Its over…..

A sixteen week weight loss journey of dieting and training and extreme focus have come to an end. Sixteen weeks of nerves, laughs, second guessing myself and growing have written their final chapter.

A sixteen week adventure that begun with a silly idea have ended in two spectacular shows. Read the full story

Through Twitter and Facebook I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing women – my most recent encounter was with this week’s inspiring woman Stephanie Brewster.

As a goal oriented woman, determined to succeed, Stephanie moved herself from a slow paced Texas to the glitz and fast paced action of Las Vegas. Since moving to Las Vegas Stephanie has been on a reality TV Show and become a part of the addicting fitness industry. With an understanding of struggles and the ability to overcome them, Stephanie is this week’s inspiring woman. Read the full story

Getting up everyday and heading to the gym is a chore for some people, but for this week’s inspiring women, Megan Moon, healthy living is a passion.

When most girls have posters of the latest teen heart throb plastered over their walls, Megan had posters of workouts. Her love for fitness started young, knowing that this had to be more than just a hobby, it had to be a lifestyle.  Since starting in the fitness industry, Megan’s success has only just begun, with a recent sponsorship by Optimum Nutrition and more competitions – both figure and endurance, plus her first book – 2010 is going to be a busy and successful year for this lady.

How does she balance all of this while raising two kids and supporting her husbands career? Read on and find out about this week’s Inspiring Woman – Megan Moon…. Read the full story

Its hard for most women to find who they are. Its a journey you embark on every day – figuring out just where you fit in – what makes you happy – and to most importantly, make yourself happy.

This week’s inspiring woman, Emily Lind, has found the “Essence of Em”. She has found how to love herself for who she is – through her love for fitness and healthy eating and life itself.

I had the pleasure of meeting Emily in person this past weekend at the Arnold 2010 Expo – and let me tell you – she’s awesome on paper but even MORE inspiring in person. Let Emily tell you how she found ‘herself’ in hopes of helping you find you…

Womens Ab Workout: Tell us more about yourself – What is the Essence of Em? How long have you been training and what are your goals and aspirations in the fitness industry?

Imirage Photography

Emily Lind: I created the essence of em because I realized that achieving goals was my passion and I wanted other people to experience the same joy by achieving their goals. It is so important to be happy. I believe having someone to hold you accountable is essential to your success and achieving this happiness.   My goal is to teach people, check in and be involved in their life, which is many times more fulfilling that achieving my own goals. Read the full story

Your personal relationship with food can either make you – help you lose those last 10lbs – or break you – help you gain those extra 10lbs. Understanding how our bodies react to food is imperative to reaching any type of fitness goal.

Alyson Boyd, this week’s inspiring woman, has overcome a ‘topsy turvy relationship with food’ in order to win both her Figure and Fitness class at one show. Combining her positive relationship with food and dedication to the gym, while working towards her MBA in Sports Business and Marketing – Alyson is an expert in time management and making sure that no matter the circumstance – nothing gets in the way of her and reaching her goals.

Find out more about Alyson and just how she balances her hectic lifestyle. Read the full story

Many girls growing up lack self-esteem. Its an unfortunate common problem that many of us can relate too. Some women grow out of that ‘awkward’ stage quickly – realizing their natural beauty and feeling confident about themselves. While for others (many of us) it takes a few years and one moment of inspiration to change all that.

For this week’s Inspiring Woman Tania Chrzanowski – it took a visit to a friends bodybuilding show to realize what she needed to realize her inner beauty and gain the self confidence to make her the successful woman she is today. Find out more about Tania below. Read the full story

Does this sound familiar? As a high school athlete you go to every single fast food joint possible after practice – starved and no real idea about what you really should be eating in order to be better. You’re young and you’re hungry – thats all that matters.

Then you hit college. You don’t know any other way of eating so you continue to eating whatever you can, usually the bad stuff because that tastes so much better. However, you’re not nearly as active as you were before, plus your hormones start changing and your metabolism starts to slow a bit. So, instead of staying muscular and lean like before you start gaining the ‘freshman 15′.

How do you end the cycle? Ask Lizzy Ostro. Lizzy not only managed to get herself out of the freshman 15, but came out on top competing in regional bikini shows, and will be at the NPC Jr. Nationals later this year.

How’d she get there? I’ll let Lizzy tell you…

Womens Ab Workout: Tell us more about yourself. Who are you? How long have you been training and what are your goals and aspirations in the fitness industry?

Lizzy Ostro: Thanks so much for interviewing me!! My name is Lizzy Ostro aka “Fit Lizzio”. I’m 21 years old and have been training for 2 ½ years. After being an athlete throughout much of my life, I began college as a lazy freshman. I began working with a personal trainer in 2007, and my love for fitness, body building, and training became my lifestyle. I have competed in 2 regional bikini shows, and plan to hit the national scene this year in Chicago in June.

WAW: To get into great shape, for a bikini show, you must be pretty particular about your training.  How would you describe your training? Are you into body part training or full body training? Why? How much of your training is weight training and how much is cardio?

LO: Everyone’s workout style is different. I have found that if you don’t train the way you LIKE to train, you are less likely to stick to it and your results will not be as good. I do a 5 day split with 2 leg days per week. One leg day focuses on hamstrings and glutes, and the other leg day focuses on quads and plyometrics. My problem areas are my shoulders and legs as far as building muscle goes, so I take special consideration when training those areas.

After being a “cardio queen” for some time, I finally realized that the weight training is really what shapes your body. Cardio is great to get a little extra fat burning and to increase cardiovascular fitness, but your physique is built with weight training. I always put that as first priority. I still do cardio most days of the week, but I mix it up between running, boxing, hiking, and the stairmill.

WAW: One of the biggest parts of fitness, whether training for a show, as you have done, or just trying to lose weight and get a flat stomach is DIET. What does your diet look like when getting ready for a show? What is your favorite flat stomach recipe?

LO: SO many people are confused about this topic. The truth is, you CAN’T out train a bad diet (believe me, I’ve tried J). When I’m getting ready for a show, I use a much healthier approach than many people in this industry. I believe in eating for health and wellness first, and little tweaks can be made to get you your body into a “show ready” mode. Extreme dieting, although very common in the fitness industry, only leads to a big blow up after a show(also something I’ve learned first hand.) To be able to get my physique to where I want it to be, I simply start “dieting” further out from the show, in order to have plenty of time to lean out. I eat a very clean diet because it allows me to eat more food and still lean out. What’s better than that?!

A sample day of eating for me would look something like this:

Meal 1: ¼ cup wheat bran, ¼ cup rolled oats, 1 scoop protein powder, ½ TBSP Raw Almond Butter, 2 Egg Whites mixed in

Meal 2 : Protein shake(immediately after workout), 4 oz. ground turkey, ¼ avocado, ½ cup brown rice, lots of veggies.

Meal 3: Salad made with: 1 bed of spinach/romain lettuce, 1 can no salt added tuna or 4 oz. chicken, ¼ c. no salt added black beans, tomato slices, other fresh veggies, and pico de gallo as my dressing.

Meal 4: Coconut Protein Pancake(see recipe below!)

Meal 5: Protein milkshake: 1 scoop protein, ¼ cup pasteurized egg whites, ½ TBSP natural peanut butter, and ice. Blended.

Meal 6: 1 egg, 5 whites, 1 cup spinach, lots of fresh and/or cooked veggies

As you can see, my diet is very clean, but it is plenty of food. If you choose proper foods, you are able to eat more. I rarely go to bed hungry, and I feel incredible eating this way. Many people also are against eating fruit when trying to lean out. I keep fruit in my diet, but just a piece or two every day or every other day.

WAW: In your Twitter bio, you describe yourself as a ‘hard rock loving gym rat.” What 5 songs can we find you singing along to at the gym today?

LO: Haha, the dark side comes out! Just kidding. When I picked up my guitar in 7^th grade, I got into Metallica, Pantera, and other bands in that genre. I guess that is where my love for hard rock/metal arose. These days, you can find me listening to Deftones, Incubus, Glassjaw, Killswitch Engage, and Sevendust in my headphones during a workout. I have an absolute love for music and am learning to become an audio engineer. Music takes me to a whole new level, and when combined with fitness, it is absolute bliss for me.

WAW: On your blog, you take the time to describe yourself. When doing so you say that you  used to think of yourself as ‘skinny fat’ – how have you overcome that mental barrier to allow yourself on stage to compete? What advice can you offer other women who battle with similar self image issues?

LO: In high school, if I hadn’t hit up three different fast food joints that day, something must have been wrong. I literally ate fast food for every meal, but because I was so active and young, it didn’t catch up with me. My blood flowed with Dr. Pepper, and fruits and vegetables were non-existent in my life. When I started college, the terrible eating continued, but the exercise stopped. Although I only gained a few pounds, I lost muscle and became the dreaded “skinny-fat”.

After I began working out again, I started noticing my body toning up and I absolutely loved the results. One of my biggest motivators in working out is seeing changes in my body. There is no better reward for all of the hard work. It not only changed my appearance, but it changed ME. I became more confident, and learned that through discipline, I could change many aspects of my life. This carried into my student and professional life, and I feel that the confidence I have now would not have been achieved without the dedication to this sport.

For someone battling self image issues, I can completely relate. Even now, sometimes I feel self conscious about my body. The one thing that has helped me tremendously is that there is ALWAYS room for improvement. If you feel like your workouts haven’t been great, or maybe you fell off the wagon and haven’t been eating very well, there is always tomorrow to give you the opportunity to try again. As long as you don’t give up, you will never fail. Be PROUD of who you are, as there is only ONE of you and people will love and respect you for being true to yourself.

WAW: What’s next for you?

LO: As mentioned earlier, this year I plan on taking the stage at the NPC Jr. Nationals in Chicago, IL in June. I qualified for this show back in July 2009, and am extremely excited to be able to step on the national scene and see what I can do. The possibilities are endless. Competing can be very subjective, as you never know who the judges will be on the day of the show. Someone I look up to once told me this. She said that if after the show, I feel like I brought my best package, and after looking at pictures, I liked the way I looked, then I won the show. No two judges will ever be looking for the exact same thing, and you have to be proud of what you have accomplished and accept your placing as simply an opinion.

WAW: Where can we find more information out about you?

LO: I have recently started taking on clients for affordable nutritional coaching both for shows, and just everyday life. My website, although not up yet, is coming along well. You can check out my blog at: http://fitlizzio.wordpress.com to see my daily workouts, food intake and thoughts on competing, fitness and life.  You can also e-mail me at fitlizzio@gmail.com

Need MORE inspiration? Check out These Women

Inspiring Women – Kerrie Ann Frey

Inspiring Women – Heather Frey

Inspiring Women – Tina Marie Guaglianone

Inspiring Women – Carmen Burk

We all start from a different place and all seem to partake in a similar journey – exploring the world of fitness. Kerrie Ann Frey started out as a fitness writer and has recently become a certified Pilates instructor. Kerrie Ann knows life in the fast lane – balancing being a wife, mother of three and a fitness fanatic and advocate, yet she still manages to make time for herself and her fitness routine and flat stomach goals. Starting of the New Year with a wonderful inspiration…Kerrie Ann Frey and find out how you too can make your fitness goals a reality this year. Read the full story

Heather Frey is one of those SUPER inspiring women – you know – one of those people that if you were lucky enough to see them in person you would get all nervous to go up and talk to them? Heather is a Mom, Figure Competitor, Artist, and President of her OWN Online Business. With SO much going on its amazing Heather has time for herself. But as you will read, that is one of the keys to her success…realizing that making time for “Heather” was the only way she would be able to be the BEST that she could be.

Let Heather tell you how she made herself the BEST that she could be….

Womens Ab Workout: Tell us more about yourself. Who are you?

Heather Frey: I am you, and all of your readers. I am the struggle we’ve all been through or are going through. I’ve been heavy, thin, fit, and unfit.  I’m no different. I just finally figured out how to balance all the important fitness factors (resistance, cardiovascular training and nutrition) as they pertain to my life and body. I just finally got sick of struggling and sick of beating myself up, so I decided I had enough. I did that by using the most important muscle, though the most resistant, my mind.

My first career, only put on hold hopefully, is as an artist. My “girls” reflect that inner desire we all have to find peace and joy in our lives. It gets harder as life gets more complex so my art is a reminder of our own value and strength.

WAW: How long have you been training and what are your goals and aspirations in the fitness industry?  (PS – that picture is REALLY Heather – check out her after pics below!)

HF:  I’ve been working out for over 20 years, but I’ve been “training” since 2006. I met a girl at my gym with a body to die for. I looked at her and told myself “I want to look like that”. It turned out she was a Figure Pro. Over time, we became very good friends and she encouraged me to compete. Compete in what? I didn’t even know what Figure was. But she showed me exactly what to lift, how many times, how heavy, what to eat, and holy barbell…transformation! I could hardly believe it myself. Don’t get me wrong, it was HARD work, but I became addicted to the results. For the first time ever, I could actually SEE my hard work and not just stay in a holding pattern.

What are my aspirations in the fitness industry? To have every amazing fitness professional from personal trainers, to group fitness instructors, sports rehab specialist, pre-post natal trainers, sports specific trainers and coaches, and all special and unique trainers in between to be a part of our SmashFit Team and make them available to EVERY person who is ready, wanting or just thinking about getting fit or taking their fitness to the next level. I want SmashFit to start get us all to wake up and simply grab our health back!

I have also been named the Spokesperson for The Weekly Fitness Challenge, a global movement to get people HEALTHIFIED and FIT! The problems we could solve if we could reduce or eliminate our collective weight related health issues. My aspirations in the fitness industry are to pull together as many experts on health and nutrition as we can throughout the world and see if we can’t start making some serious changes.

WAW: You are a Mom, Figure Competitor, and an Online Business Owner (Smashfit.com) – what was your motivation to start working out and get into fitness?

HF: I’ve always been athletic. I was a gymnast growing up so since there isn’t adult gymnastics (though I’m working on it at my daughters gymnastics gym , I had to find some release for my inner athlete and working out was it. It wasn’t until a few years ago, that I found out getting into super shape was a sport!

WAW: What was your inspiration to start your online fitness business Smashfit.com?

HF: My inspiration was two experiences. The first was watching my friend, struggling with her weight; hire a trainer at my gym who just happened to be this gorgeous woman. All the guys flitted around this trainer distracting her from my friend (poor training for sure) and knocking my friends confidence to the ground. Bad match. She ended up leaving the gym. I don’t think she ever came back.

The second inspiration was my own experience. What a HUGE difference it makes to have an expert standing in front you and telling you what YOU need. Again, the results were amazing to me. I encourage everyone who is starting their fitness journey or those who want to take their fitness to the next level, to hire a trainer! They’re too expensive? Well how much did you spend going out to eat last month? Or on books, magazines and CD’s you don’t look at? Or the gym membership you don’t use? If you took that money and applied it to a professional to give you exactly the information YOU need, the results would shock you. They did me. That’s why I created SmashFit!

WAW: To get into great shape, as yourself, you must be pretty particular about your training.  How would you describe your training? Are you into body part training or full body training? Why?

HF: I would describe my training as very focused. I love my gym and have a lot of friends. I have small children, so adult interaction is crucial to stay grown-up like. BUT, when my headphones are on and I’m in my zone, I pretty much stay there. I focus on each muscle I am using and squeeze to make sure I get it extra strong! I focus on my form and what I want the muscle to do and look like. My strategy is a body part (or two) a day. For competition, I need to make sure I hit each one, so this helps me stay “organized”. This said, I think all over workouts are incredible and now that I am the size I want to be, I do venture out into all-over fitness when I get a chance. I do cardio 6 days a week, and ride my bike hard a few days a week for double cardio days…and love it.

WAW: One of the biggest parts of fitness, whether training for a figure competition, as you have done, or just trying to lose weight and get a flat stomach is a DIET. What does your diet look like? What are three tips you can you offer women who are trying to change their eating habits/diet to get in shape?

HF: I like to call it nutrition. The word diet has gotten a bad wrap over the years and seems to conjure up thoughts and feelings of “restriction”. Often when we think of a “diet”, we think of it as a temporary strategy to lose weight, but inevitably people tend to go back to their old ways and regain their weight. Diets just don’t work in my opinion. I focus on my NUTRITION and what will get me the results I need to compete, stay healthy and remain hunger-free.
My nutrition basically consists of chicken, fish, egg whites, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, quinoa, asparagus, green beans, romaine, and spinach. I eat 5-6 small meals throughout my day making sure to have a protein and carb at ever meal. I take fish oil and flax to get the essential Omega-3s.

Three tips to begin your TRANSFORMATION!

1. Get rid of processed and sugar foods. Stop buying sweetened foods, white bread, snack crackers, etc. They are loaded with sugar and sodium.
2. Start PLANNING what you are going to eat and have it ready! I make a ton of chicken and steamed veggies for the week so I only have to cook once!
3. Stop eating the food you look at and say “I shouldn’t eat that”. THAT alone will make a big difference in reducing your caloric intake.

WAW: What are your four favorite exercises for lean, sexy legs?

HF: Lunges, lunges, lunges and lunges! Side lunges, short lunges, long lunges, long lunges with a kick, pulse lunges, lunges with jumps in between. Did I mention lunges? Certainly I do many different leg exercises but for over-all tight, lean legs the lunge rocks. It hits the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and hips. Also great are the Leg Extension machine, Squats, and Hamstring Curl machine.


WAW: I love that you have your “How to Juggle Sixteen Things at the Same Time and Still Retain Your Sense of Humor” Certification – how do you make sure that you have time for your fitness routine/training and healthy eating?

HF: Working out is as part of my day as taking a shower. Sure you could skip a day here and there, but you just don’t feel right. I MAKE the time. If I can’t go in the morning (the best time for me), then I go at night after my kids go to bed and drag myself in there, like it or not.

WAW: What advice can you offer other women to help them “juggle sixteen things at the same time and still retain your sense of humor”?

HF: Simply, make it happen. You are AS important as your children, your husband, your friends, and your job. Women tend to put themselves at the end of the line when it comes to doing things for themselves then wonder why they are tired and sad. You simply have to cut in line and make yourself a priority. That doesn’t mean you are selfish…getting healthy is not selfish! It’s simply getting your body and mind in the best possible shape so you can give the BEST of yourself to your loved ones. I am a better, stronger, happier and more energetic Mom than I was when I began the motherhood journey 11 years ago with my first daughter.

WAW: Where can we find more information out about you?

HF: You can check out my bio on SmashFit.com and read a bit about my own revelation.

This week’s Inspiring Woman is Tera Busker.  After battling her own weight issues as a teenager, Tera has made fitness and teaching others about being in shape her life.  Tera has turned her home into her training studio and training business.  Here Tera helps women realize that making time for yourself and your fitness goals is an important part of getting a flat stomach and living a happy and healthy life.

Let Tera inspire you to reach your fitness goals…

Womens Ab Workout: Tell us more about yourself. Who are you? How long have you been training and what are your goals and aspirations in the fitness industry?

Tera Busker: My name is Tera Busker and I live in Roberts, Wisconsin with my husband of 7 years, Luke, and my 2 Bassets, Maggie and Lucy. When I’m not training my incredible clients or myself, I’m living the life of a rural Wisconsin girl and loving every minute of it. I love to spend my free time in the outdoors hunting, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, hiking and running on the local trails. In the last 5 years I have found my passion for running. I try to run in as many local 5 or 10K races as I can every year. It’s a great way to give back to the community and spread the word on fitness.

I became an ACE (American Council on Exercise) Certified Personal trainer in 2000. After working in a large gym for a few years, I decided I wanted and needed a change. I noticed that the setting that I was in wasn’t ideal. There were too many distractions (waiting for equipment, gossipy trainers, loud music) and the excuses to miss workouts became more frequent for my clients (no baby sitter, bad weather, too busy). I became very frustrated with what was happening! I wanted to give my clients the privacy and the one-on-one attention that they deserved as well as eliminate the excuses to miss appointments.

I wanted the best for my clients and I knew that they wouldn’t be able to get it in a gym. In 2002 I developed Fitness To Go, an in home and private studio personal training service. I am able to bring my services to my clients as well as offer them a quiet and private place to workout.  No more excuses or distractions. Just me and my clients, working collectively together to reach their goals in a way that is challenging, yet, convenient and fun. I am truly blessed to be able to work with my amazing clients and see the progress that they are making each and every day! Each one of my clients is an inspiration to me & they are why I keep doing what I do.

Something that I would love to see in the fitness industry is more wellness/health/fitness education geared toward kids and for kids. Kids today are being brought up in a world of TVs, computers, prepackaged foods and gadgets that make everything easy and effortless. Because of this, many kids aren’t getting the nutrients and physical activity that their growing bodies require and we are seeing an increase in obesity and “adult” diseases such as hypertension in children.

Schools are eliminating phys. ed, gym and health classes in order to cram in more “academic classes”. Children need to learn about history, math and science, but they also need to be taught the importance of physical activity and living a healthy lifestyle. Our society is slowly on their way to creating well educated adults that are stuck sitting in a doctor’s office with serious health problems because they don’t get the nutrition and activity that they need. (WAW – SO TRUE and SO SAD!)

WAW: What was your motivation to start working out and get into fitness?

TB: I was over weight as a teenager and when I decided to lose weight I went down the wrong path. I was exercising way too much, eating way too little and relying on diet pills for energy. I started losing weight and seeing major changes, but I wasn’t getting the results I was looking for. I was exhausted all the time, had no muscle tone and I was always sick. I soon realized that wasn’t getting the results I wanted because I was uneducated on the “correct” way to lose weight and be healthy. I was doing everything wrong. I was breaking down my body instead of making it stronger and healthier.

During my struggle to be fit, I learned (sometimes the hard way) what to do and what not to do. As soon as I cut back my exercising to an average amount, began lifting weights, started eating right and threw out the diet pills I reached my goal and felt great. I decided I wanted to teach people the right way to lose weight and be healthy so they wouldn’t make the same mistakes I did.

Now I am motivated by teaching people that there isn’t a shortcut or an “easy way out” when it comes to your health. Pills, gimmicks, and restricted diets will only lead you farther away from your goal. Dedication, hard work, consistency and focus are what it takes to reach your goal.

WAW: Travelling from client to client and helping them get into great shape must make it difficult to get to the gym and make time for your own workouts.  How do you make sure that you stay on track to your fitness goals?  How would you describe your training – body part splits? Full body training? Bodyweight workouts? Why?

TB: Because I have a private studio in my house, I have no excuse not to workout! (WAW – AWESOME and slightly Jealous!!!) I know that if I don’t take care of myself, there is no way that I can take care of my clients. I treat each one of my personal workouts like an appointment with a client. I write it down in my planner, have a plan of action and no matter what I can’t cancel it. That is my time to be totally selfish and do something for myself. Right now I am in training for a 10 mile race in Minneapolis, MN (Women Run The Cities), so I am running between 30-35 miles per week. In addition to that I am strength training 3-4 times a week.

Currently, I am doing a lot of functional and plyometric moves to help me with my speed & keep me from putting on too much muscle. In a typical week my split would be: Monday – Chest & Tris, Wednesday – Back & Bis, Friday – Shoulders & whatever body part I feel needs more work, Saturday – Legs.  I will throw core work in a few times a week. Every 6-8 weeks I change up my strength training program so my body is always guessing. Over the years, I have learned that my body reacts best to heavy lifting (6-8 reps).  After this fall, I plan to get back into lifting heavy & possibly doing a fitness competition.

WAW: Being on the road all the time can make it harder to stick to your diet – probably one of the most important aspects of getting a flat stomach – and the hardest part for busy women to stay true too. What does your diet look like? How do you stick to your diet with your busy schedule and travelling lifestyle? Do you have any advice for other busy women out there who are trying to stick to their flat stomach diet?

TB: My diet is a huge challenge. I have Celiac Disease and I’m unable to eat anything containing gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye).  Eating gluten free is very healthy. I have eliminated almost all processed foods and my diet now consists of fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, low fat dairy products, and grains such as quinoa and brown rice.  Finding out that I was allergic to gluten was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. I have to eat SUPER healthy or I am sick for days.

Because I am always on the go, I pre-package all of my food, so I won’t be tempted to eat wrong things. Every Sunday I cook up all my meat for the week and put my fruit, veggies and yogurt in single serving containers. That way I can grab my food for the day, throw it in my cooler & I’m out the door. Super easy. I tell all of my clients to do the same thing. People like things to be quick and easy – that’s why they reach for the bag of chips. If you have a healthy option right there waiting for you, then you will be less likely to eat junk.

The best advice I can give to someone who is looking to stick to a flat stomach diet is to drink your water and stay hydrated. Many times you will think you’re hungry when you are actually thirsty. Also, keep the sodium intake low. Too much sodium in your diet will make you retain water & look bloated.

WAW: You have your own in home training business “Fitness To Go” – what was your motivation for training clients at home? What do you see as the biggest problem most women make when trying to achieve their fitness goals? What’s your advice to women to overcome these problems?

TB: I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve heard “I’d love to hire you, but I don’t have time to go to the gym” or “I don’t like going to the gym. I feel so intimidated there.” I wanted to find a way that people could workout in way that was convenient, comfortable and eliminated the excuses not to workout. That is how I came up with Fitness To Go.  I can train my clients in the privacy of their home without the distractions of a gym. They can workout on their own equipment and not something that a million people have touched. If they don’t have equipment, I bring it to them. If they want to workout in privacy, but want to get out of the house, they can come to my private studio. I will even train them in their office. I try to eliminate every excuse out there.

The biggest problem that I see with my female clients is that they feel guilty for taking time out of their day for themselves. Women, especially moms, need to learn that taking time to focus on your health & fitness is a way for you to invest in your future. If you are healthy, you’ll live a better quality of life.  You’ll have more energy for your family and you’ll feel better about yourself.

WAW: What are your five moves that any busy woman can do at home that will help them on their journey to a flat stomach?

TB:
Planks
My favorite exercise for the core is any type of plank. The plank (whether it be straight arm, bent arm, reverse or on your side) engages all of the muscles in the core. Holding a plank for 30-60 seconds will set your abs on fire. Best thing about planks – they can be done anywhere & without equipment.
Bicycle Crunches
These focus on the entire core area. Make sure the back does not arch upwards during this exercise.

Crunches on a Stability Ball
Make sure you choose a ball that is correct for you height. If the ball is too small or too big, you won’t get the good contraction in the abs that you are looking for. The best way to find the right sized ball for you is to sit on top of the ball. When sitting on the ball, you’re hips should be slightly higher than you knees.

Supermans
If you work the front of your body, you have to strengthen the muscles in the back as well. Good posture will always make you look slimmer.
Cardio
In order to shed that layer of fat on top of your amazing 6 pack, you have to burn calories. The best way to do that is to get your heart rate up with cardio. The top exercises to do at home to get your heart rate up are: jumping jacks, mountain climbers, jumping rope, walking, running, roller blading, biking.

WAW: Where can we find more information out about you?

TB: You can visit my website www.fitness-to-go.net or join me on Twitter www.twitter.com/FitnessToGo or Facebook www.facebook.com/fitnesstogo