Resolution vs. Makeover: Where do You Stand in January 2014?

4 "Reso - Makeovers" 

A month...4 weeks into the New Year and most resolutions to exercise, lose weight, get out of debt, and others are at a crucial edge. Has your concentration allowed your goals to fall by the wayside? Be conscious of the goals you set and teach yourself 'achievement motivation'. If you are one of the many trying to repeat your resolutions from last year, it could be time for a makeover.Start by phrasing your resolutions in ways that make them specific, measurable, and positive. 

Here are examples for rephrasing common resolutions: 

Last Year: "I'm going to 'Get in Shape' ".

This Year: I am going to the gym three times a week, and will workout at least 45 minutes with a goal of 60 to 90 minutes.

Last Year: "I will try this 'diet' and see if this will help me to lose weight."

This Year: I know what it feels like to weigh 130 pounds; I used to weigh that not too long ago. I will do what it takes to make it back to my 130 pounds and I will wear my size 8 jeans by June 1!

Last Year: "I need to be healthier with my food and actions."

This Year: I just know incorporating a minimum of five fruits and vegetables a day into my diet, walking 30 minutes a day three to five times a week, and limiting my fast food to once a week, I will make leaps and bounds of progress over last year.

Last Year: "I need to have more fun."

This Year: I am going to schedule fun activities and incorporate them into my personal and family life. I will pick something I know I will maintain and if I need accountability, I will search for the right help and I will get that too!



Stick with Your Resolve for a Healthier You

Are you one of the many that indulged during the holidays and then made the New Year resolution to get fit? Beginning January 1st you were going to eat healthier and work out. This is a noble goal but take heart that eating healthier and getting a leaner, stronger body takes time. And if you've overeaten portions one too many times, or if you haven't been physically active in a while, getting in shape will be a challenge at first.Stick with your program and you will be healthier and feel better. About 1/3rd of New Year's resolvers make weight-loss the primary goal. About 15 percent of those 1/3rd aim to begin an exercise program structured to meet that goal. Exercise does not have to be an all-consuming and excruciating endeavor, just ideally done just outside your comfort zone; think of it as a stimulus. Your body needs a challenge and that challenge - that stimulus - to be able to improve.

Consider a fitness program consisting of exercises that work out the whole body. A cardio workout improves the health and function of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Weight-bearing exercises enhance the health and function of the bones, muscles, joints, and connective tissues.

Zeke Samples, IFA, CSN, CPR, IDEA

Surreal Body Solutions, LLC

803.322.7649

www.SurrealBodySolutions.com 

& contributing health and exercise author

Personal Training | Nutrition | Supplements | Motivation

Set 'Realistic' Fitness Goals

Why is the word realistic in quotation marks?  

Who defines realistic?  We do.  

Who also defines extraordinary? We will.

  

So, it is safe to also add that it is a reality that to be successful, you need to have realistic expectations in regards to your improvement and performance curve, while setting the standards high by keeping yourself accountable and pushing yourself to the max.  To set realistic goals, some of the challenges are to test your body to limits it can handle while staying motivated.

Think small at first.  Your goals should be a process of taking the next logical step to get fitter each day, every week, and consistent months of the training cycle. Concentrate on the steps you need to take to improve each day, as opposed to focusing on the end goal itself.  Enjoy the process and how it is relating to your current fitness level. You will hopefully then gain not only patience, but a more focused understanding of the individual systems it takes to build your workout volumes.

    

Focus on the process, train consistently, stay healthy, and keep moving forward one day, week and month at a time, and remember to have fun.  

Part of staying motivated is enjoying what you are doing !

Zeke Samples, IFA, CSN, CPR, IDEA

Surreal Body Solutions, LLC

803.322.7649

www.SurrealBodySolutions.com 

& contributing health and exercise author

Personal Training | Nutrition | Supplements | Motivation

Diet Messing with your Energy? Mid-Morning Snack-It !!

You have been told over and over that people who eat a morning meal tend to have smaller waistlines, but some find that noshing in the a.m. actually makes them hungrier. If you can relate, it may be that the "healthy breakfast" you're eating--such as cereal and fruit--contains too many carbs, priming you to overeat later.  The KEY: A Mid-Morning snack will help 'bridge' the appetite.  I always suggest this to clients.

When you have a sluggish metabolism, it's often a sign that you have some insulin resistance--your body is having a hard time moving sugar from your bloodstream into your cells for fuel, and when that doesn't work right, you feel hungry even when you're physically not. This is especially noticeable after you wake up. In the morning, insulin levels are high--eat a high-carb meal, and insulin rises even more, then nosedives quickly, leaving you ravenous by noon.

The solution: Pair those carbs with protein to help slow down the blood sugar response. Aim for 30 grams of protein (a cup of cottage cheese or two eggs and a container of plain low-fat Greek yogurt) and about 20 to 30 grams of carbs (a medium banana, large piece of toast, or packet of instant plain oatmeal).

In Health, 

Zeke Samples - IFA, - IDEA

Contributing author for www.FitAphrodite.com

surrealbody@gmail.com

Workouts for Traveling: Hotel Room

Need a few workout ideas when traveling??
Try a few of these ideas for a quick, high-intensity workout. You will stay in shape and not lose your momentum!!

12 Burpees
12 Push-ups


150 Burpees


50 Crunches
50 Walking lunges (25 each leg)
50 Crunches
50 Walking lunges (25 each leg)
50 Crunches
15 Burpees
50 Crunches


5 Rounds of:
50 Stationary Squats
30 Frog-Hops
15 Pushups


100 Stationary Squats
10 Burpees
200 Push-ups
20 Burpees
100 Stationary Lunges (50 Each Leg)


As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
25 Push-ups
25 Burpees
25 Frog-Hops
25 Toe-Taps



Repeat for 15 minutes:
20 seconds of Push-ups
20 seconds of Crunches
20 seconds of Frog-Hops


As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
25 Frog-Hops
50 Push-ups
75 Stationary Squats


100/75/50/25 reps:
situps
Flutter-Kicks (4 count)
Single Leg Lunges


5 rounds of:
50 Walking Lunges
15 Push-ups

In Health, 

Zeke Samples - IFA, - IDEA

Contributing author for www.FitAphrodite.com

surrealbody@gmail.com

Happy Sunday!! - Prep For Monday!!

Start your morning off right tomorrow!! 

A New Week is Here.

Eat well, Look Fab!!

www.FitAphrodite.com