Now is the Time to Set Your 2015 Goals

Most people wait until after the New Year to set their fitness goals.  Instead of waiting, set your goals and create a plan this week so you can get going on your fitness right away on January 1st.

 

When setting your goals include the following:

• Long term goal or goals (2-5 years)
• Yearly goal or goals
• Quarterly goal or goals (3-4/year)
• Monthly goal or goals (12/year)
• Weekly goal or goals
• Daily goal or goals

Taking time to do the above is the first step that most people either don't do.  This is one main reason why most people don't reach thier New Years goals. 

Don't be one of them.

P.S. Merry Christmas!

"No" The Most Powerful Word You Can Use in December

December is the time of the year where people really let thier health and fitness deteriorate.  This makes achieving New Years Resolution goals like fat loss much harder.

A simple way to avoid this trap is by saying the word "No" more often.  This is ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT for mothers.

Mothers are often extra stressed this time of the year because they take on additional commitments they don't have time for.  By simply saying "No" to some of these you will have more time for yourself and will be less stressed as a result.  

An example to use going forward is "No, I cannot help you with that because I have other commitments I need to take care of."  This can go a long way to de-stressing you.

If it is too late and you can't get out of certain commitments already scheduled, make a list of everything you said "Yes" to with good intentions but would have been better of leaving them of your plate in the last year.  In 2015 remember these, when they happened and "Just Say No."

Even though you may think otherwise the world will go on and you will be healthier and happier as a result!

Q & A With Corey: End Holiday Drinking Hangovers

Question:  How can I reduce hangovers from drinking at social events during the holidays?

Answer:  Here are some tips to help you with that.  You don't have to do them all but the more you can do the better.  At the very least do the first two.

1. Have 16-24 oz of water as soon as you get home.  If you can work up to a liter, that is better.
2. Add an electrolyte capsule to the water such as Nuun.
3. Take 2-3 Omega-3 capsules with the water.
4. Take 2-4 Rebound capsules with the water.

Enjoy Thanksgiving this year!

Avoid Thanksgiving Weight Gain This Year

A simple way to avoid Thanksgiving weight gain is to do one or more of the following tips:

1. Eat the Turkey and Green vegetables first.
2. Try to chew 20-30 times with eat bite.
3. Drink 8-16 oz of water right before you eat your meal.
4. Take 3-6 high-quality Omega-3 capsules prior to the meal.

By doing steps 1-2 you won't eat as much because you will get full faster.  

Steps 3-4 will help lower cravings.

Following one or more of these steps will help you avoid gaining weight during this holiday while still being able to enjoy the food that comes with it.  

Enjoy Thanksgiving this year and stay healthy and fit!

A Simple Tip to Avoid Hoilday Weight Gain

Many people gain a few pounds over the holidays.  

I have heard of national news papers doing surveys that say the average American gains 7-8 pounds over the holidays, while published university studies usually show 1-2 pounds gained.  

Either way holiday weight gain is common between Halloween and New Years.

A simple way to avoid this is to get a Metabolic Test done a health club or clinical setting.  Once it is done, focus on spending 80% of your weekly training time within five beats above or below your Aerobic Base heart rate.

I have found performing cardio at this heart rate during the holiday season reduces cravings making it easier to say "No Thanks" when people offer you cookies, crackers or chips.

Eating less processed carbs leads to less weight gain or even weight loss which is a good thing over the holidays.

Strictly Strength Workout 10/30/14

Here is the workout from the Strictly Strength class done at Eden Prarie Athletic Club on October 30th.  This workout featured Tri-Sets (Three exercises in a row for the same muscle group).  Since this is a group fitness class I do three upper body exercises done consecutively followed by three lower body exercises for a six exercise circuit.

The workout is below.  Do each exercise for 15-20 reps for 2-3 sets.  For video descriptions for most of the exercises go to my YouTube Channel.

-A:  Dynamic Warm-Up/Movement Prep

-B1:  Push-Ups
-B2:  Flat Dumbbell Flyes
-B3:  Flat Dumbbell Chest Press
-B4:  Dumbbell Front Squat
-B5:  Single-Leg Squat
-B6:  Resist-A-Band Squat

-C1:  1-Arm Dumbbell Row
-C2:  Lying Flutter
-C3:  Seated Resist-A-Band Rows
-C4:  Figure-8 Band Standing Leg Curl
-C5:  Dumbbell RDL
-C6:  Single Leg RDL

-D1:  Dumbbell Hammer Curl
-D2:  Resist-A-Band Biceps Curl
-D3:  Dumbbell Biceps Curl
-D4:  Lying Dumbbell Skull Crushers
-D5:  Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
-D6:  Dumbbell Kickbacks

-E1:  Abdominal Crunch
-E2:  Abdominal Rotational Crunch

Enjoy the workout.

Simple Tip to Reduce Gender Specific Cancer

If there is one simple tip I can give people to reduce the chances of getting gender specific Cancer it is this:  Avoid Heating Food in Plastic!  In addition do not put hot food or liquid in plastic containers.

When plastic is heated to 80-degrees or above it will release plastic into your food.  What is bad about this is that plastic releases xenoestrogens that mimic bad estrogen in you body.  Increased levels of bad estrogen are often correlated to gender specific cancer like Breast, Cervical and Ovarian in women and Prostate in men.

Going forward avoid heating food or liquid in plastic (especially in a microwave).  In addition try to avoid adding heated food or liquid in plastic containers.  Try to use glass instead.

Strictly Strength Workout 10/28/14

Below is the workout we did on Tuesday, October 28th in Strictly Strenth at Life Time Eden Prairie Athletic Club.  This workout is a long circuit with fourteen exercises done in a row.  It is unique as I taught it in an "Inside Out" order by starting out by performing exercises for smaller muscle groups first and the larger muscle groups (Normally I start with the larger muscle groups first) last.

For each exercise (The ones that are listed under "B" and "C") do a 15-20 reps for one circuit and then repeat 1-2 times.  For video demonstrations of the exercises click here.

-A:  Movement Prep

-B1:  Lying Glute Bridge
-B2:  Lying Dumbbell Skull Crushers
-B3:  Figure-8 Lateral Tube Walk
-B4:  Resist-A-Band Biceps Curl
-B5:  Single Leg Dumbbell RDLs
-B6:  Dumbbell Side Raise
-B7:  Dumbbell Front Squat
-B8:  Dumbbell Shoulder Press
-B9:  Dumbbell Step-Ups
-B10:  Seated Resist-A-Band Low Rows
-B11:  Lying Glide Disk Leg Curls
-B12:  Push-Ups
-B13:  Dumbbell Plié Squat
-B14:  1-Arm Dumbbell Row (Elbow Out)

-C1:  Reverse Crunch
-C2:  Regular Crunch
-C3:  Accordian Crunch 

Enjoy the workout!

Q & A With Corey: A second Benefit of Magnessium

Question: I am a woman and I have a hard time falling asleep and wake up many times in the evening. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem other than taking sleeping pills/medication (I don not want to go that route)?

Answer:  As I talked about in the previous post regarding constipation, an easy way to fix sleep issues is to start taking magnesium as a supplement.  Some females have sleep issues and problems with constipation.  Adding magnesium can hit two birds with one stone. 

Regarding magnesium dosage to improve sleep, most people will benefit from 400-500 mg/day but some people may need to take much more than that (Over a gram). To figure out how much you need start with the above dosage for a week. If the sleep quality doesn't improve, up the dosage to 800-1,000 mg. In most cases these dosages will solve the problem. Some people may need to use more, but the key is to increase the dosage no more than 500 mg/day.

As far as brands, Thorne has a good product that can be purchased from the Life Time Fitness website.  It is high quality and very inexpensive. Natural Calm is a powdered form that can be found at most higher end grocery stores and Co-Ops. Finally, one of the best ones I have used regarding improving sleep for my clients is Ubermag from the Poliquin Group.

Try one of the above products and using the directions given and your problem should be solved in 7-14 days.

Q & A With Corey: One Benefit of Magnessium

Question:  I am a middle-aged woman and I have constipation issues that are really annoying.  Is there anything I can do to fix this problem?

Answer:  This is common and an easy way to fix it is to start taking magnesium as a supplement. 

Without going into to much detail magnesium is considered the "Stress Mineral."  There is a direct correlation between stress and magnesium loss.  Because of cell phones, texting, email, deadlines, financial issues, etc. people are under more stress then ever before and this this leads to magnesium loss.  One of the side effects of low magnesium is constipation and this is common in women as they get older.  By taking or increasing magnesium intake can solve this problem very rapidly.

As far as dosage, most people will benefit from 400-500 mg/day but some people may need to take much more than that (Over a gram).  To figure out how much you need start with the above dosage for a week.  If the constipation doesn't improve up the dosage to 800-1,000 mg.  In most cases these dosages will solve the problem.  Some people may need to use more, but the key is to increase the dosage no more than 500 mg/day.

As far as brands, Thorne has a good product that can be purchased from the Life Time Fitness website.  Natural Calm is a powdered form that can be found at most higher end grocery stores and Co-Ops.  Finally, one of the best ones I have used is Ubermag from the Poliquin Group. 

Try one of the above products and using the directions given and your problem should be solved in 7-10 days.

Simple Steps to Reduce Breast Cancer Part 2: Get Basic Blood Work Done

The last post went over the importance of site specific body fat in reducing Breast Cancer.  In addition to having a fitness professional taking skinfolds, basic blood work should be done at least once/year.  

Most people have the following done in their yearly physical:

• Total Cholesterol
• LDL Cholesterol
• HDL Cholesterol
• Triglycerides
• Fasting Glucose

In addition to the above tests, these three should also be done:

• Vitamin D (sometimes this is included in a physical and sometimes it isn't)
• C-Reative Protein
• Homocystine

In conclusion if you have all the above work done it can give you a good starting point towards better health.  Life Time Fitness offers all the above tests for members to take at select clubs each month.  Also, LT Proactive Care Clinics can take all the above tests.  Finally a great first step would be to get a My Health Score done at a Life Time club.  It includes a body composition test (could be skinfolds depending on the fitness professional), blood pressure, and the first five tests listed above.

Simple Steps to Reduce Breast Cancer Part 1: Skinfold Measurements

One of the easiest, non-invasive ways to reduce the risk of Breast Cancer is to lose body fat.  

World renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin is one of the top experts regarding the influence that site specific body fat has on hormones.  

One quick measurement females should take in consideration is the leg measurements which includes the Quad (front of the leg) and Hamstring (back of the leg).  

According to Poliquin the sum of these two sites should be less than 30 mm for optimal female hormone production and health.  

Going forward an action item that should be done ASAP is get a skinfold test done by an appropriate fitness professional (ideally trained in Poliquin's BioPrint) and see where you are at.  From there additional action steps can be taken regarding nutrition, training, supplementation and lab testing so your fitness goals are met and your chances of Breast cancer are reduced.

Simple Steps to Reducing Breast Cancer: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As many people are aware, the month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  An obvious way to make sure people are aware of it is by NFL and NCAA football players wearing additional Pink colors on their uniforms.  The Purdue Boilermakers actually had special helmets designed this past week with the Hot Yellow color featured.  This months blogs will feature ways to reduce Breast Cancer through fitness assessments, lab testing, training programs, nutrition and supplements.  Stay tuned as there will be some good education coming up.

Have Fall Fitness Sucess With Vitamin D

One complaint I hear in mid to late September is low energy levels.  

One easy way to correct this issue is to get your Vitamin D levels checked.  This can be done at the doctors office or you can order test that can be done at Lab Corp locations.  

Once you get the blood drawn the levels you want to shoot for would be 60-80 ng/dL to start with and  an ideal level of 80-100 ng/dL.

To get to these levels some people might only need to supplement with 5,000 i.u.  Other people may need 10-15,000 i.u. to get to there, especially in the fall months.

Regarding supplement brands I have found the liquid Vitamin D from Thorne FX to be one of the better ones as it also contains Vitamin K2 to help prevent excess calcium to be absorbed in the blood instead of bones.

Workout of the Week: Core With Stability Focus

For this weeks Workout of the Week the muscles of the core will be the focus with an emphasis on stability.  For this workout there are two exercises the Plank and the Side Plank.

Here is a video for the Plank:



Here is a video for the Side Plank:


Perform each exercise for 2-3 sets for 30-90 seconds each.  The total duration of the workout should be 3-12 minutes based on how many sets you do and how long you hold each plank.

Enjoy the workout and have a great week!

Fall Fat Loss Solution

Usually most people wait until the holidays to lose body fat. 

However, by that time the average American gains 8-12 lbs between October 31st-January 1st. 

This weight gain can easily be prevented if you start now and make a goal to lose weight prior to Halloween or even better extend it longer to Thanksgiving.  In this time frame a person can lose 8-20 lbs of fat. 

Over the month of September I am going to write some posts regarding the topic of effective fat loss in the fall. 

Stay tuned!