Simple Adjustment #2 Be More Active

Most individuals have their workouts as the only source of physical activity. Increasing physical activity throughout the day will help you continue to burn calories and it doesn't have to be "structured". Using normal prompts to initiate activity can make it easier to maintain this habit. Fore example, every time you answer the phone, stand up and pace. Rather than sending an email to your office mate, walk over to their office or cubicle. Having cues that happen naturally in the course of your day (such as going to the bathroom -- on another floor, taking the stairs rather than the elevator, parking your car far from your office building, etc.) add physical activity and drive your metabolism. You may think of these as insignificant items, but putting them all together and adding in your structured workout as well can lead to burning more calories and keep you from becoming sedentary. If you are creative, you can find hundreds of enjoyable ways to increase your activity level and not add any "additional" time to the effort.

Need to Keep it Fresh

My audio post has me lamenting over my lack of progress. After reviewing my situation more closely, I am feeling more positive. Yes, I did lose about 5 lbs on vacation as a result of restricted calorie intake. Coming home and gaining the weight over the course of another 2 weeks was disappointing but understandable as I did increase my activity level but increase my caloric intake more. There probably is a balance there that I need to explore -- eating an appropriate amount of calories for my activity level. Just like portion distortion, you can overestimate the impact of your workouts as it relates to calorie expenditure. My guess is I can probably reduce my calorie intake and increase my workout intensity by small increments until I start seeing the weight go down again. My dilemma is trying to determine a realistic weight goal that would still allow for a good proportion of muscle/fat. As I work on that challenge, I will continue the same workout this week but plan to make some changes based on my next 30-minute workout challenge.

Need New Motivation

Losing some steam after regaining weight after vacation and lagging interest in workout

Weekly Review October 4.mp3

Possible Opportunity Leads to New Perspective

This week I was offered a possibility of working with another entrepreneur to provide personal training to a corporate client (they do massage therapy/reflexology primarily). The request had been made with another trainer who then terminated the contract despite the fact the company already advertised the service to their employees. The contract required the trainer to provide 30 minutes of low-impact aerobics and resistance training for 2 lunch time sessions and 2 after-work sessions per weeks for 12 weeks. So my challenge was to develop a routine that could do this that could be adapted to any level of fitness or number of people. So, I set about putting together a number of routines to incorporate a short warm-up, movement prep, resistance training + core, with some quick cardiovascular intervals, and a brief cool-down, all in 30 minutes. Whether or not this offer will be made to me, I will work on this challenge over the next few weeks to help me look at training from a different perspective.

Simple Adjustment #1

If you are not losing weight, toning muscle or feeling more fit you may be need to make some minor adjustments to get back on track. So the next 10 tips will help you eliminate these errors and move forward again.

Our first tip has to do with the type of cardiovascular exercise you may be doing. If you do one machine all the time (i.e. treadmill, bike, elliptical) you are working a very target group of muscles and obviously you will see improvement. After a period of time, you won't make the same gains and continuing the same activity will eventually lead you to a plateau. Consider doing some other exercises that may emphasize working your legs in a different manage, creating a new overload and an increase in gains once again. You can return to your favorite machine after you have made all the gains from your new exercise but try something different from what you previously did. For example, if you tended to use the treadmill at a steady state and then moved to the exercise bike, when you return to the treadmill do intervals or hills instead of the steady state. To keep you muscles working at peak performance you must constantly challenge them but keep your changes small and cycle through many activities so they make the most impact.