IDEA Health & Fitness Association offers common-sense tips for implementing a successful weight loss strategy to ring in the New Year. At a time when New Year's resolutions are swirling about, there is no better opportunity to put "live a healthier lifestyle" on the list. If losing some unwanted pounds is a goal for you and/or your clients 2009, here are a few suggestions to help you along:
1. Create a personal exercise mission statement: All good businesses have one to help keep things on course and overcome barriers, so why shouldn't your exercise program? Make sure to include details on how you want to incorporate exercise into your life.
2. Recognize — and accept — what you're up against: Don't underestimate the barriers that keep you on the couch or searching the pantry instead of exercising. These barriers may include intimidation or a lack of understanding and confidence. According to The Journal of the American Medical Association, people who sought assistance from trainers/instructors with weight loss plans succeeded better than those using a self-directed approach.
3. Stop dieting: How can you lose weight when you're not on a diet? Simply eating 500 fewer calories every day for a week should result in a one-pound weight loss. Slowly losing weight is the best way to keep the weight off.
4. Keep a food log: Get a realistic picture of how much and which foods you are eating. Many people underestimate their food and beverage intakes so tracking it for a two-week period will provide valuable insight into the changes you need to make.
5. Adopt a lifestyle approach: Getting 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily may work better for you if you split it into shorter sessions rather than doing an entire workout once in a structured session.
6. Set realistic, short-term goals: If your goal is to lose 50 pounds or maintain a lifelong exercise regime, it may take some time before you can feel good about achieving your goal. So in the meantime, create goals for each session or an interval of time. Examples of short-term goals might be feeling more energized after a workout or successfully achieving increasingly strenuous workouts.
7. Do not skip meals: Eating frequently throughout the day (e.g., three small meals with two or three snacks) will stimulate your metabolism. In contrast, skipping meals, especially breakfast, decreases your metabolism. Safe weight loss is one or two pounds. Remember, a healthy body comes from healthy eating.
8. Practice the 80/20 Rule: Make the healthiest possible food choices 80% of the time. This gives you permission to include all foods in your diet while lessening feelings of deprivation.
9. If you plateau or get bored, bring out the toys: Be a kid at heart and remember that it's good to play. Changing from a stair stepper to an elliptical trainer or some other "toy" will help reignite your vigor to workout. Also investigate other types of exercise classes, such as yoga or rock climbing.
10. Stay encouraged and positive: People lose weight at different rates. The pounds may come off faster at first and then plateau or vice versa. The important thing to remember is long-term healthy behavior delivers results. Losing weight is a tough job, but keeping it off is even harder.
Good Luck and Make Fit Happen!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Friday, July 18, 2008
weight training and women
Recently I have been seeing alot of female clients that have worries about gaining muscle mass when lifting weights. This worry is not as justifiable as most people think. For a woman to gain a significant amount of muscle is a hard thing to do for several reasons.
Most women do not take in enough calories or protein to sustain large muscles. To gain functional muscle (what everyone needs) will not ever make a woman look bulky. This should be the goal of a female lifting weights. This is achieved not through lifting heavy weights, but lighter weights and doing more repetitions
Of the three body types, mesomorphs gain muscle easier than others. That is, if you already have a good musculature before lifting, chances are you are going to gain more when lifting. The trick to lifting and not gaining at this point is to do high repetition endurance weight training workouts.
Since women predominately have a lean body type as far as muscle is concerned, and they want to keep it that way, they should take part in full body, or half body workouts. This way they are not concentrating on a muscle group causing too much growth, and they can keep their caloric expenditure high.
The goal of weight training for women is not to gain alot of muscle. It is to promote a high metabolic rate so they can burn more calories throughout the day. By doing this they will achieve weight loss while maintaining tone. So, ladies, while lifting avoid doing just legs, or just arms, or just abs, and instead concentrate on doing light weight full body workouts to get the results you want.
Finally, to gain significant amounts of muscle requires lifting weights five or six days a week. For my female clients and any woman for that matter, i recommend no more than three days a week for lifting. So, alternate weight training days with days just for cardio. You will be surprised with the results.
if you have more specific questions, please contact Jared.
Most women do not take in enough calories or protein to sustain large muscles. To gain functional muscle (what everyone needs) will not ever make a woman look bulky. This should be the goal of a female lifting weights. This is achieved not through lifting heavy weights, but lighter weights and doing more repetitions
Of the three body types, mesomorphs gain muscle easier than others. That is, if you already have a good musculature before lifting, chances are you are going to gain more when lifting. The trick to lifting and not gaining at this point is to do high repetition endurance weight training workouts.
Since women predominately have a lean body type as far as muscle is concerned, and they want to keep it that way, they should take part in full body, or half body workouts. This way they are not concentrating on a muscle group causing too much growth, and they can keep their caloric expenditure high.
The goal of weight training for women is not to gain alot of muscle. It is to promote a high metabolic rate so they can burn more calories throughout the day. By doing this they will achieve weight loss while maintaining tone. So, ladies, while lifting avoid doing just legs, or just arms, or just abs, and instead concentrate on doing light weight full body workouts to get the results you want.
Finally, to gain significant amounts of muscle requires lifting weights five or six days a week. For my female clients and any woman for that matter, i recommend no more than three days a week for lifting. So, alternate weight training days with days just for cardio. You will be surprised with the results.
if you have more specific questions, please contact Jared.
Friday, January 25, 2008
supplement labels
Have you heard this lately, "I lost 20 lbs in 4 weeks, thanks to..." whatever supplement they claim to have taken. How bogus does that sound? Crazy right!
There are alot of claims out there that if you take this pill or that pill you will lose weight. Some of those claims may be true, but most are not. For those products that do deliver on their promise, have you ever looked at the label? The labels of supplements are tricky, aren't they. The proprietary blend of ingredients that may or may not be actually in the product and the amount of each not being listed, whats up with that?
The bottom line is that you cannot trust alot of what is out there. If eating right and exercising are not enough to get you through your journey of health, you options of trusted reliable products is very limited. At Hit Fit, we recognize this dilemma and have offered you an option. Advocare is supplement company that I trust and they people that are involved in the company, at any level, I trust as well. Hit Fit has become a distributer for Advocare and if you want to take something, I cannot think of a better, and safer, product on the market.
If you are going to be taking supplements at all, please contact me so I can tell you more.
thank you,
Jared Harrison
www.myhitfit.com
There are alot of claims out there that if you take this pill or that pill you will lose weight. Some of those claims may be true, but most are not. For those products that do deliver on their promise, have you ever looked at the label? The labels of supplements are tricky, aren't they. The proprietary blend of ingredients that may or may not be actually in the product and the amount of each not being listed, whats up with that?
The bottom line is that you cannot trust alot of what is out there. If eating right and exercising are not enough to get you through your journey of health, you options of trusted reliable products is very limited. At Hit Fit, we recognize this dilemma and have offered you an option. Advocare is supplement company that I trust and they people that are involved in the company, at any level, I trust as well. Hit Fit has become a distributer for Advocare and if you want to take something, I cannot think of a better, and safer, product on the market.
If you are going to be taking supplements at all, please contact me so I can tell you more.
thank you,
Jared Harrison
www.myhitfit.com
Monday, January 14, 2008
changing gears
Whether it was a new years resolution, or starting a new cycle in your training regimen, or starting to workout for the first time, alot of us a CHANGING GEARS!
Here are some things to consider when adopting a new program.
This change is going to be different than what most of us anticipate. You might be sorer than you thought, hungrier than expected, and your motivation might disappear. But the good news is that it is okay!
If your working out harder or more than before you are going to be sore at first. It is important to stay hydrated and stretched out. Getting a massage will also help to relieve such soreness. With fluid intake, you should consume half your body weight in ounces of water or more.
Your hunger is going to spike with the increase of caloric expenditure. Don't worry, you want your metabolism to speed up. But just because you are hungrier, does not mean you can go around eating whatever is put in front of you. Remember to keep eating clean foods and fresh vegetables. Increasing your food intake can be as simple as adding a post workout recovery drink, or adding another small snack during the day.
Motivation! Your results might not be as fast as you want. You might not hit your goal on time. Maybe your workouts are just harder than you thought they would be. Do not fret! The key is to make progress, if you are doing that, no worries, right! If you are not hitting your goals on time, contact a professional in your area and ask why, it might not be you. If your workouts seem to hard, back off a bit, you might be putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed too quickly. Remember, the most important thing is to make positive change in your body. At whatever pace this change takes place, its better than not making a positive change!
Good luck and Make Fit Happen!
Jared harrison
CPFT, RES-C
www.myhitfit.com
Here are some things to consider when adopting a new program.
This change is going to be different than what most of us anticipate. You might be sorer than you thought, hungrier than expected, and your motivation might disappear. But the good news is that it is okay!
If your working out harder or more than before you are going to be sore at first. It is important to stay hydrated and stretched out. Getting a massage will also help to relieve such soreness. With fluid intake, you should consume half your body weight in ounces of water or more.
Your hunger is going to spike with the increase of caloric expenditure. Don't worry, you want your metabolism to speed up. But just because you are hungrier, does not mean you can go around eating whatever is put in front of you. Remember to keep eating clean foods and fresh vegetables. Increasing your food intake can be as simple as adding a post workout recovery drink, or adding another small snack during the day.
Motivation! Your results might not be as fast as you want. You might not hit your goal on time. Maybe your workouts are just harder than you thought they would be. Do not fret! The key is to make progress, if you are doing that, no worries, right! If you are not hitting your goals on time, contact a professional in your area and ask why, it might not be you. If your workouts seem to hard, back off a bit, you might be putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed too quickly. Remember, the most important thing is to make positive change in your body. At whatever pace this change takes place, its better than not making a positive change!
Good luck and Make Fit Happen!
Jared harrison
CPFT, RES-C
www.myhitfit.com
Monday, January 7, 2008
boosting caloric expenditure
these numbers are based on a 150 lbs individual but will help give you an idea of what daily activities can help with your weight loss goal!
p/h
cleaning, light (dusting, straightening) 240
cleaning, heavy (scrubbing, scraping) 432
dancing 370
gardening 324
moving (boxes) 504
mawing lawn (push) 324
strolling 206
walking briskly 297
vacuuming or mopping 150
keep in mind that getting to the gym is not always a must, especially if you have some of these activities to do that day.
have a great week!
Jared
p/h
cleaning, light (dusting, straightening) 240
cleaning, heavy (scrubbing, scraping) 432
dancing 370
gardening 324
moving (boxes) 504
mawing lawn (push) 324
strolling 206
walking briskly 297
vacuuming or mopping 150
keep in mind that getting to the gym is not always a must, especially if you have some of these activities to do that day.
have a great week!
Jared
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