Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

This is just a little something to think about while enjoying the holidays with your friends and family. You already may know the importance of drinking water or non-calorie beverages for health reasons and weight maintenance. With holiday parties and festive gatherings approaching many alcoholic beverages may be served. It's just as important to make smart choices when choosing higher calorie alcoholic beverages. Because it's easier to drink a high calorie drink without noticing the extra calories than it is to fill up on whole food, make sure you know how many calories are in your drinks to make a more informed decision.

One cup of eggnog can contain 340 calories and a shot of spirits adds about another 60 calories boosting your drink to 450 calories. Two of these drinks will set you back 900 calories without noticing it.

Red and white wines have about the same amount of calories, 125 calories per 5-ounce glass.

When it comes to hard liquor, a 1.5-ounce glass of 53-proof Kahlua has 170 calories, which is only 10 calories shy of a whole wheat Krispy Kreme doughnut.

One Pina Colada, made with Malibu rum, pineapple juice and cream, packs about 312 calories, or 32 calories less than the Small Chocolate Sundae sold at the Dairy Queen.

The Mudslide, made with vodka, coffee liqueur, Irish cream and vanilla ice cream, is the bomb of all cocktails. It packs 820 calories in a 12-ounce serving, the equivalent of an entire restaurant meal.

For the same calories packed in a Mudslide cocktail you can eat one Arby's Roast Beef and Swiss Market Fresh Sandwich (810 calories); one Denny's Buttermilk Pancake Platter (890 calories); or two slices of Domino's Classic Hand-tossed Pizza (510 calories) and a soda.

Knowledge is power. Know how many calories are in your drinks so you can make an informed decision. If you know you should only be eating X amount of calories a day, are you going to go over the limit by having a couple of drinks, or cut back on some of your meals first?

The Biggest Loser

If you've ever seen the show The Biggest Loser on television you may wonder how those people lose such massive amounts of weight in such a short period of time. The answer diet and exercise. This is an oversimplification but what you really want to know are the specifics, what type and how much.

I was going thru a recent health and fitness magazine and came across an article about the show. Two of the shows contestants were interviewed and they shared some of their secrets to success. According to the article they ate five to six times a day, which has been shown to increase metabolism and shed fat. They coupled that with exercising five times daily which included weight training, hiking and running to burn up a ton of calories. They also ate breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up to get their metabolism revved up to shed calories and controlled portions of the food they ate.

Living on a reality show however, is a little different from the real world we live in. On the show they are there to do one thing, lose weight so they can spend all their time doing that. For a regular person with a full-time job, school or a family; working out six to seven hours a day is not an option. Another thing to keep in mind is the more you weigh the more calories you burn by exercising (that’s why cardio machines always ask you for your weight). The shows contestants are weighing between 250 to over 400 pounds so they can lose a bit more than someone half their size. Don’t be discouraged though there is still hope for you, you just have to make the most of your time and plan ahead to succeed.

What you can do is eat five to six meals per day to get your metabolism working for you. Find out how many calories you eat in a typically day. Track everything (including gravy and butter) for a few days to get an average and start by cutting 200-300 calories from that, then split the total between five to six meals. So if you currently average 2800 calories a day, start by dropping down to 2500 a day. Split that between five meals averaging 500 calories per meal. The goal is to eat more frequently, but less overall. Get an early start by eating breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning and eat every three to four hours after that. Follow breakfast with a mid-morning snack, lunch, a mid-afternoon snack, dinner and possible a light evening snack. With your busy schedule it may be hard to eat every three hours so be prepared to bring cheese sticks, low fat yogurt, apples, oranges and other whole grain snacks that provide fiber and keep you full. Don’t forget to measure your portions with a food scale to avoid overeating.

Be smart about working out. Because you can’t workout five times a day, you need to work smarter not longer. Resistance training is a must to build muscle which in turn torches fat. Stick to compound exercises that work the large muscle groups, think squats instead of leg extensions. Because interval training helps you burn more calories in less time, choose this option over long low intensity cardio sessions. For more tips or to get a customized exercise program visit our website.

Stop Dieting and Start Losing Weight

Every year millions of adults in the U.S. are starting diets in an attempt to lose weight. Many of these adults are frustrated with the results they are getting, and the difficulty of staying on the diet. Those that find success with diets often find that achievement to be temporary only to regain the weight back. Below we’ve listed some reasons why diets are failing and a better approach to safe weight loss.

Why Diets Fail

1. Diets deprive you of foods you like and nutrients you need

Diets are very difficult to maintain because they control the food you can eat, so you are constantly feeling restricted. Because many diets eliminate certain foods or even entire food groups they can become unhealthy affecting mood, brain function, and activity level.

2. Diets are temporary

Even if you are successful with a diet and lose 20 pounds, when you go back to your original way of eating, you will eventually gain the weight back and probably more.

3. Diets can lower you metabolism

Because your body is smart and adapts to changes you make, when you drastically cut back on calories as many diets do, your metabolism will slow down and your body stores those calories as fat. This was a good thing back in the day of hunters and gatherers because they had to endure days without food and this kept them alive. Today however this isn’t a good weight loss strategy because it leads to fewer calories being burned making the diet inefficient.

How to lose weight safely

1. Eat small frequent meals every 2-3 hours

Plan to eat a meal every 2 -3 hours. When you eat more often, your blood sugar level tends to stabilize, which means you are less likely to experience severe hunger. Since your body only needs so many calories at a given time, excess calories become stored as body fat. The longer you wait between meals, the more likely you are to overeat at your next meal prompting your body to store more body fat.

2. Eat Correct Portion Sizes

Research has shown that Americans often underestimate how many calories they are consuming each day by as much as 25%. Therefore many people think they should be maintaining or losing weight, when they are actually gaining weight. Get a food scale to measure your portions. Drastically cutting calories has adverse effects, but slowly reducing your calories to a normal amount will lead to proper weight loss and maintenance.

3. Exercise to increase metabolism

Research has shown resistance training not only builds muscle but also significantly raises metabolism leading to weight loss. High Intensity Interval Training is another method to elevating your metabolism, burning more calories than traditional steady state cardio in less time.

Equalizing Your Training Volume

When I first started resistance training as a teen I did what a lot of guys my age did: lots of chest, biceps and abdominal exercises. While I was looking to improve my athletic performance, I also wanted to look good; I needed a muscular chest, bulging biceps and a six pack to match. The problem was I was training my ‘mirror muscles’ which are the one’s I could see in the mirror with lots of volume, but paid little attention to the opposing muscles groups. After all people don’t ask you how much you can lat pull, everyone wants to know how much you can bench. While I was getting stronger in all the exercises and building some size I was setting myself up for problems down the road.

Because my workouts lacked balance, eventually I hit plateaus in my lifts and hurt my rotator cuff muscles. Failure to work the muscles that oppose the mirror muscles results in underdevelopment of those muscles, such as the lats, rhomboids, traps, lower back, glutes and hamstrings. These muscles work together to stabilize the spine and come into play in most exercises whether they are the prime movers or just assisting.

In the end I had to take time off from pushing, add more pulling exercises and perform additional exercises to strengthen my weakened rotator cuff muscles. This all added up to recovered shoulders, improved posture and helped me to become stronger across the board.

To avoid this problem yourself make sure to use equal volume for pushing and pulling exercises. Upper body pushing and pulling exercises can be broken down to vertical or horizontal, depending on which way the resistance is moving in relation to your body. A few examples are listed below.

Upper Body Pushing

Vertical – Military press, Dumbbell shoulder press

Horizontal – Bench press, Push up

Upper Body Pulling

Vertical – Lat pull down, Chin up

Horizontal – Seated Cable Row, Bent Barbell Row

Lower Body Pushing

Leg Press, Squats, Lunges

Lower Body Pulling

Deadlift, Leg Curl

To use equal volume, take two opposite movements; for example upper body horizontal push (bench press) and upper body horizontal pull (Bent Barbell Row). Using three sets of eight reps for each will allow equal volume at 24 reps each. However if you are doing three sets of bench press, three sets of push ups and three sets of barbell rows, now you are doing six sets for horizontal pushing and still only three for horizontal pulling.

Be smart and stay healthy. Don’t just choose random exercises and training volumes without thinking about why you are doing it and what harm it may be causing to you down the road.

Strategies for Portion Control

Research has shown that Americans often underestimate how many calories they are consuming each day by as much as 25%. If you've been working out consistently and think you should be maintaining or losing weight but are gaining weight it may be your diet.

Follow the strategies below to get on the right track


At Home
1. Measure your portions on a food scale. Figure out what a real portion is of all your favorite foods and stick to that.
2. Serve food in the appropriate portion amounts and don't go back for seconds.
3. Avoid mindless eating. Never eat out of the bag or carton. Instead put the correct portion in a plate or bowl.
4. Don't keep platters of food on the table; you are more likely to pick at it or have a second serving without even realizing it.

At Restaurants
1. Eat only half of your meal. The portions at most restaurants are enormous, so either share it with a friend or ask for a to-go bag right away and put it away ASAP. The longer it stays in sight you’ll be more tempted to pick at it.
2. Limit consumption of bread sticks, chips and appetizers.
3. Drink water to avoid filling up high calorie beverages.
4. If you have dessert, share.

Weight Loss Made Simple

If you’re looking to drop a few pounds, the solution is simple; move more and eat less. Moving more burns calories and eating less means less calories going in which both result in weight loss. Easier said than done, right? Well it doesn’t have to be that difficult.

While I would tell anyone, working out hard performing high intensity interval training and circuit style weight training work best for rapid weight loss there are some individuals that cannot perform high intensity workouts. If that sounds like you don’t worry there is still hope for you. A little is still better than nothing at all, right.

Increase your daily caloric burn by adding movement

1. Take a walk or bike ride before school or work, walk at lunch, or go for an evening ride or stroll with a friend. Gradually increase the intensity adding hills or increasing your speed.

2. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. This can add up big time if you live or work in a building where you can do it daily. Once you get good, start taking stepping up every other stair, then start jogging up.

3. Bike to and from work if possible.

Eliminating 200-300 calories a day easily goes unnoticed, but can result in big weight loss in the long run. Follow the tips below to get started.

1. Measure your portions. Get a food scale and use it. Figure out what a real portion is of all your favorite foods and stick to that. After a while you can start to eyeball a true portion size.

2. Eat only half of your meal. The portions at most restaurants are enormous, so either share it with a friend or ask for a to-go bag right away and put it away ASAP. The longer it stays in sight you’ll be more tempted to pick at it.

3. Stop drinking your calories. Many of your favorite soft drinks and flavored coffee beverages can contain 300 – 700 calories. Drinking one of these daily can add up to a weight gain of up to a pound a week. First make sure to stay away from super sized beverages (stick with 8 to 12 ounces), second making the switch to water can lead to a 20 pound weight loss or more over the course of a year.

Don't Forget to Stretch

Why is it that people go to the gym and train with weights or cardio machines, but can’t find the time to stretch? I see it all the time, guys spending an hour or two in the weight room and ladies spending equal time doing cardio workouts but when it’s over they just walk right out the door, without stretching. Stretching should be a part of your daily routine. Stretching is one activity that can be done anytime and just about anywhere with minimum time.

There are many reasons stretching can be beneficial to you. As you age your muscles tighten and your range of motion can become limited. Regular stretching can help you maintain your flexibility. If you are an athlete on any level, having greater flexibility can mean greater range of motion, improved performance and less chance of injury. If you train with weights on a regular basis you’ll be happy to know that stretching can reduce the soreness that comes after resistance training. Stretching can also lead to greater energy levels, improved posture and relief of stress.

Stretching can be performed during your cool-down period after resistance or cardiovascular training or done as its own activity. It’s best to stretch when muscles are warm. If you already workout try adding your stretches after the workout. This is an excellent time to stretch because your muscles are already warm, which means you can stretch farther and get more benefit from it. If you plan on adding a stretching session as its own activity start with a five minute warm up period doing jumping jacks, jump roping or other low intensity exercise to get the muscles loose and blood flowing.

Static stretches are generally safe, easy to do and have been proven to improve flexibility. Static stretching is slowly elongating the muscle through its full range of motion, then holding it at a point of tension, without pain. Hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds for maximum benefit. You should aim to stretch all the major muscle groups. However if you are short on time stick with the main muscles groups you work during your workout and areas that are most tight.

Jump Rope

Now more than ever there are more pieces of fitness equipment available to you online, on infomercials and at your local sporting goods store. Prices can range anywhere from a few dollars to well over a thousand dollars. One of my favorites has to be one of the simplest and cheapest, the jump rope.

Jumping rope is a great cardiovascular exercise that can be done almost anywhere, whatever your fitness level. It can burn over 700 calories per hour making it a very effective fat burning exercise. A jump rope is one of the cheapest and most portable pieces of exercise equipment available. At around ten dollars you can purchase a quality rope and slip it in your gym bag, backpack, suitcase or purse; taking your workout with you to the park, the gym or traveling out of town.

When choosing a rope check out a few different types so you can see which is more comfortable for you and best suits your needs. You can choose between leather, nylon or plastic. Some ropes are weighted for a more strenuous workout. Heavier ropes also called speed ropes are designed for speed. They turn faster, so not only do they improve your footwork and stamina but they also offer a higher intensity workout. When picking the length of a rope, use one foot to step in the center of the rope and pull the handles tight. The handles should come up to the middle of your chest.

Make sure to have appropriate footwear to avoid injury or discomfort from jumping. A good pair of cross training shoes should provide cushioning on the balls of your feet. Because jumping rope is an impact sport, use caution in regard to your ankles and knees. Avoid jumping on concrete; instead stick with an exercise mat, wooden gym floors, or carpet.

Just like most exercises you can vary the difficulty and intensity of jumping rope. Lower intensity jumps include double or alternate foot jumps. For moderate level jumping pick up the pace and try a running step (a slight jog while skipping over the rope) or a high knee jump (a moderate run with high knee lift). For high intensity you can try an alternating side to side double or single leg jump.

Remember getting a great workout is not about having the latest gadgets and gizmos. For ten dollars you can get an excellent workout from a jump rope, so think twice before you purchase a large piece of equipment. Some take up too much space and end up as coat racks. While treadmills and elliptical trainers are great pieces of equipment you can’t deny the easy of portability of a jump rope.

Weight Loss without Dieting

Weight loss is a matter of energy consumption (calories you are eating) vs. energy expenditure (calories you are burning). To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you are consuming. Energy expenditure is composed of daily activity, resting metabolic rate (how many calories you burn at rest), and thermic effect of food (the energy expended by eating).

Daily Activity
Basically this means becoming be more active, because physical activity burns calories resulting in weight loss. 45 minutes of moderate physical activity 5 times per week has been shown to maximize weight loss. However, if you don’t have 45 minutes you can get greater benefit in less time with interval training which is bouts of high intensity work followed by periods of rest or low activity…more on interval training later. If you are currently inactive remember to start slow and build up. If you can only walk 10 minutes before you get winded, start there and increase by a few minutes every week. A little is better than none at all. The goal is to move more, which results in greater energy expenditure.

Resting metabolic rate
To increasing your resting metabolic rate make sure you add circuit style resistance training and interval training to your regime, as both are important tools to increasing your metabolism at rest. A study at Ohio University took a group of men through a circuit consisting of three exercises for four circuits (12 total sets) in 31 minutes. Their metabolism remained elevated for 38 hours after the workout was complete.

Interval training has been proven to result in greater fat loss than steady state aerobic training. The beauty of interval training is not only the calories you burn during the workout, but the extra calories that are burned after your workout is over. For more on interval training see Burn Fat Fast.

Thermic effect of food
A study done in the UK looked at the impact of meal timing and thermic effect of food. They found when meals were irregular; thrermic effect of food was decreased in healthy lean women. Those who had a regular meal pattern (six meals per day) had a higher thermic effect of food, which resulted in burning more calories even though they consumed the same amount of calories. To increase your thermic effect of food, aim to eat six meals per day. The key is to keep the meals on the smaller side. Remember you aren't trying to eat more calories, but the same amount spread throughout those six meals.

Train Smarter, Not Harder

Q: I feel like I’ve been slaving away for hours on the treadmill for several months, but my weight won’t budge. What do I need to do to start seeing results?

A: If you feel you’re not getting a fair return on your time investment spent on the treadmill take a step back and look at your overall program. Is it solely cardio training? What intensity are you training at? How often do you train? Do you do any resistance training? How are your eating habits? These are just a few questions to think about because if you’re not seeing results chances are something is being out of balance.

If you’re looking to lose weight and you’re not doing any resistance training you are making a huge mistake. All the time I hear people tell me they only do cardio and once they lose weight then they will start lifting weights. Why? Stop limiting yourself to the number of calories you burn during the workout itself. What’s more important is the number of calories you burn after the workout. Weight training helps you lose weight faster than traditional cardio because not only do you burn calories during your workout, once you’ve completed your workout your metabolism stays elevated for some time increasing caloric burn, something that doesn’t happen with traditional steady state cardio. For more see Achieve Faster Fast Loss.

As far as the treadmill goes try including high intensity interval training. The benefits are faster fat loss and shorter workouts. Similar to resistance training this style of training is great because you burn calories after you workout is complete as well as the workout itself. For more on high intensity interval training see Burn Fat Fast.

Remember, what you do outside of the gym counts too. Eating small frequent meals can also give your metabolism a boost. Japanese researchers took two groups and fed them the same amount of calories for a two week period. The first group ate only twice a day and the second group ate six meals per day. The group eating only twice a day lost more muscle and the group eating six times per day lost more fat.

To lose more fat and retain your muscle plan to eat every three hours and keep meals small. Include weight training and high intensity interval training at least three times per week to maximize your results.

What's a Portion?

You know proper diet and exercise are the keys to lasting weight loss. You also know that one way to maintain or lose weight is through portion control. Many people underestimate the amount of food they eat simply because they overestimate the amount in a single serving.

I recently purchased a food scale which can measure foods in grams or ounces. This is one of the coolest toys I’ve got in a while. While I’m not on a weight loss diet this is an amazing tool for anyone
looking to monitor their portion sizes. A serving of cheerios is 30g. I like cereal and knew that I usually eat more than a single serving, but didn’t know how much I really ate. I measured out 30g and it was less than I usually eat. I kept pouring until I eyeballed a serving that I eat. It was 58g, nearly twice a serving size! While cheerios are a pretty healthy whole grain cereal and not a bad choice to eat as part of a healthy breakfast, two servings is twice the calories. One serving only 110 calories, so what is an extra 110 calories going to do? Well over the course of a year eating an extra 100 calories a day can lead to a 10 pound weight gain. The good thing is the reverse can lead to weight loss. 100 less calories a day for a year can lead to 10 pound weight loss.

Not enough you say then double it! Eating 200 calories less per day can lead to 20 pounds loss in a year. The best part about it is 200 calories in a day easily goes unnoticed. Now add in exercise into your daily routine and your weight loss adds up even faster. Exercise will also help improve your muscle tone, strength, stamina, and flexibility something you won’t get with diet alone. The bottom line is you can eat healthy foods and still fail to lose weight, decrease your portion size and know what a real portion is.

Avoid Negative Thinking

"If you want to change your circumstances, first change your thinking” – unknown

The only person who can stop you from achieving your fitness goals is you. However it’s important to have a support system to cheer you along the way. Friends, family and co-workers are usually your biggest supporters, offering words of encouragement and complementing you on your improvements. Conversely some will tell you that you’re dreaming and you’ll never accomplish your goals. This is usually because they themselves could never imagine themselves completing such a goal. These words of discouragement only become true when you believe them to be true.

While those around you may try to sabotage your success, your biggest supporter and your biggest enemy is yourself. When you tell yourself “I’m too tired to exercise”, or “working out is too hard”, or “I tried before and failed”, you’re impeding your own progress by acting as your worst enemy. The good news is you have a choice, and if you want to succeed choose positive thinking or negative thinking.

Learn to become your biggest supporter. If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your chances of accomplishing your goal are greatly reduced. By changing your thoughts to positive ones your chances of success greatly improve. Tell yourself you can, believe you can and you will accomplish what others may think is impossible. When negative thoughts enter your mind re-evaluate them and put a positive spin on them. If you tell yourself “I don’t have time to exercise” change your thinking to “I’ll reassess my priorities and make time for exercise”. Instead of saying “I’ve failed before and I can’t succeed” change your thinking to “I’m going to take small steps, follow my plan, and reach my fitness goals”.

In addition to changing your thinking, surround yourself with others who may have similar fitness goals and those who offer words encouragement, while spending less time with those who fill you mind with negative thoughts. Click here to get support carrying out your fitness goals.

Setting Fitness Goals

Did you set a fitness related goal this year? If so, are you on target to reach your goal? We are approximately ¾ of the way through this year. Are you ¾ of the way to reaching your goal? If not, don’t worry, it’s not too late to get back on track and make some major progress. Setting goals and staying focused are the two most important factors in sticking with a weight loss program, and the keys to success. Stop letting your goal slip away. Start by following these three simple steps:

Step 1: Set Reasonable Goals
First you need to define your goals. Figure out what it is you really want to accomplish. Are you trying to incorporate a regular exercise program into your lifestyle to reap the health benefits such as lowered cholesterol, lowered risk of hypertension and diabetes or lose weight and firm your muscles for the summer? Think long and hard about what it is you want to accomplish and why you want to accomplish it. Once you’ve done this commit your goals to paper so you can review them daily. Make sure to set a realistic time frame for achieving your goal or you’ll be telling yourself you want to get back to your playing weight for the rest of your life.

To avoid feeling overwhelmed, break your goal down into smaller micro goals. A four week period is big enough to show progress but small enough to handle. Trying to lose 30 pounds in the next four months may sound like a lot, but if you break it down to losing seven to eight pounds over the next four weeks, it becomes a little more doable and keeps you on track for your larger goal.

Step 2: Build Your Plan
After you have clearly defined your goal you need a plan to get from point A (where you are now) to point B (reaching your goal). If you want to lose weight you need to create a caloric deficit. One of the best ways to do this is to incorporate resistance training, interval training and slightly reducing your caloric consumption. Click here to get help building your plan.

Step 3: Stay Focused
Staying focused means reading your goals, exercising, and eating properly on a daily basis. On occasion you may miss a workout or deviate from eating proper, that’s okay. Put those lapses behind you regroup, refocus and follow your plan. Give yourself credit for each step of the way. Once you accomplish your four week goal reward yourself with something (a day trip, a night out, a pair of shoes, or whatever you’re into) for staying on track and then move on to the next four weeks.

Once you have a goal, the way to reach it is with baby steps. Follow your plan and get a little closer each day.

Burn Fat, Build Muscle, Get Results

A couple days ago I came across a woman doing tricep cable extensions followed by pec deck flys. Her form needed a little work so I offered my expertise. After talking to her I found out she was looking to lose weight. I recommended she include more compound exercises (exercises that use multiple joints and more muscles) in her routine to get faster results.

Whether you want to lose weight or gain lean muscle add more compound exercises in your workout to help you get the most bang for your buck and deliver faster results. While your diet, rep ranges and rest periods may change depending on your goals, the rule is the same, use more muscles per exercise and you’ll build more muscle and burn more fat.

Compound exercises aren’t only more effective they also save you time making your workout more efficient. Instead of doing a single joint exercise for your glutes, one for your quads and another for your calves, choose a squat. A squat will work the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and your core all in one exercise. If you have a family, school, work or other activities on your plate, efficiency in your workouts is most likely in your best interest.

Compound exercises also transfer better to daily activities and sport performance. Not very often do you find yourself sitting and doing something that resembles a bicep curl. Our bodies are designed to work using multiple muscles simultaneously. Real activities require squatting, bending, pulling and pushing, which all resemble compound movements.

So compound exercises will help you achieve faster fat loss and build muscle quicker. They’ll save you time and improve daily function as well as sports performance.

Swap out some isolation exercises (single joint) for compound exercises (multiple joint) to add in to your routine include:

Leg Extension Squat or Bulgarian Split Squat
Leg Curl Romanian Deadlift
Lateral Raise Military Press
Pec Deck Flys Push Up or Bench Press
Bicep Curl Reverse Grip Pull down or Chin up
Tricep Extension Dip or Close Grip Push up

Burn Fat Fast

Your time is precious, and it’s important you get the most out of it. If you want to burn fat fast stop exercising longer than you have to? Instead of getting on a cardio machine for 30 to 60 minutes, performing steady state cardio (keeping the intensity the same the entire time), try a higher intensity program designed to maximize your time, giving you better results under 30 minutes, including warm up and cool downs.

Stop getting caught up on how many calories you burn during a workout. What’s more important is the amount of calories you burn after the workout is over. The extra calories you expend above your resting metabolism after a workout, is referred to as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC. Because the intensity in a cardio workout has the greatest impact on EPOC, as exercise intensity increases, the magnitude and duration of EPOC increases as well. Therefore, when your perform high intensity workouts you will continue to burn more fat in the following hours than you will at a steady state low intensity program resulting in faster fat loss.

Use the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale to gauge your intensity while exercising

Level 1: Very, very, light

Level 2: Very light, Can maintain this pace all day long

Level 3: Light, but breathing a bit harder

Level 4: Starting to sweat a little, can carry on a conversation effortlessly

Level 5: Just above comfortable, sweating more and can still talk easily

Level 6: Can still talk, but slightly breathless

Level 7: Can still talk, but I don't really want to, sweating more

Level 8: harder, can only keep this pace for a short time period

Level 9: Very hard, want to stop

Level 10: very, very hard. An all out effort that requires every bit of energy you have.

This program can be done using any cardio machine. Each day can be done on a different machine. Choosing your favorite activities will increase adherence.

5 minute warm up – gradually build up from level 3 to 5

1 minute level 9

2 minutes level 6-7

Repeat 3 times (four sets total)

5 minute cool down – gradually from level 5 to 3

Total time 22 minutes

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Achieve Faster Fat Loss

You may know diet and exercise are the keys to weight loss. But what you may not know is what type of exercise yields the best result. Dieters usually turn to steady state cardio (cardio exercises performed at a steady pace) traditionally at a low to moderate intensity. If you want to lose body fat make sure you’re lifting weights. Several studies have shown weight training leads to greater fat loss when compared to steady state cardio training.

Canadian researchers compared two groups on the exact same diet with different training routines: a group that only did cardio exercises (1 hour a day, four days per week) and another group that only did strength training three days per week performing 10 exercises two to four sets of eight to 15 repetitions. After 12 weeks both groups equally increased their VO2 (the single best measure of cardiovascular fitness and maximal aerobic power). The cardio group lost lean body mass while the strength training group increased their lean body mass, lost significantly more fat and, increased their metabolism while the cardio group actually slowed their metabolism.

A similar study took three groups: a diet only group, a diet group that performed aerobic exercise three times per week and a group that performed aerobic exercise and weight training three times per week. After 12 weeks the diet only group lost just over 14 pounds, while the aerobic exercise group lost 15 ½ pounds (only 1 more pound). The group that performed weight training lost over 21 pounds (44% more than the diet only group and 35% more than the diet plus aerobic exercise group.

To get the most bang for your buck, a minimal time investment of three one hours sessions per week can do wonders for weight loss. You’ll not only achieve faster weight loss than you will doing cardio but you’ll also increase your lean body mass and improve cardiovascular fitness.Click here to get help building an effective workout program.

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Push Yourself to Achieve Better Results

If you want to see results with your exercise program you need to put in the effort to get the end result you are looking for. Don't just go thru the motions and hope something good will come of it. If you're currently exercising on cardio machines at a snails pace with no interest what so ever in your workout then seeing improvement can be a slow process. Furthermore if you do resistance training half heartedly with far too little intensity trying not to break a sweat or feel the burn a simple change can make all the difference. Yes going through the motions is better than doing nothing, but it may be just enough to maintain or improve very slowly.

Check your intensity. A quick and easy way to gauge your intensity level is to use a one to ten scale, where one represents little to no intensity (think laying on the couch) and ten is an all out effort. Aim to do most of your exercising in at levels 7 or above. When resistance training if you are to do 3 sets of 12 reps make sure 12 reps takes you to fatigue. If you are working with a weight you can do 15 times it's time to start using a heavier weight, the last three reps should be somewhat difficult, especially on your final set.

To start seeing results more rapidly push yourself beyond your comfort zone. This means doing more this week than last week. If last week you ran for 20 minutes at 6.0 miles per hour with no incline, this week try to increase your time to 22 minutes, your speed to 6.2 miles per hour or add an incline of 2-3%. In addition if you currently using 15 pound dumbbells for 3 sets of 10 reps try pushing out a couple of extra reps, progressing to 3 sets of 12 with the same weight or increasing your weight to 20 pounds and do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. You will feel the added intensity but it is so small it won't be overwhelming, just enough to push yourself past your comfort zone. Over a period of three months you can expect to see some major improvement with small increases like this.

Your Thoughts Become Your Reality

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” - Buddha

Do you frequently find yourself thinking that you are not good enough to get the things in life that you really want? Whether you are aware of this or not your thoughts ultimately control the outcome you get. If you think you are too busy to exercise you’ll never find the time. If you think you are too old to start working out, you’ll remain sedentary. If you can’t imagine yourself 40 pounds lighter and in the best shape of your life that reality too will escape you. You’ll find a way to skip workouts, sabotage your good eating habits and give up completely because you truly don’t believe it is possible for you. Stop letting your thoughts limit what you can or cannot accomplish.

If you want to make changes in your life, begin with changing the way you think. Stop focusing on what you don’t want and instead focus on what you do want. If your main focus is of past failures and you constantly tell yourself you can’t succeed you have already failed because you’ve made a decision in your mind that you can’t be successful. Once you’ve made that decision there isn’t a next step only defeat. However if you continuously tell yourself you can, you haven’t lost, instead you move on to figuring out what steps are necessary in order to accomplish your objective?

If you really want to get in the best shape of your life, start by believing it is possible for you. Picture in your mind what success will look like. How will it feel? Figure out what changes you need to make and follow the steps necessary to take you there. Everyday you tell yourself you can you get a little closer to realizing your dreams.

Rest, Recovery and Hard Work

If you want to see results from your workout program you must be willing to do what it takes. This means working hard and staying focused throughout your workout along with taking care of yourself outside of the gym.

You may already know how to perform your exercises properly, but if you fail to use the proper intensity pushing beyond your comfort zone you will fall short of reaching your goals. Going through the motions may only be enough to maintain your current fitness level. To start seeing improvements you’ll need to increase the level of intensity to where you are breaking a sweat during your cardio sessions and your resistance training causes your muscles to fatigue.

You’re goal for each workout should be to stay focused and work harder than your previous workout. If your mind is somewhere else while your body is in the gym you are not making the most of your time and you won’t get the result you are after. You should focus on the muscles being worked on every set and every rep of your workout. If you are doing a squat concentrate not only on lifting and lowering the weight but on contracting your quads and glutes and exhaling while you lift the weight up. If you did 12 reps of 205 pound for your last workout, then try for 13 reps at the same weight or 12 reps at 210 in an attempt to push yourself beyond your comfort zone.

Whether you’re a workaholic, a busy parent or a student with a hectic schedule it is imperative that you find time to let your body rest as recovery and regeneration are equally as important as the workout itself. This is what I call the other 23 hours of your day. You may workout for one hour daily but you must get enough sleep and eat properly to take full advantage of your efforts in the gym. Because your body recovers and rebuilds when you sleep the lack of sleep can be a huge mistake because the rebuilding process doesn’t happen and you cannot progress further.

Beat Boredom and Stay Motivated

Sometimes working out to get in shape or stay healthy just isn’t enough motivation in itself. If staying motivated to exercise is difficult for you, try new activities to beat boredom. When you are getting in shape with a group or for sport it may be easier to stay motivated. Begin with activities you enjoy or think you would like to try.

1. Join a running or walking club or start your own group with a few friends
2. Run for a cause. Get prepared for a 5k, 10k, or half marathon
3. Ask friends or co-workers about adult softball or soccer leagues and join a team
4. Find a local hiking club to join
5. Contact your local parks and recreation department to find a basketball or flag football league
6. Join a triathlon club or train for one with a few friends
7. Get out of the gym and join an outdoor boot camp class
8. Run stadium stairs at a local track with friends after work. Add push ups, lunges, and leg lifts for resistance exercise.

Which is the Best Cardio Machine to Do?

This is a question I tend to get a lot, but I cannot fully answer it without first asking for more information. First what is your goal? Do you compete in triathlons, recreational soccer, flag football or are you looking to reduce your waistline for your class reunion? Do you have bad knees or back? Do you find one machine more enjoyable than another? These things all determine which machine is best for you.

The more specific your exercise is to what you are preparing your body for, the better you’ll be prepared. For example your body gets better at running by running not getting on an elliptical or rowing machine so opt for the treadmill more often than not. If of course you are looking to drop a few pounds any form of movement is beneficial so mix it up to avoid boredom.

If you have bad knees or you are overweight and are looking for a cardio machine a stationary bike or elliptical machine work well because they keep the stress off your knees. Walking on a treadmill may be okay, but running puts more stress on the knees and may cause you pain, so limit time spent running. If your problem area is your back, the recumbent bike is a great choice because it gives you support for your back while you ride.

After you’ve addressed your specific goals and problem areas if any, it all comes down to doing something you enjoy. If you absolutely can’t stand the rowing machine, stay away from it. Don’t force yourself to do something that you don’t like because you’re less likely to stick with it. For some there is no best machine so take your exercise outdoors.

Time Crunch

Q: I work long hours and have a family and just can’t find the time for exercise. How can I finally get in shape without cutting back on work of family time?

A: You’re not alone. One of the biggest excuses for not exercising is not having enough time. With work, school, families and other activities I understand your time is limited time and you only get 24 hours each day. One simple solution is cutting back on the amount of television you watch. According to Nielsen Media Research, Americans watch an average of 4 hours 35 minutes of TV every day. You can start with just 30 minutes of exercise a day, which leaves 4 hours and 5 minutes to watch TV or be with your family. Because this is a home workout with minimal equipment you can even do this with your family.

You can easily complete this routine by doing it throughout the commercials breaks of a 30 minute television program. You can also record your favorite shows, skip the commercials and then use the extra time to exercise. Do this program before you watch and use TV as your reward for working out, just make sure to skip the commercials which will save you time. Alternate daily between day 1 and day 2.

Day 1

Commercial Break 1 – Superset 1
1A. Body weight lunges (make harder by pausing in the down position for 4 seconds)
1B. Pushups (make them harder doing the T-stabilization pushup, where you turn into a side plank between each rep)

Commercial Break 2 – Superset 2
2A. Hip Bridge (increase difficulty by adding a 4 second hold at top or doing single leg bridge)
2B. DB Row (increase difficulty by holding 4 seconds at top)

Commercial Break 3 – Superset 3
3A. Plank Hold (increase difficulty by raising one arm or leg off the ground or both)
3B. Russian Twist (add a medicine ball to challenge yourself)

For each superset do the first exercise for 8-10 reps followed by the second exercise for 8-10 reps. Repeat as many times as possible during the commercial breaks, up to 4 times each. If you’re doing the workout before your shows make sure you rest 60 seconds after you complete all your sets in each superset before moving to the next superset.

Day 2

Commercial break 1 – Superset 1
1A. Mountain Climbers
1B. Jumping Jacks

Commercial Break 2 – Superset 2
2A. Burpees
2A. Plank Hold

Commercial Break 3 –Superset 3
3A. Speed Squats
3B. Squat Hold

For each superset do the first exercise for 20 seconds followed by 20 seconds of the second exercise followed by 20 seconds of rest. Repeat as many times as possible up to 3 times for each superset.

Cross Train to Avoid Burnout

Do you find yourself doing the same exercises week after week for months on end? Do you always run for your cardio workouts and stick to free weights for strength training? Your body adapts to the stimulus you give it, so you are training your body to be good at the things you do the most. If you want to be a better runner the best exercise is running. If you are a tennis player then playing tennis and performing tennis related drills are the best ways to improve your skills on the court. Just because it is the best way to improve at a single sport, doesn’t make it the most effective way to train.

If you typically run 3-5 miles a day I’m sure you have no problem running a 5k, but let’s say some friends invite you to go mountain biking or water skiing, or full court basketball. You’ll be fine because you’re in shape right? Wrong! You’ve trained your body to do one thing, run. Your legs may not be as efficient when it comes to biking, your core muscles may not be strong enough for water skiing and your cardiovascular system, glutes, hamstrings and knees may not be ready for the sprinting and jumping of full court basketball.

Cross training is a way of training that incorporates several types of training styles. It is an excellent way to train because it conditions different muscle groups, improves skills in a variety of activities, and limits boredom by varying the exercise routines. Because of the variety it allows your body will be better prepared and perform better whether you decide go swimming, skating, or dancing.

Now, if you are a one sport athlete cross training is beneficial for you as well. It is a great way to reduce overuse injuries from repetitive motions. Think of tennis elbow, jumper knee or pitchers shoulder. These injuries all develop from repeatedly doing the same motion. Because one exercise requires different muscles and movements from the next exercise you can improve your cardiovascular conditioning and limit the stress placed on a single joint by running one day, jumping rope the next and swimming in the following workout.

Cross training also allows you to continue to workout if you become injured. If you’re an avid runner and twist an ankle you may need to stop running for a while. However to preserve your current level of conditioning you can switch to swimming or biking until the ankle heals.

There are countless options when it comes to cross training. Try exercises you enjoy to keep you motivated. Some ideas for cardiovascular conditioning are included below:

• Biking
• Swimming
• Running
• Jumping rope
• Speed and agility drills
• Skating
• Tennis and other racket sports
• Group fitness classes
• Boxing or martial arts conditioning
• Calisthenics (jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers)
  

In your resistance training workouts you can cross train by including:

• Body weight exercises (pull ups, push ups, dips)
• Free weights (dumbbells and barbells)
• Machines
• Cables and tubing
• Circuit training

Get Better Results in Less Time

If you want to become more productive in your daily life ask yourself “Am I making the most of my time right now?” Your goal is to get more done in less time. If you can shave 15 minutes off your daily commute by taking an alternate route or listening to an educational CD while traveling to work, you are getting more out of your time. Furthermore if you’re looking for ways to become more productive while working out, again ask yourself “Am I making the most of my time right now?” and then way the costs of time versus intensity.

Think about this, the lower the intensity of your exercise, the longer it will take you to burn calories. But the opposite is also true and can work to your advantage. If you exercise at higher intensities you will burn more calories in a shorter period of time. Look at the following example based on a 180 pound person:

Exercise Caloric Burn

Walking 4 mph for 60 minutes 323 calories

Walking upstairs for 30 minutes 325 calories

Running 5 mph for 30 minutes 325 calories

*Interval training 20 minutes 326 calories

As you can see when the intensity is increased by adding stairs or higher speeds you work harder and burn more calories in less time. Of course if you are new to exercise you may not be able to exercise for very long at higher than normal intensities. The good news is that you can start at any fitness level. If you currently walk for 30 minutes start by adding work intervals such as small hills or slow jogs for 30 to 60 seconds every 3 minutes. Gradually increase the intensity of your work intervals and decrease your rest interval time from 3 minutes to 2 minutes to 1 minute.

If you’re not a fan of walking or jogging, don’t worry this works for any exercise. As long as your intensity goes up so does your productivity.

*Interval training alternating 1 minute at 9 mph and 1 minute at 5.2 mph. One added bonus with higher intensities, such as interval training is it keeps your metabolism revved up for hours after training, so not only do you burn more calories in less time during your workout, after your workout is over you still burn additional calories, which leads to greater fat loss.

500 Crunches?

Yesterday I had a conversation with a woman who told me she does 500 crunches a day. The first thing that came to my mind was why. Is the goal solely to complete 500 reps, or is it to see abdominal definition or is the goal really to strengthen her core? The second thing that came to my mind was if she has to do 500 to feel it, she isn’t doing them right.

To properly perform abdominal crunches don’t just go through the motions. As you come up contract the abdominals hold for a second in the top position and slowly lower yourself back to the floor. Needless to say she wasn’t doing this. After asking more questions I found out this woman plays tennis three times a week and works out with a trainer twice a week to stay in shape. Her trainer should have told her she doesn’t need to do her daily 500 crunches, she needs more core strength.

If you’re truly going to work your core, then stop trying to isolate your abs. To strengthen the muscles of your core use more resistance and do the exercises the right way and move the way the body moves. Your lower back and hips are included in the core as well. To strengthen her core and improve her tennis game, I had her try full sit ups, which she could not do without complaining (due to weak hip flexors and low back), plank holds, resistance band side rotations as well as hip bridges to strengthen her glutes, hamstrings and low back. These are just a few simple exercises that can be done in minimal time and yield maximum results.

Does your workout incorporate these four movements?

1. Hip flexion - examples include: sit ups, reverse crunches, and leg lifts
2. Hip extension – examples include: hip bridges, reverse hypers, and good mornings
3. Trunk rotation – example include: side band rotations, Russian twists, and cable wood chops
4. Isometric core stabilization – examples include: plank holds, and side plank holds
   

If your goal is to increase your core strength and improve your athletic performance be sure to include the four movements into your workouts. In addition, if you want to see your abs you also need to make fat burning resistance training, high intensity interval training, and proper diet high priorities.

Get SMART

If you don’t know what it is you want to accomplish, how will you know when you get there? The first thing you need to do is set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time able) goals. Sit down and really think about this one.

“I want to lose weight” is not enough. Specifically how much weight do you want to lose? How will you measure your results? Using a scale, a tape measure, or body composition are a few ways to get a before and after measurement, and determine your progress. Make sure you choose an attainable goal. If you plan on losing 25 pounds in two weeks, you’re only setting yourself up for failure. Set a time frame in which you plan to accomplish your goal. Skipping this step is a huge mistake. Without this step you’ll be telling yourself you want to get back to your playing weight for the rest of your life. Set a date and stick to it, just make sure it’s a realistic time frame. “I want to lose 15 pounds in ten weeks”, is a better goal because it is realistic to lose 15 pounds in 10 weeks and you can measure this goal.

Finally commit your goals to paper. People who write their goals have higher success rates than those who do not. So, make sure you write down your goals and post them somewhere visible, like the refrigerator or your bedside where you can read it every morning and every evening.

Not Seeing Results in the Weight Room?

One observation I have noticed over and over in weight rooms is people doing the same workouts for too long. It’s usually guys lifting the same weight on the bench press and women doing the same dumbbell exercises with the same five and ten pound dumbbells. If you workout on a regular basis and have been doing the same routine for awhile chances are you are no longer seeing results. One reason may be you aren’t following the principle of progressive overload. Progressive overload is increasing the training stress or intensity beyond what you are used to.

Your body is smart and will adapt to stresses placed upon it. For instance the first time you leg pressed 300 pounds your body got sore, because it wasn’t used to it. Your body adapted to that stress and made itself stronger. The problem is when you get comfortable lifting that same 300 pounds. Once you stop increasing the stress or intensity of your workout your body will stop responding, and results will also stop.

Lifting more weight is one way to overload the body. Other ways include doing more sets or reps with the same weight, or doing the same weight sets and reps, with shorter breaks in between.

Putting it to work for you
Look at the example of progressive overload below. In the first week do your regular workout. In week 2 add reps, in week 3 add sets, and week 4 add weight. Now look at the total volume (sets x reps x weight) of the exercise. In four workouts the volume has increased from 7200 to 11,160.

Week 1 – regular; 3 sets x 8 reps 300 pounds total volume = 7200
Week 2 – add reps; 3 sets x 9 reps 300 pounds total volume = 8100
Week 3 – add sets; 4 sets x 9 reps 300 pounds total volume = 10,800
Week 4 – add weight; 4 sets x 9 reps 310 pounds total volume = 11,160

By challenging your body to work harder, it will respond by getting stronger. Remember it is progressive overload, so add a little at a time and your body will respond.

Have a Workout Plan

Do you get to the gym and then try to figure out what you are going to do once you are there? Seriously, ask yourself this question. Time and time again I see people aimlessly wandering around in gyms not sure of what to do next. Whether your workout takes place in a gym, at home or at the park, you should have a plan in mind before your workout begins. This will not only help you minimize time wasted, but you’ll also get better results.

Not all wander aimlessly, some of these people do have a general idea, they know today is leg day, and that’s a start, but I’m talking about something more specific. If today is leg day, what exercises are you going to do? What order are you going to do them in? How much weight will you use? How many sets and reps will you do? How long are your rest periods? To be more efficient you should know these answers before your workout starts.

If you could get the same results in 45 minutes as you now get in 90 minutes, would you want to? Once your workouts are more organized, you start minimizing wasted time. If you’re not sure what exercises you are going to do, then time is being wasted while you are trying to figure that out. To truly maximize your time working out, you should know what you are going to do before your workout begins.

Today’s workout is all part of a bigger plan. If you have a goal, you need to have a plan to reach that goal. Each workout is one step of that bigger plan. If you don’t know what you will be doing today before you get to your workout facility, you either don’t have a plan or you aren’t following it. Make the decision today to have a plan and know what it is you will be doing in each workout.

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