Summer has arrived and along with it the dreaded bathing suit season.
Whether you can’t wait to bare it all on the beach, or if you’re still working toward a weight loss goal, exercise is the key to looking and feeling great in summer months.
But why else should you exercise? Here are the top 7 reasons to exercise this summer:
Reason #1: To Melt Fat Away
The most coveted side effect of exercise is, of course, fat burn. The combination of a challenging exercise routine and a balanced meal plan is the best known way to lose fat. Here’s what losing fat feels like:
- Your pants become loose
- People around you begin to say that you look great
- A glance at yourself in the mirror makes you smile
- Your energy levels soar
- You feel amazing
Reason #2: To Alleviate Pain
Regular exercise is a great way to alleviate chronic muscle and joint pain. Persistent back pain can be lessened by strengthening your core, and you’ll protect yourself against injury. It amazes people when the chronic pain that they’ve lived with for years begins to fade after starting a regular exercise program.
Reason #3: To Increase Lean Tissue
More muscle is good for many reasons. You see, muscle requires many more calories each day than fatty tissue. In fact, one pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories each day at rest – compared to a measly 9 calories per pound of fat.
When you exercise your body composition will change to contain more lean tissue, thus resulting in extra calories burned while you sleep. What could be better than that?
Reason #4: To Stay Young
Tim D. Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College in London, led a study on the effects of exercise on aging. The results were astounding. They found that exercise appears to slow the shriveling of the protective tips on bundles of genes inside cells (called telomeres), which means a slowing of the aging process.
“These data suggest that the act of exercising may actually protect the body against the aging process,” said Spector.
Here’s the study in a nutshell:
- Telomeres cap the ends of chromosomes and every time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter.
- Once a telomere gets too short, that cell can no longer divide.
- Aging occurs as more and more cells reach the end of their telomeres and die. This results in weakened muscles, skin wrinkles, loss of eyesight and hearing, organ failure and slowed metal functioning.
- The study analyzed the telomeres from the white bloods cells of twins over a 10-year period. Telomere length was used as a marker for the rate of biological aging.
- It was found that the length of telomeres was directly related to that twin’s activity level. “There was a gradient,” Spector said. “As the amount of exercise increased, the telomere length increased.”
- People who did 100 minutes of weekly exercise had telomeres that looked like those from someone about 5-6 years younger than those who did 16 minutes of exercise each week.
- People who did 3 hours of vigorous exercise each week had telomeres that looked like those from someone about 9 years younger.
Reason #5: To Prevent or Control Type 2 Diabetes
Regular exercise helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. This is something that people with type 2 diabetes, or at risk for type 2 diabete, gain substantial benefits from.
Exercise improves the body’s use of insulin, and the related weight loss improves insulin sensitivity. Of course patients with type 2 diabetes need to get guidelines from their doctor before starting an exercise program.
Reason #6: To Lower Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels
Exercise has shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels for these two reasons:
- Weak Heart Muscles pump little blood with lots of effort. By exercising you strengthen your heart muscles and train them to pump more blood with less effort. The stronger your heart is the less pressure will be exerted on your arteries.
- Exercise Increases HDL levels in some people – this means a decrease in your risk for heart disease. Other heart disease risk factors such as weight, diabetes and high blood pressure all show improvement with regular exercise.
Reason #7: To Feel Great
The first thing that clients tell me after starting an exercise program is how much better they feel.
Most didn’t even realize how bad they felt. It is easy to get used to feeling sluggish, achy and unmotivated.
Exercise boosts your energy levels and makes you feel amazing.
The quickest, easiest way to guarantee that you’ll meet your fitness and weight loss goals is to work one-on-one with a qualified fitness professional. You’ll be held accountable with your workouts and you’ll be instructed properly and shown techniques and strategies that will expedite your results.
Call or email today to get started on a program that will take the guesswork out of fitness and to set your results on fire.
What are you waiting for? Lace up your shoes and get moving!
Filed under General Fitness by on Jun 29th, 2010. Comment. 
So you have a weight problem.
Pounds have added up over the years, slowly accumulating on your hips, thighs and belly.
When you look in the mirror you don’t like what you see. Yet you feel stuck.
You’re stuck because…
- You’ve gained too much weight to ever lose it all.
- You’re too old to make a change.
- You’d be lost in a gym.
- You simply don’t know where to start.
And so, if you are like most people, you give up on yourself before you ever shed a pound. The enormity of your goal paralyzes your ability to even begin.
I believe you can end this cycle of self destruction by simply focusing on the mole hills that make up the mountain – rather than focusing in on the mountain itself.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that weight loss can seem like an enormous task – especially when you have 20, 50 or even 100 pounds to lose.
However, rather than being discouraged by the mountain of fat you need to lose, conquer the mole hill of losing one single pound each week.
In fact, make it your weekly mole hill to drop one pound a week.
Doesn’t that sound easy? If you did this consistently for one year you would lose 50 pounds.
So how do you shed a pound a week? Simple. Just burn 3500 extra calories.
Create a 3500 calorie deficit each week by a combination of increased calorie exertion (exercise) and a decrease in calories consumed (eating less).
Take every opportunity to exert more calories by increasing your physical activity and to decrease your calorie consumption by eating fewer calories and by making healthier choices.
It helps to record your progress in a notebook and refer back to it. You will be surprised how encouraging it is to see your weekly progress written down on paper.
Remember, if you lose 500 calories a day you will drop a pound in a week.
Here are some practical ways to lose calories:
| If you normally… | Do this instead… |
| Drink a mocha | Drink plain coffee or tea (250 calories lost) |
| Eat a snack from a vending machine | Enjoy an apple (180 calories lost) |
| Hit the snooze button in the AM | Jog for 30 minutes before work (150 calories lost) |
| Skip your workout | See me for an invigorating workout (changes your life!) |
Weight loss doesn’t have to be a mountain. Each molehill you conquer will take you one step closer to a healthier, fitter you.
Small changes to your lifestyle over time will make the difference.
I’m always available to help – call or reply to this email to set up your free consultation.
Having trouble with motivation? Try this technique:
- Go through your photo albums and find a picture of yourself in your best shape ever. It may be a photo from your college or even high school days.
- Now go through your photos and find a picture of yourself in your worst shape ever. You may have to go through old shoe boxes of photos, since this photo may not have made it into your photo albums.
- Place the two photos side by side. You at your fittest; you at your fattest. Study the photos. Remember what it felt like to be in great shape. Remember what it felt like to be in terrible shape (you may be living that right now).
- Make a decision. Do you want to continue living your life in bad shape? Or will you shake off past failures and do what it takes to achieve the body you once had?
Share your two photos with me. Show me the great body that you once had and together we will get that body back.
Filed under General Fitness by on Jun 29th, 2010. Comment.
With summer vacation quickly approaching, you’re probably planning your next getaway.
Whether you go on a cruise, an African safari or a low-key trip to the beach, warm summer days are the best time to get away from it all.
But wait – did you know that the average person gains almost a pound a day while on vacation?
Between missed workouts, extra large restaurant meals and indulgent snacks, lazy vacation days will quickly add inches to your waistline.
So before you pack your bags for your next adventure, read the following 6 Vacation Tips and come home fitter, not fatter.
Vacation Tip #1: Make a Decision
Before you leave home, make the decision that you will NOT gain weight while on your trip.
This is the easiest step to take to make sure that you avoid weight gain, but it is also the most overlooked. Instead of leaving things to chance, harness the power of creative visualization that has been proven time and time again by go-getters such as Michael Jordan, Einstein, Napoleon and Andrew Carnegie.
Visualize what it would be like to return home fitter than when you left. Take a moment to let yourself feel the excitement that you’d experience.
Remember what accomplishing your goal feels like – this will keep you motivated throughout your trip and will help pull you through the inevitable tempting situations that you’ll face.
Vacation Tip #2: Get Moving
It’s easy to spend vacation days sprawled out by the pool, but the inactivity will quickly add up to extra pounds.
Choose to be active and you’ll burn calories all day long while indulging in fewer unnecessary snacks. The following ideas will get you moving:
- Go on a brisk walk each day of your trip. You’ll see new sights while burning off excess calories.
- Always take the stairs rather than the elevator. Talk about bonus calorie burning!
- Go on a jog in the mornings before your daily activities, or jog in the evening after the day winds down.
- If your hotel has a pool, swim a few laps each day. Swimming is a fun way to get in a full body workout.
- If your trip takes you to a place of natural beauty then go on a hike. Even while hiking at a slow or moderate pace you’ll burn plenty of calories.
- Play some sports – beach volleyball, a game of hoops, Frisbee, or bike riding are all great ways to have fun while keeping fit.
Vacation Tip #3: Indulge with Portion Control
You have no choice but to eat out while on vacation. Whether you’re enjoying 5 star restaurants or fast food diners, you’ll be met with the same problem: huge portions.
While it is tempting to simply eat it all – you are on vacation after all – this will quickly lead to extra pounds. Use the following tips to keep your portions under control:
- When you order your meal ask for a to-go box. Take half of your meal and place it into the box before you even begin to eat. This will force you to eat a healthy portion.
- If you would rather not carry around a to-go box, ask that your entrée be made into a smaller portion. If it is dinnertime don’t be afraid to ask for the lunch-sized portion.
- Pay more, and eat less. Take quality of food over quantity.
- Eat meals. Cut out snacking, stick with structured meals.
- Eat slowly, and eat foods that have been prepared slowly – that means no fast food.
Vacation Tip #4: Eat Natural Sweets
One of your biggest enemies when it comes to vacation weight gain is…sugar.
The average modern person consumes 46 teaspoons of sugar every day. The average person on vacation consumes even more than that.
Even though sugary calories taste great, the sweet pleasure comes at a high price. Here’s what I mean:
- Sugar creates false hunger (as a result of the insulin rush and then ensuing plummet in blood sugar levels), which causes you overeat.
- Sugar promotes aging (due to the advanced glycation end products, or AGEs, that occur when insulin levels are consistently elevated as a result of eating too much sugar). Sugar has even been dubbed the negative fountain of youth!
- Sugar weakens your bones -making you vulnerable for osteoporosis, and weakens your teeth – making you vulnerable for cavities (both due to the calcium being pulled from your bones and teeth in order for your body to process sugar).
- Sugar in excess is stored as fat (after your liver has no more room to store it, sugar is converted to fat and deposited on your belly, thighs, hips and the backs of your arms).
So instead of eating that ice cream cone or chocolate éclair, satiate your sweet tooth with a piece of juicy fruit.
Vacation Tip #5: Don’t Eat Fried Foods
While fast food restaurants are definitely convenient, with their low prices and quick service, it’s really not worth the additional pounds brought on by chips and fries. As you enjoy your vacation keep this in mind: don’t eat fried foods. While this is always a good plan to follow, it is even more important to abide by while traveling.
A gram of fat contains 9 calories as compared to the 4 calories that proteins and carbohydrates carry – so you can see that consuming fried foods will drastically increase your caloric intake.
Take an average potato, bake it and you have 110 calories and 0 grams of fat. Take that same potato, turn it into French fries and you have 380 calories and 18 grams of fat.
Frying food is the easiest way to dramatically increase the calorie and fat content. And you know that extra calories and fat end up as extra body fat.
Other disasters that fried foods increase your risk for include:
- Heart Disease
- Diabetes
- Clogged Arteries
- High Blood Pressure
- Obesity
- Acne
If I still haven’t convinced you to pass on the curly fries, keep in mind that heartburn and indigestion are not fun…especially while on vacation. Need I say more?
Vacation Tip #6: Do this Hotel Room Workout
If your hotel doesn’t have a gym, or if you’d simply prefer the privacy of your room, do this hotel room workout:
- Body Weight Squats: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Lower down into a squat position. Make sure that your knees do not go past 90 degrees. Exhale as you straighten your legs and return to the starting position. Complete 12-15 repetitions.
- Do Jumping Jacks, High knees, or jog in place for 30 seconds.
- Body Weight Lunges: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Exhale as you lunge forward with your right leg. Make sure that your knee does not go past 90 degrees. Inhale as you return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. Complete 12-15 repetitions.
- Do Jumping Jacks, High knees, or jog in place for 30 seconds.
- Push Ups: Get into the push up position (depending on your fitness level choose to go off your knees, push off of the wall, or assume the traditional position). Inhale as you lower your chest down. Exhale as you return to the starting position. Complete 12-15 repetitions.
- Do Jumping Jacks, High knees, or jog in place for 30 seconds.
- V-Ups: Sit on the edge of a chair or bed and lean back. Exhale as you drive your knees in toward your chest, squeezing your abdominal muscles. Inhale as you lower your knees back down with control. Complete 15-20 repetitions.
- Do Jumping Jacks, High knees, or jog in place for 30 seconds.
Well, now you have 6 tips that will keep away the unwanted vacation pounds. You may even end up losing a pound or two while away.
But let’s be honest, you want to lose more than a pound or two. You want to lose all of those extra pounds.
You may feel that the secret to achieving weight loss is just that – a secret. A mystery. You try, and try, and try but your goals are never met. Your dream body continues to stay out of reach.
In my experience the people who are unable to lose weight aren’t failing due to laziness. In fact, those frustrated with their weight often put in a lot of effort – but on the wrong things. A fad diet. The latest exercise gizmo. An ineffective routine at the gym.
It’s not that you aren’t willing to put in the effort – you’re just doing the wrong thing.
Think about this for a moment…What if this was the summer that you took control of your body? The summer that you threw your fat clothes away…the summer that you were proud to put on a bathing suit…the summer that your doctor congratulated you on your improved health…the summer that your family and friends – and that special someone – showered you with compliments.
It’s possible. Even more possible than you think.
The thing is that you need to direct your effort in an effective way.
This is where I come in.
You see, for me weight loss isn’t a mystery. It’s my passion. I have a proven method that will dramatically transform your body into one that you are proud to be seen in.
However, I can’t promise that it will be easy. You’ll work hard, you’ll sweat and you’ll even feel sore. And before you know it you will be telling everyone you know about the amazing results you’ve achieved.
So as you plan your next vacation, why don’t you also give yourself the gift that you really want – a new body. A tighter body. A stronger body. A healthier body.
I am here to help you do just that. Call or email now to schedule your first body-transforming workout.
Together we will come up with a fitness plan that is uniquely yours, one that fits your lifestyle and brings you promptly to your goals – something that you will appreciate while on vacation and at home.
You deserve it.
Travel days create the perfect opportunity for snacking. A mocha and scone before your flight, a salty snack on the plane and then before you know it – it’s lunch time! Road trips open up even more opportunities for regrettable snacking…rest stop vending machines, gas station quickie marts and of course the never ending string of fast food restaurants that line the highway.
This summer avoid unhealthy snacking by packing your own goodies. Try these:
- Dried or fresh fruit
- Unsalted nuts
- Health bars
- Cut veggies
- Low fat crackers or pretzels
Also remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day. It’s easy to become dehydrated while traveling, so always carry a water bottle with you.
Filed under General Fitness by on Jun 29th, 2010. Comment.
You start each morning with the promise to be “good” today.
You’ll refuse the baked goods at the office. You’ll speed past that fast food place at lunch. You’ll turn a blind eye to the vending machine in the mid-afternoon. And you’ll pass on the ice cream after dinner.
But… you hadn’t counted on the fact that a box of your favorite donuts would be sitting in the break room. Or that co-workers would invite you to join them for fast food place at lunch. Or that Girl Scouts would come through the office after school with boxes of thin mints. Or that your special someone would come home with a pint of Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.
And as you get into bed each night you tell yourself that tomorrow will be different.
Tomorrow you will conquer temptation.
But tomorrow comes with its own set of special circumstances and temptation gets the best of you once again.
Why Does Temptation Always Win?
We live in society where food temptations are everywhere.
- Walk through a store and you’ll see the unhealthy food items displayed front and center.
- Turn on the TV and you’ll be assaulted with commercials for fattening foods.
- Open a magazine and you’ll notice glossy pin-ups of sugary snacks.
- Go down the street and you’ll have restaurant signs clamoring for your attention.
In addition to the abundance of tempting edibles, you also have deeply ingrained positive associations with indulging.
- You treat tempting food as a reward.
- You turn to tempting food for comfort.
- You rely on tempting food as stress relief.
- You allow tempting food to become a habit.
It’s Your Turn to Win
Temptation doesn’t need to have the upper hand on you anymore. It’s time to fight back using your most powerful asset: your brain.
Your mind is an amazing thing. Once it is made up about something it is nearly impossible to change it.
A Matter of Perspective
Imagine for a moment that you’re peacefully floating down a river in an inner tube. The sun is out, the birds are chirping, and you are having a wonderful time. You feel great about the river because it is making you feel good.
Now imagine that you are in a plane flying over the river. Your eye is immediately drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. You look up the river and just around the bend is a person floating in an inner tube, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls.
Do you think that after your plane ride you’d be happy to get an inner tube and float down the river? Of course you wouldn’t. You’ve seen that the river spells disaster.
You now have a negative association (watery death) with the river rather than your initial positive association (relaxing fun).
Overcoming temptation is all about building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. Use the 2 steps below to harness the power of your mind to become stronger than any temptation.
Step One: Create a Strong Negative Association with all the BAD STUFF
- If cookies and chips and burgers are put on a pedestal in your mind as your favorite things to eat, then you will always eat unhealthy and will continue to gain weight.
- What do you dislike about tempting food?
- It makes you unhealthy.
- It causes weight gain.
- It drains your energy.
- It kills your confidence.
- It degrades your quality of life.
- It hurts your love life.
- Every time that you encounter tempting food items focus on your list of negatives. It’s time to kick those cookies off the pedestal and to put something healthy in its place.
Step Two: Create a Strong Positive Association with all the GOOD STUFF
- Now that your mental pedestal has been cleared, put healthy food items on it. Juicy fresh fruit, crispy vegetables and savory lean meats are a great place to start.
- What do you love about healthy food?
- It makes you healthy.
- It causes weight loss.
- It boosts your energy.
- It builds your confidence.
- It improves your quality of life.
- It enhances your love life.
- Immerse yourself into the world of healthy food. Browse the aisles of a natural food store. Walk through a farmer’s market. Bring healthy snacks to work. Clear your kitchen of anything unhealthy.
Using the technique above, you will soon find that healthy food is your favorite food.
And temptation will become a thing of your past.
Regular exercise makes it easier to eat healthy. Just as healthy eating makes you more likely to exercise.
It’s the domino effect. When you begin to make a positive change in one area of your life other areas will soon follow.
Remember, while nutrition is vitally important for weight loss, true results are achieved through a combination of both nutrition and challenging, progressive exercise.
Would you like to get that domino effect started in your life? Call or email today for a fitness program that will quickly transform your body.
Filed under General Fitness by on Jun 29th, 2010. Comment.
I’m writing to thank you and the Live-in-Fitness team for helping me to change my life. I know that you know, but I would like to tell everyone. I am a middle-aged mother who had made all my sacrifices for my family. I have only one regret during my life as a wife and mother in that I neglected my health and my own body. I feel I had let my husband down and I’d never make it health wise to see my own grandchildren. Then, when I came to you I realized I could and would change my health. The even bigger picture is that I no longer feel I have let myself down. I won’t lie to you. There were many times the meals and the workouts had my head spinning and I had my doubts. But as I felt and saw my body change in just 6 weeks I not only became a believer, I made new friends, I gained a new lifestyle, I found new hope, and I found the self love I had been missing for so long. I may not yet be the inspiration to my family and friends I wish to be, because my journey has just begun. But with your and God’s help I will reach my goals. Thank you so very much; what you do is nothing less than a miracle for those of us who could not do it alone.
Thank Corky and all his funny yet inspirational wisdom. And thank Shaun for the massage therapy to help me through the discomforts and growing pains that first came with my changing body. I know I will see you again and when I do we will take new photos. I know we will both be proud.
Love to Debra and her amazing team,
J.B.
P.S. The other night we were watching “Biggest Loser” and my daughter said, “Mom, you did what they do and you look even better!” Maybe I have changed even more than I thought!
Filed under General Fitness by on May 10th, 2010. Comment.
Sometimes the reason is self inflicted: I don’t have the time.
Other times the reason is procrastination: I’m going to start as soon as tax season ends.
And occasionally the reason is downright funny: The dog ate my gym shorts.
I usually point out to these well meaning folks that, despite their reason, exercise is a very important activity that will dramatically improve their life. I bring up the health benefits and describe how many of their physical ailments would improve. I talk about how great they will feel dropping excess weight and rediscovering a slender figure.
However, there was always an excuse that would get me.
The devious excuse of ‘being active’: Oh, I don’t need to exercise in a gym – I’m very active. I play tennis and hike in the summer and I ski in the winter.
Well, they have a point, right? Tennis, hiking and skiing are all active sports that burn calories. Maybe they can be fit without doing any other exercise, especially if they are at a reasonable weight.
Then I started to notice a trend.
The ‘active’ people couldn’t touch their toes in a simple flexibility test. The ‘tennis players’ couldn’t jump rope for 60 seconds. The ‘hikers’ needed a week to recover from a one mile jog. The ‘skiers’ encountered injury after injury. And then it hit me.
You don’t become fit by simply being active. That’s backward fitness.
Only by being fit can you become more active.
To become and maintain a level of fitness there is no replacement for a consistent exercise program. It’s the only way.
True fitness is when your body can do whatever you ask of it. This means having flexibility, strength and endurance.
Do you exercise? Or are you fooling yourself with the excuse of ‘being active’?
How happy are you with your level of fitness? Are you able to meet all of the functional demands of life? Or do you find yourself opting out of experiences or situations that you know would be too challenging?
If you’ve used the excuse of ‘being active’ in the past, it’s time to reconsider your options. Don’t practice backward fitness with the hope of true results.
Contact me to get started on a program that will make you truly fit. And if you’re furthest from active and simply want to lose those extra inches and pounds, make the decision to take action today.
After all, there’s no trial run in the game of life.
The most important aspect in becoming and staying fit is to be persistent. You can exercise every day for a week, but if you follow that week with a month of no exercise then you’ve lost all ground. Find an exercise program that you are able to consistently do and then stick with it. In the words of Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Filed under General Fitness by on May 5th, 2010. Comment.
Wait! Before you skim down to find which exercise I’ve labeled as the best, read the whole story…
It’s always interesting when I’m approached and asked to pin down a single exercise as the one that will help lose the most fat or sculpt the quickest. I’m always slow to answer.
You see, I’m acutely aware of the fact that though an exercise may be perfect for Client A, it may not be the best choice for Client B-hence my hesitation to label any exercise as the universal best.
That being said, there are exercises that are better than others. And, yes, there are even a few that I would label as the best.
What makes an exercise the best?
When deciding which exercises to include in your routine it is important to consider the type of movement involved. The simpler the movement, the fewer calories you’ll burn. On the other hand, the more complex the movement, the more calories you will burn.
Simply stated, exercises that use complex movements will deliver better results than exercises that use only simple movements. Complex movements recruit multiple muscles, some to stabilize and others to perform the movement. This process keeps your heart rate higher than a simple exercise would, giving you a more intense workout.
What is a complex movement?
A complex movement is a multi-joint movement that recruits large portions of the body to complete the exercise. Let’s compare a simple movement leg exercise with a complex movement leg exercise:
The leg extension machine uses a simple, isolated movement to work the quadriceps. You’re in a seated position moving only your knee joint. There isn’t much involvement, if any, from other muscles and it doesn’t burn very many calories.
Now let’s look at a free weight walking lunge. You start by standing with your feet together and a dumbbell in each hand at your sides (or a barbell across your shoulders, or a medicine ball held at your chest, or even with no weight at all). You take a large step forward and lower your back knee, keeping your front knee at a 90 degree angle. Now you push off your front foot and pull your back leg forward, repeating the movement.
How many muscles did you utilize while performing the lunge? Probably too many to count.
You certainly worked your quadriceps, gluteus, hamstrings, calves, abdominals, supporting muscles in your shoulders, arms and back-just to name a few. You also raised your heart rate and really kicked your metabolism into high gear. That’s what I call a great exercise.
Other ways to increase intensity
Using complex movements are just one of many ways to kick your workout intensity up a notch. Try incorporating a Super Set into your routine. To do so simply perform two or more exercises in a row and then take a short rest.
Or how about a Compound Set? Perform one exercise, rest, then perform an exercise with opposing body parts. To find exercises that compliment one another, choose ones that have similar but opposite motions such as a chest press and a row.
The key to finding the best exercise is to find the ones that bring your workout intensity to a whole new level.
I’d be shortchanging you if I named any exercise as the best. The fact of the matter is that it is a combination of changing your workouts up, using interval training, and even some good old cardio that will ultimately see you to your goal.
These methods will help you to burn more calories, increase your metabolic rate, and will stimulate the production of more fat burning and muscle toning hormones. Of course, there is more involved to achieving your fitness goals. You need to incorporate fat burning into your routine. You need to consistently challenge yourself during workouts. You need to take control of your eating habits and to get your diet dialed in.
So what’s the best exercise for you? Find out-hit reply to this email to schedule your no obligation fitness consultation.
Exercise is the most natural way to cleanse your mind and emotions. When your emotions are flustered and your mind cluttered, you will find refreshment after a good workout. When done correctly, it is only during exercise that your mind actually rests.
Filed under General Fitness by on May 5th, 2010. Comment.
Change is a curious thing. In most areas of life you dread it, yet in others you pine for it.
You’re told that change is hard, that it takes time. You’re also told that change is the most consistent thing that you’ll encounter. You wonder how to make lasting changes that will improve your life.
I’m here to argue that change can happen in an instant.
I know this goes against mainstream belief. Most people believe that change has to be worked at for months or even years. We expect to try and fail numerous times before we ultimately give up or succeed.
Think about it-how many people do you know who struggle with their weight? They want to make a healthy change by getting in shape, but the change never seems to take hold.
Is there something in your life that you want to change? Do you have weight to lose? Do you have high blood pressure? Do you have a pair or pants that you wish you could fit into?
What is preventing you from making a positive change in your life?
According to professional speaker and author, Anthony Robbins, it’s the getting ready to change that takes times. In the end there’s an instant when the change occurs. Robbins goes on to outline three specific beliefs that you must have in order to instantly create a lasting change.
Belief #1: Something must change.
Do you kind of want to get into shape or do you absolutely have to lose the weight? Does dropping a few pounds sound nice or is living another day in your current body simply out of the question? In order to make a lasting change you must be convinced that the time is right.
Belief #2: I must change it.
It is vital that you take full responsibility in making the change. Sure, others may assist you, but in the end you are the one who is going to make it happen. You have to want this change enough to make it your personal mission-no one else will do it for you.
Belief #3: I can change it.
Don’t let past failures get in your way. The truth is that you can do amazing things when you put your mind to it. Believe that you are capable of losing weight or making any other positive change in your life.
Why do most people fail to make lasting change? They leave it up to willpower. This works for awhile, but you’ll always revert back to what’s comfortable. The solution?
Change what you’re comfortable with.
You’ve probably heard that humans are motivated by two things: 1) to avoid pain and 2) to gain pleasure. When you want to change a behavior pattern the key is to associate pain with the behavior that you don’t want and pleasure with the behavior that you do want.
You know that you want to lose weight and that to do so you need to quit eating comfort food late at night. You also know that you need to start exercising on a regular basis. Up until this point your brain is trained to associate pleasure with eating comfort food late at night and to associate pain with exercise.
It’s time to retrain your brain to feel good about exercise and to feel bad about eating late at night. Think about all of the negative things about being overweight and connect these unpleasant thoughts to your late night snack. Now think about all of the wonderful things about being in shape and connect these pleasant thoughts to exercise.
You are capable of making a big change in your life. Start by contacting me for your no obligation fitness consultation.
Remember, change can happen in an instant.
Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. If you do, you will end up with a cart full of bad decisions and regrets! Instead, make a list of healthy foods to buy and go after a sensible meal. Avoid the chips/candy isle and stick to the outskirts of the store where fresh food such as produce, dairy and meats are displayed.
Filed under General Fitness by on May 5th, 2010. Comment.
’I don’t have time’ is the reason that most people don’t exercise. Well, they call it a ‘reason’ I like to call it what it really is – an excuse.
Most people believe their workouts need to be 60-90 minutes in order to really count. With this kind of time commitment it is no wonder that exercise becomes the activity that you simply don’t have time for. Before you know it one missed workout becomes two and soon you realize that you haven’t put on your gym shorts for a month.
Missed exercise is a slippery slope toward irreversible consequences. Obesity wasn’t gained in one day…or even in one year. Neither was heart disease.
Question: Have you ever wondered if long workouts really deliver the best results?
The truth is that exercise doesn’t have to take 60-90 minutes anymore. The experts agree that short, intense bouts of exercise can actually deliver better results than traditional low intense exercise.
In fact, a study was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine that tested whether multiple short bouts of exercise would deliver better results than one long bout of exercise. They found that participants who performed short bouts of exercise stuck with the program longer and experienced greater weight loss than the participants that performed long bouts of exercise.
Throw out the idea that you need an entire afternoon or a free evening to have a great workout. It simply doesn’t take as much time as you think. Here’s one example:
12 Minute Results-Driven Workout
- Dumbbell Squat Press: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level. First lower down into a squat position. Make sure that your knees do not go past 90 degrees. Exhale as you press the dumbbells overhead while you straighten your legs and return to the starting position. Complete 12-15 repetitions.
- Sprint or Jump Rope for 30 seconds.
- Dumbbell Lunge and Curl: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand down at your sides. Exhale as you lunge forward with your right leg and curl the dumbbells up toward your chest. Make sure that your knee does not go past 90 degrees. Inhale as you return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. Complete 12-15 repetitions.
- Sprint or Jump Rope for 30 seconds.
- Dumbbell Bent Over Rows: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your knees and lean forward from your waist, keeping your back flat. Exhale as you drive your elbows back and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Inhale as you return to the starting position. Complete 12-15 repetitions.
- Sprint or Jump Rope for 30 seconds.
- V-Ups: Sit on the edge of a chair or bench and lean back. Exhale as you drive your knees in toward your chest, squeezing your abdominal muscles. Inhale as you lower your knees back down with control. Complete 15-20 repetitions.
- Sprint or Jump Rope for 30 seconds.
Think outside of the box. Could you do a 10 minute workout in the morning and a 15 minute workout before bed?
Let’s be honest, you make time for the things that you feel are important. If I told you that for every minute you spent exercising I would give you a thousand dollars, would you find a minute to exercise? Sure you would! You’d probably find quite a few minutes to exercise.
Short bursts of intense exercise will give you the results you want, all you have to do is make the time for it.
Somewhere deep down inside you know that it’s now or never.
Will you choose to simply close this email and allow your hectic schedule to slowly push you down the path of obesity and health risk? Or will you find creative ways to fit exercise into your day as you steadily regain your shape and health?
Make this the day that you finally make the change. Call or reply to this email to schedule your no-obligation fitness consultation and I’ll show you many other high intensity time effective workouts that deliver amazing results.
The choice is yours.
Do you wish that you had more motivation to achieve your fitness goals? Give yourself inspiration by taking a ‘Before’ picture. That’s right, put on your bathing suit and pose! Next, place the picture in a place that you see often (on the refrigerator maybe?) Now get to work on changing your body—imagine how great it will feel to replace your ‘Before’ picture with a stunning ‘After’ shot.
Filed under General Fitness by on May 5th, 2010. Comment.
That can really added unwanted inches to your waist line over the course of the summer.
The good news is that barbecue season doesn’t have to be fattening. In fact, with a few small changes to your barbecue menu you can turn summer into the perfect opportunity for weight loss.
So before you slather on the sun screen and fire up your grill, read the following tips to lighten up this summer.
On the Grill: Believe it or not, grilling is actually a very healthy way to cook meat. Of course the type of meat that you choose will make all of the difference. Burgers and hot dogs are traditional barbecue meats, though they aren’t the healthiest. Try the following:
- Choose lean cuts of beef, pork or poultry
- Marinade with low fat dressing
- Make hamburgers with extra-lean ground beef
- Take the skin off chicken before grilling
- Replace beef patties with ground turkey patties
- Grill up salmon or cod
- Forego the meat and grill veggie burgers
Side Dishes: This is where most people run into trouble. Barbecue side dishes are typically filled with one thing – fat. Creamy coleslaw and potato salads can hold as much as 15 grams of fat per serving. Try the following:
- Make veggie kabobs and grill them
- Replace the mayo in your salads with low-fat mayo
- Serve fresh salad with light vinaigrette
- Try whole-grain macaroni for your pasta salad
- Grill up corn on the cob
- Put out a veggie tray with low fat dip
Drinks: Most people don’t realize that beverages play a big role in summer weight gain. Margaritas, beer, soda pop and punch all contain tons of empty calories. Try the following:
- Drink water, it is always your healthiest option
- Stick with light beer (if you really want to drink beer
- If you have to have a soda pop stick with diet
- Brew unsweetened ice tea and serve with lemon
Dessert: Yes, there are ways to satisfy your sweet tooth while staying healthy. Think outside of the box instead of turning to the typical fattening options like ice cream, pie, cake or cookies. Try the following:
- Grill mango, banana and pineapple on kabobs
- Stick with sorbet instead of ice cream
- Replace peach pie with grilled peach halves
- Choose light ice cream over regular
Remember, it’s ok to splurge every once in a while. Enjoy yourself. Just keep in mind that by taking a few of the above suggestions you can enjoy great food while getting back into great shape.
Want to shape up even more this summer? Call or stop by for a no obligation fitness consultation.
Nonsense! There is no such thing. Don’t fall for the latest diet pill craze. Have you ever noticed that every weight loss pill specifically states that it works when combined with proper diet and exercise? Well, they are right-proper diet and exercise will cause you to lose weight-without the bogus pill.
Serve this delicious grilled chicken at your next barbecue. The honey-mustard glaze has a wonderful tangy flavor. Remember to add healthy side dishes for a summer meal that will satisfy without weighing you down.
Servings: 6
Here’s what you need…
- 4 Tablespoons honey
- 4 Tablespoons spicy mustard
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Pre-heat your grill. If using coals, heat until the coals turn gray and there are no longer strong flames, 35-45 minutes.
- Combine honey, mustard, lemon peel, soy sauce and garlic. Mix well. Reserve a few tablespoons of the sauce. Add chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
- Cook the chicken 5 to 6 minutes per side. Brush with the reserved sauce, and continue cooking for an additional 3 to 4 minutes per side, until chicken registers 170 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 183 calories, 2g fat, 13g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, and 28g protein.
Filed under General Fitness by on May 5th, 2010. Comment.
