Summer is officially here!

My son graduated from 8th grade yesterday.  My daughter finished her sophomore year of high school two days ago.  It’s HOT outside.  Summer is officially here!

For some of us, summer really changes our routine.  For others, it’s business as usual. In either case, we still need to get our workouts in–we just might need to tweak the routine a little to fit our schedule.  I’ve got the perfect solution for busy moms, business travelers and vacationers…….the high intensity interval workout.
So many folks think that if they don’t have 60 minutes, they can’t get a decent workout in.  WRONG.  You can.
Below you’ll find a brief workout you can do on vacation, at home, or in the back yard that needs no special exercise equipment (except a good pair of sneakers).
Warm up by jogging in place a little or going up and down a flight of stairs a few times if you’ve got stairs near your workout spot.
-Jumping jacks:   1 minute
-Push ups: 40 sec.  followed by 20 seconds of recovery
-Side shuffle (back and forth, 3 steps left 3 steps right): 1 minute
-Body weight squats:  40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of recovery
-Jumping jacks:  1 minute
-Dips off a bench, chair or coffee table:  40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of recovery
-Side shuffle:  1 minute
-Walking lunges:  40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of rest
There.  That’s it.  Eight minutes out of  your day (plus a little warm up and cool down time).  If you’ve got more time, go through this workout for 2 or 3 rounds.  I guarantee it will get your heart rate up.  It will burn calories.  It will continue to burn calories for you after the workout is over.  
Please, no more “no time” or “no place to work out” excuses.
Your workout doesn’t have to take up your summer vacation.  
When you’re crunched for time, do intense stuff in short spurts.
What do YOU do to stay in shape when you’re on vacation, entertaining your kids all summer or traveling for business??  
Please post a reply and share how you make summer fitness happen.
Enjoy your summer and please don’t forget the sunscreen!
Becky

Becky FINALLY has a blog!

Greetings, and welcome to my blog!

I’ve been a fitness pro for a LONG time (since way before Al Gore invented the internet), but I’m a little slow on this technology stuff.  With urging from fellow fitness friends (thanks TIC, and especially BJ Gaddour) I’m hoisting myself of board the technology train.
I’ll be posting here several times a week with ideas, tips (and probably an occasional rant) about weight loss, fitness, my boot camp workouts, nutrition and a host of other stuff all relating to fitness and creating a “fitness lifestyle”.  In my mind, fitness isn’t about a single workout–it’s about lifestyle:  what you eat, the choices you make, the workouts you do, and how you treat and nurture your mind and body.  The whole kit and kaboodle (is kaboodle really a word??).
Here at this blog, I’ll share with you things you can do to live healthier, eat better, work out smarter, and just look and feel your best.  You’re here on this planet, you might as well rock it for all it’s worth and have a good ride, right?  Can’t live life to it’s fullest if you’re sluggish, overweight and out of shape.
Feel free to post questions and  comments here.  I’d like to know what your fitness questions are so that I can make this blog as informative as possible.  If I can’t help, maybe I know someone who can!  I communicate with a lot of cutting edge fitness pros around the country, so we should be able to collaborate to help you get what you need to  feel better, look better and have more energy.
Live well,
Becky
This post is dedicated to the memory of my uncle, Alfred R. Williamson:  4/12/23-5/23/08