Ease into exercise slowly with caution after injury
Of the patients suffering from neck pain, back pain and other injuries, I would say that at least 50% of them ask, “what can I do for myself to make sure that Read the rest of this entry
Popularity: 60%
How often should you workout?
One of the age old questions, that has been asked throughout gyms for as long as anyone can remember has been, how many days a week should I workout? Too complicate things further comes the follow up question, how should I split my workouts? In either case, what essentially is coming into question is an individual’s training frequency. As it pertains to exercise, frequency is the rate at which workout sessions are occurring.
In my opinion this is the most overrated and over exaggerated fundamental principle of exercise. By that I mean this is the variable that people most heavily focus their attention on. It’s amazing how many individuals are caught up in having to be at the gym on a daily basis. As if missing a workout or even two or three is going to result in losing everything they have gained. This mind set often has negative consequences and can severely hinder your development. There are of course those at the other end of the spectrum who do not exercise nearly enough which as we know also has negative consequences. However much of our discussion here will focus on those individuals we first mentioned–the exercise addicts.
The reason why we go to the gym is to help us get in shape and look better, right? Wrong! The real reason for going to the gym Read the rest of this entry
Popularity: 49%
Fat Loss: Time Efficient Workouts lead to lasting success
If you are fitness minded, you probably read the magazines or watch the latest infomercials and follow the trends. Well, some trends are good and others are just a waste of time and money. Yet maximum results with minimal time and expenditure is what most of us are looking for.
If you are new to weight training or fitness enhancement, getting a personal trainer is always a good place to start. They will show you the ropes, give you a program for success, and make sure you know how and why you are doing things.
But be cautious and do some research on the qualifications and philosophy of the trainer you may hire. While there are certainly great benefits to using personal trainers, having one is no guarantee for success. Some are not up on the latest studies and methods, relying on the same old stuff. But a good trainer will use circuit training and cross training for maximum results. Here’s how Read the rest of this entry
Popularity: 60%
One of the worst feelings you can have on your program is over-sleeping. You wake up and realize that you don’t have enough time to workout before work. You feel empty and dejected. You have a jam-packed day with meetings in the evening.
What can you do?
You can chalk it up to a missed day or you can get creative.
This scenario happened to me recently Read the rest of this entry
Popularity: 75%
Two week update:
Lost 6 pounds
Lost 1 inch off my chest
Lost 1/2 inch off belly
Lost 1/4 inch off waist
Getting up and going to the gym is getting easier, I look forward to it more, because I can already see results.
My clothes are fitting better and my energy is increasing daily. I am in a “healthy” routine and am enjoying the progress day by day. The great thing about a routine is, after it is established, it is automatic! You don’t have to think about it.
I know it is important to keep track of what I am eating and what kind of workouts I am doing, so this week I started a Twitter account to track all of my meals and workouts. This has increased the accountability (again) and at the same time has created a network of supportive people. So, not only am I using it to track my progress, but I am also getting support. Support is an important vehicle as you continue on your mission for fat-loss.
In 2 short weeks I have improved my body and created a network of like minded individuals. I am ready for the weeks to come!
Popularity: 100%
Tim shares some of the many obvious, yet highly overlooked decisions we make from day to day.
Whether or not you take the stairs or not today might seem inconsequential at a glance, however, our habits are what make and keep us healthy, or cause us to add extra weight. When a person gains weight, they did not gain it overnight. It did not pile on in one catostrophic day, it was gained bite by bite, meal by meal, day by day and decisions accumulated over time.
Those small decisions add up into the results you are now currently experiencing.
The great news is that by becoming conscious of those dozens of small decisions we make hour by hour each day, we can also change our results.
Small decisions when accumulated create your destiny.
What small changes can you make today?
Popularity: 78%
Create a Metabolism Breakthrough for Faster Weight Loss
Key #1: H2OOO!
The processes of the metabolism can be complex and require a lot of energy. Water helps the metabolism to metabolize energy more effectively and also nourishes your cells so that they are performing well.
You can also try drinking good quality, unsweetened green tea to meet your daily hydration needs, which is loaded with antioxidants and is known to have a metabolism boosting effect.
How much water should I drink?
Typical numbers suggest that you should drink 6 - 8 8 ounce glasses of water per day but this is difficult to measure because everyone is so different with their body demands. The best way to really know that you are getting enough water is to drink a lot! You should drink pure, filtered, mineral-rich water as often as possible throughout the day and your pee should be clear and without odour.
Key #2: Good Breakfast
You should never skip the most important meal of the day. Eating a nutritious breakfast every day helps your metabolism keep itself in check. Without this vital meal, your body starts to think that you are starving because it has been so long since your last meal and so your metabolism slows down and you start storing more fat.
Key #3: Eating More Regularly
By eating smaller meals more often throughout the day (5 - 6 meals), your metabolism learns to work faster and your body is very aware that you are able to meet nutritional survival needs so it sees no need for storing fat. Your body will then start to build lean muscle mass in preference to fat storage.
Key #4: Don’t Starve Yourself!
Your metabolism is really just your body’s inherent energy system which chooses “the best” places to put energy that it receives from food justified by what it thinks is happening in your world. For example, if you have too much fatty foods and your body can’t deal with it all because it is slow and sluggish, you will start to store energy as fat and put on some weight. However, if you don’t meet your most basic energy requirements throughout the day, your body will think that you are starving and begin emergency procedures to strip your energy storage from your lean muscle mass and other protein storage and re-store that energy as fat.
Key #5: Don’t Eat Food Within 3 - 4 Hours Before Bedtime
Eating close to bed time puts an enormous energy demand on your whole system and thus you will not get a sleep which is as healthy and replenishing as it could be. It also means that your body can literally spend more of its focus on burning calories while you are aware and awake during the day and then revitalize and burn fat while you sleep.
Key #6: Do Moderate Intensity Exercise Every Day
Exercise has massive health benefits and most people just simply don’t put in the effort to dedicate some of their time to the most important, non-urgent daily tasks. You should become a dedicated exercise person who has a regular routine each day spending at least 30 minutes each day doing moderate intensity exercise. This could be a jog, a ride on your bike or even a brisk walk each day.
Key #7: Do Some Strength Building Exercises Each Week
Muscle mass helps your metabolism to run faster and more efficiently. By doing strength exercises in the right way, you are actively promoting the replacement of fat storage with muscle storage which in turn, helps you to boost your metabolism dramatically.
Putting these seven keys together into your life is essential in building a healthy, effective body with a high-speed metabolism that burns fat for you while you sleep.
Popularity: 60%
If you expect to experience success in creating a healthy lifestyle, it is so very important to have deeply personal and compelling reasons for why you are embarking on this program (or any program).
After all, you are most likely going to be changing some things about your life, like your eating habits, your menu options, your schedule and even your exercise routines. You may be making small changes or you may have made a major committment to making drastic changes all the way around.
Good habits are easy to create when you have big enough reasons.
Either way, the more clear you are with why you are pursuing this new and healthier lifestyle, the easier it will be to stay on track or pick yourself up when you’re feeling down.
Here are some examples of deeply personal compelling reasons a person may have for creating healthy habits:
So I have more energy for myself
So I can be a better example to my kids
So I can feel sexy and attractive
So I can be a better lover to my spouse
So I can have more energy for my kids
So I feel happy when I look in the mirror
So I fit in fashionable clothes
So I can wear a bathing suit on the beach with pride
So I am happy when I look at pictures of myself
So I will live a long life and see my grandkids grow up
Better mental clarity
To manage my stress levels
To get off blood pressure meds
To reduce my blood sugar
So I can run up the stairs and not be out of breath
So I can run a marathon
Disease prevention
To inspire others (friends, siblings, parents, strangers)
As you can see, if these were some of your reasons, you would easily get your mind right if you had a rare moment of discouragement or setback. All you would have to do (or all your coach or buddy would have to do) is remind you of your whys and point you back in a positive direction.
Listen, life is full of ups and downs, some days we don’t feel we are going fast enough, other days, we drift off track, but it’s what we do about it that will absolutely make or break your success.
So make a written list of your whys and put it someplace you will see it everyday. Read it aloud several times a day.
Jill
http://www.WeightLossInfo.com
Popularity: 75%
There are many ways to create incentives to reach your specific Goals, in weight loss as well as any area of your life.
One of my favorites is to wear a Goal Band. A Goal Band is a colored wristband you wear and do not take off until you achieve your Goal. It serves as a constant reminder to you and the people around you that you are striving towards a desired result.
Tim is harnessing the power of a Goal Band, but he has taken creative incentives a step further with his ‘weight loss beard.’
Tim does not want a beard. He doesn’t like it.
So to give himself a little extra incentive, he made a personal (and very public) commitment:
“I will not shave my beard or get a haircut until I am under 220 pounds.”
He created something that is uncomfortable and made it fun. When he reaches one of his smaller Goals of weighing under 220, he gets to celebrate by shaving off the beard as a reward!
It is important to recognize the smaller Goals and victories, that when accumulated, add up to the ultimate vision you are trying to achieve.
What creative incentives can you come up with to motivate yourself?
Let us know!
Jill and Tim
Popularity: 74%
Hello. My name is Tim Wambach and last week I was talking to The Goal Guru, Jill Koenig, about getting back into shape.
I told her that I had a lot of BIG GOALS this year and I knew that regaining my health would help me achieve all of my goals. She offered to coach me to help me reach my fitness goals as well as my other goals. Right then and there, I decided to go on a journey. A weight loss journey. I am going to document what I do and track my progress for everyone to see. I am doing this because I have struggled with my weight my entire adult life. Constantly yo-yoing and see-sawing up and down the scale.
The only time I ever truly succeeded was when I made a public commitment 4 years ago. I announced that I would be running from Orlando to Chicago for charity. During that process and months after I was a lean, mean, energy machine!
But I fell back into old habits and ultimately out of shape. I started living life like someone who did not care what his next meal was. I was not eating for energy or nourishment, but eating for pleasure. That is not a recipe for success and my before pictures reveal that! So,with winter slowly coming to end (Thank God!) and summer right around the corner, when better to start on getting back into the BEST SHAPE POSSIBLE Read the rest of this entry
Popularity: 42%
