General Health Article Archive

24 Ways to Lose Fat, Build Muscle, Live Healthier and Look AMAZING!

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Matt Posted in General Health, Motivation Leave a comment

For a minute, let’s forget all about the millions of workout programs, diets, and other variables in the fitness world. Each promises you’ll be looking great, feeling fantastic, and generally living the life you wanted if you incorporate (fill in the blank) into your life. Some of these claims are accurate, most are not. It can certainly be challenging to pick the right program; there is nothing more demoralizing than putting your time, effort, and sometimes money, into an exercise program that doesn’t work. The fitness industry is filled with contradictions abound; some people are so paralyzed by the fear of picking the wrong thing, they do nothing at all.

With that preface out of the way, let’s focus on some CONSTANTS. These things are tried and true, and have become habits of the most fit and healthy among us. Below, you will find 25 ways to start losing fat, building muscle, and developing the body you have always wanted. Most of these are incredibly easy to incorporate into your life TODAY. Read the points below, comprehend what you’re reading, and begin incorporating these simple, but profound, changes into your life.

Evenly Spaced Meals
Start spacing your meals evenly throughout the day. There is nothing worse than a next-to-nothing breakfast, followed by a huge lunch at noon, followed by nothing til a giant dinner at seven. Have snacks in regular intervals (every 3-4 hours) and avoid the huge meals. This will help control metabolism and help regulate fat storage.

Know Serving Sizes
It’s easy to run away with serving sizes and forget they are almost always smaller than what we are used to. Even healthy foods can start causing weight loss problems when over consumed. Read labels, measure things out if you must, but be keenly aware of how many servings you consume of each food you’re eating.

Know What Bad Foods Are
You’re fighting a losing battle if you are consuming things you think are healthy, but really aren’t. Understand the difference between wheat bread and whole wheat bread. Realize vitamin waters are nothing more than water plus a ton of sugar. Dressing is almost always fat, just because it’s on a “healthy” salad, doesn’t make it okay to eat. Avoid bad foods and avoid the excess calories that come with them.

Eat Enough Protein Protein is vital for building muscle, and the majority of exercising women, do not get enough of it. Further, taking a whey protein shake immediately following your workout is vital to maximizing the work you’re putting in. A protein shake or two a day, plus a chicken breast, plus some greek yogurt at night already has you consuming well over 100 grams of protein. It’s not hard to do, just make a conscious effort to do it.

Don’t Overdo It On Fruit
Fruit is healthy, it contains tons of anti-oxidants, vitamins, and phytochemicals that help your body function and fight off free-radicals. That said, some types of fruit are especially high in sugar. Limit consumption of highly sugary fruits, and don’t go on one of those “fruit only” diets. Aim for moderate consumption of high sugar fruits and a healthy (and larger) dose of low sugar fruits, like berries.

Forget Fad Diets

I’m not here to say certain fad diets won’t work. Of course, any diet that has you avoiding carbohydrates, consuming only liquid meals, or any number of other cheap tricks, will cause you to lose weight. Problem is, these fad diets are simply fads, because once you go off them, the weight comes right back. A few mindful dietary changes are all you need to realize slow and steady, but LASTING weight loss success.

Eat Breakfast

This one’s nothing new. In fact, you’ve probably heard it a bunch over your lifetime. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast is the metabolism kick-starter which gets your body burning calories and out of its sluggish, sleep state it had been in for the previous 6-8 hours. Eat a nice-sized breakfast first thing in the morning. Be especially careful to stay away from simple carbs (bagels, white bread, etc.) and high-sugar options (cereal, danish, etc.) Preferably start with some complex carbs (oatmeal for instance) and a protein (egg whites, protein shake) to really start noticing changes in your waistline.

Don’t Buy Food You Know You Shouldn’t Have
Avoiding “cheat” foods is so much harder when they are right in front of you. Keep the things you know you shouldn’t be eating out of your house. When you don’t buy them, you don’t eat them. If you find you must have something around, make sure you buy the smallest portion possible so you aren’t snacking on bon bons Monday through Friday.

Eat With Chopsticks
It may sound silly, but this tried and true method has been working for dieters longer than you’ve been dieting. The idea is to slow down eating, thereby reducing the food you eat, while not reducing your satisfaction. Try eating all your meals with chopsticks and see how much food you REALLY need to feel satisfied from a meal.

Make Water Your Best Friend
Your body is made of H20. Make this life-giving substance your new best friend. Consuming water before meals has been shown to reduce caloric intake on a whole. Keep your body hydrated, help it function the way it was meant to, and the pounds will start dropping before your eyes.

Stop Late Night Eating
Even occasional light night eating can kill the most determined dieter. When you eat a high-fat, sugary, and/or heavy meal right before jumping into bed, it will most likely all be stored as fat. Your body goes into sleep mode, your metabolism drops, and the calories you just consumed are stored away for energy use later. Avoid eating later in the evening.

Try Not to Combine Alcohol with Food

I’m not talking about a glass of wine or two with dinner. I’m talking about hitting the bars on a Friday night then getting a burrito, slices of pizza, etc. on the way home. Your body uses alcohol as its first source of energy, leaving the food you consumed to be deposited around your waist, thighs, and butt as stored energy, i.e. fat.

Re-Program Your Taste Buds
This may be the most difficult to accomplish on this list, but can easily become the most powerful. If you’re used to taking three teaspoons of sugar in your coffee, slowly cut it down to two. Once you can manage that, slowly cut it down to one. You get the idea. Your taste buds and brain can easily be re-programmed to not only tolerate, but enjoy specific tastes. While you may hate the taste of greek yogurt without a quarter-cup of honey at first, you will slowly learn to like the taste, and no longer need the excess sugar, salt, fat, etc. on your foods.

Stop Taking the Elevator, Parking Close, Etc.
The little things most certainly add up. Get a little extra fitness in your life wherever you can. By skipping the elevator, parking a couple hundred feet further away, or standing when you could be sitting, you’ll burn more calories. Burn just an extra 100 calories a day, and you’ve lost an additional 10 pounds a year (1 pound = 3,500 calories).

Utilize Body Diversity TrainingBody Diversity Training is the exercise methodology that involves training yourself with a variety of disciplines, instead of just one or two. Instead of only doing the treadmill or bike for cardio, or only taking yoga classes, Body Diversity Training would have you doing HIIT sprints on Monday, Vinyasa Flow Yoga on Tuesday, a compound lift circuit on Wednesday, mat pilates on Thursday, and a plyometric/weight combo workout on Friday. Cross-training your body using this format will help achieve far better results than sticking to a couple staples and never changing things up.

Exercise With Music
Study after study has shown exercising with music will help boost your intensity, increase the length of your workout, and ultimately, increase your total calories burned. Find high-tempo music you enjoy, put your headphones in, and get moving!

Sign Up For a CSAHow does organic produce, that is cheaper than the non-organic stuff you’d find at your grocery store, and is delivered right to your door, sound? Too good to be true? Nope. Join a CSA and get a healthy and hearty delivery of vegetables weekly or bi-weekly. Simple as that. CSA’s are a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet on the cheap.

Keep a Journal
Keeping a journal to document what you’ve been eating, as well as what you’ve been doing in the gym has been shown to improve performance in the long-term. Hold yourself accountable, know exactly what it’s time to bump the challenge, and stop leaving yourself in the dark as to what you’ve been eating. Knowledge is power; give yourself the power to make a change.

Go Extra Hard on the Weekends
Nothing feels better than waking up early on a Saturday morning, getting an insane workout in, going home and having a healthy breakfast, going about your day, then later on when things are getting lazy, hitting the gym for a second session. Use the weekends and/or your time off to really put in work. Two serious weekend workouts can have you burning a combined 2,000 calories, which will give you a great start on the week ahead.

Get Great Fitting Workout Clothes

This may sound stupid, but when you feel good about what you’re wearing to the gym, you’ll be more likely to go AND stay longer. Studies have shown those who are comfortable and perhaps feeling even a bit fashionable are able to workout with a higher frequency and intensity. Who cares what others think. If spending 100 bucks on a pair of Lululemon yoga pants will make you hit the gym more regularly, why not?

Stop Reading Fitness Magazines, Celebrity Trainers, Trend-Setters
These people are all in the business of making money. It’s common knowledge that fitness magazines simply regurgitate the same articles over in different ways over and over. Think about it; how many times have you seen a “Lose your belly now!” article or off-shoot on the cover a fitness magazine? It’s the same story told a million times. Watch out for fad workouts (just like their diet counterparts) and use the internet to find your information. With the rise of the digital medium, there are many dedicated fitness bloggers who simply enjoy spreading their knowledge and improving lives. They want to gain nothing from you, nor have a sale quota to make. Trust your gut and you’ll find the best information is right in front of you.

Buy a Half Size Smaller
This is an old trick that’s been used by many for motivation. When you’re out shopping and find something you absolutely love, buy a size that’s half too small for you. Use this as your motivation to lose the pounds/tone up, so you can not only fit into your new purchase. but look GREAT in it.

Surround Yourself with Healthy People
The company you keep can have a significant effect on your own personal well-being and health. This can of course be positive or negative. Hanging around people who eat fast food on the regular, don’t value exercise, and are content to sit around, drink beer, and generally do nothing while they wait to die are no good. This goes for friends and/or significant others. Personally, I could never date, let alone marry someone who didn’t value health and fitness. I’m not telling you to dump your couch potato boyfriend or girlfriend, but consider getting them involved and keeping company with friends who share some of the same values you do. You’ll find the hardcore fitness community is a very tight-knit group and are extremely welcoming to others with a healthy mindset.

De-Stress/Achieve Enlightenment

It’s no secret, stress kills. While it’s not always easy, find a way to de-stress, and do it regularly. Contrary to popular opinion, those under a great deal of stress often hold on to their fat, and even end up gaining weight. De-stress yourself, let go of what you cannot change, and realize all things will pass. From a strictly philosophical standpoint, learning about Buddhism is a fantastic way to deal with the stressors of life. Consider reading a book or two and move towards a calmed mentality and life. I’m not suggesting you replace your current religion with Buddhism, simply look at some of the principles behind the teachings and incorporate what you feel is compatible with your current faith.

I’d like to leave you with one final quote from the Dalai Lama which I think is profoundly enlightening and relevent….

When asked what surprises him the most, the Dalai Lama responded:

Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.

Monday’s Motivation: Total Body Blitz Workout Success Story

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Matt Posted in Health in the News, Motivation Leave a comment

Since we first posted our Total Body Blitz workout series a few months ago, THOUSANDS of you have decided to step up to this challenge head on. We’ve received tons of feedback and questions about this program over the last few months. What we most often hear is; “does this program really work? I don’t want to get big and bulky, or waste my time in the gym. I just want to lose some pounds and add some muscle”. Our response to which is always, we’ve personally seen the positive effects this program has in hundreds of people before you. Just trust the science behind what you’re doing and good things will happen.

Even still, this often isn’t enough. So today, we’re posting a picture and review from one of our readers. Mila Clark has just recently completed part one of this three-part workout series. Below is her review on how things are going so far. Give it a read, and hopefully use this as motivation to either get yourself started, or sustain the efforts you’ve been putting in. There’s no reason all of you can’t put yourselves on a path to success the way Mila has. For more info on Mila, check out her blog here.

We’re always seeking before/after pictures and/or reviews of our workouts; consider submitting yours today to not only motivate and inspire others like you, but to claim a free thank you gift!

From Mila Clarke:

When I started working out in November, I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. Very quickly, I became bored just driving to the gym every day, hopping on the treadmill, and seeing tiny bits of measurable results. It got me to a point where I really just thought “I should quit.”

One day I was browsing the Pinterest, and I saw a picture of a really toned, fit girl on a fellow pinner’s Pinboard. All it said was “do this, look like that,” so I clicked, and landed here at Share It Fitness, and the rest is sort of history for my workouts.

Four weeks ago, I started the Total Body Blitz, Share It Fitness’ total body workout, after being a treadmill junkie for months. The thing that I can tell you about this workout is that it isn’t easy; it looks incredibly easy on paper, and while it is difficult, you’ll see that the work you put into it is well worth your time (which, by the way is only about 45 minutes to an hour a day just depending on your pace, and the day’s activity.)

All in all, this will totally keep your workouts interesting. You’ll see results, and you’ll learn about muscles you never even thought you had. This workout program has totally changed the way I looked at working out. I’m never bored, I’m always working hard (so I feel really good about being at the gym) and I’m not ever doing the same thing every day. Most of all, it’s challenging, which is my favorite part. I get to climb a new mountain everyday, and I feel awesome after every week I’ve finished. I just finished Phase one, and I’m excited to start on Phase two!

Something that this workout did for me, that no other workout has, is push me out of my comfort zone. It taught me that if I stay where I’m comfortable, I’m never going to see the change that I want. The Total Body Blitz is giving me the confidence to break through barriers I never thought I would get through, and it’s making me much stronger and more fit than I ever thought I would be!

Change Your Life Forever: 6 Secrets of the Very Fit

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Matt Posted in General Health, Self Improvement 2 Comments

It’s time to stop enviously looking at that guy or girl in the gym and telling yourself you can never be them. Or perhaps you’re reading about someone who has just completed their 10th Ironman, and you’re still struggling to get through a 5k. You think the success these individuals have is all genetics, and rationalize their superiority. Perhaps you even make excuses and use the dreaded, “at least I’m doing as best I can”. That, my friend, is a cop-out. A cop-out of epic proportions that is guaranteed to keep you from reaching your goals.

Certainly, some people are blessed with great genetics, but largely, that is NOT the case. Why are some people so fit? Why are their abdominals so defined? How can some people compete so effortlessly in long-distance races? The short (and unhelpful) answer, which is often repeated by fitness “experts” is, hard work, willpower, and determination…..

…Okay, great…thank you. That really helps. Let me go pick up some willpower and determination, and a healthy dose of hard work.

That answer does nothing for you. It doesn’t help you get into the minds of the people who are highly successful and very fit. After spending time talking with many individuals, from all walks of life, and with varying degrees of fitness abilities and body types, it was clear certain specific traits are a common denominator in those who succeed and achieve a healthy body, inside and out.

By learning to adopt the following points into your life and fitness outlook, you should begin seeing changes in your body. Unfortunately, our society is one that thrives on instant gratification; if something doesn’t bring about immediately measurable success, we are less likely to continue doing it. This leads us to our first point…

Stop using a calendar to measure success. Success should never be on timetable; everyone is different. Some will achieve that six-pack, or finally run a 6-minute mile, or any number of goals at different rates. STOP comparing yourself to other people. The very successful people learned long ago to compete against THEMSELVES. Always strive to do better, always strive to improve. Ignore fitness programs that promise total body transformations in only 30, 60, 90, etc. days. Despite what pictures they show, the overwhelming majority will NOT look like the people in their promotional materials after such a short time period. You are only setting yourself up for disappointment. I’ll say it again…learn to treat fitness as a competition against yourself.
Prepare foods in advance. It may seem strange to a lot of you, but eating clean is more important than all the miles you run and crunches you do. Cut the crap out of your diet, and do it immediately. Stop with the fast food. Stop with the frozen food. Stop with the late night bowl of sugary cereal. You know you shouldn’t be eating this. Stop rationalizing. Grill up a week’s worth of chicken breasts on Sunday. Make enough brown rice to last five servings instead of two. It isn’t hard. When you make enough food to get you through the week, you are less likely to rely on the quick crap that will destroy all the hard work you are doing. Very fit people know this and enjoy feeding their bodies with healthy foods that help them reach their goals. Food and exercise should be best friends; helping each other along the way…not fighting each other which leaves you going nowhere fast.
Stick out the times you think you are making no progress; success is just around the corner. Overcoming the desire to quit when you have been putting in so much hard work and think you’re getting no where is tough. Even the most physically fit individuals go through periods where progress slows to a trickle and/or stops completely. Keep going. The ones who look the way you want to look understand that sticking to the program and trusting the science behind what they’re doing will eventually lead to success. EVERYONE goes through periods of burnout, thinking things aren’t working, etc. This is a defining moment. Most people will quit or trail off at this point. The very fit put their heads down and power through. Simple as that.
Chart your progress. Far too many people simply go out there, run a couple of miles, lift some weights, and go home thinking they’ve done some good. If you want to be average, keep doing average workouts. If you want to be phenomenally fit and healthy, it’s time to start charting what you’re doing. This doesn’t have to be highly detailed, just make notes of weights your lifting, times your running, personal bests, etc. This feeds in to the earlier point of competing against yourself. Always strive to run that mile a little faster, add a bit of distance on your bike ride, maybe bump the weight and reach a new max. If you don’t chart, you don’t know where you are. Keep a little excel file on your computer, and take 5 minutes to fill it in once or twice a week so you have an idea of where you are.
Variety is the spice of life. Understand exercise isn’t an exact science. What works for one person may not work for another. Always be willing to adapt and try different things. Do not get stuck in a rut doing the same routine time and again. Your body will adapt and will stop responding to the effort you are putting in. Constantly be on the look out to change things up. Whether it’s the exercises you do, the weight you lift, how fast you run or bike, etc. there are thousands of ways to change things up. Changes don’t need to be huge. Just continually challenge your body (there’s that self competition thing again) and understand when things feel too comfortable, it’s time to change gears.
Fitness is a lifestyle, not something you do a few hours a week. You think the super fit got that way by working out a few hours a week? Of course not. That said, you also don’t have to run on a treadmill 10 hours a week either. Fitness is a lifestyle. Those that come to love fitness and exercise, and all that it brings, are the most successful. Varying your physical activities is the best way to achieve a healthy and fit body. Maybe one day you’re running for distance, the next your cycling sprints, the following day you’re in the pool swimming laps, then your doing a compound lift circuit. The day after that you wake up early for power yoga. Over the weekend your playing basketball and some soccer on the beach. It doesn’t matter. Find several things you like, whether its yoga, pilates, dance classes, sports, weights, etc. and incorporate them into your life. When you are doing something you like, it doesn’t seem like work. Body Diversity Training, the concept of using multiple fitness disciplines at once to transform your body, is something I developed and is at the very core of Share It Fitness’ principles. A healthy body is the greatest gift you will ever receive. Now is the time to use it and engage in all the things you won’t be able to when you are old and frail.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re 300 pounds and need to lose weight per a doctors recommendation or you’re already in great shape but want to break a plateau and finally compete in your first Ironman. The concepts listed above apply to anyone. The best part of all of this is, everything listed can be accomplished by simply changing your mindset and/or doing a few minutes of prep work each week. Neither of which are hard to change. Don’t be lazy about your diet, stop measuring yourself against others’ success, and learn to grit your teeth and bear it when things get tough. That’s all you have to do to totally transform your body and health. I really hope you take these things into consideration and actively work towards making these easy changes so you can finally reach your full potential and live the life you want.

The Food Revolution is Coming! Time to Rethink Your Diet?

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Dr. P.K. Newby Posted in General Health, Healthy Eating, Nutrition Leave a comment

Have you ever heard of Food Revolution, the tv show hosted by Jamie Oliver? Well, it’s more than just a television program, it’s a global event coming up on Saturday, May 19. For more about its mission and to see Jamie’s video call to action, click here.

Of course, I’m getting pretty excited about this “holiday” – in my own science geek-nutrition nerd-foodie kind of way – and even if May 19 is just a regular day for you, perhaps it’s a good time for you to rethink your diet. And guess what? It’s not just about weight. Even if you’re at an ideal body weight, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re eating the way you should for long-term health and longevity. Having a lean physique isn’t equivalent to being metabolically fit, either, something SIF readers know quite well. Moreover, what we eat matters for many reasons beyond your own personal health, which is one of the themes addressed on my blog, Play a Good Knife and Fork.

All that said, as a nutrition scientist with expertise in obesity and chronic disease prevention, of course the way I cook and eat is designed to maximize your own health in the tastiest way possible. So, as we sail towards the summer, I thought this would be a good time to direct you to a few of my posts from January dedicated to rethinking your diet as well as your approach to food and nutrition. The times feel rather similar in some ways, don’t they? In January, most of us make new year’s resolutions to lose weight and get in better shape. In April and May, many of us are again – or still – thinking about weight as the warmer weather and its smaller-sized clothing looms ever nearer. (So long for now, bulky sweaters and boots!) Combined with the increased summer socializing that inevitably seems to lead to more eating and drinking, now is a great time to “spring your diet into shape.” (Yeah, maybe not, but you know what I mean.)

To get started, I invite you to read the first short introductory piece in the series, Recalibrating Your Diet: Weight Loss and Beyond. This article seemed even more appropriate upon rereading it today since it has a Joss Whedon (The Avengers) reference in it, in case any of you are fans…

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You can follow Dr. Newby on her blog, Facebook, or Twitter; food porn is available on Pinterest.

Progress NOT Perfection

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Matt Posted in Health in the News, Motivation 2 Comments

In today’s world, the idea of “fit” and beauty is jammed down our throats wherever we look. Whether it’s on TV, a magazine cover, billboards, anywhere really…we see the same basic image over and over again. Size 0, 24 inch waist, 34 bust. Of course different hair color/styles, ethnicities, makeup, etc. are used to make things look different, but the physique is almost always the same. This is what advertisers, designers, and others in the media world will push upon us. Naturally, this is what people come to associate with “fit” and what is considered beautiful.

The physiques featured in media ads are near perfect proportions and reinforce the idea that to be truly beautiful, one must maintain a very similar physique. Let me first say, the majority of these “perfect” physiques you see, are computer-enhanced. Take a look at this Victoria’s Secret model here for an idea of what she looked like before photoshopping. You can plainly see she lost about 6 inches on her waist. Additionally, take a look at this candid photo of three Victoria’s Secret models on a photo shoot. This story is repeated time and time again. Even some of the best looking women on the planet (in my own humble opinion) are quite “average” looking in real life. The human body was not designed to look the way some of these models do in ads and on TV. Bodies with such an absence of fat, while maintaining the muscle mass some of them feature, is near impossible to maintain. Just because 1 out of a million are able to maintain that, doesn’t mean you will, or should be able to. As a quick aside; I consider myself a good athlete. I grew up playing sports, I work out hard, I was successful at what I did….just because I could never, and will never, be able to do this, doesn’t mean I’m a failure or not a good athlete. Same goes for you.

Now, this isn’t to say with a healthy dose of hard work and healthy eating you can’t achieve a near perfect body. There are in fact people out there who don’t require photoshop to look the way they do. I am a full believer that giving your 100% best effort, sticking to a plan, and developing a strong sense of will-power will get you where you want to be. I’ve seen the result of hard work in myself, clients, and family/friends. That said, I’ve also seen people, mainly women, put in work that would put some pro athletes to shame, eat right, do everything they are supposed to do, and STILL not lose all the body fat they wanted. You see, there is something called exercise resistant body fat. Genetically, we are all different. Some of us keep body fat in certain areas of our body, and no matter what, we cannot lose it. All the dieting and exercise in the world isn’t going to change those little pockets of fat that don’t seem to want to disappear.

The point of this is, those little pockets of fat do not define who you are, or how beautiful you may be. As you saw in the candid modeling pictures above, the majority of those models do not have six-pack abs, they are not love handle-less, (gasp!) their thighs even touch! There is absolutely nothing wrong with aiming for perfection, but to be unsatisfied with anything but, is only going to lead to burn out and discouragement. Of course, you’re going to see girls and guys out there who have those near-perfect bodies, but they are NOT the norm, nor are their bodies the result of doing a specific workout or diet. They’ve got a healthy dose of great genetics that help them look the way they do. Just think back to the Victoria Secret models the next time you are unhappy with your body. They are supposed to be the epitome of beauty, and they probably look more like you, than they do that super fit chick in the gym who’s always wearing full make up and spending more time looking at herself in the mirror than actually working out.

Moral of the story, keep working out. Keep pushing yourself. Keep making progress. You will build muscle, you will tighten up, your abs will become more defined. They may never look the way you want, or your version of “perfect”, but they will improve. Progress and making improvement is far more important than perfection. Don’t get discouraged and don’t allow mostly FAKE and airbrushed photos to influence what you think they should be looking like.

Exercise and Cancer

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Matt Posted in General Health 4 Comments

Today’s post is a guest contribution from cancer awareness advocate, David Haas. David is a regular contributor at The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog. In addition to researching the many valuable programs available to his blog’s users, David often writes about programs and campaigns underway at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, as well as creative fitness ideas for those dealing with cancer.

As many of you know, the link between exercise (or lackthereof) and cancer incidence is very strong. Any bit of information that can inspire you to start exercising, or help you improve the life of yourself or a family member dealing with cancer, is a message we want to get across. Find the time to live a fit and healthy lifestyle now, or find the time to be sick later. Simple as that.

Family Exercise Outings Benefit Cancer Patients

When a person within a family is diagnosed with cancer, the entire family is typically affected. While the cancer patient must often endure surgeries, radiation, weekly chemo treatments, or mesothelioma treatment, the family of the patient also usually experiences worry, fear, exhaustion, and feelings of frustration. It can be extremely difficult for a family to watch a loved one go through the constant rounds of treatments that are usually so vital to the recovery and remission of the person.

Financial affairs can be greatly affected if a person in a family is diagnosed with cancer. If a working parent has cancer, the loss of that person’s income can put many families into financial jeopardy. This can leave a strain on the family that can produce worry and endless sleeping nights wondering how the family will survive financially. If a child has cancer, the parents will often miss many days of work to take care of the child, oversee treatment, driving the child back and forth to the hospital and for check-ups. This also places an enormous strain on the entire family.

Exercise is rapidly becoming more and more recommended to families of people who have been diagnosed with cancer. Not only is it important for the cancer patient to obtain generous amounts of exercise throughout the week, the rest of the family can benefit from the physical exertion as well. Exercise has long since been recognized for relieving stress and providing a physical outlet that works to fight stress, anxiety, and depression.

When a family has a person within the family who has been diagnosed with cancer, it is imperative that every person continues to take good physical care of his or her body. This will provide energy that will help the family to be supportive of the cancer patient, and it will also be a tremendous benefit to the cancer patient by strengthening muscles and increasing cardiovascular health.

Working out together at a gym, going camping together, fishing together, or playing tennis together can be important and fun bonding times for families. Families who have a person diagnosed with cancer can take advantage of the numerous exercise opportunities that are available to relieve stress, get a good cardio workout, and also to spend bonding time together. Relaxing and working out together are vital to the entire family unit and promote overall good physical and emotional health for people who are struggling with the disease of cancer.

Cancer.net is an informative website that offers many helpful tips for people who have cancer and for people who have a family member that has been diagnosed with cancer. On the website, text states that emotional and physical health can be improved in cancer patients when exercise becomes a regular routine.

For more information from David on cancer and exercise, check him out here.

Slow and Steady? Forget that sHIIT…You’ve got to SPRINT!

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Matt Posted in Cardio Training, General Health Leave a comment

If you want to see real gains, add sprints and really feel the burn.

Georgia’s Controversial Childhood Obesity Ads – Necessary or Overboard?

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Matt Posted in General Health, Health in the News 4 Comments

obesity

Strong4Life is a non-profit organization created in Atlanta to address the childhood obesity epidemic that has shown no sign of slowing in the state of Georgia. About 40% of Georgia’s children are overweight, yet the majority of Georgians don’t consider childhood obesity a problem. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta designed an ad campaign to gain people’s attention and create a sense of urgency for this neglected medical crisis. The campaign was specifically intended to get parents and caregivers out of denial as 75% of parents of obese children don’t think they have a problem on their hands.

The anti-obesity ad campaign features overweight children with messages such as “Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid,” and “It’s hard to be a little girl if you’re not.” The children in the ads were made aware of the ad’s intent and of the potential backlash that could result. Maya Watson, one of the 13 year old subjects, wanted to send a good message to others out there like her, showing them they are not alone. Feedback from her peers has been positive and since the launch she has gotten help from the hospital where she has learned what small healthy changes she can make to her daily routine in order to live a healthier lifestyle.

However, not everyone believes these ads are beneficial. They have indeed gotten people talking but many do not agree with the angle that was taken. Many believe these ads are too negative and don’t help the problem as no solution is proposed. Mommy bloggers in particular are coming out to petition and put an end to the advertisements. They believe these ads cause shame, which will put a child down, not motivate them to make positive changes.

What do you think?

10 Greatest Fitness Tips of All Time

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Matt Posted in General Health 2 Comments

If you’re reading this article, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess it’s not the first fitness article you’ve ever seen. One thing you’ve probably noticed is the abundance of information everyone is throwing at you in regards to fitness. Every fitness writer on the planet has their own opinion they want to impart on you. As I’m sure you’ve found, a lot of times, information is contradicting, leaving you to guess which is the most correct. Often, people will become so overwhelmed with information, they fail to act on it at all, for fear of picking bad advice. Forget all the extraneous information for the time being. Consider the list below, your fitness Bible. These tidbits of information and widely accepted by the vast majority of fitness professionals and are KEY to helping you achieve your goals. If you make an honest committment to stick by these 10 rules, you WILL realize results. Forget the rest, stick with this list, and you’ll be good to. Now, on to the 10 golden rules of fitness…

1. Spot toning does not work. No matter what informercials or weight loss products tell you, you simply cannot spot tone that area of fat on your stomach, or legs, or arms. Fat loss is the result of a consistent and effective cardio program which causes a total loss of fat over your entire body. On a related note, doing a thousand crunches isn’t going to burn the fat on your stomach, but cardio will.

2. Vary your workouts. Whether you are doing a cardio-heavy routine, or a resistance-heavy routine, you MUST vary the exercises, weights, and manner in which you exercise. Your body grows accustomed to a specific type of stimulus after only a few weeks and progress will be diminished the longer you stick to the same thing. Add supersets, do high-intensity interval training, start swimming, go for high reps/low weight…you get the idea.

3. Protein + a simple carb is VITAL after a workout. You have a 30-45 minute window upon finishing your workout to get your protein. Your muscles are hungry for the nutrient and you can further the benefits of your workout by feeding your muscles what they crave. The addition of a simple carb to your protein shake further helps drive protein into your muscles to be sure they suck up every last drop. This meal is crucial. If you are skipping this, you are simply cutting yourself short.

4. Diet plays a bigger part in your body composition than exercise. Want to be lean, strong, and healthy? Exercise certainly plays a large part, but diet is the single most important factor it determining what your body looks like. A poor diet and a lot of exercise is going to get you no where. Give your diet the attention it deserves and properly plan healthy meals so you don’t find yourself resorting to less nutritous options.

5. Lifting legs will help you grow all over. Your legs are the largest muscle group in your body. When you lift any muscle, your body releases testosterone and other chemicals that foster muscle growth. By lifting with your legs (especially if you don’t give them much attention), you will be giving your body an instant boost of muscle-buildilng hormones that will help you develop in other areas. Pretty much a legal form of steroids…

6. Ladies, lifting weights will not make you look like a man. Women who lift weights regularly do not look like men, female body builders, etc. They look lean, long, toned, and sexy. The simple act of lifting weights will not make you big and bulky. Your bodies aren’t designed to build muscle like that. Now, if you are eating a female body builders diet and/or using unnatural supplements, that’s another story.

7. Lifting weights without proper fuel is a waste of time. Tied into the previous point, but this one is more for the guys out there. If you are going to spend the time lifting weights, mixing up your routine, and doing whatever else it takes to force muscle growth, you need to be eating properly. Muscles do not grow on their own; they need fuel. Make sure to take in extra calories when you are trying to build muscle or your muscle mass and strength will continue to plateau.

8. Compound movements are king. Compound movments, which require multiple muscle groups to complete are the foundation of any great weight training program. Deadlifts, bench press, wide-grip pullups, squats, and clean and presses are great for buildling a lean and defined body. Don’t neglect them. Find a way to include them into what you do; it is absolutely vital for your success.

9. HIIT (high-intensity interval training) will help you reach goals faster. You probably already know that cardio is neccessary to lose serious weight and tone up. But doing HIIT, i.e. jog for a minute, sprint at 100% effort for 20 seconds, repeat, is far more effective at building your cardiovascular ability AND helping you burn calories. HIIT shocks your body in a way that a static 5mph jog never could. As an added benefit, it’ll help you cut down on the time spent in the gym.

10. Building a lean, athletic build and becomign fit doesn’t require a gym. Contrary to what gyms want you to believe, you don’t NEED to be a member of a gym to get fit. Certainly they have their benefits, but if you simply can’t afford it, or don’t have the time, or whatever the reason, do NOT give up. There are so many great exercises and routines you can do with next to no equipment, being in a gym is not a requirement so many make it out to be. A well-designed at home program will get you exactly where you need to be.

This list certianly isn’t comprehensive, and I’m sure others will wonder why I didn’t add this or that. The point is though, if you take away only 10 things from all the fitness bloggers, writers, etc. that you read…let these 10 be the ones that make the biggest impression. Understand them, know them, and follow them, and you’ll find yourself making gains you never thought were possible.

Slim up for Winter! Yes you read that correctly…

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Matt Posted in General Health Leave a comment

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So here we are, the holiday season upon us yet again. We just got through Thanksgiving in one piece and are now spending the next several weeks looking ahead to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever else gives us reason to celebrate. Time off work, lots of eating, gifts, drunken holiday parties; things are looking up. But see, that is the problem with winter. It starts off with such a bang, lifts our spirits, and then once January 2nd hits…..back to reality.

Depending on where you live, you’re looking at a solid 3, 4, or even 5 months of cold weather, grey skies, rain and/or snow. (Unless of course you’re like me and living in Southern California…although I will still find reason to complain about being cold whenever the temperature dips below 60).

I’ll be perfectly honest with you; going to the gym after getting home from work at 5:30, when it’s pitch black out, rainy, and 35 degrees, flat-out sucks. There’s no way around it. It’s saps your motivation, it’s uncomfortable, and at the risk of being over dramatic, it’s horrible.

Love handles everywhere rejoice. They live to see another day.

What’s even worse, the majority of you did so well over the spring, summer, and fall. You exercised regularly, ate better, and started to see progress. Winter hits, and unfortunately for so many people, it’s like hitting a reset button. All the progress slowly vanishes and you’re essentially back to where you started from last year. It’s an endless cycle of one step forward, one step backward.

So we’re faced with a dilemma…do we brave the cold, miserable weather and force ourselves to do something we reallllly don’t want to do, or pull our best Yogi the Bear impersonation, fatten up, and hibernate all winter? Neither option seems all that enjoyable….but what if there was a third option?

Let me get one very common misconception out of your head right now; you do NOT need a gym to lose weight, build muscle, stay healthy, etc. What if you could continue to see the progress you saw all summer, without ever leaving your home? That was rhetorical; we both know that would be awesome.

In home workouts have been shown time and time again to be just as, if not more effective than spending time in a gym. All you need is an effective in home workout program to follow along with and getting your exercise during those long, cold, winter days is easier than ever. The biggest challenge here is finding an effective workout program so you aren’t simply spinning your wheels all winter. Try staying away from the countless sites giving you a workout plan consisting of a laundry list of exercises to perform in order. Honestly, what could be more boring than that? It’s a chore having to get through them. Some may try to spruce up their plans by giving you a quick video clip for each exercise. Oh my God, really? A 10 second clip showing me each movement on the laundry list you provided me? Where do I sign up..? Get real. Worse yet, those in-home pieces of exercise equipment. For the love of God, please stay away from things like this.

Let me paint a picture for you for a minute. You get home from work. Change out of those uncomfortable work clothes. Start dinner. Move into the living room. Fire up your exercise class on your laptop or TV. While dinner is cooking you spend 30-45 minutes taking an exercise class that leaves you dripping in sweat. Exercise for the day complete.

You didn’t have to leave your warm, cozy home to brave the bitter cold. You didn’t waste time driving around town. You were able to kill two birds with one stone by getting your workout in while dinner cooked. You’ve saved time and you’ve put the love handles on warning; this winter things will be different!

The best programs are the ones that allow you to actively follow along with your instructor. This has been the mantra I’ve followed since day 1. When your instructor on the TV is doing burpees, you’re doing burpees. When your instructor is doing lunges into dumbbell curls, so are you. When your instructor breaks, you break. By working out in this format, there is little left to chance. There is nothing for you to think about. The program you follow along with (if it’s a good one) has been designed with a goal in mind. What’s more, (and if it’s a REALLY good one), it brings you closer to meeting that goal.

Open your mind to other formats of fitness. Fitness is NOT about having to be in a gym everyday to see progress. Fitness is NOT about a laundry list of items to complete each day. Fitness is about actively engaging your body through the use of a wide variety of exercises and workouts (see: Body Diversity Training). As long as you have a well-designed program, it is much more likely you will realize success. This winter, while you’re sitting around at home feeling guilty because you skipped the gym, but not guilty enough to overcome your desire to stay put, consider giving in home workouts a try.

If all this has left you more confused about where to turn now, feel free to leave a comment or shoot us an email. We’ll be more than happy to help you find an in-home program that works best for you.