What is your immediate goal?

If you don’t have a ready answer then chances are good that your motivation is low and it has resulted in a lack of results.

I know from firsthand experience that operating without a goal will get you nowhere. Sure, you may still be exercising regularly and eating mindfully but without that concrete goal your efforts will yield little results.

1. Setting your goal

You want to be in “better shape” but that’s so vague. Dig deeper.

What specifically do you wish you had now that you don’t?

• To drop 3 dress sizes.
• To lose 2 inches of arm fat jiggle.
• To melt 4 inches from your waist.
• To be able to run 3 miles without stopping.

2. Define your timeline

Now that you’ve determined exactly what part of your body isn’t up to par, tie that goal in with a specific timeline. When you have a timeline to measure your progress against, you’ll find that achieving your goal becomes an easier process.

• To drop 3 dress sizes by August 20th vacation.
• To lose 2 inches of arm fat jiggle by October 13th wedding.
• To melt 4 inches from your waist by July 7th pool party.
• To be able to run 3 miles without stopping by June 16th city 5k.

3. Name your prize

It’s time to take your motivation to the next level. Now that your specific goal is set and your timeline is clearly defined, let’s add a prize that you’ll receive once you’ve accomplished your goal. This prize shouldn’t be anything related to your unhealthy habits – so no junk food or extra large meals. Make the prize an item that will reinforce your slimmer body, like a nice piece of clothing.

• A couple new outfits for your August vacation.
• A sleeveless dress for the October wedding.
• A new swimsuit for your July pool party.
• A new pair of running shoes for your June 5k.

4. Picture it

You know what you want, when you want it by, and the reward you’ll get by achieving it. Now spend time picturing your end goal. Find a comfortable, quiet corner, close your eyes and see a mental movie – starring yourself – enjoying your reward with your new and improved body. Play your mental success movie several times throughout the day.

• See yourself enjoying an afternoon of your vacation, wearing your new clothes with confidence.
• Imagine how you’ll feel walking down the aisle baring your toned arms.
• See yourself lounging by the pool in your swimsuit, carefree and happy.
• Imagine the feeling of accomplishment you’ll feel as you cross the finish line.

5. Recipe for success

The steps that you’ve taken above have prepared you to mentally take on the challenge of motivating yourself through this transformation process. All that remains is a solid exercise and nutrition plan to push you through to your new body.

This is where I come in.

I’m fanatical about propelling each and every one of my clients through their own personal body transformation.

Call or email today and I’ll get you started on a program that will make your goals a reality.

Don’t allow past failures get you down. It can be frustrating waiting for results, but by a combination of cardio exercises, a healthy diet, and the right resistance workouts targeted for the butt and thighs, you will reach your goal.
Here are the essential exercises that target your gluteal muscles to give it the shape and tone you desire.

Exercise 1: Hip Lift
A great exercise to work your glute muscles is the hip lift. To do this exercise, lie on the floor with your back flat, knees bent, and feet resting on the ground. While keeping your arms at your sides on the floor, lift your bottom and lower back off of the floor. Hold for a few seconds, and then slowly lower yourself. Repeat. To work your muscles even more, lift a leg in the air when you raise your bottom off the ground. Lower yourself and then repeat, lifting the other leg.

Exercise 2: Leg Lift
To do a leg lift, lie on your side and prop yourself up on your elbow. Raise your top leg slowly into the air, as high as you can, so your legs make a “V” shape. Hold for a few seconds, and then slowly lower your leg. Repeat 10 times, turn onto the other side, and lift the other leg.

Exercise 3: Banded Shuffle
This is a great exercise to get your heart pumping and work your butt. To do this exercise, you’ll need an elastic sports band. Stand up straight with your legs hip-width apart and tie the band around your lower legs. Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor, your back is straight, and your abdominals are tight. While in this squatting position, take several steps to the left, then several to the right. You may need to use your arms for balance, but your butt muscles should feel a workout.

Exercise 4: Plie Squat
Another form of squat is the plie squat. If you don’t have an elastic band, this is the exercise to add definition and shape to your butt. Start by standing with your legs slightly more than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed out to the sides. This is what ballerinas call the plie position. For balance, hold your arms in front of you. While keeping your back straight, slowly squat to the ground until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold this for five seconds and stand back up. Repeat 10 times.

Exercise 5: Lunge
A fifth exercise that targets the muscles of your butt, thighs, and hips is the lunge. Putting one foot out in front of the other, lower your body toward the ground, keeping your abdominals tight and your torso straight. Lower until the front knee is bent at 90 degrees and not extended past your toes. Stand back up and then extend the opposite leg and bend. Perform 10 repetitions. For an increased workout, hold dumbbells in each hand.

Exercise 6: Run or Walk
Running or walking outside or on the treadmill are other great exercises that work your butt while giving you a cardio workout to burn fat at the same time. Make it your goal to exercise 30 to 45 minutes at least three times a week, including walking or running each time.

Burn, Baby, Burn! These exercises are excellent ways to burn extra fat off your butt while adding the definition you desire. Not used to working your gluteal muscles? You’ll definitely feel the burn the first few days, but the end result will be worth the effort!

If you’re serious about transforming your body then call or email today to set up a consultation with me. Together we will create the perfect program that will quickly get you into the body that you deserve.

Don’t wait – call or email today to get started.

Armed with this knowledge, many people think that losing weight should be easy with enough exercise. You may take this as bad news, but the truth is that for those who aren’t used to exercising and are out of shape, beginning an exercise program may actually lead to weight gain.

This fact, however, shouldn’t stop you from exercising, as you’ll eventually turn the weight corner and start losing.

What is it about exercise that may cause some people to gain instead of lose weight?

Muscle Mass: One of the main reasons exercising can lead to weight gain is that it promotes the growth of muscle mass.

If you are not used to working out and haven’t used certain muscles regularly, after exercising your muscles will be sore and will increase in size. While you may burn off fat, muscle is denser than fat. Therefore, the weight you gain is in your muscles.

And take heart. Since muscles take up less space than fat, your extra weight doesn’t necessarily translate to larger size. In fact, once you start working out, you’ll probably become thinner, even if you maintain your previous weight. Instead of using a scale to determine if you are slimming down, have your body fat tested regularly or measure your body at certain areas.

If you see that you’re losing inches, then you know you’re on the right track.

Cardiovascular activities like walking, running, or swimming will encourage the growth of lean, toned muscles. Other activities such as weight lifting promote the growth of larger, stronger muscles that contribute to weight gain.

But there is good news in this. If you stick with the exercise program, your muscles will soon stabilize in size and after a time, become toned. After your muscles are strong and able to handle more strenuous workouts, you will be able to burn calories faster.

While it may be frustrating and disappointing to see the scale go up after starting an exercise routine, it shouldn’t stop you from exercising. You may just be building muscle faster than losing body fat. This can be especially true if you’re genetically prone to building muscle fast. The key is to incorporate plenty of cardio exercise in addition to strength training. That way you will burn plenty of calories during your routine and be more able to shed pounds.

Eating Habits: When you work out and burn calories, your body will feel the need to replace those burned calories.

This may make you feel hungrier than usual, which can cause you to eat more than normal – sometimes without knowing it. A good idea is to keep a food journal to track of the actual number of calories you are consuming.

You may also end up eating more calories and justifying their consumption since you’re exercising. After a good workout, you may see an ice cream sundae as a reward for the calories you burned. Just be careful. If you’re interested in losing weight, you can’t simply break even with your caloric intake and the amount of calories you burn.

At the same time, eating too few calories can be counterproductive and slow your weight loss. Without enough calories, your body may slow its metabolism. So eat plenty to keep your body well fueled, but choose healthy calories that will help your body recover after a workout and grow stronger.

Hydration: Depending on the time of day you weigh yourself, the scale may read differently. Your weight can fluctuate as much as five pounds depending on the amount of water or food you have recently consumed or the amount of water you have shed in sweat. It is therefore important to weigh yourself at the same time each day.

My exercise programs are specifically designed to produce results quickly.

Call or email today to test drive a program that will get the numbers on your scale headed in the right direction.

Mark Sisson, an athlete, coach, and student on a lifelong quest for exceptional health, happiness, and peak performance (his words), penned the book, “The Primal Blueprint” to show you how to do just that.

At 55, he weighs 165 pounds with 8 percent body fat, eats as much food as he pleases, and rarely gets sick. He also says he’s healthier, fitter, happier and more productive than ever.

So what is Mark’s secret?

In his words, “Modeling your 21st-century life after our primal hunter-gather ancestors will help you greatly reduce or eliminate almost all of the disease risk factors that you may falsely blame on genes you inherited from your parents

Weight loss does not have to involve the suffering, sacrifice, and deprivation we’ve been conditioned to accept but instead is a matter of eating the right foods (plants and animals), avoiding the wrong foods (processed carbs—including grains—and trans and partially hydrogenated fats), and exercising strategically, for far fewer hours than you might assume, to reach your desired fitness goals.”

Here are The Ten Primal Blueprint Laws:

Law #1: Eat Lots of Plants and Animals
The bulk of the caveman diet is animal protein (organic, free-range, or wild sources of meat, fowl, and fish), a plethora of colorful veggies and fruits, and healthy fats (nuts, seeds, their derivative butters, certain oils, and avocados).

Law #2: Avoid Poisonous Things
For the caveman this meant staying away from poisonous plants. For you this means staying away from sugars, sodas, chemically altered fats, processed, packaged, fried and preserved foods. It also means cutting out grains.

Law #3: Move Frequently at a Slow Pace
The caveman spent several hours each day moving around at a low-level aerobic pace. This helped develop strong bones, joints, and connective tissue.

Law #4: Lift Heavy Things
Frequent bursts of intense physical effort were a daily part of the caveman’s life. Biochemical signals would be triggered that prompted improvements and adaptations in muscle tone, size and power.

Law #5: Sprint Once in a While
For the caveman a fast sprint meant the difference between being eaten and staying alive. Little did he know that those sprints were helping to increase his energy levels, improve athletic performance and minimize the effects of aging by promoting the release of testosterone and human growth hormone.

Law #6: Get Adequate Sleep
The rising and setting of the sun dictated the length of the caveman’s day. For us things are a bit trickier. Adequate sleep helps the immune system work optimally, and promotes the release of hormones that enhance brain and endocrine function.

Law #7: Play Without a TV or computer to entertain himself, the caveman would engage in hours of leisurely outdoor play. Relaxed play releases endorphins and provides a balance for mental stress.

Law #8: Get Adequate Sunlight
It’s impossible to obtain adequate vitamin D from diet alone. Getting regular sun exposure allows for proper vitamin D production, critical for healthy cell function.

Law #9: Avoid Stupid Mistakes
Observation and self-preservation were key factors in the survival of a caveman. Today’s world is full of distractions that leave us oblivious and careless. Take, for example, texting while driving.

Law #10: Use Your Brain
The human brain separates us from the animals. Intellectual stimulation is an important part of healthy brain function.

Rave Reviews: Despite its stringent requirements, the caveman diet is converting new followers by the boatload. Most people report losing 10 or more pounds in their first month and that they no longer feel bloated and sleepy after meals.

Should You Jump on the Primal Bandwagon? So, in light of the evidence, should you put down your whole wheat bagel and low fat cream cheese in exchange for a hunk of meat and pile of veggies?

Hold your horses.

Though the caveman diet has been proven to promote weight loss, times have changed. Could you really practice all of the Primal Laws while maintaining your modern life?

Yeah… I didn’t think so.

So, where do you go from here? You want to lose weight, to protect yourself from disease and to look and feel great.

A great solution, that doesn’t require drastic change, is to take 3 bits of advice from the caveman—advice that will promote weight loss, decrease your risk of disease and will get you looking and feeling great.

1. Make Plants and Animals the Focus of Your Diet: This will quickly lead to weight loss and increased energy. Don’t be so hard on yourself that everything you put in your mouth has to be caveman approved – but make it the majority of your diet.

2. Cut Out Processed Food: The simplest way to promote weight loss and to encourage good health is to eliminate processed foods from your diet. When you replace processed foods with fresh produce your results will be immediate. Not only will you feel healthier, you will have more energy than you’ll know what to do with! * Want to eat a Caveman approved dinner? Check out my recipe below*

3. Exercise: Since you will need an outlet for all that extra energy, acquire a new hobby—one that gets you moving. Have you ever met a lazy caveman? Of course not. (And this is not just because you were born a few centuries too late!) Cavemen were forced to be active in order to survive. Hunt dinner. Build a fire. Move a fallen tree. Create shelter. You get the idea If you want a lean, muscular body then exercise must become a part of your daily life.

This is where I come in. Let’s meet one-on-one to design an exercise program that will fit your unique goals.

Call or email today to get started.

This is a common place to end up, usually after a few months on the same exercise routine. In the beginning your body responds to your routine with lost pounds and gained muscle tone, then one day all results screech to a stop.

Why does this happen? And, more importantly, how can you prevent it?

Your muscles adapt quickly to any repetitive routine. Remember that the definition of ‘insanity’ is to do the same thing over and over while expecting different results. This holds true for your workouts.

When your results stop, it’s time to do something new.

• The problem: Your muscles have adapted to your routine.
• The Solution: It’s time to apply the concept of muscle confusion.

Muscle confusion is a way to keep your body guessing by changing your routine.

I have good news – the following 4 strategies are guaranteed to crank your workouts up to the next level and to deliver better results.

Strategy #1: Use a Drop Set

Drop sets are often used to fight off exercise plateaus. This technique is great for increasing muscle strength, endurance and for adding to the cardiovascular benefit of your workout – which results in more fat burn.

This is how to do a drop set: When you perform an exercise to exhaustion, don’t stop there. Drop the weight by 80% and do another set.

You could take it a step further by dropping the weight twice, making it a double drop. Or drop the weight three times for a descending drop set. Use this technique only once or twice per workout, on the final set of the exercise.

Strategy #2: Focus on Negatives

Each time that you do a weight lifting repetition you are using three types of strength.

1. Positive strength: lifting the weight.
2. Static strength: holding weight in a contracted position.
3. Negative strength: lowering the weight.

Most people completely miss the benefit of the negative in each repetition by allowing the weight to drop quickly with little control. It is understood that the negative portion of each repetition is just as important as the positive portion, possibly more important.

Focus on the negative portion of each repetition by lowering the weight very slowly. Concentrate on the negative contraction, and make each repetition count.

If you are advanced, then use a training partner to assist you in moving heavier-than-normal weight into a contracted position, then lower it very slowly.

Another way to utilize negative repetitions on a machine is to lift the weight using two limbs but then lower it with just one. For example, use both legs to lift the weight on a leg extension machine, but then lower it back down slowly using only one leg.

Strategy #3: Use Active Rest

Every minute of your workout is an opportunity to increase intensity and to burn more fat. Don’t waste precious minutes with long rest periods.

While it is important to catch your breath if you feel winded, most of the time you would benefit more from an active rest. Do one of the following activities for 30 seconds between exercises and turn your regular workout into High Intensity Interval Training.

• High Knees with Alternating Punches: Alternately bring each knee high to your chest in a quick jumping movement while alternating forward punches at shoulder level.
• Burpees: Start in a sanding position and bend at the waist. Once your hands hit the floor, push your entire body back, extending your legs until they’re straight and you’re in the push-up position. Go down for a push-up, and when you push yourself up, jump slightly to bring your feet back near your hands. Finally, jump in the air with your arms fully extended over your head.
• Side-to-Side Jumps on Bench: Stand on one side of an exercise bench. Place the foot closest up onto the bench, jump up and switch feet, then land on the opposite side of the bench.
• Mountain Climbers: Place your hands wider than shoulder-width apart on the ground in a push-up position. Bring one knee to your chest and then back to the starting position, alternate each leg quickly.
• Side-to-Side Ab Twists: With feet close together, jump and twist your legs left to right – holding your abs tight. Keep a bend in your knees and swing your upper arms with each twist.
• Jump Lunges with Pop Squat: Start in a lunge position, lunge down then quickly jump up, switching your leg position in midair, land in an opposite leg lunge. Once you’ve done both legs, jump straight into a squat.
• Medicine Ball Squat Jumps: With feet wider than shoulder-width apart hold a medicine ball at chest level. Squat down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle. Explosively jump up, raising the medicine ball straight over your head.

Strategy #4: Modify the Exercise There are certain exercises that are considered ‘staples’ in the gym.

The squat. The lunge. The chest press. The shoulder press. The bicep curl. You get the idea…

While you shouldn’t throw these exercises out the window, find creative ways to modify the familiar motion in order to challenge your muscles. Try these exercise modifications:

• Squat on a Bosu ball or balance board.
• Place a weighted bar across your shoulders and do walking lunges.
• Use an exercise ball for chest presses instead of the bench.
• Do a full squat between each repetition of shoulder presses.
• Do a shoulder press between each repetition of bicep curls.

If you’d like a sure-fire way to break through your fitness plateau and to melt away unwanted fat, then contact me for a fitness consultation.

Call or email today – I look forward to hearing from you.

If you are scared of failure, I have 3 words for you…Get Over It!  In life, and especially in Resistance Training, failure is a good thing.  In fact, it is a necessity for continued improvement (just like life).  To paraphrase Hans Selye, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”!In fitness, we often call this failure “momentary muscle fatigue”, or “momentary muscle failure”.  A good exercise set will finish once you hit momentary muscle fatigue.  This is the point during a set when you absolutely cannot do another rep with perfect form.  If you can perform more reps, rather than just stop, you should perform the extra reps to hit momentary muscle fatigue and next time, increase the resistance by 5-10% so you can hit momentary muscle fatigue within the suggested repetition zone (the number of reps will vary depending on your current program phase and training goals).

The body does not respond very well going from inactivity to very intense activity.  The cardiovascular, musculo-skeletal, neurological and metabolic energy pathways need to be gradually stimulated in order to perform at an optimal level.  In other words…you need to WARM-UP properly to get the most out of your workout!

Muscles that are warm have a much better ability to extract and utilize oxygen to produce energy.  As muscles warm up, the enzyme activity level is increased.  This means that fats and sugars are broken down more rapidly, and more energy and less lactic acid (the burning sensation) will be produced.  This will enhance your performance and increase your ability to burn fat!

That sounds great, but the problem is…most people are warming up the wrong way and actually decreasing their results.  Worse still, warming up in the traditional way will actually INCREASE your risk of INJURY!

Most people warm-up like a “statue”.  They may do a few minutes of light treadmill or bike, but then stand stationary and stretch their muscles.  Stretching is a good thing…AFTER the workout.  But static stretching prior to exercise will “shut off” some of the muscle’s protective mechanisms and cause these mechanisms to fail when they are actually needed.

The correct way to stretch is by using DYNAMIC movement that starts slow and with small ranges of motion.  We then progress to increasingly larger and more intense motions until we are at the level of our desired performance during the workout.  Some great examples are…

• Inchworms
• Spidermans
• Scorpions
• Eagles
• Walking lunges
• Sumo walks
• Golfer Twists
• …and many more!

If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, that’s OK.  Check out our YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/freshfitnesscanada) for some examples.  This will help, but the best option is to come for a coaching session with us where we will teach you the correct technique and principles of warm-up and cool-down.

Your body also does not respond very well going from intense activity to complete rest.  Your heart, lungs, muscles, joints, and energy systems require a gradual cool-down to avoid blood pooling in the lower extremities, dizziness, and to assist in the recovery process.

Proper cool-down involves gradually decreasing your exercise intensity, performing some light movement activities (such as those performed in the warm-up), and finishing up with some easy to moderate intensity static stretching (with a particular focus on the areas which were most utilized during the exercise session).

Warming up and cooling down is a healthy way to exercise anyways but in addition, it is a way to prolong your caloric burn for each workout, help you properly prepare for the next workout, and minimize your risk of injury or burnout.

This is one of the “missing links” in most people’s fitness programs.  When time is tight, warm-up and cool-down are the first things to go.  This is why so many people get injured, burnt out, and frustrated with their lack of results!

Call us to come in for a coaching session. We will take the time to show you in detail what to do and how to do it properly!  Even if you’ve worked with a trainer in the past, or think you know what you are doing, I GUARANTEE you will find great value in the session.  In fact, I will refund your money if you don’t feel it was more than worth it!

If running (or cycling, swimming, walking, etc.) is the only cardio activity you do, your running muscles will continue to get stronger and stronger, but the muscles that are neglected will get weaker.  The end result of this is a muscle imbalance and ultimately injury…which defeats the purpose of exercising in the first place!

Now, the pessimists out there are probably saying, “Great!  That’s means I shouldn’t even bother exercising!”  If that was the first thing that popped into your mind.  Stop.  Give yourself a swift smack…and then call me.  We have a LOT of work to do!

Seriously though, a runner should compliment their program with swimming, cycling, weight training, and numerous other activities to alleviate the boredom, stress on the body, and potential for injury.  The runners we see each day are riddled with completely preventable injuries.  Many of them have been dealing with these issues for years because they’ve never properly taken care of their bodies.

Getting fit, healthy, and staying that way is MUCH more than just the exercise sessions you do each week.  Ultimate long-term success and performance come from doing the little things in between training sessions (such as stretching, hydration, trigger point, sleep and general recovery).  The other side of this equation is to mix up your activities to relieve stress on the muscles, joints, and body systems.

Ideally, this involves all the major components of fitness such as:

• Strength
• Endurance
• Agility
• Balance
• Coordination
• Speed
• Power
• Flexibility/Mobility

However, even if you are just doing cardio (again, give yourself a smack and contact the team at FRESH!), be sure to involve a few different cardio activities.  Your body will thank you!

For people who predominantly perform linear sports like running and cycling, it is important to incorporate lateral movements into your program.  This will properly prepare your body and stabilizer muscles to withstand the demands of linear repetitive cardiovascular activities such as running/cycling.  PLUS, it minimize the risk of injury should any of these lateral movements need to be performed in your daily life (YES, they do happen often)!

Did you know?  EVERY new client at FRESH! receives a comprehensive FUNctional Movement Analysis which identifies potential “red flags” in common movement patterns.  Our expert Personal Trainers help you learn how to quickly and simply eliminate those movement errors to improve performance and safety during exercise.