Do you want to improve the quality of your life?
Do you want to look and feel better than you have in years – maybe better than you ever have before?
Do you want to protect yourself from disease and injury? And do you want to live a longer, more vital life?
I‟m confident that you answered YES! To each of those questions, just as have the hundreds of clients myself and my team of trainers have coached, and trained in our years as CHEK Practitioners and Certified Personal Trainers
Right now I‟m going to reveal to you the 10 essential strategies that have enabled my clients to achieve these important goals.
These simple strategies can be immediately implemented into your lifestyle with little sacrifice on your part
Before I go further it is important to remember that you must always strive to become HEALTHY first, and FIT second. I say this over and over and repeat myself several times on my website about this because way too many people adopt a fitness strategy to get healthy. This is completely around the wrong way and in fact is actually a lot harder to do. It is so much easier to work on health strategies like reducing stress, eating more vegetables and drinking more water than trying to run 5 times a week and do 4 boxing classes. Wouldn't you agree? Now that I have emphasized this point, let‟s get right into it.
10 Essential Weight Loss, Health And Fitness Strategies
“How To Get Maximum Weight Loss & Fitness Results In Minimum Time”
Tip #1. In the beginning, your fitness plan should not be overly aggressive. One of the biggest problems most people encounter when starting a fitness program is rapidly depleted motivation after only a few weeks due to an overly ambitious fitness plan. Two days per week of 20-minute low-intensity cardiovascular exercise (walking, jogging, biking, swimming); and two days per week of 30-minute light resistance training (using weights or resistance machines) is adequate in the beginning. As you become acclimated to the lifestyle “shift” you can add more days and get improved results. But beware: if you try to do too much too fast, you may end up quitting altogether. If you‟ve tried and failed doing it alone, then I suggest you get a training partner or give us a call regarding organizing a personal trainer to help you sustain your motivation.
Tip #2. Don’t waste your time working small muscles with isolated movements. If you don‟t enjoy doing resistance training or are pressed for time, concentrate on working the largest muscle groups with compound resistance movements. When I see overweight people doing wrist curls or lateral raises, I wonder why. It‟s generally just a lack of understanding of how their bodies work. Most people want to lose fat and tone and firm their bodies. The way to do that is to use resistance (body weight, dumbbells, barbells, cables etc) to train the large muscle groups. The best exercises for to do are movements performed in a standing position such as lunges, squats and deadlifts. Incorporating arm movements like chin ups, push ups, cable exercises that require twisting movements ensure you generate strong muscle recruitment from your CORE. We all have heard about core strength training and how a weak core is attributed to many of the injuries people sustain. By using resistance training as part of your health strategy you will not only become stronger and look good but you will also prevent many of the unwanted chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease & osteoperosis. Because apart from making your muscles stronger, muscle plays a pivotal role in regulating hormones and glucose levels in the body. The more you have the better you are. If you are over the age of 50 it is more important than ever to incorporate strength training into your program. Click here to read our article about Older Adults training and download our Free Report
Tip #3. Never, ever do a traditional sit-up. Unless you are super athlete with an incredibly well-developed midsection, sit-ups can lead to a strained lower back and possibly lumbar injuries. But it gets worse. Rather than hitting your abdominal section, sit-ups can shift exercise tension to your hip flexors – which defeats the purpose. There is so much misinformation about how to strengthen, tone and firm the midsection, it‟s almost frightening. It is very difficult to learn proper abdominal exercise technique by reading about it or watching it demonstrated on a video. You need to do it with supervision and get feedback about your form from a knowledgeable source. And keep in mind that you use your abdominal muscles in almost every single movement you make. Strengthening your abdominal region is the single most effective way to prevent, or recover from, low back pain.
Tip #4. Set realistically attainable goals. You must have tangible, quantifiable, short-term and long-term goals for your fitness program so you can gauge your progress. It‟s crucial to have a “baseline” before you begin, so you can measure success. Having goals, particularly short-term goals, allows you to track your progress and keep you motivated when times are tough and you don‟t feel like exercising. Keeping a journal of your cardio and resistance training workouts, as well as tracking what you eat is truly a fitness success “secret.” Just remember that your goals should be realistic and attainable. The best way for you to understand what is realistic and attainable for you is to talk to a fitness professional – not to buy into the “hype” of infomercials, diet and fitness products that blatantly mislead. You can download a Free goal setting worksheet by clicking here
Tip #5. Exercise correctly. So much time is wasted doing, at best, unproductive exercise, or at worst, dangerous exercise. Get educated on how to exercise correctly. We spend a lot of time teaching our clients technique, because it is so important to prevent injury and to be honest get faster results. It is the absolute best way to learn how to do it right. Personal training does not have to be an ongoing process if you are highly motivated. You can hire a personal trainer for whatever length of time you need to learn the ropes. It could be five sessions, or it could be fifteen sessions. It‟s completely up to you. But statistics prove that those who understand how to exercise correctly, get better, faster results. And that‟s what you want, right? Results! Make sure you read this article on exercise technique if you are currently injured and trying to work out your own program.
Tip #6. Eat More Vegetables and Less Grains. We eat too many carbohydrates for our lifestyles. I‟m not advocating the high protein, high saturated fat diet that you hear so much about (frankly, it‟s dangerous). But I am advocating minimizing your intake of bread, pasta, rice, potato and of course, all sugary drinks. We are no longer an agrarian society participating in manual labor. Most of us are fairly sedentary throughout the day and therefore do not need the high levels of carbohydrates to sustain our energy. Additionally, carbohydrates are addictive. The more donuts you eat, the more you want. The bulk of your carbohydrates should come from vegetables and fruit. And those with high water content, such as cucumbers, grapefruit, tomatoes, cantaloupe, strawberries and even vegetable soups (watch out for high sodium), will fill you up nicely. By the way, numerous studies have conclusively proven that the quarter of the population eating the most vegetables get half the cancer of the quarter eating the least!
Tip #7. Never, ever skip breakfast. If you want to maximize your fitness results or fat-loss efforts, you‟ve got to eat breakfast. Even if you don‟t exercise at all – breakfast remains the most important meal of the day. Your breakfast should contain complete proteins and complex carbohydrates (if you‟re trying to lose weight, you should eat the bulk of your complex carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch and only have vegetable carbohydrates at dinner). A great breakfast is oatmeal (not the pre-packaged, pre-sweetened kind) with a little honey and banana and a protein drink. Or try scrambled egg whites with Healthy Choice turkey sausage.
Tip #8. Eat fat to lose fat. Healthy fats are necessary to your body for a bunch of reasons: regulating hormonal production, improving immune function, lowering total cholesterol, lubricating joints, and providing the basics for healthy hair, nails and skin. The singular distinction you must be aware of is the difference between healthy “good” fats, and dangerous “bad” fats. Good fats are monounsaturated fats like olive, peanut and canola oil, avocados, all natural peanut butter and nuts; and omega-3 fats like salmon and mackerel and soy-based foods. Bad fats are saturated fats, partially hydrogenated fats (killers!), and trans fats. Your personal trainer can provide you with a simple diet program that will complement your exercise to help you live longer, feel better and boost your immune system. The bottom line is that your body needs good fats – and will revolt if you attempt to abstain from them – and absolutely does not need bad fats. Click here to read the full article
Tip #9. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. Yes, I know that you‟ve heard this over and over again. But there‟s a reason for that – it‟s the gospel truth! The recommended amount is approximately eight glasses, or 64 ounces, of water every day. When you are exercising, you need to drink even more. Over 75% of your body is water (even bone is more than 20% water). When you don‟t drink enough water, and substitute diuretics like coffee, tea and caffeinated soft drinks, you dehydrate your body, your blood doesn‟t flow properly and your digestive system doesn‟t operate smoothly (among other problems). Even a small deficit of water can radically affect how your body performs. Here‟s a good rule of thumb: if you‟re urine is a dark yellow and/or has a strong odor, you‟re not drinking enough water. Drink up!
Tip #10. This is the most important tip! Reduce Your Stress Levels! - Without a doubt this would be the biggest saboteur of any exercise or nutrition program. And in the modern world today it is more stressful than ever. Almost every chronic illness or disease is linked to Stress as the effects it has on the body is significant. Excess cortisol in the system creates inflammation which is not good news if you are trying to get over an injury or trying to lose weight. In my 10 years as a Personal Trainer in Melbourne working with all types of different people and backgrounds the clients who achieved the best results were 100% of the time on top of their stress levels. Life was great, they just enjoyed every minute and could not wait to get started on the next adventure. Their adaptation to exercise was extraordinarily fast, they were never injured or in pain and just seemed invincible. This is why we now place such a high importance on teaching all of our clients how to recognize stress and how to use different tools and strategies to reduce it. Only then can you achieve the results you are looking for with your health and fitness quest.
There you have it. 10 essential strategies for an effective Health and fitness program that will have you looking and feeling better than you have in years – maybe ever!
I realise that starting (or re-starting) a program is not easy. That’s why I encourage you to get help.
If you‟re sick, you go to the doctor. If you‟ve got a tax problem, you see an accountant (or an attorney!). Have a toothache? You‟re off to the dentist. Leaky pipes result in a call to the plumber. So why is it that so many people attempt to solve their health and fitness problems without consulting an expert? I don‟t know exactly, but I encourage you to make the investment in yourself – in your quality of life – by hiring a qualified professional to educate you and help you get started……because the hardest part is just getting started and sustaining your motivation until fitness becomes habitual. Once you develop the habit, which can take as little as thirty day, your whole life will change for the better.
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