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Exercise takes commitment and the more committed you are, the harder you’ll work. It’s like most trainers say, to get more out of each session, you have to give more. You can start with your commitment to working out. Create a plan that has you exercising at least three times a week. Don’t just say you’ll try to workout but do it and put your heart into it. Everyone has seen the “lazy guy” at the gym who barely makes an effort, just going through the motions. I believe he’s the one that coasts down the hill on the exercise bike. He’s definitely not getting the most for his time or money.

Create a schedule, stick with it and track the progress you have.

When you schedule exercise into your calendar, you’re more apt to workout than if you just said, I’ll get to it when I have time. Staying with a program of regular exercise is the key to success. Tracking your progress not only provides motivation that can help you through frustrating times, it also helps give direction and shows you where you need to improve. When you track your progress, you don’t have to try to remember if you’re doing four sets or five, just look at your records.

Watch your form.

Take the time to learn the proper form and ensure it’s just as good as you build difficulty. If you’re lifting and the heavier weight causes your form to suffer, go back to a lighter weight until you perfect it. Form is everything when you exercise. If your form is wrong, it can cause injury or minimize the benefits of the workout. Move slowly until you’re sure you’ve mastered every movement and then ask help from someone if you’re unsure. When you work with a personal trainer, it’s not a problem. They’re tracking your movements and will let you know immediately.

Find exercises or equipment that does double duty.

It might be scary to learn how to use a new piece of equipment, but it also could boost your benefits. Kettlebells, for instance give a full body workout. Boxing may be totally intimidating, but you’ll love it once you try it and it also gives a full body workout. You’ll be amazed at how quickly time flies and how quickly you’ll trim your body when you do exercises that hit all areas of fitness and the body at once. You’ll enjoy yourself in the process.

• Keep your cell phone off. Treat the appointment with the gym as a top priority, like you would a job interview or an interview with an important client.
• Push yourself. Don’t sacrifice form, but do push a little harder each time. Before you know it, you’ll be doing things you didn’t think you could do.
• Take your workout outside the gym. Once in a while, you need a change of pace. Take a break from regular exercising and do another active sport. Whether you rock climb, dance or swim, it’s all good exercise.
• Believe in yourself. Whether it’s weight loss you hope for or a toned body with a stomach you could bounce a quarter on, YOU need to believe you can do it. Everyone else will sit back and weight for results before they do.

After October 31, everyone has the problem of what to do with all the leftover Halloween candy and all the candy their kids collected. If it’s put in a candy dish and left on the counter, it’s more likely than not, you’ll be snitching a bite size Snickers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup on a regular basis. You don’t even have to like those types of candy, they just have to be available when you get a craving for a sweet treat. The pounds of candy available are often too much for the kids to eat on their own. They’ve probably eaten enough already to keep them flying around the room for days. Here are some ideas on how to eliminate the problem.

Find your local Operation Gratitude Candy Buy Back participant.

The Buy Back Program was started by a dentist that was concerned with the dental health of children after gorging on candy for several weeks after Halloween. The concept is simple. You find a dentist that’s participating in your area, have your child take his or her candy into the dentist, they weigh it and pay your child a dollar a pound. The cash makes an impression on the children and so does where the candy go. It’s sent to troops overseas, where they get a small bit of home in the mail and can munch on the candy or give it to local children to improve relationships. If you use this option, impress on your child the good they’ll be doing and of course, they’ll get cash in return. Treats for Troops also has a similar program.

Donate the candy to Ronald McDonald House or other charities.

Ronald McDonald House accepts donations of candy for the parents of the children who are critically ill and stay there. A nibble of sweets can be quite soothing and offer a burst of energy, especially if you’ve been at the bedside of a sick child for over 24 hours. There are other local agencies where the donation will be appreciated. The Homeless Shelter, CAPS, Women’s Shelter and other organizations that help people who just need a helping hand often accept these sweet treats to brighten their client’s day.

Use it in a recipe for the upcoming holiday season.

You can freeze the candy to keep it at its freshest and also prevent it from disappearing too quickly. Once frozen, it’s the perfect extra for Thanksgiving brownies or as Rice Krispie treat extras. Frozen mini candy bars stored in a plastic bag can be set on a wooden cutting board and smashed with a hammer if you want to sprinkle it throughout the treat. Just open the plastic bag when you’re finished, then take off the wrapper and it’s the perfect size for your creation.

• Budget the candy to a few pieces a day if you choose. Those not used for a while can be stored in the freezer and removed when ready for them.
• Introduce the Candy Fairy to the kids. (She’s a sister to the tooth fairy who insures her sis will be collecting good teeth.) You leave the candy out one night and the fairy exchanges it for small toys.
• Do a reverse trick-or-treat called treat-or-treat. Let the gets put their costumes on again and take the candy to a senior center. Not only will they appreciate the treat, they’ll love the attention from the children.
• Use the candy for decorations, such as on the holiday gingerbread house.

Fat burning foods don’t literally burn off fat or everyone would eat them until they reached their perfect weight. They do set in motion different mechanisms in the body that burns more calories in the body than the food itself contains. However, each fat burning food works in a different way to help take off fat. While these aren’t the tools for weight loss, they’re one tool you can add to your arsenal to help shed pounds faster and keep weight off permanently. Celery is always at the top of the list. It’s primarily fiber and water with very few calories, yet is filling.

Spice up your food with red peppers.

Peppers, all except bell peppers, contain capsaicin. It’s what produces the heat in the peppers. While it will burn the skin and your eyes if you happen to rub your eyes, it also boosts your metabolism. Capsaicin boosts thermogenesis, the rate your body burns fat and calories. It also lowers the effect of dietary fat, triggering some genes that inhibit fat accumulation. It also helps regulate blood sugar, has anti-inflammatory effects to help reduce the pain of arthritis, cleans the sinuses and flushes mucus from the nose and lungs, as well as slow the growth of certain types of cancer.

Green tea has certain compounds that boost your metabolism.

Green tea contains catechins, specifically EGCG. This antioxidant boosts fat oxidation rates by as much as 25 percent. It also contains caffeine, another metabolism booster. Don’t expect just one cup to do the trick. Studies show that in order to lose weight you need to do two things, combine it with exercise and drink six to seven cups a day. It flushes out your system in the process. The catechins and flavonoids protect the cells with antioxidant properties, too. It can reduce the risk for cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkisons, as well as help fight bacteria responsible for tooth decay.

Coffee boosts your metabolism, while apple cider vinegar helps you stick to your diet.

Coffee, the kind with caffeine, does boost your metabolism and help you burn calories faster. While you might think that Starbucks is the location of the new Holy Grail of weight loss, beware. Those fancy latte drinks pack on the pounds. Drink a cup of joe before your workout to make the workout more effective. Drinking a glass of cold water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in it each morning also boosts weight loss. The cold water makes your body work harder and the ACV gives you a full feeling longer.

– Whole grains make your body work harder to break down the fiber than you would on preprocessed grains.

– Lentils are a protein rich food that’s low in calories and high in fiber, which also requires more calories to digest that you ingest.

– Lean meat requires a large portion of the calories it contains to digest the meat, lowering its calorie count significantly.

– Add bone broth to your diet for a number of benefits besides weight loss. It does boost your metabolism, but is also a great source of protein. Make it from the bones of grass fed beef or free range chickens.

You really don’t need to hate the gym or traditional workouts for that matter, to appreciate finding some unusual workout places to provide a little variety in your exercise routine. That’s one reason our kickboxing classes are so popular. You get into shape without even realizing how hard you’re working. It’s fun and has a dual sense of purpose. Even though it provides a grueling full body workout, you only focus on the fun of winning the match or learning something new to help you do that. Here are some other workouts I thought might be fun to do.

You’re never too old for ballet lessons.

Before you start picturing yourself in a little tutu up on toe, you have to prepare for the dance. Ballet builds strength and flexibility, but it’s short on cardio. Before I hear all the clamor about the strenuous workout and the burst of speed you see when you watch ballet, let remind you that when you take ballet classes, you will NOT be a prima ballerina initially, but be learning all the basic steps. Most of these require focus, flexibility and strength, but are done slowly. Ballet is a complementary exercise for many sports, including kickboxing. It provides grace and flexibility you need.

Kangoo jump workouts can be done anywhere there’s a solid surface.

I’ve seen these used in gyms, on the lawn and sidewalks. These are running shoes with a twist. They’re springy and absorb 80 to 90 percent of the impact to help protect your joints, making them a good choice for anyone that wants to run, but doesn’t want to feel it in their joints for days following. These are also great for really overweight people who find the high impact of running can put them out of commission for days. Best of all, they make a workout a blast!

Bounce your way to fitness and have fun with the family.

Trampolines and the new mini-trampoline craze are more than just fun. They’re a great workout that can get your heart racing and improve your cardiovascular system. You’ll build great leg muscles while you do it and have a blast. This is one trend the whole family can enjoy and you’ll find yourself laughing all the way through the workout.

Pole dancers work harder than you think, so taking a class provides acrobatic strength and stamina you might not expect.

Go retro and break out the hula hoop. The trend from the 50s and 60s has re-emerged as a form of exercise that most baby boomers already know how to do. It’s a good total body workout that builds endurance and flexibility too.

Water workouts taken to the next level have become extremely popular. Forget those slow graceful movements and substitute hard hitting aerobics and jogging and you’ll have this new workout that burns as much as 800 calories each class.

Altitude training will take you to the mountains to do your workout without leaving the gym. It simulates the low oxygen levels at high altitudes by adding 7 % nitrogen to the workout area and reducing the oxygen by as much as 21%.