If you are like most people, you probably have resolved to try to eat better and lose weight. Good for you!

Unfortunately, most people fail. And fail over and over.

I have been in the health and fitness business since 1993, and in that time I have assembled a list of the top 5 reasons why people fail in their attempts to permanently lose weight.

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1. A multi-joint leg motion — squats, lunges, leg press, step-ups, etc.
2. Pushing — pushups, bench press, chest flys
3. Pulling — rows, chinups, pulldowns
4. Core — crunches, situps, planks, twists, etc.
5. Overhead — overhead press, lateral raises
6. Posterior Chain — hamstring bridge, superman, Romanian deadlift, hip
   extension, etc.

The specific variation you choose and the level of difficulty depends on your
abilities and your goals. This is where some professional guidance would be
beneficial.

How Much? How Many? Here are some general guidelines:

Start with one set of each of the six basic exercise movements above, and pick a
weight or a level of difficulty that allows you to perform 15 to 20 repetitions. As
your strength and abilities improve, gradually increase both the number of sets
and the difficulty of the exercise and work your way up to three or four sets of 8-
10 repetitions.

Strength training
Strength training is an essential part of a fitness program. It raises your
metabolism, strengthens muscles and connective tissue, increases flexibility, improves immune system function, improves reaction time and balance, and increases bone density. No fancy equipment is required – some dumbbells, kettlebells, or exercise tubing will be just fine.

You should consult your physician before beginning a structured exercise program, and make sure you are properly warmed up before starting a workout (see www.gettingfit.com/warmup.html).

SAFETY FIRST – Before you embark on a strength training program, it is suggested that you receive some professional technique instruction to avoid injury.

Strength training consists of flexing muscles against some type of resistance. Sometimes that can be body weight (like pushups or situps), other times an external resistance will be required (like using weights or exercise tubing for resistance). Details on the basics of a comprehensive strength training program can be viewed at http://blog.gettingfit.com/?p=842

Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardio exercise is aerobic exercise that involves a repetitive motion repeated for long periods of time — jogging, cycling, swimming, jumping rope, etc. Aerobic exercise conditions the heart and lungs, and it is an effective way to burn extra calories and prevent vascular disease.

Flexibility
Muscles need to be at the proper length in order to function correctly. Tight muscles can not only cause pain, but can cause improper movement patterns that can lead to injury. There are many types of stretching that can be done, but some basic guidance can be viewed here:
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Fish oil can reduce blood pressure and triglycerides, help with brain development, prevent heart attacks and strokes, and it makes a great natural anti-inflammatory.

But how much omega-3 is right?

Look at the label of your distilled fish oil capsules, and ignore the total amount of omega-3. Instead, add together the amounts of EPA and DHA (your product should have both). Here are general guidelines for dosages:

For general health: 500 mg – 1000 mg daily.
If you have heart disease or high triglycerides: 2000 mg daily.

Too much fish oil can over-thin the blood and cause you to bruise easily. If you are using daily aspirin therapy or use pharmaceutical blood thinners (like Coumadin or Plavix), watch for excessive bruising. You may have to lower your fish oil dose, and speak to your physician about lowering your prescription doses given your new fish oil regimen.

During pregnancy, sometimes the Human Placental Lactogen hormone inhibits the mother’s natural insulin abilities to transport glucose into the cells.This can contribute to more weight gain for both her and the baby.

Pregnant women can control their blood sugar just like anyone else, through avoiding refined sugars, eating enough protein and fat with each meal, and learning about Glycemic Load.

Animals are very accepting and non-judgmental.
They know how to unwind, and very seldom get stressed.

So be healthier by being more like your pet:

• Live in the moment.
• Be curious about the world around you.
• Play every day.
• Take naps.
• Give and receive affection.
• Find joy in ordinary things.
• Get excited to see someone come home.
• Forgive quickly.

Some Benefits of HIIT:

1. Efficient
HIIT is the ideal workout for a busy schedule—whether you want to squeeze in a workout during your lunch break or to get in shape for a fast-approaching event. Research shows you can achieve more progress in a mere 15 minutes of interval training (done three times a week) than the girl jogging on the treadmill for an hour. And according to a 2011 study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, just 2 weeks of high-intensity intervals improves your aerobic capacity as much as 6 to 8 weeks of endurance training.

2. Burn More Fat
Not only do you burn more calories during HIIT workouts, but the effect of all that intense exertion kicks your body’s metabolism into overdrive. That means you burn more fat and more calories in the 24 hours after a HIIT workout than you do after, say, a steady-pace cardio workout.

3. Healthier Heart
Many people aren’t used to pushing into the anaerobic zone (that lovely place where you’ve maxed out your breathing, and you feel like your heart is trying to jump out of your chest). But in this case, extreme training produces extreme results in improving cardiovascular function, and even increasing the vascularization of the heart muscle itself!

4. No Equipment Necessary
Running, biking, jumping rope, and rowing all work great for HIIT, but you don’t need any equipment to get it done. High knees, fast feet, or anything plyometric (like jumping lunges) work just as well to get your heart rate up fast.

5. Lose Fat, Not Muscle
Anyone who has been on a diet knows that it’s hard not to lose muscle along with fat. While steady-state cardio promotes muscle loss, studies show that both standard weight training and HIIT workouts allow exercisers to preserve their hard-earned muscles while ensuring most of the weight lost comes from fat stores.

The basic idea is that you cook once, then use whatever you made for two more (different) quick meals.

For example, on day one, you roast a chicken (rosemary with vegetables is my personal favorite).
On day two, you use the leftover chicken to make a Mexican enchilada by wrapping it up with some sauteed onions, melted cheese, sour cream, and lettuce/tomato. Takes less than 5 minutes to make.
Day three, pull the remaining chicken off the bones and sprinkle it in a mixed green salad. Don’t forget the kalamata olives

3-in-1 Salmon:
Day one: Bake a big piece of wild-caught salmon in salt, lemon pepper, and olive oil.
Day two: Salmon cakes! (one gazillion recipes available throughout the internet)
Day three: Salmon stir-fry. Add remaining salmon to fresh veggies and wild rice in your favorite sauce. Wok on! Veggie chopping time = 1-2 minutes. Cooking time = 6 minutes.

A third idea:  Grass-fed beef tenderloin cooked one night, then used for sandwiches and soup on subsequent days.

1)  NUTRITION

Nutrition is the foundation of health. We can’t make our own food like plants can, so the old adage of “you are what you eat” is exactly right. Any exercise or diet program is only as good as the nutrients you put into your body. A coffee-and-fast-food diet builds a coffee-and-fast-food body.
You will never be healthy with a bad diet.

2)  CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS

This is the ability of your heart and lungs to supply working muscles with sufficient oxygen.
Cardiorespiratory exercise (a.k.a. “aerobic exercise” or “cardio”) is defined as a sustained, repetitive physical activity that requires the heart and lungs to work harder than they do at rest in order to meet the body’s increased oxygen demand. Aerobic exercise uses primarily stored carbohydrate and stored body fat for fuel. Examples include hiking, jogging, swimming laps, jumping rope, cycling, treadmill or elliptical workouts, etc.

Aerobic activity trains the cardiorespiratory system, and it is the primary way to burn extra calories and prevent vascular disease.

3)  MUSCULAR SYSTEM

We combine muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, balance, stability, and posture into this single category. All those terms are really ways of measuring your muscular system’s ability to do what you need it to do.

This is generally where people require the most professional help. There are many, many ways to go about structuring a safe and effective strength training program, and everyone’s individual needs and problems are different. So get some help with this one.

If you live in the greater Nashville area, call us at 615-442-7700 to arrange a few lessons — you will be glad you did!

4)  ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION

If you keep telling yourself that your life and circumstances are difficult, oppressive, or hopeless, that is exactly what you will get. Positive energy breeds positive results. Negativity brings more negativity and frustration. Constant stress wreaks havoc on your system and stalls your progress. Work with your trainer to set some realistic and attainable goals, and be sure to discuss how you define success. No one can solve your problems except you. Things can only be as good as you will allow them to be!