Everybody wants to be fit, but let’s face it; making a commitment to an exercise program can be a mega time-zapper. The good news is, if you learn to exercise smarter you can still get amazing results in a very short amount of time. If you commit to a well-designed circuit-style workout that overloads all of your major muscles, works large muscle groups with compound movements and keeps your heart rate elevated the entire time then you can get fit, lean and strong exercising just 30 minutes, three days a week.

If weight loss is a concern, as long as you keep moving quickly from one exercise to the next to keep your heart rate elevated you don’t need to run a single lap or put in any extra cardio time either. That’s because hormonal changes occur with circuit-style resistance exercises that create a fat-burning environment (1). For the best weight loss results you will of course also need to watch what you eat. A “clean cuisine” style diet is your best bet for healthy, long-term weight loss.

As for picking the best exercises, I prefer a “full fitness fusion” approach that fuses a variety of exercise disciplines and focuses on full body moves rather than isolation exercises. If you want to get fit fast you will get much better quicker results doing compound exercises like push-ups as opposed to an isolation exercise like biceps curls. As with anything, the smarter you work the less time you need to spend and the better your results will be.

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The bathroom is not at the top of the list when you think of places to exercise. In fact, it’s probably not on the
 list at all. But maybe it’s time for that to change.

We all visit the bathroom, and a fast workout while
 you’re in “the loo” can be the perfect way to break up your day. We’ve come up with a list of five simple moves you can do in the bathroom to fit in a quick workout and boost your energy. Pick one or all and get moving during your next bathroom break, even if for just 5 minutes. This, of course, will work best if you’re in a private bathroom, that is, unless you want to lead a class of bathroom exercisers with your coworkers!
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Anyone who attempts an at-home yoga practice is familiar with the many distractions that can get in the way of our time on the mat. If it isn’t the telephone ringing, the neighbor’s dog barking, or the baby waking, it’s the lack of having a teacher to follow. Even the best yoga DVDs may leave us bored and uninspired after hours of viewing the same personality guiding us through the same practice.

Today, the advancement of technology enables at-home yoga enthusiasts the ability to bring a virtual yoga instructor into their living rooms. For those interested in a no-nonsense yoga teacher stripped down to the nuts and bolts of muscle and movement, a new app called iYoga Premium delivers your high-tech option.

Brought to you by 3D4 Medical in collaboration with Yoga One studio in San Diego, iYoga Premium provides more than 190 different yoga poses skillfully captured and demonstrated by a model that looks like she stepped off the page of your Grey’s Anatomy book.
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Certain people are attracted to certain styles of yoga for various reasons. Just as the color of your yoga mat can affect your practice, your favorite yoga style might say something about your personality.

The following is a fun, light-hearted list of yoga styles, and the personalities they attract.

Restorative Yoga

This style of yoga is for those in need of some serious power relaxing, and not ashamed to admit it. For restorative yoga lovers, there is no guilt in shutting out the world with a lavender eye pillow and kicking back on a fluffy pile of blankets for an hour.

Power Yoga

Active styles of yoga, such as power yoga, vinyasa yoga, Ashtanga yoga, attract the spirited sorts who are looking to improve athletically, and stretch their acrobatic skills.

Yoga in this category is seriously physical, but this is not to say there is no spiritual element to it. People who gravitate toward strength-oriented yoga classes often find spiritual inspiration through physical challenges.
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You can’t find a hair tie, your yoga mat is packed away in a box somewhere, and dinner has to be on the table in 45 minutes. Don’t have time for yoga? Yeah, me neither. Thankfully, though, our resident yoga expert Jill Lawson has provided a few tips and tricks for those of us “lazy girls” who want to practice yoga more regularly but sometimes lack the time, resources and know-how to do so.

What would an at-home routine look like for someone who can’t afford to join a yoga studio?
Just as it is in a yoga studio, the environment is an important part of the at-home yoga experience. Light up some incense or candles, play some soothing music, and turn up the thermostat just a bit. Setting the mood and creating an environment as peaceful as the yoga studio can be just as profound when practicing yoga at home. Always begin with a warm-up of some sort. For more vigorous practices, 5-10 rounds of sun salutations will get the blood flowing. For more gentle practices, a few rounds of cat-cow pose will suffice. The bulk of the practice can take many forms, but each session should still end with a few minutes of final relaxation, otherwise known as savasana, or corpse pose.
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