15 January 2013

The Top 7 Myths about Crossfit and Why They’re Totally FALSE

I understand that Crossfit isn’t for everyone. I GET IT. But don’t let the myths about Crossfit give you an excuse not to try it, okay? If you’re even a little bit interested, I would highly recommend trying it at least 4-5 times (once isn’t really enough to get a good feel for it). It’s literally changed my life.

Myth #1: Crossfit is only for super-fit people.

Entirely untrue. One of the best and most amazing things about Crossfit is that it’s scalable to any level. I think people hear that and don’t believe it, but it’s true. We have people of all ages, shapes, and abilities at my box, and the most wonderful thing is that everyone cheers everyone else on. I’m genuinely happy when my friends get PRs or push themselves to new heights. Warm and fuzzy feelings abound in Crossfit!

So obviously, Camille is super-fit. But you don’t have to be to get a LOT out of Crossfit!

Myth #2: Crossfit is expensive.

Crossfit is only expensive if you compare it to regular gyms. It’s CHEAP when you compare it to the cost of personal training, which to me, is a more apt comparison. I paid around $700 for three months of personal training at one 60-minute session per week. Crossfit costs anywhere between $150-300/month, depending on where you live, but you can go as many times as you want. Since each session is like a group personal training session, it actually costs about half as much as you’d get charged at a standard gym!

Myth #3: Crossfit is a cult.

GAHHHHH, I’m so sick of hearing this. Crossfit is a cult as much as any group of people interested in the same thing is a cult! We all like talking about Crossfit when we’re together because we all DO Crossfit. If you got together with a bunch of coworkers outside of work, isn’t it likely that you’d spend at least part of the time inadvertently talking about work? Same concept. It’s what we all have in common, so it’s easy to talk about!

Keep reading for Myths #4-7!

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29 November 2012

Vesna of Fit Missy sent me a new video to share with you all! She says:

“The outer thigh and butt (abductors) are one of those trouble areas most women always ask about. Here is an exercise that will isolate that area and help shape the glute. If you are a runner, this is a great exercise for you as weak abductors tend to lead to common running injuries.”

Hear that, runners?! These exercises will help prevent injuries!

26 November 2012

A Post-Thanksgiving Workout to Help You Fit Yo Pants

So! Did we all survive Thanksgiving? Is it even worth repeating all the post-Thanksgiving cliches? (“I survived… Plus a couple pounds!” “Ugh, I ate more pumpkin pie than I should have,” “I must have gained 10 POUNDS this week!”).

Alright, alright. Let’s skip the Thanksgiving weight cliches and skip right to the part where we all get back on track — eating lots of whole foods, minimizing the sugar/processed carbs, and focusing on getting plenty of protein and healthy fat. Deal? Deal.

With just a week left of the Fit Yo Pants Challenge, I admit I’ve done a pretty bad job of providing inspirational workouts and recipes for you guys. I hope you’ve been focusing on fitting yo pants for the past month or so! Just a week or so left until I’ll be asking for your after pics.

To help you out this last week, here’s a toughie-but-goodie workout that will make you forget all about those silly Thanksgiving weight gain cliches. Oh, and it snowed for the first time here! Which means it’s too cold for me to work out outside. Luckily, you can do this one in the comfort of your own warm living room(but do enjoy the pretty winter-inspired background of the workout!).

14 November 2012

Win an Hour of Free Fitness Consultations & Workout Plan from Fit Missy!

In the hopes of helping you Fit Yo Pants (hope everyone is doing well with that!), I bring you an AWESOME giveaway, care of our friends at Fit Missy!

When my girl Vesna emailed me about a new workout program she developed called Fit Missy, I was pretty excited. She’s been creating workouts and sharing them with Your Healthista readers for several years now under the Trainerpack name, and she really knows her stuff.

Vesna describes Fit Missy as a p90x-style program designed just for women. Here’s what you get with the Fit Missy program:

• Workouts designed to streamline your body, make you strong, and give you endurance all without any bulk.
• Focus on losing inches, fat burn, and muscle tone using light weights, high reps, and moving fast between exercises.
• A mix of compound exercises and cardio in order to optimize your workouts and burn the most calories per workout.
• Workouts that feel personal training session.
• A detailed daily breakdown of which workout to do when from week 1 to week 9.
• A total of 37 workouts done over 9 weeks.
• Full email support during the 9 weeks.
• A full nutrition guide.

Fit Missy is partnering with Your Healthista for a pretty amazing giveaway. Here’s the scoop:

• Like Fit Missy on Facebook.
• Comment on this post letting me know you did by midnight EST on Friday, Nov. 16th.
• That’s it! You’ll be entered for a chance to win an hour-long Skype or phone fitness consult with Vesna, the creator of Fit Missy, AND a customized workout plan! The winner will be announced on Saturday, Nov. 17th.

Got it? Good. Even better: you can try one of the Fit Missy workouts right now to get a taste of what the program is like!

29 October 2012

The Fit Yo Pants Workout You Can Do with a Friend!

Last week, I asked you to commit to moving your body for 20-45 minutes, four times a week.  I don’t care what you do, you just have to move! But if you need some inspiration for that movement, I’m here for you. This is a workout you can do with a friend, so you should have some extra motivation/encouragement! You also won’t need any extra equipment for this workout, so you have no excuse not to try it out.

The Fit Yo Pants Friend Workout

Here’s how it works: You’ll do each of the below movements for a total of five minutes (set a timer on your phone or use a stopwatch). You can break up the five minutes however you want with your friend. You can switch off every minute or every certain number of reps (10 or 20). See what works best! Just make sure you’re working for about the same amount of time as each other. Make sure to cheer each other on and don’t let each other give up! When you’re done, you’ll have worked out for about 20 minutes each, but I bet it won’t feel like that long.

The moves:

5 minutes of mountain climbers

5 minutes of pushups

5 minutes of squats

5 minutes of burpees

5 minutes of situps

5 minutes of lunges (make sure to work evenly on both sides)

5 minutes of running quickly (not quite a sprint). If you don’t have somewhere to run, do jumping jacks instead.

5 minutes of plank

If you try it, let me know how it goes!