It depends!  I don’t say this to be sarcastic.  It really does depend on what your goal is.  Some people want to lose weight.  Others want to “tone up” and feel stronger.  Some people want big, defined muscles. While others want to run faster, or jump higher. Technically speaking,  these goals dictate different training programs.

At lifeSport Fitness, my experience over the years has taught me that the majority of people we work with want fat loss, although they may not say it this way.  They tell us they want to lose weight, lose inches and/or develop muscles that are firmer and less jiggly. We also hear a lot about wanting to decrease “belly fat”.   This all points to “fat loss”.  We try to avoid the term “weight loss”, as it doesn’t really tell the whole story.

In a well-designed fat loss program, inches will be lost, and muscle mass will be maintained or improved, thereby giving people the feeling that their muscles are firmer and more toned. In some, but not all cases, scale weight will be lost as well (this depends on whether an individual has a lot of excess body fat).

With fat loss/muscle strengthening in mind, then, what is the most effective exercise method to achieve these results?   Lucky for the participants in our boot camps in San Jose and Campbell, they’re doing the right stuff for fat loss in every camp workout.  I’ll outline below what studies have found with regard to effective programs so that you’ll have ideas on how to design your own workouts during the week.

Intensity matters. Higher intensity exercise has been shown to facilitate better fat loss results than lower intensity or moderate intensity exercise.  This is why we include high intensity activities such as Tabata intervals into some classes, and why we coach our boot campers to work hard on the cardio segments during our cardio/ strength circuit and partner drills.

Functional exercises are superior to isolation exercises.  Strength training exercises utilizing several joints and/or large muscle groups (think push ups, rows, squats, lunges, dead lifts, squat to press, and lunges with medicine balls) have been shown to elicit hormonal shifts that favor fat loss more than single joint exercises such as biceps curls or leg extensions. We still have campers using smaller muscle isolation exercises in our classes on occasion, but we mainly incorporate exercises that utilize multiple joints at once for maximum calorie burn and to help the body function better as a whole.

Interval training is superior to steady intensity training.   Studies show that high intensity interval training trumps lower level, steady intensity endurance training for fat loss.  Interval training creates a kind of turbulence in your body.  It takes more energy to perform, and requires more energy (calories) from your body after the fact.  In the hours after a good, high intensity interval training workout, your body tends to utilize stored fat for fuel.

High intensity circuit training creates a “best of both worlds” situation for strength gain and fat loss. A 2010 study indicated that strength training done in a high intensity circuit format created better strength gains than a low intensity circuit format, and better fat loss gains than traditional endurance training.  Two major health benefits in ONE workout!  Yes !  Performed properly, the cardio/strength circuit we use in our fitness boot camps gives you the benefits of interval training, with the strength benefits of circuit training.

High intensity workouts hit you in the belly.  A 2008 study found that high intensity exercise was more effective for reducing total abdominal fat in women than lower intensity exercise.

In our boot camp programs in San Jose and Campbell,  we formulate the workouts to be a mix of cardiovascular interval training (like Tabata intervals), circuit training (our cardio/strength circuit) and functional training (many of the strength exercises in our circuit).  We think it affords our customers the most effective mix of exercise training for fat loss and muscle gain/maintenance.

Want to experience one of the best workouts in the Bay Area?  You’re invited to a FREE one week trial at one of our boot camps!  Try an early morning workout in Downtown San Jose or Almaden, or an evening workout in Campbell or Los Gatos.  Our camps are co-ed and all fitness levels are welcome.  Log on to:  www.lifesportbootcamp.com to reserve a spot for a free trial!

What have you got to lose but some unwanted fat???

Committed to your success,

Becky

One  of the first tips I give to my new San Jose personal training clients if they’re trying to lose weight is to increase their fiber intake.  It’s such an easy change for most people.

When you’re trying to increase your fiber intake, you’re often adding something to your menu as opposed to taking something away! How cool is that?? The great thing about increasing your fiber intake is that you’re likely to fill up on good-for-you foods like beans, fruits, veggies and whole grain products. So it ends up being a positive situation in several ways:  you eat fresh, more healthful foods, you eat more fiber, and, you’re probably going to lose some weight (not to mention decrease your risk for heart disease, stroke, and some cancers).  What a deal!

Why can increasing your fiber intake help you lose weight? By eating foods high in fiber, you are likely to eat fewer calories.  Fiber helps you to feel fuller faster and satisfied longer because it moves through your body more slowly than highly processed foods.  It is estimated that most of us consume less than half of the recommended 25 grams of fiber per day.

Here are some foods you can add to your eating plan to increase fiber:

• Fruit (higher fiber fruits include berries, apples and pears)

• Vegetables (higher fiber veggies include broccoli, artichokes, avocados, and sweet potatoes)

• Beans/Legumes (higher fiber beans/legumes include soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, split peas and black beans)

• Whole grains (use barley, oats and whole wheat products in place of processed white flour products).

The moral of this story:  Eat more fiber, feel fuller longer, weigh less.  That’s it in a nutshell.

Committed to your success,

Becky

If you’re searching for ways to help motivate yourself to stick with a regular exercise program, a great first step is to ask yourself why you want to exercise in the first place!  Is it to look better?  Feel better? Lose weight?  Decrease your back pain?  Because your doctor told you to?  Because you’re paying for a gym membership you don’t use? What’s your “WHY”? Write it down.  Look at it.  Is it important?  Does it move you?  If it doesn’t–there’s the reason you’re not exercising regularly .

Let’s assume you’ve got at least one important reason why you want to exercise regularly, and it really does move you. Write it down and  post it somewhere where you can see it.  If it’s at the top of your mind, it’s more likely to move you to action.

Next, you need to figure out what inspires you. This is where it gets tricky. You really need to put some thought into this.  Some of us are inspired by recognition, some by money, some by social connections/relationships, and some by achievement/accomplishment.  What inspires YOU?  If you can figure this out, you’re that much closer to harnessing what may motivate you to keep exercising.  Finding your “why” and understanding what inspires you to do things are the first two steps toward maintaining the motivation to exercise.

Once  you’ve found your “why” and you’ve done a little self-discovery to understand what inspires you, put into play some processes that will boost your motivation.  Here are a few ideas:

1). If social support and connections are important, consider getting an exercise buddy, joining a  club (running, rowing, fencing–whatever your thing is!),  or maybe joining my fitness boot camp in San Jose (yeah, you knew I was going to have to throw in a boot camp plug somewhere!),

2). If recognition is important to you, tell friends and family about your fitness goals and what you plan to achieve.  Take “before” pictures and measurements, and set goals for what you want to achieve for your “after” photos.  There’s nothing like a little social accountability to keep you focused on your goal!

3). If a sense of accomplishment inspires you , sign up for a footrace or another athletic event for which you must train or practice.   Having a race or event date is a fabulous way to remain focused on a goal.  At this time of year, there are dozens of 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathons and marathons  you can enter.  How about a triathlon?  A bike race?  Here in Silicon Valley, the sky is the limit.   Sign up for something!

4).  If money is important to you, consider making a bet with someone.  In order to win, you have to accomplish a fitness goal or perhaps work out a certain number of time per week for a certain length of time. It’s that old accountability thing, combined with something that motivates you to take action— money.  Another way you could use money as motivation is to put a few bucks in jar each time you work out.  After a few months, you’ll be able to treat yourself to some little luxury (maybe some spa  treatments or new workout gear!).

In a perfect world, we’d all have the motivation to work out without having to put  ”carrots” in front of ourselves.  But, the world isn’t perfect, and neither are we.  Sometimes we all need a kick in the pants to exercise more, eat a little better and take better care of ourselves.

Hopefully one of these tips will be the kick in the pants you need help you maintain your motivation to work out.

If you have found certain things that help you maintain your motivation to exercise, share them by posting a comment!

Committed to your fitness success,

Becky

As a San Jose-based fitness business owner, I applaud  Supervisor Ken Yeager for spearheading legislation that encourages better nutrition choices.  The toughest thing I do with my in-home personal training clients and members of my fitness boot camps in San Jose is help them make better food choices.  Old habits are hard to change.  Getting kids (and their parents!) accustomed to making better food choices is a move in the right direction.

Some opponents see this as the government telling us what we can or can’t eat.  I don’t see it that way.  As I understand it, the ordinance doesn’t say someone can’t eat a high fat, low fiber, high sodium meal.  It simply doesn’t allow restaurant chains within unincorporated areas of San Jose to put toys in meals that contain too much fat, sugar or sodium.  Kids can still get the toys.  Mom and Dad will just have to purchase a healthier meal to get them.

On the news today, I heard a parent say that she’d buy her child the healthier meal choice in order to continue getting the toys for her daughter–but that her daughter would probably throw out the fresh fruit in the meal.  Wow.  Kids learn how to eat through social cues within their family and in their environment.  If they get more fresh fruit and less fried junk, maybe we can get them to make better choices as adults.  What a concept!

I believe that as Americans, we should have the freedom to choose what we eat.  But let’s face it—a great many Americans are making lousy food choices.  Every day.  Is that their prerogative? Sure.  In fact, a once in a while meal at a fast food joint is fair game,  if you ask me.  Some kids are frequenting these fast food joints several times a week, though.  Maybe it is time to begin educating people on better nutrition. If they’re going to hit the fast food joint, let’s reward the purchase of healthier menu options.

Look at just about any elementary school campus at recess and you’ll see way too many chubby and downright obese kids in the school yard.  Those kids are our future.  It is said that children born today will potentially have a shorter life expectancy than their parents due to the rising level of obesity.  We can stem this explosion in obesity by encouraging people, especially children, make better food choices.  I believe good nutrition begins at home with parents buying good food and setting good examples.  However, a little nudge in the right direction when eating out is a good idea (sadly,  some kids eat out more often than they eat in).

This ordinance is a step in the right direction.  At this time, it only involves a small number of restaurants in San Jose.  People can choose to patronize  restaurants in San Jose that aren’t bound to the ordinance–but the precedent has been set.  In areas that must abide by the ordinance, kids and their parents still have the freedom of choice, but they’ll be rewarded by making a better choice. Yes!  Let the nutrition re-education begin!

Thank you Supervisor Yeager,  for putting forth legislation to help consumers make better nutrition choices.

Please feel free to share your thoughts here by leaving a comment.

Committed to your fitness success,

Becky

For more information on this story, please read Mercury New writer Tracy Siepel’s article in todays paper.

A FREE MINI WORKOUT WITH ME!

Saturday, May 1st, 2010, 8 am

Oster School —  1855 Lencar Way, San Jose 95124

I’ve been asked to take part in the festivities at the Cambrian Relay for Life on Saturday, May 1st.  In case you’re not familiar with “Relay for Life”, it’s a 24-hour event in which teams take turns walking around a track throughout the night.  It’s a way to remember those who have lost their lives to cancer, as well as to honor those who are survivors–and of course, raise money to help fund research for a cure.

Throughout the 24-hour event there are various activities going on—-so, I guess you could say I’m one of the activities!  I’ll be doing a “Wake up your Workout” warm up and mini boot camp at 8 am.  I’ll try to rouse the ones who got to take a cat nap in their sleeping bags during the night, I suppose!

I’m donating my time and some $$ to to event in honor of three former clients of mine who are breast cancer survivors:

Yvonne M. ,  Sunny C., and Diana A.

and two very wonderful ladies who lost their battle with breast cancer

Barbara Podgorny and Nancy Stoney

So, what does this have to do with YOU?

There are a few ways you can participate in the Cambrian Relay for Life:

Organize a team to walk the event

Log on here for more info:

http://www.relayforlife.org/cambrianca

Donate to a team

One of my boot campers, Tina L., has registered a team for the event.  You can support her team by making a donation here:

Support Team Walk-a-Muck

Come out to the event

Enjoy my mini-boot camp at 8 am, and cruise by the various team tents/campsites. Many teams will be running mini-fundraisers by selling items at their  campsites.

After I put everyone through a workout, I’ll be doing a drawing at Team Walk-a-Muck’s campsite.  Come by their tent and register to win a certificate for 2 FREE weeks at a lifeSport boot camp in San Jose or Campbell.

Committed to your fitness success,

Becky

You’ll have to watch the video to learn what the “prize” is for getting your workout in.

As usual, my furry sidekick, Noah, makes a cameo appearance (several, actually) in the video.  It’s amazing how he always manages to get right in line with the camera when it’s rolling.  In fact, this time, I think he’s trying to show you some version of our “core rotation” exercise we often do with exercise bands.  Maybe we could call it a “canine core rotation”?

So, if you’re game to get a quick, cardio interval workout in over the weekend, I’ve created one for you.  You don’t need to think about what to do.  I’ve thought it out for you.

Below the video, you’ll find a written version of the  workout in the event you want to print it out for reference.

Here’s the workout in case you want a written version:

Jumping jacks  (45-90 seconds)

Push ups (15 repetitions)

Jump rope (45-90 seconds)

Back extensions (15 repetitions)

Jump squats  (45-90 seconds)

Dips  (45-90 seconds)

Please watch the video for instructions on how to increase or decrease the intensity of each exercise.

I’m looking forward to your comments .

Committed to your success,

Becky

We’ll hold an early morning fitness boot camp on the premises of The Fencing Center of San Jose, located at 110 Stockton Ave., 95126.  It’s right around the corner from the HP Pavillion (otherwise known as the “Sharks Arena”).    Camp will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6:00-6:50 am, and will be taught by professional fitness trainer and lifeSport Fitness Coach,  Nichole Christoffersen.  Our inaugural camp starts on Monday, March 8th!

If you live or work near Downtown San Jose, here’s your chance to join the hottest, most results oriented workout in town!  Forget about long, boring cardio workouts on machines at the gym–let us get you moving and burning massive calories with body weight strength exercises, stair exercises, medicine ball drills and fun challenges that keep you moving and sweating.  We scale the workout so all fitness levels can participate.

Escape the cold and the rain by working out in a safe, lighted INDOOR environment this winter. We’ll then take you outside around Arena Green for some fresh air when the weather warms up and the sun shines in the morning!

Interested in being a charter member of the Downtown San Jose boot camp?  Log on to www.lifesportbootcamp.com and request a free one week trial.  Newcomers to lifeSport Fitness who complete a one week free trial at one of our other San Jose boot camp locations in February will be eligible for a 20% discount on March membership fees at the Downtown San Jose boot camp.

Now let’s talk more about enjoyment. Yes, you CAN enjoy your favorite foods. But enjoy them by savoring them, not devouring them.

Chew your food slowly.

That might not seem it, but that is a BIG TIME tip.

Enjoy your favorites by taking your time eating them. That may mean finding a quiet space to eat when at a loud party. But it will be worth the little bit of extra effort.

It’s going to take about 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you are full. So take your time. Enjoy every bite with zero guilt.

Again, this might seem too simple, but it’s not. It really can be this easy if you stay focused on your plan.

Also, remember that TONIGHT is the last day to save 15% on ALL of Prograde Nutrition’s awesome products. Their huge Holiday Sale ends at 11:59pm EST.

http://lifesportfitness.getprograde.com/specials.html

Yours in health,

Becky

PS – Again, Prograde Nutrition’s HUGE Holiday Savings ends TONIGHT. As a proud Prograde Partner I really cannot recommend their products enough. This is the first time I’ve seen them do a 15% discount off all their products like they are this week–not sure when they’ll do it again.

http://lifesportfitness.getprograde.com/specials.html

Plan on staying control of your alcohol intake.

Look, a drink or two isn’t going to be the end of the world. But when two turns to three in a night…… or two every night for three nights straight….well…..it’s gonna hit you in the waistline.

I’m not getting on my soap box here. I’m just telling you something you already know:

Too much alcohol not only adds up to too many calories, it leads to bad decisions. And in this case, we’re talking about bad eating decisions.

When alcohol enters the equation even the best laid plans crumble. The extra calories from the cocktails is one thing. But really it’s the extra calories you chew that start to add up.

One piece of cake turns to two…

A handful of chips turns into a a bag…

The dip sitting in front of you mysteriously vanishes…into your belly…

You get the picture.

Over-indulging in alcohol leads to disintegration of your resolve and control.

That said………..

Have fun. Enjoy yourself. Just be conscious of what alcohol does to your decision making. Stay in control.

Yours in health,

Becky

PS – Remember, Prograde Nutrition’s HUGE Holiday Savings ends TOMORROW night. You definitely want to get over to http://lifesportfitness.getprograde.com/specials.html right NOW and place you order to save 15% on all their killer products. It’s my duty as a proud Prograde Partner to remind you .  I’m going to stock up on EFA-Icon (fish oil) myself!

You know you know this.

Fail to plan, plan to fail.

You can’t just HOPE you’re going to behave yourself at holiday parties. You can’t just do the same old things you’ve been doing. You can’t just  miss breakfast, have a light lunch and then go to a party filled with temptation and not go a little insane on the cheese platter .

You have to plan your meals.

You have to plan your workouts.

You have to set your goals in stone.

You don’t want to be the person that comes out of the holidays 5 to 10 pounds heavier, do you?

If you don’t plan your strategy to prevent weight gain, well, you can PLAN on getting some new clothes that fit your new size (yuck).

This is far from doom and gloom. You can still enjoy your favorite foods at parties. You can still have a great time.

But what you can’t do is just free-for-all it and stuff your face with everything put in front of you. You know that.

Tell you what: Plan on taking a nice 30 minute walk this weekend and do some solid thinking about what your plan will be. And when you get back home, put it on paper and commit to it. Seriously–writing stuff down helps you focus on it and keep it at the top of your mind.

Think about how great you’ll feel about yourself when January comes after you’ve followed your plan. Oh, and be sure to reward yourself to by doing something special for yourself (see my P.P.S. for an idea).

Yours in health,

Becky

PS – Speaking of eating well over the holidays, as a proud Prograde Nutrition partner I should let you know that Prograde is having a heck of a Holiday Blow Out on ALL of their awesome products. Everything you need, including the coupon code to save 15% on all Prograde Nutrition products is right here: http://lifesportfitness.getprograde.com/specials.html

Hurry because this deal expires this Friday, December 11th at 11:59pm EST.

P.P.S.  Want to treat yourself or someone you love to something awesome in January? How about a one week FREE trial at a lifeSport Fitness boot camp in San Jose or Los Gatos in January?  I just opened my “1 week free trial” program today!  Get on the list now if you want to get in the best shape of your life in 2010:  http://www.lifesportbootcamp.com .  The first free trial week starts January 4th!