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:

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:

For a few days this week, I have not had a traditional workout, but I’ve been doing a heck of a lot of housework and laundry. I figured this was a good time to remind my readers that we all can burn quite a few calories with activities that we tend to do daily. Why not keep track as well? You will feel so much better about days when you thought you “skipped” a workout. In fact, you may find out that you burned more than you thought.

I wrote about this topic about two years ago and thought it was a good time for an update. Do you realize that about 50% of people have given up on their New Year’s Resolution by the middle of the year. How about you? Did you set a goal that is strong enough and important enough for you to stick with it? Or, are you letting other things get in the way. Are you letting yourself get lower and lower on your priority list?

Here is a fun recipe from another new contributor to PersonalFitCoach. Her name is Jenni and she blogs at TheHeadlessCook. Stop by her blog and say hello.

This is a recipe that is super fast and easy. It’s great as a side dish or just to snack on! Just pop these in the oven and put them in a bowl instead of chips? You’re in for a treat!

Now that I am over 40, keeping young is a primary focus for me. More and more studies are coming out to show the effects of exercise on aging. This is certainly great to keep me motivated with each and every workout session.

Tim D. Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College in London, led a study on the effects of exercise on aging. The results were astounding. They found that exercise appears to slow the aging process. “The data suggests that the act of exercising may actually protect the body against the aging process,” said Spector.