Greetings!   

This month we want you to try working out with your sweetheart.  We have a few couples in our Fusion Fitness class and they really enjoy it.  With Valentines Day coming up we have to give you a recipe with chocolate in it.  Try out the Mexican Chocolate Cream pie recipe below. 

Now that the cold has set in, it is time for Luau week at the studio.  February 11th - 15th is Luau week.  Hawaiian dress is optional (but fun to wear).  Hope to see you there! 

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Workout for Sweethearts! 

Love your partner and your body!
 

 Ah, amour! That's what February is all about. You live together, love together and play together, so why not work out together? 

Studies show you are more likely to stick to an exercise regimen if you have a workout buddy. While the two of you are waiting out the last few months of winter, why not try these activities together:

• Morning stretches - You can even assist each other in going extra deep. Try this stretch together:
• Sit on the bed or floor facing your sweetheart with straight legs and the bottoms of your feet touching. You may need to open your legs wide to accomplish this position.
• Hold hands with your sweetheart.
• One person pulls the hands of your partner slowly and gently towards your body. Stop when your partner says to stop. This stretches the upper body as well as the legs. Hold for 10 - 20 seconds.
• Release the pull and have your sweetheart pull your hands towards his/her body. Hold for 10 - 20 seconds.
• Partner Exercises with Resistance Tubes - You can build strength while building your relationship:
  • Chest Press - Intertwine your tubes, facing away from each other, hold handles at chest level with palms facing down. At the same time with your partner, push the tube away from your body and then release back with resistance. There should not be any slack in the tube when you release.
  • Reverse Lunge with Rows - Facing each other, intertwine your tubes and hold the handles with your palms facing each other. At the same time step back with your right foot into a lunge position. While you step back, pull your arms back by squeezing your shoulder blades together. Step forward and return your arms back to original position. Repeat on the Left side. Do 15 sets of repetitions.
  • Trunk Rotation - Using one tube, stand facing your partner with no slack in the resistance tube. Bend elbows to a 90 degree angle, keeping elbows close to your body at all times. At the same time turn your body to the right, come back to center then turn your body to the left. Do 15 sets of repetitions.
• Daily walks - If you have adult children at home, this may be your best way to get out and have some private time.
• Trips to the gym - Seeing your partner across the gym sweating on a weight machine will do wonders for seeing him or her as sexy and virile.
• Dancing - Even slow ballroom dancing burns about 280 calories per hour. If you're not already dancers, find a local dance class and learn together.
• Making love - Burn calories as you burn up the sheets.
• Yoga - Deepen the spiritual and physical connection with partner yoga. Or, get a good laugh while learning something new.
• Sledding - You'll burn almost 500 calories in an hour of sledding, maybe more if you're screaming in fear.
• Ice skating - Holding hands while you glide around the ice is romantic and active.
• Snowshoeing - This is an excellent, fun and gentle exercise that will help you enjoy the peace of the winter outdoors.
• Cross-country skiing - This vigorous activity will really get your blood moving, and it burns between 700 and 1,200 calories an hour!

Just as there is an art to relationships, there's an art to making your new "sweetheart" workout fun. 

• Set goals together and plan your reward when you accomplish them.  
• Don't worry if you can't do every part of your workout together.  It may be that you can only meet up once a week as a "treat", while doing the other part of your workouts alone or with someone else. 
• Don't critize each other.  They are there working, that is all that matters.
• Feel good about your workouts and about each other.

Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie 

Yummy Chocolate, but light on the calories!

This silky and creamy pie also has a spicy zest to it.