The Bosu Ball is definitely a great piece of equipment! The problem is that few women know what the heck to do with it. It can be intimidating at first, but once you see the power it has to help tone up and improve your muscles and your balance you will want to give it a try!

What do you think? Have you ever worked out with the Bosu?

Yup… me! haha, I am so excited about this! Though I am sure you can tell.

Months ago I contributed a recipe (and I do mean months ago, I am talking last July). Anyways it was chosen to be published in the April/May edition of Oxygen Magazine! Not just that I also have another recipe on their website…

Oxygen Magazine Online

In case you don’t know… I love Oxygen. I love the example they set for women, even though I don’t always agree with their workouts. But hey, they are trying to sell magazines. I have interviewed the Clean Eating Pro: herself, Tosca Reno and fell more in love with the magazine from that chat. If you haven’t read her book I suggest that you pick up a copy

The Eat Clean Diet... Eat Break Down To Eat Healthy

Anyways, my ultimate fitness goal is to be a cover model for the magazine and this gets me just a little closer. At least I am inside the pages… just gotta slowly work my way to the front (maybe I should send in recipes every month till they get sick of me!).

Next time you’re out, grab a copy of the magazine and give the ratatouille a try (then let me know what you think of course!) On the Oxygenmag.com website you can get my recipe for my beloved bison meatballs!

Of course remember that you can get these recipes and DOZENS more of healthy, delicious and EASY meals at The Art Of Weight Lifting!

I am so bummed this morning. I was feeling a bit off yesterday starting around 5:00, my throat started to ache and my head just wasn’t right (then again I don’t know if it ever is). Anyways, I got home and rested hoping that I would be fine today so I could get up and get a killer workout in. But nope.

I woke up pretty much off and on all night long because of my throat, this morning it is worst! I have slight chills, nasal pressure and a low grade fever. Believe it or not, I did get up, put on my workout clothes but then it hit me that if I want to get better faster, my body needs rest and if I did get to the gym my workout would be sub par for sure.

I hate this…

And on top of it, I can’t take off work today because we already have some people out, so I have to be there. This is not going to be a wonderful day, but I took my Vitamin C, ate my cereal and praying that if I take it easy as possible I will be on my game tomorrow. Which I have to because I have appointments all tomorrow too!

Here’s my plan:

I Can't Live W/out My Spa Bear... throw it in the microwave and it stays warm for hours!

• Drink lots and lots of fluids
• Eat soup (a study shows it really does help recovery)
• Take Tylenol to get my fever down
• Lots of throat soothing cough drops so I can make it through the day talking
• Take my heating bear with me to keep the chills away
• Take the day off from the gym (if you have a fever you should never workout, if slightly sick light exercise isn’t bad for you).

With me luck! Off to start the day and back to crash tonight.

It’s Monday already? That means it’s time to start hitting my goals, I have been putting it off a little bit, waiting to get rid of all the chocolate and other not so clean foods in my house from the Holidays. But now it’s out the door and time for me to get serious.

I am going to start my progress pictures today as well, if it warms up enough this morning I will do one and put it up this evening! But I need motivational help too and these pictures help me out so much. It is best to take them about every 2 weeks, that way it’s time enough to get results but not too far off where motivation falls.

Because I am launching my new Charleston Boot Camp, working on The Art Of Weight Lifting and planning a wedding I have decided NOT to do any fitness competitions between now and the wedding (Sept 2010) to help keep me sane. I think I would be the moodiest and most stressed out person if I tried to do it all. So competitions will have to wait for either later in 2010 or even for 2011.

My Stats:

• 112 lbs.
• 20% Body Fat

My Workout:

I just finished a great workout program, I really saw some great results from it and it makes me more excited to change it up so I can stay on this path. My arms have finally started to shape up! I am a classic hardgainer, it’s hard for me to add any  definition and muscle no matter how I eat, so my programs have to be intense and heavy! Here’s the one I just finished:

1. BB Deadlifts 120 lbs
2. Bench Press 80 lbs

1. BB Upright rows 50 lbs
2. Dips

1. Cable Chops 20 lbs
2. Chin-ups

This really was a great workout, but to make sure I don’t plateau it’s time for a change!

Getting Nutrition In Order

Just a quick update… I changed up my oatmeal for muesli cereal. It’s the first time I have had this stuff, and I gotta say that it doesn’t taste much different from oatmeal except that it has sunflower seeds and some other grains in it. I think next week it will be back to the oatmeal, same great taste for a fraction of the price.

I am cutting back to just one cup of coffee per day, not that coffee is bad for you but I used sugar-free creamer which isn’t the best option. I hate back coffee though, so its the only way to get my coffee fix in the am. I am used to drinking about 2 cups not, so taking out one won’t be hard. Instead when I need something warm at night, I bought an herbal tea… Ginger and Lemon. It’s great! I am loving it right now, even though I have only had one! HAHA.

So that’s a wrap on my personal journey…

There are going to be a few changes for Women’s Lifting Revolution for 2010 and for me! It’s going to be an amazing year and I am already overwhelmed with what’s to come in the next several months.

I love writing and talking with you here at Lifting Revolution so that’s not going to change at all… but I now have a Charleston Boot Camp going on (if you’re in Charleston, SC check it out!), I am always working to make The Art Of Weight Lifting the best it can be for women’s online fitness training and I have a wedding to plan!

Just call me Super Taylor! Not really… as long as I stay organized it shouldn’t be a problem. And that’s the main thing… I am going to be organized, heck I am even going to try and follow daily to-do lists! Imagine that, I might work a bit more efficiently if I have exactly what I need to do in front of me! Haha.

For changes with Lifting Revolution here’s what I have in mind:

More video podcasts. My plan is to have a new video up daily! Some will be posted here but all will be on Youtube. Great workouts, fitness tips, clean eating advice and much more. So make sure you’re a fan of my Youtube page so you can make sure to get access of my videos.

Get more personal… I am starting to lean out tomorrow. And I really do what I recommend. I will be taking full access of my blog to help me reach my goals. It’s our personal journal after all. So I will post pictures, my personal ups and downs and more. I am human after all and I need help and motivation as much as the next gal.

And I want to hear from you! what do you want to see more of here? More audio podcasts. recipes, fun statistics and studies… you name it and I will see if it can be done!

In this podcast Dan and I covered a lot of great stuff going around the news world today…

Get Your Workout On!

Take for example… did you know you’re more likely to succeed in life and be smarter (literally) if you just worked out? That’s just one story covered. I was also really passionate about the Lincoln University drama going down about overweight kids being forced to take a health course to graduate.

AND… here’s another fun science leason… recent research discovered why people that workout regularly look younger. It’s because we are younger! You body is aging 10 years slower than the unactive woman beside you. But of course to get the details you have to listen in.

So listen up to the podcast below and then I have also posted a great interval workout below and circuit workout to end on a really helpful note! Though, lets face if the entire podcast is helpful!

This Week’s Exercise Tip: Add intervals into your workout to speed you workout time up, burn calories and blast fat!

The 3-1 Interval Fat Burning Workout

• Min 1-3 Slow jog or quick walk
• Min 3-4 Full out or as fast as you can go for 1 minute
• Min 4-7 Back down to slow jog
• Min 7-8 Full out
• Keep this pattern going for 18 minutes
  
• The last 2 minutes finish with 30 second sprints and 30 second rests.
  

The Up and Down Circuit

The wide range of motion will have this women’s circuit workout toning your body and burning body fat! And it’s quick… done in 15 minutes!

1. 10 Hurpees
2. 10 Lunge Walks
3. 10 Push-ups
4. 20 Mt. Climbers
5. 10 Candle Stick Jumps
6. 10 Close grip push-up
   

To get more info about the reports and studies we mentioned just click below:

• College’s Too-Fat-To-Graduate Rule Under Fire
• Young Adults Who Exercise Get Higher IQ Scores
  
• Key To Long Life May Not Be Calorie Restriction But Balancing Protein Intake

Click to See All Of: The Art Of Weight Lifting Podcasts

The 2010 Ball Drop is coming really fast… are you ready for it?

You don’t have to put off getting in shape for the New Year… you can start now. And why not? Or if you don’t have goals to lose fat at least you can make sure you don’t add on any during the next 4 weeks. This is the most rapid fat gaining time of the year!

Holiday Fat Stats

Just to really drill in the importance of what I am talking about take this stat… the average woman consumes an extra 300-500 calories PER day from Thanksgiving to New Years! That’s where the sudden jump in weight gain comes from. And not to mention the average Turkey day meal is 3000 calories… that’s really building a surplus!

Happy Holidays!

Free Personal Training To Lose Body Fat

But it doesn’t have to be that way and that is why I have put together a 4 day Holiday Special Teleseminar. You will learn everything from how to handle holiday parties, keep your nutrition in check, learn quick effective workouts that take up no more than 30 minutes and much more!

This is suppose to be “The Most Wonderful Time… Of The Year” so don’t let it bring you down! To sign up and get your FREE spot for the seminar just visit Holiday Fat Loss Teleseminar and at the bottom put in your name and email… that’ it!

The schedule and time is also listed up on the page above too!

Be sure to also check out and subscribe to our… The Art of Weight Lifting Podcasts! We also want to you to comment… at least tell us what types of fitness strength training for women topics you want to hear more about.

We will greatly appreciate it.

If I am not training women, running the bootcamp, working on the site or working out myself you are likely to find me training gymnasts and cheerleaders at a local facility here in Charleston. I have gotten to know some really great families being there and it’s pretty cool to see these kids kick ass and achieve great things.

A few months ago one of the moms was diagnosed with cancer (I think adult leukemia) and it is amazing… since her diagnosis she hasn’t missed a day of bringing her daughter to practice (3 times a week), standing at the side cheering and talking it up with the other moms and she always wears a smile. She has a beautiful wig and carries herself taller than ever!

Get Your Tush Up

This got me to thinking…

This lady is motivation for EVERY woman

If she can get out of bed every morning and put on a brave smile for friends, family, and the world then there is no reason you can’t achieve your goals… no matter what they are. I figure if she can get over her hurdles and win this battle then we can all get out of bed on these cold mornings and get our workout done.

Make A Pledge

<p class=”alert”>You can make it here, or write a sticky note and put it on the fridge that you are determined to hit your goals, lose the fat, tone your body and not just for a party next month but for the long term.</p>

On those days when you don’t feel strong enough to get up and get to the gym (because you don’t want to get out of the warm blankets) or you just want to sit and eat Holiday Cookies, remember the mom and the other women who are an inspiration everyday!

You can do it!

I was so excited to do an interview with my friend Vince Del Monte! Vince is the man behind No Nonsense Muscle Building, a  top fitness seller! He’s also a fitness model and competitor… so definitely not bad on the eyes!

Don’t let the title of Vince’s book keep you away… the interview was awesome because we really talked about women’s training, not in a “how to get big way” but in a “getting toned and lean” way so I know you will want to listen in!

To learn more about Vince and he’s projects click on: Vince Del Monte Fitness

On another note, Dan and I worked out together…

he’s helping me to increase my intensity which is a must for the results to keep showing! I think my arms and lats are going to hate me for sure since I did pull-ups to failure and then did negative pull-ups to failure!

Give them a try yourself… and remember I mean pull-ups, not chin-ups (here’s my blog on the difference between pull-ups and chin-ups if you need it).

3 sets of 10 pull-ups… if you can’t finish the set, do the rest as negative pull-ups. For negatives jump up to the top position and SLOWLY, VERY SLOWLY lower all the way down.

Dan and I got the chance to interview Fitness Trainer Craig Ballantyne! Craig is a true expert and we have a lot of the same ideals and theories when it comes to proper exercise programs and getting results.

I definitely recommend listening below and even grabbing your husband or boyfriend… the two of you will get a lot out of this one!

Craig Ballantyne Interview

If you haven’t heard of Craig, he is the trainer responsible for the very popular e-book Turbulence Training, he’s also a regular writer for big time magazines like Men’s Fitness and Oxygen (my favorite mag).

To learn more about Craig Ballantyne and see his blog visit… Turbulence Training