Have your exercise habits changed in this down economy? A new poll finds more people are downsizing their workouts because of the recession. A couple of interesting things from the poll – sales of fitness equipment are down for the first time in 20 years, health club memberships decreased a little, and some regular exercisers are working out less.

Here are 7 popular food and fitness products during this recession.

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Addicted to Twitter? Hooked on Facebook? Can’t get enough of your favorite websites? It seems there are so many more reasons to stay online these days… which means you’re doing a lot of sitting. By the end of the day it’s easy to feel tense, sore, and sedentary. But since this is just so unhealthy, check out this list of how to get fit while you’re online – exercises to get your heart rate up, help you tone up and de-stress. All at the comfort of your desk… or close by.  

1.Cyber Squats – Who says you have to sit when you’re online? Set your chair aside for a few minutes and instead do squats as you cruise around the Web. I’m squatting as I write this post – ouch!  Try these shotgun squats

2. RSS Raises – As you’re sitting at your desk, straighten your knees and lift your legs out in front of you. Do this as you catch up on your favorite blogs on your RSS reader. What the heck is RSS?

3. 10 Minute Move it! Break #1 – Alternate jogging in place with jumping jacks – do a minute of each and repeat five times.

4. Twitter Tummy Tone – Tighten your abs for 30 seconds and then release. Do this as you tweet. Tweet me here!

5. Social Squeezes – Tighten your glutes for 30 seconds and then release. (Good thing noone can see you at this social, right?) Repeat as you Stumble, Digg, or Friend on Facebook.

6. 10 Minute Move it! Break #2 – Grab a step stool and climb up and down – get creative if you like and alternate knee lifts at the top of the step. Or how ’bout a creative housecleaning workout break?

7. Inbox Incline – While you’re sitting with your feet on the floor, raise your heels so you are on the balls of your feet and lower them. Make sure you can feel it in your calves. Do this as you read and reply to your emails.

8. 10 Minute Move it! Break #3 – Do walking lunges around the house or office. Want to make it more challenging? Add some weights and do bicep curls at the same time. Or try some of Fitness Model, Jamie Eason’s plyometrics moves.

9. Blogger Breather – Grab a quick minute to just close your eyes and focus on your breath. Count to 10 as you slowly inhale through your nose, thinking positive thoughts. Exhale through your mouth, again counting to 10. This time release all the tension and stress out of your body. Repeat if you have a few more seconds.

10. Sign Off Stretches – Your shoulders can get pretty tense when you sit at a computer too long. So loosen them up throughout the day with Shoulder Shrugs – with your head at your chest, shrug your shoulders up and down. Repeat. Again. And again.

Do these exercises throughout the day to avoid becoming a computer potato!

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It doesn’t take much. New research shows just a little exercise can help you feel better about yourself. Results show regular exercise boosts your body image, but the duration, intensity, length or type of exercise doesn’t matter. So, get moving! You’ll feel good physically and mentally.

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I’m still taking it easy this week to recover from surgery. While I’m away, some of my fellow bloggers are helping me keep things going over here. (Thank you!)

Today’s post comes from Lisa from Workout Mommy. Check out her blog when you get a chance — she’ll keep you motivated and inspire you to keep going with your workouts.

Almost all of my female training clients used to tell me they didn’t want to lift weights because they were worried they would get too big and “bulk” up like a man. This is not possible!

Here are some of the common myths about women and strength training and the reality behind them.

Myth #1: Strength Training using weights is bulking me up!
Reality: This is the most common misconception that women have when it comes to strength training. Bulking up your muscle requires high levels of testosterone and, therefore, women are not hormonally able to build as much muscle as men. The reality is that muscle takes up less space than fat, so you may not notice a huge weight loss, but you will lose inches when keeping a consistent strength training routine.

Myth #2: Women need different strength training exercises than men
Reality: Men and women have the same muscles and therefore need to do the same exercises. You might see men at the gym doing different variations of exercises, but this doesn’t mean you can’t do them either! There is no exercise that is gender specific, so get out there and start lifting!

Myth #3: All exercises serve the same purpose.
Reality: There are different types of exercises which use different techniques, such as sport specific exercises, rehabilitative, strength training, power lifting, and athletic training exercises. Each type of exercise will have a different program design and use a different technique.

Myth #4: To tone my muscles I should use lighter weights and do more reps.
Reality: Using lighter weights for higher reps will help you increase muscular endurance but that lean, defined look comes from losing body fat. You need to choose a weight that will challenge you and allow you to do no more than 15 reps. Ideally, you should only be able to complete 8-10 reps with good form. If that is too easy, try a heavier weight and start from there.

Myth #5: Strength training will get rid of the cellulite on my legs and give me 6 pack abs in only 8 weeks!
Reality: Unfortunately, there is no such thing as spot reduction. Only aerobic exercise can burn fat. Combine regular cardio activity with consistent strength training and you will burn fat while increasing your lean muscle mass. This will turn your body into a calorie burning machine all day long. Eventually those 6 pack abs will shine through, but there is no quick fix!

Myth #6: I’m too old or too overweight to start strength training.
Reality: No one is too old to strength train! In fact, research has shown that even seniors in their nineties can and do make strength gains. Researchers have discovered that we start to lose about 3-5% of our muscle mass after the age of 40, so it is crucial that everyone, especially seniors, have some kind of safe strength training routine.

Myth #7: My muscle will turn to fat when I stop exercising!
Reality: Muscle and fat are two different metabolic tissues meaning it is not possible for one to turn into the other. With the loss of muscle comes a commensurate drop in metabolism. The body then begins to store more excess calories which will result in an increase in fat.

So, now that you know the reality, it is time to start pumping some iron! No more excuses.

Need some help getting started? Check out this FatFighterTV video about how to add weights to your workout.

[Photo Credit: stock.xchng]

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Looking for a list of good workout songs? A few weeks ago you told me your favorite music to listen to when you exercise. There was quite a WIDE range of songs… and I thought it would be fun to share the tunes some of you said really get you going:

• Dr. J - Eye of the Tiger
• Cathy – Hampster Dance
  
• Caroline – Dancing Queen (ABBA)
• Workout Mommy – Womanizer, Gimme More (Britney Spears)
• Moonduster – Hips Don’t Lie (Christina Aguilera)
• Jen - So What (Pink)
• Barbara Baker - Crazy Train (Ozzy)
• DeeAnn -Gimme Some Lovin’
• Chad - Sing Along (Blue Man Group)
• housewife heather – Whenever Wherever (Shakira), Hot Stuff (Pussycat Dolls), Piece of Me (Britney Spears)
• Monicay – Don’t Stop the Music (Rihanna)
  
• Sheri - Like a Hurricane (Neil Young)
• Barb – Fidelity (Regina Spektor)
• Dree – It’s Raining Men
• Jay – Mr. Blue Sky (ELO),  Closer to Fine (Indigo Girls)
• Namastern – Waiting on the World to Change (John Mayer), Eye of the Tiger
• Angelace07 – Miss You ( M-flo featuring Melody), One more time (Daft Punk)
• Zandria - Animal I Have Become (Three Days Grace), Points of Authority (Linkin Park), Live Your Life (T.I. and Rihanna
• Angie - Keeps Getting Better (Christina Aguilera), Glamorous (Fergie), Leavin (Jesse McCartney) Pocketful of Sunshine (Natasha Bedingfield), When I Grow Up (Pussycat Dolls)
• Dfarris - Mama Mia (ABBA)
• Lissa – Boogie Shoes (KC & the Sunshine Band), Taking Care of Business (BTO), Tambourine (Eve)

Told you it was a wide range! Any other good workout songs you want to add?

[Photo Credit: stock.xchng]

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I hardly ever exercise without one. So when someone asked me – “What is the purpose of heart rate monitors?” – I thought it would be a good time to get some answers from the pros.

The basic purpose of heart rate monitors is to measure your heart rate while you exercise. But is the device itself necessary to measure heart rate?

Fabio Comana, Exercise Physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, tells FatFighterTV, “No, heart rate [HR] can be measured by simply finding a pulse and counting the number of beats within a specific time frame (e.g. 15 sec, then multiply by 4 to reach beats per minute). This is challenging to do, hence the convenience of a HR monitor.”

He goes on to answer two other common questions:

Can I hold the HR handles on cardio equipment to measure my HR?

Comana: “Yes, technically you can, but those are often slow to respond and can be inaccurate, picking up interference from around you (electrical activity – treadmills, lights, etc).”

How accurate are heart rate monitors?

Comana: “The most accurate are the ones that pick up a signal transmitted from a receiver strapped around your chest. There are analog and coded digital ones that can separate your signal from interference. HR monitors where you don’t need a chest strap, but just wear a wrist watch that picks up electrical signals from your heart (or supposed to) are more comfortable, but not as accurate.”

Thanks, Fabio! Good to know. I’d always wondered about the wrist watch versions – they seem so convenient. But now that I know they’re not as accurate, I’ll stick to the traditional HR monitor with the chest strap.

What I have:

It’s the Polar F4 Women’s Heart Rate Monitor – It really challenges me to stay in my target zone… plus it lets me know how many calories I’m burning as I exercise. Like I said, I hardly ever exercise without it.

How about you? Do you exercise with a heart rate monitor?

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The latest government recommendations on how much we should exercise may not cut it. New exercise guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) say we may need more physical activity to keep from gaining weight, and to help lose weight and keep it off. The ACSM stresses if you’re overweight or obese, you’ll most likely lose more weight and maintain that weight loss if you exercise at least 250 minutes each week – that’s 50 minutes five days a week.

Want more News Nuggets? Follow me on Twitter!

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[Disclosure: I received a complimentary sample of this product. I only post giveaways about products I honestly like, or those I think FatFighterTV members would enjoy.]

If you don’t have a full 30/45/60 minutes for exercise, do you blow it off completely, thinking why even bother? I can get this way sometimes, but I’m getting better at changing that! Today one of my BBFFFs (Best Blogging Fitness Friends Forever ) – the wonderful and oh-so-wise MizFit – talks to us about breaking up your exercise into pieces that fit your schedule.

If you haven’t been to her blog before, you must check out MizFitOnline – it’s fantastic and filled with so much wisdom and support every day about eating and exercising and life.

And while we’re talking about exercise, let me tell you about today’s giveaway – Core Rhythms dance exercise DVDs. The workouts use Latin Dance Moves to raise your heart rate and tone your core at the same time. You get 4 DVDs that include Salsa, Samba, and Merengue dance styles. There’s even a Quick Workout for when you’re short on time. All are compliments of Core Rhythms.

To enter for a chance to win, just tell me in the comments – are you an all-or-nothing exerciser? Or do you squeeze in 10 minutes of exercise here… 15 minutes there? What works for you when you’re short on time?

A couple of things I do but need to do more often – I take 10-15 minute breaks to walk around my neighborhood (if it’s not too cold!), lift some hand weights, or do a few Pilates moves.

Remember, there’s a different giveaway every day this week at FFTV to celebrate my B-Day week, so enter them all! Get Red Carpet Ready here.

The contests run through midnight EST this Friday, February 13 and I will announce the winners over the weekend. Also, you have to have a U.S. mailing address to enter… and a random number generator will pick the winners.

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The hustle and bustle of the season may make it harder for you to fit exercise into your schedule. But even if you don’t have time for your regular routine, squeezing in a few minutes is definitely better than blowing it off completely.

ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor, Rita Beckford, M.D., helped me come up with some creative ideas for all of us. Here is a list of 5 to get you going:

• Walk in the mall before you shop for holiday gifts – this is Dr. Beckford’s absolute favorite. She recommends going before the mall opens so you don’t get distracted. Try to fit in 30 minutes before you start shopping.

• Include dancing at your holiday dinner parties. “Try cultural favorites or good old-fashioned line dancing,” suggests Beckford. “After dinner but before dessert, your guests will love you for it.”

• Exercise videos – take a break from the gift wrapping and get a little cardio in your day. You don’t have to leave the house, and it will feel good to move around after sitting still for so long.

• Do jumping jacks while the cookies bake instead of just sitting around waiting for them.

• Bundle up and walk around to enjoy the holiday lights with friends instead of taking the car.

Remember – a little exercise here and there adds up, so the pounds don’t have a chance to!

My favorite idea is to walk around the mall for 30 minutes before shopping – you?

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It’s always fun to look ahead – in this case, to what will be the fitness trends for 2009. This year’s most popular workout looks like it’ll keep kicking booty in ‘09 – Boot Camp-style workouts still top the American Council on Exercise’s (ACE) just-released list of next year’s fitness trends. Also at the top – ACE says fitness buffs will try to get more bang for their buck in this tough economy. Here’s the entire list – I look forward to it every year!

ACE’s Top 10 fitness trends for 2009

Boot Camp-Style Workouts: These are still very popular because they give you a total-body workout that’s varied, fun and challenging.  You burn a lot of calories (up to 600, says ACE), get a great cardiovascular workout, and strengthen your muscles with high- and low-intensity exercises like pushups, squats and lunges.  You don’t usually get as much muscle fitness benefits in other aerobic exercises.

Budget-Friendly Workouts: With today’s struggling economy, more people will cut costs to stay in shape.  Of the ACE-certified professionals surveyed, 48 percent said gym memberships will go down in 2009 and 52 percent said fewer people will hire personal trainers.  Look for more people to use the resources around them as their gym and equipment.

Specialty Classes: Yoga and Pilates will stay strong, but dance-based classes will be all the rage in 2009!  Zumba combines South American rhythms with cardiovascular exercise.  And Bollywood, ballroom, Afro-Cuban and other exotic dance styles are getting more popular thanks to shows like Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.

Getting Back to Basics: Even though many exercises and equipment are becoming more advanced and trendy, trainers will continue to focus on basic movements and techniques with their clients again.

Circuit Training: Studies have shown that interval training that combines strength training and cardio at different intensities is more time-efficient than doing the traditional aerobic and weight training sessions.  As circuit training gets more popular, many gyms are even setting up their own circuits for their members.

Kettlebells: The reason for the surge in working out with kettlebells is that it gets back to basic training that requires functional, whole body fitness. The movements work your entire body, especially your core, as you lift and control the kettlebell.

Boomer Fitness: The 50+ audience keeps redefining our expectations about age, vitality and life, and has highlighted the importance of physical activity as we age.  Since September 2007, AARP’s fitness initiative for boomers—aimed at providing a wide range of affordable fitness services to its 39 million members—has been going strong.

Technology-Based Fitness: From iPods to Cardio Cinema to exergaming (i.e., Wii Fit, Expresso Bikes) the latest in technology will continue to infuse itself in all aspects of fitness.  In 2009, look for more interactive video games that have fitness benefits, as well as new inventions to make exercising a more engaging experience.

Event or Sport-Specific Exercises: Even with all the new and trendy workouts, sports or recreational activities will still be a popular way to stay in shape.  Playing a friendly game of basketball or volleyball, training for a marathon, or taking a day-long bike ride are just a few examples.

Mixing It Up: (I’m all for it!) Research shows you’ll get similar if not better results if you mix things up.  For example, do low-intensity cardio with intervals on some days, then switch to high-volume, low- intensity weight training with low-volume, high-intensity training on other days.

I’ve left some of my thoughts along the way, but my favorite things on the list are kettlebells, dance aerobics classes, and mixing it up! What do you think of the 2009 trends?

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