Positive Fitness

The Nintendo Wii has already revolutionized gaming, but now some people are pushing for the Wii to not only provide entertainment, but to provide people with a new way (and alternative) to work out and stay active.

WiiHealthy, is a site completely dedicated to getting in shape and being active on the Wii. They just posted a Wii Sports workout guide that is 30-45 minutes a day. They do a great job into breaking it down into sport by sport (boxing, tennis, etc) instructions on how to play “actively” as they call say, instead of taking your time watching replays, etc. Also provided is the estimated number of calories you will burn from actively playing these games.

“Boxing is the most active game on the Wii Sports disc. We strongly advise very heavy people not to go too wild in this one since your heart rate will go up a lot. This could be a problem for people who have been advised not to do big efforts. The fact is that this is the perfect game to lose weight. In a couple of minutes you can burn easily 121 calories in 15 minutes time. So this is a rather fast method and you can even speed it up by using a Mii version of a person that you don’t like as an opponent! Keep moving, move from the front to the back, from left to right. Try punching your enemy from different angles, different types of punches and you’ll be sweating that body fat away. Make sure to keep the wrist strap tight!” - WiiHealthy

I really like the concept of WiiHealthy, since I own a Wii, I know how much of a workout it can be if you really get into it. I personally love my Wii, although I am only good at Tennis.

Photo Credit: Kacey.

From the LiveStrong Newsletter:

Unite on LIVESTRONG Day, May 16

People across the country will unite on LIVESTRONG Day, Wednesday, May 16, to call for cancer to be made a national priority. Together, we can close the gap between what we know works in the fight against cancer and what we do.

On LIVESTRONG Day, 200 LIVESTRONG Army members will be in Washington, D.C., to demand that our nation’s leaders invest in resources, treatment and services for everyone battling cancer. In addition, more than 200 local events will be happening in cities across the country to raise awareness and show support for people affected by cancer.

Here are 5 ways to show your support on LIVESTRONG Day:

1. Participate in a LIVESTRONG Day event in your community.
2. Wear yellow and encourage your family and colleagues to do the same. Visit the LIVESTRONG Store.
3. Take the Challenge. Register for the LIVESTRONG Challenge.
4. Donate Now. Every dollar counts. Your gift helps us continue the fight against cancer.
5. Make sure your voice is heard on Capitol Hill. On May 15, you will have that chance. You will receive a LIVESTRONG Day action alert to amplify the voice of the LIVESTRONG Army on Capitol Hill.

I am a big supporter of the LiveStrong cause, I hope you take a few minutes to check it out as well.

I’ve always liked going for a simple walk, although in the past few years I’ve been hard-pressed to make myself make the time for it. The past few days have given me more reason to walk than just the simple exercise, it’s a good way to get out and get away from the stress of your life.

Therapy

The past week I’ve been dealing with an abnormal amount of stress in my work, personal life, and just about around every corner of my day. So I’ve been using a 20 minute walk as a way to get away from everything and take some time for myself to sort out what’s going through my head. Of course it’s not a requirement that you think at all when you go for a stroll down the road, it’s nice to just not think of anything but putting one foot in front of the other for a while.

Exercise

There are some obvious benefits to going outside. A walk is far better than sitting in a recliner, no matter who you ask. It can make a difference just by parking your car around the corner from work or in the back of the parking lot at BigDept. Store ©. For me it’s a good starting point, I’ve let myself get far out of shape, and have had issues with my back and shins since I was in Jr. High.

Companionship

It can be great to have someone go along with you, it gives you a chance to bond, to get more information out of each other or just talk about your day. It can be a better (healthier) alternative to sitting around the table and picking at food after a meal that you don’t need just to see eachother. If you don’t have a significant other to get out there with, take your dog! He’ll love the exercise and will never say “not right now,” just don’t take him for a walk while you drive in your car….
Set some simple goals

Goals!

Setting goals isn’t a big deal at all. Start by walking what you know you can do, and walk that distance a couple of times a week. Then, as you get more into it start going to the next mailbox, or the next road, and work your way up every couple of trips. You’ll start to notice quickly that it’s getting easier and easier to get down the sidewalk every day. It’s a great feeling.

That’s about all I’ve got for now. Now get out there and get Rover some exercise.

Women especially like to be ready for summer. The summer means bathing suits and bikini’s and everyone wants to look their best. There are many different areas for women to work on to look their best this summer in their new bikini. A few examples are legs/butt, abs/core, and arms/shoulders.

Today we are going to talk about legs and butt. I will give you a couple exercises to try and get ready for summer. All of these exercises are going to be high reps/low weights. Your goal should be to be very sore after these workouts. Just because you are not doing large amounts of weight does not mean you should not be tired/sore after these exercises, in order to see drastic improvements you have to push yourself in every activity and exercise.

Squats

The ultimate leg exercise, squats work the whole body, squats especially work your thighs, hips, and butt. I prefer normal squats (bar on shoulders) going to close to parallel. Make sure you keep your back tight and have a spotter. Check out About.com’s and WikiHow’s excellent squat guides for more in depth information.

You will not want to do very much weight, find a good weight that you can do 15 reps of. I prefer to do four sets of squats, a warm up set (ex. 15), then 3 more sets, 15, 15, 12 (reps). Take a good 1-2 minute break between sets. If the weight is to easy add a few pounds.

Lunges

Lunges have quickly became one of my favorite leg exercises. Lunges do a great job on many major muscles in your leg. Lunges work your butt (glutes), calves, quads, and hamstrings. Proper form is critical on lunges, I recommend again About.com’s Perfect Butt Guide for more in depth look at lunges if you are not familiar with the proper technique.

I like to do very high reps with weights on lunges. I would recommend starting with 15 each leg to start, using 5lb weights (if you can’t use the weight at the start, just use your body weight). My legs are usually burning after 3-4 sets of squats at high repetitions, it is a great exercise.

Biking/Running

Biking and running are great ways to get in shape and lose weight.  But they are also great for your legs. Biking really works your thighs, hips, and butt, and will help tone up your legs. Being a cyclist myself, I would recommend doing faster paced spinning classes (or ride in a higher gear) so that your legs are moving faster, it should really help tone up your legs. I would recommend the spinning class if possible since I know I look pretty silly riding my bike and my legs just going at a high RPM.  Remember to wear your helmet!

A good site with the benefits of cycling is Bicycling Info. Head over there for some good information.

Conclusion

There are many other great exercises out there that can help you achieve your goals for your legs. Different workouts and exercises work for different people. Remember despite what exercises you choose working hard is the most important thing, your legs should be burning and sore after your workout. Make sure to warm up properly and to stretch afterwards so you don’t become to sore. There really is no substitute for hard work, especially when you are working towards a goal is important.

About.com’s Top Ten Butt Exercises is a great resource for some more information regarding this subject.  Best of luck looking good this summer!