How about that crazy cold weather, huh? With a majority of the country currently covered in snow, activities in places which do not normally get snowed in have ground to a halt.

The lethargy-inducing weather has gotten on the nerves on many people. It's just so easy to do what bears do best this time of the year - hibernate.

Do not give in to that temptation! Get up and work out!

In fact, now is the best time to get that beach body for the coming summer season.

I know many people will think this is a crazy idea. Summer may still be months away, but working out to get that beach body at this time of the year will get you a good head start over others who aren't doing anything at home.

You do not even have to get out of the house to exercise. Being fit does not mean that you have to drive to your fitness club, or brave the cold cycling or running. Even if you do not have fitness equipment at home, you can do bodyweight exercises. You don't have to let the gloomy weather get to you. Picture the warm summer sun touching your skin, and use this as a motivation for working out.

We here at FitDeck Mobile want to give users the best possible experience by making an extremely useful app using the FitDeck concept. And we are glad that all our efforts are paying off.

FitDeck Mobile has been steadily generating buzz in the past few months, thanks to numerous glowing reviews and mentions by notable publications like the New York Times and O,The Oprah Magazine.

Robin Monheit of O, The Oprah Magazine writes: "The simplicity of FitDeck Mobile is its charm. Of all the programs we tried, this was the easiest to use. And none of the exercises require special equipment, so you can do them anywhere—at home or on the road. If you're looking for ideas (or if you frequently forget specific moves), it's a handy tool to have on your phone."

Tech websites have also given FitDeck Mobile positive feedbacks. Top Ten Reviews describe the app as a "Gym Teacher On A BlackBerry."  Susan of BlackBerry Sync has given FitDeck Mobile V2.0 a rating of five stars out of five, and has made a follow-up review of the Pilates extension. She says:

Cons: I couldn’t find any except that just once it said I needed to purchase the Pilates, but after restarting the app, the Pilates loaded perfectly. It takes a minute to load but it’s worth the wait. This is fantastic for keeping that New Years resolution without having to join a gym or do a club membership.

Pros: More versatile and customizable than doing Pilates with a DVD. I’ve had the DVD versions, this is much easier to understand and is truly at your own pace. All the Pilates exercises are included, it’s convenient and it’s fun. Whether you do it alone or invite a friend, you have your own workout gym via BlackBerry.

Health-related websites have also weighed in on FitDeck Mobile. This Mama Cooks! On a Diet writes, "FitDeck Mobile helps you get fit and stay fit with a simple, effective workout that you can do anywhere you carry your mobile phone – at the office, on the road, at home, or at the beach. The FitDeck Mobile exercises require no weights or equipment, are designed for people of any fitness level, and will help you achieve your goals, save time (not trips back and forth to the gym), stay motivated and relieve stress."

Medicine 3.0 has listed FitDeck Mobile as one of the 25 essential BlackBerry apps for health and fitness, describing it as "A popular app that helps users get fit and stay fit." Medical News Today says "FitDeck® Mobile is the perfect product for anyone with a New Year's resolution to get in better shape."

We are grateful for these positive feedbacks, which only makes us push ourselves to give you the best fitness app on the market.

We wish to thank all those who took advantage of the FitDeck Mobile BodyWeight offer last week.

However, some of you missed out on the amazing promo and are asking for another opportunity.

For those of you who missed out on the New Year promotion, we are extending you a new offer this week.

Until January 22, you can get FitDeck Mobile Bodyweight for only $5.99! That is 25% off the regular price!

So if you didn't get your chance last week, do not let this opportunity slide again. Head on to http://www.fitdeckmobile.com/buy, use promo code 2010 and join the thousands of FitDeck Mobile BodyWeight enthusiasts!

2009 was a great year for us at FitDeck Mobile. But there is so much more to look forward to. There are numerous projects in the works to make FitDeck Mobile better and more accessible than ever before.

The beta version of FitDeck Mobile has received a glowing review from Susan C of BlackBerry Sync. She says, "Overall because they have taken their product of Bodyweight and added to it, giving it the ultimate customization, I’m going to give it five stars. I love the idea that you can make your workout, and add as you go."

FitDeck Mobile is off to a good start. And for 2010, we would like you to have a good one too. We are giving you a limited offer to get your own copy of FitDeck Mobile Bodyweight at half the price.

You read it right. That is 50% off. If you want to avail of the discount, just go to http://www.fitdeckmobile.com/buy, fill up the form, and enter 2010 in the promo code field.

But you better hurry, because the offer stands until January 15 only.

Hope you have a fit and fabulous year!

Have you experienced reading an update from a friend on his Facebook or Twitter account, telling the whole world about his weight struggles? This has become more and more common, thanks to the advent of social media.

In the past, losing weight was largely a private matter. Sure, you could tell your friends about it, but the people who would know about your journey would still be limited to a small number.

In this day and age, if you want everyone to know about your workout regimen, it is as easy as typing in a string of words in your computer or phone and clicking send. In less than a minute you can broadcast to the whole world about what your journey to better health.

For instance, Facebook has made it really easy to give an update to your friends about your weight issues. The same is true for Twitter, where you can tell your followers what you are up to in 140 characters or less. There is even a wifi-enabled weighing scale that automatically tweets your weight every time you step on it.

Moreover, you can discuss more extensively your fitness regimen through blogs. For instance, Hollywood WOD regularly informs his readers of his fitness regimen (he uses FitDeck, by the way). With blogs, you can also pour your heart out about your health concerns in detail, and your readers can share their insights as well.

The question is: does sharing your exercise regimen or health issues actually do some good?

There is no simple answer to this. But I will have to say that it has some benefits, especially for the one sharing.

The path to achieving your fitness goals can be a lonely road. Telling anyone of your exercise habits can be a driving force for you to move forward. The reason behind it is that you are more likely to go on if someone knows about your journey. In this way, sharing your workouts online can motivate you to continue.

This is even truer for someone who is struggling with his workouts. Simple words of encouragement by readers can go a long way for someone who is frustrated with the way his workout is going. It becomes a support group of sorts.

It can be also be helpful to the person reading. Knowing that someone out there is experiencing what the reader is also going through can encourage the him to start or continue his own path to fitness. The reader can also get some tips that can help him along the way. Thus, the benefits go both ways.

Sharing fitness regimen or your health concerns online may not be for everybody. But if it can help you, do it by all means.

How many people have you encountered who have said, "I am too young/old to exercise"? Are you one of them?

Many people take exercise for granted. Young people usually reason out the they are in the pink of health, and have no need for fitness training at the moment. Older people might say that their body cannot handle strenuous activities anymore, and that exercising may just aggravate whatever ailment they are feeling.

But exercise is important for your health, whether you are 5 or 50.  In fact, U.S. Government's Centers for Disease and Control Prevention recommends at least one hour of physical activity per day for children and adolescents. For older adults, doing aerobic and muscle strengthening activities can help prevent health problems that come with age.

Aside from helping prevent disease, exercise brings many other benefits. Armand Tecco of Health Discovery, a weight watcher support network, lists some of the benefits of exercising, which are:

• to help prevent disease
• to improve stamina
• to strengthen and tone muscles
• to enhance flexibility
• to control weight
• to improve quality of life

Everyone wants to stay fit. However, there are some people who think that they have to go to the gym or jog around the block in order to be fit. Choosing one of both regimens (and sticking to it) are great for your health. However, it may not always be possible to go for these options. The cost of going to the gym may be prohibitive, while the weather or the neighborhood may not be conducive for running outdoors.

Good thing anyone can work out right at home! There is no need for expensive exercise equipment, or a relatively large area. All you need is will power to to get off the couch and exercise.

For example, you can work out right in your own house by doing sit ups or push ups, which are simple yet highly effective. There are many other exercise routines that you can do. You need not limit yourself to just push ups and sit ups. For more exercise routines that you can do in your home (or anywhere for that matter), you can give FitDeck Mobile a try and download this helpful training tool to your phone.

It's that time of the year again, when young and old alike get to have an excuse to play dress up. Yes, it's Halloween season.

Aside from putting on costumes, Halloween also gives the kids the opportunity to go around the neighborhood freely, knocking on doors and shouting "Trick or treat!" The owner of the house, unable to resist the cute little draculas and whatnot, gives the kids sugary treats.

The candies are for the children to enjoy. They earned it with their charms after all. But you look at all the sweets that your kid (or little brother or sister) hauled, and you cannot resist and ask for a candy bar or two (or three). But take it easy on the sweets, because eating too much sweets can is not good for your health.

Eating sweets in small servings is not bad for the health. Just be sure not to go overboard. You do not want your diet and fitness regimen to be sidetracked by the sudden onset of a hearty appetite or other health complications.

Being an avid fitness person all of my life and now working closely with FitDeck, I've talked to many people about strategies and tactics for losing weight and getting in shape. Unfortunately many people seem to overlook one key aspect of achieving their fitness goals: diet.

Recently I was speaking with someone at a networking event about fitness apps for iPhone. His app of choice was iFitness. I'll admit that it's a good app for serious weight lifters and gym-goers. He liked the app but mentioned that he still wanted to shed some pounds. When I asked him point blank, "How's your diet and nutrition?", his facial expression turned slightly to guilt as he looked down at the slice of pepperoni pizza in his hand.

The fact of the matter is that, when looking to achieve your fitness goals, the first place to start is your diet. There are many good books and resources out there that can help. However, in the name of keeping it simple, I suggest the following:

1. Limit your calories. This should be a no-brainer. If you are taking in more calories than you are expending you cannot lose weight.
2. Balance your diet. Make sure that you are eating a good balance of carbs, proteins and fats.
3. Eat healthy foods. Stay away from fast food, overly processed foods, trans fats, and extremely salty or sugary foods. Instead focus on home-cooked whole foods: fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, grains and legumes.
4. Eat often to keep your metabolism up. To do this, you can continue to eat three "square" meals a day (while keeping the above suggestions in mind!) and make sure that you eat small snacks (such as nuts or carrots) between meals so that you don't go more than 3 hours without food. Also be sure to eat breakfast when you wake up to kickstart your metabolism!
5. Bonus! For added benefit, start a simple exercise program such as FitDeck Mobile!

Great news! mobileXware will be representing FitDeck at the upcoming Bolder Boulder on May 25th in Boulder, Colorado. We are busy putting together a booth and plan to have some fun activities, games and prizes. We will also be selling both FitDeck and FitDeck Mobile titles at discounted prices. Although the official race day is on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th, we will be on Pearl Street giving passers-by an opportunity to find out how to simplify their fitness on Saturday and Sunday (May 23rd and 24th).

Do you plan on running in the race? Contact me ASAP and I can see about getting you discounted tix.

Want to help us out? We are looking for volunteers to help us with booth operations - talking to peeps, educating them about FitDeck and generally having fun - so let us know if you're interested in volunteering your time.

What: Bolder Boulder

Where: Boulder, Colorado on Pearl Street (Sat & Sun) and CU Campus (Monday)

When: Sat, May 23rd - Mon, May 25th