Tag Archives: Online fitness

Summer Workout Motivation

Posted on by
Summer Workout Motivation

Summer Workout Motivation

Are you looking for some summer workout motivation? We all know how it goes.?? January hits and we are back on board with our workout routine. ???This year is going to be different,??? we all promise.?? And we do pretty well.?? As summer approaches with the threat of the itsy bitsy bikini, our motivation stays relatively high. But what is this? Summer hits, school is out, the kids are home and somehow 2 weeks passes by with barely a blip on the workout radar! With backyard barbeques grilling up tasty steaks and sausages just needing to be washed down with our favorite beer, margarita or sangria, the calories just start adding up ??? and so do the pounds. It can be scary how tight our jeans and shirts can get inside of a fortnight.

It???s so important to keep moving towards our fitness goals. (By the way, what are yours? Answering ???losing weight??? doesn???t count ??? it???s not specific enough!). When you???re juggling kids, housework, summer camps and activities, your own health gets quickly shoved to the back burner.?? But in all fairness, shouldn???t you give your own well-being at least the same priority as you give to the health of your little darlings??? As close as you can to the start of your summer, after the wee ones are in bed (or any other quiet moment) PLAN where and when you will exercise. Keep an open mind.?? Some moms love waking up early around 6:00am and either head out to the gym for an hour or workout from home and come home before the kids are awake. Other moms prefer to go biking with the kids or sneaking in a quick weight workout while the kids are at activities.?? There???s always an opportunity ??? find yours!

Remember too, that in order for exercise to be effective, it DOESN???T need to last an hour.?? Alternating weights with cardio can cut down your time commitment.?? For example, on Monday, do 20 mins of interval cardio. Then on Tuesday, do weights on your upper body (Biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest and back). Remember to stretch after both cardio and weight workouts! On Wednesday do cardio again ??? you could go for a longer run or a swim but make sure that you get your heart rate up for at least 30 ??? 45 mins if you???re not doing interval training. Thursday would be your lower body day. Include quads, hamstrings, calves, lower back and abs.?? Friday is a good rest day.?? Saturday could be a cardio day with Sunday a rest day again.

So stay committed! Find a friend to go with you or just trade babysitting favors with her.?? Stay in shape ??? you???ll thank yourself in September with the holiday season just around the corner!!

About the Author: Alex K is an online Fitness Professional providing health and wellness to the world through his online workout program Cardio Blast. Members of www.Cardioblast.com receive new cardio workouts every week, strength training programs, 50 page meal plan, fitness tracking and personal training included with their membership.

Facebook:???? www.facebook.com/cardioblast
You Tube:???? www.youtube.com/user/CardioBlastWorkout
Twitter:???? www.twitter.com/alexkotai
Pinterest:???? www.pinterest.com/cardioblast

3 things you need to know before you stop exercising

Posted on by
3 things you need to know before you stop exercising

3 things you need to know before you stop exercising

The average person will often go through a roller coaster ride with their exercise programs. Some weeks they exercise and other weeks they get ???busy??? or ???lazy??? and don???t exercise. Weeks can turn into months and this creates a lot of problems in terms of staying in shape and managing their weight. This is why consistency in your workouts is extremely important.

People often ask me why I am so dedicated to my workouts and why I don???t skip them. I tell them that it is actually easier to exercise regularly than it is to take breaks and start back up again. By taking days or even weeks off from exercise you make the process of staying in shape difficult. Here are 3 things you need to know before you stop exercising.

First of all, every time you stop exercising for a few days, weeks or months you take your body back into restart mode. Since you are always ???restarting??? the workout process, the body goes through its usual phase of being extremely sore. We???ve all had that feeling when we go back to an exercise program or we start a new one. There is usually a great deal of soreness and discomfort for many days. This then makes it difficult to work out in the days ahead and further hurts your motivation to workout causing you to take another so called ???break???. By exercising regularly you can avoid the extreme soreness that happens after longer breaks.

The second major problem is that it messes with your metabolism. When you work out regularly your metabolism is elevated which means you burn more calories every day both while exercising and while at rest. By stopping and starting your workouts you jerk your metabolism around which will eventually affect you long term. It speeds up and then it slows down over and over again. As people age their metabolism does not increase as easily and all the years of creating the ups and downs means a much harder time keeping the weight off. A consistent metabolism will help you keep your weight steadier over the years.

Finally, by regularly working out, both your body and mind are prepared for it and it becomes a regular part of your daily routine like eating and sleeping. You end up feeling that ???high??? that you get from exercising and you look forward to it daily. This makes life much simpler and healthier. You honestly end up needing your workouts and you do it because you feel better. You have more energy, less illness, sleep better and feel better about yourself. This in turn feeds your desire to exercise again and the upward spiral continues!

About the Author: Alex K is an online Fitness Professional providing health and wellness to the world through his online workout program Cardio Blast. Members of www.Cardioblast.com receive new cardio workouts every week, full meal planning, fitness tracking and personal training included with their membership.

Fix your posture before it damages you

Posted on by
Fix your posture before it damages you

Fix your posture before it damages you

Posture is a good overall indicator of the health of your muscles and we don???t look at it very often at all. Just by looking at someone standing up you can tell a lot about whether their muscles are weak, strong, tight or flexible.

Have someone stand up and take a look at them from the side. Here are some pointers on some things that could be going wrong with their posture and some suggestions on how to fix your posture before it damages you.

??? The top of the head is level and not dropped down at the forehead (ie. texting syndrome where people are constantly looking down at their phones). This can cause strain in the neck and possible headaches. Make sure your head is level. It may seem ackward at first but give it a couple of weeks and it will seem more natural.

??? The head should also be retracted back so that the neck is vertical and not angled forward. The ear should be aligned over the ball of the shoulder joint and not in front of it.

??? The shoulders should be rotated back and not rounded forwarded. Many people have their shoulders rounded forward (ie. in a slouched position) and this causes their chest to tighten up and their upper back muscles to weaken. You often see seniors with what looks like a ???hunched??? upper back. This is caused by tight chest muscles, weak upper back muscles and degenerating bones. Stand tall keeping your shoulders back for a strong posture.

??? The stomach and low back should be tall and strong. Often times you will see the stomach rounded, the hips tilted forward and the low back in an excessive arched position. You want your stomach and back to be tall and work as one unit. This has the effect of making you seem leaner in the stomach and will help reduce pain in your lower back.

??? The ball joint at the top of your leg (where the leg bone connects into your hip joint) should be aligned vertically under the shoulder joint.

??? The knee joint should also be aligned with hip and shoulder joint as well. The knees need to remain slightly bent and not locked.

??? Finally, the ankle joint should also be aligned with the knee, hip and shoulder joint.

The younger you are the easier it is to correct your posture as your muscles are generally stronger and more flexible. As you age, your muscles become stiffer and smaller. This makes it more difficult to maintain a correct posture. If you find that you have any of the issues above we recommend that you undertake both a strength training and flexibility program to help you correct and maintain a strong posture. This can be implemented at any age!

About the Author: Alex K is an online Fitness Professional providing health and wellness to the world through his online workout program Cardio Blast. Members of www.Cardioblast.com receive new cardio workouts every week, full meal planning, fitness tracking and customized online workout programs.

Warmups are key to a good workout

Posted on by
Warmups are key to a good workout

Warmups are key to a good workout

One of the most important keys to a successful workout is a good warm-up. People often skip or cut their warm-up short, especially if they are in a hurry. However, here are some reasons why warmups are key to a good workout and why you need to make sure you plan it into your activities.

First of all, a proper warm-up will help reduce the risk of injury. During the warm-up there is increased blood flow to the muscles. This increased blood flow increases the temperature of the muscle along with its elasticity. By increasing the elasticity, the muscles are able to stretch further during your workout without becoming injured. Your warm-up should include what is called ???dynamic stretching???. This is where you do moving stretches that stretch the muscle out and then relax it. This is repeated over and over again until the muscle is able to achieve the length needed for the activity you are going to pursue without feeling excessive strain.

The second benefit of a good warm-up is that it reduces lactic acid buildup in the muscles. When you workout intensely you get waste products (lactic acid) that build up in your muscles and this reduces the intensity with which you can workout as well as causes soreness in the muscles. By gradually increasing the intensity of your workout through a proper warm-up, you delay the process of lactic acid buildup. The muscles are better able to effectively get rid of the lactic acid and this gives you a better workout.

If you are playing sports a proper warm-up also helps facilitate the mind-muscle connection. This helps your brain send the right messages to the right muscles in the fastest way possible. If you???ve ever tried to go play a sport and feel a little ???rusty??? when you start you???ll know what this means. Your hand eye coordination and balance just don???t seem right if you go straight into activity. Therefore, a proper warm-up that gets the mind-muscle link properly established will allow you to be ready to compete right from the start of your competition. This includes footwork drills where the feet are made to move over and around objects, balance drills that challenge both sides of the body and hand eye coordination drills for sports that involve the use of objects.

Plan a proper warm-up into your exercise routine and we guarantee you will notice better results immediately.

About the Author: Alex K is an online Fitness Professional providing health and wellness to the world through his online workout program Cardio Blast. Members of www.Cardioblast.com receive new cardio workouts every week, full meal planning, fitness tracking and personal training included with their membership.

Cardio Blast in the Dragons Den

Posted on by
Cardio Blast in the Dragons Den

Cardio Blast in the Dragons Den

Cardio Blast in the Dragons Den! Cardio Blast President and Founder Alex K recently found himself in the Dragons Den to film a segment for the hit CBC show. The online fitness pro describes the experience as being one of the coolest things he has done in his life.

“I got a call last Tuesday from the Dragons Den producer saying we want you to fly to Toronto and come film on Sunday morning” said Alex K. This didn’t leave him a lot of time to prepare. “I had Wednesday and Thursday to book flights and hotels & prepare my presentation and props knowing that once I got to Toronto there wouldn’t be a lot of time for last minute changes.”

Once in Toronto there was one day to prepare and then Alex K had to be at the CBC studio at 6:45am on Sunday morning. “Getting up at 5:00am on Sunday morning wouldn’t have been so bad except my body was on Pacific time which meant I was waking up at 2:00am. This meant very little sleep for what I would consider to be the biggest presentation of my life.” said Alex K.

“Being in the Dragons Den was kind of surreal. I got to talk to and present the Cardioblast.com business model to Jim Treliving, Kevin O’Leary, Bruce Coxon, David Chilton and Arlene Dickinson. These are the same people I watch every week on the hit CBC show. It was a great experience just to be in the presence of these fabulous entrepreneurs.”

Alex K isn’t allow to disclose the results of the show to anyone until after the show airs. “I was filming for the fall season so it will be a little ways away before the pitch hits the air.”

Cardioblast.com is an online workout program where users get a new online workout every week plus a full 50 page meal plan and fitness tracker for the low cost of $19.99 per month.

What is Cardio Blast

Posted on by
Cardio Blast

Cardio Blast

Cardio Blast is the newest innovation in the fitness industry developed by fitness pro Alex K. This online workout program brings users the full fitness package right to their home or wherever they have online access around the world.

What makes Cardio Blast different from the other fitness programs out there?

  • All workout programs are delivered online to users so they can access their workouts anywhere in the world where they have online access.
  • Users get a new workout video every week for the low cost of $4.61 per week.
  • Most of the drills are sports based giving users a unique workout with a lot of variety.
  • With the Cardio Blast training methodology, users can burn 800 – 1000 calories in a 45 minute workout which makes their workout time very efficient.
  • Users get a full Meal Plan included with their workout with many meals and snacks to choose from. The Meal Tracker will also help them to stay on track with the calories they consume.
  • The Cardio Blast Fitness Tracker helps users to track all of their activities and goals. This keeps them accountable and helps them stay the course.

To add to all of this there are no contract periods. Users can sign up, use it whenever they like and cancel at any time with no fees!

For more information on our programming please visit www.blog.cardioblast.com.