20 Helpful Tips to Help you Stay Healthy

1. Keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it often. Water should always be your drink of choice. To kick things up every once in a while, try adding lemon, lime, cucumber, or a few berries to liven up the flavor without adding significant calories.
2. Look at exercise as a pleasure and a privilege, not a burden or chore. Think positively about the changes regular exercise will produce. Rather than obsessing about your next meal, get excited about your next workout!
3. Eat well-balanced meals and remember that excess calories, even if they're from food that's fat free and high in protein, will turn to excess weight. No matter what the latest fad diet says, extra calories equal extra weight!
4. Limit caffeine and exposure to even secondhand smoke.
5. Focus on short-term fitness goals with an emphasis on completing daily exercise.
6. Keep a daily log of what you're actually eating. This includes every time you grab a handful of chips here or eat the crust of your kid's sandwich there, and ALL of your snacking.
7. Enjoy an occasional (once a week) "unhealthy" treat, but never an unhealthy week or unhealthy vacation.
8. Enjoy contributing to the health of others by having a partner or friends to exercise with, as well as recruiting others who want to feel better and have more energy. Have a neighbor who's sitting on the porch every morning when you walk by? Ask him or her to join you on your walk!
9. Avoid monotony by taking up new forms of exercising, or using things that keep you motivated and inspired, like new shoes or great music.
10. Subscribe to fitness magazines to keep focused on health as an overall way of life. Examples: Fitness Magazine, Shape, Oxygen, etc. 
11. Invest in the right tools—good shoes, a portable MP3 player or iPod^®, fitness equipment, a new series of tapes, etc.
12. Make it your goal to do some form of exercise 6 or 7 days a week. If some days you exercise once in the morning and once in the evening, even better! If you're eating right, exercise will fuel your energy level!
13. Don't compare your body to others'. Instead, work to be your personal best.
14. If your diet is unbalanced, take daily vitamin and mineral supplements for total health. Example: SHAKEOLOGY!
15. Work to take your exercise to new levels of intensity.
16. Create an exercise schedule the day before instead of leaving it to chance or waiting to "find" the time. If our last three Presidents of the United States can make time to work out every day, you can make time too!
17. Move beyond the boundaries of weight loss and into total fitness. Measure success by the way your clothes fit, not some number on a scale.
18. Stick with eating plans you can maintain indefinitely. Remember that no matter how hard you're working out, if you're consuming too many calories, you'll never see the muscles that lie beneath layers of fatty tissue.
19. Get adequate amounts of sleep, but remember that people who exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.
20. Limit alcohol intake to special occasions.

8 Tips for Avoiding the Holiday Pounds

By Stephanie S. Saunders

It's that time of year. The leaves turn majestic hues of red and gold. The air becomes fresh and crisp. We can finally put an extra blanket on the bed and cuddle up with a cup of hot tea. Yes, it's fall. We just spent 8 months killing ourselves to get into that bathing suit, but now we've replaced it with a worn pair of jeans and a much more relaxed attitude towards food. After all, it's the holiday season, and no one'll notice a few extra pounds under layers of clothes. A little extra weight just gives us a New Year's resolution to focus on, right?

Wrong. According to a study by researchers at Sweden's Linköping University, those 4 weeks of celebrating can actually lead to long-term weight gain.

Essentially, the researchers took a group of healthy young people, increased their caloric intake by 70 percent, and lowered their exercise levels. They also had a control group whose diets weren't altered. At 4 weeks, the participants in the test group had gained an average of 14 pounds. After 6 months, and no longer on an increased-calorie diet, only a third of these participants had returned to their original weight. After 1 year, the test group members were each still an average of 3.3 pounds heavier. After 2 and a half years, the "gluttonous" group continued to gain, while the control group still maintained a stable weight.

Now, most of us don't increase our calories that drastically for 30 days straight. Sure, there's Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving leftovers, Hanukkah, the work Christmas party, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day, not to mention the extra sweets, cocktails, and (ahem) fruitcake. But according to the New England Journal of Medicine, the actual average weight gain over the holidays is only 1 pound. (They obviously didn't poll my family or friends.) So what's the big deal? The problem is, a year later, the vast majority of people have not removed that pound. Continue this pattern over 30 or 40 holiday seasons and the problem becomes—quite literally—huge.

So how are we supposed to get through the holidays without gaining weight? Here are eight effective ways to get yourself ready to beat the holiday bulge.

1. Buy clothes that fit right now. This first tip might be a bit pricy, but it's a great motivational aid in staving off weight gain. A new addition to your wardrobe in a size that shows off your summer body can be all you need to prevent those extra pounds from creeping on. Imagine that beautiful holiday dress or great pair of pants, then imagine being unable to zip them up thanks to sugar cookies. Yeah, no one wants that. So before you begin the festivities, go buy yourself something perfect to wear to your parties and hang it someplace visible, so it serves as a constant reminder. Perhaps on the TV where you play your P90X^®, INSANITY^®, or TurboFire^® videos, or in front of that treadmill that might be starting to collect a little dust in the corner, or on your refrigerator door . . . that way, if it doesn't fit quite the same way the next time you try to slip into it, you know it's time to get back to work.
2. Write it down. We try to write down everything we eat, right? We spend countless hours each month staring at a food diary, adding up our calories, and seeing if we got the correct balance of macronutrients. And then the holidays happen, and our little book ends up in the bottom drawer. It's almost like we're hoping that if we didn't write it down, it didn't happen. Unfortunately, the scale doesn't fit in that bottom drawer. The truth is, if we would write down the not-so-perfect meals and treats, we could find a way to compensate for them, at least a bit. For example, you have a peppermint brownie in the break room at work, which you know is carbohydrates and fat. Eat one less portion of carbohydrate and one less portion of fat for your dinner. It's not ideal, but it'll help. Or perhaps you couldn't resist Mom's homemade scones for breakfast. You could plan on an extra 20 or 30 minutes of your workout tonight. The point is, if we write it down, and do the math, we can lessen the damage. It isn't a good long-term plan, but to help compensate for a few slip-ups, it can help.
3. Keep exercising. Most fitness trainers will tell you the slowest point of their year is between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Sure, their clients schedule workouts with the best of intentions, but then they cancel them for parties and gift shopping. It's hard to remain balanced when you have a million things to do and gifts to buy. Yet the greatest gift you can give yourself is to stay focused on your fitness goals and get your workout in. Shopping getting in the way? Do it online and save some time. Parties getting in the way? Just show up later. Who cares if everyone else is a couple of cocktails ahead of you? You'll be healthier, and you won't have to worry about the embarrassing YouTube^® videos in the morning. Just stay consistent, even if it's inconvenient. You'll be much less likely to look like Santa (both belly-wise and red-nose-wise) at the end of the month.
4. Eat before parties. Most holiday parties don't focus on low-fat, low-calorie refreshments, so unless you're organizing the event, the best damage control is to show up with a full tummy. Make sure you eat your meals and snacks throughout the day, and try to eat a healthy meal before attending any party. If you're going straight from work, prepare a healthy and filling snack to eat on the way. You'll be a lot less likely to swim in mayonnaise dips and pigs in blankets if you're full.
5. Get junk out of the house. The majority of people don't get into their car at midnight, drive to the store, buy the ingredients for cookies, bake them, and then stay up to eat them. But if those homemade cookies that Linda in accounting made for you are already on your kitchen counter, you better believe you'll find a way to justify it. Frankly, at 12:30 AM, after a rotten day, for most of us there's nothing like a few cookies to drown our sorrows. The secret is to get the garbage out of the house. Send it to work with your significant other, donate it to a bake sale, re-gift it to your 100-pound friend with the perfect metabolism, or just dump it in the trash. Linda will never know. If you have holiday dinner leftovers, box them up for your guests individually and send them home with them. If your family still sends you that Pepperidge Farm^® cookie assortment, invite a bunch of people over for a pre-party party and serve 'em up before the drinks. Try not to be wasteful, but get the less-than-healthy temptations out of your reach.
6. Offer to prepare healthy fare. This suggestion won't be well received by those of us who'd rather spend Thanksgiving sitting around watching football than toiling in the kitchen, but if you do the cooking, you have the control. Your family could have a tasty and satisfying meal without ingesting thousands of calories and fat grams. The way the turkey is prepared, the type of stuffing, how vegetables are made, whether the cranberries are real, and countless other things can make or break the healthiness of a meal. There are tons of cookbooks out there, plus recipes in this and past newsletters, that can help you out. Yes, it does require a bit of work. But you're part of the Beachbody community. You can do anything!
7. Choose wisely and proportionally. Something occurs during a holiday meal. It's like a Las Vegas buffet—we feel like we have to eat some of everything. We feel almost like those foods will never exist again, and this is our last meal on the planet. This year, why not try to eat only your favorites, as in two or three items, and keep the portions to the size of your palm? If you're still hungry, try to fill up on veggies (preferably ones that aren't drowned in butter or cream-of-mushroom soup). If you want dessert, lean toward a small slice of pumpkin pie (220 calories) as opposed to pecan (a heftier 543), leaving out the hydrogenated nondairy whipped topping if possible. If you're going to have an alcoholic beverage, go with a flute of champagne (100 calories) as opposed to that rum-laced eggnog (with more than four times more calories, at 420). Just a few wise choices will save you a ton of calories, and probably a significant amount of heartburn as well.
8. Don't beat yourself up. Quite possibly the worst thing you can do is beat yourself up over a bit of holiday indulgence. Yes, it does stink to backslide after working your tail off. But sometimes it doesn't stink as much as dealing with your mother when you turn down her brisket and potato pancakes. Sometimes, we don't have time to go to work, buy a Christmas tree, decorate it with our kids, make dinner, oversee homework, tuck kids in bed, and spend an hour doing our Beachbody workout of choice. We can only do our very best. Mentally beating yourself up will only make you feel worse, which never helped anyone get back to their fitness program. So if you happen to gain that 1 extra pound this holiday season, be part of the rare group who actually follows through with their New Year's resolution and manages to shed it again. A week of hard work and a slight calorie deficit should do the trick. Resolutions don't come easier than that!

A wise person once said, "The toughest part of a diet isn't watching what you eat. It's watching what other people eat." That really is the crux of the problem with dining out in public. When you're surrounded by people who are consuming the equivalent of their body weight in fat grams, it's really tough to stick to that chicken breast and steamed veggies. But if you have a game plan, you're more likely to walk out with both a satisfied tummy and a satisfied mind. So spend a few minutes on researching, on eating, and on exercising beforehand, and be strong when you get there. The effort will be worth it, and you might even be an inspiration to your dining partner. What greater reward is there than that? Oh, yeah—a six-pack.

40 Healthy Holiday Gifts

Holiday shopping can be stressful. Between driving all over town, long lines in crowded stores, and the never-ending holiday music, it's enough to make you want to throw up your hands and exclaim, "Bah, humbug!"

Let us help. We've put together a list of 40 Beachbody gift ideas that can help make everyone in your life feel not only happier, but healthier! We divided the gifts by price levels so all you have to do is decide how much you want to spend on someone, and choose from several suggestions within that range. All items are available online, so take off that winter jacket, grab a glass of Shakeology®, and knock out your holiday shopping quickly—and with the confidence that the gifts you're giving will enrich the lives of those who receive them! PLUS: If you're a Team Beachbody® VIP Club member, you'll automatically save 10% off all items you purchase through TeamBeachbody.com. How to find out if you're a Team Beachbody VIP Club member: Make sure you're logged in to TeamBeachbody.com. If you're not logged in, click on the "Sign In" link in the upper right-hand corner of this page. Click on the "Shop" tab in the upper navigation menu.Scroll down to look at the price for Shakeology. You'll see "Regular Price: $119.95." But if you're a Team Beachbody VIP Club Member, you'll also see "Your price: $107.95." That's a savings of $12.00, or 10 percent! If you're not a Team Beachbody VIP Club member, consider joining now. If you plan on purchasing three or four holiday gifts through TeamBeachbody.com, your savings could more than cover the 3-month membership fee. Learn more, and sign up for the Team Beachbody Club.


 9 gifts at $25.00 or less: 
Tony and the Folks! ($9.95) 
Tony and the Kids! ($9.95)
 P90X® T-Shirt (Men) and P90X® T-Shirt (Women) ($19.95) 
Turbo Jam® Camouflage Tank ($19.95) 
Shaun T's Fit Kids® Club ($19.95) 
Get Real with Shaun T ($19.95) 
Weighted Gloves ($19.95) 
P90X® Protein Bars ($23.95)
 $25.00 Team Beachbody® eGift Card 


 8 gifts at $50.00 or less: 
Chin-Up Max ($29.85) 
Total Body Solution ($29.95) 
Slimming Formula ($29.95) 
Chalene Johnson's Get On the Ball ($39.90) 
B-LINES® Resistance Bands (39.95) 
Tony Horton's Signature PowerStands® ($39.90)
 P90X® Results and Recovery Formula® ($49.95)
 $50.00 Team Beachbody® eGift Card 


 6 gifts at $75.00 or less: 
Brazil Butt Lift® ($59.85) 
Hip Hop Abs® ($59.85)
 Slim in 6® ($59.85) 
P90X® Chin-Up Bar ($59.85) 
Turbo Jam® ($59.85) 
Bowflex® Strapless Heart Rate Monitor ($74.85)


 6 gifts at $100.00 or less:
 Body Gospel® ($79.70) 
10-Minute Trainer® ($79.90) 
RevAbs® ($89.85) 
ChaLEAN Extreme® ($89.85) 
INSANITY: THE ASYLUM® ($89.85)
 $100.00 Team Beachbody® eGift Card


 5 gifts at $120.00 or less:
 Shakeology® ($119.95) 
TurboFire® ($119.70) 
P90X® ($119.85) 
P90X2™ Base Kit ($119.85)
 INSANITY® ($119.85) 


 6 Ultimate Gifts:
P90X ONE on ONE® ($239.40)
INSANITY® Deluxe with Mat and Bonus Workout ($239.70) 
TurboFire®: The Complete System ($239.40) 
$250.00 Team Beachbody® eGift Card
P90X2™ Ultimate ($299.55)
$500.00 Team Beachbody® eGift Card




www.leanbodysculpting.com

I'm A Coach! Wanna Join Me?

Easy to Pack Healthy Snacks!

To avoid poor food choices when on the run, carry healthy snacks or mini-meals with you everywhere. I always try to keep a bag of unsalted almonds or raw trail mix in the car. This keeps me from buying that big scone I like at Starbucks, and the protein and good fat keep me energetic and satisfied for hours. Here are a few more ideas: Apples and bananas are great and don't even require a bag. Plain or low-fat, low-sugar yogurt or cottage cheese is also great for a fast mini-meal. Easier than making a sandwich, you can keep ready-to-go portions in your fridge. When I'm really organized, I pack a bag of baby carrots or celery. This is an easy way to add more veggies into your diet. For protein, carry hard-boiled eggs or string cheese—like a mini-meal on the go. The more healthfully you snack, the more you will find yourself craving proper nutrition. Choices that used to seem boring will soon sound satisfying and tasty. Teigh McDonough

Recipe: Frozen Shakeology^® Pops

I can't wait to try these!!!!!

From Sandy Carter (and her daughter)

Ready for a frosty treat that's as healthy as it is delicious? Try this recipe for frozen Shakeology pops. They're simple to mix up and freeze, and best of all, there's no guilt—just icy-cold choco-peanutty refreshment!

• 1 serving Chocolate Shakeology
• 3/4 cup nonfat milk
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. peanut butter (all-natural is best)
• 1 cup ice (more or less to taste)

Place ingredients in blender and blend until thoroughly mixed and creamy. Pour into 

4-ounce pop molds and freeze until solid. Makes 4 pops.

Calories: 91

Protein: 8 g

Fiber: 1 g

Carbs: 8 g

Fat total: 3 g

Sat. Fat: <1 g

8 Ways to Avoid Summer Weight Gain

As the summer vacation season approaches and millions of people start planning trips, among the most popular ways the recreation-starved choose to spend their hard-earned vacation time and harder-earned cash is on cruise ships or at all-inclusive tropical resorts. The cruise industry alone saw more than 10 million passengers depart from U.S. ports last year, while tropical über-resorts with names like Sandals^®, Breezes, and Couples beckon with enticing promises of warm sands and days of leisure. (We won't touch on what Hedonism Resorts^® beckons with). What these vacation destinations all have in common is cocoon-like protection in a safe, microcosmic version of the locale you're visiting, committed to relaxation and fun. But they share something else too. As all-inclusive vacations, they offer near-continuous access to all the food you can eat, which makes them appeal to instincts honed by our famine-fearingancestors—instincts that tell us that if there's food available, it's time to chow down. Cruise ships in particular have gained notoriety as being fat factories on the seas. Like the average American waistline, every year, the ships grow larger and larger, adding more and more dining rooms and buffets, each enticing travelers to gorge as they lounge in the tropical sunshine.

And while in this era of shrinking paychecks and cost-conscious consuming the idea of all-inclusive vacations sounds like a smart vacation shopper's dream come true, this all-you-can-consume kind of vacation carries with it risks for the health-minded vacationer. So if your goal is to keep from overindulging while at an all-inclusive resort or on a cruise, and you can't depend solely on your willpower to keep you on the straight and narrow, here are eight ways you can enjoy your vacation to the fullest without derailing your healthy eating and exercise plan.

1. The opposite of mountain climbing (or beware the buffet) 
   Mountain climbers have been known to explain their passionate need to tackle a given peak by saying "because it's there"; vacationers at an all-inclusive often defend their face-first dives into mountainous buffets with the same motto. Just because something is there doesn't mean you have to have it. That said, we're all human, and something that seems "free" or "paid for" is enticing and alluring . . . especially when it's bathed in cream, salt, sugar, cheese, etc. So when mealtime rolls around and a buffet sprawls before you like pirate booty waiting to be plundered, make sure you start with the salad. That's right, a simple green salad, and while you're at it, try light dressing or no dressing at all. Salad fills up space in your stomach while it provides you with vitamins and roughage, the latter of which is noticeably lacking in many buffet-style foods. Just remember, the more salad you eat (at, say, 50 calories for a cup and a half of salad without dressing, or 100 calories for a cup and a half with lowfat balsamic vinaigrette), the less room you'll have for starchy, fatty, salty Fettuccine Alfredo (which can weigh in at 700 calories per serving and up—often way up). The result is that in addition to keeping your arteries clearer, you're gonna feel a lot better in your swimsuit when you're lounging on the Lido deck.
2. Be the captain of your table 
   While cruise ships and all-inclusive resorts have embraced the "more is better" philosophy, offering sometimes a dozen restaurant options to their captive diners, the tourism industry has also been among the most responsive to working "heart-healthy" and lower-calorie options into their menus. You just have to use them. Vegetarian choices are usually available at every meal, as are sugar-free desserts and low-salt options. On cruises in particular, many ship kitchens pride themselves on accommodating guests' special dietary requests. And since both cruise ships and beachside resorts boast waterfront settings and nautical themes, fish dishes are virtually always available on the menu, which can make for healthier dining choices, especially when grilled.
3. Beware the pink parasols 
   Okay, let's not go overboard. If you drink alcohol, your vacation most likely won't be the time you choose to cut it out of your diet. But the amount of calories in some alcoholic drinks can be truly astounding. Daiquiris, margaritas, mai tais—all resort favorites—generally carry high-calorie loads, and basically any drink sweetened with syrups or sugar is getting into Candyland as far as calorie count goes. Also, alcohol has that special ability to lower your resistance, impeding your better judgment. The bottom line is that drinking can make you consume a surplus of empty calories, both directly (the alcohol itself) and indirectly (the poolside French fries or grande platter of nachos you order when the alcohol obliterates your resolve). So before you find yourself paddling over toward the swim-up bar (because hey, how cool is that, having a swim-up bar?), have a strategy in place. Maybe your strategy will involve using low-cal mixers (i.e., rum and Diet Coke^®) or alternating between an alcoholic drink and a nonalcoholic low-cal or no-cal drink (i.e., sparkling water on ice with some lemon or lime). Or if a cold beer is more to your liking, enjoy a light beer instead.
4. Then again, it is vacation! So eat . . . then hit the gym. 
   Sure there's temptation on vacation. That's why it's a vacation. And you don't want to be so mindful of your menu that you don't have fun. (After all, would you go to Switzerland and not try the chocolate, or visit New Orleans and not have beignets?) So if you embrace the dining options to their fullest, or feel you're deserving of your vacation drinks (especially since someone else is driving [the ship]), you should also embrace the many, many exercise options that are available. Fully outfitted gyms are de rigueur in all major resorts and ships, and the hour you spend on an elliptical machine could see you burn off 600 calories. The hardest part is incorporating the workout regimen you embrace at home to this new environment where hedonism is encouraged and rewarded. (Few gyms are emptier than those on cruise ships.) So here are a few exercise options.
5. Exercise easy . . . 
   Opportunities for easy "I've got a hangover and can't get too out of breath"-type exercise are plentiful at resorts and on cruise ships. Sure, they may not be challenging enough to be featured on the cover of an outdoorsy-lifestyle magazine, but remember that embracing the many slower-paced vacation-style exercise options around you is better than not moving at all. For instance, you might want to take a morning walk before camping out on the nearest chaise lounge for the day. Walking on an even surface at 3 miles per hour will consume around 220 calories an hour, and even a modest (or stumbling) 2-mile-per-hour walk burns around 170 calories. So the paths around the resort, or even off-property if that's both safe and viable, provide for strolls that let you enjoy the warmth, soak in the atmosphere, and not atrophy on a poolside lounge chair. Likewise, most cruise ships boast tracks around the upper decks where passengers can walk or jog to their heart's delight (jogging can burn 360 calories and up an hour). Even the much-maligned game of shuffleboard can burn 150 or 200 calories an hour. Yes, it's a ridiculous pastime. Yes, it is associated with Miami Beach in the 1970s. But the idea is to move, rather than only bake in the sun while downing nachos and beers.
6. Or exercise hardcore . . . 
   Rock-climbing walls are now present on many ships and at some resorts, and provide an extremely calorie-intensive workout due to the intense physical demands of clinging to a faux-rock face with feet and fingers (burning as much as 100 calories in a brief 10-minute climb). Never rappelled down a climbing wall before? No problem. Whether you have or not, if your resort has a rock wall, they have staff on hand to teach you how to use it, generally offering courses geared for climbers of different experience levels. Climbing walls involve intense use of muscles and balance, and you'll certainly feel it the next day. Likewise, many cruise ships, when they pull into port, offer challenging onshore athletic activities, like kayaking, which can burn 340 or more calories per hour.
7. Sleep with the fish—or just exercise with them 
   Nowhere are water sports more readily available than at beachside resorts and on cruise ships. Snorkeling burns around 350 calories an hour, and provides a calming view of the world you may not normally get. Surfing is another activity that's perfect to try on your resort-bound vacation (some megaships also offer surf pools or surf parks to let passengers surf while still on board), and surfing can burn 200 calories an hour. Of course, swimming is one of the most effective exercises around, and swimming around in the ocean or pool for an hour could easily burn 400 calories or more.
8. Dancing (does the limbo count?) 
   Yes, cruise ships and resorts are romantic places where music fills the warm night air, so embrace the music and dance! Dancing is one of the best forms of cardio exercise, so whether you prefer to slow dance in the moonlight (a gentle waltz burns 120 calories or more an hour) or party down to some disco (while burning more than 270 calories an hour), rest assured that what you're doing is good for you. Dancing also has the distinction of being one of the more enjoyable forms of exercise—just one of the reasons that Hip Hop Abs^® and Turbo Jam^® have helped so many people improve their health and conditioning.

The point with all these exercise options is to move, and whenever possible, to embrace the concept of Muscle Confusion™, which forms the basis of the P90X^® fitness regimen. Keeping your body moving in a variety of ways, continually forcing it to adapt, results in effective muscle toning and fat burning.

By G.D. Rossen

Exercise and Asthma

            How many of you struggle with asthma? I know there are quite a few out there who have some sort of issues with asthma. Whether it be exercise induced, seasonal along with allergies or chronic, it is an awful condition. I know because I have struggled with it since I was in the 4th grade. I had gotten sick and my mom took me to our family doctor and it turned out that I had pneumonia and that's when they diagnosed me with asthma. I still remember having to take all these different medicines that I had to rinse my mouth out every time I used it because it would cause some sort of rash on my throat, ugh, it was just not fun. Plus it was so hard not to be able to be active with my friends and run around and play, not good for someone like me who has always been active. We tried everything in order to keep it under control, drinking hot tea from a thermos I took to school everyday, the different meds and still was struggling.  It was sad to say but this is how I thought I was going to have to live forever, not being able to breathe and it really scared me. As a junior high and high school athlete it was difficult at times but I knew that playing sports was what I was passionate about and even if it meant working through my asthma attacks I was going to play volleyball, basketball and track.  I went on to play college volleyball and was still struggling and working through my asthma, it seemed that the medicines just weren't cutting it and it was controlling me, and I wasn't in control of IT. After college, I was lucky enough to be coaching an 8th grade girls club volleyball team and one of the dad's was an asthma/allergy doctor so I talked with him about it and he sent me some samples to try and OH MY GOODNESS! I used the medicine twice in the morning and twice in the evening and didn't have to use my rescue inhaler at all that week. He had me schedule an allergy testing with a specialist and they put me on those medicines and my life has TOTALLY CHANGED. I am now in control of my asthma, it's not controlling me!

Come to find out it was probably the best thing I could have done, research shows that exercise actually helps improve the respiratory system and strengths the lungs, and as the tolerance for physical exertion is built up over time, it is less likely that an asthmatic will experience an attack during exercise. And, in addition to reducing the risk of developing many other diseases, exercise can help those with asthma sleep better, reduce stress, and feel more energized.  Asthmas is not a reason to lead an inactive lifestyle, it's best to see an asthma specialist if you can and have them figure out which is the best medicine for your specific needs.

Once you have received clearance from your doctor to begin an exercise program, consider the following:

Taking extra time to warm up before exercising a prolonged period of low-level aerobic activity will help prepare your body for higher-intensity exercise.

Exercise toward the lower end of your target heart rate. Exercises such as walking or swimming are great for asthmatics because they are low intensity and may be done for longer periods of time. Those who wish to participate in higher-intensity exercise, such as running or fast-paced sports, should slowly increase intensity over time.

Rest when necessary and listen to what your body is telling you. Strength-training exercises are unlikely to cause an asthma attack if you rest between sets.

Avoid exercising in polluted environments, or in cold or dry air. If you do exercise in cold air, wear a mask or scarf over your nose and mouth.

Don't rush through your cool down; extending it can help prevent the asthma attacks that occur immediately following an exercise session. A warm bath or shower may also help.

I'm by no means a doctor so please see a doctor before starting any type of intense training programs but also don't let it be a factor in you not being active. :)