Say you start a workout program. You do some cardio, you lift some weights and you feel good about that, but you end up wondering: Is this really working for me? How do I know if I’m doing the right thing to reach my goals?

Assessing your workouts isn’t always easy because there are so many ways to exercise. It would be nice if a bell rang or a green light came on every time we got it right, but it usually doesn’t happen that way. What often happens is, we try this and we try that and then we go back to the other thing and, maybe, we call in a trainer when we get frustrated.

Sometimes, we use questionable methods to assess our workouts. For example, one of my clients got upset with me at one point because, as she progressed, she wasn’t sore after every workout. She mistakenly thought that being sore all the time meant she was getting a good workout.

There are a few questions you can ask yourself about your workouts that can help, but I want to hear your ideas. Whether you’re new to exercise or you’ve been around the block a few times, how do you assess your workouts? Do you wonder if you’re on the right track and does that leave you feeling frustrated or confused? Vote in this week’s poll and tell us how you evaluate your workouts.

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Vote in This Week’s Poll: How do you assess the effectiveness of your workouts? originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 05:00:52.

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The latest release by Kristin Luna Ray is a bit hard to categorize. While an overall singer songwriter style…

Picture it: You’re in a deep, coma-like sleep when your alarm goes off. It’s 5:30 in the morning, it’s pitch black outside, it’s well below freezing and your bed is about as snug and warm as anything you’ve ever experienced. You turn over and, what you do next will decide your fate. If you snake out an arm, blindly hitting things until you find the snooze button, there’s a good chance you’ll hit it again…and again…and again. If you throw off the covers, that workout you planned the day before may just become a reality.

We all have those moments when things could go either way, but there are a few questions you should ask yourself before you burrow back under those covers and decide to skip your workout. Will you regret going back to sleep? Will you have a better day if you find the strength to step those bare feet on that cold, hard floor? Find out how you can get yourself moving and leave a comment to tell us how you silence that little voice in your head whispering, “Go back to sleep.”

Before You Skip Your Workout originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 05:00:23.

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What motivates a person to lose weight? That’s a good question to ponder, especially if you have trouble making the lifestyle changes necessary to get the job done. In some cases the motivation may come from inside - you get tired of being overweight or you put on that pair of pants you just bought, realize you have to go up a size and think, “I’m done with this.”

That motivation may also come from the outside. Maybe someone you haven’t seen in awhile looks surprised at your weight gain and that one glance is enough to nudge you in a different direction.

In our latest success story, Dee found motivation from both places: “My Girlfriend motivated me the most, and I was tired of being fat!”

Dee’s success in losing 40 pounds came slowly with both exercise and a change of diet, but Dee has some great advice for other people trying to lose weight: “The most important thing is to believe in yourself. I know it sounds corny, but it’s true.”

In fact, believing in yourself may be the most important component of any weight loss journey and what kept Dee going, even when the weight loss was slow. Read more about Dee’s inspirational story and be sure to share your own story, if you have one or leave a comment and tell us what qualities help the most when you’re trying to lose weight.

Reader Success Story of the Week: How Dee Lost 40 Pounds originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 05:00:23.

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What motivates a person to lose weight? That’s a good question to ponder, especially if you have trouble making the lifestyle changes necessary to get the job done. In some cases the motivation may come from inside - you get tired of being overweight or you put on that pair of pants you just bought, realize you have to go up a size and think, “I’m done with this.”

That motivation may also come from the outside. Maybe someone you haven’t seen in awhile looks surprised at your weight gain and that one glance is enough to nudge you in a different direction.

In our latest success story, Dee found motivation from both places: “My Girlfriend motivated me the most, and I was tired of being fat!”

Dee’s success in losing 40 pounds came slowly with both exercise and a change of diet, but Dee has some great advice for other people trying to lose weight: “The most important thing is to believe in yourself. I know it sounds corny, but it’s true.”

In fact, believing in yourself may be the most important component of any weight loss journey and what kept Dee going, even when the weight loss was slow. Read more about Dee’s inspirational story and be sure to share your own story, if you have one or leave a comment and tell us what qualities help the most when you’re trying to lose weight.

Reader Success Story of the Week: How Dee Lost 40 Pounds originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 05:00:23.

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It’s easy to get into a rut with your strength training workouts, but there are a variety of techniques that can help you spice things up and push your limits. Some of my favorite training methods include:

• Drop Sets - This is a great way to add more intensity to your strength workouts and really push your limits by taking your muscles to momentary failure. There are a number of ways to do drop sets, but my favorite version is to choose a heavy weight that allows you to complete no more than 12 reps of an exercise (the last rep should be very difficult, but not impossible). Rest for 10-20 seconds, pick up the same weight and complete 10 reps. Take a brief rest and then complete 8 reps with the same weight.
• Tri-Sets - Another way to add intensity and move things along is with tri-sets. With this technique, you choose three exercises for the same muscle group and do them, one right after the other, with very little rest in between. I like to choose different types of exercises when I do tri-sets - a compound move (e.g. pushups), followed by an isolation move (e.g. chest flies), followed by another compound move (e.g., chest press). By doing this, you’ll hit your muscle fibers from different directions, making this an intense workout.
• Start from the Bottom - If you’re like me, you tend to start with the same muscle groups and exercises for every workout. One way to shake things up is to start at what is typically the end of your workout and go backwards. If you usually start with larger muscles (as many of us do) and end with the smaller muscles of the shoulders or arms, start small and work your way up. You may find it refreshing to work your biceps or triceps when they aren’t fatigued by other exercises.

What about you? How do you spice up your strength training workouts? Share your experiences and your favorite techniques for lifting weights.

More about how to change your strength workouts.

Pump and Burn: 3 Ways to Spice Up Your Strength Workouts originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 09:55:27.

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Best known for his hot Power Vinyasa style, super-star Yogi, Baron Baptiste (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref_%3Dnb%255Fsb%255Fss%255Fc%255F1%255F14%26field-keywords%3Dbaron%2520baptiste%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Ddvd%26sprefix%3DBaron%2520Baptiste&tag=yogabasicscom&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957) has teamed up with a leading authority…

After doing some form of squats for the last 15 years or so, I’m always on the lookout for squat variations and this kettlebell front squat is just one way to make your lower body workouts a little more interesting.

I like this move because it’s a great way to introduce some power into your workouts while targeting the lower body and the core. As with many kettlebell exercises, it’s important to use a heavy enough weight that you use the power of your lower body and hips to drive the weight up. Even more important, however, is perfecting the move and using good form, so practicing with a lighter weight and gradually going heavier is a good way to progress. And, as always, kettlebell exercises aren’t for everyone, so use your best judgment and make sure you understand the basics of kettlebell training.

You can do this move with two kettlebells or, as in the version shown below, with one kettlebell, which is a great way to work on your balance and stability.

Do it right: Using a heavy kettlebell, perform a clean to get the weight up and then hold that position as you lower into a squat, going as low as you can while keeping the core braced and the torso upright. From the bottom position, drive up through the heels, powering the weight up with the strength of your lower body and hips. Lower and repeat for 8-12 reps before switching sides.

Exercise of the Week: Kettlebell Front Squat originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 05:00:50.

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We are looking for a hard working yogi who is organized, detailed and skillful with communication. If you live in…

One of the most common questions I get from my readers (aside from how to get flat abs) is about motivation. They usually say something along the lines of, “I’m just not motivated,” or “How do I get motivated to exercise?”

In my opinion, motivation isn’t something that just happens to you but, rather, it comes and goes. For example, if your pants are too tight, that might suddenly motivate you to exercise or go on a diet. But, when the time comes to actually do it, that motivation you felt earlier may not be around and that means you have to generate it yourself.

One of the biggest mistakes we make sometimes is waiting to feel like exercising. When waking up at 5:00 in the morning, does anyone really feel like exercising at that moment? Probably not, but the only difference between the person who gets up anyway and the person who doesn’t is motivation. The person who got up didn’t just have that motivation there waiting for him, he had to find it. Perhaps he thought about his busy day and realized a workout would help him do a better job. Maybe he thought about the vacation coming up and the bathing suit he’ll wear. Maybe he had to go through 3 or 4 things before he found something that prompted him to get out of bed and get moving.

Whatever that motivation is, some of us search for it each day and some of us give up if it isn’t there right away. Which one are you? Vote in this week’s poll and tell us how you stay motivated to exercise. Obviously, I can’t cover all the many responses you might have in this limited poll, so please leave a comment and tell us about your experiences. I’m sure we could all use some extra motivation this time of year.

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• What Keeps You Motivated?
• Why Aren’t You Motivated to Exercise?
• Create Your Own Motivation

Vote in This Week’s Poll: How do you stay motivated to exercise? originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 06:00:23.

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