Post Thanksgiving trim down

Hi fellow food and fitness fans,

(how's that for alliteration?)

One week ago, we all ate ourselves into oblivion, right? I know I did. Now's the time to buckle down so we can move that buckle down (belt buckle...did you get the pun? did ya? did ya?) I don't know about you, but I officially have approximately 1 month to look awesome in my New Year's Eve outfit, and I don't believe in waiting until a new year to start a resolution.

Boston is a big running city, and those hard-core runners keep it up during the winter. But I have a specific problem of which I'm sure many people share: I'm allergic to the cold. Okay, allergic is a strong word...I strongly dislike being cold. And newsflash: Winters in Boston = @#$)*@%$ cold! (That was my way of saying an obscene word without actually saying the obscene word.) As one of the non-hardcore runners, I will not run until it's warm again. So what do we, as cold-fearing active people, do?

Here are some things I do that do not require venturing out into the arctic. Let's stay warm and cozy. Health benefit to this--Less chance for injury!

1st: STRETCH.
Do. not. forget. to. stretch. This is especially important during the winter months to reduce the risk of injury. The cold makes your muscles tight so warm them up BEFORE you stretch. Just walk around a bit, do 20 easy jumping jacks, or jog in place for a minute. That brief little warm up of your muscles before stretching is important to avoid pulling or overstretching during the cold weather.

2nd: INSANITY.
See my previous blog on this program here: Insanity: No word is more accurate. It's pretty Bee-Ay.**

3rd: AB ROUTINES.
Go to almost any fitness magazine and you will find a 10-15 minute ab routine. I'm working on testing the effectiveness of one I found. Research is in progress and blog will follow... (dot dot dot)

4th: YOGA.
Hot or cold. We all know I prefer Hell Yoga as I so blatantly explained in my blog Yoga on Fire.

5th: DANCE!
Dancing is done indoors so there's no need to be fearful of the cold. And it's common knowledge that dancing is my favorite thing evah! Just remember to warm up first!

Some good ideas that don't require a gym membership! New Year's Eve outfit, here I come!! 1 month and counting...now to just find the dress ;)

**Bee-Ay=phonetic way to say the letters B and A which together stand for a cuss word. If you don't get it, go away. just kidding. sort of.