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Fitness

The One Healthy Thing Fitness Experts Always Do on Thanksgiving Day

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Who doesn't love Thanksgiving—one of the few days of the year when you can put aside your usual healthy habits and pig out with no shame or judgment?

While we're totally on board with holiday indulgence, it's not a bad idea to try to do at least one food- or fitness-related move to keep your energy high, your mood bright, and successfully resist the urge to veg out on the couch after dinner nursing a monster food baby. To give you some inspiration, we asked fitness influencers, nutritionists, and Health staffers to tell us one thing they always do for mind-body health on Turkey Day.

RELATED: 11 Celeb-Approved Workouts for a Toned, Sculpted Butt

“I get out on the road early for a run before the festivities begin. I know later I most likely won’t have the time or energy. Running is also my 'me' time; on a day of giving thanks, it’s important to thank yourself for all you do! Having the ability to move, breathe, and share life with others makes me feel even more grateful. The crisp fall air and smell of fallen leaves doesn’t hurt in setting the mood either.”

—Rebecca Kennedy, New York based–fitness trainer

“I love taking recipes from Pinterest that look super yummy and find ways to make them healthier with organic and natural ingredients. It's fun because it's something the whole family can be part of. We're all cooking and being creative, and healthy!”

—Cassey Ho, fitness influencer and founder of Blogilates

“I always try to maintain a physical yoga practice during the holidays, even if it mean unrolling my mat in the one sliver of space that’s not occupied by a family member. It always helps me stay centered during what can be a very emotionally difficult time of the year and it helps validate my requisite gluttonous holiday meal choices. Plus, yogic twists make digestion of rich holiday food much easier.”

—Jessamyn Stanley, yogi and author of Every Body Yoga

“My mom, brother, dad, and I run our local turkey trot together. My mom and I always take the lead (sorry boys!), and we get a little bit competitive toward the end. I may have thrown out an 'eat my dust!' as I passed her in the final mile last year. But it's all in good fun!”

—Jacqueline Andriakos, senior editor at Health

“On Thanksgiving I pay close attention to my mind-body connection. It doesn't feel good to deprive myself, and it doesn't feel good to be stuffed and sluggish, so I make choices that allow me to feel both satisfied and energized simultaneously. This balance feels just right, both mentally and physically, and it's freeing to make choices motivated by feeling well, rather than numbers, rules, shoulds, or guilt!"

—Cynthia Sass, RD, Health contributing nutrition editor

RELATED: How to Handle the Holidays When You Have Food Intolerances

“Before we head to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner, I like to get in a workout with my younger brother. My dad built a mini-gym in our basement years ago, and now that my brother and I no longer live together (he's in college and I'm in New York), it's a fun way to bond, catch up, and sweat a little bit before stuffing our faces with food. Plus, he always has pointers for perfecting my weightlifting form or new exercises to try out (Thanks, Wyatt!).”

—Julia Naftulin, assistant digital editor at Health

“I just make sure to get a run in, walk before and after eating, and then also pace myself between the main course and dessert. I'm never one to wildly indulge and I think if you give yourself a bit of a break between the main course and dessert it allows you some time to spend with your family, in addition to being actually able to savor the deliciousness of the sweets.”

—Joe Holder, Nike master trainer

“Our Thanksgiving Day tradition (besides enjoying the meal) always includes exercise: We all go for a hike in the morning, followed by a stretching session, usually led by my daughter [fitness blogger and author] Katie, and then after the meal we put on loud music and dance around the house, inside and out! It’s a great way to keep your energy up and connect with the family!”

—Denise Austin, fitness expert and creator of LifeFit

“This Thanksgiving, I’ll be sneaking in an infrared sauna session. It’s a 30-minute sweat, so if I’m cooking all day and don’t have time to get my ass to the gym, it’s easy. And a good sweat definitely helps me mentally prepare for family dynamics!”

—Hannah Bronfman, DJ and founder of HBFIT

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“I always try to go for a run before the meal, but no matter my exercise plans, my family and I try to do something active together during the day. Some years, with a big crowd, that's been a casual touch football game. Other times, it's just a walk around the block. Anything to get moving and help avoid a total food coma!”

—Sarah Klein, senior editor at Health

“Every year, I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from a friend's house that overlooks the parade route. Her apartment is about a two-mile walk from my house, and I always walk there and back to fit some activity in before I feast later on. The brisk walk is my favorite way to wake up on one of my favorite days of the year!”

—Anthea Levi, assistant editor at Health

Years of Infertility and Miscarriages Sent Me Into a Spiral of Depression

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From the time she was small, Jessica Dolan wanted to be a mom. So not long after she and her boyfriend of nine years got married, they began trying to get pregnant. A year later, with no success, Jessica’s doctor sent her to a fertility clinic for help. Feeling hopeful, the couple began the intense process of in vitro fertilization, with every-other-day visits to the clinic for blood tests, exams, imaging, and injections of hormone-bolstering medications.

Then, in the summer of 2012, they received the news they’d been waiting for: Jessica was pregnant. “I was 37, and we were thrilled to be starting a family,” she recalls.

When she was six weeks along, Jessica started having menstrual-like cramps and feeling lightheaded. At first, she chalked it up to pregnancy, but when the symptoms persisted for several days, she went to her doctor. An ultrasound revealed that the fertilized egg had implanted in her fallopian tubes instead of her uterus—what’s known as an ectopic pregnancy—which meant it wouldn’t survive.

“I was crushed,” says Jessica. “The clock was ticking because of my age, but I dreaded starting the whole process over again.”

More heartbreak

Shell-shocked and in mourning, they took a year-and-a-half break to regroup, but by December 2013 they felt ready to try again. “My fertility doctor assured us that he’d never seen a woman have two ectopic pregnancies, and he was confident we’d be successful,” says Jessica. Indeed, in January 2014, she learned she was pregnant again.

At five weeks, however, she started having cramping again—and discovered that lightning can strike twice. This pregnancy, too, was ectopic. “Everyone at the fertility clinic was shocked, and I felt defective, like there was something terribly wrong with me if my body couldn’t do what it was supposed to do.”

With one frozen embryo left, Jessica and her husband decided to give it one final try. A month later, she had a positive pregnancy test—but at the following week’s office visit, a second test came back negative. “That false positive marked the end of our dreams,” says Jessica. “But giving up triggered a painful identity crisis. If I couldn’t have a child, who was I? What would I be if not a mom?”

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Rock bottom

Jessica spiraled into a dark, lonely place. She could barely get out of bed in the morning and began eating anything that made her feel better in the moment—pizza, ice cream, cookies. Over the next year she gained 30 pounds. “I was too depressed to work, and every morning I woke up and thought, ‘F**k, here goes another day.’ I couldn’t imagine what was going to become of my life.”

Still, there were fleeting moments when she felt more positive, and in one of those she downloaded the 7 Minute Workout app and pushed herself to start doing it. “I’d exercised off and on throughout my life, and even though I was ridiculously out of shape I figured I could do seven minutes,” she says.

WATCH THE VIDEO: Kayla Itsines’ Seven-Minute Full-Body Workout

After a few months, she started running on her treadmill and gradually built her endurance to 10 minutes, then 15, then 20. “Instead of beating myself up for doing so little, I told myself that every minute was a win,” she says. The more she exercised the better she felt—less anxious, more positive, more confident and capable. By early 2015 she had started a new career and began re-engaging with life.

Last June, ready to take her routine to the next level, Jessica hired a personal trainer. “He keeps me accountable and pushes me farther than I thought I could go. Now when he tells me to do 50 push-ups I don’t think, ‘Are you crazy?’ I just do it,” she says.

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Her weekly routine is intense. She gets up at 4 a.m. two mornings for a bootcamp class, does personal training two days, runs at least three miles every weekend, and takes hip-hop or ballroom dancing a few nights a week.

“The fog has lifted and I’m feeling great. I’ve lost weight, and I’m energized by life again,” says Jessica. “Without exercise I would have been lost. It shifted my thinking from negative to positive. It helped me embrace every day instead of dread it. All my life, exercise seemed like a chore, like something I should do but didn’t really want to do. Now I look forward to it, because I know it keeps my mind as healthy as my body. And it all started with a few minutes a day. That’s how powerful it is.”

Why Fitness Star Anna Victoria Wants Everyone to Stop Apologizing for ‘Bad’ Photos on Social Media

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Have you ever scrolled through photos from a night out with friends, only to worry about whether you look good enough in any of them to make the cut for Instagram? You're certainly not alone. Not even superstar fitness blogger Anna Victoria is immune to feeling insecure about what she looks like in a photo before deciding to post (or delete) it.

But when she caught herself feeling vulnerable before sharing a pic from a family vacation the other day, she took it as an opportunity to spread an important message about self-love.

RELATED: Does Makeup Belong in the Gym? Six Instagram Stars Share Their Thoughts

The social media star and trainer behind the Fit Body Guides posted a photo of herself playing in the waves in Hawaii with her niece on a family vacation. In the caption, she wrote, "Of course when I saw this photo I thought, 'soaked hair, slouched over, makeup all over,' I could go on. But how silly is that?"

"I'm not saying you have to love a 'bad' photo of yourself," she continued. "But don't hide away pictures of beautiful memories and beautiful moments with friends and family just because you don't like how you look."

RELATED: 5 Inspiring Fitness Influencers to Follow on Instagram

Victoria admits that she felt "nervous" about posting the shot originally, "because it's hard to be vulnerable and share your less-than-perfect moments," she tells Health. "But I wanted to use that photo as an example that what we look like is not more important than living life and making memories and documenting them."

It's not only so-called 'bad' pictures that Victoria wants women to stop worrying about or over-analyzing; it's also the pictures in which someone is totally happy with how they look. Often times, even when some people share a photo they actually love, they may still crack a joke or apologize for a flaw, she explains, as opposed to writing a positive message about why they love the shot or the story behind it.

"There's an element of, especially on social media, potentially coming across as just wanting attention if we proudly share a moment in which we feel beautiful. And to combat that, women will often point out a flaw that likely no one else would have noticed otherwise," Victoria explains. "I think society has conditioned women to avoid using language that would make them appear too into themselves, and we play into this by either refusing compliments or being self-deprecating."

So next time you go to post something on social media but feel a twinge of insecurity, just "own it," Victoria urges. "Share it without diminishing your beauty."

9 Things No One Tells You About Running a Marathon Post-Baby

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This article originally appeared on DailyBurn.com.

This guest post comes from Daily Burn 365 trainer, running coach and three-time marathoner Cheri Paige Fogleman, NASM CPT (pre- and post-natal certified). The opinions expressed below are her own, and should not replace medical advice. After giving birth, it’s recommended to get medical clearance before beginning any exercise/training program.

In so many ways training for a marathon is like being pregnant. Your sleep suffers, and yet all you want is more time in bed. Your thirst is off the charts, despite drinking water non-stop. You try to eat more (because you need more calories), but your belly just can’t handle it. You’d really like a glass of wine, but you know you shouldn’t.

Your every movement is also an attempt to protect your body from injury. You prepare for months for something that scares the crap out of you, and while you just want it to be over with already, you are also still so terrified (so really, let’s not rush things). Your body is totally uncomfortable and achy and you hurt in weird places, but you know that it’ll all be worth it, and you’ll be filled with joy once the big day comes.

So, why once you’ve had a baby would you want to run a marathon?

Well, on Sunday, November 5, there I was — jammed into the corral at the start of the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon. Would my race be perfect? No. Would it hurt like heck at times? Probably. But, like most big and scary life events, I had a sneaking suspicion it would all be worth it in the end. And seeing my little girl at mile 25 reassured me of that.

Here are a few things I learned along my post-baby journey to 26.2, which might help other new moms, too.

RELATED: 17 Tips from Real Moms on Finding Time for Exercise

9 Things No One Tells You About Running a Marathon Post-Baby

Photo by Catherine Martin

1. Take advantage of your superhuman body.

The first thing my OB said to me at my first visit: keep running throughout your pregnancy. Postpartum, you’ll be able to get back to running quicker and you’ll still be able to take advantage of all the cardiovascular changes that happen to a pregnant body. These changes include increased cardiac output (up to 50 percent more than pre-pregnancy), increased blood volume (also as much as 50 percent more than pre-pregnancy), and an expanded ribcage (which offers more volume of air in one breath).

Basically, during pregnancy, oxygen circulates through the body more efficiently, and with increased efficiency, the body can perform better — and with greater ease. And, because a woman’s body doesn’t just snap back after delivery, it can take a year for the postpartum body to operate “normally” again (depending on breastfeeding). But that means we can take advantage of that so-called superhuman body for a while. My OB’s advice: Plan to qualify for Boston just shy of a year, postpartum. It’s nice when you can get a running coach and an OB all in one, yes?

RELATED: The 30 Best Marathons in the Entire World

2. Anticipate a drop in breast milk production.

Possibly because of dehydration, maybe because of physical stress, I found that my breast milk production tapered dramatically once my training picked up. If you are exclusively breast feeding and are less than six months postpartum, a few things can help. Oatmeal, for instance, is high in iron, which is believed to promote milk production. Some experts also suggest performing a series of power pumping sessions (as in milk pumping, not pumping iron). This method encourages over-production going into your training so you’ll have extra in the freezer in case you’re coming up short and the little one is hungry. For me, consuming more gels and drinking more electrolytes (e.g. Gatorade and coconut water) while training also helped keep my production from dwindling.

3. Give your feet special attention.

Because it can take about a year for hormone levels to return to normal after giving birth, be cautious of over-stretching and putting excess strain on your feet. The hormone relaxin is present in the body during pregnancy to allow tendons and ligaments to loosen and the skeleton to make space for the baby. If your feet grew during pregnancy, that same hormone can now cause your feet to shift even more. Avoid minimal shoes (unless you’ve been wearing them all along). And don’t skimp on calcium, which has been shown to help protect not just the bones in your feet, but your entire skeleton. Plus, it fuels your body’s energy production — so make sure you fill up on sources like milk, yogurt, spinach and kale. A postpartum body (and a breastfeeding body) is often calcium-deficient due to “mining” calcium from the mother’s bones to provide for the growing baby.

RELATED: 9 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Running

4. Heed the advice about changing up how you hold the little one.

I was told to switch up which hip I hold my daughter on by more than one person. And I’m a trainer, so I should know better, right? (I have even given that same advice to clients for years!) And yet, when life happens, I have been 100 percent guilty of slinging her on my left hip while scurrying around the kitchen slinging eggs and coffee and oatmeal.

It wasn’t until my 15-mile training run that my back started to feel a little twinge…and then my hip and then my hamstring and then my calf. A few weeks later, after an 18-mile long run, I couldn’t walk. A trip to my PT revealed that (due to holding my daughter only on my left hip) my right lower back and the muscles that run up the right side of my spine had all called it quits. That lead to a chain reaction of pain and suffering down my left hip and leg. Which brings me to…

5. Whatever amount of core training you’d normally do, multiply that by four.

During pregnancy, abs have a tendency to stretch or even separate (aka diastasis recti), and if you had a caesarian, the trauma can be worse. This has an effect on not just your ab strength, but also your back stability and the integrity of your entire kinetic chain. As a pre- and post-natal certified trainer, I recommend planks, side planks, bird-dogs, bridges and supermans. And if you can, make an appointment with an MAT (Muscle Activation Technique) therapist. A MAT therapist can determine where muscle weakness might be causing problems. Next, he or she will work to bring that strength back by palpating muscles, then prescribing specific isometric exercises to continue on your own. It’s been a game-changer for me.

RELATED: 6 Core Exercises for New Moms with Diastasis Recti

6. Make it worth it.

In my before-child days, I never realized I was taking for granted the freedom to run at any time and for any distance. But now I know. The acrobatics of juggling childcare for training has meant driving 45 minutes to my brother’s house to drop off my daughter, squeezing my long run into two hours, and then rushing back home for her nap time. It’s meant waking up in the pre-sunrise hours to run and get home before she wakes. I joined a gym specifically because it has childcare. And, I went out and bought a jogging stroller. While there is a certain amount of peace and quiet that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed while running, the extreme inconvenience of every single run is unavoidable. Whereas my biggest decisions were once which leggings to wear, or which route to take, now it’s: where my daughter will be, if she’ll need food or milk, and when she’ll take her next nap.

Because my better half, my brother and sister-in-law, my friends, my wallet and even my daughter have all made sacrifices for the sake of my training, my performance on November 5 was more important than ever. It took a village to get me to the starting line. For their sake, I could not let the village’s efforts be in vain.

RELATED: How to Run (And Watch!) the NYC Marathon Like a Pro

Photo by Janice Lancaster

7. You’re stronger as a mom.

There’s no way around it: Hitting the wall sucks. But the sudden fatigue caused by depletion of glycogen stores is something all endurance athletes have to learn to push through. As a running coach, one of the ways that I familiarize clients with that “wall” feeling is through repeat speedwork. (Think: repeat 400s, 800s and miles.) It’s brutal, and it perfectly recreates that hopelessness and defeat as your legs feel like they are going to fall off or melt and you crumble into a pathetic heap on the ground.

The “good” news? I now know that the first three months of my child’s life was just hitting the metaphorical and literal wall over and over and over again. I went weeks on mere hours of sleep and then managed to not wake her as I cradled her, stood up from seated on the floor, tripped over the cat (and a pacifier), and finally lowered her into the bassinet. That is pushing through the wall! I now know that motherhood makes you an expert on perseverance. All of my training on the road and the treadmill prepared me for the marathon, but it was my training as a mom that prepared me to win it.

8. Your little one will help you recover faster.

Don’t worry for a second about how you will run 26.2 miles and then be able to squat down to tie your baby’s shoes. You already do daily functional training in the form of squatting, bending, twisting and lifting with your little one. So, as you add on miles, you will naturally continue your feats of strength and acrobatics. In fact, in my before-child days — when I’d allow myself to lounge around after a long run with my feet up — recovery actually took a bit longer. But, because blood flow (from movement) encourages recovery, and a toddler doesn’t allow days off from chases through the apartment, my muscles were surprisingly chipper the day after long runs. They even felt pretty great the day after the marathon!

RELATED: 5 Scientifically Proven Ways to Reduce Muscle Soreness

9. It’s no longer about you.

One of the overwhelming takeaways of running the NYC Marathon is how spectacularly the spectators cheered. Their emotional shouts of encouragement contained something more than inspiration. I felt a very strong sense of appreciation that I was achieving this marathon goal for them — on their behalf. While that’s a humbling duty I’m honored to carry out, I’ve begun to think more about how my every action impacts my child. It’s cliché, but true: Having a daughter has made me want to be a better version of myself. And more than ever, I’m aware of how I can lead by example.

I want my little girl to see that setting your sights on a goal and working to achieve it are key to excelling in life. And, for me, running 26.2 miles through the five boroughs of New York City was achieving a goal on my daughter’s behalf. It was my way of showing her that she has the necessary stuff in her genes to power through the seemingly impossible. That she can achieve things beyond her wildest dreams.

Try this Reputation-themed Workout in Honor of Taylor Swift’s New Album

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This article originally appeared on People.com.

Oooh, look what she made you do!

Taylor Swift‘s new album Reputation came out on Friday and to celebrate, Reebok put together a simple workout that you can do at home while listening to Swift sing about ex-boyfriends, rivalries and all of her wildest dreams. Just follow along with the moves in the GIFs below.

The only question left is, are you ready for it?

Every time an ex‐boyfriend is mentioned do 10 high knees.

High Knees: Start by running in place bringing your knees up close to your chest, one at a time. Try to move as fast as possible.

Every time she references “playing games” or being fake do three jump squats

Jump Squats: Start with your feet right under your hips. Keeping your chest up, drop into a squat and then jump up as high as you can. Lower right back down into your squat as you come down. Make sure your hips break parallel!

Every time she talks about dreams or fantasies do a five mountain climbers

Mountain Climbers: From your high plank position, run each leg toward your chest. The key to getting the most out of mountain climbers is to keep your hips down and shoulders stacked right over your wrists.

Every time you hear her sing the word “love” or “baby” do three burpees

Burpees: Bend over placing your hands on the floor in front of you. Jump both feet back while dropping your chest to the ground. Then, jump both feet back up towards your hands, explosively jumping up with your hands overhead, fully extending your hips.

Every time her reputation is mentioned do three skaters

Skaters: Jump sideways to your left, landing on your left foot. Bring your right leg behind your ankle, keeping it off the ground. Reach your right hand toward your left foot and stay low. Reverse this movement to your right and repeat.

Every time she talks instead of sings do tuck jumps until she stops

Tuck Jumps: Stand with both feet together. Jump up as high as possible bringing your knees up by your chest. Make sure to land with your knees bent so you’re ready for the next jump!

How to Motivate Yourself to Go to the Gym on Cold, Dark Days

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I love to work out, and as a senior editor at Health, it's a big part of my job. But I'm the first to admit that exercising when days turn cold and dark can suck. It's pitch black when my alarm goes off for a before-work workout, and it's dark again by 4 p.m. Plus, living in New York City means snowy, wind-chilled treks to the subway to get to my fitness locales.

But one thing I know very well about myself is that my mood sinks drastically in fall and winter. Exercise is in part an antidote to my winter blues. Because of that, I've found little tricks that help me stay consistent—and in turn happier and with more pep in my step overall—through the cold-weather months. Read on for the fall and winter workout motivation hacks that work for me . . . that might just work for you too.

RELATED: 7 Emily Skye Workout Videos We're Obsessed With

Wake up to light and music

If I'm working out in the morning before work, the toughest part for me is physically getting out of bed. Once I'm up and standing, I'm set. So when my alarm goes off, I immediately switch on my bedside lamp and stream my Spotify workout playlist from my phone. Even if I lie in bed for a few minutes longer, the gentle light and good tunes keep me alert enough so that I won't doze off again and ditch.

Or treat yourself to an early holiday present and invest in Sonos wireless speakers. The Sonos mobile app allows you to set alarms so you can wake up to your pump-up playlist—a tip I learned from Ashley Wilking, an instructor at Rumble Boxing in New York City and a Nike trainer.

"I love choosing my songs based on what my day looks like," Wilking tells Health. "If I need to wake up at 4 a.m. to teach class, I like something to pump me up—I'll go for a rap or hip-hop mix. If I'm getting up to start my day but want to keep a mellow vibe, I'll go for the Coffee House Chill or Indie Acoustics playlists on Spotify."

Warm up on the way to the gym

If you're like me and can't (or just don't like to) work out at home, you have to find a way to make the chilly gym commute more manageable. If weather permits and it's safe to do so, try using the journey as a warm-up opportunity. "I always ride my Citi Bike to class in the morning," Wilking says. "It gets you moving before you have to move in your workout."

Wet or icy roads preventing you from jogging or biking your way there? Distract yourself with good music or a podcast. "I put on an audio book—my current listen is You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero—and take Mia, our mini Australian shepherd, for a walk along the water," Wilking says.

Follow a fitness influencer 

Like many humans, I wake up and scroll social media for a bit before getting out of bed, which helped me discover the Insta-story of Joelle Cavagnaro, a personal trainer and high school health and physical education teacher in the New York City area.

Cavagnaro is awake at 5 a.m. every morning and chronicles her dark walk to the gym, her workout, and her (still dark) hike home. She provides hilarious commentary and super motivational words of advice. Watching Cavagnaro's efforts every single day makes me think, if she's out there getting it done before the sun is up, I can do the same. 

"Knowing that I have people following my journey, my workouts, my routine, helps me to stay on track, just as much as it helps them," she tells Health.

RELATED: It's Better to Work Out With Other People Than by Yourself. Here's Why

Become a regular

For many months now, I've been hooked on a particular fitness studio—Switch Playground—and I've been more consistent than ever with my workouts. I'll get there rain (or cold, or wind) or shine.

To start, I love the actual workout—and that is key when it comes to making a fitness habit stick, especially during the toughest time of year to do it. ("It’s pretty hard to stick to a workout plan you hate," Cavagnaro points out. "If you hate the treadmill, don’t go on the treadmill.")

But another major part of what gets my butt to class is that I've become close with many of the instructors. I'll drop them a message, like, "I'm coming to the 7:15; I'm exhausted so I need a good push tonight!" Giving them that heads-up that I'm attending holds me accountable; and having a dialogue with the folks there makes the actual working out part less of a chore and more like a visit with friends.

So if you love a particular class, make it a point to say hi to the instructor and share your fitness goals. That way, you're expected to show up each week to meet them. Prefer to sweat by yourself at the gym? Introduce yourself to trainers and other gym regulars around the floor; chat with the guys and girls at the front desk. (Cavagnaro gets a "Sup, Big J?" from other early-bird exercisers at her gym.) The camaraderie will inspire you—as will a "Where have you been?!" if you disappear for too long.

RELATED: Winter Skin Annoyances, Solved

Find (reliable) workout buddies

"Committing to a workout with a friend is a great way to make sure you get yourself out the door, as no one likes to let their friends down," Oliver Lee, a personal trainer in New York City and a former Barry's Bootcamp instructor (and one of my workout buds who I can always count on), tells Health. 

Even if you don't like working out with a partner, you can benefit from the support of like-minded friends and family, Cavagnaro says. "I work out alone, and that works best for me," she explains. "But my husband and I are both passionate about the gym. We go to the gym together on weekends, separate for our workouts, and then meet up again after to walk home together."

I also often times reach out to people with little gym "check-ins." My mom and I, for example, cheer each other on via text, and we do this more often when the weather gets gross:

Commit to an early bedtime

As tempting as it is to stay up to watch one more episode of Stranger Things, powering down electronics and hitting the sheets at a reasonable hour is critical if you're going to beat winter tiredness and make it to the gym. This is the right time of the year to turn in on the early side, when darkness and chilly temperatures make curling up under the covers so ideal.

"I can’t stress this enough to my clients, my students, or anyone else trying to have a productive day," Cavagnaro says. "I could never do what I do without adequate rest and recovery time. I know my body and I know that I need at least eight hours of sleep to be a functional, productive member of society—and to have energy for my morning workout."

Cavagnaro also suggests thinking of an a.m. workout as the ticket to an energized day, rather than something you need to find energy for. "My workout itself is like my morning coffee," she says. "It starts my day, gives me the energy to get going, and sets up my day for productivity and success."

RELATED: 11 Warm Recipes for Cold Weather

Schedule workouts strategically

Sweating it out after work? Don't leave yourself time to stop off at home first . . . and get sidelined by something great on TV or your never-ending social feed. "I tend to plan my workouts around times that I will be out of the house already, either on my way to a meeting or on my way home," Lee explains. "That way, I'm already outside."

Cavagnaro agrees: If she does have to hit the gym after school instead of at her typical 5 a.m. session, she brings all of her gear with her and goes straight from the classroom. "The motivation to go definitely dwindles down if you stop home, have a snack, have to change," she says. "I find that going right from work to the gym, alleviates those 'should I really go?' thoughts."

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Talk yourself out of your excuses

There are still times I find myself in the comfort of my warm apartment coming up with every excuse in the book to avoid bundling up and mobilizing. When it happens, I like to remind myself of this: In the amount of time you will spend sitting around making excuses, you could be half way through a workout by now. (Slightly cheesy? Yes. But it works for me.)

I also ask myself what I would do in that time when I could be getting in a workout. Would I do a load of laundry? Would I meal prep for the next few days? Would I watch Sex and the City reruns? If I'm exhausted and know I'll use the time to do something else productive, I cut myself some slack. But if my gut tells me I'll waste the hour being lazy, I'll get my butt off the couch and do something to crank my heart rate, even if that means walking on an incline on the treadmill for 15 minutes.

5 Yoga Poses for Better Digestion

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There's nothing worse than feeling, ahem, backed up especially this time of year as we start to break out our swimsuits and fitted dresses. Drinking lots of water, eating lighter foods, and practicing yoga can all help get things moving again.

Squats, twists, and lunges are great yoga moves to stimulate your digestive tract. Squatting gets everything moving downward, twists massage the internal organs, and lunges help stretch the psoas (a muscle that connects your trunk to your legs) and abdominal region, which aids in processing and eliminating our food. Give these 5 poses a try.

Awkward chair pose
Stand with feet together and squat back in to an imaginary chair as you lift your arms above you. Pull in your lower abdominals and stretch up through the front body. Sit back as deeply as you can and hold the pose for 5 to 8 breaths. Awkward chair works your larger muscle groups (buttocks, quads, etc) and gets your metabolism going. It also moves energy downward in the lower body as you lift up and breath deeper in the upper body.

Lunging twist
Lunge back with your right leg and take a twist to your left. Place your right hand outside your left foot and stretch your left arm upwards. If you can't get your right hand and shoulder outside of your front knee, place the hand on the inside of the foot. Twist from your waist and move with your breath, using the strength of your legs to support you. This works the larger muscles groups again and also massages the abdominal muscles and twists the internal organs to help stimulate digestion. Hold for 5 breaths.

Photo: Appcession

Low lunge twist with quad stretch
Lower your right knee to the floor and reach back with your left hand to catch the right foot as you lift your right heel up toward your buttocks. This stretch is awesome for digestion: It's a twist but also a stretch in the front thigh, psoas, and groin. Often times when our hip flexors and psoas are tight, they interfere with our internal organ function, including digestion. Stretching the front of the body helps get things moving. Hold for 5 to 8 breaths.

Photo: Appcession

Cobra
From the lunging quad stretch, release your right foot and bring your left knee back to meet your right. Lower down on to your belly. Place your hands near your shoulders or slightly forward and start to lift your upper body off the mat. Keep your pubic bone on the mat and make sure your shoulders are down and away from your ears. Stay here for 5 breaths and feel your tummy stretching as well as getting a little gentle pressure on it. It's a great stretch for the front body.

Photo: Appcession

Child's pose
Stress is often to blame for digestion issues, and child's pose offers us a place to unwind and calm down. From cobra, press into your hands and lift your hips up and back until your buttocks are resting on your heels and you can lay your chest on the floor. Stretch your arms forward or back alongside your waist. This move stretches your hips, back, shoulders, and waist and also puts a gentle pressure on the belly. Let your mind relax let your shoulders release and stay here a good 8 to 10 breaths.

Photo: Appcession

NOW: Repeat on the other side
From child's pose you can round up or stretch back to downward dog then make your way up to the front of the mat and gently come up to standing. Repeat the entire sequence, stepping back with the left foot this time and twisting to the right. Go through until you hit child's pose again; then, from child's pose round up and lay down on your back for corpse pose or final relaxation. In final relaxation you can even place your hands on your belly and envision your stomach relaxing and letting go.

Kristin McGee is a leading yoga and Pilates instructor and healthy lifestyle expert based in New York City. She is an ACE certified personal trainer who regularly trains celebrity clients in New York and Los Angeles. She serves as Health's contributing fitness editor and is frequently seen on national TV. Her latest in a large collection of fitness DVDs is YogaSlim. Follow her on Twitter @KristinMcGee and like her page on Facebook.