I was excited to find Kettlebell expert Lauren Brooks on Facebook, and even more excited to find out that she had her own DVD. I asked if I could review it and she kindly sent me a copy along with an extra for a giveaway. Read more for details.

I love learning about new exercises that require no special equipment and this is the premise of the entire book. Lauren explains that we don’t need fancy equipment and gym memberships. Following his exercises, the claim is that both men and women can get in the best shape of their lives using only their bodies and a few simple household items.

I am proud to begin to feature other fit moms and fitness coaches her on PersonalFitCoach.com. Our first spotlight is on Coach Vawny of Virginia. Here is her story:

Summer has officially arrived, the temps have been high and extremely hot. As a result, my workout plans have shifted around. I am no longer exercising outdoors. Instead, I am spending more time on the treadmill and have started to revisit my extensive DVD collections.

Goodness, I think an entire week has gone by without a new post. How did that happen? Last Saturday, I had the amazing opportunity to spend the day with fitness trainer, guru, and P90X creator, Tony Horton. It was a day filled with sweat, great health and fitness information and terrific people. Read more to find out all about this great day.

As I’m sure we will all agree, grabbing an apple or a handful of nuts for a snack can get pretty boring pretty fast. Chalene created a fun “Snack-O-Matic” chart to help you make fun and fast snacking choices. Basically, you pick a base, a dip, and a topping to reach about a 100 calorie total. I am having fun with it already. Today my snack is apple slices warmed in the microwave with crumbled walnuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon. YUMMY! Here are some of the option ideas:

Here’s a fun article from my buddy over at Yeahtips.com. Why is there such fuss about women’s health and fitness? Men don’t seem to have these issues. This is because women tend to prioritize their families first. No matter if they know every woman’s fitness tip, they are hardwired to feel guilty about putting themselves first. So now, there are endless articles, series, and even television programs to make women realize that they need to keep fit and healthy in order to multitask.

A wise man once said, “You can either have excuses or fitness, but not both”. So which do you choose to have? What would you prefer to have? Personally I would prefer to have fitness, not excuses. But I have many, many excuses for avoiding exercises and eating healthy foods. My biggest problem is getting past those excuses.