Spring Forward With Quick Fitness Boosts

Spring is here and it’s time to get serious about fitness. If you’re looking for some quick and easy ways to improve your stamina, strength, and endurance, you’ve come to the right place. Check out these awesome quick fitness boosts:

Mix It Up Boost

Cardio-only workouts keep you from increasing your endurance. Instead, mix up your strength and cardio days. This simple boost puts more of your big muscles to work, providing an uphill battle for your cardiovascular system and heart. Create a sequence or series of sequences that mix it up: for example, burpees followed by leg press and then core work—and repeat.

Walking Boost

Think walking is for old folks? Don’t be so quick to dismiss it. Work walking into every day. Whether you trade in a hamburger at your desk for a packed lunch and a walk or make sure you walk your dog every night, there are serious benefits to walking regularly.

Five Fast Meals for Fitness

Looking for delicious ways to contribute to your fitness level? Cook more at home! You can make it happen with these quick and easy meals

Breakfast

Want something hearty but quick? Build this ham and cheese breakfast sandwich with mango chutney from Cooking Light. It’s packed with protein from the egg and ham, and you can use soy ham if you prefer it. It’s also loaded with B vitamins and fiber from the whole grain muffin and calcium from the cheese, not to mention vitamin A from the chutney. Don’t have any chutney? Use low sugar mango or apricot jam instead (or skip it). Wrap it up on your way to work and go.

Want a different breakfast option that’s even faster? Layer Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola or muesli in a glass or jar and run.

Lunch

Fast and easy lunches of healthy food that you bring from home save you money and help you meet fitness goals. Try this Italian Garbanzo Salad from Health.com; it takes just minutes to throw the recipe together and you can keep it in the fridge for the week. Just one serving packs almost 6 grams of protein and more than 100 grams of calcium, and in only 159 calories.

In a last minute rush build a sandwich with lean meats, fish, or vegetables on whole-grain bread. For an extra boost of taste and protein spread hummus on a vegetable sandwich.

Best Ways to Maximize Your Potential in 2015

How’s your year going so far? Can you believe this much of it is already gone? Even if your resolutions haven’t become reality yet, keep working to maximize your potential all year long:

Write Down Your Goals

When you write your goals down they become real, something you can look at to get motivated. They are also more developed and detailed instead of vague when you write them down; this makes them more achievable. When you decide which goals to pursue this year, ask yourself this: “What do I want to be doing a year from now, and how can I make that happen?” Try and write down one new goal for every month, without worrying about how many you accomplish. Each one should have an articulable impact on your life.

One Thing at a Time

Pursue one main goal at a time. Once you have your list of goals, you can move on to deciding which skills you need to build. As you choose which goal you will pursue first, identify everything you might be able to do to achieve it. This should allow you to see which new skills you should work to build. After you’ve achieved one, go on to the next. Before you know it, you’ll be on your way!