This Is My Body or Is It?

As I sit here in front of this computer after finishing one of the most grueling workouts that I have ever gone through (for some of you that are reading this and come to my classes know that I practice what I preach), I stood in the mirror drenched in sweat admiring my body and this blog post came to me all at once. I hurried to grab pen and paper to pen this because I knew that if I didn't write it now it may forever be lost.

This one, in my opinion, is one for the ages.

I have been through a lot in the 30 some odd years while on this earth. I have battled weight loss, gain the weight back, to then loss the weight again, to gain the weight back. I have watched as well as worked with some great people over the years that have gone through this same dilemma- this yo-yo of up and down up and down. This roller coaster ride of hills and valleys, highs and lows, successes and failures (more failures than successes). This stop and start-quit and begin-frustration and triumph and back to disappointment (some never pick back up and start again).

Weight lost does not start with exercise nor does it end with eating healthier or doing more cardio. In my opinion the whole crux of the matter to weight lost comes down to your attitude how you feel about yourself. It starts with your mind how you see yourself-your self image your self worth. The mind is so powerful. The body will only produce, regurgitate, or reproduce whatever the mind tells it to. So as I stood in the mirror admiring my body- feeling good about how I look-looking at the scars and battle wounds that I have accumulated over the years. Some physical, some emotional, some intentionally, some accidentally this post came to mind. Before you continue to read on I must warn you that it is strongly penned with religious undertones so if you are an atheist or someone that doesn't believe that there is a higher power well first I feel sorry for you and second this article may not be for you. However, for the rest of you please read, re read, and read this again. Meditate on it and start today reciting this over and over (out loud and in your mind). Really try to read this slowly not like a pleasure read, but read it as if your life depended upon it because it does if you ever want to accomplish that image that you are chasing after. If you grasp this concept what you about to read then you will never have to worry about how you currently look or how you are going to look in those favorite jeans or if you will fill out that favorite shirt the way you would like. If you get this, watch how you will have a new outlook on your challenges, obstacles, trials, and struggles that you face with your self image. ASK YOURSELF IF NOT NOW, WHEN?



My Body

This is my body that God has made in His image
It is unique, beautiful, flawless perfectly designed by Him to bring Him glory
When others see me, they see Him because they see a wonderfully accomplished work of art
There are no mistakes on my body-everything everything is put in its place for a purpose
I love everything on my body from head to toe because God made it
I am the apple of God's eye
My body is not mine it was purchased at an expensive price because He loved me so much
God has entrusted this body to me
I will do my best to be a good steward (manager) over it
It is the only body that I will ever have
It is a holy temple that should not be destroyed, mistreated, abused, or misused
I will only consume and do things that will only develop and improve my body
This is my body that God has made

Again if you understand this concept everything else that you are facing with your weight loss, transformation, or image that you want to accomplish will be easily obtained.

Carpe Diem.

Lamail Spain

Charlotte Personal Trainer

BE A SMART "SPRING CLEANER" WITH YOUR WEIGHT LOSS GOALS

We are now officially 80 days within 2009 and a lot has happened. Most of us at the beginning of the year made a resolution or goal centered around weight loss or some body transformation. I would venture to say that probably some of you reading this right now have put those New Year's resolutions/goals back on the shelf to dust them off again next January 2010.

Well pull those goals, promises, resolutions, and commitments back out!!! It ain't over til the fat lady sing, and she's at the buffet line so it's gonna be a minute.

Since Friday was the first day of spring, and we are 3 months away from the bikini season, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect back on the last 80 days and get us back on track and rejuvenated for the next 80 to come.

I thought that we should do some spring cleaning and go through our personal closets to make some alterations to better our current circumstances before spring gets rolling and summer creeps up on us. Here are some suggestions with regards to the goals that you have set forth to see if they need to be adjusted, tweaked, or just flat out thrown out and started over.

As I posted on a previous blog entitled 10 Habits to Adopt For New Year's Resolution, the bottom line is that the most successful people in life are shamelessly goal driven. They know exactly what they want and have some sort of game plan to obtain it.

Let me repeat this last statement.

When you look at any successful person in life, rather sports, business, weight loss, etc. they are goal driven individuals. They know why they want to do something and harness that super motivation to figure out what and by when they want to go about accomplishing that. Furthermore, they plan and prepare for every possible roadblock they will encounter in their path to success.

With that said here are some tips to assist you with your spring cleaning with regards to your weight loss or body transformation goals. We want to be S.M.A.R.T. goal setters! This stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound/ tangible.

Specific- Your goals should never be vague or broad because it leaves out the accountability factor of goal setting. For example, a lot of people, including myself, have made goals wanting to lose weight. In theory, great effort, but no cigar! Tell them what they won, Johnny. It is too broad and vague. How much weight do you want to lose? Put a number on it or a measurement. Do you want to lose weight, tone up, or both? When do you want to obtain this goal? Next month? Next year? By the end of the summer?

That's where a lot of us fail as goal setters, we don't want to put the goal into too specific of terms because it forces us to have to work towards a deadline which if we don't meet, forces us to have to look hard at ourselves and examine why we failed. No one likes to fail, at least the clients that I train. Goals are means to an end. Remember the most successful people in life are goal driven. They set a goal so that it gives them directions on how to get what they are seeking and wanting.

Measurable- The previous tip goes alongside of this one. Make sure that your goals are measurable so that you can track your progress and keep a close eye on what needs to be tweaked or adjusted. The more measurable you have your goals, the more feedback you have in which to use and evaluate progress, stagnation, or regression. Again it's all about accountability and direction with yourself.

Attainable- Be sure that the goal that you have set forth, you can achieve. This doesn't mean sand bag your goals. Aim low, but don't waste your time on something that you know you can achieve without any challenge and effort. At the same rate, don't set the bar too high because you're doomed from the start. Make sure that you set up a goal that is achievable enough to where there is some struggle and challenge to it so that when you do obtain it, the reward and victory will be sweet!

Realistic- Never try to keep up with the Joneses! Let me say that again and then I will explain. NEVER TRY TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES! What tends to happen is you attempt to obtain a goal that isn't designed personally for you. Realistic means that the actions associated with your goal are things that you can do. For example, if your goal requires you to spend 2 hours at the gym each day, that may not be a very realistic assumption. What tends to happen when a goal is not set in a realistic manner, the person becomes frustrated and they tend to fall off or quit the goal before ever obtaining it. Success breeds success.

Time bound/ tangible- For goals that have a natural ending (like outcome goals- which are the ones that we are discussing today if you are wondering), establishing a clear deadline for them adds an element of urgency and motivation. Trackability should also be included with time bound and tangible. All goals should be trackable so you can see what your progress is, either in terms of results you are experiencing, or actions you are taking. Tracking your goals helps you determine if you are going in the right direction and make any necessary adjustments along the way.

In addition, to the tangibility, make sure that there are some consequences if you are not able to obtain your goals. Pain sometimes can move us towards what we most desire. Likewise, add a reward as well to the tangible section so that you have something that you will enjoy once you obtain the goal. Why work if you aren't going to enjoy the fruits from your labor? If you write a reward and consequence with your goal, then it adds to the sense of urgency.

And finally, write down your goals and post them in areas where you most frequent. This is great for many reasons. Researchers have done studies that suggest that the more senses (sight, feel, auditory, smell, touch) used the more of a lasting imprint it has in the memory. With that said, if you write down your goals and post them everywhere, the goals become more realistic and aren't easily forgotten. (And as an added bonus...if you write it down, post it all over, and say it out loud daily...it increases the potential to obtaining that goal by 100 fold)!!!

Now that we have discussed a SMART Spring Cleaner, go back and take a look at the goals that you have set forth either recently or pull out the ones that were made for New Year's (heck it isn't too late to start back trying to obtain those) and put them in this format so that when summer gets here you will be turning heads and bringing SEXY BACK! YEP!!

It's A Process!

A. Lamail Spain

Charlotte Personal Trainer and Boot Camp

Alpha II Omega Explains How to Turn Your New Years Resolutions Into Results

Over the last several years, I have helped countless people maximize their overall health, performance, and body composition faster than ever before. Put bluntly, I know how to help people lose ugly, unwanted body fat faster than most people can fathom. Now, make no mistake about it, a big reason for this is because our integrated rapid fat loss training and nutrition system is second to none. I have done the countless hours of research and trial and error and I have had hundreds of people as real world case studies to prove that our system flat out works. A sidebar to this is that I am not only the trainer but I too have used the same techniques and strategies on myself as well to lose the weight and keep it off!

But, today I am going to share something more powerful; something that must be set in place before you can even start to think about following a fitness program.


So, let’s just get right to it. What do you think is the real secret behind my client success?

Well, if your answer was my aforementioned training and nutrition system, then your answer is wrong. Yep, it’s an incredible program, but unfortunately it’s useless if someone is unwilling to start it AND stick to it, right? So, it appears that the most important component of changing your body is finding the motivation to achieve your goals, and that’s the main focus of this article today. I am going to literally walk you through the initial consult and three step goal setting process that each one of my clients undergoes before they start working with us. This is so important to weight loss success that I now require it for any new client to be considered for joining our program.

Before I get into this goal setting process, I just need to get something off of my chest. I know a lot of people think goal setting is just a cheesy, useless thing. Unfortunately, these people just don’t get it and frankly if you are one of those people, please do us both a favor and stop reading this article and go buy another useless weight loss book or pill because I simply cannot do anything for you. I can only help people who want to learn. I simply cannot help people who already think they know it all and think they are too good to take some time to figure out what the hell it is that they actually want to accomplish. The bottom line is that the most successful people out there, and I mean not just weight loss success, I am talking business, lifestyle, etc., are shamelessly goal driven. They know exactly why they want to do something and harness that super motivation to figure out what and by when they want to go about accomplishing that. Furthermore, they plan and prepare for every possible roadblock they will encounter in their path to success. This is what I want to teach you how to do today, so let’s get to it!

Step One- The Why: Why do you want to do this?

This is where it’s time to get real. In almost every initial consult I do, when I ask why they have contacted me today, here is the typical blanket response that I first hear:

“Well, I just want to get healthy and lose weight I guess.”

Nope, I don’t buy it. Sure, I know they want to lose weight and be healthy, I mean who doesn’t, but really WHY do they want to do this? I mean, what is it that’s going to get them up at 5 am to get their morning workouts in or take a couple of hours on Sunday to plan and prepare their meals for the upcoming week? It sure isn’t “being healthy” because for some reason this just isn’t a very powerful motivator for most people (though it should be).

Let’s face it: everybody, including YOU, wants to look better naked. Stop giggling, you know it’s true and frankly that’s okay because the desire to improve one’s appearance is the most powerful motivator there is. This shouldn’t be such a big surprise since the main life mission of humans, or any species for that matter, is to procreate. This is instinctual. And obviously, looking better makes this more of a reality.

So, after a little digging, I find out the real reason why they want to do this; I find their past or pain and then establish their current and future ambitions. Some people want to be able to mow the lawn in the summer with their shirt off and not feel self-conscious. Others want to get back into their favorite pair of pants that they haven’t been able to get one leg into for the last five years. Then there are those who want to look and feel more attractive to ignite some passion back into their relationships and/or put for their best image at work. And of course, my personal favorite is preparing for big events that have built in deadlines. Wanting to get as lean and tight as possible to rock that dream bathing suit in Argentina, or get off the plane in Texas when visiting family you haven’t seen in two years to blow them away with your new body, or being a classic beauty in your wedding dress on the big day, it all works! This is the stuff that gets people jacked up and ready to commit to making some real changes. How do I know? Well, I just shared with you verbatim the exact “WHY’S” of some of my own clients.

So, the first thing you have to figure out is your personal WHY. To make this even simpler for you, just answer this question: what are your physical dreams? Once you establish this, everything else is easy baby.

Step Two- The What and When: What do you want to accomplish and when do you want to accomplish it by?

So we already figured out the obvious: you want to look better and maximize your sexy! So, now we need to establish what objective goal(s) need to be accomplished in order to realize this subjective dream.

Well, from a logistics standpoint and keeping things as cost effective as possible, there are three major ways I track “look better” progress with my clients, in order of importance from least to most important:

1.)Scale Weight: This is by far the least important goal, but it gives a number that’s worth tracking. Though body fat percentage would be a much better method of tracking progress, it is simply too inaccurate on a small scale and too costly on a large scale. The key is to taking your initial weight before you start and then not weighing more than every 2 weeks. I have found most people to do better with tracking their weight every month. There are simply too many variables for controlling your body weight and the natural fluctuations based on diet (and for women, their menstrual cycle), means the less frequently you do this the better. If the scale is just too de-motivating for you in general, then just skip this one altogether if you must, because the next two markers are far more important.

2.)Dress/Pant Size: This is probably the most simple and effective unused method of tracking whether or not you look better. I think it’s safe to say that if you are dropping dress and/or pant sizes that you will be looking better, right? Your best bet is to also select one dress or one pair of pants that you really want to get into since that is the true end goal in mind. I tell my clients to assess how they are fitting in their preferred dress/pant size tracker on a weekly or bi-weekly basis since our clients that follow our program exactly as outlined typically lose a dress and/or pant size every month (until they get to their ideal dimensions). For those of you would want to argue that every outfitter has different sizes, well that’s a mute point if you use the same pant or dress size to track. There’s nothing more powerful than being to literally being able to feel yourself comfortably get into clothes that use almost rip when you put on.

3.)Digital Pictures: Pictures don’t lie, that’s the bottom line. If you want to look better, what better way is there to assess this than pictures? I cannot begin to tell you how important this is. Taking a before picture is essentially you telling the whole world that you are ready to change and that you are ready to do whatever it takes to make those changes. They key is take pictures wearing exactly what you want to look your best in. Now, don’t be sending me nude pictures of yourself, ha (though you can keep these for yourself to track if you’d like). Maybe it’s taking pictures of you in the dress or pair of pants that you are using to track your dress or pant size. Or maybe it’s a sleeveless shirt and tank top that you want to wear during the summer. And if you want to see your abs, then you best believe that you need to take pictures of your abs to track how much more definition you get. Take a front, side, and rear view picture and be sure to note the exact conditions in which the picture was taken (lighting, distance from camera, time of day/week, etc.) to be as accurate as possible in your assessment. The clients whom failed to take before pictures in the past have nothing but regret about it. Your before pictures will become your trophy and they are an absolute must if you really are serious about getting results that count. We tell our clients to take new pictures either bi-weekly or monthly until they reach their goal(s).

Step Three- Planning and Preparing for Roadblocks: What are the big obstacles that will prevent you from having the success you desire? What’s contributed most to past failures?

Now that we know what you want to accomplish, it’s time to plan and prepare for any obstacles that might get in your way of getting the job done based on your own personal schedule.

In general, the number one thing I hear is that people are too busy and tired and don’t have enough time to get their workouts in or make their meals. Well, I don’t care how busy you think you are, there is always hidden time throughout the day and week that can be freed up if your re-prioritize. Again, think back to why you wanted to do this in the first place and then examine what’s most important to you. Make your workouts and your meal times just like work appointments. Either you make the appointment or you don’t. And if you want to keep your job (or get your dream body) then you better make that appointment.

Another big obstacle is alcohol. People like to drink and unfortunately alcohol is about as detrimental to burning fat as it gets. Again, what’s more important to you, looking sexy or getting hammered. The choice is yours. Remember, once you achieve your goal(s), alcohol can be added back in with moderation. But know this, lean people just don’t get wasted unless they are genetic freaks. Low to zero alcohol consumption is needed if you want to look your best year round and that’s a fact.

Lastly, many people deal with boredom eating or emotional eating. Boredom eating means just that, eating to fill up dead time when you have nothing better to do. The best way to deal with this is, you guessed it, to do something! Find an active hobby to keep your mind off of eating when boredom strikes and you can beat this trend. Emotional eating describes the use of food to cope with stress or to reward for accomplishment. Food is not unlike drugs or alcohol in this regard, it can be very addictive. There is no quick fix for emotional eating other than avoiding trigger situations (bars, parties, etc.) and trigger foods (starches, sugars, fast food, etc.) in the short term to break bad habits.

At the end of the day, whether your roadblocks are very individual or if they fall in line with the general roadblocks our clients encounter on a regular basis, the key is to be honest about them and to plan and prepare for them. And that’s where social support and accountability come into play. The clients who have had the most success with us have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. This is so critical, especially since most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success your desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early.

Personal Trainer and Boot Camps in Charlotte, NC

10 HABITS TO ADOPT FOR A SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR’S RESOULUTION

The Thanksgiving has come and gone, grandma’s peach cobbler pie has been consumed and we have stuffed ourselves to the point that we now look like the turkey that was on the table. Santa Claus and all his elves are back at the North Pole preparing the list to check it twice for this year. Now here we are, 2009, at a time where millions of Americans have dedicated themselves to trying to make lifestyle changes to start off the New Year. Every New Year's we go through our personal closets (figuratively and literally) to make some alterations to better our current circumstances for the new year. Whether the resolution is to get out of debt, to spend more time with loved ones, or to quit smoking, these resolutions have one thing in common: they are goals to make our lives better. I will say that half of those million have decided to make one of their New Year’s Resolutions center on losing weight or enhancing their appearance for 2009.

Unfortunately, this ritual commitment to self-improvement has been widely viewed as something of a joke--in part because most peoples’ New Year’s resolutions attempts fail before they even get started. After years of watching others--or themselves--excitedly commit to a new goal, only to abandon the quest by March, many come to conclude that New Year's resolutions are an exercise in futility that should not be taken seriously.

Where or who started New Year’s resolutions?

The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

The New Year has not always begun on January 1, and it doesn't begin on that date everywhere today. It begins on that date only for cultures that use a 365-day solar calendar. January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars had.

The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new. The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year's Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common New Year's gifts.

In the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year's Day to December 25, the birth of Jesus. Then they changed it to March 25, a holiday called the Annunciation. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration of the New Year was returned to January 1.

Making New Year's resolutions does not have to be futile--and to make them is not silly; done seriously, it is an act of profound moral significance that embodies the essence of a life well-lived. Consider what we do when we make a New Year's resolution: we look at where we are in some area of life, think about where we want to be, and then set ourselves a goal to get there. We are tired of feeling chubby and lethargic and unattractive, and want the improved appearance and greater energy level that comes with greater fitness. So we resolve to take up a fun athletic activity--like fitness boot camps, an aerobic or spinning class--and plan to do it three times a week.

I have set some resolutions for myself, however, what I did was change my mental verbiage in believing that these are not resolutions but simply some goals that I want to accomplish throughout the year. We set goals all the time. Daily goals are met throughout the course of a day i.e. meeting a deadline at work for a major project, setting up a presentation to ask for a raise from your boss, planning your day around trying to get home in time to watch American Idol, or planning to get that house that you wanted or dreamed of. All of these are similar to a New Year’s resolution but we don't see them in that light. So, we are accustomed to setting and meeting goals; however, I think that when we look at resolutions, they seem to take on a life of their own. By setting goals you have a road map to where you would like to start and how you will like to get there.

Before I get into this goal setting process, I just need to get something off of my chest. I know a lot of people think goal setting is just a cheesy, useless thing. Unfortunately, these people just don’t get it and frankly if you are one of those people, please do us both a favor and stop reading this article and go buy another useless weight loss book or pill because I simply cannot do anything for you. I can only help people who want to learn. I simply cannot help people who already think they know it all and think they are too good to take some time to figure out what the heck it is that they actually want to accomplish. The bottom line is that the most successful people out there, and I mean not just weight loss success, I am talking business, lifestyle, etc., are shamelessly goal driven. They know exactly why they want to do something and harness that super motivation to figure out what and by when they want to go about accomplishing that. Furthermore, they plan and prepare for every possible roadblock they will encounter in their path to success. This is what I want to teach you how to do today, so let’s get to it! To assist those reading this, I have come up with 10 tips to get you started for this New Year:

Aim low. It goes without saying that most New Year's resolutions are easier announced (or written) than done — but if you set the bar too high, you're doomed from the start. Instead of a sweeping declaration like "I will lose 30 pounds by April and finally fit into that dress," target a goal that's more attainable, like losing 10 or 15 pounds.

Start with one resolution. If you try to make too many, you may not accomplish any. Don't overload yourself. It's difficult enough for the average person to follow through on one ambitious New Year's resolution; why on earth would you saddle yourself with three or four? Choose the most pressing issue at hand — losing weight, finding a girlfriend, improving your relationship with your parents — and concentrate on that. Trying to do everything simultaneously practically guarantees failure across the board.

Reward yourself. Following through on a New Year's resolution is rarely easy, so a little Pavlovian conditioning goes a long way. (You know Pavlov and his salivating dogs!) If you've resolved to shop less, stroke yourself for not buying those shoes by springing for a steaming hot cappuccino at the mall. If you've resolved to be losing 10 pounds, reward yourself with one meal that is your favorite comfort food.

Wait until spring. Sometimes the best way to accomplish a New Year's resolution is to make it at a time of year of your choosing, rather than the one dictated by the calendar. May 1 is a good alternate date, since the change of season will neatly coincide with the change you're hoping to accomplish in yourself.

Make your resolution very specific. "Don't say 'I want to lose weight'— instead, say 'I want to lose three pounds a month so that I look hot in my new swimsuit come summer,'".

Be serious about your resolution. If you don't take your resolution seriously, it is a waste of time to make one.

Write your resolution down and post it in a visible place. Out of sight is out of mind. Remember that saying? If you see your goal every day, it will be in the forefront of your mind.

Don't let yourself quit. Even if you slip up once or twice, you shouldn't abandon your resolution.

Enlist the support of friends and family. Bring others in on the resolution so you have a support group to help you accomplish your goals.

Tell everyone you know. One school of thought says New Year's resolutions are best kept to oneself, but look at it this way: the more people to whom you announce your resolution (say, to get out of your dead-end job by spring), the more people there'll be to prod you along if you fall behind. There's no shame in seeking help if you can't accomplish your resolution on your own.

The last two bullet points are the main ingredient in accomplishing your goal. Group support and group involvement are key. Two heads are better than one and the power of synergy is great! This is where social support and accountability come into play. “Birds of a feather flock together “. Like minds think and accomplish things together. Join a support/ interest group, or better yet a fitness boot camp because then you will have a support group that you will first began to become close with and then become accountable to because of the bond that you have established with that particular group.

The clients who have had the most success with us have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. This is so critical, especially since most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success your desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early.

Finally, remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. The little things add up. The power of momentum will catapult you to greatness and success. The goal is to accomplish a New YEAR’S resolution, not New month, or New couple of months, or New Spring Break resolution; therefore, continue to work at your goal and believe that the small changes ARE AND WILL pay off in the long run even though right now you may not see them.

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare was quick to come out of the blocks and sped past the tortoise; however, the tortoise keep on pushing through and making small progressive accomplishments until it won the race, shocking the hare and the world with its accomplishment. You too need to think like the tortoise don’t start off strong to find yourself no where to be found at the end of the race, frustrated and disappointed with where you were at the end of 2009. This is a marathon/ endurance race not the 200 meter sprint. Pace yourself and remember that you will get your crown if you work your goals that you have set forth. Don’t worry about tomorrow, or the next week, or next month just get through today with accomplishing whatever the goal is that you have set out for TODAY. You can’t make it to the top of the ladder without first taking the first step!

GOOD LUCK.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Study Shows Regular Exercise Might Prevent Onset Of Diabetes In Black Women

Taking a brisk walk several times a week for exercise appears to reduce black women's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published this month in the American Journal of Epidemiology, Reuters Health reports. Few studies have been conducted on the benefits of exercise among black women, according to Reuters. For the study, Julie Palmer of Boston University and colleagues used data from the ongoing Black Women's Health Study that followed 45,000 black women from 1995 to 2005.

Researchers found that those who said they walked for a minimum of five hours weekly for exercise were one-third less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not walk. The risk of being diagnosed with the disease was significantly lower among women who said they regularly took a brisk walk even when taking into account possible contributing factors such as age, income and diet. The study included a large number of obese women and they too appeared to have a lower risk for developing diabetes if they exercised regularly.

Palmer said, "This is important, because it suggests a way to reduce diabetes risk even among the women who are at highest risk of the disease," adding, "The finding that brisk walking for a few hours a week or longer reduces diabetes risk may be the most important finding of all. This is something almost all women can do in the course of their daily lives."

Researchers also found that women who watched television for five or more hours a day were 86% more likely to develop diabetes than those who watched less than one hour per day (Norton, Reuters Health, 12/18).


An abstract of the study is available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Salt Lake City Is Best City For Women, Madison Is Best City For Men - USA

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The editors of Men's Health and Women's Health magazines reveal the first-ever ranking of America's Best & Worst Cities for Women and the eighth annual ranking of America's Best & Worst Cities for Men. The lists appear in the January/February editions of both magazines, hitting newsstands on Tuesday, December 23.

Topping the healthiest cities list for women is Salt Lake City, Utah while Madison, Wisconsin took the top spot for the men's list. The worst cities for women and men are Bakersfield, California and Charleston, West Virginia, respectively.

The magazines' editors tallied 38 different factors to determine the rankings, including cancer rates, air quality and number of gym memberships. The analysis took into consideration 100 of America's largest cities (from all 50 states) and focused on the overall health, fitness and quality of life for their residents. The comprehensive report focuses specifically on major cities, not their suburbs, and utilizes data from sources such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Census Bureau, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Seven cities overlap with high rankings on healthy living for both men and women (in the top ten spots): Aurora, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Francisco and San Jose, California; Salt Lake City, Utah and Seattle, Washington. The bottom ten spots on both lists include Bakersfield, California; Birmingham, Alabama; Charleston, West Virginia; Detroit, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee; St. Louis, Missouri and St. Petersburg, Florida.

The top ten best and worst cities for each gender are featured in the print editions of Men's Health and Women's Health magazines. A complete ranking of all 100 cities can be found on WomensHealthmag.com and MensHealth.com.

Featured in the January/February edition of Men's Health Magazine:

Ten Best Cities For Men

1. Madison, WI
2. St. Paul, MN
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Seattle, WA
5. Aurora, CO
6. San Jose, CA
7. Lincoln, NE
8. San Francisco, CA
9. Boston, MA
10. Minneapolis, MN

The 10 Worst Cities For Men

91. Detroit, MI
92. Jacksonville, FL
93. Riverside, CA
94. Bakersfield, CA
95. Memphis, TN
96. Birmingham, AL
97. St. Petersburg, FL
98. Las Vegas, NV
99. St. Louis, MO
100. Charleston, WV

Featured in the January/February edition of Women's Health Magazine:

The 10 Best Cities For Women

1. Salt Lake City, UT
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Seattle, WA
4. San Jose, CA
5. Denver, CO
6. Minneapolis, MN
7. Fargo, ND
8. Madison, WI
9. Manchester, NH
10. Aurora, CO

The 10 Worst Cities For Women

91. St. Petersburg, FL
92. Birmingham, AL
93. Modesto, CA
94. Cleveland, OH
95. Detroit, MI
96. Charleston, WV
97. Toledo, OH
98. Memphis, TN
99. St. Louis, MO
100. Bakersfield, CA

Women's Health Magazine
Men's Health Magazine
Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Spot Reduction

When I sit with a potential female client, I ask them what their goals are. The responses majority of the time are always the same, they want to either lose their stomach, get rid of the fat that is surrounding their back, or they want to make their butt tighter. I have to remind them of the phenomena of spot reduction and how it effects the body.

Besides launching millions of sit-ups, leg lifts and torso twists, the desire for a toned and taut physique has sold a long line of exercise devices of dubious worth. Countless inventions, such as vibrating belts and ”gut-busting” contraptions, have claimed to miraculously tighten and tone our trouble spots.

But the miracles we were expecting never materialized, and our ‘’spots” remained ”unreduced.”

What’s wrong with spot reduction?

Where did we go wrong? In our efforts to tone our bodies we neglected the most important factor: fat. Exercises such as crunches or leg lifts improve the tone and endurance of the muscles, but they don’t burn fat. When we do exercises that elevate the heart rate, such as bicycling, walking or aerobic dance, the body will draw upon its fat stores for energy.

Alternative solutions

Eating a low-fat diet and following an exercise program that combines aerobic activity and strength training is the key to changing the shape of your body.

In addition to burning calories through aerobic activity, strength training will increase the amount of muscle, which burns even more calories. But many people shun the idea of intensive exercise, scared off by the idea of five-mile runs, barbells or aerobic classes.

Thankfully, any aerobic activity that elevates your heart rate can help you burn fat and take off unwanted pounds. Many experts recommend doing at least three sessions of 20 minutes of aerobic activity per week. Ideally, for long-term weight control, you should engage in at least four sessions per week, for 45 minutes each time.

For instance, these enjoyable alternatives to traditional aerobic exercise are effective fat burners:

Mountain Biking

In-line Skating

Walking

Country Line Dancing

Hiking

Martial Arts

Boxing

Cross-country Skiing

Downhill Skiing

Water Sports

In addition to these activities, which can be done solo or with friends and family, take advantage of the wide variety of fitness tapes currently on the market, or hire an fitness professional expert to instruct you without having to come up with the routine yourself. You can learn everything from martial arts to swing dancing. Choose an activity because it interests you, not because it is touted as a great workout.

A few things to keep in mind when starting any new activity:

1. Don’t start out too hard or too fast or you may injure yourself or quit before enjoying any benefit.

2. Always concentrate on enjoying yourself, rather than on what a particular exercise might do for you.

3. Keep your exercise comfortable and only increase intensity after your body becomes accustomed to new activity levels.

And always check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program, especially if you’re over 40, or have cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or a family history of heart disease.

A final word about toning exercises

Just because exercises like leg lifts and crunches won’t budge the fat does not mean they are not beneficial. Unlike some aerobic activities, these exercises can strengthen and tone specific muscles of the body.

The best way to shape up is to incorporate strength and toning exercises with aerobic exercises. Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to looking and feeling better.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Love Your Body

1. Find something you like about yourself. Look in the mirror and pick a body part (shoulders, hands, skin, eyes, etc.) that you admire and accentuate it.
2. Practice positive visualization. Every morning after you turn off the alarm, make it a habit to imagine yourself at your very best: healthy and happy. Visualize as much detail as possible.
3. Splurge on an item of clothing that makes you feel fantastic, whether it's gorgeous (men a great suit or women some sexy lingerie or a pair of killer high heels).
4. Surround yourself with a circle of friends who not only adore you but who also love themselves. Fat talk and body bashing- "hate my (insert body part)" are contagious. No negative self talk allowed.
5. Write down something nice a friend or family member/ someone close to you have said about you and stick it on your mirror so you see it very day.



Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

An Alpha To Omega Experience: The Process of Weight Loss

I was talking with someone the other day about where they were in life. This person really was down on themselves because they were at a crossroad with making some challenging decisions about where they wanted to be in life as it pertain to their career, personal, and spiritual life. We got on the subject of the word and definition of process. The dictionary defines process as:

1. A series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result: the process of digestion; the process of obtaining a driver's license.
2. A series of operations performed in the making or treatment of a product: a manufacturing process; leather dyed during the tanning process.
3. Progress; passage: the process of time; events now in process.


In the Greek alphabet the first letter is alpha and the last letter is omega. Which in essence is what a process is. A beginning and a end.

What is a process?

Isn't it just a series of things that have a start, a middle, and an end (in its simplistic form)? A process. Everything in life is a process. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end to everything. Let's look at a few examples to see if this is true!

For example movies and books have the plot, the climax, and then the end of the storyline. Likewise, songs follow the same format as a story unfolds through melody and rhythm. Even life is a process, we are born into this world. We grow and develop, and then return to the earth through death. Everything is based off of the alpha to omega principle.

With that said, in the process there are usually ups and downs, pitfalls and advantages, triumphs and disappointments, wins and loses, and even sometimes plateau moments as well. We go through a bunch of tests that are graded upon rather we grasp a concept. The downside of it is if we fail, we have to repeat it until with grasp it. Most of the times the mistakes that are made are looked upon in a negative manner; however, its the mistakes that helps us learn what or how we should be doing to move through to the next level in order to obtain whatever desire or goal that we have set forth. Life is set up so that we have to accomplish one level before we move on to the next. Even if a person cheats or tries to cut corners in the process, somehow they are forced to either have to start from the beginning and do whatever it was correctly, or they may get lucky and have to just repeat the missing step that was overlooked or taken out. Regardless, there are no shortcuts to this principle.

If one is trying to make a cake. There are certain steps that must be adhered to in order for the cake to come out successfully. However, there are some steps that could be replaced or substituted which would not be detrimental to the outcome, i.e. adding less sugar. Yet if a person was to overlook or omit the main ingredients flour, milk, eggs, and (the most important) the oven- the whole process won't work.

If we agree that life is a journey- a process, that requires us to follow steps to our endpoint, then why is it that when we approach weight loss or our health we view it in a different manner? We try to cheat our way through by thinking that weight loss or even muscle gain is a smorgasbord full of ideas and concepts that we can pick and choose leaving some by the wayside. Yet that is not the case. What we do find is that we leave those by the wayside only to find out that we have to make a U turn to come back and get them after being frustrated time and time again with the same results. Now there are some leeway when it comes to the choice of modalities such as running on the treadmill vs taking a aerobic class, or using body weight exercise/ calisthenics vs machines and free weights, or picking up a sport vs just going for a walk or eating an apple vs eating a banana. All these examples follow under a specific category:

Treadmill and aerobic classes represent cardio exercises
Body weight and free weights represent strength exercises
The apple and the banana represent nutrition

Just like the cake analogy there are things that you have a choice on rather you want to do them or not; however, there are others that are imperative that must take place in order to have a successful outcome. With weight loss and weight management everyone knows that the three concepts listed above (cardio, strength training, and nutrition) must be in place in order for you to get the desired outcome that a person is looking for. Yet, majority of the times, individuals try to cheat the system by picking some of the equation without the other parts (in order to achieve addition you have to have all the parts added up to make the sum correct). Society, especially America, has sold its people a false sense of security when it comes to the concept of weight loss and management. That's why the fitness industry will be a multi-billion dollar industry in the next couple of years due to this concept. They have told us that we can take pills that will make us lose the weight without having to workout, or use some type of equipment for a couple of weeks to make our stomach look a certain way without having to go through the painstaking process. And again, that could be true for a while, but remember in a process if one important step or steps are overlooked usually you have to go back and repeat that step or you have to start from scratch and repeat the whole process. This leads to frustration and the possibility of burn out which results in the individual quitting.

If we were to, in the beginning, accept the fact that the journey to weight loss will be a long journey then I think that more people would succeed with obtaining their goals because they have the right mind frame going in! Here is the foundation for success in obtaining your desired weight loss:

1. You have to have a passion for what you want to accomplish
2. Must be willing to work your butt off
3. Learn from all failures no matter how painstaking they may be

If a person takes these steps and apply them to their weight loss journey, there is no way why they shouldn't be able to succeed and accomplish their goals. Also there are 3 more steps that I forgot to mention:

4. Stop putting strict time lines on obtaining the weight goal
5. Make the goals realistic and obtainable
6. Quit keeping up with the Joneses

The last 3 are very important. As a personal trainer, what I have found is that the majority of people I train or give advice fail to adhere or omit these principles because they feel the need to rush through the process. You should never try to rush through anything. When you rush through you miss out on so many levels. The process only when finished and done right is cherished because you are able to look back and enjoy the accomplishment of it all in its totality (with both the setbacks and lessons learned). Some cases the process itself and the things learned are taken and used in other areas of a person life.

My final thought is this. Look at the metamorphose of the caterpillar. Scientist say that caterpillars have to go through a lot in order to become a butterfly. They say that caterpillars have a long struggle within the cocoon and breaking from it in order to become that beautiful creature that we appreciate and are in awe over. If we take that story and remember it when we are going through the process of weight loss or management then we would approach the whole process differently. We must understand that weight loss is Alpha To Omega-beginning to end. It is a process. We must embrace the fact that during this process there will be a lot of mistakes made, but there also will be a lot of lessons learned. And when its over, when its over you will be just as beautiful as that butterfly.


Personal Trainer and Sports Psychologist Consultant in Charlotte, NC

A Fitness Dream Deferred: Making Your Fitness Dream A Reality

Langston Hughes, the African-American poet, wrote a poem in the early 20th century entitled A Dream Deferred. The poem is as follows:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like as raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
And then rot?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

The word deferred is define as to exempt temporarily from induction; to put off action or delay; keeping something from occurring until a future time; decide to do something later on; procrastinate; postpone; yield respectfully in judgment/ opinion; to refer.

I propose What Happens to a Fitness Dream Deferred? You may ask how this relates to fitness or wellness. The theme of this poem has to deal with postponing one’s deepest desires can lead to destruction. This can be seen in the clients that I work with on a daily basis. They come in with a goal i.e. weight loss, performance enhancement, or muscle mass gains; however, during the course of the journey, the goal becomes postponed never to be reached.

The questions in the poem are all rhetorical questions, because they intend to answer themselves. The question “What happens to a dream deferred?” appears to be answered with nothing but more questions. But if we analyze each question we get an idea of what the speaker really believes about dreams/goals being postponed. At the same rate, clients who have a goal may experience a dream deferred. The “dream” that the speaker is describing can be translated to a fitness goal, not just dreams experienced during sleep. The dream is important to the client’s life. But what dream is it exactly? The poem does not choose the dream but leaves it up to the reader. Nevertheless, the speaker’s position is clear that any important goal that must be delayed can have serious negative affects. As we look at each question we find out what those affects are. With each question the speaker offers a possibility of each negative affect.

The first stanza “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun”: a raisin is already dry, and as a raisin, it is a good thing, useful and nutritious, but if a raisin is left in the sun to dry up, it becomes hard and impossible to eat; its value sucked out, it no longer serves its useful, nutritional purpose.

The goal is central to what makes the client a valuable member of society, their self-worth. But suppose that person with the goal is told they cannot fulfill it just yet; they must wait until the trainer decides when they can lose the weight, or the nutritionist decides when it is time for them to change their diet.

What if the client has to take some other fitness goal that he/she lacks interest in i.e. the client comes in wanting to loss weight but the trainer decides for the client that they will work on functional training? What if they have no idea how long it will take to lose the weight (which usually is the case when most clients come in)? And what if they feel that perhaps they can never lose the weight or reach the goal? What happens then?

Surely, their aspiration to attain their goal will dry up, if they are not allowed to develop it. If the goal does not dry up, maybe it will “fester like a sore-/ And then run.” If you have a sore, you want it to dry up so it will heal, but if it festers and runs, that means it is infected and will take longer to heal. The goal that festers becomes infected with the disease of restlessness and dissatisfaction that may lead to gaining more weight, dropout, burnout, doubt, self- worthlessness, resentment, or even striking back at those who are deferring their goal.

Perhaps a goal put off too long is like meat that had rotted. Dead animal flesh that some people use for food will turn rancid and give off horrible odors if not used within a certain period of time. If the goal is not realized in a timely fashion, it may seem to decay because it dies.

The goal may “crust and sugar over-/Like a syrupy sweet?” If you leave pancake syrup or honey unused for several months, and you go back to fetch the bottle, you might find that there is crusty accumulation on the top of the bottle and the contents are no longer unable. Lack of use had formed that crust, that hard material that is no longer useful because no longer pliable. The goal forced to sit idle hardens into an unusable substance of thoughts that have separated themselves from the goals, and formed idle destructive thoughts that are crusted over to despair, doubt, anger, and hatred.

The second stanza is not a question bet merely a “maybe” suggestion: maybe the goal just sags like trying to carry something heavy. A heavy load makes one walk slowly, makes one clumsy as they try to move under the load. The goal not realized may become heavy to bear, because it still weighs on one’s mind with musing like “what might have been”, “if only”, “I guess I’ll never know”, “the one that got away.” All these useless thoughts that dip back into the past, weigh heavy on the mind that has had to defer a goal. This sagging under a heavy load might lead to depression and mental lethargy.

The last stanza returns to the question again, but this time instead of a simile, the speaker employs a metaphor of an explosion. What explodes? Bombs explode and cause great destruction. If all the other possibilities of a deferred goal are bad with some worse than others, then the last possibility is the worst. If the person whose goal is deferred loses all hope, they might “explode” with their despair. Never to revisit or accept whatever the current outcome of fitness has left them or more importantly festering over to other areas of life in which they want to achieve but associate the failure from this goal into those areas of their life.

If you liked this article or any that are posted here please leave us a comment for we enjoy to read your comments.

Simple Mathematics: The Myth Behind Weight Loss

Question? Should parents expect their newborn to be able to fully cloth, feed, and care for themselves after three months of parental care? Should a teacher expect a kindergarten student to be able to master kindergarten concepts after being in class for three weeks? Should the same school system expect the same kindergarten student to comprehend concepts that are taught to 1st graders? What about comprehend concepts of higher learner? Should an athlete learning to play a new sport expect drastic results after being introduced to the skill within two to three practices? What if a beginner investor starts a portfolio, should they expect to yield big returns after three or four months? And if so, would not outside traders start to wonder about it said investor and start inquiring what he/she was doing to gain big returns within a short time frame? Should anyone expect to see results or major gains without set backs to any of the above concepts?

Question? Why do individuals get those concepts and understand that they take investing time and patience; however, when it comes to fitness and weight loss everyone wants a quick fix and fast results? If a person gains 40 pounds in 4 years, why do they expect to lose the same 40 pounds in 4 weeks? Weight loss can be a difficult concept, more so than the above concepts that were mention. It takes time and effort on the part of the individual in order for the weight to drop and for them to return to that high school image. Especially if they haven't been that size since Michael Jackson debuted his Off the Wall album. There are many issues that come into play when one is trying to loss weight.

In order for weight loss to occur, you need to burn more calories through physical activity than you are taking in. I like to compare it to the our bank accounts. What I mean by that is you spend more than you take in! A good starting point would be to determine what your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is. Your RMR is an indication of the number of kilocalories your body needs when you are resting. This is a simple test that will help you to determine what your individual needs are, so that physical activity and calorie levels can be adjusted accordingly. Remember, metabolism slows when we age, so your calorie needs are probably not as high as they once were. Remember how you could eat whatever you wanted and not gain a pound, but it seems like if you walk past the bakery you gain weight automatically. Check with your health care provider to find a location close if you are interested in having this test done.

Another area to examine is emotional eating. Many people respond to stress or depression by eating excessively. Sources of stress may not always be apparent, but may still affect eating habits and cause weight gain.

Likewise, blood sugar imbalance can cause a person to have difficulty losing or maintaining weight loss. Eating simple, refined carbohydrates can cause rapid fluctuations in blood sugar levels. For example, eating chocolate increases the amount of sugar in the blood. The hormone insulin is released which causes sugar to be stored away and blood sugar levels to be lowered, which trigger cravings for more sweets in order to stabilize blood sugar.

While losing weight is difficult for many people, it is even more challenging to keep weight off. 80 to 85 percent of those who lose a large amount of weight regain it. One theory about regaining lost weight is that people who decrease their caloric intake to lose weight experience a drop in their metabolic rate, making it increasingly difficult to lose weight over a period of months. A lower metabolic rate may also make it easier to regain weight after a more normal diet is resumed. For these reasons, extremely low calorie diets and rapid weight loss are discouraged.

Losing no more than one to two pounds per week is recommended. Incorporating long-term lifestyle changes will increase the chance of successful long-term weight loss. Weight loss to a healthy weight for a person’s height can promote health benefits such as lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure, less stress on bones and joints, and less work for the heart. Thus, it is vital to maintain weight loss to obtain health benefits over a lifetime. Keeping extra weight off requires effort and commitment, just as losing weight does. Weight loss goals are reached by changes in diet, eating habits, exercise, and, in extreme circumstances, surgery.

Finally, the strategies that encourage weight loss also play an important role in maintenance:
• Support systems used effectively during weight loss can contribute to weight maintenance.

• Physical activity plays a vital role in maintaining weight loss. Studies show that even exercise that is not rigorous, such as walking and using stairs, has a positive effect. Activity that uses 1,500 to 2,000 calories per week is recommended for maintaining weight loss.

• Diet and exercise are vital strategies for losing and maintaining weight.

• Once the desired weight has been reached, the gradual addition of about 200 calories of healthy, low-fat food to daily intake may be attempted for one week to see if weight loss continues. If weight loss does continue, additional calories of healthy foods may be added to the daily diet until the right balance of calories to maintain the desired weight has been determined. It may take some time and record keeping determining how adjusting food intake and exercise levels affect weight.

Continuing to use behavioral strategies can help maintain weight. Be aware of eating as a response to stress and use exercise, activity, or meditation to cope instead of eating.

A return to old habits does not mean failure. Paying renewed attention to dietary choices and exercise can help sustain behaviors that maintain weight loss. Identifying situations such as negative moods and interpersonal difficulties and incorporating alternative methods of coping with such situations rather than eating can prevent relapses to old habits.

If you enjoyed this article,leave a comment. We have a monthly e-journal that comes out. If you would like to subscribe it's free, email us at raqtraining@gmail.com or visit our website at www.raqtraining.net we have a lot of programs to assist people with losing weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Until then keep moving.