No Gym? No problem. Designing an Ass-Kicking Workout on a Budget

No need to spend a lot or...anything, to get fit.

“She just dumped me; kicked me to the curb like yesterday’s trash,” my coworker proclaimed in the gym break room one morning. At first I thought she meant her boyfriend. But why was she calling him she? Wait, was my coworker…

Oh yeah, she was just being melodramatic as usual.

The drama surrounded my coworker’s client – a 20-something college student who had been training at our gym over a year – who abruptly canceled her one-on-one training.

“She couldn’t afford me anymore,” my coworker said, clearly pissed. “It was like I was a high-end prostitute she got bored with.”

I gave her a stop being ridiculous look. I get why she would take this sudden cancellation personally, but then, I also understand how

More, More, More: 3 Things to Add for Fat Loss & Muscle Building

...and you thought fat loss was about "taking away"...

“There goes another New Year’s resolution,” my friend said, diving into a big plate of banana pecan French toast over a recent Sunday brunch. I sighed and politely motioned for our server to bring more coffee.

I needed the caffeine to deal with my high-maintenance friend, an actress susceptible to dramatic proclamations even if her intentions are pure. I always admire her big ideas and lofty resolutions. One New Year’s Eve she drunkenly but dead seriously declared she would land a modeling career. Like I said, the girl’s got plans.

Unfortunately, she has

Strength, the Marines & A Gawky Kid who Discovered Her Purpose in a Weight Room

Gawky little Catholic girl with toothpick arms

I get most of my news online, though the other day I found an LA Times lying in my gym’s staff break room and passively flipped through it as I chatted with a coworker. Much as I wanted to read the latest headlines, I also wanted to check after-holiday sales.

Except one headline completely caught me off guard:

US Marines Postpone Fitness Rule After Most Female Recruits Fail to do Three Pull-ups-More than 50 per cent of women at boot camp could not meet a new minimum requirement due to go into effect in 2014.

Enraged, I tossed the paper onto the couch with a dramatic sigh. My coworker caught my glare and gave me an Uh oh,

Lean, Healthy & Gorgeous: A Complete Plan to Detox Intelligently

Detoxifying in a toxic world

“Detoxing is such B.S.” he smugly said across the table, and I suddenly realized why I didn’t like this guy my friend was dating. Among his know-it-all assertions throughout dinner, this one took the cake.

My friend was discussing a recent cleanse she’d read about in Cosmo. Her date didn’t approve, nor did he have anything clever to add to the conversation, hence his quick dismissal. I wanted to ask him why he felt this way, but I already knew his answer.

Eventually my friend dumped this jerk (she complained he was too controlling; gee, who would have thought!?). The thing is, he’s not alone in his opinion about detoxing.

Most get a bad rep because, as I discussed last week, they’re essentially overpriced, sugar-water, potential

7 Reasons Your Detox or Cleanse Could Make You More Toxic

Considering a "juice fast" for a cleanse? Not so fast....

“Screw it, I can’t do this any more!” my friend snapped as we drove to The Grove one unseasonably chilly day (at least for Los Angeles) last January. “Let’s get chocolate chip pancakes and mimosas before we hit Barneys.”

I sighed, bit my tongue, and gave her an I told you so look.

You see, my friend’s New Years resolution was to lose fat fast, and a detox proved the perfect way to legitimately do that. Tell people you’re on an 800-calorie starvation diet and they wince, but call it a detox or cleanse and suddenly everything’s cool.

Set Yourself Up for Failure: 7 New Years Resolutions Sure to Crash & Burn

Go with goals: They are specific, measurable, and have a deadline

“Don’t waste your money or my time,” I firmly told my would-be client, who replied with a Did you really just say that? look.

Yes, I did.

Immediately after our complimentary initial consultation, my client began rattling off excuses about why she could commit but that lots of stuff would get in her way.

You know the story. She has erratic work hours; she’s in a crazy on-again-off-again relationship; she may or may not be going to Maui in March. Altogether, I counted seven excuses within 15 minutes, and I wasn’t buying any of them.

If you’re not going to fully commit to fitness goals, spend your money and time

9 Budget-Friendly Gifts for the Impossible-to-Buy-For Fitness Fanatic

Great Last Minute Holiday Gifts

I have one and so do you. Mine is a coworker at my gym. Every time she concocts some Paleo recipe, she brings me samples. Brownies, granola, carrot cake… If the recipe contains Paleo-legal ingredients, she makes it and I become her guinea pig.

A few months ago, my car broke down across town, and I knew she would be that person who dropped everything to pick me up after I’d had it towed to the station. (Okay, it was her day off and she was in the area, but still: She’s consistently that always-there-for-you person.) 

I wouldn’t exactly call her a friend, though we’ve hung out a few times. She’s just a really great person who goes out of her way for others.

Naturally, I wanted to thank her during the holidays.

Except I ran into a problem: