FITNESS IS FUN...WITH YOUR KIDS!!!

Hi everyone!  Click on the link below to check out today's for today's blog entry....bear with me as I learn how to post videos...Stay Fit and Happy!

Famisha :-)

http://qik.com/video/43679739

FITNESS IS FUN...with your kids!!

Hello all my Fitness Friends...and soon-to-be fitness friends!  Today's blog will be a quick one.  I just have to speak on something that I'm very passionate about (yes, it's fitness!) but it's also the OBESITY rate amongst people in general.  Nothing upsets me more than seeing children in my community who are overweight so here's today's blog and that is....FITNESS IS FUN...WITH YOUR KIDS!  Let's get those kids out from behind those video games and computers and actually exercise with them.  Living in such a beautiful family community such as Gilbert Arizona, I feel it's almost my duty to say "please let me help YOU!"  Being in the fitness biz as long as I have, I have heard every excuse starting with "I'll never get back to the size I was before I had my baby..." even though the baby is now a 13 year old OR I'll never get back to my size I was in high school/college because I'm now in my career and that's my focus 100%.  Well, guess what?!  You CAN get back to that size you want to be and you CAN get back into that college shape again.  You wannna know how?????  MOVEMENT!  EXERCISE!  You can do it!  You can do it!  You can do it!

Today I wanted to share a video of me and my four year old son working out together in my home gym...but ran into some technical difficulties.  However, it should be posted on my facebook wall.  Please feel free to post any questions or comments you may have about fitness to me.  I'm here to help and this is what I do for a living.  I want to share with you the same joy that exercise gives me not only in the physical results but also in your mental state of mind.  Once I finally figure out how to actually post my video ON my blog page, I will make it a habit to show you fitness tip of the day as well as an exercise of the day that you can do with your kid(s) at home.  Don't be shy!  Send me some questions and I love feedback too.  And remember...I'm in the East Valley so if you live in Arizona and are looking for someone to change your life and touch your soul thru the power of fitness....I'm your girl!

Enjoy the video...on my facebook page.  Have a FABULOUS rest of the week!  Take some time to do something for your health and fitness for the rest of the week and weekend!

As Always...Stay Fit and Happy,
Famisha :-)

Fitness Tip of the Day: FOAM ROLL...FOAM ROLL...FOAM ROLL!

Good morning all my Fitness Friends and soon-to-be Fit Divas (Divos if you're a man! :-)  I hope everyone is having a fabulous morning so far.  I myself just had a fabulous fitness start of the day!  I just completed 90 minutes of cardio on my Precor (elliptical) and have MTV (Lady Gaga video after video this morning...yes, MTV was actually showing MUSIC videos!!), E! News and the Today show all got me through my 90 minutes of cardio and I must say, it feels GREAT to have over 10,000 strides and 700 calories burned BEFORE 10 am in the morning!  Now during this lovely cardio session in my home gym, I also "enjoyed" listening to my four year old son play his drum set LOUDLY in the game room while yelling "mommy!  listen!  listen!" then watched as he came into the gym to show me he could do a couple shoulder presses (with 3lb free weights, I might add) and then come back again to tell me about the Spongebob episodes he was enjoying watching while he continued to entertain himself while mommy exercised.  Well, after I finished my 90 minutes of fun, I FOAM ROLLED!  And let me tell you, after yesterday's bootcamp class which consisted of turning tuck jumps, lunges, single leg skips, etc, etc...my legs were just a bit TIGHT.  What is foam rolling?  Well my friends, I like to think of it as a "deep tissue massage."  At least, that's what I tell my clients when I tell them that they must foam roll!  It's a long styrofoam which comes in various colors (mine is lime green) but they come in white, black, pink and even orange...and let me tell you, this form of stretching works but isn't exactly the most fabulous feeling while you are doing it.  But once you're done foam rolling, you feel like a CHAMP!  So let me give you a little assistance on the what and the how...

Grab your foam roller and find that area on your body that feels super tight.  In my case, it was definitely my adductors (inner thighs) and IT band (outside of your thigh muscle right below your hip flexor all the way down to your knee).  Place the foam roller on your tight area and hold for 30 to 60 seconds...don't move!  What you should actually feel is HEAT going to that tight area and the muscle actually loosening up.  The technical term for this is self-myofacial release which is a form of stretching.  No matter how uncomfortable you feel while doing it, don't give up!  Hold that position for the time I suggested and then move onto the next spot.  Trust me...it is worth the bit of discomfort you may feel doing it when you are finished because your muscles will no longer feel so tight and you will feel so much better!  Now what if you don't own a foam roller???  No worries, grab a tennis ball.  It will do the trick!  Same principle...place the tennis ball in your tight area and hold.  Hey!  You can thank me later...you just gave yourself a FREE DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my fitness tip of the day which once again is FOAM ROLL people!  Now if you don't have over 90 minutes to spend on fitness today...don't stress, take whatever time you are given today to dedicate towards your health and fitness and do SOMETHING.  Even if it's 10 minutes, your mind and body will be pleased with you for doing something positive for YOU.  It's now time for me to focus on getting the rest of the day going with some fun activities for me and my son!  Have yourself a FABULOUS FITNESS day and feel free to comment on my blog or ask any fitness questions you may have...

I will see you back here next Thursday for my weekly blog!

As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)

TIME TO FINALLY FOCUS ON YOU!!!!!

Good afternoon!  So today is one of those days when as a MOM, Fitness Professional and Observer I feel like blogging about it's time to STOP making excuses and FINALLY focus on YOU!  After being a Certified National Master Personal Trainer for over 10 years now I have heard every excuse in the book as to why people either can't find the time to workout or why an hour of customized workouts just "don't work" and I've gotta say....it's time to be HONEST with yourselves people and finally decide to focus on YOURSELF for more than just the one hour you may spend a day working with a trainer, workout buddy or maybe even your significant other on your fitness program.  My clients who get amazing results didn't have me wave a magic wand over their heads...they listened and have made it a LIFESTYLE.  Here's the deal...fitness is LIFE CHANGING because it has to become a LIFESTYLE.  Now alot of people ROLL their eyes because they say "oh Famisha, you wouldn't know how it feels to be overweight..." but Jillian Michaels does so I'm going to listen to her advice because she has been there!  Well, whatever happened to admiring someone for the true discipline it obviously takes to MAINTAIN a healthy weight for over 20+ years...or lose 30lbs of baby weight in ONE month because you're no longer eating for "two" but instead need to be healthy for the child you carried around for 9 months?!  So I may sound like I'm ranting but today is one of those days when I feel the TRUTH needs to be spoken....uh-oh, WATCH OUT!   Here's the deal..."working out" doesn't necessarily have to mean killing yourself in the gym for 3 hours...fitness can be ANYTHING in which you actually get up and MOVE for longer than the 30 seconds it takes you to go to the fridge during the commercial break of The Biggest Loser.  Here are some examples:  dance around the room as you play some of your favorite music and here's a thought, grab your child and laugh...giggle...smile and do it together!  Housework to do?  Then EXTEND those arms when vacuuming that family room.  Make each move count because you are burning calories!  Brushing your teeth?  Hey!  Time to do some side bends...say bye bye to those love handles!  Sitting at a computer for hours?  Calf raises...ab engagement...what in the world is ab engagement?!  Well, pull your belly button towards your spine as though there is a string attached and guess what?!  You just worked out your abs!  I do this one all the time when driving in my car.  Lastly, you've got Jersey Shore that you're secretly going to watch tonight?  Don't worry, I won't tell anyone...but you know what you can do while enjoying your guilty pleasure???  Sit on a Physio ball...it's engaging your abs and during commercials do some Ab Ball Crunches and then grab the back of your kitchen chair and do some tricep dips!  No excuses people!

So what did I do today for exercise??  If there's one thing people who know me as the Fitness Professional know is I LOVE intense workouts...which is why my bootcamps are crazy INTENSE (but burn 500 calories!) and with the privilege of having my own fully equipped home gym, I PUT IN WORK!  But today my friends, I went on a lovely 20 minute bike ride with my son (hey since we got him his Spiderman bike for going under water at his swim lesson...I want him to get as much fun active time on it now as possible, right?) so we rode around the neighborhood and talked about all the trees and birds we saw...which let me tell you, is fun to do through a four year old's eyes and then we came home.  Well, instead of going hard with the weights, I decided to turn on the stereo (after I turned on the Disney station in the game room for him) and put on some good mellow music and did 45 minutes of YOGA.  Not an intense, typical workout for me...but definitely what I needed to start my day off right and feel good about enjoying mommy and son bonding time today.

I must finally end this blog with this...if you're kids are finally back at school and you're now wondering "what in the world am I supposed to do with all this time on my hands now?!"  Well, before you go to pick them up from school and take them to their after school activities, my advice to you is find at least 30 minutes a day to FINALLY FOCUS ON YOU!!!  Your loved ones will notice and you will find yourself a much happier AND healthier person.  So happy back to school MOMS out there and happy Summer coming to an end which means COOLER weather (yea!!!) finally to all you girls and guys out there!  Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and I promise...I'll try and get back into doing this on a weekly basis so I'm not so long winded!  :-)  Sorry...I'm passionate about fitness!

As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)

BUSY SUMMER?! GET YOUR WORKOUT IN!

So as I just finished up a FABULOUS 90 minute workout (so happy for Inside the Actors Studio featuring Daniel Radcliffe and Jennifer Aniston back to back) while my son watches his favorite Spiderman DVD and I am GRATEFUL for health and fitness.  Today's workout consisted of 75 minutes of cardio on my Elliptical followed by 150 ball crunches, 3 sets of 60 second boat pose on the BOSU and 3 sets of 60 second Plank holds...and FOAM ROLLING.  I am ready to take on the world of a swimming lesson, play date, Cars 2 movie which is on the agenda for my son for today...and you know why I'm ready???  I'm ready because I took some time to do something GOOD for myself which is exercise!  Trust me girls, I understand I'm one of the lucky ones who insisted that my husband make sure I have a home gym when we were in the process of building our home because I knew that once we started a family I needed to be able to go "put in work" to DE-stress and feel good without having to get in my car...especially since I work at a fitness facility.  Well, lucky me...he agreed!

For those of you who don't have a home gym like myself...don't worry!  If you are crunched for time and only have 10-20 minutes to get in a quick workout before your busy Saturday with the kids, here are some ideas for you:  Warm-up for 5 minutes with either a march in place to your favorite music then start a light jog in place or as my bootcampers know one of my other favorites to do is 100 jumping jacks.  This will get you warm...then go into some Prisoner Squats (hands by ears with elbows out...as though you are being hand-cuffed which is why they're called Prisoner Squats) and do 25 reps in place, then grab 2 bottle waters (if you don't have hand weights) and do 25 reps of bicep curls followed by 25 reps of shoulder presses, 25 tricep kickbacks (all with the bottled waters of course) and follow this with a 30 second plank...forearms on the floor pushing your body up with your back straight up on your toes, pull your belly button towards your spine and BREATHE!  Hold your plank for 10-20 seconds if you're a beginner if you're more advanced...60-90 second plank hold.  Repeat the above exercises 2-3 times and end with 5 minutes of jogging in place with high knees and finally brought down to a march to cool down.  You have now done something for your PHYSICAL HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH and are ready to take on your busy day of driving your kids all over town for their social calendars. :-) 

I tell you, my son is only 4 years old and I revel in the fact that he has a much better social life than his mother! haha!  Anyway, wanted to post a blog since it's been a while and want to wish everyone a very Happy Sensational Saturday!  Feel free to post what you do for your health and fitness this weekend.  I'd love to know!  Have a great fitness week!

As Always...Stay Fit and Happy,
Famisha :-)

OPEN FORUM THIS WEEK!!

To ALL you girls out there wanting to FINALLY get in shape, or are bored with your current workouts and looking for some new ideas...MOMS wanting your PRE-PREGNANCY body back and you women who AREN'T moms but are wanting to get bikini ready for the Summer, the TIME IS NOW!

Since I LIVE...BREATHE...and absolutely LOVE FITNESS, I would love for you to send me your COMMENTS and QUESTIONS so that I can share some tips and ideas that work for me and my clients.  ANY questions you may have regarding workouts...nutrition (80% of your RESULTS is how and what you eat)...core training...weight training...cardio...trends, ETC, ETC. 

Don't be shy!  NO QUESTION IS A DUMB QUESTION...so if you've got one, the time to ask is NOW!

Looking forward to chatting with each and everyone of you FIT DIVAS IN THE MAKING soon!

As always STAY FIT and HAPPY!
Famisha :-)

SUMMER IS HERE!!!!!!!!!

Well, I guess I didn't need the temp reading in my car to tell me it's Summer...since it has been reading 100+ degrees lately (oh how I miss Cali!) or the fact that when I went to the Harkins Theater Summer movie pass this morning with Pry'nce and had to stand in a ridiculously LONG line to see a movie I had never even heard of before..."Clifford, the Big Dog Movie..." or something like that and kids were stepping on my toes, running and screaming, laughing with popcorn spilling out of their kids packs to inform me it was Summer.  I know it's Summer because all my FAVORITE cute halter tops, Maxi dresses and casual shorts are staring at me in my closet saying..."it's time to put me on girlfren and you better look good in me too!"  YES...my clothes talk to me, don't yours?

The reason I want to talk about it finally being Summer is...during the summer all of us busy moms have our kids in a bunch of different activities.  Whether it's summer camp, swimming lessons, soccer games, or playdates our kids have got some busy social calendars!  My son is only FOUR and I am constantly at the Disney Store buying a birthday gift for him to bring to one of his many friends birthday parties and he's only in PRESCHOOL!  Let's face it, our weekends are spent driving our kids around to their social events.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy it and love the fact that my child enjoys playing with other children and has lots to do to keep himself entertained and happy....but what about time for FITNESS??? 

Now fortunately for me, I live and breathe fitness because I have the privilige to change lives and touch souls through the power of fitness every day for a living as a Personal Trainer.  However, I still need to take care of my fitness needs as well.  I am proud to say that I managed to get in my 60 minutes of cardio BEFORE the morning movie and another 30 minutes of weights during the naptime BEFORE the afternoon play date.  Here's the deal...CHOOSE A TIME every day for yourself.  Fitness is key to living a longer, healthier life and allows us to be more active with our children who enjoy going outside and actually "playing" like we did (or at least I did) when we were kids.  Take at least 30 minutes a day to do something FUN and ACTIVE for your health...if that means turning on some music and grooving while you throw a load of laundry in or do some squats as you prepare tonight's dinner...or even doing some side bends as you brush your teeth in the morning but you've gotta do it.  Also, even if it's just for 20 minutes...after dinner, go outside for a bike ride or walk to the neighborhood park and as your child plays on the slide, throw a frisbee around with your hubby or friend.  FITNESS IS FUN and can be done any way that makes you happy and allows you to burn a calorie or two.

I will wrap this up by saying...Summer is here.  Instead of waiting for the New Year (like most people do) to say you'll do something for your health and fitness...do it NOW.  Enjoy the beautiful mornings and evenings by doing something ACTIVE...and before you know it, your cute summer clothes won't be "begging" you to put them on...but instead will be asking you to ADD more cute clothes to the rotation...and maybe even in a smaller size!  Have a beautiful rest of the week and have fun at those pool parties...

As always...STAY FIT AND HAPPY!
Famisha :-)