Triathlons are among the most brutal physical activities any sports enthusiast or athlete worth their salt could ever participate in. However, these activities are not without danger, as Justin Levine expounds on one such flap in the triathletes’ resource TriFuel: [Read more…]
San Diego Personal Training Cyclists Could Use For Strength Training
Legend has it that Milo—the famous athlete from Greek mythology—trained by carrying a young calf on his back until it was fully grown. People no longer train that way these days, but they do still use the same approach that Milo used—strength training. According to experts, strength training is primarily an exercise with the goal of increasing physical strength.
Runners, weightlifters, and contact sports athletes in America’s Finest City have long known that strength training is necessary to increase their max power, that’s why San Diego personal training programs are so popular. However, it turns out that cyclists can benefit from strength training as well, as reported by a Norwegian study. Bicycling.com provides more info:
“The study, conducted at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, followed 14 cyclists through a four-day-per-week strength program. Half the program was devoted to leg exercises that included squats and leg curls. After 12 weeks the subjects were tested and compared to a control group.
The control group remained unchanged, but the training group had boosted their one-repetition squat by 20 percent and their leg curl by 12. The researchers then compared how much energy the cyclists needed to pedal at near 40 percent of their maximum power (roughly the same wattage you’d use on a long ride) and found that the training group’s heart rate had dropped seven beats per minute and that they used three-percent less energy and oxygen.”
Why did the training group’s performance improve, you may ask? Simple: They got stronger. More strength means more force can be generated, which directly results in greater power output. According to a training expert, it’s likely the athletes in the training group learned how to better control their muscles through strength training, which helps their movements become more efficient.
Strength training is an essential part of body conditioning. The body has over 600 muscles, and the primary function of each is to allow the different parts of the body to move. The stronger an athlete’s muscles are, the faster the run, the higher the jump, the harder the hit, the further the throw/kick, and the longer the ride. It’s that basic.
If you’re training for a cycling race, don’t just spin your wheels, hit the gym as well. Work with a San Diego fitness trainer like Andrea King at True Balance Fitness to power up your performance.
(Article Excerpt and Image from Bicycling training tips: weights help you hang, Bicycling)
Nutrition and Workout Must-Knows about Personal Training in San Diego
Exercise and diet—these are two words long the bane of people too lazy to quit their couch potato lifestyle, or those who don’t care enough about their bodies to keep it healthy. Whichever way you look at it though, fitness isn’t just a key to bragging about slim waistlines or rocking abs, it’s the way to happiness and socialization. Here are a few things to remember about keeping fit and getting personal training in San Diego:
It’s all In Your Head
If you want to achieve optimal fitness, what matters in the end isn’t what is expected of you, but what your mind expects of you. While personal trainers, such as trainers from True Balance Fitness and Coaching will guide you through the process of attaining these goals, the motivation to reach your goal is what will drive you to keep on.
Say No to No Carb Diet
One of the most popular notions today is simply to avoid carbs in your diet, and you, supposedly, will not get fat. This, however, is terribly misguided; removing carbohydrates from your diet also takes away the energy-building nutrients and fiber your body needs. Remember, undercutting on nutritious foods is just as dangerous as overeating.
Don’t Exercise Blindly
Oftentimes, by holiday’s end, the guilt starts to kick in, and people begin to cardio themselves to a shriveling pile of exhausted muscles and joints. Exercise shouldn’t be a ‘give everything on the spur of the moment’ thing. It involves systematic planning where the body is intended to adapt to the stress and, over time, learn to condition itself. This is also why getting a trainer can be important.
Fitness Training Adapts
An article from The Huffington Post has this to say about exercise regimens and diet plans:
“If you start walking a route in your neighborhood and think you can just do that forever- wrong! Ever noticed you start on new cardio equipment at the gym and it is hard to get through 20 minutes, but after a month you are hardly out of breath? That means it is time to mix it up and do something new.”
Indeed, the attainment of fitness, possibly with the help of a competent San Diego personal trainer, is no simple task, and you can’t always see where it’s taking you without the proper guidance of a trainer. However, if you have the determination and heart to improve your body and health, you should get what you want in no time.
(Article Excerpt and Image from Top 10 Tips From a Personal Trainer, Huffington Post, October 18, 2009)
Alcohol’s Impact on Weight Loss
It is my experience, that one of THE hardest items for my San Diego personal training clients to sacrifice is their drinking. Consuming alcohol in our society is a way to bond with others, relax after a long day, or just let loose. I have clients that will completely clean up their eating, exercise several times a week, but struggle to reduce their alcohol consumption. It is for this very reason that I created Sober October, to help my clients see that they can drop the booze for a month and survive.
So how does alcohol consumption affect weight loss exactly?
Empty Calories
Alcohol in general, is fairly high in calories. In one bottle of wine, there are anywhere from 500-1000 calories, depending on the type of wine. If you are somebody who enjoys a bottle of wine with dinner, the amount of calories you consume in the wine is equivalent to a very large piece of cheesecake. Most people wouldn’t dream of eating cheesecake every day, or even several times per week. But many don’t think twice about polishing off a bottle of wine with dinner a few nights a week. Over the course of a month if you consume ½ bottle of wine 3 x week you are adding an additional 3,000-6,000 empty calories! That’s one pound of fat a month!
Resveratrol
Resveratrol is a phytoestrogen, meaning it releases the powerful hormone estrogen into your bloodstream. When your body has an overabundance of estrogen it initiates fat-storing in the body. This can affect your ability to maintain balance with the fat burning hormone (human growth hormone) created from exercise and estrogen (fat storing hormone). Maintaining this balance between fat-burning and fat-storing hormones is a crucial factor in losing weight.
Acetate
When you drink alcohol, it’s broken down into acetate (basically vinegar), which the body will burn before any other calorie you’ve consumed or stored, including fat or even sugar. So when you consume food along with your alcohol, your body will not be able to break down the food until it has completely broken down the alcohol. Because the body perceives alcohol as a poison and because it cannot store the energy from alcohol, its first priority is to eliminate it, while digesting and processing the food becomes secondary. That means your meal gets stored and synthesized as fat while the alcohol gets burned off.
Lowers Blood Sugar
Alcohol is metabolized in your body as sugar. When you consume alcohol, your blood sugar will spike quickly. Shortly thereafter blood sugar levels will plummet which leads to feelings of hunger, even if you recently ate. Many people will often consume large amounts of food, then, while they are drinking as a means of curbing the blood sugar spike. Add this to the calories from the alcohol, and you’ll quickly see how bad alcohol is for weight loss.
Restless Sleep
Consuming alcohol just before bed has been shown to affect a restful night’s sleep. While you are sleeping your body begins to break down and repair. It is one of the best opportunities for the human growth hormone do to its job of metabolizing fat. However, if you are consuming alcohol before bed this will impair your body’s ability to repair your muscles, metabolize fat and most often times you will make up the next morning feeling drained. This can affect your performance during your workout the next day!
Andrea King is a certified San Diego personal trainer helping her clients reach their full potential by making smart food and exercise choices. Andrea helps her clients achieve weight loss success through her personal training services.
On Professional San Diego Personal Training and Proper Exercise Form
A September 10, 2013 article on the U-T San Diego news portal explores the prevention of joint injury through exercise. By performing the right exercises, individuals can avoid suffering bad posture and stiff muscles caused by strain, inactivity or stress. The article takes helpful hints from medical experts on how exercise can lessen joint pain, as seen in this passage: [Read more…]
How San Diego Personal Training Experts Utilize Positive Thinking
San Diego has sunny weather all year-round; giving residents plenty of incentive to enjoy the numerous hiking trails that the city offers; to go hiking, however, people need to be in good shape otherwise they may be putting themselves in danger. So how do people get fit? According to Bobbi Kittle of Kelowna Capital News, positive thinking can help. [Read more…]
5 Simple Ways to Achieve a Healthy Weight This Year
January is a month filled with resolutions, hope, and desires for change. One of the most popular resolutions is to become healthier and lose weight. What most of us fail to look at, is how much weight do we actually need to lose to be a healthy weight? How do we learn to not be fixated on a number but more importantly appreciate the way we look and feel?
It is my hope to inspire you to look past a number and start to look at becoming healthy first and foremost. When you start to view nutrition and exercise as a way to make yourself feel better, all of the outside motivations will follow. I have compiled a list of the 5 Simple Ways to Achieve a Healthy Weight to help you jump start a healthier approach to weight loss.
1) Eat Whole Foods. A whole food is a food that has not been chemically engineered or altered. In other words, it did not go through a manufacturing plant to get to you. Consumers get into trouble with food when they consistently eat items that are laced with additives and preservatives. When we stick to foods such as grains, animal proteins, vegetables, fruits, and legumes, we become much healthier individuals and we lose weight much easier. Obsessing over calories, fat, and protein content is not going to make or break your weight loss success. Focusing on eating real food is going to have a bigger impact on your overall health and weight loss.
2) Exercise 5-6 Times a Week. Get Moving. Our bodies were intended to be active for hours throughout the day. As the country began to see a decrease in manual labor, and an increase in reliance on machinery we saw an increase in obesity. Now we have to force exercise, since our current lifestyle and jobs do not. 30-60 minutes of exercise almost every day will help you achieve a healthy weight. There is no need to spend hours on the cardio equipment. Instead, go for a hike outside, take a group strength training class, or join a sports league. Find ways to incorporate activity into your everyday routine.
3) Get Plenty of Rest Every Night. Sleep is one of the most neglected activities among individuals, yet, is one of the most crucial players in the battle against sickness and obesity. Sleeping is your body’s only opportunity to rest and recover from your day’s physical and mental activities. Lack of sleep can affect your mental capacity and energy throughout the day. Many times, your sugar and carb cravings are a direct result from a lack of a good night’s sleep. If you find that you are getting sick frequently or having a hard time seeing progression with your workout programs it could be a direct result of not going to bed early enough. Aim to sleep 7-9 hours a night ideally getting to bed by 10pm every night.
4) Reduce Stress in Your Life. Stress management is crucial to optimal health. If we walk around week to week stressed about this or that, anxious and irritable, over time our sympathetic system (the flight/fright) will dominate over our parasympathetic (relaxed) system. The flight/fight response is our bodies reaction to stress. Our body cannot differentiate between different types of stress, whether we are running late, or we are grieving the loss of a loved one. When our body reacts to stress it releases the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which have a stimulating effect upon the body, allowing it to carry out the necessary tasks for survival. The body will continue to release adrenaline until the stress trigger subsides. However, the body may continue to have high levels of cortisol for some time following the stress trigger. This consequently will have negative effects on your body’s ability to build muscle and shed body fat, especially in the abdominal area.
While some stress is important for the body, the problem with living in today’s society is that many of us are in a constant state of stress, and physiologically we are in a state of constant overdrive. Our adrenals are being asked to constantly perform without reprieve, and we run the risk of fatiguing our system, therefore affecting our overall health and homeostasis. Learn to make time for yourself every week to do what you enjoy. Exercising, meditation, positive reading, yoga, can all help reduce levels of stress.
5) Drink the Right Fluids. Dehydration can often times be confused with being hungry. Many of us fail to recognize what vital role water consumption plays in our bodies overall health. Our body needs a minimum of .5 oz per pound of body weight in order to function properly. In fact, when we fail to get the minimum water intake and instead drink dehydrating beverages such as alcohol, tea, coffee, and other caffeinated beverages we are putting ourselves at risk for many side effects. Fatigue, headaches, constipation, light-headed, and hunger, are signs of dehydration. Reach for water 90% of the time. Keep in mind the beverages you choose to consume, their calories, ingredients, and overall impact on your body.
I hope you find these 5 simple strategies helpful and easy to incorporate into your routine. When you keep it simple you will find it much easier to become healthier, feel more energized, sleep better, and be able to shed the excess body fat. When you follow trends, fad diets, and expect quick results you will fail. Keep it simple, follow the 5 tips I have provided and make 2013 the year you become healthier and happier with the way you look!
Andrea King is a certified San Diego fitness coach and has been able to help her San Diego weight loss clients succeed in achieving their own healthy weight by making lifestyle changes that aid in quick weight loss and overall fitness success!
Shannon P
When I started training with Andrea, she helped me change my eating habits. She provided me with knowledge about the type of foods to eat and the foods to avoid. She even motivated me to try going gluten free and I have noticed a huge difference in my energy levels. Through Andrea, I have discovered a new world of excersise and diet that makes me feel great. I learned the correct form when lifting weights and now have great definition and am stronger. She takes time with each of her clients to create a personalized workout that becomes more challenging as you progress. She means business but manages to make every gym experience fun and desirable! -Shannon P
Claire D
Having worked with Andrea for over 3 months, I am hooked. Not only is Andrea a consummate professional, she is exceptionally personable. She keeps me coming back to the studio with novel routines that challenge me in new ways and I’m seeing impressive results. Others are noticing too. I like that she incorporates a functional fitness methodology. This is new to me and I can see her techniques are not only helping to improve my posture and flexibility, I am significantly stronger and also am beginning to see muscle definition – where previously there was none. With Andrea’s encouragement and education, I’m turning my diet choices around, contributing to overall better health. This investment in my health is one that will certainly pay long term dividends. Thanks Andrea! -Claire D.
Benefits of Telephone Based Nutrition Coaching
According to John Hopkins Medicine successful weight loss is literally just a phone call away. A successful clinical trial following participants in a telephone based weight loss coaching program revealed significant weight loss that was maintained for 2 years plus. As a nutritionist in San Diego, this is wonderful news in support of my current San Diego nutrition coaching programs that are all telephone based.
The study, compared two behavioral intervention programs, one delivered through face to face coaching sessions and the other delivered remotely over the phone. What they discovered is the participants in the telephone based coaching trial achieved and sustained clinically significant weight loss over a period of 2 years. 40% of the obese patients enrolled in the program lost 5% of their body weight, an amount associated with health benefits such as lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and lowered risk of type II diabetes.
What they discovered is the trial group that participated in the in-person nutrition coaching program did not have as significant weight loss results primarily because of the challenge of making it to the weekly scheduled sessions. The patients would start off strong but then stop attending the in-person sessions. The telephone coaching, on the other hand, can be done from anywhere so participants had an easier time sticking to their scheduled weekly phone calls.
If you have been struggling to lose weight on your own and have a hectic and busy schedule, telephone based nutrition coaching is an excellent option. I offer San Diego nutrition coaching programs over the phone on a weekly and bi-weekly basis. The benefits of enrolling in this program is you get personalized advice and support on eating catered to your lifestyle, weaknesses, strengths, and goals. I offer a free one hour consultation for anyone looking for guidance and support with their eating habits, and looking to change their body and ultimately their life. Call me at 858-877-0787 to get scheduled for your free consultation today! You can also sign up here.
