Fit Friday!

Getting fit isn't always easy and it certainly isn't always fun. But it can be cheap or even free! When I worked at Delta we had a discount with Weight Watchers so a bunch of us signed up and I lost about 15 lbs. If you have about $20 to spare each month - signing up for WW is a great thing to do. I recommend if you are new to it, go to meetings. They are really helpful and it's always nice to have a people holding you accountable - those weekly weigh-ins! And you will have access to WW online which is a wonderful support group as well as offering access to nutrition, recipes and workout advice. And if you are already familiar with the program they do offer an online only program. And once you make your goal weight, you have lifelong membership! http://www.weightwatchers.com

There are programs like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem that are more costly but they include pre-packaged meals. In general I don't like these programs because I think it is extremely important to learn how to cook healthy meals on your own. What happens if you are unable to pay a couple hundred a month for these meals to be delivered? Will you revert to your old bad habits? 

Next up - Fitness!

I am not a fan of large chain fitness centers. But that's because many of them make you sign a contract that is very difficult to get out of. And they require auto drafting from your account. I love the clubs like the YMCA that offers monthly membership (including income based fees). I think if you can afford a few sessions with a personal trainer then it's worth the money! A personal trainer can get you started with a workout plan that fits your lifestyle. They can also make sure that you are using the proper form when working out and using machines. If the cost of a personal trainer is a bit much, consider asking a few friends to go in on it with you. If you do it that way you can save some money and spend quality time with people you love. One last thought on fitness centers - the classes they offer are amazing! You can learn in a group setting which allows you to meet people who have similar goals - losing weight and getting fit! And some many of them are really fun like Zumba! Living Social and Groupon are really great places to find deals on trainers or even gyms. Also if you check around your area, there are places that offer Zumba and other classes for as little as $3 a day. Some community centers in Nashville charge $5 to use their workout facilities, no membership needed. 

And finally - FREE stuff! I mentioned that I've done weight watchers and loved it. I would gladly do it again but I am trying to conserve money so I now use My Fitness Pal. Its free and is very similar to WW online. There are community boards, a place to track your workouts as well as your food intake and you can interact with friends on your opening wall. If you so choose, you can have it connect to facebook as you update your progress. There is an app that works with it. If you are on MFP feel free to friend me - renise01.
For working out - there is HIIT interval training app that when doing circuit workouts you can set it for the time for each exercise and a break in between exercises and sets.

Ex. from Pinterest - assuming that you could do the number of exercises stated in 30 seconds, you would program the timer to have you work for 30 seconds and rest for 10 seconds 12 times. And then a min rest before doing it again. It beeps or whistles to let you know its time to get ready and then to start and my favorite - time to stop! I found it on my phone at the Google play store but I'm sure there are others available. When searching for them you may need to search for Tabata timers or interval timers.

Also for the low price of FREE Pinterest. You can find multiple workouts, high impact, low impact,   upper body, lower body, total body, or abs. You can find countless photos like the one above. Workouts that you can do at home, a hotel room or a park. And there are also workouts you can do at the gym. And if you are unsure as to how to do an exercise - you can head over to You Tube type in - how to do the heisman -   and multiple instructional videos will pop up. There are also a TON of you tube "trainers and nutritionists" So keep in mind what they say at the beginning of most home workout systems - talk to your physician before beginning ANY workout regime. 

And finally - have fun! If you enjoy your workouts you're more likely to do them. There are people who credit the Zumba Game on Wii for helping them lose weight. It's not because the game is a miracle worker or even any good. It's because they found something they enjoyed and they kept at it! As the workouts became easier, they started working harder. Just like with any new dance - when you are beginning it doesn't come naturally, you have to work hard to get the steps just right. So you practice over and over, and once you have the steps down, you can really get into it. Make it your own and then you are ready to try a new dance. Zumba offers that. So find something that you enjoy doing and do it. It really doesn't matter what it is, just keep moving!