There are a ton of great workouts out there—heck, we here at AcaciaTV will even deliver them straight to you through iTunes and Amazon Prime. But when it comes to cardio, it can be tough to find low-impact options that you can do anywhere. What about those times when bouncing around isn’t an option? I […]
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Last week, I gave you a workout that you could do in your kitchen, using only a dishtowel, so that you could get it done before breakfast regardless of how chaotic your mornings typically are. This week, I want to take it a step further and talk about how you can use some bedtime rituals before going […]
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Mornings are hectic! There is so much you have to do to get yourself and the rest of your household out the door with bellies full of breakfast, combed hair and proper attire, and lunches in hand— it’s a tough job but, as they say, somebody’s gotta do it. So what if I challenged you to try […]
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As a trainer, I’d have to say that the statement I hear most frequently during health and fitness conversations is, “I don’t have the time.” Heck, I’ve even said it myself before. The struggle is real. But I ALWAYS feel better and am far more efficient with the time I do have when I take […]
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It’s really easy to lose your motivation to workout when you’d rather stay warm and cozy under your blanket than get out of bed and venture into the chilly world beyond your comforter. Can’t say I blame you on this one! Winter can be a tough time for fitness goals. On one hand, you’ve just […]
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The last time I saw the stats on New Years Resolutions it was something like 30% of Resolutions don’t survive the first 2 weeks of the year and nearly 40% won’t last a month. So how are you doing with yours? Hopefully you’re on the winning end of these grim stats but if you’ve already […]
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It used to be very difficult to find a yoga studio where you could practice aerial yoga…but now it’s popping up everywhere! I’m finding that many people are extremely curious about it but for various reasons (mostly stemming from fear) they haven’t tried it yet. But, if I were you, I’d try it immediately, […]
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So, how are those New Year’s resolutions working out for ya? When it comes to fitness goals, one of the biggest reasons people cite for falling off the wagon is LACK OF TIME. Adding new healthy habits can be really tough when your schedule is already jam-packed and over-booked because, well, let’s face it, there […]
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I’m just gonna say it…there are times when keeping our New Year’s Resolutions can feel an awful lot like torture and deprivation. Maybe it’s just me but sometimes I feel like the list of stuff I need to give up to keep the promises I made to myself is endless and it’s frustrating. If this […]
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Wow, I can’t believe 2015 is almost over— where did the year go? Last January really doesn’t feel like it was 12 months ago, but the calendar is telling me otherwise, so I guess it must be true. If you’re like most people, now is when you evaluate your fitness goals and resolve to do […]
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Right about this time every year, I’ve just about had my fill of holiday music. I start out the season happy to hear holiday songs and you’ll usually find me singing along and busting a move or two. Then, it’s EVERYWHERE…like all the time. Grocery store, television commercials, “on hold” music, office elevators, and on […]
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Sometimes working out during the holidays can seem a bit, well…complicated. All year long, we’re spoiled with so many fancy new moves (who knew there were more than 20 ways to do a burpee??) with even fancier equipment like this, and this, and this. And as awesome as it is that fitness has come such […]
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Tell me this: has the holiday stress started to get to you yet? Are you freaking out yet about all the shopping, decorating, and cooking? Well, there’s still a little more than a month to go before the New Year, so it’s time to get all that seasonal stress under control. It’s time to replace […]
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It’s here… Thanksgiving Week! Every year, I hear all those insane stats about how many calories the average American eats on Thanksgiving – it’s no wonder our collective waistlines are expanding. Often, just the anticipation of the calorie bomb that’s coming later this week is enough to cause anxiety. But if you’re already feeling panicky […]
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Rush rush rush! Every year, the holidays come roaring in and before we know it, they’re gone and we forgot to pause, smell the pumpkin pie, and give thanks for all we have. Instead, we spend weeks trying to keep up with all the baking and the shopping and the decorating…UGH! When is it time […]
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Ah… the holidays are upon us. Those delightful 10 weeks of anxiety about your weight that can overshadow the joys of the season – but this year is different. For week 2 of the Maintain, Don’t Gain Holiday Challenge I’ve come up with a workout – using minimal equipment and space – that’ll soon be […]
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Let’s face it…when it comes to navigating the candy aisle at Halloween, it’s take no prisoners. So for Week 1 of the AcaciaTV Maintain, Don’t Gain Holiday Challenge, you already know you’re gonna eat some candy. I say, just plan for it. Have a strategy that doesn’t involve feeling bad about yourself. You don’t need […]
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You’ll have so much fun burning off those trick-or-treat calories with these wicked dance moves I’ve created especially for the occasion. Even if you’ve never so much as Monster Mashed or Creeped the Creep, you can totally pull off this fat burning workout like a boss. So come on and join me for this spooktacular […]
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This October has been a bit different for me. It’s the first year where someone very close to me has been affected by breast cancer. As this is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I wanted to share her story with you. I first met my good friend Isaedmarie (Isa) Febo in the Spring of 2014. She […]
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Change is in the air, my friends. The days are getting shorter. The air is getting crisper. The trees are exploding with vibrant colors. The grocery store aisles are filing up with candy corn, pumpkin-flavored everything, and various other seasonal delights. Ahhhhhh Autumn. It’s my favorite season of all. But as soon as it arrives, […]
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If you’re an AcaciaTV subscriber or a frequent reader of this blog, you’re one of the lucky ones who has access to all the tools you need to get fit – no matter your workout preferences and time or space constraints. 3 Instant Exercise Rut Busters The BOSU: How To Use That Half Ball Thingy […]
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That moment when the only exercise ball on the rack is one of those strange ones that doesn’t bounce and feels like it’s filled with Jell-O. Could it be some random escapee from the Island of Misfit Toys? Who knew it was possible to have a lazy exercise ball? Well, there goes your workout, right? […]
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Life’s too short to be bored with your workouts – spice up your daily run around the neighborhood by adding a body weight circuit. No equipment = No excuses! 3 Instant Exercise Rut Busters Need a Running Form Refresher? 5 Insider Tips for Using AcaciaTV Here’s the deal. Warm up with 10 minutes of easy […]
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At AcaciaTV we believe it’s totally possible to have mass quantities of fun while getting your workout on. Last week, I gave your lower body using only a playground swing to prove the point. Check out the Lower Body Playground Blast here. This week, I’m back to give you another reason to bust out of […]
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As kids, we used to spend large parts of our days just itching to get outside and run around. Recess was our workout and the playground was our gym. So what the heck happened? Somewhere between the mortgage, the commute, and the PTA meetings, fitness became cumbersome – yet another item on our already-overloaded to-do […]
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Stop me if this sounds familiar: You’ve been diligently putting in the miles, cranking out the reps with the fantastic AcaciaTV trainers, cruising along like a champ when “it” happens — the dreaded workout rut. Dun dun dun. If the thought of your impending workout makes your eyes glaze over, chances are you’re in The Rut. […]
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That moment you see a strange piece of equipment in the gym and wonder if it’s a torture device or some machinery you aren’t qualified to operate. Yeah…I’ve been there too. Introducing the mini band. It looks like a massive rubber band or perhaps an odd slingshot of some sort. I know you’ve seen them lying around […]
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“Running Sucks!” I hear this all the time. In a past life, I often said it myself. Actually for most of my life, running was a punishment. Miss a play, run a lap. Let the ball drop, run suicides. Awful. Just awful. Then I fell in love with running and eventually became a running coach. Now, […]
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AcaciaTV has a ton of fabulous workouts, motivational guidance, and trainer tips to help new moms get back into shape. But we get that it can be tricky to figure out how to best use all of these awesome tools, especially when you’ve got your hands full with a newborn. We also know that some […]
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My arm balance practice has been picking up ton of steam over the past few months and lately I’ve been practicing them pretty much daily. It all started innocently enough back in January with a desire to get into Scorpion Pose without any assistance someday. I began this journey in a time of great transition […]
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That moment you see a strange piece of equipment in the gym and wonder if it’s a torture device or some machinery you aren’t qualified to operate. Yeah…I’ve been there too. Well I say, no more intimidation. No more avoiding that oddly shaped workout contraption or gadget. No more fear of using it wrong. I’m […]
Read More >Recently, I had the incredible privilege of interviewing of one of the greats in the world of fitness blogging and one of my personal fitspirations, Jennipher Walters, CEO and co-founder of the websites, FitBottomedGirls.com, FitBottomedMamas.com and FitBottomedEats.com and author of the book by Random House, The Fit Bottomed Girls Anti-Diet. In case you’re not sufficiently impressed by those creds, […]
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I have a few pet peeves when it comes to shoes and feet. Top of the list is people who drag their feet when walking (swish, swish, swish…), followed closely by flip flops (don’t get me started…) Rounding out the top three is people who work out in the wrong shoes for what they’re doing. […]
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Your core’s primary function is not to just look nice in a bikini. While I certainly understand why that may be your main focus and motivation over the next three months, your core has some pretty important jobs to do the other nine months of the year as well — like making it possible for […]
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People can be funny when it comes to working out with jewelry (“bling”) on but sometimes it makes me cringe, seeing visions of Final Destination-style freak accidents happening which involve someone losing a finger or worse. I have one athlete who wears large diamond earrings when she runs a race because “they make [her] faster.” […]
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After my two most recent posts about strength training, I started to get a bunch of really great questions rolling in and, as I sifted through them, it occurred to me that people still feel very much “boxed in” when it comes to strength training. It appears that most have a vision in their heads […]
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So I’ve been on a bit of a strength training kick lately, spreading the good word about all the awesome benefits people miss when they don’t include it in their routine regularly (read all about my real-life/no-BS reasons for swinging to the other side in the latest installment of my AcaciaTV Fit Blog HERE). Last […]
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IT’S LIES!! ALL LIES, I TELL YOU!! Pardon my rant but we as a society have been poorly educated- especially women- about strength training and that’s really sad because the truth is that strength training is often the most efficient way to reach many of the goals we have (i.e. look leaner, burn fat, build […]
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So now that we’ve explored to two sides of cardio, it’s time to bring this cardio debate full circle and talk about what we’ve learned. I know you’re all dying to know whether you should be spending your time doing HIIT or steady state cardio, right? But why pick just one when you can have […]
Read More >Hey hey!! It’s a brand-spankin’ new week and you know what that means…yep, time for a brand-spankin’ new FIT/MO Challenge!! This one is very simple (notice I said “simple” NOT “easy”). We’re gonna do a few Mountain Climbers this week. Well, more than a few…we’re gonna do 450 Mountain Climbers this week WHAT?!?!?! Coach Alison has lost […]
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In my previous post, I presented the pros and cons of interval training and now it’s time to examine the other- decidedly less glamorous- side of cardiovascular training…steady state cardio. Doesn’t sound nearly as fancy as “high intensity interval training”, does it?? While the name makes it sound like a snooze-fest, this is where modern […]
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Welcome back! If you haven’t read The Great Cardio Debate – Part 1: Is Cardio Really King?? check that out, too! It hasn’t always been this way but when most people think of cardio now, they immediately think of interval training, also known as metabolic conditioning or high intensity interval training (HIIT). Interval training is […]
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A few weeks ago, in my blog post titled Can You Tell Me How to Get to Awesome Street?, I provided a basic framework with four essential elements necessary to build a solid, well-rounded fitness program. Essential Component #1 is cardio and unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock since the mid-80s, you probably already […]
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When I first started working out as an adult, I noticed pretty quickly that the process of getting fit involves a whole new set of unintended and very odd side-effects. Over time, the list of side-effects grew and I began to wonder (a) is it worth it? (uh…resounding yes) and (b) am I alone in […]
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I left you hanging again last post, didn’t I? Now that you’ve got your mind right and are feeling all this motivation to make things happen, it’s time to build the program or workout routine that’ll be the vehicle to get you to your goals. Okay, what exactly is involved in a good fitness program? […]
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And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for (cue drum roll): the conclusion of my Motivation for the Masses post… I have spent the better part of my life whole-heartedly believing that I belonged in the “motivationally-challenged” bucket. I, like many people, thought that I was doomed to always be uninspired and disinterested […]
Read More >Rather than trying to tackle everything all at once, sometimes it’s better to start with a little and watch your pile grow. So I challenge you to think about a goal or promise you want to make to yourself this year that is centered around doing more of something or less of something, like “eat […]
Read More >Recently, someone said to me “I don’t set goals because it just sets me up for failure.” I’m a huge fan of goals and find tremendous value in them, so this statement really got me thinking. On one hand, I suppose there’s some logic here- I mean, you can’t really get off-track if you were […]
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If you’ve read my previous blog posts, you already know how to (and hopefully have) made some commitments to yourself this year and used my “Super-Secret Four-Step Process for Setting Awesome Goals” to put yourself on the path to honoring those commitments. If you’ve been following along and checked off those boxes already, congratulations, you’ve […]
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It’s that time of the year again where all anyone can talk about is New Years’ Resolutions. (Hang in there folks, it typically only lasts about 12-14 days. It’ll all be over soon, I promise.) Even though I’m a HUGE fan of setting goals, I’m absolutely not the resolution-making type. In fact, I don’t even […]
Read More >Hi everyone! I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself since you’ll be hearing from me with some frequency going forward. I’m Coach Alison and my primary role here is to provide you with three things: motivation, encouragement, and inspiration. I’m a very enthusiastic and passionate fitness trainer and coach (to put it mildly) […]
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