Hello everyone. I recently found out that I am the recipient of an Arte Y Pico award from not one but two bloggers. The first of these two bloggers is Angie from Vibrant Healthy U, an excellent health and fitness blog with some great post including this unique offering; The Eyes Have It. The second award came from Asithi of Small Steps to Health, another great health blog which I enjoy reading even though I don’t always share the same opinions as Asithi on certain topics - for example milk. Anyway, thankyou both for the award. One of the most rewarding things about running this blog is receiving comments and recognition from others.

Anyway, the rules of this award are as follows:

1) Select five blogs that you consider deserving of the award.

2) Include the name of the author and a link to the blog, for each award designated.

3) Award winner must display the award graphic and name the blogger that bestowed the award on them.

4) Include a link to the Arte Y Pico blog, in order to share the origin of the award.

I’ve already completed steps 3 and 4 so all that’s left is to pass the award on to five more bloggers. Here’s my top five:

1) The Fitness Black Book:- This is a fitness blog written by Rusty which (in his own words) shows you how to get ‘Lean and Toned, Not Bulky’. There are two big things I like about Rusty’s blog. First, his posts on fit celebrities really allow you to see the look he is trying to achieve. Secondly, the blog is actually quite funny too.

2) The All Muscle Building Blog:- This blog is quite a new one on my reading list and is written by Pat. The posts are generally short but always full of useful information. Lots of the stuff I’ve read on Pat’s blog was completely new to me which one of the reasons that I have become a regular reader.

3) Anti-Aging Nutrtion News:- Although I’m only in my early twenties I’ve still found this blog by GiGi to be one of my regular reads. The nutritional information GiGi provides is top notch and her posts have given me the lowdown on some very healthy foods that I was completely unaware of prior to reading.

4) Muscle Post:- Another great blog on muscle building from Tony. Again this is a new blog but one which I read regularly. The focus of Tony’s blog is on exercises which build muscles and he has provided some great tips which I can carry over to the gym.

5) Health Nut Wannabee Mom:- This is a great blog from Heidi. She updates most days with the focus being on nutrition. The best thing about Heidi’s blog is that the tips are easy to follow, practical and suitable for normal, everyday people.

Thanks to everyone for the award and well done to the five bloggers who I have passed the award on to. I wish you continued success with your blogs and hope to be a long time reader of each of them.

Hey Everyone. Hope you are enjoying all the information on the blog so far. I’m just making a quick post to let you know about a guest blogging spot that I have been offered by Kavit Haria of Wellness Junction. He got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I would be interested in contributing to his blog on a regular basis. I jumped at the chance and we came to the agreement that I would write a guest post at Wellness Junction every couple of weeks. Hopefully, this will give more exposure to the Free Fitness Tips Blog, improve my writing skills and turn Wellness Junction into another fantastic free fitness resource that everyone can enjoy.

Anyway, the reason I am posting about this now is because I wanted to wait for my first guest article to go live before I told you guys. My first article is now live and it is entitled ‘4 food groups that can boost your metabolism’. I have published an exert below (the full version is available from Wellness Junction). As always any comments, suggestions or descriptions of other foods which can boost your metabolism are welcome. If you want to leave any feedback at all please leave a post either on this page or the actual article itself.

4 food groups that can boost your metabolism

“Many people claim that they struggle to lose weight because they have a slow metabolism. Others are always looking for ways to boost their metabolic rate. But what do these people mean when they refer to metabolism and their metabolic rate?

In simple terms your metabolism or metabolic rate is the number of calories required by your body to maintain itself. The general calculation for working out your metabolism is to multiply your weight in pounds by 10 or your weight in kilograms by 22. So if you weigh 250 pounds then your metabolic rate will be around 2500 calories per day. However, this figure can be affected by a number of factors including age, genetics and lifestyle.

In this article I will be discussing how you can increase your metabolic rate by incorporating four different food groups into your diet...”

Read the full version of 4 food groups that can boost your metabolism by Clicking Here

Well Friday is finally here which for many means the end of the week and time to enjoy the weekend. Unfortunately today was not my best day in terms of fitness goals. I did not eat very well today, felt tired for most of the day and in the gym I just seemed to have no motivation and ended up cutting my workout short. I was not feeling very good about myself as I had been so good all week and then let the ball drop today. However, then I came across an interesting article which made me feel a lot better. It included eight excellent fitness tips including the following gems;

Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass, green leafy vegetables). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable slop.

Aren’t fried foods bad for you?

You’re not listening. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they’re permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

You can read the full article by clicking here.

If you haven’t already figured it out this article is a joke and not meant to be taken seriously. Since it’s Friday I decided to make my post a little more light hearted and humourous. However, the point I am trying to get across is that all of us will have off days where we feel unmotivated, don’t train very well and eat the wrong foods. And this is OK. You are not a machine and cannot operate at 100% all the time.

What is important is that you do not let these off days get you down and have them turn into a full weekend or a full week where you do not train properly and you do not eat right. Becoming healthier and fitter is a long term process and the occassional slip up is not going to affect your efforts BUT if you let the off day get you down it will affect your long term motivation and this in turn will affect your long term fitness. Simply accept that you have had an off day and look to get back into your proper fitness routine the following day.

I’ve made this post short and sweet because it’s a Friday and also because I’m a little pressed for time. However, I hope you’ve still enjoyed it and absorbed the message behind it. In the future I plan to make my Friday posts a little more humourous because we all like to have a good chuckle at the end of a hard working week. I hope you all have a good weekend. What did you think of my post? Do any of you have any stories you would like to share about your own personal off days?

I’ve just added a new March 2008 Fitness Tips Poll to The Free Fitness Tips Squidoo Lens. This month’s poll covers the topic of protein shakes and asks the simple question; ‘Do you currently use Protein Supplements?’ I didn’t get any responses to the first poll so let’s try and build upon that this time around. It only takes a second to vote and I really value your opinion.

Click Here to Vote in the March 2008 Fitness Poll!!

Hello everyone. As I announced in January I have created the Free Fitness Tips Squidoo Lens and plan to keep you updated of all the latest developments via this blog. Well I have some news for you. I’ve just added the first Fitness Poll to the lens. I plan to have these polls every month to get a general opinion on the fitness issues I discuss on this blog.

The Fitness Poll on February 2008 asks the question “Are you happy with your current physique?” I’d really like to hear your responses on this subject. If you head over to the Free Fitness Tips Squidoo Lens using the link below you can register your opinion on the topic.

Click Here to Vote in the February 2008 Fitness Poll!!

Hello Everyone,

I hope your enjoying the Free Fitness Tips Blog and the Free Fitness Tips Email Course (if not sign up using the form at the top right corner of this blog). Hopefully with this information you can make 2008 the year you achieve your fitness goals.

Anyway as you can probably guess from the title I’m making this post to announce the Free Fitness Tips Squidoo Lens. I’ve already created the Free Fitness Tips Website, the Free Fitness Tips Blog and the Free Fitness Tips Email Course and squidoo lenses seem to be all the rage at the moment so I thought I’d try my hand at it. If you’ve never heard of squidoo before let me explain it a little further (even though I’m no expert myself). Squidoo is a website which lets you create your own lens (a personal page similar to a blog) on any topic you desire. The Free Fitness Tips Squidoo Lens contains a summary of most of the information on this blog plus links to other fitness resources and some great fitness products. In the future I plan to add more to the lens, including videos and polls, and I will keep you updated on how the lens develops. Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think by posting a comment here on the blog or by posting one on the lens.

Check out the Free Fitness Tips Squidoo Lens!!

Hello Everyone,

This is just a quick message to wish you all a Happy New Year. I’ve not updated the blog for a few days but I’ve just managed to get an article on Fear of the Unknown added today.

New Years resolutions often go hand in hand with the New Year. If your resolutions for 2008 involve improving your fitness levels then I hope this blog helps you achieve your goals. I’m going to be adding articles on diet, exercise and more during the year so the Free Fitness Tips blog will be developing into a substantial resource in the next few months.

Also if you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to subscribe to the Free Fitness Tips Email Course. As a subscriber you are provided with a Free Fitness Tip delivered to your email inbox every day for 365 days.

With the blog and the email course you will be armed with the resources you need to boost your fitness levels during 2008.

Welcome to the Free Fitness Tips Blog. This blog is designed to compliment the Free Fitness Tips Email Course. I will be posting additional free information to this blog including; Fitness Tips, Recipes, Exercise Tips, Weight Loss Tips, Motivational Tips and more.

If you have not already subscribed to the Free Fitness Tips Email Course make sure you do so by entering your Name and Email Address in the form located at the top right hand side of this blog. As a subscriber you will receive a Free Fitness Tips delivered directly to your email inbox, every day, for 365 days. The tips include; Weight Loss Tips, Exercises to Firm your Body, Low Calorie Snack Ideas, Low Calorie Recipes and Tips to keep you Motivated for Success.

I’ll try to keep this blog updated fairly regularly so check back often for new content or subscribe to the RSS feed using the link on the right.