Strength Training Or Cardio…Which Shall I Do First???

A question commonly asked by my personal training clients is which should I do first…weights or cardio? With such diversity, different lifestyles, goals, and body types, there isn’t one universal prescription for everyone. However, in most cases I recommend you begin your workout with weights and strength training in order to get the most benefit from your time in the gym.  And these are the reasons why.

To achieve optimum results and fat loss, your body needs to utilize your stored fat as fuel. In order to do this, you must burn off your glycogen stores first(your body will always preferentially use glycogen for energy before using stored body fat). When you weight-train, your body preferentially uses glycogen as fuel. By doing weight-training first, you can burn the majority of your glycogen stores, then by the time you get to the treadmill or cardio machine of your choice,  your body will be primed to use stored body fat for energy. Another reason to do weight training before cardio is your body continues to burn calories up to 48 hours after an intense weight training session. The reason for this is your body needs energy to rebuild the muscle fibers that were broken down during strength training, which occurs at a much higher rate after intense weight-training than after cardiovascular training; that’s why it’s important not to ignore weight training and put all your effort into your cardio like many women do.

Now let’s just say you decided to do your cardio before lifting. Your muscle glycogen, the energy your body would preferentially use for strength training, gets used up during your cardio session.  Then you finish your cardio and start your workout and find out that you feel weak and do not have the strength to lift your usual poundages. And we all know, the more muscle mass you carry, the more calories and fat you burn in general. That means more calories burned, not just in the gym, but after your cool-down, too. Knocking out your cardio after strength training will burn more fat! 

For more information on the most effective way to spend your time in the gym, how to lose body fat, how to build muscle, or if you’re frustrated with your current level of fitness and have been thinking about hiring a personal trainer, contact us.

3 Reasons Women Should Strength Train

If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “I don’t want to build bulky muscles” from one of my female personal training clients, I would be richer than Donald Trump. If you avoid incorporating weights into your workout regimen because you’re afraid of getting “bulky,” then you’re dismissing one of the best fat-burning methods around.

Many women believe that the only way to lose weight and burn fat is to do cardio. Cardiovascular exercise is important for good health, but it’s only a small part of the equation No disrespect to cardio, but if you want to blast fat, and get in the best shape ever, strength training is the way to go.

• Blast More Fat…..Burn More Calories

“I don’t want to be bulky or add size.” Many women won’t even consider weightlifting for they believe it to be a means to add size. When compared to cardiovascular exercise, strength training comes out on top in the battle to burn calories and stored fat and not just through the duration of your strength training session but long after. Simple muscle contractions from a simple blink of an eye to a heavy squat contribute to how many calories you burn in a given day. The more muscle contractions you experience during a day, the more calories you’ll torch. Carrying more lean muscle mass results in muscle contractions and thus more calories burned.

2.  Improved Bone Health!

As we grow older and wiser, losing both bone and muscle mass puts us at risk for osteoporosis. This raises a higher concern for women due to the fact that the body no longer secretes the same amount of estrogen. Strength training is an excellent way to defeat the loss of bone mass, which then decreases the risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis and osteopenia are becoming more and more common in females of all ages, which can likely be attributed to physical inactivity and a lack of load-bearing exercises. Low bone mass is a major risk factor for fractures in females, and one of the most effective ways to reverse degeneration of bones is to consistently train with weights; So ladies, time to revamp your plan and lift some weights!!!

3. Healthy Heart, Increased Insulin Sensitivity

The most important muscle in our body…..the heart! Most of my female personal training clients assume that cardio is the most effective way to train the heart and improve those blood lipid profiles. Cardio is important. However, combining cardio with weight training actually has been shown to be much more effective. Not only does incorporating strength training into your workout regimen reduce the bad cholesterol (LDL), it elevates the levels of good cholesterol. Last but not least, strength training is one of the most effective ways to increase insulin sensitivity. This means your body efficiently at utilizes carbohydrates for energy and assists the muscle-building process, as opposed to storing them and then being converted to fat.

For more information on the benefits of strength training or if you’re looking to improve your body fat composition, lose weight, build strength, or if you’re frustrated with your current level of fitness and looking to hire a personal trainer, contact us.

3 Reasons You Are NOT Losing Weight

With summer quickly approaching, many of you are looking to drop a few pounds and get into better shape. Maybe you want to get into that two piece bikini, or wear that pair of shorts you bought a year ago but have always been too insecure to wear, or maybe you want to break out that fitted tank top you recently bought.  Whatever your motivation, we all have a reason to follow our diet and keep up with our strength training and cardio routine .  However, all too often I see individuals who become frustrated with their weight loss process due to the fact that they are not seeing the expected results. You too may be making one of the following mistakes that brings your weight loss to a halt, impedes your progress, and may even lead to weight gain.

• You are taking your calories too low. The calories you consume are utilized as a source of energy. Energy then maintains body functions and sustains physical activity. When the amount of calories eaten is lower than the amount of calories burned, the extra energy is drawn from stored fat. When your body burns 3,500 calories from stored fat, the result is a weight loss of 1 pound. With this being said, reducing your caloric intake will lead to weight loss. However, cutting your calories too low will slow down your metabolism. Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. A lower metabolism results in a decrease in the amount of calories burned. Why does this happen? Your body senses that it may be in starvation mode and begins to conserve energy by slowing down your body’s processes. Be careful not to go too low!!!
• You are eating too much. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight, which is one of the major effects of consuming more calories than what your body needs. Although calories are necessary for providing energy for the body, if you do not engage in physical activity to burn more calories than you take in, the energy is stored in the body as fat. Although healthy eating doesn’t require you to constantly count calories, consuming excess calories can lead to serious health issues. According to the American Dietetic Association, consuming 100 extra calories a day can cause you to gain 10 extra pounds each year. There has to be a happy median and because the number of calories differs for each individual, seeking assistance from a professional will tip the scale in the desired direction.
• Many individuals who are trying to lose weight fail to implement an exercise “routine”. When just beginning, the motivation is there. However, excuses have a tendency to find their way in and it becomes just a good intention. Following a well-balanced meal plan combined with an exercise “routine” both play a significant role in your weight loss success. You can’t do one without the other. Even if you eat a steady, healthy diet with the same amount of calories day in and day out (no significant changes), your waistline may still expand if you don’t move much. Also, if you’re not building muscle to boost your metabolism and burn calories even when you’re at rest, then you will find yourself becoming frustrated with the lack of results you see. People who don’t exercise cannot become physically fit.  It’s the exercise that stimulates change.

Eating too little, overeating, and lack of exercise are obvious reasons that you may not be losing weight. However, not having the right combination of all aspects can impede your progress and lead to frustration as you fight to tip the scale in the right direction. As individuals, we all have different body types, habits, and needs, therefore we must adjust accordingly. To get the best results possible from your diet and workout regimen, get more training tips, or if you’re frustrated with your current level of fitness and are looking for a personal trainer, contact us.

3 Reasons You May Not Be Building Muscle

Are you one of those people that has been investing long hours in the gym for what seems like very little return on your investment? Well, you are not alone. Most people have a hard time understanding the concept of building muscle and therefore struggle to build muscle. They follow the more is better mentality and do set after set of endless exercises to mimic what their fitness idols in the magazines are doing.  What they fail to realize is that their fitness idol in the magazine may not necessarily be doing the workout that was printed, or that their fitness idol may be using substances that increase their muscle recovery ability.  If you are one of those people that are frustrated with the subpar results you have been getting from your workouts, read on to find out if you’ve been making one of these mistakes.

• Training too Many Days in A Row.

Fail to see the gains when you over-train! We are a society with a “more is better” attitude. More time, more money, more luxury, more, more, more! However, when aiming to build MORE muscle, one of the reasons athletes fail to build the physique they desire is too much time in the gym! When scheduling my personal training clients, I often hear, “I want to work out 4 or 5 times a week.” It is then I begin to explain that every time we train, we are breaking down muscle fibers, which then need time to recover, rebuild, and grow. Training too many days in a row does not give the body time to repair the micro trauma that occurs within muscles during training. This is not only applicable to our muscles, but our central nervous system as well. The body must restore hormonal and neurotransmitter-balance, reboot the immune system, and clear free radicals from the body. Implement those rest days into your schedule!

• Extended Workouts!

The duration of your workouts should last no longer than 60-75 minutes. When I question my personal training clients about the duration of their workouts, I frequently hear, “I spend an 1.5 hours to 2 hours in the gym.” More is less in this case. There is scientific evidence that after 60 to 75 minutes of intense weight training, testosterone levels begin to diminish and cortisol levels begin to rise dramatically. Thus impeding the body from reaching a growth inducing state once the workout has ended. Furthermore, there is no reason any workout should surpass 75 minutes. If you are about building that muscle, get in the gym, do what you have to, and get out.

• Fail To Follow A Well Balanced Nutrition Plan!

Building muscle is more than just lifting and time spent in the gym. 50% of success depends on the nutrition aspect of your plan. With a well-balanced meal plan that incorporates protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and fiber, you can expect to make serious gains and build lean muscle mass. The more serious your gains will be with dedication and discipline to a balanced nutrition plan. In fact, if you research literature on weightlifting, you’d quickly learn that both nutrition and proper training is imperative in reaching those fitness goals.

Spending too much time in the gym, not giving your muscles enough time to recover between workouts, and improper nutrition are three of the main reasons you may have reached a sticking point in your quest to build more muscle. However, due to our diverse fitness goals, an individualized plan that is created specifically for you and your body will ensure maximum results. For more information on obtaining an individualized plan to help you get maximum results, lose weight, build strength, or if you’re frustrated with your current level of fitness and looking to hire a personal trainer, contact us.

“SPOT REDUCTION”

Many of my personal training clients have come to me and expressed that they want to lose a few extra pounds from certain areas of their bodies like their stomach, thighs, and arms, but would like to keep weight on other areas like their breast or their buttocks. Unfortunately, this way of thinking will lead to disappointment and little, if any, success.  There is no such thing as spot reduction.  When you lose body fat, you lose from the entire body.  Your genetics determine which area of your body loses fat the easiest and which areas are the most stubborn.

Our genetics are responsible for many things, how tall we are, the color of our eyes, the potential size of our muscles, the number of fat cells we’re born with, and where those fat cells are located.  We’re all born with a certain number of fat cells.  Our fat cells don’t multiply, they just expand when you follow an unhealthy diet.  Then, if your fat cells have expanded and you change your eating habits and incorporate some exercise your fat cells shrink back down.  Just like you can’t change the number of fat cells you’re born with, you can’t change where those fat cells are located.

So if you’re born with an abundance of fat cells on your stomach or your inner thighs and a lot less fat cells in other areas of your body, when you eat bad you’re going to notice the areas with the most fat cells.  If you notice your belly or your triceps have gotten especially flabby compared to the rest of your body, just know that you were genetically predisposed to carry more fat cells in those particular areas.  Now you can still lose the fat in those stubborn areas, but it’s just going to take longer because there are more cells to shrink.  So if you have an area of the body that seems to be particularly stubborn to losing fat, just know you have to be patient.

Exercise, follow a healthy diet, and stay consistent.  Set small attainable goals weekly and make sure you achieve them.  Stay focussed!  Don’t let anything or anyone get in the way of you achieving your goals.

For more information on weight loss, strength training, and eating healthy, or if you’re frustrated with your current level of fitness and looking to hire a personal trainer, contact us.

Importance of Diet and Cardio

The other day one of our personal training clients called and told me he was thinking about discontinuing working out with us and instead taking up kickboxing.  His reasoning was that although his muscles had increased in size and that he was looking and feeling better, his waistline hadn’t slimmed down much.  Now keep in mind this particular client wasn’t doing any of the cardio that was prescribed for him; and his idea of following a diet was going to a restaurant and ordering a burger minus the bun.  Not to mention all the scotch and bourbon he would enjoy when he would go out of town every other weekend.  My point is,  weight training alone is not going to get the job done when you’re trying to significantly reduce your body fat.  You have to incorporate some form of diet and cardio to help you attain that lean physique.

A good diet consisting of a variety of lean proteins, low glycemic carbohydrates, and poly/monounsaturated fats is what is needed to lower your body fat percentage.  Eating foods like this are going to help create a favorable hormonal balance in your body to get into fat burning mode.  Once your body is in the fat burning mode, you actually have to burn the fat by creating a caloric deficit.  And how do we create a caloric deficit in the body?  By doing cardio.

Running, biking, swimming, and hiking are all some very good forms of cardio.  Cardio doesn’t have to be boring.  You can go out and play a game of basketball, or do some jumping rope.  All you’re trying to do is work up a sweat and burn some extra calories.  And in the instance the weather is bad, or it’s too cold outside, refer to our training tip on 4 exercises you can do at home.

So if you’ve been weight training and don’t feel you’re getting the results you’re after, try adding a good diet and a bit of cardio to your program.  I’ll bet you’ll be pleased with the results.  For more information on nutrition, strength training, losing fat, building muscle, or if you’re not happy with your current level of fitness and are looking to hire a personal trainer, contact us.

Can You Actually Eat Bread and Lose Weight?

Recently Oprah has been in the news talking about how she has been able to eat bread every day and still lose weight.  Is it really possible for someone to eat bread on a daily basis and lose weight? The answer is YES!!! Truth of the matter is: a carb is a carb. Therefore, whether you consume bread, rice cakes, or oatmeal, the body will convert every carbohydrate into its best usable source of energy, which is known as glucose.  I could never understand why so many people cut bread out of their diets in pursuit of weight loss.  I incorporate bread in many of my personal training clients’ diets with very successful results.

Carbohydrates are found in fruit, vegetables, grains (yes bread), and other starches. Carbohydrates are a main source of energy for the body; they can be metabolized fast or slow depending on your individual needs. Here’s how it works, during digestion carbs travel through the small intestine. They then get further broken down into single carbohydrate units known as monosaccharides. These single molecules get absorbed across the intestinal wall and are sent through the blood stream. Carbohydrates in the blood are in the form of a monosaccharide called glucose(blood sugar). That blood sugar can now be used for either slow or faster burning energy. For instance, during high intense, short exercise blood sugar can give energy to muscle cells through anaerobic(without oxygen) pathways. For longer duration, steady state cardio, blood sugar can be broken down through aerobic(with oxygen) pathways.

A diet that provides sufficient amounts of carbohydrates keeps your blood sugars steady and prevent your muscles from entering a catabolic state. Carbohydrates are an essential part of a healthy diet because your body converts them to glucose and your body runs on glucose. Some perfectly healthful foods such as carrots, potatoes, bread, and apples should be part of your balanced diet. Consuming such carbohydrates will fuel the body and provide you with the energy that is needed to get you through those intense workouts, which will in turn get those results that you are aiming for.

For more information on a well-balanced diet, consuming the right number of calories for your specific needs, getting in shape, and losing weight, contact us.