Liver Month

Do you know March is Liver month?  I went to a seminar organized by Canadian Liver Foundation yesterday.  They did such a good job raising awareness of liver health.  The presentation was excellent, and I learned many interesting facts.

One of the preventive strategies they promote is to be active and to eat healthy since many non-alcohol liver disease are caused by diabetics, obesity and high blood pressure.  So stay active and keep moving!

Get more tips from our website!
http://www.fitnessgrace.com/

How Insulin Plays A Critical Role

One of the endocrine system's most important hormones is insulin, which plays a critical role in how your body uses food.

When you eat, your digestive system breaks food down into glucose, and the glucose circulates in your bloodstream (where it's often referred to as blood sugar). In response to the rise in glucose after a meal, the pancreas releases surges of insulin, whose job is to clean the glucose from the blood.

Insulin directs some of the glucose to the body's cells, which use it for energy. Some of the glucose is diverted to the liver, where it's converted into glycogen (stored glucose) for later use by the muscles. Insulin then helps turn any leftover glucose into fatty acids and stores them in fat cells, where they can be tapped later for fuel.

Stay tuned for the next post...

Cardio

I can't tell you how often I see people go into the gym, do a slow cardio workout on a cardio machine while flipping through a magazine, and leave after 20 minutes.  While cardio is an important part of the fitness, I am not sure how much gets accomplished in this short easy cardio workout

My program, for the most part, makes straight cardio exercise obsolete. The kind of resistance training I recommend includes cardio intervals and compound movements, which effectively raise your heart rate while burning fat.  I can't stress more how important the resistance training is to your weight and overall health.   I have countless of my clients who reached their ideal weight in a couple of  months despite their age.  Some thought it would never happen due to their old age.  I am sure they won't enjoy the same result had they just done easy cardio.

Need some professional help so you can finally enjoy the result that you thought that you would never experience?  Contact us NOW!

http://www.fitnessgrace.com/

Proper Form

Do you rush through your sets? Ever swing your weights? If so, you're using incorrect form — and not only are you lessening your workout's effectiveness but you could potentially be causing your body harm.

To get the most out of your workouts, you've got to use proper form — period. I can't stress this enough. How well you lift is way more important than how much you lift.

So what constitutes proper form and technique? Precision, concentration, control, and breathing.

Precision. Use very light weights when trying an exercise for the first time, and go through the motions slowly. Once you understand how the exercise is performed and commit the movement to muscle memory, then you can progress to heavier weights and faster completion. Always make sure to slow down during the eccentric movement which is where you lower down your weight.  That is where your power is.

Concentration. To achieve maximum results, you must focus on the specific muscles you are training, really feel the work you are doing, and make every rep count.

Control. From the beginning of the exercise to the end, you must perform the movements in a deliberate, steady manner. As well as increasing your flexibility, this will ensure that you are stimulating the entire muscle, not just a portion of it.

Breathing. It's very important to breathe properly during each repetition that you complete. When you are exercising, as a general rule, exhale during the lift, and inhale as you lower the weights.

Want to learn from the experts?  Contact US at http://www.fitnessgrace.com/

Why are Fewer Physicians Offering Weight Counseling to Overweight Patients?

It is so true. I personally asked more than a dozen of physicians about whether they have ever given weight loss counseling to their patients who have weight related health problems. NOBODY said yes! How alarming! Worse yet, some have weight control issues themselves!

There is such a big disconnect in our society and it really is up to YOU to take care of yourself. I have experienced so many success in my clients to not only lose weight but also keep it!

We, as certified personal trainers, have the knowledge and experience to help you lead a healthy life and leave obesity, diabetes and any weight related health problems behind!

So contact us NOW to start to feel light, healthy and strong!
http://www.fitnessgrace.com/

Why are Fewer Physicians Offering Weight Counseling to Overweight Patients?

"We make our fortunes and call them fate."
– Benjamin Disreali

BMR

Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns in a day when operating at absolute minimum capacity. Basically, your BMR is the number of calories your body burns just to maintain your heartbeat, digestion, respiration, tissue repair and other organ functions. That's it.

BMR is influenced by a number of factors, including age, weight, height, gender, environmental temperature, and diet and exercise habits. Because of these varying factors, it's hard to pin down your BMR to the precise calorie, but we can get pretty close. Here are some formulas for figuring out your BMR. Get out your calculator and plug your numbers into whichever formula applies to you.

MALE: 66 + (6.3 × body weight in pounds) + (12.9 × height in inches) − (6.8 × age in years)

FEMALE: 655 + (4.3 × weight in pounds) + (4.7 × height in inches) − (4.7 × age in years)

Your basal metabolic rate accounts for only about 75 percent of your total daily caloric expenditure. You can also increase your BMR with exercise.

Contact us to add exercise to your routine to vamp up your BMR!