go ahead, write it - “ I AM IN THE TOP 3%” . And after you write it, I want you to read it aloud 3-4 times. And then I want you to believe it!

I’m so serious about this and so passionate! Please do this homework! Be the success! I’m here for you! I know I just kinda yelled at ya but if I didn’t care this much I wouldn’t be saying this. I love you all and want you to succeed.

Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP??

Keeping the Fun in  Fitness, Syl J

4 Fit Fem Tips To Setting Goals for 2013

New Years is just a few days away and I know that some of you have already thought about your resolutions for 2013.

But here’s what annoys the crap outa me – (disclaimer – I tend to rant, you’ll either love me or hate me for it) – you set your resolutions, ya know, your goals for 2013 but never follow through. And you do this every single, freakin’ year. AHHHH

I can totally predict your resolutions too! “I need to join a gym”, “I need to lose X lbs”, “I need to eat salads more”, BLAH BLAH BLAH. It’s always the same every year. Why? Because you never follow through and that’s the harsh reality. You fail because you rely on will power and you have an all or nothing attitude. And you set unrealistic expectations for yourselves. See, it never works out for you because you use the same methods to set up your goals year in and year out. 

Got a sad face? Because you know what I just told you is TRUTH. How can we turn this around? No fear, this Fit Fem will give you some tips to help you set up your fitness goals.

Exercise your brain first: Prepare your mind for the year to come. Use visualization techniques to help you see the results you want as it is NOW rather than look at your goals as something in the future. When goals are seen as something in the future, it stays in the future and is never accomplished. To be successful, you have to make sure your mind is right. Are you really ready for this?  Is this something that you are willing to commit to? Can you exercise most days of the week and eat right? Yes you can, but if you are not mentally ready or prepared, you will fail. Prepare to fail if you’ve failed to prepare.

Don’t lie to yourself: Be honest and evaluate your past goals and what you were able to accomplish. Take a look at your habits. Did you tend to give up after a week, a month…or have you been consistent in your efforts? Awareness is your best ammunition. Once you know what your bad habits are, and you are completely honest about them, then you can make small changes to help break those bad habits leading to your success in goal competition.

Know what you want, not just what you don’t want: So a lot of us tend to say, “I don’t want to be fat” or “I don’t want to eat like sh*t”. Instead say to yourself, “I love my body enough to create a healthy lifestyle through sound fitness and nutrition. “Ahh doesn’t that sound so much better to you. It’s positive and it’s loving. Choose your words and thoughts wisely when you do set up your goals.  I also like to use Vision Boards, and diaries. Write your goals down and brainstorm what small actions steps you will take. Make them short-term, mini- goals. Your first goal can be 15 pounds and then after that another 15. And if that seems to large of a goal, try " I will replace sugar and creamer in my coffee with Stevia and Almond Milk" for 1 month. You'll see all these little changes you make  add up.

Do it already!  NIKE got it right, yo!!  Don’t just talk about your goals, but live it! Believe in yourself and just do it!

Hope this helped ya’ll out! WHOOP WHOOP!

Keeping the fun in fitness!

Your fit fem personal trainer and expert in women's only fitness, Syl

Three Reasons Why You Are Not Losing Weight

Any female can attest to the countless attempts to weight loss. It happens at some point in our lives- we say, “Oh man, need to just lose these few lbs.”  With your determined by, you give yourself a start date, you still to it for about two days, then five days later you are back to your old ways and bad habits. What happened? Well, these attempts do not make you weak or undetermined.  Let me help you understand why this happens more often than not.

Latest statistics prove that one in three young people begin a “diet” each month, almost half (45% actually) give up after a week and the other half give up on their goals within a month. The study also shows that these people yo-yo diet every six months rather than committing to one plan.

As a fitness professional, I see women struggle to lose weight (at one time I was one of them) and then give up on their goals completely. It happens quite often. Here’s why:

You DIET: You pick some diet, lose weight and then gain it all back. The key to weight loss is not to diet, but to change your lifestyle.  I hate actually the word DIET. I also hate diet pills or any exercise gadget/cream promising you the world of weight loss. You cannot depend on a quick fix! You have to learn how to eat properly and exercise consistently. It takes time but if done the healthy way, the weight loss will  be more likely to kept off for good.

You have an all or nothing attitude: So you worked out like crazy all week, ate right, then went on the scale and lost nothing. Of course you get frustrated but that doesn't mean you should give up. It’s like you are so close but you throw in the towel because of your impatience. Or how about when you diet for so long you’re good streak is over once you give yourself that “cheat meal”? You  end up cheating FOREVER and old habits revert. Weight loss is a journey. It is going to take time. It takes years of bad habits to get the body out of shape, so it will take a great amount of time, dedication, patience, and flexibility to get back in shape. Just hang in there and keep going!

You have no support: Do your family members  always push food on you (a little won't hurt)? It’s all out of love right? Or what about that one friend who is always putting down your efforts? Chances are that’s jealousy seeping. At times it is the company we keep that holds us back from reaching our fitness goals. Whether it's bad habits or negative attitudes, it can stop us from moving forward. So before you start your fitness journey, shed the weight of jerks in your life!

Remember these tips but most importantly don't give up on yourself! You got this! 

Can I get a Whoop Whoop?

Keeping the fun in fitness!

Your fit fem personal trainer and expert in women's only fitness, Syl