Any fitness enthusiast can fall prey to it. You’re training your heart out, working towards a cardiovascular or strength goal and all of a sudden the passion to accomplish it wanes. You can’t sleep right. Your muscles feel tired and sore all the time. And you’re making no progress in terms of your performance…

As much as we want to get to the finish line on a set schedule, sometimes the laws of rest and nutrition keep us at bay. We can overload and increase the stress on the body as much as we want, but if we don’t take care of it inbetween and provide it with recovery weeks, at some point it’s going to go into protest.

Common signs of overtraining include:
-Increased susceptibility to injury
-Loss of enthusiasm for activities you usually enjoy
-Pain in joints or constant muscle soreness
-Drop in performance on normal exercise
-Inability to sleep
-Moodiness or feelings of depression
-Reduced appetite

How to prevent hitting your end limit:

1. Get 8 hours sleep and try to be in bed by 10 p.m. as much as possible. Keep a consistent sleep cycle of resting and waking hours.
2. Take a minimum of 1 day off a week from exercise.
3. Try to cross train 2 out of any 6 training days (or 1 out of every 5) to limit overuse injuries and muscle fatigue.
4. Include a recovery week once a month in your program where you cut your activity to 50% of the norm and focus on rebooting through healthy eating and relaxation. Exercising less may actually allow you to exercise more intensely at key times in your program.
5. Eat an adequate diet given the training of each day. Match higher activity days with slightly higher caloric intake if you are working on a performance goal.
6. Stretch your body out for at least 25% of the time you spend exercising it to prevent soreness and stiffness.
7. Get a massage once a month at a minimum if you are exercising 5 days of the week and more often if you can swing it. Have a sports massage or deep tissue massage the evening before a rest day and two days prior to your hardest training day of the week to see enhanced performance.
8. Try to alternate high intensity with moderate intensity days. Avoid back to back all-out efforts unless they are followed by a full day of recovery.
9. Plan your workouts around your energy. Are you more energetic in the morning? Do you tend to have more energy at the beginning of the week? On Sunday or Saturday? Exercise when exhausted is never advisable. Set your higher intensity days on your peak energy days/times.
10. Watch your water intake. Aim for 8 glasses a day on a zero activity day and 2 glasses more per hour of exercise on any other day.
11. Drop your alcohol intake. Alcohol slows performance, recovery and metabolism. Keep it as far away from your intense training days as possible.
12. Keep on schedule on recovery days. If you schedule rest, enjoy it and leave cross training for training days.

Most importantly…If you feel your performance dropping or sense overtraining symptoms… take a day off!! Listen to your instrincts. Exercise science research supports that you will come back way stronger and higher performing on the other end of your recovery. Have faith in that and enjoy the down time.

Barring injuries, illness and overtraining…there comes a point when you look yourself in the gym mirror and say.. “hey, not much is changing here.” When it starts warming up outside, and we start showing more skin, the desire to change heats to an all-year high.

Use this motivation to make your biggest gains in cardio and muscle fitness by upping the intensity of your current exercise program. These little intensity tweaks over time add up to make a leaner, faster, and better performing you. Now that’s hot.

The good news…If you’ve worked with a pro trainer, they will gradually amp the difficulty over time and the results just seem to roll on out. This makes change possible even when your appointments are the same length of time. Increasing intensity does not require extra workouts… instead we’re going to basically help you find ways to trick yourself into exerting a little more energy here and there. Push hard enough and you may even be able to workout for less time.

When you’re on your own and ready to bust up to the next level, here are simple ways to rev up your intensity just in time to sizzle for Summer: (Remember your 5-10 min cardio warm-up before you make any drastic intensity changes.)

1. Use the 2-for-2 Rule: As you’re going through your strength work out, see if you can bump out an additional 2 repetitions at the end of your last set. If you’re able to do this for two workouts in a row on a given exercise, it’s time to increase the weight.

2. 400 m Challenge:After you’ve warmed up, push yourself on any cardio piece for a quarter of a mile (or 2-3 mins of work) and then recover for the next 400 m. Repeat back and forth 4x and build up to 10x. This will train you to increase your speed and will help to truly condition your VO2max (or the efficiency of your cardiovascular system) by pushing intensity.

3. Drop the Reps: Have you been doing 12-20 rep workouts for a while?? Try dropping down to 6-10 reps and giving yourself more rest to help climb the strength ladder. Ladies.. this will not make you get huge, I promise (unless you’re eating way too much protein). Email me if it does.

4. Push your body weight: Head outside and hill climb, run stadium stairs, find a park with bars you can do hang downs, pushups and body weight rows, jog, run sand dunes, grapevine across fields. Break out of the gym and play. Moving your own weight is often the greatest fitness challenge you can provide yourself.

5. Sprint with your Strength: Superset (pair up) an upper body and lower body exercise. Go through 3 rounds of each at 8-10 reps and hop on a cardio piece for an all out 45 second sprint. Walk or recover on that cardio piece for a minute. Pick your next pair.

5. Finishing Kick: This rule can be applied to strength or cardio. When you are at the tail end of your sets or the last 5 mins of your cardio, take a moment to think about how much gas is left in the tank and try to use almost every drop of it. You can do this in your resistance workouts by dropping the weight down a little bit and repping out (doing as many reps as possible in a given movement.) With cardio, imagine yourself nearing the finish line and wanting to put out your best effort for the last 5 minutes of the race. Gun it. Cool down properly. And watch your speed and strength climb over time.

Get ready, because I’m not sure there are many things I could get more fired up about than this. The answer to “Do I Need to Train My Legs?” from me is a serious, and definite, look-you-in-the-eye…HELL YES! You need to train your legs. Your legs are half your body!!

Leg training is probably the toughest and most exhausting type of resistance work you can do, and for this reason every excuse in the book is made to skip it. Here are some of the more classic excuses and their resolutions..

Excuse #1: I do my legs when I’m doing my cardio. Cardiovascular training, in general, is not going to provide the maximal training effect necessary to have your legs be in optimal shape. Cardiovascular training is rhythmic and repetitive in nature, and therefore provides minimal loads over long periods of time on the legs. Though this may help leg definition when you are just starting to exercise, it will not provide the best muscle shape and strength that resistance training your legs can provide.

Excuse #2: I don’t want to train my legs because it makes me sore and makes my cardio harder. Resistance training your legs has been proven to strengthen cardiovascular performance over time. Ok, I will give you that a hard legs day can make you more sore prior to a cardio day and decrease the performance on that one day. This is an indication that you need to re-arrange your program, not that you should skip legs entirely. Plan leg workouts to land before rest/recovery days. Or better yet, try doing your short cardio workouts before strengthen training on the same day as your leg routine once you’ve built up the stamina.

Excuse #3: I don’t want my legs to bulk up because my pants won’t fit any more. If your pants don’t fit because you’re in better shape, more power to you. You should be proud. It is common for there to be some inflammation or building out of the muscle for a day or two after a workout. Don’t plan skinny jeans days to coincide with these days. Over time strength training should decrease fat on the leg and make a more dense compact and shapely leg. You can anticipate that proper strength training of the lower body will increase the thickness and concavity of the glute muscles. The glutes are the powerhouse for all hip extension work, especially as you get into heavier faster movements. A strong, firm, outwardly rounding butt, is a healthy butt. Own it and love it.

On the whole, there are huge benefits towards developing full body strength and tone from including leg workouts. Lifting legs can strongly increase your metabolism and help with weight loss. It will help to substantially improve your cardiovascular fitness and your calorie burn per workout session. Lifting legs will also enable you to be more strong throughout your musculature as more strength hormones will circulate throughout the body from training these large muscles. This may even improve your performance on upper body exercises.

Here are 8 leg movements that you should work towards including for 3 sets of 10 to start in every week of training at least once, and twice if you can find a way:

Front Squat- Racking the weights on the front of the body increases the involvement of the gluteal muscles which power so many leg exercises and help to correct for the often dominant hip flexors most of us have from sitting and driving 10-12 hours of the day.
Back Squat- Squats are a great way to develop standing core strength and stability. Be sure to engage your abdominals by drawing in as you enter the working (or up phase) of your squat. Squats also will help maintain bone density.
Romanian Deadlift- This large movement involving hip extension is often missed by the gym-goer because they are not sure how to keep their low back from becoming overly involved. (The low back is a secondary mover, here. Not the dominant muscle of the exercise.) The key is to start with very light weight, keep your eyes towards the ground a couple feet in front of you, move with a flat back and begin the movement from your gluteals. Imagine squeezing a quarter between your cheeks, engage the abdominals and then stand up into the movement.
Reverse Lunge- This quad dominant lunge is a great starter lunge for working on strength in deceleration. Start with just your body weight if you’re not used to moving backward.
Forward Lunge- Forward lunges have awesome crossover effects to cardiovascular exercise, by working on your gait, push-off, full range of leg motion, and increasing your heart rate.
Step Up- Start with step ups where you repeat on one leg, leaving that leg on the step surface as you step on and off with the other. Focus on open-chest posture, and pressing through the heel of the leg on the step.
Lateral Lunge- Moving sideways is something we do less often that is a great neuromuscular challenge for the body. As you lunge to your side, make sure knees and feet stay facing forward and that knees stay aligned with second toes. Most sports includes a large amount of lateral motion, so get ready to see some benefits on your tennis or basketball game.
Leg Press- The leg press is a fantastic place to develop sheer leg strength. Be careful to read your machines directions and keep your knees tracking safely towards your shoulders as you move through the motion.

Add one or even two leg days into your week and get ready to really lose some body fat. Expect to be tired and plan your rest accordingly. The best of your fitness level is yet to come!

Hibernation is over. Bathing suit season looms just a couple months away and it’s time to get your butt in gear. (This blog marks two months to Memorial Day Weekend…eight weeks is just enough time to see significant change!) If you’re still feeling under the weather when it comes to turning your intentions into actions, try these five ways to refresh your fitness routine.

1. Move it outside– When opportunity strikes, get outside to workout. Do the normal sun protection number, but seriously.. you’ve been awaiting the Vitamin D recharge, and the time is here to finally take advantage of it. Capitalize on sunshine by hitting up a park trail for a hike, running around your neighborhood, going for walks with friends before/after work.

2. Invest in Spring gear– It’s probably time for a new pair of shoes as your outdoor activity levels are sure to increase this time of year. Hit up a specialty sports store and get the best recommendation for your sneakers based on your foot patterns. Then enjoy the obligation you’ll have to use them!

3. Switch exercise modes– Spring brings change and growth. In addition to the outside workouts, try a new type of class.. Karate, yoga, swimming, dancing.. venture out of your comfort zone and benefit in high calorie burn from something you are not yet efficient at. Try it five times before you decide if you love or hate it.

4. Spring clean your fridge/pantry– Remove as many preserved products from your cupboards as possible and start hitting the farmer’s markets. Raspberries, strawberries, asparagus, artichokes and pineapples will all come into season. Grab yourself some!

5. Go on an MP3 binge– Let yourself buy all the upbeat stuff on iTunes Top 100 songs on under the condition that everything you purchase motivates you to workout harder. Here are 10 springy songs to try:
-Maino- All The Above
-Madcon- Beggin (Original Version)
-Kid Cudi (Crooker’s Remix)- Day ‘N’ Nite
-The Ting Tings- That’s Not My Name
-John Legend- Green Light
-Mims- Move (If You Wanna)
-Flo Rida- Right Round
-Jadakiss- By My Side
-Fall Out Boy- I Don’t Care
-Linkin Park- Easier To Run

Feel free to share your spring fitness tips and songs with the rest of the crew in the discussion area below!

Not sure I could find two more scary words to put together.. calories and algebra. Yikes. Like it or not, there is a mathematical component to changing the shape and size of your body. It’s a hard set of facts to be conscious of, but better to know than have no idea what your habits are doing to yourself.

Fact #1: To lose one pound of weight the average person needs to create a calorie deficit of 3500 calories. (The general recommendation is to try and create a 250 calorie to 500 calorie deficit per day in order to lose a half pound to one pound a week.)

Fact #2: Running one mile, for most people equates to a 100 calorie burn. Calorie burn varies by the height, weight and efficiency of an individual. (Walking for 30 minutes= approx 200 calories, One hour yoga class= approx 300 calories, Circuit training for 30 minutes= approx 300 calories.)

Fact #3: Eating one slice of bread typically equates to 100 plus calories.

Fact#4: Running one mile is usually anywhere from a 5-15 minute process. Eating one slice of bread takes.. well less than a minute.

Ok, so this is a bleak picture. If you’ve spent an hour with me, you know I’m a realist. Cutting it straight for you. The overall reminder here is that consuming calories is ultimately going to affect your weight and body fat mass quite a bit more than the amount of exercise you can squeeze into a normal day. (Oh I wish I were an ultra-marathoner.)

Trainers will tell you time and again that clients who do not pay attention to their caloric intake generally see minimal results in terms of actual weight, and sometimes even in terms of body fat change depending on the breakdown of the calories they are eating. It’s a tough reality, but know that if you are committing to improve yourself, committing to eat right should be as much or more of your focus in order to achieve success.

My friend in NYC sent me an email noting that though he’s not exercising as much as usual, a shift in his diet has kept him losing weight. Does this mean he should skip out on the gym and just count his calories? Research shows that a combination of exercise and eating healthy is the best long term strategy for sustained weight loss. Healthy fuel makes for better exercise. Exercise makes for a stronger sustained metabolism, if you should happen to slip up here and there over the long haul.

Beyond that I’m going to stick with the ongoing recommendation here to do both cardiovascular training and resistance training. It’s important to train both your heart muscle and the muscle throughout your body. Skinny mush is not sexy. Don’t you agree?

If you are having a hard time estimating how much you’re eating and how much you’re burning, the greatest tools you can invest in are heart rate monitors ($65-250) and online food journals ($0!). I know, I’m no fun. If you want to grasp the reality of your fitness and food habits this is your best bet. Research also shows that those who record what they eat while trying to lose weight, lose two times the weight of those who do not. Might be worth your time.

There will be more to come on Calorie Algebra.. but for now, take this blog as a reminder that what you eat does matter. A lot.

To the left and right of you in every cardio area are people who seemingly run forever. They can run through a whole episode of Oprah, sometimes even an entire TBS airing of Days of Thunder. They’re just chilling…like it’s no big deal. And for some reason, on our own island that is the treadmill many of us experience running for longer than one minute as an alternative to corporal punishment.

Were these energizer runner bunnies born this way? Don’t they get bored? Are they doing something different than everyone else? How do we get to run as far and fast as them??

No need to be jealous my friend, though some of these runner bunnies may have been genetically predestined for endurance exercise, most of them started off in your shoes, struggling to figure out how to survive the next minute of cardio. Since you’re most likely too afraid to ask them how to get there, and it might be a little tough not to take their advice personally, I’m here to break it down for you and everyone else who wants to run a little bit further.

The Pros Top Secrets on Building Your Base Running Routine:

1. You’re Running Too Fast– You heard me. TOO FAST!! Most ambitious new runners skip right to 6 miles an hour (a 10 minute mile) when they try to begin their running routine. Try starting at 4.8-5.3mph for your whole run the first month to help build your running endurance. Yes, this is going to be a tight, fast stride and may even feel awkwardly slow the first couple times, but just go with it. Running at this pace allows you to truly tap into your aerobic metabolism, burn tons of fat calories, and will make it easier to run longer, make you less sore, and leave you with a better psychological running experience. Not sure I can come up with any more selling points than that!

2. Your shoes are old– Are you having pain in your ankles, knees or hips from even small running bouts? Ok, you probably should check with your doctor to make sure nothing orthopedic is going on, but I’m also willing to bet your tennies are more than 5 months old or have more than 400 miles of wear on them. It’s important to only wear running shoes for running. Sounds crazy, I know. For the record also, the most respected true running shoe brands are: Asics, Sauconies, New Balance and Brooks. Go to a running store and have a fitting with a professional. Running is one of the cheapest sports to partake in equipment-wise, so invest in your sneakers and save your joints over the long term. (To put this into perspective: If you run 20 miles a week you need new shoes every 5 months.)

3. You’re trying to do too much too soon– The theme of progression runs through all of these blogs. But I really really mean it right here. Start with running literally 1 minute intervals at that 4.8-5.3mph pace with minute of walking rest between. And no more than 1-2 miles on your first day. Seriously!! Every week your total mileage for the week should progress no more than 10%. In other words, if you ran a total of 3 miles your first week, the next week you should run no more than 3.3 miles, the week after 3.63 miles, etc. Breaking this rule only increases your chances of injury and therefore decreases your chances of loving running very much and succeeding in your ultimate runner bunny goal.

4. Map it out for the long term–The same rule of increasing 10% a week at a time applies for building up to 5k, 10k and half marathon and marathon distances. If you’ve got a fitness friend daring you to enter a half-marathon next month, kindly tell them.. “I don’t think so.” If you’re starting from scratch, training for a 5k takes 2 months, a 10k-3 to 4 months, a half-marathon-5 to 6 months, and a full marathon-6 to 9 months.

5. DO NOT Run everyday– Shocking, yes. Running everyday is not advisable. Start out running 2 days a week, build up to 3 days a week by the end of your first month. Try to spread these running days out so you can recover inbetween. Ideally try not to run more than 5 days a week. Save longer runs for the weekends, and faster runs for shorter distances following rest days. For solid running programs pick up an issue of Runner’s World (http://www.runnersworld.com).

6. Lift Weights– Strength training can improve your cardiovascular endurance. Of course, do not resistance train your legs on the same day prior to your run, or make yourself so sore that you dread running at all the next day. But DO fit weightlifting into your fitness program a minimum of two times a week and DO incorporate leg exercises. This will only help you.

Got more specific questions? Email me: liz.marmesh@gmail.com. In the meantime, get out there and start running right!

An ode to January, the only time of the year when we can ask every single person on the gym floor what they want to change in their health and they have a definitive answer. Having a vision of what we want to achieve is half the battle, but the other half is the execution…and this is where we often fail. Here are three ways to guarantee your health is what you want it to be by the conclusion of 2009:

1. Be S.M.A.R.T.
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable and Time Framed goals. In other words, “I want to look like I did when i was 18,” although specific is hard to measure, attain, reason out, and unless you get a time machine the time frame is indeterminable. Test your resolution against this acronym and where it fails, try to add detail to your plan.

2. Time Stamp It
Buy a planner or a calendar and mark the date you’d like to attain your goal by. Draw or paste a picture on the date of exactly what you want to do be doing, looking or feeling like. Hang the calendar somewhere in your home or office and keep track of your daily efforts towards that goal. Draw X’s on each day you complete and enjoy your progress.

3. Break Your Goal Into Phases
Once you’ve set an end date, think about the general time frame of your goal and break it into phases. Some typical phases for training would be: base building aerobic phase, skill building phases, maximal performance phase. Weight loss phases could be determined by dividing the pounds, dress sizes or body fat you want to lose in months or weeks and setting those benchmarks into writing.

And if you feel yourself drowning in your fitness dreams, please, please look at the inspiration picture and then consult a professional!

Traveling over the holidays, we sometimes land so far physically and mentally from the gym that distance alone pushes the daily fitness routine quickly to the backburner. Family is around 24/7 and party obligations abound. Excuses pile up and all of a sudden we are regressing in our fitness plans right before the new year arrives.

So let’s say you’re out of town for 7-14 days over the holidays and you know you’re going to be in a tight spot for keeping on track… what exactly do you really and truly need to accomplish?

The first strength to diminish when left untrained is cardiovascular strength. In other words, if you don’t do cardio for 7 days in a row, you’re going to be cursing yourself when you get back on the treadmill much more so than if you neglect to touch a dumbbell. And I mean… CURSING yourself. It will be so much harder to do the same cardio you just did a week ago that you’ll wish the holidays never happened. So my #1 rule for traveling clients is that you must perform cardio 3x a week for 30 minutes while out of town. If you do nothing else right, do not fail in this. Guarantee it happens by stepping out your door first thing in the a.m. (maybe even before everyone else is up) and walking a few blocks before picking it up to a brisk jog.

If you can’t go outside because it’s freezing cold where you are or your family is stuck to you like glue, try to do body weight circuits in the house. Pick a combination of 10 of the exercises listed below, in any order and perform them for a minute a piece. Run in place for a few minutes to warm up, stretch any tight jet-lagged muscles. Complete three rounds with as little rest as you can without feeling out of breath until you’ve filled 30 minutes of time: jumping jacks, squats, push-ups, imaginary jump rope, hop side to side, hop forward back, crunches, planks, side planks, forward lunges, reverse lunges, side lunges, vinyasas (downward dog/plank/upward dog), mountain climbers, slow motion burpees, oblique crunches, shadow boxing, inchworms, etc. Make sure to warn your family what you’re up to so they don’t think you’ve gone bananas!

Be safe in your exercise choices and just move yourself. The energy released from this activity will help soothe the holiday stresses. So sucker a family member into joining you, jump around in your living room, run the neighborhood, and enjoy the mix up of a home-based holiday fitness routine!

Man, woman, beginner or advanced…any great trainer will tell you each of the exercises below will in some form have to be part of your weekly workouts in order to attain a healthy and conditioned state.

As a refresher, resistance training should be performed 2-3 times a week to achieve optimal results. When we are working out, muscles experience micro-tears or small traumas to the muscle that then result in inflammation or soreness in the 24-72 hours to follow a workout. After this, with proper rest and nutrition, the body bounces back stronger than before by healing and strengthening these micro-tears. It is key to catch the body 2-3 days after the last work out in order to keep progressing upward.

Use this guide as a checklist for current workouts. What are you missing?

1. Vertical pull– (ex. Lat pulldown or Pull-up) : An excellent way to develop back, shoulder and bicep strength, these exercises help to strength the backside of the body and bring it into balance with the front side of the body. Start with the pulldown and transition to the assisted pull-up. Work your way to ultimately pulling your own body weight.

2. Squat: A personal favorite, the squat is an awesome way to build leg strength, cardiovascular power, breathing technique, core endurance, as well as increasing bone density and sheer strength over the whole body. Start with body weight squats and leg presses and progress to dumbbell squats and barbell squats. Have a trainer analyze your technique as the perfect squat is a near impossible thing to achieve.

3. Horizontal press– (ex. Chest Press or Pushup): A key to upper body and core strength, and an old-time favorite, this exercise is important for strength in the chest muscles, front of the shoulder and triceps. If you sit at a desk all day, try not to over do the number of exercises in your program of this type as they can lead to aggravated inwardly rotated shoulders. Start with chest press machines or kneeling pushups, move to the dumbbells, barbells and body weight pushups.

4. Lunge/Step Up : My favorite way to torture a man, the lunge/step up are amazing ways to build cardiovascular stamina, train the quadriceps and gluteals, work on running patterns, range of motion and flexibility. With the exception of those rehabilitating knee, hip or ankle injuries, everyone should include these at least once a week or more in their workouts.

5. Horizontal pull– (ex. Seated Row or Dumbbell Row) : A fantastic way to train the upper and middle back muscles between the shoulder blades, the back of the shoulder and the biceps; the row for most folks should be performed twice as much as the press. Start on a row machine, move to dumbbells and barbells, and ultimately work your way up to body weight rows hanging from a barbell.

6. Deadlift : This is a hard one to get right on your own. There are several kinds which we will distinguish at a later date and they are all good for you if you are free of lower back issues or hamstring tension. Besides being an outstanding way to fire up your hamstrings and glutes, the deadlift puts your core parallel to gravity and against resistance. Reap the benefits of the deadlift by squeezing your core as you lift up and exhale. Start light until you feel your glutes, hamstrings and abs working and then progress the weight.

7. Vertical press– (ex. Military Press or Arnold Press) : The shoulders are a key element to overall strength in the upper body. The vertical press is a gateway exercise to many harder strength and power exercises. Skip this exercise if you have any shoulder impingement or herniated discs. Start with small dumbbells and progress your way up the dummbell rack.

8. Plank: Looking for spinal or core stability? The plank is your man. Start with 20-30 second planks and try to build up to 2 minutes. The plank can be done anywhere in the world, on almost any surface. No excuses. Get down and start counting.

Need more specifics? Forward your questions to liz.marmesh@gmail.com or comment below.

Happy essential exercising!!

Hailing from a jean-busting, holiday feast tradition, I am trained to get seconds, double-up on mashed potatoes both times, and try every kind of pie. As we turn the corner on Thanksgiving week, I know that I am battling a predisposition to chow down wherever I land for my Thanksgiving meal and expect the same challenge for each of my clients.

In the year of 2008, America as a country has been through some serious events and this first opportunity to really celebrate a day off and let the wine flow, I predict will be one of the most gluttonous of Thanksgiving in years past.

I could write here to half your sugar with artificial sweeteners, fill your plate with vegetables and turkey, drink 2 glasses of water prior to your meal, and stop when your full…but, the odds of this actually happening are 1 in 10. So instead of going that route, let’s put in place some preventative measures that are slightly more carefree and less tied to the actual Thanksgiving meal.

Let’s knock this out…

1. Make T-day your cheat day. Eat clean the rest of the week and avoid taking home any leftovers that wouldn’t fit into your normal diet. Enjoy fresh turkey sandwiches on wheat with a little cranberry sauce on the days after Thanksgiving, all the greens you can fit in tupperware, and plain sweet potatoes with cinnamon to stay in the holiday spirit.

2. You’ve got the day off… go for a walk when you wake up in the morning and a walk after dinner. Get some sunshine and try not to spend the entire day in front of the TV. Better yet, walk with a family member you haven’t gotten to spend enough time with. If you are planning to watch a ton of football, try to get up and move around on commercial breaks…climb some stairs, do some lunges or squats or sit ups. Commercial breaks are only 3 minutes.. great for interval training!

3. Plan a late morning workout for the day after Thanksgiving. Whether you intend it or not, you will be loaded full of carbs and therefore full of energy. Your endurance should supercede your normal ability. Live it up. Do an extra 20 mins of cardio on top of your normal cardio or an extra 30 mins of cardio after your normal weight training routine. Jump around, push your speed and resistance and enjoy it!

4. Try to progress your workout routine in intensity or length of time in the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas week. You’ll have lots of holiday parties to attend and look hot for and kicking things up a notch will help prep you for January 1.

5. Start to bear your resolutions in mind. Try not to set yourself behind but put yourself ahead by dodging holiday weight gain with these little health tricks.

Enjoy every morsel of your Thanksgiving meal!! Eat slow and take joy in indulging in the tastiest of American traditions.