Just because the Treat is there, doesn't mean you have to eat it.

Here we are 1 day away from the candy fest of Halloween!  You know you will be surrounded by candy, sweets, cookies and fancy Halloween cocktails.  How can you resist all of this sweet temptation???

First of all, allow yourself  1-2 treats on Halloween.  It's OK, really.  As with everything you eat, moderation is key.  However, just because there's a big bowl of candy and treats in your house, doesn't mean you have to eat it all.  

So, here's a short list of ways to steer away from the treats so you don't go on a candy binge!

1. Give your candy away!  Give them to the local senior center or bring them into your office and leave it all in the break room.  There are some programs that send care packages to soldiers who are serving.  Find where to bring your treats and just get it out of your house. If you have kids, have them pick 10 of their favorites and then donate the rest.  (I know, easier said than done, but your kids may be receptive).

2. Keep drinking your water.  Your daily water intake will help curb your appetite and hopefully prevent you from indulging on the leftover fun size Snickers and M&M's that are still in the plastic pumpkin.

3. Fill up your fruit bowl and put it in plain view on your kitchen table/counter or desk at the office.  Make those fruits totally accessible so you can snack on them instead of sweets.

4. Workout.  I know this is a given, but if you're lounging on the couch staring at all the leftover candy a workout will help curb your appetite.  If it's cold, break out one of your exercise DVDs or find one that's on demand from your cable or satellite provider.

5. After Halloween, put yourself on a quick 7 day "cleanse" of no candy or treats.  It's not a month, so it's totally doable, but it will at least help steer you away from those sweets for a week.  Hopefully by the time you get to the 7th day, you will have already gotten rid of most of the junk that was in the house.

Remember, Halloween is really just the beginning of the holiday party and junk food season, so start good habits now, before you find yourself over indulging from Thanksgiving through the Winter Holidays and all the way into 2013.

Have a great week and hope to see you for a workout soon!

Barb


Group Workouts this week:
Group Circuit Training: Thursday - 10:15am

5 Week Intensive
We're in our last week of the intensive and all participants have made great progress.  We're looking strong and are already talking about scheduling another one.  If you're interested in a 3 week intensive to squeeze in before the end of the year, email me.

1-1 Training
Email me about 1-1 training and get a head start on health and fitness before the holidays.  I have a few spots available on my schedule and would love to build a workout program for you.

Build a Better Cheeseburger

I've had a craving for a Cheeseburger and indulged over the weekend on a quality grass-fed beef burger with blue cheese.  We fired up the BBQ and served it with mustard, romaine lettuce and a tomato on french bread.  Sooo good.  Now, while my burger wasn't exactly the lowest calorie option, I did browse through one of my magazines today and found this Guilt Free Cheeseburger from Health Magazine.  This recipe claims to have "secret" ingredients that help with fat burn.  Love it!  For the vegetarians & pescetarians out there, I LOVE the Trader Joes Veggie Burger, it's moist and tastes great open faced on a slice of toasted wheat bread with a little flavored hummus.    I eat these often for lunch.     Try out this recipe and the TJ's veggie burger and let me know what you think.

Have a great week and hope to see you for a workout soon.

Barb

Group Sessions this week:

Group Circuit, Thursday, 10:15am.  2 person min to run.  Email me to save a spot

5 Week Intensive Continues:
We're in our 3rd week of the intensive and things are getting pretty intense!  Congrats to the group that's made it to week 3.  Looking forward to working out with you all again this week.

1-1 Training Sessions:
Email me for more info about 1-1 training.  I would love to develop a customized workout plan for you.

Don't forget to check out my blog barbfit.blogspot.com for past posts and links to articles about health & fitness.

Commitment, Convenience and Consistency...

...striving for these "3 C's" is just one of  10 Tips for Fall Fitness that I found on WebMD.   Just feeling the air turn a bit colder in the last couple of days has me re-thinking my strategy on how to stay on track.  So, I dusted off one of my groupon deals for a reformer pilates studio and checked my gym's schedule for spinning and indoor pool hours.  Bottom line, you can't allow the changing of seasons to throw you off of your health and fitness regimen.   So if you made it through the 30 day challenge from last month ( I made it to 24 days. Yeah!) then stick with your current routine by making appropriate modifications for the colder, wetter weather and the darker days.   Also check out the article from the link above for more tips on how to stay on track in the Fall.

Have a great week and hope to see you for a workout soon.

Barb

Group Workouts this week:

Thursday, 10:15am Group Circuit
2 person min to run, email me to save a spot, meet at South Park in Hermosa


5 Week Intensive
The 5 Week Intensive continues for week 2.  The intensive is currently closed, but if we have enough interest, I can set up Mini (3 week) prior to the holidays.  Email me for more info.


1-1 Training Sessions
I'm currently studying for a NASM certification to understand more about Fitness Nutrition, and I am looking forward to using that knowledge to help better inform a custom personal training program for you.    So, contact me for more info on how I can help you meet your health and fitness goals via individual training sessions.


Don't forget to check out my blog barbfit.blogspot.com for past posts and links to articles about Health and Fitness.

Stay hydrated during this Indian Summer

For us Californians, we all benefit from great weather during our Indian Summer.  Moreover, when the weather stays as hot as it does for as long as it does, you have to remember to drink water to stay hydrated.

As a rule, you should drink 20 oz of water/day and an additional 8 oz of water for every caffeinated drink.  Otherwise you will be in a constant state of dehydration.  This is especially important if you exercise regularly. Your overall performance and how you feel before and after the workout will be impacted if you are dehydrated.  So, buy yourself a nice re-usable water bottle that carries 20 or more oz of water and take it with you everywhere you go.  Or buy one for the car, your home and/or your office so that you have a constant reminder to get your 20oz in.

Enjoy this gorgeous weather and hope to see you for a workout soon!

Barb


Group Circuit:
Thursday 10am
2 person min to run.  Meet at South Park.  Email me to save a spot


5 Week Intensive
The Intensive starts this week and is now full.  Looking forward to working out with the new group!


1-1 Training
I have a few spots open on my schedule if you are interested in 1-1 Training.  Email me for more info.  I would love to workout with you!


Don't forget to check out my previous posts for more articles about health and fitness at Barbfit.blogspot.com

10 Sessions 5 weeks to kick start your workout

I'm starting a new Group Intensive that involves workouts 2 times/week for 5 weeks.  In every session you will workout your core muscles which includes not just all of your abdominal muscles but also your quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles.   You will also workout your upper body: deltoids, biceps. triceps and pectoral muscles.  As you progress through each workout, I will make each workout a little more challenging every session.  The great part is this is a group session.  You will not be alone! You'll workout with others who will be with you every step of the way.  So, if you're looking for a new challenging workout for your routine and would like to workout outside, then sign up for my Group Intensive.  I'm shooting for a Wednesday & Friday schedule at 9:15am.  Email me and I will give you more info.  Hope you can make it.

If you've never tried one of my group workouts, come out this week. Remember, your first group session with me is free to try out.

Have a great week and hope to see you soon.

Barb


Group Sessions this week:

Group Circuit Training: Thursday, 10:15am

Group Core Workout: Friday, 9:15am

All sessions require 2 person min to run.  Email me to save a spot.  Sessions meet at South Park


1-1 Personal Training Sessions:
Email me to set up a 1-1 Training.  I am an NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) Certified Personal Trainer and can create a custom workout for you that you can stick with.  I have a few open spots left so call me soon to schedule your 1-1 session.


Also don't forget to check out my previous blog posts at barbfit.blogspot.com

100 Distractions vs 1 Workout/Day

Somehow I managed to do laundry, check a few emails, respond to texts, add to my list of to dos, tidy up the kitchen and fold towels before finally going on my run today.  I know... every time I step into my house I do a fantastic job of finding all of the things I think I need to do before I step back out of the house.  The trick though is to make sure that amidst all of the various distractions around you (usually my children, but given they were all in school when I multi-tasked, I can't blame them this time) and make sure you get out for some physical activity at least 1 time per day.   Walk instead of drive.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator, just make sure you move.  Don't let the 100+ distractions win versus getting your workout in.  ;-)

Have a great week and hope you can join me for a workout soon!

Barb


Group Core Session this Week:
Friday: 9:15 am

Group Circuit:
Thursday: 10:15 am

All Group sessions require 2 persons to run.  Email me to save your spot.  All sessions meet at South Park.

1-1 Sessions:
Call, email and/or text me to schedule a 1-1.  It's a great way to kick start your routine.  I still have some space in my schedule and would love to save some time for you before my days get too full.


5 Week Intensive:
I have 1 person interested in an intensive, I just need 3-4 more to make it happen.  What's involved?  5 weeks, 2 workouts/week all core or a combo of Core work and Circuit training.  It's a fun way to get into a great routine of cross training and you won't be alone.   Email me for more info.


Don't forget to check out my blog for past posts, tips and links to article on health and fitness

barbfit.blogspot.com

Starting on Wednesday, September 5th...

...I'm going to see if I can successfully get at least 1 hour of exercise every day for the next 30 days.  With travel schedules, injuries, the kids out for summer and a number of other distractions, getting my normal workouts has been a bit of a struggle.  So, kinda of like the sugar free month, I'm going to make this the exercise challenge month.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to run a marathon every day or go to the gym and do free weights every day.  But I am going to get my 3 runs/week in.  I'm going to make the spin class.  I'm going to schedule the pilates session and I'm going to put the kids in my gym's kids club to make it to my favorite Yoga class.  And on the weekends when I have my rest day, I'm going to turn it into a sand run with my kids or a long bike ride with the family.  With the proper balance of cardio and muscle conditioning activities and with pacing, this can happen (and without injury).  Would you like to do this too?  Let me know.  Email me or post your comments to my blog.   Let's see just how far we get in 30 days from now.

Have a FANTASTIC week.  Hope to see you soon for a workout.

Barb

Core Workout Sessions this week:
Friday: 9:15a All Levels

Group Circuit Training:
Thursday: 10:15a

1-1 Personal Training Sessions:
Email me, I have a few openings for 1-1 trainings and would love to work with you.

5 Week Intensive:
I've been doing a few mini-intensives, but I think it's time to step it up and get a 5 week session going.  We will workout 2 days/week for 5 weeks for a total of 10 workouts.  We can do all Core Work or do a combination of Core and Circuit.  Let me know if you're interested.  Times and dates will depend on our schedules.  Let's do it!


Don't forget to check out my blog barbfit.blogspot.com for past posts.