the Love Your Shape Workout

Usually Tuesday are reserved for fashion trend tuesday but blogging about fashion is outside my comfort zone so I'll leave that to LeShan. When she's not posting about the latest style trends I've decided to dedicate Tuesdays to health and fitness, designating it take it off tuesday. (And no, I'm not referring to those new pole dancing fitness classes.)

I enjoy working out and reading health and fitness magazines, so when I stumble across something that sparks my interest I'm going to share it with you. You can read about healthy eating or a new, great ab exercise on Tuesday and then reward yourself for doing all those crunches by making one of our yummy food for thought friday recipes! It's all about rewarding yourself, right?

For our first take it off tuesday I found this great article from Fitness magazine, The Love Your Shape Workout. The article talks about how to "get your best body -- at any size" with a customized cardio and sculpting plan. Here is an excerpt:

This plan tackles your entire package, using the latest thinking from trainers who recognize that when it comes to workouts, one size does not fit all. 'By building up weaker or less developed parts of your body, you'll maximize your natural shape,' says Laura Mak, owner of Mak Attack Fitness in Marina del Rey, California.

To begin you find a body shape that most likely resembles your own: pear, apple or chili pepper (what? no chocolate bar?). Though all three body types follow a similar basic strength workout, each one completes a different number of sets and reps. Throw in a little cardio and you have a new fitness workout tailored just for you!

If even if you're already in great shape sometimes it's nice to change things up a bit. Often you'll discover muscles you never knew you had and your metabolism will get a jump start in the meantime. Of course we should all love our shape no matter how toned it is, but if you're looking to add a little definition to those pear-like curves, read The Love Your Shape Workout from Fitness magazine. Fresh fruit (i.e. a healthy body) is always in season! --Emily