One of the most important things you can do when embarking on a fitness program or lifestyle is make a commitment. Make a commitment to yourself and to making this a lifelong journey. It's good to make a clear decision and a choice about what you really want. This can always be modified later on but it's important to be honest with yourself. Whether its for health or aesthetic reasons its imperative that you know why you're making this change in your life. Figure out what your goals are and what are the results you're looking for. I think it's wonderful when people tell me it's for both aesthetic and health reasons, mostly because it rings true. If you're willing to be honest with me you're more likely to be honest with yourself as well. If its only for aesthetic reasons thats okay too because you'll get health benefits from being more in shape either way you slice it.
Once you make a commitment, you have parameters to work within, one being able to identify what your goals are and the other being your willingness to attain them. Shifting your priorities to dedicate hours of your life to working out, paying attention to your body, eating healthfully and making choices that support the vision of yourself and the life you want to be leading is major one and not to be treated lightly. Nor do I want it to be something one obsesses over but just like learning a new language or a new skill it will take a consistent effort. Get honest about what it will take to achieve your goals and start right away not the next day or next Monday. It means doing what you can do today that supports your goals.
This means making reasonable demands on yourself. Give yourself specific realistic targets while also challenging your body and your normal parameters. If you set goals you can achieve but challenge you this will increase your self confidence and give you more incentive to continue. Your foundation is your commitment. If you accept responsibility for your fitness, when you are inclined to make a choice that doesn't support your overall intentions (and you will) you will have your commitment to ground you. I try to focus on it being a lifestyle change rather than a quick fix or an obligation. It's a choice you make and it includes the reality that you will falter upon occasion and make decisions that don't support your intention and that's the truth Ruth. But if this is a lifestyle lifelong commitment there is room for a cookie and sometimes you won't make it to the gym but that won't mean that you have fallen off the proverbial wagon and all is lost. I assure you that with in the context of the commitment to yourself you will find it easier to adhere to your goals.
YOU ARE WORTH THE COMMITMENT YOU MAKE TO YOURSELF.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Fit Tip # 2 Hit the Weights
You 'd think this is basic information and it is, but it stands to be reiterated and I will do so. Cardio is not enough if you want to change your body, you have to weight train. I used to come across this all the time when I used to work in the major gym's and still today with my clients. There is a misnomer that cardio is the way to burn calories and lose weight. Now Cardio is important for your cardiovascular health for building a strong heart muscle, strengthening your pulmonary system etc. And while yes you can burn calories doing so you really only burn calories for the amount of time you are running, on a treadmill or outdoors, biking or whatever your cardio of choice may be. If you do half an hour and then you turn around and eat a power bar of some sort you have essentially eaten the calories you have just expended.
Now don't get me wrong cardio is also important so that you become a better fat-burning machine but if you want to really lose weight, transform and sculpt your body You HAVE to weight train. When you weight train, resistance train etc you build muscle that burns calories even when you are not working out contrary to a cardio workout where you are really only burning while doing the exercise. It takes more calories to keep a muscle alive than fat tissue. So the more muscles you build the more calories you burn. Now as you build more muscle by doing weight training activities and become a better fat burning machine by doing cardio you will lose weight and transform your body. Now of course there is the aspect of eating healthfully but that is a topic for another day.
Now there is a lot more information on this topic to come but in the meantime start to do some form of resistance workout or get back to your weight training it is integral to your health and YOU WILL TRANSFORM YOUR BODY!
Now don't get me wrong cardio is also important so that you become a better fat-burning machine but if you want to really lose weight, transform and sculpt your body You HAVE to weight train. When you weight train, resistance train etc you build muscle that burns calories even when you are not working out contrary to a cardio workout where you are really only burning while doing the exercise. It takes more calories to keep a muscle alive than fat tissue. So the more muscles you build the more calories you burn. Now as you build more muscle by doing weight training activities and become a better fat burning machine by doing cardio you will lose weight and transform your body. Now of course there is the aspect of eating healthfully but that is a topic for another day.
Now there is a lot more information on this topic to come but in the meantime start to do some form of resistance workout or get back to your weight training it is integral to your health and YOU WILL TRANSFORM YOUR BODY!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Fit Tip # 1 Stand Up Straight!
The first piece of fitness wisdom I can give you will sound very familiar. Stand up straight. You've heard it before I'm sure it has annoyed you on some occasions but your mother, aunt, father, teacher and now virtual trainer was right. Stand up straight.
Now this is very simple advice, but there is a way to do this. Some of the conditions you come across below I will be going further in depth in future posting i.e. how to correct postural imbalances or at least become aware of them so you can start to change the habits that have created these muscular imbalances.
1) First lift up your rib cage, now when I say this to my clients I get a lot of raised shoulders (It's not what I'm looking for). What I want you to do is put your hand on your solar plexus and take a deep breath and lift that which is above your hand and that would be your rib cage.
2) Second I want you to draw your shoulder blades down ( also known as your scapula technically, your wings informally) this involves engaging your middle and lower trapezuis to draw you shoulders down.These are difficult muscles to have a neuromuscular connection to, but give it your best shot. As you get more in tune with your body you will start to have better connections.
3) Third relax your neck and take your shoulders out of your ears. Very often when we are trying to have "good posture" what we really get is tense and stiff. Neither of these are good nor what we're looking for. I want you to find out how comfortable it is to be in postural alignment, getting air in to your lungs, using your abs, projecting more self-confidence and all of it starts with Standing up straight!
4) Fourth draw in your abdominals. Now there is a lot of controversy and technicalities when this is said. What I want is for you to get connected with your transverse abdominus it is the inner most abdominal layer (there are four). Now there are many ways to cue a person to do this and since we all "hear" differently whatever works best for you, either drawing the navel to the spine or thinking of putting on a pair of tight jeans or what have you. The image I think works is if you have siblings you have probably been punched in the stomach. Now if you think about what your body will do if someone is about to punch you in the stomach without moving away, you will contract your abdominals. This can be done separate from breathing. So you can draw in your abdominals and still be able to breathe in and out. So put your hand on your stomach and try that.
5) Fifth make sure you are not tilting your pelvis either anteriorly or posteriorly. Your pelvis should be in a neutral position. If your back seems overly arched, this is an anterior tilt or if you are "drawing your navel to your spine" but have flattened your back, this is a posterior tilt.
So if you're anteriorly tilting you need to contract your abdominals and pull your pelvis up. Do this using your abdominals to do so, you will particularly be using your rectus abdominus the topmost abdominal layer and what I affectionately call the glory muscle (the 6 pack). If you have a flattened lower back, i.e. posterior pelvic tilt. You could possibly be dealing with tight hamstrings and/or tight rectus abdominus which will take stretching, working the opposing muscle group etc. Right now what I want you to do is point your pelvis toward the ground and allow for the natural lordotic curve of your lower back, the lumbar region.
6) Sixth check your body for unnatural tightness i.e. are you knees locked? If so this can easily put you in the position of an anterior pelvic tilt, overstretched abdominals etc etc.
One of the things that is so great about simply standing up straight in addition to getting air into your lungs and projecting better self confidence, you burn calories. you burn more calories standing up straight than slumping simply because more muscle groups are engaged. Now that should make you want to do it! Something like slumping that you do out of habit can put your body into an imbalance. So start paying attention to your body. Stand up Straight and breathe deeply, relax your body and unlock your joints! Stay tuned for the next Fit tip! Until then...Stand Up Straight!
Now this is very simple advice, but there is a way to do this. Some of the conditions you come across below I will be going further in depth in future posting i.e. how to correct postural imbalances or at least become aware of them so you can start to change the habits that have created these muscular imbalances.
1) First lift up your rib cage, now when I say this to my clients I get a lot of raised shoulders (It's not what I'm looking for). What I want you to do is put your hand on your solar plexus and take a deep breath and lift that which is above your hand and that would be your rib cage.
2) Second I want you to draw your shoulder blades down ( also known as your scapula technically, your wings informally) this involves engaging your middle and lower trapezuis to draw you shoulders down.These are difficult muscles to have a neuromuscular connection to, but give it your best shot. As you get more in tune with your body you will start to have better connections.
3) Third relax your neck and take your shoulders out of your ears. Very often when we are trying to have "good posture" what we really get is tense and stiff. Neither of these are good nor what we're looking for. I want you to find out how comfortable it is to be in postural alignment, getting air in to your lungs, using your abs, projecting more self-confidence and all of it starts with Standing up straight!
4) Fourth draw in your abdominals. Now there is a lot of controversy and technicalities when this is said. What I want is for you to get connected with your transverse abdominus it is the inner most abdominal layer (there are four). Now there are many ways to cue a person to do this and since we all "hear" differently whatever works best for you, either drawing the navel to the spine or thinking of putting on a pair of tight jeans or what have you. The image I think works is if you have siblings you have probably been punched in the stomach. Now if you think about what your body will do if someone is about to punch you in the stomach without moving away, you will contract your abdominals. This can be done separate from breathing. So you can draw in your abdominals and still be able to breathe in and out. So put your hand on your stomach and try that.
5) Fifth make sure you are not tilting your pelvis either anteriorly or posteriorly. Your pelvis should be in a neutral position. If your back seems overly arched, this is an anterior tilt or if you are "drawing your navel to your spine" but have flattened your back, this is a posterior tilt.
So if you're anteriorly tilting you need to contract your abdominals and pull your pelvis up. Do this using your abdominals to do so, you will particularly be using your rectus abdominus the topmost abdominal layer and what I affectionately call the glory muscle (the 6 pack). If you have a flattened lower back, i.e. posterior pelvic tilt. You could possibly be dealing with tight hamstrings and/or tight rectus abdominus which will take stretching, working the opposing muscle group etc. Right now what I want you to do is point your pelvis toward the ground and allow for the natural lordotic curve of your lower back, the lumbar region.
6) Sixth check your body for unnatural tightness i.e. are you knees locked? If so this can easily put you in the position of an anterior pelvic tilt, overstretched abdominals etc etc.
One of the things that is so great about simply standing up straight in addition to getting air into your lungs and projecting better self confidence, you burn calories. you burn more calories standing up straight than slumping simply because more muscle groups are engaged. Now that should make you want to do it! Something like slumping that you do out of habit can put your body into an imbalance. So start paying attention to your body. Stand up Straight and breathe deeply, relax your body and unlock your joints! Stay tuned for the next Fit tip! Until then...Stand Up Straight!
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