IN A FITNESS RUT? COME ALIVE WITH THIS [10 MIN] PACE TRAINING ROUTINE

by Kathy Smith

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.

Release A Stiff Neck In 2 Minutes

by Kathy Smith

Standing Neck Release

Time: Thirty seconds on each side.

1. Stand with your feet hip distance apart.

2. Interlace your fingers behind your back.

3. Draw both interlaced hands to your right hip, keeping your shoulders down away from your ears and drawing your elbows toward each other.

4. Lower your right ear toward your right shoulder, keeping your left shoulder down away from the ear. Feel the release of the muscles on the side of your neck as your cervical spine opens and releases.

5. Continue for thirty seconds; switch sides and repeat.

Shoulder Dance Roll

Reps: Ten in each direction, inhaling through your nose, exhaling through your mouth.

1. Make complete circles with both shoulders simultaneously.

2. Enjoy the sensation of your shoulders opening and moving in a fluid, sensual way.

 

Neck Massage

Reps: 10-30 seconds on each side.

1. Standing or seated upright, tilt your right ear to your right shoulder and draw your right arm up and around your head. Allow the weight of the arm to gently stretch your neck and create a release.
2. Breath smoothly and steadily.
3. If you find an area that feels tight, stuck, or painful, slow down and draw your awareness to that area. What do you feel there? What is the texture of the sensation? Saturate the area with your entire awareness and feel into it.
4. If the sore spot is on the left side of your neck, place your left hand on the area. If it’s on the right side, use your right hand. If you cannot reach the area, use a tennis ball and lean against a wall.
5. Using firm pressure, use your fingers to press into the spot. It may feel uncomfortable, but should not feel like a sharp pain.
6. While continuing to apply pressure, turn your head in the opposite direction of the kink. Then, tilt your neck as if your chin was trying to touch your armpit.
7. Afterward, stretch your arms to the ceiling.

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.

Peel Years Off Your Neck!

by Kathy Smith

What ages you faster than any part of your body? Surprisingly, it’s not your face. It’s your neck. Often left out of sunscreen application and the victim of additional reflected sun, your neck’s wrinkles and slack skin often look years older than the face you protected with SPF and a wide-brimmed hat.

Your skin is the first thing people see when they look at you. It’s considered the largest organ in the human body — right up there with the intestines, lungs, and liver. It serves many purposes, including acting as our first defense against germs and the environment, and converting sunlight to vitamin D. The layer of fat under the skin’s surface helps ensure that the important fluids inside our bodies stay inside our bodies.

The ironic thing about skin is that when people are young, their biggest concern about their skin may be how to get a tan. But as we get older, our top skin priority becomes firming the muscles in the face and preventing wrinkles.

The epidermis – top layer of skin – on your neck is very delicate with only a thin layer of fat under it. A thinner fat layer means fewer oil glands so your neck also doesn’t get as much natural moisture as your face. And it often doesn’t get its share of topical moisturizers. On top of all this, “tech neck,” which you might be susceptible to if you are frequently looking down at mobile devices, helps set deep lines in your neck.

Although you may rarely hear about exercising your neck, those delicate muscles need movement just like the rest of your body and I’m going to show them to you in today’s video.

One way to naturally firm your neck muscles is with a technique called neck yoga. These simple exercises can help reduce wrinkling, and make your neck look younger.

Let’s start by stretching your neck.

This stretch involves bending the head forward and downward, toward the floor. It is important that your posture is straight and correct. In a normal range of motion, your chin should be able to touch your chest, without opening your jaw.

And now, let’s do a Lateral Flexion…which means “to the side.”

1. Tilting the head, moving your ears toward your shoulders, is the basis of this stretch. Be sure to keep your shoulders flat and do not lift them during this stretch. Normally, your head, while looking forward, should be at a rough 45-degree angle from your shoulders.

Now that the neck is stretched, let’s start working those muscles with three exercises.

1. Begin by placing one or both hands on your forehead.

2. Push your head against your hand(s) while providing resistance with your hand(s) so your head does not move beyond its original position.. You should feel your neck muscles working. Hold for 10 seconds

3. Place your right hand against the right side of your head and push your head to the right, maintaining that same resistance so your head doesn’t move from its original position. Hold for 10 seconds.

4. Repeat with the left hand on the left side of your head, pushing to the left. Hold for 10 seconds.

5. Finally, clasp your hands behind your head, and push your head backward against your hands to create pressure, and again hold for about ten seconds.

Now for the second exercise, stand with your back straight and shoulders relaxed.

1. Open you mouth in an “O” and cover your teeth with your lips.

2. Gently tilt your head back about 45 degrees. You should not feel any pain.

3. Now open and close your mouth 10 times. Take a break and repeat.

The third exercise involves your kissing muscles.

1. Tilt your head back, looking at the ceiling.

2. Now start kissing the ceiling, being sure to really purse and push your lips toward the ceiling. Complete two cycles of 10 kisses each.

Oh, don’t those simple exercises make your neck feel tighter already? Do them twice a day and you’ll start seeing results! Here’s to your health.

Kathy

The 3 F’s Of Fitness

by Kathy Smith

Exercise can be categorized as 3 F’s:

Fun – dancing, hoola-hooping, or playing a sport.
Formal – specific cardio and strength training routines.
Functional – everyday activities like walking, carrying groceries, climbing stairs, etc.

In the weight loss world, every little step counts, and you don’t have to be at the gym to increase your calorie burn.

FUN

When it comes to the FUN stuff, spring is a perfect time to explore new types of movement.  My daughter Kate called me from San Francisco to announce her new passion:  Ultimate Frisbee!  While running has always been her competitive sport of choice, she was looking for something new, and decided on a whim to join a friend for a huge Ultimate Frisbee competition in the park. Since she’s a pretty hardcore athlete, she wasn’t expecting much of a challenge, but she was amazed that, after an hour of playing, she got what she dubbed “the workout of a lifetime.”  If you’re in a rut, you’ll be amazed at the results when you try a new type of movement.

So this spring, jump into your own game of Ultimate Frisbee, head to the tennis courts with a friend, or consider adding a few new new dance moves to your weekly routine. 

FORMAL

While this might not seem as enjoyable (or even practical) as the other stuff, make no mistake: jazzing up your regimen can transform your workouts from a tired chore to a ton of fun.  So call up a friend and start a buddy system to meet for workouts – you’ll exchange tips, ideas, and keep each other motivated.  Jump into a new kettlebell or bootcamp class you’ve never tried.  Make an awesome workout play list on your phone that inspires you to push it to the next level.  Or try working with a personal trainer: many gyms offer one complimentary session, and it’s a great way to learn new techniques and jumpstart your routine.  And, of course, you don’t have to  leave  the comfort of your home.

Remember, having the right tools on hand is the key to success! Your at-home fitness space can be the corner of a room, filled with kettlebells, a step, and a stretching strap

FUNCTIONAL

Maybe you’ve never before thought of housecleaning as an exercise, but the next time you dread it just shift your mind-set.  Fact is, if you clean vigorously—dusting with a passion, vacuuming with diligence, washing floors enthusiastically—you’ll burn about 60 calories every 15 minutes.

This is a great example of functional exercise, meaning you’d have to do these activities anyway but now you get to think of them as helpful to your health.  Other examples include gardening, parking a little further away from work, or walking to do your errands.

I recommend mixing up formal, functional and fun exercising.  It keeps things interesting, and helps work a variety of muscle groups.  But even if you’re getting little or no exercise, and you’re just not thrilled by the idea of a four-mile jog, it’s easy to find something that burns calories and moves your limbs. Here are 15 ways from Harvard Health Beat to burn 150 calories in fun, functional and formal ways!

When fitness is your goal, at some point you’ll need to mix in fun and functional activities with the formal.  The fun and functional don’t usually give you enough of a cardiovascular workout by themselves.  But they’ll keep your interest level high and help you on days when formal exercise isn’t an option.  They may even lead you into whole new fitness horizons.

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.

Blast Belly Fat in 10 Mins a Day

by Kathy Smith

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.

New Science: How Yoga Boosts Your Immune System

by Kathy Smith

After age 40, a strong immune system is more important than ever before. And new research is showing that practicing yoga 1-2 times a week can help.

The study showed that women fit in a regular yoga routine had “significantly lower blood levels of the inflammatory protein interleukin-6” than the non-yogis did. And, if you have lower levels of inflammatory cells, you’re less subject to the inflammation that damages the immune system.

Here’s why this is critical…

After age 40, your immune system steadily begins to decline, because the number of T lymphocytes drops by tenfold. (T lymphocytes are the white blood cells that help your body fight viruses and bacteria.)

Then once you reach 50, your production of new T lymphocytes is minuscule, making you more susceptible to unfamiliar bugs.

Today, I’ll guide you through an 8-min yoga video. This variety of continuous poses will flow from downward dog to chair pose to forward fold…all while boosting your immune system

Buy entire workout here!!!

What Happens To Your Skin When You Don’t Sleep

by Kathy Smith

Not getting enough sleep takes away from your skin’s natural beauty. If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter or two, you know that a lack of sleep has a sneaky way of showing up on your skin despite your best efforts to keep it under wraps. But what really happens when you don’t get enough sleep?

• Your body releases more cortisol, the stress hormone which can make you look and feel more stressed and tired. It causes the skin to become inflamed, which disintegrates its collagen. That means over time your skin will have less firmness and elasticity, which will show up as lines, wrinkles, dryness, and thinner skin.
• Your body releases more of a hormone called glucocorticoid that disrupts the structure of the skin, putting you at greater risk of suffering from breakouts.
• Your body doesn’t circulate blood efficiently to the skin, meaning that less oxygen and nutrients reach it, causing dullness and making your skin look older than it is.
• You put yourself at risk of under-eye dark circles. These can crop up because when your body doesn’t get enough sleep it causes blood vessels under the skin in the eye area to dilate. This is what produces those dark patches.
• Your body isn’t able to produce enough amounts of growth hormone – which repairs & renews cells and prevents premature aging. Essentially, your whole body needs to go into repair mode when you sleep.

 

Tips to maximize your beauty sleep

Clearly you can’t underestimate how important sleep is for your skin. If you tend to battle with getting enough sleep, there are things you can do to improve the quantity and quality of your sleep. Everything from sleep position to bedding can have an impact on the positive results you get from your slumber, so here’s how to do it right.

• Turn your bedroom into a sanctuary. If you are going to get a good night’s sleep in your bedroom, it should be a place that promotes it. This means it should be dark as well as comfortable. It should not contain television or gadgets that will distract you from sleep, and it shouldn’t be noisy. If you can’t help the light or sounds that travel into your bedroom at night, invest in an eye mask or earplugs so that you cut them out.
• Have a relaxation routine before bed every night. Make sure you unwind properly every night before you try to head to bed. This could mean having a warm bath, meditating, massaging yourself with essential oils like lavender that also promote sleep, or taking your time to conduct your late-night skincare routine. By massaging your anti-aging skin lightening products and moisturizers before getting ready for bed, you can relax your muscles and get your body ready to head to dreamland.
• Leave the day’s tasks at the door. If you stress late into the evening, perhaps over work that you still need to do or some other problem, this will form an obstacle to your quality of sleep. Stress can also worsen your skin issues, such as psoriasis and eczema, because it disrupts the body’s hormones. Therefore, you want to ensure that you switch off from whatever was occupying your mind in the day, such as by watching a TV program you like or reading an escapist novel.
• Eat the right foods before bedtime so that you can enhance your sleep quality. Cherries are a great choice because they contain melatonin, a chemical that ensure our internal clocks work efficiently, allowing sleep to arrive. Another good thing to consume before bedtime is milk. Since it contains tryptophan, a chemical linked to serotonin, it helps to promote sleep.
• Avoid sleep-stealing foods. Caffeine is bad as it stimulates the nervous system, while spicy foods can lead to heartburn which can keep you up. You should also avoid protein foods close to bedtime as these accelerate your body’s digestion which can keep you up instead of making your body relax and slow down so that it can become sleepy.

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.

3 Meditations To Nourish Your Heart

by Kathy Smith

In the simplest sense, meditation can help banish negative thoughts by clearing your mind entirely. One popular meditation technique is to focus on a positive idea or happy moment. As soon as a negative thought bubbles to the happy, calm surface you created, think of it as a duck that is paddling away from you and return your focus to happier thoughts. It’s not always easy to erase negative thought patterns, but meditation can at least help you become more conscious of them, and that’s the first step.

As if happier thoughts aren’t enough of a benefit, research is showing that meditation can help restructure the brain in ways that lead to more enhanced concentration, boosted immunity, and increased compassion. Even the most basic attempts at meditation have been shown to have immediate positive results.

If you haven’t begun a meditation practice, or are looking to take your practice to the next level, then stay tuned. Today, I’ll guide you through three meditation styles to enhance your life and recharge your batteries.

1. Nature Meditation

One of my favorite ways to change my mental state is to meditate deeply on a part of nature. Take five minutes to look closely at a flower. Study the details of its texture and the structure. By observing the smallest features of a flower or any object, you develop a sense of reverence. The flower becomes a little miracle. You begin to see how complete and fully alive the natural world is at all levels. Meditating on nature can be calming, fascinating, and inspiring all at once.

2. Gratitude Meditation

I love what Oprah said about gratitude, “I know for sure that appreciating whatever shows up for you in life changes your personal vibration. You radiate and generate more goodness for yourself when you’re aware of all you have and not focusing on your have-nots.”

Every morning, I start my day by making a gratitude list. It gets me moving on a positive track!

So take a few minutes today meditating on all the things in your life that you’re thankful for. You might even think about taking out your phone, opening the notes, and writing your daily list.

3. Breathing Meditation

Slow, deep breathing is one of the best stress busters there is. Focus your attention on the breath entering your body, your breath flowing out, and the spaces in between the breath. Several minutes of this can lower your pulse, reduce your blood pressure, and relax much of the muscular tension in your body.

This popular breathing method is one of the easiest and most effective forms for the uninitiated to attempt. Try it during stressful situations throughout your day. Within minutes, you’ll see how it helps you stay present in the moment, and yet separated from the situation that created stress in the first place.

Remember, as you work through these three meditations negative messages may surface. It’s o.k. (and very common) if they do. Your meditation practice will become more profound as you turn your focus back to nature, what you’re grateful for, or your breath. Like anything new, the more you practice, the easier it becomes to switch your mindset.

Here’s to your health and happiness!

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.

Lemon & Garlic Braised Chicken

by Kathy Smith

Lemon & Garlic Braised Chicken with Tomato & Olive Ragu (Serves 4)

For the marinade:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large non-reactive bowl.

For the Chicken:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded slightly to flatten
• 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• 1 tablespoon chopped Kalamata olives
• Chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1.     Marinate the chicken breasts for 2–4 hours in the refrigerator.
2.     Remove chicken and discard marinade.
3.     Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and sauté chicken on one side for 5 minutes, turn and cook another 5 minutes until cooked through.
4.      Remove chicken to a warm plate.
5.     Add chopped tomatoes, capers, and olives to pan and cook for a few minutes until tomatoes start to break down.
6.     Serve chicken topped with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with basil.

 

TIP: Serve with kale sautéed with garlic and olive oil.

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.

4 Best Toning Moves For Women

by Kathy Smith

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.