Let's Get Physical
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Living in Nevada, choosing health in a land of temptation, part two
Opportunities to eat out in Northern Nevada are ridiculously plentiful. A local dining guide for Reno / Lake Tahoe had 430 separate restaurants listed and these are family dining, fine dining and upscale restaurants only. They paid to be in this guide. That does not include all the fast food joints and pizza places.
Reno, although dubbed the "Biggest Little City in the World" has a sizable population of 220,500. A Google search reveals Reno sports ten McDonald's, six Burger Kings, eight Taco Bells, seven KFCs, ten Subways, ten Port of Subs, ten Quizno's and four Jimboy’s Tacos. Cheap, tasty and quick food is always a few minutes away.
Nearby Carson City has a population of 57,701 and has more than 15 fast food restaurants alone, four McDonald’s, three Taco Bells, one KFC, two Subways, two Port of Subs, one Quizno’s, two Burger Kings, and one Jimboy’s Tacos. The capital city, though much smaller than sprawling Reno, is no slouch in the fast food game.
Never mind that Reno has a flair for offering exotic cuisine on nearly every block of our main drag, Virginia street. Click here to read more.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Reno fitness getaways, Pyramid Lake is a hidden jewel in the desert
Jerry Bardelli beside Pyramid Lake pinnacles.
Reno's thunderstorms are predicted to let up over the weekend. Time to get outside and enjoy the moderate autumn weather. Why not take a short trip to nearby Pyramid lake for a hike. Outdoor fitness fun in the wilds of Nevada is just a few miles away from downtown Reno.
About 30 minutes from Reno, Pyramid Lake also offers outdoor activities like boating, fishing, and swimming in warmer months. While nearby Lake Tahoe is known for its famous sparkling blue waters, Pyramid Lake is also stunning, warmer and more suited to swim in.
Click here to read more and watch the video.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Best magazines for a sexy body, Women’s Health
Elisha Cuthbert on the cover of Women's Health.
The real path to true beauty is good health. Sex appeal is based on glowing skin, shiny hair, clear eyes, and a firm body. One of the premiere guides on women’s health today is Women’s Health Magazine.
Women’s Health magazine’s motto is “It’s good to be you.” Keys to achieving and maintaining a sexy body include a balanced lifestyle. Women’s Health shares expert advice on healthy lifestyle habits including good nutrition, exercise, adequate sleep, stress control, and much more.
Women’s Health magazine’s recent issue covers diverse topics important to today’s woman. Delicious and healthy eating is made easy for you in articles like “Eat This, Not That! Shed Pounds With Simple Food Swaps” and “25 Speedy Summer Meals, Delicious and Bikini Friendly.” Their weight loss special feature show you how to “Drop 1 Size in 2 Weeks” with by mastering portion control.
Women’s Health offers great workout advice in articles aimed at busy women including “Hot Body Secrets! Sculpt a Tight Butt and Flat Abs in Minutes a Day.” They know time is of the essence and cover this issue in “Ditch The Gym! An amazing workout you can do anywhere.”
The editors of Women’s Health also understand the current economic climate and offer money saving tips in articles like “18 Sizzling Beauty Steals.” They also address rising health care costs in “Manage Your Medical Bills: Inside intelligence on reducing sky high health insurance costs.”
In Women’s Health Magazine’s beauty & style section you can learn how to “Make Your Getaway Green with cool eco-friendly travel gear.” In their Sex & Relationships section you can “Find Your Soul Mate: Follow these research proven laws of attraction to make your love last forever.” And last but not least, heat up your love life with “Sex News You Can Use Tonight: Learn how to fire up your desire.”
Women’s Health Magazine should be on every savvy woman’s bedside table.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Want a hot body and tight booty?
What makes a body sexy? What gets your booty tight? Whether you're male or female the answer is the same. Lean muscle and low body fat equals sexy.
How do you get a great body? Resistance training builds the body you crave. It's a simple fact few people grasp. Just watch The Biggest Loser. If you want to burn body fat and look sleek and sexy afterwards you must build muscle. Muscle plays a key role in having a fast metabolism. It's also what makes your body look sexy and firm. And you'll lose fat fast. Read more and see the videos.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Nautilus issues recall. Is your fitness equipment safe?
Fitness giant Nautilus has issued a recall for over 78,000 Bowflex Ultimate 2 home gyms. Safety concerns arose after the company received 18 reports of injury due to seats coming unlatched. Some of the injuries involved head and shoulder lacerations.
Nautilus previously recalled 68,000 of the same model in December 2007 after receiving reports of three injuries. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that the seat of the gym has unattached and fails. Risks of injury to users precipitated the recall. Vancouver, Wash.-based Nautilus Inc. is sending repair kits to registered owners.
So, are you wondering whether your fitness equipment, or equipment you're contemplating purchasing, is safe? One tip is to check out...read more.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Nourish Interactive promotes nutrition education for families
Nourish Interactive is "a free website that promotes nutrition education for families. Margaret LaBarbera started this website to promote nutrition to our nation's children because as a nurse she knows a few sobering facts:
* -childhood obesity is an epidemic and leading to a growing number of children with diabetes and heart disease (something seen in adults and rare in children but unfortunately is becoming more common now in kids)
* -over 80% of children do not eat a balanced healthy diet which leads to less optimal performance in school and increases the risk for diseases later in life
* -this is the first generation predicted to have a shorter lifespan than their parents
NourishInteractive.com is all about educating families about nutrition and exercise in a fun way. Nutrition education needs to be fun and engaging so that children will be excited to learn about being healthy. We provide fun, interactive online games for kids that are designed to teach through animation, exploration, and decision-making.
Nourishinteractive.com is the first website to create “matching” nutritional tools, one for the parent and one for the child. These nutrition tools send similar messages to both the parent and child, so the entire family can work as a team to establish good nutrition at home. Early nutrition education is the key to empowering children to make healthy choices throughout their lives."
I have made my site free because I believe all families need to have access to this information. As a Hispanic American, I also know that Latinos have one of the highest childhood obesity rate and fastest growing population of diabetic children. That is why I have made the commitment to offer the site and tools all in English and Spanish."
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Latest Examiner column "Thanksgiving is a great day for fun and fitness"
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Here's an excerpt of my latest Examiner column:
"We usually associate Thanksgiving with food and football. This year, instead of camping out on the couch watching football, get everyone outside for a game of touch football. While the average Thanksgiving feast runs upwards of 1600 calories, a fun hour of touch football burns roughly 595 calories. Not a big football fan? A family game of soccer burns 475 calories an hour. If you use a few of the calorie cutting tips below in conjunction with an hour of activity you can prevent holiday weight gain."
Read more.
While you're there, you might want to check out The Examiner's National Holiday Guide.
Friday, November 7, 2008
GoTrybe For A Healthy Childhood
GoTrybe.com is on a mission and our children are their targets. Focusing on preventing and addressing childhood obesity, GoTrybe gets kids involved in an active lifestyle and healthy nutrition with activities including online games, online exercise tracking, and specialized help for diabetes and other health issues.
My son, a precocious and critical eight year old, tested the website along side me and GoTrybe more than tested muster. He loved designing his own avatar, and building his own workout. You can also choose a workout from GoTrybe Favorites. The best feature is 'Work it Out your way." At GoTrybe, kids always get to choose what physical activities they want to do. This flexibility and variety keeps them interested and coming back for more. Daily quotes and videos get kids excited and motivated to workout.
"Your Daily Bite" highlights proper nutrition. The daily nutrition tip guides kids to make easy and healthy food choices. They learn to ask questions about their habits like, "Should I eat fried or baked foods?"
Quick quizzes help gauge whether they're absorbing new information.
A Whole Body Health section teaches kids all about how to stay healthy. The tips and quizzes in this section making learning about healthy lifestyle as easy as child's play.
Kids are rewarded for working out and making healthy choices by receiving points and playing online GoTrybe flash games. They can also chat with other GoTrybe members and add buddies to their buddy list. This social support reinforces their likelihood of pursuing their health, weight control, and fitness goals.
GoTrybe offers three levels tailored to members age group including Zoodoos for grades 5 and under, Trybei80 for grades 6 through 8, and NextTrybe for grade 9 through 12. Most all children will benefit from participating in the GoTrybe community. Designed specially for children, it's a safe and educational online environment.
A one year subscription is $29.95 and two years is a bargain at $39.95.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Examine The Examiners
Here's a rundown of some of the latest and greatest articles at The Examiner. Click the title links to read more.
Best Weight Loss Products For Your Mind by Carol Bardelli, Fitness Examiner
Excerpt: I've personally used both hypnosis and subliminal suggestion programs for years and find both to be valuable for weight loss and weight maintenance. Here's a mini guide to the best products in this field.
Weight Loss Made Simple CD by Matt Sison, C.Ht. and Rick Schaff, M.S.H.N.
"Create harmony between scientific knowledge and instinctual wisdom to sculpt a lean healthy body." – Matt Sison
Weight Loss Made Simple is the best hypnosis program available today. Both Rick Schaff and Matt Sison possess voices that are silky smooth and easy to listen to. The first time I finished listening to this set I wanted to immediately do so again. Talk about a "feel good" experience.
Don't spend hundreds of dollars on a hypnotist or thousands at a Hypnosis center. This CD set offers you the advice of two well respected professionals in the Hypnosis and Fitness Nutrition industry for a fraction of the price. Available through Matt Sison's Website Hypnosis and weight loss.
Overeating makes brain go haywire? by Annie Kay, Nutrition Examiner
Excerpt: Reuters news reported recently on a new study from the journal Cell that explores a contributor to the obesity epidemic.
The study's authors suggest that calorie overload (eating too much at one time) may activate a usually dormant immune system pathway in the brain, causing a chemical imbalance with far reaching effects in the body. This might be part of the reason that weight gain causes such a variety of health problems.
File this under "science can't keep up with culture".
Eat my shorts by Jamie Van Eaton, Low Carb Examiner
This is hysterically funny but you're going to have to go look for yourselves. I'm not giving away the element of surprise!
More shady acquaintances by Jay McDonough, Progressive Politics Examiner
John McCain admits to hanging around convicted felon Gordon Liddy
Excerpt: Liddy is, of course, a convicted felon who has "acknowledged preparing to kill someone during the Ellsberg break-in 'if necessary'; plotting to murder journalist Jack Anderson; plotting with a 'gangland figure' to murder Howard Hunt to stop him from cooperating with investigators; plotting to firebomb the Brookings Institution; and plotting to kidnap...
Oh, come on! Cheryl Burke is NOT fat by Gail Gedan Spencer, Weight Loss Examiner
Excerpt: Dancing With the Stars hoofer Cheryl Burke is fighting back on the boneheads who have said that she's "fat," People magazine reports.
Supermarket Cart Snooping by Linda Duffy, Denver Low-Carb Examiner
Excerpt: I admit it. I am a cart snooper. I take sneaky glances at other people's shopping selections as I pass them in the isles. Sometimes it is to remind myself of the stuff I used to buy and how unhealthy it made me (cereals, whole grain bread, low fat products...eww!).
Atkins legacy: weight loss, great health and attitude? by Amy Dungan, St. Louis Low-Carb Examiner
Excerpt: Depressed by your LC diet? One study says you should be. Source
I’m always on the lookout for the latest news about low-carb diets. Good or bad, I read it all. Today I came across a study that literally had me laughing out loud. Apparently, because I’ve been on a low-carb diet for several years, I should be suicidal by now...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Best DIGGS of the Week
I pretty much took Monday off after a busy weekend. I did do two 10 Minute Trainer workouts – click the link to read my review at Healthy New Age. You might want to check out the HNA "Meet Our Authors" page. I'm now an ongoing contributor.
And I took a two hour nap yesterday. Delicious and refreshing, and nice to wake up to a recharged stock market.
I also ran across some cool reading. Hey, it's research. Yeah, that's it, research. Here are the links: Hope you "DIGG" them too.
Sioux County.com is a gallery of Women's Bodybuilding, Fitness, and Figure Competitors. This site is a must for bodybuilders and fans.
6 Most Disastrous Uses of Work Email – True and Funny
Women and Muscle: Photography Great Bill Dobbins Speaks Out by Carol Bardelli for The Examiner
Best New Blog – Sanity Rant from Lady Rose of The Diet Pulpit.
Cutting Back on "Bad" Carbs
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
New Examiner Article and Stop Making Excuses That You Have No Time or Can't Afford To Workout
My latest article 'Why You Don’t Need To Go To The Gym To Get Fit – Part Two' is up over at The Examiner.com.
The CTV.ca News Staff (article link) and other news sources including Reuters reported that new research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine suggests that a predisposition to obesity may be as easy to overcome as spending a few hours a week at the gym. This study found that study subjects performing a high level of physical activity basically counteract effects of gene mutations that predisposes them to obesity. The findings were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Did they really need to go to a gym to accomplish this? Probably not. Read more and find out how to get fit for free.
Money is not a factor for not working out. Neither is lack of time. No money? No time? Check out the videos below.
Here's an easy at-home workout routine...
No Equipment - 30 Min. In Home Power Workout
Super Fast Fat Loss Workout for Home.
The CTV.ca News Staff (article link) and other news sources including Reuters reported that new research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine suggests that a predisposition to obesity may be as easy to overcome as spending a few hours a week at the gym. This study found that study subjects performing a high level of physical activity basically counteract effects of gene mutations that predisposes them to obesity. The findings were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Did they really need to go to a gym to accomplish this? Probably not. Read more and find out how to get fit for free.
Money is not a factor for not working out. Neither is lack of time. No money? No time? Check out the videos below.
Here's an easy at-home workout routine...
No Equipment - 30 Min. In Home Power Workout
Super Fast Fat Loss Workout for Home.
Friday, August 29, 2008
I'm The Newest Columnist At The Examiner!
Click To Enlarge and See My New Examiner Column
I'm the newest columnist at The Examiner (Examiner.com). I'm the Fitness Examiner for The National Edition. I'll be writing there a minimum of three columns a week and will cover diverse topics on fitness, nutrition, diet, product testing and reviews, recipes, and more.
My first article is a previous post here: 5 Bad Habits That Could Ruin Your Fitness Goals. I felt it was a good piece to share with The Examiner readers. I hope you'll become an Examiner reader if you're not already. They cover a wide variety of topics from politics to parenting, cocktails to cooking. You can read articles on diverse topics including sports, business, finance, family, games, health, home & lifestyle, arts and entertainment, real estate, pets, religion, restaurants, shopping, technology, transportation, travel, and more.
I'll continue to write here too, as well as work on my book projects. Since Bruno's back in school I have 8 hours a day to dedicate to writing. (Actually, I was making notes for one of my books late last night). I'm a writing junkie, kids.
Make sure to check out my Examiner column often. In the future, I plan to launch new articles there you may not see here.
Woo! Hoo! I got the job! I'm a Happy Camper! Um, Writer. *Doing A Little Happy Dance*
Thank You, Jamie! I appreciate your recruiting me and all your help!
I'm the newest columnist at The Examiner (Examiner.com). I'm the Fitness Examiner for The National Edition. I'll be writing there a minimum of three columns a week and will cover diverse topics on fitness, nutrition, diet, product testing and reviews, recipes, and more.
My first article is a previous post here: 5 Bad Habits That Could Ruin Your Fitness Goals. I felt it was a good piece to share with The Examiner readers. I hope you'll become an Examiner reader if you're not already. They cover a wide variety of topics from politics to parenting, cocktails to cooking. You can read articles on diverse topics including sports, business, finance, family, games, health, home & lifestyle, arts and entertainment, real estate, pets, religion, restaurants, shopping, technology, transportation, travel, and more.
I'll continue to write here too, as well as work on my book projects. Since Bruno's back in school I have 8 hours a day to dedicate to writing. (Actually, I was making notes for one of my books late last night). I'm a writing junkie, kids.
Make sure to check out my Examiner column often. In the future, I plan to launch new articles there you may not see here.
Woo! Hoo! I got the job! I'm a Happy Camper! Um, Writer. *Doing A Little Happy Dance*
Thank You, Jamie! I appreciate your recruiting me and all your help!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Change It Up! Maximizing Your Workout & Diet Results
One of Bruno's Photoshop Creations
Outsmarting Your Body’s Adaptation Response
I love to change up my exercise regimen often. Sometimes I’ll do a different workout everyday. Monday may be Turbo Jam, Tuesday may be Yoga Booty Ballet, then Wednesday will be a classic upper body workout on machines and with free weights, followed by an hour of horseback riding on Thursday, and Power 90X Legs & Back on Friday.
Other weeks I only change up every week and not everyday. I’ll do one week of Power 90X (a different P90X workout every day), a second week of a different daily Bosu training workout, a third week I'll alternate Power 90X Plus workouts mixed up with 10 Minute Trainer workouts. And this week I’m mixing classic step aerobics with classic weight training workouts on weight machines and with free weights using Super Slow, an exercise protocol invented by Ken Hutchins (review of Super Slow to come).
The main reason I change my workouts around is the body adapts rapidly to exercise. If you do the same routine or set of routines over and over your results slow to a snail’s pace or even grind to a halt as your body adapts. (Note that Power 90X and the 12 workouts in the system are designed specifically to avoid adaptation and plateau, but after 9 months of mostly Power 90X I felt it was time to mix it up more than I had been).
Ever wonder why you see some people at the gym or on the running path day after day, week after week, and month after month, yet their bodies rarely change? Ask them how long they’ve been riding the elliptical or treadmill every day, or how long they’ve done the same weight lifting regimen. The less their bodies change, the longer they’ve been doing the same old thing over and over again.
Someone once said doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. If what you’re doing or the way you’re doing it is not yielding the results you want why keep doing it?
Trying new recreational sports and exercise routines serves a second important function. You prevent boredom . Boredom - like a lack of results - leads to slacking off of exercising and even quitting altogether. Not only is variety the spice of life, it’s a valuable tool for getting in shape and staying there.
If a tight budget makes you feel limited in pursuing variety in your workouts try buying used exercise videos and equipment. Most public libraries have exercise videos you can check out for free. Start a neighborhood or online exercise exchange so you and others can share DVDs and equipment you’re tired of. (This can be done on Craig's List and other online community bulletin boards, or through local free ad newspapers). Try an outdoor workout like hiking or jogging on new trails that offer new challenges. Many parks have exercise courses with stations that include instructions. If you have a gym membership, ask other members or a personal trainer to give you new workout ideas. Check out low cost exercise classes, swimming pools, and gyms at community centers, colleges, churches, hospitals, and recreation centers.
If you’re limited to working out at home try changing between a calisthenics or isometric workout one day, a march in place workout like Leslie Sansone’s “Walk Away The Pounds’ another day, gardening for an hour a third day - which can burn up to 350 calories an hour, and doing a resistance workouts with a band another fews days a week (never do resistance training of the same body parts two days in a row, this leads to over-training and even muscle loss). Resistance bands can be purchased for a minimal cost both new and used. I even gave away a set of bands with two workout tapes on my blog a few months ago.
Your only barrier to better fitness is you. Instead of making excuses about how time, budget, and / or lack of space prevent you from working out or changing your present workout routine, get creative! This can be as simple as walking uphill instead of taking your usual flat walking route, or doing less repetitions and sets with heavier weights. If you’ve been using weight machines exclusively switch to free weights and bands or do calisthenics and isometrics for a change. If you’ve been running on the treadmill for weeks switch to the rowing machine or take a spinning class.
This same adaptation rule applies to nutrition and dieting. Your body will adapt to an intake of a relatively stable amount of calories and macro-nutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates). Research supports the success of a diet in which calories and macro-nutrients (particularly carbohydrates) are cycled. Occasionally raising calorie and carbohydrate intake – whether one day a week or rotating the macro-nutrient make up of your diet every third day – “fools” your body into believing you’re not in starvation mode, a common phenomenon of dieting.
(For an example of a rotation diet check out this update on my The Cheat To Lose Diet adventures. The Cheat To Lose Diet rotates carbohydrate and calorie content every week during the first three weeks (priming phase) and every two days on the core phase culminating in a cheat day without restrictions).
Change is a vital key to getting fit and staying that way. Change, particularly in fitness, fat loss, and muscle gain, rarely comes if you fail to outwit your body’s ability to adapt. If you want to prevent a plateau in fat loss, getting fit, or gaining muscle change it up!
Outsmarting Your Body’s Adaptation Response
I love to change up my exercise regimen often. Sometimes I’ll do a different workout everyday. Monday may be Turbo Jam, Tuesday may be Yoga Booty Ballet, then Wednesday will be a classic upper body workout on machines and with free weights, followed by an hour of horseback riding on Thursday, and Power 90X Legs & Back on Friday.
Other weeks I only change up every week and not everyday. I’ll do one week of Power 90X (a different P90X workout every day), a second week of a different daily Bosu training workout, a third week I'll alternate Power 90X Plus workouts mixed up with 10 Minute Trainer workouts. And this week I’m mixing classic step aerobics with classic weight training workouts on weight machines and with free weights using Super Slow, an exercise protocol invented by Ken Hutchins (review of Super Slow to come).
The main reason I change my workouts around is the body adapts rapidly to exercise. If you do the same routine or set of routines over and over your results slow to a snail’s pace or even grind to a halt as your body adapts. (Note that Power 90X and the 12 workouts in the system are designed specifically to avoid adaptation and plateau, but after 9 months of mostly Power 90X I felt it was time to mix it up more than I had been).
Ever wonder why you see some people at the gym or on the running path day after day, week after week, and month after month, yet their bodies rarely change? Ask them how long they’ve been riding the elliptical or treadmill every day, or how long they’ve done the same weight lifting regimen. The less their bodies change, the longer they’ve been doing the same old thing over and over again.
Someone once said doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. If what you’re doing or the way you’re doing it is not yielding the results you want why keep doing it?
Trying new recreational sports and exercise routines serves a second important function. You prevent boredom . Boredom - like a lack of results - leads to slacking off of exercising and even quitting altogether. Not only is variety the spice of life, it’s a valuable tool for getting in shape and staying there.
If a tight budget makes you feel limited in pursuing variety in your workouts try buying used exercise videos and equipment. Most public libraries have exercise videos you can check out for free. Start a neighborhood or online exercise exchange so you and others can share DVDs and equipment you’re tired of. (This can be done on Craig's List and other online community bulletin boards, or through local free ad newspapers). Try an outdoor workout like hiking or jogging on new trails that offer new challenges. Many parks have exercise courses with stations that include instructions. If you have a gym membership, ask other members or a personal trainer to give you new workout ideas. Check out low cost exercise classes, swimming pools, and gyms at community centers, colleges, churches, hospitals, and recreation centers.
If you’re limited to working out at home try changing between a calisthenics or isometric workout one day, a march in place workout like Leslie Sansone’s “Walk Away The Pounds’ another day, gardening for an hour a third day - which can burn up to 350 calories an hour, and doing a resistance workouts with a band another fews days a week (never do resistance training of the same body parts two days in a row, this leads to over-training and even muscle loss). Resistance bands can be purchased for a minimal cost both new and used. I even gave away a set of bands with two workout tapes on my blog a few months ago.
Your only barrier to better fitness is you. Instead of making excuses about how time, budget, and / or lack of space prevent you from working out or changing your present workout routine, get creative! This can be as simple as walking uphill instead of taking your usual flat walking route, or doing less repetitions and sets with heavier weights. If you’ve been using weight machines exclusively switch to free weights and bands or do calisthenics and isometrics for a change. If you’ve been running on the treadmill for weeks switch to the rowing machine or take a spinning class.
This same adaptation rule applies to nutrition and dieting. Your body will adapt to an intake of a relatively stable amount of calories and macro-nutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates). Research supports the success of a diet in which calories and macro-nutrients (particularly carbohydrates) are cycled. Occasionally raising calorie and carbohydrate intake – whether one day a week or rotating the macro-nutrient make up of your diet every third day – “fools” your body into believing you’re not in starvation mode, a common phenomenon of dieting.
(For an example of a rotation diet check out this update on my The Cheat To Lose Diet adventures. The Cheat To Lose Diet rotates carbohydrate and calorie content every week during the first three weeks (priming phase) and every two days on the core phase culminating in a cheat day without restrictions).
Change is a vital key to getting fit and staying that way. Change, particularly in fitness, fat loss, and muscle gain, rarely comes if you fail to outwit your body’s ability to adapt. If you want to prevent a plateau in fat loss, getting fit, or gaining muscle change it up!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Visit Wellsphere For Expert Health, Nutrition & Fitness Advice
Today's blog entry is intended to introduce you to a website named Wellsphere that offers a valuable wealth of information and guidance on everything related to health.
Wellsphere - Indulge In Healthier Living - featured on NBC - is chock full of features including interactive mobile motivation you can receive by cell phone that allows you to get reminders, track goals, find local resources, get tips, update your journal, and more.
Wellsphere also features an article library written by experts on topics like "Increase Family Fitness" and "Sneak In Superfoods." Also check out their informative and entertaining videos, expert advice, and support to achieve your goals. Wellsphere covers a wide variety of subjects including low carbohydrate foods, high protein foods, low fat foods, abdominals exercises, working out with weights, yoga for beginners, recreational sports, healthy recipes, and so much more.
Members can join communities on a wide variety of interests including weight loss, exercise, stress relief, healthy eating, recreation, mind body, dance, martial arts, endurance training, healing & recovery, and quitting smoking. You can share your experiences and progress, as well as find motivation and help with a variety of issues.
Special Wellsphere features include their interactive WellPhone, WellTips to help you stay informed and on track, WellPrize that rewards you with points and greater status withing the Wellsphere community, and Path To Feeling Good that guides you expertly to reaching your goals.
Isn't it time for you to start down your own path to feeling good? Join Wellsphere today and begin your own journey to indulge in healthier living! Get on your path to feeling good. It's free!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
What are the true keys to weight loss success?
A Fitness Program Thats Fits
The answer to this question probably differs somewhat from person to person depending on individual issues and lifestyle. But certain things will surely apply to most.
1. Desire.
You truly have to want to change. And you have to want it for yourself, not because your spouse wants you to or your best friend is doing it. And your reason to lose weight (or make any lifestyle change) should not be for some short term goal like a June wedding or bathing suit season. Peer pressure or people pleasing are poor long term motivators. Sure support is nice but unnecessary if you’re serious, motivated, and a self starter. If you’re relying on others to pat you on the back all the time or you rely on others support to stay motivated you’ll probably fail.
2. Clearly Defined Goals.
Experts point out that the more precise your goals the more likely you are to get results. Loosely defined and generalized goals like “I want to lose weight” or “I want to get in shape” are so general they are nearly worthless. More precise goals like “Lose a pound a week” or “Do two total body resistance workouts a week and three aerobics workouts a week” give you tight guidelines that are much more likely to lead to results.
3. Responsibility.
If you do not take responsibility for your poor lifestyle choices you likely will not change or adopt new healthy choices to replace the poor ones. Blaming genetics, heredity, an unhappy life situation, a physical condition or health issue, your momma’s cooking, or your poppa’s drinking doesn’t get you anywhere. Although they may be reasons you choose to eat poorly and vegetate on the couch, you are still the one in charge of your choices. Ultimately nobody makes them for you. Before you cram a donut in your mouth because your boss yelled at you, or sit on the sofa all night because a Biggest Loser rerun marathon is on, stop and realize you can make a healthier choice.
4. Focus.
Once you decide that you want to change, have defined what you want to change and how, and taken responsibility for how you got there in the first place, you can focus on the path ahead. No goal is met without focus. Here’s where life’s challenges and daily aggravations will pop up and try to derail you. It’s easy to skip a workout when it’s raining or you’re feeling under the weather. You’ll still want to grab a bite at the drive-thru when you’re in a hurry. These things are going to happen too. Every one occasionally has a lazy day or cheats. But if you lose focus on your goals and do not refocus on your goals after a cheat meal or a day off from the gym your loss of focus will snowball into outright failure. Stay focused even when you have had a bad day or week. Keep your eyes on the prize.
5. Consistency.
This is closely tied to focus. The difference is that while focus is mostly mental, consistency is physical. Your healthy choices in food and activity will have to be more frequent than your poor choices. You will have to act in a consistent fashion to succeed. People fail because they are not consistent at doing the things that will get them to their goals. Consistency leads to success. Inconsistency means you're wasting your time.
6. Flexibility.
One of the main reasons people fail at weight loss and fitness goals is inflexibility and perfectionism. “I have to be perfect or else.” While consistency is necessary to reach your goals, perfection and inflexibility will derail you. Expect pitfalls and twists on your road to your goals. Roll with the punches. Get up off the floor when you fall. Don’t give up because of a bad day of eating junk or a week of missed gym dates. You didn’t “blow it” because you "weren’t perfect" and now you're doomed to failure. NOBODY IS PERFECT. We all are imperfect humans. You do not have to be perfect to be successful. Just resolve to do better, refocus and try harder to be consistent. Quitters who insist on perfection or near perfection never achieve success. Imperfect people who keep getting up off the floor and trying are ultimately successful.
7. Drive.
You can put all the above components together but without drive you will eventually fail. What drives you to pursue your goals will be an individual matter but finding a purpose that ignites your desire and keeps it burning is essential. Without the drive to keep on pursuing a goal your enthusiasm with peter out, you’ll lose focus, not be consistent, and fail.
8. Permanent Lifestyle Change.
This is probably the most important key to success. If you implement the best nutrition plan and fitness routine ever but you can’t live with it forever your goals are doomed from the start. You have to live your way to your goals. Your lifestyle has to fit your goals and your goals must fit your lifestyle. If you cannot get these two to dovetail forget about it. Because the way you live creates your future. Donuts on the couch today equals a fat and unfit body tomorrow. Hit the gym and eat clean today and you’ll be fitter and healthier tomorrow.
Links
Become a Self Starter
Powerful(ly) Written Goals In 7 Simple Steps
SMART Goal Setting
Take Responsibility For Weight and Eating Habits
The Simple Secret to Achieving Your Goals: Focus
Consistency Is Key In Fitness
Fat is a psychological issue: Embarking on a diet can be dangerous. Paradoxically, the chronic stress induced by the struggle for control can make dieters more prone to overeating
Are you Driven to Succeed?
Behavioral Steps Towards Permanent Weight Loss and Lifestyle Change: Insight to Action
The answer to this question probably differs somewhat from person to person depending on individual issues and lifestyle. But certain things will surely apply to most.
1. Desire.
You truly have to want to change. And you have to want it for yourself, not because your spouse wants you to or your best friend is doing it. And your reason to lose weight (or make any lifestyle change) should not be for some short term goal like a June wedding or bathing suit season. Peer pressure or people pleasing are poor long term motivators. Sure support is nice but unnecessary if you’re serious, motivated, and a self starter. If you’re relying on others to pat you on the back all the time or you rely on others support to stay motivated you’ll probably fail.
2. Clearly Defined Goals.
Experts point out that the more precise your goals the more likely you are to get results. Loosely defined and generalized goals like “I want to lose weight” or “I want to get in shape” are so general they are nearly worthless. More precise goals like “Lose a pound a week” or “Do two total body resistance workouts a week and three aerobics workouts a week” give you tight guidelines that are much more likely to lead to results.
3. Responsibility.
If you do not take responsibility for your poor lifestyle choices you likely will not change or adopt new healthy choices to replace the poor ones. Blaming genetics, heredity, an unhappy life situation, a physical condition or health issue, your momma’s cooking, or your poppa’s drinking doesn’t get you anywhere. Although they may be reasons you choose to eat poorly and vegetate on the couch, you are still the one in charge of your choices. Ultimately nobody makes them for you. Before you cram a donut in your mouth because your boss yelled at you, or sit on the sofa all night because a Biggest Loser rerun marathon is on, stop and realize you can make a healthier choice.
4. Focus.
Once you decide that you want to change, have defined what you want to change and how, and taken responsibility for how you got there in the first place, you can focus on the path ahead. No goal is met without focus. Here’s where life’s challenges and daily aggravations will pop up and try to derail you. It’s easy to skip a workout when it’s raining or you’re feeling under the weather. You’ll still want to grab a bite at the drive-thru when you’re in a hurry. These things are going to happen too. Every one occasionally has a lazy day or cheats. But if you lose focus on your goals and do not refocus on your goals after a cheat meal or a day off from the gym your loss of focus will snowball into outright failure. Stay focused even when you have had a bad day or week. Keep your eyes on the prize.
5. Consistency.
This is closely tied to focus. The difference is that while focus is mostly mental, consistency is physical. Your healthy choices in food and activity will have to be more frequent than your poor choices. You will have to act in a consistent fashion to succeed. People fail because they are not consistent at doing the things that will get them to their goals. Consistency leads to success. Inconsistency means you're wasting your time.
6. Flexibility.
One of the main reasons people fail at weight loss and fitness goals is inflexibility and perfectionism. “I have to be perfect or else.” While consistency is necessary to reach your goals, perfection and inflexibility will derail you. Expect pitfalls and twists on your road to your goals. Roll with the punches. Get up off the floor when you fall. Don’t give up because of a bad day of eating junk or a week of missed gym dates. You didn’t “blow it” because you "weren’t perfect" and now you're doomed to failure. NOBODY IS PERFECT. We all are imperfect humans. You do not have to be perfect to be successful. Just resolve to do better, refocus and try harder to be consistent. Quitters who insist on perfection or near perfection never achieve success. Imperfect people who keep getting up off the floor and trying are ultimately successful.
7. Drive.
You can put all the above components together but without drive you will eventually fail. What drives you to pursue your goals will be an individual matter but finding a purpose that ignites your desire and keeps it burning is essential. Without the drive to keep on pursuing a goal your enthusiasm with peter out, you’ll lose focus, not be consistent, and fail.
8. Permanent Lifestyle Change.
This is probably the most important key to success. If you implement the best nutrition plan and fitness routine ever but you can’t live with it forever your goals are doomed from the start. You have to live your way to your goals. Your lifestyle has to fit your goals and your goals must fit your lifestyle. If you cannot get these two to dovetail forget about it. Because the way you live creates your future. Donuts on the couch today equals a fat and unfit body tomorrow. Hit the gym and eat clean today and you’ll be fitter and healthier tomorrow.
Links
Become a Self Starter
Powerful(ly) Written Goals In 7 Simple Steps
SMART Goal Setting
Take Responsibility For Weight and Eating Habits
The Simple Secret to Achieving Your Goals: Focus
Consistency Is Key In Fitness
Fat is a psychological issue: Embarking on a diet can be dangerous. Paradoxically, the chronic stress induced by the struggle for control can make dieters more prone to overeating
Are you Driven to Succeed?
Behavioral Steps Towards Permanent Weight Loss and Lifestyle Change: Insight to Action
Sunday, December 9, 2007
5 Top Fitness & Nutrition Articles and 5 Top Fitness & Nutrition Websites
We all know dieting alone is rarely successful in the long run. Just peruse the myriad of dieters blogs – including both low carbohydrate and low fat - to witness how many never reach goal nor manage to stay at goal. Even casual exercise is not always enough to help some maintain. After all it’s very easy in one meal alone to out eat the meager calorie deficit created by a single aerobics session.
If you take a different approach and seek out those who are successful at weight management and achieving their physique goals you’ll find a very different story. Success is not achieved through dieting alone nor is casual exercise the answer. The answer is a diligent resistance training program that includes aerobics and careful nutrition.
Below are five articles and five websites that demonstrate the path to success in your fitness and physique goals is a balanced approach that encompassed resistance training, informed nutrition, and aerobics.
Best Recent Articles:
Build and Burn – Cycling caloric surplus and deficit.
Debunking Nutrition Myths – Carbs are evil? Low fat diets are good? Debunking common nutrition myths.
Too Much of a Good Thing – The Drawbacks of Overtraining
6 Bodybuilding Diet Mistakes
Best Sites:
T-Nation
Bodybuilding.com
Dave Draper’s Iron Online
Lee LaBrada
The Elite Physique
This is by no means a comprehensive list. It's just a few I recently read and wanted to share.
Remember you get what you put into something and this is doubly true of fitness and nutrition. Avoid simplistic or incomplete approaches like dieting alone or having an affair with the elliptical machine while ignoring the weight room so long it cries itself to sleep. Finding balance is a worthy goal that will get you better results than half-arsed approaches.
