Blog Archives

Why FitYaf?

6/28/2013

After sharing my website with my friends and fellow fitness enthusiasts, one of the most common responses I got was, "Jillian, I love your website, but why FitYaf?"

It all started about 30 years ago... When I was born, as part of the Jewish tradition, my parents gave me a Hebrew name at a Jewish naming ceremony. The name they chose was Shayndel:

which means beautiful. Appropriate, right? Years later, when I began Hebrew school I was told by my teacher that the name Shayndel was Yiddish and not Hebrew. She informed me that the Hebrew equivalent of Shayndel was Yaffa:

which also means beautiful, but in Hebrew, not Yiddish. Over the next 5, or so, years, slowly my name morphed back into Shayndel, and that was the name I used at my Bat Mitzvah on November 11, 1995.

Thirteen years later, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel (photos below) on a birthright trip with Oranim [shout out to my fellow birthright-ers on bus 819!!]. Again, I was asked, "What is your Hebrew name?" and again I was told that it was Yaffa, not Shayndel. My friend Kerry was also on this trip with me, and she decided that Yaffa was the perfect "nickname" for me, so when we returned home, she continued to called me Yaffa. The nickname was so popular, it caught on, and now, my husband calls me Yaffa at least 20 times a day - I think he even says it in his sleep. He has even given a nickname to the nickname and sometimes calls me Yaf.

So, about a year ago, when I was considering changing my Twitter handle, I tossed around a few ideas and took a few votes from my friends, and @FitYaf was born (follow me).

Naturally, when I dreamed up this fitness website, FitYaf.com was the best choice, so that's how you wound up here, reading this blog.

Do you have any great stories about how you got your nickname?

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Working out with friends & 7 other habits of highly fit people

6/27/2013

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Are you looking to get fit this summer? I recently came across a great post on the lifefitness.com website called, "The 7 Habits of Highly Fit People". I thought it was a great read and really hit on the major lifestyle changes that you can make if you're aiming to be more "fit". I thought I'd expand on this a little and point some of you in the right direction, if you're looking to take on some of these habits. Also, be sure to check out the 8th habit I added at the end!

Working out with friends and 7 other habits of highly fit people

1. Live by the 90/10 rule. 90% of the time, focus on maintaining healthy habits and allow indulgences 10% of the time. It's not what you do once in a while that counts; it's what you do most of the time.

I REALLY like this rule! Unless you are avoiding a specific food type/category for a medical reason, chances are, you don't need to eat clean 100% of the time. You also don't need to workout EVERY day - in fact, your body needs rest too! You might even find it's easier to stick to your overall "get fit" plan if you're allowing yourself some room for indulgences - if make your guidelines too rigid, then your plan most likely won't stick! So go ahead and have that cookie instead of thinking about wanting it for the next week - just be sure to get right back on track!

2. Aim for an hour a day, but never miss two days in a row of exercise. Follow the two-day rule. Something may come up that makes you miss an exercise on a particular day, but don't let it happen more than two days in a row.

This is a great rule to follow when you're healthy and uninjured - but if you have an injury, skipping a workout for more than two days is not only acceptable, but NECESSARY! Otherwise, skipping your workouts for more than two days not only starts to have negative effects on your progress, but it also starts to create a new habit - a habit of not exercising. The best way to stick to your workout plan is to SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUTS. I can't emphasize this enough - at the beginning of each week, take a look at your schedule and see where you have the time to workout. Once it's in your calendar, treat it like an important meeting with yourself - you wouldn't miss an important meeting with your boss, so treat yourself with the same level of respect! Set a reminder on your phone if you need to. I find it's best for me to workout in the morning - it's the first thing I do on most days. Often things come up during the day that might change our schedules, but what else is going to come up at 5:00am? An alternative is to plan to meet a friend - chances are you're more likely to stick to a plan if you have someone else counting on you!

3. Find a substitute for weaknesses. With a simple Google search, you can find healthier options for the most tempting treat.

Depending on your weakness, this may or may not work. The article suggests substituting Greek yogurt with berries and walnuts for ice cream. I'm not really an ice cream girl myself, but I know many people who LOVE their ice cream, and I bet that this substitution just isn't going to hit the spot for them. So give this rule a try, but pay attention to how satisfying your substitution is - if it's not working for you, save your "treats" for that 10% of the time!

4. Use monitoring tools. Determine what monitoring tools you want to use to track steps taken, calories burned, heart rate zones and workouts.

This is a GREAT tip! With all of the apps you can download to your phone these days, there's really no excuse NOT to be tracking your workouts. I love using the the Daily Burn Tracker to track all of my workouts. It helps me see when I have great days and days that are not so great. Not only can I track my workouts, but it also has a food diary, a place to track your water intake AND your sleep. It even has a place to enter in your progress for all of the P90x workouts! When you're keeping track of all of these things, you begin to get a feel for what habits are having a positive effect on your fitness! For my running, I either use a Garmin GPS watch or the Nike+ running app, and just glancing down at my pace every once in a while during a run, really helps me stay on target. But, it doesn't really matter WHAT you're using to track your progress - just that you ARE tracking it! If you've never kept a food diary before, you might be surprised at what you're eating!

5. Cross Train. Unless you are preparing for an upcoming competition or race, train for overall health, including cardio, strength and flexibility. Don't get in a rut of steady state cardio. Add intervals, hills and speed to challenge the heart. Work muscles with functional strength training at least twice a week. Also, consider taking a yoga class, or make a habit of stretching.

Keeping your workouts varied not only keeps you less bored, but it's a great way to keep up with your overall fitness. It also gives you a chance to try new things and maybe even meet new people! If you're relying on the same workout every day, chances are that you're not doing much for your overall fitness. These days, gyms, boutique studios and at-home workouts are so versatile, there really is something for everyone. If you can't afford a gym membership, check out boutique studios like spin and yoga studios and boot camp classes - there are always great deals on Groupon and Living Social, and you usually don't have to sign a contract or commit to a membership. Also, most gyms will let you try out the facility FREE for a few days. If you prefer to workout at home, check out your cable company's on demand programming - many cable providers have on-demand workouts for all fitness levels. OR you can browse the internet - there are so many websites and blogs that offer FREE at-home workouts. Check out my friend Melissa's blog - these workouts are AMAZING! Lastly, if you're looking for a structured workout program that is going to offer cardio, strength AND flexibility training, check out these Beachbody programs:

6. Be prepared. Travel with healthy snacks and always have water on hand. Extreme hungry is the enemy and often causes us to make bad choices.

As much as we schedule and plan, there are always going to be things that come up and keep of from our fitness routine - a meeting that ran late or the bus/train that's not running on schedule. The key is to BE PREPARED! I ALWAYS have a bag of pistachios and a bottle of water in my gym bag. You never know when hunger will strike, and it's often when we're STARVING that we make the worst choices - skipping the gym, hitting up the drive-thru, etc. Keeping snacks like nuts and dried fruit in your purse, your gym bag or your car, can really help avoid those situations. Also, did you know that you should be drinking half your body weight (in pounds) in ounces of water EVERY DAY? And, that's not even accounting for replacing sweat from your workout. Since we get a lot of water from food, sometimes our bodies confuse thirst for hunger. If you think you're hungry, try drinking some water first! Another way you can stay prepared - clean out your fridge and pantry! Keep healthy options at eye level, and if you can't part with the "bad" stuff, at least hide it in the back. Cut up your fruits and veggies so they're always available for a quick and convenient snack. Lastly, just like you're planning your workouts for the week - plan your meals too. Your ride home from work probably isn't the best time to decide what you're going to have for dinner that night. If you plan ahead, you're likely to make better choices!

7. Check your attitude. If thoughts are positive, actions are more likely to be positive too.

This one is self explanatory. Your attitude has a lot to do with how you will progress and succeed. Remember - you're not going to see progress and results every day, and you might even have setbacks, but if you're on a general trend of improving your fitness you'll be amazed at the progress you'll make over the course of three months, or even a year.

and here's one more habit I'd like to add:

8. Workout with friends. I know there are people would think they would never set foot in a gym or workout with friends - either they're embarrassed about how they look or their own fitness level, but I guarantee you that if you make working out a part of your social life, it becomes a hobby instead of a chore. Not only will your friends hold you more accountable, but you'll likely try new things, meet new people and overall change your attitude. When I run fitness challenges, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the challenge that my challenge members report back about is often the support and camaraderie of the other members - and most of the time these people are strangers! Imagine if they were your friends! Maybe you weren't really interested in that Zumba class your friend suggested, but who knows, maybe you'll LOVE it? Neale Donald Walsch says it best: "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone".

What is a habit that helps keeps you fit?

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The Body Blitz Burpee Challenge you can do at home!

6/26/2013

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Aaah, the dreaded burpee - the love & hate of fitness enthusiasts world-wide! Who even came up with the idea of a burpee anyway? According to wikipedia, an American physiologist (Royal H Burpee) developed the "Burpee test" as part of his PhD thesis, and thus the burpee was born. I have a feeling that Dr. Burpee and I would have been good friends.

For those of you that join me for my Monday night Body Blitz class at Pottruck, you know the Body Blitz Burpee Challenge well - we do it EVERY class! But, for those of you who can't attend my class, you can now do the Body Blitz Burpee Challenge AT HOME!

A "standard" burpee involves:

Start in the standing position
Squat down so that hands are on the floor and heels lift off the floor
Jump back into plank position (straight line from your shoulders to your heels, neck in line with your spine)
Jump back in to squat position
Stand up and jump up off the floor

tribesports.com

However, in my class, we do the burpee pushup:

Start in the standing position
Squat down so that hands are on the floor and heels lift off the floor
Jump back into plank position (straight line from your shoulders to your heels, neck in line with your spine)
Do 1 pushup
Jump back in to squat position
Stand up and jump up off the floor

recapturefitness.com

So now that you know how to do the pushup burpee, you're ready for the Body Blitz Burpee Challenge! Each time you do a burpee, you're going to increase the amount of pushups you do by one, so that your first pushup burpee will have one pushup, your second will have two, etc. Increase your pushups all the way to EIGHT! Take the BONUS challenge and go back down to one.

Not quite ready for the Burpee Challenge? Try the pushups on your knees (make sure you have a mat or you're on a carpeted surface):

some-like-it-raw.com

OR, just hold the plank position while you count. See how many weeks it takes you to progress from counting to knee pushups to full burpee pushups!

Post below how long it takes you to complete the challenge & do it once/week to see how much you can improve your time!

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GET. IT. DONE. Focus T25 is HERE!!!

6/25/2013

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You've been waiting for months to get your hands on Shaun T's newest fitness program - FOCUS T25! And the time has finally come!

What is Focus T25?

FOCUS T25 is a new 10-Week program made up of workouts that only take 25 minutes to do. This fast and effective workout is about no nonsense, no wasted time, and all about getting great results. It's short in length, but intense, and has eleven workouts on nine DVDs that will push your whole body to new limits. These workouts are packed with cardio and resistance moves that require minimal equipment to do, but every ounce of commitment and dedication to get 100% ripped.

Who is Focus T25 made for?

This program is ideal for those with busy schedules, or for people who are short on time but want to "GET IT DONE" and have the best workout in the shortest time possible. FOCUS T25 is an intense workout program, but unlike Shaun's other programs, this one includes a modifier who shows lower impact modifications for EVERY move. FOCUS T25 suitable for a broad range of customers and fitness levels. This is a perfect program fitness enthusiasts who are intimidated by INSANITY®!

What do people love most about Focus T25?

Even those people with incredibly tight schedules can always find 25 minutes a day to work out.
Major studies have shown that 30 minutes of exercise can be just as effective at burning fat and even more efficient than 60 minutes of exercise.
There’s always a modifier on screen, so literally anyone at any fitness level can GET IT DONE with FOCUS T25.

Who is ready to GET IT DONE? Please contact me or comment below with any questions!

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There's a NEW Shakeology in Town!

6/24/2013

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For those of you who know me, you know I love my Shakeology - I drink it for breakfast EVERY day! I'm a chocolate Shakeology girl, but I also enjoy the Vegan Strawberry every now and again. I was SO excited to hear the announcement of Shakeology's newest flavor - Vanilla! The best part is - Beachbody is also offering FREE shipping through July 7th. Check out the video below describing how vanilla Shakeology was created, while maintaining the standard of high quality ingredients. I can't wait to try some of the delicious-sounding recipes Beachbody has shared. Comment below for a chance to win a FREE sample of vanilla Shakeology!

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I heard Step Aerobics is for Grandmas!

6/23/2013

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Do you have a soulmate workout? I do! My soulmate workout is step aerobics. I love so many forms of exercise, but nothing really compares to step aerobics for me. What do you think of when you hear step aerobics? Perhaps you're thinking back to 80's/90's style aerobics classes (below, left), or even the video that recent viral video of a man doing step aerobics in a speedo - he's missing the step, but boy is he having fun (below, right).

My class has often been described as "dancy" or a "workout for your mind AND body" - not only is my class fast-paced, but the choreography is more complicated than the average step class. All of these things are exactly what I love about it! So imagine my surprise when a new member introduced herself before class and said, "I heard Step Aerobics is for Grandmas!" To set the record straight, I've had women who are grandmothers take my class, and they not only keep up with the younger people in my class, but they sometimes outshine them and have WAY more energy! Check out Leeni in the photo below - an amazing stepper AND a grandma! It just goes to show that age is just a number and if you 'keep up with your fitness', you'll never get 'old'. But, that doesn't take away the impression people have about step aerobics. Yes, step aerobics has been around for a LONG time, dating back to the Jazzercise and Richard Simmons years of fitness world (did you know Richard Simmons, at age 64, is STILL teaching group fitness in CA?), but it has evolved SO much!

In the beginning, a lot of my choreography came from a class that I took before I became an instructor, taught by my personal step aerobics guru, Deanna (in the picture to the right). She is who got me hooked on step from day 1 - her choreography is FABULOUS (you can take her class at Club One in Pittsburgh)! I was determined to be as amazing as she is! I find choreography inspiration everywhere, but one of my favorite places is YouTube. My favorite step aerobic YouTube-er is Tony Cicala, or "sunshine Tony" in Italy. His choreography is so inspiring and I "borrow" his moves ALL the time! Check him out:

Leeni, Deanna & I at Club One, Pittsburgh, May 2013

Can YOUR grandma do that? If she can, she's pretty awesome! I know step aerobics isn't for everyone, but I LOVE IT!

What's your soulmate workout?

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Welcome to FitYaf.com!

6/21/2013

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OMG - I have a blog?! Now, what? Well first, I want to welcome you to FitYaf.com and wish you a happy first day of summer! I wear many hats in the fitness world - I'm a group fitness instructor, a runner and a Beachbody coach. I was getting tired of having all of my information on different websites, so I decided to create this one, so there was only website to remember to get all of your information about 'yours truly'. You can now use this site to check out my group fitness schedule, write a review for one of my classes, read about the different classes that I teach, sign up for a health and fitness challenge group, learn more about Shakeology (the healthiest meal of the day - one I drink EVERY morning for breakfast) or learn about some of the crazy, yet amazing workouts I'm doing in my own living room.

I'd also love to hear from you with any feedback you might have. Feel free to leave comments or ask me any questions about all things fitness related. I'll be sure to post with new teaching locations, Beachbody promotions and anything new and exciting going on in my world.

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