Missing My Abdominals

I posted this on my FaceBook page but wanted to share on my blog too! I was 24 or 25 in this picture.

Dear Abs, It's been sooooo long since I have seen you. Please come visit me for the summer.

http://www.fitforcefitness.com/

Trainer or NO trainer, you decide!

If your work outs go like this:

I might get up and work out...or not

I am going to try and work out for 60 minutes...or not

Maybe I will get these extra reps...or not

Maybe I should increase my weights for arm curls...or not

Then you need a Personal Trainer:


You WILL show up for your appointment

We WILL always get a full 60 minutes work out in

We WILL always get the last few reps

We WILL increase your weights if needed

Enough said!

http://www.fitforcefitness.com/

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR WEIGHT LOSS

I hate when people use the word “Diet”. To me this means eventually you will go off the “Diet”. You need to change your eating and physical activity behaviors for good.

When someone tells me that they lost 12 pounds in two weeks, I think 12 pounds of what? Losing muscle is a bad thing. Muscle burns a lot of calories. Inactive adults can lose up to 1 pound of muscle a year. If they continue to eat the same...the extra calories (not being burned) will get stored as fat. A pound of fat takes up more room than a pound of muscle.

Muscle burns more calories than fat. Your metabolism is closely linked to the amount of muscle you you have. Adding muscle to your frame will greatly increase the chance the weight loss will be maintained.

Strength Training is more important to fat loss than aerobic exercise. The reason lies in the amount of calories that are burned when you are not exercising. Aerobic exercise will raise your  resting metabolic rate temporarily for an hour or so after. Compare that to strength training that will raise your resting metabolic rate permanently.

Don’t think that you have to spend 2 hours a day in a gym to strength train. Gains can be made with a 30 minute work out, 2-3 times per week. This could be the key to successful weight control.

Below is a picture of 5 pounds of muscle and 5 pounds of fat. Which would you rather have?

GO GREEK!

Have you tried Greek Yogurt yet? If not you are missing out. One serving is a measly 130 calories, and a whopping 12 grams of protein. It is one of the best things you can put into your body. If you drink protein shakes after a work out, next time add a GREEK yogurt to that shake. You can also use the plain GREEK yogurt in place of sour cream, so much more nutritional value than sour cream or even the fat free sour cream.

Have you gone GREEK yet?

Winter Warning

Somebody forgot to tell mother nature that spring is here. I was actually going to run my first 5k race of 2011 on Sunday...but I opted out because it is suppose to be cold with a snow/rain mix. YUK, This is not an excuse, I will run indoors.


Found some of this information on the Cleveland Clinic site and wanted to share. 

I know our tendency in the winter is to curl up in front of the TV and wait for better weather.  But it’s a good idea to get up off the coach and get moving. That’s because there is correlation between the hours you spend in front of a screen and your risk of death or disease.

Adults who spend four hours a day on screened based entertainment had a 48 percent increased risk of death from any cause and a 125 percent increased risk of heart disease. This is compared to adults who spent less than two hours a day on screened entertainment.

Excess screen time is part of an unhealthy life style. The medicine is simple...limit your screen time and increase your exercise and other healthy behaviors. Exercise in NOT an option.

I have to get off this computer now and go rescue my kids from X-Box and save all of our lives!

Here is a way to to get you moving!

http://www.fitforcefitness.com/

Want to lose some fat? Time to get your PHD

Of course you would, that was a silly question.

I am a strong believer that you must journal everything you put in your mouth. I recently read an article where a trainer called the food journal a PHD – Pie Hole Diary. Whatever you call it, get yourself a notebook and “if you bite it write it”.  Do you know what you ate fore lunch 10 days ago? Of course not and that is why you need to write it down. A short pencil beats a long memory!

Weight changes and fat changes should never surprise you. If you are tracking your food, you will be more aware of what you are putting into your body. Most people who feel they need to lose weight have a misconception on how much they eat and what they eat. The simple addition of a food log makes a MASSIVE improvement in the speed of fat loss results.

One of my clients told me she does not have time to write down her daily food intake. Not wanting to let her off the hook with this excuse, I came up with a solution for her. Take a picture of everything you put in your mouth and email it to me. Most people have camera phones now, so this was fairly easy for her. She emails me about 6 times a day and I pick apart her food choices and email her back. It works!

Make no mistake, this is a critical item.

GYM ETIQUETTE

Recently I was training a client at a very overcrowded gym. She kept asking me questions about proper etiquette. I have been lifting in crowded gyms since I was 16 so proper etiquette never crossed my mind. It is something that comes natural to me. But since she asked about it, I thought it would be a great blog subject.

-Don’t leave your sweat on the machines. I sweat as much as the next person but I try to wipe off any moisture I leave behind. Most gyms provide towels to help this actions take place.

-Don’t leave your plates on the bars and dumbbells off the rack. Many women are not strong enough to pull a 45 pound plate off a bar and are to embarrassed or intimidated to ask for help.

-If someone is working out close to a mirror, don’t walk in front of them.

-If someone is using a machine and they rest a couple of minutes they should let another person work in. If someone is bouncing between machines, he should clearly let another person work in. Asking a person if they are finished with a machine can clear up any confusion and is also respectful.

-Cardio machines are no different. If there is a line to use the piece of equipment do not use it for more than 20 minutes. Treadmills and elliptical trainers are the most popular and the ones that people hog for an hour or so.
There are probably a number of rules of etiquette I did not cover. If you have any others please share...

Big Girl Push Ups

I love push-ups! They are the best total body exercise you can do and it doesn't take any equipment. As great as they are though, the problem is that most women don't know how or possibly can't do a push-up.

Push-Ups are not just for army trainees; they are a great upper body, low cost exercise. If you're looking to tone up or gain strength, push-ups are your answer. The best thing is you don't have to go to the gym to do them, you can do them at home.

Let's visit the old P.E. days and re-introduce the push-up back to you. If you can't do the "Big Girl" push-ups, start off doing these on your knees and work up to your feet. It's a great way to start your morning.

Free Personal Training Session

I find it entertaining when free sessions cancel. I give away free sessions all the time, just to help them out and set them down a more focused path. I honestly don't care if they sign up with me or not, I just want to know that they are exercising and doing it safe. Either with a friend or another personal trainer. So when a complimentary session cancels, they tell me..."It sounded good but I'm actually a very lazy person". Maybe a bit of an exaggeration but it's pretty close.

Do you have a plant? Do you find time to water it? Do you DVR your shows and make time to watch them? You make time for these things everyday, but some of us make excuses to do the most important thing to improve your life. EXERCISE!

Excuses are pretty much my #1 pet peeve. I'd really rather hear the truth. Call me and say "Hey, I'm feeling lazy today" or "Hi, I was up late watching Jay Leno and I'm to tired. At least then I would know it is not a priority for you. It's nothing personal, I still like you, but I love what I do and when you make excuses it stops me from doing what I love.

Attached are some coupons, I hope you will take advantage of them. Call me for your free training session, either at my home 440-479-5148 or Slim&Fit. I look forward to hearing from you

http://www.fitforcefitness.com/

A Client's View

Yes, I enjoy working with women who are fearful or intimidated about starting an exercise program. Working with these clients can be challenging but it is incredibly rewarding. I love seeing the look on a clients face when she exceeds her own expectations. Women who are overweight or lack confidence in their physical abilities have so much to gain from becoming active. Below is what one of my clients posted on her blog after training with me. I just had to share it with you!

There was no WOW class today, so I had the opportunity to work out with Charlene at Slim & Fit in Mayfield Heights.  And I hit her.  Don't blame me!  She made me do it – she gave me the gloves and she told me how to do it.  As one who left a self defense class in tears, I believe I have special authority to say how much fun this workout was.

        I was nervous before the workout.  I even ate and tracked a bowl of -- as Calvin & Hobbes would say -- chocolate frosted sugar bombs.  {Note: this morning I realized I'm a stress eater.}  I was afraid that she'd expect more from me than I was capable of.  We people pleasers don't like to let others down.  I was afraid that I'm not as strong as I seem to be in WOW.  Maybe all that lifting & sweating I do would earn no better than a C+?

        Thankfully Charlene, who was a successful contestant in last year's Lighten Up, turned out to be friendly, funny, and supportive.  We did some treadmill, then some upper body, some treadmill, then back, some treadmill (to keep my heart rate up) and some free weights, some treadmill, then Charlene asked me if I'd every boxed.  Erm, no.  Are you kidding?  I catch spiders and put them outside.  I brake for squirrels.  Punch?  Only with the Wii or a DVD – never with another person on the receiving end.

        So what do I do when I'm working out and faced with an unfamiliar, apparently uncomfortable task?  I step up and try it, of course.  To say "I can't" would be way more humiliating than to try it and look like the spaz that I am.  So I put on some giant red gloves, and Charlene put on some hand pads with targets in the palms.  She told me where to punch, and I punched.  Since it was absolutely clear she was in no danger of a bruise or a sprain or even noticing that I was hitting her, I was okay with it and found that this was FUN!  It was new, it held my attention, and it got me sweating!  When I hopped back onto the treadmill after that bout, I think I may have felt a bead of sweat forming on my forehead!  No dripping yet, but it's a start.

        My advice to you who haven't worked out with a trainer before: give it a whirl.  Trainers are fantastic.  No matter how weak I actually am, they make me believe in myself.  They tell me I'm strong. Today Charlene shocked me with a new one: she told me I'm flexible!  I'm sure it's only because my leg was in a rubber band going one way while the rest of me was pulling in a different direction, but it was still nice to hear.  It's another piece of positive talk I can keep in mind when I'm working out.  Sure I know that I'm lumpy and awkward, but I've also been told that I'm strong and flexible.  How cool is that?