Need Motivation?

Getting results is the best motivation for going to the gym. You’ll like what you see happening. Results will inspire you to go back for more. To get results, you must get serious about your workouts.

For women, getting serious usually means heavier weights. Many women fear heavier weights will transform them overnight into female bodybuilder versions of Lou Ferrigno. Nonsense! Female bodybuilders must dedicate and sacrifice years of their lives before achieving that muscle-bound look. The more casual female gym member will NOT transform overnight into the Incredible Hulk.

For women, heavier weights will produce that “toned” look most crave.

Heavier weights mean poundages where strict form is impossible after 10 to 12 repetitions. For most women, heavier weights means curling 20 pound dumbbells instead of 10 pound dumbbells— and not stopping at the first pangs of discomfort during the set either, but working through the pangs until maintaining strict form becomes impossible. Ditto with other exercises. Women must lift heavier and work harder in the gym.

Men have the opposite problem. For many men, getting results usually means going lighter with the weights. Men have a propensity to train their ego, as opposed to their body. They grunt through 2-3 reps in bad form with weights far too heavy. After a period of time, men become demoralized when they don’t see results. Or they get injured.

Men need to drop the weight and concentrate on proper form. Poundages must allow strict repetitions. Also, men need to work the legs. Come on guys! The muscles in the legs aren’t as flashy as the ones in the arms and chest, but they need to be worked all the same. Otherwise you’ll end up looking like a light bulb.

Finally, set goals. Best is stepping on the scale.

Set small, achievable goals on the scale— like gaining or losing 5 pounds. You will have a quantifiable number to target with a reasonable opportunity to succeed


Getting results will have you going back to the gym. You can do it.

Peace!
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How Can You Start Exercising

Whether you’ve let yourself slide out of shape, or you’ve never worked on getting fit, it can be frustrating to get through the uncomfortable process of starting an exercise program. But look on the bright side –- when you’re first getting started, it’s very difficult to plateau, and nearly everything you do will get results!

Here are 2 tips to help you get started:

1) Get Professional Help While you don’t need to hire a full time fitness coach, just a single session with a personal trainer can help you design a roadmap and make sure you’re not wasting your time with guesswork!

2) Make A Plan Don’t blindly jump into a week of workouts. Instead, at the beginning of the week, write out which days you lift weights, which days you do cardio, which days you try a new class, and which days you rest and recover.

By enlisting professional help and writing down your weekly plan, you’ll get motivated to start (and maintain) an exercise regimen –- without hurting yourself or wasting time

Coach Cassie's Blog

Cassie is a personal trainer and fitness instructor at Xcelerate Fitness, Dinuba. Check out her blog and feel free to add to your favorites for future reference.

Coach Cassie

10 Exercises Everyone Should be Doing

As a new trainer I have seen people perform some really "interesting" exercises. Just when I think I've seen it all, some guy in tight spandex and a headband surprises me.

There are literally thousands of different exercises designed to target all areas of the body and help you achieve lots of fitness goals. Many of these are perfectly good exercises when performed correctly and used appropriately in a well designed, progressive program. Unfortunately there are also a lot which are, well just plain ridiculous.

So what are the best exercises to help you get the most from your workouts and utilize your time in the gym most efficiently? Here is our list of the top 10 exercises that everyone should include in their workout program.

1. Squat 2. Deadlift 3. Overhead Press 4. Push Up 5. Pull Up 6. Dip 7. Swing 8. Push Press 9. Step Up 10. Hang Clean

These are all multi-joint, multi-muscle exercises that incorporate very functional, everyday movements. They can help to develop all-around strength, power and endurance as well as increase lean muscle mass and aid in weight loss.


You do not have to perform all these exercises at once (although it would make for a pretty good full-body workout.) Nor do you have to perform them every time you workout. They should be scattered throughout your workouts and performed pretty frequently.

They can all be modified using different equipment to create variations from beginner to advanced so that everyone regardless of level, age or sex can perform them. They also do not require any fancy, expensive equipment and can be performed in pretty much any gym, at home and in most cases even outside.

Can You Do Cardio With Bad Knees?

“I was wondering which cardio workouts are best for people with bad knees? I'm 21 and I love to run but I already have bad knees. So, I'm torn between running or quitting cardio altogether because I don't know what else to do that’s as good a workout as running. Help!”

Because cardio often involves repetitive motion of the knee joint, it can be especially aggravating to injured knees. I personally had to avoid running for nearly a year when I developed knee pain, and was convinced I’d never run again. But many “bad” knees can be addressed with proper training. Here are 3 easy tips to get the most out of your bad knees:

1) Train Your Quads
A weak quadriceps muscle can allow the knee to track improperly in its bony groove, which results in knee pain and soft tissue damage. Often, the fix for this is as simple as doing exercises for a specific knee muscle called the vastus medialis, which is the teardrop-shaped muscle on the inside of the knee. Cable kick forwards are my favorite exercise for this, and you can do 3 to 4 sets of 15-20 reps per leg every other day.

2) Stretch Your Hamstrings
Tight hamstrings on the back of your legs can also significantly affect your knee mechanics. If you have knee pain, you should stretch your hamstrings 2-3 times each day for at least 60 seconds. One of the best moves for this is the lying hamstring stretch.

3) Use Low Impact Training
To maintain your cardiovascular fitness as you implement the tips above, engage in low impact training like bicycle riding (make sure seat is high) and water running.

With these 3 steps, most individuals can significantly reduce knee pain.

KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS AND THE SPINNING® PROGRAM

Osteoarthritis is a condition caused in part by gradual wear and tear on the joint, and occurs commonly in the knees and hips. The condition may be a leading cause of disability in adults, but it doesn’t have to limit you. For a fitness-training experience that will keep your knee joints stronger longer, go to a Spinning class!

For years, it was commonly believed that exercise might worsen the joint integrity and decrease function. However, a study conducted by cycling enthusiast Greg Marchetti, Ph.D., and rheumatologist Kelly Krohn, M.D., has brought to light the positive aspects of the Spinning program for those with osteoarthritis of the knee.

The study followed 41 volunteers with an average age of 57, all with confirmed osteoarthritis. Participants in the Spinning group took part at least twice a week in a class designed specifically for their condition, while the control group continued their regular fitness routines.
After the 12-week evaluation, participants in the Spinning group had greater improvements in walking performance, experienced less pain when walking and had less symptom-related disability than the control group.

Spinning is a non-impact exercise that delivers a great cardiovascular workout while strengthening the leg muscles that help to stabilize the knee joint. Stick to the following guidelines for a safe and effective ride.

Movements:
To keep weight off the knees and reduce the risk of hyperextension of the knee joint, keep to these core movements: Seated Flats, Seated Climbs and limited Standing Flats for saddle relief. Avoid Jumps, Jumps on a Hill, Sprints and other advanced movements.

Remember that the goal of riding for those with osteoarthritis of the knee is to improve function and mobility of the joint while improving cardiovascular fitness through aerobic training.


Cadence:
To decrease the physical forces of the flywheel and to protect joint integrity, the following cadence ranges should be observed: 80–100 rpm on flats and 70–80 rpm on hills.

Resistance:
Light to moderate resistance will allow for a smooth pedal stroke while avoiding undue stress to the knee.

Intensity:
Moderate-intensity exercise provides a good aerobic training program for health and well being. To achieve aerobic training, you should stay at 65–80% of your maximum heart rate.

Starving off the compulsion

I try to keep it 100 with those in my classes and share my struggles with food, and body image.  In a way, it’s cathartic to write about it to an “anonymous” audience (though I’ve definitely connected with a few of you on a more personal level—thanks you internet!) but also, I am hoping that in sharing there will be a solidarity amongst those with similar struggles, and the realization that one is not “alone”.  

I have come to realize that day times are easy—I  have a very structured routine, and I go about it easily and with lots of good control. At night, though, when I’m at home and left to my own devices (I live alone), that’s when the real struggle begins.  Yes, I know that to prevent crazy binge eating, or even obsessions about food, one should eliminate food from their home. But, it’s not like I am going to keep NO food in my house. But even then, it’s a struggle at night to fight whatever urges might exist to not just go and binge on even the “healthy” foods sitting around.  It’s not easy.   

There’s this obsessional component to it (that thinking about the food in the house) followed by a need to act upon the obsession and eat (there’s that pesky compulsion). Yes, it’s easy for anyone to say “just don’t eat then!” but if you’re someone who struggles in their relationship with food, you will know it’s not an easy cycle to break, and it’s not so easily handled by oneself, and alone at night.   

For those of you who have been successful in doing so, perhaps you might share with the rest of us some tips that help you stave off the compulsions?

Keepin' it real...

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Drink Drink Drink

Ah, the battle of the bulge: for most of us, there is no love lost between our hips, our thighs, our stomachs and our extra pounds. With the world - and most notably the United States - becoming increasingly overweight, diets, and exercise routines have popped up around every corner. Still, there is a bit of a conundrum: people aren't only looking for a way to lose weight, they are looking for an easy way. Well, what do you know, H2O may be the easiest way yet.

Drinking water isn't an end all be all to weight problems: anyone who chokes down two double cheeseburgers for lunch won't be saved from extra baggage simply by sipping on a liter or two of water. But, for those who eat sensibly and exercise regularly, the consumption of water may help speed up metabolism and take a few calories right off the top (or, perhaps, the bottom).

According to a recent study, water may increase your metabolic rate by as much as thirty percent on a daily basis. It doesn't take a mathematician to know that's quite a bit. Normally, in regards to weight loss, water was shoved down our throats (forgive the pun) in an attempt to make us feel full and thus, more likely to pass on that third slice of pizza. Nowadays, however, water is proving to do more than fill us up: it's a much more talented liquid than we previously thought.

In 2003, an article was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. It spoke of a study involving seven healthy men and seven healthy women. All participants were of normal weight. Each participant consumed 500 ml of water per day. When their metabolic rates were measured, the researchers found that all metabolic rates were
increased by roughly 30 percent.

This spike in the metabolism, according to the study, occurred quickly after water consumption: the metabolism was at its greatest spike within a half an hour and was maintained for more than an hour. The reason for this? Well, it's all really pretty simple: the water enters the body cold and must be warmed up in the stomach. This "warming up" causes the body's metabolism to skyrocket.

This study further substantiates the idea that ice water, in particular, can help burn calories. Just as the researchers stated above, the ice water in your system must be warmed up by your body. It goes in cold, but when it exits - unless you find yourself peeing icicles - it's no longer freezing. The conversion from ice water to warm water burns calories.

A person who consumes the recommended eight glasses of water a day - and adds in a few ice cubes - can burn around 70 extra calories on a daily basis. While 70 extra calories doesn't seem like much, over time it does add up.

Drinking water without adopting other weight friendly goals probably won't get you fitting into your tight jeans anytime soon, but it can help. It's easy, it's simple, and it provides all sorts of other benefits so why not raise a glass to H2O. Bottoms Up!

How many calories do you burn AFTER your workout?

Last week a member came up to me after class with a great question so I want to share this with you because this applies to many of us. Enjoy!

Member's Question: How many calories do you burn after your workout?

My response: After a tough workout instead of being tired have you ever felt totally energized? Maybe you are still sweating a little (or a lot) even after a shower?

Some people call it the after-burn or a workout high. It's actually called the Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption or EPOC. Technically EPOC is the increased oxygen consumed after strenuous exercise or activity to reduce the oxygen debt created by said exercise or activity resulting in caloric expenditure. In layman's terms this means the additional calories you burn after exercise while your body is recovering back to it's normal resting state.

Due to these extra calories being burned because of this "after-burn", your EPOC can play a very significant role in weight loss.

When we exercise we are utilizing a massive amount more of oxygen than normal, our heart rate and body temperature can greatly increase, we are burning a lot more glycogen from both the muscle cells and blood stores, and we are producing more by-products. So after exercise we need to stock back up on oxygen and glycogen we have used, reduce our body temp and heart rate, and deal with those by-products. All of this post-exercise work requires energy and this is where EPOC comes in.

The amount of calories burned post-exercise depends on the amount of oxygen consumed during EPOC and how long it lasts (it can last as long as 24 hours or as little as 90 minutes.) The amount of post-exercise oxygen consumed can also vary greatly from person to person and is dependent on a number of factors including the person's level of fitness and type of training. We do know that EPOC is present after both cardiovascular exercise and strength or resistance training. We also know that one factor that can have a big effect on EPOC is workout intensity. The amount of EPOC is directly related to the intensity of your workout. Both heavy strength training workouts and high intensity interval style training have been shown to have the greatest effect on EPOC.

Here are some tips to help maximize your EPOC:

• Add Some Intervals - Beginning June we will move forward into Interval SPINNING rides and I will be introducing and including 'Sprints' into our rides. Not only will they help you burn more calories while you are performing them, they can also crank up your EPOC levels, not to mention make SPINNING a little bit less boring.

• Lift Heavy -  Those doing R.I.P.P.E.D. choose weights that make it difficult (but not impossible) to complete 8-10 reps. For the women who are afraid they will turn into a female Arnold Schwarzenegger overnight, don't worry you won't. For the guys who wish they could turn into Arnold overnight, sorry it ain't that easy. Some studies have shown that heavy resistance training can have an even greater overall effect on EPOC than aerobic or cardiovascular exercise.

• Reduce Your Rest - Another simple yet highly effective way to increase your EPOC is to reduce your rest intervals in between sets while working out. Instead of taking 1-2 mins between sets cut it down to 45 secs. Shorter rest basically gives you less time for recovery thus requiring more time after the workout to replenish the overall oxygen consumed during the workout.

One very important point to remember is that while intensity is a key factor in determining the size or amount of EPOC you still need to adhere to the basic principles of rest and recovery in between workouts. You can't ALWAYS go balls to the wall every workout trying to rev up your EPOC and expect to see big results. There must be a balance between high intensity workouts and adequate rest and recovery.

Have a great Memorial Weekend

No class this coming Monday

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