5 Workout Tips
Tone Up on the Treadmill
“Save time at the gym with this 10-minute cardio/sculpt session: Hop on a treadmill holding a three- to five-pound dumbbell in each hand, and set the speed to a brisk walk. Do a one-minute set each of shoulder presses, biceps curls, triceps extensions, side laterals, front laterals and standing triceps kickbacks one after another as you walk. I’s an amazing upper-body challenge that also gets your heart pumping. Do this series two or three times each week. As you improve, work up to doing four-minute sets.”
–Michael George, trainer and owner of Integrated Motivational Fitness in Los Angeles- Power Up Your Runs
“Adding wall sits to the end of every run will strengthen your quads, hamstrings and glutes, improving your speed and endurance. Lean against a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart, then squat until your knees are bent at 45 degrees. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds; work up to doing 10 sets. Add a challenge by including heel raises: Lift your left heel, then the right, then lift both together twice.”
–Mindy Solkin, owner and head coach of the Running Center, New York City - Chart Your Progress
“Stay motivated using a fitness report card. Jot down these subjects: Cardio, Muscle Conditioning, Flexibility and Attitude. Set goals (for example, doing 10 “boy” push-ups) and grade yourself A through F at least four times a year. When you see how much you improve, you’ll want to stay in great shape.”
–Ken Alan, Los Angeles–based personal trainer - Try This All-in-One Toner
“A side-step squat with wood chop works your arms, torso, abs, back, legs, inner thighs and butt. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a three- to four-pound medicine ball in your hands. Bend your arms up so that the ball is at eye level over your right shoulder. As you bring the ball toward your left knee, step out with your left leg and bend it no further than 90 degrees, keeping your right leg straight. Return to the starting position. Do 10 to 15 reps and repeat on the other leg.”
–David Kirsch, trainer and author of The Ultimate New York Body Plan (McGraw-Hill, 2004) - Break Out the Shovel
“Why pay someone to clear snow from your driveway? Besides burning nearly 400 calories per hour, shoveling snow develops muscular endurance and power. But be safe: Minimize the amount of snow on each shovelful, and bend from your knees and hips, not your back.”
–Tom Seabourne, Ph.D., exercise physiologist and sports psychologist at Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant, Texas
Nutrition Tips for New Athletes
Don’t Exercise on an Empty Stomach
Put some gas in your tank before starting your workout. Carbohydrate is the preferred fuel for exercise, so 30 to 60 minutes before exercise eat something that is easily digested and carbohydrate-rich. Great pre-workout snacks are:
- Low-fat fruit yogurt
- A banana
- A slice of 100 percent whole grain toast with fruit preserves
- A small bowl of oatmeal with sliced strawberries or apples.
Before workouts lasting 90 minutes or more, a more substantial pre-workout meal is appropriate to help your stomach feel satisfied throughout the exercise session. A balanced meal before a workout could be:
- Low-fat fruit yogurt with a sprinkle of granola and sliced pecans
- Sliced banana and natural peanut butter spread on 100 percent whole grain crackers
- Scrambled eggs with veggies and a slice of 100 percent whole grain toast with fruit preserves
- A bowl of oatmeal with sliced fruit and a side of cottage cheese or chicken sausage
Pay Attention to the Toilet
As the temperature climbs and you spend more and more time sweating, your risk for dehydration will increase. Even slight dehydration makes exercise harder than it has to be. The best indicator of hydration is your urine color. Urine should be a pale yellow color without a strong odor. The goals are to start exercise with pale colored urine and to produce pale urine within an hour of finishing your workout.
If you are noticing dark-colored urine following workouts, you need to drink more throughout your workout. However, if your urine is clear or if you have to stop repeatedly to use the restroom during exercise, you are drinking more fluids than you need and you can back off on your intake.
Jogging can help you Live Longer
Good news for those of us who jog more at the pace of a sleepy tortoise than a hopped-up hare:Jogging for just an hour a week—even at a slow pace—can up your life expectancy by 5.6 years, according to a new Danish study.
Researchers looked at 35 years worth of health data for 20,000 men and women between the ages of 20 and 93. Compared to their non-jogging counterparts, runners had a 44% lower risk of death. Why? Jogging impacts the major causes of death, says Eliza Chakravarty, MD, a researcher at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Being active has been shown to improve everything from cognitive function to warding off heart disease and diabetes.
5 Workout Secrets: Expert Exercise Tips
1. Be Consistent
Chase Squires is the first to admit that he’s no fitness expert. But he is a guy who used to weigh 205 pounds, more than was healthy for his 5’4″ frame. “In my vacation pictures in 2002, I looked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man at the beach,” says the 42-year-old Colorado resident. Squires decided enough was enough, cut out fatty food, and started walking on a treadmill. The pounds came off and soon he was running marathons — not fast, but in the race. He ran his first 50-mile race in October 2003, and completed his first 100-miler a year later. Since then, he’s completed several 100-mile, 50-mile, and 50k races.
His secret? “I’m not fast, but I’m consistent,” says Squires, who says consistency is his best tip for maintaining a successful fitness regimen.
“It all started with 20 minutes on a treadmill,” he says. “The difference between my success and others who have struggled is that I did it every single day. No exercise program in the world works if you don’t do it consistently.”
2. Follow an Effective Exercise Routine
The American Council on Exercise (ACE) recently surveyed 1,000 ACE-certified personal trainers about the best techniques to get fit. Their top three suggestions:
- Strength training. Even 20 minutes a day twice a week will help tone the entire body.
- Interval training. “In its most basic form, interval training might involve walking for two minutes, running for two, and alternating this pattern throughout the duration of a workout,” says Cedric Bryant, PhD, FACSM, chief science officer for ACE. “It is an extremely time-efficient and productive way to exercise.”
- Increased cardio/aerobic exercise. Bryant suggests accumulating 60 minutes or more a day of low- to moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking, running, or dancing.
3. Set Realistic Goals
“Don’t strive for perfection or an improbable goal that can’t be met,” says Kara Thompson, spokesperson for the International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). “Focus instead on increasing healthy behaviors.”
In other words, don’t worry if you can’t run a 5K just yet. Make it a habit to walk 15 minutes a day, and add time, distance, and intensity from there.
4. Use the Buddy System
Find a friend or relative whom you like and trust who also wants to establish a healthier lifestyle, suggests Thompson. “Encourage one another. Exercise together. Use this as an opportunity to enjoy one another’s company and to strengthen the relationship.”
5. Make Your Plan Fit Your Life
Too busy to get to the gym? Tennis star Martina Navratilova, health and fitness ambassador for the AARP, knows a thing or two about being busy and staying fit.
Make your plan fit your life, she advises in an article on the AARP web site. “You don’t need fancy exercise gear and gyms to get fit.”
If you’ve got floor space, try simple floor exercises to target areas such as the hips and buttocks, legs and thighs, and chest and arms (like push-ups, squats, and lunges). Aim for 10-12 repetitions of each exercise, adding more reps and intensity as you build strength.
Tasty Tips for Healthier Eating
Try incorporating these tips from Koff to help make healthier food choices year-round:
- Be a qualitarian: Choose the best quality food available at every eating occasion — you are what you eat, and your body runs best on better-quality fuel.
- Go all-natural: Make sure when you buy something that claims to be “all-natural,” it really is as marketed. Companies like Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc. make that easy through their eight all-natural principles, which exclude use of preservatives, artificial additives, MSG, hydrogenated oil and irradiated ingredients.
- Get a nutrition upgrade: Whether eating animal or plant-based proteins, eat them in their whole food form — think cubed tofu as opposed to a bar or product with soy protein isolate.
- Choose nutrient balance for optimal energy and results: Incorporating a balance of carbs, proteins and healthy fats, as opposed to just counting calories, gives your body a mix of each kind of fuel it needs to perform at its highest level.
- Incorporate D.I.T. meals throughout the week: Pressed for time? Create “Do-it-Themselves” eating occasions, such as a taco bar, so everyone in the family can find something they like.
Tips for healthy Eating, Weight Loss and Nutrition
· Planning what to eat and how to deal with foods that you find irresistible.
· Incorporating physical activity into your schedule, and figuring out how to make sure you get to the gym on those days when you’re less likely to have the time or inclination to work out. Workouts increase the chances of reaching your weight loss goals and decrease the chances of slipping up. In addition, studies show that people who develop the habit of regular, moderate physical activity are most successful at maintaining their weight.
· Remembering that even though we all have “slip prone” situations and temptations, goal-planning helps us handle them.
- An old adage says that you can’t change what you don’t understand. You’ll definitely benefit from understanding when, what, why and how much you eat by keeping a food diary. Experts agree that keeping track of what you eat and when you eat it is a critical factor in losing and controlling weight. A food diary helps a person lose weight by providing a heightened self-awareness, which is an early step toward behavior change and a really effective “self-monitoring” tool. There are now many smartphone apps and other tools to help you to keep track – even taking photos of everything you eat.
- Don’t be fooled by “portion distortion.” Most of us have very little idea how much we are really eating. When you’re doing your diary, be honest about how much you’re really eating. As a general rule, assume you’re eating 30 to 40 percent more than you think.
- Most people fantasize about reaching a weight considerably lower than what they can realistically maintain. Take your body type into consideration, and keep in mind that we are bombarded daily with images of unrealistically thin people.
- Don’t worry if you hit a point where you do not lose weight while on a program. This is common – you may reach a plateau of weight maintenance while your body continues to adjust. This is perfectly OK.
- Although most people do not expect perfection of themselves in everyday life, many feel they must stick to a weight-loss program to the letter. Perfection is unrealistic. Instead, take note of when you fall off your diet. These lapses need not be catastrophes. Instead, give yourself a break and see them as what they are: valuable opportunities to identify weak moments and problem triggers and to develop strategies for the future. Take it one day at a time.
- While being overweight may contribute to social problems you may be having, it is rarely the single cause. Expecting that all your problems will be solved “when you’re thinner” is unrealistic and sets you up for disappointment. Instead, understand that the skills you used to achieve successful weight loss can also be applied to other areas of your life.
‘Fruit and Veggie Fest’ focuses on healthy eating
Food, fitness and fun are planned for the Network for a Healthy California’s “Fruit and Veggie Fest” to take place Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Grocery Outlet, 625 Commercial St.
The Network for a Healthy California, in partnership with retailers across California, hosts a series of Fruit and Veggie Fests each year to encourage people to make every meal delicious with the flavors of fruits and vegetables.
Throughout May, retailers across the state are holding special events and promotions to inspire shoppers with nourishing eating tips and recipes that include plenty of fresh, frozen, dried and canned produce.
”Making healthy choices at the store can be the first step to creating healthy habits at home, such as including more fruits and vegetables in the meals we make for our families,” said Rachael Gibson, a health education specialist with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Public Health Branch in Eureka. She also serves as a retail program specialist for the Network for a Healthy California.
Eureka’s Grocery Outlet has a variety of activities planned for its Fruit and Veggie Fest. Shoppers can ride on a blender bike, take part in a “rethink your drink” water tasting event, have fun in a physical activity game area and test their nutrition knowledge on a power wheel of questions.
16 Tips to Triple Your Workout Effectiveness
Limit your workouts to 30-40 minutes. Though the tendency of some people who really want to get a lot out of their workouts is to spend a lot of time at the gym, the truth is that after 30 or 40 minutes, the benefit isn’t as great. To go that long, you’d have to lower the intensity of the workout, and that means that you’re spending too much time working out. It’s better to work out at a higher intensity for a shorter amount of time.- High-intensity workouts. If you’re just starting out with exercise, it’s best to take it slow. If you’re running or cycling, for example, build up your endurance for at least a month before you get into anything more intense. That means going at a rate where you can easily talk without being out of breath. However, once you have that base of endurance, step up the intensity to step up the effectiveness of the workout.
- Protein. Many people don’t pay enough attention to getting the protein their muscles need to rebuild. If you don’t, you are going to get very little out of your workout, as both cardio and strength workouts require protein for building muscles. I recommend either whey or soy protein shakes.
- Water. Be sure to hydrate throughout the day. It takes a couple of hours for your body to absorb the water, so you can’t just drink right before exercise. Make it a habit to drink water regularly throughout the day.
- Carbs. Although the low-carb craze might say otherwise, carbs are our body’s main source of fuel. If you do intense workouts, you will need carbs, or you won’t have enough energy. If you do a shake, be sure to include carbs — or a banana is a great source of low fiber/high glycemic carbohydrates that you need for exercise.
- Shake before and after workout. It’s best to take a protein/carb shake just before your workout and then just after. Taking it before your workout increases the flow of amino acids to your muscles during training, giving them the building blocks they need. After the workout, the shake stimulates muscle growth. Also take a small protein/carb meal 60-90 minutes after a workout — a meal replacement bar would work fine.
- Slow lifting. Many people contract their muscles slowly and then release more quickly. But if you lift slowly in both directions, you are maximizing each move. Lift and lower to a 5-second count in each direction.
- Heavier weight. When you’re starting out, it’s best to start with lower weights so you can focus on good form. But once you’ve gotten your form down, it’s best to lift the heaviest weights you can lift while still keeping good form. Don’t sacrifice form for heavy weights — that is ineffective. But heavy weights, with good form, can give you better results in a shorter amount of time. Heavy weights are not just for those who want to bulk up — that’s a common misconception.
- One set, to failure. Instead of doing 2-3 sets, as many people do, maximize your effectiveness by doing just one, with heavy weights, until you can no longer keep the proper form. Lifting to “failure” doesn’t mean that you should lift the last few times with a wobbly or inefficient form.
- Compound exercises. Instead of isolating your muscles with exercises such as the bicep curl, you can maximize the time you spend in a workout by doing exercises that work out multiple muscle groups at once. With just a few exercises, you could get a full-body workout. Another benefit is that your muscles are working together as they do in the real world, rather than alone. Some great compound exercises include squats, deadlifts, good mornings, lunges, pushups, bench presses, military presses, rows, pullups, dips, and more.
- Balance lifting. Instead of having exercises where you’re sitting down or holding on to something or otherwise stabilized, it’s more effective to do them standing up, or on one leg, or on a Swiss exercise ball. These types of exercises force you to balance yourself while lifting, which brings your core muscles into play. This gives you a stronger overall body and allows you to lift more over time.
- Pick a cardio exercise you enjoy. It’s no fun to exercise if you hate it. And you won’t keep it up for very long. Pick something that’s fun — running, walking, swimming, biking, hiking, rowing, stairmaster, etc. After the initial phase when you’re getting used to exercise, you’ll start to have a blast and look forward to it.
- Mix it up. Don’t stick to the same workout routine for too long, or your body will adjust to the stress level and you won’t be getting an effective workout. For strength training, change your routine every few weeks. For cardio, it’s best to cross train rather than, say, to run every time.
- Good form. For strength training especially, and swimming, form is very important, but it’s also important for other types of exercise. If you’re strength training, start with lighter weights so you can work on your form. It’s good to have an experienced spotter or trainer who knows good form to help you for the first month or so. Never sacrifice form for heavier weight. For swimming, you’ll need to get a coach to teach you form.
- Hills. If you run or bike or walk for cardio, you’ll want to incorporate hills (after the first month or two of doing it at an easy pace on flat ground). These will make you stronger and make your limited workout time even more effective. Take them easy at first, but once you’re used to hills, you can get a good pace going. Either use a hilly route or do repeats on one hill.
- Circuits. One mistake that people make is to do multiple sets of the same exercise without rest between the sets. This doesn’t allow your muscles to recover and it’s a waste of your workout. But instead of doing a set, resting, and then doing your second set, it’s more effective to move on to multiple exercises in a circuit, so that you don’t rest between exercises but do rest each muscle group. This will give you a good cardio workout while you do your strength training.
Weight Loss tips to get in Shape for Summer
- If you externalize blame, you attribute your problems to your gene pool, to another person or circumstance or event, often ignoring your own destructive behaviors. “My spouse is so critical and demanding – he makes me overeat.” When you internalize blame (blame yourself), you’re more likely to define yourself as hopeless or lost before you begin, thinking, for example, “I can’t control my eating, so why try?” Either style of blaming gets in the way of taking responsibility.
- Successful weight loss isn’t possible unless you take the time to assess what’s tripped you up in the past and develop strategies for dealing with those situations. You must commit to planning and organizing your weight loss.
- Making drastic or highly restrictive changes in your eating habits may help you to lose weight in the short run, but those restrictions can be hard to live with permanently. Similarly, your program of physical activity should be one you can sustain. Rethink your definition of “weight-loss success” to include an enjoyable, comfortably maintained and sensible eating program along with regular activity.
- If you equate success with fast weight loss, you’ll have problems maintaining your weight. A “quick fix” attitude almost always backfires when it comes to weight maintenance. It’s smarter – and healthier – to set a series of smaller, achievable goals while you make new eating habits and activity patterns second nature.
- Goal-planning is all about doing your research, plotting your course, making a step-by-step plan with deadlines, setting short-, mid- and long-term goals and putting your goals into an estimated overall time frame.
- Goals should be clear, not too broad and should answer the questions how, when, where and why. Your goals should help to set your course of action.
- Systematically map out your weight-loss goals by:
· Writing down a long-term goal and outlining in detail the steps you’ll take to carry it out over time. That means not saying simply, “I’m going to lose 25 pounds,” but devising a thorough plan of attack, complete with strategies for dealing with all potential stumbling blocks, and then tracking your progress consistently and thoughtfully.
Amino Vitals Expert Nutritionist Tips
Nutrition should be part of their training program. After all, why not make the most of your training by fueling your body right? Nutrition can make a good athlete great or a great athlete merely good. Here are a few tips:
- Know your body. Don’t try something just because it worked for your neighbor, roommate or another athlete if it isn’t right for you. Likewise, don’t buy into fad diets. Those are meant for the general public, not high performance athletes.
- Try something in practice prior to using it in a race setting. After all, you never know how your stomach will react and the last place you want to be surprised is during a race.
- Plan ahead. Don’t “wing it” when it comes to your training nutrition. Plan your meals ahead of time, your during activity nutrition and your post-activity nutrition. If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.
- Always travel with food! Fruit and nutrition bars are very portable and you never know when you’ll be stuck in traffic, sitting on a tarmac or in an airport after hours with only vending machines open.
