Training Tips
1). A few of the components of fitness are balance, coordination and stabilization. Your trunk constitutes over 50% of your body’s total mass. This is the power center of your body. The core muscles consist of the deep abdominal muscles, mainly the transverse abdominals, the erector spinae, the obliques and the rectus abdominis muscles. To have a strong core and healthy back you must work these muscles. I can teach you some easy and effective exercises to target this area. A great example is the plank exercise.
2). Do you have a hard time fitting exercise into your busy schedule? Let’s look at it this way… Cardiovascular Disease is the leading cause of death in America and the #1 killer of Women. A sedentary lifestyle is considered a health hazard. This can be prevented. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) suggests that the requirements of exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle are strength training of all major muscle groups 2-3 times a week and some type of cardiovascular exercise for at least 30-45 mins 3-5 days a week. This may seem like a lot at first, but if you make a choice to become healthy it will become part of your lifestyle. The best thing to do is schedule exercise into your day. Schedule it into your life. It could be before work, at your lunch break or right after work. After a while it becomes part of your routine and you feel like you are missing something if you skip a workout.
3) Remember to train all of the major muscle groups to prevent imbalances. Sometimes people who have a hard time doing an exercise just don’t do that exercise. For example, some people tend to workout their pec’s until no tomorrow and neglect their shoulders. Well, guess what? They’re doing quite a bit of harm to their bodies. By neglecting a muscle group, you cause imbalances so that the strong muscles over compensate for the weak ones. For instance, if you over train your chest muscles and neglect your upper back muscles, this results in a tight chest and weak back muscles, which will cause rounded shoulder and a slumped posture.
4) Mix up your cardio or find something you like and do it. The thing is to make it fun. Go outside! Maybe you live by the beach, or have a trail that winds up a hill, or there are stairs nearby to run up and down. Get some roller blades and go for a spin.
5) Prepare yourself for lapses. Hey, life happens, things are going to come up that will make us miss a workout or maybe even a whole week of workouts. Don’t beat yourself up over it! Your kids may get sick, you may get sick, you may have to travel somewhere unexpectedly or you may need to work late. It's OK if you miss a workout...just don't miss 10! Get right back on plan and keep going!
6) You don’t have to do 300 sit-ups to train your abs. Think about it…do you do 300 biceps curls…or 300 squats? So, why do 300 sit-ups? Train your abs like any other muscle. Do 3 sets of 15 reps on your abs. Add resistance to keep challenged. It's as easy as that.
7) It's important to combine diet and exercise. For example, studies have shown that in a single week the following statistics are typical for diet only, compared to diet and exercise.
Diet Only: Lose ¾ pounds of fat mass
Lose ¼ pounds of lean (muscle) mass
Diet and Exercise: Lose 1 ¼ pounds of fat mass
Gain ¼ pounds of lean (muscle) mass
8) Set goals and affirmations. This is the best way to stay true to yourself. Set a long term goal and a few short term goals. Try to shoot for 1-2 pounds a week. Your goals should be specific and attainable. For example, your long term goal might be "I will weigh 130 pounds by..." or "I will lose 40 pounds by…". Also, it's helpful to make statements positive and real. At one point I weighed 170lbs, and my personal goal was to be 130 lbs. I would repeat in my head, (or out loud when no one was listening!) “I weigh one hundred and thirty pounds. I am healthy and strong.” It takes some time to get used to hearing the words but it works. Our minds are pretty incredible. Just like that saying; “What the mind believes, the body achieves.” Or, like my Mom always said, “You put positive information in you get positive information out! You put negative information in, you get negative information out!”
9) Walking is great exercise. You can do it anytime, anywhere, alone or with a group. But, instead of just walking, kick it up a little. Swing those arms and squeeze the glutes when you walk. Find some stairs or bleachers (most schools have these). Run up and down the stairs. Challenge yourself and put a little hop in your step and really feel your muscles and heart working. Mix it up with some walking lunges and squats. This gets your heart rate up and challenges you in your workout.
10) Team up with a workout partner. This is a great way to stay motivated, because there is someone counting on you to show up. If you know there is someone waiting for you at the gym it gets you up and going. It’s much more fun to workout with a partner anyway. Try to find a partner that has similar fitness goals as you, and that can work out at the same times.
Benefits of Exercise
There are many components to being fit, including:
1) Cardio endurance
2) Muscular strength and endurance
3) Flexibility
4) Body composition
5) Balance, coordination and stabilization
Benefits of Cardiorespiratory Exercise:
1) Reduction in blood pressure
2) Increased HDL (good) cholesterol
3) Decreased total cholesterol
4) Decreased body fat
5) Improved appearance and self image
6) Increased stamina and endurance
7) Decreased clinical symptoms of anxiety, tension, and depression
8) Increased heart function
9) Prevention of type 2 diabetes
Benefits of Strength Training:
1) Increased muscle fiber size
2) Increased muscle contractile strength
3) Increased bone strength
4) Improved coordination, body awareness, and posture.
5) Improved self-image (confidence).
6) Improved physical appearance.
7) Increase in muscle tissue.
8) Reduced risk of injury.
