Don’t be another gym horror story…

As a college student set to graduate next month, I can tell you all about the “Freshmen 15″ (or worse) and the health horrors you encounter over the course of college. With the never-ending piles of fried food in the dining hall and steady flow of beer on the weekends, paired with a full schedule that doesn’t leave much down time- and really, who wants to spend it at the gym? – it’s easy to let a few pounds creep on.

Senior year hit and I realized it was time to shape up my life, including my body. Who wants to hit adulthood with a gut? You face the fact you’re going to go home after college and see high school friends, and you don’t want to be the one they whisper about, “Wow she really gained weight…” After a trip down memory lane and a glance through a photo album from prom, I knew it was time to hit the gym.

So, I joined a local gym, or “health club” if you want to get technical. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a total slob, I was a semi-regular at my college’s gym. The fact I’m now paying to belong to a gym is extra motivation, and knowing I can work out unbothered by frat guys and “meatheads” is worth it. I’ve always hated running, like run a quarter mile and convince myself I pulled a muscle and jump on the elliptical kind of hatred. But, I was making big changes, and decided to make running my goal.

It’s been a few months, and would you believe it I’m up to running about five miles a day. I love the new muscles in my legs, but not as much as I love knowing I could probably outrun someone if I were followed or in danger. It’s also great knowing that I’m improving my cardiovascular health, as heart disease runs in my family. This sudden empowerment motivated me to do more, and get a personal trainer.

My gym offers a free personal training session a month included in my membership fees, so I saw the front desk and set up an appointment based around my availability. They told me, “ok you have an appointment with Ted next Tuesday at 10.” I didn’t know what else to ask so just showed up for my appointment the following week. What a mistake. I didn’t know anything about the trainer, and he didn’t know anything about me. Not only that, when I went for my appointment they told me they had to switch, and I didn’t have Ted, I now had Kyle. Kyle was apparently confused, and kept calling me the wrong name. He didn’t ask me what I wanted to target, instead we rushed into an upper body work out. Maybe he had spoken to the other girl who’s name he kept calling me, because he referred to a phone call we had- only I had never spoken to him. He went on to tell me about his family, his girlfriend, his kids, asked me how old I was and commented that he was almost twice as old as I was. He told me I had a nice smile and if I were his daughter he wouldn’t let me out of the house. He briefly told me about the exercises I was doing. He DIDN’T ask me about my health history, my normal routine, or what my goals were. I felt like because one set was “easy” for me, he would quadruple the weight and my arms turned to jello. I’ve worked with a trainer before, and he always said he wanted to challenge me and not kill me, so I would feel it but still want to keep training. I didn’t get that feeling from this guy, at all. I wanted him to give me advice on what to target, show me a routine that I could do on my own, and not talk about his kids. I didn’t know what I was getting into.

If I had used Fittron, I wouldn’t have encountered any of those problems. With Fittron I could have searched for a personal trainer in my area, and saw their pictures, bio, certifications, and referrals. I could have spoken to them before the session so my goals would be clear and I would know who they were. I could have read articles they posted on Fittron’s Pro Page, and I could have been confident that they are serious professionals who know what they’re doing. I don’t have tons of money to throw around, I am a poor college student after all- so I could’ve posted on Fittron’s solicitation board stating, “Young adult seeking PT for fitness advice in Central NJ. Will pay 60 for session.” The professionals could’ve came to me. That’s a lot of “could haves,” and instead I ended up disappointed and unable to lift my arms to shampoo my hair for a week. To top it off, using Fittron is FREE. So let’s add dumb to the the list of disappointed and in pain.

Don’t end up the next the next fitness horror story like me. Take advantage of all the great features Fittron has to offer. You have nothing to lose and a great body and trainer to gain.

http://fittron.com

Simple Tips To Shed Fat

TIPS TO GETTING THE FAT OFF!

1: No fast food. To combat the urges, I eat every 2-3 hours.

2: Eat the majority of meals at home. When I stopped eating out, I started losing fat.

3: Eat more vegetables. If I get hungry between meals, I either grab a plate of raw veggies with fat-free dressing or have a protein shake if I need the protein or want a special treat.

4: Cook fat-free (cooking sprays or fat-free spray butter).

5: Reduced calorie condiments. My new favorite is I cant believe its not butter spray. It has all of the taste of butter, with only five calories per serving. Also, the new syrup made with Splenda is excellent on sweet potatoes.

6: Drink loads of water and stick to diet drinks (Diet Mountain Dew is my favorite). No fruit juices, only real fruit. The exception is protein shakes.

 

Fittron professional Danielle Hollenshade has more fitness advice to help you reach your goals. Contact her through Fittron.com and see what she can do for you.

http://fittron.com/danielle_hollenshade

Expectations

Do life a big favor and refuse to accept anything less than the best from it. Give respect to those around you by relating to them with the highest of expectations.

It is not naive, cruel or arrogant to sincerely expect the best of yourself, of every other person and of every situation. In fact, it is highly empowering and enriching for all concerned.

Genuine, deeply-held expectations serve to powerfully guide thoughts and behavior. And by so doing those expectations create results.

Expect the best of yourself, and when you start veering off course your high expectations will push you to get back on track. Expect the best of others, and you will instill a sense of confidence that can substantially boost performance.

If you do not truly expect to reach them, your dreams and goals will only tease and taunt you into a sense of bitter frustration. Yet when you give those dreams the power of positive expectation, you have what it takes to make them real.

Your expectations can influence every thought, every perception, every action, every interaction, and every situation. So choose to make those expectations the very highest and best they can be.

This was passed to be my girl V, who received it from the people who make it possible and easier for her to do what she loves to do…her trainers. I thought I would take a minute to pass it on to those who are in the midst of training, competing and achieving their goals; I hope it inspires everyone I pass it on to as much as it has inspired me.

Danielle can do more then just get you in shape; she can inspire you to lead a better life. She’s one of our best professionals, and you can only find professionals of her caliber on Fittron.com

 

http://fittron.com/danielle_hollenshade

Healthy Eating to Support Strength Training

 

I promised a simple menu for a client that continues to work hard taking two steps forward at training but falls back three steps – thru her eating habits – and finds no gain is accomplished.

In fact, most of us struggle with the same issue. I encourage people to make a selection and commit to a nutritional support program that you can live with – daily – for at least two months and then stand back and see the results of your work. For example, my website provides a link to eDiets which provides an array of diet and nutrition choices. Pick one, sign up and work with it.

Alternatively, you can use my simple menu below. Simple, because it is void of a lot of choices; easy to remember and very basic.

Weigh yourself and mark the calendar. Follow this menu every day for two months. Email me and let me know how many pounds you lost as a result by sticking to the plan. If you incorporate a strength training and cardio/interval circuit workout, I will guarantee you will see a change in your body weight, a gain of muscle tone and loss of body fat.

Remember! This is an EVERY DAY Plan

Morning Meal -Small Bowl of Oatmeal - use cinnamon, cloves, raisins, etc to spice it up and keep it interesting. Do not use the instant pre-sweetened, sugary packets. Make it yourself from scratch! Coffee, Tea or Juice or your choice.

Yes, its a carb. Yes, you need the energy. Yes, it has fiber and will help keep your body regular and remove the cholesterol. My favorite is Quaker Oats 1-Minute Quick Oats with 4-5 slices of Turkey Bacon and a large cup of coffee.

Mid-Morning Meal – Egg Whites - whether scrambled, an omelet or boiled. Plan to eat 3-4 egg whites before 10am every morning. Whole wheat or grain toast or muffin is great. Make it interesting with peppers, onions, spinach, broccoli, feta cheese, whatever will help you to eat the clean protein. If you miss the oatmeal you better not miss this one. I eat some sort of Egg White Omelet every morning. An alternative would be an egg white smoothie! Yeech you say? Ok, then use a Ready-to-Drink Meal like, Muscle Milk Ready-to-Drink Meals (11 ounces = 220 caloriesp; 9g carb, 11g fat, 21g protein packed) . These can be found at TheVitaminShoppe.

Lunch – Healthy Protein (fish, chicken or beef) grilled or broiled (never fried) with colorful vegetables (green, orange, yellow, red, purple, get the picture, salad, broccoli, yams, carrots, corn, beets, squash, eggplant, etc.) No pasta, no rice, no potatoe, no bread. Have the veggies cooked, steamed, broiled or raw. Just eat them with the protein before 1:00pm.

Mid-Afternoon Meal – Protein Snack – No not a candy bar or cake or a cookie. Celery with Peanut Butter, Tuna with Celery, Apple with Peanut Butter, a Muscle Milk RTD, handful of nuts with a piece of fruit. Combine a Complex Carb with a protein and fat for a small snack. Because I am on the go, I tend to use the Muscle Milk drink or I grab an apple with a couple of spoons of peanut butter. Try it for 2 months and watch what happens. Let me hear from you!

Dinner – Healthy Protein with colorful vegetables. Same as lunch, just pick something different. No wine, no beer and no soda. Try Crystal Light or Green Tea flavored water. Dinner is best if it can happen between 5-7:00pm.

Evening Snack – Protein Snack – You guessed it, and RTD or a smoothie, a piece of cheese and a pear or apple. Keep it light and simple. You do not want a lot on your stomach while you are trying to let the body rest and recover for the evening. This shouldn’t be any later than 10:00pm.

Then get up in the morning and start all over again!

Come visit Gina at Fittron.com and enlist her services to help you on your journey towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.

http://fittron.com/gina_jackson_personal_fitness

Online Fitness Tips and Videos

The internet is saturated with information; some good, and some bad. You need to take some time sorting through different content so you can be sure what you’re reading is actually worthwhile. Finding online fitness help is no different. There are a bevy of sites that offer nutritional advice, training help, meal plans, and other tips for healthy living. But not all of them are very good.

Often times these sites are rather complicated. Sometimes you have to create a user profile and some of the posters are just that; users, and not professionals. Many sites have done their best to copy the social networking craze that is sweeping the nation, and allow everyday web visitors to join their site and produce content. While this might be beneficial for users looking to meet up with and support other individuals, it doesn’t do much for you if you’re looking for advice from a professional. You don’t get advice on your financial portfolio from a social networking site, do you? And if you do, we’re not so sure that’s the best way to go about it. You should be getting professional advice from a certified financial expert. At Fittron, we felt you should be getting the same type of advice for your health.

Fittron.com is a directory of fitness professionals. We allow our professionals to upload videos, articles, nutritional tips and more. Only registered Fittron professionals can do this. All our professionals are certified and most are leaders in their field. We challenge you to find a roster of more qualified professionals anywhere online. But don’t waste your time looking; you won’t find a site that even compares.

There are no user profiles on Fittron. We’re not a social networking site, we’re not a fitness encouragement site, we provide you access to the top professionals in the country. Recognizing the forum that they are a part of, our professionals post articles and videos that you need to be viewing. They offer everything from recipes, to instructional videos, to targeted advice for working different body parts. All posts are linked back to the profile page. No longer should you have to read articles from “jackedguy21” and wonder what credentials “jackedguy” really has. By clicking on our professional’s profile link, you will be taken to their profile where you can view their bio, certifications, specializations, and much more. Now you can see just who is behind the information that you’re reading.

Our information is easily accessible. Just click on the yellow sunburst tab on our main page and read articles and videos that we’ve featured. You won’t have to sort through endless content, and there is no username and password required. It’s just simple, transparent advice from experts.

Simplicity backed with credibility is the best formula for success. Our information is certified. Just click on the author’s profile for verification. Come to Fittron.com and get the advice and fitness help that you’ve been looking for.

http://fittron.com/pro_page