FAT LOSS
Fat loss is more important than weight loss! Focus on lost inches and burned body fat instead of lost pounds!
Increasing lean muscle mass is critical to permanently speed up your metabolism. The body has to work harder to maintain muscle mass.
Jumping rope is a great warmup or interval cardio exercise! It engages the total body and will strengthen and condition your calves, legs, torso and arms.
Do you want abs of steel? First, you need to eat right! Your hard abs won't show if they are covered with layers of fat!
Are you an emotional eater? Use a food journal to record what you eat and why you eat. This will help control binge eating!
There is no "set time" to exercise.....exercise when you have the most energy during the day.
When you burn body fat, your fat cells shrink. You must keep exercising to stop fat cells from "filling up" again!
The best way to permanently speed up your metabolism? Increase your lean body mass and burn off body fat!
Do full-body strength training. Don't do "spot reduction" strength training. Your body knows where to "burn the fat."
Doing an exercise standing, instead of sitting, will burn more calories and more fat.
SPORTS FITNESS
To get faster, you must train fast! Do your speed drills at the beginning of your workout when you are fresh.
Because power exercises are so intense and done full speed, they are great for burning maximum body fat.
Master safe jumping and landing techniques before starting high-speed plyometric training (jump training).
ASSESSMENT, GOAL SETTING AND MONITORING PROGRESS
1) WHY HAVE A FITNESS ASSESSMENT? Because it is the most important step to take before you begin an exercise program! WHAT WILL IT TELL YOU? Among other things, it will give you a starting point for circumference measurements (neck, chest, arms, waist, hips, etc.) and body fat percentage, as well as alert you (not diagnose) to possible health problems. Posture and eating habits are also assessed.
2) A good New Year's Resolution? Stay with your exercise and nutrition plan for a HEALTHIER YOU! With your health as the primary motivation for training, it usually energizes you during the "low moments" of training.
3) The best way to measure success with your weight loss program? Understand that as you build muscle, your weight may even go up a little at first, but your inches may go down (looser fitting clothes are an excellent indication of change). Your body may be changing but the scale might not show it yet. Take your circumference measurements (neck, chest, arm, waist, hips, etc) and body fat percentage every month or so to track your progress. YOUR BODY COULD BE SHRINKING (Lean and Tone)!
4) What to do when you experience a soft tissue injury (muscle/ligament/tendon sprains/strains, etc.)? Follow the R.I.C.E.R. principle (REST, ICE, COMPRESSION, ELEVATION, REFERRAL FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE) as soon as possible following the injury. Don't do flexibility exercises to stretch a soft tissue injury.
CORE TRAINING
5) The body's CORE IS THE FOUNDATION upon which all integrated training is built.
6) Core Training Should Be a Part of Every Workout--30% to 40% of Work-Related Injuries Involve Core Muscles (such as low back pain). Low Back Pain Affects Nearly 85% of All Adults. Learn more about the body's Core on the "Health and Fitness Tips" page.
7) Increasing your CORE STRENGTH will maximize your EXTREMITY STRENGTH (limbs).
8) Do you sit in an office chair most of the day? Stability ball exercises done with a neutral spine will strengthen your deep core endurance muscles that are critical for maintaining good posture (and avoiding low back pain).
9) Need some good exercises to strengthen your lower back? Try these: back extensions, bridges, prone (front side of the body facing down) cobras and prone planks.
FLEXIBILITY
10) Muscle imbalances and poor flexibility lead to injuries. A proper postural assessment will determine which stretching exercises are important for you. You should do flexibility exercises every day.
11) PROPER STRENGTH TRAINING does NOT make you BULKY and LESS FLEXIBLE. In fact, you will increase flexibility and muscle mass (burning more calories) by performing strength exercises correctly with a full range of motion.
STRENGTH
12) Train your whole body and your body will determine where the fat reduction needs to come from. Spot training by itself (such as isolating your abs to get a "six pack") will not work.
13) Muscle does not ever turn into fat. Instead, we tend to lose muscle mass as we age because of inactivity. At the same time, body fat increases. Fortunately, muscle mass can be maintained/increased (and body fat decreased) throughout your life through exercise and weight training.
14) Vary your workout patterns and exercises every 2-4 weeks to avoid boredom, repetitive motion injuries and goal achievement plateaus. Variation also keeps your body constantly adapting to new demands placed upon it, thereby giving you the greatest chance for success.
15) Performing a weight (or resistance) exercise incorrectly can cause pain in your joints, back or other unintended areas. For example, the squat or lunge should primarily work and strengthen the gluteus maximus and quadriceps. If you feel unusual pain or stress in your back or knees, this could signal injury or incorrect performance of the exercise.
16) "No Pain, No Gain?" The truth? If the exercise hurts, you may need to try another exercise to work that particular muscle group. You should focus first on developing a strong core with proper form and balance to prevent injuries. After developing a strong core, you should work on increasing extremity (limbs) strength. Also, overtraining can increase your chance of injury. So, the answer is to work hard and smart and not "No Pain, No Gain."
17) To recruit more muscle fibers during workouts and improve your success, focus more on MULTI-JOINT EXERCISES during your workouts. Examples of MULTI-JOINT EXERCISES are bench press, shoulder press, squats, deadlift, lunges and seated row. Examples of SINGLE-JOINT EXERCISES are biceps curl, seated calf raise, leg extension, leg curl and triceps pushdowns.
18) Who needs butt-busting fitness gadgets? Nobody does! The best way to tone and shape your rear-end? Do SQUATS (with or without weights) and LUNGES. They will also strengthen most of the major muscle groups of the lower body. Both exercises also require CORE body balance/strength. Of course, this assumes you are doing fat-burning aerobic exercise and watching your diet. Other good butt-busting exercises are walking uphill, jogging, running and stair climbing.
19) Don't just focus on aerobic training (treadmills, bikes, running, etc). You also need strength training to increase muscle mass, burn more fat and build more bone density. The Dynamic Duo---Aerobic Training (4-5 times per week) and Strength Training (2-3 times per week).
20) Focus on how good strength and cardio training makes you feel rather than how you would like to look. THIS ATTITUDE WILL BETTER HELP YOU "STICK WITH" YOUR EXERCISE PROGRAM THROUGH THE NORMAL PEAKS AND VALLEYS. The health benefits of exercise are always more important than vanity. With the proper training program, your body will look better also.
21) Do you have limited time to workout? Then try my "Workout of the Month" to get maximum benefits from a full body circuit workout in the shortest amount of time.
BALANCE
22) Balance is not an isolated event, it is a highly dynamic process. Keeping your center of gravity over a constantly changing base of support.
POWER
23) Rate of force production (how fast your muscles can produce force) is more important than muscle hypertrophy (growth). An increase in muscle growth will not (by itself) increase rate of force production. You have to train fast in order to increase speed, agility and quickness! Improving rate of force production helps everyone, not just athletes.
NUTRITION AND SUPPLEMENTATION
24) No matter how intensely you train, 60%-70% of your success (or failure) in reaching your goals will depend on your eating habits. Follow your daily meal plan!
25) What is your RESTING METABOLIC RATE? (i.e., the number of calories you would burn if sitting all day doing nothing). You will need to know this rate because it is important when planning meals to reach your individual training goals.
26) Consistently skipping meals (or starvation diets) will decrease your metabolism rate because your body will adjust to survive on less calories. The best way to speed up your metabolism for weight loss/health purposes is with a combination of resistance training, cardio exercise and nutrition planning.
27) Low-fat doesn't necessarily mean low-calorie. Carefully check the "Nutrition Facts" label to determine the total calories in the food product. Remember, if calories consumed are greater than calories burned, you will gain weight (regardless of the content of the food eaten).
28) Carbohydrates (Carbs) alone do not make you fat. Taking in more calories than you burn will increase body fat. Carbs are your body's preferred source of energy and they burn fat (fat burns in a Carb flame). See the "Glycemic Index" page for more information on Carbs.
29) If you lose weight through calorie restriction diets, you may also be suffering decreased bone mineral density which can lead to osteoporosis. The best way to lose weight? Weight training, cardio and a sound diet plan (one that gives you a caloric deficit). You will not only lose weight and body fat, but the weight will stay off because of increased muscle mass and a body metabolic change.
30) Ever wonder about the safety of the dietary supplements (pill, powder or fluid) you are taking? Check out the "Generally Regarded As Safe" (GRAS) list published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Also, consult with your doctor and always follow the instructions on the label when taking any dietary supplement.
31) You don't need supplements to lose fat. Exercise (cardio and resistance training), proper nutrition and a good attitude are the only things you need to lose weight/body fat---AND KEEP IT OFF FOR GOOD!
CARDIORESPIRATORY
32) Doing two separate cardio sessions for 15 minutes each gives you the same calorie burn as one 30 minute session. So, go ahead and walk during your breaks at work!
33) You can achieve your fitness goals by training with the right target heart rate zone. Train in these cardio zones for these goals: moderate activity (50%-59%), weight management (60%-70%), aerobic (70%-80%) and competitive (80%-100). Percentages are represented as a percentage of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is the fastest that your heart should beat.
34) The best heart rate training zone for significant cardio and fat-burn improvements? Exercise at 70%-80% (75%-85% for the more advanced) of your maximum heart rate at least 5 times per week for 30-60 minutes per session.
35) Lifting weights (or other resistance exercises) and cardio exercise will give you a higher metabolic rate. Most aerobic exercises give you a calorie afterburn of 10% to 15% of calories used during a workout. You should do at least 30 minutes of cardio three times per week (with intensity at least 60% to 70% of your maximum heart rate). Combine your cardio with weight/resistance training (at least 2-3 days a week) and it will speed up your metabolism even more because muscle increases your body's capacity to burn calories during and after exercise.
36) Want to increase the amount of calories you burn after your workout? One great way to do this is to increase the intensity of your workout. Intensity is your level of effort in relation to your possible maximum effort. Example: Increase your cardio workout from 65%-75% to 75%-85% or perform more of your workout at the 75% end. You will burn more calories during and after your workout.
37) Lifting weights combined with cardio exercise, flexibility training and proper nutrition can significantly improve your cholesterol profile and blood pressure.
38) Are you already in decent shape but want to improve your fitness level? Try INTERVAL TRAINING. This type of training involves brief periods of high-intensity exercise followed by lower-intensity exercise or rest. An example would be rotating treadmill work between two minutes at high heart rate (say 80% of max rate) and one minute at 65%. You could do this rotation for 30 minutes.
YOUTH TIPS
39) Concentrate on exercises that encourage core strength, balance, flexibilty and muscle endurance. Many of these exercises require little else but your body weight and your effort. Examples are circuit jump roping, squats, lunges, single-leg squats, single-leg squat touchdowns, pushups, pullups, bridges, supergirls and ladder drill exercises.
40) Along with kids exercising at least 60 minutes per day, 2 to 3 of those days should include resistance exercises (light weights or body weight resistance). The resistance training should be done on nonconsecutive days such as a M-W-F format to allow for proper rest.
41) Here are five good reasons for girls to start strength training: 1) Lose body fat, 2) prevent bone mass loss, 3) gain strength to improve everyday life, 4) improve your attitude and mental health and 5) your body will look good to you (more lean and toned).
42) According to a recent issue in Pediatric Physical Therapy (2006; 18 [1], 19-22), soccer is a great activity for adolescent girls. It combines weight-bearing exercise with repetitive impact from running and jumping. This significantly increases bone density which reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
43) Muscles are not just for boys! Girls, you need to develop strength and build muscle in order to improve overall health, lose body fat, build strength/endurance, improve bone mass and improve balance/coordination. The fringe benefit? You will like your appearance in the mirror even more!
ADULT AGE-RELATED TIPS
44) An active lifestyle will slow your biological aging clock. This is best done by regularly exercising, having a nutritious diet and having a positive outlook on life.
45) Generally, at about age 40, maintaining bone mass and improving coordination and balance should become more of a focus during your training. Weight lifting continues to be important during this stage of life but aerobic training may become lower-impact. Balance and coordination can be improved by doing stability ball exercises and one-leg standing exercises.
46) It's never too late to start an exercise program! According to researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, a regular exercise program started by people ages 55 to 75 can help stave off metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is a condition that includes obesity, insulin resistance and hypertension.
WOMAN RELATED TIPS
Ages 18-35
47) Your #1 goal during this stage of life is to achieve peak bone mass. One good way to do this is to include high-impact exercises in your program, such as jumping rope, running, high-impact aerobic dance, basketball, volleyball, soccer and gymnastics. Also important, are high-intensity weightlifting with free weights or dumbbells.
Ages 35-50
48) Primary goals in this age group are to maintain bone mass and improve coordination and balance. Be sure to maintain bone mass in the sites most vunerable to fracture: hips, thighbone, spine and wrist. Weight lifting continues to be important during this stage. Aerobic training may become lower-impact during these years. Balance and coordination can be improved by doing stability ball exercises and one-leg standing exercises.
Ages 50+ and post-menopausal
49) Follow the same guidelines for ages 35-50. If you have osteoporosis, get medical approval for your exercise choices and follow these general guidelines to protect your spine and avoid falls: 1) avoid impact exercise, 2) avoid spinal flexion (bending forward) and spinal rotations (twisting the torso), 3) Discontinue (or get medical approval) jarring sports such as bowling, tennis and basketball and 4) use lighter weights during resistance training and work your way up to more challenging training.
Ages 70+
50) Balance exercises are critical for this age group. Continue to follow the same guidelines as the 50+ age group in order to protect your spine.
