A balanced life is definitely your best chance for a quality life.

The book contains 52 encouraging stories from experts who will help you grow, change, expand and evolve into the best version of yourself. My story is on page 59, in case you’re wondering. I am grateful that Evita asked me to contribute to this great book!

Here are some quotes from the introduction of the book:

“Change is the most constant phenomenon of life. We see it on every level from the microcosm to the macrocosm. Our Universe is constantly changing; our solar system; our planet. Nature is constantly exhibiting change. Our bodies change. Our minds change. Our relationships change. Cultures, customs and traditions change. Political policies, economies and our world constantly changes.”

“Given this, one would think that the human being would be an expert at dealing with change. Yet it is this very phenomenon that causes us the most problems, challenges, heartaches and headaches. Most of us resist change on every level, and at every chance we get. We are quick to form attachments, derive habits and try to live in a predetermined, stationary state. Change causes us to complain, become depressed, confused and harbor various negative thoughts and feelings, which in turn lead to negative behaviors. What we do not realize however, is that going against the Universal nature of all that is—change—is the root cause of our dissatisfaction and unhappiness. It is not the person, place, thing or event that makes us unhappy, but change itself, or rather how we deal with it.”

“To understand why this is so, we have to understand or realize another given in nature—growth. If we look around at just the natural world, which is our best and most trusted teacher, we can see that if something living is not growing (or expanding), it is dying. Even the things we consider non-living are undergoing constant change. If we relate this to our human nature, we begin to see that what causes us the most pain and suffering is the suppression of our internal growth. It is natural for us to grow, this is what feels good. While we can have periods of integration, it is unnatural for us to stand still or contract, or experience a sort of inner dying. It is painful on many levels of our being.”

“Growth. Change. Expansion. Evolution. Each of these is in its own way synonymous with life, living and being alive. Change fuels growth and expansion, and in turn we evolve. Yet it is these very aspects that most of us fight against and try to suppress on a daily basis. We undervalue growth/change/expansion/evolution of the self, others and society, and they mirror this back on us. Therefore in going against nature—our nature—we subject ourselves to lives based on struggles and suffering. We expect things and people to stay the same, when we should be celebrating change.”

“Whether you know it yet or not as your personal truth, at our essence, we are energy beings. We are infinite. We are eternal. Therefore our soul, our spirit, our essence craves growth and expansion. When we deny ourselves this, we feel pain—mental and emotional pain, that oftentimes even turns into physical pain. All of us expect a baby to grow into a child and then into an adult. We would find it unnatural and problematic if a baby did not experience physical growth and change into an adult human being one day. Yet while we accept this external physical growth, we often forget that there is also an internal spiritual/mental/emotional growth taking place as well. And unlike the physical growth, our internal growth is not meant to stop, not in this lifetime, nor beyond it.”

“There are 52 stories, subdivided evenly between the mind, body and spirit sections. Why 52? One reason is to give you lots of resources of insights and inspiration that can be used along your personal journey of change, growth, expansion and personal evolution. Secondly, there are 52 stories so that there is one for every week of the year.”

Evita recommends that you read this book in one of the following ways: randomly, weekly, all at once, or by section.

One of my favorite sections in the book is “We Are In This Together.” This is why Evita wrote this book—we need to help each other in this life.

Download your Free Book now because “This Is Your Year!“

Evita Ochel
EvolvingBeings.com

Don’t let your metabolism get sluggish or slow down. The number one reason that womens’ metabolisms slow down is loss of muscle mass. Save your muscle mass with short, effective interval cardio workouts like shuttles.

Muscle tissue is the most metabolically active tissue in your body. Your body has to work harder to maintain muscle mass. So, muscle mass is your top fat-burning tool. Work hard to build and maintain your body.

Circuit weight training workouts with light weights increase growth hormone in your body. Growth hormone elevations during this type of exercise have been shown to decrease body fat and increase protein synthesis after exercise. Growth hormone helps promote tissue repair and muscle mass growth from lifting weights.

Intense interval cardio exercises such as sprints and shuttles also increase growth hormone release.

Heavy weight lifting (you won’t get bulky) will give you exercise-induced testosterone increases, which will help you build muscle mass.

“As women age, their metabolisms slow down, mainly because they are losing five or six pounds of muscle each decade starting in the mid-20s,” explains fitness expert Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., fitness research director of the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts.

“There’s no reason you can’t have the same metabolism in your 30s and 40s that you had in your 20s,” stresses Pamela Peeke, M.D., author of Fight Fat After Forty.

Use shuttle runs to add variety to your cardio workouts, burn fat faster and really lean and tone your body.

Shuttle runs are effective fat burners because of at least three mechanisms:

1. Interval cardio - Research has proven that the benefits of anaerobic exercise (like sprint interval cardio) is superior to aerobic exercise for fat loss, fitness and heart health.

The progression of your cardio exercise should be low-intensity aerobics to moderate/high-intensity aerobics to high-intensity anaerobic exercise.

2. Speed – Sprinting activates your bulkier, shapely fast twitch muscle fibers. These fast twitch muscle fibers lie dormant when you do slow-paced cardio sessions (hint).

Sprinting will really burn the fat on your butt, hips, thighs, hamstrings and lower legs. Fat will also be burned on your upper body. You don’t have to be fast, just run as fast as you can during the shuttle.

3. Sudden changes in direction – This adds more intensity to an otherwise intense form of exercise. Shuttles will improve your dynamic balance, power and coordination.

Try these 2 shuttle runs for cardio in your workouts to burn more fat (run on grass or rubber surface):

Speed Shuttle Drill or 5-10-5 Cone Drill – Place three cones in a straight line, 5 yards apart. Start in a 2-point or 3-point stance at the middle cone.

Run as fast as you can to the left cone (5 yds) and touch ground with your hand, run as fast as you can to the right cone (10 yds) and touch ground with your hand and finish running through the middle cone. That’s one repetition. Rest 1 minute between sets. Do 8-10 sets per workout session.

Speed Endurance Shuttle Run – Place cones at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 yards. Sprint to the 5 yard cone and sprint back to the start. Then, sprint to the 10 yard cone and sprint back to the start. The same would be done at the 15, 20 and 30 yard cones. That is one set. Rest for 2 minutes between sets. Do 5-6 sets.

Add shuttle runs to your exercise mix and you will start to see your body toning up faster.

Be sure and download my FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program and torch body fat now!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Check out my other great blogs:

My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

You can use smoothies in the following ways for fat loss and weight management:

1. Smoothies are a great choice for healthy, energizing snacks during the day. Forget about the 100-calorie snack packs and sugary treats for snacks. They leave you unsatisfied, under-nourished and wanting to eat even more.

The American Dietetic Association also recommends healthy snacking. Snacks bridge the gap between meals and can help you eat less at regular mealtime.

Going too long between meals can cause you to load up on sugary carbohydrates to get quick energy. These types of snacks are usually high in calories, not very nutritious and cause rapid ups and downs in blood sugar levels (you will crash).

Do not skip meals. Eating every 3-4 hours keeps your metabolism and energy humming during the day. Starving yourself or severely cutting your calories will only slow your metabolism and cause you to store fat (your body’s survival mechanism).

2. You can use smoothies as meal replacements. You can use all sorts of healthy foods that you love in them. A 400-calorie smoothie is an ideal meal replacement if you’re on the run or don’t know what to eat.

3. Smoothies are ideal for pre- and post-workout nutrition. This will help you build more muscle mass. You have to eat enough of the right foods to rebuild your muscles bigger. Even if you gain weight, you will be leaner because muscle takes up less space than fat.

4. Avoid weight gain while you travel by packing smoothies. Food in airports are overpriced and many times unhealthy. Some of you travel as much as 200 days a year. Smoothies can help keep your eating under control. So, don’t just plan and pack your clothes….plan and pack your foods also. Haphazard eating or grazing will skyrocket your calories and pack pounds on your body.

Here are 2 smoothies from my FREE Download Smoothies for Every Day:

PEANUT BUTTER SMOOTHIE

–1/4 cups peanut butter, chunky or smooth
–1 cup vanilla ice cream
–1 cup milk

Place all ingredients into blender and blend on high until just combined.

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA SMOOTHIE

–2 large ripe bananas, peeled, sliced, frozen
–2 cups milk
–1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
–2 tablespoons sugar
–1 teaspoon imitation banana extract

Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into tall glasses and serve immediately.

It doesn’t take many ingredients to make smoothies, so you will save money. There are over 100 recipes in the book for you to use every day if you want!

Download your free Smoothies Book now!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Check out my other great blogs:

My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

You don’t have to compete in contests to build a lean body (although competing can be a good changeup and motivator). And, you don’t have to get bulky like a man. But, you have to build muscle mass, burn fat and shrink your body to lean and toned. Notice that I haven’t said anything about losing weight! Shift your focus to burning fat and the weight loss will come too.

Jump training (plyometrics) and other high-speed exercises can be incorporated into any workout for all body types. Plyometrics and high-speed training will give your body better definition and give you faster results. That is why athletes’ bodies are so well defined. Good jump training exercises are squat jumps, pike jumps, depth jumps, jump rope and box jumps.

Also, sprinting is one of the best body sculptor exercises available. Avoid long, steady-state cardio sessions (defined as 40 minutes or more) unless you are a beginner or recovering from illness or injuries. Too much slow, long, steady-state cardio has been shown to waste away your valuable muscle mass.

Body types for women can be broken down into 4 basic types. Keep in mind that every woman needs to do core exercises like planks, bird dogs, hanging leg raises, back extensions and bridges regardless of body type. And, sprint interval cardio sessions (20 minutes per session) are superior for fat-burning and heart-health purposes. Some women may need extra ab work.

Body Type 1

A woman with a thin, linear shape (ectomorph). Muscle mass needs to be built on the entire body. A woman with this body type has trouble gaining muscle mass. Good exercises: Concentrate on compound exercises like squats, bench press, leg press, deadlift, lunges, step ups, shoulder press and bentover row to build major muscle groups and add definition to your body. Calf raises, triceps dips, biceps curls and leg curls are also needed.

If this is your body type, you also need to make sure you eat enough! Many times, a woman with a thin, linear body type can “eat anything she wants” and still have trouble gaining weight. Or, she will “eat like a bird” and remain skinny. So, weight training and proper eating are critical for building muscle if you have this body type.

Body Type 2

You have thin arms and legs with excess fat in the mid-section of your body. You need to burn abdominal fat and build muscle mass in the other parts of your body.

Belly fat causes serious health problems! Scientist have learned much more about fat cells (adipose tissue) than ever before.

Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that abdominal fat cells secrete inflammatory proteins that cause damage to blood vessels and other cells, leading to diseases like cancer, heart disease and Metabolic Syndrome!

Of course, don’t just focus on your belly fat. Focus on burning total body fat with full body circuit strength training and short, intense cardio sessions.

Strength exercises for fat loss should focus on maximizing your time at the gym. Build more muscle mass to speed up your metabolism and burn more fat.

Good exercises to include for Type 2 body type:

Upper body: bench press, triceps dips on bars, shoulder press, one-arm bentover rows and biceps curls.

Lower body: squats, lunges, step ups, leg press, deadlift, calf raises and leg curls.

Abdominal area: ab ball curl ups, reverse knee ups, hanging leg raises, back extensions, bridges, planks, medicine ball chops and medicine ball trunk rotations.

Body Type 3

You are petite in your upper body and heavy in your lower body. Build muscle mass in your upper body and burn fat and tone your hips, thighs and butt. Exercise your body in all 3 planes of motion to improve the 3-D shape of your arms, shoulders, chest, back, butt, hips and thighs. An example would be a grouping of walking lunges, side lunges and transverse lunges.

Good exercises:

Upper body: Bench press, triceps dips on bars, shoulder press, one-arm bentover row and bicep curls are all good exercises. You will need to challenge yourself with heavier weights to build muscle.

Lower body: Do light weight circuit training with high repetitions (10-12) to burn lower body fat (squats, lunges, step ups, leg curls, cable leg abductions/adductions, etc.). Also, incorporate many one-legged exercises such as power step ups, single leg squats, single leg good mornings, single leg medicine ball exercises, etc. These types of exercises are more intense than two-legged exercises. High-speed jump training is also effective for this body type.

Good jump training exercises are squat jumps, pike jumps, depth jumps, jump rope and box jumps. Sprint interval cardio also works well for this body type.

Body Type 4

You have a type 4 body type if you have wide shoulders and a narrow waist. If you have this body type, you tend to gain weight evenly throughout your body. You are probably athletic.

You will need a full body fat burning program. Do full body light weight circuit training with high repetitions (10-12) to burn total body fat. High-speed jump training is also effective if this is your body type.

You tend to be muscular with large bones and thick joints. Due to you having more muscle mass, you usually don’t have weight problems unless you overeat and undertrain. You also respond to weight training by building muscle mass much faster than other body types.

You probably know where your body stores the most fat. When you train, don’t neglect areas of your body. For instance, it is critical to stabilize and strengthen your body’s core first. This will aid you when you train other areas of your body.

Be sure and download my FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program and torch body fat now!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Check out my other great blogs:

My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

Bodyweight Strength Workouts

This article is also helpful: Burn Fat Like a Female Athlete

Yes, bodyweight strength workouts will transform your body to “lean and mean!” Just get ready for short and tough workouts.

Bodyweight strength workouts allow you to burn fat using natural body motions. Machines limit your natural range of motion. Try doing a squat on the Smith Machine and see how natural that feels.

To be fair, machine workouts can be beneficial for beginners. But, even beginners should not stay with the machines for too long. Why? Because machines also stabilize your body for you. You need to develop strength that allows your body to stabilize itself. Also, no two people have the same exact motions.

Bodyweight strength exercises allow you to train in all 3 planes of motion (machines usually limit you to training in 1 plane of motion–sagittal). You need to exercise with up, down, rotating, twisting, pushing, pulling and side-to-side motions. Train movements and not just muscles.

Research at Duke University, directed by Dr. Cris Slentz, supports high-intensity exercise for better fat loss. The eight-month study showed that people could lose weight with exercise and no dieting. Those who exercised intensely (especially using interval training) lost much more fat than those who exercised moderately.

According to the research, the high-intensity exercisers had these advantages over the low-to-moderate intensity exercisers: more release of fat from cells, more fat used as fuel during exercise and increased metabolic rate after exercise.

Here are some effective bodyweight strength exercises:

1. Pushups on Medicine Ball (pictured above) – This is a tough exercise that not everyone can do! If you need to start with a regular pushup, that’s definitely okay.

How to do pushups on medicine ball:

Put both hands on the ball at arms length. Keep your body straight and torso braced (as if taking a punch in the gut) throughout the movement. Keep your head in line with your torso at all times. Lower your body down to the ball and back to starting position.

This type of pushup requires adequate core strength to do it properly. The pushup on medicine ball will build your upper body stabilizer muscles (chest, arms, shoulders, core, etc.) needed to increase your bench press or other upper body strength exercises.

2. Pullups – The pullup is not just a back muscle exercise. Pullups work your lats (and other back muscles), core, shoulders, arms, chest, biceps and improve grip strength. That’s why you should be doing pullups!

–Hang from a pullup bar with your palms facing away from your body, your arms straight and your feet crossed together with legs bent about 90 degrees. Pull yourself up until your chin passes the bar.

–A wider grip (greater than shoulder width) will work your lats more. A closer grip (shoulder width or less) will work your middle back muscles more.

–If you lack grip strength, you can use straps to help.

Use proper technique when doing a pullup:

–Don’t jut your chin out (it strains your cervical spine).

–Don’t swing. It makes the pullup easier by using momentum. You need to pullup, not swing up.

–Don’t let your chest collapse because that puts too much stress on your shoulders.

–Don’t arch your lower back too much. You want your abdominal muscles to be engaged when you do the pullup. Keep your torso braced (as if taking a punch to the gut) during the pullup.

–When you start the pullup, drive your shoulder blades down and squeeze them together. This will engage your shoulder stabilizers more.

Don’t be afraid of the pullup exercise! Pull it out of the closet and start doing them!

3. Plank on Stability Ball – Isometric bodyweight exercises cause most if not all of your muscles to work during an exercise. To do the plank, you get into position and hold for a period of time (like 20 seconds). Many core exercises are great isometric exercises.

4. Step Ups – The bodyweight step up is one of the best leg toning and strengthening exercises available to you.

Step ups will also improve your dynamic balance. Its not that easy to balance all your weight on one leg (with good form) while stepping up onto a platform.

–Face a bench or platform (knee high) and put your right foot on the bench. Your knee should be bent 90 degrees. Don’t do this exercise with dumbbells until you have mastered the bodyweight version.

–As you lift your body on your right leg, keep your body erect (don’t bend over) and look straight ahead. Balance on your leg for 1-2 seconds and descend. Don’t let your left foot touch the platform.

–Do all required repetitions on the right leg and switch to left leg.

You may have to start with a platform lower than knee-high. Your hamstrings and butt will be worked more with a higher platform.

5. Lunges – Use bodyweight lunges as part of your dynamic warm-up or as a strength exercise. Lunges are great for adding muscular balance and dynamic balance to your lower body because you work one leg at a time (stronger leg can’t compensate for weaker leg).

You also need adequate core strength to keep your body upright during the lunge. Walking lunges improve your speed because you use the same pathways it takes to run fast.

When you do the walking lunge, don’t let your front knee go past your foot and don’t let your back knee touch the ground on the descent. Also, don’t let the front thigh go past parallel to the ground.

To work your hamstrings more, lunge out further with the front leg. A shorter lunge will work the quadriceps more. Most people need more hamstring strength to prevent injuries.

Include walking lunges, forward lunges, reverse lunges, clock lunges and side lunges in your workouts!

6. Squats – Do single leg squats, Y-squats, split squats, Bulgarian split squats, side squats, sumo squats, prisoner squats, sissy squats, etc. Include some sort of squat exercise in every strength workout.

7. Inverted Rows – Include bodyweight inverted rows in your workout routine to work your back muscles in a different way. I will see many people doing barbell rows and dumbbell rows but very few people doing inverted rows. And, inverted rows strengthen much more than just your back muscles…

Inverted rows build strength in your upper back, shoulders and arms. Your core muscles are also engaged during the movement. Inverted rows also improve your stabilizing strength in the low back, glutes and hamstrings. And, when you superset the inverted row with the pushup, you will get better muscular balance between the frontside and backside of your upper body.

–Hang from the bar of a Smith Machine (back to the floor but not touching) and pull your chest up to the bar.

–Keep your body in a straight line throughout the movement and brace your abs. Also, keep your head in line with your torso. Don’t drop the head or jut it forward.

8. Mountain Climbers – Do bodyweight mountain climbers if you’re serious about taking your workout to another level. The mountain climber is a versatile exercise in that you can do it on level ground, on an incline, knee-across-your-body, etc. I like to include mountain climbers as part of a bodyweight cardio session also.

You will burn more abdominal fat and overall body fat by doing mountain climbers.

Either way, include mountain climbers in your workouts more often. It is one of the best and toughest exercises out there. It is a compound exercise in that it works the calves, quadriceps, glutes, back, chest, triceps, abdominals and shoulders. You will need high levels of core strength to do this exercise the right way for each set.

Do mountain climbers this way:

From a push-up position, keep your back flat (do not let your back bow) and pump your legs as fast as possible (if doing as a speed exercise) like you are running in place. Don’t scrape the ground with your shoes as they run forward. And, don’t let your glutes “sag to the ground” when you are fatigued.

If you feel low back pain when doing mountain climbers, stop immediately. It is impossible to do this exercise the right way if you have a bad back.

If you want to start burning fat now, download my FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program!

Bodyweight Cardio Workouts

Note: The exercises listed under “bodyweight strength exercises” can be used in a bodyweight cardio workout.” (this gives you a dual strength/cardio benefit)

Burn more fat with bodyweight cardio (including running interval cardio). If you’re bored with your cardio, just try bodyweight cardio! You won’t get bored again. You need to ramp up the intensity of your cardio workout to get better fat loss and weight loss results.

I don’t recommend doing cardio exercise on machines. Cardio machines do alot of the work for you. Personally, running on cardio machines bores me to tears! Try doing sprint cardio intervals outside on grass and see how tough it is to fight against gravity, ground forces and the elements. You are forced to generate all the momentum and force.

Here are some effective bodyweight cardio exercises:

1. Mountain Climbers – see discussion above

2. Squat Jumps – Use the bodyweight squat jump exercise to better sculpt your body and burn more fat and calories during your workout. Squat jumps remain one of the best exercises to burn fat and help you lean and tone your body because of the high intensity.

If you’re having trouble toning your butt, hips and thighs then you need to do more squat jump exercises in your workouts.

If you are into sports, squat jumps will also help to increase your speed and power for sports like track and field, soccer, lacrosse, tennis and basketball.

To do the squat jump, descend into your squat, swing your arms back and forward and jump up explosively (reaching upward with your arms) and repeat for the required repetitions.

You need to perfect jumping and landing techniques or you will injure yourself. And, if you have knee and low back problems, high-speed jump (plyometric) training is not for you. Tuck jumps, pike jumps, platform jumps and lunge jumps are also very effective fat burners.

3. Sprints – Sprinting burns fat like crazy! Sprinting is one of the best ways to get your total body lean and toned. It is probabaly one of the least used exercises done by general exercisers. And, you don’t have to be fast, just run as fast as you can! To avoid injuries, always sprint on surfaces like grass or sand and never run on hard surfaces like concrete or asphalt.

Sprinting activates your bulkier, shapely fast twitch muscle fibers. These fast twitch muscle fibers lie dormant when you do slow-paced cardio sessions (hint). Sprinting will really burn the fat on your butt, hips, thighs, hamstrings and lower legs. Fat will also be burned on your upper body.

It is important to properly warmup before doing sprinting intervals. A proper warmup is a dynamic warmup such as doing 5-10 minutes of jogging, walking lunges, half-speed sprints and three-quarters speed sprints. Do static stretches after your workout to bring your muscles back to normal length.

To sprint efficiently and avoid injuries, you need to master correct running mechanics. Most people that I see at gyms need to work on running mechanics. Running the right way really does make running easier (and vice-versa)!

A 20-minute sprint interval workout is very simple—and tough! Do it this way:

–Run a 50 to 60 yard sprint
–Walk back to start line
–Run a 50 to 60 yard sprint

Do this rotation for 20-minutes and you are done (exhausted)! Do this type of workout no more than 2 times a week. This will allow your body to recover from this intense form of exercise.

A sprint interval workout will also give you superior heart-health.

4. Jump Rope – Jump rope now with your bodyweight to burn more fat, improve your heart health and better lean and tone your body.

Jumping rope will also help improve your balance, coordination and overall core strength.

Just do intervals for 20 minutes when you jump rope such as jumping for 1 minute and walking for 1 minute. As you improve, you can begin to jump faster and faster and burn more and more fat.

Be sure to look straight ahead, keep your body erect, your core braced (as if taking a punch to your gut) and use your hands/wrists to propel the rope. Keep your arms and body as still as possible as you jump. Land on the balls of your feet and not your toes.

5. Burpees – The bodyweight burpee exercise sounds kind of gross but it burns body fat like crazy and its good for you! Do burpees under control with good technique.

Burpees will increase your strength endurance, power and anaerobic conditioning (aerobics is an exercise done for more than 2 straight minutes).

Exercises like sprints and jumps are anaerobic. Research has proven that anaerobic conditioning will give you superior fat loss and heart health.

From a squat position with your hands on the floor, kick your feet back to a pushup position. Quickly return your feet to the squat position and jump as high as you can from the squat position. Repeat this exercise at full speed for 1 minute. Whew! Walk or jog for 2 minutes and burpee again.

6. Side-to-Side Hops – Jump side-to-side over a cone as fast as possible. Concentrate on jumping laterally and not for height. The squat jump develops the height of your jumps. Do intervals: 1 minute jumps, 1 minute walk and repeat for desired repetitions. Front-to-Back hops work well also.

7. Jumping Jacks – This exercise gets your arms, legs and body moving. The faster you can go, the better fat burning results you will get……just jump 1 minute, walk 1 minute and repeat for desired repetitions.

Be sure and download my FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program and torch body fat now!

“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”

Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Check out my other great blogs:

My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!