Post Tagged with: "women"

It’s 7 am, your alarm clock is incessantly buzzing, signaling it is time to rise and shine and prepare for your day ahead.  You jump off the bed, get in the shower and repeat your daily affirmations, “I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman!” After your mental preparation, you decide “Okay I am ready to sweat sweat sweat.” You go into your drawer  grab your frumpy t-shirt and shorts because you figure “it is going to get sweaty regardless.”

Unaware that your  enthusiasm to exercise is decreasing,  looking into the mirror you see thunder thighs and suddenly you have grown a muffin top. You repeat again ” I am strong, I am invincible  I am woman.” But this time the motivation and confidence to go workout  is lacking. You realize your frumpy outfit is the source of your declining motivation and self-confidence.

Although at first thought choosing ”nice” clothing doesn’t make sense, the reality is when you wear clothing that compliments and flatters your body, you will receive  the confidence and the motivation needed to do a kick butt in your exercise routine! Here are 5 tips!

A fitness activist for over 15 years, celebrity trainer Yumi Lee is the secret weapon celebrities use to whip their bodies into shape. A believer in the saying “there is no greater investment than the investment in onesel,f” Lee uses an intense style of training , making sure that she helps her clients both mentally and physically.

She enforces  the idea that exercise is a lifestyle change and  making healthy choices is too a lifestyle change. With this in mind you can achieve any fitness goals. Some  celebrity bodies she has sculpted (and we completely lust over) include  Brad Pitt, Demi Moore, Miranda Kerr and recently hot and sexy mama of two, Jessica Alba!

Lee reveals how Jessica was able to restore that rock hard body (like the one in Honey), with a cross training system. Similar to boot camp fitness, cross fit uses plyometrics (jump training) to increase the body’s strength, agility and endurance.

In addition to cross training, Yumi also specializes in a variety of workouts such as  core training, flexible strength, interval training, circuit training and my favorite boot camp!

Here are three great exercise moves from plyometrics that will help you slim down and tone up fast!

Common question: What’s the best exercise for me to lose weight?

The answer is cardiovascular fitness. Cardiovascular fitness is one of the three angles of our fitness trilogy triangle: cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility. “Cardio” refers to the blood and oxygen both coming to and leaving from the heart muscle and the lungs; “vascular” refers to the arteries and veins through which the blood flows to get from the heart to the muscles and back. Because blood gets “tired” and needs “refreshing”, the blood travels through the lungs for this exchange–kind of going through a service station. The harder you work and start puffing air, the more you work the heart and lungs for this exchange to occur, and the more you nourish the brain and body with good oxygen. Other benefits of cardio exercise include increasing the strength and efficiency of the heart as a “pump”, so it has to beat fewer times per minute as it pushes more blood and oxygen throughout your body. This means that, over time, a person who becomes fit will have a lower heart rate than before because the heart becomes extremely efficient.

Dr. Emily explains why women can lift weights without worrying about bulking up like a man.

What is metabolism? It’s a word that many people discuss but don’t always understand.

Metabolism is the breakdown and rebuilding of nutrients for energy and proper body function. A fast metabolism is one that uses the stored nutrients quickly; a slow metabolism, on the other hand, stores nutrients for future use. This includes macronutrients (vitamins), carbohydrates, protein, and triglycerides (fat).

Long ago, before we were a society that had an over-abundance of processed food, a slow metabolism was a survival mechanism to help store energy when food was scarce. Today, we don’t need a slow metabolism. So how do we speed it up? This can be accomplished with exercise. Aerobics will help your body burn the fuel that is being stored (as long as you aren’t taking in too many calories), and strength training (lifting weights) will build more muscle. Muscle requires more energy (calories) for your body to maintain it. In other words, building muscle speeds your metabolism!

So the next time you want the “secret” or “miracle” product to “speed up your metabolism”, remember that you already know the secret: it’s your body’s natural ability to increase metabolism through exercise and muscle-building!

Diet Tip by Jill Foley, Assistant Manager at Lucille Roberts Roosevelt Blvd. and nutrition student at La Salle University.

health.com

Before we discuss my favorite ab moves, it must be noted that you can’t simply “crunch” your way to a chiseled midsection. Numerous recent, peer-reviewed studies have confirmed that, in order to reveal tight, toned abs, one must decrease body fat through a combination of cardiovascular exercise and proper diet.

Many women tell me they can’t get the results they seek to achieve, although they spend hours each week working their abs!

Interval Training

I often prescribe interval training to supplement their current aerobic routine, and I help them tweak their diets, in addition to working abs properly. Interval training—specifically, High Intensity Interval Training, such as one of our HIIT classes—has been proven to be superior for reducing abdominal adiposity (belly fat!) for several reasons (Medicine Science Sports Exercise, 2011). Most notably, HIIT increases levels of HGH (human growth hormone) and fight-or-flight hormones, which have receptor sites in the ab region.

I also advise women looking to firm, tone, and decrease the midriff area to increase their cardio to 5-6 days per week. Two to three days of HIIT, such as sprints on the treadmill or a HIIT class, can be alternated with 2-3 days of Steady State Cardio (SSC). SSC can be a walk, run, bike, elliptical workout, or any of our fun, motivating, calorie-blasting cardio classes, such as Step or Zumba. Aim for a minimum of 30-45 minutes for each workout session, and you will see your hard-earned ab work begin to show within a few weeks!

Some fast facts about the benefits of weight loss:

Losing 5-10 pounds will:

• Cut your chances of developing Type A diabetes in half
• Help you avoid muscle strain and pain
• Reduce risk of heart disease

Losing 10-20 pounds will:

• Lower breast cancer risk
• Reduce chances of developing high blood pressure

Losing 20-30 pounds will:

• Greatly reduce your risk of developing any kind of cancer
• Help you sleep more soundly
• Spice up your sex life!

Maintaining a healthy weight will:

• Boost your immunity
• Help you avoid the health risks of yo-yo dieting

Ladies, many of us are constantly looking for ways to shed those last 3-5 pounds. Time is a factor, so we come up with creative ways to incorporate exercise in our daily lives. We sometimes do not realize that the smallest change can have a huge impact. The following are some tips to help lose last few pounds:

1. Add a daily walk to your everyday routine. It could be in the morning before work, during your lunch hour, or after your evening meal. Every step counts!

2. Make your coffee “diet”. For coffee drinkers, cut out cream and sugar or at least minimizing the amount used can make a difference. Weigh out your options, like skim milk, 1% milk, soy milk, and no-calorie sweeteners. These can help you reduce your calorie intake.

3. Jump into a weight lost contest! At Lucille Roberts, we are constantly having weight loss contests. Weight loss contests can be a motivational factor in losing weight and staying focused in your weight loss goals. Of course, winning a prize at the end is always a plus!

4. Take Fido for a walk. Dog lovers, here is a great tip for you. Since our four-legged friends need to be taken out, why not add a very long walk or even a jog to this routine? You are not only spending quality time with your doggie but also getting a workout also.

Trying one or more of these tips should be helpful in meeting your weight loss goals.  Remember always to remain open to trying new things, since our bodies need to be challenged on a constant basis. After trying these tips, write back to us about your success. We love hearing from you!

Trainer Tip by Gisela Andalia, group fitness instructor and personal trainer at Lucille Roberts Jersey City.

Today is Go Red for Women Day; it’s purpose is to raise awareness of the risks of heart disease, the number one killer of women over the age of 25.

We decided to ask an expert, Dr. Richard Stein, for advice on what women can do to ensure heart health. Dr. Stein is a Professor of Medicine and Cardiology at the New York University School of Medicine. He’s also the Director of the Exercise, Nutrition, and Cardiovascular Disease Program at the NYU Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. He is the author of Outliving Heart Disease.

Here are Dr. Stein’s answers to our questions about heart health for women.

Lucille Roberts: What are the most important lifestyle choices women can make to keep their hearts healthy?

Dr. Richard Stein

Dr. Richard Stein: The most important two things are 1) to do a self-inventory of your coronary heart disease risk factor, and 2) to see a doctor to learn your blood pressure, your lipid (cholesterol) levels, and your fasting blood sugar, and, if necessary, to start lifestyle modifications or treatment for these things.

Essential lifestyle factors include not smoking, getting moderate exercise for at least ½ hour most days of the week or vigorous exercise for more than 45 minutes at least 3 times a week, and eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits and low in saturated fats. However, focusing only on healthy lifestyle factors would be a mistake because high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, and diabetes are BIG factors in treating, avoiding, and outliving heart disease.