Whether you’re beginner or advanced, or shopping  for home workouts or exercise help at the gym their are some great items available this season to choose from. So why wait until January to stock up and get the stuff you need, put your favorite gadgets and workout equipment on this years holiday list and we know all Greedy Girls also love to shop so here’s a little gift guide help.

1. Gaiam Balance Ball Chair$79.99

Get a workout even when just sitting around. They have long said that just siting on your Balance ball while watching TV or on the computer has some of the same benefits a as a workout because your core in constantly engaged. Well the folks at Gaiam have taken it a step further and made this into a nice convenient chair. Get the needed back stability with the same core engaging benefits.

2. TRX Suspension Trainer Professional$149.00

TRX is the latest craze in home workouts. It may look a little like a science experiment, but this system of suspension bands is really one of the best take any wear total body work out systems. This is a definite must have for the traveling fitness fan on your holiday list

3. Apple Nike + iPod Sport Kit $49.99

This is a must have for the runners or wanna be runners on your list. The Nike + system measures and tracks your runs and then let you upload them to a world wide running community. On-line you can interact with other runners, work with and online running coach, or join challenges with runners across the globe. And if you have an IPod nano or touch you can also set playlist and powersongs. Don’t worry if you don’t have the IPOD or the Nikes you can the NiKE + Sportbands which allows use to track runs with out the Ipod and you can get a Sensor Pouch for Nike+which will let you attach your sensor to any running shoe.

4.P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program – Nutrition Guide, Exercise Planner $139.99

I know you’ve heard about this extreme workout system that is supposed to transform you body and shed pounds, well holiday time is a perfect time add this to your list and the day after the turkey is gone get started on your transformation. If the full 13 disks set is a little to pricey for that secret Santa gift try this paired down 4 disk version for under $100

5. EA Sports Active for Wii $52.99

Who can have a self respecting Fitness Gift Guide without flooding it with Wii stuff. Well I won’t flood it but I will add one of the most anticipated Wii Fitness Games of this year the The Wii Active. With the leg strap and exercise band the Wii active gives you a full strength and workout right in you living room. Great for the kids too. And don’t get bored with limit workouts they also have the EA Sports Active: More Workouts to keep the party going.

6.Reebok EasyTone $99-$110
I don’t have these yet, but I really really want some. *hint, hint,wink wink, size 9 *. You can tone and strengthen your legs just by doing your daily waling around. Here’s the science the shoes act almost like a balance ball for your feet and engage your muscles even more than usual as you walk. The claims are just amazing and the science behind them makes so much since, and for a New York commuter this blows me away hat I can get even more benefit from all of the walk I do. These are definitely on my list so don’t forget to add them to yours.

7. Wii Fit Plus $99.96
To end off our list we also couldn’t miss the Wii games that started the whole Wii Fitness craze the Wii Fit. And now they have revamped the games and released the the Wii Fit Plus. If you don’t already have the balance board the holidays are a great time to get the set for the family, or if you already have one dust off your board and just get the Wii Fit Plus Game for $19.96

Disclaimer: This list is the sole opinion of Greedy Girls Guide, it was not paid for or endorsed by a third party.All links and prices were obtains from Amazon.com, price are subject to change and vary by retailer.

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When I run I general run in the mornings.  It is such a great feeling , it gives me a great boost of energy even if I didn’t get enough sleep the night before and really helps to perk up my day. Also it’s great to have your work out for the dayy out of the way and to know if you opt to do more it’s all extra.

Check at this great article on more of the benefits and few moves you can do, next try setting aside 30mins 3 days a week to get you morning exercise started.

Why Exercising in the Morning Will Change Your Life

• by StyleCaster, on Sun Nov 8, 2009 5:05pm PS

Setting aside time during your morning routine for exercise yields great benefits. People who exercise in the a.m. will find themselves much more energized throughout the day, as well as an increased metabolism. It is important, however, to choose your morning exercise routine carefully–losing too much sleep (not getting your recommended 6-8 hours of beauty zzz’s)–can actually harm you. Sleep is an important part of maintaining your healthy, high energy, calorie-burning body. With that said, here are our morning exercise suggestions that you can try at home. Just 15 minutes each morning can lead to a healthier, happier you!

Pilates Exercises. Why? Pilates builds your core strength, which is extremely important. Core strength has to do with strengthening and lengthening your spine. That’s right, Pilates can actually make you grow taller, because the types of exercises used in Pilates create long, lean muscle, rather than bulkier muscle mass. Try this Pilates/Yoga mat from Walmart for $21.77.

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Exercise 1: Arm Reach and Pull

This is a great warm-up exercise which creates shoulder stability. You will begin standing up perfectly straight, then reach your arms out in front of you so that they become parallel with the floor, keeping your shoulders relaxed down and your arms coming straight out from your shoulders. Breathe in and out, each time further relaxing your shoulders down while maintaining your posture. This is a great move to get you started with your Pilates exercise routine and you can repeat three to five times. Great posture is essential to all Pilates moves and is ultimately the result of following a Pilates exercise routine.

Exercise 2: The Plank

In this exercise, you want to form yourself in a push up position, being sure that you are a straight line from your neck to your feet. Your arms should be a straight line from your shoulder to the floor and your feet shouldn’t be flat–you should be on your toes.

Holding yourself in this position for one minute a day helps create stability and build core strength. With no prior training, this exercise can be difficult. Work your way up to the full minute by starting with 10-15 second planks at first. If even this is causing too much upper body strain, try the modified plank by coming down to your elbows rather than your hands.

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Exercise 3: One Leg Teaser

This is a little more difficult, but is designed to flatten your abs! Begin by lying flat on your back, with your hands at your sides, palms up, and your legs bent at 45 degrees with feet flat on your mat. Raise one leg off the mat, creating a straight line without moving your knees. Tuck your chin to your chest and begin reaching for extended foot, slowly; maintaining your balance and posture. Remember to use your core muscles, this exercise is not led by upper body strength. (If you have trouble finding your core, take a deep breath in and exhale fully, bringing your belly button toward your spine and holding it there. Maintain this throughout all Pilates exercises, or you will not see the benefits.) When you reach your arms to the tip of your toes, pause, then roll back down, slowly, ending where you started, with your hands over your head. Repeat five times on each leg.

For beginners, leave both feet on the mat. Roll up and tap your knees, pause, then roll back to start position. It can take several weeks before you will be ready to try the full teaser exercise.

Note: In Pilates, some of the best results come from stretching out your muscles after working them. When your muscles are heated up, stretching them will result in much greater flexibility. So, in between workouts, lie flat on your back and form a straight line with your body, from the tips of your fingers to the end of your toes and feel yourself getting a great stretch!

Stability Ball Exercises. Why? Because to be quite honest, the stability ball is a ton of fun. Working out feels more like playing when you were a kid. You can purchase this stability ball at Walmart for $17.77.

Exercise 1: Hip Extension

Lie down on the ground and put your heels on top of the ball, at hip width apart. Slowly raise your hips off the ground to form a straight line, leaving your arms lying flat on the floor. Hold yourself in this position and feel your muscles working. Then, lower and repeat five times. If you feel confident, you can start raising one leg at a time off the stability ball, balancing with only one heel for support on the ball.

Exercise 2: Exercise Ball Crunch

Lean your mid to lower back on the ball and put your hands behind your head (fingertips lightly touching your head–your arms should not be doing the work in this exercise), and pull your body forward, using your abs, into a crunch. Try to be sure you are in the center of the ball and keep the ball stable. Repeat ten reps of ten.

Exercise 3: Bouncing!

Sit with your butt on the very middle of the ball. Be sure you feel stable and the ball isn’t leaning toward one side. Put your arms straight out in front off you, and your legs hip width apart, feet flat on the floor. Begin bouncing slowly without moving your leg positioning. After feeling out and being sure you have good balance, start opening and closing your legs at each alternating bounce. Continue this exercise for one minute, or a little longer if you’re having too much fun to stop!

Enjoy these exercises every morning you can! Remember, results don’t come immediately, but they will come.

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I was surfing through blogs last week and I ran into this post about travel conflicting with weightloss , the author describes how frequent travel for work has become a constant road block in her weight loss journey. This brought me back to my days as frequent traveler in a previous job I was traveling at least 1-2 times a month. Sometimes I would be lucky enough to go to a major city like Philadelphia or Las Vegas but more often I was in more remote areas like Wisconsin. Either way over the time I developed a few strategies to help keep up my fitness regimen and reading her post inspired me to share them here on the guide.

• There are plenty of great fitness podcast available for free on ITunes. Download work out Podcast to your IPod
• YouTube is another great source for free workouts. Create a favorites list of workout videos on YouTube. Check out the Fitness category here on GreedyGirlsGuide.com for a few of my favorite picks
• Pack lightweight equipment like jump rope, resistance bands, water inflatable weights, etc.
• Try to pick hotels with a gym preferable with early and/or late hours so no matter what time you’re working and having co-worker dinners you can commit to at least 30 mins. I find the mornings are the best time so it’s out of the way; the hotels are usually close to the job site so I still wake up at my regular time and I replace what would be my commute time with a workout.
• Purchase a few workout DVD’s and play them on your laptop. Most travel assignments require you to take a laptop, so while hotels rooms don’t usually have DVD players when all else fails you can play your DVD on the laptop.
• Check your destinations weather before you go if it’s going to be nice pack your sneakers and ask the hotel desk staff for good area to go for a brisk run or walk close to the hotel. Use a site like mapmyrun.com to help you map out a good route to ensure you get your full workout.
• When you are joining a gym look into a chain gym like Balleys or Lucille Roberts that allows you to use other branches, and when you travel research where is the nearest location.
• Check on-line for great workouts like this one http://exercise.about.com/library/bltravelworkout.htm or try diet.com’s Workout Builder to make your own.

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• Best time to workout is in the morning
• You should do Cardio three times a week
• And strength train 2 days a week
• You should get at least 30mins of physical activity a day but 60min is better
• You should rest at least 1-2 days a week
• You should replace your sneakers at least once every 6 months
• You should eat breakfast with in an hour of waking up
• You should NOT eat 2 hours before you go to bed
• You should change your routine every 6-8 weeks
• You should read GreedyGirlsGuide.com every day for more great tips. (LOL, shameless plug I know)

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I know we’ve read all of the articles, blogs, and post that say “don’t weigh yourself every day”, “step away  from the scale”,“ don’t focus on the pounds”, etc. Well I learned from recent experience that they may be wrong (or at least not completely right).

For years I’ve been one of those people who throw caution to the wind and step on the scale everyday. A quick 5-10 seconds it’s become part of my daily routine, in between brush my teeth and shower is a scale.

Recently, for no particular reason, I took a break. Either I was traveling, woke up late, busy, or just reluctant get on and get the bad news; for most of last month I neglected my scale.  Many researchers (a.k.a. THEY) would say this is great, I broke the routine and now I can get on with a healthy regimen. Well, I completely disagree. During my scale hiatus I went on a cruise, barely made it to the gym, and had a 6 day birthday celebration that included 3 birthday dinners, a wedding, touring NY (and NY food), a BBQ, and a local festival (with festival food ) You can just imagine how bad all of this was. So yesterday when I hopped back on my scale I was hit by a shocking, disturbing, upsetting extra 3 pounds. During the 6 day celebration alone I gained 3 pounds and a total of 5 for the month of August. I know 5 pounds isn’t the end of the world, but it’s definitely a trend in the WRONG direction, at a rate of 5 pounds a month I would have gained 25 pounds by Christmas (see that’s the scary part).

Well I am now kicking my self for not seeing this little slide earlier. And here is where I come up with my theory of why you SHOULD weigh yourself everyday. Weighing yourself every day helps you recognize trends. While THEY are right that you don’t see real progress with a daily weigh in, and your body fluctuates from day to day. You do see a move in the wrong direction, and over time you will see movement in the right or wrong direction. Even if you only see a .4 change, .4 over several days adds up to full pounds. Personally I use the scale as a tool if I see it creeping up and I can’t explain it with any other body changes (yes those still count too) I adjust my diet or up my exercise. Knowing my weight or better yet weight trend, even serves as a little guilt reminder when I’m making meal decisions like “we’re up a pound, maybe I’ll skip the dessert” or “I’m down a pound maybe I can have the afternoon latte”.  Weight change doesn’t happen over night a few drop or gain all five pounds in one day, the truth is with careful monitoring you can see if what you are doing is helping o hurting one day and one pound at a time.

Now, I  must caution daily weigh ins are not for the faint at heart is you get easily discouraged or neurotic about your current weight then I suggest listening to the THEY. But if you can reasonably use the scale as guide and tool by all means hop on. I’ve learned my lesson. I will be on that scale yesterday, today, and tomorrow. LOL

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