Fitness & Wellness

I love working with each of you at Revolution Training in Stamford, CT, and helping you reach your potential. This is the first of the year and what better time is there to start changing habits and discover the new you that’s been inside all along? One thing I encourage is to take the time to write down your fitness goals and all the things you’d like to accomplish. Take a picture of yourself in workout clothes that are more form fitting, and use it as the “before” picture. Keep it in front of you constantly, reminding yourself the “after” picture will be on New Year’s Eve at the end of the year.

Pick a goal and focus on it.

You may have lots of fitness goals, but you need to prioritize them and focus on just one. It should be important to you and not necessarily something that anyone else wants you to do. If good health is your goal, what changes do you need to make to achieve that goal? Do you need to change your diet? Your exercise habits? Your sleep patterns? Is eliminating a bad habit or addiction going to increase the odds of achieving your goal?

You may not think your other goals have anything to do with fitness, but you’d be wrong.

Everything boils down to being your healthiest and fittest. If you don’t have the energy and good health, you can’t achieve everything your goals in business. It’s one reason the movers and shakers in business often have their own personal trainer or a gym for executives. Achieving anything is about mental toughness, picking a goal and doing the things it takes to achieve that goal. You get all those things by sticking with a fitness program, plus boost your health so your body is at its best.

It’s all about focus and consistency.

You won’t get fit by doing 100 push-ups in one day. In fact, unless you’re fit, you probably won’t be able to do them. You need to be consistent and do as many as you can each day. Focus on the things you can change. At each meal, eat more vegetables. Drink more water. Chew your food more thoroughly and slowly. Focus on food that’s closer to its natural state and avoid fried foods, highly processed food and food with added sugar. Make each day the day you’ll eat healthier than the previous day.

• Take time at the end of every day to focus on the good things that are in your life. An attitude of gratitude will help you live healthier, happier and longer.
• Track your progress. Winners keep score, whether it’s about fitness, finance or other areas of your life. Track the things you did to help you get healthier and have written goals. Create a checklist for each day.
• Don’t worry about the detours. Even the best laid plans have a few glitches. Just know you’ll turn it around and get back on track. Focusing on the positive doesn’t mean you ignore negatives. It means you acknowledge them and use them to your advantage.
• Once every month or quarter, take time to assess all the progress you’ve made and adjust your goals if necessary. If you’re following the plan, you’ll be far fitter than expected and probably want to increase your fitness goals.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

When you see how hard people workout at Revolution Fitness in Stamford, CT, and how much exercise they get in the time they’re there, you’ll understand that walking 10k steps daily isn’t necessary for those people. There’s a lot of confusion about the 10,000 step recommendation. It’s not necessary if you’re doing high intensity workouts for 150 minutes a week, but is a good way to stay active on your days away from the gym.

Walking is good for people who can’t do intense workouts and a way to start a fitness program.

If you’ve been a couch potato for years and suddenly realize you can’t climb a flight of steps without stopping to catch your breath, walking is a good gateway exercise to something more physically demanding. You can walk outside and soak up the sunshine, which is also good for you. As you get fitter, you can modify the walk to alternate between high intensity and a recovery rate, creating a HIIT workout, making it even more effective. A brisk walk is good for bone strength, cardio, balance and coordination, while burning extra calories.

Walking won’t cover all types of training that are necessary for good health.

You need strength, flexibility, balance and cardio training to be your fittest. Walking can provide the cardio and even some balance and lower body strength training. Walking is low to moderate intensity and provides similar benefits to bicycling, swimming, aquatic exercises and elliptical cross training. In fact, doing exercises or even walking in a pool provides more exercise.

You shouldn’t replace the gym with walking, but supplement it.

If you’ve had a tough workout that day, you don’t need to walk 10K steps. If you can’t workout at the gym, due to health conditions, fitness level or even time, it’s a good idea to use it so you get some exercise. It’s all about moving and working your muscles. If you’ve ever boxed, you know you get in lots of steps, but also get an upper body workout that’s excellent. Both are good and for most people both should be part of your fitness program.

• For people that are cramped for time, walking is a good option. You can even break it down to shorter walking times that add up to at least 30 minutes, as long as each walking session is at least ten minutes.
• If you choose to walk as a form of exercise, focus on good posture when you walk. Keep your shoulders back, stand tall and try to imagine you’re pushing the top of your head through the clouds. As with all types of exercise, form is important.
• You don’t need any special clothes for walking, except proper footwear. There are other ways to boost your activity, like taking the stairs. When you walk, make it brisk for the most benefit. Longer strides and more rapid ones are best.
• If you have a pedometer to count your steps, you can increase the number of steps you take by doing simple things, like parking further away from the store when you shop, walking to lunch and taking the stairs.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Hydration is important and water is one of the best ways to hydrate, but you can overdo it. You need to drink for your size and need. A lot of things will affect the amount of water your body needs. If you’re in a room that’s too warm or outside in the hot sun, you’ll need to rehydrate more than if you’re sitting comfortably in an air conditioned room. Water is far more important than food for survival, but how much is enough and when do you cross the line to too much?

There’s a lot of factors that determine how much water you need.

Your size is one important factor. Most people know that it’s recommended that you drink eight 8-oz glasses of water a day, but that may not be enough. Your sex makes a difference. Mayo clinic suggests that men drink as much as 15.5 cups of fluid a day, while women need about 11.5 cups. You’ll notice that it says fluids, not just water, so it includes tea, coffee and other beverages. The fluid can also come from the food you eat, which is about 20% of the average person’s fluid intake.

Your weight plays an important role in water intake.

The more you weigh, the more fluid you need. You can calculate the amount by taking half or two thirds of your weight in pounds and making that the amount of ounces you need. For instance, a 120 pound woman would need 80 ounces, since 2/3 of 120 is 80. If it’s hot, you also need more fluid, since you perspire more, losing fluid. Exercise also causes you to perspire, so you need to replace it with extra water. The higher your elevation, the more water you require. Health issues, like vomiting, fever and diarrhea also cause dehydration. Lactating and pregnant women also require more fluid.

You can drink too much water at one time, causing hyponatremia.

The term for drinking too much water at one time is also called water intoxication or water poisoning. It causes your cells to swell that can create health issues. It’s based on how much water is consumed in an hour. More than four cups an hour can create the problem. The excess fluid can overwhelm the kidneys and the swelling cells can cause problems, especially if it’s in the brain or vital organ. Ironically the symptoms of headache, confusion, vomiting and nausea, fatigue and muscle spasms and cramps are the same as dehydration. How do you tell the difference? Look at your urine. If it’s a dark yellow, you’re dehydrated. Clear and colorless you’re over hydrated.

• Schedule your fluid intake throughout the day if you have a problem drinking more water. Carry a bottle with you and sip on it throughout the day. Don’t guzzle bottles of water all at once if you’re thirsty. Take it slowly.
• Most people need to hydrate more. Drinking more water can help limit UTIs, kidney stones, reduce bloating and even help you lose weight. A glass of water before a meal can help fill you up, so you don’t eat as much.
• If you’re older, you may need to drink more fluid, since older people dehydrate faster than young people. Signs of dehydration resemble dementia in seniors. Achy joints can also be caused by dehydration, since water lubricates the joints.
• Staying hydrated can help reduce the appearance of aging. It helps keep the skin plump and more youthful. It can make your eyes appear more youthful, as well as preventing some wrinkling.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

If you want to change your overall health for the better, you need to start with your gut health. A lot of the focus should be on the microbiome and a healthy balance of beneficial microbes. You have more microbes than you have cells and how they function can determine your overall health. Some are beneficial, some are harmful and some are absolutely necessary for good health.

Make sure you have adequate nutrients.

Magnesium is one of those nutrients that’s necessary to create enzymes that help break down food and absorb the nutrients. Lack of magnesium can cause muscle aches, spasms, chronic headaches, constipation and even chocolate cravings. Another way to boost your nutrition is by consuming bone broth. Bone broth contains collagen, which is necessary for creating connective tissue throughout the body. It also has loads of nutrients and improves nutrient absorption.

Feed those beneficial gut bacteria what they need.

Fiber, fiber, and more fiber should be your chant if you want gut health. Introduce it slowly or you’ll end up with cramps and enough gas to power a fleet of 18 wheelers. Fiber can’t be digested by the body. There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Insoluble fiber is found in almonds, beans, prunes and wheat germ. Soluble fiber is in beans, apples and other produce. While the body can’t digest fiber with enzymes, it passes to the intestines where the beneficial microbes in your gut feast on the soluble fiber and the insoluble fiber builds bulk for your stool.

Avoid sugar and move.

Sugar is not only bad for your body, it’s bad for your gut. It can cause an overgrowth of Candida albicans, which creates many gut problems. It also feeds other harmful microbes. You’ll be surprised at how many processed foods contain sugar, which includes soft drinks. Don’t think the sugar free type are better, they also affect gut bacteria negatively. Also, the more you move around and exercise, the better your gut health. It helps food pass through the body more efficiently and also boosts the friendly bacteria in the gut.

If you’ve taken antibiotics, give your gut a boost of beneficial ones. Eat fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut, yogurt and kimchee. An imbalance of microbes can cause leaky gut syndrome.

Get adequate sleep. Lack of sleep can affect gut health by causing stress, which is bad for gut health. Also drink plenty of water, which also is necessary for healthy digestion and a healthy microbiome.

Prepare grains, nuts and beans properly. Sprouted grain bread is one way, soaking them and rinsing thoroughly before cooking is another. Grains are seeds, and many contain phytic acid, to prevent digestion so animals can spread the seed in their excrement.

One study that lasted six weeks, showed that people who exercised improved the gut microbiome by increasing the amount of friendly bacteria.

I have a lot of friends in the fitness industry that are so intent on learning the latest scientific discoveries, they forget about the simple ways to start losing fat. It’s easy to do. The more you know, the more you forget that not everyone has the same fitness experience as you do and the more you start to focus on the complicated. Let’s take one simple example. I have a client that followed his diet to a T, worked out and still wasn’t getting his desired results. After several talks, I learned he drank five or six colas a day. Soft drinks are nothing but carbonated sugar water. They pack on the pounds. He switched to water and got back on track.

Be easy on yourself and start by changing one thing.

Add a half hour of exercise to your daily routine. It doesn’t have to be at the gym, you can go for a walk. In fact, you can go for three time minute walks if you don’t have a half hour all at once. Make life a little more active by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Speed up and increase your intensity. If you have household chores, move as fast as you can and if you get tired, keep working for a few minutes longer. Don’t change everything in your diet at once. Start by giving up food with added sugar. Is that too hard? Then just start by cutting down on sugar and switching fruit for the sweets as a snack.

Try HIIT—high intensity interval training.

HIIT is a fancy way of saying you modify your workout by spending a minute at highest intensity and then switching to equal or longer time at moderate, recovery intensity. You can use it for almost any exercise, even walking. People who want to start working out, but aren’t ready for the gym, can start by walking briskly for a minute, alternating that with a moderate walk for the same time and back to a brisk walk. By the way, that pattern of high intensity and moderate recovery intensity is a lot like the type of exercise you get when you box.

Focus on green and lean.

There are all types of diets, with some aiding in weight loss and others increasing the nutrients necessary for building muscle. What’s the best type? That’s up to your and based on your goals. However, eating healthy, no matter what your goal, is important. You can do it without following a diet. Focus on filling half your plate with colorful vegetables and fruit, a quarter of your plate with lean protein and the rest whole grains. Healthy fat should also be part of your daily meals.

• Try simple things to improve your diet and lower your calories. Mash avocado and use it on toast instead of butter. It’s delicious and healthy.
• Don’t fall for the marketing gimmick touting low fat products, like yogurt. When they remove the fat from yogurt, they have to replace it with something to improve the flavor, that something is often sugar, which is far worse for you.
• Do you miss desserts but want to lose weight? Opt for plain full fat Greek yogurt. Put a layer of yogurt in a cup, cut up a half ripe banana and add your own berries for sweetness. Top with more yogurt and then add raw walnuts. It’s healthy, sweet and best when mushed together and mixed.
• Get more sleep. When you sleep, your body repairs tissue while organizing your brain. If you lack sleep, it upsets the hunger/satiety hormone balance, leaving you hungry all the time. Lack of sleep can cause you to increase your body fat.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training