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Archive for September, 2010
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
Are you getting enough water? Drinking water actually helps you burn more fat, plus it also makes you less bloated! When the water balance is right, the body doesn’t have to hold onto water, so bloating diminishes. A good rule of thumb is to drink half of your body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink about 80 ounces of water a day.
Here are 10 tips for getting the water you need:
- Drink a glass of water first thing when you wake up in the morning.
- Measure out how much water you should drink each day and carry it with you. The day isn’t done until you’ve emptied your bottle(s)!
- Set reminder messages on your computer calendar, phone, watch, etc.
- Whenever you feel like snacking, make it a habit to reach for the water first.
- Squeeze some lemon or lime juice in your water to make it more palatable.
- Or add slices of fruit: cucumbers, green apples, oranges, etc.
- If the tap water at your home or work tastes bad, get a purifier. It can be a simple as a Brita pitcher or a whole filtration system in your kitchen faucet or fridge.
- Every time you plan to drink a soda, a glass of wine, or any other beverage, make yourself drink a glass of water first.
- Eat foods with a high water content such as watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant.
- Don’t forget to hydrate while you exercise as well as right after!
Image: gfrphoto
Tags: water Posted in Nutrition | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Q: Hi, Tanja. I can’t seem to get rid of my love handles and flatten my stomach. What should I do?
– L.
A: Hi L., Love handles are deposits of excess fat, and the best way to battle them is to do fat-burning cardio workouts (have you done my Reebok Bootcamp DVD yet?!) and slowly start excluding processed sugars, grains, and other unnecessary foods from your diet. If you have gone on many yo-yo diets, the love handles and other deposit pockets might be more pronounced and harder to get rid of. DON’T GIVE UP!!! The same goes for excess fat on the stomach but you can also do Pilates exercises for the core and abs! The Pilates Core Challenge DVD with Ana Caban is a good one.
Best,
Tanja
Do you have a question? Don’t be shy – ask it here!
Tags: abs, cardio, core, love handles, Pilates, stomach Posted in Ask Tanja, Fitness, News | No Comments »
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

Do you know how to tell if you’re working out at the right intensity? This is important to know, as exercising at too low of an intensity may prevent you from reaching your fitness goals, but overdoing it can cause injury and exhaustion. Though it’s helpful to have a personal trainer at your side or to measure your heart rate, here’s a simple way to monitor whether you’re working out at the proper, moderate intensity.
Talk test
Although you should be a little winded while exercising, you should still be able to talk without losing your breath. If you’re struggling to get the words out, slow down until you can speak comfortably. On the other hand, if you can sing a song (such as “Happy Birthday”), you’re working out too lightly and should step it up a bit!
Image: Ed Yourdon
Tags: intensity, talk test Posted in Fitness | No Comments »
Thursday, September 16th, 2010

1. Be CONSISTENT. This is the absolute number one! You won’t get positive results if you train hard for three weeks and then relax for three. Find a way to get motivated on regular basis: What is fun to do?
2. MIX things up. Don’t just change your cardio and weight lifting routines, but also try new workout styles and environments. Be creative and see the change take place!
3. Work on the INSIDE! It’s one thing to want to have a nice ass, but quite another to find an internal energy that drives you forward. Check out the 10-Week Transformation for help with tapping in to your life force!
Image: Felicity Murphy
Tags: consistency Posted in Fitness | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Has your workout hit a plateau? To be effective, working out should be balance between following a routine until your body adapts to it, and then changing it so your body can feel a challenge again. This is important for your body to grow and achieve the results you want! Here are a few ways you can change your routine:
Weight lifting
Change any of the following: the number of sets, fewer or more repetitions, more or less weight, the speed with which you lift, basically anything you DON’T usually do or haven’t done in awhile. When you feel your body has to work harder to keep up, you know you are doing the right thing!
Cardio
When doing fat-burning training, you can change the machine you are working on, do an uphill hike instead of a run, or ride a bike outside instead of a stationary bike indoors. Whatever “shocks” your body is good for progress and creates better results.
Of course, changes should be implemented one at a time and not all at once. And for people who exercise constantly and have a tendency to over-exercise, a break of several days may actually be the change that is needed and the most effective.
Image: lu_lu
Tags: cardio, change, comfort, fat burning, plateau, plateaus, routines, strength training, weight lifting Posted in Fitness | No Comments »
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