National Employee Health and Fitness Day: May 20th

The National Association for Health and Fitness (NAHF) is a non-profit organization that exists to improve the quality of life for individuals in the United States through the promotion of physical fitness, sports and healthy lifestyles.

NAHF accomplishes this work by fostering and supporting Governor’s and State Councils and coalitions that promote and encourages regular physical activity. Many states have active councils that promote physical activity for persons of all ages and abilities. Governor and State Councils represent the grassroots programs that encourage the need for and benefits of regular physical activity, reaching more than 215 million people through state and local programs.

National Employee Health & Fitness Day™ is the third (3rd) Wednesday in May each year...that's TODAY! Administered annually by the National Association for Health & Fitness, NEHF is a national health observance, created to promote the benefits of physical activity for individuals through their work site health promotion activities. Founded in 1989 National Employee Health and Fitness Day has enlisted tens of thousands of participants from employers around the world.

In recognition of NEHF Day Make It Fit is offering annual memberships to our site for only 99 cents/month. That's a total of only $11.88 for the year! How can you beat that price for access to online exercise 24-7? Check it out!

Fitness Bailout for ALL Ohioans: May 20th!

In conjunction with “National Employee Health and Fitness Day” on May 20, 2009, Make It Fit is helping all residents of Ohio afford to “fit” fitness into their finances this year by donating their services for almost nothing.

Make It Fit is offering all Ohio residents an annual membership to http://www.youcanmakeitfit.com/ for only 99 cents a month if they sign up on “Fitness Bailout Day” during the hours of 6am to midnight. The goal is to let the community know that there is a way to stay active during these tough economical times without breaking the bank.

New members will immediately have access to a large library of streaming fitness videos, fitness podcasts, and printable workouts, along with other weight management tools such as nutrition information and diet plans. These tools provide the user with an excellent opportunity to exercise at home, in the office, or on the road, all on their own schedule, with experienced fitness professionals to guide and motivate them.

The idea for this initiative stemmed from the news out of the Center for Disease Control ranking the U.S. states from heaviest to lightest. MAKE IT FIT™ launched an initiative at the start of 2009 to offer their services for this reduced rate to all residents of the heaviest states across the country. Over the past several months as the economy has taken a nose dive, the company fast tracked this initiative to try and reach as many Americans as possible to help them see that exercise doesn’t have to become a casualty of the economic downturn.

By joining MAKE IT FIT™, residents will find a wide variety of streaming and downloadable workouts including strength training, cardio, abs, mind-body, pre- and post-natal programs, office exercises and more. Members will also find ways to get their families active and to stay fit while traveling. These include kids’ programs, classes designed to be done in a hotel room and podcasts for “on the go” workouts. There are classes and workouts suited for all fitness levels, including currently sedentary or very overweight individuals. Later this year, MAKE IT FIT™ will add a structured Beginner’s Program that will guide those people new to exercise through a several-month progression designed to help them gradually add more activity into their lives in a way that is suitable for their fitness level.

For more information on MAKE IT FIT™, visit the website or call (305) 322-8595. To take advantage of the 99 cent/month offer to all Ohio residents, simply log onto http://www.youcanmakeitfit.com/ on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 between the hours of 6am and midnight and click on the “Fitness Bailout Day” link on the home page for information on how to sign up.

Tips for Making the Most of Your Score

So now that you have rated your motivation level for exercise and found your "score", at least you know where you stand. Now it's time to take a look at what you can do to either improve your motivation or actually find time to fit fitness into your day.

If you rated yourself below a “5” on the scale, here are a few ideas that may help you increase your motivation for exercise:

1. Write your “Why Should I?” list. Take a few minutes to list all the reasons to become more physically active that are important to you. (Do not include reasons that are important to other people or that you think “should” be meaningful to you.) When writing our list, think about how exercise may make you feel, how your life might be better when you are active and what outcomes and results you’ll get from it.

2. Write your “What If I Don’t?” list. Think about what might happen or what life will be like if ou decide NOT to get or stay physically active. Will there be any negative consequences? How will you feel about yourself? What will your health be like? How might your decision affect
your future?

3. Use your lists to your benefit. When you review your lists, take particular notice of any thoughts you wrote that really make you feel a strong emotion when you think about them. These are the powerful motivators that can help you get or stay active. You need to find a way to remind yourself daily of these motivators and the emotions that go along with them. For example, if exercise is important to you because you want to be healthy and fit to enjoy playing with your children, consider putting pictures of your kids in places you’ll see them when you may be faced with the decision to exercise or not. If you have trouble breaking from work for exercise; put the pictures on your computer; if you would default to television instead of exercise; put a small picture of them on the remote control.

If you rated yourself a “5” or above on the motivation scale, here are a few practical suggestions for fitting fitness into your busy schedule:

1. Do more of what you love (or at least like). If you’re not a “gym person”, then stop making resolutions to get to the gym! The best types of exercise are those you will actually do regularly, so choose your favorites and set your sights on incorporating more of those. Anything that gets you moving is good – rollerblading, gardening, walking, kickboxing, fitness videos, tonight on your living room floor.

2. Recognize the benefits of the small stuff. If you’re doing very little activity or none at all, then even small amounts can make a difference. A few minutes here and there adds up, so if you truly don’t have a chunk of 30 or 45 minutes at a time to devote to activity, you shouldn’t use that as an excuse not to do it at all. If you’re tight on time on a particular day, you could take the stairs at work several times during work, walk for 15 minutes on your lunch break and then run around with your kids in the yard for 10 or 15 minutes when you get home.

3. Be flexible and realistic. If you have an inconsistent schedule and are unable to commit to a “regular” exercise routine every week, spend a few minutes with your calendar at the start of each week to identify a few times you can commit to. Taking into account your scheduling opportunities and constraints that week, make a commitment that you are fairly confident you can achieve, even if it’s different than the week before.

4. Plan for your obstacles in advance. When you’ve decided what you’ll do for exercise and when, ask yourself: What might get in the way of my exercise this week? What challenges am I likely to face in meeting my goal? And then come up with one or two realistic strategies that will address your barriers. For example, if your biggest challenge will be that you don’t like to exercise alone; consider finding a friend to join you, going to a fitness class where there will be other people or getting your kids involved.

5. Go High-Tech! If you need a quick workout you can do virtually anywhere with little or no equipment, you can find a solution online. Sign up for an inexpensive membership to Make It Fit for access to fitness videos, podcasts and printable workouts you can do in your home, office or even on the road with little or no equipment.

Office Workouts Help You Find the Time for Fitness

Let’s be honest, when something is really important to us we find a way to fit it into our life, at least in small doses anyways. It's all about prioritizing. If your life right now is chronically busy and over scheduled, you need to decide whether or not it’s important to spend some time and energy on physical activity, even if that means taking time and energy away from other things you do. It can also mean finding those pockets of time during your day to fit fitness in your schedule. That can be as easy as utilizing one of the office workouts on Make It Fit during your lunch break or woking a walk into your morning or evening routine.

When you’re relaxed and clear-minded, use the following numbers to rate your motivation to get or stay active. (When you think about “regular” activity, envision a type and amount of exercise that feels realistic to you – even if it’s only a few minutes per day more than what you’re doing now.)

1: Definitely do not want to be more active
2: Not very motivated at all; low priority
3: A little motivated; low to medium priority
4: Somewhat motivated; low-medium priority
5: Fairly motivated, at least most of the time; med priority
6: Motivated; one of my high priorities
7: Very motivated; high priority
8: Extremely motivated: will do whatever it takes

If you rated yourself below a “5”, exercise may not be a big enough priority in your life for you to expect to be able to find time for it on a regular basis. Your best bet is to do some “thinking” work that may make you feel more emotionally committed to physical fitness before you set an action goal.

If you rated yourself a “5” or above, then you probably just need a few practical suggestions for fitting fitness into your busy schedule. Check back with us next time when we will give you some suggestions on how to find time and motivation for fitness based on your score in this exercise.

More Spring Break Tips...Stay Active with Your Family

Yesterday we discussed a two tips to help you stay fit when vacationing...Going High-tech and Bringing a Band! Today, let's take it a step further. Here are three more ways to make sure you still get exercise while enjoying that relaxing getaway with your family this Spring Break.

Tip 3: Work the water. Whether you’re poolside, lakeside or oceanside, you can use the water for a refreshing bout of exercise. Go back and forth between swimming laps and jogging in chest-deep water; use a flotation device to keep your feet off the ground while you cycle your legs and paddle your arms; or simply tread water for 30-60 seconds at a time, resting in between sets.

Tip 4: Discover something new. Exercise often feels more enjoyable when you’re exploring new surroundings. Get to know your vacation spot a little better by planning some walks or bike rides to places you haven’t yet gone.

Tip 5: Active Family Time. Play with your kids. Jump in the water with them instead of standing by the wayside, get in on their game of tag or join them for a bike ride. If your children aren’t moving on their own, vacation is a great chance to minimize screen time and try some new activities together.

Most importantly enjoy your time away with your family in an active way. Engage in the time you have together and stay moving! You will come home to find yourself happier, healthier and refreshed!

Spring Break Doesn't Mean a Break from Exercise...Printable Workouts Can Help!

Spring Break is upon is and that means it's time to head to the beach! But a vacation doesn't have to throw you off the exercise wagon altogether. Taking too long a break from your normal exercise routine can make you lose some of the progress you worked so hard to achieve.

Over the next few days we are going to share some practical tips to help you stay fit, even when you're not at home.

Today's tips: Go high-tech...and Bring a Band!

Tip 1: Go high-tech: If you are staying in a hotel or vacation house with no exercise facility you don't have to eliminate exercise from your schedule. Take advantage of Make It Fit’s online fitness videos! Take your laptop with you and choose a workout from our selection. Many of our videos can be done in a small space – even in a typical hotel room - with minimal or no equipment.

Tip 2: Bring a Band: If you pack a resistance band in your suitcase you can get your strength training in anywhere, anytime. SPRI has a band you can get for about $7. You can then find a printable workout for a full-body resistance band routine in our workout library. No more excuses!

Check back in with us tomorrow for more tips to make sure your spring vacation doesn't set you back on your fitness regimen.

Fitness Bailout...Spread the Word Across Kansas & Missouri!

Spread the word... If you, or anyone you know, lives in Kansas or Missouri you can take advantage of our Fitness Bailout initiative next week!

We are helping all residents of these Heartland states afford to “fit” fitness into their finances this year by donating our services for almost nothing. Make It Fit is offering all residents of Kansas and Missouri an annual membership to http://www.youcanmakeitfit.com/ for only 99 cents a month if they sign up on Tuesday April 14, 2009 during the hours of 6am to midnight CDT.

Residents who log onto the site on “Fitness Bailout Day” and sign up for the virtually free membership will immediately have access to a large library of streaming fitness videos, fitness podcasts, and printable workouts, along with other weight management tools such as nutrition information and diet plans. These tools provide the user with an excellent opportunity to exercise at home, in the office, or on the road, all on their own schedule, with experienced fitness professionals to guide and motivate them.

A membership to MAKE IT FIT™ is normally priced at $14.95 per month. That is significantly less than a gym membership, but still out of reach for some people who are eliminating the cost of exercise as a way of tightening their belts. Through the “Fitness Bailout” initiative we hope to help thousands of residents fit fitness into their monthly budgets at the small cost of only 99 cents.

The country is going through a tough time of national economic struggle which makes it difficult for many people to pay for a gym membership or hire a personal trainer to guide and motivate them through the uphill battle of weight loss. We truly hope that through this initiative we can give more people access to convenient fitness tools for a price that everyone can certainly afford right now.

By joining MAKE IT FIT™, residents will find a wide variety of streaming and downloadable workouts including strength training, cardio, abs, mind-body, pre- and post-natal programs, office exercises and more. Members will also find ways to get their families active and to stay fit while traveling. These include kids’ programs, classes designed to be done in a hotel room and podcasts for “on the go” workouts. There are classes and workouts suited for all fitness levels, including currently sedentary or very overweight individuals. Later this year, MAKE IT FIT™ will add a structured Beginner’s Program that will guide those people new to exercise through a several-month progression designed to help them gradually add more activity into their lives in a way that is suitable for their fitness level.

To take advantage of the 99 cent/month offer to all Kansas and Missouri residents, simply log onto http://www.youcanmakeitfit.com/ on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 between the hours of 6am and midnight CDT and click on the “Fitness Bailout Day” link on the home page for information on how to sign up.