Be Challenged Be Changed

Are you ready to take your Fitness to the next level? Tired of the same old routine? Not getting the results your looking for? We all train with different goals but we all have one thing in common, we are looking for CHANGE! Are you looking to get faster, stronger, more flexible, increased endurance or weight loss well it is all CHANGE!

Now its time to step out of your comfort zone and start creating CHANGE with improvements to your strength, endurance and flexibility.

Personal Training and/or Outdoor classes are the answers your looking for. The workouts are always changing. Some times we use Body Weight exercises, other times using Kettle Bells, Battle Ropes, Steel Mace, Medicine Balls, Bands, Suspension Training and many other variables.

Whether your training for a particular sport or weight loss or that upcoming 5K or maybe an Obstacle Course Race. I will help you be at your very best!

Personal Training can be one on one or team up with a friend for added accountability. Get a group of your friends together and train for that special upcoming event!

Call me now or send me a text to set up your free initial consultation at 623-302-4944. Or fill out the contact me information on the right side of this page.

BE CHALLENGED! BE CHANGED!!!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

10 Rules of Healthy Living

STICK TO THE BASICS
I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best ways to help people get in better shape. And the more exercises I perform, the more programs I experiment with, the more I become convinced that a simplified approach provides the best results. Every year people are trying to reinvent the wheel. And while some of those exercises are fun and challenging, and many diets actually work (more on that soon), making change starts with learning and mastering the basics. 

Eat well. Move more. Sleep. Repeat.
It sounds almost too simple to be true, but good health begins and ends with those ingredients. That’s not to say there aren’t other important factors—hormones, stress, and inflammation—are three examples of “hidden” elements that play an important influence on how you look and feel. But before you can begin worrying about the minutiae, you need to establish a healthy foundation.  Once you’re consistent in those three areas, I promise you’ll be amazed by the changes that will occur to your body.

MORE PLANNING, MORE RESULTS
This past year I developed a habit of writing down my goals before each day. And you know what happened? I became more productive than ever. The truth is, everything we do in our lives is dictated by our minds. Whether we roll out of bed and go to the gym, select healthy food or the unhealthy choice, and even pushing yourself to do more at your job or be a better husband/wife/son/daughter/parent/friend—everything is a mind game. 

Listen, it’s easy to lose sight of what we want to accomplish and what we actually achieve. So I remind myself daily. I don’t beat myself up when I fall short of my goals, but writing down expectations is a great way to stay accountable. Maybe you do it once a week, or once a month. But if you focus on the psychology of success rather than the end goal, you’ll probably end up achieving more than you thought you could.

STUBBORNNESS IS STILL STUPIDITY
As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Be patient with your body and you will be rewarded. Be impatient, and you’ll always fall short of your true potential. (or hurt yourself repeatedly )

DIETS WORK
I know that most people hate the word “diet.” As I’ve explained earlier, people need to understand that it’s just a word to describe eating habits. But more importantly, it’s essential that you understand that many different diets work very well.  While some are admittedly terrible (see: Cookie Diet), there are many ways to eat healthy, lose weight, and feel great.

Here’s the problem: Diets are filled with too much dogma. Paleo dieters are upset with people who eat grains. People who eat grain are upset with low-carbers. The low-carbers are mad at those who don’t eat fat. On and on it goes. It’s a constant shouting match that drowns out a simple reality—the best diet is the one that works for your lifestyle. And to figure out your lifestyle, you need to develop increased self-awareness.

If you have food sensitivities or allergies, you might need to cut back on certain foods (wheat, dairy, and grains are common problems).  If you love fatty foods, you might want to pick a diet that allows them.  If you can’t live without carbs, well, don’t live without carbs. Take a more balanced approach and see if you lose weight on the plan. If you don’t, then adjust. 

 Don't worry about finding the best solution; only focus on what works for you. The dieting process is fairly simple:

1) Find a plan that is rooted in science. You want some basis of legitimacy. For instance, we know that the calories-in vs. calories-out is a foundational element of weight loss/weight gain. Use that as a baseline and I’d try tracking your calories—at least in the short term—so you can learn portion sizes and understand how much you’re actually consuming. 
2) Learn the details and rules of a specific diet approach and see if you think it’d work for your lifestyle.
3) Try it out and see if it works. 

If I had a better solution, I’d give it to you. And we can talk all day about macronutritents (proteins, carbs, and fats are important), but you have to find something that works for your preferences and your lifestyle. If it’s not sustainable for you, it’s probably not worth doing. 

MENTORS ARE INVALUABLE AND NECESSARY
I would not be where I am today without the help and guidance of many people. And I wouldn’t have the knowledge to share with you if it wasn’t for the lessons I’ve learned from others. I truly do stand on the shoulders of others, and it’s their information that allows me to help so many people. I am a student first and a teacher second, and that mentality allows me to learn more, constantly improve, and fix my errors and mistakes.

My advice: Find someone who is doing what you want, reach out to them, and do all that you can to learn from their model and adjust it to your life and your own style.  

INTERACTION BREEDS INSPIRATION
I recently started my blog and use Facebook and Twitter to interact with everyone. Being able to interact with everyone offers many great insights into your needs, desires, and how I can best help. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to those who share their thoughts, questions, and stories with me. You inspire me to be better at my job, and I appreciate you all more than you’ll ever know. I will keep working harder to deliver more quality information that helps you. 

ANYONE CAN CHANGE THEIR DESTINY
I’ve always believed in the amazing capabilities of the human body.  I’ve heard and read so many success stories, which details the amazing transformations of many different people, all of who overcame incredible hurdles. Starting in 2012, I will be featuring some of these stories more prominently, and I encourage you to share your story as well. 

LIFTING WEIGHTS IS (STILL) THE BEST WAY TO LOSE FAT
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Just like dieting, there are many ways that you can drop fat and lose weight. But if you’re looking for the best, most efficient way, there’s no doubt resistance training is the answer. Whether you’re a man or woman, hit the weights and your body will change for the better.


TRUE HEALTH IS BALANCED HEATLH
I’m more convinced than ever that a rigid approach to health is unhealthy. Listen, I live, eat, and sleep health and fitness. I love the gym, enjoy cooking healthy meals, and read scientific journals for fun. (don’t judge me) But fitness and nutrition shouldn’t be a pain. It should be an enjoyable part of your life. So that means taking some days off, enjoying food (and desserts sometimes) and finding balance.

Your health should be one of the biggest priorities in your life, but that doesn’t mean it has to control every aspect of your day.  Push yourself hard, set high standards and don't settle for less, but make sure you laugh, smile, enjoy and share your experiences with others. Battling your weight or other health demons is tough enough. Don’t make it harder on yourself. The more mentally relaxed you are, the easier it will be to stay consistent and fight your way to the goals you want to achieve. 

Bonus lesson: PAY IT FORWARD 
You’ll be surprised how many people genuinely want to help inspire people to become healthier. And your willingness to be a mentor or provide assistance can be the change that makes a difference in this world. I’m as committed as ever to help you in any way that I can, and I hope that inspires you to do the same for others.

To everyone: Happy holidays and thank you for a memorable 2011. I am continually humbled by all of you. Thank you for your support, criticism, and feedback. If there’s one thing I can promise it’s this: I won’t quit,  won’t overlook the present, and I will keep listening and doing all I can to help you live strong, healthy and fun lives.

Friday, December 23, 2011

7 Easy Christmas Fat Loss Strategies

With Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day all happening this week, I've put together a list of SEVEN different strategies that you can use to curb the "typical" weight gain. Enjoy!

Strategy #1: Feast On Protein

So you’re scoping out the buffet set-up at a holiday party and you’re contemplating what to eat. I’m betting there’s a turkey there. Or a ham. Or some shrimp cocktail. Eat it, and only that, until you’re full.

Protein is, by nature, very filling. And by filling up on lean protein, you’ll avoid other, potentially more destructive food items at the buffet. And best yet, you still leave satisfied.

Another benefit of protein is that it also helps your body process carbohydrates more effectively by stimulating the release of the hormone glucagon—a hormone which helps to control blood sugar and curb the fat-storage properties of insulin. So if you do indeed add some carbs, they’ll become much less of a threat to your waistline.

Strategy #2: Do NOT Drink Calories

Calories in beverages are wasted calories. They do nothing to increase satiety or fullness, and can very easily tack on a serious amount of caloric damage to any evening. If it has calories, don’t drink it, plain and simple.

If you’d like some variety beyond plain water, go with a flavored water or other diet beverage. Just please, do NOT fall victim to 500 calories of fat-storing high fructose corn syrup. Simple avoidance, great benefit.

Strategy #3: Know Your First Move

While we’re on the topic of beverages, here’s a great tip to go into any holiday party with. As soon as you arrive, before you do anything else, pour yourself a big glass of water, drink it down, and wait 15 minutes before eating anything. Mingle with the crowd, say hello, etc.

This is a simple, extremely effective way to curb your appetite and give yourself a sense of fullness before heading to the dinner line and is sure to make a difference in the amount of food you end up adding to your plate.

Strategy #4: Be Hospitable

Many times the parties we attend throughout the holidays are “potluck” buffet style where each person is responsible for bringing their own dish to contribute to the menu. If you’ve ever worked in an office, you know what I’m talking about.

This is a great opportunity for you to contribute something healthy to the table, and in turn make it extremely easy for you to make a healthy choice. Simply eat your own meal. This way you KNOW exactly what’s in it and how it was prepared, a huge plus (i.e. everything that looks healthy isn’t necessarily so).

And even if the party isn’t potluck, bring something to contribute anyway. I haven’t met a host yet that doesn’t appreciate help from others when it comes to feeding the guests.

Strategy #5: Arrive “Full”

I’m sure you’ve heard the recommendation that you never go to the grocery store hungry as you’ll just end up buying everything in sight, spending way too much money, and making a bunch of unhealthy choices because everything looks “so good”.  Well, I’m going to give the same suggestion for holiday parties (again, this is for the one or two that don’t fall into your holiday “cheat” schedule).  Instead of showing up with your stomach growling and mouth salivating, take action to ensure you arrive in the exact opposite position. How? Easy. Eat a BIG, healthy meal just prior to heading to the party.

Easy, super effective way to avoid falling into temptation.

Strategy #6: Be “Normal”

This one goes right along with the previous tip. In an effort to avoid the “damage” of a big meal or party, most people don’t eat anything else all day leading up to the big event in order to “save up” the calories. Big mistake, and for several reasons.  First, when you go into a meal or party incredibly hungry, you will absolutely overeat to a much higher degree than you would otherwise.  Bigger portions of calorie dense, fatty/carb-laden food = WAY more calories than you would have naturally eaten throughout the day.

Secondly, eating nothing only to follow it up with a big, high-fat/high-carb/high-calorie meal leads to a greater percentage of those calories than normal to be stored as fat.

Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by starving yourself all day. Eat as you normally would and then hit up the party.

Strategy #8: Deplete Before A “Big” Day

One of the things I teach my clients to do is “prep” for a big day full of food with a depletion workout the day before.  You may or may not know, but there’s plenty of “food” stored within your muscles in the form of both carbohydrate and fats.  Carbohydrate (when stored in muscle, called “glycogen”) and fats (when stored in muscle, called “intracellular triglycerides”) are actually stored within muscle tissue as an energy source to fuel activity.

Fat is a slower energy source, so something as simple as doing a lot of walking the day before a party is a great way to deplete some of your intracellular triglyceride stores.  As for glycogen depletion, go with something akin to circuit-style weight training. Keep the load light, do a lot of repetitions, and really “go for the burn”.

Going into a big meal with depleted intramuscular energy stores (brought about via energy-depleting exercise) will lead to much of that meal refilling those stores as opposed to being tacked onto your waist, hips, and the ol’ gluteus maximus.

Hope that you try one or more of these ideas. You work out hard and eat great during the year, don't blow it all this next week.. You can enjoy the holidays without overeating, be smart!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas!!

    I would like to thank all the members of my classes and my Personal Training clients at SCG for the wonderful cards and gifts.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoy my time at SCG and all the great friends that I been able to make and looking forward to making many more.

    I wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I look forward to an exciting 2012, and hope to challenge all of you to push a little harder and work toward your goals. I am planning some exciting events for next year, challenging and fun workouts. 
 
   Would like to congratulate a couple of my Personal Training Clients:
  1. Mickey for working so hard and improving her times in her competitive swimming- keep up the good work.
  2. Patty for maxing out the Free Motion squat yesterday for 2 reps. (That's 400lbs by the way and I know that she could of done some more reps). Way to push it!!!
  I have a new Facebook and Email account:  ardensfitness@ymail.com. So lets be friends!


    In Health and Fitness,

      Arden Straw

P.S.- If you like the articles please share with family and friends, just click on Facebook link below and a link to the article will go to your Facebook page.  Thanks for your support. And if you become a follower of the blog you will receive automatic notification when I post a new article.

Monday, December 19, 2011

1 Soda= 50 Minutes of Running!

    How much exercise would it take to burn off a soda? If health experts get their way, you’ll be reminded every time you reach for a can.
 
    Researchers from Johns Hopkins University are calling for junk food packages—fizzy drinks included—to include labels informing consumers how much physical exercise would be needed to burn off the sugar, calorie, and fat content of less-than-nutritious foods. They believe that printing a “physical activity equivalent” on unhealthy drinks and snacks will take a serious toll on their popularity.

    To test their theory, researchers posted three different signs outside stores to see which was best at deterring teenagers from purchasing (and drinking!) fizzy beverages.

    The first sign stated that the average can of soda contains 250 calories. The second stated that it contains 10 percent of one’s recommended daily caloric intake. The third stated it would take 50 minutes of running to counteract its sugar and calorie content.

    While the nutritional information slowed soda sales (they dropped by 40 percent), the “physical activity equivalent” was the most effective deterrent, with sales dropping by 50 percent.

Think 50 minutes of running is bad? You’ll have to do a lot more to burn off these 20 worst drinks in America (including one bottle of water that packs as much sugar as two Good Humor Chocolate Éclair Bars).

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

My Top 9 Tips to Survive Holiday Eating

Sometimes living in the real world can be a real challenge when it comes to trying to lose weight, transform your body, and be healthy.

For example, it's becoming near impossible to stick with your healthy nutrition plan while eating out at a restaurant, attending a holiday party, or even just stopping by a friend's house.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you how difficult it can be at times, so instead of us focusing on the challenges I'd like to present you with 9 "waist-line saving" tips you can use to minimize the damage and escape a dinner out without taking a step backwards on your body transformation goals.

Here are my Top 9 Tips for Eating Out:

1. Eat Before You Go Out

Eat a high fiber, protein rich "mini-meal" before going out in order to shrink your appetite and not go to dinner overly hungry. This will also allow you to eat less of the high calorie options most restaurants offer.

2. Workout that Day
Exercise the days you eat out to keep your metabolism charged for at least 31-38 hours by doing metabolic resistance based training. Glucose (sugar) uptake has been shown to be increased for at least 18 hours after an intense workout which means you'll better utilize the sugar in those martinis or cosmos…

3. Drink Water
Drink plenty of water throughout the day in order to curb your appetite and to take away a false sense of hunger come dinner time. Plus, if you're dehydrated your body may also signal you that you're tired and that you should eat - beat these problematic signals to the punch by consuming .5oz per pound of body weight throughout the day.

4. No Apps
I highly recommend staying away from passed appetizers at parties. These little guys may look small, but they can easily add up to 100 calories (or more) each. Opt for the veggies and humus dip or shrimp cocktail instead.

5. Front Load Your Meal
If you're eating out at a restaurant try to order a salad without any creamy dressing to start. If possible don't order your main meal until after you finish your veggie plate or salad. This will allow time for the fiber rich salad to fill up your stomach and signal your brain that you're really not that hungry and don't need to eat much more.

6. Watch Out for Liquid Calories
They provide very little (if any) nutrition, they're assimilated way too fast into your body, and after about an hour of consuming them they leave you hungrier than when you started. My advice is to watch out for juices, alcoholic beverages, energy drinks, and any other sugary liquid you may consume while out.

8. Make Substitutions
Control what you can by making the best possible choice on the menu and substituting sides. For example, when I'm out at a restaurant I like to order a grilled chicken dish. However, a lot of the times the restaurant will have 2 sides with one being a starch like white potatoes or maybe a white rice (in addition to 1 vegetable). In these instances I just ask for 2 vegetable sides and no starches. If possible I prefer the veggies raw or lightly steamed… sometimes they can cook them that way and it never hurts to ask.

9. Portion Control
When eating at someone's home where you can't control the choices, you can at least control your portion size. I recommend this to my clients as a last resort so if they know they're going to eat foods that aren't on their fat loss list they can at least minimize the damage by not consuming a ton of empty calories.

10. Guilt-Free Eating
You may like this tip the best, but use it sparingly… When it all goes down hill and you find yourself up against insurmountable odds just chalk it up as a guilt-free cheat meal and just enjoy every bite with friends and family. After a night of eating out though you may want to get in a good workout the next day to boost your metabolism and work off a few calories ; )

The bottom line is that when eating out all you can do is try to control what you can control while still enjoying yourself and having a good time.
And remember that we celebrate a HoliDAY not a HoliMONTH!

Monday, December 12, 2011

“The Last Supper Syndrome.”

Do you have "The Last Supper Syndrome" , EVERY time you sit down to eat dinner, at the end of a busy day, you subconsciously think that is your  LAST MEAL EVER!

  You feel a lot of anxiety like your food is about to be taken away from you and you are compelled to pile on as much as possible while the getting is good.

  You eat a regular-sized meal and then go back for seconds… and then add in a double-sized dessert… and then sit in front of the TV and snack on something else.

And you eat quickly… like you have to pile the food in before someone ate it all.

In reality, your dinner takes about 3 or 4 hours. You just keep eating as your day comes
to a close and your watching TV or surfing the Internet.

And in case you don’t know, eating the majority of your calories at night is a big no-no if you’re trying to get a flat belly.

So needless to say, you get a FAT BELLY.

Why do you constantly overeat each night?


 Is your “caveman” instincts to gorge on food while it is available—you know, feast or famine?

Sure genetic hard wiring has something to do with it… but your real downfall may be the following:

  1.  Are you skipping meals during the day. Do you bypass breakfast, eat a quick lunch and before you know it your sitting down to dinner having only consumed maybe 50% of your daily calories. And your brain is telling your body that it is time to play catch up.
     
  2.   Are you eating with your emotions. Do you tend to struggle with a lot of internal stress and when things slow down at night you find that you are “self-medicating” with food. Sure a few cups of ice cream (about 500 calories with a lot of sugar) lessened your anxiety for a bit, but 30 to 60 minutes later you are hungry again and even more stressed because you overate.
     
  3.   Are you eating out of boredom. Let’s face it, eating is fun and if you get in the habit of eating while you’re zoning out watching your favorite TV program each night, the calories can really pack on.
So how do you overcome this dreaded “Last Supper Syndrome”?
  1. Start eating small mini-meals every 3 hours during the day. And when I say small, I’m talking 5 small meals at about 400 calories each. By the way, when you eat so frequently you become very aware that you don’t have to eat each meal like it is your last. Another meal is just a few hours away. awareness helps a LOT.
     
  2. Cut your sugar intake to less than 30 grams a day—makes a huge difference in your craving levels.
     
  3. Start journaling about what is stressing you out, or call a friend, instead of feeding your anxieties with empty calories.
     
  4. No more late night eating. Since you know your “danger zone” for overeating was at night make a simple rule… sit down and eat a small dinner and then nothing else for the rest of the night. Snacking is off limits.  Quit eating about 2 hours before bed. This forces you to come up with other options to dealing with stress and boredom.
 Maybe this article struck a chord with you? I know many of you out there continue to struggle with this “Last Supper Syndrome” so I hope you’ll take this information to heart.

 

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Olive Oil compared to other oil

One way to judge an oil is by its ratio of monounsaturated fat to saturated fat: The higher, the better, says Lola O'Rourke, R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. So before you fire up the stove, check out these winners.

CANOLA OIL (10:1) It has the lowest amount of saturated fat among common cooking oils but fewer heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. Canola is the top choice for sautéing or frying because it doesn't smoke at high temperatures and has a neutral taste. To fuel fat loss, try Enova oil. It's a special combination of canola and soybean oils that your body will be more likely to burn for energy than store as fat.

OLIVE OIL (5:1) It contains antioxidants and monounsaturated fats that help keep your cholesterol low and your arteries clear. Unfortunately, olive oil has a relatively low smoke temperature, meaning it's not great for frying or high-temperature cooking.

PEANUT OIL (5:2) Peanut oil isn't overly high in saturated fat, and its great taste and elevated smoke temperature make it an excellent choice for cooking, says O'Rourke.

CORN OIL (2:1) Versatile-but-bland corn oil is low in saturated fat but places fourth for overall health.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

What is Fitness?

This is subject that is debated daily and can be different for everyone. I believe that true fitness includes strength, power, speed and coordination. In further posts I will be covering each of these in more detail. Do not just focus on one area, like so many people do.
 Fitness starts at the grocery store. Eat lean meats and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, good fats, little starch and no sugar.  Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but no body fat.

First post

Going to try this blog thing. Will be posting health and fitness items mostly. But will see what happens