Colleen Hughes Personal Training

I read recently that some personal trainers and health coaches are advising clients to eat more fruits and veggies. No surprise there. 

The interesting part is HOW. Visualization. 

If you are one of those folks who struggles to get these key food groups, it may help to imagine yourself eating these tasty health foods. 

Imagine putting that orange in your hand and smelling it. Then visualize the experience of biting into each delectable slice; the sweet, cold juice splashes onto your tongue. 

Think of a crisp, sweet, firm apple. Do you eat it plain or add some peanut butter? or maybe some cheese? Hear the sound of your teeth biting into the skin. Maybe make an entire fruit salad! Blend the sweet and tangy flavors together with some mint!

Take the time to visualize the experience of eating these natural, healthy foods. Smile knowing how these foods make you feel good and also feel fuller. 

Smartphone Apps. There are so many fitness and health apps out there now. I have been downloading some and trying them out to help guide others.

Fitocracy

Nexercise

MapMyFitness

MyFitnessPal

CharityMiles

Sworkit

Epic Workout

Human

Yogify

POPSUGAR

Those are just a handful in the sea of many fitness/health apps.

I have used the mapmyrun/ride/fitness app for a few years, on and off. MapMyFitness allows you to record workouts as you do them or log them at a later time. It uses GPS to track your location and distance and elevation. I use it when I bike to work, when I walk the dog, and when I go running. 

Human is an app that I downloaded a few weeks ago. It simply tracks your amount of activity in the way of time. The basic objective is to get at least 30 minutes of activity a day. I have found the accuracy to be a little spotty. Sometimes it logs that I was in a car when I was actually riding my bike. Sometimes it over exaggerates the amount of time I was active, and other times it significantly under reports, like none. So long as your phone is on you, it tracks (or tries to) your level of activity.

MyFitnessPal is a great app for tracking your diet. It has a comprehensive database of foods to choose from. I have found it to have the biggest database of any other nutrition/diet app. It also tracks your water intake. Whether you are trying to lose weight/fat or just wanting to get an idea of what your caloric intake is, it is a helpful tool. Sometimes it even helps prevent me from eating bad foods, knowing I would have to track them and see the ghastly caloric amount.

Fitocracy is a fun fitness and social app. It is great for people who are competitive and thrive on challenges and leveling up. So far, this app seems to have the most comprehensive list of exercises and activities. It even shows you how to do (most of) the exercises with pictures and video. There are challenges and quests that you can do to keep pushing yourself and your fitness to higher levels. It's fun in that other people give you "props" and fistbumps to keep you motivated. It allows more motivation and accountability. You can join various groups, too, to keep you connected with similar people.

More to come later. I'll keep trying apps and report back.

Okay, 

Please, if you do now or ever decide to go to a personal trainer (psst, I'm available, wink, wink), please do yourself a favor and make sure they have you fill out a PAR-Q (physical activity readiness questionnaire)!

You may not always remember every surgery or medication you have had/been on. This questionnaire is a crucial piece of information for every trainer/client relationship. Most personal training organizations mandate that this be part of the records on file with a personal trainer. It helps trainers to be aware of any key information that could affect the fitness training. 

Please be sure you fill one of these forms out and sign/date it for the personal trainer's records and knowledge to ensure they properly train you. 

Some of the key issues to report on a PAR-Q:

*High blood pressure  *Diabetes  *Lung/Breathing issues  *Previous injuries  *Previous surgeries  *Allergies  *Occupations with much physical repetition  *Arthritis (Rheumatoid/Osteo)

Exercise and nutrition is simple. To lose weight, you need to create a caloric deficit = burn more than what you take in. A pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories. 

If you don't want to track and log the calories, you need to focus on the exercise side of things and ensure that you burn enough calories, and that you are in the proper range/zone of your heart rate to burn more calories. 

Wearing a heart rate monitor will keep you constantly informed of what your heart rate is and if you're within the target heart rate zone. It's simple: work hard enough to be in the target heart rate zone and you will be burning fat. To burn even MORE calories, focus on full-body resistance exercises to recruit more muscle groups and make the body work harder. 

If you really want to use your time efficiently, do Circuit Training. Circuit training can replace cardio altogether. Essentially, you eliminate rest periods and just keep moving from one exercise to the next. Studies have shown that circuit training is often more beneficial than doing cardio alone. 

Many things in life are easier and more fulfilling when we change our perspective. Behaviors are more easily changed and habits more likely to stick when you simplify things.

Here is my idea: think of your daily calories as money. Most folks won't just throw there money at something without thinking of the consequences. We need to change the value and relevance of calories to be more important. Regardless of how you view them, they will have the same effect. Why not hold yourself accountable?

Start each day with the knowledge of how many calories you can "spend." A basic, rough guide for this is to figure out your Resting Metabolic Rate. To do this, just multiply your weight (lbs) x 10 = RMR. Then, to figure out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TEE), multiply your RMR by your activity factor:

(Very light - seated and standing activities, office work, driving, cooking; Low Active - 30 minutes of moderate activity equivalent of walking 2 miles in 30 minutes; most office workers with additional planned exercise routines.                                                                             Active - In addition to the activities of a low active lifestyle, an additional 3 hours of activity such as bicycle 10-12 mph, walk 4.5 miles/hr           Heavy - Planned vigorous activities, physical labor, full-time athletes, hard-labor professions such as steel or road workers)

Very light: 1.2-1.3  Low Active: 1.5-1.6 Active: 1.6-1.7 Heavy: 1.9-2.1

This gives you a rough idea of how many calories to consume in a day. 

Spend those calories wisely!

Many of us are not excited at the thought of recording every single calorie that we put into our mouths. Sometimes the easiest thing is to stick with good foods that are not processed at all, which eliminates the need to track calorie after calorie for every meal every day. If it isn't easy or quick, most of us won't stick with it.The sun is the ultimate energy source. People get energy from food, which mostly consists of plants, which get nutrients and energy from the sun. Essentially, we are eating the sun.

Today more than ever we are being inundated by people prescribing nutrition advice; everyone has the "best" answer, and you often are required to pay big money to get that "best" answer. Sometimes it is probably great advice that is easy to follow, but not always. How can you know who has the right/best/easiest answers?

Here are some food/nutrition basics that will help you become/stay healthy:

WATER - drink it all day! Our bodies need it. It's not about you and what you want or crave; your body is an intricate and complex machine and water will keep things running smoothly by helping the body eliminate waste easier and helping the muscles move more easily. Our bodies need at least 72 oz. each day, MINIMUM! That is nine 8 oz. glasses. I have found that making myself drink 16 oz. right away when I wake up and another 16 oz. before I leave in the morning helps me to get on track and stay on track. You WILL feel good as a result. (If you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated). If you sweat, you need to drink even more! Endurance athletes should consider adding electrolytes (such as NUUN). Also, certain medications will further cause dehydration, along with sodas or coffee or teas. If you aren't a fan of water, add some lemon wedges. 

SUGAR - Get it from fruits or honey or even maple syrup; DON'T get it from processed sources. If something is a simple sugar that is already processed, your body doesn't get a chance to break it down, therefore it doesn't get to use any energy and we get no benefit from it. Also, more and more studies are showing that processed sugar is a major contributor to disease. Just say NO to processed/refined sugar. I know that it's challenging; I have quite a sweet tooth, myself. You will probably find that when you simply take away the option, you won't even crave it. Eat an apple or make a smoothie to quell the craving.

EAT WHOLE FOODS - If it's in a box, don't eat it. If it is processed, your body doesn't get a chance to work to digest it. Instead of pasta, try eating rice or quinoa (pronounced KEEN WA). Quinoa is very versatile: you can eat it sweet or savory. I have eaten it for dinner with coconut milk and veggies and I have also eaten it for breakfast with honey and walnuts. I sometimes make extra quinoa with coconut milk and I can add whatever I want to it later. It packs more nutrition and is more complex than just rice, so you feel fuller longer and your body is required to work more to digest it. Everyone wins!

Keep it simple. Let's get back to basics. 

I went mountain biking this past Saturday. It was tough yet fun, and completely terrifying. I went out to a trail just outside of Longmont, CO, Picture Rock I think, that is roughly a year old. It was me, my spouse, and two other guys. I was riding a borrowed mountain bike; I am so thankful, especially after the fact, that it had full suspension. If I ever buy a mountain bike, I will accept nothing but full suspension. 

I realized so many things during this adventure: I am not yet acclimated to the thinner air of Colorado, I am out of shape (compared to a few months ago, at least), you really can ride over almost anything with full suspension, and it's okay to cut yourself some slack when it's your first time doing something challenging.

This was so not a beginner trail. I would guess that I stopped at least eight different times to walk over some rocks or the like when it seemed impossible to just bike over them, on the way up, anyway.

I was pretty weak and tired by the time that we finally reached the top. I took a breather while the guys decided to do the loop. The only reason I would have kept going with them is to avoid the biting flies.  

They finally get back after what feels like a few hours. They rest up for a minute and we start the descent. As tough as it was to go up the trail, it was equally scary to go down the trail. There were so many spots where I was sure I would crash or fall over the edge. I thankfully made it out alive. 

Maybe you've heard the phrase "glycemic index" before. Its exact meaning is a mystery to many of us. It is a very important concept for proper recovery and nutrition for athletes, as well as for anyone wanting to lose weight/body fat.

Glycemic index is essentially "a measure of the rate at which an ingested food causes the level of glucose in the blood to rise." The glycemic index value of a food is determined when that food is consumed alone on an empty stomach. That means that the value changes when that food is combined with other foods. 

Appropriate timing of nutrient intake is important, as well as knowing the GI value of the food(s) being ingested. It is important for diabetics in order to maintain proper blood sugar; it is also relevant for endurance athletes to aid in proper recovery.

Check out these links to learn more about glycemic index.

http://pinterest.com/pin/245235142181176603/

http://dietgrail.com/gid/

http://www.ideafit.com/node/2580794

The perils of overtraining: If you're run down and dog-tired, take a break!

Overtraining is a big no-no. I suppose it mostly applies to athletes, from amateur to pro, but there are certainly some regular folks that get addicted to working out and don't know when to take a rest.

It is imperative to have a customized workout program that provides a graduated weekly, monthly, and even yearly format. If you are doing intense training and workouts, it is advisable to build in rest periods. This does not mean you do nothing, but rather means you scale back. With the NASM OPT model, the participant always goes back to the phase of stabilization and progresses back through the relevant phases for their program. 

It has been proven to yield better strength and endurance results when people adhere to the recommended rest periods and resist overtraining.

http://www.ideafit.com/node/2879071

The importance of posture and having a static and dynamic postural assessment:

Posture is everything. It determines a person's health and well-being. I have personal experience with poor posture, specifically thoracic kyphosis, or upper crossed syndrome; essentially, it means I have a tendency to be in a posture where my head falls forward and my shoulders are rounded and pulled forward.

Much of this posture is due to sitting at a desk from college years up to now, and also being a year-round cycling commuter/racer. I also have not done enough to treat or correct this posture. Poor posture is correctible, but it takes time and discipline. If no action is taken to correct poor posture, it can and will lead to pain and injury.

Certain muscles and tendons become dominant, and others become under active. With thoracic kyphosis, muscles like the scalenes are called to action, which is not good. The scalenes are supposed to be a secondary respiratory muscle group, but they are forced to help out with supporting our heavy heads when we hunch forward.

Because of my posture issues, I tend to experience chronic pain in my trapezius, scalenes, and rhomboids (neck and shoulder muscles). My pectoral muscles are tight and shortened, and my rhomboid muscles are weak, and my shoulder muscles are imbalanced and lengthened.

I have linked a few articles about posture.

http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/7-posture-questions-answered

http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/the-perils-of-poor-posture