Why?

Enjoyment

It makes exercise social. Exercising doesn’t have to be chore. Yes it can be hard and uncomfortable. Yes your mattress is a much more comfortable place to be at 6am in the morning than at your local park doing burpees (if you don’t know what they are then you need to pay close attention to this article). Working out and being able to chat, can make the time go by quickly, and it’s so much more fun that you may actually forget you’re even exercising.

Accountability

It’s easy to break a commitment to yourself, but much harder to break a commitment to a friend. Having someone who’s counting on you to be there makes it less likely that you’ll skip it or put it off. It’ll motivate you to go knowing your friend expects you to be there.

Intensity

Your leisurely jog around the park doesn’t cut it. One of the first things you learn as fitness trainer is that Exercise Intensity is one of the most important aspects that will get your clients the results they want. Put simply – the harder you push yourself the better result you’ll get. By going further, faster and heavier you’ll magnify your results exponentially. The right training partner will help you boost intensity. Just like they help keep you accountable to show up, they’ll help keep you accountable to push yourself to do the best you can do. They’ll encouragement you to find your competitive spirit.

PS: What I’ve found in over a decade of fitness training is that the people that stay most committed to working out and get the best results are those that train with friends. As a trainer for over a decade, I’ve had thousands of clients who have come and gone. For the most part, the people that stay are those people that develop friendships. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying I’ve built my business with this in mind. If people become friends in my group fitness classes, they’ll more likely enjoy the workouts, want to turn up so they don’t let their friends down and push themselves harder because it feels good to get one over your mate.

If you have the wrong attitude about fitness, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Most people look at exercise as:

• Punishment for bad eating
• An obligation
• Painful
• Time consuming
• Impossible to sustain over a long period of time
• Boring

If any of these sound familiar, how long do you think you’ll stick with your program? Nobody wants to do something painful, boring or obligatory. Before you throw yourself into weight loss, suss out your attitudes about exercise and figure out whether these attitudes are true or just lies you’ve been telling yourself for years. Then, try a different perspective and look at exercise as:

• A break from a stressful workday
• A way to boost energy and mood
• The only time you’ll have to yourself all day
• A chance to get totally physical and let your mind rest
• A chance to reward your body for working so hard
• A way to improve your quality of life immediately

The importance of sleep in your overall program to wellness and improving your fitness level cannot be overstressed. Not only is sleep going to be the primary time when your body is in high-recovery mode, repairing all the torn down muscle fibers from the workout that you completed that day, but by sleeping enough you’re also going to help keep your immune system strong, help keep your metabolism running efficiently, and help to ward off hunger the next day.

Those who don’t get enough sleep often experience a higher rate of overall obesity, as noted by a study conducted by the Sleep journal, so if fighting off weight gain is a concern of yours, you’ll definitely want to be sure you’re sleeping enough.

What you eat in the hours leading up to your night-time slumber will influence how quickly you fall asleep and how well you stay asleep, so giving some consideration to your late night snack can help promote better overall sleep quality.

Let’s have a look at a few of the top snacks to eat before you turn in for the evening.

Half A Turkey Sandwich

The very first snack that will definitely induce slumber is half a turkey sandwich.  Getting in some protein before bed is important so that your muscles have amino acids to feast on during the overnight period as this is what they will use to build and repair those muscle tissues.

Turkey is a protein source that is rich in one particular amino acid, tryptophan, which is going to have sleep inducing qualities.

By serving it up on a slice of whole wheat bread with some fresh vegetables you help keep the total calorie count low, making this a nice light snack that won’t weigh you down.

Cottage Cheese With Almonds

The next snack to consider is a small bowl of cottage cheese along with some almonds.  Cottage cheese is perfect before bed because this source of protein is known as casein protein, and will digest much more slowly in the body.

To add to that, dairy is also rich in tryptophan so yet another food possessing this sleep promoting quality.

With the almonds added to that, you’ll supply some healthy fats to your body so the protein takes even longer to break down in the overnight period.

Yogurt With Cherries

If you’re someone who prefers yogurt over cottage cheese, then having some yogurt with cherries on top will be another great snack before turning in for the evening.

Cherries are a great source of vitamins and antioxidants and will also contain melatonin, which is a substance that’s naturally found in the body that will help to regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

By serving this up before bed you should notice that you have an easier time falling asleep and then staying asleep as the night progresses.

Cereal With Milk

Finally, the last option to serve up before bed is a small bowl of cereal with some milk.  Again, the milk being a dairy product will provide you with some tryptophan, and the carbohydrates in the cereal will also cause a serotonin release in the brain, which will help to reduce stress and put you in a feel-good state of well-being.

Many people find that this will have a calming effect on their body and promote drowsiness, so this could also help you fall asleep faster.

So next time you’re headed to bed for the evening, consider any one of these great snacks. All are going to come in at under about 200 calories, so will be an easy-add to your diet plan.

Reference:

Cappuccio, F.P. et al. (2008). Meta-Analysis of Short Sleep Duration and Obesity in Children and Adults.  Sleep. May 1; 31(5):619-626.

The importance of sleep in your overall program to wellness and improving your fitness level cannot be overstressed. Not only is sleep going to be the primary time when your body is in high-recovery mode, repairing all the torn down muscle fibers from the workout that you completed that day, but by sleeping enough you’re also going to help keep your immune system strong, help keep your metabolism running efficiently, and help to ward off hunger the next day.

Those who don’t get enough sleep often experience a higher rate of overall obesity, as noted by a study conducted by the Sleep journal, so if fighting off weight gain is a concern of yours, you’ll definitely want to be sure you’re sleeping enough.

What you eat in the hours leading up to your night-time slumber will influence how quickly you fall asleep and how well you stay asleep, so giving some consideration to your late night snack can help promote better overall sleep quality.

Let’s have a look at a few of the top snacks to eat before you turn in for the evening.

Half A Turkey Sandwich

The very first snack that will definitely induce slumber is half a turkey sandwich.  Getting in some protein before bed is important so that your muscles have amino acids to feast on during the overnight period as this is what they will use to build and repair those muscle tissues.

Turkey is a protein source that is rich in one particular amino acid, tryptophan, which is going to have sleep inducing qualities.

By serving it up on a slice of whole wheat bread with some fresh vegetables you help keep the total calorie count low, making this a nice light snack that won’t weigh you down.

Cottage Cheese With Almonds

The next snack to consider is a small bowl of cottage cheese along with some almonds.  Cottage cheese is perfect before bed because this source of protein is known as casein protein, and will digest much more slowly in the body.

To add to that, dairy is also rich in tryptophan so yet another food possessing this sleep promoting quality.

With the almonds added to that, you’ll supply some healthy fats to your body so the protein takes even longer to break down in the overnight period.

Yogurt With Cherries

If you’re someone who prefers yogurt over cottage cheese, then having some yogurt with cherries on top will be another great snack before turning in for the evening.

Cherries are a great source of vitamins and antioxidants and will also contain melatonin, which is a substance that’s naturally found in the body that will help to regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

By serving this up before bed you should notice that you have an easier time falling asleep and then staying asleep as the night progresses.

Cereal With Milk

Finally, the last option to serve up before bed is a small bowl of cereal with some milk.  Again, the milk being a dairy product will provide you with some tryptophan, and the carbohydrates in the cereal will also cause a serotonin release in the brain, which will help to reduce stress and put you in a feel-good state of well-being.

Many people find that this will have a calming effect on their body and promote drowsiness, so this could also help you fall asleep faster.

So next time you’re headed to bed for the evening, consider any one of these great snacks. All are going to come in at under about 200 calories, so will be an easy-add to your diet plan.

Reference:

Cappuccio, F.P. et al. (2008). Meta-Analysis of Short Sleep Duration and Obesity in Children and Adults.  Sleep. May 1; 31(5):619-626.

If you’re a female looking to get in shape, it’s going to be very important that you don’t let yourself fall for any one of the common strength training myths that are out there. Many women tend to shy away from weight lifting altogether as they feel that it’s more of a ‘guys’ exercise and instead they should opt for cardio training or something like yoga or Pilates.

This is a big mistake however as strength training has numerous benefits to offer a woman including a faster metabolism, increased fat loss, enhanced muscle and bone strength, and a much better overall toned look about the body.

To ensure you don’t skip out on this variety of exercise, let’s take a quick look at some of the most common women’s weight lifting myths that you should know about so there’s no question in your mind that this form of exercise is for you.

You’ll Develop Big, Bulky Muscles

The very first myth that circulates around with regards to women’s weight lifting is that you will build big bulky muscles when you weight train. This, however, is furthest from the truth.

The fact of the matter is that women simply do not have the hormones present in their body, namely testosterone, to develop that degree of lean muscle mass. This is the predominant thing that separates males from females.

Women will build muscle at just a fraction of the rate males will and often aren’t eating nearly enough calories to support muscle growth in the first place.

Remember, muscle growth is a high-energy process so unless you’re making an active effort to eat plenty of food each day, which most women aren’t, you won’t get bulky.

You Will Lose Breast Tissue

The second myth that circulates around about women’s weight lifting is that it will cause you to lose your breast tissue. Women fear that they will get flat-chested if they start working these muscles.

Again, this isn’t the case. The only way that you will lose breast tissue is if you approach very low body fat levels. Since the breasts are primarily made up of fatty tissue, any time you lose weight, you will see a slight reduction in breast size.

If anything, weight lifting will actually enhance the look of your chest as it’s going to increase your cleavage line.

You Will Gain Fat If You Lose The Muscles

Finally, the third myth that many women fall for with regards to weight lifting is that if they lift weights and then stop, all that muscle they build will turn to body fat.

This again is not the case. Muscle can never be converted into body fat just like body fat can never be converted into muscle mass. It would be like trying to change and apple to an orange or vice versa. It just isn’t going to happen.

What may happen if you stop weight training is that you may lose lean muscle mass and as you do your metabolism slows down so if you don’t make a corresponding adjustment in your diet you could put on body fat, but you will never see muscle turn to fat.

If anything, weight training will help to prevent fat gain since it does cause the metabolism to increase.
So there you have the three most common weight lifting myths that are commonly believed by women. Are you falling for any of these?

If you’re someone who has set out to make any type of body transformation, be it losing body fat or building up lean muscle mass tissue, without a question of a doubt, assessing your current diet will be a must.

Having good nutrition in place is going to account for up to 80% of the results that you see with your approach so it’s something that must not go overlooked.

One of the key components of formulating a good fat loss or muscle building diet is making sure that your protein requirements are being met, so the question often arises as to whether or not you should be using protein powder.

You’ve seen many others using it in the gym before you but may have had this notion that protein powder was only for professional bodybuilders or guys who really wanted to get big and muscular.

So what’s the real deal with protein powder? Do you really need this for good results? Or can you do without it and still achieve your goals?

Let’s take a closer look into the protein powder controversy so that you can separate fact from fiction.

Point #1: Protein Powder Will Build Muscle Quickly

The very first point to address is the notion that using protein powder will help you build muscle fast. There are those people who think that simply by taking protein powder, they’ll build more muscle. After all, since muscles are made of muscle, by using protein powder you’re giving your body what it needs to build muscle quickly, right?

Not quite.  What you must remember here is that there’s no magical property about protein powder that’s going to instantly pack on muscle to your frame.

Protein powder, just like chicken, fish, or egg whites contains all the amino acids the body does require to build up lean muscle tissue, but there’s nothing amazingly miraculous about protein powder that sets it apart from the other sources listed.

So whether you eat three ounces of chicken breast or drink a protein shake, you’re still just delivering protein to the body.

Point #2: Protein Powder Is Rapidly Absorbed

Now, one thing that you must consider however that does give protein powder a slight edge over chicken, fish, or egg whites is the fact that if you purchase a whey isolate protein powder, this has been designed to break down incredibly rapidly by the body, thus it’ll be absorbed much faster.

Since immediately after a workout you want to get those amino acids to the muscle tissues as quickly as possible with no time to spare, this does make protein powder slightly superior in this instance.

Point #3: Protein Powder Offers A Convenient Way To Get In Protein

Third, also keep in mind the convenience factor of protein powder.  If you’re like most people, you don’t have time to prepare and eat six chicken breasts a day. That would just be a bit too much for almost anyone as you have a life to lead.

But, if you fail to reach your protein requirements, this will definitely influence your progress.

Since protein powder is incredibly quick and convenient – just shake and drink, this makes meeting those requirements much easier.  For many people, using protein powder can mean the difference between meeting their protein requirements or not, therefore also the difference between seeing results from their efforts or not.

So what’s the bottom line? Do you need protein powder to reach your goals? In short, no.  As long as you are sure to get protein from other great sources such as chicken, fish, lean red meat, egg whites, or low fat dairy products you certainly still could achieve dietary success.

But, your results may be slightly better using the protein powder due to that rapid absorption factor when used in the post-workout period.

If you’re someone who doesn’t get enough protein in with their diet unless protein powder is used though, then yes, protein powder will be a must for you.

So assess your situation. Realize that there’s nothing magical about protein powder that will transform your body but that it does offer many benefits that most people find highly appealing. 

As you go about putting together your workout routine, one form of cardio training that you might hear quite a bit about is that of interval training.

Interval training has been touted as the best form of cardio workout for rapid fat loss results as it will not only burn more calories while you’re completing it, but will cause your body to continue to burn calories in the hours after you’re finished through a process commonly referred to as EPOC.

In fact, in one study researchers noted that comparing groups who performed either short-duration, high intensity exercise, short duration, low intensity exercise, or long duration, low intensity exercise, the short duration high intensity exercise was the form to produce significantly more net total calorie expenditure, therefore proving to be valuable for long-term weight control.

And not only is this workout great for helping to rev your metabolic rate, but it’s also going to dramatically increase your fitness level, increasing your ability to work hard without fatigue.

But before you jump on the interval training bandwagon, there are a few things that you must know first so you can implement it into your workout program properly.

Let’s take a look at the key things that you must remember at all times.

Build Up A Cardio Base First

First things first, before you go adding interval training to your workout program, you need to be at the fitness level to do it. If you’re new to working out, you should first work on building up a base fitness level so that you can perform 30 minutes of continuous moderate paced cardio activity with ease.

Once you’re at that level, then you know your body is ready to step it up a notch and start doing interval training.

Choose Your Interval Style

Next, you need to choose which style of interval training to do.  You can either adopt the longer interval style where you’ll perform intervals at a slightly longer length of 45 to 60 seconds, or adopt the full-out sprint style, where you keep the intervals shorter to 15-30 seconds.

If you adopt the longer style, your rest periods should be just as long as the intervals using a 1:1 ratio, while if you adopt the sprint style, you’ll need slightly longer rest intervals in comparison since you’re pushing your body to the max, so should keep them at a 1:3 ratio (so 45-90 seconds long).

This will ensure that you are taking the appropriate amount of rest based around how hard you’re working so that you can see optimal results.

Once you’ve decided upon the length of the work and rest intervals, you’ll want to repeat them 6 to 10 times depending on your current fitness level, making sure to add a five minute warm-up and cool-down at the beginning and the end.

Incorporating It Into Your Overall Workout Scheme

Now that you know the structure of the interval set-up, it’s time to look at how you’ll go about incorporating it into your overall fitness routine. 

The important thing to remember is that this form of interval is a lot more taxing than moderate paced cardio sessions are, therefore you can’t do it quite as often throughout the week.

Plus, if you’re also doing resistance training workouts which are equally as taxing on the body, there needs to be a good balance between those and your intervals.

You should aim to have no more than five hard workout sessions per week, so this can be a mix of both strength training and interval training.

This will allow for at least one full day off for rest and recovery and then at least one other day where exercise should be kept much lighter.

Also take note that you should never perform interval training right before or after your weight lifting as this will be a little too much for the body to handle in a single workout session.

So there you have everything you need to know about incorporating interval training into your workout routine. If you are looking for a way to step up your progress, you will definitely not be disappointed with what this workout style has to offer.

Reference:

Fissinger, J.A. (1989). Effect of exercise intensity and duration on post-exercise energy expenditure. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Vol. 21; Issue 6.

If you’re someone who is just embarking on a making some positive changes to your health by getting started with a workout and diet plan, then it’s important at this point to figure out some key methods that you can use to stay motivated.

There’s no question that as you progress along with the program your motivation will come to wane at times, so by having these techniques ready to turn to you can assure that you stay fully committed to your success.

Let’s have a quick peak at four different methods that you can use to help yourself stay motivated at all times.

Set Some Smart Goals

The very first thing that must be in place if you’re going to stay motivated with your workout plan is some smart goals.  Smart goals stand for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and ones that have a timeline in place, so have a good look over the current goals you have set and make sure they satisfy all of these requirements.

If you don’t have some smart goals in place, you’re going to find that you’re often just moving along your program aimlessly. 

Make sure that you also set both body composition goals such as losing fat or building muscle as well as performance oriented goals such as increasing your running speed or lifting a certain amount of weight.  In doing so, you’ll make sure each workout session has a purpose.

Find A Workout Buddy

The second great way to stay motivated with your workouts is to find a good workout buddy. Ideally this workout buddy should be working towards the very similar goals you are and is someone who you feel comfortable to be around.

This way, when times get difficult you can turn to them for support and they’ll be able to offer words of encouragement.

Going through the process of striving to your goals with someone is always more motivating than doing it alone, so make sure you don’t overlook the benefit of having that interpersonal support system in place.

Schedule A Photo Shoot

Another quick and easy method to ensure that you’re maximally motivated as you go about your workout program is to book a photo shoot for the end date of when you want to reach your goals.

This photo shoot should be aimed to help you take some memorable pictures to show off all your hard work – whether or not you’re even trying to get into modeling or not does not matter.  The point is this photo shoot is for you.

When you know you have that professional photo shoot approaching, you will without a doubt work harder so you can look your best.

Make A Training Journal

Finally, the last great way to stay motivated with your workout program is to start writing in a training journal.  This training journal should keep track of how much weight you’re lifting, how many sets you’re doing, how many reps were performed, as well as how you feel in general about the entire workout session.

Make sure to list the date along with your current body weight, which will then allow you to look back over time.

On those days when you’re not feeling so motivated, you can then use this journal to let yourself see just how far you’ve actually come and that can be the inspirational push you need in the right direction.

If you can add a few progress pictures to this training journal, all the better.

So don’t let motivation get you down any longer. Suffering from low motivation is a perfectly natural feeling to experience however, with these simple yet highly effective techniques, you can combat this head on.

A ‘portion’ is the amount of food we consume at one time. Portion size implies the number of calories we consume. Dietitians say that portion control is the central key to healthy eating and keep our weight under control. Here are some tips to maintain the portion size under control.

ü  Increase quality not quantity: Consume fiber- rich foods like cereals and vegetables than fast- foods. Fiber- foods make us feel fuller for long time and so we eat less. Fast foods do not have nutrients and hence we feel hungry and tend to eat again thus consuming lot of calories.

ü  Cleaning the plates:  Completing the food in the plate is usually a good habit but a very bad habit for the people who try to lose weight. Skipping the leftovers in the plate can save a lot of calories.

ü  Reduce the size of dishes: The bigger size of the plate, the more we consume. So, if we can reduce the size of the dish, we consume a little lesser than usual.  Eat with a small spoon and savor the meal.

ü  Concentrate on eating:  Watching TV or working with the computer will distract us and that will lead to over eating. So sit down and focus on eating but not on any other issue.

ü  Eat regularly: Eating regularly at regular intervals will maintain the metabolism rate otherwise we may consume more food in the next meal thus gain weight.

ü  Water: Water keeps us full for a long time. Being hydrated avoids overeating; if you don’t like drinking too much water, drink green tea. Green tea thirty minutes before meals can curb the appetite.

ü  Eat slowly: Eating slowly gives the brain a message that you are full. Savor the meal; put the fork down between the meals to keep the portion under control.

ü  Avoid dine out: Eating out is the biggest enemy of weight loss. Avoid eating out while you are starving. Even if you eat outside make sure that you order fiber- rich foods which will cause less damage to the weight loss goal.

ü  Calorie count: measuring and weighing everything you eat can help you consume lesser calories. Read the labels on the purchased food for the amount of calories and make the measuring cup and scales an important part of your daily life.

ü  Share a meal: Sharing a meal has many benefits, apart from socializing, both of you can still be full after sharing the meal thus ensuring less calorie intake.

Though, cutting on a meal and maintaining the portion size is tough in the starting, later it would maintain very efficiently our weight and thus ensure good health.