This year, your fitness plan needs one of these Bucket List items! It’s easier to achieve a goal when it’s specific. So, pick out an item that aligns with your overall health goals, and work towards it!
You may need to already be in a certain state of fitness for some of these. We don’t expect a beginner to sign up for their first marathon today, but we’re challenging you to work your way up to accomplishing something new!
If all you’ve got is the dogpaddle, it’s time. Ask the advice of an experienced swimmer and maybe don’t go alone if you’re new to swimming. If you’re comfortable in the water, you can read a guide like this one to apply techniques to accomplish strokes like the freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and sidestroke.
Face your fear of sharks and try a long-distance swim! Again, not to be attempted alone! Search for training and open-water race opportunities near you, and dive into the exhilarating experience of open-water swimming. You can also train in the pool at your local LA Fitness like Triathlete Champion, Dave Ruby. What you’re looking for is a way to condition your muscles for the type of work a long-distance swim requires!
To hold a handstand, you need strong shoulders, arms, and wrists to hold you up, and a strong core to keep you balanced. Taking this challenge means you’ll need to do some strengthening work. Are you up for it?
If you’re already handstanding your way through life, we challenge you to try a new kind of handstand! One-handed, maybe? Try learning to walk on your hands or holding it for one minute. Can you do a handstand pushup? There are limitless ways to push the boundaries of what you can do!
You may have seen or used the assisted pullup machine at the gym. It’s a great way to slowly increase the amount of weight you can pull until you are able to lift your full body weight into the pullup. If you’re completely new, aim for 5 pullups to start. If you’re seasoned, your next step might be a one-arm pullup, or maybe a muscle up!
Easy pushups usually start with your knees on the ground to help support your weight. Just because it’s the “easy” version doesn’t mean your muscles aren’t working hard. New movement will always challenge your muscles. Try to get to 5 if you’re brand new, but don’t stop there! Shoot for 10 and then 15.
If you’re already a master at pushups, add a new one to your repertoire. Unlock some new skills like a clap pushup, diamond pushup, try one with a hand behind your back, or go for a superman pushup!
You’ll need a lot of body strength to successfully hold a planche. Those who can accomplish this move have stable wrists, strong arms and shoulders, a strong back and core, and perhaps even an understanding of physics. It is typically done on the ground or with paralletes, and you’ll need to be fairly strong to begin with. That doesn’t mean that you can’t learn some progressions to get to a fully extended straight-arm planche.
Yoga isn’t just about achieving a calm, meditative state. You can build some serious muscle through many of the more challenging poses. If you’ve never taken a yoga class, give yourself an opportunity to learn more or find a class near you to try it out. You may find that you enjoy it more than you anticipated.
If you’re not just looking to build strength and stability, performing yoga for the enjoyment of some tranquility is another great reason to add even just a few minutes of it to your day.
With so many themed 5k’s and 10k’s, running has never been more enjoyable. Many courses have a special theme, a unique reward at the finish line, surprises at each checkpoint, and sometimes even zombies to keep you running. Not to mention these events often support a charitable cause.
If the distance looks daunting, keep in mind that there’s no pressure to run. You can go your own pace and all the festivities are a great distraction. In many cases, you’ll go home with a medal no matter when you cross the finish line. So, add this one to your list this year and let us know how it went!
If you’re looking for a more intense test of your abilities, it may be time to train for or compete in your first marathon or triathlon. Real feats of endurance, physical fitness, and mental strength, these competitions are terrific goals to work towards. The only way you’ll survive is if you train smart and feed your body what it needs. Not only are you accomplishing something big, you’re practicing self-discipline and restraint to reach this bucket list item.
Bouncing back to a more easily achievable item, this one takes you back to your childhood. Didn’t think you’d need to learn to ride a bike again, did you? A tandem bike can be a lot of fun once you’ve figured out how to get it going. You’ll need some good teamwork skills and perhaps a bit of determination to power through your first tandem bike ride!
Cyclists, it’s time to take it to the next level! Train in the gym or take it outside but a bike race needs to be on your bucket list. Not only is it great for building your endurance and for improving your cardiovascular health, your cycling route can show you miles of breathtaking natural scenery. You can do it for fun or do it to win, but make sure this experience is not missed!
Make sure you have the right gear for this one. A mountain trail can be thrilling or leisurely depending on where you go and which trail you choose. Start out with something simple, as you would with anything new, and work your way up to more advanced trails. Take-in a stunning sunrise, bask in the stretches of land you can only see from a mountaintop, and maybe even stop to watch the wildlife.
A good long hike can take several hours to several days, but above all else, go prepared! Being well-supplied isn’t only safer, it puts your mind at ease. You’ll find you’re able to simply be in the moment instead of feeling antsy to return to civilization because you’re hungry or your socks got wet and you didn’t bring a spare. Also, the satisfaction of looking out over some beautiful vista, with nothing but the power of your body to get you there, is really, really, good.
Snow sports are a whole new world if you’re not accustomed to those frozen flakes descending from the clouds. Simply walking in your gear can be a workout.
Despite the huffing and puffing just to get to the lifts, both of these winter sports are exhilarating once you get the hang of them! A tip for beginners: take a cabin for a few days to adjust to the altitude, and spend some time taking classes! Practice your skills and stick to the bunny slope until you’re more comfortable moving to the next level.
If you’re already comfortable with one or both of these, your challenge is to learn a trick! Ski tricks and snowboard tricks add a new level of excitement and accomplishment when you go out to hit the slopes, not to mention you’ll get a lot of awed attention.
Rock climbing is a great way to build your upper body and increase your grip strength. Aside from the physical benefits, there’s a lot of adrenaline to be enjoyed from this activity. It is not for the feint hearted. Of course, you can start with the much safer option of indoor rock climbing where you’re strapped-in to a harness and spotted from below. As you get stronger and more confident in your climbing you can progress to bouldering, which is essentially climbing without a harness but to limited heights.
No, you don’t get to just sign up for this club, you earn your way in. The 1,000-pound club refers to your power lifting total. The sum of the weight you can move by Deadlift, Weighted Squat, and Bench Press must make up 1,000-pounds. Depending on your body weight, and other factors, this can be a little easier or more difficult to achieve. The idea is to challenge yourself to increase what you are capable of because the human body is incredible and can do a lot more than we think.
Either you’ve never considered it because it sounds boring or uncool, or you’ve been meaning to do it for a long time. Dancing is not just a great form of fitness it has actually been shown to benefit your mental acuity and memory. Browse through our selection of classes and find something that sparks your interest! You’ll torch calories and it’ll feel more like fun than it will like a workout.
Basketball, Raquetball, Volleyball, Football, and more. Start your own team with your friends or join one of our club leagues. Getting involved in some healthy competition is really good for your motivation and your athleticism. That’s partly because being on a team drives you to push harder than you normally would if you were working out alone. Join a team and see how it fuels your fitness goals!
Being flexible is great for your overall health and fitness. You don’t have to be able to bend over backwards but improving your flexibility protects you from injury and can help you perform other exercises more easily and effectively. Take skiing, for example. More flexibility helps you bend into your knees and hips a little deeper and change direction more easily. Or consider swimming. Better flexibility will improve your shoulder extension and rotation. Many athletes now take up yoga for precisely this reason.
You may not know exactly what your body can do until you’ve tested it in the right ways. If you aren’t sure where to begin, or if you love the sound of these bucket list items but don’t feel ready to tackle them, a personal trainer can help you. You’ll learn new exercises to add to your arsenal and reap the benefits of one-on-one attention and guidance.
Don’t stumble through your fitness plans with trial and error, zero in on your goals with the help of a professional who knows how to get you where you need to go. Book a complimentary fitness assessment and get matched with one of our ProResults® Personal Trainers!
Which of these challenges are you planning to take on this year? Share your goals in the comments below! Then, stay in-the-loop and subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly highlights from the LA Fitness blog!
Hi, I was wondering if you would be able to help my girlfriend with her diet. We’re both LA Fitness members. She’s an avid swimmer and eats pretty healthy (usually eating far less than what I normally intake). She has a thyroid issue and suffers from GERD, acid reflux. She was swimming several times a week and doing weights, yet not really losing any weight. And, if she can keep food down it’s a good day for her. She takes stuff for GERD but stopped taking her thyroid medication as she wasn’t getting any change. She was going to try one of the app diets, but her mom passed away this year and canceled on that. So, I was wondering if there’s a diet you would recommend for her, to first get her stomach back on track and possibly help her to lose the weight she wants to drop. Thank you for your help.
– John B
It’s imperative that your girlfriend follow up with her physician on an appropriate course of action regarding her thyroid condition since she stopped taking her medication. Thyroid function determines cellular metabolism and doctors test hormone levels, not body weight, to indicate medication effectiveness.
I’ll assume she requested your assistance, otherwise advice offered by you regarding her diet and weight may not be accepted! (Always a good idea to be clear on a significant other’s intent in sensitive matters.) If she already eats healthy and has had a recent stress, then simply reducing portions may be reasonable versus following a structured diet plan.
For gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), the International Foundation for Intestinal Disorders* recommends a diet that includes non-citrus fruits, lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and vegetables except tomatoes and onions. Low-fat dairy foods, non-mint chewing gum, and small amounts of oils, avocado and nut butters are generally well tolerated. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages and chocolate.
There is no specific menu plan to follow for losing weight with acid reflux. If your girlfriend is absolutely ready to begin new eating habits, then she may resume her intention of using an app and make adjustments for GERD accordingly. Consumer Affairs recently posted their top 10 weight loss apps of 2019 based on user ratings. And last year Kaiser Permanente shared their reviews of 10 nutrition and diet apps of 2018. That’s twenty apps for her to choose from though not all offer meal plans.
Best of luck to both of you for 2020 from Living Healthy!
* https://www.aboutgerd.org/diet-lifestyle-changes/diet-changes-for-gerd.html Accessed 11/22/2019
– Debbie J., MS, RD
This article should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
Some questions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Have a nutrition question? Our registered dietitian is ready to help!
Email nutrition@lafitness.com or submit your question below and it may be featured in an upcoming article!
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Any good workout plan needs a good nutrition plan. Over the years, we’ve learned a lot from our registered dietitian, Debbie James. Today, we’re compiling pieces of her best advice to help you construct your perfect meal plan.
Many of our readers want to know what they should be eating for weight loss, for healthy weight gain, for muscle gain, and more. To help simplify your search for the right answer, look no further than the article: How to Create a Meal Plan.
Here, you will find Debbie’s step-by-step process to construct a nutrition plan that meets your desired calorie count and macronutrient content. Because you’re making it yourself, you can easily tailor your “menu” to include only the foods you will actually eat. Paired with examples of how to follow each step, and tips for success, this article is a great place to start building your nutrition plan.
If, before getting started, you’d like some general information on carbs, fats, and proteins, you can read her post: Let’s Talk About the Basics.
As you put together your meal plan, you’ll be looking for ideas. What are examples of healthy pairings? Should you go for protein or complex carbs? What are healthy substitutions for foods you’re trying to cut-out? Fortunately, Debbie has explored these types of questions as well.
In her post on Healthy Suggestions for Breakfast, Lunch, and Snacks, Debbie offers a breakdown of potential meals that are about 750 calories each.
Another post on Breakfast and Lunch Options on the Go offers some sample meals that come in at about 600 calories each.
Depending on what your daily caloric needs are, you can add, remove, or swap items with healthy alternatives from the list you made in the first step of creating your meal plan. Keep in mind that sample meal plans are not meant to be repeated every day. The hope is that you will follow the structure but switch up your food choices so you can benefit from the nutritional content in your various food choices.
Vegan – For vegan meals, tasty options abound. Not only does Debbie talk about Vegan Breakfasts, she offers possible food combinations to give any meal more variety and provides readers with a list of the top vegan sources of protein.
Vegetarian – What if your meal plan is leaning towards vegetarian? Here, Debbie lists some high protein and low carb vegetarian foods that you can work into your meal plan. You’ll also find her response to questions about How to Lose Weight on a Vegetarian Diet or How to Gain Healthy Weight on a Vegetarian Diet.
Low-Carb – If you’re trying to go low carb, you might be interested in this piece on Cauliflower Substitutions, the most recent craze in terms of rice and dough alternatives. Or, perhaps you want to know about the Best Time of Day to Eat Starchy Carbs. Yup, there’s a piece on that too!
Snacks are also on our radar when we’re structuring our food for the day. They keep us from getting too hungry before our next meal and can help keep us feeling full and energized throughout the day. What you choose to put on your snack list, however, is just as important as what goes into your meals. Debbie’s Super Snacking Guide offers a nice breakdown of what you should aim for when putting together your snacks.
If you still need some more ideas or feel like your options are limited by your dietary restrictions, you may find her answer to this reader’s question helpful. It offers some insight into healthy substitutions for sugary and salty snacks. Other answers share which snacks will keep hunger at bay and which can help boost your energy. We haven’t forgotten about our readers with gluten sensitivities or intolerances. This list on Gluten-Free Snacks can help guide your decision-making as well.
If this all sounds like just a little too much to read, you can listen to Debbie’s advice in many of our podcasts. Some relevant topics you might enjoy include:
How to Never Fail at a Diet Again
How to Meal Prep the Right Way
What You’ve Been Wanting to Know About Fad Diets (Paleo, Keto, and More)
Your nutrition questions are always welcome and Debbie is ready to help! Simply email nutrition@lafitness.com or submit your question online and it may be featured in an upcoming article! To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter, today!
Okay, so this post isn’t for everyone. This one is for the yo-yo dieters and the “I can’t stick to my workout” crew. For many people, setting schedules, making plans, and sticking to routines is near impossible.
We might know exactly what we need to do, exactly how we should eat, or which workouts benefit our bodies. Even if we have all the right information, we still stray from the path to success. Why?
Well, we often forget something we’re commonly told: Everyone functions differently. Just because an approach works for Person A doesn’t mean it’ll work for Person B. So why take–on your health and fitness plan any differently?
If you’re setting up your New Year’s Resolutions and, in the back of your mind, you’re already anticipating the struggle, this one’s for you.
When we struggle to achieve a goal, it’s rarely the goal that’s the problem (unless it’s unrealistic or unattainable). So, instead of setting a different goal let’s focus on setting a different approach.
This is how to do it:
1. Take some time to think about what your reasons are for wanting to make some change. However you do it, make sure it’s memorable. Make a list and keep it accessible, think about them to yourself, say them aloud, tell them to someone, or find some other way to make them easy to remember.
2. Choose more than one! This is so important to do. If one of your motivators ceases to matter, or if you successfully hit a milestone, having more than one helps you keep going towards your ultimate goal.
3. Choose reliable motivators. For example: If you’re losing weight for health reasons, and you choose to motivate yourself with the possibility of fitting into a special outfit, what would happen if one day you decided you no longer cared for that outfit? A reliable motivator could be the sense of accomplishment from taking the stairs without getting winded or when you find you’re able to chase your kids for longer than a few minutes.
If you have a goal like “I want to lose 25 pounds in 3 months,” rewrite that goal to say something like: “In 3 months I want to be able to run a mile without stopping.” When you’re focused on your fitness level instead of on the scale, you’ll lose weight without even realizing it.
You can also take your big goal with the faraway end-date and dice it up into bite-sized pieces with closer end-dates. Doing it this way means you’ll have opportunities to hit more achievements which can do a lot for your motivation!
If you make a mistake, don’t let yourself slip into the idea that you may as well stop trying. If you swore off junk food, and one day you couldn’t help yourself and you had a donut, that doesn’t mean you can have junk food for the rest of the day because you already slipped up. Forgive the moment of weakness and enjoy the heck out of that donut. Then get back on track from there without undoing the rest of your day.
On that note, you should also make allowance for small indulgences here and there. Taking the hard-core “cold turkey” approach doesn’t work for everyone and you may sabotage your chances for long-term success.
Remember when we talked about planning and how it’s easier for some than it is for others? Waiting until the last minute can be the downfall of many. We understand. The end of the year is a really busy time. There’s no reason you can’t start to work towards your resolutions on January 10th instead of the 1st, or an hour from now if that’s what you wanted. The important thing is to set a hard start date. If you waffle back and forth on when you really started your diet, you’ll find reasons why this or that cheat meal is acceptable, because you “didn’t really start yet.”
Trust us on this one, your body doesn’t know the difference between starting your health plan on Monday or Wednesday or at the start of the new year or mid-February. The important thing is to decide when you’re starting and follow-through.
We can help you succeed! Follow our blog for helpful posts on fitness and nutrition topics, and for motivational stories from other LA Fitness members. You’ll find helpful posts like our dietitian’s answer to this question about How to Create a Meal Plan. You’ll also be able to listen to the episodes of our podcast, like this one on How to Like Running. To access our monthly blog post highlights, subscribe to our newsletter, today!
I am a pretty fit, over 50-year-old female. I eat anywhere from 1,200-1,400 calories per day. However, I’ve since learned my real issue is compulsive eating. I keep getting hungry and will crave sugary carbs (something I never really did when younger).
I take Carnitine about twice to three times per day and one to two scoops of Lean 1 fat burning meal replacement per day. I take 1 scoop in the morning at times with 2 wheat bread slices, a banana at times. I take another scoop again after a workout. The Lean 1 is about 95 calories for one scoop (11g carb cal/ 2.2g fat cal /10g prot cal). I started to use a post-workout scoop as a meal replacement generally. I must say the urge to overeat dramatically decreased doing all of this and my sugar levels and carb levels are more balanced in the day (protein and fat also)!
Dinner is the heaviest meal and, by the time I eat, I’m hungry for it. I recently added a microcellular casein protein scoop at night after working or as a snack hoping it will help achieve a more muscular / defined. I tend to crave candies around 11pm and one reason I chose the Casein option as well as for other benefits. I wanted recommendations on how to incorporate these three items into my daily regimen if I’m not doing so appropriately.
– Kina C.
Kina, it sounds like your supplements have had the desired impact on your compulsive eating and carbohydrate cravings. Let me say that, although I normally promote whole food solutions to hunger and other dietary issues, I’m glad these are working for you. Still, I’m curious if you tried a solid option (like half an apple with peanut butter) after workouts to forestall the candy craving?
Your intake of the meal replacement and protein powder total around 300 calories, which is a considerable portion of your day. Not knowing which foods these replaced and if they subsequently added or reduced intake from your previous eating habits, it’s difficult to comment on their use. Plus, “fat burning” supplements have other non-caloric components such as caffeine or other stimulants.
My feedback would also be to follow each products’ limits for use. Know that protein utilization at one time is rather limited (about 30 grams per meal), thus you may not be getting the most out the fat-burning meal replacement shake and micellar casein protein scoop if taken together after your workout. Perhaps moving one to an afternoon snack before dinner is in order. Sounds like your day is relatively low-fat and low-calorie leading up to dinner, therefore it’s no surprise you’re hungry enough to eat a ‘heavy’ meal.
Also, I’d advise sticking to your vegetables and protein dinner, and consider adding a half-cup of brown rice on your workout evenings. Don’t forget to search the Living Healthy blog for related inquiries! Read our previous answers regarding cravings and hunger for more advice.
– Debbie J., MS, RD
This article should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
Some questions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Have a nutrition question? Our registered dietitian is ready to help!
Email nutrition@lafitness.com or submit your question below and it may be featured in an upcoming article!
Are you searching for “kickboxing near me”? Stop the search party because you’ve struck fitness gold with Kickbox Cardio classes at LA Fitness. These classes aren’t just a workout, but an experience. With classes designed to kick, punch, bob, and weave your way to...
The Holiday Season can get stressful, so we may stick to a routine for the sake of easy planning. Try any of these 10 simple ideas to bring new life to your Thanksgiving celebrations.
By now, you may have seen some donation boxes at your local LA Fitness. If you haven’t been entirely sure what those boxes are all about, you’re in the right place!