Random Tips of Fitness

1. Just because you worked hard at the gym doesn't mean that you need to overdo it in the kitchen. Sometimes when we have a great workout where we're tired and drenched in sweat, we go to food to help calm us down. We also do this the day after (or for those 48 hr recovery people it's the day after the day after) because of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). This happens because (A.) we grow up believing that food is a reward, and comfort, and (B.) because 1 calorie = 1 unit of energy, so after a workout when we're drained of energy we naturally go towards food to fill that void.    
   So that's the WHY. Why we crave post workout. Now let's focus on WHAT to do. It's ok to eat after a workout if you feel hungry. In fact, protein (LEAN protein like Legumes, Raw Nuts, Skinless Chicken, Fish, the proper Protein Powder, etc.) helps to repair and build muscle tissue while carbohydrates are good because they help to provide the fatigued muscles with glycogen.
   
   The trick is PORTION CONTROL and NATURAL INTAKE. If you've just burned 800 calories and you take in 900 calories right after for your post workout "snack" or throughout the day and the next day, you're defeating that hard work. It really doesn't take that much to help repair & rebuild. Also be sure that you're drinking enough water and SLEEPING. Our tissues repair most while we're sleeping and dehydration is one of the key reasons for cravings.
                                                                                                                                                                   
2.  Your job is a LOT harder than ours because your job is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! A good trainers job is to show you what to do, explain to you how to do it, keep your body guessing with constant diversity, motivate you, and be there for you when you need us. But we don't have a constant camera on you. YOU need to be pushing yourself when we're not with you. That means in the kitchen, in the office, in your living room, in the restaurants, and in the gym. If you train hard with us and then go home and have cake, you're still going to get fat! Help US help YOU. Hold yourself accountable like we hold you accountable.
3. Appropriately following #2: Face it people, AFTER A CERTAIN AGE WE CAN'T JUST "WORKOUT TO EAT WHATEVER WE WANT" ANYMORE! It doesn't work that way!! Every year our metabolism gets slower. Eat like you never workout, and workout like you always eat.
4. Excessive alcohol will make you fat. Period.
5. It's a mindset. If you go into your workout with a crappy frame of mind, you're going to have a crappy workout. When you go into it, anything for that matter, positive and optimistic you're more likely to have a killer workout. Keep your main motivator at the front of your mind, have a playlist that moves you to workout hard, smile, and focus on PROGRESS. 
6. There's no such thing as instant gratification. When you're working hard and trying to change your body you may very well be the last to see your major improvements. Even if dozens of other people are complimenting your change. BE PATIENT! If you're working hard, eating fresh natural foods and in proper portions, and keeping at it YOU WILL MEET YOUR GOALS. Remember, if it comes fast it can go away even faster. Everything worth having takes time and takes work. Trust me, the payments are worth it:).
7. Stretch post workout. Trust me.
8. It's not the scale, it's the measurements. MUSCLE IS FAR MORE DENSE THAN FAT THEREFORE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT WEIGHS.
9. Interval and circuit training, as long as you keep the pace up and you're not lounging in between, are the best ways to burn fat.
10. Keep the Carbs at the beginning and during the early parts of the day, then later in the day and at night time cut the carbs and take in your lean protein and veggies. Go by your internal clock, when you need the most energy is when you need your carbohydrates, and at night you need your lean protein and your veggies to provide proper nutrients for tissue repair. This doesn't mean that you can't eat veggies and protein in the morning and during the day, they're great ALL THE TIME
11. If you're taking in calorie filled & sugar filled drinks (pop, full fat coffee drinks, etc.) everyday, STOP. Trust me, you may be cranky for the first week, but come back to me after 3 weeks and tell me how you feel (and LOOK).
12. When you lunge and when you squat don't ever let your knees go past your toes and be sure to push into both heels as you come up from a squat and the front heel as you push up from a lunge. This one may seem like a small thing, but TRUST ME I've seen too many knee and back injuries because of improper form. And yes, I said back. Tight and strained muscles around the knee shoot up effecting the hip flexors. The hip flexors travel back and attach to the vertabre in your low back.
13. Work your low back just as much as you do your abs! When you just work your abdominal area you're setting yourself up for back problems AND improper posture, making you actually hunch forward. Agonist/Antagonist. You've got to work both.
14. Keep your shoulder blades down and back. Imagine that your shoulder blades are little Angel wings and they're back, down, and put away. This will help you to have proper posture, proper form, and to keep your shoulders away from your ears which creates neuromuscular tightening and can bring on migraines and much more in terms of discomfort.
15. Pat yourself on the back. It's not easy to change your life, even when it's for a healthy, beautiful, long and fulfilling life. But you're doing it, and if anybody can do it, it's YOU. You are powerful, you are able, and you are limitless. So get in there, smile, kick some ass and create the Lifestyle that you deserve!