superadmin

When I meet people for the first time and they find that I’m a personal trainer, the first thing they do is give me their excuse for not getting into shape or they yourself paying a far higher price with your health. They tell me about their workout regimen. I enjoy listening to the various ways people find time to workout or learning about their experiences in the gym, but it infuriates me when I hear the excuses, I would workout but I don’t have the money to get a gym membership or my schedule is so tight, I don’t have the time. Don’t let time or money stop you from getting fit or you’ll find

If you’re sincere, you’ll find the time to fit exercising into your schedule.

Think about it, if a doctor told someone you loved that in order to stay alive they had to eat healthier and have a program of regular exercise, you’d do your best to help

them stick with the program. Why wouldn’t you do that for yourself? You deserve to feel and be healthy. If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for your loved ones that need you and want to see you happy and fit. If the traditional gym hours aren’t working with your schedule, why not go less traditional.

Consider online training with a personal trainer.

There are all types of online programs, but very few of them provide accountability. Only those run by personal trainers that require you to check in with the trainer do. Some busy people use a combination of online training and live training to achieve their goals and save time. Online training is also a way to save money, if that’s a problem. You get the benefits of having a trainer, but set your own hours and pay far less money than it costs at a gym.

There are free programs available.

If your money is really tight, but you’re sincere about getting fit, there are numerous free options that can help you achieve that goal. I personally have a free community boot camp where I help everyone, regardless of their finances. I not only believe fitness is that important, I also want to give back to the community and give everyone help to become fitter. There are so many free options both in your community and online, finances should never be a roadblock.

• If you don’t know where to start, consider going to a boot camp to help you get started. Sure, boot camps take time, but only for a few weeks and you can jumpstart your program. Once you’ve developed the habit, you can create your own schedule for working out.
• People often make the time for things they enjoy. If you aren’t looking forward to working out at the gym, find a program you do like. One of the reasons Olo Onuma Fitness is so popular is that it’s fun.
• Spend a day looking for wasted time. I’m not saying you should give up relaxing or watching your favorite TV show, but have you considered doing a few exercise sets during commercials?
• Carve out a week of exercise at a time, don’t even think about more than that. Just like any habit, exercising is formed one day at a time. Take it one day or one week at a time.

Workouts that are good for overall conditioning will tone your legs, but if you want to focus specific muscle groups there are great exercises to help you do it. You’ll be ready for shorts and swimsuit weather before you know it. As your legs get into condition, you should increase the intensity or number of repetitions to get the fastest results.

What exercises to avoid and why that donut jumps out of your hand and directly onto your thigh.

When women store fat, it’s normally on the thigh and buttocks area. Sadly, when they lose it, it’s also the last place they lose fat. Steer clear of the leg extension and leg press machine if you don’t know how to adjust them for your body size or know the right amount of weight to use. Without proper instruction, they can cause injury. There machines are effective, but in untrained hands, potentially harmful.

What to use in place of the leg extension and leg press machines.

Try the body weight exercise, the single leg squat instead. Lift one foot off the ground or with the toe barely touching if you need more balance and do a squat to replace the leg press. Then do the other side. You’ll get great results without the need for equipment. One and a half squats—doing a full squat, followed by only squatting half way, can substitute for a leg extension machine. You don’t need any machinery, just motivation and you can do them anywhere. You’ll be working the quadriceps—the front of the thigh, the soleus and gastrocnemius—the calves, the glutes, hamstrings and hip adductors.

Step ups are great for the leg muscles and can be adjusted for all levels of fitness.

One of the simplest exercises to do is the step up. It’s just as the name sounds, you step up onto a platform that’s anywhere between the height half way up the shin, to one that’s high enough to make your thigh parallel to the floor when the foot is on the platform. The higher the platform, the more challenging it can be. If you want an even bigger challenge, hold weights in your hand while doing the exercise.

• Remember, there are no spot exercises that take off fat just from the leg area. To reduce the amount of fat from the legs, you have to have a program for overall weight loss.
• There are a number of different types of lunges that help tone the leg muscles. You can do them to the front, back and side. The walking lunge is one of my favorite leg toners.
• Doing combinations like the weighted step ups followed by Romanian deadlifts use a push, then pull action. It lets the quads rest while it trains the hamstrings.
• When you first start toning, learn the basics and learn them well. As you get more proficient, start switching your routine to ensure you avoid plateauing and work all muscles.

If you’ve ever worried about fat consumption, your focus may be on the wrong health enemy. Of course, transfats, once touted as healthy, have been found to be a leading cause of health issues, but other types of fat that have been villified are receiving a bum rap. It may be your sugar consumption that’s really the enemy of good health. Back in the 1950s, a professor of nutrition, John Yudkin, took a firm stand that it was sugar, not fat that caused chronic problems, which included heart disease. It was buried by a study from Harvard scientists that pointed to fat. Many years later, information showed that the study was paid for and deliberately engineered by the sugar industry to show those results—making fat the bad guy and letting sugar off the hook. Now that the truth is out, it’s time to take a look at your sugar consumption.

You’re eating too much sugar if you have insatiable hunger.

High fructose corn syrup—HFCS—is in everything. It’s a combination of one unit of fructose and one unit of glucose. The over consumption of fructose is the reason that HFCS increases the body’s potential for leptin resistance. Leptin is the hormone that tells the body it’s full. That leads to overeating, obesity and other metabolic problems. If you never really feel full, too much sugar might be the problem.

Do you have diabetes or insulin resistance—a precursor to diabetes?

A diet high in sugar will lead to insulin resistance. In fact, in many studies scientists do it in rats quickly with a diet that’s abnormally high. You’ll notice the effects of insulin resistance if you eat a high sugar diet. Not only will it put on weight around your middle it will lead to fatigue, insatiable hunger, high blood pressure and even brain fog. When you notice those symptoms, you’re on your way to full-blown diabetes, which is far more serious and life threatening.

Your sugar levels may be too high if you have non alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Even though your pancreas may be working hard creating insulin, there are other organs that make sugar work hard too. One is the liver. Metabolizing fructose can create inflammation and stress the liver. It causes fat to accumulate in the liver and is a key player in the creation of fatty liver disease. One of the studies on this condition showed that people with this condition drink two times more soft drinks than people without the condition. Soft drinks are a culprit that people often neglect to count as a source of sugar, even though it’s high.

• High blood pressure may be an indication you’re consuming too much sugar. While salt is often called the culprit, many studies now show sugar may be the problem—or at least part of it.
• Consider yourself addicted to sugar if you find you’re cranky when you don’t get a sugar fix. The sugar addiction shares similarities with drug addiction when you consider it has craving, bingeing and withdrawal behavior.
• The American Heart Association states that the amount of extra added sugar (not considering natural sugar) should be no more than 9-tsp for men and 6-tsp for women.
• Read all labels carefully and look for sugar, fructose or other sugar synonyms. Manufacturers even get creative like including words like maize sugar, another word for corn syrup.

Hormones are the little messangers that control the functions of the body. Too little of one hormone or too much of another can lead to many health issues or conditions that cause problems. Hormones are part of the endocrine system and do everything from regulating heart rate to influencing behavior. If your body has even a small problem with hormone levels, it can cause a huge disturbance. To help maintain good health and keep your body functioning at top level, you can balance your hormones naturally.

Hormone imbalance shows up in a myriad of ways.

Some of the most obvious ways that hormonal imbalances show are in weight gain, irregular periods, infertility, low libido and insomnia. However, depression, anxiety, change in appetite, digestive problems, thinning hair and hair loss and fatigue are also signs of hormonal imbalance. The first thing you have to do is get on a road to healthy eating and good health. Start by including healthy fat in your diet. Healthy fat should replace carbohydrates. You’ll find healthy fat in avocados, coconut oil, butter from grass fed cows and wild salmon,just to name a few, but important source. Steer clear of foods containing omega-6 fatty acids, such as safflower, corn and canola oil.

Include adaptogen plant based foods.

Adaptogens help boost the immune system and protect the body from stressors. They also aid in balancing hormones. Holy basil, medicinal mushrooms, rhodiola and ashwangandha or a few adaptogens. Holy basil, which is different from sweet basil, protect the body from chemical and heavy metal stress caused by pollutants. Medicinal mushrooms include cordyceps, lion’s mane, coriolus, chaga, maitake, reishi, shiitake and agaricus blazei. Maitake may be one of those best known that provide the most benefit for balancing hormones. Ashwagandha, also known as Indian Gensing, helps balance the thyroid hormones.

Exercise your way to a healthy hormone balance.

Circuit training, short cardio, heavy lifting and even just plain walking can help realign your hormones and even help you produce more of those lacking. One study showed that lifting heavier weights with fewer reps helped boost HGH in women. HGH is the youth hormone. Circuit training helped raise testosterone and HGH, while boosting insulin response. Walking it off, particularly in a natural stress free setting, can eliminate stress and help balance hormones.

• Learn meditation techniques and relaxation techniques. Stress can cause hormonal imbalances.
• Get adequate sleep and make sure the room is dark. A dark room boosts melatonin production. Extra sleep reduces cortisol.
• Supplement your nutritional needs naturally. Bone broth, probiotic foods and vitamin D from the sun help regulate hormones. Be careful to time sun exposure, as too much can cause skin damage. If getting out in the sun isn’t possible, supplement with vitamin D.
• Check with your doctor to see if any medications, birth control or other prescription drugs could be the cause and see if there’s an alternative to use.

You can burn fat and keep it off permanently when you add a few steps to your daily routine. No, none of those steps involve dieting for the rest of your life, but they do include eating healthy. Opt for healthier options, whether it’s at regular meals or for snacks takes some effort and planning. Plan for those times when you know you’re going to be hungry and be prepared with healthy snacks, such as apples, nuts or even air popped popcorn that are lower in calories but have beneficial nutrient…or in the case of the pop corn, fiber.

Exercise builds muscles, burns fat and does one more thing.

You’ve probably seen white fat if you’ve ever prepared food or watched the Dr. Oz show. (Every time I’ve tuned in he’s had something representing fat or actual fat in one segment.) Did you know there are two kinds of fat? There’s the lumpy white fat nobody wants and brown fat. Brown fat is a calorie burner. It’s loaded with mitichondria that is the body’s mini furnaces and can burn up to 20 percent of the body’s calories. A study at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard showed that exercising causes irisin to release. Irisin changes the white fat to brown fat and helps you shed pounds. Workout at least a half hour a day five days a week to get results and keep fat from returning.

Make sure you have adequate nutrition.

Even though your body makes Vitamin D from the rays of the sun, sunblock and cloudy days can lower the amount of Vitamin D you get daily. There are a number of studies that show Americans have a shortage of vitamin D3, which is important for a number of functions, including boosting leptin levels. Leptin tells your brain that you’re full, without it, you keep eating. A study completed at the University of Minnesota should that people who went on a weight loss program fared better if they had higher levels of vitamin D. It also helps you keep weight off once you lost it.

Get more active.

Even if you’re going to the gym three times a week and sticking to a strict workout regimen, if you’re lounging on the couch or sitting at a desk the rest of the time, your body has a chance to pile on the pounds. Consider a standing desk, or at least take a break and stand up frequently, moving around a bit. Take the stairs and not the elevator and plan some activities that involve moving more during leisure times, such as hiking or biking. You’ll actually find you feel better as an additional benefit when you do.

• Stay hydrated. Too often people think they’re hungry when they’re actually thirsty. Don’t go for a soft drink, but drink plain old water instead. Aim for eight glasses a day.
• Get plenty of sleep. Studies show that adequate sleep can help you shed pounds faster. You not only have more energy, you’re also less likely to crave sugary snacks.
• Add green tea to your favorite drink list. There are volumes of research that tell about the benefits of green tea for health, including weight loss.
• Remember portion control, particularly with higher calorie foods. Super-sizing is the best way to super-size your waistline. Use a smaller plate to make you think you’re eating more.