Supernatural Botanicals

For years, Jillian Michaels has come into our homes, teaching us her workout techniques on The Biggest Loser.  How does Jillian keep her near-perfect physique?  Jillian says “I usually go to the gym three to four times a week.  I work out hard when I go.  I just kill it, whether it’s doing kettlebells, mixed martial arts, Spinning classes or power yoga.  I get bored easily, so I need something that’s going to keep me focused.  I mix it up.  Everything I do is a combo of body resistance and cardiovascular endurance.” Jillian’s favorite workout is mixed martial arts.  Her most dreaded workout would be a marathon.  She says “You’re at mile 20, and you have six more to go, and your body is just battered and bleeding and miserable.  I would rather be dead.”

Check out Fitness magazine’s July/August issue to learn more about Jillian Michaels’ signature workout style.

If you want a seriously sculpted body, it’s all about exercise.  There’s no way around it…beside starvation, and even starvation won’t make you sculpted.  Try this to carve amazing abs for yourself.

1. Begin it with 5 minutes of jogging to warm up.
2. Follow it with 2 minutes of sprinting
3. Slow down your jogging pace for the next 5 minutes
4. Sprint again for 2 minutes
5. Return to jogging for 5 minutes

If you workout regularly, you’ve probably had an injury or two.  That, however, is not a reason to give up your workouts until you feel healed.  In fact, as you are healing from an injury, you should not stop exercising.  Activity delivers oxygen and nutrients that help your body repair itself. Sure, take it easier.  Consider training with less weight and intensity, but by all means, don’t stop exercising.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAIBxubYUy8v

In addition to daily yoga workouts, Trish swears by circuit training and squats.  “The little secret things I do:  100 Squats.  You’d be surprised how much development can come from doing 100 freestyle squats using your own body weight.”  Trish Stratus, cover girl and wrestling champion, on workout secrets.

Lifting weights will burn calories for up to 38 hours after your workout!  Strength train with weights at least twice a weeek to charge your metabolism and burn calories longer, not to mention, give you a long, lean, sculpted body.  If you are a cardio-queen, yet feel like your weight loss is stalling…add two days of strength training to your schedule and watch your body lean down in 3….2….1.

Celebrity renowned makeup  artist, Bobbi Brown, is set to open a gym next door to her makeup store in Montclair, New Jersey with her personal trainer husband, Steven Plofker.

“If any of you have seen my shows, you know that I don’t skimp on them and the same is true for the gym. We spend what it takes to make a globally first-class gym. Our plan is to use Mexico as a place to fine-tune our brand and then expand it to other countries and, in the long term, develop a global brand that includes the United States.”  …Madonna on her newly opened Hard Candy gym in Mexico

If your workout spark is starting to fizzle, torch it back up and excite your senses by adding some new workout clothes or gadgets to your repertoire.  Nothing makes you want to do yoga or Pilates more than a new pair of great-fitting yoga pants and a shape-hugging yoga top, or taking a step class with a new pair of cool gym shoes, or hitting the treadmill with the shortest girly workout shorts you can find.

By a new piece of equipment such as a jump rope, a new workout DVD, a trampoline, a heart rate monitor, resistance bands, a stability ball, or a Bosu ball to peak your workout erogenous zones.  It changes up your routine, keeps it fresh, and keeps you on your A game.

_________________________________________________________________

Yoga pants by Victoria Secret

Two things I adore in the gym are the Bosu balls and the steps (for aerobics), so my excitement level advanced to a full DEFCON 1 when I found out about this new hybrid called the Step 360.  It’s a hybrid of the step and the Bosu ball.

Excellent for cardio and strength workouts, and because the platform is supported by two air chambers, and you’ll get a tough balance challenge as well.  It features platform anchors that allows you to loop in a resistance band for strength moves and its grips make planks and push-ups doable.

Be one of the first to snag a Step 360 for yourself.  Jump over to Shape for your chance to win one.