Is today “THE DAY”?

Everyone talks about “The Day”…

Ya know the day when you are gonna turn the corner and change your life….

The Day you realize that you don’t have to be tired and self-conscious about your physique…

The Day you realize what you are missing out on by being overweight…

The Day you realize that you deserve a better life…

The Day when you say to yourself “Enough is enough!”…

Is today your “The Day”?

I am pretty sure that they haven’t found the fountain of youth HOWEVER I do know that exercise and eating healthy is probably the closest thing to it!

Did you know that the average life expectancy is about 78 years old?

So how many GOOD years do you have left?  Not to be “Debbie Downer” but life goes by fast.

How are you going to live out those years?

I don’t know about you but I want to keep every bodily function that I have now!

I do not want to be lethargic and confined to a wheelchair because I was too lazy to work those muscles out or to fuel my body with super foods full of much needed vitamins. Do you?

Take your stand!

Take action today!

One choice, one decision can change your life.

Make TODAY your “The Day”…because if you don’t your day may never come.

Carpe diem!

Click here to read more about making a change.

Ahhh…I can smell spring in the air.  Can you?  I heard the birds chirping this morning and buds are starting to appear on the trees…it’s like nature is waking up from their winter slumber…so what about you? Are you getting the urge to get outside?  Tired of being cooped up indoors?  I know I am!

This is a great time of year to get started on your fitness goals.  You have no excuse to not get outside and get moving.  It’s time to wake up from your “winter slumber”.  Walking and running are great forms of exercise   Grab a friend and go to your local park  for a jaunt through nature.  You guys can catch up on each others lives and give your body what it needs.

There are some great 5K walk/runs that happen in the spring.  A 5K is 3.10 miles.  This can sound very intimidating if you are new to running.

Don’t think you are ready for a 5K?

 

 

Here are some tips and if you fill out the form below we’ll email you our Shape It Up Fitness 5K in 8 Weeks Program that will get you prepared!

1. Set Attainable Goals.  If you are new to running, listen to your body.  Progress when you feel your body is ready.  Remember the main goal during your first race is to finish.  The first race just enjoy the run and feel good for achieving your goal of getting out there and doing it, rather than finishing at a certain time.
2. Visit Your Doctor.  Make sure it is safe for you to begin a running program.
3. Be Safe and Smart.  Have proper running shoes (contact the SJ Running Company for some great sneakers).  Run with a buddy (safety in numbers) and be aware of your surroundings.  Shape It Up has some free meet up walk/run groups if you’d like to meet up with us (more info in your 5K in 8 Week Program below).
4. Fuel Your Body. Never run on an empty tank. Eat something 1 to 1  1/2hours before you run. Drink plenty of water.  Make sure you drink at least16 ounces 2-3 hours before your run.  After your run, make sure you rehydrate by drinking plenty of water and refuel your muscles by eating a light carbohydrate and protein snack.
5. Day of the Race.  If you aren’t familiar with the race course, be sure to check it out in advance or do a “dry run” before on one of your training days.   It’s best to know the terrain before the race so you know what to expect.

Running Etiquette:

• Don’t cut off people.  Once you have clearly passed them then cut over.
• Go passed the finish line.  Once you cross, keep going so you don’t cause a traffic jam.

Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!

To get your FREE copy of our Shape It Up Fitness 5K in 8 Weeks Program, please fill out the form below.

If you know of any 5K runs in our area, please contact me and I will post them on the website.

 

Check out our SIU events!

March Madness Contest – You could win 12 months of FREE SIU Fitness Classes!

March 19th – Free Travel Workout Demo
March 26th – Healthy Dining Out
April 9th – Creative Memories Scrapbook Party – more info coming

Weight loss is simply calories in verses calories out, right?

We all know that…or maybe we don’t.

Or is it that we know it but we aren’t really sure how to achieve those correct burn numbers?

There is a systematic way to get your correct burn and I am going to tell you it right now.

#1 Write down your food that you eat every day.

You need to be very consistent and as exact as you can with this.

There are some great free apps available online.  You can also invest in the BodyBugg (or BodyMedia’s generic version) or you can use pen and paper.

Any of these methods work.  The hardest part is just doing it.

#2 Figuring out how many calories you burn throughout the day.

Again there are many online programs that you can use to “guesstimate” the number of calories you may burn through different activities.

Invest in a monitor or the BodyBugg, that will give you a more accurate “personal” calorie burn.

Here are some samples of some high calorie burner exercises:

Based on 180lb woman for 30 minutes

• Jumping Rope, fast – 514 calories
• Rollerblading – 514 calories
• Running (5 mph) – 343 calories
• Boot Camp – 343 calories
• HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)  Class – 343 calories
• Stationary Bike , 150 Watts, moderate effort – 300 calories

You know that it takes 3,500 calories to burn 1 pound of fat.  So I don’t know about you but I like the idea that I can take a 1 hour Shape It Up Boot Camp class and rack up close to a 700 calorie burn.

Now, what I have told you is the bottom line…however, like everything else in life, there are different variables and factors that you’ll need to take in account. For example, how much sleep you are getting, stress levels, if you are on medications, any medical issues you may have, keeping yourself accountable, selecting the best  foods for fat-burning and having a concern for lean muscle mass.

Start with writing your food logs and getting in some great calorie burning exercises and you should see some significant changes!

Committed to your results,

Nicole Simonin

P.S. If you’d like to come experience one of our high calorie burning classes like Boot Camp and HIIT just click here to get your no obligation 1 Week Free Pass.

Women are generally concerned about lifting weights for fear that they will suddenly turn into this muscle bulging Amazon person….so not true!

You don’t need to be a body builder to benefit from strength training.

When you lift weights you can:

Increase the strength of your bones, muscles and connective tissue (bones and ligaments).  This will help decrease the risk of injury.

Increase your muscle mass.  As we age, adults lose about one-half pounds of muscle per year.  Typical cause is decreased activity.  Less muscle means a lower number of calories burned.  So as you increase your muscle mass so does your metabolism (hence weight loss and small girth measurements).

Improved quality of life.  The stronger you are the easier daily activities become such as carrying groceries and lifting household items.

You don’t need to start off with 100lb barbells.  Start off small and work your way up.  As long as you are challenging your muscles you are increasing your strength.

To your health,

Nicole Simonin

If you’d like to see how you can gain muscle strength and have fun doing it, request one of our 1 Week Free Passes by clicking here.

Special offer!!

In the Zone Delivery is offering a steal of a deal on their delicious meals!

But only until Feb 28th

To read more about it click here

Are you or someone you know getting married??

This can be an exciting and hectic time.  Picking the florist, the DJ, your hair and yes the dress!

Last weekend, Shape It Up Fitness was out at Running Deer Golf Course in Pittsgrove launching the new SIU Bridal Boot Camp Program!

We got to meet some great brides-to-be and their friends and family.

Here is the best bridal tip I’ve heard for Bridal Shows…print out your contact information on some labels that way you can just put your label on any businesses that you are interested in. No more hand cramps!

Thank you to all who entered our raffle!!  Everyone got a prize and the grand prize winner of One Month Free to Shape It Up Fitness was Trudi Dawes!!

Check out Shape It Up’s Bridal Boot Camp Program that will help you look your best on your special day!

Click here to learn more about our new Bridal Boot Camp Program

BBBuuuurrrr!

This is the time of year when you might be getting ready to head south for warmer weather…. I don’t blame you one bit!

Staying true to your fitness goals doesn’t have to get sidelined until you get home.

Here are some travel tips:

• Check out ahead of time where the gym is located or physical activities that you can do while away.
• I always like to find out if there is a running/walking path.  That way you get to see the scenery.
• Pack a jump rope.  This is one of the most overlooked piece of fitness equipment you can own and the beauty of it is it’s relatively inexpensive (you can get a good one for about $10.  Don’t waste your time on those dollar store ones.  To find out what SIU recommend in jump ropes email me or call 609-501-0587)… and travels well!
• Pack some exercise bands.  Again, very easy to fit into your luggage, inexpensive and very versatile. With these bands, you can get a great workout without leaving your hotel room.
• Like to swim?  Jump in the pool and get a fantastic cardio workout!
• Explore wherever your destination takes you!  Sight-see with walking tours.  Try to avoid the bus or taxi….your feet were made for walkin’!
• Going to a beach location – walk or run on the beach.  Excellent workout!
• This is the most important tip of all!!!  Do your workout in the morning. First thing. No excuses.  You can do a great workout in 20 minutes. Get up and get ‘er dun!

Wherever you vacation, you can always get your workout in!

March 5th 9-9:30am come in to Shape It Up Fitness and get a FREE Travel Workout!! -  I’ll be going through a great travel workout with the exercise bands and jump ropes so you can see 1st hand how easy it is to get in a great workout while on vacation! Please RSVP for your spot. Email me now to save your spot Nicole@shapeitupfitness.com

Yours truly,

Nicole Simonin

P.S. Keep your eyes out for an increase in Shape It Up’s fitness class schedule!

Upcoming Events:

Feb 12th (this Sat) -the SHAPE Challenge starts 8AM. Last day to register is Feb 11 (Friday).  We have only a few spots left.  IF you want in, grab your spot now!

Feb 12th – Couples Boot Camp 9:30-10:30am

Feb 22 at 7PM Grocery Store Tour – a must see!

My family and I just got back from Disney.  A great trip!

My kids are at a good age (almost 4 and one is 5).  They get sooo excited over the Disney characters.

If you have ever been to Disney (or on any vacation) you know how hard it is to stick to your fitness goals.  The temptation of delicious desserts and tantalizing meals is just so hard to say “no” to…I mean you are on vacation…a time when you’re supposed to be letting your hair down and relaxing.  We’ll if you have small children (or a husband who scheduled activities from sun up to sun down) you know it is hard to stay on track.

I have discovered the four main ingredients of Disney meals:

1. Salt
2. Sugar
3. Oil
4. Heavy Cream

I believe the eggs where even sauteed in butter!  Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Disney!  I think it is a magical place for kids of all ages.  But you can magically gain 10-15 pounds very quickly if you are not watching what you are putting in your mouth.

One of the things I observed at Disney that I found really shocking was the number of “hover-rounds”.  Ya know the automatic scooter/wheelchair.  I completely understand if you have a medical condition that prohibits you from standing on your feet all day.  Now this is pure speculation, but a majority of the people on these hover-rounds were overweight people.  Do I think they are lazy?  Absolutely not!  I can’t imagine carrying around an extra 100+ pounds all day at Disney.  But one of the great things about Disney is that you can pretty much walk everywhere!  I wish I had brought my pedometer to see how many miles we trekked every day.  What a great way to counteract the calories in the Disney foods.  It made me very sad to see the large number of overweight people.  Now, I did not follow anyone around to see if they maybe walked when they first got to the park and then switched over to the hover-round but it is very scary to see how sedentary we have become. The escalators, elevators, moving sidewalks, the segway…by the way I got to try the segway…a really cool invention!  But again another way for us to be sedentary.  Have you ever seen the Disney movie, Wall-E? The characters pretty much sit in a chair and the robots do everything for them.  A very grim future if that should happen.

So here are some of my tips for vacationing:

1. Drink a TON of water!  I mean LOTS.  You’ll be running to the bathroom but trust me you’ll learn how to go quickly. Take a look at the park map and find out the “tucked” away bathrooms.  They’ll have less people in them and they are usually cleaner.
2. Do NOT put any foods off limit!  This is setting you up for failure.  As soon as you say “no” to yourself you will want it, crave it and even shove people out of the way to get it.
3. Eat until you are full.  Listen to your body.  It’ll tell you when it’s full.  (If your metabolism is really out-a-whack, I recommend trying to fix it before you go away).
4. Walk fast to get to your next ride, pace or rock when you are in line.  If you have kids, this is a great time to get some bicep and squat work in…pick them up and down, play…it’ll help pass the time and keeps your kids from getting bored.
5. Get real!  You are not going to lose weight on the Disney meals. If you come out of Disney with a 5 pound weight gain, I think you did pretty darn good!

I just have to share this personal story….

One day in particular was very eventful…my son wasn’t feeling so good and right after breakfast with the Princesses, he decide to get sick all over the table.  So my husband took him back to the hotel to get cleaned up and my daughter and I stayed to go on some rides.  While waiting in line, I kept asking her “do you have to go to the bathroom?”  The answer was always “no”.  Then I looked down and saw a puddle by her feet.  So we got out of the long line and (thank goodness I brought extra clothes for her) went and got her cleaned up.  I called my husband to see what time we are meeting up and he said they had started to walk back over to the park and a bird pooped on my son….wait there’s more….so we finally meet up for lunch and my daughter gets a raspberry smoothie.  While sitting at her seat, she must have tried to lean on the table and missed.  She went down taking the bright pink smoothie with her!  She was fine but now she was covered head to toe in pink smoothie!  My husband was smart enough to bring her another pair of clothes so she was clean enough to walk back to the hotel to jump in the tub….this all happened before noon!  Luckily the rest of the day was pretty uneventful and no one else needed anther change of clothes

Have a magical day!

Nicole Simonin

Did you know that today (Jan 17th)  is Blue Monday? This is the saddest day of the year.

Apparently, this was derived from a mathematical formula by British psychologist, Dr. Cliff Arnall.  He came to this conclusion by using factors such as weather, debt, low motivation,time since Christmas and more.  Regardless of whether this is true or not, January can be very dreary.  With all the snow, freezing temperatures and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

SAD is believed to be caused by the lack of daylight hours or changes in the body’s circadian rhythm (our “internal clock) during the winter.

Do you know the best way to fight the winter blahs???

If you guessed exercise, you are right!

A good workout will get the endorphins going that trigger those happy feelings….

A great workout with annihilate your winter funk and make you smile because you are one step closer to your ultimate health and fitness goals!!

Want to experience a great workout?  Come join us for boot camp!

Grab your 1 WEEK FREE PASS before they are all gone!

“I FOUND SOMETHING THAT WORKS!”

“Twelve weeks ago, I was asked by my good friend Tammy to join with her in the Your Best Body Challenge. I was feeling stressed out and flabby. After three kids, I didn’t feel attractive anymore. I avoided outfits that were too tight and showed my pooch (stomach). I really didn’t exercise often, I think it was because I wasn’t motivated to. I joined the Best Body Challenge to tone up some of my body and to see if I could get under 150lbs (a personal goal of mine – which I’ve struggled with for a year). After 6 weeks in the challenge, I felt great, it hurt a lot but Iike they say “no pain, no gain”. I never doubted myself. Once motivated I knew I would keep going if I kept pushing myself. I was seeing a lot of results. My weight came down a lot! And I felt less stressed and full of energy. What kept me going was that it was working…I found something that works. For once in seven years, I had hope that I could get close to wearing the jeans I wore before I had kids!! After 12 weeks, I have achieved a lot of results (to me they are personal goals). I have lost weight and inches everywhere. I went down in the chest size as well as pants size. My thighs are more toned and my pooch is smaller. My hips and waist are thinned down. And I feel amazing. I feel attractive again and have fun trying on clothes. I am not so insecure anymore! This challenge really helped me change my perspective on life – that you can change things if you really want too. I’m glad I stuck with this through the end, and will continue to do it in the spring or summer. I also want to thank Nicole and all the trainers for their time and dedication to train all of us. I hope to see you all in the next Best Body Challenge.   Nicole Slusarski (Grand Prize Winner of the YBB Fall 2009)

About the Author:

Nicole Simonin is a local South Jersey fitness expert recognized for her well-rounded approach to health and fitness.  Nicole’s mission is to spread the truth about weight loss and how to become healthier.  Nicole’s S.H.A.P.E. Method Boot Camps have been helping many South Jersey residents reclaim their body.

Want to help me spread the word about health and fitness?  Forward this to your friends and family or share it on your Facebook, Twitter, etc. Thanks in advance!

So it’s January 5th 2011…how many of you have already fallen off your New Year’s Resolution wagon??

If you have taken the tumble off, don’t feel too bad most resolutions don’t make it too much further into the New Year.

So why is that?

Are we just destined to fail?

Especially, those of us that have picked fitness goals for the New Year…are you destined to be overweight or to be unhealthy…

Absolutely not!

Most of us have some ideal in our head of what we’d ultimately like to look like or feel like.  But these dreams have to be based on reality.  I am 5 foot 2 inches.  I can dream all I want of being 6 foot tall with long legs but that will never happen. I am not saying don’t dream big but make sure you breakdown that big goal into smaller achievable goals.

Most people set themselves up for failure by picking unrealistic goals or goals that don’t quite fit into their lifestyle.

If your resolution was to workout 6 days a week for one hour and you are new to working out you are setting yourself up for failure. A more realistic approach would be for you to agree to 3 days per week for 20 minutes each workout.  Everyone can fit in 20 minutes per day.  This is a realistic and achievable goal.  Eventually, you can work up to the 6 days per week…make it a long term goal.

I love this resolution “I am not going to eat any more sweets!”….Yeah ya are!  Because the moment that those words were uttered something in your brain clicked on.  Now all the sudden you are obsessed with thinking about sweets, wanting to eat and smell them. This will go on until you cave in and eat every sweet treat you can get your hands on!  Our inner rebel does not like hearing it “can’t” have something…maybe we should start telling ourselves we are not going to eat vegetables or fruit ever againJ? Instead maybe agree to start cutting down the sweets.  Have half of what you’d normally have and slowly continue to cut it down until you only have sweets 1-2 times per week. Better yet, replace your sweet highly processed foods with fruit.

If you are having trouble with you resolutions and need some accountability please come check out Shape It Up Fitness.  We will encourage and support you with your fitness goals.  It is always easier when you have a support system.

So remember to dream big about what you really want to achieve and don’t stop until you get it.

In the words of Casey Kasem:

“Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”

Thanks for your support!

For the last few years, I have been trying to keep fairly active…my way of doing this mainly consisted of going to the gym.   However, I was NOT happy with the way my body looked or my weight.  I wanted to lose about 15 lbs. and really tone up.  Also, I wanted a little definition in my arms. The gym was beginning to get a little boring. What attracted me most to the SHAPE program were two things.  First, the classes were held outside was intriguing to me  – so different than the gym.  Also, the idea that I would meet a group of women who are all coming together for a common purpose was interesting to me. I have gained a lot of strength and endurance over the last 6 weeks.  I know I’ve improved in my crunches, push-ups and squats.  I also ran my first 5K with my son on Mother’s Day and averaged 12 minutes per mile. Before Boot Camp, I was at a 14 minute per mile. This has been a very good program for me and Nicole is very informative which helps to make the program better.  Thanks for all of your support.

~Dawn Meloni

About the Author:

Nicole Simonin is a local South Jersey fitness expert recognized for her well-rounded approach to health and fitness.  Nicole’s mission is to spread the truth about weight loss and how to become healthier.  Nicole’s S.H.A.P.E. Method Boot Camps have been helping many South Jersey residents reclaim their body.  To learn how Nicole can help you achieve your fitness goals, visit shapeitupfitness.com

Want to help me spread the word about health and fitness?  Forward this to your friends and family or share it on your Facebook, Twitter, etc. Thanks in advance!