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Fitness Tip #11 of #31 Park In The Furthest Parking Spot From The Entrance

October 11, 2010 by John Leave a Comment

Sometimes making simple daily changes adds up to huge gains in our health. Our daily activities account for 15-30% of our energy expenditure each day. Plus by increasing or daily expenditure our resting metabolic rate (energy we expend during rest) increases as well. The goal with this Tip is to maximize every opportunity to increase our daily expenditure.

Sitting in a car is resting, walking is not. So pull into the parking lot, find the first open spot, park in it and start walking.

But what if you’re late? RUN, it isn’t going to kill you! Just kidding. Play a little game with this tip. Pay attention to the cars that pull into the same parking lot in front of and behind you. See how much ahead of or behind you they are when you get into the store/or work/bank whatever. I bet you’ll get there about the same time. If not RUN, it isn’t going to kill you.

Or you can look into some time management resources so that you arrive in time to walk a little extra distance. Wouldn’t you rather be a little late and be super healthy and fit? Another rhetorical question.

Of course you would!

Now park as far away as possible and get to walking..

Fitness Tip #10 of #31 Eat Lean Protein

October 10, 2010 by John Leave a Comment

Eating protein is vitally important to your overall health. Not to mention your goals. The body doesn’t store protein so it is important to eat protein several times each day. Protein has numerous benefits.

1. Protein is an important component of every cell in the body
2. Protein is used to build and repair tissue
3. Protein is necessary to make enzymes, hormones and many other body chemicals
4. Hair and nails are made primarily of protein
5. Protein is the building block of muscles, cartilage, skin and blood.

So how much protein should you eat?

There is some variance among experts on the appropriate amount of protein that should be consumed each day. Some of the factors that affect protein consumption are; gender, age, size (weight), and activity levels. I’m going to give you some general guidelines that through my experience have worked incredibly well for many different people. I’m not an advocate of high protein and low carbohydrate diets, so the amounts I recommend will work for most everyone. Please check with your doctor to be sure, especially if you have compromised kidney function.

1. Eat a serving of protein 5-7 times each day
2. Each serving should be about the size of your palm

How simple is that?

Ok, What are the best sources of protein? Ok let’s get real. We know that high fat meats aren’t good for us. So avoid, burgers, cheese, bacon, ham, pork chops, sausage, etc.

Here are some great sources of lean protein

1. Chicken (skinless)
2. Turkey
3. Fish
4. Round steak
5. Lean ground beef, chicken, or turkey
6. Eggs, (whites are great)
7. Seafood
8. Powdered egg, whey, vegetable protein
9. Deli meats

Since we’re trying to stay healthy we want to prepare our lean protein in the most healhful way possible. Here are the top three ways to prepare protein.

1. Grill
2. Bake
3. Broil

Simple enough. And oh yes feel free to get creative with spices and flavoring.

Enjoy…

Filed Under: Blog, Nutrition Tagged With: daily protein requirements, Diet, diets, fitness information, healthy eating, healty weight loss, nutrition, protein, weight loss

31 Days To A Much Improved You – Tip #9 Add These Four Core Exercises

October 9, 2010 by John Leave a Comment

Bridge

The Bridge is a great core exercise. It helps to strengthen the hamstrings, gluteals, and all of the muscles that support the lower spine and pelvis. This picture shows the end position of the bridge. To start you want to lye flat on the ground, bend your knees to about 90 degrees. Then press through your heels and lift your hips toward the ceiling. The goal is to lift your hips high enough so that there is a straight line through your knees, hips and shoulders. Hold for 30-60 seconds and repeat 3 times.

Plank

The Plank is a core exercise that is rooted in Yoga. It helps to strengthen all the muscles that stabilize the spine and pelvis as well as the shoulder. Start by lying flat on the ground. Your elbows should be directly under your shoulder and your feet should be together with your weight on your toes. Lift your hips up so that only your toes and elbows (forearms too) are on the ground. Lift your hips until there is a straight line through your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. The weight of your body should be directly over your elbows and toes. You should avoid pressing forward on your elbows or backward on your toes. Also avoid “A-framing” (hips too high) or “Sagging” (hips too low). Hold this position for as long as you can. Repeat 3 times.

Pointer

This is called a pointer because when you perform it you look like a pointer dog. Start on your hands and knees with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Lift your right hand and left knee one inch of the ground. Hole this position while attempting to avoid any movement in the rest of your body. Take 4 seconds to slowly extend both your arm and leg simultaneously. Then take 4 seconds to return them to the start position (with out touching your hand and knee to the ground). Do 8-12 Repetitions on each side.

Boat Pose

The Boat Pose is also rooted in Yoga. I typically call this Coccyx Balance, because your coccyx bone is your tailbone. Balance on your tailbone lift your feet so that your shins are parallel to the ground. Your arms should be by your side, also parallel to the ground. Lift your sternum (breast bone), so that your spine is flat. Hold as long as you can. Repeat 3 times.

Add theses four core exercises to your daily routing. Do them everyday. Watch the video below to learn more about how to perform these exercises correctly. I’ll be back tomorrow with Tip #10

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Djq1SjwlW0[/youtube]

Filed Under: Blog, Exercise and Fitness Tagged With: abdominals, abs, Core, core training, exercise, fitness, fitness information, six pack, six pack abs, workout, workout routines

Fitness Tip #8 of #31 Eliminate The Excuses

October 8, 2010 by John Leave a Comment

Congratulations! We’ve completed the first week Of “31 Days To A Much Healthier you”. At this point you should be doing all of the following each and every day: walking an hour, drinking a gallon of water, doing your 4 introductory stretches, as well as journaling your experiences. How’s it going? OK, rhetorical question, I know you’re rocking it and already beginning to notice some benefits!

But the truth is a vast majority of people quit their new exercise or diet programs during the first week. I don’t want you to be that person. I want you to succeed! One of the biggest obstacles you’ll faceis the idea that a diet or workout program is temporary. You have those ideas because that is how the fitness and diet industries promote their programs. You see it all the time, things like, “lose 15 pounds in 15 days” or “Sign up today for our 21 day fat burning miracle workout”. The fact is those programs work great, for some. They work for the people who are selling them to you! They make billions of dollars every year selling them, but they don’t work for you. In fact they set you up for failure, so that you can come back again and buy their next program.

I think I was very clear when I introduced this 31 Day program not to look at day 31 as the end of the journey. But instead you should look at day 32 as the start of you being empowered with tons of new information and habits you can use for the rest of your life. You’ll need to make changes in your daily behavior if you want to make changes in your life. Anything short of that simply won’t work. That may not sound as fun and exciting as all the other programs out there. But it’s the truth! And those other programs are ripping you off!!!

So when you’re faced with the task of actually changing your behavior, is your first reaction to resist that change? Are you uncomfortable with making changes and doing things differently than you have in the past? Does it seem overwhelming and unachievable? If you have any of these feelings or thoughts, the first thing you are going to do is come up with excuses why it won’t work for you.

Excuses will get in the way of accomplishing anything, every time.

As soon as you have those thoughts or feelings, squash them! Stop them immediately, and find solutions instead. Now this will be a process for you, part of the journey. It’s ok that you have these thoughts and feelings. The goal for you is to be able to recognize them and begin to change the way you are thinking. As soon as you recognize that you’re making an excuse, start to find the solutions.

Sometimes it will be very easy. If you’re saying to yourself that you’re too tired to workout, just go workout anyways, you’ll feel better. Now if you’re too tired because you stayed up late (watching TV, playing video games, or on FaceBook).You simply need to reprioritize, put your health ahead of those things and go to sleep earlier.

See how easy this is?

Ok, here’s the deal, from now on NO MORE EXCUSES, ONLY SOLUTIONS! Get to it…

See you again tomorrow…

Filed Under: Blog, Exercise and Fitness, WTF (Miscellaneous) Tagged With: exercise, fitness, fitness information, weight loss, weight training, workout, workout routines

Fitness Tip #7 of #31 Have A Cheat Day Once A Week

October 7, 2010 by John Leave a Comment

Ok, I know were only a week into this program and it might be premature to already be talking about “Cheat Days”. But I’ve laid down a lot of foundational stuff this week that will help you to live a much healthier life. The fitness and nutrition advise is going to start coming at you a lot faster in the next three weeks. As you begin to integrate this information into your life and lay out your plans, I want you to do so knowing that cheat days are part of the plan.

“Cheat Days” are immensely important to your overall success. Let me explain. First of all when I refer to cheat days I’m referring to the nutrition aspect of your program. Whenever you engage in vigorous physical activities (Cardio and Resistance Training) you always want to give yourself on day off each week. So that break from exercise is not considered cheating. You can still be active on your rest day, just avoid your normal structured exercise. It’s fine if you want to stretch or do low level cardio (hike, walk, bike ride).

Cheat days serve two important functions
1. Cheat Days allow you to eat your favorite foods.

This allows you to deal with any emotional or psychological attachments you might have with specific foods. It also allow you to eat really tasty food and satisfy some cravings. Also you avoid any sense of deprivation which typically leads instantly to quitting any healthy eating plan.

2. Cheating will help you to avoid plateaus

Our body is designed for adaptation. And our body adapts quickly, in as little as 4-7 days. So if you eat the same way every day, your body will adapt and will plateau much quicker than if you add cheat days to your program. Nothing shakes up your body like consuming high-fat, high-calorie foods after eating healthy for six straight days.

Here are the Rules for cheating (I know Oxymoron)
1. If you are trying to lose weight cheat one day each week
2. If you are at your goal weight cheat two days each week
3. Plan your cheat day to coincide with any social event you have (so your cheat day may vary from week to week)
4. Indulge in your cheat foods only after eating your normal healthy meals.
(Note) you can attempt to cheat all day if you like, but you’ll feel really sick (you’ll only do this once)
5. Eat your cheat foods outside of your house or workplace (don’t have tempting foods available on non-cheat days)

Look at your schedule for the next three weeks and schedule your cheat days. This is the easiest Tip yet, but I’m going to be all over you tomorrow…see you then.

Filed Under: Blog, Nutrition Tagged With: Diet, diets, fitness information, healthy eating, healty weight loss, nutrition

31 Days To A Much Improved You Fitness Tip #5 Add These Four Stretches To Your Daily Routine

October 5, 2010 by John Leave a Comment

Lying Hamstring Stretch

Start Position For Lying Hamstring Stretch

Finish Position For Lying Hamstring Stretch

In the start position you want to lye flat on your back with your left leg relaxed on the ground. Grab behind your right knee with both hands and pull your knee toward your chest. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. After 30-60 seconds straighten your right leg, grab your calf and pull your leg toward your body. You’ll feel a stretch in your hamstring (the back of your leg). Hold for 30-60 seconds. Repeat with your left leg. Do 2-3 stretches for each leg.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog, Exercise and Fitness Tagged With: exercise, fitness, fitness information, flexibility, stretches, stretching

Fitness Tip #4 of #31 Drink A Gallon Of Water

October 4, 2010 by John 1 Comment

Staying properly hydrated is crucial to your health. But there is some debate on how much water is necessary to maintain proper hydration. It’s safe to say that with all the various body types, sizes and levels of activity that there is a range of appropriate water consumption to maintain hydration. Studies show that we typically lose about 3 liters (a little more than 3quarts or 96 oz) of water each day. This water is eliminated through, urination, bowel movements, breathing, and sweating. For the body to function properly you’ll need to replace this fluid.

How do you know if you’re getting dehydrated? If you have a dry mouth, produce less urine, have very dark urine and/or feel dizzy or faint you probably need water, quick. Drink at least 12 glasses a day. Although I’m recommending even more, 16 glasses a day. That is a gallon of water each day. A gallon of water is 128oz. I’m letting you know this so it’s easy to add up your water consumption each day (who really drinks from an 8 oz glass anymore). So why am I recommending that you drink a gallon of water each day instead of 96oz? I’m erring in the side of caution. As long as you eat food (and a minimal amount of sodium) there are no negative side effects to drinking a gallon of water each day. If you don’t drink this much water currently you’ll begin to notice immediate positive effects with your body.

Here are some major health benefits to staying properly hydrated

1. Drinking water enhances fat loss
Water is an essential nutrient. All chemical reactions in the body depend upon it. If you’re trying to lose weight, this can’t be ignored. You won’t be able to lose weight without water to flush out the by-products of fat breakdown. When there isn’t enough water to dilute the body’s waste products, kidney stones may form. When the kidneys aren’t working to their full potential, the liver must step in and help. Once this happens the liver can’t optimally perform its other important functions. As a result, burning fat has to wait.

2. Combat ailments by drinking more water
In many cases, fatigue, headaches and back pain may be caused by dehydration. If you suffer from an afternoon nod off, try drinking more water at lunch. If you or your children complain of frequent headaches, the amount of water you’re drinking could be responsible.

3. Drinking water can reduce hunger
Hunger pangs are often misinterpreted cravings for water. Try drinking water before your regular meals and see if it helps you cut down on the amount of food you eat. It really works as an effective appetite suppressant. Avoid counting tea, coffee, sodas and juices in your fluid intake. Coffee and tea contain caffeine which has a diuretic effect and makes you lose water. Sodas and juices are too sweet—because the body must dilute them, they cause more dehydration.

4. Look younger – drinking water hydrates your skin
When the skin is properly hydrated, it looks plump and more radiant. Water will keep the toxins flushed out and help you to cool off through perspiration. Muscles need to haveenough water to make them look full too. Deprive yourself of water and you’ll see the difference in the mirror.

Other reasons you need to drink a gallon of water everyday

1. Better Productivity at Work: Your brain is mostly made up of water, thus drinking water helps you think better, be more alert and improve concentration.

2. Better Exercise: Drinking water regulates your body temperature. You’ll feel more energetic when doing exercises and water helps to fuel your muscle.

3. Helps in Digestion and Constipation: Drinking water raises your metabolism because it helps with digestion. Fiber and water goes hand in hand so that you can have your daily bowel movement.

4. Less Cramps: Proper hydration helps keep your joints and muscles lubricated, so you’ll less likely get cramps.

5. Less Likely to Get Sick and Feel Healthy: Drinking plenty of water helps fight against flu and other ailments like kidney stones and heart attack. Adding lemon to water can help with ailments like respiratory disease, intestinal problems, rheumatism and arthritis etc. In other words one of the benefits of drinking water can improve our immune system.

6. Relieves Fatigue: Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body. If your body lacks of water, your heart, for instance, needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to all cells, and other vital organs. Your organs will be exhausted and so will you.

7. Good Mood: When your body feels good it can’t help but to improve your mood and make you feel happy.

8. Reduce the Risk of Cancer: Related to the digestive system, some studies show that drinking a healthy amount of water may reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer. Water dilutes the concentration of cancer-causing agents in the urine and shortens the time in which they are in contact with bladder lining.

Ok enjoy your water (and the frequent trips to the restroom). I’ll be back again tomorrow with Fitness Tip #5 (and you’re going to really like Tip #5 a lot!).

Filed Under: Blog, Nutrition Tagged With: Diet, diets, fitness information, health, healty weight loss, nutrition, weight loss

Fitness Tip #3 of #31 Journal Every Day

October 3, 2010 by John Leave a Comment

As you make these daily changes I’d like you to begin to document your experiences in a daily journal. By doing so you’ll be able to look back on these 31 day and gain a clearer understanding regarding which fitness tips were simple for you and where your challenges lie. Journaling is a good problem solving tool and helps to provide valuable self-knowledge. Spend some time each day documenting the food you eat, the activities you’re engaged in and what your feelings and emotions are with those experiences. Select a convienent method to document your journey, one that is easy for you to get to each day. Whether it’s a store bought journal, a blank piece of paper, a notebook, a word document, or an app on your iPhone: select whatever will work best for you.

Here are ways the Journaling will help you this month and beyond.

It’s Flexible and Easy

Journaling has no rules. You can use your own style and processing methods. It’s fine to be a little messy and have typos and poor writing. It can be applied to clarify anysituation in your life It doesn’t take much time to slow down, pay attention and listen to yourself.

Stress Reduction
Journaling help you to increase your focus by allowing time to analyze your thoughts. It can help to release pent-up thoughts and emotions and bring stability by allowing you to process situations in an appropriate way.

Healing
Journaling can help you to strengthen your sense of yourself by revealing and tracking patterns and cycles in your life. It allows you to act as your own counselor and integrate the highs and lows in your life. It is always honest, trusting, non-judgmental

Know Yourself
By recording your past you’ll begin to clarify your thoughts, feelings and behaviors. You’ll learn how you think, learn and create. As you shift to the observer, recorder, counselor you’ll begin to identify an awareness of your beliefs and options so you can change them. You’ll develop confidence and self knowledge and you’ll feel better about yourself.

Personal Growth
Journaling helps to measure and track what is important to you. It will allow you to integrate life’s experiences and learning’s and start the sorting and grouping process. This self expression will plant the seeds to create more results in your life and enable you to live life to the fullest

Problem Solving
When you journal you develop new perspectives that will bring things together and help make decisions a whole lot easier.

Captures Your Life Story
Journaling allows you to look back on your life experiences and recall with clarity, what was going on in your life at that specific time. What you were thinking, feeling andexperiences. When you capture you’re story, your left with something concrete to leave for the next generation.

Now grab a piece of paper and get to it! Enjoy and I’ll be back tomorrow…

Filed Under: Blog, WTF (Miscellaneous) Tagged With: diet journal, exercise, fitness, fitness goals, fitness information, food journal, journaling, workout routines

Fitness Tip #2 of #31 Take A One Hour Walk

October 2, 2010 by John Leave a Comment

Moderate physical activities will yield tremendous physical benefits. Those benefits include decreased risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Improvement in blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The increase in physical activity will result increase energy (caloric) expenditure which will help to decrease your body fat percentage. Your metabolism will improve not only during exercise but also for a short period after activity. Improvements in aerobic capacity will help to make all of your activities of daily living easier, resulting in more energy throughout the day.

Here’s the deal…

Take a one hour walk today and every single day for the next 30 days. Push yourself a little. Select a pace that increases your breathing to the point that you’d be able to carry on a conversation, but you’d be unable to sing. Here are some modifications. If you can’t walk for 60 straight minutes, break it up into two 30 minute walks or four 15 minute walks. Or walk as long as you can and add 1-2 minutes each day. If you aren’t certain that you can walk for 60 minutes please walk laps around your block (or a couple blocks), do not attempt to walk away from your home for 30 minutes only to find you can’t make it back. I’m not coming to get you!

If you already do cardiovascular exercise of any type simply add a 60 minute walk on the days that you don’t participate in more vigorous exercise.

If you can do vigorous aerobic activity for 60 minutes every day, then you already appreciate all the benefits of cardiovascular fitness. Rock On!

Here is a short list of more benefits of Cardiovascular/Aerobic Exercise

1. Instant feel-good. You will feel invigorated for hours after training
2. Train your heart. The heart is a muscle and cardio is its strength training
3. Increased endurance and stamina. Get through your day without a cat-nap.
4. Increased confidence right away!
5. Healthy lungs
6. Increases metabolism for up to 24 hours
7. Improves immune system. Being sick less equals more days to work out!
8. Reduces stress
9. Improves circulation. You will be less sore after weight training
10. Sleep better
11. Relief from depression and anxiety
12. Reduced risk of some cancers
13. Reduced risk of heart disease
14. Lower blood pressure
15. Lowers cholesterol
16.. Live longer

Enjoy your walk! See you tomorrow for Fitness Tip #3

Filed Under: Blog, Cardiovascular Exercise, Exercise and Fitness Tagged With: cardio, cardiovacular fitness, exercise, fitness, fitness information, health, healty weight loss, walking, weight loss, workout, workout routines

Fitness Tip #1 of #31 Set Your Goals and Intentions For The Next 31 Days

October 1, 2010 by John Leave a Comment

What do you want? To succeed at anything you must first be able to define what it is that you want to accomplish.

I’ll be providing you with tons of useful Health and Fitness information over the course of the next month. My hope is that you’ll simply change one habit each day for the next 31 days. If you do that I’m certain that you’ll be living a much healthier life one month from today. I don’t see day 31 as the end of “31 Days To A Much Improved You” as much as I view day 32 as the beginning of your journey to accomplishing all of the things that you want. It’s up to you to decide that now is the right time for you to start making those changes. And it’s up to you to decide what it is you want during these next 31 days. Only you can decide! Be specific.

The first rule to good goal setting is that they should be attainable. Avoid setting yourself up for failure by setting lofty goals. Your lofty goals will be met by setting smaller, more manageable and attainable goals along the way. Remember the goals you’re setting today are goals just for the next 31 days. This isn’t the time to start thinking about losing 70lbs. or swimming the English Channel.

Write down 2 to 15 things that you want to accomplish. Post them on your refrigerator at home or on your computer monitor at work or any other visible place. Put them in your wallet so every time you open it you remind yourself why your doing this and how you’ll succeed. Just make sure to put your goals somewhere you will see them often, as in manytimes each day.

Use the follow list to help you with your Goal Setting:
1. Decide what you want to accomplish
2. Set goals that are short, attainable and measureable
3. Create a deadline to accomplish your goal(s)
4. Develop and action plan for success
5. Visualize accomplishing your goals
6. Write your goals down
7. Review your goals daily
8. Take daily action toward your goals

Have fun, enjoy and I’ll be back tomorrow with your next Health and Fitness Tip!

Filed Under: Blog, WTF (Miscellaneous) Tagged With: fitness goals, fitness information, goal setting, goals, weight loss goals