A certified personal trainer and fitness instructor with a bachelor's degree in health education, Nicole loves living a healthy and fit lifestyle and helping others do the same. Nicole was formerly SparkPeople's fitness expert and editor-in-chief, known on the site as “Coach Nicole.” Make sure to explore more of her articles and blog posts.


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You Asked: When Should I Increase the Weight I Lift?

A few weeks ago, I answered explained how to pick the right weight for strength training. While it seemed to answer a lot of people's questions, it also brought up new ones—like when to increase the amount of weight you lift. No need to worry! I am going to answer that question—plus let you know exactly HOW MUCH to increase your weight by—in today's You Asked post.

Posted 10/27/2010  10:00:00 AM By:   : 37 comments   52,105 views

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Habits of Fit People: Surround Yourself with Active People

You want to be a fit person, right? That's why I'm sharing my own habits for keeping fit and staying healthy in the ongoing Habits of Fit People series.

Here's one that works for me: surrounding myself with other active people.

Maybe it sounds obvious, or maybe it sounds impossible, but either way, I believe that it really does matter. As much as we like to think of ourselves as unique individuals, able to make our own decisions, able to resist the influence of others, it turns out that we are actually very similar to our friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers, and acquaintances. Whatever is the norm in your social group, usually becomes the norm for you, too.

This isn't just my opinion. Research supports the idea, too—that obesity is "contagious" and that when we eat with other people, their food choices affect us—how much we eat, what we eat, and how we feel about it. We are always making decisions based on other people's thoughts, actions and habits, which is why it's so important to surround yourself with people whose values and habits support your healthy lifestyle.

Posted 10/20/2010  5:00:00 AM By:   : 97 comments   44,506 views

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7 Fun Ways to Burn Fat this Fall

Fall in out in full force where I live, always competing against spring for the title of my favorite season. While I don't enjoy the darker days and the chilly nights, I love the lack of humidity, the changing leaves, and the moderate temperatures that are characteristic of most Autumn days here. When the scenery is beautiful and the temperature comfortable, almost any activity—including exercise—seems more fun and enjoyable. Here are seven worthwhile pastimes that can help you get fit, burn calories and enjoy the beautiful outdoors before winter strikes!

Posted 10/6/2010  6:00:00 AM By:   : 52 comments   53,009 views

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You Asked: How Much Weight Should I Lift?

Strength training may not be rocket science, but for the average person, figuring out the best, safest, and most effective ways to lift weights is no small task. There's no shortage of workout videos, toning classes and fitness plans you could follow to reach your goals of toning up, building strength, and reshaping your body. But even if you're following a great plan designed by a knowledgeable trainer, one big question still remains: How much weight should you be lifting?

This is by far the most common question I receive. While there is no easy answer, I'm going to break it down for you as simply as possible so that you are getting the results you're looking for from your strength training program while staying safe at the same time.

Posted 10/1/2010  12:00:00 AM By:   : 103 comments   276,036 views

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A Year's Worth of Motivation at Your Fingertips

A recent study showed that when people received motivational emails with pictures of people exercising, they increased their gym time by 54%. Whether it was the image, the email, or just the reminder itself, these messages helped people get more active than people who didn't receive ongoing messages.

For the times when you can't get to the computer, I created the next best thing: SparkPeople's daily tear-away calendar. It's full of my favorite fitness and nutrition tips, quick and healthy recipes, motivational quotes, and goal-setting ideas. One of the most requested items in the SparkPeople Store, we're happy to announce that our 2011 motivational calendar is now available!

Posted 9/29/2010  5:00:00 AM By:   : 22 comments   16,402 views

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How 'Bulking Up' Helped LeAnn Rimes Slim Down

I was intrigued to see LeAnn Rimes on the October 2010 cover of Shape magazine. Yes, her recent divorce has made headlines, and she admits to feeling a lot of stress and pressure over the events of the past year, but one thing hasn't changed: her dedication to fitness. Now 28, she is looking better than ever. Her secret? It's not cardio, a crazy diet (the girl eats chocolate chip pancakes!) or even the three-pound weight myth so many other celebs subscribe to. In fact, it's just the opposite.

Posted 9/24/2010  10:00:00 AM By:   : 121 comments   72,328 views

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Inspirational Video: Running Down 120 Pounds

Just when I was racking my brain for a new blog topic yesterday, one found me. SparkPeople member LIQUID11 contacted me to share a YouTube video that he said was "the most inspirational story ever."

Okay. I'm listening.

In the homemade video, a regular guy named Ben shares his struggle with increasing weight, depression, and a moment of clarity: deciding to change his life. I don't want to say too much more about it here. Just go ahead and watch it.

Posted 9/22/2010  12:00:00 AM By:   : 326 comments   46,058 views

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Survey Shows Americans Are in Denial about Their Weight

Overweight and obesity are often in the news, with dismal headlines about the fattest states, the heaviest cities, and the rise in our collective girth. Once a problem for our nation's adults, not even our children or babies are immune to uncontrolled weight gain these days. It's hard to miss the headlines, but even harder not to notice that the people around you seem to be getting larger. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, a new online survey of 2,418 adults conducted by Harris Interactive and HealthDay shows that Americans don't view themselves as overweight, even when they actually are. Even worse, when respondents were asked which weight-loss intervention was most effective, diet and exercise didn't even make it into the top three.

Posted 9/8/2010  6:00:00 AM By:   : 131 comments   26,189 views

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New Study Uncovers a Surprising Health Risk for Pear-Shaped Women

You're probably familiar with the terms "apple" and "pear" when they apply to body shapes. People who are apple shaped tend to carry their extra weight in the abdomen region, but usually have relatively slim arms and legs. Men tend to be apple shaped, but many women are, too. Pear shaped individuals, by contrast, tend to carry fat in their lower body: hips, butt, and thighs.

Besides making our fat stores seem cuter by naming them after fruit (hehe), it's important to know which shape you are because it can help you determine your disease risk. It's has long been established that apple shapes are less health because excess fat storage around the abdomen is associated with a higher risk of heart disease. Pear shapes are often touted as less risky—healthy, even—especially when compared to abdominal fat storage.

I'm a pear shape and always figured that I wasn't at risk for health problems as a result. Even if I gained weight in the future, it would likely be in my hips and thighs. "No biggie," I thought. "Pear shapes are healthier, even when they're overweight." So I thought. I was really surprised when I read about a new study published in the July 14 issue of Journal of the American Geriatric Society that associated fat storage in the lower body with its own set of health risks.

Posted 9/3/2010  3:00:00 PM By:   : 96 comments   38,557 views

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Habits of Fit People: Turn Off the TV

You want to be a fit person, right? That's why I'm sharing my own habits for keeping fit and staying healthy in the ongoing Habits of Fit People series.

Here's one that works for me: turning off the TV.

Sounds simple enough, but most people I talk to aren't willing to give up the guilty pleasure of their favorite shows. I get it: TV is an ideal downtime, a mental and physical respite that we welcome at the end of a hard day's work. But besides freeing up boatloads of time that you didn't know you even had, there are plenty of other ways turning off the tube can help you get fitter and healthier.

Even for me, a person who enjoys exercise (most of the time anyway), exercising regularly and consistently is no small feat. It takes time, commitment, and organization. It involves making some tough choices, like waking up earlier than I'd like to or not following McDreamy and McSteamy's latest adventures (sad, I know). If staying fit were easy, we'd all be fit people. But in truth, the most common excuse we use for not exercising is lack of time. Where does all of our time go? We have jobs/school, social lives, and countless commitments, but many fit people maintain all of those same obligations and still make time for exercise. I have an idea for how they do it, because this technique works for me, too: They limit how much TV they watch.

Posted 9/1/2010  5:00:00 AM By:   : 184 comments   39,386 views

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Desk Job Got You Down? Try a Desk-Defying Workout

As a young college student studying health and fitness, I never expected that I'd have a desk job. Certainly I'd be on my feet, active, exercising, training people all day long, right? Turns out, my job is the exact opposite. Working for SparkPeople allows me to share my passion for health and fitness with so many people, helping them get fit and reach their goals. I love what I do. But I don't love sitting on my rear for more than 40 hours per week while I do it. Being handed a "desk sentence" at such a young age is not what I expected.

Although I exercise most days of the week and try to maintain as active of a lifestyle as possible, I'm suffering from too much sitting. Lately, my back aches most of the time, sometimes so badly that I can't sit, stand or lie down comfortably for days. My shoulders round forward, which is doing a number on my posture. My head and neck are in a permanent "forward" position, and my hips are tight. Throughout the day, I notice my shoulders creeping up toward my ears with tension and have to remind myself to relax them down. Ten, 30, 60, even 90 minutes of exercise a day doesn't seem to matter much when I'm spending all the rest of my time on my butt (or on my back, sleeping).

I'm know I'm not alone. Women's Health magazine recently reported on a poll of 6,300 people conducted by the Institute for Medicine and Public Health. They discovered that on average, we spend 56 hours a week sitting behind a computer, at the wheel or in front of the TV. A sedentary lifestyle seems to be the most common side effect we suffer from life in a modern world. We drive (or ride public transit) to work, sit all day at our white collar jobs, make the long commute home (sitting again), and then feel so achy, tired or exhausted from our long days of (mentally) hard work that we plop down on the couch and stare at the TV or computer for a few more hours before we lie down and go to bed. We know a sedentary lifestyle is bad for us. It definitely contributes to weight issues, heart disease, poor blood sugar control, and a host of other ailments.

For awhile, I felt hopeless. Destined for discomfort. Banished to a life of back pain. But lately, I've been tackling my issues head on by getting up from my desk throughout the day, targeting the muscles made weak or tight by sitting while I work out, and changing how I use my body while I use the computer. I'm happy to report that it's been paying off. And since many of you struggle with sedentary jobs that create all sorts of muscular imbalances, which lead to pain and discomfort, I'm sharing a new workout plan with you.

Posted 8/25/2010  5:00:00 AM By:   : 146 comments   165,408 views

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6 Scary Truths about Personal Trainers

When Stepfanie recently told me and then subsequently blogged about a bad experience she had with a personal trainer, I wasn't surprised. I know a bit about what goes on in gyms where the line between trainer and salesperson is a fine one. What surprised me more was the sheer number of readers who replied to her post, relaying tale after tale of personal trainers gone wild—and not in a good way. So many asked, "What qualifies these people to train some else?" and, "What does it take to become a personal trainer?" that I thought I'd answer those questions in a follow-up blog.

I am a certified personal trainer with a degree in fitness and exercise and I have worked as a personal trainer in the past. Plenty of my friends and former college classmates work as trainers. It's an interesting profession and one that I think has potential to do a lot of good in helping people reach their fitness goals. I know some downright amazing trainers who are smart, trustworthy, extremely experienced and well educated in their trade. But I've also seen my fair share of trainers who are the exact opposite, and it's too bad that many of those trainers are giving the profession a bad rap. But even more concerning: Some are putting people who trust them at risk by having them perform unsafe exercises or giving them dangerous advice. You should be able to trust your personal trainer, right? Well, not all the time. Just in time for Friday the 13th, here are 6 scary truths that your personal trainer might not tell you.

Posted 8/13/2010  6:00:00 AM By:   : 87 comments   252,166 views

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Podcast: Healthy Summer Travel and Cookout Tips

One of the most fun aspects of my job is when I get to Spread the Spark during radio, television or newspaper interviews. It's so fun to talk to members of the media and share my passion for healthy living and all things SparkPeople with a new audience. While I have appeared live on the local news a few times, most radio interviews I do take place over the phone. But a few weeks ago, "SparkPeople Dave" and I had a chance to visit an actual Cincinnati radio studio for an hour-long talk show. We discussed the history of SparkPeople, some fun new things that are coming up (you'll have to listen to find out what they are!), and some helpful tips about staying fit on vacation and making the best food choices at your next summer cookout.

We had so much fun on the "What’s Hot with Molly, Kelly and Caitlin" radio show and did a fair share of joking around (none of us take ourselves THAT seriously!) that I thought you'd enjoy listening to the podcast of the show, too.

Posted 8/11/2010  6:00:00 AM By:   : 8 comments   17,771 views

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New Study: Turn to the Web to Keep Off the Weight

I recently shared seven great tips that will help your healthy habits stick for the long haul and today I’ve got more good news for anyone who’s trying to win the battle of the bulge. What you’re doing right now—simply reading this blog—could be helping you win the weight-loss war. That’s right: A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that people who regularly logged on to a weight-loss website maintained their weight loss better than people who didn’t use the online support site.

Posted 8/4/2010  1:00:00 PM By:   : 91 comments   23,328 views

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8 Ways to Step Up Your Walking Workouts

Walking is a great form of exercise, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned athlete. It’s cheap. It’s accessible. It doesn’t require any fancy equipment. And it’s something that nearly everyone can do.

Walking is a big part of my own fitness program. In addition to higher-intensity workouts that include running and Spinning, I get out and walk about 4 times per week to shake things up and get a little active recovery. Bonus: In addition to elevating your heart rate and increasing circulation, walking at a brisk pace can burn up to 300 calories per hour!

When you’re new to fitness, walking is a great way to start. But as you get fitter, can you still make walking work for you without turning into a runner? You bet! Here are some of my top recommendations to step-up the intensity of your walks.

Posted 7/28/2010  6:00:00 AM By:   : 112 comments   82,973 views

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