Workout Tips While On Holiday

As you make plans to go off on holiday and relax and unwind after a few months of high-stress, it’s important that you don’t completely abandon your fitness program altogether.

Not only will maintaining some degree of a workout program while you’re away help to reduce the chances that you start to gain weight, but it’ll also make it that much easier to carry on with your program upon your return.

If you take a complete week (or longer) off your workout, you’re going to find that when you get back to it, you’re incredibly sore and just feel ‘out of it’ overall.

Let’s take a quick look at a few of the top workout tips to remember for your vacation.

Bring Some Equipment
The very first thing that you’ll want to do is make sure you go prepared. Bring a few of your own pieces of workout equipment so that at the very least, you can do a quick workout in your hotel room.

A skipping rope is the perfect option for your cardio training session and a resistance band will help you keep the strength component in place.

Both of these are incredibly lightweight and will easily fit right in your suitcase.

Call Ahead To Check On Gym Facilities
The second thing that you should do is call ahead to wherever you’re staying and see what gym facilities are available.

If you can find this out ahead of time, it’s going to be that much easier to plan a workout that you can do using the equipment there.

It’s very important that you go in with a plan. If you don’t have a plan, the chances that you skip over the workout will be that much greater. If you do, you’re one step ahead of the game.

Keep The Workouts Short But Intense
When it comes to the actual workouts you do while away on holiday, intensity should be the name of your game.

You can cut back on the volume of your standard workout by up to 2/3’s as long as you maintain the intensity of the session. This will allow you to maintain your fitness level so that you can pick right back up as soon as you return home again.

This will also make it easy to perform short workouts that don’t eat up your vacation time, making it that much easier to get them in as well.

So there you have the most important tips to remember as you go about your hotel workouts while on vacation. If you take some time to prepare yourself for them and stay committed to leading the healthy lifestyle while you’re away, when you arrive back home it’ll feel as though you’ve never skipped a beat.

Have a Wonderful and Safe Holiday Folks!!

Eating Healthy While On Holiday

If you’re about to go on a much deserved holiday and are looking forward to all the fun activities about to come your way, one issue that may be causing a slight amount of anxiety is what you’re going to be eating while away.

Eat the wrong foods and you’ll be facing some weight gain when you return. Since this is clearly not something most people want to experience, it’s going to be vital that you put some steps into place to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you.

Let’s go over the key points to remember so that you can still maintain a decent eating plan while away on holiday and return back to your normal program after vacation ready to make progress forwards, not do damage control.

Choose One Meal To Indulge In
Chances are while on holiday you are going to want to indulge a little in the different food options available. After all, you are on holiday and holidays are meant to enjoy yourself.

As long as you practice some control and moderation, you definitely can treat yourself to the odd food that you really want without seeing weight gain result.

A good strategy to use is to select one meal in which you’ll treat yourself at each day. If you can keep the rest of the meals very clean and healthy, this will reduce the chances that you take in too many calories but instead, at the end of the day, it’ll all balance out.

Then when you eat that food that you’re choosing to indulge in, make sure to eat a reasonable portion. Don’t let yourself get out of control as how much you eat is just as important as what you’re eating.

As long as the calorie balance is correct at the end of the day, you won’t gain weight.

Stick To Lean Proteins And Vegetables
The second strategy to keep in mind as you aim to eat healthy while on holiday is for the rest of the meals during the day, stick as much as possible to just lean protein and vegetables.

Since there’s a good chance that fats will be added during the cooking process of these proteins and vegetables, you’ll want to keep carbs out of the picture as much as possible to create that ‘wiggle’ room for those added fat calories.

Again, it’s all about calorie balance.

Protein and vegetable based meals also tend to control hunger best, so this will allow you to maintain a reduced calorie intake while away.

Get A Suite With A Kitchen
Finally, the last quick tip to remember is to try, if you can, to get a suite with a kitchen. If you can eat at least one meal in your room where you’re staying, then you will have complete control over what goes into that meal.

At least then you know that one meal of the day is going to be directly in line with your normal diet plan.

So there you have a few quick tips to remember. If you’re smart in your approach, you definitely do not need to be facing a high amount of weight gain when you return back from your holiday.

Ugly Sweater Run!

Here is a fantastic pic of one of my all time favorite clients!
Meet Super-Fit-Mom Anna Michelle Johnson getting ready for this years Ugly Christmas Sweater Run.

She told me she got a stitch in her side halfway through....

 /kneeslapper

Grilled Cauliflower

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, cut into thick slices

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons seasoned salt 

Recipe makes 4 servings

Directions

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.

Sprinkle cauliflower slices on both sides with olive oil, brown sugar, and seasoned salt.

Cook cauliflower on the grill until char marks appear, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a grill-safe pan with a lid, cover, and continue cooking on grill until tender, about 20 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories - 81 cal - 4%

Carbohydrates - 11.5g - 4%

Cholesterol - l0mg - 0%

Fat - 3.6g - 5%

Fiber - 3.6g - 15%

Protein - 2.9g - 6%

Sodium - 503mg - 20%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Front Squat Grip Set Ups with Eric Cressey

 

Eric Cressey is one of the fitness world's go-to trainers.  This video is from his latest blogpost

How to Front Squat: Everything You Need to Know
Click the link to view the full article!

Holiday Fitness Special

                   

Holiday Special!!!

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The New Year is just around the corner, what are your resolutions going to be? 

It’s a fact that the more specific your goals, the more likely you will have success achieving them. 

This package will help you know exactly where you stand so you can set your goals accordingly.

The Package:

5 Full Body Workouts + 1 Fitness Evaluation

In the fitness evaluation we will look at your basic strength levels, heart rate recovery, and flexibility in addition to a body composition check and a good look at your personal goals.

The five 50-minute private training sessions will be customized to you.

Each full body workout will bring additional focus to a specific muscle group, ie upper back, shoulders,  chest , Lats, and Abs.   By rotating through the body we will get you up and moving for the New Year with maximum results, and minimum soreness,

Lose Fat!

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Start Liking Who You See In The Mirror!

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All of this in a private setting, no waiting or competing for equipment, and no gym rat attitude!

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What will You Accomplish in 2013?

Should You Use An Electrolyte Beverage During Your Workout?

One question that some people will start to ask themselves as they go about their workout program is whether or not they should be using a n electrolyte beverage (or sports drink as they’re more commonly called).

Will these help you perform better and reach new heights in your success?

Or, will they just hold you back?

There are a few things to consider when answering this question so that you can make the most informed decision for yourself.

How Long Is Your Workout?

The first thing to consider is how long your workout is.  Are you going to be exercising for at least an hour or longer? If so, the chances that you lose the key electrolytes your body needs to sustain intense exercise – sodium and potassium, will be much higher.

Therefore, having that electrolyte replacing beverage in there can be a very good plan to achieve optimal success.

If you’re just doing a short workout on the other hand, say 20-30 minutes, then chances are that you don’t really need it.

What Type Of Exercise Are You Doing?

Moving along, the second thing to consider is the type of exercise you’re doing.  If you’re doing endurance events, that again calls for a greater need of electrolytes than if you’re doing stop and go activities such as weight lifting.

That isn’t to say that those people doing stop and go activities won’t ever need a sports drink – in some cases it can be beneficial, but endurance athletes will need one much more frequently.

What’s The Room/Environment Temperature?

Finally, the last thing that you’ll want to take into account when deciding whether or not you should be using an electrolyte replacement beverage as you go about your workout program is what the environment or room temperature is.

The more you’re sweating, the more you’re going to be losing the key electrolytes you need, thus you’ll have a greater chance of requiring that sports drink.

If you’re exercising in the hot summer heat or you’re in a very warm exercise room, you’ll definitely want to be considering it.

If it’s a cooler day and you’re going for a light jog outside, it may not be warranted.

So there you have the most important things to keep in mind regarding whether you should be using an electrolyte replacement beverage as you go about your workout session.

Remember that some of these do contain calories and added sugar, so you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of using one that does. On one hand, if you are doing a longer and more intense workout session, the extra energy can definitely work to your benefit.

On the other hand though, if you’re aiming to lose weight and take in 100-200 calories worth of sugar from that beverage, how well is this going to help progress?

Clearly it’s not so you’ll want to opt for a calorie free one instead.

Keep these points in mind and you should have no problem making an informed decision. 

Seeds

Four Beverages To Avoid On Your Diet

Four Beverages To Avoid On Your Diet

As you go about the process of trying to lose body fat and reach your goal weight, one thing that you must be making sure that you’re paying close attention to at all times is the beverages that you’re consuming. Many people are very good about watching the foods that they’re eating on a daily basis, but completely neglect to think about what they’re drinking as well. If you’re taking in calories from liquids, they are definitely going to count and can add up quickly without you realizing it.   A few poor beverage choices and you are definitely going to be noticing the effects. Let’s take a quick look at four beverages that you’ll want to avoid as you go about your diet plan. Fruit Juice First up on the list of beverages to avoid is fruit juice.  Fruit juice is a poor choice because it’s essentially 100% sugar and will spike blood glucose just as much as a regular can of soda would. Plus, it’s also very calorie dense. Per cup of fruit juice you’re typically looking at 100-120 calories, so this can really tack on quite the number to your day if you’re drinking two cups or more. Instead, opt for real fruit. It’s lower in calories and will provide you with dietary fiber as well. Gourmet Coffee Moving along, the second beverage to avoid is gourmet coffee.  While you may love the energy boosting benefits you get from having this first thing in the morning, don’t discount the calories it contains from all the added sugars along with fat from cream. And if there’s whip cream, you might as well label it as a dessert.  Stay away if weight control is the name of your game. Fruit Smoothies Fruit smoothies are yet another big diet offender that you want to be careful about.  Fruit smoothies are often prepared with yogurt or ice cream, frozen fruit, milk or cream, and may also contain other ingredients or sugars. All in all, they can easily pack in at least 300 or more calories per smoothie, so as you can imagine, aren’t really something that are going to provide your both with the high quality nutrition it needs for fat loss. Plus, they’re often lacking in protein, so won’t help you reach your goals on that front either. Alcohol Finally, the last beverage that you’ll want to stay clear from if you hope to achieve success on your fat loss diet is alcohol.  Alcohol is very problematic because as soon as it enters your system, all fat burning is going to come to a halt. Alcohol also contains empty calories – and seven calories per gram at that, so it can quickly put you over your daily total. So there you have four of the top beverages that you should steer clear from as you go about your fat loss diet.  Are you letting any of these slip into your plan?

Keep Moving Forward

Found this on Scott Colby's Facebook.  Love it!