Body Sculpting by Susan

How much exercise should you be doing?

admin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:38:18 +0000

The department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. Moderate exercise consists of brisk walking or swimming. Vigorous exercise consists of running or aerobic dancing. They also recommend twice a week of strength training. Although they don’t give an amount of time of that they recommend, I say you need at least 30 minutes each time to see any benefits.

So let’s do the math. This means you need 30 minutes 5 days a week of moderate exercise and two of those days add in 30 minutes of strength training to your routine. If your goal is to lose weight I would add even more strength training to your routine. Strength training adds muscle and muscle BURNS FAT!

If you are just starting out I recommend you doing 20-30 minutes of exercise every other day and each week add more time. Keep in mind again that if your goal is to lose weight you probably are going to need to do more than the 150 minutes per week that the Health and Human Services recommends. This recommendation is only one of maintaining your health. How much you will need to do each week to lose weight will depend on how many calories you take in. 3500 calories is one pound so you need to either cut that from your diet or burn that in exercise.

Fitness Tip of the Week – 11/23

admin — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:56:15 +0000

Everyone needing 8 glasses of water a day isn’t necessarily true. How many ounces of water you should be drinking is actually your body weight divded in half. So if you weigh 14o lbs then you should be drinking 70 ounces of water per day, which is 8.75 cups of water per day. Also, 8 ounces of water should be added for every 20 minutes of exercise. Having the right amount of water each day will help you to feel fuller and keep you hydrated. Your body is made of up to 70% of water. In order for all of your organs to function properly and effectively your water intake matters greatly. Keep in mind that your body needs pure water, not water from soda, soft drinks, tea or coffee. If you are the type of person that doesn’t like water because it has no taste, squeeze in some lemon or a lime to help add some flavor without adding in calories.

Halloween Candy

admin — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 02:29:32 +0000

If you are like me you are having trouble keeping out of your kids Halloween candy. Before you sneak another piece here is a quick link that gives a break down of calories for the most popular Halloween candy. Keep in mind that the calorie count is for 1 piece of the small snack size piece of candy.

http://www.fitsugar.com/Calories-Halloween-Candy-Fun-Size-Treats-5452936

Fitness Tip of the Week

admin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:24:00 +0000

One of the biggest excuses I hear as a trainer is “I don’t have the time to exercise!” I completely understand that with everyone’s crazy schedules it is hard to find the time for it. Sometimes even I have trouble. Between training everyone else, taking care of my kids and husband it is hard for me to find the time to sneak in a work out for myself. But here is my trick: I rather take 15 minutes to exercise than no time at all. The key is to make the most of that 15 minutes. Make sure your heart rate is accelerated and that you are breaking a sweat.

Here is an example of a quick 15 minute work out that requires no equipment at all:

1 minute walking in place warm up

30 seconds running in place with bringing yours knees high off of the ground

30 seconds walking fast in place

30 seconds jumping jacks

30 seconds of walking fast in place

Repeat this 30 second sequence for the next 13 minutes, then follow it with a 1 minute walking cool down.

This is a great way to burn some calories and get your heart rate pumping! Remember making the time to exercise will add time to your life in the long run!!

Fight Osteoporosis With Weight Bearing Exercise

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:07:05 +0000

Studies are finding that exercise can help build and maintain bone density at any age. Weight bearing exercises are proven the most effective. These exercises include lifting weights, walking, stair climbing, hiking, and running. Resistance exercises such as lifting weights should be done two-three times per week. Unfortunately, swimming and bicycling are not considered weight bearing exercises. Although they are good for the heart, they don’t make a difference in maintaining bone density.

If you are wondering how working your muscles can actually make your bones stronger, it is because the force of muscles pulling against bones stimulates the bone building process. It will actually stimulate bone formation and the retention of calcium in the bones that are bearing the weight load. Not only does exercise help with bone density, but it also increases muscle strength, coordination, and balance which decreases the risk of falling and bone injuries especially in the elderly.

Osteoporosis is more common in women than men. This is why lifting weights is so important for women and should be included in their exercise routine. So women don’t be afraid to pick up those weights. It might be your best way to fight against osteoporosis.

Diet + Exercise = Weight Loss

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:30:29 +0000

Here is a study that proves what I believe and most of my fitness gurus out there do as well, that diet alone is not enough to lose weight. It is a combination of diet and exercise that works the best. In some cases dieting alone can actually work against you. If you cut your calories too much your body goes into a starvation mode and starts holding onto its fat because it is afraid it is not going to get the calories it needs. In many cases a lot of diets don’t consist of the true calories and nutrition our body needs. That is why the best way to lose body fat is to moderately lower your caloric intake and exercise 5-6 days a week for 30-60 minutes a day. The combination of both is what will work the best and the fastest!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100413170710.htm

Fitness strengthens the body and the mind!

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:33:58 +0000

The link below is a video on reschearch that was done on 5th-7th graders on how well they did academically compared to their fitness activities. The children that were more physically active got better grades in school than the sedentary children. Also, as the children improved physically there grades improved as well. This is because exercise boosts the cells in the brain improving long term memory. Science is proving more and more that in children and adults who get regular exercise the benefit is not only physically but mentally as well.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2010/03/04/hm.fitness.and.academics.cnn

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:00:22 +0000

Here is a link from Self Magazine that gives you a list of healthy snacks to eat that help while you are dieting. I think all of the snacks are great. The article really doesn’t go over portion though and it is really important while dieting. Even though you are eating a healthy snack you still need to be careful of the amount. For example it lists almonds and they are great for you to help with sugar spikes. However, it doesn’t say that you really only need a small handful of them. As for the fruits it lists apples and pears. Both are great for there fiber content. However, some of the fruits now a days are so big that one apple is actually 2 servings of fruits. I always suggest to my clients that half of a piece of fruit combined with a small handful of nuts (either walnuts or almonds) makes a great healthy snack. Combining the nuts with the fruit is what will hold down your appetite until your next meal.

http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2008/07/foods-for-weight-loss

Get Back To Your New Year’s Resolutions!

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:36:09 +0000

Well, I can’t believe it is already February! I hope everyone’s holidays were wonderful and everyone is still sticking with those New Year’s Resolutions. January for me was a busy month for personal training. I apologize for not getting a chance to blog. But I am back now and plan on blogging a few times a week. So check back more often for new posts!

I hope since it is February your Resolutions aren’t already forgotten and you are still trying to stick to your health and fitness goals. Everyone thinks that setting your goals is the easiest part rather than actually sticking with them. But it is the goal setting that is actually just as hard. The hard part is setting REALISTIC goals that will really help you to ACHIEVE them. For example if you are trying to lose weight break it down into a weekly goal of 1-2 lbs per week rather then saying I want to lose 20 lbs in the next 2-3 months. You will feel better when you hit that weekly goal and it will keep you going to the next week. Most importantly don’t set an unrealistic goal of losing 20lbs in a month. Which first of all is unhealthy and second you will get frustrated when the weight isn’t coming off fast enough.

Also, validate your goals. What I mean by this is don’t keep them to yourself. First of all write them down so you validate them to yourself. Also, tell close friends and family what your goals and plans are. By saying them out loud makes them more realistic and helps you to stick with them. It is also nice to have the support from your friends and family.

So if you have already given up on your resolutions, don’t be upset with yourself for not keeping to it, but reevaluate them. Were your goals realistic to achieve? Did you write them down? Did you express to your close friends and family what your new plans were? Learn from your mistakes and move forward to achieve your goals!

Belly Fat

admin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:22:56 +0000

One of the most common questions my clients ask me is: What is the best ab work out to lose belly fat? The answer that most people don’t want to hear is that most ab work outs will not help you actually lose your mid-section body fat. Work outs targeting just your abs will help you tone your abdominal muscles. However, it will not help eliminate the fat in that area.

Unfortunately, fat tends to go more to the belly. Especially as we get older. It is also the worst fat to have since it surrounds your organs. It causes stress to your organs and can gradually damage them. So, it is really important to keep off the belly fat, but if doing 1,000 crunches a night won’t get rid of your belly fat than what will?

Here are your best options:

1. Muscle burns fat. So you need to target bigger muscle groups. Target leg, chest and back muscles. Strengthening these muscles will actually help you burn more fat and lose inches around the middle.

2. Interval training. This is doing cardio at two different speeds for about 30 minutes. The best interval training is to run at a fast speed for about 2 – 3 minutes and then walk for 2 minutes. Of course make sure you warm up for 5 – 10 minutes prior to doing this. The slower speed burns fat and the faster speed burns carbohydrates. So you are losing the fat that is already there and the carbohydrates that are waiting to turn into fat.

3. Cut down on your carbohydrates. We need carbohydrates for energy, so completely eliminating them is not the best thing to do. However, whatever carbs we take in and do not use for energy our bodies will store away for later use and convert to fat. This will add to those unwanted inches on the belly!

Try these few things and you should notice that the inches start disappearing around your middle. Keep at it and you will have a flatter stomach in no time!