Friday Fitness Challenge

Happy Friday everyone!  It's time for another Friday Fitness Challenge.  Feel free to share this with your friends and family so they can get in on the fun as well.  :)  I'll also be sharing the workouts I do on a daily basis on both Twitter and Instagram, which you can follow my by just clicking on the icons to the right on my site, if you're just looking for new exercises or ideas to add to your routines. Have a great rest of your Friday and an even better workout! :)

- Mike

- 25 jumping jacks
- 10 overhead dumbbell split squats (10 each leg) If you don't have dumbbells, a stack of books held over your head will work.
- 1 min. plank
- 10 bird dogs (each side)
- 10 pushups
- 20 Russian twists (left, then right = 1 rep)
- 10 chair dips
- 20 chair step ups w/knee raise (alternate legs each time you step up)
- 15 burpees
- 45 sec. side plank (each side)
Rest. Repeat 2-3 more times.

Weight Loss: Time frame and Realistic Expectations

Hello everyone! Many people have set some new year’s resolutions and one of the common resolutions topping that list is to lose weight. Unfortunately some of those people give up on that resolution to lose weight because they don’t see results fast enough. It takes time to see visible changes in your body…you didn’t go from fit to fat in a period of a few days or even a few weeks, right?

According to the American Council on Exercise, your resting metabolic rate and level of physical activity are the two biggest contributors to how many calories you need per day. When trying to lose weight, you can either burn up those extra pounds through calorie reduction or increased physical activity. Many of you probably already know that, but something you may not have thought of is there’s a third component: perseverance. When you don’t see immediate results you have to be willing to stick to your plan. Weight loss is a slow, steady process that involves making permanent changes to the way you live your life.

The three factors that determine how many calories you expend during exercise are the frequency at which you work out, how long you exercise and the intensity of the physical activity. A person who weighs 145 lbs. burns roughly 350 calories during a 50 minute, moderately intense aerobic class. On the other hand, a person who weighs 180 lbs. burns around 440. If both of them were to attend this class five days a week, they would burn 1,750 and 2,200 calories, respectively. After two weeks, the 145 lb. individual would lose around 1 lb., while the 180 lb. person could lose 1.25 lbs. from exercise alone. High-intensity exercise burns more calories per minute. For example, that same 145-lbs. individual burns roughly 350 calories running for 40 minutes at a pace of 5 mph, but only burns 88 calories if walking at a normal pace for that same 40 minutes.

The length of time it takes for you to see noticeable results from your exercise plan depends on your willingness to commit to it and stick with it for the long haul…your perseverance. Most medical professionals say the recommended standard for weight loss is 1 to 2 lbs. each week. Shave off 250 calories per day from your diet every day and burn another 250 calories per day through exercise and you will have a 1 lb. weight loss for that week. You might not be ready to rush out and buy those smaller size jeans you’ve had your eye on after a week or two, but if you work hard toward your goal, you can reach it!

- Mike

Weight Loss - Lifestyle Change vs Instant Gratification

For those who have weight to lose, it’s normal to want to find a less painful or easy way to lose weight.  Everywhere  you look there are TV commercials, weight loss pills, fad diets and with the combination of these and the increase of our society’s high priority on personal fitness, it’s only a matter of time before we purchase these goods or services. 

The word diet implies a short term binge of eating right can correct our weight problems.  People feel that if they do this diet for a month or so, they will lose the weight and then carry on with their life.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.  When looking to lose weight and keep it off, not only do you need to change the foods you consume, but you need to change your mentality.

There’s no diet or exercise machine that is going to instantly transform you without you putting in the effort.  This is the notion of instant gratification.  Just because you own the latest and fanciest piece of equipment you just ordered off some infomercial and decide to use it for 5 minutes a day, 3 days a week, doesn’t mean you’re going to see dramatic changes to your body.  This doesn’t mean that this piece of equipment is not effective either, it simply means that regardless of which machine, or which diet you undertake, you are going to need to put in some effort.  Something we need to come to grips with before we even begin is that discipline and hard work are essential to any weight loss program.

When the time comes to choose the diet you wish, choose the one that you can maintain for an extended period of time.  Don’t be unrealistic, like skipping certain foods or living on soup, because your decision to lose weight is not simply for the fact of getting through a few weeks of terrible foods, but it’s a choice of changing your habits pertaining to food consumption.  Diets that pay attention to providing the body with the nutrients it needs while reducing the ones that lead to weight gain, make the most sense.   When it comes to losing weight permanently, it’s best you choose a lifestyle of healthy eating and regular exercise than a trendy diet you can never hope to maintain.