Gone are the days of monotonous exercise. Running on the treadmill not your idea of an exciting fitness routine? Nintendo has got the cure for those of us who need something more to get us motivated to work out--the Wii Fit. Wii's interactive games have been captivating people from all age groups for a while now, but with the Wii Fit specifically focused on toning and strengthening your body, as well as weight loss through aerobic exercise, it is a craze that is selling out Wii Fit packages everywhere.

The Wii Fit system has you create a profile so that you can track your progress and create your onscreen self. You can chart your progress towards your goals through your BMI, weight, Wii age and Fit credits. It comes with a balance board which tracks your movements to coordinate them with what is happening onscreen. The games are fun and interactive such as snowboarding, hula hooping, dancing and balance games. Yoga helps with your core strength and stress relief.

After my girlfriend relayed to me that she lost 20 lbs using a combination of Wii Fit and Weight Watchers, I've decided this will be my next "paycheck purchase."

Have you tried Wii Fit? If you've seen results, I'd love to hear about them.

With spring and summer comes the season most people dread – bathing suit season! It is during the New Year that most make the resolution to staying fit. Before you know it, you have stopped going to the gym and have even ordered a few pizzas along the way.

Come mid-March it starts to click in our mind that it might be time to start actually getting in shape. April rolls around and your gym shoes have yet to be worn. Finally, May – the most frantic fitness time of the year, where you have exactly 31 days to look fabulous in your bathing suit. This is when you find yourself up at the crack of dawn on the elliptical machine every morning to get that killer figure you just saw in SHAPE magazine.

Word to the wise: incorporate fitness into your everyday routine. Sign up for fun, new fitness classes or programs online to help you tone up and get ready to sit poolside - you’ll feel and look great the whole year round!

While many people wait until the last minute to file their taxes, others do the same when it comes to getting their bodies ready for swimsuit season. This year, invest part of your return towards something that will give back to you long-term; your health. We’ve searched for some of the hottest workout programs on the market today that will help motivate and whip you into shape. Who knows, you may even be able to use some of these as a tax write off at the end of the year.

Motivation is Key
The most important part to any exercise program is motivation. Whether you workout alone or have a gym partner, having positive feedback is key to continued success. FitFiend.com, one of many social networking communities geared towards fitness and health, recently launched with a number of interactive tools to help guide you on your path to a better body and overall health. Similar to Facebook, FitFiend.com allows users to connect with fitness and health experts, search for workout partners and trainers in their area, get fitness and nutritional tips, watch original fitness programming, read about the latest in workout trends, and interact with other fitness enthusiasts for positive feedback. The best part is that this service is free, but the benefits keep on giving. Log on today at www.FitFiend.com.

Balance Your Elements
If social networking isn’t your forte, the creators of elements™ for women, a premium fitness and lifestyle brand, have upgraded the offerings of a personal trainer into an easy-to-use web portal called BalanceD. This upscale and stylish weight loss brand offers a robust online diet program, customized workouts with video demos, nutrition and diet coaching, and expert advice and tips. For those who need extra guidance with their meal planning but don’t want to use pre-packaged foods that are full of salt and preservatives, BalanceD offers a customized meal plan program that takes all of the guess work out of calorie counting. All of this is yours for a $99 lifetime membership, less than you’d pay for some gym memberships. For more information, visit www.balanceyourelements.com.

Continue reading "Don’t Put Your Swimsuit Body Off Like Your Taxes: Invest in a New You" »

Each year, people from around the world make the same New Year's resolution; to get into better shape. The only problem is that after the first few weeks they've already started to stray from their program, and by March, most have dropped off altogether. I sat down with Kristi Molinaro, one of the resident fitness advisors for FitFiend.com, a social networking site for the fitness enthusiast, to get some tips on why people have such a hard time making fitness a part of their everyday lifestyle.

Find Time – The number one excuse I hear from clients is that they can't find time to workout. If you can find time to watch TV, then you can certainly find time to workout. If traveling to the gym is an issue, invest in one or two pieces for your home. The biggest calorie burners, which also don't take up too much space, are spinning and elliptical machines.

Patience – An issue that a lot of people have when working out is that they expect too much too quickly. It's important to note that you didn't pack on the pounds overnight, so you're not going to drop them in a week.

Be Adventurous – A common mistake that people make is sticking to the same routine. Not only is this boring, but it can also slow fat burning. Try mixing things up by taking a new class. If you enjoy running, try one week of cardio on the elliptical or rowing machine. The trick is to keep your body guessing so that it is continuously burning fat.

Take a Break – At the end of a hard workout, it's important to give your body sufficient time to rest. Try alternating your weightlifting days with cardio and ab work. You can also train different muscle groups on different days so that you don't over-train. Beginners always make the same mistake of doing too much too quickly, and it's important to remember that your body needs some downtime to recover and build stronger muscle.

To find more great fitness tips and to network with other fitness fiends, check out FitFiend.com

ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, with over 50 business entities, launched ESPN the Magazine’s very own website this week www.espnthemag.com. Former beauty publicist, and freelance writer Stephanie Bagley helped launch the site with an inquisitive article on 23 year old NHL superstar Ryan Kessler. You can expect to see more great sports articles from Stephanie who is a woman to watch in this male dominated industry.

If there are things we all complain about when trying to lose weight, it's that diets are restrictive, we run out of creative ideas on how to prepare low fat meals that actually taste good or honestly, we are just plain lazy trying to figure out how to work a diet plan into our lifestyle. ediets new Deliciously Yours is trying to change the way you diet and it sounds very enticing to me!

The new Deliciously Yours diet plan involves freshly prepared meals that are not powdered, dried or canned, have no added preservatives, yet can stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to 14 days. It's a well balanced meal suited for your weight loss needs, calories counted and all. The ediets Deliciously Yours Meal menu contains 50 meals you can choose from for your weekly 4 meal a day plan. And that 4th meal? Dessert! I love that you don't have to give up eating dessert because certainly if you deprived yourself of a sweet each day you may just find yourself gorging yourself when the temptation cracks.

Being part of the plan you are given free access to ediets.com where you can work with a nutritionist and personal trainer to develop a plan that will fit your lifestyle. The Deliciously Yours plan allows you to choose two ways in which you want to tackle the program to lose weight--either utilizing the freshly prepared food menu 7 days a week or by doing the "weekends free" plan. If you are just beginning your weight loss, you'll want to go with 7 days until you feel confident enough with portion control and getting into the habit of healthy eating. That way when you switch to the weekends free version, you'll be able to confidently cook weekend meals that won't sabotage your weight loss goal.

Have you seen or tried Deliciously Yours? I'd love to hear your opinion on it.

With the guilt of holiday over-indulgence, people are pledging weight loss and hitting the gyms. In that spirit I have compiled a list of what everyone in the fitness industry is talking about as the hottest fitness trends for this year:

1. Technology Based Workouts. I've talked a lot about this over the past year. Some posts you may want to review: Garmin's Edge, Expresso Fitness's S2, Star Trac Elite and Video Game Fitness.

2. Express Workouts: Everyone is busy these days, which is why we have been seeing the programs that focus on 30 minute workouts become so successful.

3. Functional Fitness: Fitness programs tailor made to you through everyday activity.

4. Social Networking: Fitness enthusiasts find that there is strength and accountability in numbers. Posts I've written that discuss it are: Fitfiend.com

5. Fusion fitness: Blends of pilates, yoga and tai chi will all be popular. I also think the ever growing franchise of LA Boxing with its kickboxing and mixed martial arts programs will do very well this year.

There are plenty more forecasts for fitness trends floating around, but I would love to hear you give your forecast for fitness trends in the comments.

January 1st is the big day we all make that fitness pledge, "A new year, a new you." Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve we forgive ourselves from the over eating and over indulgence and promise ou bodies we'll make amends on the first day of the new year. So when I came across Fitness Journal's, "Reverse New Year's Challenge," I was intrigued.

What exactly is a reverse New Year's challenge? It's when you make your New Year's resolution to be in shape by January 1st not on it. That's a pretty tough challenge considering all of the holiday parties you'll be attending this month whose hostesses are most likely not thinking about your waistline. This is the time of year for fruit cakes, baklava, cookies and other fattening treats, not to mention the high carb alcohol that's likely to be making appearances at festivities everywhere.

However, I think the idea is genius. What a great way to really test your will power and be ahead of everyone else come New Year's Day. You'll no longer sound so cliche making the same promises as millions of other people, resolving to exercise more and eat healthier. In fact, I'm sure you'll raise a few eyebrows when complimented on how great you look as you proudly tell them it's due to your reverse New Year's resolution. Imagine having the figure you want now and not waiting to get started weeks from now?

I think it's a pretty interesting concept, but will it catch on? We'd love to here what you think in the comments.