Holiday Calorie Busting Tips

You don’t have to succumb to weight gain this holiday season. Escape the time crunch excuse in three easy steps:

Step One: Schedule Your Workouts:
You’ve heard this before, and it makes so much sense. If you treat your exercise time with the importance of a work meeting then you’d never skip a workout and you’d be in amazing shape.

While the scheduling concept is brilliant in its simplicity, you have to put it into practice to reap the benefits. Pull out your calendar and a pen. Don’t laugh, I’m serious! Just do it. If you want to get into shape it starts with committing to a revised
schedule with a set exercise time.

Identify three 40-minute time slots and mark them on your calendar. That is when you’ll exercise.

Remember this: if the thought that you should exercise this week is floating around in your head, but you haven’t anchored it down to a specific time and date, then it will quickly disappear.

Step Two: Get the Most from Each Minute:
The days of endless, mind numbing cardio are over. A great workout can take place in under an hour, when done correctly. The idea is to burn more calories each minute. This is done through short, intense bursts of exercise.

Use the following three tips to bring your routine up to the next level:

1. Be Unstable: Use your entire body, and target your core, by performing exercises that engage stabilizing muscles. To do this use an exercise ball, a balance board, a balance disk, or you could simply stand on one leg.
2. Add Resistance: The more resistance that you incorporate with your routine translates into higher intensity and more calories burned. Some ideas for adding resistance include: carrying dumbbells while doing lunges, wearing a weighted vest while walking or jogging, or putting a weight between your feet while doing leg raises.
3. Use Intervals: Interval training is an amazing tool for creating short yet effective workouts. Don’t worry, it’s not complicated. Interval training is simply alternating between different short bursts of activity.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you want to focus on your legs and abs and to also get an effective cardiovascular workout. This would be a great interval routine for your goals:

  • Lunge while curling dumbbells, 15-20 repetitions
  • 30 seconds of intense cardio: sprint, jump rope, or jumping jacks
  • Squat while pressing dumbbells overhead, 15-20 repetitions
  • 30 seconds of intense cardio: sprint, jump rope, or jumping jacks
  • Crunches on an exercise ball, 15-20 repetitions
  • 30 seconds of intense cardio: sprint, jump rope, or jumping jacks
  • Leg raises off the end of an exercise bench, 15-20 repetitions

Step Three: Twice the Results in Half the Time: What if I told you that I have a proven way to deliver twice the fitness results in half the time? It’s simple really…

When you attempt to lose weight or meet a fitness goal on your own, the odds are stacked against you. Sure, you could do it over time – but it’s a long and lonely road. A road lined with detours that threaten to undermine your progress.

When you start a program with me, you suddenly have the upper hand on weight loss. You have me in your corner, coaching you each step of the way, keeping you accountable to workouts and giving you that dose of encouragement went the going gets tough.

And I’ll be the one congratulating you when your goal is met.

21 Universal Rewards of Exercise

21 Universal Rewards of Exercise
The number one reason that most people are out-of-shape is that they don’t exercise enough.

I’ve often wished that I could give each and every one of you a personalized pep talk to get you up off the couch and into the gym, day after day. So here’s my pep talk in bullet form – 21 rewards that you will gain from regular exercise.

Do yourself a favor and print this list and post it where you’ll see it every day. When you need motivation or encouragement simply read over this list and feel your motivation soar.

1. You’ll reset your body: Exercise has been described as a giant reset button. A good workout will block appetite swings, improve your mood and even help you sleep.
2. Your clothes will fit better: Consistent exercise will tone and tighten your body, causing your clothes to not only fit better but to also look nicer. Also exercise ensures that soon you’ll be trading your clothes in for smaller sizes.
3. You’ll be less stressed: You have enough stress in your life – it’s time for a break. A good workout invigorates your muscles, leaving you relaxed and less stressed.
4. You’ll have more energy: WebMD tallied research studies and concluded that 90% of them prove exercise increases energy levels in sedentary patients. Next time you feel fatigued, fight it will the most powerful tool available: exercise.
5. You’ll be stronger: Exercise improves muscle strength and endurance, two things that you use throughout each day. When you exercise consistently you’ll be pleasantly surprised when difficult tasks begin to seem easy.
6. You’ll be less likely to binge: Exercise has a powerful anti-binge effect on the body. This is due in part by an increase in sensitivity to leptin, a protein hormone, which has an appetite-taming effect.
7. You’ll burn calories: You know that excess body fat is made up of stored and unused calories. Fight back by burning loads of calories with fat-blasting workouts.
8. You’ll be more confident: Who doesn’t wish they walked and talked with more confidence? A consistent exercise program will do just that. As your body becomes more fit, watch as your confidence sky-rockets.
9. You’ll have fun: Believe it or not, exercise can be extremely enjoyable. Remember how fun it was to run around as a child? Tap into your inner child as you find a mode of exercise that gets you excited.
10. You’ll reduce your blood pressure: Exercise has been proven more effective than medication in reducing blood pressure to normal levels. A single workout has been shown to reduce blood pressure for the day and regular exercise reduces overall blood pressure in the long run.
11. You’ll lose the jiggles: Regular exercise tightens flabby arms, legs and waistlines. So wave goodbye to the jiggles with a solid exercise program.
12. You’ll increase insulin sensitivity: Researchers at Laval University in Quebec discovered that exercise improved insulin sensitivity dramatically. Peak after-meal insulin levels dropped by more than 20 percent after as little as 3 weeks of consistent exercise.
13. You’ll sleep better: Do you toss and turn for hours before falling asleep? Exercise is a powerful sleep aid. Your tired muscles encourage your body to quickly fall asleep so they can get their overnight repair work done.
14. You’ll lower your risk of heart disease: Regular exercise strengthens your heart and makes it more resilient against disease. A sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor for heart disease, so rest assured that consistent exercise is your ally against disease.
15. You’ll feel great: Vigorous exercise releases natural endorphins (happy hormones) into your blood stream that dissolve pain and anxiety. You’ve probably heard of ‘runner’s high’, this can be achieved by any great workout.
16. You’ll lower your risk of diabetes: Studies show that exercising as little as half an hour each day can dramatically reduce your risk of diabetes. If you are at risk of diabetes, or already have diabetes, regular exercise is the most effective treatment for reversing the disease.
17. You’ll meet cool people: You could benefit from a group of new, energetic friends, right? Gyms, bootcamps, workout centers and even the jogging trail are all great places to connect with fun new friends.
18. You’ll improve your BMI: You know that maintaining a healthy BMI is key in disease prevention. Exercise is the best way to keep your BMI under control.
19. You’ll increase your endurance: Do you ever get out of breath when walking up stairs or through the mall? Regular exercise builds your endurance for everyday activities.
20. Your doctor will be impressed: How many times has your doctor given you the lecture about losing weight and exercising more? Exercise regularly and get your MD off your back!
21. You’ll look amazing: Are you happy with the shape and size of your body? Regular exercise works wonders on your physique. Within a few weeks you’ll see shape and tone in all the right places.

How To Overcome Overeating

Let’s face it, the extra pounds you’re carrying around are due to overeating – plain and simple.

Why do you overeat? Here are a few likely reasons:

1. Habit: Whether you realize it or not, you eat in a learned pattern, rather than out of need. You clean your plate because that’s what your mother taught. You eat what is served without stopping to check if you are full. You butter two pieces of toast for breakfast rather than questioning if one piece would do the job.

2. Absentminded: You forget to pay attention when you eat. Mindless munching while watching a movie, snacking while driving, or picking at food while cooking – these absentminded calories really add up.

3. Something Deeper: Sometimes you use food for recreation or to change your mood. These calories may lend you a temporary sense of comfort or pleasure, but ultimately your body suffers from the indulgence.

Here are 3 Steps To Overcome Overeating – read these, and apply them to your life.

Step #1: Pay Attention

Be aware of what and how much you eat. This simple concept will save you from hundreds upon hundreds of calories each week.

To apply this rule, don’t eat while your attention is distracted by another activity. Only put food in your mouth when you are hungry and conscious of it. This means turn off the T.V., get out of your car, and no matter what you do, don’t graze in the kitchen while cooking.

Step #2: Practice Balance

Be aware of the types of food that you eat during each meal, and make sure that it’s balanced. When you eat a balanced diet filled with lean protein, whole grains, lots of veggies, a few daily servings of fruit and limited fat and sweets, your body will be satisfied and you’ll lose the urge to overeat.

This means you shouldn’t always eat carb-based meals, and you also shouldn’t always eat high-fat meals. Make a mental checklist of the food groups that you’ve eaten each day. Did you eat lean protein? Did you have plenty of vegetables? Did you refrain from eating more than one or two primarily carb-based meals? This mental checklist will save you from making food decisions that you’d later regret.

Step #3: Be Tuned In

Your body will always tell you when its hunger has been satisfied – you’ve just gotten so good at ignoring the signs that you barrel through your meal only to feel like you’ve been hit by a ton of bricks once all that food hits your stomach. It’s time to take a deep breath and listen to your body.

An important part of being tuned in is to eat slowly. Once you start to pay attention you’ll notice a point when each bite becomes less and less satisfying. That is your body’s way of letting you know that you’ve had enough and that each continued bite is simply overkill (yes, even if you’re only halfway through that plate of pasta).

By learning how to control your eating habits, you’ll find weight loss to come simply and naturally.

Want to speed up your weight loss, make it permanent, and shape your body at the same time? I’ve got what it takes to get you there! No guess work, no fad diets, and no super long workouts

Adding Variety to Your Cardio Routine With Personal Training in Woodmere

With personal training in Woodmere you receive cutting-edge exercise routines with variety, and as they say, variety is the spice of life. Adding variety to your cardio routine not only helps you achieve a fuller workout but helps keep the routine from becoming boring. While some of us thrive on having consistency in our fitness programs, many of us are in danger of quitting because doing the same exercises over and over again quickly loses interest. In this article, we’ll take a look at why variety in your cardio routine can help you reach your goals, some easy ideas for incorporating variety in your fitness program, and how personal training in Woodmere can help you to find the variety you need.

Why we need variety

There are several reasons why variety is important in our fitness routines. It’s important to remember that there are over 600 muscles in the body, so it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be using every one of them in one single cardio exercise. With personal training in Woodmere the main purpose of cardio training is to raise the heart rate and improve energy and stamina, but cardio can also work on different muscles groups at the same time.

Another reason variety is so important is that it can help you push through the inevitable fitness plateau that you’ll run into from time to time on the way to reaching your goal. The body reaches a plateau when it is working at its optimal capacity at any given exercise. This happens most often when the same exercises are repeated over and over again. Changing up the routine with personal training in Woodmere can help push through a plateau and even avoid reaching one altogether.

Daily, weekly, monthly

If you like rapid change and need variety to keep you motivated, you can vary your cardio exercises in the same thirty minute session by changing the exercise every ten minutes. Others prefer to concentrate on one exercise per session, but may do a different exercise every day. There are also those that like the consistency of following the same routine but realize that changing the exercises is beneficial in the long run, so will change every four to six weeks.

Change as you feel comfortable, but remember that part of working towards your fitness goal is pushing your body out of its comfort zone, so it’s not a bad idea to at least try an exercise you previously would have avoided it. You may find that you need assistance, and that’s where personal training in Woodmere can help!

Getting help

If you feel like you’ve done every kind of exercise you can think of and are at a loss for what to do next or just need some advice on the best ways to vary your cardio routine, you may find that personal training in Woodmere is the best way to go. A personal trainer can design a routine that helps you reach your goals as well as keeps you interested with cutting edge exercises. After all, personal training in Woodmere is the best way to spice up your fitness routine is to make sure it has plenty of variety.

Working Out Post Pregnancy Do It Safely with Personal Training in Woodmere

Personal training in Woodmere understands that many women are anxious to regain their pre-pregnancy bodies after the birth of a child, but find the wait excruciating. Many factors go into when you can start exercising again and how easy it will be to lose that baby weight. It doesn’t help that we often see celebrities shed their baby weight in a few months after birth. Feeling fit and healthy after a pregnancy is important for every woman, and personal training in Woodmere can help. In this article, we discuss why some women have to wait longer than others, what you can do while you’re waiting, and how personal training in Woodmere help if you don’t know where to start. When you’re considering hiring a personal trainer, think about the benefits that in-home training could have for you and your child.

Every body is different

Sure it’s frustrating to see celebrities shed their baby weight in a matter of months, but there are two reasons this happens. First of all, being in good shape is a part of a celebrity’s job, so they likely were exercising regularly before and during their pregnancy, which will help the body regain its previous shape after the pregnancy. Also, celebrities can often afford to have a nanny to look after their children and have the time to work out several hours a day. Most of us can’t afford this luxury, so don’t be discouraged to find that it takes you a little longer to get back in shape.

Even if you’ve been exercising regularly before and during pregnancy, some women will have to wait as long as eight weeks before exercising again. Much of this depends on the method of childbirth. Women who gave birth naturally with no complications can start doing light exercises shorting after the birth date, while those that have Cesareans will have to wait the longest. Even then, women may have episiotomy stitches that need to heal before working out. Recovering from a Cesarean birth can take as long as eight weeks, as this requires the most amount of tissue healing before strenuous exercise can be done.

Baby steps

Even the fittest mother isn’t going to hop out of bed and run a marathon the week after birth, because the body naturally needs time to recover from the event. Those that have had an uncomplicated birth can start with some non-stressful exercises, such as leg stretches and Kegel exercises. When you feel up to it, you can even try some light walking, but the most important thing to do is to listen to your body, and never push yourself. It is always wise to get the green light from your doctor before starting any kind of increased activity. In addition, personal training in Woodmere can help you safely and effectively get fit without straining your delicate body.

Breastfeeding Moms

Women that are breastfeeding may find it more difficult to lose the baby weight, but they shouldn’t be concerned, as this is completely natural. Breastfeeding mothers need to keep their calorie intake high in order to ensure that enough nutrients are being transmitted to the milk. Breastfeeding mothers should also consider when they breastfeed if they’re already exercising. Some babies find the milk after a work out session to be sour, thanks to an increase in lactic acid, so you may want to consider feeding or pumping before working out.

Where to start

The most important thing when starting a fitness program after pregnancy is to be sure that you have your doctor’s permission to exercise. As frustrating as it can be to wait, the doctor has your overall health in mind and will prevent you from forcing your body when it isn’t ready. When you are ready, you should seek the advice from personal training in Woodmere on the best fitness regime for you. A great idea is to consult a personal trainer, who can assess your present fitness, map out your fitness goals, and help you achieve them in a safe and effective way. If you are ready to being your post pregnancy workout, consider personal training in Woodmere to get your on the road to a fit and healthy lifestyle!

Finding Your Motivation With Personal Training in Woodmere, and Five Towns

“An important part of personal training and starting on the path to better health is having goals to reach along the way” says Five Towns personal trainer Michael Stephens The reasons we choose to improve our lifestyles are as varied as the ways to improve our health, whether they are as simple as wanting to wear a favorite pair of jeans again to less concrete goals of living a longer, healthier life. Knowing what you’re working towards can not only help you reach goals along the way, but can also help your personal training goals. In this article, we’ll take a look at just a few of the motivating factors you can adopt to lead you along the path of better health.

Simple Goals

Are you still hanging on to a favorite pair of jeans that no longer fit, but are loath to give away because you have the vague idea that you’ll be able to wear them again someday? Why not make this your fitness goal? Your goals don’t have to be huge elaborate plans, but simple goals such as fitting in your favorite jeans or a dress you love that’s been hanging in the back of the closet for years.

Events

Sometimes, the invitation to a wedding or a high school reunion is all it takes to prompt us to get in better shape. The trick with setting an event as a fitness goal is to be realistic about how much you can improve your health in the time allotted. The best way to improve your health is through diet and exercise, so you’ll have to resist crash diets that promise to help you lose an unreasonable amount of weight in a short amount of time and focus your energies on your personal training. This is exactly why working with a personal trainer is so valuable, as he can help you make a realistic goal to looking your best in the amount of time given. Plus, once the event is over, who’s to say that you have to stop trying to reach your original goal?

Keeping up with the Kids

Young children have so much energy that it can be a challenge to just keep up with them everyday! A healthy diet and exercise routine can help increase your energy and be able to keep up with even the feistiest three-year-old. Plus, starting the good habits of healthy living while the children are still young is a great way to ensure that they will pick up your healthy habits as they grow.

Longer Life

While having the goal of living longer doesn’t necessarily have the same concrete goals as other kinds of motivation, it is still a powerful tool to keep in mind when starting personal training in Woodmere. A healthy exercise and diet routine can help prevent a host of diseases, from heart disease to osteoporosis, and people can start on this path at any age, as exercise not only helps prevent disease but can also help control and even slow it. Now that you are ready for personal training contact a trainer today!

Woodmere and Five Towns Personal Training To Help Combat Cellulite

Five Towns personal training experts know that cellulite is the bane of millions of women. Often appearing around the hips and thighs, cellulite has the appearance of dimples and it’s often characterized by the not very appealing name of “cottage cheese thighs”. Some people will experience this phenomenon while others may never have to worry about it. But understanding what cellulite is can help us better combat it. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what cellulite is, why you should avoid quick fixes, and how Five Towns personal training experts can help get rid of that cellulite forever.

What is cellulite?

When you get right down to it, cellulite is nothing more than fat. We all have connective tissue that separates fat cells into their own compartments. Men typically have crisscross or horizontal patterns to these compartments, while women usually have patterns that resemble a honeycomb, increasing the changes that the fat cells will slip through, become trapped between the tissues and the skin, and create the “cottage cheese” affect. Whether or not you have cellulite isn’t just determined by the amount of fat in your body, but genetics also plays a part. Genetics determines where your fat cells are stored in your body, so some people may never be burdened with cellulite while others will have to increase their activity levels in order to help get rid of it.

Beware of the quick fix

Everywhere you look there are commercials offering quick fixes to get rid of cellulite, but they either don’t work or only work for a short period of time. Don’t believe the hype and fall for the temptation of creams or wraps to make the cellulite instantly disappear. Cellulite creams claim to dissolve the cellulite, but no cream can penetrate the skin and rearrange fat cells. Expensive surgeries like liposuction remove deposits of fat, but it can’t change the appearance of it. Body wraps may reduce the appearance of cellulite, but this is because they work to smooth out the surface of the skin. You can expect to see the cellulite return by the next day.

Finally, beware of exercise equipment manufacturers that claim that using their machine, which targets the hips, rear end and thighs, will help improve the appearance of cellulite. These machines will certainly improve the muscles in the target area, but they do little to help you reduce your overall fat, which you can only achieve will a well rounded fitness program.

Lower your body fat

The best way to fight cellulite is to start a personal training program that will help you lose your total body fat. After all, cellulite is just fat, right? The best fitness program involves eating right, getting plenty of rest, and a combination of both cardio and strength training. Improve your eating habits, not by trying out the latest crash diet fad, but making a commitment to better health and eating a well balanced diet. Rest is important to make sure you use your muscles safely and effectively. This not only means getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night, but letting a muscle group rest for forty-eight hours before exercising it again.

Finally, Five Towns personal training combines cardio and strength training to best fight fat. Cardio not only improves your heart and gives you energy, but it helps raise your metabolism. Your metabolism will be further raised with strength training, as the more muscles you have, the more calories you’ll burn. These three components are all you need to get on the path to better fitness and getting rid of that cellulite! Contact a Five Towns personal training expert to begin a fat fighting program today!

Setting Fitness and Health Goals with a Woodmere and Five Towns Training Expert

A Woodmere Personal Training Expert Reports! When most people start a new exercise program, they have an idea of what they want to accomplish. People start exercising for plenty of different reasons, from wanting to improve their overall health to meeting a specific goal. Knowing what you want to accomplish through your fitness routine can help you focus on your goal and have something to work towards. A great way to focus on what you want to achieve is to work with a Woodmere personal training expert, who can assess your current strengths and weaknesses and help you reach your goal. In this article, we’ll take a look at three tips to remember when setting your fitness goals.

Be Realistic

“I want to lose twenty pounds before my high school reunion next month.” Unfortunately, setting a goal like this can be a recipe for failure. Sure, it can be done, but it will require a strict commitment to healthy eating and exercise every day for the next thirty days, and this could be asking too much of yourself. And then, what happens after the reunion? Will you set a new goal or go back to your bad habits?

Being realistic about the goals you want to reach and the time in which you want to achieve them is a big part of planning for success. Only having the one big goal at the end can make the path very difficult to follow, so try setting incremental goals along the way, and don’t be afraid to reward yourself when you’ve reached a smaller goal, like treating yourself to a session at the spa or that hunting trip you’ve been putting off. With the help of a Woodmere personal training expert, you can finally be consistent with your efforts, and be motivated to continue with your program!

Keep a Record

If you’re meeting with a Woodmere personal training expert two or three times a week, chances are that he or she is keeping a record of your progress, but if you’re meeting your personal trainer less frequently, you might see the benefits of keeping your own records. Don’t plan too far in advance, as you can’t predict how your body will improve over the long run, but try to plan in increments of eight weeks, by noting what you think you should be doing and then what you actually did. A Woodmere personal training expert can help you can also keep track of your measurements, weight (although weighing yourself is not always a reliable method of measuring the amount of fat in your body), or your BMI.

Don’t be Afraid to Make New Goals

How many people do you know that are still trying to get off that last five pounds? It’s true, the closer you get to your goal, the harder it is to achieve it. But this isn’t just true of weight loss goals; whether your goal is to run a marathon or to be able to lift a certain amount of weight, our bodies tend to plateau and it can be difficult to push through to the next goal. Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve gotten to a place that seems insurmountable. It’s ok to move the flag back a little, if it helps you to push on. This is also a great time to evaluate where you are and if your goal is attainable. Talk with a Woodmere personal training expert, and make a new goal to help you continue on your path!

Five Towns Personal Training Exercises for Busy Professionals

Five Towns personal training experts understand that when you’re working fifty hour weeks, exercise is probably the last thing on your mind. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of grabbing fast food and crashing on the couch after a difficult day at work before catching a few hours of sleep and starting all over again. The truth is that exercise can help even the busiest professionals stay in top form, sleep better, reduce their stress and even complete tasks without fading at the end of the day. In this article, we’ll take a look at how busy professionals can make time for exercise.

Pencil it in

Any professional worth his salt has a calendar filled to the brim with meetings, appointments and deadlines. Why not pencil in time for exercise, too? If you’re really ready to make a commitment to improving your lifestyle, schedule exercise into your routine and treat it like an important business meeting. Once you’ve added it to your regular calendar, you’ll be surprised at how easily everything else falls into place. At the same time, don’t beat yourself up if something unavoidable comes up and you have to cancel. Just don’t use this as an excuse to cancel the rest of your exercise appointments for the week! A Five Towns personal training expert can help you stay on track by holding you accountable!

Exercise at Work

If you truly can’t get away during the day, there are plenty ways to incorporate a little fitness into your daily routine. A Five Towns personal training expert has a view suggestions! Obviously, try to always take the stairs. Instead of emailing a question to a colleague on another floor, take the time to go ask the question in person. Set an alarm on your computer to remind you get up once an hour to stretch your legs and your arms. Even a quick break can be refreshing. Clip a pedometer on your belt and try to achieve between 6000 and 10,000 steps a day.

If you have your own office, you can even incorporate exercise equipment into your routine. Try sitting on an exercise ball, which will strengthen your abs and back while you work, or lifting dumbbells while you’re on the phone. Even if you work in a cubicle and don’t want to be seen with your exercise equipment, keep a couple of bottles of water in a drawer and use them as dumbbells when you can.

Office Fitness Programs and More

Upper levels of management are quickly learning that when their employees are healthy, they tend to work more efficiently, so exercise can benefit everyone in the workplace. Some companies have taken the initiative to start fitness programs in the office with the help of a Five Towns personal training expert.

Finally, if you live close enough to work that you can commute by foot or bicycle, consider making this change. Not only will you be doing something healthy for yourself, but it’s healthier for the environment as well!

Remember, you don’t have to make these fitness changes all by yourself. Seek out the advice of a Five Towns personal training expert. A personal trainer will take your busy schedule into account when setting out a fitness program for you, and help you come up with even more ideas on how to incorporate more exercise into your busy lifestyle.