Are you tired of the same old boring cardio?! So are we! How many times have you had to convince yourself to get to the gym to walk/run on the treadmill? How much physical progress have you seen as a result? Or what about convincing yourself you are NOT a hamster.

I remember the first time I stepped into a gym. It was one of those big, commercial gyms. As I pretended to know what everything was and how to use it, I felt like everyone was watching me.

All I can remember was the feelings of discomfort and intimidation as I tried to get in shape. I kept reminding myself that most of the members weren't in shape when they started their membership. The feeling of fear was so overwhelming that I quit the gym and try to continue to get fit at home. It wasn't until my mom decided to join the gym with me, that I felt comfortable enough to go back to the gym.

Even when I went to college, the gym their was full of athletes and people who started to work towards their goals before I even decided to get fit. All I could see, was their bodies and gym confidence now.

That "at-a-glance" look at anyone or thing is what holds most of us back from taking the leap into success. We only see everyone's "over-night" success stories, there is never any thought of the blood, sweat and tears that had gone into the success.

Since I can remember, I was always the "fat girl". When I started my journey, I was 5'4" and 170 pounds and had never worked out a day in my life. I was also 18 years old. The goals I had set out for myself and the place from which I had to start seemed out of reach. Something kept pushing me to keep going, to fight for the physique I have today.

During my sophomore year of college, I decided to switch majors from Psychology to Exercise Science because I was committed to helping others reach their goals.

Add a high intensity "burnout" to the end of your workout. The "burnout" will increase your heart rate - metabolism - daily calorie burn - and overall endurance. All of these benefits helps burn WAY more fat, make you look younger, make work outs seem easier and keep your energy levels extra high.

That's right, just 10 minutes. The good news is you don't have to spend as much time training your core, you strengthen your core in just minutes per day. The bad news is the workout burns, but is HIGHLY effective.

The workout - 1:2:1
1:2:1 = do exercise 1, followed by exercise 2, then repeat exercise 1; all without rest.

30 seconds each exercise, for a total of 1:30 working minutes. Rest only 30 seconds between rounds.

Short on time but still want to get fit? Go through this 10 minute workout to burn fat quick! The circuit can even be done mutiple times throughout the day.

Perform as Circuit Style:

You've started to notice your posture shift, for better or worse. Your shoulders may have slumped forwards, neck shifted forward or your hips tilt a little more than before.

Maybe you have not noticed any of these changes. The truth is most of us have left some part of our "ideal posture" shift towards not-so ideal.

What is a physical sign of this fact? Low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain or inability to exercise without experiencing joint pain of any type.

Fix your knee and low back pain.

The good news is you can take action to correct your posture and experience pain-free living, in 5 short minutes.

All you need is a band for these exercises. The exercises from the video below are; pull-aparts, "no monies", reverse grip pull-aparts, palms up "no monies". Do 12 repetitions at each 4, rest after the 4th exercise. Repeat all 4 exercises 2-3 more times.
Focus on squeezing the shoulder blades together here.

The rotator cuff is a common site of injury and pain, because the shoulder joint is a hub of mostly all the muscles of the upper body. When the shoulder joint is misaligned, some muscles have to work harder for others, causing an over-emphasis of the misalignment and leading to pain.

A good way to treat and prevent this agonizing pain is to warm up with the 4 exercises in the video. All of which are commonly known as the "I", "Y", "T" and rotator raise exercise series. Perform 10-12 repetitions of each exercise, rest and repeat another 2-3 times.

In the videos above, I go through a few exercises you can add into any workout. Try to incorporate at least 2 of the 8 above to each of your workouts or daily movement practices. You will see a huge change in your posture. 

You've tried it all; different shoes, stretches, lumbar supports, oils, massage, cortisone shots etc. The one commonality amongst those methods is all are missing the plank exercise. Once the core is allowed to be lazy, there is no magically device to bring the core back to work. Waking up the core is now in your hands, your lower back and knees will thank you in no time!

Everyone has experienced knee pain once in their lifetime. The only problem is when the pain never seems to fade. It could happen each time you walk the steps, squat, lunge or the weather changes. In our quick-fix society, most of us have resolved the pain by enduring the cost of physical therapy or a cortisone shot. 

Here are 3 quick fixes that you can do on your own and in the comfort of your home or gym. 

1.  Fix Your Form:
    
      If you know me, then you know I am not afraid to come around to correct form as we go through a class or workout. Often times, the main correction is to release the hips, stick the butt back and stick down through the heels. Most of us would compare this movement to sitting back into a chair or looking over a tall building. 
 

In the picture, I shift my hips and butt to make room for my body to sit down through the heels.