Optimum Results » Health Tips

Smart Starbucks and Steakhouse Choices

Andy — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:42:16 +0000

Starbucks Choices
• Peppermint Choc Mocha- 520cals, 20g fat
• Pumpkin Frappuccino- 420cals, 13g fat
• Flavored Latte- 360clas, 16g fat
• Latte- 220cals, 15g fat
• Coffee w/cream and sugar 180 calories
• Cappuccino- 120cals, 4g fat
• Coffee w/sugar 90 calories
• Coffee w/cream 90 calories
• Coffee w/whole milk 60 calories
• Coffee w/skim milk 30-50 calories

Order a coffee with cream and sugar every work day? Add 900 calories per week to your diet. That is over 13 pounds in one year.

Enjoy a cappuccino every day instead, and you save 300 calories per week, and cut 4 pounds per year from the above diet.

Go to coffee with skim milk and Splenda? Now you are only adding 250 calories per week, and under 4 pounds per year in coffee weight.

Enjoy a flavored frappucino or latte once per week? That could add up to 26,000 calories, and another 7.5 pounds per year.

Just your coffee could account for 20 pounds of caloric intake annually!

Steakhouse Choices
• Caesars Salad- 800cals
• Chopped Salad, 320cals
• Spinach Salad, 170cals
• FR Onion Soup, 530cals
• Clam Chowder, 280cals
• Calamari, 1200cals
• Shrimp Cocktail, 200cals
• Roasted Chicken, 1500cals
• Delmonico, 1070cals
• 14oz Sirloin, 670cals
• Seared Tuna, 610cals
• Salmon, 440cals
• 10oz Filet, 370 cals
• Au Gratin, 1600cals
• Lyonnaise, 930cals
• Mashed, 690cals
• Asparagus w/Hollandaise, 210cals

Start with a caesars salad, and split the calamari with 3 others at the table. Grab the Delmonico, with some au gratin potatoes on the side. That’s 2600 calories, and if you add two drinks to this, you are pushing 3000 calories, or almost one full pound of food in one sitting.

Or, you could order the spinach salad, split the shrimp cocktail with another person, enjoy a 10 oz filet, and split mashed potatoes and asparagus. More food, and only 800 calories before drinks. That is less than 1/3 the calories!

Love handles? Triceps jiggle? Saddle bags? These are all areas I am constantly asked: How can I make this go away?

Andy — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:10:44 +0000

The answer is simple: You need to work harder than you currently are. Whatever effort you are putting into your diet and exercise right now is producing what you see in the mirror right now. Is it fair? Maybe not. You may be outworking everyone you know, and still don’t see the results you think you deserve. However, that is the hand you have been dealt. So what can be done? The first thing you need to do is take serious stock in how much of a priority changing is. Whether it is aesthetic related, health related, performance related, or other, you need to look inward and decide how important this change is. Can you honestly tell yourself that looking good in a bikini, or lowering your blood pressure is more important than enjoying a dinner at Capital Grille unimpeded? Which is a higher priority for you long term? If looking and feeling healthier is truly a priority, then it should be easy to go online, plan your meal ahead of time, skip the calamari, and limit yourself to one glass of wine. If looking and feeling healthier is only a wish, then the odds are much lower that you will show up knowing what the healthy entrees are, and with the resolve to skip dessert. Once you prioritize, it becomes easier to make decisions when presented with options. Should I stop for pizza on the way home, or take the time to make something healthy? Which is your priority: ease and time to relax in front of the TV, or losing the weight needed? Should I wake up early to make time for the gym, or sleep in? What is your priority?
Once you have prioritized, you need to make a plan. Your plan should have a concrete goal, a concrete time frame, and be reasonable. “I want to drop a few pounds” is a good goal. “I want to go down two dress sizes by Thanksgiving” is a more concrete goal. Your goal should be specific to what you want to accomplish and what you have prioritized as making you a happier, healthier person. It should also be realistic. Do not set a goal of running a marathon in 3 weeks if you aren’t a runner! This plan should break down the entire time you are looking to work towards your personal goal. Therefore, there is never any questioning yourself. You prioritize a goal, plan for it, then execute the plan. All that’s left is the hard work!

Some tips that are important to note when planning for health/appearance changes:
• There is no such thing as spot reduction. You cannot simply do more triceps exercises to get rid of a “jiggly” arm. As you lose weight, your body will lose it evenly all over. Just as you did not put it all on in one spot, it will all come off the same way. About 50% of your external body fat is around your mid-section.
• Fat does not turn into muscle. You can build muscle while losing fat, which will allow you to see definition more quickly. But one does not turn into the other. They come from completely different processes in the body. Think of everyone as having an amazing six-pack; you just can’t see everyone’s abs.
• There is no one right answer. Everyone’s lifestyle is different, as is everyone’s genetics. Therefore, there is no one diet or exercise routine that will work for everyone. Find what aids you to best reach your goal without going against the grain of your lifestyle.
• Do the math! Just because you train for a marathon doesn’t mean you will lose weight. In fact, you could end up eating more due to the increased demand on your body, and actually end up gaining weight. Figure out what you want to accomplish, and make sure the plan makes sense!
• If it is truly a priority, treat it as one. Getting your taxes done right every year is a must. So we hire an accountant, or use tax software if we are so inclined. Similarly, if your health is truly a priority, then take the necessary steps to achieve it. Speak to a nutritionist, or a trainer, go online and check out a running site such as Hal Higdon’s or Active.com. Check out a spinning class. Do what it takes.
• Finally, keep asking yourself every morning if looking/feeling better is still a priority. If it is, sticking to your plan should be easy!

Stretch for Better Health Fast

Andy — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:01:38 +0000

If you are reading this, you probably are already somewhat active. Maybe you run, or go to the gym and hit the weights, or take an aerobic or spin class. But most of us slack off when it comes to an equally important aspect to our workout: stretching.
Why stretch? Increased flexibility will make every day activities easier, resulting in less soreness. Stretching increases circulation to the area, improving healing, recovery, and the removal of soreness-inducing waste. Better flexibility allows for easier good posture, which makes for less sore backs by the end of the day. Stretching will also enhance your coordination and range of motion while exercising, allowing you to do more and exhibit proper form, making your workouts more effective.
When stretch? Ideally, you should stretch after the muscles are warm. I prefer that people stretch out after a good workout, and right before their cool down. Studies show that sports that require dynamic motion such as basketball and soccer will see a decrease in performance and an increase in joint injuries if the athlete over-stretches prior to activity. Stick to a warm up, and some light dynamic stretching that mimics your activity prior to exercise, and leave the long, elongating stretches to after.
How? The goal of stretching is to slowly lengthen the muscle past their resting length. Start by isolating the muscle. Don’t stretch your hamstring by standing (the hamstring will be contracted to keep you balanced.) Start at the bottom of your body and work all the way up. Don’t skip upper body stretches. Stretch one side, then the other (the odds are not great that both legs are identically tight.) Hold each stretch for roughly 30 seconds, gently pushing a little further throughout. Remember that you can stretch muscles, not tendons or ligaments. Don’t bounce, that is a different type of flexibility entirely.
With a good 5-6 day per week stretching program, you can start to see the benefits in as little as two weeks. Don’t get lazy and just start stretching areas that are “always tight.” Think of your body as a chain; if one link gets shorter, it can affect the whole chain. For a description of specific stretches, please contact me directly or visit my website.

Make your Abdominal Workout count!

Andy — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:41:38 +0000

Every time I go to the gym, I see countless people working on their abs. They hit the mats to do their “daily crunches.” But does this work? For most people, it does not. The following are some points to remember when trying to flatten that stomach!
• Move slowly. Rushing through a set of crunches doesn’t really do all that much except lead to back pain. Instead, focus on slowing down each rep to about 5-8 seconds per rep, and holding the rep at its most difficult point. This will engage the proper muscles, help avoid injury, and lead to the correct muscle fatigue.
• Target each abdominal group with every workout. Instead of just using the crunch machine that you love and finishing up on the crunch board each workout, focus on all the core muscles to get a complete workout. For some, this means having a variety of ab exercises to cycle through every few weeks. For some, it means sticking to the same exercises that you know cover your bases. So, shoot for the obliques (sides) back, front, and even hips when training your midsection.
• Treat your abs like every other muscle group. Develop a program that incorporates a progressive principal, ensuring muscle gains as well. Also, incorporate exercises that fatigue you in 60 seconds or less. Anything that goes longer will not adequately address the goal of fatiguing the muscle group. Similarly, you would not grab 3 pound dumbbells and do 100 curls every day for your biceps!
• Rest! Too many people treat abdominal work as how to finish up a workout. You could easily decide to work out chest and back at the end of every workout and get similar results on all body parts. Most are familiar with the concept of not training the same muscle group on consecutive days. Yet the same people want to train abs 7 days per week. There is no gain without rest and recovery. So less is more; incorporate abdominal work into your program like every other muscle group.
• Breathe! Exhale as you exert yourself. This will allow for proper oxygen flow, as well as room for the abdominal wall to do its thing.
• Be smart. Just because an exercise looks hard or makes you sweat doesn’t make it safe and effective. Many aerobic class exercises are not done properly, due to the crowded nature and subsequent difficulty in instructing each individual on form. Do your homework and ask someone qualified.
• Lose the armor. We all have abs, just not everybody’s are out there to be seen. So, eat right, and step up your cardio routine to shed the excess pounds covering up your tight and toned abdominals.
• Practice balance and posture. Nothing ruins a good flat stomach more than slouching. So incorporate balance and posture work into your routine.
• My favorite- Russian Twists. Sit on the floor with knees bent like in a “sit-up” position. The feet should be kept together and slightly above the ground. The torso should be kept straight with the back kept off the ground at a 45 degree angle. Arms should be held together away from the body in a straight fashion and hands kept locked together like a ball or one can hold a weight to increase the difficulty. Next, the arms should be moved from one side to another in a twisting motion, with your eyes following your arms as they twist. The slower one moves their arms from side to side, the harder the exercise becomes.

Train Like an Athlete

Andy — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:37:38 +0000

Many of us don’t look at ourselves as athletes, and therefore, don’t feel we should train with the same intensity. But why is this? Let’s look first at what attributes an athlete-in-training must have.
These attributes can be applied to anyone in any capacity. Instead of training for your sport of choice, your focus becomes your health goal. So while an Olympic runner may be looking at beating a 2 hour and 5 minute marathon time, your focus may be on fitting into clothes that are two sizes smaller. The singular focus of an athlete can be applied in the same way. Great athletes’ singular focus to achieve results is what sets them apart from the rest of the pack. This is what gets them up to run at 4:30 in the morning in January. Once you have that focus on a goal, will your drive to succeed surpass the other people you see everyday at the gym? We are all built roughly the same, but only those with a drive to succeed at their personal goals attain them. Finally, athletes love their sport, and love working at winning. Do you truly want to win? If you do, your enjoyment at achieving that smaller waistline will overcome your desire for a slice of cheesecake.
I will always believe that the mental aspect of exercise is the most important. Part of training like an athlete is thinking and feeling like one. To do this, we need to incorporate an athlete’s workout. An athlete trains for power, speed, endurance, and mobility. Any work you do in a gym has these concepts at heart. The types of exercises an athlete picks works directly towards their chosen sport. If your sport is weight loss, general health, and/or less injury, all of these concepts will aid you. An athlete will push him/her self until they can’t go any harder. Everyone’s limits are different. So wear a heart rate monitor, and get to pushing yourself!
The key to improving yourself is progression. So design a program with your end goal in mind. Then, formulate a chart to track your progress. Always aim to do a little more each session. This should keep you pushing yourself. Explosive “athlete” drills will burn calories, push you in new ways, add variety, and help you reach your goals faster!
The following is the first in a series of dynamic exercises aimed to maximize an athlete’s training program. Make sure you adequately warm up, and stretch as necessary, but not too much stretching prior. The goal of these exercises is to achieve maximum effort, so rest in between sets is imperative, and take as much as necessary.
Plyo Hops- Lay a jump rope on the floor and stand on one side with both feet close together parallel to the rope. Jump over the rope, landing on both feet then immediately jump back to the other side. Go as fast you can while maintaining form. Initially, you should use one side as your landing, and the other as the explosive side. So you want to start on the landing side, and make sure there are no pauses and that you explode back to the other side with maximum effort from the explosive side. Get your balance, then repeat. Aim for 30-60 seconds with a 90 second minimum break. As it gets easier, you can use a step to make the jump higher, or you can add to the distance of the jump.

Andy — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 20:38:13 +0000

Quick Tips:

Work out smart, not blindly and automatically harder and more often. How many “gym rats” do you see constantly at the gym, yet never seem to make any progress physically? Know your goal, plan for it, and stick to it!
There is no such thing as a maintenance work out. You should always have a clear plan to focus on and a resulting sense of accomplishment at the end of each work out. Accordingly, you will always be progressing in some way.
Before you stretch an injured area, know which way you should be stretching. A stretch is meant to elongate the muscle; however this means the opposing muscle may be contracted. For instance, stretch your back out if it is sore, but certain abdominal stretches may be putting your back at risk.
Choose your future outcome over instant gratification. Focus on your future outcome, working through the steps it will take to achieve it, and it will override your need for instant gratification.

Quick Tips

Andy — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:03:20 +0000

This month’s fitness challenge: Add 5 minutes to your normal cardio routine. Go up either in speed or in incline if you are indoors. Add one rep to each set during your strength training workouts and add at least 5 pounds to each exercise. Before you know it, these will seem easy and you will have to do it again!
Trying to lose those last few pounds? The first few? Stuck at a plateau? Try to go perfect for 7-10 days. Keep a diet journal, and eat absolutely perfect. Know what your intake needs to be, and avoid all other foods. Additionally, make sure your workouts are as intense as they should and need to be for those 7-10 days.
Going out for a big high calorie dinner? Don’t starve yourself all day so you can splurge. This will just lead to out-of-control ordering. Instead, eat several small, healthy, low-cal snacks throughout the day to keep you somewhat satisfied. Then enjoy at night!
Your body is most efficient when it can concentrate on a singular goal. So if you are looking for moderate gains and overall health, you should balance your workouts. If you are looking to add muscle, you should focus mainly on strength training and let cardio training take a back seat. Looking to shed weight? Stick to cardio for a while. Your diet should match up accordingly.

Alcohol Eats Away at Muscle Mass

Andy — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:27:34 +0000

If increasing muscle mass is one of your goals, then think twice before you go out for a night of heavy drinking. Consuming alcohol in large quantities has a direct effect on your metabolism, causing fat to be stored instead of being utilized as an energy source. Alcohol contains seven “empty” calories per gram, meaning that these calories don’t provide you with any of the essential nutrients you need to build that muscle mass you desire.

Effects of Excessive Alcohol Consumption on Your Body
Muscles—Reduces blood flow to the muscles, causing weakness and deterioration
Hormones—Reduces testosterone in your blood and increases conversion of testosterone to estrogen, causing increased fat depositing and fluid retention
Liver—Creates imbalances that can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), fatty liver and hyperlipidemia (build-up of fats in the bloodstream)
Brain—Cuts off the supply of oxygen to the brain, resulting in a “blackout” caused by a lack of oxygen supply to the brain that can kill tens of thousands of brain cells

Effects of Excessive Alcohol Consumption on Physical Performance
Alcohol is a known depressant that suppresses the brain’s ability to function. Even though you may feel a “high” after several cocktails, the truth is that your reaction time, accuracy, balance, hand-eye coordination and endurance all decrease dramatically. Furthermore, the after-effects of a night of excessive drinking can be detrimental to your fitness goals. Alcohol is a diuretic that may result in dehydration. This dehydration is known to decrease physical performance, so that previous night of drinking will continue to affect you the following day.

Alcohol and Sleep
Alcohol consumption can cause sleep disorders by disrupting the sequence and duration of sleep states and by altering total sleep time and the time required to fall asleep. It is popularly believed that a drink before bedtime can help a person fall asleep. However, alcohol’s affect on sleep patterns results in increased fatigue and physical stress to the body. Therefore, alcohol consumption indirectly affects a person’s strength-training ability due to increased fatigue and a lack of healthy reparative sleep.

Alcohol and Nutrition
Alcohol inhibits the breakdown of nutrients into usable substances by decreasing the secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas. Regular alcohol consumption also impairs nutrient absorption by damaging the cells lining the stomach and intestines and disabling transport of some nutrients into the blood. In addition, nutritional deficiencies themselves may lead to further absorption problems. For example, folate deficiency alters the cells lining the small intestine, which in turn impairs the absorption of water and nutrients, including glucose, sodium and additional folate. Such interference of nutrient breakdown and absorption may impair the physical performance and recovery required to build and maintain muscle mass.

Putting on the Pounds
Many people under the influence experience “drunk munchies” that can result in the consumption of several hundred extra calories for the day. A study examining how alcohol affects caloric intake found that subjects who drank wine with their lunch consumed an additional 200 calories and did not compensate for those calories by cutting back at dinner.

Safe in Moderation
Now that you know some of the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption, you might be scared to have that glass of wine with dinner. Don’t be. When alcohol is consumed in moderation (no more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men), it has been shown to have some positive effects:

Increased HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) within one to two weeks
Reduced stress levels
Reduced insulin resistance

The Take-home Message
In conclusion, if you want to increase muscle mass, decrease fat or improve general health, make sure alcohol is only consumed in moderation. Next time you are asked to go out socially, be the designated driver. Not only will your friends appreciate it and be much safer, but you will be one step closer to your fitness goals.

Calories Add Up Fast
12 ounces of beer = ~150 calories
5 ounces of wine = ~100 calories
1.5-ounces of distilled spirits = ~100 calories

Additional Resources
National Institutes of Health—Alcohol Consumption: www.health.nih.gov/topic/AlcoholConsumption
National Strength & Conditioning Association—Alcohol Consumption and its Effect on Performance: www.nsca-lift.org/perform/article.asp?ArticleID=204

Abdominal Workouts: Frequency, Intensity, and Duration

Andy — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 06:52:05 +0000

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!

Once you master the basics of your abdominal workout, you can tailor the program to fit your overall goals. Are you trying to build muscle (a 6-pack or a flat, lean stomach?) If so, you will want to limit the amount of sets, limit the time in each set, push the weight up to easy fatigue levels, and give your body more rest days. Are you an endurance athlete? Then you want to maximize the time limits of your sets, push the time limits to 60 seconds, or a bit longer, and limit your rest days. The difference between these two examples is simple. If you are looking for muscle growth, you want to treat just as you would a chest workout. If you want a stronger looking chest, you would max out your bench press weight, do minimal numbers of sets, and then give the body plenty of time to recover so you can add to the weight lifted in your next workout. However, if you are a marathon runner, you want a strong core, but it is equally important that you teach your body to push your lactic threshold (the point at which your body fatigues) back further and further with each workout. There are many other goals and programs. It is up to you to figure out which one is right for you. If you have any questions about your personal abdominal workout, don’t hesitate to contact us and we will personalize one just for you!

Cardiovascular Training

Andy — Sat, 01 May 2010 19:12:55 +0000

Cardiovascular Training

Benefits- decreased body fat, lower risk for cardiac disease, lower LDL-cholesterol levels, increased aerobic endurance, lowered stress levels, and a general sense of well being.
Frequency- 3-4 times per week, depending on other activities and program goals
Intensity- 55% – 85% of target heart rate*
Type-walking, jogging, swimming, elliptical, bicycle, etc… There is no one type of cardio that is better or worse for you. Your heart doesn’t know the difference between running and a bike. It is all a matter of intensity. Choose an activity that you enjoy, that is within the guidelines of any programs or goals you may have, and that your body can handle for long periods of time.
Time- Warm-up- 5 minutes at low to moderate intensity
Primary Activity- 20-40 minutes at training intensity
Cool Down- 5 minutes at moderate to low intensity
Post-exercise stretching- 5-10 minutes
Pedometer Tips- A pedometer is good to wear to monitor everyday activity outside of the gym. Aim for more steps each week, with the overall goal of 10,000 steps daily. Set the stride length to 2.2 for women, 2.5 for men. Wear the pedometer for 2 days. Aim for a 20% increase in total steps taken in the next week. Remember, a pedometer is generally ineffective in counting steps on a bicycle or during intense jogging.

*The most accurate way of gauging intensity is by wearing a heart rate monitor. Polar makes a variety of different HR watches, ranging from $45 to $300. Even the cheapest ones read your heart rate very accurately. If you do not have one, try utilizing the RPE scale, or Rate of Perceived Exertion. Basically, you want to be training at a level that makes it difficult, but possible, to speak in full sentences. It may seem cheesy, but it has been scientifically proven to be almost as accurate as a heart rate strap.