Bring It Home

Jeff Angel

exercise

Back to School Fitness Tips for Kids and Parents

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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!

My Top 5 Ways to Be Healthier

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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

The Magic Pill for Weight Loss Is Here

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Got your attention with the title. Guess what? There is no real “magic pill”. Motivation, consistency, and discipline when eating and exercising are my magic pill. MOTIVATION, CONSISTENCY, DISCIPLINE! With these 3 magic words, you will succeed on your journey to weight loss. Of course, these three words alone will not help you to lose weight/body fat and keep your body healthy for the rest of your life. This is where my Guidelines to Weight Loss come in to play. Following the Guidelines will help you to make small steps towards losing the weight that you want to come off. Make small changes in your daily routine, every day, and you will achieve success.

  1. Portion Control – Try eating 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. This may help to keep your metabolism higher. Three large meals in a day can be higher in calories and can be more difficult for your body to burn these calories off.
  2. Do not starve yourself – Your body can go into “starvation mode” and actually hold on to fat when enough calories are not consumed. Eat lean protein to stay satisfied longer.
  3. Eat food slowly – This can have the effect of making you feel satisfied sooner, helping to consume less food and fewer calories.
  4. Reduce your intake of refined sugar and refined flour products – Substitute these with whole grain and multi-grain products.
  5. Limit use of sauces, dressings, and creams – Always ask for it “on the side”.
  6. Do not go grocery shopping when hungry – People tend to buy junkie snacks and unhealthy foods when they are wanting to eat.
  7. Avoid eating fried foods – Instead of frying foods when cooking, try to bake, broil, or grill.
  8. Try to cook without adding butter, margarine, or oils – These can add a lot of unwanted calories.
  9. Always start the day with a healthy breakfast that includes complex carbohydrates and lean protein – Breakfast will boost your metabolism and keep your energy high and hunger low throughout the day.
  10. If trying to lose weight/body fat, try reducing your caloric intake by 500 kcal per day – 3,500 kcal equals one pound of fat. So if you cut out 500 kcal every day for 7 days, you can lose one pound in one week.
  11. Keeping a food diary can help to reduce your weight – Keeping track of calorie consumption has been proven to be effective in weight reduction and loss of body fat.
  12. Have a support group – Talk to close friends and family about your plans for losing weight. They will be there for you!
  13. Weight lossWater is best – Avoid soft drinks and juice. These are high in calories and sugar. Your body is approximately 80% water. Drink up.
  14. Alcohol contains a lot of empty calories and interferes with proper physiological functions of the body. Drink alcohol in moderation or preferably cut it out until you reach your goal.
  15. A positive lifestyle change rather than a crash diet is most successful in losing weight. Daily exercise, healthy eating, and motivation will help you reach your goals.

These 15 tips are just some of many ways to help in the battle of weight loss. Be aware, every day, of the food you’re eating and the amount of physical activity and exercise you are doing. Thinking about a healthy lifestyle every day will help you to incorporate more of the tips presented throughout your daily routine. Small changes over a long period of time will certainly add up to weight loss on that scale.

5 Mistakes When Trying to Lose Weight

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Weight loss

 

Over the years of training I’ve seen many people succeed and fail on their journey of losing weight. The success stories are of those that change their eating behaviors, are discipline and motivated, and exercise regularly. Those that fail tend to go on fad diets, starve themselves, and exercise too much or too little. Excessive exercisers usually burn out before their target weight loss has been reached or get injured in the process. Too little exercise will, of course, not burn enough calories to reduce body fat and weight. Losing weight is a very difficult challenge and needs to be accomplished with focus and consistency. Short cuts are not the answer when it comes to losing weight.

I’ve seen people make many mistakes when trying to lose weight. However, the following five mistakes are the biggest ones I’ve seen.

1. Doing ONLY cardio exercise to burn calories and reduce body fat.

Yes, cardio exercises such as walking, running, spinning, jumping rope, etc. is very important in the fight against fat. However, doing only cardio and not including strength training in your exercise program will certainly slow down your weight loss plans. Cardio exercise is great for burning calories and fat, but can also burn away muscle. Strength training must be done in order to maintain your lean body mass (muscle) which helps to keep your metabolism running high and keep you strong. Bottom line, you must do both – cardio and weights.

2. Eliminating all carbohydrates and fats.

Complex carbohydrates and certain fats are needed in your body for energy and several physiological functions. You need both for high energy in order to get through long, intense workouts. Do stay away from saturated fat and processed carbs. These will certainly keep energy levels low and keep that unwanted weight on.

3. Not being consistent with healthy eating.

This is the biggest problem I see with clients that want to lose weight. I find that people do great with low caloric intake and healthy foods Monday through Thursday. But look out on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All that heathy eating is thrown out the door on the weekends. Heavy dinners out at restaurants, desserts, over abundance of alcohol, fried foods. The list goes on and on. Listen, if you are on a mission to lose weight, you have to put forth 100% effort until your goal is reached. Once the goal is reached then splurge every now and then. You can’t eat whatever you want on weekends and expect to lose weight. Simple formula to remember – calories in/calories out. If you are taking in more calories than your body needs, then you will not lose weight!

4. Starving yourself.

Not eating will certainly help reduce your weight. However, how long can you go without food before you have a break down and pig-out on an entire pizza? Starving yourself does not work over a long period of time. Research shows that these people will gain the lost weight back, plus an extra 2-3 pounds or more. You must feed your body healthy foods in moderation in order to keep your metabolism running on high throughout the day.

5. Weighing yourself every day.

Do not do this! When that number on the scale doesn’t move for five days in a row, people get disappointed and frustrated which leads to lack of motivation and questioning all the effort put into healthy eating and exercise. Be patient! If you are sticking with the program and eating properly, the weight will come off. Weigh in once a week, preferably the same day and time and first thing in the morning (after a visit to the bathroom).

Losing weight takes time, consistency, and a lot of motivation and hard work. You must be discipline when it’s time to make the decision to eat dessert or not. Or deciding to have that third glass of wine. Or ordering steamed broccoli instead of french fries. When it comes down to it, it is YOU that has ultimate control over your weight loss. Be patient and consistent with your eating habits and exercise and you will surely see that number on the scale get lower and lower.

HIIT, Your Best Shot at Being Fit

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High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, has been around for years but is finally coming into mainstream fitness for individuals of all ages and fitness levels. Several years ago, HIIT was incorporated into the training regimens of Olympic, Professional, and Collegiate athletes. The benefits of high intensity training for these athletes included higher VO2 Max, greater lung capacity, improved oxygen utilization, delayed onset of lactic acid build up in muscle cells, and greater overall output during practice, drills, games, and competitions.

That’s all good stuff, right? To the average person these improvements don’t mean much. What it does mean to the average person is this: burn a lot of calories in a short period of time while boosting your metabolism and improving your cardiovascular conditioning.

Many of my clients and friends complain of having to do long, tiresome, and boring cardio workouts that leave them wishing there was a better way to “get it done”. HIIT is the way to get it done in a shorter period of time but with a much higher intensity level. You really need to work your butt off to make this work for you!

To start, you must determine your Target Heart Rate Zone (THRZ). This can be done by clicking here. During HIIT, the goal is to get your heart rate up to the upper end of the THRZ, keep it there for a short period of time (1 -2 minutes), then bring it down to the middle of your THRZ for a short period of time, then back up again. This pattern should be performed for 20 to 30 minutes.

This type of training is called high intensity for a reason. It is challenging and tough to do. You will breath heavily and sweat a lot when performed properly. The goal is to get your heart rate up as high and as safe as possible in a short period of time in order to burn high amounts of calories. Depending on your training schedule, HIIT can be performed 2-3 times per week.

The following HIIT programs are some of my favorites to do. These are just examples. I recommend you consult with your physician or a professional fitness instructor before trying these HIIT programs. Be sure to monitor your heart rate to make sure you are at the upper end of your THRZ. It will take approximately 7-8 minutes to get the heart rate up that high. If your heart rate gets too high and you have trouble catching your breath, then lower your intensity by decreasing speed, incline, or pace of exercises. Good luck!

Treadmill HIIT (for beginners):

  1. Brisk walk at 4.5 mph at 2% incline for 2 min. (this may be a slow jog for some of you)
  2. Run or Jog at 6.0 mph at 1% incline for 1 min.
  3. Brisk walk at 4.0 mph at 5% incline for 2 min.

Repeat 4 more times then do 5 minute cool down (walk at 3.5 mph)

Total Time (including cool down): 30 minutes

Outside HIIT (for intermediate trainees):

  1. Jog at your own pace for 2 min.
  2. Sprint for 30 seconds
  3. Walk for 1 minute 30 seconds

Repeat 5 mores times then do 5 minute cool down (slow walk)

Total Time (including cool down): 25 minutes

HIIT Using Calisthenics (for advanced trainees):

  1. Jumping Jacks for 45 seconds
  2. Mountain Climbers for 30 seconds
  3. March in place for 30 seconds (for a rest; brings heart rate down a little)
  4. Burpees or Squat Thrusts for 45 seconds
  5. Scissor Jumps and Jabs for 30 seconds
  6. March in place for 30 seconds
  7. 10 Push-Ups

Repeat 5 more times then do 5 minute cool down (slow walk)

Approximate Total Time (including cool down): 20 minutes

As you can see, HIIT can be done a variety of ways. The ways to do High Intensity Interval Training is endless. The key items to focus on are your heart rate and your breathing. If either gets to high for your fitness level, then decrease your intensity.

Putting together a HIIT program takes a little bit of thinking and imagination and a lot of hard work and motivation. However, this type of exercise will certainly get you in shape, burn a high amount of calories, and keep your metabolism running high all day long.

 

 

5 Secrets to Weight Loss

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People are always looking for easy fixes and fast results when it comes to losing weight. It seeems like every other month there’s a new fad diet that the news is reporting on: fat-free, sugar-free, low-carb, high-protein, gluten-free, juicing, gabbage soup, low-calorie, and the list goes on and on. I’m sure that if you’re reading this article, you’ve tried at least one of these diets. Sure, diets may work for a period of time. However, these are quick fix remedies to weight loss. Most likely, individuals doing these diets will stay on them for a few weeks, lose a few pounds, go back to eating poorly, and gain the weight back plus a few extra pounds. People are not learning the proper way to eat healthy and exercise daily in order to keep the weight off. Behavior modification is most important when wanting to lose weight, maintain healthy eating habits, and living a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life.

Of course, it’s easy for me to give you the advice. The most diffficult part is to implement this advice into your life and change your current behaviors. There are several actions that need to take place in order for you to live a healthy life, lose weight, keep the weight off, and stay physically active. I have provided Weight Control Guidelines on our website. These Guidelines will help you to stay on track when trying to lose weight. These are not secrets to weight loss. This is information that most of you already know, however, you may not be implementing in your life.

The following list includes the most important guidelines to follow when trying to lose weight. Please remember, these are not quick weight-loss solutions. These are guidelines you should be following all the time for the rest of your life. When on the journey of losing weight, you should keep in mind that the weight should come off slowly. I recommend losing 1 to 2 pounds per week. Studies have shown that people that lose 1 to 2 pounds per week tend to keep that weight off permanently. Studies also show that people that go on crash diets lose weight, then go off the diet, and gain that weight back plus an extra 3 to 5 pounds. This is due to not changing their eating behaviors permenantly.

  1. Reduce your intake of processed food and refined sugars. Examples of these include: white bread, pasta, white rice, fast food such as McDonald’s, Panera Bread, and Taco Bell, cookies, cakes, snack foods such as pretzels, chips, and soda pop. These food products tend to be high in calories, trans fats, and sugar. Substitute these foods with whole grain and multi-grain products and increase your intake of a variety of vegetables.
  2. Portion control. Eat 6 small meals a day rather than 3 large meals a day. This will help to keep your metabolism higher. Three large meals a day can be higher in calories and makes it more difficult for your body to burn these calories up. Six small meals a day will keep your energy levels higher, keep you feeling less hungry, and will help you to reduce your caloric intake.
  3. Eat lean protein with every meal. Protein plays an important role in the development of muscle, hair, and nails. Studies have also shown that protein helps to keep people more satisfied and less hungry later in the day.
  4. When trying to lose weight/body fat, reduce your daily caloric intake by 500 calories. 3,500 calories equals one pound of fat. So if you can cut out 500 calories every day for 7 days, you can lose one pound in one week. This sticks with the recommendation of losing 1 to 2 pounds per week in order to keep that weight off for the rest of your life. One way of reducing your caloric intake is to cut out carbs such as pasta, breads, and rice at dinner time. Replace these with a variety of vegetables. Do not completely cut out complex carbohydrates from your diet. Complex carbohydrates are the body’s number one source for energy. You need these “good” carbs early in the day in order to perform your daily routine such as going to work or school, running the kids around town, and EXERCISE!
  5. Drink water throughout the day. Avoid soft drinks, soda pop, and juices. These are high in calories and sugar. Our bodies are 80% water. Water is important for healthy skin, proper physiological functions of the body, and, of course, keeping you hydrated for your workouts.

These 5 important guidelines are just a few of several tips that you should be following when it comes to proper daily nutrition. Please click here to learn more important nutritional information. Combining these weight control guidelines with daily physical activity and exercise will certainly help you to reduce your body weight and body fat. I understand that changing behavior is a very difficult thing to do. So start off slow. Try changing one thing in your eating habits. Accomplish that for 6 weeks and then add on another. Remember, these are lifestyle changes that will stay with you for the rest of your life. These changes will not only help you to lose weight but may help to decrease illnesses and diseases and prolong your life.

 

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