The Dark Side of Super Bowl Sunday
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Whether or not you’re a football fan there is a very good chance you’ll be heading to a Super Bowl party this Sunday. And as you are fully aware, these parties can be VERY hazardous to your waistline (pictured above). But hey, it’s not hard to keep the pounds from packing on while watching (or ignoring) the Colts vs. the Saints.
Here are four Super Simple tips to keep you slim this Sunday:
1) Do some squats and pushups or take a 15 minute walk during halftime to stimulate your metabolism and improve digestion
2) Limit alcohol consumption. Not only are these “empty calories”, but they also cause you to make poor food choices. And if you’re hungover on Monday, well, you’ll make poor food choices the day after the game, too!
3) Eat a healthy meal before the party so you don’t show up starving and then make smart choices. Try to fill up on the protein, veggies, fruit and plenty of water.
4) Sure, you can enjoy some of your favorite “guilty pleasures” but you MUST avoid hanging around the snack table nibbling on everything in site.
See, it’s not so hard! Enjoy the big game.
BONUS TIP: Oftentimes when we feel hungry it is our body craving the proper nutrients it needs to be fueled with. That’s a great reason to take a Whole Foods based multi-vitamin like Prograde Nutrition’s VGF 25+for Women or Men. Yes, I’m a Prograde partner and I really believe in the VGF 25+ and use it.
Drop And Give Me Twenty!
By · CommentsWhile fitness fads come and go, some exercises will outlive any trend. One of those exercises is the push-up, which uses your own body weight and gravity to tone and condition muscles. Some fitness experts have called the push-up the closest thing there is to a perfect exercise. And with good reason.
They don’t require any equipment, can be done anywhere, use multiple muscle groups in the body, and everyone-from beginner to advanced fitness levels-can do them and benefit from them. Don’t be intimidated by them, they are not just for the military!
The primary muscles that are worked are the chest and tricep. However, if you look at the form needed to do a perfect push-up, you muscles from your neck all the way to your toes are engaged in some way. This includes the all important core muscles, back, shoulders, legs and hips.
They are an all-around great exercise. Most people don’t love doing them, and many people don’t do them at all. Many people claim that they can’t do push-ups, even though they have never really tried (or they are just unwilling to push through because they are difficult). But the benefits are well worth the hard work. You have to start somewhere to train your body to do them! Start with the modification on your knees, and slowly build up to being able to do full-body, on your feet, push-ups. You will love seeing yourself get stronger as you are able to do more reps on your feet. It’s a great way to measure your progress! Also, once you master the basic movement, there are many modifications to change it up and to increase the level of difficulty.
To Perform:
With feet together and with hands placed (fingers pointing forward) as wide or slightly wider than shoulder width. Keeping the body straight, lower body to the ground by bending arms at the elbows. Raise body up off the ground by extending the arms. Repeat.
Body weight should be lifted by the arms; don’t be tempted to use your butt, stomach or the lower half of your body to pull yourself up. To maintain correct body alignment, imagine a straight line running from your head down to your ankles.
Modification: “Knee” push ups – to reduce the lifting load, you can do the same exercise, but do it on your knees. Keeping a straight line from neck to torso is still important, so please pay attention to correct body alignment as you do them.
Snowed In Home Workout
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Since you’re probably not traveling to the gym today to exercise (whether you were planning to or not) because of our crazy “Snow Storm,” I thought I would put together a quick bodyweight workout for you to do at home today. This should warm you up…
- 50 Pushups
- 50 Good Mornings
- 60 second Plank
- 50 Alternating Lunges
1 round equals completing all 4 exercises. The goal is to complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes (or 15) based on your fitness level. Make sure to spend about 5 minutes warming up before you start.
*If this is too advanced, you can modify by cutting each set in half: 25 Pushups, 25 Good Mornings, 30 Second Plank and 25 Alternating Lunges.
Push yourself. You should be sweating and breathing hard if you’re getting after it. Enjoy and post a comment to let me know how you did.
*Bootcamp Highlight Video
By · CommentsHere’s a quick highlight video of some random bootcamp footage. Enjoy…!
**The next phase starts on Monday, February 1st. Now is your chance to lock in at our lowest rates to date before they go up!!
Fitness Bootcamps Are Dangerous – Part 2
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Indoor Bootcamp
The Top 10 Bootcamp Safety Checklist – Continued
To catch up, read the first post: Fitness Bootcamps Are Dangerous – Part 1
6.) The Training System Must Focus on Body Weight Circuit Training and Cardio Interval Training. High-Intensity Interval Training is scientifically proven to burn 9x more fat than the aerobic training alternative, so it is critical that both the resistance training AND cardio programs provided incorporate intervals since the goal of 99% of fitness enthusiasts is fat loss. Furthermore, most people are seeking for the lean, athletic look of a men’s health or women’s health cover model respectively, and this can be easily accomplished with body weight resistance training movements organized in a circuit fashion with the proper pre-programmed work to rest periods between exercises. Plus a truly skilled trainer has mastered the art of intensifying movements without the need for extra loading.
7.) The Program MUST Provide Nutritional Information. Nutrition is easily 80% of the weight loss battle. Without it, you are joining an incomplete program and wasting your money since there is no amount of exercise that can compensate for poor dietary habits. As I always say, “You can’t out train a poor diet!” People are too busy, and frankly too lazy to follow something complicated, so the nutrition program needs to be clearly outlined and easy to follow. It should provide some sort of Quick-Start Nutrition Guide that will have you eating to support your fat loss goals in 5 minutes or less. The program should also provide other regular nutritional advice and accountability to help you make lifestyle changes in this area.
8.) The Program Must Have A Website AND Social Networking. Bottom line, if the boot camp program in question does not have a website in this day in age it is not worth your time and money. Personal training is not just about “training,” it is a business and it needs to be approached that way. Furthermore, social support must extend outside of the boot camp workout. You need social support to be successful. Whether it’s keeping up through facebook, twitter, blog, forum, etc., this is a must.
9.) The Program Must Have Social Proof And Raving Fans. If the program works, there should be proof in the form of client testimonials. Their previous clients should have results and be raving about all of the benefits that they have received from the program. Ask for before and after pictures and written or video testimonials of their services before signing up (again, this should be made available on the company website). And remember, it’s NOT just about the weight loss. Benefits should include, but not be limited to, increased energy levels, dress/pant size reduction, improved health profiles, increased strength and flexibility, less joint pain, etc.
9) The Program Must Be More Than Just a Workout. Changing your body and health is hard work. Anyone that tells you different is liar or some freak of nature. And there are a lot of variables to it. So the bootcamp should provide plenty of resources to help you reach your goals outside of your workout time and this should continue to grow and improve. If all they offer you is to come get a good “workout”, then your should start looking elsewhere. Anyone can take you through a workout, but to really be successful, you need a program in place. So make sure to do your homework and find out what all is involved in your program!
10.) The Program Must Offer A FREE Trial. If the program is confident about what they have to offer, then they will let you come in and try it out or they will guarantee your satisfaction. A results-based program looks to minimize barriers of entry for prospects into their boot camps because they know that once the prospect experiences the benefits of the program firsthand they will surely continue! So make sure you can come try it out if you’re not sure and look for social proof in the form of client testimonials.
If you’re looking for a bootcamp (or personal training) in the Charlotte, NC area, I’m confident that we meet these criteria and would love to have you join us! Our next phase begins Monday, Feb 1st. Lock in before our rates go up. More info here.
Previously I mentioned some of the benefits of squatting but with that, there is still much skewed information out there regarding this exercise. Many “so-called experts” like to say how they are bad for your knees or your back…blah, blah, blah but have no legit evidence to back up their claims. If you do any exercise wrong, there’s a good chance you can harm some part of your body. That’s why you need to learn proper form/technique with all exercises, especially the squat.
When done properly, the squat is very beneficial and will actually strengthen your knees, back, etc. But most people that squat, don’t get low enough. They only perform “partial squats” instead of full squats. This happens for 3 main reasons.
1) Laziness: They just don’t want to work that hard. It’s much easier & more comfortable to do partial squats.
2) Pride: They have to use less weight or do less reps to perform full squats so they don’t appear as strong (happens very often with guys).
3) False Info: They have heard and believe squats are bad or “Getting too low is bad for your knees” but the pic below speaks for itself.
So if you’re already squatting, then continue to work on your form and perform full squats (make sure you are getting low enough). Then after you master that, add weight, increase the amount of repetitions you can do in a certain amount of time, etc. And if you’re not squatting, you’re missing out and need to start…today!
No More Excuses Video
By · CommentsIt’s easy to have our list of excuses for why we aren’t taking care of ourselves, especially in the area of fitness including things like: I don’t have time or money or energy or I don’t feel good or my metabolism is slow or I have bad genetics or I’m tired or I don’t like to sweat or have bad knees or I’m too busy, blah, blah, blah….
And our excuse seems pretty good until we see someone like Matt Scott who has a “No Excuse” mentality. Then there’s a perspective change. I love guys like this that don’t make excuses and just go for it. Props to Matt (and Nike) for the example and wake up call. Time to suck it up and go….
To Squat or not to Squat…Part 1
By · CommentsSquats are one of my favorite exercises. Not because I love doing them so much but because of all the many benefits you get from doing them. So to answer your question, yes you should squat and here’s 3 reasons why:
1) It is a functional movement. 
The squat movement is a daily part of life. Every time you sit in a chair or stand back up, you are doing a variation of a squat. When you get in or out of bed, down on or up off the floor, on or off the toilet, guess what you have to do…squat. If you’re not able to squat, your mobility in life is very limited.
2) It burns a lot of calories. Caloric burn is the name of the game when it comes to weight loss and getting lean so why not do the exercises that are going to burn the most calories. The squat is one of those. You get a lot of ROI with this one (Return on Investment). We call that “getting a lot of bang for your buck.”
3) It boosts your metabolism. Not only do you burn a lot of calories while doing them, squats have the ability to help you build a lot of muscle. And the speed of your metabolism is a direct product of the amount of muscle you have. This means you will burn more calories while you AREN’T working out. Sounds like a pretty good deal huh?
Most people don’t like doing squats, though, because they aren’t a comfortable exercise to do. I mean I even have a Love/Hate relationship with them. Love them for all the benefits but I’m not going to lie. They are tough and can cause some serious nausea when done with some intensity as well as a lot of soreness…Check back soon for more on the squat in Part 2.
Just Checking In…
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So we are 1 week into the New Year. A week ago, a lot of you made resolutions to “get in shape,” or “lose weight.” So, a week later, how is it going? Have you done anything to move toward that goal yet? Put some actual goals in writing, or maybe even made some sort of lifestyle change-in the way you exercise, eat, etc? The more time that passes from the day you made your “resolution,” the chances of you acting on it are get more slim (no pun intended!). So, here are 3 simple things you can do TODAY to help you from becoming one of the majority of people fall off the wagon before January is over.
1. Make specific goals, not just vague resolutions (so “get in shape” becomes “I want to lose 15 lbs by April 1st).
2. Write them down and put them somewhere you can see them everyday.
3. Share them with someone in your life who can hold you accountable.
Simple, but effective. Create some accountability in your life. Now, enough talking and thinking about it, go do something about it today!
The Eat Less / Move More Principle
By · CommentsYou say you’ve tried everything, right? Well weight loss isn’t near as complicated as people make it. To break it down in it’s simplest form is: If you burn more calories than you are taking in, you will lose weight. It’s been proven thousands and thousands of time. If you eat less (than you are now) and move more (exercise more than you are now), your body will lose weight. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to burn more calories than you are consuming and gain weight. IMPOSSIBLE!
Here’s a classic funny video that displays this principle pretty clearly.
The problem with this method is your body changes as you try to change it so you have to change your approach to be a step ahead. So how fast you lose weight, how your body actually changes/whether you become lean or not, how you feel as far as energy, whether you’re improving your overall fitness level and function in life, etc. are all dependent on more specific factors.
The main 2 factors are the type of exercise plan and nutrition plan you are on. This is where it gets more complicated and really becomes a science if you want to maximize the results you’re going to get because using the same method of attack will work for a little while but your body will catch up eventually. e.g. The amount of calories your body burns when you do a certain exercise lessens over time. So keep the Eat Less/Move More principle in mind but remember you need to change to keep your body changing.
It can be overwhelming/frustrating trying to figure all this out so one great solution is Bootcamp and we’re offering a trial right now for $1.
