Last night on the ESPN ESPY awards, Gymnast Nastia Liukin was named the Best Female Athlete.

She had this to say about her award on Twitter: OMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE SOOO MUCH!!!!! I won BEST FEMALE ATHLETE!!!!!!!!!!!! All because of you guys!!!!!!!!” http://www.twitter.com/NLiukin – follow Nastia on Twitter for more info from her or visit her website http://www.nastialiukin.com.

Fitz’s Interview with Nastia Liukin

Fitz: How many hours a week do you train before a competition?

Nastia: Before the Olympics I trained for about seven hours a day. It included about two hours of warming up and conditioning, and the rest of the time was spent practicing routines and skills on the events.

Fitz: If you weren’t a professional athlete/gymnast how do you think you’d pursue fitness?

Nastia: Staying very fit, active and maintaining a healthy diet are very important to maintaining my lifestyle. I think everybody should do some type of exercise whether it’s going to a fitness center or going for a run around your neighborhood. I run two miles, three times a week to keep my endurance up.

Fitz: Tell me about your eating habits.

Nastia: I have always chosen to eat healthy and Organic foods. I was raised to enjoy the value of nutritious foods and the healthy habits have stuck with me. I owe a lot to my parents for teaching me the right eating habits.

Fitz: What’s your favorite healthy food?

Nastia: My favorite food is sushi! I love it and it’s very healthy, so that is a plus!

Fitz: Favorite junk food?

Nastia: Of course everyone has their one favorite thing that you treat yourself with occasionally and mine is ice cream!

Fitz: What’s on your mp3 player?

Nastia: Saving Jane, Carrie Underwood, Rihanna, Jesse McCartney, Jordan Pruitt.

Fitz: Any secrets to staying fit or eating well consistently?

Nastia: Set goals for yourself. I always set daily, weekly, monthly, and long term goals. Strive to achieve them! Whether it be running a mile everyday for a month, or winning a gold medal at the Olympics, setting goals has played a huge roll in overcoming obstacles and achieving success in my life and my sport.

Fitz: What was the best part of your Olympic success?

Nastia: Winning the All Around gold medal, hands down was the best part of the 2008 Olympic Games. I achieved my biggest dream and goal in my gymnastics career. After winning that Gold, I was able to add a few more medals to my collection. Leaving Beijing with five Olympic medals was more then I would have ever dreamed about. It was also very special to be there with my dad, Valeri, who is also my coach. He competed at the 1988 Olympic Games and won two Gold and two Silver medals.

Fitz: Any advice you can share for average Joe and Jane simply trying to become more fit?

Nastia: Make exercising part of your daily routine. It can be right when you wake up or after your done with a long day. I suggest right when you wake up, because it gets your body going and gets you off to a great start to the day. At the end of a day, you might feel more tired and get lazy. Also, make it fun! Go running with a friend, or just listen to some of your favorite inspiring songs on iPod!

Fitz: Thank you so much for both the interview and for all of the excitement in Bejing; it was a thrill to watch you perform and win. You have certainly done your job setting the standard for elite athleticism and inspiring others to excel as well.

More Celebrity Interviews: Fitzness.com

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ActiveHealth

ESPY Winner for Best Female Athlete 2009, Nastia Liukin shares Fitness Tips is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

Daily Kick in the Butt is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

iPopperz -let your ear buds reflect your fashionable style.

Ear buds are the latest cool new tool you can use to stay fashionably fit. iPopperz are fashion forward earphones with style! “I think everyone who exercises looks cool, because working out is just a cool thing to do. Having said that, some of you like to take it to the next level and iPopperz will be right up your alley,”  says Fitz, AHN Fitness expert and new owner of IPopperz ear buds.

iPopperz and Fitz have graciously offered to send one of you a free pair. These make a perfect back to school gift for your teen or a uplifting gift to yourself after all of your hard work towards your health adn fitness goals.  All you have to do is check out their great catalogue of iPopperz here and write in the comment section  on the Fitzness Blog here “which pair suits your style perfectly and why”. Really, the designs range from baseballs to skulls to fancy jewelz and fun colors, so you’re bound to find a set that suits your style.  Now get busy comment.  Nothing to sign up for, just a chance to get a free pair for the first 50 people that sign up before Friday July 24th.  We’ll pick a winner and announce it here and on Fitzness.com.

**To enter, name your favorite iPopperzstyle and why.  Leave a functioning email address along with your name as you registered. Email addresses will not be made public, they’ll just be used to contact you and let you know that you’ve won – woohoo! Winners will be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond before a runner-up winner is announced. You snooze, you lose.  iPopperz will mail the winner one set of iPopperz within 14 business days.

ipopperz – Stylish Ear Bugs – Giveaway is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

Fitz - Your Virtual Personal Trainer

Q. Dear Fitz, I love the summer weather, and really want to use the large outdoor pool at my gym. I do water walking and swim a couple of laps, but then I get so bored! Swimming 20 laps in a row is not fun for me. I’m pretty sure swimming burns a lot of calories, which is my goal. Help! Deanna

A. Hi Deanna, I’m so excited to help you, because I too love the benefits of training in the water. We always hear that it’s a terrific workout for those who want to avoid trauma from high impact activities. It also happens to be a fantastic workout for those who want to burn a massive amount of calories!

Quick personal story. About eight years ago, while in the midst of a competitive kickboxing career, I tore my right hamstring. This made it impossible for me to do almost any sort of activity that involved any sort of impact. After swimming most nights for three weeks I actually lost three pounds. I was sold! Swimming is awesome exercise!

So back to your question. Yes, swimming lap after lap can be boring. The fix is quick and easy though. A pool workout jammed with a variety of activities and strokes will keep you huffing, puffing and happy. Give this workout a try and then get back to me. This workout should take you about 20 minutes to complete. If you want to make the workout harder or easier, just remove one repetition or add one to each exercise. If you’re really ambitious, go through the entire workout twice!

Fitz’s Calorie Torching Pool Workout
• 4 laps Freestyle swimming
• 4 laps running
• 20 Dips. Put your hands on the edge of the wall while your body is facing the center of the pool. With bent elbows, lift your body out of the water onto straight arms.
• 50 jumping jacks
• 4 laps Freestyle swimming
• 20 Pool Push-ups. Put your hands on the ledge of the pool with feet behind you. Bring your chest towards the ledge and then push away.
• 2 laps Bunny Jumps (jump across the pool like a bunny)
• 4 laps using kick-board
• 20 Dips
• 4 laps running backward
• 50 jumping jacks
• 4 laps using kick-board
• 20 Pool Push-ups.

Don’t forget about doing a warm up and cool down to round out this fun, fit workout.

**This workout is designed for a lap pool, which does not go very deep. If you are using a regular pool do your runs and jumps in the shallow end.

All material and content provided in the Ask Fitz column/blog (and this entire site) is provided for informational or educational purposes only. It should not be viewed as medical advice or substitute for professional medical care. Consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical condition.

Ask Fitz – Now on Sports Health Exercise is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

Daily Kick in the Butt: is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

AHN Celebrity trainer Fitz shows a few fun and effective ways to use a Bosu and Medicine Ball to boost your upper body training.

Active Health Network: Fit Kick- Bosu – Upper Body – Medicine Ball Workout is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

Consuming a smoothie packed with fresh produce and not much extra nonsense is fine if you choose it as a healthier alternative to dessert or an occasional meal replacement. It is not however, some sort of miracle weight loss potion one should indulge in after every workout. Fitz shares her thought in this short Fit Kick Video. For lots of yummy, smoothie dessert recipes, check out Fitz’s Flab Belly Cookbook.  It is available at your local bookstore, Amazon.com or in our S.H.E. Recommends box. ( right hand column)

Active Health Network: Fit-Kick: Smoothies and Dieting is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

Daily Kick in the Butt: Can using a Plate help you Lose Weight? is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

• Sports and summertime go together. Plan an activity early in the day. Play baseball, touch football; go to the local pool or beach.

• Get outside early and see if you can think of and do more than four activities before four o’clock to celebrate the Fourth.

• Eat a bowl of fruit before you head for the barbecue goodies. Tons of fruits are in season. Make a Fourth of July fruit cocktail. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries…

• Use a plate. You will be less tempted to mindlessly snack.

• Skip the cheese and the Mayo on your burger and load up on lettuce tomatoes, pickles, onions and relish.

• Alternate cocktails and other caloric beverages with a glass of water. Or … just avoid the high calorie beverages all together!

• Take the skin off of your barbecue chicken.

• Eat only half of your hot dog and fill your plate with beans, fruits and veggies.

• Have a small burger or split one with a friend.

• Skip the chips and all day snacking. Enjoy a small dessert instead.

• Trying to avoid red meat? Try a turkey burger or Boca burger instead.

• Have a healthy breakfast, participate in as many sports/activities as possible and enjoy a healthy barbecue or dinner with friends and family.

• Make your entire weekend as active as possible.

• Be sure to take a minute to be Thankful for our Troops and our Country.

Remember: You do not have to sacrifice your health to celebrate!

Fit, Active and Regret Free this Holiday Weekend is a post from: Sports Health Exercise

AHN Yoga Expert, Stacy McCarthy shares an easy technique to instantly improve your mood and posture.

Active Health Network: Yoga Kick – Instantly Change Your Physiology is a post from: Sports Health Exercise