5 Minute Workouts Throughout The Day

Honestly, now that it's Summer your ready to hang out with friends, go to the beach, relax, etc. and don't put working out at the top of your "To Do List"...am I right? "Did you know that short bouts of exercise can add up to the same benefit as if you had done it continuously?" Instead of having to free up your fun schedule to find a time to workout, take 5 minutes throughout your day, to do these short workouts and be fit, energized, and ready to continue on with your rockin' summer body!

Note: Doing every single one of these is not absolutely necessary, but try to fit in as many as you can! Also note, that depending on your age, etc. adjust - For example, if you don't have a job, then the exercise "after meeting" can be done after anything else you are doing during your day. Adjust for what you are doing each day!

START YOUR DAY:

• AS YOU ROLL OUT OF BED

 Get out of bed, roll out your mat, and use this to release accumulated back tension and work your abs. Sit with your knees bent and soles of feet touching. Holding ankles, roll onto your back, then roll back up to sitting. Keep chin tucked into chest. Repeat.

• BEFORE YOU GET IN THE SHOWER

Before you get in the shower, work up a quick sweat by jogging in place. You'll rev your heart rate and increase circulation. A simple jog will do the trick, but to boost intensity, try bending your elbows and pumping your arms, or bring your heels to your buttocks.

• WHILE YOUR COFFEE IS BREWING/BREAKFAST IS COOKING

Waiting for your coffee to brew? Breakfast to cook? Grab some cans or light dumb-bells and take a few laps around the inside of your house, doing bicep curls as you walk. You'll work several major muscle groups as you get your circulation pumping.

• AFTER BREAKFAST

To build and circulate energy, stand in one place with knees soft and bounce for a minute. As you build your momentum, gently shake your wrists, arms, and head, keeping your knees and elbows soft. After a few minutes, slowly come back to a bounce and, eventually, a full stop.

MIDMORNING:

• PARK AND WALK

You've heard this before, but now it's the time to do it: Park several blocks away from where you are going and speed walk there. Or run an errand on foot. Either way, bend your elbows and swing your arms straight back and fourth to boost cardio benefits.

• WHILE YOU'RE ON THE PHONE

Tone legs and buttocks while you are on the phone. Stand with feet wide, toes turned out, hands on hips. Inhale and bend knees, lowering as far as possible; exhale and squeeze inner thighs and glutes as you come back to standing.

• BEFORE A MEETING

Get energized before a meeting with a jump-rope simulation. Stand with your weight on the balls of your feet, heels slightly lifted, knees softly bent. Take small hops, rotating your clenched hands by your hips as if jumping rope.

•  AFTER MEETING

Stand against a wall. Keeping your back on the wall, bend knees to a 19-degree angle (walk out a few steps). Raise arms against the wall until elbows are shoulder height; arms form a 90-degree angle, fingertips pointing up. Hold 1 minute, rest 10 seconds, and repeat.


NOON:

• ON THE WAY TO PICK UP LUNCH

On your way to pick up lunch, hit the nearest staircase and climb to flights, taking the stairs two at a time to maximize the cardio workout while also building leg strength. Head back down the stairs with quick, light steps, then repeat until five minutes are up.

•  BEFORE LUNCH

Boost energy while working your legs, obliques, and back with side crunches. Stand with arms straight above your head. Lift your right knee out to your right side as you bring the elbow to meet it. Return to the starting position, then repeat on the left. Keep alternating.

• BEFORE YOU EAT

Before you dig into lunch, take some time to tone the lower body and raise your heart rate. With hands on hips, step your right foot out 2 feet and bend both knees into a squat. Return to start, then step and squat to the left. Repeat.

• AFTER LUNCH

Don't settle in for the afternoon just yet. Stand a foot away from a wall, arms outstretched and palms on the wall a bit wider than your shoulders. Inhale and bend your elbows, lowering yourself to the wall; exhale, draw your navel in, and push the wall away. Repeat.

• WHILE SHOPPING AT THE MALL

Turn your mall shopping into an exercise stint by taking a full lap around the mall before starting to shop. You will not only add another five-minute interval to your day, but also get a preview of all the stores-so you'll know where to go and shop more efficiently!

• WHILE WAITING IN LINE

Make good use of your time you spend waiting in long shopping lines by working your butt. Squeeze your glutes for a count of five, then release. Keep repeating. This action tightens and strengthens your backside.

MIDAFTERNOON:

• BEFORE EXCITING MIDAFTERNOON ACTIVITIES

Focus and energize before what ever your afternoon holds. Hope feet out and raise arms to shoulder height; pause. Jump feet together and lift arms above head; pause. Hope feet out and lower arms to shoulder height; pause. Bring feet together, and arms down to sides. Repeat.

• AFTERNOON SLUMP?

When that afternoon slump hits, boost your circulation and release shoulder stress. Standing or sitting tall, extend your arms out to your sides and start making large circles, working down to small circles. Reverse direction. Repeat with arms to the front and above the head.

Refresh your mind and body with a fast walk around the office, outside, or up and down hallways. Walk quickly, pump your arms, and resist temptation to stop and chat until your five minutes are up.

EVENING:

• WAITING FOR DINNER TO BE READY

While waiting for dinner to be done (or while it's cooking if you're the one making it), work your major muscle groups. Stand with feet hip-width apart. Lift arms forward to shoulder heights and lower into a squat. Reach up with arms as you jump straight up, landing in a standing position with knees soft. Repeat.

• AFTER DINNER

To help digest your evening meal and leave the day's stresses behind, close your eyes and imagine yourself in a beautiful, snowy landscape. Keeping your stomach drawn in, bring your knees up one by one at a time and swing your arms as if walking through deep snow.

• SHAKE IT

Release tension as you bump up your heart rate by putting on a favorite five minute song and dancing however the mood strikes!

~Exercises and quotes from Body + Soul Magazine. Original article written by Kate Hanley~

Feel good & look good in your swimsuit!

Summer is here and it's important to feel awesome in your swimsuit!! It's no fun not going to the beach or pool all summer and missing out just because of how you think you look in a bikini. Here's some ways you can get ready for a fantastic summer in your fantastic swimsuit!

Put it on and go!
Don't obsess over how you look in your swimsuit in the mirror. Put it on and go! Don't think twice! If you bought it, then that means you thought it looked good enough then, nothing has changed!

Fun and colorful
Buy a swimsuit with a fun print! If your swimsuit is fun and colorful, then more people will be paying attention to your suit, not your body!

Have fun
Play beach volleyball, or a game like marco polo in the pool, anything that is fun! When your having fun you will be less worried and not thinking about what you look like as much. Besides, most of the time the people that look the most beautiful are the ones who are having fun, smiling, and laughing, not the ones sitting on the beach because they are worried about how they look.

Work out
Starting now, do a light work out regularly. You might not see a difference right away, but you will feel good about yourself and over time you will start getting more toned!
(Seventeen Magaize online has great workout videos that are perfect for summer. Check it out here: http://www.seventeen.com/fun-stuff/video-hub/?c=HealthandFitness#v24938882001)

Salty Foods
Try and stay away from a lot of salty foods, they cause you to bloat and absorb water more, and that extra bloating won't make you feel any better about yourself! When you get that craving for something salty, try an alternate with less salt that still satisfies your taste buds :)












Follow these tips and your in for an awesome fantastically fun feel good summer!!

Accidental Low Self Esteem?

More times than not, low self esteem can come from something we aren't even realizing we are doing. Here are a couple of examples, and what to do instead!

Stop analyzing yourself in the mirror

When you stand and analyze yourself in the mirror, you are bound to find things you don't like about yourself no matter what you look like or what you think you look like. Instead of standing in front of the mirror analyzing yourself and finding all of the things you don't like, spend that time finding all of the things you DO like about yourself! It's ok to analyze yourself, but find the things you like about yourself instead!

Surround yourself with positive and supportive people

Pay attention to the attitudes of the people you hang around and how they treat you. Surround yourself and spend your time with positive and supportive people. Don't waste your time on those who make you feel bad about yourself or are insulting. Sometimes you might not even realize you're around those people, so make sure to pay close attention to how negative or positive they are, and their energy they are putting off! 

SMILE :) 

Have you ever thought about how much time you spend smiling versus frowning? When your smiling your more approachable and even feel better about yourself. When you smile, it actually sends a message to your brain that your happy! So even if it's a "fake" smile at first, it's still a smile and a good start! Of course this doesn't mean you have to have a constant smile on your face, but try to make an effort to smile when you can!

What kind of music are you listening to? 

|Pay attention to the type of music you are listening to and the lyrics. Without realizing it, you could be listening to songs with depressing or sad lyrics. Not only is this going to put you in a "down" mood, it's going to be sub consciously sending messages to your brain of how to feel. Choose songs on your playlist with more upbeat lyrics! :) You can still rock out to your favorite song even if it has depressing lyrics, just mix it in with other songs with positive lyrics! 

~All photos courtesy of Getty Images~ 

The power of journaling

"Journal writing is a voyage to the interior" ~ Christina Baldwin

Journal writing is the activity in which we are able to write and express all of our up most personal secrets, lies, doubts, truths, happiness, sadness, and uniqueness. We reflect on our lives and who we are inside and out. Journaling not only helps us realize who we are within, but it helps us realize the person we are striving to be.

Journaling is a powerful exersise that I would suggest to anyone, everywhere, at every age. For as long as I can remember I have kept a journal of some sort and I still have every single one of them saved in a drawer in my desk. I sometimes even go back and read my journal from when I was 6 (it was Hello Kitty of course). It's fun to read and remember the innocence of life then ;)

Whether your journaling takes place in a torn up notebook or a hand crafted woven book, it's a journal and it's YOURS. It's your private space to feel that no one can barge in without knocking and no one can judge. It's the ultimate place for you to feel heard.

Dani California's journal recommendation: 

"The True and the Questions" by Sabrina Ward Harrison

This journal is fantasic and is written by a fantastic writer. Check out her website too at: http://www.sabrinawardharrison.com

Peace & Happy Journaling,

Dani California

Article about self esteem

Today I ran across this great article on body image and self esteem. It explains what influences bad self esteem, how to boost your own, and other great tips! Check it out here: http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/problems/body_image.html

Peace,
Dani California

Awesome meals for an Awesome You

In a past issue of Seventeen Magazine, I found this awesome chart that had ideas for meals to eat each day of the week that are healthy. Most of the time when we think "healthy meals" you think tofu and spinach right? Well this chart is the opposite of that! It even has you eating out at one meal a day, but eating healthy! Since this was not available online, I re-created the chart using the same foods and ideas. Enjoy!
(Click to make larger)

If you have allergies, are vegetarian, or are picky there are some easy substitutes that you can use instead!
Instead of Peanut Butter use Almond Butter
Instead of Shrimp you can use pieces of Fried Egg or tofu
Instead of turkey or turkey bacon you can use a soy imitation of either (for the vegetarians)

Your eat healthy checklist according to seventeen magazine:
"Build meals around fruits and veggies, then add the lean protien (like chicken, fish, and low-fat cheese) and a healthy carb (like whole wheat bread or pasta"

"Have two to three snacks a day (midmorning, afternoon, and after dinner) and grab a slice of fruit whenever your hungry. If you wait to eat until your starving, it just sets of cravings for sugary, greasy foods."

"If your an athlete, you may need more food for peak performance. Add an egg for protien at breakfast or an extra piece of fruit or yogurt between each meal."

"Aim for three or four servings of low-fat milk, yogurt, or cheese each day to get enough calcium. (It also helps with muscle tone)"

~All information from Seventeen Magazine. www.seventeen.com ~

Self Esteem & Confidence Tips

It’s easy to lose confidence in yourself or get low self esteem sometimes, but here are some tips that can help!

Make a “happy” playlist:
Make a playlist of your favorite songs that make you happy. Try and choose songs that have encouraging lyrics! When your having a down day turn on this playlist! Try not to listen to depressing songs all the time either, this puts you in a down mood.

Make a compliment list:
Make a list of all of the things you like about yourself, then tape it or hang it up somewhere that you will see it everyday! The best place to hang it is somewhere that you will see it before leaving your house for school in the morning (The bathroom mirror is actually a great place!)

Compliments instead of insults!
Replace personal insults with compliments or one of the things from you list ^^. Sometimes it becomes a habit to insult yourself without realizing your doing it. Try and break the habit by replacing any insults with a compliment or something you like about yourself!

Don’t doubt you who are
Always stay true to who you are and don’t doubt that. Don’t second guess who you are based on what others think!

Hang out with good people
Hang out with people that make you feel good about yourself and compliment you. Don’t waste your time on those who make you feel bad or make you lose confidence in yourself!

Take care of YOU
Remember to take care of yourself, and sometimes a little pampering doesn’t hurt! ;) Take bubble baths, eat chocolate occasionally, wear lotion that smells good, write in a journal, etc!

Welcome!

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Free to be Me blog. This blog is all about self esteem, confidence, health, fitness, fashion, and so so much more! Most of you have probably found this blog off of my website, but for those of you who don’t know me I’m Dani California. I’m a teen fashionista and actress that likes to express who I am through fashion, and I like to encourage others to do the same. Check out my website if you haven’t already: www.danicaliforniaoutfits.com

Please feel free to leave comments! I am so excited to be introducing this brand new blog to you all :)