For all of those who want to maintain a healthy lifestyle between boot camp sessions, here are 5 tips to help keep your life ‘healthy’ when you’re not bustin’ your butt training in one of our boot camps!

Tip #1: Take the stairs
- do you live or work in a building that has both stairs and an elevator? If so, try taking the stairs as often as possible. Stairs are one of the highest calorie burning activities and cannot only help to maintain a healthy body weight but increase muscular endurance and leg strength as well!

Tip #2: Walk more
- a simple way to increase the amount of steps you take each day - at the grocery store, drug store or mall, choose a parking spot in the farthest corner possible. Adding just 10 minutes of walking a day can help to lower resting heart rate and maintain healthy blood pressure. If you increase this time, up to 30 minutes a day, even if in intervals of 10 or 15 minutes, your likelihood of maintaining a healthy body weight becomes increasingly easier. A healthy weight person should take around 20,000 steps a day – they need not be consecutive.

Tip #3: Stretch!
- find just 10 to 20 minutes a day to stretch our your muscles. Many of us spend up to 8 hours a day sitting at a computer, contributing to tight chest and hip muscles. Try stretching in the shower after the water has warmed your body. Stretching aids in preventing injury and maintaining mobility as you age.

Tip #4: Get enough sleep
- for those of you that wake up two days a week to join as for 6am boot camp, remember the importance of getting adequate sleep. A healthy amount of sleep is between 7 and 9 hours a night. Proper sleeping habits not only help your body recover from injury – or from those intense boot camp workouts – but can also aid in preventing and managing stress. Your brain needs rest as much as your body does – a rested mind can solve problems and think clearer then a tired one!

Tip #5: Drink more water!
- Water is the number one ingredient in almost all body matter and is thought to be “The Miracle Worker.” When considering the human body, consider this: your blood is 83% water, your muscles are 75%, the brain is 74 % and bones are 22%. Proper amounts of water help to improve energy, increase mental and physical performance, promote healthy skin, remove toxins, reduce headaches, allow for proper digestion and increase the likelihood of meeting your weight loss goals. The average adult needs about 8, 8 ounce glasses of water a day (about ½ your body weight in ounces each day!); so drink up everyone!