Fitness Basics-The Essentials

http://FitKim.com
Want to start a fitness program? This is what you will need to get started!
Fitness Essentials:
Jump Rope
Water Bottle
Yoga Mat
Medicine Ball
Dumbbells
Balance Ball
Watch with Timer or Stop Watch
Dry-fit Workout Clothing (socks too!)
Cross-trainers or Running Shoes
Kimberly Coventry has been researching nutrition and fitness for nearly a decade. During this time, she has completed her Masters Degree in Holistic Nutrition, become a Certified Nutritional Consultant, Certified NASM dotFIT Coach, marathoner, duathlete and triathlete. She has been consulting clients for over five years, and has developed a passion for combining nutrition and fitness.
In her spare time, she teaches Indoor Cycling, Sunday school and writes articles. She is featured in the Hometown Journey Magazine on a monthly basis, and has reached Expert Author status for Ezine Articles. She has recently signed on as a Yahoo! Contributing Author, and is excited about the opportunity to share her knowledge and passion.
Her upcoming goals are to publish an e-Cookbook and become a Certified Personal Trainer. Her current recipes can be found on MyRecipes.com and Allrecipes.com.
She can be contacted at FitKim@yahoo.com for freelance and consulting inquiries.
Bonus Article: Secrets to a Personal Running Record
This weekend my boyfriend and I headed to New Orleans to explore the city in preparation for my half marathon on Sunday. It turned out to be an amazing adventure of exploring uncharted territory and learning a little bit about myself. I always get a bit apprehensive before a race, but I was pleasantly distracted by all there was to see in the unique city of New Orleans. What a pleasant surprise the entire weekend turned out to be!
We spent Friday evening and Saturday with another couple we had traveled with and friends in the area. I have to admit the focal point seemed to be revolved around food, but I am always excited to try a new cuisine or learn how to prepare a flavorful dish. This was definitely such an opportunity. We were welcomed into the home of locals, and able to see the pride they had for their culture. I bent my rules a tiny bit on clean eating on Saturday, knowing I would be burning tons of calories on Sunday to make up for it. It was a ton of fun!
Needless to say, Sunday morning came very quickly. The Rock n’ Roll Mardi Gras marathon began at 7am, and it was about 40 degrees for us waiting at the start. Although I have completed a couple of full marathons and a 25K, this was my first “half.” My training consisted of four days per week, and the training period was 10 weeks. I was also cross-training with teaching Spinning two days per week, Yoga once a week, and doing weight training two days per week. Yes-a VERY busy schedule it was! My goal was to complete the half between two hours and two hours and ten minutes. I couldn’t wait to see where I ended up.
This was a very crowded event, and the first mile I was pretty much people-locked. There were so many groups of people running together it was hard to get around anyone. I checked my watch as I passed the first mile-9:40 pace. Hmmm, I might be able to come in at the lower end of my goal! As each mile went by, I was doing better and better with my pace. This was attributed to the fact that I was able to start maneuvering around the crowd and get into a groove. I became a bit worried about running out of steam about half way through-this was a common pattern of mine. As I completed my half way point and continued to move along, I noticed that I still felt good, and was continuing to do well with my pace. My excitement began to build-could I really break two hours???
As I continued to check my watch, I finally realized that I was going to do it. It was a bit surreal, because any other Personal Record I had accomplished was earned by heavy panting and maximum effort. Not to say I wasn’t trying, I was, but I wasn’t breaking myself to do it. It was at this moment that I realized how I had gotten here. The indoor cycling for months on end gave me substantial endurance. My resistance training workouts helped me to have a strong body and be able to persevere. And the Yoga, yes-the Yoga, helped me to quickly move around other runners with the grace and swiftness of a gisele. This wasn’t me by myself, this was my entire training program tied together. What a great feeling!
I crossed the finish line with a time of 1:56, about ten minutes faster than I had estimated. My boyfriend missed me finishing because of the estimated finish times I gave him. Oh well! As I sat on the grass with my banana and finisher’s medal, I was very happy that all my hard work had paid off. I felt strong, confident, and invincible. I know I am not Super Woman, but I definitely felt it that day.

source