REBECCA CLARK - Fitting in Fitness

Rebecca Clark wears another hat besides being a great romance author. I'm letting her take over the blog today to tell you how to get in shape for the beach.

Fitting in Fitness

by Rebecca J. Clark

Personal fitness trainer, diet book author, romance author

You must exercise five or six times a week. You must work out for 45 minutes or more at a time. You must exercise at an intensity that gets your heart rate into a certain zone.

You must. You must. You must.

Well, who has the time to add yet another thing to our already crazy To Do lists? I know I don’t.

My name is Becky Clark. I have been a personal fitness trainer for more than 10 years and have worked with hundreds of clients during that time. And the biggest obstacle most of them face is having the time to exercise.

Let me back up a bit here. That very first paragraph up there? It’s true. I tell my clients to do those things, because if you do those things, you’ll feel younger. You’ll feel more energetic. You’ll lose weight if you need to. However...that’s the ideal. If you can’t do that much for whatever reason (time, opportunity, physical limitations, you just plain don’t want to), that’s okay.

My goal for you is to start moving your body more, from this day forward, than you do right now. I’m going to give you some easy ways to fit fitness into your busy life.

I want you to think of a 30-minute stretch in your day that’s inactive, and think of a way you can make it more active. For instance, do you talk on the phone a lot? Then pace and walk around your house while you talk rather than sit on your couch or at your computer. Do you have a favorite show you watch every night? Then during the commercials, stand up and march in place or bounce on a Fitball, or get onto the floor and do some pushups or planks. Be creative. How can you move your body more today?

Buy a pedometer (Fitbit is my favorite) and wear it for a few days and see what your average amount of steps is. If you’re like most people I know, it’s probably around 3500-4000 steps. If so, your first goal would be to walk 5000 steps a day. Once that’s easy, add another 1000-2000 steps to your days. Keep adding until you’re walking 10,000 steps most days of the week. My husband always knows when I’m short on my steps because I’ll spend the last hour of the evening walking around and around and around our kitchen, living room and entry way.

A workout doesn’t have to be done all at once. You can walk for 10 minutes in the morning. Do a set of squats and pushups on your mid-morning break. Walk another 10 minutes at lunch time. Do a set of crunches and planks before your mid-afternoon snack. Then walk another 10 minutes after dinner. How easy is that?

Here’s a fun workout that doesn’t involve going to a gym.  Select a playlist of favorite fast-paced songs that lasts about 30 minutes. For the first song, march in place, walk around your house, walk up and down your stairs. Just start moving and getting your body warm. Second song—do 15 sit and stands (just sit and stand from your chair or a bench); do 15 pushups (do them against the wall or your desk or counter if you need to); do 30 second of planks (lie on your stomach, then lift up onto your elbows and toes. Build up to 30 seconds or more). Rest for 30 seconds. Then repeat until the song is over. Next song—dance around the room. Just let loose and have fun. Alternate between a dance song and a “workout song” (using the exercises above—sit and stands, pushups and planks) until your playlist is over. Make sure to stretch your muscles when you’re done. How simple—and fun?—was that?

I know there will be some days you just don’t want to do anything. I get that. However, remind yourself that you’ll NEVER regret having worked out. But you very likely will regret that you didn’t.

If you want some motivation and a nice kick in the booty, “like” my author page for daily health tips and inspiration. https://www.facebook.com/authorRebeccaJClark

Now get moving!

A note for Sandra: 

Rebecca's diet book is a must have. You can find it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Diet-Check-your-healthier-ebook/dp/B00HK87M9M/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391637474&sr=1-3&keywords=rebecca+j+clark

along with her fabulous romances...

 just to mention a couple...

Rebecca J. Clark is a nationally certified personal trainer (NSCA & ISSA) with more than 10 years experience. She just released her first diet book, The Checklist Diet, available on the Kindle and the Nook. She is also the author of four romance novels. You can learn more about her writing and her fitness at her website http://RebeccaJClark.com