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Get Rid Of Your Fall Flab

Get Rid Of Your Fall Flab

Halloween is over and that’s the only day of the year that bat wings are appropriate. It’s time to work on more than just your upper arms, too. If you’ve let your body go for a while and now have arms and legs that look like jelly, not to mention a midsection to match it, it’s time to get rid of your fall flab and get back into shape. You’ll be ready to bring in the New Year with a beautiful body and loads of energy. You’ll even be able to wear short sleeves without worrying about the fluttering bat wings.

Get fast results with HIIT

HIIT—High-Intensity Interval training—burns calories quickly and turns mushy muscle rock hard. You won’t build big bulging muscle tissue, but have a toned sinewy look of lean muscle mass. You get more of a workout with just 15 minutes of HIIT training than you would if you were on a treadmill for an hour. It’s just that efficient. Our exercise stacking makes each exercise build on the previous one to get the quickest results and eliminate the flab quickly.

Sometimes weight loss causes flab if you don’t workout while you’re doing it.

You may not need to lose weight. In fact, weight loss may be the reason for the flab. You may have lost lean muscle mass rather than fat, which often happens when you dieted, but never exercised. That’s not a problem. It won’t take long before the combination of healthy eating and regular exercise changes that too flabby tummy or those Jello-like thighs into a toned, sleek area that doesn’t jiggle when you walk.

It’s time to get active and sooner is better than later.

As you age, your body undergoes many changes. Most of these changes start in your 30s. The lost of muscle mass and function is called sarcopenia and often comes from aging. If you’re physically inactive, it can mean a loss of 3 to 5% of muscle mass every decade. That’s another cause of flabbiness, but you can prevent it and even reverse it with strength training. It’s time to turn back the clock and start your program to fight the flab and get the svelte look you’ve always wanted.

  • You get more than just toned muscles when you workout. You also boost your immune system and reduce the risk of serious conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and some forms of cancer.
  • Not only will you reverse muscle loss when you exercise, you’ll be building stronger bones too. Exercise helps slow and even reverse the progress of bone loss that can cause osteoporosis.
  • While spot exercises won’t eliminate the fat from specific areas, it does cause you to lose fat from all parts of the body and tone the muscles to provide a more attractive appearance.
  • You need a healthy diet to shed pounds and help build muscles in the process. We can help you with nutritional training too.

Are You Ready For The Holidays

Are You Ready For The Holidays

Now is the time to start to get ready for the holidays. While planning your Thanksgiving menu, decorating the house and even start buying holiday gifts is important, it’s not nearly as important as getting fit and having the energy to make it through the hustle and bustle of the next few months. It also means preparing to look your best while feeling your best in this stressful time. You can start now to learn healthy eating habits so you won’t lose ground and look fabulous for the incoming year.

We can help you with nutritional advice.

You really don’t have to diet if you know how to choose your food wisely. In fact, you’ll lose weight and never feel hungry with a healthy eating plan. Some of the tips will be simple. Just have healthy snacks available so you aren’t tempted to raid the cookie jar or gobble the last bite of ice cream in the freezer. Eating wild or brown rice means fewer calories than eating white rice, but you still get the flavor of rice with your food. You probably already know how nutritionally empty many of the processed foods are and how high in chemicals and calories they are too. Stay away from them and you’ll look and feel better. You can learn healthy eating, but it doesn’t mean you have to pass by your favorite pie made by Aunt Mabel that you only get once a year. You’re allowed to eat some of your favorite foods, just not huge portions or that frequently….so eating the whole pie is off limits.

Work out hard now and you won’t feel tired later.

It’s amazing how the body works. When you exercise regularly, instead of depleting you of energy, it builds it. Preparing for a day of celebration takes a lot of effort, but the holiday times include many days of celebration, one after another. If you’re exhausted from ensuring that everything is perfect and everyone has a great time, you’ll miss out on all the fun. Start now to build a strong body and you’ll love the holidays again.

Ring in the New Year with a new you.

Who doesn’t want to look fabulous? Nobody that I know. Getting fit and healthy is what it’s all about, but one of the pleasant side effects is looking great. You’ll be trimmer, curvier and look years younger when you workout regularly and eat healthy. In fact, it even helps your complexion look better. The increased circulation helps give you a glow and sends nutrients and oxygen to every cell to provide a more youthful appearance. It also helps flush out impurities from your system, helping to clear adult acne in the process.

  • Exercise on a regular basis boosts you immune system and helps you ward off serious conditions such as cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, while also aiding in preventing minor ones like colds and flu.
  • You’ll burn off the hormones of stress when you workout. Not only are they associated with illness and serious conditions, they also are associated with abdominal fat.
  • You’ll be more mellow after working out. Besides burning off stress hormones, regular exercise boosts the production of hormones that make you feel good. You’ll face the chaos with a smile.
  • When you eat healthier and workout regularly you’ll sleep better at night. That boosts your energy, helps you think clearer, reduces the need for sugary treats and helps you to look and feel better.

Outdoor Workouts For City Folk

Outdoor Workouts For City Folk

You don’t have to head to the gym or the country if you want to exercise outside or even prepare for a mountain run or wooded hiking trail. Here are some outdoor workouts for city folk to enjoy right in their own neighborhood. Of course, first on the list is walking. In the city, you can walk forever to get to your favorite restaurant or coffee shop. Pick a spot that’s far enough away to get you breathing hard, but also close enough you won’t have to hail a cab to get home. Start searching the internet for a stop even further away as your fitness level improves.

Save gas and boost your energy level by pedaling to work.

Your bike can be a great ally when you want more exercise. You may have to get up a little earlier than usual to pedal your way to work, but also may find it’s actually quicker in areas where traffic is often slowed to a stop. You won’t build up road rage but pedal it away and feel great when you arrive on the job. If you work at a distance, check you busline. Some have bike racks where you can get off a few stops earlier and build your endurance to make it the rest of the way.

Take the stairs.

Don’t just take the stairs at the office, get a great workout outside. Remember that inspirational scene from “Rocky” where he’s running down the street with the background music “Gonna Fly Now” playing in the background and literally hundreds of children are following him? Then what does he do? He speeds up to top speed and runs up several flights of stairs, cheering at the top. Rocky made the city his workout playground and you can too. Get a tape of the theme song or any other inspirational song to play as you run. Find the tallest set of stairs you can and conquer them.

Find a group or get a second job.

Go to the park and look for people with the same interest. Maybe there’s a basketball game or Frisbee football game you can join. If that’s too intimidating, walk the dog. No dog? No problem. Get paid to exercise by offering dog walking (and running) services. Learn everything you can about a certain area and become a tour guide for the weekend. You can do walking tours or biking tours, have fun, earn money and shed a few pounds in the process.

 

– Take a jog around the park. Use empty benches as a landing spot for a two footed leap. Jump down and back up again.

– Create an entire workout in a playground. Go early in the morning, before the kid arrive and get your workout pumping the swings, pushing the merry-go-round and climbing the jungle gym. Don’t forget to do the monkey bars.

– Check with the park department of the city to see if there are free workout classes in the park.

– Is the city on a lake or river? Often there are kayak rentals and paddle boat rentals that will work your upper or lower body, depending on which you choose.


Beginners Guide To Strength Training

Beginners Guide To Strength Training

 

If you want to get fit, you need to do all types of exercises. While men often focus on strength training and women tend to do aerobics, both need flexibility, strength, endurance and balance training. Women especially need strength training to help fight bone density loss after menopause. Strength training is also tops when it comes to burning calories. However, many people are intimidated by these types of exercises, so I’ve put together a quick “Beginners Guide to Strength Training” guide to help.

You don’t need fancy equipment for strength training workouts.

If you’re concerned that you don’t have all the necessary equipment, such as a set of weights, to do strength training, this should put your mind at ease. There are all types of exercises that fall into the category of strength training. Some use your own body weight. Some require resistance bands, which are relatively inexpensive. For those exercises that use actual weights, you don’t have to have “official” barbells or dumbbells. You can use soup cans or other household items. I have one client that improvised by using two large plastic laundry detergent bottles. As she got fitter and stronger, she added water to the inside of each bottle to make the exercises more difficult. One client claims her overweight cats helped her get into shape. She used them as her weights.

Find exercises that are easy to learn, while also getting the maximum benefit.

If you choose a workout or exercise that is so complicated, you have to keep going back to the computer to see how it’s done, chances are, you’ll be far less likely to do it. If you’re doing circuit training and have more difficult exercises, you may have to take a small break to check the next movement, which interferes with the concept of doing one exercise right after another. Some exercises are better than others, so focus on ones that give you the most benefits. Push ups and squats are pretty basic and require no equipment, but they provide a lot of benefit.

Set your own pace.

While you don’t want to be too easy on yourself, don’t overdo either, especially when you’re first starting out. One of the worse enemies of working out is sore muscles. Pushing beyond your capacity can cause problems with form and that can lead to injury—especially if you’re working out at home without the guidance of a personal trainer. Remember, you need to continually make your workout harder, so stick within your comfort zone at first until you learn all the moves and build your strength. It goes slower this way, but when working out on your own, it’s the safest way to ensure you’ll be able to stick with a workout plan.

 

– If you’re using weights, keep them lighter until you’re familiar with the movements, then start adding more weight.

– Create a program of strength training with a number of different exercises and use them to circuit train once you know each one well.

– Make sure you include flexibility training and stretching when you’re working on strength. Flexibility training improves your range of motion and stretching warms the muscles. Both help prevent injury.

– Track the number of repetitions you do for each exercise. It provides a measured number of reps to beat as your fitness level improves. Winners keep score.


Surviving Your First 5K

Surviving Your First 5K

You may not run, so surviving your first 5K may not be significant, but it should be. No matter what the demanding physical challenge is, many of the same tips apply. When running a marathon, you’ll want to know the course and the conditions ahead of time. The same is true for any major competition. Learning as much about the setting, the conditions and what to expect helps tremendously. It also helps you plan your training program for the challenge.

Don’t try to do it all at once.

A big challenge makes you want to put an all out effort in training, particularly when you first decide to undertake the goal. Like any goal, you need to lay out all the steps required to get you into shape. Remember, while working diligently on the activity—in this case running—you need to cross train to build all areas of your fitness. For instance, strength training helps a runner with balance and to prevent injury when running. Start your training slowly and gradually work harder.

Overcome the mental blocks.

Be honest with yourself. What are you the most afraid of happening? It’s probably looking foolish, if you’re like most people. Think about it for a second, even if you fail miserably and come in last, you’re still way ahead of people who thought about entering but never did. You’re also probably not alone, since most first timers in any competition feels that way. Once you get past the mental block, you can work to get training program in line.

On the day of the race, get there early.

Set your alarm a half hour earlier than you think you should. Get to the event, whether it’s a race or other competition, early. There’s nothing worse than rushing to get there, hoping you’ve made it in time. That’s always when things seem to go south. It sometimes helps to take a trial run from your room to the location, so you’ll be sure that you know where it’s located. Even if you leave early and get lost, you might end up not making it to the race.

– Work with a personal trainer to design a diet to help you meet your goal and select the foods to eat the night before the event and day of the event.

– Learn to recognize the signs that you need water or signs that you’re becoming overheating if you’re running in the summer. Preparing to be safe is just as important as speed

and endurance.

– Don’t line up in front of the group. Get toward the middle or back. You don’t want to set the pace too fast at first and running at the front of the pack will push you to do it. It can cause burn out before the end of the race.

– Once you start the event, you should have practiced enough that you get in the zone and quit worrying about the other runners or contestants. Focus on what you’re doing and nothing/nobody else.


Benefits Of Interval Training

Benefits Of Interval Training

The benefits of interval training are being realized more each day by more and more people. Interval training is a session where you alternate between two activities or more. The amount of intensity should vary. There should be short sessions to rest between the two . High intensity interval training is one type of interval training. In this case, the person doing the exercise pushes their body to the limit, followed by a far easier, less strenuous period and then back to the tough one. It could be as simple as running full speed for three minutes and jogging for six.

Interval training provides the most bang for the time spent.

If you want to get into shape fast, interval training can do it. Rather than running five times a week for 60 minutes, you can get the same results in just under thirty minutes of interval training done three times a week. For those who want to improve their aerobic capacity, one study in 2011 showed that it only took two weeks of high-intensity interval training—HIIT—to deliver the same results as 6-8 weeks of traditional endurance training.

Are you training for a marathon? Want more speed and endurance?

Whether you’re an athlete or not, building our endurance is important. Not only does HIIT build stamina, it also improves speed. The exercise technique not only helps the body to burn lactic acid better, which means your body will be able to exercise longer, it also helps you go faster. Swimming, running, biking, skiing and hiking are all activities that benefit from the improvement.

When weight loss is important, interval training helps.

Switching it up and back again can help more than just exercising at the same pace for the same length of time when it comes to weight loss. The reason is the recovery period. The body takes longer to recover and can continue burning extra calories for up to 24 hours after your session ends. It also boosts the production of HGH—human growth hormones. For anyone that wants to keep a youthful appearance, the increase of up to 450 percent of this hormone can slow the aging process. It also increases the calories burned.

 

– Expect a better mood after HIIT. The big burst of energy releases endorphins and other happy hormones.

– You’ll boost your heart health dramatically with this type of exercising. It’s one of the best cardiovascular workouts to improve your overall heart health.

– Boost your immune system and reduce inflammatory ailments, such as arthritis with interval training.

– Avoid boredom with interval training. The continual varying of speed and intensity will keep you focused.


Find Your Local Hiking Trails

Find Your Local Hiking Trails

There’s a good reason to get fit, besides just looking better. It’s to have a higher quality life and enjoy each minute to the fullest. One way to take a break from the gym is to find local hiking trails. While hiking alone can be very serene and fulfilling, going with your loved one or family gives you an opportunity to enjoy an experience together and get a little healthier in the process. Being and staying active is what you’re working toward, so don’t miss a moment of opportunity to enjoy the gifts of fitness.

Erwin Park has trails for everyone and is close to home.

This park is hidden away and worth the hunt to find. It’s not only good for hiking and walking in the serene area, there are bike trails to add to the variety. It’s huge and a well kept secret in McKinney. There are also great photo opportunities for shutter bugs that want a beautiful picture of Mother Nature. Just being there calms the mind. It’s also a good place to share with Rover so he or she gets some exercise too.

Stay close to home at Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary.

You don’t have to go far to find a nice hiking trail and plenty to do, just go to Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary. There are a number of activities besides hiking with lots of things for children. The park is big and there’s a lot to do, whether it’s just experiencing the wonders of nature or taking the kids on an active hike where they also can learn quite a bit. You’ll love every minute with your family in this park.

Crepe Myrtle Trails is more than just beautiful, it’s perfect for a romantic walk when in bloom.

There’s beauty abound when you walk the paved walkways of the Crape Myrtle Trails in McKinney. It’s loaded with a varieties of Crape Myrtle and signs about them. This is a more urban style walk with benches for resting and even picnic tables for a lunch on a cool spring day. This isn’t your traditional hiking area, but the 7.2 acres of flowering crape myrtles are a “must experience” at least once.

– Serenity Park is another local area that has swings for the children and a nice hiking trails.

– Enjoy everything there is to do at Towne Lake Recreation area. If you hiked around the lake and still have energy, take a paddleboat or play some disc golf.

– There are many parks with hiking trails that are within fifteen to twenty minutes of McKinney. Try Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve or Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano.

– Find your favorite park to hike and share it with the group. Let us know whether it’s easy to hike or better for those more advanced. Don’t forget to let us know if there are bike trails too.


Who Are Your Fitness Heroes?

Who Are Your Fitness Heroes?

The decision to get fit may be at the suggestion of a doctor or maybe it’s because someone inspired you. These people are fitness heroes that you think about every time you face a challenge. It isn’t blind “hero worship” to appreciate the efforts of someone else. If the person reached a huge goal, appreciating that goal and getting the inspiration from it can help you reach yours.

Is your fitness hero someone you know?

Maybe someone in your family worked hard to get back into shape or overcome a disability or road block. One woman’s husband had a real scare that put him on the straight and narrow. He thought he was having a heart attack and while he wasn’t, he turned his life around and got into shape with a program of regular exercise. She saw how tough it was and how he gave up his guilty pleasure foods, switching them for whole foods. She also was impressed when he quit smoking and stuck to the workout program. He became her fitness hero.

There are so many inspirational stories of people getting fit against all odds.

You don’t have to know the person to appreciate what they went through to get fit and active. Whether it’s a wounded warrior who worked to put his or her life back together and no only learned to walk with a prosthesis or function without a hand, excelled at fitness, almost putting others to shame, the young athlete born without limbs or a senior who turned their life around at an advanced age to become tops in their sport, all of these types of stories not only humble us, they inspire us to greatness. These are truly fitness heroes in their own right.

Famous people can inspire you with their dedication and discipline.

Fitness heroes can be famous athletes who have dedicated their life to being the best at what they do. These heroes can be motivators to show the benefits of discipline and hard work. Many of these fitness heroes not only encourage healthy lifestyles, they also live them. The true heroes are the ones that don’t take their position for granted and give back to the community, setting another good example for everyone.

– Ernestine Shepherd is an example of a senior who didn’t start working out until later in life. At 81 she still remains active and looks years younger than her birth certificate says. She helps others her age get and stay fit.

– There are body builders, weight lifters, basketball players and other athletes who persevere despite missing limbs and other disabilities. You’ll find many in wheel chair competitions.

– Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something or get healthier. There are hundreds of examples of people who have heard it and proved nay-sayers wrong.

– Find a fitness hero who inspires you and use that inspiration to achieve not only your goals, but your dreams.


Why You Should Never Stop Working Out

Why You Should Never Stop Working Out

People are amazing and continuously prove to me that you should never stop working out. I’m constantly hearing stories of people that modern medicine said would never get better, only to have that person prove them wrong. Most of the time, the right type of eating and regular exercising did the trick. I know of one woman whom doctors said would never walk again. She was close to 80 and hospitalized when this occurred. Her husband passed while she was hospitalized, too. When they sent her home, she asked if they could move her deceased husband’s exercise bicycle next to her bed. Little by little she dragged herself onto the bike and finally pedaled. Each time it was easier and each time she pedaled longer. Three months later she was walking with the aid of a cane. It’s pretty amazing to see what the body can do when you’re motivated and help it out with exercise.

Is your life a major disaster, you’re crazy busy or are you dealing with stress?

You may think that going to bed and sleeping helps you escape the depression you face, but it’s the worse thing for it. Exercise not only helps lift your spirits, it builds strength and endurance, making you healthier so you can deal with the stresses of life. It burns off the hormones from stress and replaces them with ones that make you feel good. Exercise actually boosts your energy level and helps you think better, so when you’re crazy busy, you’ll get more done if you stick with your workouts and make it part of your schedule.

Health conditions or pregnancy may make you think you need to take it easy, but science may say something different.

Of course, if your doctor tells you to stay off your feet, don’t run to the gym, but follow his directions. In most cases, however, doctors feel exercising is important. It makes delivery easier if you’re pregnant…just make sure you follow a routine that’s made for pregnant women. It helps reduce the problems of heart disease, improve healing, boosts your immune system, balance your sugar levels and lower your bad cholesterol. You even look better due to improved circulation. The chances of stroke are reduced, osteoporosis, cancer and arthritis.

Regular exercise slows aging.

Yup, it’s true. Not only does it slow aging, it turns back the clock. Exercise helps lengthen the telomeres. They do the job that aglets do. Aglets are those plastic things on the end of shoelaces that prevent the shoelace from unraveling, telomers act in the same manner, only they protect the chromosomes from damage. When chromosomes are damaged, it causes aging and illness, which eventually leads to death.

Exercise can provide social interaction which is important for good health.

You’ll sleep better at night when you exercise regularly. A good night’s sleep is good for your cognitive processes and heart healthy.

Exercise helps keep your weight down. Obesity is the leading cause of preventable death, surpassing even smoking.

Exercising regularly boosts your self-confidence. It improves your posture giving you presence. People treat confident people with more respect.


How To Stay Healthy On Vacation

How To Stay Healthy On Vacation

A vacation should be a time to relax, enjoy yourself and get away from it all. However, there are some things you should still do and one of those is to stay healthy on vacation. Sticking with your workout, eating healthy and getting adequate sleep should be at the top of the list. You shouldn’t come home feeling more frazzled than when you left. Start with your sleep schedule. Get up at the same time you would normally awaken.

Plan to stay fit and healthy.

Just like you’ve probably planned for the hotel and checked the route to your destination, you need to create a plan for both eating and exercising. The internet is packed with information on restaurants everywhere. You can find ones that serve the type of healthy food you want and use those for your meals. If you are going to a cottage or lake property, locate the local farmer’s market to find the freshest fruits and vegetables and plan your meals ahead. You don’t have to take everything along, just the spices (premeasured of course) and any other dry ingredients you need.

Look for local activities that involve walking or other type of physical exercise.

You’ll be amazed at what some of the towns have. Bike rentals have become quite popular and places that feature water sports often have canoe and kayak rental. You might even rent a surfboard and try surfing. Walking to see the sights provides great exercise and if the area is loaded with things to see, probably more than you’re getting at home.

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

No matter how well you plan a trip, things go wrong….sometimes incredibly wrong. That’s when you need to take a tip from a friend of mine who tells of her misadventures with glee. If everything has hit the fan, then her first words are, “what a great story this will make.” That puts everyone at ease as they throw in suggestions of how to tell it. You won’t make everything go right by getting stressed and only make yourself miserable. Instead, start planning how you’ll tell your friends this episode.

Take along your own snacks on the trip and make them healthy ones.

Cut back on cocktails. If you’re going to drink, limit it to one a day.

Before you go, have your personal trainer workout a program of exercise using body weight and/or resistance bands. You’ll have all the equipment you need without taking much luggage space.

Make sure you have a mini refrigerator in your room If you’re in a hotel and pick up local produce. You can slice and dice your own healthy snacks in your room.