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ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING: THE NEXT BIG THING

1/7/2014

First things first. Your results with a personal trainer are only as good as the personal trainer themselves and your level of commitment. If you have reservations about hiring someone (I include myself in this), don't do it. Plain and simple. However, if you think you've found a trainer who is right for you, you now have a lot more options of how you would like to receive your personal training than you did in the past.

If the option is there, in person training is still a great route to go. However, we live in a fast paced world. We operate on different schedules, have kid's soccer practices, meetings, you name it. It can be pretty hard for some folks to lock down 3 or 4 dedicated times each week with a personal trainer. Also, from a financial standpoint, it can be a very pricey venture for some.

Enter online personal training. Flexible around your time, considerably more affordable than in person training, and the same great results if you put in the effort! Online personal training may indeed be the next step forward in the fitness industry. However, as with hiring any trainer, make sure you do your homework and make sure he or she offer you the services you're looking for. These are a few of the things every quality online trainer should offer:

Personalized workouts complete with videos: If this service isn't offered to you, find a trainer who offers it. Since you won't be in the gym with your trainer, you need to know how to properly and safely execute anything they are asking of you. This means your workouts should be delivered on a mobile friendly app or website that includes videos of how to do each exercise. I use a program called Trainerize, but there are many others out there. Also, make sure the workouts are PERSONALIZED to your needs. There are a lot of websites out there that offer personal training online, but you will only be given pre-made workouts. If you wanted that, you could just buy a magazine. If you're going to spend the money on personal training, make sure you're actually getting PERSONAL TRAINING!
Nutritional Coaching: The backbone of any solid personal training program is going to involve changing the way you eat. Does your potential online trainer offer nutrition advice as part of their program, or are they only giving you workouts? Assuming you have no prior medical conditions that require a dietician, your personal trainer can coach you through proper meal planning based around your goals and give you a general calorie range you should start out at.
Online/Phone Support: You're going to have questions, concerns, and sometimes the occasional emergency. Is your online trainer going to be around to discuss it with you? All trainers should be readily available to answer you if you have an emergency. If it's not an emergency, a quality online trainer will have you do a weekly email complete with any questions you may have thought of that current week as well as having you check in with your measurements. Depending on the program, a weekly or bi-weekly phone call or Skype session may also be a part of you package. If you sign up for an online program, don't get left in the dark when you need help. Make sure your trainer will be there for you.
Motivation and Education: Does your potential trainer maintain a strong online presence and provide motivational and educational materials that you can use on your fitness journey? Your trainer should be constantly updating their social networking sites and blog with information that is useful to you. Some trainers may even have a Facebook group for trainees to ask questions and exchange thoughts and ideas or a members only section on their website.
Different Levels of Membership: Not everyone needs $500 a month worth of training and diet advice. Your potential trainer should have different levels of membership for you to choose from. Don't get sucked into the most expensive package they offer if you don't need it. Find something within your budget that will give you desired results.

If you already have a gym membership and a general knowledge of how to get around the weight room, online personal training may be the perfect fit for your lifestyle, and more importantly your budget. Just remember, a quality online training program should include nearly everything an in person one does. Choose your personal trainer wisely, and you will both reap the benefits of a successful trainer/client relationship! Ready to START online training? Fill out my client application for a free online consultation now!

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NEGATIVE CALORIE FOODS ARE (SORT OF) REAL!

1/2/2014

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No, this isn't another stupid article about eating celery or iceberg lettuce, so continue reading. This is about actual negative calorie foods, but there's a twist. All foods have some kind of calories, but there are foods (not celery) that studies have shown use more calories to digest than the food actually contains. Hence the term, "negative calorie foods."

This isn't concrete scientific fact just yet, but many studies have been done on this topic, and an explanation for why some foods may be considered negative calorie is as follows. Once again, nearly all foods have calories. And while no foods actually contain actual digestive enzymes, higher quality whole foods (read: non-processed) have vitamins in them. What some of these vitamins do is trigger the release of digestive enzymes to break down the food we've just eaten.

When we eat junk food, this same process happens. The difference is, there are no enzyme triggering vitamins in junk food. So there's a minimal release of enzymes, then the rest of the food is left to be taken up as fat or secreted as waste. HOWEVER, in the so called "negative calorie foods," the enzyme release is enough to break down the food and leave a surplus of enzymes. Where the debate lies is in this. It is not entirely known if the excess enzymes make their way into the blood stream. If they do, enzymes are responsible for accelerating the metabolism, therefore increasing the likelihood of fat loss.

While not conclusive, there has been some fascinating research done lately that looks promising.

"According to a recent study performed by Dr. Dean Ornish, M.D., of the University of California, at San Francisco, a vegetarian diet consisting mostly of fruits and vegetables, was adhered to by research subjects as an experimental study on the reversal of heart disease. As a result each of the research subjects (all suffering from heart disease), lost an average of 20 pounds without cutting calories or limiting serving sizes.
In light of the fact that these subjects were 40 years and older (with relatively slowed metabolisms) and the research performed involved no prescribed exercise program, this constitutes a dramatic weight loss that could only be attributed to the consumption of various fruits & vegetables."

So could it be that easy? Eat high quality, non-processed foods along with "negative calorie" fruits and vegetables and experience considerable fat loss? It very well could be. Regardless, a diet consisting of high quality proteins, vegetables and fruits will make you healthier. So essentially you have nothing to lose. Oh, and I suppose I should give you a small list of some of these negative calorie foods before you get mad for sticking in there so long. Keep in mind, these foods should be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Overcooking any produce can result in nutrient loss. These are just some of the foods that were given to the people in the study:

Vegetables: sweet potatoes, celery, eggplant, all types of peppers, artichokes, parsley, leeks, spinach, different types of lettuce, carrots, asparagus (cooked), radishes and broccoli (raw).
Fruits: pears, strawberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, plums, oranges, grapefruit, blackberries, blueberries, watermelon, lemons, limes and pineapple.
Bonus item- Seafood: tuna, flounder, sea bass, trout, cod, lobster, crab, clams, mussels, crayfish, oysters, prawns and shrimp.

Try adding some of these into your diet, along with other healthy foods and see how it affects your overall body composition in conjunction with physical activity. You might just be surprised at what happens! Everyone have a great day, eat your fruits and vegetables, and go work out!

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RESOLVE TO NOT RESOLVE IN 2014

1/1/2014

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Let's be completely honest here. New Year's resolutions don't work. If they did, the 2,000 people I will see at the gym today would be there all year round and not just three weeks. Today may be January 1st, but in reality it's just another Wednesday. The only difference is you don't have to work.

I know that sounded negative, but what I am really getting at here is that it's time to stop with the resolutions and it's time to come up with a solid game plan for long-term success. You might be motivated today because you feel like the New Year is a fresh start, but unless you change your mindset, you will find your motivation wavering in pretty short order.

As this is a fitness blog, I'm not going to give you a step by step plan to fix your finances or your personal relationships, but I've got a good idea of proper goal setting as it pertains to getting on track to better health. So forget the mindless "I want to lose 20 pounds this year" resolutions and come up with a REAL game plan.

WRITE YOUR GOALS DOWN AND READ THEM EVERY DAY
You must train your subconscious mind to achieve real success. The conscious mind is responsible for thought and reasoning, and it's what makes you reach for the pizza and ice cream after a stressful day. The subconscious mind is responsible for your habits. What your subconscious mind believes, your body achieves. If you have goals, write them down and read them with conviction several times a day. The subconscious is trainable, and will be a huge factor in your overall success. But what do you write down?

SPECIFIC AND MEASURABLE GOALS, NOT GENERAL ONES
"I want to lose weight" is not a specific goal. "I want to get down to size 6" or "I want to run a 5K" are specific goals. When you generalize your goals, it's harder to envision them in your mind. When you turn "I want to get stronger" into "I want to squat 225," you can actually picture a bar with two 45 pound plates on each side with you underneath it. Whatever your goals are, make them precise and put them down on paper.

BIG GOALS, REALISTIC DEADLINES
If you have 100 pounds to lose, it's going to take you a year or more to safely achieve it. However, if that's what you truly want, WRITE IT DOWN then give yourself a timetable. Write down your timetable something like this:

The long term "you": This is the final product you strive for, whether it's one year away or ten. What would you ultimately and permanently like to become?
One year goal: One year from now, what would you like to achieve? It could be your final solution or it could be a stepping stone.
Three month goal: I have most of my clients on 12 week programs for a reason. It often takes a solid 12 weeks (3 months) to see highly measurable results that both you and the people around you will notice. This may be the most important goal you set for yourself because it's long enough to achieve results, but short enough to see the finish line.
Weekly goal: What do you want to achieve THIS WEEK? One pound of fat loss? Five pounds added to your shoulder press? Write it down, and do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Daily goals: What will you do every single day to have a positive impact on your weekly, three month, one year, and overall goals? Whatever it is you think will get you there, write it down, no matter how minimal you think it is. Many small actions can turn into much bigger results.

DON'T DO THIS ALONE
Everyone has someone who will support them, whether it's friends, family, or a support group you're a part of. Make your goals known, hold yourself accountable to them, and have SOMEONE ELSE hold you accountable to them if possible. Hitting milestones is much easier with someone in your corner. If you don't know where to start or what to do, feel free to fill out an application for a FREE consultation with me. I will help you set up a plan and give you the step-by-step actions you need to see it through, as well as give you a few more crucial pieces to the puzzle that weren't mentioned in this article. Happy New Year's Day, everyone. Go work out, not because it's a new year, but because it gets you one step closer to your long-term goals!

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ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING: THE NEXT BIG THING

NEGATIVE CALORIE FOODS ARE (SORT OF) REAL!

RESOLVE TO NOT RESOLVE IN 2014

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ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING: THE NEXT BIG THING

NEGATIVE CALORIE FOODS ARE (SORT OF) REAL!

RESOLVE TO NOT RESOLVE IN 2014

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