I have been a member of Fast and Fit for 8+ years and have always been fixated on my numbers - the scale, my BMI, my body fat %, and the size of my pants. Recently I've had a change in my focus.

My husband and I are redoing our front yard. We are putting in a mow strip and taking out the retaining wall. Our mow strip consists of 12" x 12" pavers, weighing 19 pounds apiece. The other morning I moved 156 pavers (2964 pounds) moving 2 at a time so I only had to make 78 trips! Each trip was 75 to 100 feet and I managed to get this done in 1 1/2 hours thinking to myself that I would be so sore the next day!  To my surprise I didn't hurt at all! I even had the strength to polish, wax and detail my car.

My light bulb came on!!! It's not all about the numbers. It's about what you can do today that you couldn't have done yesterday. Whether it's 30 seconds more on the elliptical machine or one more crunch! I've been consistently doing the CORE exercises that Joyce has taught me, adding more and more weight and difficulty to my regime - this is the reason that I was able to lift the pavers with no aches and pains the following day.

~ Cindy B.

After over 2 years of being a Fast and Fit member is has become extremely easy for me to hop onto an elliptical machine and grind out a couple of miles in no time and with minimal effort. I plug in my iPod, maybe flip through a magazine, and basically "zone out" until I'm through. While this is an easy and enjoyable way to spend 20 minutes it was brought to my attention that it might not be the most effective way to bump up my cardio workout, tone my body or gain endurance.

So, with some encouragement, I started practicing interval training during my elliptical workout. I start with a 3 minute warm up, then alternate between 1 minute of high intensity "running" at a higher level and 3 minutes of slow walking where I allow my heart rate to return to normal, before pushing myself again for another 60 seconds, and so on. After 2 miles of this I am about to fall off of the machine and I can definitely feel that I have worked out! There is absolutely no time for "zoning out" during high intensity interval training.

Once I started High Intensity Interval Training I could tell almost immediately the difference in my endurance. I've started to shed some weight again after hitting the dreaded plateau.

In the fitness world where routine often leads to stagnation, and stagnation signals the inevitable decline of physical health, High Intensity Interval Training keeps my body guessing and my mind engaged in such a way that routine and stagnation are impossible.

~ Megan

With Joyce's encouragement, support, and tutelage, I am currently experimenting with Tabata training. Named after the crazy man that developed the program, this method provides for high intensity bursts with intervals of rest, working every part of your body (or whatever parts you want to work), and getting that heart pumping. The possibilities for tailoring it for you are infinite. As I easily get overwhelmed, Joyce talked and walked me through getting started and now she is continuing to encourage me to experiment. It's fast (15-20 minutes including warm-up), and the variations keep it interesting. I'm so focused on what I'm doing that I’m not really aware that I've just gotten a great cardio workout!! And as a reward, Joyce has taught me some great stretches to do afterward!

~ Linda