Movin’ Mondays: Walking is just as good as Running

Okay, here’s a new segment for all you Girlnetics out there. On Mondays we’re going to give a cool way to get your body
moving. This means any fast cardio, dance classes, or walking exercises that help burn calories, tone your body, or even give you an idea for a physical activity to do with a friend.

Today I am going to talk about running/walking intervals. There are many days where I want to burn calories and work up a sweat, but the motivation to keep a steady 5K or 10K running pace is not there. So I walk.

However, there are other options when it comes to running and walking.

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Fit Friday Roundup: Setting No Nonsense Weight Loss Goals, How To Stay Healthy While Traveling and More!

Setting No Nonsense Weight Loss Goals – 4 Tips: Establishing weight loss goals can be a stressful and intimidating task, especially if you don’t know where to start.  With these four tips you can be on your way to a better, healthier you in no time.

Maximizing Your Cardio Workout Results: Here are some simple power tips that can maximize your cardio results. And you don’t have to spend hours at the gym.

How To Stay Healthy While Traveling: Being adventurous doesn’t mean you have to abandon all your healthy habits. Follow these tips from The Daily Meal on how you can stay healthy while traveling.

Soles For Souls, Changing the World One Pair at a Time: Have an old pair of running shoes you no longer wear? Donate it to Soles For Souls, a non-profit organization that collects new shoes to give relief to the victims of abject suffering and collects used shoes to support micro-business efforts to eradicate poverty.

30 Winter Foods To Help You Lose Weight: Stock your shopping cart with these fresh, fat-fighting picks — and whip them up using iVillage.com’s delicious recipes.

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Fit Friday Roundup: The Fit Woman’s Guide to Body Fat, Female Athletes Who Changed the World and More!

Valentine's Day ChocolatesThe Fit Woman’s Guide to Body Fat: Here’s how to track your body fat – and where you store it – for a more accurate barometer of your fit success.

Homemade Milk Chocolate Heart Candy Recipe: Valentine’s Day is around the corner! Here’s a perfect way to say “I love you” to your sweetheart without going broke.

Black History Month – Female Athletes Who Changed the World: In celebration of Black History Month, PrettyTough.com honors Black female athletes who’ve contributed to the soul of sports, and have changed the world.

Winter-Proof Your Skin: Our Winter Skincare Guide: Winter can do damage to even those with usually great skin. Get soft, smooth skin all winter with this personalized winter skincare plan.

Puppy Bowl VIII Highlights: Yeah, this has nothing to do with fitness but we, at Girlnetic, love animals, especially puppies. Check out the highlights from Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl VIII.

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Girlnetic Jumpstart Into Fitness 30-Day Challenge

Girlnetic 30-Day Fitness ChallengeResearch shows that it takes 30 consecutive days of similar behavior to form a habit. We know it’s easy to gravitate towards unhealthy habits especially during cold winter days when all you want to do is snuggle in your couch and watch the boob tube, but GFSC is all about helping you become a healthier, more fit version of yourself and that is why we’ve created a challenge to get you moving in exchange for great rewards!

How the Challenge Works

  • Get your girlfriends together to form a G-Squad (but it’s okay for you to participate alone)
  • Register yourself or your G-Squad
  • Starting May 1 and for the next 30 days, your G-Squad must commit to exercise every day, tracking your progress online, attending Girlnetic events, losing weight, gaining muscle, and forming new friendships
  • At the end of each successful week, your G-Squad will win great prizes from GFSC sponsors, and a grand prize will be rewarded to the G-Squad who have made and shown the most progress

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Girlnetic Approved: Running To Fitness Audio Program

Running with musicI was kind of geeked to try out the Running to Fitness for two reasons: (1) next up on my bucket list is to run a marathon and (2) music is my bestie when it comes to running. Music provides the tone for my run; it urges me to push forward when I come across a hill and puts a smile across my face when I’m tuckered out.

There appears to be a gazillion mixes and podcasts out there on the World Wide Web that offer coaching geared to improving your cadence and speed. But there aren’t many of them designed to get you motivated before you even lace up those sneakers.

I found Running to Fitness easy to download to my MP3 player (you can also put it on your phone)! Before I headed off on my run, I decided to give this 85 minute program a whirl at work. Let’s just say, while listening to this audio at work someone had a very productive day. It’s like having a personal trainer and a motivational speaker in your ear buds!

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Fit Friday Roundup: The Lazy Girl’s Guide To Getting Fit, February 4th is World Cancer Day and More!

SelfChec.comThe Lazy Girl’s Guide To Getting Fit: Most of us made it our New Year’s resolution to get in better shape, but how many of us have actually made it happen? The Daily Makeover tells you how “to get your butt of the couch and working out”.

10 Mouthwatering Low-Cal Desserts: Shape.com‘s 10 cold-weather desserts that deliver decadent flavor for shockingly few calories to keep you slim until spring.

The Low Down on Carbs: No, carbs is not your enemy and should not be completely shut out of your life. For those who disagree, read this article via EmpowHer.com.

February 4th is World Cancer Day: Did you know that 7 out of every 10 Americans die from a preventable and mismanaged chronic disease? Why be reactive when you can be proactive? Learn more about how you can be proactive at Self Chec’s official website.

Simple Ways To Get the Body You Want: Whether you want to lose that last five pounds, flatten your stomach or add muscle definition, SheKnows.com has some tips for getting the results you want.

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How to Stay Motivated and Turn Your Health and Fitness Resolution into a Lifestyle by Andy McDermott, IronCrossFitness.com

Girl with scaleBeginning the year with a new commitment to fitness and health is a fantastic start! It can be tough to stick with it, but not if we develop habits that become our lifestyle, instead of just a “get rich quick scheme.”

First, at the risk of sounding angry (I’m a happy fellow!), I want to talk about a few things I don’t like:

Diets. That’s a bad word! It connotates something temporary, as in “I’m going on a diet.” Eventually, you’ll have to go off that diet, and a lot of folks gravitate back to what they had been doing forever.

Scales. Please, put those things away! Numbers can be misleading and discouraging. You can have a great day of intake, have an inspired workout, and then weigh a couple more pounds than you did the day before. If you MUST weigh-in, then wait at least a month in between checking! Instead, measure yourself by how you feel, how you look, and how your clothes fit.

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5 Adventurous Fitness Activities to Try this Year

Tree obstacle courseLike most women, I get bored easily when I follow the same fitness routine. So how do I keep things fresh and exciting? Simply by adding variety of activities found beyond the gym–in my case, all over the east coast!

Top Adventure Course in the Adirondacks, Bolton Landing, NY

This elevated obstacle course set in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains is securely suspended between the trees at 10 to 50 feet off the ground with courses that includes giant Tyrolean Zip lines, suspended bridges, swings, slides, nets and even an aerial surf board.

Try it at Adirondack Extreme Adventure Course. Cost is $45 per person for 3+ hours of tree-to-tree adventure.

Snowshoeing in the Green Mountain National Forest, VT

Cost is FREE! Find a trail through the Vermont Outdoor Guide Association.

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30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge at Bikram Yoga of Fairfax

Reggie Meneses, Bikram Yoga of Fairfax, VAThe past 30 days were filled with a lot of dripping sweat, deep breathing, and a new found appreciation for my body. I decided to try an Ayurvedic lifestyle,  which health is believed to be an integration between the body, mind, spirit and the environment; emphasizing the mind and body connection. A friend of mine recommended kicking this lifestyle off with 30 days of yoga. So I chose to take that challenge, but with a more intensed activity such as Bikram yoga, also known as hot yoga.

One must be a little insane to throw themselves in an oven that’s heated to 105 degrees and move through 26 poses – that’s what the intense practice of hot yoga entails.  I’m grateful to Reggie Meneses at Bikram Yoga of Fairfax for breaking my yoga cherry. I was beyond anxious and had my mind set on a Hellish experience. Keep on reading to find out what it was like from day one to day 31.

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Member Spotlight: Katie Freeman and Sharla Aiken

GFSC-Albany Launch PartyEvery month, we like to share the story of one fabulous Girlnetic member – why she joined, why she loves Girlnetic, her favorite events, and so on – but this month, we’re featuring not one, but two members. These two Albany members, Katie and Sharla, forged a fast friendship by joining Girlnetic and participating in events.

GFSC: Why did you join Girlnetic?

Katie Freeman: I moved to the Albany area in January.  My husband and I don’t have any family around here and we didn’t really know anyone when we moved here.  I love fitness, and meeting people, so when I saw the Girlnetic group online it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do both of those things, and it definitely has been!

Sharla Aiken: I really wanted to connect with other women who have or are working towards having a healthier lifestyle.

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