Is your job sabotaging your weight loss efforts?

We all know that trying to make better food choices and sticking to a healthier diet to lose weight can be a challenge.  Does your workplace add to your weight loss challenge?

When I was in the process of losing weight and transforming my body, I began to realize how the corporate culture of where I worked would undermine my weight loss efforts.

I’m sure where I worked is no different than any other office.  Most mornings, you can find bagels, muffins, cake or cookies that have been brought in by a co-worker or for an office “breakfast meeting”.

Luncheon meetings were common place where I worked and what was offered was anything but diet friendly, healthy or low in calories.  It was always the same…. Pizza or calorie laden sandwiches, soda, chips and cookies.

Then there is also the occasional office birthday party or anniversary celebration where there was cake, cookies and pastries galore!

When you walk down the aisles, everywhere you look , most of your co-workers have a jar of candy on their desk.

If that’s not enough, there always seems to be that 3:00 trip to the vending machines filled all sorts of high sugar or high sodium calorie laden treats such as soda, candy bars, cookies and chips to help get you through the late afternoon dull drum.

And then there’s lunch!

Nearly every day, if there’s not a luncheon meeting, you’re invited out by your co-workers to join them for lunch.  Most of the time lunch is going to be fast food, Mexican, Chinese or Pizza.  Not exactly the best choices if you’re watching your waistline, but at the same time you want to be included and part of the group, so you indulge.   Doesn’t anyone brown bag it anymore???

Think about this….
Not only are you consuming all these excessive empty calories throughout the day, you are being sedentary sitting at a desk at least 8 hours a day not burning off these calories.  Ask yourself this question…. What do you do after work?  Are you exercising after work or are your eating dinner out or eating dinner at home in front of the TV and feeling tired and lethargic all the time?

Not only is this a recipe for weight gain, it’s also a recipe for poor health. 

How to break the cycle

No longer do you have to be the victim of this cycle.  I broke the cycle and so can you.  Here’s how I did it.

You don’t have to indulge just because the food is there.
The first step towards breaking the cycle is to not indulge in the food that is being offered to you just to be polite or just because the company is feeding you.   Don’t let your co-workers make you feel bad or guilty for turning away food.  Be polite about it and say no thank you.

It IS OK to bring your own lunch and snacks to work with you. 
Here’s what I did and what you should do.  Invest in a small 6 pack size cooler.  Every night before you go to bed, be sure to pack it with your lunch and lots of snacks such as nuts, apples, plain low fat Greek yogurt, protein powder in a shaker cup, or hard boiled eggs.

Every day, I brought my cooler with me to work and ate my own food even if the company was providing food for a luncheon meeting.    Not only was I more in control of what I was eating, I was also saving money not going out to lunch every day.  Rather than completely opting out of having lunch with my co-workers every day, I chose one day out of the week to go out to lunch with them.

Bring something healthy to work to share with your co-workers.
Every now and then, bring in something healthy to share with your co-workers .  By doing this, you can introduce them to better food choices, and by offering something to them,  you can still be part of the group.

Move it to lose it!
The human body was not designed to be sedentary and sitting behind a desk 8 or more hours a day will not only have you packing on the pounds, it also robs you of your energy.

Get your body moving as much as possible. 
Get out of your chair and walk around the office for a few minutes. 
If you work in an office park, walk around the parking lot for 15 minutes.
If you work near a park, walk around the park on your lunch break or do a body weight workout on your lunch break.
Better yet…. find a gym close by to where you work and workout on your lunch break, before you go to work or after work. 

Share your experiences and suggestions.
What are your experiences with workplace weight gain?  Sharing your experiences is a great way for others to learn from you.

If you have overcome some of the workplace weight gain obstacles you encountered, let us know what you have done to overcome those obstacles.

I was in the gym having one of those workouts where you’re so in “the zone” and you’re just “killing it”.  I had my head phones on, listening to music that had me in my “training zone” which added to the intensity and power of my workout. 

After my workout was over, I was pumped, feeling great, endorphins were flowing and I shared how I was feeling with the following status update on my Facebook wall

“Had a killer workout today!!! Was in “The Zone” killing it on shoulders, biceps and triceps and jammin out to some Nine Inch Nails.”

Not only was the music a factor in my workout, I was bathed in sweat during the workout  achieving several personal bests.  To achieve this, I had to push myself  physically as well as mentally.  It was all about pushing past the barriers.

What’s in a word?
From a marketing perspective, some may say that how I describe and talk about my workouts, using words like “killer workout”  may intimidate “newbies” or women and I may want to tone down my language and use words such as “tone” and “sexy” in my verbiage. 

You know what.  I’m not going to do that.  I’m not going to “candy coat” or “tone down” my language when it comes to describing my workouts.  I’m going to keep it real and honest even if it does scare some people off.

It is that toned down verbiage that the main stream media uses with regard to fitness that is preventing so many men and women from reaching their health and fitness goals, including me.

When I was that “perpetual before picture”, it was words and phrases such as “tone”, “sleek and sexy”, “slim” that prevented me from becoming the “perpetual after picture” I have become. 

When it comes to fitness, words like “tone”, “slim”, “sleek and sexy”  are simply for mainstream marketing purposes and don’t exactly inspire you to push yourself. 

When it comes to fitness and working out in the gym, these words don’t exactly have you sweating, grunting and pushing yourself hard in the gym.  These words don’t encourage you to lift heavier weights that will help you achieve your fitness goal.

Truth be told, it’s all about MUSCLE and to have muscle, you’ve got to build it and to build it means grunting, sweating and pushing yourself.

I’ve said this many times and I will say this again.  Muscle is what gives the body shape.  Building muscle (along with proper nutrition) is what is going to get rid of the “flab” and firm your body.  In order to do this, you’ve got to use weights that will challenge you and you have got to push yourself in the gym. 

Pushing past the barrier
Far too often, I have had many clients tell me that if they were working out on their own they wouldn’t push out those last few reps where your muscles are burning and you have to dig deep to make it happen.  It’s those last few reps where you think you can’t do any more that build the body you want. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about this in the movie Pumping Iron.  He says that you have to work past the pain barrier.  It’s those last 2-3 reps you push out when there’s nothing left in you that makes the muscle grow and most people don’t have the guts to push past their barrier. 

I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that having a body that is healthy, fit and looks good doesn’t take discipline, commitment and effort.   It is a lifestyle and a way of life. 

The question you need to ask yourself is how far are you willing to push past the barriers that hold you back from having your best body and health, not only in the gym, but outside of the gym too.

If I allowed those barriers to stand in my way, I wouldn’t be where I am today.  I’d still be that frumpy, frustrated, perpetual “before” picture.

Kill it!
The next time you’re in the gym, be sure to hit it hard and leave there saying you’ve had a “killer” workout!  That’s what’s going to get you results!  That’s what’s going to help you push past your barriers.

I’m looking forward to another day of hitting the gym with my headphones, jamin’ out,  getting in that “training zone”,  hitting it hard and having another killer workout and feeling on top of the world afterwards.

My parting words to you
Pushing yourself past the pain barrier with your workouts helps you push past barriers in life.

When it comes to weight loss, your habits play a leading role.  Sure there are several habits you need to incorporate when it comes to losing weight, however, in my opinion, this one habit is the key to not only my weight loss success, but my ability to keep the weight off.

The Secret to Successful Dieting: Be Proactive

When I tell my clients they need to eat five to six nutritious, small meals a day every three hours to keep their metabolisms high, I get the “deer in the headlights” look and then the obvious question: “How on earth can I eat five to six meals a day, every three hours?”

Simply put, you need to be proactive about your nutrition, and most people don’t know how to go about doing that. When you learn how to do that, the rest just falls into place.

Fortunately, it’s easier than you think, and I’ll show you how.

Here’s my system

I have a ritual I go through every week, which I have down to a science. I go to the supermarket and buy enough boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fish, lean cuts of beef, nuts, seeds, fresh raw vegetables and fruits to last me a week. Every Saturday or Sunday afternoon, I pre-cook all my meals for the week.

This “ritual” takes me approximately 90 minutes and saves me countless hours of valuable time during the week if were to try to shop, prepare, cook and clean up after each meal.

Once all the foods are cooked, it’s easy to plan out your meals on a daily basis. My meals are stored in plastic containers. If I know I’m going to be running around a lot during the day, I will carry a small, nylon cooler packed with nutritious foods so that I won’t have to rely on unhealthy grab and go take-out food. All I need to do is pull out six meals and place them in the cooler.  

If you work out of an office, or if your job requires you do a lot of driving, you will find that pre-packing healthy meals in a small, nylon cooler is not only convenient, but will help keep you in control of the foods you eat.

Quick, easy meals
Here are some examples of some of the meals you will find in my cooler on any given day.  Some easy meal suggestions are a can of tuna over baby spinach with a vinaigrette dressing; pre-grilled chicken with pre-cooked brown rice and steamed veggies with your favorite seasonings; egg white omelet and old-fashioned oatmeal heats up quickly in a microwave; low-fat cottage cheese with an apple and some almonds—no cooking necessary; pre-cooked grilled chicken with steamed broccoli; low-fat, plain Greek yogurt with a scoop of protein powder mixed in, or carry a shaker cup with a scoop of protein powder in it. (Just add cold water, shake it up in the cup, and you have a protein shake.)

I have lived the corporate eight-to-five life, and as a fitness professional, I now have five to ten minutes between clients, yet within that short break, I am able to eat. It can be done. With your meals already pre-cooked, all you need to do is put your plate in the microwave for one minute to heat up your food and eat a delicious, nutritious meal.

How you benefit from this habit

1. You have more control over the foods you eat and how they are prepared.
When you have more control over the foods you eat and how they are prepared, you will be consuming less calories which contribute to your fat loss, weight loss and health goals.  Often times when you order something in a restaurant that you think is low in calories, it isn’t. For example, what you may think is a healthy, low calorie salad in one of the popular restaurant chains can actually turn out to be a caloric night mare.  One such example would be The Moroccan Chicken Salad from California Pizza Kitchen.  You’d be surprised to learn that a half serving of CPK Moroccan Chicken salad has 412 calories and 50 gms of fat and that’s for a 1/2 serving!

2. You save countless hours in valuable time.
This means you’ll be spending less time in the supermarket shopping, less time preparing meals, less time cooking meals, less time cleaning up after each meal leaving you with more time to workout, be active and enjoy time with family and friends.

3. You save lots of money. 
When I first started eating this way, I realized that not only was I more in control over the foods I eat, but I was spending less money on unhealthy lunches in restaurants and sandwich shops, spending less money on unhealthy vending machine snacks, and spending less money on quick, unhealthy dinners in some of the popular chain restaurants. 

Before I started eating this way and became pro-active about my diet, I was spending approximately $25.00 per day on snacks and drinks from vending machines, lunches and dinners at restaurants, and this does not include weekends.  So on average, I was spending $125.00 per week on “food items” that did not contribute to my weight loss, fat loss and health goals.

Shopping for healthy, nutritious, unprocessed, real whole foods is less expensive than you think.  For the longest time, I had avoided shopping in Whole Foods Supermarkets because of the “myth” that buying organic foods is too expensive and Whole Foods is more expensive than the popular chain supermarkets.  I’m here to tell you it is a myth.  Ever since I began shopping at Whole Foods, not only am I eating better quality, fresher, organic and sustainable foods that are coming from my local farmers, but my grocery bills are actually lower when compared to my non-organic grocery bills from the popular chain super markets.

My weekly grocery bill from Whole Foods is on average $100.00 per week compared to $160.00 per week I was spending in some of the more popular chain supermarkets.

There are other super markets comparable to Whole Foods if you don’t have one in your town such as Trader Joe’s and Wegmans so you may want to go on line and see which of these stores are in your area.

Keeping it healthy and nutritious on the go
Supermarkets like Whole Foods, now have foods that are pre-cooked, which make it easy to have a nutritious meal when you’re in a hurry and have no time to cook. Most supermarkets now have rotisserie chickens and salad bars, so all you need to do is pick up a chicken and a salad (spinach, romaine, baby greens) with a vinaigrette dressing or some steamed green veggies. As for fast food, when in doubt, always order the grilled chicken sandwich with side salad, and for those of you watching your carbs, you can always ditch the bun.

Places like Moe’s Southwest Grill and Chipotle’s now have “naked” (no fattening burrito shells) tacos, so there are a number of healthy choices. When I eat at places like that, I order chicken in a bowl with black beans, lettuce, salsa, and guacamole (the “good” fat). When dining out, I order grilled chicken or fish with salad, a sweet potato, and a steamed green veggie. Not only is it easy, it’s delicious!

Yes, you can eat six meals a day and make better food choices, without depriving yourself and your muscles of the fuel you need!

The Story of My Butt

My butt, which was one of my worst body parts, has become one of my best body parts.  I remember a time when I used to put on a pair of jeans and there was nothing back there to fill them.  I had a flat, shapeless, pancake butt.

It’s not just women who suffer from having a flat butt.  There are lots of guys who suffer from this too!  If you suffer from this, fear not!!! There is hope!!!

Baby got back….ummm…..I mean butt

Today, my butt is a different story.  My butt is firm, shapely and round and nicely fills a pair of jeans, shorts or sexy lingerie.  Yours can be too …. well… OK… if you’re a guy…. maybe not the sexy lingerie part, but you know what I mean.

Like any other body part, building a butt takes time and takes work.  The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle of the three gluteal muscles. It makes up a large portion of the shape and appearance of the butt.

Working these muscles involves working your legs and that means hitting it hard and heavy on leg day at the gym.  Be prepared to hit the weights hard and heavy and work hard!  Having rock hard glutes requires pushing lots of rock hard iron!

Without further ado, I’m going to share with you, one of my butt building workouts.

Shari Fitness Build a Better Butt Workout

Reverse Cable Wood Chops   – 4 sets – 12 reps

Barbell Squats – 5 sets – 8 reps

Barbell or Smith Machine Alternating Reverse Lunges – 5 sets – 8 reps

Barbell Step Ups – 4 sets – 12 reps

Barbell Stiff Legged Deadlifts – 4 sets – 5 reps

Give this workout a try and let me know how you did.

Weight loss can be a perpetual, frustrating, roller coaster.  One week you discover you lost 5 pounds and two week later, you discover you gained back the 5 pounds you lost only to gain another 2 pounds the week after that. 

Or perhaps you had successfully lost 10-20 lbs or more only to find yourself gaining back the weight you lost and then some.

Then there are those who have successfully lost weight, transformed their body, and have kept it off.  I happen to be one of those people. 

I can tell you first hand that building a body that is fit and healthy takes commitment and doesn’t happen overnight.  Many people are in a constant battle of the bulge and too often they will start and stop a program and not achieve results. 

Fitness is NOT an event, it’s a lifestyle
If you are like most people, your best weight loss success happens when you are motivated to lose weight and look your best for an event, whether that event is a vacation, a high school reunion, a wedding, etc., and as soon as the “event’ is over you go back to your old habits that were not contributing to your weight loss goals.  My question is, why go back to your old habits that were not contributing to your weight loss goals once the event is over?  Why not continue to do what you were doing?

Being healthy and fit is a lifestyle, and I stress the word LIFESTYLE, where you are consistent with eating healthy meals and you are consistent with your exercise program. I don’t have to think about eating nutritious foods and exercise.  Eating nutritious foods and exercising should be as natural as any other daily habit such as showering and brushing your teeth.

This mindset is what separates those who keep the weight off and those who struggle to keep it off.

Nutrition
Nutritional Sustainability
Everyone knows that the basic rule of thumb of weight loss is calories in vs. calories out.  It’s not about the latest fad diet or a quick fix. If your nutrition plan isn’t sustainable, you’re not going to be able to stick to it. 

Eating a balanced diet consisting of a variety of foods that are nutrient rich, flavorful, low in calories, that you enjoy is much more sustainable and enjoyable than the latest starvation diet or the latest fad diet that has you eating as much as you want of one particular item and very little of another item.  Simply put, while you may get results in the short term, in the long term you can’t sustain it and end up gaining back the weight you lost and then some.

Be Aware Of What You Eat
95% of the time, I am very aware of what foods I eat.  I don’t eat for the sake of eating.  I don’t eat out of boredom.  I eat to nourish and fuel my body and avoid foods that are loaded with calories that contain no nutritional value.

 Unhealthy, unfit, overweight people tend to not give a second thought as to what they are eating and whether or not the foods they are eating are nutrient rich foods.

Precook your meals
Pre-cooking my meals for the week not only prevents me from grabbing foods that don’t contribute to my health and fitness, but saves me lots of time in the kitchen during week.  I create nutritious, mouthwatering, healthy meals on the fly that take 20 minutes from prep, to pan, to plate.  

So, how do I do that?

Every week I pre-cook and prep all my food for the week which includes slicing and dicing all my vegetables, I  pre-cook chicken, beef, or fish on the grill and pre-cook a few sweet potatoes.  I also buy foods that are easy to pack in a cooler and carry on the go with me such as Low Fat Greek Yogurt, Apples, Nuts, and protein shakes so that I don’t have to eat unhealthy, processed, convenience foods.

If you talk to any physique athlete, or individual who has successfully lost weight and have kept the weight off, you will discover that we all share this same habit.

For many years I consistently buy all my groceries for the week on Fridays and precook my food for the week every Sunday which takes me about an hour to one and a half hours max.

If you have a very busy schedule or a family, I promise this will not only save you time in the kitchen during the week, but will have you and your family eating more nutritious meals and will save you money.

Fitness
Give it your all!
Regardless of what type of fitness program you choose, the key to being healthy and fit is to exercise at  least three days a week 30 -60 minutes and don’t just go through the motions when you workout.  Make each and every workout count and give it all you got! 

Find an exercise program you enjoy doing, challenges you, and you follow consistently.  The best workout program will not provide you the results you are looking for if you do not follow it and you don’t give it your best effort. 

Have a fitness game plan
Whenever I walk into the gym to do my workout, I always have my fitness game plan.  If you walk into the gym with some vague idea of what you’re going to do, chances are you’ll end up wasting a lot of time and spinning your wheels.

You should walk into the gym knowing exactly what exercises you’re going to do, how many sets and how many reps of each exercise.  Having a fitness game plan not only helps to keep you focused and motivated on your workout, but you’ll also be working out more efficiently and effectively.

Avoid Plateaus
I avoid training plateaus by changing up my workouts every three months.  Doing the same workout day in, day out, month after month not only numbs the body, but numbs the mind as well. 

I’m constantly challenging myself physically and mentally in the gym by trying out different training programs, styles and techniques and look forward to my workouts. (Be sure to check out my product reviews of some of the workout programs I’ve tried.)

I always feel a sense of accomplishment mentally and sets the tone for the rest of my day.  When I challenge myself in the gym, I feel like I can accomplish anything I put my mind to and am more productive and always in a good, positive mood.

Exercise for the Mind/Body
Lack of sleep and stress can interfere with your weight loss goals and being consistent with your exercise program is a great natural stress reliever.  Not only is being consistent with exercise a great natural stress reliever, it is also great for getting good, quality, restful sleep.

Conclusion
And there you have it.  If you want to lose weight, and keep the weight off,  it pretty much boils down living a healthy lifestyle that includes being consistent with your workout  program and eating healthy, nutritious foods.  I know this is something you haven’t already  heard before, but for some reason, most of us tend to let their fitness and nutrition habits fall by the wayside.  Don’t be one of them.

Should men and women train differently?

There are many fitness books and workout programs that are specifically targeted to just men or just women. Why? Should women train differently than men?

I’m not throwing any science at you in this article.  What I’m about to share with you is strictly my opinion based on my personal experience.

I’ve been in the gym training for many years.  I lift weights.  In fact I love lifting weights.  When I first got serious about training, I hired a fitness professional who happened to be a male.  Throughout the years, whenever I have had a training partner, I have trained side by side with men, keeping up with them and doing the same workouts with them.

In fact, as a fitness blogger, I have done several workout programs designed to build muscle mass that were written by guys, for guys that I enjoyed doing and got great results with.  So if you think that muscle mass building programs are just for guys…. think again.

As a fitness professional, I’ve worked with many women and men and I can tell you that I don’t train my female clients and differently than I train my male clients.  A squat is a squat, a bicep curl is a bicep curl, a bench press is a bench press, etc.  Set and rep ranges remain the same.  The only difference between the two sexes is that in most cases, the men can lift heavier weights than women.

Don’t be a victim of one of the biggest fitness lie!!!

While there may be a school of thought out there that says men and women should train differently, at the end of the day, it all comes down to marketing and playing up one of the biggest myths and misconceptions that if a woman trains like a man and lifts heavy weights, that she will be become big and bulky and look like a man.

I beg to differ.  Not only do I like to lift heavy weights, I enjoy doing old school bodybuilding training.  Heck, I use muscle building supplements that are marketed to men. 

Psssst….. I’m going to let you in on another little secret.  It wasn’t until I started lifting heavier weights and began using sports supplements such as Creatine and Beta Alanine did my body start to take shape and change and this tid bit on information is for the guys as well as the girls. 

At the end of the day…..

Regardless of what type of training you’re doing whether it is general strength training, training for muscle mass, training for a marathon, training for a specific sport/activity, there really is no difference in how men and women should train for that particular endeavor.

Regardless of your training regimen, train hard, train with intensity, train with focus and give it everything you got.  You get out of it what you put into it.

We’ve all heard the saying “abs are made in the kitchen” and hands down, Metabolic Cooking is a great way to “make abs in the kitchen”!!!!

We all have goals.  Our goals are a reflection of our wants, dreams, hopes and desires.  While many of us state what our goals are, more often than not, our goals tend to become unfulfilled.

Goals will never fail you, not taking action will.

Goals can sometimes seem overwhelming and unachievable, but they really don’t have to be.  With this in mind, I’m going to give you a very quick, simple, solution on how to help make your goals achievable.

G.A.P.

Goals. Write down what your goal is and be very specific about it.  For example,  if your goal is to lose weight, don’t just say you want to lose weight.  Write down exactly how much weight you want to lose, along with a goal date of when you want to achieve that goal.  Take that goal and break it down further by saying how much weight you want to lose each month.

Action. In order to achieve a goal, you have to take action.  Make a list of what actions you need to take in order to achieve your goal.  If any of your action items overwhelm you, take the overall action item and divide it into a list of smaller steps.  Be very specific about your action items. If your goal is weight loss, then you know that you need to have a fitness plan of action as well as a nutrition plan of action.

Your fitness plan of action could include getting a gym membership, deciding what type of fitness program you want to follow, and scheduling time to workout.

Your nutrition plan of action could include planning your meals for the week, writing up your grocery list, planning when to go grocery shopping, preparing your meals in advance for the next day or next three days.

Priorities. Prioritize your action items.   If you don’t prioritize your action items, you’ll end up spinning your wheels.  Having a plan of action and knowing which action items you need to focus on first will help get you on the path towards arriving at your goal destination.

Let’s say that in order to lose weight, you know you need to exercise and part of that plan is to join a gym.  Before joining a gym, you may want to make a list of what services/amenities you are looking for in a gym.  What type of equipment does the gym have, what type of exercise classes do they offer, is the gym at a location that is easy and convenient for you to get to, does the gym offer hours of operation that is convenient with your schedule?  Once you know exactly what you want, it then makes it easier to go about choosing a gym that meets your criteria. 

Once you have decided on a gym and have joined, you can then start putting your fitness plan of action into action.

Here’s to making all your goals reality!  You can make it happen!!!

I admit I AM a gym rat and I love working out in the gym but not everyone does.   I also have a love, hate relationship with the gym, but my love for the gym over rides those aspects of a gym that can be quite annoying and make the gym experience less than desirable.

I do realize that not EVERYONE loves the gym, and if you don’t exactly have a love affair with the gym, is it possible to get a great workout at home?  The answer to that question is yes.

Losing 40 pounds of fat without stepping foot in a gym!
My good friend, Jackie, who has an amazing body, never had a great love for the gym like I do, and out of utter frustration, created a really great workout program specifically designed to get a great workout at home with minimal equipment, called Hot At Home – The Transformation Solution for People Who Hate the Gym.

Jackie and I have very similar stories.  We’re both the same age, and like me, once upon a time ago, she was flabby, frustrated and transformed her body.  Where our stories differ is that I transformed my body in the gym and Jackie transformed her body working out at home.

So, what did this gym rat do?  Although my preference would’ve been to do the workouts in the gym, I took on Jackie’s Hot At Home workout program and I gotta admit, I got a great workout and was challenged.

Click here to check out —–> Hot at Home

So, beyond being a great workout program you can do at home, what exactly is Hot at Home? 
Hot at Home is a system that gives you the freedom to get an effective fat loss workout in the privacy of your own home (no matter how small your home), on your own schedule, incorporating a specially formulated series of exercises using only a set of dumbbells and a couple of fitness bands.

There are over 40 weeks of workouts in “Hot at Home” so whatever you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced, there’s something for you.

If a gym isn’t in your budget, your schedule or if you just straight up hate the gym, want to get a great workout at home, I highly recommend you check out Hot at Home.

* Disclosure: If you happen to purchase anything I recommend in this or any of my communications, it’s likely I’ll receive some kind of affiliate compensation. Still, I only recommend stuff that I truly love, use and happily share with friends and family. If you ever have an issue with anything I recommend please let me know. I always have your back, and your growth and happiness in mind. – Shari