Ab exercises!!

 Crunches with a Leg Raise

Starting Position: Begin by lying on your back with your arms stretched over head and 1 leg straight.
Form: Exhale and as you bring your leg to 90 degrees crunch forward with your upper body in an attempt to touch your toes. Hold briefly at the top and slowly lower to the starting position.
Personal Trainer Tips: Repeat for 8-15 repetitions on each leg.
If your neck gets fatigued, gently support your neck with the opposite hand from the straight leg and just reach with 1 arm. (i.e. touch your right foot with your right hand)

Star Sit Ups, Exercise of the week...

 Star Sit Ups

Starting Position: Begin by lying on your back with your arms stretched out to the sides.
Form: Exhale and sit up reaching your left hand to your right foot. Hold briefly and lower back to the starting position.
Repeat on the other side. Perform 8-15 repetitions on each side.
Personal Trainer Tips: This is another challenging ab exercise.
If places some pressure on the lower back because of the full sit up motion and movement in the legs, so it is not recommended for someone with a back injury.

---

Ab Exercises to Lose Belly Fat Are not Enough!

Remember, if you only do ab exercises to lose belly fat, you'll never reach your goal because you cannot spot reduce fat from under your skin simply with stomach exercises.
In order to lose stomach fat and get a flat stomach you need a comprehensive fitness and diet plan.

Now that you've had that talk with yourself...

about what you want to accomplish, and why, you need to make a decision.  And it has to be definitive and achievable, so think carefully about this before you try to commit. 

Perhaps the weakest reason and the least likely to work is that you want to make a change solely for appearance.  When that's the goal, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, and to get frustrated.  Because none of us will ever be completely perfect, right?  Even if you decide to have plastic surgery, the results are rarely everything you had hoped for, and sometimes it makes things worse.  Focusing on more concrete goals like taking an inch off of your waist in a month are more in line with actual accomplishment.

So, let's take an example of the process:
Q:  What do I want to accomplish?
A:  Take an inch off my waist in 4 weeks.
Q:  What do I have to do to get there?
A:  Cut out desserts and exercise 1 more time a week

This is just one example.  Maybe your goals are healthier eating.  This might be represented like this:
Q:  What do I want to accomplish
A:  Eat healthier
Q:  What do I have to do to get there?
A:  Stock up on whole foods like whole grains, fruits and veggies.  Throw out unhealthy options that are currently in my house.  Limit eating out, or choose healthier restaurants or healthier menu options.

Success and Change

If I could share just one thing with you that I feel is crucial to your improvement, both physically and mentally, it would be introspection.  You need to reach deep down inside, and find out what you truly want.  Where do you want to be in 4 weeks, 12 weeks, or even a year down the road?  What changes do you want to make for yourself?  What quality of life do you want?  Is it better or worse than what you have based on your current trajectory?

Once you've looked inside, you need to make a decision.  How badly do I want what I envision for myself, and what am I willing to do to get there?  Am I being honest with myself about the choices I'm making?  Am I truly willing to make the changes necessary to get where I want to go? 

Even at this point, you might say to yourself "yes, I'm willing to do this."  and still not truly have committed inside.  As a trainer, I see this all of the time.  People shave time by arriving late (it's ok by me, but it cheats you), or leaving early, or cancelling because they don't really feel like exercising (I know, I get it, believe me!).  Or what about going out to eat and giving yourself a pass (and you may even know in your heart it's more than occasionally).  It's hard to do the things necessary to make physical changes.  It's easier to avoid them if at all possible.  It's easier to give in. 

This is why the true decision is the most important part.  What do I want to accomplish?  Am I truly willing to do what's necessary to get there?  What's holding me back (if anything?).  You don't need to tell me, you need to have the dialogue with yourself.  How important is this?  Is it just superficial, or have you watched family members be unhealthy and suffer as a result? 

Once the important introspection is done, then and only then can you move on into being truly successful, whether it's with your diet, your exercise, or your life.

To be continued...

Stick with it!

This weeks' theme:  Stick with it!

 

Excellent:  You've decided to start a diet and exercise program, or you've recommitted to yourself and your fitness and diet routine.  Don't sabotage yourself by picking something that won't work for you!  Diet and exercise programs work best when they are tailored to the individual, like well-fitted clothing.

 

So don't start a low carb plan if you really can't see yourself giving up fruits and bread while chowing down on meat and cheese.  And don't start a boot camp if you're really more of a yoga person.  Trying to match your personality to your workout and food plan will help you to stick with it.  And sticking with it will give you the longevity needed to succeed in your endeavors.  Because any plan will work, if you stick with it, right?

Cardio first, or last?

What is the optimal structure for a workout?  My continuous and obvious answer:  any way you will do it.  Consistency is the key to your success.  Keep coming, keep putting the effort forth, and results will be forthcoming.

However, if you have been doing that, is there a way to structure your workout to get even better results? 

Most of the clients that work out with me regularly know that I'm a big fan of mixing it up.  I like to mix up the exercises, but I also like to work in short segments that include cardio in the middle of the weights.  Why?  Ah, first, you get done in a reasonable amount of time.  Secondly, you get a higher intensity workout, burning more fat and calories overall.  Check out the statement below, and let's explore another possibility.

"Efficiency is the key when structuring any workout, so long-duration cardio should not be done in the beginning of the session," says certified strength and conditioning specialist Jim Smith. "The most intensive training should be done first in the workout, when you are at your best."  This is actually consistent with the structuring of high intensity plyometric training, as I learned in my NESTA Speed Agility and Quickness Certification.  Put the hardest most grueling things first, because as you tire, your form can fail, increasing your risk of injury.

It is also true that you burn through the stored sugars, and then 20-30 minutes into your workout, you begin to burn the fat. The source of energy shifts.  I do believe, however, that this will work for you, regardless of which way your structure your workout, because you will shift energy stores at this point regardless of the type of exercise you are doing.

According to Kat, a senior member at ACE (American Council on Exercise):  

"You are going to hear two different opinions on this one. One supports doing cardio after strength training because if you do it first, you may be too fatigued to put your all into the strength workout since you will have used a good deal of carbs to fuel the cardio. Also, because strength training uses carbohydrates as the primary fuel source, you will theoretically burn more fat doing cardio after. The other supports doing it first to truly warm up the body for intense lifting. Personally, I do my cardio after strength training because I find that doing 30-45 minutes of cardio first poops me out for weights. With my clients, I incorporate the two together in a circuit style. We do one or two heavy lifting exercises, then do 2-3 minutes of cardio. This is time efficient and burns a lot of calories in the one hour."

So what's best?  First, any exercise you are willing to stick to.  Second, the circuit style, incorporating short 1-3 minute cardio intervals with the weight lifting, being sure to include a 5-10 minute warm up (to prevent injury), and a 5-10 minute cool down/stretch segment, to lengthen and restore muscles after the hard workout.

Unregistered