Getting Results

Are You Getting the Results You Thought You Would?

As a trainer, this is a common question I ask of myself when I look at clients and their progress. I am sure it is one that most clients ask themselves from time to time. Here are a few tips to help keep you on track, or get you back to where you thought you would be:

1. Re-evaluate your goal- Is the goal you chose really what you want to achieve? If you have not been able to dedicate yourself fully to working towards it, maybe the goal is the problem, not the effort.
2. Rededicate yourself to your goal- Are you doing everything you could/should be doing to achieve the results you wanted. This includes exercise/diet/sleep, etc… Understand that no matter how many sessions per week you see your trainer, there is much work to be done on your own.
3. Talk to your trainer- Evaluate what you have been doing, and what you can change to get on track, or to progress more quickly.
4. Stay positive- Negative thoughts, even jokingly, can slowly derail the best intent. Don’t look at yourself as failing, or not working hard enough. Focus on what you are doing right, and what you can do to improve on it.
5. Plan for bumps in the road- Inevitably, you will get a cold, or sprain an ankle, or something will get in the way of even the best plans. Plan for this, and incorporate it into any long program.
6. 6. Always improve- If you can look back everyday and say you are doing more and living a healthier lifestyle than you were 6 weeks ago, then you have to be on the right track.
7. Work hard- Work at it! Achieving anything worthwhile takes work, or it wouldn’t matter that you achieved it. Be ready to work your plan over the long haul and enjoy the work. Take every workout as if it were the last.

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• Tip of the Month

  June 2010

  Abdominal Workouts: Frequency, Intensity, and Duration

  Over the past 15 years, there has been countless advice on how to “properly” train your abdominals, or core.  There isn’t a fitness magazine out there that doesn’t publish a different abdominal workout each and every issue.  Opinions and research may change over time, but there are a few things you should look at before you alter your workout with each Fitness Magazine you read!
  First of all, it is important to know what your overall fitness and health goal is before designing a strength program for any body part, especially the mid-section.  For overall fitness, it is smartest to treat your abdominal muscles as you would any other muscle group.  The tried and true guidelines for most exercise programs is to work specific muscles to fatigue within a 30-60 second set time limit (intensity and duration,) while giving the worked muscle group at least 24-48 hours of rest (frequency) before working it again.  The amount of sets you do in a given workout (frequency again) can vary from as little as 4 sets to up to 12 for the average workout.  The science behind these theories is sound.  While exercising, pushing your body significantly past the 60 second mark without fatigue generally incorporates aerobic energy, thereby not stressing the muscles most efficiently.  And rest is necessary so that your body can properly rebuild the muscle fibers that you have broken down.  Additionally, you want to be at 100% energy levels for your next workout!

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• Recipe of the Month

  June 2010

  Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

  This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.

  4 large eggs
  4 large egg whites
  1 cup nonfat milk
  2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
  4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
  1 cup diced ham steak, (5 ounces)
  1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
  3/4 cup shredded Gruyère, or Swiss cheese
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