The New Year is almost here and thousands of people are geraing up to make fitness a priority. Sadly this will last about a month until they decide it is too much work, they can’t spare the time or simply cannot stay motivated to make it work for them. Millions of dollars will be spent on crap products from slick TV marketing campaigns promising easy fitness routines and simple methods for weight loss.

In my opinion, don’t spend a dime on anything other than a membership at a gym that you feel comfortable attending, with classes that will keep you motivated to achive your fitness goals and trainer/instructors that have fantastic personalities and know what the hell they are doing. I am a member of the YMCA. I love the “Y”. It keeps me coming back for more. I love the classes. I love the equipment. I enjoy the people. I think the facilities are fantastic.

Watching TV you will see commercials about products that promise results without much effort. One of the latest is the “Perfect Pushup” gizmo. Supposely this device makes pushups more effective. Now pushups are definitely one of the hardest and best fitness workouts you can do for your upper body if you aren’t using weights or machines. But you do not need to spend $50 to do pushups. The typical pushup is simply effective. Want to make it harder? Put your feet, or hands, on a BOSU ball or exercise ball.

I get why a product like this looks appealing, like so many others that will be offered in the New Year. It makes the exercise seem more fun. Easier. But the reality is the exercise will still be difficult and it will not be any more fun than if you simply did the standard military style pushup anyway.

Granted there are some fitness products that are worthwhile. Maybe they will allow you to do something that you could not do before. Maybe you want to build your upper body. A bench and a set of weights would be nice to have. But if you do not walk or run around your neighborhood, buying a treadmill is not going to make walking or running any more appealing. It may look shiny and fun for the first week but it will not be long before it is probably being used more to hang up your clothes.

Fitness takes a commitment that many are unwilling to stick with. If you can get on a fitness workout program and stay on it for three or four months, if you are still going well into April, then fitness will begin to be part of your routine and you will not want to miss it. You will make time to go to your fitness class. You will make sure you make up the weight lifting class you had to miss yesterday for some stupid meeting at work. Not many people are going to have this mindset. The resolution will fade after a month. This does not have to be you.

I found some comments by Victoria’s Secrets models interesting concerning their fitness and diet. Not many models speak out on their diet and exercise habits. My guess is that there is no exercise regimen and very little eating going on for the typical model. Read what Doutzen Kroes has to say about what she did to prepare for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show:

To prepare, Dutch 23-year-old beauty Kroes, who says she normally eats what she wants because she exercises often, goes on a strict sugar- and carb-free meal plan and spends many extra minutes a day jumping rope. “For other fashion shows you can be skinny, but for Victoria’s Secret, you need definition,” says Kroes, 23. - By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL, AP

I’m impressed. Like most lingerie models they recognize that they have to be fit. Note that she says that she “exercises often”. Even for models it takes effort to look healthy and fit. Like she says, other fashion models are skinny. They simply don’t eat and they don’t have a shape. I find that look unattractive. The VS models are popular because they are fit, shapely and sexy.

Listen to what Kroes says. She has a fabulous body because she exercises a lot, she goes on a strict healthy diet and she does extra fitness work. If you want to be fit and healthy, there you go.

Times are tough. Home fitness is not exactly what is on a lot of peoples mind. Finances are hurting people. And we are all trying to save money where we can. The problem with that is our health. Cheap food tends to be more fattening. And when we are worrying about our budgets and have money problems we tend to become more sedentary. But this is the time when we should be looking after out health even more than ever.

Image by darmorrow via Flickr

So why would you want to start a home fitness program? For one if you get fit and stay healthy you probably won’t be taking as many visits to the doctor, which we all know is not cheap. Healthcare is expensive and taking care of yourself and getting in shape helps to reduce those visits to the doctor. We all get sick or hurt but a little health maintenance goes a long way to keeping your money out of the hands of your insurance company and doctors.

A home fitness program is convenient. You don’t have to travel to the gym. Yes I realize gasoline is now close to $2 a gallon which seems like a bargain when it was over $4, but it’s still $2. That adds up. As long as you can self motivate yourself, home fitness is a great way to get in shape and not leave the house.

Home fitness does not require expensive exercise equipment. A couple of dumbells, a BOSU ball, resistance bands and a comfortable mat is all you need to get a great workout. If I had to choose one piece of equipment for home fitness it would be the BOSU ball. There are so many BOSU exercises you can do for a full body workout.

But home fitness does not require any exercise equipment. Try walking. Just get yourself moving. Now I know many of us live in suburbia which has no easy or convenient means to “walk to the market” to pick up groceries. Walking as a mode of transportation just isn’t doable for anyone not living in the city. But you chose a home in suburbia for the space and the neighborhoods. Use them. get out and walk, Walk twice a day, before and after work. Home fitness doesn’t have to be any more difficult than simply moving.

I recommend developing a home fitness program. You don’t have to be a member of a fancy gym to get in shape. You don’t need expensive exercise equipment. You just need to be motivated and realize that being fit is important. Home fitness is attainable for anyone.

The Best Home Gym you will ever own - Terrell Owens Gym System by Bodylastics

The days are getting shorter and colder. The time for me to ride my bicycle outside is coming to a close. Sure I’ll be riding my mountain bike some during the winter months, and every once in a while I might get on my bike for a ride if the weather is cooperating. But for the most part I enjoy taking a break off my bike for a few months. And when I do I head back into the gym and go to an indoor cycling class, or spinning class.

Spinning classes are a lot of fun. I like the instructors. I like the people. I get a great workout and I really work up a sweat. During the winter you can count on one thing around Mid Tennessee and that is wind. I’m glad to be inside during those cold windy days. I actually do not take but a couple of indoor cycling classes a week. I don’t want to get burned out. I do other activities like swimming and boot camps to keep my fitness high during the winter. I want to be ready for another good spring and summer of riding so that is another reason I paticipate in indoor cycling classes.

The Biggest Loser trainer is a fan of spin classes too. He made a video talking about the benefits of indoor cycling. The bottom line is he says you can burn 500 calories in just a half hour. Most classes are typically 45 minutes to an hour so you can see the benefit of the classes.

Could the best side workout be the side plank? Craig Ballantyne at Early to Rise thinks so. And I think he may actually be on to something. During my weight lifting classes we have recently been having a substitute teacher of sorts come in and do the final ab workouts. She loves having us do the side plank. And it is painful. I sort of thought that I could handle most any ab workout. I had the arrogance to think that my abs were in shape. When I tried to do the side plank for more than 10 seconds I thought I would explode.

The side plank is what it sounds like. Let’s say you start on your right side. To do it, bend your arm at the elbow and stack your feet on top of each other. Lift your body until you are in a straight line. Your butt, hips and thighs will be elevated off the floor a few inches. Try to hold this position for 10 seconds. As you get stronger you will want to try to hold it up to a minute. Good luck with that. Swap over to the left side when you are done with the right.

Ballantyne says in his article that typical crunches cause spinal flexion and that “research shows that spinal flexion can lead to herniated discs”. When compared to the abdominal crunch the side plank is the better exercise because, while both builds up the abdominal muscles the same, the side plank does not cause spinal flexion.