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.

If you are truly serious about seeing changes in your health and body, I have to lay it on you…a food/fitness journal is a mandatory piece of the puzzle. Yes, logging your meals and exercise routines can be quite tedious but the process of putting it in writing provides you with critical feedback to finding your pathway towards ultimate health.

In fact, recent studies show that chronicling your fitness and food habits can double your weight loss. (For those trying to increase muscle mass, their is undoubtedly a huge benefit for tracking your intake as well.)

Without fail, when we log what we eat for the first time (or even the first time in a while) we are surprised to find out how much we’ve consumed or not consumed. Rarely do I have a client come back from starting a journal to say, “I was eating exactly what I thought I should be eating.” There are so many factors connected with our eating habits, whether it be emotions, socialization, stress, or time limitations that we tend to easily lose track of whether we’ve met or exceeded our nutritional needs.

If you cannot commit to logging every snack, start by logging your typical meals for the day to find out what the general breakdown of your calories looks like. Try to do this for both a weekday and a weekend day. Observe trends in your intake. For example, do you tend to eat more in the later half of the day? How far apart are your meals? Are you having water throughout the day? What is the time when you become most hungry? What meals tend to tide you over for 4 hours? What meals leave you starving for more?

From all these observations, it becomes easier to build a strategy for keeping yourself nourished and satisfied throughout the day. By preparing for peak hunger times and moving around your calories you can often prevent hunger pangs. If you can’t seem to solve the puzzle yourself, it’s great to have the information recorded over a period of time to share it with a dietitian. (Dietitians will prescribe completing a food journal almost without exception, so heading in to your first appointment with one filled out may even save you a visit.)

There are a few ways to go when journaling your food/fitness:

1. Buy a small journal that fits in your purse/backpack and track your meals and snacks throughout the day. For the first couple weeks you will need to look at the food labels to familiarize yourself with the calorie content, carbohydrate/fat/protein contents of your food. Learn what you consume and record these four components if you can make time for it.

2. The majority of the working class is at a computer for some portion of the day. On your lunch break, squeeze in 5-10 mins of time on an online food journal. My two favorites are fitday.com and my-calorie-counter.com. These sites will graph your caloric breakdown, track your weight loss, and show you a breakdown of your daily nutrient intake. They are not connected to any particular diet plan and allow you the freedom of inputting nutritional information from your favorite foods and recipes to save time down the line. Best of all, they are free!!

Commit to two months of learning about your own nutritional needs and habits and you will have insight towards the steps necessary to make leaps and bounds in your own health.

Water cooler talk, election chat, budget emails and such are all flying around us these days regarding the economic and financial stresses Americans are facing. It’s a time to assess how we are living, what our budget includes, and how we can save and invest towards our futures.

At the gym, there is of course plenty of questioning as to whether people will keep showing up and keep training or will just toss in the sweat towel, save on the membership dues, and be absorbed by how many points are on the Dow from minute to minute.

Undoubtedly, I am incredibly biased in advising on lifestyle and spending choices. That’s why people hire me, I suppose. I’d rather have a healthy heart than the trendiest purse. I’m not a big drinker, and I’m perfectly content with clean eating at home from meal to meal, special occasions aside.

All that being said, it is my duty to encourage each of you in the midst of evaluating your current lifestyles to hear me out for a bit. There is no better time to invest in your own health than now. When stress levels increase in our lives, it becomes more important than ever to make healthy choices to regulate these stresses, and perhaps easier than ever to make excuses.

A great coach once told me…”Those who excel at excuses, excel at nothing else.” Tough as that sounds, now is the time where you may have to fight and elbow a little fitness into your day. Prepare for it.

Sure, there are those who will cut out of our planned exercise class at the end of the day because they got stuck at the desk. Skip meals or just snack on whatever Halloween candy is accessible instead of taking breaks to have real meals because they cannot miss a financial beat. Maybe they will even put things on hold entirely until this all clears up.

And there are also those who will milk their fitness dollar to the max. They will run/walk to the gym instead of walking to save money on gas. Those who will maximize their membership by using it everyday of the week in some way or another. And those who will pay extra attention to their trainer and demand to learn exercise technique so they can eventually practice it on their own.

I am hoping each person reading this is falling into that second category. Either way, may this serve as a reminder that the recess in your day is the key to balancing out all the more difficult energies you experience from work and life.

This is a key time to get 10-15 minutes of sunshine in your day. Have your lunch outside if possible. Go for long walks. See the ocean if you live near it. Dance a little in your living room. Try yoga at the start of your weekend to free your mind from the concerns of your work week. Find your way to let activity release tension in your body.

While I cannot give a money back guarantee, I can say that almost every time fitness is prioritized in a day, the employee comes back to work more proactive and ready tackle challenges with a clear mind. Be creative in maintaining your fitness patterns, and when you’re really stuck for a solution, just email your fitness guru!

The ultimate goal of this blog is to respond to fitness and exercise questions to help shed light on common problems that keep people from reaching their fitness goals. Excitingly, this post features the first questions we’ve received.. hopefully to be followed by many more. (Email your questions to: liz.marmesh@gmail.com.)

Doug in New York writes: I don’t have a lot of time before I get ready for work so I end up starting my run within 20 minutes of waking up. I’m a little worried that my body and mind are both still asleep and perhaps this isn’t a terribly efficient time to workout? I’ve noticed that I tend to be pretty stiff and also dehydrated which I think contributes to limiting what I can do. I try to have a few sips of water before I go just so I’m not completely dehydrated. I feel like I notice a pretty big difference between the mornings when I have some water and the mornings when I forget. I’ve worked my way up to 3.1 miles and I’m trying to hit 4 but I start to get cramps around 2.5-2.75. I try to run 4 work days and 1 day on the weekend and I’ve been mostly successful in completing it.

Your Fitness Guru responds: I absolutely recommend to everyone trying to form the habit of exercising prior to going to work. It is proven fact that over time, those who exercise before work have better chances of keeping this great health pattern in their lives. By the end of the work day, it is much easier to blow off exercising due to all the excuses that can arise in our waking hours.

It takes about 21 days to form a new habit. So, try for three weeks to a month to allot the proper amount of time needed for your workout and shower before work. Cheers to Doug, who is well on his way to solving this first piece of the puzzle.

Now, as we try and form this great habit of exercising before work, there a few key pieces that must be put in place to make it possible. Most of us know that we need 7-8 hrs of sleep. Uninterrupted, comfortable sleep becomes even more important when we are demanding performance from our body right upon waking. I’m going to take it one step further and say that in order to make exercising before work enjoyable and feasible, it will be imperative to be in bed by 10:30 p.m. This way you can be up by 7 a.m. in order to make it to your desk by 9am–leaving at least 45 mins to exercise, 30 mins to get ready by 9 a.m., 45 mins to commute. (I’m a details girl, if you can’t tell.)

We have Tivo, DVR and all sorts of gadgets to make sleeping by 10:30 p.m. possible. You will quickly appreciate falling into the natural rhythms of the body’s sleep cycle by adopting this pattern. I will take bets that trying to fall asleep any later than this will eventually shoot this whole idea in the foot.

The first few days of this exercise pattern, your body is probably going to be in a slight amount of shock. Allow yourself to adjust by completing a thorough warm-up including 5 mins of walking/hill-walking and 5 mins of stretching the tighter muscles in your body. (If you sit at a desk… we will assume your hamstrings, hip flexors, muscles between your shoulder blades and low back will need some TLC before breaking into an exercise routine.) Additionally, try separating the workout routine into blocks of work and rest as you allow the accommodation process to occur. For example, run for 5 minutes, walk for 1 minute as opposed to running straight through.

Having a half glass of water upon rising is advisable if you won’t have time to digest breakfast before your workout. Try to run with a small water bottle and drink half your body weight in ounces as the day goes on to avoid dehydration. It’s best to have your breakfast within a half hour of completing exercise. Plan ahead if you can by putting a simple breakfast in your gym bag or have it ready-to-go in your fridge. (See The Perfect Pre-Morning Workout Snack for great breakfast combinations.)

Thank you for your questions, Doug. You will be amazed what you can achieve with repetition and practice. This could be the start of a lifelong habit that sustains your health, heart and mind!

By Laura Klein, Publisher (Organic Authority)

Check out tons of information about organic eating from organic living expert Laura Klein at organicauthority.com.

Good news! You can eat healthier, save money, and lose weight, all at the same time!

Transitioning to a healthy, nearly all-organic, whole foods diet is a major factor in how I lost my last hard to lose 10 pounds 10 years ago. In fact, green living is the way I’ve been able to keep the weight off ever since!

Follow these food shopping tips to a less expensive, healthier lifestyle. The only thing that will fatten up is your wallet!

Commit to buying your favorites, organically.

To get started, choose one of your favorite food items-something you buy on a regular basis – and commit to buying the organic version of it from now on. This one simple step will greatly reduce you and your family’s exposure to pesticides, chemicals, hormones and antibiotics.

Explore.

Check out the organic food sections of your market to get to know which products you’ll be buying on a regular basis.

Use a grocery list!

This may seem obvious, but studies show that people who use grocery lists and stick to them save money on their grocery bill. Plus, buying less junky fast foods creates room in your budget for tasty, whole organic foods! Find some tasty organic food recipes at OrganicAuthority.com

Prioritize your shopping list – and know where ‘organic’ counts.

Meats, dairy and sweet fruits are the most important products to ‘choose organic.’ When making your shopping list, keep this in mind.

Look for organic generic or private labels from your supermarket chain.

Does your grocery store have its own organic generic label or natural brand? They are typically cheaper than big-name counterparts and still certified organic. I’ve also found that these generic organic brands can even be cheaper then the conventional or non-organic counterpart!

Shop bulk.

Many stores that stock organic foods also have bulk grains and cereals. This can keep your spending down and save on landfill-bound packaging. Remember to bring your own bags to take home bulk food products so you don’t have to reach for another plastic bag.

Shop at your local farmers’ market.

Buying at farmers’ markets is actually one of the best kept secrets to buying affordable, organic food. Top chefs in both Europe and America’s have been doing it for years!

A USDA study in 2002 found that about 40 percent of farmers’ market farmers don’t charge a premium. Cities now list their local farmers’ markets online, so simply search for the one closest to you. Local Harvest makes it easy .

Don’t rule out non-organic when it comes to local farmers.

Some farmers simply cannot afford the cost of organic certification – which doesn’t mean that their fruits and vegetables aren’t pesticide-, fumigant- or chemical-free: just ask! I find local farmers to be very honest. Get to know your source. This simple tip can be applied to all areas of your new-found green life.

Buy organic coffee and tea

Like other organic crops, organic coffee beans and tea are grown and processed without harsh chemical fertilizers or toxic pesticides . Make it “shade grown” while you’re at it to ensure that age-old, earth-friendly agricultural techniques are preserved.

Check out OrganicAuthority for my favorite organic teas in our online store.

Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

It’s a great way to “go local.” Visit Local Harvest find out first hand, why “locavore” was dubbed Word of the Year, 2007, by the Oxford dictionary!

Don’t see it at your favorite grocery? Ask!

Stress that you want more organic produce – or whatever green item you want. The manager will be happy to hear from you since grocery stores are eager to meet the demand of their customers to ensure loyalty.

Grow your own, organically!

This is a great way to save cash: I grow organic tomatoes, lemons, limes, bell peppers, lettuce, herbs and other produce that would otherwise be adding up at check out! Choose the most expensive organic produce – and the ones you like to eat the most – to plant and grow.

Live in a small space? Try container gardening!

Go Online.

Your favorite organic products are just a click away. Use the Internet to feed a healthier you!

Limited on time?

Check your local listings for grocery delivery services: many deliver organic groceries. Organic Express, out of L.A., and DiamondOrganics.com has helped yours truly keep organic eating alive and well – in spite of my busy schedule!

Save for your future.

Spending a little more now on organic will mean saving more on healthcare later. Don’t forget the deep impact living green has on your long-term health. It’s preventive medicine – that just happens to taste great!

Commit to eating out less.

If you eat out just one day a week less, you’ll not only put money back in the bank but you’ll also find more room in your budget to buy quality foods that are tasty and nutritious, while supporting a healthier you. No matter how convenient you think it is, if you go through the drive-through window – even just one time a week – it’s one time too many. Both your budget and your waistline will thank you for putting an end to this bad habit.

Think about your values when you shop.

Do you shop merely on price and large quantities? Or does quality and nutritional value count for something? Remember: consuming foods that are tasty and rich in nutritional value is what will keep you healthy, assist in keeping the weight off and add up to less doctor visits. And knowing it’s better for the planet is a nice perk!

In years of training trainers how to evaluate a new client, the one question I cringe at most is the question “which parts of your body are you unhappy with?” If we start from this intention in the journey towards health, the path we take will likely not lead to the end we’re seeking and the motivation for getting their will self-destruct within a short span of time.

If we dissect ourselves into butts, 6-packs, calves, pecs and thighs, we miss the spirit of what makes exercising such an incredible experience. Sure, nobody minds being lean, ripped, shredded, or whatever name you might have for it. But going to the gym hoping to come out on the other side with your least favorite body part slightly more chiseled is likely to be fruitless, frustrating and futile in creating a truly healthy lifestyle.

Fitness over the past several years has moved much towards an athletic aesthetic attained by full body training. This is quite an exciting movement for the fitness community, but at the same time remnants of the old sculpt-the-pieces mindset linger behind. Clients fall off the wagon left and right when their only goal is to lose a certain percentage of body fat.

So many more benefits of exercise are out there for everyone to recognize and gain. Each of us has our own number one reason for going to workout…but if you are stuck on your triceps, try one of these affirmations for exercise instead:

1. When I complete my workout, I feel like I have taken care of myself.
2. Working hard in the gym today will lead to a sensation of success and relaxation.
3. I am one step closer to completing my fitness goals for the week by hitting the treadmill today.
4. I am finding the athlete in myself at the gym today.
5. Though I am tired, I know this workout will increase my energy levels for the remainder of the day.
6. I will feel great about my accomplishments in exercise today and will be happier for the remainder of the day because of it.
7. I will take better care of others when I am working on my healthy habits.

Your heart and mind will thank you for taking them into account first over your 2000 some pieces. The motivation to return everyday when connected to these ideas is much easier to find and with consistency will lead you to whatever aesthetic goal lies at the end of your ultimate fitness level.

I address this concern with great warmth for any person who gets themselves to the gym consistently. Cheers for exercise in any way! At the same time, the trainer in me wants each of you to actually move towards your results. Please read below and determine if you fall into the “creature of habit” category and then enjoy the constructive criticism that follows to help guide you towards new workouts.

Ten signs it’s time to change up your workout (even nodding yes to one of these indicates it’s time to mix it up!):

1. You’ve been attending the same group exercise classes for more than two consecutive months.
2. You start every Monday with a set on the bench press.
3. Other gym-goers move to the side when you begin to approach your favorite piece of equipment.
4. The gym staff knows which channel you would like to watch in front of “your” cardio machine.
5. Your routine consists of the same muscle focus on every visit (for example: triceps, butt and abs.)
6. You have been using the same amount of weight or performing similar exercises for over a month.
7. Your body has not changed, been even slightly sore or challenged for several weeks.
8. Your repetitions and sets have been consistent day in and day out.
9. Other students leave your spin bike open for you.
10. There is only one type of workout in your routine (for example: running 3 miles only everyday.)

Ok, so we all like to do what we’re good at. And we know that practice makes perfect. But repetition can fail you when it no longer provides stimulus for your body. In the exercise world, rotating your exercise routines, and significantly overhauling those routines every month to six weeks will lead to the most significant adaptations. Here are some simple rules to go by when searching to change it up.

Easy Methods for Mixing it Up

1. FIVE TIMES RULE: Try something new 5 times before deciding if you like it or not. Understanding the vocabulary and motions of new movement does not come automatically. Allow yourself 5 classes or workouts to recognize the activity and decide if you actually like it.
2. CHANGE THE ORDER: Do your normal workout backwards, upside down, and inside out. Change the order of your favorites.
3. SWITCH STUDIOS: Your group exercise routine should include visits to the yoga studio, aerobics studio, and/or spinning studio. Push past plateaus by infusing variety into your routine.
4. CHANGE THE REPETITIONS: The spectrum of 8-20 repetitions and 3-5 sets all have their place in your workout regimen over the course of a year. (8-10= strength, 10-12=muscle gain, 12-20=endurance.) Within a week mix up your sets and repetitions to surprise your muscles.
5. GRAB A BUDDY/TRAINER: Hit the gym with another gym athlete or find a great trainer and have them take you through a workout. Steal everything you learn.
6. CYCLE THROUGH SEASONS: Think of the seasons of the year and which activities you’d like to focus on most during the seasons. (for example: summer swimming, fall hiking, winter group exercise, and spring running.) When the seasons change, so should you!

And don’t let me catch you in the same spot next week!

Psychologically, nothing invokes the feeling of drudgery in the gym more than the idea of hopping on a treadmill and running at the exact same pace for 30-60 mins. Sure, great mp3s and “The Price is Right” can sustain our attention spans while we clock in our time, but why not make your workout so darn interesting you could do it without music!

The theme of cardio workouts for many of my clients this month is the “round robin,” which translates to using multiple cardio pieces to complete a 30-60 minute cardio workout. This is an awesome way to work on your overall endurance and physical fitness. Why? Well, quite frankly when you only have to be on a machine for 5-10 mins, you work a lot harder! Psychologically, you are drudgery free. And…mixing it up will force your body to break out of its patterns, use different muscles, and perhaps even bust through a plateau.

Complete 5-10 of the following activities for 5-10 minutes:

1. Run 0.5 miles-1 mile.
2. Climb 20-30 flights of stairs on a stepmill or in a stairwell.
3. Jump Rope for 500 counts. Take breaks if you need it.
4. Alternate biking in a running/standing position on a spin bike for 1 minute with seated biking for 1 minute.
5. Row 1000m in under 5 minutes. 2000m in under 10 minutes.
6. Complete 800 strides on an elliptical. (Precor are the best for stride counting.)
7. Hill walk at 6-10% incline on a treadmill.
8. Use the hill interval program on level 6-10 on an arc-trainer elliptical.
9. Sprint for 30 seconds. Walk for 1 minute.
10. Versaclimb the Washington Monument one or two times.

Have fun! And remember to take a minute rest between efforts if you become out of breath.