Surprising Tips From Experts For Hitting New Year's Fitness Resolutions

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As Americans make New Year's resolutions to get in better shape, experts who train celebrities and top-ranked athletes offer some surprising tips for improving your health. Their advice includes exercising before getting out of bed, working out at your kitchen counter and soaking in Epsom salt.

"Epsom salt baths are my way of treating myself so that my body and muscles are feeling good and healthy," said Sadie Lincoln, a renowned wellness expert and founder of barre3 – a unique style of whole-body health classes that combine ballet barre work, Pilates and yoga. "It's a pure and simple pleasure."

Lincoln's workouts have attracted A-list celebrities and national magazines. She recommends that those starting to exercise begin with 10-minute sessions, such as a routine at the kitchen counter to develop lean legs and a lifted seat. (Here's a video of a sample workout). If you feel OK, keep going, she said, but don't push so hard that you feel defeated.

"You might spend an hour working out, and that's great," Lincoln said, "but what really counts is full body health and how that hour impacts the rest of your day."

Among Lincoln's tips:

• Keep four rubber bands on a 12-ounce bottle of water and remove one each time you refill it.
• Eat more foods with fiber, healthy fat and healthy protein, such as almonds, fish oil, avocados and apples with peanut butter. She also advises against sugar late at night or early in the morning. Here's a recipe for Slow Cooker Moroccan Stew.
• Soak in a warm bath with about 2 cups of Epsom salt three nights a week. The Epsom salt will relax you, soothe your muscles and help you sleep, she said. At times, she'll also add lavender essential oil.

Epsom salt, actually magnesium sulfate, can be absorbed through the skin and helps muscles in two ways, said Jay Cardiello, a globally recognized fitness and nutrition expert who trains Hollywood heavy hitters, chart-topping Grammy winners, TV personalities and top-ranked athletes.

Immediately after a workout, Cardiello suggests adding Epsom salt to cold water and soaking up to your navel. Exercising tears your muscle fiber, triggering more blood flow to that location and prompting the muscle to expand, he said. Like icing a child's injury, putting cold water on the inflammation increases the range of motion, Cardiello said.

Two or three days after a workout, Cardiello also recommends adding Epsom salt to a warm water soak to help relax muscles and increase the blood's supply of magnesium. One of his recipes calls for combining 2 to 4 TBSP of yellow mustard or yellow mustard powder with 1 cup of Epsom salt.

"Mustard has anti-inflammatory properties, and Epsom salt helps remove toxins and impurities," Cardiello said. "It helps increase blood flow to the muscles."

Cardiello founded JCORE, which offers a multi-faceted wellness program and a diet and healthy lifestyle plan. Among his tips:

• Sleep in exercise clothes to help ensure your day starts with a workout.
• Work out in bed when you wake up, because doing pushups or planking on an unstable surface will train your body to fire up quickly.
• Stand on one leg while brushing your teeth or do squats to help build muscles and improve your balance. (Here are his weekly workouts).
• Dance while getting dressed, a way to burn 50 calories and boost your mood.
• Listen to music while working out and smell peppermint beforehand. Both help alter your perception of how hard you're exercising, making the workout seem a bit easier.
• Keep a journal of your exercise and diet, and share your progress and setbacks with supportive friends.

"One of the most imperative things is changing your behavior," Cardiello said. "We quick-fix twice a year – at New Year's and the start of beach season – but nothing is going to happen overnight. A pattern has to be broken."

About Sadie Lincoln

Sadie Lincoln is a renowned wellness expert, media personality and founder of barre3 fitness. From her flagship studio in Portland, Oregon, Sadie has created a unique style of whole-health fitness classes combining the disciplines of ballet barre work, Pilates and yoga. Her modern approach offers serious results, accessible programs and inspiration for balanced living. Workouts have attracted A-list celebrities, major publications such as Self, Fitness and In Style and everyday moms – just like Sadie. To learn more, visit www.barre3.com or the new barre3 mobile app.

About Jay Cardiello

Jay Cardiello is a globally-recognized fitness and nutrition expert, a personal trainer to celebrities, a contributor to leading media outlets and a published author. He is the Fitness Editor-at-Large of Shape for which he has a monthly magazine column and a weekly blog on Shape.com, a contributing editor for Men's Fitness, the Resident Celebrity Fitness Editor for both Star and OK! Magazines, a member of the advisory board for Muscle & Fitness, the Fitness Ambassador for FitFluential and a highlighted personality on Facebook as chosen by the Facebook team. Jay is the founder of JCORE which offers his multi-faceted wellness program: the JCORE Accelerated Body Transformation system, the JCORE dietary supplement range and the JCORE diet and healthy lifestyle plan. He is also the author of the recently published Cardio Core 4 x 4 (Rodale 2012), which he describes as a "20-Minute, No-Gym Workout That Will Transform Your Body!" To learn more, visit www.cardiellofitness.com.

About Epsom salt

Epsom salt – actually magnesium sulfate – is one of the most versatile household products, with uses ranging from creating at-home spa treatments to soothing achy muscles to helping start or improve gardens. It's been used therapeutically for hundreds of years, and it's gaining a new generation of fans looking for a safe, economical alternative in a sea of expensive, over-the-counter remedies. Epsom salt is easy to use, easy to find in your local pharmacy or grocery store and it costs about the same per use as a cup of coffee. For more information, please visit either www.epsomsaltcouncil.org, www.facebook.com/epsomsalt.

SOURCE Epsom Salt Council