Fitness & Wellness

Some people want to focus on losing weight, and then start working on building muscles. They think it’s the best way to do it, but they’re wrong. Not only is it possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, it’s the best way to do it. If you focus on weight loss, without including exercise, you’re more apt to shed lean muscle tissue, leaving you more unfit than previously.

Exercising builds muscle tissue and boosts your weight loss efforts.

Strength building exercises also are great for burning fat. They build your strength because they build your muscles, so you’re getting a two-fer when you add these to your workout schedule. Best of all, the more muscle tissue you build, the more calories you burn, since muscle tissue requires more calories for maintenance than fat tissue does. That means even when you’re playing couch potato, you’ll be boosting your caloric output and helping to lose weight.

A personal trainer can help you calculate the balance you need to achieve both weight loss and building muscles.

Unless you’ve calculated your caloric intake before or just want to rely on the averages, trainers are the best resource to use to help you judge the amount of calories your body needs to both shed pounds while still building muscle tissue. If you cut calories too low, you’ll lose weight, but won’t have the fitness results you want. Cutting them too little won’t result in the weight loss you hoped to achieve and can lead to discouragement.

Focus on protein intake and lifting weight.

That doesn’t mean you have to actually lift weights, although it’s one way to do it. It means any strength building exercise, whether it’s kettlebells, body weight or actually pumping iron. While you can restrict your caloric intake, don’t skimp on protein. Your body needs protein to create muscle tissue. If you just want to eliminate fat and build muscles, eating a well balanced diet that has extra protein, but slightly fewer calories will result in that. You may actually lose inches but gain weight with this strategy. That’s because muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch. It’s like comparing the size of a container to hold exactly a pound of feathers and one containing exactly a pound of iron. The one containing the iron, although weighing the same, will be smaller.

• Focus more on inches than on weight when trying to gain muscles and lose fat. As noted previously, you might gain weight, but look thinner and fantastic.
• Identify your caloric need and slowly lower the intake when you workout to build muscle tissue. It helps you burn fat, but still allows you to build.
• Cutting calories requires you to boost your protein intake. Some of the protein will be used to replace the calories for energy, so you need extra to help build muscle tissue.
• Distribute your intake throughout the day, don’t just slug a protein shake or two and think you’ve accomplished your goals.

Whether you hate the cold weather and overcast skies or just want longer days, here are some hacks for surviving the winter that can make it easier and may even have you looking forward to the winter months…although, that may be stretching it a bit. If you’re tired of cold wet feet, a candle and a hair dryer are perfect hacks to make your winter better. Rub the candle on your shoe and ensure it’s all coated then put your hairdryer on high and melt the wax. When it’s cool, it will be an imperceptible thin layer that will aid in keeping the moisture out and your feet dryer. Of course, boots are better, but sometimes with changing weather, we all get a surprise and this will help you stay dry and warm.

How and what you cook can keep you warm.

Winter is the best time to make roasts, cakes and soups. When you use your oven for cooking, it can do double duty. Just make sure that you leave the door to the oven open a bit after you’ve taken out your dinner and turned it off. It allows the excess heat to warm the rest of the house…and may even become a favorite spot for family members on cold days. When the weather turned icy cold, my mother used to make the family’s favorite soup. It was normally a vegetable soup packed with all the leftovers from the refrigerator. She also made bone broth, which is a super healthy option that I heartily recommend. Not only did the smell of the cooking soup add a delicious scent to the air, it also added warm moisture that kept the house feeling warmer.

Socks can make your drive easier.

You’re probably thinking that I’m telling you to wear an extra pair of socks in the winter, which isn’t a bad idea, but not it. If you have a few old socks missing mates they can help you get a good start in the morning if you don’t park in a garage. A sock filled with new kitty litter left on the dashboard prevents a foggy window in the morning. Keep a heavy pair of socks in your glove box to put over your shoes or boots in case you get stuck. The socks will provide extra traction if you have to push your car in the snow.

Chase a cold away by making shower pellets.

Mix a spoon of Vicks Vaporub with a cup of boiling water. Slowly add that mixture to baking soda, until you have a toothpaste consistency. Pour in a mold or ice tray, let dry for 18 to 24 hours and store in an airtight container. Take one in the shower with you when you have a cold. Allow the hot water to hit it to create steam that will break up congestion and help you sleep better at night.

• Soak a cloth with alcohol and thoroughly wipe your windshield wiper blades to help prevent sticking to the windshield or spray the windshield with a mixture of three parts rubbing alcohol and one part water to remove the ice.
• Shave the pills off sweaters. Keep an inexpensive disposable razor on hand just for this purpose and you’ll always look well groomed.
• Keep warmer by adding an extra layer of clothing. Panty hose under slim jeans won’t add bulk but do add warmth. Layering lighter weight sweaters and tops keeps you warmer than one heavier sweater.
• Keep warmer with the help of a dryer or hair dryer. Start your day right by throwing your socks, work clothes and undergarments in the dryer before your put them on and you’ll be toasty warm to start the day.

One of the biggest problems in fitness training is discouragement. Even though people may be doing the right things to achieve their goals, they’ve made their goal way too big to achieve quickly and after a few months, find themselves discouraged and ready to quit. Rather than create a big goal that takes a long time to achieve, start with small goals so you can get success more quickly and build toward the bigger, ultimate goal.

Goal setting requires a specific goal with a specific time frame and a plan to achieve that goal.

You can still have the ultimate goal set, but you need to break it down into smaller bites. Use the SMART technique. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound. Breaking that 50 pounds into 10 pound goals, and setting the time frame for a month creates a specific goal that’s relevant, measurable, attainable and has a time frame. It also creates a goal you can achieve before you become discouraged.

The goal should be exciting.

Setting a goal too short term, such as losing two pounds a week, simply isn’t as exciting as setting a goal for ten pounds a week. There’s also another reason for monthly goals over weekly goals. Sometimes the body plays tricks and seems to take on weight from nowhere. If you have a different type of fitness goal, such as one for strength, a weekly goal doesn’t allow for physical fluctuation of strength based on health and work load.

Smaller goals are stair steps to achieve the ultimate fitness goal.

You’re not going to run a marathon after working out for a month if your only previous marathon was marathon watching the first season of “Game of Thrones.” Neither will you lose fifty pounds in a month. That doesn’t mean you can’t set them as long term goals. Everyone needs an ultimate goal to strive toward with short term goals leading the way.

• Don’t expect the first few weeks of working out will be smooth as silk. Everyone feels a little awkward and intimidated initially.
• Once you achieve your fitness goals, you’ll start to realize you can do anything as long as you have a goal and a plan to achieve that goal.
• You need to make sure you know your starting point, which is one reason trainers take so long finding your present fitness level. Even Mapquest won’t give you directions if you only input your ultimate destination but not your starting point.
• Short term, smaller goals are important because they help people identify where they need to make changes in their plan to achieve them before too much time elapses.

Dating can be a challenge. There’s always that awkward silence over dinner in the early stages and that deep rut you’ve ingrained in your dating after doing the same thing repeatedly after months of dating. It’s time to start looking for alternatives that are fun and different from the norm. It would be a double bonus if they could make you healthier in the process. Here are some ideas for flirty fitness dates that will break the ice and make dating less awkward early in a relationship, while jazzing up a longer one.

Whether it’s a first date or a date night after years of marriage, a paint ball date is fun and active.

You won’t have to worry about what to say or feeling awkward and uncomfortable, you’ll be too busy dodging paintballs and running to do that. There’s bonding when you and your date are a team against another couple or stalking each other to see who’s the best if there’s only the two of you. This is the perfect activity for a first date that lets you get together without forced intimacy. It also breaks the monotony of a more seasoned relationship, even if it’s after 25 years of marriage. Make sure that the place you go rents equipment if you don’t own any.

Canoeing the rapids or paddling a two person kayak on serene waters.

Before you decide whether you want a more adventurous outing, such as tackling the rapids or one that’s more relaxing like canoeing or kayaking a placid lake. One will give you more of a chance to talk while the other will let you work more closely together to stay upright. Both require co-operation and communication and make you feel more at ease, focusing much of the attention on the kayaking.

Decide on a healthy meal and then go to the local farmer’s market to get the freshest ingredients.

Shopping together in an outdoor market provides a little exercise, but the biggest benefit is seeing all the great produce and fresh foods the market has to offer. It’s fun to find the fresh herbs and maybe sample the cheese from the local farm that raises grass fed cows or try an exotic fruit or vegetable you’ve never heard of previously. Eating healthy is part of fitness and this type of date could start a trend for your next meals.

• Pack a picnic lunch and go for a hike. Enjoy Mother Nature and find a quiet spot along the way for a romantic picnic. Make something healthy and special for the hike.
• Try indoor skydiving. It’s fun and will leave you feeling light as a feather, while still getting great exercise.
• Try rock climbing. Start with a local climbing wall and learn the “ropes” so to speak.
• Sign up for a boot camp and make this a continuous date night that leaves you fabulously fit.

The older you are, the more you need exercise. The body loses muscle mass faster the more you age. However, there are also some precautions you need to take, particularly if you have health issues. Here are some exercise tips for seniors that can help you get fitter faster and exercise in a safer manner. The first is more of a requirement, than a tip. Always check with your health care professional first and let your personal trainer know of any special needs. You may want to have your trainer discuss any serious conditions with your doctor or health care professional.

Include all types of exercise in your workout.

You have four different types of fitness; endurance, flexibility, strength and balance. As you age, you lose lean muscle mass. That reduces your strength. The aging process, particularly if you don’t exercise, takes its toll on your endurance and flexibility as well. Balance decreases and that can lead to falls with serious complications. To be your healthiest, you need to have a well rounded program that addresses all areas. A personal trainer can help you do this, but you also can do it on your own with a little research.

Walking, bike riding and swimming can build endurance.

You don’t have to have a sophisticated program to build endurance, walking every day can do the trick and be a gentle way to start your workout. Swimming is also good and doesn’t place undue pressure on joints. Strength training is important to help reduce not only muscle loss, but the bone loss of osteoporosis. It can improve balance in the process. Besides a program of strength training that can involve weights or resistance bands, seniors can use every day activities to build up their arm strength. Carry grocery bags, use soup cans as weights and do a set of curls or other strength building exercises when you think of it. Everything is a weight when you lift it…but make sure it’s not too heavy for you and you’re using proper form.

Take dance classes, yoga or do a stretching routine for flexibility.

Dancing can provide endurance training and some types of dancing add to flexibility fitness. Yoga is known for improving flexibility, just as stretching is. If you’re unable to go to a gym or other type of flexibility training, doing a routine of stretches at home can help. We have online training with routines to help you in every area so you can start working out at home.

– Enjoy your fitness program. It doesn’t have to be all sweating and grueling workouts. Getting exercise can be any activity that’s both fun and physical.

– Workout with others to get both social benefits and physical ones. Studies show that a healthy social life can improve your health. When you workout with others, you’re more apt to stick with the program.

– Combine a program of exercise with healthy eating to maximize the benefits.

– Go slowly. You can’t reverse years of inactivity all at once. Start your program slowly and increase little by little. You can break up your workout to several sessions, too. Instead of one long 40 minute workout, four short ten minute ones may be more reasonable, at least until you get fitter.