Fitness & Wellness

Please decide

Please decide

If you’re like most people then reading this subject line was a little uncomfortable and you may have even experienced a bit of anxiety.

Make a decision? Do I have to?

We are forced to make decisions every day, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

When you stop to think about it, your life is the sum total of all the decisions that you’ve ever made up to this point. Your health, your mindset, your finances are all an outcome of your decisions.

Some decisions are so small that they seem insignificant…

…and other decisions weigh on you for days because you know that the outcome will change the course of your life.

You’ll wade through a myriad of trivial decisions today – ranging from the flavor of your coffee, to the gas you put into your car, to the food you put into your body. It’s easy to be fooled into believing that these have no real impact on the big picture – – but they do.

You’ll shift over to automatic while making your habitual decisions today – these ones no longer require a second thought since your preferences are defaulted.

The time you wake up each morning, the way you take your eggs, the frequency in which you exercise. Your habitual decisions play a huge part in determining major factors in your life, and these ones aren’t always easy to modify once the habit is in place.

We’re always making decisions…

Big ones like “should you marry him/her”, “should you have another child”, “Should you stick it out another year at that job”? Life changing decisions are certainly forks in the road that demand your full attention and analysis.

There’s a famous quote from General Norman Schwartzkopf: “A bad decision is better than no decision” which makes sense when you realize that indecision is a decision. It’s best to simply bite the bullet, choose a side, and stick with it (unless you realize you made the wrong decision lol).

You make a life changing decision when you chose to become fit.

So I want to help you with that…

I want to help you reach your goal in a big way.

And the fastest way I know for reaching a fitness goal is to begin a challenging and consistent exercise program, like the ones that I offer to my clients.

And that leads us to the decision that I want you to make today…

Will you reply to this email, call, or come in to sign up for my life-changing fitness program?

Spots are filling up quickly – decide now!

Only The Back Label Counts
Never, ever trust the claims on the front of a food package. Claims like: heart healthy, whole grains, or fiber-filled are often smoke and mirrors to prevent you from reading the actual ingredient list.

The real truth about a packaged food item is hidden in the ingredient list on the BACK label, not in the bold claims on the front.

Scan that ingredient list for high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar, hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils – if the food contains these items then put it back and choose something healthier.

Easy Turkey Kebabs
Fitness GoalHere’s a great recipe for a busy weeknight dinner. Ground turkey breast is mixed Mediterranean spices to create flavorful, protein-packed kebabs. Serve with salad and vegetables and a side of plain Greek yogurt.

Servings: 4

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 1/2 pounds turkey breast, de-boned, trimmed of skin and cut into thin strips
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup almond meal (more if needed)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • dash of salt (optional)
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
  1. In a food processor, blend the turkey strips until ground. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until well blended.
  2. Pre-heat your grill or grill pan.
  3. Lightly grease your hands, then press the meat into the wooden skewers until it covers about 3-4 inches in an elongated meatball shape. If the meat is not sticking then add some more almond meal.
  4. Grill for about 8 minutes per side.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 254 calories, 8g fat, 156mg sodium, 2g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, and 47g protein

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Injury And Exercise

Injury And Exercise

Injury and exercise aren’t an unlikely duo. In fact, they’re connected in both a good way and a bad way. If you’re injured bad enough to keep you off your feet for a while, you’ll need to exercise to get back to into the shape you were before you were injured. On the other hand, doing an exercise improperly can cause injury, which can be damaging enough to keep you from working out for a while and could even prevent you from doing other things.

Learn how to do each exercise correctly to avoid injury.

One of the biggest reasons people go to trainers is to help them get a good start. Another important reason is to learn how to do the exercises correctly. Even though the trainer shows you how to do it, which is something you might be able to learn from a video, he or she does something even more important than that. The trainer then watches you perform the exercise to insure you have the proper form. Sometimes just turning your arm wrong or inhaling when you should be exhaling either causes injury or minimizes the benefits of the exercise. You won’t have to worry about injury with a trainer watching.

Getting back on your feet can be tough, but the right type of exercise makes a difference.

Whether you’ve had a surgery, or an accident or illness, getting back on your feet is hard. That’s where the combination of exercise and injury works well for you. Whether you workout on dry land or choose exercise in a pool, you’ll make great progress toward rehabilitation. Working out in a pool is often gentler on your body and frequently recommended as a starting point.

Working out until it hurts isn’t always the best.

Sometimes people describe exercise as painful. That’s not good. When you workout correctly, you should feel the muscle movement and maybe even a bit of a burn then or even soreness the next day, but should never be in pain. A painful workout can be a sign you’re causing injury to your body, overworking muscles or doing an exercise wrong. Never workout past the point of exhaustion, it’s just not healthy.

One of the reasons people avoid exercising is the sore muscles a few days following. If you start very slowly, you’ll make progress slower but you’ll also avoid those aching muscles that can occur after starting a new program.

To avoid injury, particularly if you haven’t worked out for a while, always seek the advice of your health care professional first and then use the services of a personal trainer who will guide you safely through your first few sessions.

The more fit you are, the less likely you’ll be to have an injury. That’s why starting slowly is important.

Working out in a pool can be one of the easiest ways of working out that is less likely to cause injury to joints. The low impact workout also relieves stress on ligaments and tendons while building muscle tissue.


Fun Ways To Exercise

Fun Ways To Exercise

Many people dread working out because it’s just so boring you start counting every second, but there are fun ways to exercise that will make you look forward to each workout session. Once you realize the gym doesn’t mean you have to lift weights or drag yourself from machine to machine, you’ll want to go every day and find yourself reaching your goal in no time, whether it’s to lose weight, improve your health or just getting or staying fit.

For a change up consider how much fun working out in a salt water pool can be.

You don’t need to put excess pressure on already aching joints or face the effects of chlorine when in a salt water pool. Working out in a pool puts you through the paces without adding any undue pressure on joints. You’ll also have the extra effect of moving the water, which is more difficult than moving your arms and legs on a dry surface. That means you can workout and burn more calories, while also getting maximum benefit from the workout. It’s great for anyone rehabilitating from an injury that won’t allow you to stand.

Get in a group and have more fun.

Group workouts are high energy and are particularly fun. Everyone works at his or her own pace, but each person has a goal that’s tough. That makes everyone sympathetic and builds group cohesion. You’ll often find the group cheering each on to victory or applauding when someone reaches a particularly difficult goal. The more the merrier is true when you’re talking about a group session.

Eliminate pent up hostility and have fun doing it.

Everyone has that one person in their life that really bugs them, whether it’s a boss, child or even spouse. You may love them, but would like to bop them right in the mouth, even though you’d never say it out loud. Learning to box and actually punching the bag can help eliminate that frustration, particularly if you put a face on the bag mentally or imagine it’s your frustration—such as your job or even the utility company. You’ll feel fantastic and nobody got hurt. You can even shout at the bag as you hit. It’s tough and can take anything you can dish out.

Never worry about not being in shape. People normally sign up for sessions because they want to get in shape, not because they want to show off how fit they are. You’ll fit right in and get a program designed especially for your fitness level and needs.

Working out after a physical injury or illness might seem like a huge task, but even though progress may seem slow at first, after a few weeks you’ll be able to see how far you’ve come and that’s the real meaning of fun.

You don’t have to work out with others if you’re uncomfortable doing it. Ask for private sessions for a while until you feel you want to join a group.

The personal trainer will track your progress and adjust your workout based on it. If you don’t believe you’ve made progress, just ask him or her. The trainer will tell you where you started and you’ll be truly amazed.


Indulging Without Overindulging

Indulging Without Overindulging

Overindulging in your favorite foods seems like it’s unavoidable, particularly if you’ve been on a diet and missed their taste. If you’re like many of the people I work with who have tried diets and failed, you found that one slip often made your run toward the forbidden foods and eat it like there’s no tomorrow. Often consuming far more than you might otherwise and regaining not only the weight you lost, but a few extra pounds in the process.

The forbidden fruit often tastes better.

If your favorite food was forbidden fruit, that might not be bad. Almost all fruits and vegetables are part of healthy eating. Instead, most people love the forbidden family size of chips or baker’s dozen donuts, so one weekend of gorging can put on several pounds. There’s a better way than simply banning these foods from your diet. In fact, I often encourage people to intentionally make sure they include at least some of their favorite foods when they first start. When you know you can eat something indulgent, it just isn’t as attractive as it seemed when you couldn’t.

Common sense and good nutrition is the key to weight loss.

When you eat smarter and more frequently, you won’t get hungry and be tempted by those gas station nachos or candy bars. Plan ahead and make sure you always have a few healthy snacks ready. Learn to substitute one food for another, such as putting Greek yogurt on your baked potato instead of sour cream. While it only saves a few calories, making lots of small changes add up to a lifetime without excess fat.

Add in exercise to make it all work fast.

To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than you burn. Exercise helps you burn more calories and a healthy diet helps you lower your intake. Exercise also does something more. It develops muscle tissue. Muscle tissue helps you to burn more calories than fat tissue will, so you’ll be raising your metabolism and burning more calories 24/7, even when resting. You’ll also feel fantastic and have more energy to increase your overall activity level and burn even more calories.

As a personal trainer, I always identify client’s level of fitness, learn their goals and find out if they have special needs before I design a personalized program. You’ll be working hard, but never beyond your ability.

The more you workout, the more benefits you’ll see. Some may be physical, such as your improved appearance or ability to control your high blood pressure or diabetes easier. Some will be mental, like your improved self-esteem and self-image.

You’ll look and feel years younger after just a few weeks. Exercise improves your circulation and can help relieve many aches and pains. Often people with back problems find they are pain free after a short time.

You’ll sleep better at night when you exercise regularly. A good night’s sleep is one of the most undervalued health tools available.


Carbs Are Not The Enemy

Carbs Are Not The Enemy

Once and for all, carbs are not the enemy any more than salt is or fat. All categories of food are important to your health. While you might see banners over products that are low salt, low carbohydrates and low fat, but have high price tags, that doesn’t mean all carbs, salt or fat are unhealthy. What it does mean is that the food industry found another way to make more money, since the prices of these foods are often inflated. I’ve actually seen bags of potato chips marked gluten free and in the higher priced section because of it. Potatoes are naturally gluten free! Seriously. Throw away all the misconceptions and start learning healthier ways to eat that don’t include eliminating a certain type of food.

Vegetables are carbohydrates.

There are good carbohydrates your body requires, most of which are included as unrefined carbohydrates. These are the fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains and seeds. That leaves the bad carbohydrates, such as products that contain refined white flour–even the enriched type, sugar and white bread. These products are simple carbohydrates that can lead to a sugar high and low. Complex or non-refined carbs contain vital nutrients your body needs, some natural sugar and fiber. All these are important to good health.

Complex carbohydrates require your body to work harder.

Unlike simple carbohydrates that will boost your energy almost instantly, but often at the cost of good health, complex carbohydrates also provide energy, but you’ll get the boost all day long, not in one giant rush and crash as you might with caffeine, processed carbs or sugar products. Your body needs carbohydrates and energy to maintain metabolism. Without the accessible energy, it potentially could slow your metabolism.

The fiber in complex carbohydrates helps your digestion and regularity.

In order to digest food properly, the body requires fiber, such as the fiber in plant carbohydrates. Fiber in your diet not only keeps you regular and aids your digestion, it fills you. You’ll feel far less hungry when you add fiber to your diet. Fiber also helps level off blood sugar. Whether you’re trying to stay healthier, lose weight or both, the fiber found in complex carbs is important.

Get a good night’s sleep when you eat carbohydrates. While most people realize that turkey contains tryptophan, many don’t realize that certain complex carbohydrates also provide a great deal of it. Oatmeal, for example, is one.

Complex carbs can help you feel less stressed and more relaxed. Your entire body needs them, including your nervous system.

Fruits and vegetables, some of the best sources of carbohydrates, are the cornerstone for good health. They provide large quantities of nutrients, including phytonutrients that you can’t get any other way.

You need all categories of foods, including fats, carbs and protein. Only by selecting the best types from each of these categories can you have a healthy diet.


Senior Fitness

Senior Fitness

Senior Fitness

There’s all types of information about becoming fit if you’re young and relatively healthy, but very little said about senior fitness, which can be the most important type of fitness. It’s NEVER to late to start getting into shape and change your body from flabby to fantastic. Whether you want to have a healthier you, want to look better or just want to quit feeling old and feeble, you’ll benefit from working with a personal trainer that specializes in senior fitness.

Improve your overall health with a program of regular exercise.

Regular exercise improves circulation and lengthens the telomeres, the tail that protects chromosomes from unraveling and damage. The more you exercise the longer it is. Regular exercise also stimulates the brain to create antioxidants, which help fight free radicals that can attack cells, mutating them or killing them. The more cells that die or are damaged, the more you’re prone to illness and aging. While you’ll never change your body or appearance back to that of a 20 year old, you’ll shave years off your appearance and improve your overall health.

Keep serious conditions at bay or improve those you already have.

High blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, dementia, depression and even cancer are conditions that are more preventable when you exercise regularly. In fact, in several diseases, exercise can make the disease more manageable or even reverse some of the effects. Osteoporosis, for instance, responds well to a program of regular strength building and weight-bearing exercise, improving bone density. Exercise also burns off the hormones created by stress that can reduce bone density.

You’ll get all types of exercise from a senior workout program designed for your needs.

Not everyone requires the same type of training but everyone needs some training in every area of fitness. Whether you need to improve your range of motion with flexibility exercises, improve strength, get a good cardiovascular workout that will give you more endurance or improve your balance, you’ll have exercises in all these areas, focusing more on the ones that are best for your needs. Some people are still extremely flexible, but have limited muscle strength. Carrying heavy loads can be difficult if not impossible. Others may have strength but no endurance or risk falls from lack of good balance. We’ll make sure you have a training program that improves all areas.

Your skin will look years younger after working out regularly. Exercise boosts the body’s circulation to send nourishing oxygen and nutrients to all areas.

Your mood will improve dramatically. Exercising not only burns off the hormones created by stress but stimulates the brain to replace them with ones that lift your spirits.

You’ll have more energy and smile a lot more. Aches and pains can disappear the fitter you become. You’ll change from an old grump to someone everyone wants as a friend or companion.

You’ll boost your libido with a program of regular exercise. That’s one reason older couples should workout together and renew the spark of romance.


Rehab Training

Rehab Training

Rehab Training

After any major illness or injury, Post rehab training can get you back into action and healthier faster. Post Rehab training is not physical therapy, but the process of making the entire body as well as the injured or weaker areas stronger. It should be custom-designed to your injury and present level of fitness to be the safest and most effective. Whether you’re struggling to get from the chair to the kitchen table or barely able to lift your arm, we can help you recover and feel whole again.

There’s so much more that you’re capable of doing than even what doctor’s may expect.

Too often doctors give the worse possible prognosis, rather than risk giving patients false hope. You don’t have to accept that prognosis as gospel and can take charge of your own future. There are amazing results when a patient continues to work on their own to rebuild their own body. Knowing exactly how to do it is my area of expertise and I can help you achieve more in a shorter amount of time without worry of further injuring yourself.

You need a combination of various types of exercises.

We also can use aqua training as part of our rehab fitness program. Aqua training uses water resistance to strengthen the muscles, while also limiting the pressure you’ll put on your ligaments, joints and tendons. Unlike land training, your body is buoyant and even those with difficulty standing can participate. It also increases your range of motion by reducing the effect gravity has on your body. Water also has almost 700 times more resistance than air so it can help strengthen muscles faster.

Aqua training can help reduce or eliminate pain.

Since one is only contracting muscles versus the act of moving weight through space for training it has less impact and helps increase strength, balance, and flexibility. Additionally, when you are in water you experience more comfort while training thus you can work for a longer period sending more blood to the injured areas. Also, our salt water pool doesn’t affect your skin like chlorinated ones do, either. It can help relax the muscles and reduce rigidity.

Studies show exercising both inside and outdoors vary the workout and help to balance it. Our salt water pool is outside, giving you a relaxing outdoor workout area with plenty of vitamin D from the sun’s rays. There’s also a shaded area so you’ll avoid overexposure to the sun.

You’ll improve your balance with aqua training. You’ll be willing and able to try more types of exercises without worrying about injury from falling.

You don’t have to swim to participate in aqua exercises.

You can lose weight faster working out in water. The resistance of the water can burn a lot of calories than you might not be able to burn if you did the same exercises at a reduced pace do to your current condition on dry land.


Train In Water

Train In Water

Train in Water

If you feel every movement in your joints during normal training, it’s time to train in water. Traditionally, water training has been used for those who are in their senior years or as a method of rehabilitation training for those who find it impossible to train on land. That’s because it minimizes the potential for injury or reinjury by building balanced muscle strength due to to resistance for all directions.

You’ll see faster results with water training.

When you train in water you’re working your muscles in all directions, since the water provides resistance. You’ll be working muscle groups in all directions, whether lengthening the muscles or shortening them. It brings faster results and can boost any fitness program.

Burn calories faster with water training.

If you’ve ever spent time at the beach, whether just splashing in the water or swimming, you probably went home tired and hungry. That’s because you’ve burned a massive amount of calories. Every time you push the water with your hands or feet, you’re getting a workout that’s similar to weight lifting. You can test it easily at home by filling the tub. First, open your hand and push your arm through the air. That’s not very difficult. Next, with an open palm move that same hand through water. You can feel the resistance, which tells you your body is working harder, burning more calories.

Stay cooler while you workout when you workout in water.

During the hot summer months there’s a real potential for heat stroke and heat exhaustion if you’re working out. While you should always take precautions on hot days or during long workouts, pool training has far less potential for either of these dangers. In fact, one of the suggestions for treating heat exhaustion, besides drinking plenty of cool fluids, is to immerse the body in cool water, such as a tub or pool.

Consider training in a salt water pool. You won’t have the stinging effects of chlorine when you train in a saltwater pool. Few places offer this type of accommodation since it’s more difficult to maintain and more expensive than chlorinated pools.

When you workout in a pool it’s a lot more fun. It can be an addition to a regular exercise program to beat monotony or be the primary way to exercise.

Working out in a pool is simply safer. While it works the body harder, it also stresses it less. That’s a combination that’s hard to beat.

Some people want to enjoy the benefits of working out in water, but feel uncomfortable and self-conscious going to the beach. A workout pool is the perfect solution.


Punch Something Hard

Punch Something Hard

You’ve probably heard of someone having one of those days where they want to go home and kick the dog and have understood exactly what they were talking about? You can workout at the gym to get some relief from the stress but when punch something hard, particularly if you put a mental image of that stress inducing person’s face on that surface, you’ll even feel better. It can help eliminate pent up feelings and anger that prevent you from being your best. While it’s an active option, it’s not a violent one, but you release all your violent feelings when you do.

Throw a punch at a bag not a person.

You’ll be amazed at just how good you feel putting all your power into a punch you throw at the bag. Pretending it’s a person that’s the center of your anger, your present situation or just hitting it to feel better. It’s anger management and anger release both at the same time. Your dog will feel safe when you get home. Your family will gladly welcome the happier, more relaxed person you’ve become.

Get fitter as you release that anger.

Learning to box away anger and throw a good punch has more benefits than just stress relief. It also helps you burn fat and strengthens your muscles. You’ll be amazed at how much confidence you gain if you’ve always been the smaller person others picked on or teased. Women, in particular, benefit from this type of exercise that gives them a feeling of empowerment.

Have more fun with your workout punching a bag hard.

If you’ve worked out for years and are tired of the same old calisthenics and body weight exercises, you’ll appreciate the change up that working out punching a bag can achieve. You’ll have more fun when you workout and that can be a super way to boost your motivation. Having more fun at a workout doesn’t have to be a motivation boost, it can be just what it is—more fun!

Build coordination by punching away at the bag. You’ll be amazed at how it improves your coordination. It’s like dancing, but with a great deal of vigor.

Heighten fat burning while you learn to throw a punch. This type of workout helps you burn more fat and that spells achieving goals faster.

You don’t have to be male or young to benefit from this type of exercise. Even if you’re an 80 year old woman, you’ll see fitness results you’ll appreciate while also building your feeling of confidence.

See the results you want from your fitness program without the boring repetitive types of workouts. You’ll have more fun and that means more motivation.


3 Healthy Summer Smoothies | Easy Recipes

3 Healthy Summer Smoothies | Easy Recipes

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3 Healthy Summer Smoothies | Easy Recipes

 

It’s time to turn your healthy smoothie game up to 11. These fruit smoothie recipes will certainly tickle your taste buds and keep you cool this summer. In addition, making your own smoothie at home brings a certain satisfaction. When done right, they’re way healthier than ice cream, and when you take the first sip of divine nectar that you’ve concocted, you won’t be able to help but do a celebratory shoulder shake.

 

So, you’re going to need a blender. If you only have a food processor then that works too. Any time a smoothie recipe calls for bananas, using frozen ones you’ve stored into a sealed bag in the freezer will really add an element of cold, icy, deliciousness that unripe room temperature bananas CAN’T TOUCH. So yes, the next time you have a bunch of bananas that are brown and soft and frankly kind of ugly looking, peel those suckers and throw them in a bag in the freezer for your next smoothie. You’re welcome.

 

A note about sweetness: A lot of smoothie recipes call for adding brown sugar or another sweetener. News flash: FRUIT IS FULL OF NATURAL SUGARS and the USDA notes that bananas can contain anywhere from 9.91g to 18.59g of sugar. Remember the recommended amounts of sugar per day? [link to simple sugars article] The sugars in these smoothies count toward that number, so enjoy, but don’t go buck wild, sweets are treats, not staples.

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So here are three solid smoothie recipes worth incorporating into your smoothie game:

 

Blueberry, green tea, banana

 

Serves: 1

 

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 green tea bag
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 medium banana
  • 3/4 cup milk (almond, soy, rice—whatever you like)

 

Instructions:

 

  1. MICROWAVE water on high until steaming hot in a small bowl then add tea bag and allow to brew 3 minutes. Remove tea bag and stir honey into tea until it dissolves.
    2. COMBINE milk, banana, then berries in a blender.
    3. ADD tea then blend ingredients on highest setting until smooth. Stop then add some more milk or water. Stir with spoon and start again for a more liquified smoothie. Pour into glass and serve.

This recipe adapted from:

http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-recipes/20-super-healthy-smoothie-recipes/green-tea-blueberry-and-banana

 

 

Banana ginger

 

Serves: 1

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup milk (almond, soy, rice, coconut—whatever you prefer)
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1/2 cup greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated

 

Instructions:

 

  1. COMBINE all the ingredients in a blender, blend on high until smooth.
  2. ENJOY and shoulder shake until your heart’s content.

 

This recipe adapted from:

http://www.doctoroz.com/recipe/banana-ginger-smoothie

 

Pineapple and banana with kale

 

Serves 1:

 

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup coconut milk
  • 3/4 cup frozen pineapple
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 cup stemmed and chopped kale

 

Instructions:

 

  1. COMBINE all the ingredients in a blender then puree until smooth and add small amounts of water if it’s too thick for your liking. Continue to blend until the consistency looks right for you.

 

This recipe adapted from:

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/kale-smoothie-recipe

So now you’re ready to throw down like a healthy smoothie BOSS. After all, you might as well spread the love, school your friends and family on how to make a healthy smoothie so they don’t have to settle for subpar fruit mush.

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