The latest video craze is thanks to the Wii and complimentary games like Wii Fit and EA Sports Active. These “exergames” have made fitness enjoyable by allowing physical activity to be fun, challenging, and adventurous. These fitness video games are great for improving eye-hand coordination, balance, stability, and stamina; all of which you can do at the gym as well.

Although the sweaty gym or health club may not be the most enjoyable place to spend an hour or so of your day, the benefits are endless. I understand that driving to the gym is an inconvenience and full of germs and people you may not want to talk to, but suck it up and hit it hard!

I strongly believe there is no substitute for exercise itself. Although “exergames” do a good job, exercise cannot be imitated. Cardiovascular training can be done anywhere and everywhere, but there is no exception for weight training. Weight training has been proven to increase bone density and lean muscle mass, improve posture, and reduce the risk of future injuries, which is not something you’ll be able to accomplish with your video game.

As a fitness expert, I encourage you to proceed with your normal workout routines (cardio and weight training) and let the digital workout world be an added benefit to your physically active lifestyle. In other words, don’t rely on video games to get your physical activity, use them for fun and additional exercise.

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Gym Workouts More Beneficial than Fitness Video Games

Finding ways to eat less and stay active are few and far between, but a must during this time of year. Below are a few fitness tips and a high intensity workout that you can take advantage of during the Thanksgiving season.

Top Thanksgiving Fitness Tips

1. Take a trip: Plan Thanksgiving somewhere where the entire family can be active (Ski resort).
2. Drink plenty of water: Staying hydrated is a must and a great way to give your mind and stomach a “full” sensation.
3. Eat less, but more often: Eat several smaller meals (smaller portion sizes) throughout the day; this will help keep the metabolism fired up.
4. Stay active: Go for a walk or bike ride, or plan family activities that engage the family and the heart rate like golf, flag football, tennis, or even a Wii Fit competition.
5. Stay away from the sweets: Excess sugar gets stored as glycogen and excess glycogen is stored as fat in the body.

Thanksgiving Workout

Below is an excellent routine that pushes your heart rate, core balance and stability, muscular strength and endurance to the max – just the thing to burn those last pre-holiday pounds, or take off the turkey weight. I recommend using a weight that gets rather difficult around the 10 to 15 repetition range. I also recommend performing three sets of each of the exercises below. Good Luck!!

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Thanksgiving Fitness Tips and a Thanksgiving Workout

We’ve rounded-up our best Halloween recipes, healthy tips and ideas to help you make this a fun-filled holiday that won’t leave your little treaters in a sugar-induced coma from now until the Christmas candy shows up.

Healthy Halloween Recipes for Kids

These treats are better than anything you’ll find at the grocery store because you and the kids can make them together and they have much better ingredients. Get the recipe for snacks like Trick or Treat Trail Mix, Caramel Apple Fruit Dip and Sugar-Free Dirt and Worms.

Healthy Chili Recipes for Your Halloween Cauldron

Warm-up your little trick-or-treaters before they take on the neighborhood with one of these delicious and hearty chili recipes. Toss it in the Crock pot early in the day and your hands will be free to make last-minute costume alterations!

Calories in Your Favorite Halloween Candy

Those mini packs of chocolate and other sweets look so tempting because they’re so small. Mind your serving sizes and feel free to indulge, a little. You’ll be surprised how quickly, with so little, you can wrack up 100 calories or more! For instance, each Hershey’s Kiss has about 26 calories. Two fun-size Three Musketeers have 128 calories. Three pieces of Strawberry Twizzlers have 120 calories.

Top 5 Exercises to Burn Off Those Halloween Sweets

Come Monday, when you realize just how much you enjoyed the Halloween treats, you’ll want to get right back on track with your weight loss (or management). Try this workout designed by our fitness expert Matt Johnson.

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Healthy Halloween Recipes and Tips

The list of exercises ranges from a single-leg leg press to a split squat jump. Each exercise is hand picked to target different areas of the glutes and hamstrings.

The glutes are made up of three gluteal muscles: gluteus maximus (largest and most superficial of the three), gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. The hamstrings (posterior thigh muscles) are made up of three muscles as well: semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and the biceps femoris.

I recommend performing two sets of 20-30 repetitions. Good Luck!!

The Ultimate Butt Burning Workout

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The Ultimate Butt Burning Workout

Over the years, The FIRM has created a line of best-selling workout videos that are designed to tone, strengthen and burn calories using the company’s  trademarked Synergy Training system. Their latest project is the Wave, which was the device that caught my eye as I was thumbing my way through the magazine.

The Wave Speed Slimming System is like having your own personal gym in your home that combines the elements of cardio and strength-training into its outlined workout plan. The device, which looks like a small bridge in one position and a mini seesaw when turned over, is used to tone abs, rev up metabolism, boost the butt, strengthen thighs and firm the core.

The entire Wave Speed Slimming System, which can be purchased online for about $60, includes the Wave device, an exercise mat, four workout DVDs, a weight loss guide book, a wall chart with 100 different Wave moves, and a 30-day access pass to The FIRM online club with online coaching, daily motivational tips, meal plans and more.

If you are hungry for additional information, here is DietsInReview.com’s complete review of The Wave Fitness.

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Shape Magazine Raves About Wave Fitness by The FIRM

• The Power of 50 – 50 squats, 50 push ups, 50 sit ups and 50 lunges. It’s guaranteed to get your blood moving!

• The Birth Date Dash – One my friends invented this, and I thought it was too easy. Until I did it. Add up the numbers in your birth year. In my case, 1969 would be: 1+9+6+9 = 25. Now, run that number of flights of steps. (This is really good for you if you were born in any year that ends in a 9, and not so good if you were born in, say 2000.)

• Wall Work – Create a rotation of counter push ups and tricep dips facing away from the counter, and then rotate it with jumping lunges. Aim to do each set for a minute without stopping, and do 3-5 sets.

• Burpees – Possibly one of the most effective exercises ever, and the one I hate the most. Start by standing, drop to a squat, jump out to push up position, complete one push up, jump your legs back in, and explode up, clapping your hands above you as you do a jumping jack. That’s one. Shoot for 25!

• Jump Rope – If in doubt, and you only have five minutes, jump rope.

There are lots of exercises you can do at home, and most don’t require any equipment, no DVDs or even YouTube demonstrations. Don’t let your inability to visit a gym get in the way of your fitness!

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5 New Ways to Workout at Home

1. Early morning walk/jog
2. Afternoon walk/jog
3. Evening walk/jog
4. Take the stairs whenever possible
5. Walk instead of grabbing a taxi or driving
6. Ride a bike instead of grabbing a taxi or driving
7. Cut the carbohydrates after 3 p.m.
8. Eat a low-fat, low-carbohydrate diet
9. Chew gum throughout the day to help fight hunger
10. Drink ice cold water throughout the day to spark the metabolism
11. Eat spicy foods to spark the metabolism
12. Do 50 push-ups and 100 crunches every morning
13. Do 50 push-ups and 100 crunches every night
14. Refrain from eating after 8 p.m.
15. Drink 64 to 100 ounces of water daily
16. Take a 5 to 10 minute break for a walk every hour during the work day
17. Eat 5 or 6 small meals/snacks instead of 2 or 3 large meals
18. Do 20 crunches, jumping jacks, lunges, or squats every commercial break while watching TV at home
19. Stand instead of sitting throughout the day
20. Purchase a set of dumbbells and follow the workout below (two sets of 20 repetitions):

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20 Affordable Ways to Lose Weight Without a Gym Membership

Since the first season, experts behind the scenes of the show found the contestants shared many characteristics, which I listed below along with tips for changes you can make along with the contestants:

No idea of the number of calories they need or what they actually consume.

Your behavior change solution: Try the DietsInReview.com health calculator to determine your calorie needs. Visit www.mypyramid.gov to journal your food intake to compare your needs to what you actually consume.

Most skip breakfast and snacks and let a long time go between meals.

Don’t skip any meals and eat every 3-4 hours. Don’t let more than 5 hours go between meals. You have to eat to lose weight – it’s what you eat that matters most.

Most consume very little fruits and vegetables.

If you follow the Biggest Loser diet I introduced earlier this week, you will follow the 4-3-2-1 plan that has you eating 4 cups of fruits and vegetables a day. Get 1/2 cup of fruit with fat-free Greek yogurt at breakfast, 2 cups of veggies as a lunch salad, 1 cup of raw veggies as a snack or with dinner, and 1/2 cup of fruit with dinner.

Most are not getting enough protein, and what they do get is high in saturated fat.

Choose lean protein and try to get fish most days of the week. Choose canned tuna, white fish, or salmon. Shrimp is also low in saturated fat. Chicken, pork, and beef with no skin and visible fat trimmed can be healthy, too. Have tuna on your lunch salad and beef or pork at dinner. Vegetarian? No problem! Beans and rice are an excellent source of protein. Try black beans, cannelini beans, and lentils.

Most get very little whole grains.

The Biggest Loser diet has very little grain servings, so you gotta make them whole grains. Whole wheat products, corn, brown rice, and quinoa are just a few examples.

Most have too much “white stuff” (sugar, refined flour).

If you follow The Biggest Loser Diet to the letter, you aren’t eating products with these ingredients.

Little planning of meals, mostly on-the-go eating and dining out.

Reserve about 3 hours a week to plan your meals, make a grocery list, and shop for the ingredients. This will save you time, calories, and money because you won’t need to dine out or worry about on-the-go eating.

Most are meeting their daily caloric needs through beverages alone (e.g. caloric sodas, juices and fruit punch).

This is just plain scary. Don’t drink your calories. The exception for me is fat free milk. You can include fat free milk in oatmeal or with a piece of whole wheat toast with a tablespoon of almond butter. Milk has calcium, vitamin D, and natural protein and carbs.

Many consume very little water.

If you aren’t drinking calories, you’re drinking water to stay hydrated. Try infusing water with lemon or orange slices. I also like to brew herbal tea and keep it cold. I mix it with carbonated water for a fizzy, calorie-free drink.

Nearly all reported limited to no exercise.

If you read my article earlier this week about the Biggest Loser workout, you know you should be getting 7 hours of exercise so this change is easy for you! If you haven’t yet worked up to 7 hours, keep up with what you are able to do and add 30 minutes a week.

Nearly all prioritize everything and everyone else in their life ahead of their own health.

It’s great you have people in your life who you love, but don’t you want to be there for them as long as possible? That means you have to be a little selfish and make the time to workout, insist on healthy meals for the family, and make sure everyone gets their sleep. No lounging at the computer and TV at night on a usual basis. Set limits on these things that don’t add quality and health to your life. Before you know it, you’ll wonder how you ever got along being so sedentary and eating so sluggishly.

• Sign-up now for the Biggest Loser Newsletter
• Join the Biggest Loser Club Online
  

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Biggest Loser At Home: Changing Behaviors That Matter

Top 5 Gym Don’ts

1. No grunting please: If the weight is really that heavy, you probably need to use less weight before you hurt yourself or someone else.
2. No cell phones: The majority of people go to the gym to exercise and get away from the world for a little bit. The last thing they want to hear is an annoying cell phone ring or someone on the next machine yapping on the phone.
3. No children please: Seriously, who wants little children running around the gym and causing a disaster? It can be a danger to them and other gym goers. That’s what the nursery is for; please take advantage of it.
4. No long conversations: Everyone is at the gym for one reason – to exercise. Keep your conversations to a minimum so that everyone can workout and then get on with their lives.
5. No “borrowing” trainers: Most trainers are at the gym working with paying customers; so their attention is focused on them. If you have a question or need a spot, find a trainer who is not busy and ask them, they should be more than willing to help.

Top 5 Gym Dos

1. Clean machine/equipment after usage: Please wipe off the sweat and tears from the machines/equipment after you use them. This will help prevent the spread of germs and such.
2. Respect the equipment: Please re-rack your weights and put back your equipment. This will help keep the weight room clean and will help out the next person tremendously.
3. Be courteous to others: Ask before jumping on a machine and vice-versa; don’t be a machine hog.
4. Dress appropriately: Please wear non-revealing workout clothes. This goes for both males and females of all shapes and sizes. If you want to show off your goods, go to the beach or the local pool.
5. Hygiene: Good hygiene is a must – before and after your workout. No one wants to be running next to someone on the treadmill with horrible body odor. Exercising is hard enough by itself, let alone having to breath someone else’s unclean scent.

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The Dos and Don’ts of Gym Etiquette

These new EA Sports Active workouts will greatly expand their current database of more than 25 calorie-burning, muscle-toning exercises and activities in addition to access to daily progress reports and virtual personal trainers that you can use from the comfort of your own home.

Here’s a closer look at these new workouts:

• New Warm-up and Cool Down Stations: Four new exercises will warm up your body before a workout routine and four cool down exercises will stretch the muscles after a workout and help maintain flexibility.

• New Abdominal Exercises: Four new workouts target your mid-section and will help tone your core.

• 6-Week Challenge: This total-body, structured fitness plan accommodates both experienced 30-Day Challengers and new users of EA Sports Active. It works out all major body parts, adapts to your level of fitness and lets you track your progress week by week.

Compatibility with EA Sports Active Personal Trainer: These new workouts will transfer your data from the Active Personal Trainer and carry over your previous goals and trophies from four previous weeks of working out with the Active Personal Trainer.

If you’re a Wii enthusiast or know someone who is looking for a fun and cost-effective way to get in shape this winter, you can easily cross off one holiday gift from your list right now.

Order your EA Sports Active More Workouts today!

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EA Sports Active Launches More Workouts for Holiday Season