Boost: Your Confidence

Self Talk Resources to Boost Confidence and Performance

Know how to pump up your mental muscle? Consistency is the key to fitness and weight loss success, but what determines whether you achieve your goals is often a mix of the right strategy, the best tools and having a thought plan. Pros from Dana Torres and Tiger Woods to Rafa Nadal all have a thought plan they execute when tired or anxious before a challenge or frustrated and disappointed during performance. Smart athletes use self-talk to refocus and motivate themselves to turn things around and ensure their personal best. And now you will, too! Learn what Tiger and Rafa know about self-determination:

• What to say to yourself when using self-talk
• How to reframe negative thinking between workouts
• Tap into real confidence when things go wrong

Watching the pros exercise their mental muscle is what makes sports so compelling. Applying their technique to your workouts will elevate your fitness to a form of higher learning about yourself. And that's really exciting! Start exercising your mental muscle now with these self-talk articles, sport psychology podcasts and explore your well being or read books authored by coaches.

Awaken: Your Pelvis

Nike's Coach Jay's Hip Girdle Exercise Video

Bicycling, running, in-line skating, soccer and volleyball place demands on your hip girdle muscles. If yours are too weak or inflexible, fatigue sets in early during exercise or you experience discomfort and stiffness in hips, glutes, thighs and lower back. Now you can free your hips! Introduce your hips to greater range of motion and awaken athletic power with Coach Jay of Nike's Inside Running. Watch Coach Jay's free video to see how to perform 12 exercises, then download a PDF of the routine, or download the video to your iPod.

Do: Pushups

Pushup workouts to improve upper body strength

Need an upper body workout on-the-cheap? Pushups are the do-anywhere, do-anytime, no-gear-required, upper-body workout that will tone and firm your arms, chest and back while developing endurance. A fit person can do 20 or more pushups. Less than that, and they rank poorly for upper body endurance. Improving your muscle endurance means your arms won't quit when carrying groceries, hauling luggage or drunk boyfriends. That's why determining the number of pushups you can perform is important. Take the pushup test and see how fit you are. Get inspired! Adam Sandler does pushups with NO hands in his comedy, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and Jennifer Love Hewitt did 10 on the Jay Leno show. Pushups are a multi-muscle move that's perfect for an express workout in under 5 minutes! Learn correct form and join in this modified pushup instruction clip from the Mayo Clinic.

Win: Yoga Mat + Bag + Bottle

Win: Gaiam's New Flower Power Yoga Mat, Bag and Bottle Combo

Do 20 pushups and be the first to e-mail me to win this mat, bag and water bottle combo! Fresh for spring, Gaiam's new yoga combo will invigorate your practice. The premium Flower Power 68" yoga mat offers a low-tack, thick-cushioned, non-slip surface that's latex free. Keep your mat clean, dry and portable in the coordinating 100% cotton embroidered Flower Power tote bag with adjustable shoulder strap, zippered pocket and drawstring closure. Then, after a blissful workout, stylishly quench your thirst with the matching Flower Power aluminum water bottle, which holds a generous 750 ml of water under a ring-top screw cap and keeps disposable water bottles out of landfills. $63 value. Now, drop and give me 20...and I'll give you the combo!

Fitness Makeover: Valerie, 30

Fitness Makeover ROUTINE RUT: Valerie lost 27 pounds over the last year and a half, then her results came to a dead stop. "I'm happy with my curves, but I've been at 150 for three months and want to drop 17 more," she says. ROUTINE RESCUE: ADD NEW CHALLENGES: Rather than doing the same cardio (running and dancing), Valerie upped the intensity and went to group abs classes to learn new moves and push herself harder. She also swapped solo runs for spinning and sculpting classes. SCULPT UPPER-BODY SYMMETRY: Adding biceps curls and other strength training moves helped to develop Valerie's upper body in proportion to her strong, fuller legs, making her middle appear slimmer. CORK YOUR CALORIES: Valerie limited her wine intake to two glasses a week, since alcohol adds empty calories. SUCCESS: "My core is stronger than before, my abs are way flatter, and I'm much more motivated to exercise," thanks to her new fitness-class mentality, Valerie says. "Adding in new strength moves totally helps me stick with it and push past my plateau to jump start results." Loved this new feature? E-mail Fiterati your inspiring success tips. We'll publish them in a future issue.