What Are You Waiting For

So many people who come to me tell me that they have been thinking about calling for some time. Many tell me they wanted to lose some weight first. Others just put it off because they are afraid that they will fail at their attempt.
The good news is that it is never too late to start. I have trained clients in their 90's and they are usually amazed at how much better they feel. The fact remains that exercise will always be the best thing to help you put off aging and improve not only how long you live but also how well you live.
If I had to pick one reason why the vast majority of people don't engage in a routine program is because they hate the thought of exercise. They do too much without a viable game plan. 
If you were planing a vacation to the opposite coast, would you just get in the car and start driving? That is the equivalent of wanting to get more fit and starting by running and lifting weights.
Fitness like other goals is more achievable when approached intelligently.
Before you start your workouts, do some research and find an experienced fitness pro who can make the process understandable. If you break things up into measurable steps you will find success you never thought possible.
Call us in La Crescenta for a free consultation

How to Follow Through on Your Goals

To find success in fitness like anything else you need two things: 1) a viable plan and 2) most importantly the follow through to make it work. Unlike the hard things like finding the right mate or a high paying career that you actually like, fitness is basically pretty easy.
All you need to do is eat health but not too much and spend two to three hours a week on an effective exercise program. The good news, the plan is a no brainer and its the same for everyone.
The only reason everyone is not in great or at least good shape is part two, the follow through. We all know what we need to do and only need the willpower and discipline to stick to our plan.
Although the first part (the plan) is the same for everyone, the follow through is different for each and every individual. I will now try to give some of the tips I've used to help motivate thousands of clients I've helped during my personal training career of 25 years.
1) Ask a family member or spouse to help keep you on your toes. You want accountability but you need the right approach. Tell people what you need or it will usually come across as nagging. There is probably a phrase that drives you crazy but also one that may really be helpful.
2) Right on a daily planner or calendar when you ate well and when you exercised. One client put a red check for ate well and a green check for a walk or exercise session. When you look at the month and see lots of checks it makes for a good visual.
3) Give yourself a reward for short term goals. If you lose five pounds treat yourself to a new shirt or a small splurge. You may not want the rewards to be in the way of food.
4) Find a partner of trainer who shares your fitness goals. If you ask 100 people I think you will find most will like to drop a few pounds. Finding a walking partner may be the first step to making fitness progress. 

Add One Hour a Week and Lose Weight

There is a simple way to lose weight if you are walking or doing just cardio. The good thing about cardio or walking is that it helps rev up your metabolism. Some studies show a several hour boost after just an hour walk. On the other hand if you build muscle your metabolism is accelerated for 24 hours. Fat is like dirt, it doesn't need to be watered or fertilized. Muscle needs nutrients like food to  be kept alive.

I have several clients that come to me for two half hour session a week to build and maintain new muscle. The good thing: the less you're used to the less you need to do. They call weight lifting progressive resistance because you progressively lift heavier and heavier weight. This means you never have to be overwhelmed. Start with a weigh that begins to get heavy after eight or ten reps and stop at 15 repetitions. You may find a pound or two for some exercises is plenty.

A good weight loss program might be to walk Mon Wed and Fri and then do some resistance training on Tues and Thur. Don't forget that you can't walk off bad eating. All the cardio is for naught if you don't follow a common sense eating program. For example a few appetizers at Friday's took a half marathon to walk off.

Take Fitness to the Next Level

                                                 
For those of you who are looking to get in better shape but are not making progress, here are some tips. If you aren't losing weight you need to switch up what you are doing. You can change your routine, ask a friend to join you, even take a few sessions from a personal trainer. If you are doing cardio for 20 mins, go to 30. If you workout two days a week add a day. The body can get in a rut and just may need a little change. Joe Weider the father of body building came up with the principal of muscle confusion. It has been proven for decades that the muscles respond better when they are given different stimuli. That just means changing your exercises. The problem is that most people have a limited amount of knowledge on how to change a routine. You can actually spend the exact amount of time and energy but make progress just by varying what you do.

The best thing to do is just ask a friend or a trainer to give you a new routine. You may not believe it but most people just need a little change to reap big results. The body loves regularity and small changes disrupts homeostasis. In English this just means but switching it up a little you can get a big pay off.  Personal trainers differ in many ways but we  all agree on this one. Don't take my advise give it a try. you'll be glad you did.

Keep Your Resolution

                                              

Is has been statistically proven that the majority of our resolutions are never accomplished. When it comes to fitness the major problem is the wording of the resolution. If your goal is to make progress with your health, longevity and  appearance, the solution may be as simple as the wording of your resolution.
There is acronym KISS. Keep it simple stupid (however I think we can do better than stupid). My experience over the past 20 plus years shows that a narrowly defined objective is easier to achieve that a goal like get more fit or lose weight.
If you are looking to lose weight and get more fit, the answer for most people is exercise routinely and eat better. The problem with that mission statement is: What does routinely and better mean? I would recommend that if you are starting at level 1 (couch potato who eats lots of fast food) , begin by saying you will walk two days a week and stop eating desserts after dinner. Get my drift. Make a strict goal that is clear to understand and easy to accomplish. In the coming weeks I will include a variety of tips that will hopefully include various people at different levels of making fitness a priority in their lives.

A Great Way To Make Exercise More Effective

For the past 20 plus years people have come to train with us. Almost everyone wants to lose fat and tone up. A heart monitor is a useful tool that makes this goal easier to accomplish. You can see what your pulse rate is by looking at a watch you wear on your wrist. This keeps you accountable and makes your workout not only safe but more precise and effective. Most people who have never worked out are amazed at how little they need to do to get "aerobic". We’ve proven that if you don't overdue it and you don't hate the process; you may actually stick with it.
One reason to work out a little longer is because of the fat burning equation. This tells us that during the first 19 mins. of aerobic exercise you burn mainly carbs that you've eaten (glycogen). After 20 mins. you begin to use fat as an energy source and hence begin fat burning. Think about this next time you stop your cardio after 20 mins.
Don't worry about figuring out your target zone. Every heart monitor comes with a simple chart so you don't need to do any math. Finally you can spend about $40 or $400 and the difference is mainly bells and whistles. The cheaper ones are also easier to set up and get going.

Eat More and Lose Weight

What most people find in a conventional diet is quick weight loss followed by an eventual plateau. What may unfortunately follow is an eventual weight gain. The reason for this is something called starvation mode efficiency. The body reacts to a sudden calorie deficit by slowing its metabolism down. This has been done over the centuries as a survival mechanism. The body begins to conserve energy and stores fat. It sees that calories have become scarce. If you were used to 2500 calories and then go down to 1500 you will initially lose weight. The body in time will learn to make those 1500 calories a set point. In other words it maintains body weight on 1500 calories. For additional weight loss you will need to cut the 1500 down to 1200 or even 1000 calories a day.

For most people, after a few weeks of starving yourself, the willpower will wane. After you went to 1500 calories you may start to inch up to 1700 or 2000 calories a day. The upshot: the calories that used to maintain weight will now make you gain weight. The simple answer is never cut your calories by more than 500 at a time. Slow weight loss can be permanent weight loss. Quick weight loss is usually followed by quick weight gain.