Nutrition Experts No. 1 Piece of Advice for Long-Term Health

I stumbled upon this article last week, and I was instantly sucked in by the headline. What is the one thing nutritionists are recommending to help maintain long-term health? I figured it was going to be about limiting your sugar intake, striving for a vegetable-rich diet of cutting out processed foods.

It wasn’t.

The recommendation the nutrition experts offered had nothing to do with food. The recommendation? Exercise.

As we start a new year, I want to encourage you to drop those unrealistic resolutions. Don’t try to go from no trips to the gym to a goal of six visits a week. That’s not realistic – or fun.

Let the 20’s be the decade of movement. Start with walking the dog, taking the stairs at work or trying to complete 10 push-ups before bed. Start where you are at and commit to something reasonable. Maybe it’s just walking once or twice a week, or a goal of planking for 30 seconds, 2-3 times a week. Pick somethings small and do it – regularly.

I have a new ebook coming out in February about movement. It has a variety of workouts and suggestions on how to get moving and incorporating strength training into your weekly workouts. Until then, check out some of my favorite workouts on my site. They are all 30 minutes or less and require little to no equipment.

Low-Impact, Full-Body Workout

Feel the Burn Dumbbell Workout

Workout for Small Spaces

Beginner Bodyweight Workout

Top 5 Most Popular Workouts of 2019

I’m always interested to see what workouts on this site get the most traffic and interest. All of the workouts on this list are bodyweight workouts, so you don’t need equipment. You can easily do them from the comfort of your home, at the gym or even in a hotel room. Many of these workouts have knee-friendly or wrist-friendly variations, so be sure to scroll down through all of the workouts.

My five most popular workouts for 2019 are:

5. At-Home Tabata Workout (An equally popular workout on this blog post is the Knee-Friendly Tabata workout.)

Click on the image for instructions on how to set up a Tabata timer and do the exercises.

4. Heading Back to the Gym Bodyweight Workout - Beginners Workout, Knee-Friendly Workout and Wrist-Friendly Workout

Click on the workout image for additional information about the workout and the specific exercises.

3. Bodyweight Cardio Workout You Can Do Anywhere

Click on the workout image for additional information about the workout and the specific exercises.

2. Bodyweight Knee-Friendly Workout

Click on the workout image for additional information about the workout and the specific exercises.

1. Five Minute Ab Workout

Click on the workout image for additional information about the workout and the specific exercises.

Visit my workout page for more cardio, strength training and HIIT workouts.

Is it Safe to Exercise if You Are Sore?

We’ve all experienced that next day soreness that makes us groan when we get out of bed in the morning. Soreness can be part of working out, but it’s also a symptom that you want to pay attention to. Most muscle soreness should dissipate within 24-72 hours. If it’s lingering longer than that, you need to evaluate your “sore area” to make sure you aren’t dealing with an injury.

When is it okay to work out if you are experiencing soreness?

Sometimes a light recovery activity can help alleviate soreness. If you are slightly sore, an active recovery workout might be more beneficial than harmful. Some low-impact activities might include walking, swimming laps, yoga, stretching or some light resistance band activities. Additionally, if you only trained one area of your body (such as legs), you could train a different area of your body (upper body).

Why it’s important to take soreness seriously:

When we train muscles, we are creating microscopic tears in our muscles. As these muscles recover, the tears heal up and the muscle eventually becomes stronger. Because of this, it’s imperative you give your muscles at least 48 hours to recover. If you don’t allow for this recovery time, the muscles never heal properly and can result in an injury.

If I’m extremely sore following a workout, I take the next day off. I make sure I walk and move around to keep my body somewhat active, but I skip the intense workout.

If you are looking for some workouts that target only the upper or lower body, check some of these out:

Strong Hips Workout

10-Minute Upper Body Workout

15-Minute Dumbbell Workout for Your Arms

Ultimate Leg Workout

15-Minute Dumbbell Workout For Your Arms

Having a strong upper body is so much more important than just being able to sport enviable arms! Having a strong upper body improves your posture, reduces the risk of injury and helps with flexibility. As with all muscles in your body, participating in resistance training helps strengthen your bones; additionally, strength training helps reduce your risk of osteoporosis.

Often, when I start training clients, they think an individual is either strong in her lower body or upper body. The assumption is made that an individual can only have strength in one of the two areas. The good news is that just isn’t true. You can – and should be – strong in both your upper and lower body. You might naturally have more strength in your lower body, but that just means you have an opportunity to strengthen your upper body!

These are a few exercises that are my go-to upper body strengtheners. If you only have 15 minutes, give this upper body workout a try or tack it on to the end of an existing workout.

If you want more upper body workouts, check out some of my favorites:

10-Minute Upper Body Workouts

5-Minute Triceps Workout

15-Minute DB Upper Body Workout

Circuit 1 – Repeat 3 times:

4 Plank Walk-Outs

10 Dumbbell Rows

Circuit 2 – Repeat 3 times:

10 Push-up Rotations (Into Side Plank)

10 Lying Chest Fly (option: add Leg Raises)

10 Bird Dogs

Circuit 3 – Repeat 3 times

10 Bicep Curls

10 Triceps Kickbacks

10 Scarecrows

20-Minute Track Workout for Runners and Walkers

I love to sneak in a quick track workout as often as I can. I try to be kind to my knees whenever I work out, so the padded track surface is perfect for my joints! I usually make these workouts fairly short – quick and intense. This is a great workout if you are trying to add some intensity to your workout or are in need of a change. I try to squeeze in a few track workouts each month. I’d love to say I do one each week, but that doesn’t always happen. Give this a try – you will be glad you did!

Walk/Run a slow paced warm up lap.

Walk/Run Lap #2

10 Push-ups

20 Squats

10 Side Plank Dips

Walk/Run Lap #3

100 Walking Lunges

10 Push-ups

20 Squats

10 Side Plank Dips

Walk/Run Lap #4

30 Seconds Single-Leg Bridge (Left)

30 Seconds Single-Leg Bridge (Right)

15 Supermen

Skip across the field and back. (not lengthwise – I’m not making you go 100 yards!)

30 Seconds Single-Leg Bridge (Left)

30 Seconds Single-Leg Bridge (Right)

15 Supermen

Sprint/Speed Walk 100 yards. Jog/walk back.

Five Intense Workouts for Small Spaces

Working out while you are traveling or living in cramped quarters can be a challenge. However, there are lots of workouts you can do that require no equipment and very little space.

Whenever I go on vacation, I do several of the workouts featured below. I know I am getting a full-body workout, and I don’t have to worry about space constraints. Check out some of my favorite small-space workouts that will strengthen your body and burn calories – with no equipment needed!

Small Space, Full-Body Workout

Workout for Small Spaces

Isometric Burn Workout

At-Home Tabata Workout

5-Min Ab Workout

The Essential Body Part Women Ignore

One of the weakest areas in many women’s bodies are their hips. Many of us sit for a good portion of the day, which forces our hips into a crunched position. Maintaining a seated position for long periods of time can cause the muscles in our hips to shorten and tighten – particularly our hip flexors.

The role of our hips in day-to-day life is often overlooked. Our hips do SO MUCH. Hips are responsible for helping you maintain balance, walking correctly, lifting your leg and controlling the position of your knee.

Strengthening your hips can help you avoid injury and also assist in the prevention of osteoarthritis. The best way to keep injuries or arthritis at bay is to strengthen your hips. This is a quick hip workout you can do to start strengthening this forgotten – but necessary – body part.

Side-lying leg raises, with your toes pointed down, are an excellent movement to strengthen your hips.

***This workout uses a mini band for the lateral walk. These bands are inexpensive, very versatile and can be purchased from numerous locations. This is the band I use for training clients. (Disclaimer: if you click on this link and purchase a product linked from this site, it could result in a small amount of money for me.)

Strong Hips Workout:

10 Squats with Side Leg Raises

10 Reverse Lunges (per leg)

10 Single-Leg Glute Bridges (per leg)

10 Supermen

15 Side-Lying Leg Lifts (per leg)

15 Side-Lying Leg Lifts With Toe Pointed Down (per leg)

30 Sec. Plank

10 Wall Squats

30 Sec. Lateral Band Walk – per side

Repeat for a total of 3 times.

Finish up with some stretches – particularly the cobra stretch!

Ultimate 20-Minute Dumbbell Workout

I wanted to squeeze in a weight lifting workout during a recent vacation. I didn’t know what was available in the fitness room, so I couldn’t plan my workout in advance. After scoping out the equipment, I pulled this workout together. I really liked it, and I felt like it did a good job of hitting the major muscle groups while still cranking up my heart rate.

This workout can be done in your home, at the gym or a hotel fitness center. You just need a few sets of dumbbells, and that’s it! I did 10 reps of each exercise, so it would be easier to remember. However, feel free to add on repetitions or go heavier with your weights!

If you like this workout, check out some of my other favorite dumbbell workouts below:

Arms Are Burning Dumbbell Workout

Feel the Burn Dumbbell Workout

Ultimate 20-Minute Dumbbell Workout:

Circuit #1:

10 Lateral Hops

10 Squat + Shoulder Press

10 DB Deadlifts

10 DB Rows

10 Push-ups

10 Squat Jumps

Repeat for a total of 3 times.

Circuit #2:

10 Side Plank Rotations (per side)

10 Lying DB Skull Crushers

10 Bird Dogs

30 Sec. Up and Down Planks/Plank ups

Repeat for a total of 3 times.

Can Exercise Tone Flabby Arms?

Can exercise tone flabby arms? Absolutely! We all carry our weight in different parts of our bodies, and for some people, their upper arms are a common place. Exercise can’t spot reduce a specific area of your body; however, a balanced diet coupled with exercise can help reduce body fat – including the backs of the arms.

Triceps exercises will help strengthen your triceps muscles, which will help reduce the appearance of flabby upper arms. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) sponsored a study to identify the most effective triceps exercises. After testing several well-known movements, the triangle push-up was identified as the most effective triceps exercise.

If you are hoping to strengthen your triceps, check out my quick, five-minute “banish flabby arms” workout that you can tack on to an existing workout or if you are short on time, do it by itself. Additionally, I’m including some of my favorite cardio and strength training workouts, which will help with overall weight loss and strength training.

5 minute Triceps Workout:

12 Triangle Push-ups

12 Triceps Dips on the Ground

12 Triceps Kickbacks

Repeat 2-3 times total.

Here are some of my favorite workouts to help burn calories and strengthen muscles:

Small-Space Workout

Isometric Burn Workout

20-Min. AMRAP Workout

Quick, Heart-Pumping Cardio Workout

I enjoy strength training workouts, but sometimes there is something incredibly satisfying about a quick, challenging cardio workout.

Cardio exercise provides many benefits for your body. During cardio exercise, short for cardiovascular, your heart rate increases and you breathe faster/deeper. This maximizes the amount of oxygen in your blood, which helps you use oxygen in the most efficient way possible.

How well your body is able to use this oxygen is referred to as your aerobic capacity. The better your body is at using oxygen, the more improved your aerobic capacity is. For example, we’ve all felt breathless from trekking up a steep incline or stairs. The greater your aerobic capacity, the less breathless you will feel when you reach the top (and the easier it will be for you to get to the top).

Additional cardio benefits include:

• Improved memory

• Decreased chances of a stroke

• Better mood

• More calories burned

• Better sleep

If you are short on time but need a quick cardio workout, try my Tabata workout below. To make the timing of your movements easier, check out this previous post for information about a timer app and how to set it up for Tabata workouts.

Want more cardio workouts? Visit my workouts page for additional cardio routines including these favorites:

Bodyweight Cardio Workout

Every Minute on the Minute (EMOM) Interval Workout

Belly Blasting Workout

Tabata Circuit #1: (Repeat for a total of three times.)

Quick Feet

Reverse Lunge + Front Kick (Left)

Reverse Lunge + Front Kick (Right)

Squat Jumps

DB Woodchop (Left)

DB Woodchop (Right)

Lateral Hops

Push-ups

Circuit #2: (Repeat for a total of two times.)

Lateral Lunges

Mountain Climbers

Plank Jacks

Skaters

Jumping Jacks

Standing Side Crunch (Left)

High Knees

Standing Side Crunch (Right)

Five Minute Ab Workout

By the time I get to the end of a workout, I’m tired and it’s a struggle to come up with a challenging abdominal workout. Here’s a quick, five-minute workout you can tack on to the end of a workout or do it by itself on those “I-don’t-have-time-to-work-out” days.

For more abdominal and core workouts, check out some of my favorites:

Ultimate Core Workout

Belly Blasting Workout

Five Minute Abdominal Workout:

30 Sec. Plank Walk Outs

30 Sec. Cross Body Mountain Climbers

30 Sec. Plank Rainbows

15 Bent Leg Crunches

15 Straight Leg Crunches

30 Sec. Plank

15 Side Plank Rotations (L)

15 Side Plank Rotations (R)

30 Sec. Scissor Lifts

30 Sec. Plank

How Often Should You Train Your Abs?

Although you might be motivated to train your abs frequently, that’s not necessarily the best approach. Your muscles need a day, or more, of rest in between sessions in order to repair themselves. Lifting weights damages muscle fibers (creates microscopic tears in the muscles you’ve worked), so rest days give your muscles time to reconstruct, recover and increase in size.

Strive to do abdominal workouts 2-3 times a week. Your workouts shouldn’t be 20 minutes of nonstop crunches – you want to do a workout that involves your core in a variety of movements. (Check out my belly blasting workout for an example of a full-body, core-intensive workout.)

Remember: eating a balanced, healthy diet coupled with working out will give you the best shot at seeing definition in your abdominal muscles. What you eat has the biggest impact on the size of your belly. You can do 100 crunches a day and still not see any progress. You might strengthen your core, but if you have fat on top of your muscles, it will be hard to see the definition.

Here are a few workouts you can do to strengthen your core:

Ultimate Core Workout

Belly Blasting Workout