We are all victims of emotional eating. Its the simplest form of self-sabotage that will derail any flat stomach diet before you can finish your first ho-ho, brownie, or slice of pizza.

Its time to put a stop to emotional eating. Its time to stop letting life get in our way and eating because we had a bad day, a great day or a so-so day.  Its time to overcome our moments of weakness and make sure that no matter how delicious that plate of cookies look – you have bigger and better places to go – and those cookies will not help you get there. 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

Its the most wonderful time of the year!!! They’ll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting….

Now that I have that song stuck in your head…but really for many the next few weeks are a WONDERFUL time of the year – a time for family, friends, crazy shopping experiences, and a time to be grateful for what you have around you.

Its also a time for lots of sweet treats, good food, and glasses of wine! All you have to do is wear that baggy sweater in your closet and the spandex pants to the party so you won’t feel how tight your clothes are getting – right?

WRONG!!

This holiday season you’re going to stay in your skinny jeans and make it through the parties and the toasted marshmallows without worrying about your weight or having an EXTRA 5lbs to lose in the New Year! How?

Well, I’ve enlisted the help of my friends and fellow trainers on Twitter and Facebook to offer their own suggestions for keeping off the holiday pounds. Try one of the tips below and stick to your flat stomach diet this holiday season.

The Question:

Whats your BEST tip for staying away from holiday treats and sticking to your flat stomach diet?

Their answers:

Teresa Ann Hanson – Have an alternative food so you don’t feel like your missing out

Linda Paoletti Muszynski/Leslie Cooper Unterburger – Putting my jeans on!

Lauren Englehardt – Remind yourself why you are doing this – not just for looks but for your health too!

Stacey Corwin – Suck on mentholated cough drops at a party – they make EVERYTHING taste bad!

Heather Sloan Griffin – Eat some fruit before you go to the party and lots of water too – they’ll fill you up so you won’t be tempted

Abby Campbell – PLAN PLAN PLAN and MORE planning!!!

Remind Yourself What You Want Your Body to Look Like

Carrie Mandela – Competition Prep!

Christina Winkle – Motivate yourself with what’s coming up in the New Year – “I want to wear a nice dress and show of my toned arms”

Carun Braunstein – Don’t let too much time go between meals so that you get TOO hungry and make a bad decision about what you eat.

Barbara Server – I get two cheat meals a week, so I try and plan them around the holiday parties

Inga Duncan Thornell – Keep a journal and make sure to count your calories.

Patti Skok – Keep in mind all the hard work you put in all year to maintain your health and fitness.

Linda Covert Robinson – Think about the jeans…jeans can be SO uncomfortable when they are tight!

Holly Rigsby – Rid yourself of self-sabotaging view… Instead think about what you can do to keep you fat loss efforts in check.

Sheryl Hawkins – Eating consistently each day…Staying full, keeping your metabolism rev’d…drink a protein shake on your way out the door to a party…avoid starchy carbs and if I want a little dessert – I have a small portion and consider it a ‘treat night’….When this is a lifestyle, we don’t take vacations from our goals, health or happiness! Don’t let Nay-Sayers get you down – we’ll hear a lot of insecure comments, each one should put a smile on your face, as no one ever criticizes those making the same “MISTAKES” they are!

Thanks to everyone on Facebook and Twitter who helped me put this list together!! I hope you all have a safe, happy and a fitness filled holiday season!

Did I miss a tip? How do you stay away from Holiday treats? I’d love to know and so would everyone else! Add your tip below!

I switched it up this week and made Monday my Upper Body Workout day. I’m training with a friend tomorrow and we’re doing legs, so instead of skipping a day I just flip-flopped the workouts. My arms are beat after this workout today. I could still feel the leftovers from Saturday’s workout, even though I didn’t do anything yesterday. But that’s the BEST part.

What’s even more exciting is I’m starting to really notice some major changes in my arm definition and strength – which for me are my two biggest measures of the effectiveness of my workouts.

So, instead of writing down my workout for you, because I love sharing what I’m doing in the gym, and because I’m a visual learner – I made a quick video of my workout for you to check out.  Please let me know if you have any questions about the exercises, my workouts, or would like some help with your workouts – I love helping and talking about fitness – so please don’t hesitate to let me know!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWOLS56sKtQ[/youtube]

“Nobody’s a natural. You work hard to get good and then work to get better. Its hard to stay on top.” Paul Coffey

A recent study by the CDC revealed that about 25% of Americans are prediabetic, however only about 4% of them are aware they have the disease.  Those who have prediabetes are at an increased risk for getting Type 2 Diabetes (also known as adult-onset diabetes), especially those who are not aware they have this disease.

What are prediabetes?

This is a disease that is caused when a person has above-normal levels of glucose in their system. Their bodies don’t have enough insulin to help metabolize the glucose. This then causes the glucose to accumulate in the body, causing the body to have high levels of blood sugar, which can lead to serious complications in the long run.

How to avoid prediabetes?

Besides a change in diet (including vegetables, lean meats and nonfat dairy products), research suggests an increase in exercise.  Exercising daily, has found to lower the risk of developing full blown diabetes by 71%.

So…avoid the risk of diabetes and prediabetes with a combination of a healthy diet and exercise. You don’t need to run a marathon – start small, just walking 20 minutes a day and see your risk decrease.

Every woman wants tight toned arms.  Spending hours on the treadmill or elliptical is not going to do the trick.  So, what do you do to make sure that your arm flab goes away?

You need to start lifting weights.

Yes, ladies, I should not be the only woman in the free weight section of the gym. Every woman should get off of the elliptical and join me!

One exercise that is going to help you tone your arms and drop body fat is the Chest Press. Its good for people at every level of exercise because you can easily adjust the exercise to fit your fitness capabilities.

Take a look a the video below, I talk a bit more about the benefits of the Chest Press and go on to show you three variations you can try.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phpkAJ7hCf8[/youtube]

Have questions? What did you think? Leave a comment or email me and let me know!

Saturday morning in the gym is usually one of my tougher workouts. I’m not coming from work, its not SUPER early – just wake up, eat and head to the gym. Plus, I usually don’t like to workout on Sundays, so I know I’ll have an extra day to recover.

After watching the Women’s Figure Competition from the Arnold Classic last night, I was SO motivated to KICK BUTT in the gym this morning – harder than usual.  Those women are in tip top physical shape – they have trained for months for this opportunity.  If they can do it and reach that level, I can do my workouts to reach my goal (I mentioned on Twitter last night I’m toying with the idea of doing a Figure competition – we’ll see).

So, with my new motivation I had a KILLER workout and wanted to share it with you….

1st (3 times about 1 min rest between sets)

20 Burpees

20 Jump Squats (on Machine 90lbs)

Wall Table with 15lbs hold for 1 Min

2nd (4 sets, rest about a minute between sets)

Supine Lat Pulldown (I increased my weight! WOOHOO! Went from 90lbs to 105!)

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

3rd (4 sets, resting about a minute between each set)

Dumbbell Chest Press

Sprint for 2 minutes on Treadmill after 1st and 3rd Set

4th (3 sets, resting a minute between each set)

Incline Dumbbell Row

Overhead DB Tricep Extension

5th (4 sets, dropping number of reps 20, 15, 12, 10)

Dumbbell Bicep Curl

6th (3 sets, 1 minute rest)

45lb Plate Chest Press (focus on Triceps)

Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift

It was a long workout…but I kept the rest between each set minimal and that kept my heart pumping and the fat burning. I have SO much energy right now it’s awesome!

The most important thing after this type of workout is to make sure that you eat enough protein to help build your muscles. For breakfast I had a protein shake and an egg white omelet with spinach, salsa, and a little bit of cheese.

How was your workout today?

What motivates you?

I’m hungry again…only downside to having a fast metabolism!! If you have any questions about my workout – let me know!

The best way to tell if your weight loss or muscle building workouts are working – you feel them.

What does that mean?

This is the concept of DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness – one of my personal favorite reasons for working out.

If you can walk the day after a leg workout – you didn’t push yourself hard enough.

I’m even having a hard time typing this, my arms are SO sore from yesterday’s workout!

Today I talk about DOMS – some people love them, others hate them – why they ARE good and how to make it a little less painful walking up those stairs or putting on your jacket.

How do you feel about DOMS?

Sometimes people bug me.

Today’s particular ‘bugging’ came this afternoon while I was at the gym.  I was doing my Supine Lat Pull-downs (FYI – My new FAVORITE exercise because it’s helping me do more pull-ups than I ever imagined possible – article coming soon I promise), and I look over at the guy next to me.

My attention was first drawn in his direction because of a slight odor that was not pleasant to my nose and of course I had to find the culprit.  He was sitting on some machine, in between sets, looking at his cellphone. [singlepic=11,275,200,,center]  Now, it bugs me when people are on their cell phone while they are walking around the floor of the gym (Come on! You can be unreachable for a 1/2 hour – you did it at some point in your life – make the commitment to your workout!)

No, this guy wasn’t talking on his phone, instead he found it of UTTER importance to look through all the pictures on his phone. Yes, he has probably never seen these pictures before, but it was at that moment, while in between sets, at the gym on a Monday afternoon, that he decided he MUST look at the pictures on his cell phone.

Okay, so I’m definitely overreacting as to how much this bugged me, but what does bother me are the people who don’t make the commitment to themselves while they are at the gym. You came to the gym to change something in yourself. To change your look, to lose weight, to build muscle, to get stronger – there was some reason WHY you decided to step foot in the gym. Whether you are walking on the treadmill for a 1/2 hour or lifting weights – there is a purpose for your trip to the gym.

If you want your goals to be successful, if you want to see weight loss results, then make sure you don’t lose your focus when you get into the gym. Don’t get distracted by your cell phone, don’t spend so much time trying to find the ‘perfect’ song on your iPod for your next set (do this before you get to the gym), don’t let everyone you know get you into a 15 minute conversation about who knows what.

Make your workouts successful and productive and you will see your weight loss goals achieved sooner than you think.

Your core muscles help stabilize your body during every single activity. In order to prevent injury it is important to make sure that you have a strong core.  Also, having a tight strong core will help you get those flat abs you have always wanted, faster.
These are my three favorite core exercises I do during my workouts to make sure I don’t injure myself again and that my core is strong to help me become stronger.

1)    Bird Dog – Lift your right arm straight out, while you lift your opposite arm out – hold for a count of three. Continue this alternating arms and legs for a total of 16-20 reps, for 3 sets. [singlepic=10,200,200,,center]
2)    Plank – Rest your elbows on the floor and raise yourself onto your toes – hold.  Hold for 30 seconds then rest 15 seconds and repeat. To make it more difficult extend the period of time you hold the plank. If you have back pain or are just beginning to work out try resting the hold on your knees instead of your toes. [singlepic=8,200,200,,center]
3)    Bridges – work your core and glutes, which work together to make your core stronger.  Lie on your back, bend your knees about shoulder width apart. Lift your glute to the ceiling and hold for 3, then lower your glute back to the ground. While you are holding in the up position, make sure to squeeze your glute muscles and tighten your core. [singlepic=9,200,200,,center]