Archive for: holidays
New Year, New You? Dominating Your Fitness High Ground
So, it’s that time of year again! The New Year is here and you’re beginning to realize the holiday parties and eggnog have taken their toll on your waistline. Or maybe you’ve just been suffering from too many hours in the office and too few hours in the gym. Never fear! The New Year is all about making a fresh start and setting out to reclaim your sleek physique. After all, it’s tough to dominate your high ground when you’re too busy holding down the couch.
NikkiFitness Holiday Gift Guide
Three products that make working out better: NikkiFitness Holiday Gift Guide
Listen: Some people love the sound of their heart pounding, the birds chirping, the treadmill whirling. Others like a distraction to get the through their workout.
If you need audio help to get you through those extra few minutes at the gym or on the run to shed those extra pounds, try listening to audio books! While print books can be too difficult to scan while moving about (I personally think that if you can read a book or magazine while on the bike or treadmill you are not working hard enough!), audio books let the narrator do all of the work, while you enjoy the benefits of an enthralling story and extra calorie burning!
Tips for a Guiltless Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is upon us, and with it comes some of the anxiety that is associated with holiday eating and weight gain. There are some very simple changes you can make to be healthier and prevent weight gain. A typical Thanksgiving meal contains about 3,500 calories. Coincidentally, there are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat!
Here are some tips to keep in mind next week during your Thanksgiving holiday…
Healthy Holiday Travel Tips
The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day can be the most damaging and unhealthy time of the whole year. While Thanksgiving is behind us, Christmas and New Year’s weeks are upon us, and it’s never too late to get on top of your nutritional game! There is no better time than right now to make yourself and your health a priority. Since so many people will be traveling over the next couple of weeks, I wanted to provide you with a toolkit to take with you on the road, plane, or train (or even to use at home) during this challenging time of year.
Holidays Made Perfect
Teammates, once again the holidays are here, and for many of us, the holidays are a potluck of mixed emotions from joy and happiness to stress and sadness. For me, the holidays are an Awesome time of year – I love seeing my boys getting all amped-up about Santa, reconnecting with old friends, and of course great bonding with buddies and my bride and my family. However, without fail, I run into folks that don’t feel the same way I do about the holidays…that’s fine – it’s their call…and that’s what I want to remind you about.
Free Fitness Gifts for Helping a Child! (2 Days Only!)
Want to grab some cool free fitness gifts while helping to grant a sick child’s wish?
It’s a real win-win scenario and here’s how to help yourself and a needy child all at the same time…
You see, one of my life’s dreams has always been to work with children who are very sick or terminally ill to add more hope & happiness in their life. As a father of an 8 y.o. little boy, I can’t imagine what it would be like if my son, Tristan, were to be diagnosed with cancer, multiple sclerosis, or some other debilitating disease. Children should be running down the sidewalk with their friends — laughing, jumping, playing. Yet so many watch other children play while they lie in bed, sit in a wheelchair, or get into the car time after time for the endless visits to be poked and prodded by doctors and hooked up to machines. Recently I’ve begun to work with the “Make A Wish Foundation”, an organization that brings hope and joy to sick children by granting them a “wish” they’ve always wanted. (http://Wish.org)
Holiday Fitness with Fox and Friends!
We are in the thick of it! Holiday shopping, parties, traveling and stress take a toll on our bodies and calendars. Studies show that the average person gains between 1–5 pounds during the holidays. That means 15–75 pounds since 1995 if you didn’t work it off!
I teamed up with Fox and Friends to show some holiday fitness moves that you can do anywhere - a hotel room, your grandmother’s basement, or an airport. Check out these moves and my Fit Travel Workout DVD for full body toning and cardio moves that require no equipment. It only takes 30 minutes to be in the thin of it this year, and boost your mood while lowering stress by fitting in your fitness this holiday season.
NikkiFitness Approved: Holiday Fit Gift Guide
Each year I make my list and check it twice, and take out anything that does not support a fit lifestyle . Sometimes, I find something I like so much I get on for myself and 10 for my friends and family! Here are the top four gifts that I have already made staples in my fit life, and recommend to you as well. They include a way to stay fit on the road and have fun at the same time, exercise shoes guaranteed to last, mini-treats to entertain at home without ruining your diet, and something personalized to carry it all in!
Rubberbanditz — $39.95. Work out Anywhere, Anytime! You all know I am a fan of “Fitting in your fitness” and I myself traveled around the world shooting my Fit Travel Workout. So I fell in love with the exercise bands (not tubing) and video of the creator working out in crazy locations in Guatemala. (You must check out his video on the RubberBanditz home page.) His story: After enduring the rigors of a Division 1 collegiate basketball career, Ari Zandman-Zeman followed his dreams by joining the U.S. Peace Corps, where he was posted in Union Island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Eastern Caribbean. He created an inexpensive, sustainable, portable and fun way to work out in the developing nations. Ari is a certified personal trainer and native Alaskan who enjoys working out in out-of-the-ordinary places. The gym is no longer far away or too expensive, because these bands, handles, how-to video, booklet, and accessories let you exercises your freedom to go anywhere and stay in shape. If facing a deployment in a geographically isolated place, these pack light and take up very little space and stay “army strong.” A portion of the proceeds go to set up small exercise band gyms in the developing world and help promote personal health and hygiene on a grassroots level.
Free 5 Minute Multitasking Workout!
The heavy holidays loom on the calendar, so you need a good defense. I’ve edited a free 5 minute abs routine from my Hard Core Abs DVD for you to try out multitasking your workouts (by using the arms abs and legs together in one move). These moves work your abs, biceps, triceps, chest and inner and outer thighs while saving you time. That means just three moves for six muscle groups, and every one works the abs in an intense way.
Check out the free video here…
10 Tips to Stay Healthy This Holiday
The best way to make it through the holidays without overeating and drinking is to have a plan. Here are my 10 Fitness resolutions to make it through the holidays and avoid a New Years weight loss resolution:
1. I will make dates to see my friends and family and do something that doesn’t involve eating and drinking. I will walk through the park, ice skate, cross country ski, walk the mall, take a yoga or cardio class, or run on a treadmill right next to my friend.
2. I will think of food as a fuel, not as a gift, which means passing on food that is high in fat and sugar, and taking HALF the portion everyone else heaps onto their plate.
3. If I have to be at a restaurant, I will identify the 3 healthiest things on the menu and pick between those.
Fitness DVD Giveaway for Holiday Health
It’s holiday season and I am getting in the spirit! My Military Wife Workout DVD makes the perfect gift to yourself or your wife. Its also a way to get started on your healthy New Year resolutions.
The first 5 people to email me from my website “mailing list” page and mention this blog will get a free DVD and weekly free motivational emails if you’d like.
Happy Holidays! Fitness, Fit it in.
Give the Gift of Health This Holiday!
How do you save money this holiday shopping season, while giving a gift that is good for your loved ones, and contains items they will actually use? Start with some healthy motivation, food and bath products that you can buy in bulk and sprinkle among several gift bags or stockings! This is what I will be giving this year…
Working Out Helps at Work!
You have a vacation hangover.
I can see the signs. The Bob Marley music playing from your computer, the non-stop coffee breaks, the computer screen wandering to travel websites… It’s hard to focus on getting back to the grind while daydreaming of summer bike rides and beaches! You want to avoid anything that could bring you back to the computer slouching, blackberry –addicted, stress case you were a few months ago.
Celebrate the FIT Way this 4th of July Holiday
The best way to make it through the holidays without overeating and drinking is to have a plan. Here are my 10 Fitness resolutions to make it through the July 4th holiday BBQs!
1. I will make dates to see my friends and family and do something that doesn’t involve eating and drinking. I will walk through the park, ice skate, cross country ski, walk the mall, take a yoga or cardio class, or run on a treadmill right next to my friend.
2. I will think of food as a fuel, not as a gift, which means passing on food that is high in fat and sugar, and taking HALF the portion everyone else heaps onto their plate.
3. If I have to be at a restaurant, I will identify the 3 healthiest things on the menu and pick between those. Cut and close the menu!
Click to Keep the Resolutions Alive!
I was on WABC TV in New York for a fitness resolution segment this past Sunday.
I give many multi-tasking fitness moves for you to do at home and tips to stay motivated to work out after the New Year Resolution.
Hope you enjoy!
Listen and Get Fit This Holiday Week!
NikkiFitness now has playlists on iTunes. Follow this link for over 5 new DVD or treadmill interval soundtracks!
A great soundtrack tailored for my mood and workout! That is why I don’t include standard music on my DVDs and instead have sugggested playlists on my site.
Fitness, Fit it in.
Workout of the Week: Long Weighted Abs
It’s the Heavy Holidays, so our middle is on our minds!
Everyone asks about abdominal toning moves, and between Thanksgiving and January 30, I get the most questions about great moves for this area.
Here is one that I love, because you can change it to 3 different levels, from modified to advanced, to athlete.
I will explain the “athlete” or level 3 as pictured here, and then explain how to modify it.
How to Start an Active Holiday Tradition
I recently interviewed for an article about starting healthy holiday traditions, and I think the article turned out great — things that apply to just about everyone traveling during the holidays and dealing with family and outside pressures that can be unhealthy.
Here is the article featured in Healthy Living.
My grandparents’ house, where I spend most holidays, is like a black hole—in a good way: Whenever I’m there, I spend most of my time sleeping, eating, and lazing about, pleasantly sedated by the combination of the blazing fireplace, the comfy blankets that Grandma knits and leaves on all of the furniture, and the inevitable food coma that results after one of our afternoon Pennsylvania Dutch feasts. My parents have actually asked me if I ever sleep in New York, since I seem to need a lot of catching up in that department whenever we’re at Grandma and Grandpa’s.
5 Healthy Holiday Tips
Here is a helpful video from Fox and Friends last week — 5 tips to avoid the heavy holidays and how to do a perfect pushup.
Enjoy!
Healthy Holidays: How to Stay Fit During the Party Season
Make it to the New Year Without Gaining Weight
The best way to make it through the holidays without overeating and drinking is to have a plan.
Here are my 10 Fitness resolutions to make it through the holidays and avoid a New Years weight loss resolution.
1. I will make dates to see my friends and family and do something that doesn’t involve eating and drinking. I will walk through the park, ice skate, cross country ski, walk the mall, take a yoga or cardio class, or run on a treadmill right next to my friend.
2. I will think of food as a fuel, not as a gift, which means passing on food that is high in fat and sugar, and taking HALF the portion everyone else heaps onto their plate.
