Facing Facts: Does Your Doctor Make You Feel Fat?

One of my Facebook Friends, Ms. Fatima Parker, posted the following article from msnbc.com in her group Beauty Diversity & Healthy Body Image about how doctors will attribute certain symptoms and problems to overweight people merely based on their outward appearance.

One of the quotes that stuck out to me in the article was this, from Arya Sharma, MD, PhD, chair of obesity research and management at the University of Alberta:

"I hear so many stories of doctors making assumptions about patients' health and lifestyles based on their appearance," says Arya Sharma, MD, PhD. "One of the key factors underlying this stereotyping is the notion that nobody would be obese if they were eating healthy and exercising," Dr. Sharma says. "But for every obese person I see who doesn't exercise two hours a day or who's drinking gallons of soda pop, I'll treat ten thin people doing exactly the same thing."

Perhaps if more women took a stand when they went to the doctor, and spoke up about how they wish to be treated, more doctors would work on their bedside manner. And if it doesn't change, then, as the article suggests, perhaps it is time for you to switch doctors.

Have you been to a doctor that has made you feel uncomfortable about your weight? Do you think that doctors should receive Health At Every Size (HAES) trainings in order to be better educated in dealing with plus size patients? Have you changed doctors after situations similar to the article and received a better response?

Read the full article here on MSNBC.com

Keep It Moving: Beyonce & "Move Your Body"

We are loving the new videos that have been turning up everywhere with people of all ages dancing to "Move Your Body", a remake of Beyonce's "Get Me Bodied" (which, in itself was a pretty good get-you-sweating dance song). This week, Beyonce's official video dropped and we give it props not only for the diversity in body sizes in the children featured, but also the fact that Bey does the whole video in heels. We'd expect nothing less.

Peep the Beyonce video and the instruction video where you can clearly see how to "Move Your Body". Will you be learning the "Move Your Body" dance and adding it to your workout routine?

Keep it Moving: Heart Healthy At Any Age

February is National Heart Health Month, and all month long Belle-Noir Magazine will be bringing you information on how you can keep your heart healthy! It is never too early or too late to start!

Staying Heart Healthy In Your 20sIn your twenties, it can be easy to overlook the importance of living a heart-healthy lifestyle, and hard to stick to it even if you do make an effort to eat well and exercise. It's difficult to hit the gym or think about the right number of fruits and veggies after class or work. But the truth is, as you get older it usually gets harder to stay healthy.
So today is the day to start making small, daily choices that will help you live a long and healthy life. To make these choices easier, we've compiled your top heart health priorities and what you need to know now. It's never too early to start taking care of your health. [read more]

Staying Heart Healthy In Your 30s
In their 30s, many women get so involved in careers and/or family, they neglect to pay attention to their own health. Don't let that happen to you! Remember: You're young, but you're not a kid anymore. Life is a balancing act between your friends, family and yourself, but your health should be your top priority. Now is the time to build heart healthy habits. Studies have shown that if you can avoid the conditions that put you at risk for heart disease until you turn 50, chances are good that you may never develop heart disease. The payoff is well worth your investment. [read more]

Living Heart Healthy in Your 40s
In your 40s, you may feel like you are too set in your ways to make a change, but it's never too late. Even small choices can improve your health and lead to heart-healthy habits. No matter what life brings in your 40s – a new career, family changes, or life milestones - it's important to stay happy and healthy so you can enjoy the years to come. Listen to your body and make healthy lifestyle choices now that will benefit you in the long run. [read more]

Staying Heart Healthy In Your 50s
Life in your 50s can include starting a new career, sending kids to college or even retiring, but one thing is sure -- your body is changing, and those changes can affect your heart. Unfortunately, the number of women who have heart attacks increases dramatically once you turn 55 – especially after menopause. But the good news is that you have the power to reduce your risk, and if you do have a heart condition, there is plenty that you can do to manage it. [read more]





This post contains information from the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women Website. For more information on the Go Red For Women Campaign, please visit www.goredforwomen.org.

Keep It Moving: Dance Class in NYC This Weekend!

One of our dear colleagues, Ms. Melissa Davis of The Fat Apple and Xperience Events, wanted to share an exciting event taking place this coming Saturday in NYC. For all of you Dance Your Ass Off fans, this event is for you!

Host: Xperience Events

Price: $25* Special discount price!

Date: Saturday Aug 22

Time: 12:30-2:00pm

Location: Crunch, 144 W 38th St

Description:
Dance Your Ass Off: Based on Oxygen’s new hit reality show,“Dance Your Ass Off,” you’ll learn the basics to a differentdance genre each week – just like the contestants on the show. You’ll be sweatin’ and shakin’ while learningchoreographed routines to hip hop, Latin and much more!

Price Of Ticket includes:
*Class
*Goody Bag Filled with lots of Great gifts
*Refreshments
*A meet and greet with a personal trainer
*Use of the facilities all day

Come and love your body, dance your ass off and enjoy your Saturday afternoon!

Purchase tickets @ http://www.xperienceeventsnyc.com/events.php

Living It Up Tuesdays: Keep It Moving

5 Tips for Finding Your Happy Weight
by: Karly Randolph Pitman

If you're trying to lose weight, you probably have a goal, your ideal weight, in mind. A good question to ask yourself is, "Where did I get this number?"

Is it what you weighed in high school? Is it what health experts suggest you should weigh, based on your age, body frame and body type?While weight loss is an admirable goal for a woman who is truly overweight, many women who want to lose weight don't need to. In study after study, researchers have found that the majority of normal weight women think they need to lose 10 or 15 pounds: what I call vanity pounds.

Why is this a problem?

If our happy weight is based on unrealistic expectations, it will cause us much pain and suffering. We'll exhaust ourselves, trying to achieve the impossible. We'll live in fear: when we've lost weight, we're fearful of gaining it back; when we've gained a few pounds, we're fearful that the scale will keep rising. We may delve into all sorts of whacked out behaviors: crash dieting, food obsession, fasting, and overexercising in our desire to reach our goal.

Unrealistic expectations can create an unhealthy focus on our appearance. You can only be 10 pounds underweight if you're working very, very hard: by exercising for hours a day and being very stringent about what you eat. These behaviors can easily morph into an eating disorder.
The flip side, accepting a realistic happy weight, may mean giving up our wishful thinking of being a size 2. This can be painful; I know. But the rewards of letting go of our impossible expectations are many: vitality, feeling satisfied by the variety and amount of food we eat, energy, stable moods, confidence and a healthy appreciation for our appearance instead of obsession. It's also a sure way to temper the jealousy you may feel about other pretty women.

How can you find a weight that is realistic for your body? Here are 5 tips:
1. Look at the unique factors of your body. Self magazine has a calculator to determine your happy weight which takes into account your age, exercise habits, and if you've had children. You can also factor in your eating and self-care habits: Do you have ways of comforting yourself without turning to food? If not, accept that this may mean weighing a bit more than you'd like until you have stronger nurturing skills. As you learn how to care for yourself, your weight may go down. But accept where you are right now. Then, as Maya Angelou says, as you know better, you do better. And then you can adjust your goal. Having realistic expectations is about looking at what is - not what you'd like to be - and using that information to shape and mold a positive, yet honest expectation for change.

2. Aim for a healthy body fat percentage. One of the best ways to compute a realistic happy weight is by basing it on a healthy body fat percentage. Start by figuring out your current body fat percentage. Then, you can use this number to figure out how much of your weight is comprised of core, lean mass: your organs, muscles, water, and tissues, and how much of your weight is fat. It can also tell you if your body fat percentage is in a healthy range. So, if you want 22% body fat, which is considered a healthy body fat percentage for a woman, you can see whether you need to lose a few pounds, or if your body is healthy just as it is. With hard data, and real numbers, you can see if your expectations are realistic.

3. Look at media images of women with a critical eye. Look at window mannequins in most women's clothing stores, and you'll see a woman whose body fat would make her underweight. Likewise, the "ideal body" that is touted in the movie industry, fashion industry and media is also underweight. This skews our perception, where, as Stanley Tucci's character in The Devil Wears Prada famously quippped, a size 2 is the new 6; a size 6, the new size 14. Separate yourself from these images by recognizing them for what they are: unrealistic. This doesn't mean turning into the body image police. When I see celebrities who look clearly underweight, I bypass judgment. But I do feel compassion for them -- think of the enormous pressure they must feel to always look their best. I know I wouldn't want to live with that kind of scrutiny on my appearance.

4. Give yourself enough time to lose weight. If you are wanting to lose weight, one of the best ways you can support yourself is by giving yourself time to accomplish your goal. You didn't gain weight overnight; you won't lose it overnight, either. If you're holding onto an unrealistic expectation about how quickly you can lose weight, you'll either be discouraged and frustrated because it's taking longer than you think it "should," or you'll delve into drastic measures to lose the weight faster, such as starving yourself, purging, or overexercising. This is being kind to yourself, allowing time for changes to manifest. It's nature's way - growth and change take time.

5. Recognize that your happy weight will change over time. Health is dynamic, not static. Our bodies are always changing, and life is always in flux. The media focus on Jessica Simpson was ridiculous because it denied this basic truth. It is normal for our weight to go up and down, particularly as women. One year you have a baby; another year, you have major surgery and have limited exercise capabilities; another year, you're under tremendous stress and gain weight. All of these things can effect what a realistic weight is for your body at this moment in time. Accepting that your ideal weight may be higher than you'd like - for now - doesn't mean that this will always be the case. Accept the ebb and flow; the highs and the lows, and learn to love a weight range for your body, not just one ideal weight.

We are so much more than a number, but as women in an appearance-conscious society, it is very, very eased to get hooked by the promise of an ideal body. It's easy to believe that it will solve all our pain - our confidence, our needs, our desire for intimacy, acceptance, and belonging.
These needs are valid and important. But the problem is when we use our bodies to feel these needs, instead of our innate worthiness, our beingness. It creates too much pressure, too much focus on one area of our lives. It keeps us from enjoying the present moment, trapped in a place where we are never satisfied; always striving to improve. It keeps us from appreciating what our bodies can do, how we live in them and enjoy their many gifts.

It's a gift to live in a female body. Our beauty should be cherished and appreciated; our sexuality, enjoyed; our strength, celebrated. Yes. While we are not our bodies, we do live in them --- and when we love and care for them, we send a message of love and care for our entire selves.

So, yes, love and care for your body as a loving caretaker, even as a mother lovingly cares for her children. Exercise. Move, sweat, dance, run play. Rest when you're tired. Eat when you're hungry. Feed it whole foods that nourish your particular body (because no one diet is right for everyone.) Breathe. Dream. Release your hurts.
But do so with detachment. Do it out of love, not out of hatred, fear, jealousy or disgust --- I am such a fat cow! ... I am going to run 5 miles because I ate that pizza last night.... I am so sick of being fat ... I hate that skinny b***ch. Love your body with acceptance, embracing every stage and weight of your body, recognizing that your real worth has nothing to do with a number on a scale.

[Source: Yahoo!Shine]

Keep It Moving: Curvaceous Hip Hop Dance Classes (NYC)

I have gone on record before about how much I'm not a fan of going to the gym. Putting in time on a treadmill or StairMaster while everyone around me is in their own world, either jamming away to their iPods or watching the gym TVs (and can you believe some folks have full on conversations on their cellphones while sweating away?) is not appealing to me in the slightest. So when I received an email from Comedian Erica Watson that her friend, Mara Herron, would be starting up a hip hop exercise class created especially for curvy women, I was excited! Exercise classes always offer a camaraderie that I have enjoyed. There's just something about everyone feeling each other's pain as you workout that I find comfort in.

For those of you in the NYC area, and looking for a change in your healthy lifestyle routine, consider checking the classes out.

8 week Curvaceous Hip-Hop Dance Workshop

Location: Perry Dance Studios
2542 Frederick Douglass Blvd.
(bet. 135th & 136th Streets)
New York, NY 10030

Starting Wednesday October 8, 2008
7-8pm
Total Cost: $80 for all eight classes if paid in full or in two installments of $40.00
$14.00 for Walk-In Attendees.
Cash and Credit Cards accepted.

For More Information & to reserve your space, please contact Devin at Perry Studios at DRayP77@aol.com and request a spot in the "Curvaceous Hip Hop With Mara" class.

See you there!

Report: All African American Women Could Be Overweight by 2034

We at Belle-Noir Magazine are all about our Big & Beautiful Plus Size Sisters, but a recent report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, has made up stand up and take notice.

The most recent study conducted by the government-funded agency reports that "If the trends of the past three decades continue, it's possible that every American adult could be overweight 40 years from now." In the report, complied from survey data collected between the 1970's and 2004, "the researchers estimate that 86 percent of American adults will be overweight by 2030, with an obesity rate of 51 percent. By 2048, all U.S. adults could be at least mildly overweight."

Here's where it gets scary:

"Weight problems will be most acute among African-Americans and Mexican- Americans, the study projects. All black women could be overweight by 2034, according to the researchers, as could more than 90 percent of Mexican-American men."

I don't know how true it really is that ALL Black Women could be overweight by 2034. It is all speculation based on recent trends. Also, while being overweight CAN lead to various serious health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, etc. However there was recently a study done stating that you can be overweight and heart healthy.

Ladies, even if it is as simple as going for a walk everyday for 30 minutes, we have to take care of ourselves. So yes, maybe our skinny black sisters will get a little thickness to them and those of us who are already thick might be even more so by 2034. But that doesn't mean we have to be unhealthy.

What do you think ladies? How do you stay healthy at every and any size?

Full Figured Hip Hop Dancers Needed (NYC)

A few days ago, we wrote about a plus size boot camp in Vancouver, Canada. Today, I was very excited to receive this email from comedian Erica Watson looking for Hip Hop Dancers for a new class especially for full figured women in New York City. They will also be shooting a promotional video SOON.

From Ms. Watson:

Hey Ladies:

A friend of mine , Mara Herron, who is an amazing choereographer, is going to start teaching FREE Hip-Hop Dance classes for full-figured women in AUGUST!!!

Next week, she will be teaching a master class...and I will be shooting a Promo Video to advertise the classes on the web.

The classes will be weekly, on a weekday evening after work! All levels of dance experience are welcome to come. But get ready to really learn amazing choreography. The classes are at an amazing new dance studio in HARLEM NYC!!!

For the Promotional Video I need 15-20 full-figured women, who can dance and learn hip-hop choreograpy!!! You will take a sample class, and I will do a short on camera interview with you about your experience.We will need about 2 hours of your time one evening next week!!!

If you are interested..please email me! And pass this email on to any woman you may know. The choreography is going to fun and SEXY..so get ready!!!

Erica
funny_n_gorgeous@yahoo.com
http://www.myspace.com/comedian_erica_watson

Erica Watson comedienne--writer--director:
http://www.myspace.com/comedian_erica_watson

MY BLOG: http://honeymag.com/modules/tiredofbeingapfg

Keep It Moving: Changing Minds (and bodies) at Plus Size Fitness

A new boot camp and fitness regime targeting the plus-size community gets an overwhelmingly popular response in Vancouver

By FIONA MORROW

Amanda Leith has been on one fitness program after another: "I'm always the last. I'm always the fattest. I always dread having to go back."

This time, she thinks it's going to be different, despite the torrential downpour that's materialized to rain on her enthusiasm.

Ms. Leith is one of a dozen people defying the weather to try Plus Size Fitness, a new program that's trying to break down some of the social and psychological barriers to exercise. Run by Body Exchange Health and Fitness in Vancouver, this is a boot camp that embraces the unfit, the overweight and the exercise-shy. The object is to get people healthier, feeling better about themselves and less self-conscious about working out.

Louise Green, fitness trainer and owner of Body Exchange, thinks plus-size people are left out of Vancouver's exercise culture.

"This is a really active city," she says. "I don't think it is considered very acceptable to be plus size here."

Now a healthy and fit size 16, Ms. Green says she spent her whole life struggling with feeling heavy and out of shape. Going to the gym simply compounded her discomfort until she found a personal trainer who treated her as a person, not a paycheque.

"I got so tired of feeling bad about being big," she explains. "I knew that when I exercised I instantly felt better about myself. I just needed to do it in an atmosphere that didn't bring my morale down."

Encouraged by how good she was feeling about herself, and suddenly evangelical about exercise, she decided to train as a fitness instructor. In March, she registered Body Exchange and set about researching her target market. But she wasn't prepared for the level of interest she received right across the region. She had offers from people wanting to run franchises before her first class signed up. A second boot camp will start July 7.

Realizing she had found a niche market, Ms. Green started looking for help. But finding plus-sized fitness instructors proved difficult.

"I posted they should be size 10 or over - I was trying to be realistic - but then this long, lanky, beautiful plus-size model showed up, and I decided it wasn't going to work."

She turned instead to Amanda Nichol, her own personal trainer, who she says changed her life. Ms. Nichol is assisting in the programs and will probably run the second boot camp once it's off the ground.

"If it weren't for Amanda," said Ms. Green, "I wouldn't have gone into the fitness industry at all."

Back at the rain-swept high-school playing field, Ms. Leith and the other participants are valiantly pushing up their heart rates. All the exercises are offered in different levels of difficulty, allowing members to set their own comfort level. Ms. Leith is relieved. "For once, I don't feel as though I'm going to die.

"The Go-Gos are belting out We Got the Beat from Ms. Green's stereo as the exercisers make their way through squats, skipping and steps. "That's the biggest bang for your buck," she says, while demonstrating how to do an effective lunge.

"It'll be Daisy Dukes next week."Knowing that the challenge at this end of the fitness scale is making sure that members stay with the program, she says the key is keeping everyone's spirits up. "We've got them here; we have to make it as fun as possible," she says.

"Exercise probably isn't something they naturally enjoy, and I don't want anyone to leave feeling defeated.""Let's go out with a bang! Pick up the pace," she shouts, as the group speed-walk widths of the gravel school soccer pitch, high-fiving each other as they pass. Some start running, bending down to touch the ground at the end of each width. Despite the enthusiasm, Ms. Green wants the program to be a gradual introduction to exercise.

"Those of us with weight issues tend to be all-or-nothing people," she explains. "We overeat; we crash diet. We do no physical activity; we hit the gym five nights a week. And then we drop out.

"Fees are low - the boot camp works out to $15 a session - because she's working with a demographic unused to paying for fitness. Right now, everyone seems to be having a good time. They're in a circle, arms stretched forward, marching in and out. "Imagine you're pushing a shopping cart," suggests Ms. Green, walking forward. "Should I buy it?" She walks back again, shaking her head: "No, I shouldn't."

Ms. Leith is in no such quandary. After two sessions, she signs up for both the boot camp and a running program. "It feels like Louise and Amanda really care - they're in your corner," she says. "If you don't show up, they are going to call you and check you're okay and keep you motivated. I'm always doubtful about these things - usually I won't keep going. But this time feels different. There's great camaraderie - and it doesn't feel like a chore."

Source: The Globe and Mail

Facing Facts: Weight-loss Tips Differ In African-American, Mainstream Magazines

ScienceDaily (Jan. 14, 2008) — Magazines catering to African-Americans may be falling short in their efforts to educate readers about weight loss, a new University of Iowa study suggests.

African-American women's magazines are more likely to encourage fad diets and reliance on faith to lose weight, while mainstream women's magazines focus more on evidence-based diet strategies, according to the study by UI researcher Shelly Campo, published in a recent issue of the journal Health Communication.

"Three-quarters of African-American women are considered overweight or obese, compared to one-third of all U.S. women," said Campo, an assistant UI professor with appointments in community and behavioral health in the College of Public Health and communication studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "African-American magazines tend to embrace a mission of advocacy for the African-American community, but if you're not covering evidence-based weight-loss strategies, you're not really helping your community."

Campo and co-author Teresa Mastin, an associate professor in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations, and Retailing at Michigan State University, analyzed 406 fitness and nutrition articles published between 1984 and 2004 in three major African-American women's magazines -- Ebony, Essence and Jet -- and three popular mainstream women's magazines -- Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, and Ladies' Home Journal.

The magazines suggested many of the same weight-loss strategies, but mainstream magazines were twice as likely to suggest eating more whole grains and protein, smaller portions, and low-fat foods. Relying on God or faith was suggested by 1 in 10 weight-loss stories in the African-American magazines, but in almost no weight-loss stories in the mainstream magazines.

Fad diets were promoted as legitimate strategies in 15 percent of weight-loss stories in the African-American magazines, compared to only 5 percent in the mainstream magazines. Fad diets, defined as diets that may work in the short term but often do not result in sustained changes, included the Dick Gregory Bahamian Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Hilton Head Diet, and the Atkins Diet.

Mainstream magazines offered more strategies per article than African-American magazines. And, while mainstream magazines increased fitness and nutrition coverage during the second decade as the severity of the obesity epidemic unfolded, African-American magazines did not.
"The study clearly points to a need for public-health advocates and advocates of the African-American community to push their media to increase coverage of overweight and obesity health issues," Campo said.

The research is a companion study to previous work Mastin and Campo published in the Howard Journal of Communications in Oct. 2006. The first study showed that food and nonalcoholic beverage ads outnumbered fitness and nutrition articles 16 to 1 in Ebony, Essence and Jet between 1984 and 2004. The 500 ads were primarily for foods high in calories but low in nutritional value, Campo said.

In the new paper, Campo and Mastin note that both types of magazines tend to place responsibility for weight loss on the individual, rather than examining environmental and economic factors that make weight loss difficult. More than 83 percent of strategies focused on behavior changes, while less than 7 percent focused on environment. For example, magazines recommended eating well and staying active, but rarely addressed issues like availability and cost of healthy food, recreational opportunities in communities, or existence of school- or work-based fitness programs.

"Both genres are highly guilty of over-reliance on individual strategies," Campo said. "We blame individuals too much for circumstances that are not entirely within their control. We know people living in unsafe neighborhoods are much less likely to exercise. And fast food is cheap compared to fresh fruit and vegetables. To tell a poor person that they made a bad choice because they couldn't afford the salad fixings raises some ethical concerns."

African-Americans represent at least 90 percent of the readership of Ebony, Essence and Jet, but 11 percent or less of Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping and Ladies' Home Journal. The magazines were selected for the study because of their large circulation and longevity over the 20-year period.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Iowa.

Source: Sciencedaily.com

Keep It Moving: Get Outside!

Get Outside And Turn Your Workout Into A Mind-Body-Soul Experience
By Diane Raymond

In a funk because your daily trek on the treadmill has turned into an event only slightly more exciting than watching a pot of water boil? If so, maybe it's time to tuck your gym pass away in a safe place and step outside.



Research conducted at the University of Essex showed that outside exercise has benefits that extend beyond the expected calorie-burning effect. It turns out that surrounding yourself with nature stimulates spiritual feelings and your senses, and gives you an escape from modern life. This should not be a surprise, but exercising outdoors also lowers stress levels, improves concentration and positively impacts health and well-being.


Getting Started: Assess The Scenery
How well do you know your surroundings? At first glance, your neighborhood or community may not appear to have the same tools and equipment you're accustomed to using inside. Look a little closer, however, and you will notice hills and trees, curbs, stairs, playgrounds, pathways, picnic tables, benches, rocks and large tree limbs. The landscape has plenty of "equipment" and once you know how to utilize it all, the world becomes your gym. Before you get started, spend some time driving or biking around your community to scope out potential workout sites. In addition to parks and playgrounds, note where the schools, community green spaces and cityscapes are - these are all viable options for working out. Taking full advantage of the scenery and landscape will not only rev up your cardio routine, it will give you a mind-body experience that engages your senses, as well as your glutes!


Ten Ways to Get More from Your Outdoor Workout
1.Start close to home. Your most convenient option may be your own neighborhood. My own neighborhood, for example, has a surrounding pathway that is downhill on one side, uphill on the other. Combined with evenly spaced trees along the path, the set-up is ideal for interval training: downhill jog/run, followed by an uphill power walk or jog, then sprinting intervals between the trees, followed by walking lunges, skipping, and/or side-shuffling.

2. Go back to school. Most junior highs and high schools have tracks that are accessible to the public. Quarter-mile tracks make it easy to track your distance and they are also "give" more than concrete and cement, lessening the impact on leg joints. The green space in the middle of the track is a great place to practice agility drills, such as zigzag runs and shuffles. Run the stadium stairs and use the benches for push-ups and dips.

3. Make working out an adventure. State parks and metro parks have an abundance of hiking trails set amidst beautiful scenery that changes with each season. If you like to run, take advantage of the varying terrain to improve your agility and kinesthetic awareness. Some of the hills are rough, so practice common sense: watch your footing to avoid stumps, rocks and bumps that you could trip over; keep an eye out for poisonous plants like poison ivy; and take your cell phone with you.

4. Head for the hills. Hills, especially sledding hills, can really turn on the burn. Running hill repeats, side skipping, and walking backward uphill works every leg muscle and challenges your cardiovascular system as well.

5. Play like a kid. When was the last time you did the monkey bars? It's hard! Wear a pair of weight lifting gloves (available at most all-purpose stores, such as Wal-Mart or Target) to protect your hands and give the monkey bars a try. Challenge yourself to try pull-ups and chin-ups too. Use a low step for reverse leg lunges. Take resistance tubing with you and use the playground structure as your anchor for performing countless strength exercises, such as rows, overhead presses, and bicep curls. Want cardio? Take a jump rope with you.

6. Play with your kids. You'll earn your smoothie after an afternoon game of tag, kickball, flag football or catch with your kids. As an added bonus, children who have active parents typically grow up to be active adults, so you'll be setting a good example.

7. Practice backyard basics. If your backyard is like mine, it probably has some bumps, dips and many small rocks, creating an uneven surface. Try doing walking lunges across the yard. It is a much different experience than doing them on the flat gym floor. The uneven surface challenges the assisting muscles in the upper leg, as well as the stabilizing muscles of the hip, knee and ankle joints. Because you use those joints and muscles regularly in daily living, it makes sense to challenge them in ways that mimic real life scenarios. If this setting inspires the child in you, try crab and bear walks, inchworm push-ups, or mountain climbers.

8. Take your equipment with you. If you have small hand weights, weighted balls, resistance tubing and/or a jump rope, consider taking it with you to the park. Park benches can double as weight benches, railings can be used as an anchor for resistance tubing and the jump rope, well, that can be used anywhere and it is a fun way to get your heart pumping. If you haven't jumped in a while, start slowly - 10-20 seconds for beginners. Over time, work up to 2, 5, even 10 minutes. Try to beat your own record each time.

9. Learn something new. Tennis, basketball, swimming, cycling, kayaking, horse back riding and rock climbing are just a few activities you can to try. Attempting something out of your comfort zone is a great way to boost self-confidence. You'll surely meet new people, and you never know - you might discover an inner athlete in you that you didn't know existed.

10. Sites and Cityscapes. If you live in a metropolitan area that has little green space, fear not - there are still plenty of opportunities here for working out. Take your elastic tubing and tie it around you waste, then head to the nearest set of stairs (think Rocky in Balboa here). Go for a jog, run up the stairs, use the railing as an anchor for your tubing, then knock out a set of squats. If there is a hill nearby, try walking lunges up the hill. No railing in sight? Use a tree, or even a parking meter. Be creative - that is half the fun!

Remember -- no workout is effective if it isn't safe. Some Do's and Don'ts:

- Do follow the rules of the road. If you have to walk/jog on the road, be sure to go against traffic. If biking, go with traffic and be sure to wear a helmet. Stay alert to potential hazards, such as rocks and wet patches.
- Do wear sunscreen - the sun's harmful rays span all four seasons.
- Don't visit places you aren't familiar with, especially at night.
- Do take a buddy, especially if you will be in unfamiliar surroundings.
- Do abide by park hours. Most parks are off-limits from dusk to dawn.
- Do watch the weather and dress appropriately.
- Do drink plenty of water before your workout and take a water bottle with you.
- Do wear quality footwear that is designed for the activity you'll be doing.
- Do take your cell phone and tell someone where you'll be working out.

The outdoors, with its varied terrain and natural beauty, can do more for your mind, body and spirit than you ever imagined. But as long as you're still looking out the steamy window of your indoor gym while logging yet one more mile on the treadmill (yawn), you'll never know.



Diane Raymond is the Founder and President of Blue Sky Gym, a Columbus, OH-based personal training business specializing in in-home and outdoor personal training, lifestyle and weight management coaching, live workshops and educational resources. She is also a noted consultant and workshop presenter. You can visit her website at: http://www.blueskygym.com


Article Source: Ezinearticles.com