Making it Personal – Designing a fitness regimen
I have been working out with Jillian Michaels, America’s toughest trainer. And, no, I am not at the Biggest Loser Ranch.
On off days, I get to do some of Pink’s workout (she’s the fabulous Grammy-winning artist), but not the Cirque du Soleil-style tricks she showed us on the Grammy Awards.
How do I have access to celebrity and athlete trainers? How much does this high-quality, high-profile training cost? It’s free.
Free access to information on the Internet, along with asking questions of professionals, reading magazines and searching websites, has allowed me to build and design a personal training program that seems to be working, with continuous fine tuning of course. All of this personal training is readily available at your Internet-based fingertips, if you are aware and diligent.
My favorite training tools are the search engine Google and my e-mail address.
Have a trouble spot you are worried about? Google it. Want to generate a customized fitness plan? Google it. If there is an exercise you think sounds fun and interesting, Google it for free guidance. Want some muscle confusion? Google it. Your balance needs work and you want a routine for the Bosu? Google it.
No matter what your body type, improving your health through some form of exercise will help you feel better, live longer, save money on health care and possibly not be a burden to others. You can find amazing free stuff: fitness videos, exercise tips, printable workouts, progress trackers, group support and healthy eating advice. Many of the famous and successful trainers offer free information on their websites. If you are reading about your favorite celebrity and they mention their trainers, check out their websites for free guides. It is crazy how much free information is available on the Internet.
Jillian Michaels is available to everyone for free, or for a small fee, depending how much information you want. She offers a daily e-mail broadcast with tips and advice. You can sign up for her program for a customized triple threat to weight loss. Her step-by-step plan includes customized nutrition guidelines based on your body, kick-ass exercises that you can do at home and motivation to keep you moving.
Even the car manufacturer Nissan is getting into the act. It has a master’s website with workout videos and exercise sequences from Elite Cyclists, a Yoga Master, a Heisman Trophy winner and an elite marathoner. All contribute workouts, videos and blogs about their healthy approach to life and their personal challenges. If you click on the workout section of one of the masters, you can download a PDF file with exercises and pictures with form advice.
Shape magazine offers a free virtual trainer with scheduled meals and customized workouts. All you need to do is register and give them your e-mail. You will then have an opportunity to create your personal exercise and meal planner through their virtual trainer tool. This quick, easy tool has a library of more than 400 exercises for strength allowing you to create your custom workout. You can save five different favorite workouts. The nutritional component of the virtual trainer monitors your intake of calories, carbs, protein and fat to see if you’re reaching your daily nutritional goals. You’ll be able to pinpoint the most caloric foods in your diet, so you can make healthy swaps. In addition, you can track how many calories you’ve consumed and burned for a specific date or over a 10-day period. The trainer offers a feature that gives you an easy way to see your progress at a glance.
MSN.com offers an abundance of content under the diet and fitness tab. You will find information on training by type, men’s and women’s fitness, calculators for health and expert advice for free. The Tools & Calculator section offers a BMI (body-mass indicator) calculator, a blood pressure tracker, calories burned calculator and a weight loss calculator. They offer support groups and even have Richard Simmons online at times to chat. That would be perky!
All this exercise makes me hungry. So, don’t forget the most important part of your healthy lifestyle is making good food choices. If you want a flat stomach, work on your ABBS, which is my silly acronym for Almonds, Broccoli, Beans and Spinach. Eat a palm-size serving of each of these a day, which will be a tremendous start to a high-energy, healthy lifestyle. Remember that broccoli has about as much protein per 100 calories as a sirloin steak, without all the fat, so you can eat it by the handsful. One large stalk of broccoli —11-12 inches long — contains 6.7 grams of protein with lots of Vitamins A, K and Folate. Don’t go nuts on the nuts, however.
Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, who rushed for 10,000 yards in his NFL career, is human like we are — tempted by junk food. His advice about junk food, as quoted on the MSN website, is this: “Don’t buy it, don’t eat it.” If it’s not in the house, where you spend most of your time, then you can’t eat it.
If you don’t have Internet access, try going to the library, which usually offers free Internet access. Or you can buy some of the trainers’ fitness DVDs at your local discount store for less than $15, not even close to the charge for one session with a personal trainer.
As always, consult your physician prior to starting a new exercise routine if you are new to any of these fitness programs. Waiting to hire or being able to afford a trainer is just another excuse. Look in the mirror and tell yourself, “I am taking charge of my health. I will find 10 minutes twice a day to invest in myself with exercise. I can determine what will work the best for me with the tools already available. This is good for me.”
Be powerful, and we hope you find the right lifestyle link to help you build and design a personalized plan for healthier living, feeling good and being strong with your best-ever body.
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