Bring It Home

Jeff Angel

Blog

And the Winner Is…

by Leave a Comment

 

Bring It Home Personal Training has been voted the “BEST” Personal Trainer in Metro Detroit in the Vote 4 the Best Contest at clickondetroit.com (our local Channel 4 WDIV).

Thank you so much to all of my loyal clients, family, and friends who made this happen! I am very fortunate to be surrounded with such loyalty and love. I could not have won without the support of all of you. Taking the time and devotion to vote every day for 3 months straight was quite an endeavour. I applaud all of you for this. You can click here to see the results.

Next contest…Hour Magazine’s Best Of.

Thanks again for all of your love and support!

Jeff Angel

Exercise Slump: Everyone Does It

by Leave a Comment

 

Shhhh…Don’t tell anyone, I’ve been in an exercise slump for nearly two weeks! Yes, it happens even to us professional physical fitness gurus. One day I’m running 4 miles at 7 mph on the treadmill and feeling great, the next day my mojo was lost. It all had to do with that darn storm that came through and knocked out our power for four days along with devastating our little neighborhood. No major damage, however several sheared off and uprooted trees, downed power lines, and of course, the hole in our roof. Compared to other storms around our country and the world, our storm was tiny and really insignificant. However, it was enough to change our daily routines, disrupt our lives, and make me really think about how lucky we were that the damage wasn’t worse. It was very easy for me to get out of my daily exercise routine thanks to the storm of 2014. DSC_1789-Edit-3

I can see how it’s easy to get out of the routine of daily exercise and how difficult it is to get back into it. Motivation is a key issue. My motivation has been more focused on getting the neighborhood cleaned up, dealing with the insurance company, deciding on what type of home generator to buy, and trying to keep my kids on schedule with school and homework while juggling 8-9 clients every day. I’ve had no time to fit in my own exercise.

I’ve heard this from clients for all the years I’ve been a personal trainer (16 years now!). “I don’t have time to exercise”, they say. I always come back with, “You have to make the time.” It is difficult to make the time to exercise, especially if you really don’t like it. I understand that. I also understand that “life” gets in the way of exercise. However, the benefits of exercise far outweigh the lack of daily physical activity, a sedentary lifestyle, and the negative effects that come along with it such as heart disease, cancers, strokes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type II diabetes, low self-esteem, and a lot of medical bills.

My exercise slump is over as of today. I put on my running shoes and got back up on the treadmill. My motivation? Life. I love the life I have here on Earth. I love my boys, my wife, my family and friends, and all the clients I’m able to interact with every day. I enjoy spreading my knowledge of physical fitness to everyone I come in contact with. Whether you’re a long time client from Bloomfield Hills, a new FaceBook friend from Kenya, or a student from the United Kingdom using our website for research. My motivation comes from all of you that read my blogs, watch my YouTube videos, and listen to my exercise and fitness advice. All of you are my support group that keeps me moving and physically active.

A support group is the best way to stay motivated. Your spouse, family, and friends are the most important support groups to have when getting out of your exercise routine. Be sure to talk with the people who care about you. Let them know that your exercise routine has slipped and that you need help getting back on schedule. With encouragement and support from your loved ones, you’ll find yourself lacing up your running shoes, stepping outside with a smile, and feeling more motivated now that you’re out of that exercise slump. For me, I’m cranking up the treadmill to 8 mph tomorrow! I’m back, thanks to you!

 

Back to School Fitness Tips for Kids and Parents

by 1 Comment

Vacation 2014 303

Summer’s over. It’s sad to say. We had a great summer with our boys, Max and Will. Our summer trips were full of traveling around our great state of Michigan and a lot of physical activity such as swimming, biking, running, football, and throwing the frisbee just to name a few. With no school to worry about during the summer, it’s easy to keep our physical fitness levels high. Everyday this summer has been filled with exercise. I’m sure it’s easy for most families to stay active and physically fit during the summer. I see it on FaceBook all the time. However, school schedules are back in place and I know that for our family it’s a lot more difficult to get family fitness in. Vacation 2014 100

Teaching my kids about physical fitness, exercise, and proper nutrition comes naturally to me. Ever since the boys were toddlers, I’ve been teaching them the importance of eating healthy foods, such as vegetables and fruits, the health benefits of exercise, and how to incorporate physical fitness into their daily lives. My kids are 9 and 5 years old now and both know the difference between “good carbs” and “bad carbs”. What a lean protein is and why protein is important. They also know that in order to stay strong and physically fit, they should do some sort of physical activity or exercise every day.

With school starting back up, keeping up with daily physical activity will be a bit of a challenge for the boys. However, we, their parents, always find ways to keep them active in order to keep their physical fitness levels high. One of the best ways we find to keep our kids active during the school year is to get the kids involved in an organized team sport they enjoy. Key phrase here is “sport they enjoy”. If your child does not enjoy the sport you put him/her in, then it simply will not be fun for him or for you. When a child enjoys and has fun playing a specific sport, then he will certainly put more effort into getting better which will lead to more exercise and training. My son, Max, played on several organized flag football and basketball teams and never really enjoyed it. He was pretty good at both sports but never really liked either one. We’ve found that swimming is his sport. He loves it! Will, my 5 year old, loves any sport right now. So he wants to be on all the sports teams he can.

Participating on a sports team is great exercise and physical fitness for kids. However, this may not be for everyone. So, it is up to the parents to help figure out ways to keep their children active and physically fit during the school year. Remember to make exercise fun and educational for kids. Parents should incorporate the 11 components of physical fitness into kids’ exercise programs. These 11 components of physical fitness can be found by clicking here. The following physical activities and exercises are what I have my boys do outside of their team sports in order to keep their fitness levels high during the school year:

  • Set up an outdoor obstacle course that involves running around chairs, jumping over low brooms supported by chairs, bear crawling on hands and feet, and racing towards a finish line. Obstacle courses help to improve your child’s coordination, agility, cardiovascular endurance, and muscular strength and endurance. High intensity work-outs like this will help to burn a lot of calories and keep your child’s body fat low. Obstacle courses are not only fun, they are a total body work-out.
  • Have your kids complete 50 push-ups throughout the day. Ten when they wake up, ten after breakfast, ten on the playground, ten when they get home from school, and ten before bed. Push ups are a great way to improve kids’ muscular strength and muscular endurance.
  • Jumping rope is a great exercise for kids and it’s fun! Jumping rope will improve your child’s reaction time, speed, and cardiovascular endurance and will certainly help to keep your child at a healthy weight.
  • Go for a bike ride. This is my boys’ favorite exercise to do. Biking helps to improve your kids’ cardiovascular endurance, balance, and muscular strength and endurance. We love riding bikes with our kids!
  • After homework is done, we send our kids outside. We’ve found that our boys are always running around when they go outside. Instead of sitting inside and playing video games or looking at a computer, get your kids outside! Their imaginations will take over and they’ll be running around in no time.

Vacation 2014 102These physical activities for kids are just a few of my favorites. Remember to keep exercise fun and educational. Physical fitness should be fun for kids and adults. If exercise is not fun, kids will tend to not engage in it and their physical fitness levels will drop. Be sure to teach your kids the importance of  incorporating the 11 components of physical fitness into their daily exercise program. These components of physical fitness, along with healthy eating, are important for total body health and wellness. Just because summer is over, don’t neglect your child’s physical fitness. Make the time for exercise everyday, be creative with your child’s exercise program, and parents should exercise with your children. You and your kids can be healthy together!

Change is Good

by 1 Comment

JEFF3AGL2016
I could not have done this push-up 20 years ago!

 

Summer is almost over and it’s time to start thinking about fall weather, school starting, and, dare I say it, the Holidays. My youngest son, Will, is starting kindergarten at a new elementary school this year. This is going to be a big change for him and my wife and I. Our little Stinky is getting big! It’s time for both of my boys to go back to school. This summer has been full of traveling, staying up late, fishing, and just general craziness. They need a change in their daily schedule. A change that has more structure and discipline. They will certainly benefit from this change from summer fun to a structured school routine. As with my kids, I need to change my routine now. My exercise routine.

I’ve found myself getting into the same old exercise routine. A routine that has gotten a bit boring and mind numbing. I always use this time of the year to analyze my workouts and see where I need to make changes. I’ve really gotten into High-Intensity Circuit Training for the past 5 months and have neglected standard weight-lifiting. The circuit training has certainly kept me at a top physical fitness level and has kept off the unwanted pounds that so many people put on towards the end of summer. I also like to eat an occasional cheeseburger and drink a glass of wine or 2 (or 3).

Yesterday was my first day of change in my daily exercise routine. I got back into lifting weights or strength training. I am SO sore today. Pull-ups, chest presses, and flyes. Heavy weights. Circuit training is definitely a great way to stay in shape, but so is standard strength training. My body has gotten use to being beat up by circuit training. I had reached a plateau. Changing my exercise program to something a little different will certainly change my body for the better and progress me to an even higher level of fitness.

When working out, I don’t compare myself to others on the fitness floor. I compare myself to me when I was in the Marine Corps 20 years ago. I’ve found that consistently changing my exercise routine over these last 20 years has made me leaner and stronger. My cardiovascular endurance is equivalent, maybe even a little better, than when I was 21 years old. My balance and coordination have improved immensely since being consistent with changes in exercises. As a matter of fact, all 11 components of physical fitness have only improved over these many years of exercise and consistent change in my work-outs. There’s no reason to believe your body diminishes as you get older!

I’m 44 years old now. Making changes in my exercise routine along with consistency and healthy eating has kept me at the same weight I was in 1994 when I left the Marines. So don’t get stuck in the same pattern of exercise. Try to mix it up now. Get that body you had 20 years ago. It will take hard work and discipline, but so does everything else in life. Stay focused on your new exercise program and be consistent with healthy eating. Because the change you make in your daily exercise routine today will change your body and the way you feel about yourself for the rest of your life. Change is Good!

My Top 5 Ways to Be Healthier

by Leave a Comment

 

My top five ways for being a healthier person:

  1. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Especially for those of you that work-out regularly and exercise outside during these hot summer months. Water helps your skin stay youthful and keeps the nutrients flowing throughout your body. I drink a minimum of ten 8 oz. glasses of water a day.
  2. Be physically active everyday for at least 60 minutes. Exercise, walking, running outside with your kids, gardening, even golf. These activities have been proven to help keep your heart strong and release stress. My favorite physical activity is High Intensity Circuit Training and running around my backyard with my sons, Max and Will.Vacation 2014 245
  3. Eat the recommended amount of vegetables and fruit every day. These are high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Fruits and vegetables will certainly help to keep your energy levels high throughout the day. My favorite veggies are broccoli, spinach, and brussel sprouts. My favorite fruits are bananas and any type of berries.
  4. Get your sleep! Most Americans are not getting the recommended amount of sleep, which is 7-8 hours a day.  A good night’s sleep helps to energize your body for the next day, helps the body to repair and regrow cells, and helps to keep your immune system strong. My work day starts at 5:45 a.m. every week day. Therefore, I wake up at 4:40 a.m. Getting to bed by 9:00 p.m is essential for me to get enough sleep (7.5 hrs) to make it through a long day of training 8-10 clients.
  5. Have a happy and positive attitude. Negative stress can have a very negative effect on our bodies. Stress can actually increase the risk of heart attacks and cancers. At the end of the day, reflect on your life and think about all the joys you encounter. For me, my joys are: my two sons, my beautiful wife Stacie, our wonderful families and friends, my fun and loyal clients, sharing my knowledge of fitness and exercise, and a big glass of wine!

These are my top five ways for being a healhier person. What are yours?

Food

No One Passes!

by 3 Comments

Vacation 2014 239

 

Those three simple words are a huge part of a very active three day vacation my family and I took at Mackinac Island recently. If you’ve been to the island, then you know that one of the “must do” activities is to ride bikes around the 8 mile coast of the island. Most people take a nice leisurely jaunt, looking at nature, wildlife, spectacular settings, and history on the island. Not my family, remember we have a former Marine and personal trainer in charge for this expedition. We mount our bikes and the first words out of my mouth are, “NO ONE PASSES!” Now, my wife and boys already know the meaning of these three words. We will be going the fastest we can with little breaks. We are on a mission to get around this island with no other bikers passing us.

I can’t help myself. If we’re going to be riding bikes, then we must go as fast as possible, pushing ourselves. I see this as a great way to take in nature and the sights and get a great work-out in. Of course no one passed us. Except for those times when we did stop to build rock pyramids, climb to the top of arch rock, and check out the battlefield and cemeteries.Vacation 2014 245

The Angel Family vacations are always full of physical activities that my boys, ages 9 and 5, can participate in. I believe that if you, the parents, are physically active, then your children will be too. Biking around Mackinac Island is one of several activities we love to do with our boys in order to keep them physically active. When we travel Up North or when we are just hanging out in our backyard during these warm months we also:

  • play football – great for overall conditioning of the body
  • run and chase (especially difficult in knee high water at the lake) – excellent for strengthening your legs and cardio conditioning
  • throw the Frisbee – great for improving hand/eye coordination and reaction time
  • swim – again, great for overall body conditioning
  • play paddle ball – excellent way to improve agility, quickness,  coordination, and reaction time
  • play baseball – fun way to get out and run and develop overall sports-related skills

Staying active throughout your vacation is a great way to keep unwanted pounds off, helps to keep you motivated, and also shows your kids that exercise can be fun. For me, the best part of our vacations is just being with with my wife and kids. Next activity, Marine Corps obstacle course in our backyard! DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY!!

 

 

Macronutrients

Macronutrients

Micronutrients

Micronutrients

Cooking Tips

Cooking Tips

Recipes

Recipes