Eat Like A Champion

Most people understand that working out is essential to building muscle and shedding fat. So with the unofficial start of summer just around the corner, there are more people jogging outside, boot camp classes are revving up, and the gyms are getting just a little bit more crowded. However, working out is only part of the battle and many people are winning in the gym, only to lose at their dining room table.

Your diet is just as, and arguably more important to how your body looks as your workouts. However, dramatic diet changes, such as cutting hundred of calories a day, can slow your metabolism and make losing weight feel impossible. Over-ambitious diet expectations can lead to big weight fluctuations and mental burnout. Instead of swinging for the fences your first time at the plate, focus on smaller steps that are easier to stick with and won’t slow your metabolism down to a crawl.  Follow these tips to shed those pounds and reveal the muscles that you have been working so hard to build all winter!

Eat More Protein: While I do not believe in completely eliminating foods that you enjoy, high-calorie, nutrient sparse foods like bread and chips should be limited to 10% of your daily caloric intake. Focus on increasing your daily protein intake. Depending on your level of activity, you should aim for 0.5-0.75 grams of protein per pound of your target body weight per day. This will maximize satiety, boost muscle growth, and elevate your metabolic rate.

Get Fruity: Increasing your daily fruit intake can help shed fat. Fruit provides your muscles with carbohydrates to fuel intense training. Fruits also full of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients to promote health.

Eat Before You Shop: Studies have shown that people who grocery shop on empty stomachs tend to load their carts with more high-calorie options. Grab a piece of fruit or a protein bar prior to visiting the supermarket to help stay on track!

Accuracy Is Key: Most people think that they eat healthier than they actually do. Meal tracking is a good way to truly hold yourself accountable of what is going into your body. Each day, write down everything that you eat and/or drink. At the end of the week, go back and give yourself an honest assessment of how well you stuck to your plan.

Leave Some Breathing Room: Picture your appetite on a scale of 0-100 with 0 being starving and 100 being absolutely stuffed. Your meals should leave you between 50-75. Eating before you are starving and stopping when you are satisfied, instead of stuffed, will help avoid overeating and the consumption of excess calories.

Follow these tips at the table and you will be well on your way to showing off those rock hard abs that you worked so tirelessly to achieve. Let’s go!

Lift Like A Woman!

Lift Like A Woman!

Walk into most commercial gyms and you will likely see the same thing: most of the women are in the cardio area, while the men fight for open bench space in the weight lifting area.  The main excuse that woman provide for not lifting weights is that they fear getting “too bulky” and instead want to focus their training on “toning” and “shedding fat.”  While cardio is certainly a necessary part of any training regime, weight lifting is often times the fastest and most effective method for reaching your fitness goals.  Weight training, combined with cardio, will not only help create the shapely, toned body that so many females crave, but will also provide priceless health benefits.  Below are some of the many benefits of weight training:

• More Effective and Efficient Fat Burning:  One of the biggest benefits of weight training is your body’s ability to burn fat and calories, both during and after your workout.  Weight training causes your body to use more oxygen, thereby increasing your metabolic rate by requiring your body to expend additional calories.  The more lean muscle mass that your body has, the better your body becomes at using calories more effectively.  Further, while cardio burns both fat and muscle, weight lifting burns almost exclusively fat.

• Healthy Heart: Weight training helps combat the risk of heart disease.  Studies show that those who engage in weight training 2 to 3 times a week are less likely to have elevated blood pressure or glucose levels, dangerous belly fat, or high triglycerides.

• Fight Stress: Exercise in general is a great way to manage stress. Studies show that people who regularly weight train tend to manage stress better and experience fewer adverse reactions to stressful situations than those who do not.

• More Energy During the Day, Better Sleep at Night:  Weight training promotes an uptick in energy expenditure for several hours following workouts.  Further, weight training promotes better sleep quality by helping you get to sleep faster and into a deeper sleep state.

• Healthier Bones: With the passing of each year, our risk of bone density and muscle loss increases.  Postmenopausal women are at an even greater risk for osteoporosis.  Weight training promotes healthy bones, helps your body fight against the loss of bone mass and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

Resistance training provides numerous benefits and often times provides the quickest and most efficient path to reaching your fitness destination.  So don’t let the men have all of the fun and reap all of the rewards!  Add weight training to your workout routine and jump start your journey to a stronger, healthier, more confident you!

Train Together, Stay Together!

Train Together, Stay Together!

Working out can create a lonely, isolated feeling.  And many couples complain about not spending enough time together.  So why not kill two birds with one stone? February, the month of love, is the perfect time to take your training to the next level with your significant other!

Working out with your significant other can do wonders, not only for your physique, but also for your relationship!  Studies show couples who routinely work out together report becoming closer emotionally and feeling more satisfied with their relationships. Also, the added energy and improved body image often leads to a greater sense of physical intimacy between couples.

Other couple workout benefits include:

•Encouragement and Support:  Because you are tackling this tough task together, having the motivation, encouragement, and support of your significant other can not only increase the intensity and frequency of your workouts, but also make you more likely to stick to your routine.

•A New Common Interest:  Working out together can become an activity that you both really look forward to.  And you can never have too many things in common with your significant other!

•Reduced Stress:  Stress can wreak havoc on any relationship.  Heightened stress reduces both physical and emotional intimacy.  However, working out regularly, improves our ability to handle the stress present in our daily lives.  Reduced stress improves moods and can lead to a happier and healthier relationship.

So whether its a group fitness class, weekend run, or strength training, try incorporating fitness activities into your relationship.  And watch the two of you grow closer, happier, and healthier together!

Beat The Winter Slump!

Beat The Winter Slump!

The winter months are the toughest for people to stay motivated and dedicated to their fitness goals.  The frigid temps make it difficult, if not downright impossible to get outside and be active.  Here are a few indoor activities to help you avoid the wintertime slump (and excuses):

Resistance Training:  When most people hear resistance training, they automatically thinking about weightlifting.  While weightlifting is the most recognizable form of resistance training, you can still get a challenging and beneficial workout outside the confines of a traditional gym.  Try a high-intensity bodyweight circuit to fire up your metabolism and keep those winter pounds from piling up!  If you need instructions on how to perform certain bodyweight movements or need a few suggestions, check out the free video section of www.jackfit.net.

Row, Row, Row:  You’ve run on the treadmill, you’ve used the elliptical for years, and you’ve probably stationary biked across the entire country by now. But most people overlook the row machine!  The row machine is my favorite cardio machine.  The row machine requires your body to use several major muscle groups at the same time. As such, you will enjoy a legitimate upper AND lower body workout at the same time while burning up to 700 calories in an hour!  Additionally, the row machine is a low impact cardio workout that does not stress the joints the way that running can. This low impact cardio machine reduces the risk of injury without diminishing the intensity of your workout.

Rock Climbing:  The fitness aspect of our society has always included traditional activities such as running, weightlifting, and sports participation.  However, non-traditional activities are fast becoming preferred alternatives to the traditional exercise regimen.  Sport climbing is one of the alternative activities that have become increasingly popular throughout the last two decades. At one time viewed as an extreme activity, sport climbing is now a mainstream alternative activity that is equally attractive to youth and adults.  Rock climbing and/or bouldering facilities are popping up all over the place.  Check for a facility near you!

Jump Rope:  Jumping rope is one the best cardiovascular exercises that you can do and it can be done almost anywhere!  Jumping rope is fantastic for cardiovascular fitness, weight loss, and improving the strength and muscle tone of your lower body.

Spin: Spin classes are becoming more and more popular throughout the country.  It is easy to tell why these classes are building up so much momentum.  These high intensity workouts are filled with enthusiastic instructors and energetic music that push you to achieving your fitness goals.  The energy that you will feel from your fellow spin-mates is contagious and can be just what you need to break your winter blues!

Just because the weather is colder, doesn’t mean that your commitment to being the fittest version of yourself has to be shelved for a few months. Remember summer bodies are made in the winter!  So find the weather friendly activity that you enjoy most and keep those winter pounds away!

HIIT It Hard!

HIIT It Hard!

High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT for short, is by far my favorite style of training.   HIIT workouts require you to engage in a high intensity movement or exercise circuit followed by a brief rest period or low intensity movement.  The high intensity movement jump starts your heart rate and makes you feel like your body is on fire.  The low intensity movement or rest period calms the heart rate back down to normal. There are several benefits of HITT workouts, including, but not limited to:

• Quick and efficient: Performing 20 minutes of a HIIT workout can burn more calories and provide better results than 60 minutes of steady state cardio workouts.

• Long lasting caloric expenditure: Your body will continue to burn fat and calories for up to 24 hours after performing a HIIT workout.

• Increased endurance: HIIT workouts increase your overall physical endurance by pushing your body to the limit.

HIIT workouts, just like any other type of exercise, can cause harm to your body if not done properly or done too frequently. However, many of the dangers that can be attributed to HIIT training are the same dangers attributable to any type of exercise program.

• Overtraining: Most of the dangers associated with HIIT training result from overtraining. For most adults, two to three HIIT sessions per week is more than sufficient to achieve the desired goals.

• Poor form: The other notable danger results from lack of proper form as participants become more and more fatigued during their workouts.

Here are two great HIIT workouts that you can incorporate into your workout routine:

HIIT Workout #1 – Sprint for 30 seconds.  Then walk for 60 seconds.  Repeat 10 times.

HIIT Workout #2 – Do each exercise for 30 seconds with a 15 second break before going to the next exercise.  Complete 5 rounds.

Jumping Jacks

Squats

Burpees

Alternating Lunges

HIIT is a great way to help you reduce fat, boost your metabolism, and increase your aerobic ability.  When done correctly, incorporating HIIT workouts into your workout routine will lead to awesome results! Try it out during your next workout!

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