Best Fitness Blog

Beat the Heat ... by Karli Taylor

We spend most of winter dreaming about the warmth and outdoor activities that go along with summertime. However, when temperatures increase and humidity becomes unbearable, staying active can often seem impossible.  If not handled with care, exercising in the extreme heat can pose a serious threat, but by taking proper  precautions, maintaining a regular exercise routine in the heat isn’t that difficult.

If you choose to exercise outdoors as the temperature rises, her are a few tips to keep you both fit and healthy:

• Increase your fluid intake. By consuming more liquids throughout the day, you will prevent dehydration and regulate your body temperature. Dehydration is your worst enemy. If the weather is hotter or more humid than you’re acclimated to, drink more fluids, even if you aren't thirsty.
• Adjust the schedule of your exercise regimen. The prime schedule for exercise is before 10 a.m. or after 3 p.m., especially if the temperature is rising and humidity is high.
• Wear appropriate clothing during your workout routine. What you wear makes a difference while exercising in the heat. Light-colored, loose-fitting materials that reflect the sun are recommended. Wear sunscreen with a high SPF value to guard against sun exposure.
• Acclimate yourself. The body needs time to adjust to the change in environment. Allow yourself a good week to become acclimated to a new environment by gradually increasing the amount of time you spend in the heat and gradually increasing the intensity of your exercise. Don’t jump right in!
• FEED  your muscles with nutritious foods. Heat often decreases the appetite, but it's important to make sure that you are taking in an appropriate amount of calories for the work you are doing.
• Know when to quit. Pay attention to the warning signs of your body. If you begin to feel light headed or dizzy, immediately stop  exercising and find somewhere to cool down.

Why not a personal trainer? ... by Karen O'Meara

Have you been struggling with weight loss your whole life? Perhaps you are up and down on the scale? Some years you look good, the next you find yourself at an unhealthy weight. Are you just unsatisfied with your body?  If you are struggling there is help available.  It’s amazing how many different diets, books, pills, DVDs, tricks, and drinks there are out there.  Why not a trainer? Why are clients intimidated by a personal trainer? You spend the time and money to figure out the secrets, but still don’t reach your goals. Those secrets may lie in a one on one workout with a Certified Personal trainer who can help you achieve your goals. It’s an investment in your future that will probably save you a lot of time, money and effort, rather than figuring it all out on your own.
    
Sometimes we don’t have the right knowledge available for our personal necessities. The trainer works with you. They will help you modify your diet without extreme sacrifice. If you like to do more cardio than weights they will mix them together in a fun way to help you reach your goals. The most important thing they can help you do is challenge yourself to change. They push you to the limits. Personal trainers are not just for celebrities. A lot of people look at magazines and say “I can look like that if I had a trainer!” You do not need millions of dollars to have a trainer. It is easy to budget a training package if you cut out things that may not be as beneficial to your health. If you go out to eat often or get a coffee everyday then perhaps cut that out. If you have gym equipment sitting in your basement sell them on craigslist. If you spend a lot of money on groceries perhaps you can find a way to cut that in half by limiting purchases that are unnecessary and unhealthy.  Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to get help. Your whole life will change once you challenge yourself, push your limits, and expand your horizons.  

Personally I struggled with weight loss. I was never really fat but I always had excess weight on my hips and thighs. I would try diet pills, working out on my own, even running 8-10 miles a day. This would work in the short term. However I would pile it back on again once I got tired of running so much every day or the weather did not permit.  It was not until I realized that I was eating worse than I thought and not pushing myself hard enough that I was able to see results. I did not need to run 5-10 miles a day to lose weight. What I really needed was knowledge about lifting weights and cardio that worked just for me. The only way I started to see results was when I started working out with a trainer here at Best Fitness. He pushed me and challenged me to do extra sets, longer workouts, and confuse my muscles so they never adapt to my workouts.

Another thing that contributed to my weight loss journey was my diet. I did not give up eating. I wanted to but that is not a lifestyle change, and it’s not healthy. Instead I learned about organic foods, whole nutritious food that is unprocessed and heart healthy. I started cutting out dairy and drinking soy protein, taking a multivitamin everyday and drinking more green tea and water.

The best part about changing my diet was number one, feeling less bloated, less sick after eating and my skin and hair became healthier. My attitude has changed as well. I feel more positive. I used to think I should not bother working out when no matter what I do I can’t get any leaner or skinnier. I firmly believed that this was true. Eventually I decided to stop complaining and start trying. Now I am 2 dress sizes smaller and I’m in the best shape of my life. I feel great about myself.

Take the steps necessary to take control of your life

Starving to be thin ... by Karen O'Meara

It is a common misconception that in order to lose weight you must sacrifice eating. This is not true. In fact it is far from the truth. When you starve yourself you will lose weight but your metabolism will slow down. What does this mean? The body will start to program itself to store fat because it is in a survival mode. It will think we are starving and try to stay alive by storing as much fat as possible. Thusly, it will slow down your metabolism and although you will lose weight initially, eventually you will want to eat again because you cannot survive without food. Once you begin to increase your caloric intake your metabolism will store fat. In case you starve again. Thus you will have a hard time losing weight. The best way to boost your metabolism is to eat well and more frequently. Smaller portions throughout the day will help you shed pounds and keep your metabolism at a faster speed.  This is true for everyone.  Eating smaller portions frequently throughout the day will keep you from binge eating. It also reduces cravings for bad foods such as Chinese food, chocolate, pizza, and McDonalds. Your success rate keeping a healthy diet will be 50% higher than trying to starve or deprive ourselves.  To put it simply the key to weight loss is to burn more calories than you take in. How can we do this if we are unaware of our caloric intake?

Currently we have a tool here at Best Fitness that helps keep track of your caloric intake, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins from each meal. This tool is called APEX and if you follow APEX you will lose weight guaranteed. It is a software system that you can access from home. It tracks what you are eating and it also displays for your trainer what you are eating on a daily basis. This encourages us to avoid cake at midnight and stick to our healthy lifestyles.  It determines what nutrients you are lacking based on your diet and will recommend the vitamin and minerals you may need to maintain weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. Many people have lost weight on this system. Sometimes we don’t realize how much we are eating until we write it down and track the calories and fats.  It’s the same with money if we don’t keep track of how much we spend before we know it we have nothing saved and all our money is depleted.

The one main concern with purchasing a personal training package is whether you can afford it. The main reason you should invest in your health is the benefits you will gain. Your health will improve therefore less doctor’s visits. Your food intake will decrease thus your craving for fast food will theoretically diminish if you follow the plan. It is also proven that regular exercise and proper nutrition improve your mentality. Thus your productivity levels go up especially at work. This could aid in your performance at work and lead to a raise or promotion. Your small investment will be rewarded greatly. Let’s just admit it we are unable to do this alone we need a Fitness Professional to assist us.

Why are we weighing ourselves so much?  ... Karen O'Meara

Many people have come up to me and asked why they seem to be smaller in size from lifting weights, but they cannot lose weight on the scale? What I have learned is that muscle weighs more than fat and in order to lose weight we actually have to gain muscle mass. It seems like a catch 22. However what we all must do is train ourselves to measure success in overall health, wellness, and dress size. Do not get discouraged when the scale has not budged. It is normal for you to gain some muscle weight when you start lifting, even low weights. It will take some time before you see that the muscle you gained will actually start burning away fat. Every pound of muscle you gain burns 50 calories sitting on your butt doing nothing. If you gain 10 pounds of muscle don’t be upset because you will burn an extra 500 calories a day. Think about how awesome and easy that is for you to sit and burn extra calories on top of whatever workout you did at the gym. Keep lifting weights and gaining muscle.

Eventually you will see results, whether it is a lower body fat percentage, smaller dress size or dropping a notch on your belt. I do not bother weighing myself because I am seeing results in dress size although I have not lost a lot of weight due to the increased muscle mass. Recently I dropped a full dress size and I have not even budged on the scale. It’s strange how it works but that is why I don’t bother with the scale anymore. It is a mental block for me. Don’t be discouraged, because when you are working hard the results will follow!

Run Faster Forrest ... by Karli Taylor

How does someone train to become a faster runner- not necessarily a better runner, but a faster runner?  The simple answer is- the only way to learn to run faster, is to run faster.

So now we are in a chicken vs the egg situation. How do I expect you to run faster if what you need to learn to do is run faster? This running around in circles is tiring.

First let me explain the "why" behind my advice, and then I'll give you the "how". In our muscles we have 3 different types of fibers- slow twitch, fast twitch and modified fast twitch. For the purposes of our discussion, we will simplify that into fast and slow twitch fibers. Fast twitch fibers are responsible for speed and power- sprinting, jumping etc. Slow twitch fibers are the ones that are turned on all day keeping us upright as well as those that go on auto-pilot during a long run.

The mistake that most runners make is living by the "more is better" motto. We want to get faster so we run more. This will only increase the number and efficiency of our slow twitch fibers. In other words, running longer will allow us to simply run longer. This would lead us to the conclusion that to run faster- yup- we have to train faster. Here's how:

The next time you go out for a run, pick a landmark that is out on your horizon and sprint to it. When you reach your landmark, slow down to your normal pace and continue on until you fully recover your breathing. Add 2 or 3 of these "pushes" to your runs for the next few weeks. Before you know it, your normal pace will be a bit faster as you increase the number and efficiency of the fast twitch fibers you have been neglecting!

Feeling the need for speed yet? Give it a shot!

What is BMI or Body Mass Index ... by Karli Taylor

You hear the term thrown around by doctors and trainers alike, so what is  BMI?  Body Mass Index (BMI) is a formula that uses your weight and height to estimate your body composition and health risks. According to most standards used by health professionals, if your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, you're considered in a healthy weight range for your height. If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, you're considered overweight. The question is- how accurate is that?

The problem with BMI is that it cannot truly estimate body composition by using strictly height and weight. If you were looking at BMI alone as an indicator of health, a muscular individual and a heavy sedentary individual may appear to have the same health risks! For this reason, BMI can be used as a general tool only with people who are either sedentary or recreational in their fitness.

So what can the rest of us use to determine our health risks? The best indicator for everyone is percentage of body fat. Though many websites and books will tell you that BMI is an estimate of body fat percentage, it is simply not possible to estimate using those variables. There are a few different methods to determine body fat, some more accurate than others.

The most accurate measure is hydrostatic (underwater) weighing. This is not a practical method and can typically only be done in a hospital setting. If you have access to this method- go for it!

The next best thing is to get your body fat tested with calipers by a personal trainer. The trainer will pinch 3-10 areas on your body to determine the percentage of your body is made up of fat. Caliper measures may be affected by hydration levels, fullness of muscles bodies and skin thickness. This method also may suffer from more human error than others as the exact location of the pinch may vary. To keep some kind of consistency in this measure, make sure the same trainer administers the test every time you have it done.

Another method often administered by a personal trainer is bio-electrical impedance analysis, or BIA.  This is typically done using a hand held device that sends an electrical wave through one hand into the other.  It takes into consideration your age, weight, height and gender when computing body fat percentage making it a much better measure than BMI.  BIA eliminates the human error associated with caliper testing, but can be skewed by hydration levels, improper use, recent alcohol consumption and bloating.

For an at home BIA fix, there are a number of scales out there today that will send an impulse through your body entering through one foot and leaving through the other. Though this method is not entirely accurate, it will be efficient enough to give you a benchmark for improvement. These measures can be around 10% off of the mark, but will show increase or decrease over time allowing you to measure progress.

So if you are really interested in body composition, stop wasting time on those online BMI calculators and make an appointment with a trainer to get your body fat tested.

You are what you eat ... by Karli Taylor
Have you ever hears the saying "You are what you eat"? Being an American in the 21st century, these words should really scare you...

Before you read any further, go to your cupboards and refrigerator, and take a look at how many packaged food items you have in your kitchen. Pull out one or two items and read through the label. After reading the ingredients list, ask yourself:

• How many words am I unable to pronounce?
• Which of these ingredients have I never heard of and/or have no idea what it is?

If you did this little exercise, you may be surprised at the number of multi-syllabic words that look more like they should be the ingredients of a science experiment than of something you’re eating. Most of these foreign looking substances are concoctions used to color, stabilize, emulsify, bleach, texturize, soften, preserve, sweeten and flavor your food!

In case you were wondering just how many of these little chemicals were sneaking into your mouth each year, current statistics say that the FDA lists approximately 2800 international food additives and about 3,000 chemicals, which are deliberately added to our food supply. When considering the number of chemicals used in the process of growing and processing food, by the food to the time it reaches our stomach we have consumed between 10,000 and 15,000 chemicals a day!

While some of you may be thinking, “I don’t eat that many food additives,” I have news for you. The FDA doesn’t require food additives considered to be Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) to be put on an ingredients label. Instead, all that is required are the words “artificial flavor” or “artificial coloring” or “natural”.

The use of the term "generally" scares the trans fat right out of me! The fact is, the average American eats approximately 150 pounds of additives each year.

So if we really are what we eat, we should all be making an effort to eat more whole grains, fresh produce and when possible, free range meats. I often hear that eating this way is more expensive- but you only get one body- isn't it worth a few extra dollars to keep it running for a long long time???

Get some Sleep ... by Karli Taylor

I'm sure all of you who are working hard to burn off those extra pounds will welcome the advice that I am about to give you: GET SOME SLEEP!!

There has been a ton of research into sleep physiology in the last two decades, and we now know a lot about the detrimental effects of chronic sleep debt. Lack of sleep does a lot more harm than most of us think- it impedes weight loss, increases stress levels and actually speeds up the aging process!

Most of us need between seven and eight hours per night to function optimally. How many of us can actually say that we get that? I know that I rarely do...

It is interesting to note that we sleep an average of two hours less (seven vs nine hours) than we did 100 years ago. One of the craziest things is this- WE KNOW THAT WE NEED MORE SLEEP, WE JUST DON'T DO IT! This fact is supported by the fact that nearly two percent of all physician consultations with adults are about sleeping problems.

So why don't we sleep? I know there are hundreds of reasons to stay up late -  Do you stay up late to get ahead for work the next day? Not only will this make you less productive for the day ahead, but did you know that around half of all workplace accidents involve fatigue?

Do you stay up late to spend quality time with your family? Not only will your mood get increasingly worse as your sleep debt grows, but sleep debt actually takes away from your lifespan!!

How do we change? A good night’s sleep will come much easier if you develop a bedtime routine, just like we do for babies. The key components to your routine should involve the following:

• Consistency - Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time. Random late nights and early mornings or "sleeping in" can mess with our circadian rhythm of sleep.
• Regulate stimulant use – Caffeine should be avoided after or around 3:00pm as its effects last for hours. Alcohol has a negative effect on our quality of sleep, and the temptation to drink yourself to sleep should definitely be avoided.
• Wind down – Dim the lights an hour or two before bed as that will send a signal to the brain that darkness is approaching. TV should be avoided in the half an hour before going to bed and those final 30 minutes should involve some sort of relaxation. Light stretching, a warm bath or shower, even meditation.
• Make your bedroom a sleep haven – If you have a TV in your bedroom, get rid of it. Do not take your laptop to bed! The room should also be dark and cool as this will help to facilitate sleep.

Adding just 30 minutes of sleep each night will change your life. Try it for 2 weeks and I am willing to bet that you will be more productive in the hours you are awake-

Rookie Racers ... by Karli Taylor

As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, more and more people start to think about running in a road race.  Now whether you plan on running a 5k or a marathon, there is a right way and a wrong way to train.  If you are an experienced runner, you probably have already learned from your own experiences. Please feel free to add to his list of common mistakes that “rookie racers” tend to make:

Underestimate Stretching  - Many beginning runners finish a run and neglect to stretch enough or even at all. They then find themselves tight and sore and eventually with a running injury. Do not neglect the importance of stretching! Stretch within 15 minutes after every run and take your time. Benefits will include less soreness, greater flexibility, longer stride, and much more. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT stretch before you run!!!

Lack of Support  - Many runners do not share their goal with their friends, family, or co-workers. Why not? Afraid of what they might say? Afraid you will tell them and then fail to achieve your goal? If so, that’s all the more reason to tell them! It will give you lots of extra motivation.

Lack of Belief  - Often, a beginning runner will start training and have a very difficult time completing their first longer run. They don’t see how they can possibly run more than that, much less race.
“If you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right.”
- Henry Ford

Loss of Motivation  - There are lots of things that can (and will) come up during training that can cause you to lose motivation. It is very likely that you will miss a run or more due to circumstances that come with life. Whether it is bad weather, illness, working late, mild injury, or whatever,  NEVER lose sight of your goal and choose to see the situation as positive. Remind yourself of the feeling you will have when you achieve your goal. It will all work out in the end- IT ALWAYS DOES!

Wrong Goal  - Many first time runners naturally think they should set a finish time goal. This is not the case. Your goal for your race should simply be to finish. If you push yourself too much, you are dramatically increasing the likelihood of injury and not even seeing the starting line.

Starting Too Fast
Many runners begin their training and feel they can run more than the scheduled training. What do they do? They go the extra mile (or more). In any training program, there is a reason for gradually increasing mileage or speed each week. If you feel really strong when you begin training and want to run more, PLEASE resist the temptation. By going the extra mile, you are substantially increasing the likelihood of injury. Stay with the program. Believe in yourself and the program. Achieve your goal!

Portion Control ... by Karli Taylor

It seems like everyone, regardless of whether or not they are currently "on a diet", has foods that they consider to be "good" and some that they label as being "bad". I try very hard to break my clients out of this mentality but allowing ANYTHING in MODERATION. That being said, I think it's about time we talked about portion control...

Living in America these days, we all have a warped perception of what a portion really should look like. If you have ever traveled to Europe, or even eaten in an authentic European eatery, you may be shocked at how little is on your plate...Guess what- that's how much we SHOULD be eating!

If you look online for portion sizes, you will see advice like, "A serving size of meat is about the size of the palm of your hand". What they neglect to tell you is that it's the palm WITHOUT the fingers attached!! Even better, you may read that the serving size of a piece of cheese is "equal to the size of a domino." Realistically, how many people under 20 know what a domino actually looks like?? A serving of cheese is about the size of your thumb.

Now I'm sure many of you are thinking: "If I just eat that, I'll still be hungry". Probably. Not because that isn't enough food, but because we have trained our bodies to consume a lot more than we actually need. We don't wait for the feeling of fullness to set in- we just keep eating. Try eating a single serving of everything you eat today and wait at least 20 minutes before deciding that it wasn't enough. Within a week, we can retrain our bodies to feel full on less.

So, knowing how much we should be eating, how do we deal with dinner plates the size of serving platters and snack bags that hold 3 servings? There are a ton of tricks out there for limiting how much you eat both at home or out on the town. What works for you??