maia

There’s nothing better than free, especially when it’s a valuable commodity. There’s also nothing more valuable than being your fittest and healthiest. Now you can get a free week of P90X, at the WorX in Alexandria, VA. There are no strings attached, just a week of a great workout and fun. That’s right. P90X is short for Power 90 Extreme. Originally, it was meant as an at-home workout program, but let’s face it, when you work out alone it’s not only hard to stay motivated, it’s not nearly as much fun as doing it in a group. You’re more likely to stick with it and the cost is far less to try it out…free is about as inexpensive as it gets.

You’ll work hard, but never be bored.

The program is varied. It’s based on a wide selection of different types of workouts. The originator, Tony Horton calls the mixed workout, “muscle confusion” because your muscles never get to settle into a repetitive movement and you keep them working hard. It’s a circuit style training that moves you quickly from one workout to another and has parts of other fitness modes lie kickboxing, cardio, yoga and plyometrics.

There’s a wide variety of workouts focusing on different types of movements and different body areas.

While the exercises may be traditional, the manner you carry them out aren’t. If you’re working on back muscles, you might start with pushups, move quickly to rowing with dumbbells or using resistance bands. Another reason it’s better to do the workout with us is that even though you can spend quite a bit to order it, when you need equipment, it doesn’t come with the course, so you have to invest even more. We supply all the equipment you need.

You get more from a workout when you vary it frequently.

Studies show that varying your routine often helps build muscles faster and prevents plateauing. Plateauing occurs when the muscles become adept at doing a specific move, due to repetition. As it becomes more efficient, you’ll burn fewer calories. That’s why you only do routines for three weeks and switch to a new workout program on the fourth. After three weeks of that, you switch to another, then four weeks later back to the first.

• P90X isn’t for the faint-hearted or anyone that wants to glide through their workout without breaking a sweat. It’s tough!
• You can’t out-exercise a bad diet, so there’s nutritional advice ready if you need it.
• When you workout at The WorX, you get the advantage of an accountability program that helps you clarify your goals and stick with it.
• You’ll love the changes you see in such a short time and be ready to take up the challenge and go for more. It’s a perfect example of how much fun getting fit can be when you’re working with others who have similar goals.

Whether you’re eating healthier for weight loss or to become fitter, it’s hard to stick to your diet, especially if you don’t have anyone supporting you. If your family insists on sitting at a table filled with fried or fast foods and your whole goal is to eat fresh and healthy, you find yourself struggling with your resolve, at best, feeling disdain for your family or at worse, giving up entirely. There are solutions to this problem.

Remember, it’s your decision, and not theirs to make.

People may not be ready to eat healthier and you’re reminding them with every bite that they should. They may feel threatened that if you change, you’ll leave them behind in the dust, change your overall relationship—especially true where the other person is the dominant one—or simply don’t believe you’ll stick with it. You must remember, no matter what they THINK, ultimately you decide whether you’re going to eat healthier or not.

You might need to ask for their support.

Some people just aren’t aware that you need their help or are in the dark why you made the decision to eat healthier. Share your plans with your family and tell them that you need help. Approach it as a healthier eating style, rather than a diet and see if they’d like to join you in it. You may get some moans and groans, but if you focus on yummy recipes, fixing your food separately and only sharing a bite after they beg, you’ll often find each one slowly jumping on the bandwagon of healthy eating.

Find people who do offer support.

Your healthy eating family doesn’t have to be your immediate family. It can be friends who share your interest or are just super supportive or a group class at the gym. You’ll often be surprised that most of these people would love support from you, too. That’s one reason I’m proud of the program we have here. Not only are the trainer’s super supportive, all the members are too.

• Plan, plan, plan. To make it easier, create menus for yourself, shop and prepare a week’s worth of meals over the weekend. You won’t have to rush around when you’re exhausted after work and be tempted to stop at Burger Quickie.
• Eating healthy doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. Start introducing your family to healthier foods, supplementing their meals with traditional favorites. Eventually, change those recipes to healthier ones. Be careful, do it slowly, or they’ll notice.
• Focus on flavor. Learn to add more herbs and spices to create new, more exotic tastes.
• Have snacks ready to eat. If you have a bowl of cut up watermelon in the refrigerator, you’ll be more likely to eat it rather than searching for a sugary treat. Have healthy snacks like veggies, dip and nuts and seeds ready.

No matter who you are, there’s always a voice in your head giving you reasons not to workout that day. Sometimes, those voices are barely perceptible and don’t affect your dedication. However, at other times they scream and are your biggest fitness hurdles. Some of these seem like legitimate reasons, but they fall apart when you actually analyze them.

Time is a huge factor for many people, but it shouldn’t be.

No matter how busy you are, getting in shape should remain a high priority. Good health allows you to remain on the job, beat the stress of the day and enjoy your life more. One method of battling this block is to consider the extra energy that exercise and healthy lifestyle brings, you realize getting fit can actually be a time saver, helping you get through tasks faster and having energy left at the end of the day to enjoy.

Self-consciousness and embarrassment can stop you from exercising with others.

Whether you should feel embarrassed or not about your body image or understanding of fitness doesn’t make a difference. Almost everyone feels awkward and uncomfortable the first few times at the gym. Even if it nobody judges, the potential it might happen could stop you from working out and shouldn’t. At the Worx, everyone is friendly and that comradery makes it fun. The best way to overcome this hurdle is to remember that these are strangers and you don’t need to impress them or worry about what they say. Of course, it only takes a week or two of working out to realize nobody is judgmental. In fact, our one week free trial is a good way to do it.

Financial reasons may seem legitimate, but not if you look at it closely.

Look at your budget closely and see if you spend slightly over a few dollars a day on unnecessary items. The price of a Starbucks grande coffee that many people pick up on their way to work is a few dollars and that candy bar you pick up at the gas station counter or grocery on the way home adds another few. We offer an online service to guide you that’s just slightly over $2 a day, making it very affordable and another hurdle breaker is realizing it costs you nothing to workout at home.

Sometimes people think exercising is boring. That’s only because they haven’t been challenged with exciting programs like Group Fitness P90X.

Sometimes health conditions or fear of injury can stop people. If your doctor said it would be bad for your health, then it’s a definite NO. However, most people simply worry without basis, particularly if they have personal trainer that considers their special needs.

Eating healthy shouldn’t be a problem, but when you’re first learning what to change, a sample diet is helpful.

Running out of day before you exercise is a hurdle many people face. That’s one reason signing up for boot camps or using a personal trainer is so effective. It’s a scheduled appointment. You can do the same even if you workout at home by putting your workout in your schedule and make it an appointment with good health.

Too many people get discouraged when it comes to achieving their fitness goal. They don’t see the results in the first few days, so they give up. If you keep the prize in mind, your goal, and persevere, you’ll be amazed to see what happens if you don’t give up. You’ll achieve far more than you ever expected possible, while looking and feeling fitter than ever.

Becoming overweight and out of shape didn’t occur overnight.

You didn’t go to bed one night and wake up the next morning 20, 30 or 40 pounds heavier. It happened over time. Don’t expect the change to be sudden. However, it can be quicker than you think to see some results from your efforts, especially if you follow the plan we created together to a T. The amount of rewards you get back are directly proportional to the amount of effort you put into anything. Keep at it and you’ll achieve any goal you really want.

Never quit believing.

The power of belief can take you a long way toward success. When you first start working out and eating healthier, you may so no improvement for a few days. Suddenly, as if by magic, you’ll shed a pound or two. The belief in a program of healthy eating and regular exercise, plus the belief in your own abilities to change your future kept you going until you saw the results you hoped to achieve. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING!

If you doubt anything can help, use that to your advantage.

Sometimes, everyone gets discouraged. I see it all the time with people who come to me for help. They’ve tried to lose weight before and either didn’t succeed, quit after a few pounds or lost the weight they wanted, then regained it again. They never made the changes in their daily habits that are necessary for permanent success. I tell those doubting people they have to follow my instructions to the letter in order to prove me wrong. If it doesn’t work when you do that, you can say, “I told you so.” In fact, I even recommend they take the special 21-day training, follow everything and see what happens. I know they can succeed, just like you can, because I believe that everyone has the ability to get back into shape.

Drink plenty of water on your way to fitness. That may sound odd, but water not only helps you lose weight, with your new workout plan, you’ll need to replenish and rehydrate.

Make smarter choices when it comes to food. I won’t give you a diet, but help you learn how to eat healthier. The combination of healthy eating and regular exercise takes weight off faster.

Always believe you can achieve. Don’t weigh yourself every two hours to see if you weigh less. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time. Even if you don’t shed a pound, you’ll probably lose inches.

Take note of other signs of improved fitness, such as more endurance, strength and flexibility. Appreciate every gain you’ve made on your road to getting fitter.

If you’ve worked out before but found it almost impossible to stay mentally motivated, which ultimately led you to quit, you probably had the wrong workout program. While any program for getting into shape will help if you follow through diligently, it’s not always that easy. Having one that’s made specifically for your needs will give you the best results. It should be hard and challenge you, but not so hard that you get discouraged and give up in the process. That’s why using a personal trainer can be so helpful. Trainer’s make sure the program works for your level of fitness and fitness needs.

You should have fun with your workout.

One of the reasons I recommend group training is that it’s so much more fun than working out alone. You have the group energy that helps boost you up when you’re down and drives you harder when you’re feeling your best. Having fun while you workout makes you look forward to the next session and that’s a huge part of recipe for success.

Learn to do just one more.

Most of the people I work with are happy when they’ve accomplished their goals, but some of the most successful people that get the biggest results are those with the “one more” attitude. Whether they’re struggling to achieve their goals or mastered a workout, they use the attitude of just one more. Before they give up they focus on doing just one more and do the same after that. Tackling the last few push-ups, weights or other exercise with the attitude of just one more gets you to your goal before you know it and then helps you surpass it.

Keep your exercise program varied.

One reason we vary the exercise programs so much is to prevent plateauing. Plateauing occurs when your body becomes too efficient at doing a specific movement. While efficiency is normally good, when you exercise it means you don’t burn as many calories. Of course, varying your workout also helps keep you mentally focused and prevents boredom that can occur from doing the same routine repeatedly.

When you workout, keep your mind focused on the movement of each muscle and muscle group. You’ll be amazed at how much command you start to develop over your body.

Have big goals, but also break them down to smaller ones. While your overall goal may be huge, having smaller, more easily accomplished goals can help keep your head in the game.

Check out your progress in other ways besides loss of inches or weight. When you realize you can workout five minutes longer than you did a week before without getting winded or are able to lift five more pounds, you’ll get a boost of satisfaction to keep you mentally focused.

Keep your eye on the prize. Always keep your goal in mind. It helps you stay more mentally motivated.