Apr 26

Out to Lunch and Feel Pressured to Eat Unhealthy Food? Look at the Appetizers!

Having a job that requires you to go out to lunch meetings and being exposed to restaurant food can sometimes sabotage your healthy eating habits.  For example, sometimes you may be pressured into consuming certain foods that are not the most conducive to your health and fitness goals because most of the table might order appetizers.  When living in the Napa Valley, we know that indulgent food options are hard to pass up.  That’s why seeking the services of Personal Trainer and Nutritional Consultant in Napa is a productive way to stay on track!  Appetizers that may not be the healthiest such as bread, crackers, or carb-filled item this and cheesy items.  We all know that when you eat too many carbs at one time and then also eating too much fat at one time will trigger the absorption of fat cells in the body.  So how do we get around the impulse to eat carb filled or fat filled restaurant food when going out to eat with your friends, family, and/or working team?

Something we tell our clients during our Nutritional Consultations is to look at what sides are offered on the menu.  More often than not, a restaurant will have a side menu that has things such as salads, vegetables, or strict meat dishes that don’t include copious amounts of carbohydrates such as crackers, breads, or grains.  In addition, when ordering some of these items you can request the item to be served with light cheese, or no cheese at all.  You can also ask to get creamy dressing put on the side so you are in control of how much dressing gets put on your salad.

By looking at the snack or appetizer menu when out at a bar or a social function or work function, you can make better choices by limiting the amount ingredients on the actual item that you’re ordering.  Remember that when your body is in a rest and digest state, such as when you were out to lunch and not working out, you are not going to absorb carbohydrates as readily.  Therefore, that is one of the best times to look for healthier options.  This is where looking for healthy vegetable sides such as roasted brussel sprouts, beet salads, or tuna tartar dishes are going to benefit you.  So next time you’re out to lunch, go ahead and look for these items and try to make healthier choices!

Mar 22

Don’t miss your workouts: Keep a gym bag in your car at all times

Fitting workouts in after you get off work, coming home from school or, coming back from another sort of endeavor which requires you to be dressed in a specific attire is always challenging.  Long days can lead to you wanting to go straight home…. Putting workouts on the back burner. Sometimes this is because you are not dressed in workout clothes.  If this is the case, you might have to run home real quick to get into workout clothes before making your way over to the gym.  Just the fact that you must make an extra trip home is a deterrent that can lead you to avoiding the gym that day.  Stepping into your house and seeing your family, your dog, or the ever so inviting couch in front of the TV is going to make it pretty enticing to sit down and call it a day.  When you sit down and call it a day… well that means that you may not get any workout in at all.  We want to be able to fit something in to create lifestyle characteristics in which we can get some workouts in throughout the week.

So, what is a good way to make sure that you don’t make that extra trip and have to come home to obtain your workout clothes?

One easy solution is to make sure that you have your gym bag in your car always.  In this gym bag, you should have shoes, clothes, and a snack.  Your gym bag might look like this:

1.  Workout underwear (boxer briefs for the guys… Athletic undies for the girl) and sports bra (default girl necessity).
2.  Exercise shorts or pants that are comfortable for working out.
3.  An athletic top that you are comfortable in and will serve as a good workout shirt.
4.  Comfortable workout socks something that won’t be that like the dress socks that you wear to work.
5.  A snack that you can easily consume before you work out so that you have energy.  Something simple as a banana or some sort of healthy snack bar might work.

These are just some examples of the items that you can put into a workout bag.  With just five items into a bag you will be able to throw this in the back of your car and have something ready to go so that you can make it to the gym after whatever your obligation is before you head home for the night.  Having to make an extra stop before the gym just serves as an obstacle and a distraction to keep you from the gym.  Remember a 30 minute to one hour workout 3 times a week will make a huge difference in your vision of Life Time Fitness.  Having that bag ready to go in your car with your exercise Essentials will make it a lot easier to get a to the gym and get those 3 days a week in.

Mar 13

Cheat meal? Prepare for it and go out on a Dragon!

In today’s modern diet and nutrition culture, we are focusing on foods that we shouldn’t eat.  Some of these foods include alcohol, bread, grains, cheese, and various desserts. These are goods that give us comfort and are very satisfying to our taste buds.  These foods are so comforting and satisfying to eat because sometimes they are foreseen as the “forbidden fruit.”  After a long day of submitting our time to a full day of work at our jobs, we like to let loose sometimes, the comfort foods enter these times.  We are told to stay away from these foods because they will make us overweight, increase our cholesterol, and just be bad for us overall.

These statements are true only when something like these foods that we picture as the “forbidden fruit” are overused in abundance.  Just like consuming too much alcohol can cause serious detrimental effects on the body, so can copious amounts of comfort foods.  While this is a true, this doesn’t mean that we have to completely avoid all of these foods and treat them like they’re such a devil in our life.

As humans living in this world in which we have delicious tasting amazing food that is created from people who have a great passion for making food that tastes delicious, we should be able to enjoy these foods.  But how do we enjoy these foods on a scale that will still leave us healthy and able to thrive for the rest of our lives?

A method that I utilize with my clients and myself is to use the phrase “go out on a dragon.”  This can mean something along the same lines if the world was going to end tomorrow, you would want to live your last hours the most exciting and meaningful way possible.  If I were to do that I would go out riding on the back of a dragon.  So, when I do choose to eat delicious tasting and forbidden food like the ones that were named in the beginning of this article, I make sure to choose the most high-quality and best tasting forbidden fruit.  This food may be something that cost a little more and may take a little more time to acquire.  For example, if I want to get a cookie, I’m not going to go to the cookie that is on the shelf of a grocery store that comes in a pack of 30. I’m going to go wait in line at my favorite local bakery (Model Bakery in Napa) for 15 minutes to get the best tasting cookie possible that was created by a baker that morning.  I know that this cookie has natural ingredients such as real butter, real sugar and good quality flower that is made by someone that I can see behind the counter producing this delightful piece of bliss.

In addition, to looking for the best quality of junk food when I do get to that stage I make sure that I put in my hard work throughout the weekend which I eat clean for 4 to 5 days straight. And as a reward and a meaningful experience, I like to go out to my favorite restaurants that might cost a little more money and they might take a little more time for me to prepare for this.  But I am still maintaining 4 to 5 days a week of clean eating. In addition, I am looking forward to this “Dragon Meal” toward the end of the week.  Looking forward to something and preparing to ride that dragon gives me focus to stay on track and stay away from foods would disrupt my dragon meal experience.

This may be a good method to try out.  I always like to look forward to things and if I do too much of one thing I can’t look forward to it.  Therefore, I look forward to my Dragon Meal at the end of the week.  If you’re going to choose to drink alcohol, eat sweets, or go out for a decadent dinner… go out on a dragon!

Mar 01

Maintaining Healthy Eating Habits and Exercise when Traveling!

Establishing a stable Fitness routine centered around your work life can be a challenge.  A lot of the working population travel for either their work, their own business, or family life as well.  It’s already very challenging to establish a fitness routine on your own home grounds.  For those of you who already has a routinely scheduled fitness routine to where you do some sort of exercise routine 3 times a week, great job.  However, for the population who travels on airplanes or road trips and must stay in hotels for their work, going to different cities or different countries and maintaining a fitness routine on foreign grounds can pose a serious challenge.

When traveling interrupts your physical fitness routine and healthy lifestyle routine at home, one of the best ways to counter this obstacle in front of you is to PREPARE.  Preparation for healthy eating and exercise habits are two main components that can be managed and carried over for the individual who frequently travels.

Looking at the nutritional aspects of traveling and maintaining healthy dietary habits is always challenging.  One thing you can do to prepare yourself to avoid eating out at crappy restaurants on the road and avoiding foods that will put a halt in your healthy eating habit, is to first look at the city in which you are going to be traveling to and then do a quick Google search on something like looking for a healthy grocery store or healthy restaurants.  For example, you could just simply type into the Google search “Anaheim healthy restaurants” or “Portland Whole Foods.”  This is a great way to start the research process and prepare yourself for learning about a place where it is that you can obtain healthy foods that will not prevent you in your healthy lifestyle decisions when it comes to nutrition on the road for your job.

Not being able to exercise is always another obstacle that can prevent you from getting proper exercise when on the road.  Once again preparation is key.  Once again, use the Google search to look for hotels that have exercise facilities inside of them.  If those hotels have gyms, don’t be afraid to give a quick call to the front desk and ask them what type of equipment they have.  If it’s a hotel exercise room that has a treadmill, a floor, maybe a bench with a few dumbbells… then you can design a quick exercise routine that can be done!  Remember just spending 30 minutes to an hour in an exercise routine you can play huge benefits for people who are on the road and traveling and may feel limited to resources when adhering to exercise.

The other option is to do exercises in your hotel room.  If all else fails, you can stick to simple bodyweight exercises that require only your-self and the floor.  Exercise such as squats, planks, and push-ups can be programmed into an exercise routine that can give you a very significant benefit to maintain your fitness levels.

It’s true that exercising on the road may not be as beneficial to when you are exercising on your own home turf where you’re comfortable.  However, avoiding exercise is a lot worse than just doing 50% of your best.  Life throws a lot of obstacles in front of us that may keep us from adhering to a healthy lifestyle.  However, preparing for obstacles such as road trips and making sure that you have the proper tools to make Lifetime Fitness a priority in your day, you can make sure that you have a lifetime of exercise and healthy eating habits.

Feb 25

Shoulder Injuries- Core Exercise Modification: Swiss Ball Dying Bug

Shoulder pain from overuse or previous shoulder injuries can impede an individual from performing certain exercises in the prone position.  The prone position or “face down” position is where the arms are posted out underneath their chest or where one must hold their body weight over their elbows.  A great alternative to utilizing the core musculature to strengthen the abdominal, spine and shoulder muscles is to do supine exercises core exercises.  The supine position is when the body is positioned with the back against the ground.

A great supine core engaging exercise is the Swiss Ball Dying Bug.  Performing this exercise is a modification to individuals who may not be able to perform core strengthening exercises from the prone position to due various symptoms of pain in this position.  We all know that pain is not productive for optimum human performance, so let’s do what we can to ensure that we avoid pain throughout exercise and after exercise as well!

Here are few queues and how to perform the Swiss Ball Dying Bug:

  1. Position yourself flat on your back holding a Swiss Ball in between your hands and knees.  Your arms will be perpendicular to the ground and your knees will be bent at a ninety-degree angle with your thighs perpendicular to the ground
  2. It is important to ensure that you are putting your hips in a neutral position and actively rotating the crest of your hips toward your belly button and actively pushing the rib care toward the belly button and crests of your hips
  3. Maintaining this stable position extend the opposite arm behind you with the opposite leg in front of you. (e.g.  Right arm goes behind you in unison with the left leg going in front of you).  Repeat this for repetitions of 4, 6, 8 or 10.
  4. To modify this exercise, simply extend your arms and legs to where they are not so close to the ground. This will put less torque on your back and hips and not as much force production on your abdominal muscles.

This is a great exercise to put in any exercise routine because it not only strengthens the core muscles of the abdominal region, hips and spinal region, but it also adds a component of coordination training.  Coordination training is significantly important because it makes us more agile, athletic and reactive in our everyday lives.

So, use this exercise if you are experiencing shoulder pain and having problems doing planks or any other exercise in the “face down” position.  In addition, add to your exercise routine in general to help refine your fitness and human potential!

Feb 22

Desk Worker Lower Back Injuries: Solutions

Back injuries for office workers and any sort of job that requires you to sit for a prolonged period of time such as being a teacher, delivery driver, or any other desk jockey position are some of the most prominent cases in the “professional sitter” career. Back muscle weaknesses in the desk jockey professions that lead to injury and discomfort and lack of performance in general throughout someone’s everyday life activities during their job.  Often, back injuries are caused by static positions where the orientation of the muscles are lined up for a long time sitting in a certain position. For example, sitting for 1-2 hours at a time. Not only can sitting in a certain position for a prolonged period of time encourage the likelihood of an individual forgetting to line themselves up in the correct posture, but also bad habits will start to form that will carry you through other activities during an individual’s day.  This will increase the likelihood of back injuries occurring for the desk worker population.

One way to counter this is to focus on local muscular endurance of the supporting back muscles of the spine.  Sometimes it’s the lack of muscular endurance that the back has that will lead to atrophy of the back muscles and then cause a detrimental shift in the person’s posture, leading to back injury and pain.  Therefore, a simple solution would be to work on some exercises that are not in the vertical sitting position that will help improve endurance of the back muscles.

A great example of this is a version of the plank exercise.  Either a straight-arm plank or a standard elbow plank being executed for 30 seconds once a day for three times a week will significantly help the muscular endurance of the back muscles.

So, a good solution to is not only reminding yourself to maintain proper posture throughout the day, but also implement an exercise that exposes some of these weaknesses in your back and your posture.  One of these exercises that will make you feel sensations of muscular engagements of some of the areas that is the simple plank exercise.

It’s very important to make sure that you have correct posture while you’re sitting.  Ensuring that your shoulder blades are over your hips and your ears are in line with your spine are a great place to start.  Albeit, there may be a lot of other things to address… but we want to start out very lightly and fix some problems that may be starting from years of putting your body in a certain shape that is not necessarily beneficial to the longevity of your back.

Once again, a simple solution that involves exercise to increase a muscular endurance of your back is the plank exercise.  Maybe perform 15, 20, 25, to 30 seconds of plank once a day for just three times a week.  Practicing this maintenance routine will not only help the muscular endurance of your back but will also help to ensure that you have a maintenance routine inline that will encourage the mindset of maintaining Lifetime Fitness!

If you aren’t sure about how to perform the plank exercise, follow along with this video and learn!

Feb 14

Protein Shakes, How Important are They? : Weight Loss, Lean Muscle Gains, Convenience, and Healthy Alternatives

Protein shakes these days receive a lot of attention due to the high amount of protein in a very small serving size.  Protein shakes consist of protein powder which is purchased in the form of a large container of about 30 servings.  One serving is about 20 to 30 grams of protein and comes in the form of just one scoop being placed inside of water and then either stirred or shaken and then consumed in liquid form, making it a quick and convenient way to consume a high protein meal in a matter of seconds.

There are times in which protein shakes are very beneficial.  Perhaps when someone is in a rush and they need a quick meal, a protein shake is a great option to turn to.  In addition, sometimes protein shakes are utilized in the form of a meal replacement in the place of a meal to where only protein is absorbed as a fuel source removing fats and carbohydrates from that meal.  While protein shakes are useful in the sense of convenience and replacing meals. They are not always necessary.

The high content of protein inside of protein powders can sometimes be too much protein in one setting for an individual utilizing protein powder as an extra source of protein and or a meal.  If a person has not worked out efficiently, the body cannot absorb protein as efficiently, leaving excess calories from the protein being unabsorbed by the muscles.  The extra protein that lays around goes right to the fat cells.

While protein shakes are very appropriate and probably necessary in the athletic arena of a high school, college, or professional athletes who are practicing one the two times a day and then doing a form of strength training one to two times a day on top of that, you can see you where an extra amount of protein will benefit them.  Athletes in this scenario burn two to three thousand more calories per day then that of the general population, which are the people who work 8-hour days and have careers in some sort of job within our civilization.  Therefore, athletes participating in these demanding conditions can absolutely benefit from the increased amount of protein in their diet to rebuild the muscles that have endured a significant amount of stress.

The individuals of the general population do not necessarily need a supplementary version of protein if a well-balanced diet of protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates is practiced throughout the day.  Adhering to a diet plan which takes in his into consideration eating 5 to 7 meals a day and having equal amounts of protein, carbohydrate, and healthy fats would be more beneficial than utilizing protein powder and making a shake.  Practicing these healthy lifestyle factors will help lose weight and build lean muscle.

In addition, protein shakes are not the most wholesome form of consuming your meal.  The emulsifiers and additives present in protein powder meant to stabilize the powder consistency inside of the protein shake are ingredients that only someone in the food manufacturing industry or a biochemistry class can understand.  Therefore, these extra ingredients that are unidentifiable are mysterious pieces of matter that you are putting into your body.  More often than not, it’s usually better to consume the food products in which you know what they are and where they come from.  Consuming unprocessed foods will also help reduce the risk of gastrointestinal issues, allergies to gluten and dairy, and reduce inflammatory factors that could cause cancer as well.

A good alternative to protein powder is creating your own version of a protein shake.
If you have a blender this is a great recipe to use in the form of a protein shake:

1 banana

1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds

1 Tablespoon Almond Butter

1 Raw Egg

1 cup water

-Put these all in a blender and blend until smooth!

This protein shake is ideal for after you are done doing any sort of work out that last 30 or more minutes.  The banana will serve as healthy carbohydrates in which your body needs to use as energy when rebuilding muscle and transporting protein to the muscle cell that has been stressed from the workout.  In addition, you have three other sources of protein which are the Chia seeds, almond butter, and raw egg.  The egg, almond butter, and chia seed will also act as a source healthy fats to add into your meal.

Don’t get me wrong, protein shakes are not the worst thing in the world.  In fact, they helped a lot of people lose weight.  However, if you’re looking for a more wholesome approach to a meal that has not been processed, packaged, preserved, and put into a container… it’s always better to get your nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats from a meal that you can create yourself.

Feb 06

Adding Variety to your Core Training Program while utilizing the Posterior Pelvic Tilt: Eccentric Leg Lifts!

 

Exercises that support your abdominal muscles in the supine position can be a very safe and useful way to train the musculature of your core and trunk region.  One of the reasons why performing a core exercise in the supine position is because you must learn to properly utilize a posterior pelvic tilt while doing this exercise to execute the technique correctly and efficiently.

When laying on the ground and rolling the crest of your hips toward your rib cage, the body will use more of the surface abdominal muscles and deeper abdominal muscles, like the psoas muscles.  A posterior pelvic tilt while on your back will also flatten out the lower back, which will decrease the likelihood of back injuries occurring during this exercise and in everyday life.  Additionally, flattening out the lower back will teach your body to position your hips in a proper position when laying down and facing upward.  It is important to learn how to position your hips in a posterior pelvic tilt because you are essentially utilizing your glutes to roll the crest of your hips toward your ribs and utilizing your deepest psoas muscles to stabilize the spine as well.  Learning to utilize these muscles is very important when standing because you will support your spine and learn to keep these muscles engaged throughout the day which will lead to less injury and less fatigue and in your abdominal and back muscles.

The video featured in this article shows an Eccentric Leg Lift.  The word eccentric refers to the lowering motion of an exercise or the lengthening of a specific group of muscles.  In this case, the eccentric motion is the lowering motion of the legs from an elevated position and focuses on the core musculature which supports the legs from falling to the ground with gravity acting as resistance.  In addition, eccentric movement causes more muscle adaptation to a fewer group of muscles, which will significantly improve muscle cell size and endurance of areas of the core region that are sometimes neglected.  This is a great exercise to throw into your abdominal training routine because it will break the monotony of doing your standard ab training routine.  Variety overtime is very important to any sort of training, in this case specifically abdominal training.  Adding a new type of stress on the body will cause the body to adapt to that type of stress from the exercise that is placed upon it.  Therefore, after doing a few weeks of the same core movements, it’s a good idea to change it up.   Throwing the Eccentric Leg Lift in to your abdominal routine would be a great exercise movement to add into your program if it does not involve any sort of eccentric training.

Lastly, the Eccentric Leg Lift is very beneficial for people who have low back problems because you are lying flat on your back and avoiding sheering forces on your back due to the support that the ground gives you.  In addition, with learning how to properly utilize the posterior pelvic tilt, the ground is a great place to start as well.  The eccentric movement also calls for a lower rep scheme but increases the time under tension, which means that performing less reps will decrease the likelihood of some sort of tweak or strain occurring throughout the movement.  When you’re not sure, slower is usually better. You will also see a few modifications of this exercise and the video that will decrease the difficulty of the exercise and still make the exercise effective with less difficulty.

Jan 29

Core Muscle Endurance and Strengthening: Medicine Ball Pull Through

The Medicine Ball Pull Through exercise is a great core exercise to add into your program to develop strength in the rotary muscles of the center and trunk region of the body.  Performing this exercise will not only be a strong exercise for the core, but is a great exercise for the arms, shoulders,  glutes and some lower body stabilizer muscles of the hips knees and ankles.

 

When performing this exercise, ensure to press your supporting arm into the ground to utilize your shoulders and arms to stabilize your spine so that your spine stays rigid as you pull the medicine ball across the mid line of your body (like demonstrated in the example).  Pushing your supporting arm into actively into the ground will activate the muscles that stabilize your shoulder blade (the pecs, traps and other muscles of scapular stabilization) and also activate the triceps muscles as well to ensure that your arm is a actively stabilized position.

 

In addition, it is important to make sure that the crest of your hips are square to the ground and tucking them toward your rib cage.   This is what we call a posterior pelvic tilt. To achieve this, make sure that your ribs are inline with the crests of your hips, your spine is in a neutral position, and you are utilizing your glutes to stabilize your hips.  Another great queue to ensure that your spine remains in a natural and braces position is to keep your core engaged by depressing the rip cage toward the belly button.  It is also important to ensure that the back of your head is inline with the back of your body and your forehead and parallel to the ground.

 

To modify this exercise, you can perform it from your knees as opposed to having your legs fully extended.

 

A contraindication to this exercise would include an individual who has wrist problems such as carpal tunnel, previously broken wrists or a wrist/hand injury that might put a strain on the wrist while posting out in the prone push up position for this exercise.  To modify this exercise due to wrist trouble, you can utilize push up stands or Yoga blocks to brace your put the hand in a more comfortable position.  If nothing else helps the wrist for this position, it might be a good idea to omit this exercise from your program.

 

Start with 4 repetitions and move up to 6,8 and possibly 10!

 

This core exercise is a great compliment to any sort of program in which you do not have a core exercise in the prone position.  In addition, you will be training muscular endurance of the muscles surrounding the spine, which is a critical component toward decreasing the likelihood of lower back pain and injuries occurring.

Jan 18

Eating Out with Friends and Over Eating- Pick a Number and Stick with It!

Sometimes I talk to clients about the pressure of making healthy food choices when you are out with friends for drinks or some sort outing such as employee functions, family parties or other social events. When there is delicious food like buffalo wings, bread, or cheese fondue out… one wants to partake in the festivities that the event is offering.  In addition, there might also be beer, wine, and other mixed drinks that probably aren’t the healthiest for the human body to consume in massive quantities.  When confronted with the situation, some people feel that it may be rude to not partake in some of the delicious food that is being offered for the social events.  Consuming too much of this food can play a big impact on your goals to maintain healthy weight and lean muscle.

So, what can you do in this situation?

A good solution instead of completely abstaining from everything and eating a green salad and drinking water every time you go out, would be too pick a number of the amount of snacks that you want to eat.  For example, if there are fried egg rolls in front of you that was made by one of your favorite employees or bosses or friends… pick a number, like two, and eat just two over the whole night instead of just grazing aimlessly the entire night on random snacks.  Grazing will lead to overconsumption and you won’t even know how many items of food you’ve eaten.

In addition, when it comes to alcoholic drinks pick the amount of drinks that you’re going to have.  Instead of just filling up drinks one after the other… before you go into the event, choose your threshold of drink capacity. An example might be one to two glasses of beer and/or wine, or maybe just one mixed drink over the whole night.

Social situations are always challenging when it comes to maintaining weight especially because a lot of social gatherings are surrounded around restaurants, drinking alcohol, and food. More often than not, the healthiest food choices are not available during these meetings in most social circles.  So use some of these queues to count the amount of items that you consume over the night and set a limit to it.  This way you won’t have to appear like you’re being rude to your host or the person who’s taking you out to eat.  And you can still maintain your health and fitness goals.

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