Tag Archive for: wonderfully fit

I Just Started Working Out, Why Am I Gaining Weight?

October 11, 2018/in Blog, Fitness and Exercise, Personal Training

So you’ve just signed up for a membership at your local gym, or you just began working with a trainer, but after the first two weeks you get on the scale and realize that you’re a pound or two heavier. What’s going on? Well first of all, if you have a trainer I’m sure he or she has told you to stay off the scale.

Time and time again as fitness professionals we find ourselves locked in battle with the treacherous scale as people obsess over weight instead of the stuff that really matters i.e., body fat, girth measurements and how your clothes fit.

So first things first, throw that scale out the window. Whether you gain weight or not has a significant amount to do with many factors, including body type and nutrition.

At Wonderfully Fit, we begin an assessment with a basic test, which is used to measure body fat versus lean mass, resting metabolism (# of calories needed to sustain your current muscle mass without moving) and average metabolic rate (# of calories that should be consumed by your body on average during an active day. When you begin to lift weights, your body which is now stimulated by heavier loads establishes new links between your brain and muscle. Your body begins to recruit more muscle and this increases its demands for energy.

It is this increase in demand that makes you feel hungrier than normal and it represents a change in your metabolism. This is a very critical time for you as you must now make better choices on what to consume and when to consume it, in order to meet the demands of increased muscle activity. The problem that many personal trainers find is that their clients will begin to use this newly revved up metabolism as a sort of credit card which affords them the luxury of eating junk food.

This is however counterproductive to your goals of fat and weight loss and most people will experience weight gain if this is not monitored carefully. This is a time where you have a chance to combine your training with lower calorie, high nutritional value foods and get the most out of your metabolism. At Wonderfully Fit, we encourage our clients to eat often, but to make sure that you’re eating quality foods.

Not only is nutrition a key reason for why you may be gaining weight, but consider this; Muscle is about 70% water and when you work out more; your body’s response places a higher demand for consumption of more water. Also in response to weight training your body needs to prepare itself for heavier loads. One of the ways it does this is to increase surface area by hydrating the muscle fibers in order to increase surface area and provide higher power outputs.

Your lean mass includes muscle, bone and organs. Weight bearing activity stimulates muscle growth and stimulates an increase in bone density. These two things can easily cause significant weight gain within the first couple of months. This is where it is important to have a look at girth measurements and body fat. Muscle is heavier and denser than fat and as more muscle is stimulated, the body’s ability to burn fat increases, which sometimes results in a loss of inches with an overall gain of weight.

Similar to the old saying, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”. Exercise doesn’t make you fat, the choices a person makes, makes that person fat.

At Wonderfully Fit, we believe it’s about changing your lifestyle and by”lifestyle” we mean changing the way your body moves, looks and feels; changing the fuel that you run on and giving you the confidence to take on any challenge.

The take home messages are clear. Throw out the scale and focus on getting stronger and increasing your metabolism by moving more and eating right. The rest will fall into place over time. Rome was not built in a day and your body took years to get this far; sometimes 10, 20 or 30+. The process of reprogramming your body is not an overnight miracle, but a life-long commitment to change.

From an excerpt of Maya Angelou, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude”. Realize that your trainer or fitness coach is there to assist you in reaching your goals, as well as support you along your journey to change. We give you the tools to succeed, but it just may be that your attitude towards food, nutrition and exercise are the only thing holding you back from a better you.

Mass Building Routines To Build Muscle

October 10, 2018/in Blog, Fitness Programs, Workout Routines

You might just be an individual that dedicates yourself to succeeding with your goals. You may also be an individual that commits yourself in the gym in the hopes of packing on some pounds. All the same, if you aren’t getting the results that you believe you should be getting, then you may have to start looking at what you are doing in a little more detail.

You need to look inside for some answers, if you want to figure out what is holding you back. Number one, is the quantity of food you eat sufficient for muscle gains? Secondly, are your workout routines designed for your body type? Number three, do you want to stay as lean as possible while trying to gain muscle?

These questions are important and is what this article is all about. To help create a pathway to your goals we will now look at these questions a little closer. Cool, let’s do this…

Eating is Something You Must Learn to Love

This may sound funny or maybe even conflicting, if you are looking for how to gain mass the healthy way. Keep this in mind, that if your metabolism is fast and you think you are eating enough food, yet your weight has not changed at all, then I think you may need to increase it some more my friend lol. I know it sounds crazy, yet there are some tricks and tips to make it easier for you. You must learn to take a smarter approach and find some quality foods with higher calories. Things like olive oil, nuts, and other good oils contain massive of amounts of calories and they also offer other muscle building properties.

I believe that this part is one of the hardest things to accomplish, if you are a skinny guy with a high metabolism. It takes time to prepare all these foods, time to eat the foods and money to buy the foods. Heck, if this was the easiest thing to accomplish, then everyone would be walking around like superheros wouldn’t they?

Working Out for Your Body Type

You will never find one workout that is totally better than all the rest. This should be something you fully understand. Still, every workout routine will have a different impact on each person that uses it. Mostly this is dealing with the differences in each person’s body style and also the weaknesses that are related to them. Well if you are looking for workout routines that build muscle then you have to make sure to choose one made for your particular body-type. It makes little difference if you are an ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph; there are specific ways of working out for each body style that will give you the most bang for the buck.

For instance, if you are a skinny ectomorph trying to build some muscle, then working out the way the pro bodybuilders do will probably hurt you more than help you. That will just end up leaving you frustrated by your lack of gains and probably worse, wounded.

So if you are scrawny, choose power exercises in your routines like back squats and deadlifts. Make sure you keep your workout time down and not too many days a week. Make sure what you do is what is best for you and your body type.

Do I Care About Putting on a Little Fat?

I know you want to gain muscle, yet are you hesitant to put on some extra fat too? Make sure to ask yourself this because this could determine the results that you get. It is possible to burn fat and build muscle, nonetheless, it is not the simplest thing to do and you won’t be able to build quite as much mass either. In order to make sure you are sending enough rebuilding nutrients to your muscles, it is only natural to gain a little fat with the process. Muscle is not the easiest thing to create, so if you are worrying about gaining fat, then this might be affecting your mass gains.

Do not take it the wrong way, adding tons of fat is not on the agenda. Gaining a little bit is okay as long as you are gaining way more muscle than you are fat. It is always possible to burn the fat later after you gained the quality muscle. So if your goal is to build as much muscle mass as possible, you should really not worry too much about gaining a little fat with it. If the amount of fat starts rising too fast then simply cut your calories a little bit until you get it back to the right level.

I hope this article has helped make a couple areas more clear. You may have overlooked a few of these points, but now you know and now all that is left is to succeed.

My 3 Best Motivation Tips To Get You Started Working Out (Again)

October 10, 2018/in Blog, Fitness and Exercise, Personal Training

The reason I hear most often for people not working out is lack of motivation. Yes, there are hundreds of ways to get and stay motivated from your doctor telling you that you have high blood pressure to that upcoming Florida vacation or class reunion.

Today I’m going to give you my 3 best motivation tips. If you actually put these tips to work you’ll surprise yourself how quickly you become motivated to workout.

Tip#1: Go shopping for new clothes

I know you’re probably saying to yourself, “What? I hate the way I look and shopping for clothes is only going to remind me of it. How is that going to motivate me?” Well, being reminded of it is reason in itself, but I meant to go shopping for new workout clothes. Buy just ONE really nice fitness outfit that you’ll look forward to wearing and ONLY wear it to your work outs. Then set a short-term goal like “If I don’t miss a workout this week I’ll go buy another outfit on the weekend.”

Tip#2: Get yourself fired-up… every day

You can’t hit a target you can’t see. Visualization is used by the top performers in every field. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to take long and WOW does it get you revved up to take action! It only takes a minute or two a day. That’s it. In fact the more you do it, the less time it takes. Here’s what to do:

Take minute and in your mind’s eye see yourself with your best body (not somebody else’s, yours). See yourself looking in the mirror wearing your favorite dress or jeans. Make it vivid – see the colors, hear the usual noises in your house. Let that feeling of confidence and excitement flow through you – don’t hold anything back – just let yourself feel.

Don’t believe me? Think it’s a bunch of “new age” hooey? All I have to say is – Try it (nobody has to know). Set your smartphone timer to 2 minutes. (It’s best to use an audible timer so you don’t keep breaking your concentration by looking at the time). Close your eyes and try the visualization technique I just described and stay focused until the timer goes off. If your mind wanders start again. It gets easier with practice.

Tip# 3: Tell the world your plans

Here’s your chance to use Facebook, LinkedIn and all the people on your e-mail list for something more than sharing pictures of your cat or forwarding bad jokes. Tell everyone you know that you’ve started on this fitness lifestyle that includes working out every day and eating better. Post pictures and results (even bad ones). Funny, it’s the bad ones that motivate me even more. Then invite everyone to check in on you. Peer pressure works, use it to your advantage. Plus your good friends will help you by not tempting you with bad food and bad habits.

Bonus Tip: Stop the scale “routine”

The surest way to kill your motivation is to continually step on the scale. If getting on the scale is part of your daily routine – stop it now! Your weight fluctuates for a thousand different reasons every day. It’s very unlikely you’ll lose weight in a perfectly straight downward line. But this doesn’t mean you should give up. Every single person I’ve met that has exercised and eaten properly and consistently has lost the weight – every single one. AND every one has had struggles and plateaus and just plain “bad days”. But that’s okay. If it were easy, everyone would be thin.

Using Your Own Home Workout Routines To Build Muscle Safely And Fast

October 9, 2018/in Blog, Fitness Programs, Workout Routines

With a bit of knowledge, it’s possible to add a lot of muscle to your body by designing your own Home Workout Routines. The other good news is that you don’t need to spend a ton of money on expensive equipment if you know what you’re doing.

A terrific benefit of knowing how to design your own home workout routines is that you have absolute control over when you train. No need to wait for someone else to finish what they’re doing at the bench press unit for example.

You can also design routines that are will work for you – you will always be your own best trainer with a little knowledge.

The first thing you need to know is which exercises to perform. Get that worked out, and then purchase the equipment needed to do those movements.

If you have a barbell and some plates, you can do dead lifts. This is perhaps the most effective muscle builder there is – they work your entire body from tip to toe.

I strongly recommend that you invest in a trap bar – this makes the dead lift even more effective, because it takes some of the strain off your lower back, which means it’s easier to really work the big leg muscles before your back gets tired.

If you have the funds to spare, a power rack is an excellent investment. They’re not cheap, but a good one will last a lifetime, and it will repay itself many times over.

If you can’t afford a power rack then a set of old fashioned squat stands is a reasonable substitute. You may even find some second hand equipment, which is fine as long as it’s solid and stable.

With the power rack (or aforementioned squat stands) you can now safely perform the barbell squat, the only exercise that comes close to the dead lift as a muscle builder.

I’d bet that if you asked any of the top bodybuilders in the world how they built their muscle mass, they would all have used heavy squats or dead lifts to build their bodies.

Also with the power rack, you can do the military press, a terrific upper body exercise that some rate superior to the bench press. Some power racks also have a chinning and dipping attachment, and these are two terrific upper body mass building exercises.

Next, I’d invest in a decent bench. With the bench you can now do the bench press, without doubt the most popular exercise in the world. The bench press can add slabs of upper body muscle. Some adjustable benches are solid enough when flat, but they can be a bit rickety when in the elevated position, so beware!

Do the bench press inside your power rack, and then you can train it really hard and in complete safety.

You can see that it’s possible to design some really effective home workout routines without having to shell out loads of cash on expensive equipment. You actually don’t need to do a lot of different exercises to build muscle – far more important is to get good at a small selection of compound exercises, and then add weight to the bar on a regular basis whilst using impeccable exercise form.

A well designed home workout routine, decent diet and plenty of rest and sleep is the secret to transforming your body and fast.

Good luck!

Understanding how to design and plan home workout routines that will work for your body is perhaps the most important part of bodybuilding.

How Do I Work Out My Back?

October 9, 2018/in Blog, Fitness and Exercise, Personal Training

The back is one of those areas a lot of us tend to forget about. Why? I’m not really sure, but looking back at when I first started working out, I suppose it was because I couldn’t really SEE it, so I wasn’t aware of how its shape really paled in comparison with the parts that “people see”.

As I get older and building muscle is less about appearance and more about personal goals and health, I’m acutely aware of how important a strong back can be, especially in terms of supporting ourselves during other exercises.

Enough of that, let’s get to it!

For this particular exercise, let’s focus on the lower lats, a major part of the back that people “see”.

We’re going to do pull-ups again, but this time the setup is a little different.

Take an OVERhand grip on the bar (assuming you have one!). Keep your knees bent and try to keep them in front of you (This prevents your back from arching as well as making sure you’re isolating those lats).

Before you even mess with what your arms are doing, pull with your shoulders. Then bring yourself up until your chin is slightly above the bar (or handles, whatever you’re using). When you get to the top, make sure your shoulders are pressed down, and pull your elbows in toward your sides simultaneously.

Pretty self-explanatory lift, really. The only pointer I can think of is to keep a wide grip; it will help build your upper lats, as well as rhomboids.

Workout Routines to Build Up Those Muscles

October 8, 2018/in Blog, Fitness Programs, Workout Routines

Following a strict muscle building workout routine is critical for anyone determined to build muscle and gain weight. Going into a gym and lifting random weights until you exhaust yourself is not enough.

To achieve your primary objective, that is, to build up your muscle mass, a weight lifting and bodybuilding program must be employed. You definitely have to follow and maintain a muscle building workout routine.

Three things contribute to building muscles: workout, diet and rest. Here, I will focus on the workout factor. However, you must bear in mind that all these three factors are equally vital to optimal strength gain and muscular growth. Neglecting one factor would mean failure to maximize your muscle and body building capabilities. A well-designed muscle building workout routine program coupled with a solid diet wit the right amount of calories, combined with plenty of rest and sleep is extremely powerful.

All your efforts spent in the gym by working out will all go to waste if your body will not be supplied with the necessary nutrients and raw materials it needs to build up your muscles. At the same time, if you would not get an adequate amount of rest the body needs in order to recover and repair muscles, the whole weight training will be useless. Common mistake of those who are just beginning their muscle building is to focus so much on weight training but neglect the importance of a proper diet and plenty of sleep.

Going back to the weight training exercises, any aspiring bodybuilder must know that his or her focus must be on compound exercises because these exercises stimulate most of your muscles in the least amount of time. If done correctly and with challenging intensity, you would definitely be on your way to building up those muscles.

The most basic yet the most effective compound exercises for weightlifting are squats and bench presses. Squats develop your leg muscles while the bench press is for the upper body muscles. Some other of the most effective exercises include bicep curls and bench dips for the arm muscles, crunches for the abs, pull ups for the back, calf raises for the leg muscles, and military press for the shoulder muscles. The great thing about these exercises is that you need not all those fancy equipment and complicated gadgets to be able to perform them. Aside from barbells, a spacious room is the only requirement.

Generally, if your primary goal is to obtain optimal strength, 1 to 6 repetitions per set of exercises are recommended. For bodybuilding and muscle mass gain purposes, 7 to 12 repetitions are recommended. For an increase in endurance, a minimum of 13 repetitions is recommended. Notice that the more difficult the objective is, the lesser the number of repetitions recommended. This is because in any exercise training, you go for intensity rather than duration. These figures are just general, though.

A periodization technique can be helpful in keeping your muscles growing. Periodization means a shift from heavy routines to light routines consistently. As this would provide a change-of-pace, your body will work more as it tries to adapt to changing physical activity. As a result, more muscle.

Furthermore, certain muscle groups would respond differently to the number of repetitions being done. For example, abdominal muscles respond best to a high number of repetitions. Therefore, changing your range of repetitions on a regular basis will prove to be effective in building up more muscle.

Finding the Motivation to Start Working Out Again

October 8, 2018/in Blog, Fitness and Exercise, Personal Training

What do you do when you lose your momentum and can’t bring yourself to do your workouts? Recently I was asked if the honest admission that you are getting overweight could be the “jump start” that gets you going?

My answer? Yes, indeed, this would probably do it, although the real trick is to make this honest admission at a time wherein it is possible for you to do a workout.

In other words, say you get out of bed not having worked out for several weeks. Or for several months. Then say, as you shower, you experience the early morning clarity of a shower talk. You know. The kinds of talks you have with yourself wherein you process the urges to better yourself still ringing in your head from sleep.

During this pep talk with yourself then, say you hear your mental mind telling you how much you want to get back to your fitness routine. Of course, then you might hear your physical mind saying, ugh, I know. I should, but . . . blah, blah, blah. After which your mental mind chimes in with, “where would I possibly find the time to workout anyway.” Body / mind connection at it’s finest, eh?

On the other hand, these kinds of mind / body arguments can often be the momentum-building spring boards which can return you to a healthy mind / body life. Not only to a healthy fitness plan mind you, but also to just about any segment of life wherein you’ve lost your momentum. Education. Time with your kids. Hobbies. Whatever. All can be helped by a positive shower talk.

My point here is though that if you have this shower talk with yourself and then go directly from your shower to a workout, you may indeed succeed. Yes, your mind will tell you, you are crazy. However, if it works, don’t fix it. Just do it.

The thing to keep in mind then is to “strike while the iron is hot.” And this is true for all things, but especially true for attempts to regain momentum in stressful activities such as working out.

Life Coaching Tips For Better Sleep

October 5, 2018/in Blog, Exercising for Better Sleep, Fitness Programs

Are you someone who finds it very difficult to fall asleep at night? Then you need not worry as you are not the only one, for there are millions of such people who suffer from sleep deprivation. Life coaches believe that for an individual to function properly in life, it is essential to sleep well and wake up feeling refreshed.

However, this may seem easier said than done for many. Sleep problems are caused by many factors, most of which are related to our habits and schedules and therefore the simplest solution for better sleep is to change those habits or schedules that cause the problem.

Here are some important tips to ensure better sleep that from a life coach:

1. Inculcating better habits during the day

Sleep deprivation is largely caused due to unhealthy habits being followed during the day. Life coaching experts believe that if you follow certain practical advice during the day, then it is possible to get better sleep in the night. These include exercising regularly during the day as this helps promote better sleep. Moreover, where possible it is better to avoid napping towards the end of the day as this can disrupt the body’s sleeping pattern. Apart from this, certain changes in lifestyle such as reducing the amount of alcohol or caffeine consumed during the day will help promote better sleep at night.

2. Creating a conducive atmosphere for sleeping

Factors in your bedroom, such as the bed size, its quality, size of the room, ambiance in the room, can affect your sleep ability and quality. By making certain minor changes in your room, life coaches believe that it is possible to create an atmosphere that is conducive to sleep. Your bed should be large enough to hold you completely as well as comfortable enough to lull you into a calm sleep. Similarly, the noise levels in the room, if kept low can also help in better sleep. Proper ventilation and darkening of the room also helps. Lastly, many people tend to watch television while in bed, which could lead to a disruption in their quality of sleep.

3. Prepare well for sleeping

Maintaining a proper schedule is advantageous in all aspects of life, be it your career or even your sleeping pattern. Life coaches suggest that those people who maintain regular times for sleeping and waking up are more inclined towards better sleep, than those who follow irregular patterns. Setting a bedtime routine is another simple way to ensure better sleep. Similarly, they also opine that it is best to avoid foods that disrupt your sleep, especially when you are nearing bedtime. Doing some yoga or meditating or listening to some soft music or reading or even having a bath before bed, all help in relaxing the body and induce sleep.

4. Avoid worries and tensions before sleeping

The human mind is filled with worries and stresses about the future, this could be career related, relationship issues and so on. This constant worry leads to lack of sleep. Business coaches suggest that instilling feelings of confidence can actually help overcome such worries. Self confidence will lead to taking action which gives people a sense of being more in control and eventually leads to achievement, which in turn can help to diminish worries. Many life coaches suggest that for better sleep it is important to stop worrying and start taking charge of your life.

5. Awakening in between and getting back to sleep

There are many people who have a tendency to get up in the middle of the night and then have difficulty going back to bed. If this happens, then it is best to stay calm and focused; if possible, going back to bed and using some relaxing techniques will help soothe your body and make it relax. Most people watch television during such times, without realizing that they are actually causing more harm than doing good; it is advisable to avoid such activities, which will cause the mind to become more active than relaxed.

Following the above mentioned techniques on a regular basis, it is possible to induce sleep and ensure proper rest. With better sleep, people tend to find they feel better, are more energized and focused and are able to achieve more with less effort in their day. Although we cannot always have a proper night’s sleep, it is worth making an effort as often as possible to have a very good night’s sleep.

10 Great Cardio Routine Makeover to Get Lean Fast!

October 5, 2018/in Advice on Cardio, Blog, Personal Training

If you have been a follower of my site for quite sometime now, you already have an idea that I am not a cardio fan. Cardio machines have their share of advantages and disadvantages. However, I learned that people can get very different result than what they expect if they do not use machines properly.

For instance, I have witnessed saddlebags on many who have used machines the wrong way: nobody want to see that on their body.

If you still weigh the same months after you start doing cardio routines, you must be thinking that you are doing your routines inappropriately. You are right!

If this is the case, this is the perfect time to give your cardio routines a different mix before you ask a fitness expert for help to shed those fats. I have listed below things that can help you on your cardio routines:

1. Combine high and low intensity cardio.

There is no need for long sessions of low-intensity cardio if your goal is only to shed those fats away. You will hear a lot of fitness gurus telling you that you can burn those fats easily when you do low-intensity cardio. Yes, you will burn those fats when you do the 40 up to 90 minutes cardio session though it will not have a big effect on your metabolism.

However, doing slow steady cardio sessions will have fat-storing hormonal effects on you. Additionally, your body will get used to it after 6 months storing some extra body fats preparing your body for the next round of cardio sessions.

2. Introduce (true) interval training.

If doing exercise has become a daily routine to you, then you know the term “interval training” – varying high intensity workouts with lower intensity sessions. This is great since it gives you more endurance to do harder routines in a short period. Additionally, it keeps your energy twice higher when you perform high intensity cardio.

Moreover, your metabolism will develop if the resistance on the routine is high enough. The only issue you would most probably experience is your lack of determination to push yourself more. You can spend a minimum of 20 minutes for effective interval training.

You need to make sure that by the time you reach the high intensity, you have to push yourself so hard that you almost feel like you are going to collapse while you are getting near the time you set for your routine. Ways to recover are either to standstill or just stay relaxed and take it slow. If you still feel the same before and after the workout, then your routine is not yet enough.

Lastly, there should be variations on your routines. You can try two different routines in a minute or a 45 seconds hard routine with 30 seconds dedicated for recovery. Routine variations will play an important role if your want to see your desired results.

3. Try some sprints.

Did you ever wonder how is the body built of a sprinter differs from a marathon runner? Sure, there is a big difference. When we think of sprinter, we think of them spending more time running but they are also into bikes or doing cross training for both.

Though interval training may improve either or both speed and resistance, sprint is based solely on speed. They are done for a specific distance on given period that is followed by a complete rest.

4. And a few hills.

Hills are a great way to develop those lean muscles on your gluts and legs and to increase your metabolism as well. While some cardio will not have a long-lasting effect on your metabolism, using hills for your cardio routine will. This is definitely the best approach to cardio training. You can change the inclination setting of your treadmill to at least 8 or go to a handy hill in a local park near your place.

You can get started with a simple brisk walk and as your body get along with the routine, you can combine it with other training like a light running. If you like pushing yourself more, you can integrate training or sprint based training while on hill for up to 20 minutes instead of just doing a simple light running. This is a kind of workout that your body will find hard to recover the first few times you do it.

5. Combine cardio to other training routines.

Have you ever thought of combining your cardio routines with other training that you are doing? If you are a busy person or feeling stressed, doing cardio routines alone can activate a stress hormone reaction to your body that builds more storage. If you are not stressed and you did a cardio more than you are required to do it, it will also have the same hormonal effect on you.

So, when can you consider cardio training as excess? This is doing cardio anything more than 2-3 minutes in a week and longer than the average 20-minutes per routine. You can forget about this rule if you are training for endurance event, as some experts will say that weight training is better in this kind of event than cardio. Real training is a kind of training that our bodies were designed to do. It can include bending, squatting, twisting, lunging, pushing and pulling some kind of heavy objects.

6. Focus on your workout to see results.

Some people’s minds drift away while doing their workout on a cardio machine while their bodies just go through the motion. If you are serious on spending some time on the gym, then you have to focus more.

At times, you might feel like it is just right to follow the speed of the cardio machine, that is fine. However, if you do this all the time, you are not serious enough on your training. In this case, you have to make a choice – push yourself to train to see those results or just stay at home and relax.

7. Mix it up in the great outdoors.

Doing cardio routines may include using some sort of equipment. Sometimes, however, the best workouts that you can do are the ones that includes spontaneous activity or some casual or organized sport.

If the routines that you are doing in the gym are no longer a challenge to you, it is high time for you to hit the outdoors. You can join a Frisbee game, try rock climbing or tag along with your friends that play a certain sport. You can also try new ideas that you can start doing with your friends!

8. Turn your weight session into cardio.

This is my most preferred cardio training. Since I learned how much more weight training that truly works is effective for keeping my clients and myself lean, I have looked for more ways to improve it. This is the reason why I love circuit training. This saves you a lot of time, helps to tone your body, and you will see those sweats coming out of your body as it never did before.

Lastly, it takes care of cardio training without having to use cardio machines. It is very simple – you can choose 3-8 weight training exercises (bigger movements is more effective compared to isolated ones) and do it again, one set of each. Take time to recover for 90 seconds and then repeat it 3-5 times. A break is optional, that is if, you want to keep pushing yourself more on this routine. You will see that this routine really works.

9. Use your upper body.

Your legs also need breaks. On the other hand, if you have been accustomed to heavy training, then it is high time of doing something more than performing the traditional cardio training. You can do some upper body cardio. I would recommend rowing machine. You will know how effective this machine the moment you used it.

Spending just 5 minutes on the rowing machine will really get your heart pumping faster. I like using the rower for some sprint training or for interval training – 100 meters flat out and then followed by at most 200 to give your body some time to get used to this routine. However, if you really want to see some lasting results, a shorter and harder combination will be a better option.

10. Just stop.

What if you were told to cut out cardio training altogether? This may not be for the long term but only for a couple of weeks. You might start to think of doing a very different routine than what you are doing before. This is fine. Everybody deserves a break. In most cases, people notice that by the time they cut out their cardio routines, their performance improved on some other areas.

You may hear others that when they are doing weight training, they are not giving their 100% on it so that they can save some of their energy for cardio. I have been a cardio queen for years but this did not stop me from improving my training by trying out some other routines and ‘no’ is not an option here. I would advise at least 2-4 weeks of cutting out your cardio routine each year for maximum results.

The choice is yours. In the meantime, try to get started by doing all the things I have mentioned here and I mean right away. I can guarantee you that you would be able to see the result in just a week or two and the visual results will soon follow.

Foods For Exercise

October 4, 2018/in Blog, Nutritional Consultant, Protein for Exercise

When trying to eat right for exercise or sports, it can be difficult to choose the foods that will be best for your body. Some people can find it difficult to determine which foods will give them healthy, sustained energy and which foods they should avoid when playing sports or exercising.

To start, you can begin by understanding that the foods we eat can be divided into three categories:

Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats.

Carbohydrates are the primary source that the body uses for energy. Carbohydrates are stored in the body as glycogen, but too many carbohydrates and the body begins to store the excess as fat. Carbohydrates are either simple or complex. Simple carbohydrates, like fruit or energy drinks, are quickly converted into energy for the body, while complex carbohydrates, like pasta, take long for the body to process.

Protein is used as building blocks in the body’s cells and helps make bones, tendons, and other important aspects of the body. And because protein is not easily stored in the body, it is important to consume protein on a regular basis.

Fat is important because it provide cushioning for the body and is critical in some processes, but when the body consumes too many calories it starts storing fat, which can lead to health problems.

When participating in a sport or an exercise program, it is important to consume adequate amounts of food that will supply your body with the energy it needs. Carbohydrates will give your body most of the energy it requires. Carbohydrates, stored as glycogen, easily convert into energy for your activities and can provide both short spurts of energy and sustained energy. Protein is important to consume so your body can perform necessary functions. Most important, however, is to abstain for foods that are high in fat.