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Fitting in Fitness
Why less can mean more.

By Jessica Smith
Certified Personal Trainer for PUSH.tv

As a personal trainer, I am constantly approached by people at their wits end, complaining that while they are watching what they eat and exercising like crazy, they still can’t lose weight.

I have also watched these same people exercise at the gym – “exercising like crazy” means clocking in 60 minutes of cardio most days. They choose the same cardio machine, plunk down on it, and pull out their favorite magazine to pass the time. They’ll do 60 minutes, everyday, the same way. And guess what? Their bodies look the same. Why? If you never change, you’ll never change.

There seems to be a pre-conceived notion that you have to spend hours at the gym to fit in a good workout. And do you know the number one excuse I hear from people as to why they don’t workout? They don’t have time. If you have time to tell me about why you can’t, you have time to exercise.

When it comes to putting together a fitness program, less can really mean more. You don’t have to spend hours at the gym. Here are three helpful tips to keep your workouts efficient and effective:

1. Think quality over quantity. A 20 minute interval workout can be as, if not more effective, than an hour spent at a steady state lower intensity.

2. Challenge yourself. If you can do your workouts with your eyes closed, your mind isn’t the only thing that is bored, so is your body. When your body is bored it stops working as hard to perform the movements you ask of it, so you end up burning less calories and reaping less benefits overall.

3. Vary your workouts. If you always walk, try jogging. If you always cycle, try swimming. As they say, variety is the spice of life!

Staying in shape doesn’t mean that you have to train for a marathon. It means finding time to move, whether it is a short 10 minute workout, or a longer session, everything counts! If you focus on quality, and doing challenging workouts that vary in intensity, length and mode of exercise I know you will start seeing the results you have been waiting for.

Check out the ChicBlvd fitness campaign called 2 More Hours (www.chicblvd.com/2hours).

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