Eight people working at The Springfield Paper have made the decision to change their lives. The group is a wide array of ages and fitness levels. While biggest loser type challenges generally involve only losing pounds this one is different. Although most people competing want to lose at least a little weight on the scale, others want to lower their blood pressure, build some lean muscle mass or just regain their old fitness levels. One even wants to gain some lean weight.
There are two teams of four, each with their own trainer as a resource, but the teams do not compete against each other. The teams work together to help the other succeed. Any person on either team can work with either trainer depending on their schedule.
Springfield Health and Fitness Center and Underground are providing two Certified Personal Trainers, full access to the gym, a fitness coach and all available classes and nutrition coaching. The person deemed to have made the biggest improvement in their lifestyle will win a year's membership at the gym.
For the next 12 weeks I hope that you will follow along with the successes and the challenges facing the Commit to Be Fit group.
You can read about it in The Springfield Paper, this blog, and on Facebook.
Bios on the trainers will be coming soon.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Burn Fat While You Sleep
I know that sounds like a late night TV commercial for the newest miracle pill but it isn't. I am talking about a solution based on scientific research on the sub cellular level. I am referring to the tiny power plants within the millions and millions of cells within our bodies called mitochondria.
The function of mitochondria is to burn up all of the calories we eat and to produce energy. all of our energy is made in these little factories, each about the size of bacterium. Cells that require a lot of energy, such as muscle cells, have thousands of mitochondria while others that don't need much energy ( such as fat cells) have only a couple of hundred.
The more mitochondria we have the faster our metabolism. One solution to your sluggish metabolism is fairly simple, make more mitochondria.
Unfortunately, you can't get more of them by eating them. Instead, we need to get our bodies to make more of them. There is only one proven way to make that happen, build more muscle and exercise. By building more muscle and doing more exercise we increase the number of muscle cells as well as increasing the number of mitochondria in each cell. Do this on a regular basis and metabolism will improve tremendously.
To build muscle you need resistance training of some sort. I recommend concentrating on the largest muscle groups as found in the hips, thighs, hamstrings an buttocks.
Aerobic exercise in your target heart zone, combined with interval training will burn up fat stores. Adding a couple days a week of muscle building into your program will go a long way to increase those all important mitochondria.
The function of mitochondria is to burn up all of the calories we eat and to produce energy. all of our energy is made in these little factories, each about the size of bacterium. Cells that require a lot of energy, such as muscle cells, have thousands of mitochondria while others that don't need much energy ( such as fat cells) have only a couple of hundred.
The more mitochondria we have the faster our metabolism. One solution to your sluggish metabolism is fairly simple, make more mitochondria.
Unfortunately, you can't get more of them by eating them. Instead, we need to get our bodies to make more of them. There is only one proven way to make that happen, build more muscle and exercise. By building more muscle and doing more exercise we increase the number of muscle cells as well as increasing the number of mitochondria in each cell. Do this on a regular basis and metabolism will improve tremendously.
To build muscle you need resistance training of some sort. I recommend concentrating on the largest muscle groups as found in the hips, thighs, hamstrings an buttocks.
Aerobic exercise in your target heart zone, combined with interval training will burn up fat stores. Adding a couple days a week of muscle building into your program will go a long way to increase those all important mitochondria.
Friday, December 4, 2009
27 days until your Resolution?
Many of us try to put off getting into shape. We know we need it and we know we want it but the (perceived) agony of dieting and exercising during the busy holiday season seems overwhelming so all eating plans start on:
tomorrow
Monday
at the first of the month
Jan. 1st.
For the next 10 days I will give you 10 habits to help get through without the typical holiday weight gain.
Habit #1
Eat every 2 0r 3 hours.
One of the worst things almost all dieters do, especially women, is to skip breakfast in a misguided attempt to save calories. This does not work and will backfire by slowing your metabolism and causing a ravenous appetite in the evening.
Each person meal sizes and number of meals are different depending on their gender, body size and composition and activity levels. For the standard of how many meals to eat, take the number of hours you are awake and divide by 3. example: 15 hours / 3 = 5 meals.
I don't really like to differentiate between meals and snacks because they are all meals in their own right, some just smaller. Every time that you feed your body you have the opportunity to make your body better or make it worse.
In the end do your best to stick to habit #1. -eating every 2 0r 3 hours without making it a source of frustration and confusion. If you would like more help with this first of 10 habits feel free to drop me an email through the gym's website www.springfieldhealthandfitness.com
tomorrow
Monday
at the first of the month
Jan. 1st.
For the next 10 days I will give you 10 habits to help get through without the typical holiday weight gain.
Habit #1
Eat every 2 0r 3 hours.
One of the worst things almost all dieters do, especially women, is to skip breakfast in a misguided attempt to save calories. This does not work and will backfire by slowing your metabolism and causing a ravenous appetite in the evening.
Each person meal sizes and number of meals are different depending on their gender, body size and composition and activity levels. For the standard of how many meals to eat, take the number of hours you are awake and divide by 3. example: 15 hours / 3 = 5 meals.
I don't really like to differentiate between meals and snacks because they are all meals in their own right, some just smaller. Every time that you feed your body you have the opportunity to make your body better or make it worse.
In the end do your best to stick to habit #1. -eating every 2 0r 3 hours without making it a source of frustration and confusion. If you would like more help with this first of 10 habits feel free to drop me an email through the gym's website www.springfieldhealthandfitness.com
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Don't wait for that resolution
Thanksgiving dinner is over and hopefully all of the leftovers are gone as well. There is quite a bit of time between now and the New Year when most people make their resolutions. If you get started now you will be that much farther ahead of the crowd.
I know that there will be plenty of parties coming up but that is all the more reason. If you eat with a purpose throughout the week, that indiscretion on Saturday night won't be such a problem.
The problem with waiting until the first of the year is obvious. How much weight can you GAIN in that amount of time?
I know that there will be plenty of parties coming up but that is all the more reason. If you eat with a purpose throughout the week, that indiscretion on Saturday night won't be such a problem.
The problem with waiting until the first of the year is obvious. How much weight can you GAIN in that amount of time?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Back and Bicep Day
The thing about back day is it can be tough as you want it. After back day yesterday I had a little sorness in my lats, love it!
Lat Pull down 3 ways - 9X8 ( that's right 9 sets )
T-Bar 3x10
cable cross over from the bottom ( called x's)- 4x8
One arm rows- 6x4
Pup ups- 5x3
Ladder curls - begin with a set of 1 and ladder up to 10 and back to 1
Cable curls - 5x8
concentration curls - 4x10
Military sit ups - 20
Mason Twists - 10
Reverse Twists -10
Wide leg sit up - 10
Breakfast
small apple
protein water
Snack
missed snack - not good
Lunch
Turkey with low carb wrap, lettuce and tomato
Snack
almonds
Dinner
low carb pita with turkey lettuce and black soy beans
cup of grapes
Lat Pull down 3 ways - 9X8 ( that's right 9 sets )
T-Bar 3x10
cable cross over from the bottom ( called x's)- 4x8
One arm rows- 6x4
Pup ups- 5x3
Ladder curls - begin with a set of 1 and ladder up to 10 and back to 1
Cable curls - 5x8
concentration curls - 4x10
Military sit ups - 20
Mason Twists - 10
Reverse Twists -10
Wide leg sit up - 10
Breakfast
small apple
protein water
Snack
missed snack - not good
Lunch
Turkey with low carb wrap, lettuce and tomato
Snack
almonds
Dinner
low carb pita with turkey lettuce and black soy beans
cup of grapes
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Transformation Tips
1.Don't eat high glycemic carbohydrates right before bed. Carbohydrates are those that contain sugar or are highly processed. These would include most breakfast cereals, breads, snack foods, candies, and even fruits and juices. Eating these foods immediately prior to bedtime will likely result in increased fat deposit and will prevent your body from maintaining a successful fat-burning mode.
2. Increase your muscle mass! The more lean muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn even at rest. Muscle is extremely active metabolically. Do some resistance training, add some muscle, and crank up that metabolism.
3. Never let yourself get too hungry, or too stuffed. It really is all about moderation. Time your meals so that you eat before you are starving . . . doing this one simple thing will cause you to almost always eat less. When you do eat, stop when your satisfied not when you are so stuffed you cannot even get down another bite.
4. Double up on your cardio training. From time to time it may be beneficial to the fat-burning process for you to split your cardio training into two short sessions rather than one longer one. Studies suggest that people who do 30 minutes of morning cardio and then 30 minutes of evening cardio lose more fat than those doing just one 60 minute session.
5. Eat more high fiber foods. Most of us do not get enough fiber in our daily diets, and that’s just a shame. Fiber not only promotes overall general health, but also can significantly aid in your fat-burning efforts. Leafy greens and salads are ideal sources of fiber. ____________________________________________
2. Increase your muscle mass! The more lean muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn even at rest. Muscle is extremely active metabolically. Do some resistance training, add some muscle, and crank up that metabolism.
3. Never let yourself get too hungry, or too stuffed. It really is all about moderation. Time your meals so that you eat before you are starving . . . doing this one simple thing will cause you to almost always eat less. When you do eat, stop when your satisfied not when you are so stuffed you cannot even get down another bite.
4. Double up on your cardio training. From time to time it may be beneficial to the fat-burning process for you to split your cardio training into two short sessions rather than one longer one. Studies suggest that people who do 30 minutes of morning cardio and then 30 minutes of evening cardio lose more fat than those doing just one 60 minute session.
5. Eat more high fiber foods. Most of us do not get enough fiber in our daily diets, and that’s just a shame. Fiber not only promotes overall general health, but also can significantly aid in your fat-burning efforts. Leafy greens and salads are ideal sources of fiber. ____________________________________________
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
