Tag Archives: exercise

How would you describe your weekly exercise? – Facebook Live Video

Facebook Live Broadcasts

Monday, January 16, 2017

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I do regular videos around this time of day – 8 am in California

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Talk about healthy living

2017 is a new year

I am absolutely going to achieve 3 things:

  • A healthier life – including losing weight (sound familiar this time of year?) Incredibly important. And never too late to start!
  • Master my time – to get the most out of what I am given
  • Meet my business goals – right up on the wall here to remind me

20 questions for the topics for these broadcasts. Check out the link to the personalized health assessment if you want to see all of the questions – and get your own results. See how you measure up going into 2017!

But today I am going to be talking about something a little different:

How would you describe your weekly exercise?

  • Light (walking, some stretching, etc.)
  • Mostly cardio (jogging, elliptical machine, etc.)
  • Moderate balance of cardio and weight training
  • Intense (interval training, weight lifting, training for marathons, etc.)


There is no right answer!

Your exercise routine depends on:

  1. Your age.Don’t go off the deep end. If you haven’t been doing much exercise, then don’t jump right into marathon training. At least right away. Your body needs to adjust to new things.

    If you are younger you can probably being doing more strenuous exercise. And that is a good thing. As we age our bodies tend to not heal themselves as quickly. So be careful.

  2. Your current physical condition.If you have been spending more time on the coach than in the gym it is going to take more time to get in shape.

    Start slowly and consistently. Build up to where you want to be.

  3. Your goals.What do you want to accomplish with your exercise program? Get fit? Bulk up? Lose Weight? Reduce stress?

    Your exercise program needs to be tailored to fit your goals. The best way to do this is to talk to a professional. A fitness trainer. You can find them at your gym. Or online.

Break it up – have some variety. Don’t continually do the exact same routine. Walk different routes. Use different equipment at the gym. Go for cardio then weights.

Push yourself – test your limits. Now don’t overdo it. But don’t be afraid to push yourself. Of course you need to consult your doctor for this part. You will get results. And feed a sense of accomplishment.

Listen to your body. It will tell you when it is too much. It will also tell you when it is not enough. Become an expert on reading your own body.

Don’t be afraid to take a break. Consistency is important to get results. But sometimes you need to take a break. Don’t take too long of a break. But in the long run it can be the best thing to maximize your overall progress.

Ask your doctor before jumping in.

Conclusion:

I hope this made some sense for you

Like/Share/Comment

Check out the health assessment to see how you are doing!

See you next time.

How often do you exercise each week? Facebook Live Video

Facebook Live Broadcasts

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Introduction:

Thanks for joining

I do regular videos around this time of day – 8 am in California

  • Gets me up and moving for the day

Please Like/share/comment – helps build the audience

  • I like the interaction – otherwise it could be a YouTube video, right?

Talk about healthy living

2017 is a new year

I am absolutely going to achieve 3 things:

  • A healthier life – including losing weight (sound familiar this time of year?) Incredibly important. And never too late to start!
  • Master my time – to get the most out of what I am given
  • Meet my business goals – right up on the wall here to remind me

20 questions for the topics for these broadcasts. Check out the link to the personalized health assessment if you want to see all of the questions – and get your own results. See how you measure up going into 2017!

Today’s question is:

How often do you exercise each week?

  • Less than 1 hour
  • 1–2 hours
  • 2–4 hours
  • More than 4 hours

Exercise has a big impact on your overall health.

People who stay active have healthier hearts, minds, blood sugar control, better mood, and tend to live longer.

Good job making time for regular exercise! (If this is you!)

How much is enough? Experts (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) say 2-3 hours a week minimum.

You don’t have to do it all at once, 10-15 minutes at a time works just a well.

Motion = Energy

Why do we want energy?

  • We get things done
  • Improves our mood
  • Rubs off on others

Suggestions for increasing the time you spend exercising?

  • Do something fun
  • Do something with others
  • Make a commitment
  • Get consistent
  • Build healthy habits
  • Push yourself – you will feel better for it

And as always – before starting a new exercise routine – check with your doctor.

Conclusion:

I hope this made some sense for you

Like/Share/Comment

Check out the health assessment to see how you are doing!

See you next time

 

The ‘Two Exercise’ Secret for Shedding Fat

Here is a simple fat burning tip you can use right now as a secret for shedding fat. This works especially well for most people because it’s a radical departure from what you’ve been doing.

One of the many problems with traditional low intensity long duration cardio is that of
diminishing returns. As your body becomes more efficient, you will begin to burn fewer calories for the same workout and your results will eventually come to a grinding halt. Many people either get frustrated and quit, or they go in the wrong direction by thinking they need to make their workouts longer.

Making a long workout even longer is NOT the way to get results! Putting more work into the same amount of workout time or the same amount of work into less time is a much more effective approach. Not to mention, who has hours and hours a day to train? Lottery winners, maybe! That’s about it! And not a good secret for shedding fat.

Secret for shedding fat

You should do these two particular exercises – squats and deadlifts.

Both of these exercises are two of the best fat burning and muscle building exercises around. They work a lot of muscle at one time, they get your entire body moving, they have a cardio benefit when done for higher reps, and they can boost your metabolism for some serious calorie burning AFTER the workout!

And if you do them the right way, you also get a surge in the powerful fat burning hormone, growth hormone, which melts away body fat like butter! Oh yeah!

For your next back workout, give this a try. Do ONLY the deadlift.

Do the deadlift for ONE set.

Here’s the best part of this secret for shedding fat. Don’t go down to the floor on your deadlifts. Just lower the bar a few inches below your kneecaps. In fact, you could start the bar off the ground in a power rack if you want.

Now, do 40 reps. Yes, seriously. You won’t believe what this feels like compared to your normal back workout. And if you don’t know exactly what muscles the deadlifts hit, you will after this.

You’ll feel it in your shoulders, traps, upper back, lower back, hamstrings, arms, butt (here that, ladies?), you name it.

And if you don’t think you can get cardio benefits from weight training, you’ll change your mind.

Try doing ONLY this for your back workout for 4 to 8 weeks and see what happens.

Oh, and if you feel like you have to rest, do so at the top of a rep, don’t put the bar down.

This is really TOUGH. And it works for getting lean. It’s for you, too, ladies! Don’t shy away from intense workouts because you’re afraid of getting bulky. It’s not going to happen.

Are you interested in more fitness info? Check out my free report:

“10 FITNESS HACKS YOU NEED TO KNOW”

Sprint Workouts: The 1 Key to Getting Lean and Ripped

Sprint workouts are one of the best fat burning workouts you can do. Yes, really.

A study done by Colorado State University gave subjects a maintenance diet for three days.

On one of the days they did 2.5 minutes of sprints.

Using the latest technology (oxygen analyzers, etc.) it was determined the subjects burned an extra 200 calories on the day they did the sprints.

Now, full disclosure – the workout…

“involved pedaling as fast as possible on a stationary bicycle in the room that was set at a high resistance for five 30-second periods, each separated by four-minute periods of recovery in which they pedaled slowly with very little resistance. During the intense, 30-second bouts, the researchers coached the volunteers over an intercom system, encouraging them to give 100 percent effort.”

So it was actually a 22.5 minute workout, although they were only “working” for 2.5 minutes.

Even so, that’s pretty good stuff!

Sprint workouts

Have you ever seen a fat sprinter? Me, either.

We see fat marathon runners all the time, though.

They are not overweight by any means, but they are skinny fat in that their body composition isn’t good.

They may be skinny but too much of the weight they do have is fat, not muscle.

Sure, they don’t look fat when you glance at them.

But too much of the (little) weight they carry, is fat, not muscle.

While their overall weight may be okay, the body composition of that weight isn’t always what it should be. They burn too much muscle with all that long distance running.

But not sprinters. If you want to shed fat at a record pace and keep your lean muscle and your metabolism revving, sprint workouts are the way to go for getting lean, ripped abs.

You also have to be careful. Sprinting all out on a flat surface can be a great way to injure yourself, especially if you don’t warm up properly.

One way to limit the risk of injury (and it can be a more intense, more effective workout, too) is to perform your sprints uphill, instead of on a flat surface.

If you don’t have a hill around that’s convenient, a flat place to sprint (on a track, or a field, not the hard cement or concrete of a road or sidewalk) will do just fine.

You’ll also want to limit your sprint efforts to 85 – 90% of your all out effort. It will be enough.

Before a sprint workout, hit a light jog for a few minutes (if you’re sprinting on a field like a soccer or football field, you can jog a couple of laps around the outside) or perform a couple of minutes of jump rope.

Then it’s a few bodyweight exercises like jumping jacks, bodyweight squats, leg swings, etc.

All this doesn’t need to be long or intense but you want to prepare your body for sprinting.

The sprinting workout begins with three or four (progressively harder) sprints of about 30 to 40 yards. These are warm ups. You shouldn’t be bent over hands on your knees exhausted!

Then it’s time for the real thing.

“Interval training stresses energy systems in the body that aren’t accustomed to being used,” says Jeramie Hinojosa, M.S., director of the East Texas Medical Center Olympic Center, in Tyler, Texas.
“Blood supply to cells increases, the cells use oxygen more efficiently, and the enzymes that help create energy also increase. This improves fitness.”

Keep in mind, serious sprint workouts are similar to intense weight training sessions for the legs, so your body needs time to recover. If you start doing multiple sprinting sessions per week, cut back on your leg workouts with weights accordingly.

There are numerous ways to perform not only sprinting sessions, but interval training in general, from work to rest ratio, length of work and rest intervals, number of interval ‘set’s, exercises involved, etc.

Besides the variety, you can also build on your sprint workouts as you improve your overall fitness level. Starting out, you might only be able to perform 2 or 3 sprints of 20 yards before calling it quits.

But your fitness levels will quickly improve and before you know it, you’ll be doing more sprints of longer length (not necessarily for a longer time as your speed will improve as well).

Even so, don’t let these training sessions expand into long, volume oriented workouts. When it comes to hiit training, a little bit goes a long way.

If you aren’t ready for high intensity interval training, here’s a sample progression for you:

  • Alternate jogging with walking
  • Alternate running with jogging
  • Alternate sprints with walking
  • Alternate sprints uphill with walking down the hill (and extra rest if needed)

If you don’t have access to a hill, you can still adjust the parameters like I mentioned above. Maybe you start out with 3 to 4 sprints of 20 yards.

First you add intervals until you are doing 10 sprints of 20 yards and then you drop back the number of sprint intervals to 4 or 5 and sprint for 30 yards.

Eventually, you may be doing ten 60 yard sprints for your workouts. Yes, it’s the same type of progression ladder you’d use to increase your weights in your weight training routines.

During your sprint workouts, you don’t need to go all out. Try sprinting around 85 – 90% of a maximum effort.

If you’re serious about burning fat and getting ripped abs and want to quickly see results, consider adding hiit training in the form of sprinting to your program.

Interested in more fitness info? Check out my free report:

“10 FITNESS HACKS YOU NEED TO KNOW”

how hiit works

How HIIT Works For Accelerated Results Every Time, Lean Muscle and Sexy Abs

How HIIT works. HIIT training has really exploded in popularity in the last few years. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training.

How HIIT works

And with good reason. High intensity interval training works! But if you want HIIT to work for you, you need to know how to make it part of your exercise routine.

You see, long, slow, boring cardio isn’t the best way to lose fat and bring out that sexy, lean muscle you have hidden under there.

Old fashioned cardio can be part of an overall program that helps you burn fat, but the “bang for your buck” isn’t as great as HIIT.

If you don’t know what high intensity interval training workouts are, in the most basic form, you perform short bursts of high intensity exercise (like sprints), with brief periods of rest.

For example, you might sprint the straightaway of a track and slow jog the turns and repeat for 8 or 10 “sets” (intervals).

It’s not an easy way to work out, but your workouts will be shorter and you’ll love the results. If you do HIIT correctly. And this is where a lot of people run into problems with interval training.

Regular cardio doesn’t burn nearly as many calories as most people think it does. Want to know how many calories are burned during a marathon of 26.2 miles? Sure, it varies from person to person based on body weight, lean muscle mass, how fast you run, etc. but on average a marathoner burns about 2,500 to 3,500 calories running one marathon.

There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat!

Let’s say that’s how many calories you would burn running a marathon. So if you eat the exact number of calories your metabolism burns off in a week all you have to do is add a marathon every week and you’ll drop a pound a week!

That sounds great, doesn’t it? There’s also the small problem that a good percentage of that weight would be muscle, you wouldn’t lose just fat.

Have you seen what a marathon runner looks like? Is that the body you want? I didn’t think so.

And that’s assuming that your calorie intake and calorie burn are equal. Most people start exercising because they’ve gained weight, ie, are eating more calories than they are burning off.
And let’s face it, if you did run a marathon every week, you know you’d be eating a lot more than you are right now!

So if you don’t want to run a marathon or two every week AND you actually want to get results from your exercise program, what’s left? High intensity interval training workouts, of course! (and yes, some changes to your diet, too!)

With interval training, you get a one two punch of calories burned DURING your workout, as well as calories burned AFTER your workout (up to 39 hours!)!

Due to the high intensity nature of HIIT training, you will see an increase in excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC).

What this means is that your metabolism will stay elevated for many hours after you are finished the exercise, allowing you to burn more calories even while doing nothing. This is how HIIT works

There is little to no EPOC from a low intensity session, meaning your metabolism does not rise, and you burn few, if any calories after the exercise session is over.

Another study had individuals perform either an endurance training (ET) or interval training routine for a period of 15 weeks.

The interval training group experienced 9 times as much fat loss as those performing the endurance training program.

Numerous studies have shown that HIIT increases both one’s aerobic and anaerobic workout capacity while endurance training just improves the former.

It has also been shown that intense interval training actually increases aerobic capacity to a better degree than traditional low intensity aerobics.

So how do you use HIIT training effectively? This is very important, because improper training will lead to over training, burn out, injury, a loss of muscle mass and a slower metabolism! My guess is you aren’t working out and eating right to get those kind of results!

Interval training is intense, and while you will improve your aerobic and endurance capacity, you also highly tax your anerobic system as well.

It’s much more like a weight training workout, as far as how it affects your muscles. This means you shouldn’t do interval training workouts more than 3 or 4 times per week, you shouldn’t do them two days in a row, and these workouts should NOT be long!

Interval training focuses on quality over quantity. This is how HIIT works. Forget 45 minute or 60 minute sessions. Not with HIIT you don’t.

Heck, the most famous study done on interval training, by Dr. Tabata on speed skaters, involved all out work for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times. Yes, that’s a FOUR MINUTE WORKOUT!

And the speed skaters all significantly improved their aerobic and anerobic capacity.

One of the other great things about hiit is that you do not need equipment. Sure, you can do it quite well on a stationary bike or treadmill but you can also go outside and do sprints (hill sprints rock!), perform jump rope workouts (okay, technically that’s a piece of equipment) or do bodyweight exercises, either in a circuit training routine, or just one killer exercise like burpees for a number of intervals.

And if you follow the rule above about limiting your workout sessions so you don’t over train, you also won’t have to worry about burning away your lean muscle mass, wreaking havoc with your metabolism and looking like a marathon runner. Wouldn’t you rather look like a sprinter?
What type of workout do you think sprinters do? That’s right! High intensity interval training workouts!

Add two or three hiit training sessions a week, along with a good quality resistance training program and you’re on your way to fat burning, lean muscle building success!

STUDIES: R. Bahr, et al., “Effect of Intensity on Exercise and Excess Post-Exercise O2 Consumption,” Metabolism 40.8 (1991):836-841.

J. Smith, et al, “The Effects of Intensity of Exercise and Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption and Energy Expenditure in Moderately Traine Men and Women,” European Journal of Applied Physiology 67 (1993): 420-425.
A. Tremblay, et al, “Impact on Exercise Intensity on Body Fatness and Skeletal Muscle Metabolism,” Metabolism 43.7 (1994):814-818

G. Rhodas, et al, “A Short Training Programme for the Rapid Improvement of Both Aerobic and Anaerobic Metabolism,” European Journal of Applied Physiology 82.5-6 (2000):480-486

 

Are you interested in more fitness info? Check out my free report:

“10 FITNESS HACKS YOU NEED TO KNOW”

secret to cardio training

The Secret To Cardio Training That Could Double Your Results.. in Less Time!

What is the secret to cardio training? Traditional long form cardio is getting bashed all over the place nowadays.

It’s not my favorite form of exercise either, nor do I think it’s the best option for fat loss and overall health and fitness.

At least not if that’s all your doing.

Secret to cardio training

But cardio can definitely be effective and have it’s own place as part of a well designed fitness program.

Cardio should be one component of your program, not the only component.

Then the question that gets asked a lot is, “if I’m training for fat loss, when should I do my cardio, before or after my weight training session?”

Great question! You’re on a roll! Oh, wait! That’s just the same question asked again!

So, weights then cardio, or cardio then weights?

…

…

…

…

Weights then CARDIO!

If you want a complete training routine to maximize your fat burning results, you’ll want to include the following:

1. Strength Training

2. Conditioning or Metabolic Training

3. Metabolic Finisher

4. Strategic Cardio

And this does NOT mean you need all four in the same workout. Just using two of them in a workout can be extremely effective and more than enough.

Very rarely will you use all four components in one workout.

So why resistance training first?

For starters, if you do cardio first, your weight training performance (and results) will suffer.

Here’s a dirty little secret cardio bunnies and makers of “aerobics” dvds don’t want you to know.
Intense, high quality weight training is MORE effective for taking fat off and keeping it off than cardio!

Hit the weights while you’re fresh, then move to your cardio. Yes, of course, you can do a few minutes of a general warm up if you need it.

Glycogen Depletion

By hitting the weights first, you’ll also deplete your glycogen stores, leaving your body primed and pumped to dip into its stores of excess body fat to fuel your the cardio portion of your workout.

The flip side of that is that fat is not an efficient fuel for weight training. Glycogen is the preferred source of fuel for short, intense muscle contractions.

By hitting the weights first, you’ve allowed your body to have the preferred muscle fuel available and primed it to burn fat as soon as you start your cardio. NICE!

If you want to be efficient and MAXIMIZE your results, it’s strength training first, then cardio!

 

Are you interested in more fitness info? Check out my free report:

“10 FITNESS HACKS YOU NEED TO KNOW”

tool no one is using in your gym

A Simple, Cheap Tool No One Is Using In Your Gym… and It Will Melt Fat Like A Knife Through Butter

What is the tool no one is using in your gym? Let’s cut to the chase. The tool is the simple jump rope! Trust me, keep reading!

A jump rope workout is a fantastic way to burn a lot of calories, improve your overall conditioning, and use as part of a metabolic resistance training program for some serious fat loss.

Tool no one is using in your gym

Two of the great things about a jump rope is you can take it anywhere and you don’t need a lot of room to get in a workout.

You can also use the jump rope as part of your training program, whether you’re using weights or just using bodyweight exercises in your training.

You’ll get a lot more out of a jump rope workout that’s only 10 minutes long than you will doing 45 minutes on the stationary bike the way most people do it. You know what I mean; the people at the gym who pedal, pedal and pedal some more while reading a magazine or watching television, yet they never even break a sweat. What a waste of time!

As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do with the jump rope.

If trying to jump rope for 10 or even 5 minutes straight is daunting for you at this point, a great way to get started is using the Tabata Protocol of performing an exercise for 20 seconds as hard as you can, rest for 10 seconds and then repeat. You do this 8 times for a total of 4 minutes of working out (less, since one third of that time is resting)!

Once you can do that, try adding a second cycle of the Tabata Protocol. Do 8 sets of 20/10 (again, 20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest), rest 1 to 2 minutes and then do it again.

Once you can do this, you can start adding more time to your jump rope workout and also start adding different techniques like jumping on one foot for 10 jumps, then switching feet, alternating feet, doing double jumps, etc.

But get the regular old two foot jump down first!

You can also combine jumping rope with other bodyweight exercises. Here’s an example:

30 seconds – Push ups

10 seconds – Rest

30 seconds – Jump Rope

10 seconds – Rest

30 seconds – Alternate Forward Lunge

10 seconds – Rest

30 seconds – Jump Rope

10 seconds – Rest

30 seconds – Bodyweight Squats

Rest 2 minutes. Perform 3 to 5 sets

Another great way to use the jump rope is to incorporate it into your resistance training sessions, whether you’re using bodyweight exercises or weights, or both.

Instead of resting between all your sets, do some cardio, like the jump rope! You’ll burn a ton more calories.

Now you know. The tool no one is using in your gym. But should be.

Are you interested in more fitness info? Check out my free report:

“10 FITNESS HACKS YOU NEED TO KNOW”

metabolism boosting

Metabolism Boosting Secrets For Staying Lean

Metabolism boosting made simple.

“How do I increase my metabolism?” is a question that comes from a lot from people looking to lose weight.

They want to know all about metabolism boosters, metabolism secrets and diets that can increase metabolism.

Can you really boost your metabolism? Does your metabolism really decrease as you age?

Is this lower metabolism something you’ll just have to learn to live with, whether it’s age related or not?

The bad news is that you metabolism does decrease as you age. The good news is that it’s something you can counteract.

You see, starting around age 25 to 30, most people lose 5 to 10 pounds of lean muscle every decade. And lean muscle is more metabolically active.

Metabolism boosting

So all you need to do to boost your metabolism or keep it from slowing down is to focus on a workout program that preserves the lean muscle you have or adds a few pounds of lean muscle to give your metabolism a boost.

Let’s take a look at the four components of your metabolism.

* Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)

Your resting metabolic rate makes up most of your daily calorie expenditure and includes everything your body needs to do to survive, such as thinking, repairing tissue and anything else it needs to do.

* Thermogenesis – simply the calorie burning from the act of eating.

Your body burns calories when you chew, swallow and digest the food you eat.

* Genetic Thermogenesis – the calories you burn based on your genetic makeup.

* Physical Activity – these are the calories you burn from physical activity via exercise such as biking, playing tennis, weight training and cardio.

If you want to boost your metabolism you need to focus on these different aspects of metabolism.

Your resting metabolic rate can be increased by adding lean muscle.

Will 5 to 10 pounds of added muscle dramatically increase your resting metabolic rate?

No, but it will increase it and every little bit helps.

In addition, if you add 5 to 10 pounds of muscle, as opposed to losing that much muscle mass each decade, the difference will be quite dramatic over time.

There’s another huge positive metabolism boosting advantage to weight training or high intensity interval training and that’s the post-workout metabolism increase.

After an intense resistance training session (or high intensity interval training session), your metabolism will stay elevated for up to 39 hours AFTER the workout!

There is a lot of debate on just how big the metabolic boost is when it comes to post-exercise calorie burning but most studies agree that it happens and it’s important.

With an intense resistance training session you also burn calories during the workout.

Another way to boost your metabolism is by increasing your protein intake.

Your body requires more energy (i.e. calories) to process protein than it does carbohydrates.

Your lifestyle will determine how much exercise you need for the metabolism boost you need to start burning fat.

If you sit at a computer all day you’re going to need more exercise than someone who does construction work all day.

That’s just the way it is.

Here’s a sample metabolism boosting exercise program.

Monday – High Intensity Interval Training

Tuesday – Weight Training Session

Wednesday – Active recovery cardio training

Thursday – Weight Training Session

Friday – High Intensity Interval Training

Saturday – Weight Training Session

Sunday – Rest

Active recovery cardio is low intensity longer duration cardio that you see most people do in the gym.

You can also do something simple like taking a long walk outside. This type of session should last 45 – 60 minutes.

Put all these pieces together into a cohesive plan and you’ll attack a slowing metabolism from all different angles.

You’ll not only prevent your metabolism from decreasing as you get older but you’ll increase it, leading to greater fat loss, more muscle and a healthier, sexier, more energetic you.

Are you interested in more fitness info? Check out my free report:

“10 FITNESS HACKS YOU NEED TO KNOW”

3 Exercise Tips to Melt Away Body Fat Faster Than Ever!

Exercise tips: one of the biggest challenges most people face when trying to burn serious amounts of ugly fat is seeing results quickly enough to stick with the program.

Exercise tips

Most of us know we’ll need to make nutrition changes and exercise to see results. We know
some work is involved.

But it gets frustrating when you put in the work and don’t see the results you expect.

The best way to keep your motivation levels high so that you stick with your exercise program over the long haul is to see some results fast! Forget the slow and steady approach!

Here are three awesome exercise tips that will burn massive amounts of calories and get you lean and shredded!

1. Move Your Body!

Most people start their fat burning journey with the typical “fat burning exercises.”

In other words, they start with some type of aerobics, such as the stationary bike or the treadmill.

While it’s great that they are doing SOMETHING, these are not the best choices, especially the way most people use them.

Instead of riding the stationary bike like a hamster on a wheel, try incorporating exercises that move your entire body (or multiple exercises that get the job done).

Exercises like:

  • Burpees
  • Bodyweight Squats
  • Spiderman Push Ups
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Sprints
  • Pull Ups
  • Dips
  • Bear Crawls
  • Sled Pulls
  • Stingers

2. Try Shorter Workouts And Do More Of Them

Instead of completing a longer 45 minute to hour long workout (or more), try doing multiple workouts throughout the day that are only 4 to 15 minutes in length.

It may be easier to fit short workouts into your schedule.

You’ll also boost your metabolism and burn more calories by working out multiple times per day.

This is true even if your total workout time is the same (ie, three 20 minute workouts versus one 60 minute workout).

3. Improve the Quality of Your Workouts

Try being progressive with your workouts instead of always doing the same thing. If you don’t improve, your results won’t either.

Here are two quick examples for you, one with typical cardio and one with weights.

If you ride the stationary bike for an hour and go 12.1 miles every time, eventually you’ll reach a fat loss plateau and have to do something else. Your body will become very efficient at that workout and your results will diminish.

If you can bench press 100 pounds for 8 reps and never improve on that, you won’t get more results, either.

While you can’t improve every workout indefinitely, you need to strive to be progressive with your workouts and improve over time.

This doesn’t mean you have to go all out every workout and we all have our ups and downs, our good days and bad days. Sometimes it’s good to take time off. And sometimes it’s good to have an easy workout.

In fact, doing so is part of a good training plan. You’ll get re-energized and more motivated for getting back into the really intense workouts.

But you won’t see the results you want if you always work well within your current capabilities.
There must be a balance struck.

Are you interested in more exercise tips? Check out my free report:

“10 FITNESS HACKS YOU NEED TO KNOW”

Going to the Gym for the First Time

Going to the Gym for the First Time? Here’s What You’ll Need to Know.

You’ve been thinking about it for quite some time now. You know you need to get your butt to Going to the Gym for the First Timethe gym and start working out. You know you’ve gotten yourself out of shape and an hour or so in the gym three or four days a week sure wouldn’t hurt.

Ok, so you’ve finally done it. You went down to the local fitness club and spent 2 weeks pay on a one year membership. You even went to the local K-Mart and got yourself some new exercise outfits. Now you’re ready to go and get in shape. But before you do, there are a few things you should keep in mind to make your time in the gym productive, enjoyable and most of all, injury free.

Going to the Gym for the First Time

WARM UP FIRST: this is very important to not only get your blood flowing but to minimize the risk of injury. some good warm up methods include walking on the treadmill for 10-15 minutes starting out at a slower pace then working up to a more brisk pace halfway through. Perform 10 minutes or so of stretching exercises such as toe touches, hurdlers stretches, twisting at the waist and reaching your arms out fully in every direction. before you do any exercises that involve using weights (biceps curls for example) do one set with half (50%) of the weight you’ll be using to prepare the muscles, tendons and ligaments performing the exercise to better handle the heavier weight.

START OUT EASY: when you first get to the gym and you are ready to hit the weights, select an amount of weight at first that seems almost too light but still provides some resistance for each exercise. Remember that proper form, posture and technique are far more important than how much weight you are using. Also, you must give your connective tissue (tendons and ligaments) time to strengthen in order to help prevent injury from the heavier weights you’ll be using later. You can always increase the weight as you go when you can do so without compromising proper form, posture and technique.

When you first get on the treadmill, stationary bike, stair climber or elliptical machine, remember that your heart probably isn’t going to be in the kind of shape to go all out and for this reason you should take it at a slower pace for a while. Each week, pick up the pace and the length of time spent on these machines a little at a time. This will give your heart time to build up to faster paces and longer periods. Remember, your heart is a muscle and like any other muscle, it needs time to adjust to the stresses placed on it during exercise.

KEEP AN EXERCISE LOG: one of the best ways to monitor your workouts as well as your progress is to write out your exercise program, stick to it and write in the weights you use for each exercise, and when you’re ready to increase the weight on any exercise, write it in.

On the treadmill or any other cardiovascular machine, write in your speeds and length of time spent. when your ready to make increases, write them in. in this way you not only are able to stay on a structured program ( which is far more productive that having no system ) but you can also keep track of the progress you are making and see how much progress you have made since you began. When you see that you’re making good progress as you go, you will become more motivated to stick with it.

COOL DOWN: after you’ve completed your workout, take 10 minutes at a slow pace on the treadmill. This will let your body cool down a little slower and a slower cool down is easier on your heart than if you cooled down quickly. During this time, you can reflect on the workout you just performed and feel the sense of well being that exercise gives you.

Now that you know a few things that will help to make your gym experience a more productive, more enjoyable and more injury free one, you are ready to go and start working on getting the body of your dreams, the right way.