Have a Ball Getting Fit at Anytime Fitness

Start 2013 with a really amazing prize! Do you want to win a one-year membership to Anytime Fitness? Yeah, it’s that big a deal!

We won a photo contest that Anytime Fitness held, and our prize is really YOUR prize, as it’s a full year’s membership to give away to one of you.

The requirements are simple:

* You must live within 30 miles of an Anytime Fitness, in any of the 12 countries where they’re located.  Anytime Fitness has over 2,035 locations, so click on the link to see which one is near you.

* You must complete the one mandatory requirement we have in our Rafflecopter giveaway below (you’ll want to play along as our videos are fabulous). Also take advantage of the optional entry actions to increase your odds. If you are already an Anytime Fitness member, you will get a year’s extension on your current membership.

That kind of sums it up. The picture you see here is the one that we used to get you this fabulous prize. You are free to comment below at the total supremeness and creativity of our picture. Or suggest video topics you’d like us to add to our sterling collection. Or submit fitness questions to us that we’ll answer right here on the blog. Wow, this giveaway is so cool, just like Anytime Fitness and Fun and Fit. You spend a few minutes of your time entering (you can come back every day for extra entries) and in return you might win a prize worth thousands of dollars. As Monty Hall said, “Such a deal!” Okay, he actually said, “Let’s make a deal,” but we updated it.

We’ll pick the winner Thursday, January 17th, 2013, who will be notified by email and/or tweet. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or we’ll pick another winner.

All the links you need to enter this SuperCaliFragiListicExpiAliDocious entry are conveniently located right here:

Start 2013 as a winner by subscribing to our YouTube channel and blog. Please also follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit and Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Click now on the icons above or below. We make it easy to share, subscribe and win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

We hope you had a lovely holiday, filled with fellowship, food, family, friends and of course, fitness! Funny how so many great words start with the letter “F.”

We were so busy celebrating that we didn’t spend much time on the computer. We took our own advice about going for walks to help prevent holiday weight gain. On Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving with part of our large family. On Friday we celebrated my youngest son’s 16th birthday with an even bigger group of people! And today? A four-mile walk in the morning, followed by cleaning!

Please enjoy some photos from the weekend. It was very sunny and hot at the top of mountain, and very cloudy and wet at the beach. Such is the strange Santa Barbara weather!

Fall leaves, flowers, pumpkin pie & sweet potato pie, and birthday cake. Decadent!

Bright, hot sun at the top of the Pass. Great for morning walks. And it was so quiet on Thanksgiving.

Some interesting rocks seen on top of the mountain and down on the beach

This is but a small bit of our large family. Oldest – 83. Youngest – 3. How cool is that?

Scenes from low tide at Hendry’s Beach in Santa Barbara. Look closely and you’ll see anemones, part of a dead dolphin, sea urchins, gulls, cormorants, sandpipers, mollusks and starfish.

This is what the cats thought about all the activity. They went into pissed off, hiding mode.

My favorite part of the holidays was having my eldest son home from university for 4 days. My second favorite part was seeing my youngest son enjoy all the birthday attention. And my third favorite part was baking and cooking for everyone.

What is YOUR favorite thing about Thanksgiving? And for those of you who don’t celebrate it, what is your favorite time of year? 

We give thanks every time you subscribe to our YouTube channel and blog. And when you follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit. Please also follow us on Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Or click on the icons in the right sidebar. We’ll be ever so grateful!

‘Tis the season for Thanksgiving, not Thanks-gorging.  Enact Our 7 healthful tips to avoid the holiday feast trap.

Perhaps you’ve spent months being diligent about exercising and eating healthfully. And now the holidays are creeping up faster than a heart rate monitor. How do you stay trimmer than a decorated tree and less stuffed than a turkey come Thanksgiving?

The following suggestions will serve you well from day’s start through end.

1. Drink lots of water and green tea before the feast. You will feel full and less inclined to overeat.

2. Eat your usual breakfast and lunch. Don’t skip a meal thinking you will then be free to make up for lost calories later when the “good stuff” arrives. Inevitably you will be so hungry come THE meal that you will overeat or choose whatever is closest.

3. Mentally sort foods into 3 categories:

• Food I love and will probably have seconds;
• Food I like and will take a little just once;
• Food I don’t need to eat at all.

Planning and paying attention have a definite effect on how much you pile on your plate.

(For more motivation and strategies to keep you on track, click to download our radio episode as a podcast you can listen to while working out – or when avoiding that one weird relative who is coming over Thursday:)

3 Tips to Thrive Through the Holidays

http://www.audioacrobat.com/sa/W2g0916Q

The First Turkey Trot: Real Blunderbusses for the Finish Line!

4. Opt for a salad instead of dinner plate.  You’ll be inclined to eat less.  Most of us are visually triggered, so we stop adding food once our plate looks full, regardless of plate size.

5. Get up from the table when done. Do not sit with food in front of you calling your name á la “Little Shop of Horrors.” And don’t leave food just sitting out. You can end up eating an entire meal’s worth just from picking at the stuff that’s in front of you. Put it away right after the meal (or at least as soon as is politely possible). Your guests will  probably thank you. Ok, maybe thank you.

6. Put your mind over matter. If you’re a person who likes to talk to herself (like Alexandra does), just ask yourself this when you’re filling your plate, “Am I choosing this because I’m hungry or because it tastes good?” We aren’t here to say you “shouldn’t” this or “should” that, but the awareness will help you make a considered decision.

7. Go for a walk. What better way to spend quality time with your favorite rellies or friends than by putting on a jacket and getting outside?

Readers: What tips do you have to share? We’d love to know them, especially with December almost here!

Fill up with fitness solutions and some fun when you subscribe to our YouTube channel and blog. Follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit. Please also follow us on Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Or click on the icons in the right sidebar. We’ll be ever so Thanksgiving grateful!

Photo credits: via Creative Commons:  RBerteig (jumping turkey),  sassyarts (pilgrims walking)

A Spa Stay is the Perfect Way to Spend a Few Relaxing Days

We went to Rancho la Puerta spa in Tecate, Mexico last weekend, not to teach, but to hear author Dr. John Ratey speak about his book “Spark.” Have you heard of Rancho la Puerta? We’ve been going there as guest fitness instructors and presenters since the mid-80s, when Kymberly was first hired to teach fitness for them as part of the cruise ship staff.

The Ranch staff know how much Kymberly loves Dr. Ratey’s research and book about the link between exercise and the brain (more from Kymberly in an upcoming post about her dream-come-true experience of meeting Dr. Ratey, who is very droll and excellent company), so they invited us to come down while he was a presenting guest. Try to feel our pain, as we had to choose every hour between lectures, massages, pool classes, group fitness classes, hikes, meditation, and eating organic, vegetarian food. Yeah, exactly. Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful (trivia: did you know that Rancho la Puerta: Golden Door has a long history with Pantene?)

Actually, our pictures can show you some of the beauty that is the Ranch.

Breakfast is my favorite morning meal

The Ranch Kitties Participate in Meditation

These are just the "extra" Daily Activities

Look Ma, I'm Lounging

 Thank you LongSailSports, for the cool googles and GELIE bag! Perfect timing for this trip!

The Daily Quotes are Great, and I especially Love the Squirrel

I dedicate the picture above to John Poole, as he has a tremendous love for squirrels and their antics.

Dreams Do Come True: Eating with new Pals, including John Ratey

I'm Such a Plankster!

Did you know there are many activities you can do when you are (still) recovering from foot surgery? I even took a water class, then did laps, right after 3 miles on the bike and a mile on the treadmill. I was awesomely awesome somewhat nauseous afterward!

I Melted the Pool Water 'Cause I'm so Hot!

These Are Your Glutes on Ranch Fitness!

I was so gracious; I let them use my glutes as the model for these male torso sculptures.

The Butterfly Door at the Rec Center

My bedroom! Not really; it's the Library Lounge

My mind is a Labyrinth (so are the ground and the sculpture)

Every day at the Ranch, I was asked about my compression leggings and socks by Zensah. You don’t have to have foot surgery to be a fashionista, by the way!

Sunrise during the Breakfast Hike to the Organic Garden & Kitchen

Yes, I woke up at 5:45 to take the morning hike to the organic garden and kitchen for breakfast. But look at the picture below and you’ll see that it was totally worth it!

The Only Place at the Spa with a Secret Stash of Chocolate Chip Muffins

La Cocina que Canta: You Eat Where the Food is Grown

Before Kymberly left town to visit her daughter at college, she made this short video that has some gorgeous views of the Ranch. Take a look.

By the way, if you are considering a trip to the Ranch, don’t listen to the dire warnings about Mexico. Rancho la Puerta is only 43 miles east of San Diego, and about 2 miles over the border at Tecate. You are escorted the entire way in the Ranch shuttle and you never have to leave the spa (although we lots of people like to go into town for pinatas, chocolate, wine, lard-based donuts)!

Have you ever gone to a spa? What did you like best about it?

We want to give a shout-out here to our friends at Mr. Steam. They had nothing to do with our trip to Rancho la Puerta, but they do offer us the same feeling of spa luxury with their products. We’re proud to be ambassadors for them! 

A Full-Body Workout based on Dr. Seuss Quotes

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won!

Whenever you work out, you score points. Whenever you have fun you win at life! The more you work out and the more fun you have, the better your life, right?!

We were inspired by our friend Carla, who is a very dedicated Seuss follower, to make this Seussical workout as a birthday gift to her. Why? Because…

If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good.

In other words, time for squats, planks and some general “Cat in the Hat” house tomfoolery! We can only say that no furniture was harmed in the making of the cardio portion of this workout!

Squats: 10 Reps using Bar & Plates
Planks: Alternate sides and slowly drag arm/ leg back in.
Follow with heel rock-back plank and single-leg plank
Cardio: Walk, Jump, Flounce & Pounce for at least 15 minutes

Click here to view the embedded video.

My life is good. My life is fun. I wish this life for everyone (okay, Dr. Seuss didn’t really say this; I made it up).

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss quote? And what would your workout look like?

Illustration credit: Mamiverse.com