Healthy Life Guide

When it comes to stereotypical weight gain, generally speaking, men have their beer bellies, and women have their “bulky” thighs. The good news for women who carry their weight this way is that there is less of a health risk associated with heavy thighs than there is with an overly rotund waist, but that doesn’t make being unhappy with your body shape any easier. This workout for lean legs combines the best of the best thigh slimming exercises so that you can take an active approach to leaning out the lower body. Built specifically to help people get slimmer thighs, the mix of light resistance strength training and Pilates moves are the perfect exercises for building long, lean muscles in the legs. As an added bonus, there are also some abdominal toning exercises mixed in to balance out the routine and give the leg muscles an occasional short break. Why this combination of exercises slims thighs Low Resistance, high rep bodyweight exercises The exercises in this work...

Fitness Blender's 10 Minute Abs Routine targets the entire abdominal panel, and obliques. The abdominal and obliques exercises in the home routine below are combined with cardio intervals to keep your heart rate up and help burn the most fat. This can easily be a beginner abs workout routine or a very advanced abs workout; you can adapt each of the exercises to your own fitness level by choosing the level of difficulty that best suits you. All that you need for this routine is a thick mat. Program Structure: Do each of the exercises for 60 seconds. Don’t worry if you can’t do each component for a full minute; stop briefly when you need to but return to the move as soon as possible to finish out the full minute. Jumping Oblique Twists Pilates Hundreds Windshield Wipers Jumping jacks Russian Twists Pilates Side Hip Raises - 30 seconds each side Captain Morgan’s - 30 seconds each side Burpees Toe Touch Crunch Pilates Table Top Complete twice through for a quick t...

Conditioning for volleyball tryouts should consist of a careful balance of cardio, strength training, and plyometrics. If you train for tryouts using a combination of all three, you will have both speed and strength before the season even starts. Here’s a break down of the ideal way to train for volleyball tryouts using jumping plyometrics, strength training, and cardio. Conditioning for the sport: Cardio With a lot of sports tryouts, the coaches typically spend the whole first week simply weeding out those individuals who are not willing to push themselves hard. They manage to do this with copious amounts of cardio in the form of laps, sprints, and even running bleachers. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is the best way to increase your cardiovascular limits quickly, but you can also jump on the treadmill 3-4 days a week for roughly 45 minutes at a time and using intervals to boost your lung capacity and stamina. Here’s what your treadmill cardio routine would loo...

Plyometric exercises increase strength and explosive speed, while reducing reaction time. Volleyball plyometrics will help you move faster on the court, and jump higher at the net. Leg Plyometrics Exercises are going to be a huge asset to your volleyball training plan. Doing the exercises regularly can help you gain the vertical jump to be a better blocker and hitter, and can also make you a better defensive player because you will have the speed and agility to cover more of the court. If you want to not only make the team, but be a starter for the team, this routine can help you increase your chances for both. How to do this Program Do each exercise for 15 repetitions. Do the entire thing 2-3 times through. Ideally you should start doing workouts like this at least 2 months before your season starts. 15 Minutes of Cardio - Warm up first 15 Knee Tuck Jumps 15 Lateral Jumps 15 Mountain Climbers 15 Broad Jumps 15 Burpees 15 Squat Jacks 15 Agility Dots 15 Squat Jumps Cool Down and Stret...

This 10 Minute home workout provides comprehensive abdominal toning, and it doesn’t require any equipment or even a gym membership. The exercises in this routine have been carefully selected to target the muscles of entire abdominal wall, as well as the oblique muscles (where extra bodyweight tends to accumulate in the form of dreaded love handles). How to do this routine: Do 15 repetitions of each of the exercises. Do the entire workout twice through. Before doing any kind of strength training, always warm up; 10-15 minutes of cardio is ideal. Make sure and notice that when you click on the links to the videos, many of the exercise demonstrations have multiple difficulty levels; if a certain version is too difficult or feels too easy, find a modified version (i.e. Level 1, 2, or possibly 3) that better suits your own strength levels. Pilates Leg Pulls (15 reps on each leg) Reclined Oblique Twists (15 twists to each side) Push Up Planks (repeat 15 second hold on each side) J...

It seems like the more obese our country gets, the more fitness products and equipment we have to choose from. Our methods for staying trim and healthy keep getting unnecessarily complicated and diluted. (Original printable routine below) How to do this routine : This is a short, intense home workout that combines intervals of cardio, using a jump rope, with bodyweight strength training moves. Starting with the warm-up, do each section of the routine, either going full gusto with the jumping rope, or doing each bodyweight exercise for a full 60 seconds–or until exhaust. If you can’t make it for the full round for any of the bodyweight toning exercises, simply stop for a few seconds until you have caught your breath before going directly back into the movement until you complete the rest of that specific part of the routine. Jump Rope & Toning Workout Two min warm-up: Jog in place while jumping rope Minutes 2-3: Two Foot Hop while jumping rope Minutes 3-4: Push Ups; s...

This short 15 minute workout for glutes tones butt muscles and slims thighs. This routine doesn’t require a single piece of exercise equipment, making it easy to do at home or at times when a gym is otherwise not available. (Original printable routine below) The Booty Boot Camp is a great routine to add sporadically into your daily schedule to give your metabolism a boost to aid the body in burning fat faster. Adding this 15 minute workout for glutes to your daily routine at times when you are otherwise sedentary can make a big difference in your metabolic rate and the number of calories that your body burns, even while resting. How to do the Booty Boot Camp Do each exercise for one full minute, noting the times when you will need to split the 60 seconds between right and left sides of the body. Some of the exercises in this program may push your lower body muscles to exhaust; if you find that you have to stop to catch your breath or shake out your screaming muscles, do so, but ...

The hamstring muscles are actually comprised of four different muscles; the semitendinosus, biceps femoris (short and long head), and the semimembranosus. They run along the backs of your thighs; starting behind the knees and running up the legs where they attach to the lower pelvis just under the glute muscles. Hamstrings can be difficult to target without weights or machines, but there are a select number of exercises that require only bodyweight or minimal equipment. The moves in this workout are the best hamstring exercises that you can do at home in your own living room. There are two ways that you can use the moves in this routine; you can either take the exercises from the list below and interweave them into your own workout in order to specifically target this part of the leg, or you can do them as a routine, as detailed below. How to do this workout Do fifteen repetitions of each move, making sure to do the same number of reps on each side of the body where necessary. Do the...

Resistance band workouts are fantastic because they can literally be done anywhere. All you need is the exercise band, which is easy to pack, easy to store, and a synch to travel with. As an added bonus, they are really very inexpensive. (Original printable chest workout below) This program is a comprehensive chest routine that will also tone your biceps, triceps, and shoulders. Many of these exercises even incorporate your lower back and abs muscles. Fitness Blender workouts are easy to adjust to any fitness level. If a move in the exercise plan is too easy or hard, just move up or down a level of difficulty and check out modifications that make the move less demanding or more challenging. You can watch a video version of this program in this 20 Minute Upper Body Routine . If you don’t already have this simple & inexpensive piece of exercise equipment at home, read our Resistance Bands Reviews to find out which ones will suit your exercise plans best. How to do this routin...

For more workout videos to get curves, keep reading! Curves are feminine, and hourglass figure types are one of the most highly sought after shapes out there. These workout routines can help to build an hourglass shape. Though media likes to portray the concept that stick thin is in, studies have shown time and time again that both genders prefer a body shape that has curves. The truth is that all that really matters is that your body is strong and healthy. If you aren’t naturally built this way but want to be, there are many workouts that can help to make you appear more shapely; these are some of the best. Upper Body Toning Tabata Routine – This actually ends up being a calorie blasting routine because of the tabata structure. The workout builds up muscles in the bust and, making it an ideal combo of exercises to get the shape that you're after. Butt and Thigh Workout for a Rounder Butt - Build up the glutes for a more shapely body -  also a great way to help ...

These obliques exercises are combined with intervals of cardio moves that also target the oblique and abs muscles to help you burn calories while you firm your sides. This ab routine counts as both an internal and external oblique workout, though it should be noted that total body strength training and cardio are the best exercises for love handles. If you would like to watch video version of this program instead of just going off of text, you can also check out this. Check out Fitness Blender workouts for more options for both printable routines and a wide range of full length workout videos. (Original printable routine below) How to do this routine Do each move for 1 minute; you may not be able to complete a full minute of each component of the program- stop briefly when necessary and return to the move ASAP to finish out the whole minute. Give yourself 10-20 seconds rest between each of the obliques exercises. Make sure and choose a level of difficulty of each movement that you ca...

These arm toning exercises will get rid of flabby arms fast. This 20 minute routine also burns a fast 200 calories thanks to all of the cardio intervals. This home upper body workout plan can be done in your living room, and requires almost no equipment; you only need dumbbells or a resistance band (due to the high number of repetitions, you could probably even use a can of soup or a water bottle). Workout Structure: Do each of these bodyweight exercise for 60 seconds, with 20 seconds of rest in between. For most fitness levels, one full minute of each of these exercises is difficult. By the end of a full minute of some of these moves, your muscles will be shaking and it will be difficult to do another repetition. Keep pushing yourself, completing as many of the reps as you can in the 60 seconds; it’s okay to slow down a bit if you have to. If you have to stop to take a break, just make sure to jump back in as soon as you can to complete the full minute. The cardio intervals a...

This At Home Cardio Workout is comprised of bodyweight exercises that don’t require any equipment. Here's what you will need: • A good pair of shoes to absorb the impact of cardio • A thick exercise mat • Music that keeps you motivated! This full body routine will not result in size gain; instead it increases your cardiovascular fitness and blasts calories. It’s a combination of speed-increasing plyometric jumps, glute toning lower body moves, and waist slimming oblique exercises. Prefer watching videos? Our workout videos are full length, free, and as good as having a personal trainer with you in your living room. How to do this routine Do 1 minute of each cardio exercise, with 30 seconds of rest in between each move. If you need to stop and rest in the middle of one of the exercises, do so but go directly back into the move to complete the rest of the minute. 2 Minute Warm Up (march in place, walk, etc) Broad Jumps Agility Dots Jumping Oblique Twist ...

Whether you are trying to get a smaller waist to get an hourglass figure, or you are just looking to lose a few inches off of a round belly, these tips and exercises can get the job done. The most important thing to understand when trying to get a small waist is that a healthy bodyweight is priority one; strength training for the entire body & a healthy diet are key. These exercises can also help with a stronger core & more toned abs. Best exercises for a smaller waist: Jumping Oblique Twist – This is a great cardio move to help burn calories, minimize belly fat and tone the sides. Oblique moves like this one create muscles that pull your body inwards, creating the look that you're after. The Russian Twist – The twisting motion of this exercise whittles your middle by firming the muscles on your sides; giving you a toned, smaller midsection. The jumping around also bumps up your caloric burn, which is important for maintaining a healthy bodyweight. Pilates Si...

Blast fat, bump up your metabolism, and get total body toning with this 15 minute workout made of home cardio exercises (for original printable cardio routine, see below). Not a single one of these exercises requires a bit of equipment, meaning that all you need in order to complete this home cardio workout is a little bit of motivation (and maybe some music). How to do this Routine Do each exercise for the full minute, taking 10 to 20 seconds of rest between each different cardio exercise (longer periods of rest will lengthen the total workout time). Do the entire routine three times through in order to make a 15 minute workout. Depending on your cardiovascular health, you may need to stop and take a break during the minute long bursts of exercise. If this is the case, give yourself a short breather before going straight back into the exercise in order to finish out the full minute. High Knees Mountain Climbers Jumping Lunges Burpees Lateral Jumps Cool Down and Stretch Repeat this l...

An hourglass shape is a body type where the hips and bust are wide relative to the size of the waist. This body type has recently regained popularity and is known as the sort of quintessential symbol of a woman, and a staggering portion of the population, both male and female, prefers the hourglass figure to any other body shape. Women who naturally have these types of figures will find that when they gain weight, it happens first in the hips and bust. If you aren’t a natural hourglass shape but want to be, the exercises in this workout can help. To get a lean and curvy shape, it takes a total body workout. A healthy diet and routines like ones in the workout video above, built specifically for building shapely lean muscle, is among your best options for making the waist look smaller and getting a more curvy silhouette. Remember that in order to be able to see the benefit, you’re going to have to maintain a healthy body weight (for health reasons, as well). While genes l...

This is one celebrity who is definitely committed to a healthy diet and regular exercise plan – workout videos like the one above, and combinations like you see in this weeklong Carrie Underwood Workout Program can help you get legs that are lean and toned like the country singer. (For the original printable version of this routine, see below) While you might find yourself wishing for strong, lean legs, you have to realize that in order to get in great shape, it takes much more than just a few exercises for the lower body - or even a whole single routine. It takes regular cardio and a wide variety of strength training & toning workouts – not just for the legs, but for the entire body. This is Fitness Blender’s week long program of our workout videos that will help you get a body like Carrie. Day 1: Lower Body & HIIT Cardio: Intense Bodyweight Cardio for Fat Loss – 21 Minutes Brazilian Butt Lift Workout – 35 Minutes Day 2: Upper Body, Cardio ...

Our very own eBook has 24 unique printable Boot Camp Workouts that are meant to help lower body fat percentage, build lean muscle, lose weight, and increase balance, strength and endurance. Fitness Blender’s 8 Week Boot Camp – Functional Strength Training Program This is our printable 8 week program: It gives you a day-by-day breakdown of when to do each printable workout, as well as what days you should be doing cardio, and what days you should be letting your body recover. All of the exercise are dynamic; by using multiple muscle groups simultaneously, you burn a higher number of calories and get the most toning benefit in the least amount of time. Some of the exercises in this program use dumbbells or resistance bands. It helps to have access to any kind of cardio machine in order to complete Cardio Days and some of the high intensity interval training that some of the routines use. If you adhere to this 8 Week Body Makeover Boot Camp, you will without a doubt be able...

     The Fitness Blender Killer Home Workout is a week long workout plan and functional training routine built to target the entire body and build strength and control. Commit to this workout and you will most definitely see an increase in energy and body definition and tone in as little as a week or two.      This routine requires a high base level of fitness and should not be attempted by those new to exercise, without the express permission of your personal physician.      Doing this total body workout, in conjunction with a restriction in your normal caloric intake, can effectively help you lose weight quickly and safely while building strength and increasing muscle content at the same time.      Would you rather watch a workout video? If so, check out our completely free, full length home workout videos . Workout Structure:      Follow the routine as it is or complete the days in a...

     Far too many people believe that the only way to lose weight is to wear themselves down mentally and physically with hours and hours on the treadmill. Cardio is definitely not the only component in successfully losing weight, and if it’s the only part that you implement in your own program, you are going to struggle to drop the weight and be very unlikely to keep it off.      Getting and staying lean takes a dynamic approach. A combination of regular cardio and strength training is the method that is most likely to bring about sustainable results.      When you utilize only cardio for weight loss, you are burning calories while you are actually doing it, but you aren’t necessarily creating a situation where your body is going to burn more calories around the clock. Strength training, on the other hand, builds lean muscle that burns calories at a higher rate even while you are resting. You might technically bu...

Finding the time to work out can be hard, so when you finally get ready to start, not having a game plan and having to figure out what you want/need to do can end up eating into the little time you may have to workout. To get around this, you need to have a plan (we suggest planning for at least a week at a time), which can not only make your workouts take less time, but also improve your chances to workout in the first place. The easiest fix for this problem is using one of our pre-made workout plans like our 4- or 8-Week Fat Loss Programs. They are built not only to help you lose weight, but also tone and strengthen your body at the same time. They are extremely effective and we have kept them very inexpensive so that they are accessible to as many people as possible. 8 Week Fat Loss Program (New, Round 2) Fat Loss Program Round 1 (Both are standalone programs from start to finish that do not need to be done in order) Now for those of you who have already used our programs or ...

     Lately we have been getting a lot of people asking us how much weight they should use for a specific exercise or workout. Now this is a good question as you need to know where to begin and when you should push yourself harder, however, it is impossible for us to give an answer that will work for everyone. Each person is unique in the amount of strength and endurance they have in each muscle of their body so even if you take two people that seem identical in height, weight, gender, and physical ability there can still be vast differences in their strength from one muscle to the next.      This is how it works; whether you are doing low repetition, high load, strength training or you are doing a high repetition, low load, toning routine the following applies. Start by selecting the number of repetition you want to use. Remember lower repetitions (6-12) leans more toward strength training/muscle building, and higher repetitions (14-20) leans...

One of my biggest pet peeves while running is my earphones falling out. Running can be so soothing and mind clearing - an earbud that wont stay put, or that you have to constantly keep adjusting is a serious pain and it can mess with the stress relief that a good run provides. The specific ones we tried were Yurbuds Inspire and Focus. Womens Yurbuds Inspire Review - Developed for women, and catering to smaller ears, the Inspire pair requires a "Twist Lock" motion to secure within your ear. At first I wasn't sure how that would work but once I got it right, I could tell instantly that they weren't going to budge. I have small ears, and these fortunately came with two different sizes so that I could ensure that they really fit snugly and wouldn't even bounce while I was sprinting, which is a noisy and uncomfortable feature of many other brands I've tried. The quality of the sound is great and again, because it's in the ear, I feel like I don't have ...

The fitness supplement industry easily rakes in billions of dollars a year, and protein powders bring in their fair share of that income. There's always a great deal of commotion about protein shakes to build lean muscle and/or lose weight, but do you really need a protein supplement in order to make fitness gains? Do I actually need the extra protein? You are likely already getting enough protein from your regular diet. The truth is that the majority of Americans actually take in too much protein. Depending on what your diet is, you may already get enough - or even excess amounts - of this macronutrient from your regular meals and snacks throughout the day. Despite what some fanatics will tell you, massive amounts of excess protein doesn't just get passed through the system without repercussion. It can put unnecessary strain on your body, especially your kidneys. Additionally - calories in excess in relation to your daily expenditure, whether from protein or not, still hav...

We get a lot of questions regarding our own personal workout routines; do we really use Fitness Blender workouts to stay in shape? What else do we do? How often do we go to the gym? Are Fitness Blender workout videos enough to stay in shape, without anything extra? It's ironic, but our workdays by far and large have us sitting in front of the computer all day. We spend long hours editing, writing, developing programs, doing voiceovers, etc; it's essentially not unlike any other desk job. In the end we really have to fight very hard and do some serious priority checks with ourselves, personally, in order to make exercise a part of our day. We have to practice what we preach; yes life is busy but fitness is such an inarguable component of health, we just can't afford to make any excuses, however legitimate they might be. When one of us is in front of the camera filming a workout, we definitely get in a good workout. But the reality is that for every 10-15 minutes of filmi...

There are hundreds of new fitness gadgets and equipment showing up every day and to be completely honest 99% of them are not worth the money. Most target something typical to the fitness industry like getting six pack abs, toning your thighs or dropping belly fat so when you see a new piece of equipment that targets something as specific and unusual as grip and forearm strength you have to stop and take a second look. NSD Power Winners Roll and Spin Spinner Gyroscopic Wrist and Forearm Exerciser with Digital LCD Counter and Auto-Start Feature, Black which is a very long name for such a small device. What is it? The NDS Spinner is a gyroscope inside a hard plastic shell that has a mechanism that allows you to rotate your hand to increase the revolutions per minute (RPM) of the gyroscope itself. Now if you have ever ridden a bike before then you have had first hand experience with gyroscopic force. Though you may not have known it at the time when you spin the wheels of a bike they ...

In terms of my own workout program, I can honestly say that there's nothing that I do to stay in shape that you can't find available, for free, here on FitnessBlender.com. When I get the chance to focus on my own fitness, I use Fitness Blender workout videos (moderately awkward, but hey they work!). I even frequently use the search tool, filtering workouts by length, difficulty, and muscle group in order to minimize the time I waste deciding what to do for a routine. In the last few years I have grown to really enjoy strength training and I think that it has been one of the training styles that has had the most impact on my body and mindset. My goal is to do twice a week strength sessions for both the upper and lower body, but because of my hectic schedule I often end up doing more dynamic, total body strength workouts that incorporate both the upper and lower body, 2-3 times a week. I do HIIT roughly twice a week, and usually add in a few bouts of low impact cardio as well...