Fall Fitness Ideas - 4 Ways to Challenge Your Outdoor Fitness

Fitness Retreat - Get Workout Ideas!

Fall is finally in the air. I love this time of year because warm days are complemented by cool mornings and nights. Luckily, these coolers temps provide the perfect weather for working out in the outdoors. Lower humidity also contributes to the cooler feeling and makes breathing in the outdoors a little easier. Utilize this great weather to your advantage for outdoor workouts. Winter is right around the corner so it's important to get out and enjoy your outdoor workouts while you can. Try incorporating one of these four Fall fitness ideas into your fitness regimen in the coming months.

1. Revamp Your Running Style - It's cooler and breezy this time of the year so get out and run! Mix up your running and try something new. If you're a long distance runner, try switching it up shorter workouts with high intensity speed intervals. If you normally run shorter distances, challenge your body to go just a little bit longer. I know so many of you love to run but don't get in the rut of running the same distance and intensity each day. Another great way to revamp your running style is to get off your normal route. Switch up your running path a few times each week. The switch will allow you to see new scenery but also challenge your body in a different way as your body adjusts to new terrain.

2. Start With Stairs - What better way to challenge your body than running the stairs of your local high school stadium or outdoor amphitheatre or park? Better make sure it's alright to do so first with the venue but the stair workout will tone your legs, challenge your heart and lungs and have you burning calories like crazy! Run the stairs, walk the stairs or even take them slower two at a time. Walk up them sideways leading with one leg for 20 steps and then repeat with the other to tone the glutes and challenge balance. The stairs offer elevation and an uneven surface. Both of these components will take your fitness up a notch and challenge your body in a whole new way.

3. Yoga in the Park - Take a blanket and your yoga mat and set up shop for a peaceful yoga session in the crisp Fall air. Map out your yoga plan, tote your laptop to follow your favorite DVD or ask your private yoga instructor to meet you in the park. Yoga in the outdoors can be relaxing, refreshing and just what you need to get out of your regular routine. Immerse yourself in nature and enjoy the benefits of the combination of yoga and the outdoors.

4. Hike it Out - Hiking is the perfect way to burn calories, enjoy the outdoors and visit a new place all at the same time. There are so many great parks to be visited and explored. Hiking is low impact and will challenge your body in different ways due to different terrain. When your body has to balance and adapt to different trails and surfaces, you'll strengthen different muscles, challenge balance and core strength and burn a few more calories. Plus, you get to explore a new area all during your workout. Talk about multitasking! Wear a pedometer during your hike to measure just how far you went. Challenge yourself to hike different trails and distances to keep mixing up your hiking routine.

Keeping fitness fresh is important in the day to day fitness grind. Changing it up and getting creative will help keep you interested and challenged in your workouts. Use the outdoors as your fitness arena as much as possible. Most outdoor fitness activities are free! Who can beat that? Plus, it's time to get out of the sweaty gym and into the outdoors. Enjoy Fall and the opportunities it offers for taking your workout outside.

Make sure to visit us at our fitness retreat to get ideas on how to revamp your fitness regimen! Go to http://www.bvretreat.com for more information!

Apps We Love

It's the weekend...the perfect time to begin something new! For those of you looking for a jump start on your running, try Couch to 5K or Couch to 10K. GREAT program and easy to use!! Versions are available for iPhone & Android. This takes you straight from beginner status to running distance. "Couch to 5k" or 10k for iPhone & C25K (5K) for Android or Bridge to 10k for Android -- all made by the same developer but different names. Free or up to $2.99 for the app. Go to your app market and download today! Enjoy!

Book your fitness retreat to arrive by October 31, 2011 and save $250 for 5 nights or more!!

6 Steps to a Gentle Whole Body Cleanse

In today’s busy world, it is becoming harder and harder to adhere to a healthy lifestyle the majority of the time. Social gatherings, cravings and lack of time can lead to eating less than healthy foods and drinking alcohol, an overabundance of coffee drinks and sugar laden sodas, juices and more. Once slip leads to two and all of a sudden you’ve given up your healthy regimen for one that has you sleepy, sluggish and unmotivated in health and fitness. Sometimes, an easy jumpstart is all you need to get back into your healthy routine. These easy steps to a gentle, simple whole body cleanse may get you back on track in the right direction.
1. Hydrate. A body that is not fully hydrated cannot function at an optimal level. It’s incredibly important to drink water. Not only will this help restore your energy, but it will also help your metabolism function efficiently and help your body release any built up toxins. Try adding fresh lemon juice to further enhance the detoxification process.
2. Stick to a Healthy Balanced Whole Food Diet for 14 Days. Pick lean meats such as chicken breast, turkey breast, lean beef (less than 10% lean), eggs, duck, fresh fish, shrimp, scallops, lobster and calamari. Stick to carbohydrates from vegetable sources such as green leafy vegetables, broccoli, green beans, kale, bamboo shoots, bell peppers, lettuces, tomato, snow peas and onion. Fruits such as apples, berries, grapefruit, orange, pear and plums are great to eat while bananas, melons, pineapple and mango should be reserved for after the first 14 days. Plenty of monounsaturated fats should be added in from nuts such as almonds, cashews, macadamia, peanuts and pistachios. Olive oil, avocado and canola oil are all great sources of monounsaturated fat. It’s important to have balanced meals consisting of a protein, a carbohydrate and a monounsaturated fat. Try the “Eyeball Method” for your measuring device. This method is simple and can be used anywhere you go. Protein should be the size and thickness of the palm of your hand, carbohydrates should be the size of two clenched fists and fat should be the size of the tip of your thumb.
3. Avoid All Processed Foods and Refined Sugars for the First 14 Days. While it’s a great idea to omit these completely from your diet, the first 14 days are critical in eliminating processed foods and refined sugars to break any sugar addiction and eliminate any unneeded sodium, additives and chemicals from your body. During this time period you’ll want to eliminate all breads, processed lunch meats, candy, sweets, cereals, juices, pasta, rice, pre packages meals, chips, sugary salad dressings and alcohol.
4. Avoid Fake Foods. Ingesting artificial sweeteners can create a toxic effect in the body. Eliminate all artificial sweeteners from your diet. Diet sodas, sugar free candy, sugar free puddings and dairy items should be avoided. Use raw sugar or stevia if you need a substitute to sweeten drinks or for cooking.
5. Limit Your Caffeine Intake. One glass per day is the recommended allowance for caffeine each day. Caffeine is a natural diuretic so while there are some redeeming qualities about it, it will also push water out of your body which can lead to dehydration. Stick to one glass per day and grab water after the first class of caffeinated beverage.
6. Rest, Relax and Rejuvenate. Your body will be thanking you for this gentle jumpstart. It’s also important to treat yourself right – body and mind. Add in yoga, a spa treatment, simple meditation and light stretching during your 14 day jumpstart.
This easy should help rid your body of unwanted chemicals and break your sugar addiction. Your body will be able to function and restore properly. You’ll be on your way to feeling energized and renewed once you complete this simple whole body cleanse. Make sure consult your doctor or registered dietitian if you have any questions regarding whether or not this program is right for you. Or come see us at the fitness retreat for more guidance!

Plan It Out!

So you’re ready to take health and fitness seriously? Sounds good to us! Having a plan, is extremely important in reaching your health, fitness and weight loss goals. We have a few tips for planning out your week!

Start your week off right with a healthy plan.

1. Make sure to plan meals – create a meal plan that suits your likes and lifestyle.

2. Grocery shop – go to the grocery and make sure to have all of the essentials including healthy fruits, vegetables and ingredients for your meals.

3. Have healthy snacks handy – don’t wait until you are starving to eat. This tends to lead to overeating. Make sure to have healthy fare available and easy for you to grab – for snacks & meals!!

4. Schedule in your fitness – schedule fitness in just as you would a meeting for work. Adhere to your schedule!!

You need to be prepared to succeed in your health and fitness goals. Good luck! 

Start Today! Get Fit Now!

If you've been wanting to get in shape or get healthy, start right now! Don't wait! Do it today. You will feel so much better, have more energy and be proud of your health and your body. There is no time like the present. Here are a few tips to help you...

1. Create a meal plan.
2. Go to the grocery store and stock your home with healthy foods.
3. Get a journal and keep notes regarding your food intake, water intake and fitness each day.
4. Weigh and measure once a week - NO MORE!
5. Reward yourself once a week!

Come see us at Vita Vie Retreat. Sometimes, a fitness retreat is the perfect way to get back into shape. If you can't make a visit, check out our Vita Home Coaching!

5 Workouts That BLAST Calories Away

Kickboxing in the Sand!

Are you ready to change your workouts up? Not burning enough calories?

It's easy to get lazy when it comes to your fitness routine. That sounds like the opposite of what it should be. How could people get lazy when it comes to fitness? People tend to get comfortable with the same routine. This leads to doing the same fitness routine every day of each week. It's important to consistently change things up if you want your body to continue to change and respond to all of the hard work you're putting in. Find out how you can switch up your workouts and burn some serious calories while doing it. These five workouts may help you change your fitness routine and burn baby burn!

1. HIIT Training. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Done in short periods of intervals, HIIT is a fantastic way to improve your cardio fitness, rev up your metabolism and burn a ton of calories in a short period of time. To do HIIT you'll need to think high intensity vs. low intensity. An example of a HIIT workout would be to sprint for 1 minute at the highest level you can sprint. Follow that sprint up by a recovery period of walking. Walk until you have fully recovered. Repeat this high intensity low intensity scenario 8 to 10 times. If you decide to use HIIT in your training, start slow and build up to more intense intervals. Twenty minutes of HIIT is enough to achieve the results you're looking for.

2. Soft Sand. The sand is your friend! Unfortunately, we're not talking about the kind of sand that you normally walk or run on down by the water. Hit the soft, deep sand that's hard to walk in. You'll burn up to 50% more calories working out in the soft sand than on pavement. At that rate, an hour workout could pack in a fierce calorie burn.

3. Body weight. Use your body -- your whole body. Take the bodyweight workout to the limit by pushing yourself to push your body weight, pull your body weight and run like the wind. Exercises like push ups, pull ups, lunges, squats, inchworm, frog hops and more can work your muscles in a way you normally wouldn't work them. In addition, this type of training conditions your body in a functional way keeping you fit for the activities of daily living and beyond.

4. Altitude. Head for the hills or mountains. Your metabolic rate can get a natural boost of up to 10% when working out in higher altitudes. Activities like skiing, hiking, climbing and mountain biking are not only fun but also get the metabolism going in a big way. Your body has to function at a much more efficient rate due to the lack of oxygen. You'll challenge your heart and lungs and condition your body in a whole new way. Getting out of the gym and into the outdoors will work muscles you never knew you had! Make sure to acclimate to altitude before you go all out with your workouts.

5. Martial Arts. Not only are martial arts disciplines incredibly challenging to participate in but they have a purpose. Learn a skill like boxing, karate or basic self defense while getting your heart pumping and leaving your aggression and stress in the ring. Martial arts burn calories and also help to center yourself enabling you to become very body aware. Knock out your opponent and knock those calories right out of your body with martial arts! Try out different disciplines like kick boxing, karate, taekwondo or mixed martial arts to determine your preferred type.

Come visit us at Vita Vie Retreat and experience the sand first hand! We'll help you blast calories away at our fitness retreat!