Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Kansas City Fitness Boot Camp Gives Tips For the Freshman 15

We rolled through April, and May is just flying by…

Which means seniors in high school are knees-deep in the senior slump that typifies the last semester before graduation.

But, what they (and their parents) should be most concerned about is fighting the scary trend of gaining 15+ lbs their freshman year in college.

Photobucket

My trainer Jack has one more year left of high school and then, off to college. I don’t worry about him so much because he has finally made fitness a part of his life and not just a chore.

Seriously, they might soon start calling it the FRESHMAN 50 if someone doesn’t step in right NOW and educate our youngsters about proper training and sound nutrition.

As someone who is only 6 years removed from college, I know firsthand how important this info is and I wish someone shared it with me before I graduated high school.

I was still working out, but I gained 19 lbs in my freshman year at Iowa, eating Ramen Noodles and peanut butter sandwiches.

This is also vital knowledge to pass on to anyone who goes through ups and downs with their daily, monthly, and yearly lives.

Photobucket

Before I share my top 10 tips to fight this trend, let’s first identify why this is important, beyond the obvious health benefits:

1.) Perception is Reality: Studies show that leaner, more attractive people are more employable and earn higher wages- it’s a fact! If you want a fighting chance of getting and keeping a job, in addition to climbing the corporate ladder, you simply cannot overlook your personal appearance and presentation.

2.) Build a Recession-Proof Body: Whenever the economy is struggling and companies are forced to tighten up their budgets, they’ll “trim the fat” from their employee base (both literally and figuratively). If it comes down to two people with equal skills, the leaner, healthier employee will always win!

I hate politics so let’s get on with the good stuff, let’s get to the meat and potatoes baby, here it is:

The Top 10 Tips to Fight the Freshman 15

SEXY TIP#1- Invest in a Whole Body Workout

Perform a five-exercise circuit employing body weight-based exercises that’s designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core within the same workout at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts

- Alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each a double-leg (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank/bridge) exercise.

- Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout that you can do anywhere.

Photobucket

SEXY TIP #2- Harness the Power of Intervals

-Interval training is scientifically proven to burn nine times more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 24-48 hours following your workout. Did you read that? 24-48 hours post-workout!!

-Perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes.

-This routine works best on a stationary bike or stairmaster, for indoor/outdoor running, or for body weight cardio exercises that you can do at home like running in place or jumping jacks.

SEXY TIP#3- Eat AND Hydrate Early and Often

- Eat immediately upon waking and then every two to four hours to starve fat and feed muscle.

- By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating some animal protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) at every feeding, you'll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.

- Drink 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours, in addition to drinking 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of activity.

- Consume 3 servings of green tea per day.

SEXY TIP#4- Think Fiber When it Comes to Carbs

-Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals (avoid corn, peas, carrots, beets, and potatoes – not much nutritional value or too much starchy carbs)

-For optimal fat-burning, try to limit fruit and other carbohydrate consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.

- The Carb Reduction Blueprint: (Follow each step)

Step#1- Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars

Step#2- Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast

Step#3- Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies

Step#4- Replace all fruits with green veggies

Photobucket

SEXY TIP#5- Focus on Stabilization Exercise for Flat Abs

-Integrated total body training and sound nutrition is the key to burning the fat covering your abdominal muscles so you can “see” them- spot reduction doesn’t work! Did you hear me? Spot reduction does NOT work.

- Plank or pillar stabilization, both static and dynamic, is the key to developing rock hard abs, preventing injuries, and improving posture- NOT endless crunches and sit-ups!

- The plank collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, foundational to all movement.

-For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight plank position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders.

SEXY TIP#6- Be a Flexible Eater

-Allot yourself 1 or 2 “reward meals” per week where you can enjoy the indulgences of college life in MODERATION as needed! Like I say in class, I want 90% compliancy and 10% “not-so compliant”.

-Be sure to plan your reward meals in advance based on your weekly schedule and be sure to earn them with compliance at all other times!

SEXY TIP#7- Take These 2 daily Supplements for Life

- Daily Multi-Vitamin for Your Gender

- Daily EFA/Fish Oil Supplement

For more info, visit: Sexy Back Prograde Products

Photobucket

SEXY TIP#8- If you Booze, you WON’T Lose!

-How much damage? A 12-ounce beer contains about 0.6 ounces of alcohol. If you consumed 5 of these, your body would be inhibited from fat burning for up to 6 hours. This is aside from the fact that your body will actually be storing fat during these 6 hours! The more you drink, the longer your body is inhibited from burning fat in addition to a greater fat build up from excess acetyl-CoA. As you can see, one day of binge drinking can set you back days if not a full week when it comes to fat loss!

-What’s the worst-case scenario? Mixing alcohol with sugary beverages promotes even further fat gain due to the resulting insulin surge that triggers fat storage (e.g. regular beer or cocktails mixed with regular soda and/or fruit juice)

The Bottom Line

If you want to be lean, you must minimize ALCOHOL consumption!

If you must drink:

a.) Choose wine or hard liquor and “light” beer
b.) Limit alcohol consumption to 1-2 days per week with a 1-2 drink per day max

SEXY TIP#9- Sleep, Stretch, and Self-Massage

- Sleep: Get at least 6-7 hours (ideally 7-8) of restful sleep per night and take 1-2 hour naps to fill in the gaps. Establish a pre-bed routine and avoid caffeine after 2 pm.

- Stretch: Ideally perform Dynamic Stretching to preferentially mobilize joints BEFORE exercise and perform Static Stretching to preferentially lengthen muscles AFTER exercise

- Self-Massage: Spend at least 30-60 seconds massaging sore and tight areas of the body before and after you exercise to regenerate your muscle and connective tissue in order to prevent nagging aches and pains in the joints

SEXY TIP#10- Build-Your-Own Dorm Room Gym

Mandatory Items (less than $100):
- Foam Roller
- Tennis Ball
- Hex Dumbbells
- Resistance Bands (www.resistancebandtraining.com)

Premium Set-up (less than $200):
- All of the above
- Door/Wall-Mounted Pull-up Unit
- Stability Ball

For a great website for fitness equipment, visit www.performbetter.com

It is my sincere hope to you either use and/or pass on these 10 simple strategies to secure yourself a future filled with health, happiness, and longevity.

Twork it out!

Kri

Labels: , , , , , ,

Monday, May 11, 2009

Making It Happen - Campers of the Week

When I was in college and even after college, I loved to party and for me, that meant drinking tons of alcohol, all the time. Along with alcohol, came lots of junk food. That was five to ten years ago and luckily I was in sports and very active every single day or otherwise, I would’ve put on tons of fat like my peers. They talk about the freshmen fifteen, well my cousin Pin put on 30 lbs. My friend Grant put on 75 lbs his freshmen year!! Holy crap!! Later this week, I will give you some tips on how to mix it all up and combine not-so healthy nutrition choices and exercise to still drop the fat and not gain that freshmen fifteen.

Last week, I noticed a change in two boot campers that stood out. It was tough to choose, so I went with both. They are great ladies and great boot campers that are kicking ass and making things happen. They won’t take NO for an answer and gave their all, plus some. They each have won $25 gift cards to the best salon in Kansas City, Bolero Salon and Spa in Independence – The Official Salon of the Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleaders and are last week’s Campers of the Week!!

Bolero Salon

Congrats to Kelly Thurber for winning Camper of the Week. Even with a busted head awhile back, she still came back to class and fought through it. She ran TWO 5K’s this past weekend!! If you don’t know, they’re 3.1 miles each!! The Truman Run and The Mother’s Day Run. Two other campers also ran both events. I will post pics from the runs later on this week, along with the Trolley Run from two weekends ago. Kelly also did not miss any classes plus she usually stays for the six and the seven pm classes. Thank you Kelly for being a great example and leader of the class.

Also, congrats to Joanna Farris for winning Bridal Camper of the Week. She is the party girl that loves going out and having fun but also wants to be healthy and feel good. She did not miss a single day (which is not normal) and that deserved recognition. She complains here and there (I’m just picking on you) but she still gives her all. Thank you Joanna for taking charge and improving every week.

Read what they have to say below by click on their names or scrolling down:

1. Kelly Thurber

2. Joanna Farris

Camper of the Week

Kelly Thurber – 5/10/09

Photobucket

1. How has Sexy Back Boot Camps changed you, mentally, emotionally, physically, or spiritually? At work, at home, with family and friends?

Sexy Back Boot Camps had changed me in all the categories, but especially emotionally and mentally. Because I can SEE the physical changes in my body, I am a much more up-beat and happier person at home and work.

2. What were or are your short-term goals (one week or one month) and long-term goals (12 weeks or 6 months or one year)?

• My short-term goals: I have registered to run a 5K on June 6, 2009; I want to run under a 12-minute mile.
• My long-term goals: I have participated in three 5K runs in the last two months, I would like to participate in a half to whole marathon in one year.

3. Toughest challenges - how do you keep your focus because it's so easy to let other factors distract your focus?

It's funny you ask about challenges and keeping focus, I have been really distracted the last two weeks, I mean I have a grandson that I had NO idea was coming. But, I find that working-out means that I can focus on ME for just a little bit before going back to the craziness. (It's ME TIME, and I need that)

4. Least favorite exercise:

If I have to pick a least favorite exercise, I guess it might be the ones that involve "jumping".

5. Favorite exercise:

I would have to say that my favorite exercises are the real challenging ones, like at the end of class because I am so tired, they challenge me the most.

6. What keeps you coming back to the classes?

What keeps me coming back to class, that’s easy, Kri and the ladies that I have met and formed friendships with.

Please leave a comment below for Kelly.

Labels: , , , , , , ,