photo credit: Pinkabilly

Meditation is very important to me. I like to spend at least 15 minutes a day on my meditation cushion focusing on my mind and breath. In this article I want to show you seven reasons why every woman should meditate every day.

7 reasons every woman should meditate every day

Have a read through these reasons and see if any of them make sense to you. If they do then I highly encourage you to start meditating on a regular basis – ideally first thing in the morning.

1. It makes you happier
The most important reason to start meditate every day is because it makes you happier. Meditation helps you to get in touch with your thoughts and emotions and work through a lot of crap that you might otherwise just let float around. It also helps you become more focused and mindful which leads to happiness because your actions will start to match your intentions.

2. It is good for you
Science has shown that meditation is extremely good for your health. It relaxes your heartbeat and lowers your blood pressure – extremely important for all you corporate women out there who are busy focusing on deadlines and due dates. Meditation also strengthens your internal energies which will make you less susceptible to colds and flus.

3. It gives you quiet time
These days there is almost no room for quiet time. You are either looking after the kids or your husband or work is riding you to meet with some client – there is no time for silence. But silence is extremely important. It can relax your mind and body and allow you to “process” all the things that are going on. Ten minutes of silent meditation everyday will go a long way to making you more sane.

4. You will become stronger
Meditation masters are always strong people who can deal with any situation that gets thrown at them. The reason for this is because they have become so accustomed and familiar with their own mind that they are able to see through all the trash and just remain calm. After a few months of regular meditation you will find that you don’t get blown around by all the little ups and downs that life throws at you.

5. You will be able to train harder
Along the same lines as the previous point, meditating regularly will allow you to train a lot harder. The reason is simple. When you begin looking at mind you start to see that your thoughts have no real power. They arise and dissolve but they never really have any inherent power to influence you. After a while you will be able to take this realization off the cushion and out into the world with you. For example, when you are running on the treadmill and your mind is telling you “stop” you will be able to see through that game and push on. This is a very valuable skill to have.

6. It removes stress from your body and mind
One of the most fundamental benefits of meditation is relaxation. Meditation allows you to process all the stress in your mind and sort it out. And once it is out of your mind it will soon be out of your body. Your muscles will relax and your joints will loosen. Daily meditation will make you a much more relaxed and easy going person.

7. Your sleep will be peaceful
Another major benefit that I have noticed is that my sleep has become a lot more peaceful. I fall asleep much faster and I am able to wake up fresh. This is extremely important if you have a training session to get to or you need to start work early.

Conclusion

The wonderful thing about meditation is that the more you do it, the more benefits you will get. If you can sneak in five minutes of meditation after work and ten minutes before you go to bed then you will be well on your way to better health and a lot happier living.

photo credit: Ed Yourdon

One of the most common reasons that women don’t workout is because they just can’t find enough time in the day. This is very sad state of affairs. It is horrible to think that in a 24 hour day there is not enough time to do something that is good for you. In this post I would like to show you a few ways to find more time to workout in your busy day.

How to find more time for workouts in your busy day

These suggestions come from my own experience so if anyone else has any other suggestions I would love to hear them. Please stop by our forum and let us know what works for you.

1. Make it your priority
At the moment a million other things are your priority. Making the beds, feeding the kids, going to work, cooking dinner, watching your favorite TV show, going to bed. Somewhere in there you need to make fitness and health your priority. Now I am not saying make working out a more important priority than your kids. But it should be a more important priority than watching Lost or Deal or No Deal. If you can do this you will find that you make time for your workouts instead of wondering why there is no time.

2. Wake up earlier
The sad fact is that most of us are pretty busy. In order to find time to workout you might have to wake up early. This might mean waking up 20 minutes early and doing some yoga or body-weight exercises in your lounge room or it might mean waking up an hour earlier and going for a run and a weight session. Either way, waking up early will give you more time that you can specifically allot to fitness.

3. Park the car away from work
There are some really simple little things that you can do if you want to find time to workout. To do this you need to remember that you don’t always have to put on tights and drive to the gym in order to have a workout. For example, parking your car 15 minutes away from your office will give you a 30 minute walking session every single day. That way you get a workout without even having to do anything different.

4. Go directly to the gym
One technique that I have found to be particularly useful is going straight to the gym before or after work. This direct approach gives you a lot less wriggling room. When you drive straight to the gym you have less time to convince yourself that you are too tired or too busy. You just go there and do it.

photo credit: lu_lu

5. Workout in your lunch break
If you go into the city during lunch time you will be amazed to see all the corporate boys and girls going for a jog together. It is a great idea. Most workplaces give you an hour lunch break which is often way more than you need. Why not try this instead:

• 0-5 minutes: get changed
• 5-35 minutes: go for a run
• 35-45 minutes: shower and change
• 45-60 minutes: eat lunch

This schedule is more than reasonable and by following it you will get a 30 minutes workout every single day, regardless of how busy you are. Why not make the most of the time that your work gives you instead of exercising on your own time?

6. Read, study or work at the gym
Something I have seen more and more people do lately is read while they are sitting on the exercise bike. I think it is a great idea. If you are find that you don’t have time to workout because you need to study or read over some case notes from work then why not take them to the gym and read them while you are pedaling away on the bike? You will kill two birds with one stone and you will feel a lot better about your “take home” work.

Conclusion

Your health is so important. You should never let your busy life get in the way of your workout routine or program. If you really want to be healthy and live a long life you need to find some time in your busy day to workout. Try some of these tips and see how they work for you.

photo credit: Cia de Foto

So many people have trouble getting out of bed as soon as their alarm goes off. In this post I am going to give you a few tips on how you can get up straight away feeling fresh, alive and ready for your morning exercise. It really isn’t that hard when you have the right tools.

How to wake up when your alarm goes off & not sleep in

This matter is something that is very personal. Everyone has different body clocks. Some people respond to one technique while others will not respond at all. Make sure you experiment with a variety of different techniques and find out what works best for you.

1. Put your alarm away from the bed
The first thing you need to do is move your alarm away from your bed. This will stop you from just hitting the snooze button and diving back under the covers. And we all know what that means – another hour of sleep!

Ideally you should have to get out of bed in order to turn off your alarm. Once you are out you will have a much better chance of staying out. Try this and see if it helps.

2. Go to bed early
If you do not go to bed early it will be extremely hard to get up when your alarm goes off. You will not wake up fresh and alive and instead will feel groggy and tired. The comfortable blankets will be too tempting and you will fall right back to sleep.

If you are having problems getting up early you need to go to bed earlier. It is not rocket science. In fact, this is one of the most simple points that people overlook. Find your optimal time and go with it.

3. Get up at the same time everyday
You need to get out of bed at the same time everyday, even on weekends. If you change times everyday you will irritate your body clock and find it extremely difficult to get out of bed when you actually want to. Pick a time and set your alarm to it and never change it. After a few weeks you will find it quite normal to get up early.

photo credit: R.P. Piper

4. Don’t drink coffee
Coffee is medically renowned as one of the worst substances you can take if you are trying to get a more regular sleep pattern. Coffee irritates your gut and intestinal tract and this causes certain imbalances which cause you to have a shallow sleep. If you had a lot of coffee during the day you will be a lot less likely to get a good night’s sleep and as such waking up will be hard.

5. Drink a glass of water
Next to your alarm, on the other side of the room, should be a big tall glass of water that you put there the night before. When you stumble out of bed to get your alarm you should drink the glass of water straight away. This is a great tactic that many people throughout history have utilized. The water kick starts your metabolism and really seems to wake you up.

6. Don’t be too warm
If you sleep with a lot of covers on it is likely that you will find it difficult to get out of bed. I have found that I have a much better chance of getting up early when my alarm goes off if my covers are not too thick. Sure, you need to be comfortable but the trick is to not overdo it. A sheet and a blanket is probably enough. Quilts are just too luxurious for me!

7. Make a serious promise
Taking a vow is one of the best ways to change your bed habits. This situation is no different. If you have no inner reason for getting up when your alarm goes off then it is unlikely you will succeed. Try to think of a few concrete reasons why you need to get up. For example, getting up early so you can exercise to avoid a heart attack is a good reason. Think of your own personal ambition and then take a vow in front of some people that you love and respect.

8. Reward yourself
Give yourself a reward for your successes. If you get up at 5.30am for five days in a row you can go to McDonald’s for breakfast on Saturday. Or you can get that new T-shirt that you wanted. If you reward good behavior you will find that you have both a positive and a negative reason for getting up at a good time.

9. Remember the benefits
Getting up early has so many amazing benefits. You will experience more of your life and you will have more hours in the day to do things. Sleeping is nice while you are doing it but later on you regret all the time that you wasted. We already spend half of our life asleep – why do you want to waste any more?

Conclusion

Getting up early is a habit that you need to form and it starts by waking up when your alarm goes off. If you can manage to accomplish this seemingly simple task you will find that you can experience a lot more of your life and achieve great progress in your fitness and weight loss ambitions.

If you have any other tips please drop by our forum and share them.

photo credit: patrick kiteley

Life is busy. Work, family, cooking dinner. It doesn’t leave us with a lot of time to workout. So when we finally make it to the gym we need to make sure we are getting the most out of our workout sessions. In this post I am going to show you 11 ways to get more from your time at the gym.

11 tactics to get more from your gym session

These tips are designed to help make your gym workouts more efficient, effective and result producing. If you have anything else to add please head over to the forum and leave your tips. You never know, your knowledge might really help someone.

1. Have a coffee before hand
Studies have shown that coffee helps you workout. It keeps you more focused and alert and it can even help you perform better physically. This is particularly true if you are doing a weight loss workout as caffeine speeds up your heart rate and metabolism.

photo credit: Joanne Probyn

2. Warm up correctly
A lot of women fail to warm up correctly. If you are doing a weights session that involves a lot of upper body work you need to make sure you warm up that part of your body. Running on a treadmill is no good! If you are going to be doing upper body weights perhaps start with some rowing.

3. Keep hydrated
When you workout your body loses fluids. This can end your workout prematurely because it starts to make you feel sick and tired. Keeping hydrated is extremely important if you want to make sure you are getting the most from your time at the gym. Keep a water bottle with you or make sure you constantly visit the fountain.

4. Workout the big muscle groups
There are two types of weight lifting exercise – isolated and compound. Isolated exercises only work one muscle at a time and as such do not have a lot of full body benefits. Compound exercises, on the other hand, workout lots of muscles at once. This is a much better option for saving time, burning calories and getting a full body workout in a short space of time.

5. Use heavy weights
Whoever it was that first said that light weights tone your muscles was a fool. Light weights don’t do much at all to be honest. If you want to tone up and lose weight then you need to use heavy weights. Don’t worry, you won’t get bulky. All you will do is burn calories faster and make a lot more progress.

6. Workout with a partner
Sometimes we can be a little bit lazy when we workout by ourselves. We wander around looking at the televisions or taking big breaks in between sessions. However, if you workout with a partner a lot of that is cut out. Similarly, you will be more likely to work hard when your partner is pushing you to do better. Try it out.

7. Have a fixed routine
A few years ago I used to go to the gym and spend half of my time walking around wondering what to do next. This is a big waste of time. Plan your sessions before you go by creating a fixed routine. Stick to that routine and you will find that your sessions become a heck of a lot more productive.

8. Take some music
There is nothing like a good loud song to get you working out harder. I always seem to run a lot further when I have a good hip hop song in my ear. Try and put together a workout playlist and crank it on whenever you do your cardio sessions. The added emotion will really get you moving.

photo credit: dongga BS

9. Have a set goal
One thing I noticed recently was that I worked a lot harder at the gym when I had a set goal. In previous years I would just go the gym out of some sense of needing to stay fit and slim but recently I decided that I wanted to lose 5 kilograms after spending too much time in the local cafe on an overseas trip. Once I had this set goal I did what I needed to do to achieve it and stayed on track. Find out what you want to achieve, write it down and go for it!

10. Cut your sessions to 45 minutes
Your gym sessions should not go for longer than 45 minutes. Any long than this and your body starts to produce a chemical that can actually hamper your progress. But that is not the only reason. If you cut your session times down you will be forced to fit more in and work harder. This is a fantastic way to work out – intensely.

11. Squat
The squat is the best wight lifting exercise there is. A good session of heavy weighted squats will burn more calories than any other exercise. But what is really cool about the squat is the fact that your body will continue to burn calories after you have finished the workout. If you really want to super charge your gym session you need to start squatting on a regular basis.

If you have any other suggestions please drop by our forum and let us know!