Do I have to dance in your Group Training Class? NO!

The question Solera Health Club members ask most often (and with most worry) about our recently-started Group Training Class:  “Do I have to dance?”  The answer (providing relief to most): “NO!”

Jazzercise, Zumba, Step Class - all these are examples of Group Aerobics Classes, and not what we do here.  Solara’s group class is basically a personal training session-type workout.  The Class consists of 10 different workout stations such as Bicycle, Push Ups, Squats, Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Box Step Ups, Pull Ups, Standing lunge, V-Bar Extension, Plank, Crunches.  You can push it as hard or easy as you want.  It doesn't matter if you don't know what you’re doing, or if you are a workout master.  YOU can adjust the class difficulty to best meet your own level of fitness.

1 minute on each station, 2 cycles through, 30 minutes total. 

So in 30 minutes, you get a complete upper body, lower body, core, and cardiovascular workout.  Try this twice a week, mixed with some easier workouts on your own, and you will start to see results right away! 

During the month of January, we are offering our Group Training Class FREE!  At least 1 class is offered each day (including Saturday)--so come try it out.  Whether you’re out of shape, in shape, or have never taken a class, you won't look bad!  We have a good mix in each session, and most of the people signed up for the classes are brand new to the group class workout.

For information on the class check out:  www.solerahealthclub.com/groupclass.php. 

Join me for an amazing group workout soon! 

I want results by tomorrow!

Everyone knows what I'm talking about here.  You spent years upon years of neglecting your body-- years without a constant workout routine, eating badly, some exercise here and there, and your body slowly changed over time.  So slowly in fact, that you didn't notice it and thought it just happened overnight.  Naturally, you decided you would start working out now and just like your body changed for the worse "overnight," you would get results overnight.  But it doesn't work that way.

Your body is a machine.  It wants and sets itself up for routine.  Why do you think you get hungry, get full, are able repeat daily tasks, etc?  It’s because your body has programmed itself to do this naturally!  It doesn't like change.  It doesn't like to work harder than it needs to.  It takes time to "program" your body for results.  When you are not active, your body burns calories at a slower pace.  Why?  Because it can!  Your body is stubborn, and you really have to attack it, fight it, to get it to go with you.  Some people are able to catch it off guard, and see some instant results just from a few weeks of working out.  But for most others, it can take months to see those results. 

But you’re not in this for the short term either.  Who doesn't want to live a healthier lifestyle?  You’re not popping a "fix it all" pill that lasts forever.  You are changing the way you live permanently.  So make sure you come in with your mindset for the long haul, not the short term.  Sure, you can have short term goals, but don't let your bad "vices" become a future need.  Don't tell yourself, "I will just cut out all fast food now while I'm getting in shape" because later you will put yourself right back in the same boat as before.  Write down your exact goals, the "bad" items you want to cut out of your life, YOUR long term plan, and stick to it. 

Want our help?  Check out http://www.solerahealthclub.com/

ADL - Activities of Daily Living

So you finally made it to the gym.  You decide to work as hard as possible while your there.  You want to lose that 20lbs that has been sticking around and growing for the last couple of years.  So it begins: some cardio, some free weights, some strength machines, back to cardio and complete!  Your exhausted, but you know you've burned so many calories, your on your way!  You head back to your office or home, hit your office chair or couch, and there you stay for the rest of the day thinking about how great the workout was.  NOT SO FAST

Studies have shown that people tend to forget about the calories that are burned during ADL - Activities of Daily Living.  The simple tasks in life; walking to other worker desks instead of e-mailing them, heading down with a group of people to the break room which requires you to take stairs or walk a long distance, going to the grocery after work, playing with the kids, odd jobs around the house.  These simple tasks add to the burned calories for the day, and can sometimes be neglected because of sore or tired muscles from a strenuous workout.  It's easily overlooked and can extend the time it takes for you to hit your different healthy living goals. 

On those days when you've had a great workout, and the next day when you feel that you can't move an inch without the soreness hitting you, make sure you focus even more on your ADL.  When your body tells you "I can't get up," make sure yourself GET UP!  When your body tells you "skip going downstairs with your co-workers today," GET UP!  The more movement you have in your daily life, the more calories you will burn which will only add to the amount of fat you can lose.  So......GET UP!

How Often Should I Work Out?

How often do you need to workout to be in shape?  Do be toned?  Do lose weight?  There are 2 schools of thought here.  The first is, workout 3 times a week, break it down to every other day, and stay at least an hour.  The second is, workout a little bit every single day.

The bottom line is: DO AS MUCH AS YOUR SCHEDULE ALLOWS

The goal is to keep your body moving with "healthy" strenuous movements daily.  Keep your body "thinking" fitness every day, and it will react differently.  If you are able to accelerate your heart rate level on a every day basis, your calories burned with accelerate and you will accomplish the results you are looking for.  Remember, your goal is to have a calorie deficit each day, i.e. burn more calories than you are bringing in your system from food and drink.  So if you can only make it to a gym 2-3 times per week, make the most of that time spent with high intensity exercises.  The more the intensity, the more the heart rate goes up, the more calories you burn.  Simple as that.  So as a rule of thumb with losing weight and those trying to tone, if you can't feel your heart beat pumping, your not getting the most out of your workout.  Come try a workout with me at http://www.solerahealthclub.com/, and I can show you the exercises needed to achieve this result.

Cardio and Weights, or Weights and Cardio....

The most frequent question (other than how do I lose weight fast) I face is "what do I do first, cardio or weights?"  While "experts" have their opinion either way, my answer is simple:  It's up to you.

There are no right or wrong answers for this question, it's completely up to your preference.  With my workout sessions, I usually have the client do a 5-10 minute warm up in the cardio room, then it's off to the weights for 30 minutes or so, followed by 10 more minutes of hard cardio.  Some clients come in 30 minutes early so they can get 20-25 minutes of good cardio in before our session, others wait until the end.  The main focus is only that you complete it.  If you are more of a runner, or cardio person, I suggest doing the cardio after your weight workout.  If your not a cardio person, start with it.  That way you get the "most dreaded" part of the workout over with first.  But again there are no right or wrong answers, it just needs to be completed. 

My advice?  Start with cardio.  Too many times I see clients and members start with their weights and machines workout, and decide they will "get their cardio finished later on their own," yet it usually doesn't happen.  If time is of the essense for the weight workout, at least get 5-10 minutes of cardio in and then hit the weights. 

Changing Your Workout Routine

People who cross-train with a variety of exercises are more fit and less injury-prone than those who exercise using only one or two exercise modalities.

You know who you are.  You are the person that goes into the gym, and does the same exact workout everytime you come in.  You jump on the treadmill for 20 minutes, go at the exact same pace, then you switch to the elliptical, go at the exact same pace, then you use a couple of strength machines, same machines each time using the same resistance, same amount of reps, and you call it a day.  Day after day, week after week, month after month, you come in regularly, yet your results stay the same.  Some people get lucky and are completely happy with where they are at fitness and health wise, and are able to maintain that.  But most others go in the opposite direction, stop seeing results after a couple of months.  You then find youself without the motivation to make it to the gym "that day", which then turns into a week, month, and before you know it years have gone by and you don't recognize what is in the mirror anymore.  How did this happen?  Why did working out make me gain weight, or give me no results at all? 

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result" - Einstein

No matter what skill level you are at, no matter if you have been working out for years, YOU don't know everything there is to know about working out.  It's not as simple as just coming in to a facility and randomly picking exercises based on your comfort level.  You need a plan, and that plan needs to be changing constantly.  Keep your body guessing what you will do next.  Don't let your muscles adapt to what your doing, change is good!  It's tough, believe me, I sometimes fall into a habit of repeating my exercise routines from time to time.  It's safe to me, the muscles know what they are in for that day so it becomes easy.  But why do it?  If I'm going to take the time to workout, why not get the maximum reward for this? 

It's so easy in today's world to find magazines with exercises, exercises online, youtube videos of exercises, so many ways to change your workout.  The most effective way is to find a personal trainer (shameless plug for myself), to take the pre-routine work away from you.  You work hard, so much on your plate, why not leave the work to me!  Let me find the exercises that are beneficial for you, let me push you to your limit, keep you accountable for your workouts.  A little extra cost upfront will save you a ton in the long run (no pun intended)!  It starts today!  http://www.soleraspa.com/

How Do I Lose Weight?

The most often asked question in any fitness facility is "how do I lose weight?"  There are hundreds of infomercials, diet plans, pills, you name it.  You can try every item out there, but the results will normally come back to the same.  Why?  It's simple.  BURN MORE CALORIES THAN YOU BRING IN.  That's it, that's the big secret.  So now you ask, "how do I find that information out?" 

Today, with most food places displaying the nutritional information, and most phones and ipod's having programs to track your caloric intake, it's easier than ever.  Most programs are free as well, it just takes a little effort from YOU to write enter each night exactly what you ate that day.  You now have your total calories that you are bringing in.

Finding how many calories you burn is a little more challenging, but can be done.  Cardio exercises are the easiest to find calorie burn information on, most cardio machines will have that information on the actual machine.  For all other exercises, there are numerous new products coming out that will show you how many calories you burn in a day, during exercise, or both!  Most simply have you put on a heart rate monitor strap, a wrist band, and the information goes to the wrist band.  Write this down every night, and you now have your total calories burned.

Tadaaa!  It's really that easy!  Forget every expensive informercial, expensive pill, weight loss plans, it just takes a little effort from YOU. 

John Burr
General Manager / Personal Trainer
Solera Health Club & Spa
http://www.soleraspa.com/