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If you set your children up for success when they're young, it will help keep them on track when they're adults. Here's your action plan for reaching your family fitness goals. Added bonus: you'll up your own fitness level too!

The old saying 'monkey see, monkey do' comes to mind when we're talking about teaching children about physical fitness. Especially when they're in the early stages of development. When it comes to physical fitness, parents can positively encourage their children to be active by being active themselves. It's not an easy task, and there's no one proven approach to raising a healthy, well- balanced family. There is a way that I do it, and these three simple steps make a lot of sense to me. I hope they work for you too.

Step one: Positive words 
Our choice of words is so important in life. Whether it's friendships, relationships, business affairs or your body confidence, it's essential to make an active choice to use positive language.
I'm convinced that we all have some sort of body issues. I've been guilty of upsetting my daughter unintentionally by referring to my tummy scars as 'horrid.' Her response was "I love your tummy because without it. we wouldn't be here." As you can imagine, I felt terrible when she said this. My negative thoughts (like many women's) came right in the middle of summer swimsuit season a few years ago. I think I felt even worse because she has a small scar on her arm. It made me realize that I must always be positive with my words. I believe true beauty comes from within, even on a tough day. Always try to find a positive verbal approach to situations.

Step 2: Positive thoughts 
If you do have negative thoughts about your body, try to work on finding some positive body confidence statements. These statements come much more naturally when you make small physical changes in your routine to make yourself feel better.
For example, referring to a healthy diet as something to be dreaded because you feel deprived is a prime example of teaching kids that there's some form of negative emotion attached to restricting the consumption of unhealthy calories. Like I said, the balancing act is not easy. A change in mindset about what you know is best for your overall health is the key. 
Attempt to only share positive statements such as 'I'm getting healthy' or 'I'm working on being an active parent.' This is especially important when speaking in front of young children because they're most influenced before teenage years. Remember that positive actions and words start with positive thoughts.

Step 3: Mindset to action
Have you heard the saying "all talk and no action?" Well, it's time for the action part of my post! It doesn't have to be a chore to get the entire family moving. Once you get going with weekly activities, your entire family will start to look forward to family fitness time together. 
Start getting yourself active and feeling great. Then slowly start introducing your family to your ideas. Here is a custom workout to help get you started!

Workout of the week
Ultimate Goal: Perform this routine 5 times through
Every second counts goal: Get through this once.
-Walk-jog-run (1-2-3)
-Choose two numbers based on your fitness level.

-Note: If you're new to exercise, choose numbers 1 and 2. If you feel ready, choose 2-3
-Perform 45 seconds of the low number followed by 30 seconds of your second number.
-Perform a few stretches while catching your breath for 30 seconds
-Repeat

Not ready for jogging? Walk slowly as your 1, then walk fast as your 2.
Stick to the time frame and sets set but adjust your running/jogging/walking as needed to fit your current fitness level.
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The majority of your actions start with a thought so keep your thoughts positive, your words to match your thoughts and hopefully your body will follow. For the full article, click here.

Written by Samantha Clayton, AFAA, ISSA. Samantha is Senior Director of Fitness Education at Herbalife.

If you’ve always struggled to get strong muscles, here are three great and simple moves you can do to start building some serious strength!

Many people get so frustrated that they just can’t seem to build strength, size or muscle definition. I hear this complaint a lot more from men than I do from women. We are all born with basic genetics that determine our shape and size; we can alter this code slightly with our lifestyle choices, but it’s a fact that not all men were made to look like the ‘Incredible Hulk’ in the same way that not all women were made to be skinny. Many men naturally have a lean frame and find it hard to put on muscle.

My advice is to make the very best of your natural physique by building lean mass and getting strong without worrying too much about actual size. I think it’s best to have strong, functional muscle that enhances your daily life rather than bulk or size that simply slows you down.

Fat does not turn into muscle

I love going into the gym and listening in on the many conversations about exercises, size, muscles and diet. The gym is a place where you can learn so much but also hear some common myths being circulated. One crazy conversation I’ve heard a few times is incredibly muscular guys recommending eating tons of junk food calories to gain size and then turn it into muscle. The fact is, it just doesn’t work that way!  The old saying ‘you are what you eat’ comes to mind when I hear such talk. Gaining healthy weight and size is not just about putting a large number a calories into your body. They have to be the right calories at the right time or you may end up just gaining unhealthy weight.

I understand that the 300 lb. bodybuilder in the gym may admit to bulking up on everything, including the kitchen sink, but you have keep in mind that they’re also training three to four times harder and longer than the average man. Another thing we don’t see is that their internal health may be paying the price for eating too much junk food. So before you head to eat all of the junk food you can find to gain some extra weight, try eating a balanced diet with adequate protein combined with my three must do strength moves.

Moves to get strong

They may sound old school, but these moves are effective if you want to get strong! My top three moves that I recommend for building strength and muscle definition are:

Pull- ups

This is one of the hardest but simplest moves to master. The underhand grip chin-up is also effective for building upper body and core strength. By simply changing your hand position, you can put emphasis on various muscles in your back, shoulders and arms. Your body weight alone is enough to build incredible muscular strength but you can also use a weighted belt to add additional resistance. If you can’t manage to do a single one, have a buddy assist you or use the assisted machine in the gym.

If you’d really like a challenge to get strong, I suggest doing variations of pull-ups. You can try doing wide grip pull-ups, where your hands will be placed further apart on the pull-up bar. This will contribute to creating a V shape in your back. You may also consider a close grip chin up. This move will involve your bicep muscles more than a traditional chin-up. And if you want to challenge your core, try doing a few pull-ups with leg raises. Once you reach the top of the pull-up, raise your legs in front of you so they are parallel to the floor, then lower.

Perform five sets of pull-ups and/or chin-ups in each workout to build upper body strength. Or, get creative and come up with your own pull-up circuit. Once you master the technique you can watch your strength improve each week.

Weighted lunges

This is a great functional exercise for building both upper and lower body strength. Hold weighted dumbbells or a sand bag and walk for 20 paces in a lunge style walk. Put the weights down, rest for a few moments and then repeat. I like to do six sets of walking weighted lunges for building leg strength. Be sure to keep a strong, neutral back alignment and use a weight that isn’t too heavy to allow you to use good technique.

Push- ups

Push-ups are the ultimate total-body move for building strength! There are a number of ways you can perform a push-up—you can add in a challenge or make it easier if you’re new to fitness. Try to do push- ups at least a three times a week. Typically 3-4 sets of 20-30 is a good number.

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Building strength and gaining muscle doesn’t have to be difficult, but you do have to be conscious of certain things. Try not to have caloric excess and make sure you get a sufficient amount of protein in your daily diet. I understand that gaining weight for some people is not easy but don’t resort to gaining unhealthy weight. It’s better to take your time with quality nutrition and functional exercises.

How many pull-ups can you do? On my last test, I was up to seven good ones, that’s three more than I could do on January 1^st, but 22 less than I could do ten years ago. I’m determined to get stronger with each day, so join my quest with me and share your experiences in the comments section!

Written by Samantha Clayton, AFAA, ISSA. Samantha is Director of Fitness Education at Herbalife.

How much exercise do you need to burn off some of most typical ‘road foods’?  The chart below gives the calories and fat in typical foods, and the amount and type of exercise needed to burn off those calories.Keep in mind that while you’re sitting in a car or on an airplane, you’re only burning about 150 calories per hour.

 Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.