Love Yourself Fitness and Training program – Week 1

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today we launch the “Love Yourself” Fitness and Training program and what better day to start taking better care of yourself than on Valentine’s Day!  You are the only person you are going to be with every day and every moment of your entire life and your health is your most important asset! If you take the time out of your busy schedule to do what you need to do to be at your best then that will positively impact every part of your life – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually! And then you’ll be better able to take care of all those you love!  Remember what they say on an airline flight…put your oxygen mask on first before you help the person beside you!

Now remember it’s not enough to just think about taking your health and fitness to a new level.  It does you no good to just talk about it.  You actually have to DO something.  So today I propose you give yourself the best Valentine’s Day gift ever and launch this program and get in the best shape of your life!

Each week I will provide you with easy tips that you can implement right away so that week by week you are getting closer to your Personal Best!  If you make the commitment and follow along with this program, you can expect to improve your aerobic fitness, muscle tone and flexibility, increase your energy levels and reduce your body fat.

Week 1: Focus on this week’s tips.  By the end of the week, you will have started to develop a fitness habit in these areas and you’ll be ready for week 2.

Cardiovascular Conditioning: Find an aerobic activity like walking, jogging, cycling, hiking, fitness classes, dance or swimming that you know you can stick to a minimum of 3x/week.  Don’t choose jogging if you hate to jog.  You’ll never stick to it long enough to get any results.  One workout go shorter and harder, another more moderate intensity and duration and another workout long and easy.

Beginner:  Perform your activity 3x this week.

Intermediate:  Perform your activity 4x this week.

Advanced:  Perform your activity 5x this week.

Muscle Conditioning: Complete the YouTube Muscle conditioning segment below.  Go for 3x this week on alternate days. Today’s program doesn’t require any additional equipment.  I wanted to show you that you can give yourself an amazing workout anywhere with no equipment whatsoever.  You’ll see I’m right in the privacy of my living room and I’m just using body weight.  You’ll have to excuse the low production quality. It’s just me and my girlfriend and a flip camera.  But heck, what do you expect?!  It’s free!  And sometimes, the best things in life don’t cost a thing!  Have fun!

If you can’t view the clip above, cut and paste the next link into your browser.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZjhyrZbC6A

Beginner:  Perform 1 set

Intermediate:  Perform 2 sets

Advanced:  Perform 3 sets

Nutrition: Drink 10- 8 glasses of water each day.  Purchase a water bottle and have it with you every where you go.  You may find yourself running to the washroom more but this sensation with subside in a few weeks. This week instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t be eating instead focus on consuming the suggested water intake and at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday.

Other helpful strategies: Purchase an 8.5 x 11 sized notebook that you’ll start using today as your activity and nutrition log.  Record in it daily how much you exercise and what and how much you eat.  Most studies show just the act of recording this information instantly results in better habits and is a great way to guarantee results!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

ps.  Stay tuned next Monday for a new exercise routine. We’ll be using a set of light and heavy handweights and a step or bench.