Fitness & Wellness

One of the latest methods of working out is LISS cardio. LISS stands for low intensity steady state. Unlike HIIT—high intensity interval training—that alternates the intensity between high intensity and a recovery pace, while attempting to reach 80 to 95% of your maximum heart rate for short periods, LISS is a steady state workout that attempts to maintain a consistent heart rate of approximately 50 to 65 % of heart rate.

Which type of exercise is best.

You have to polar opposites, but which type is best. According to most experts, there’s room for both in your exercise program. While you can use HIIT for almost any type of activity, brisk walking, running, biking, swimming and other cardio workouts are normally LISS activities. While one disadvantage of LISS is that it takes longer to be effective, it does burn a lot of calories and trains your aerobic system. Over time, one study finds that there is no significant differences in results.

Besides burning a ton of calories and being more effective for fat loss, LISS has other benefits.

Whether you’re older, completely out of shape or recovering from an injury, LISS is beneficial. It’s good for people of all levels of fitness. It’s not as hard on the body and recovery is faster from LISS than from HIIT. If you’re participating in a marathon or other endurance event, LISS is extremely effective. You can combine LISS with HIIT. It’s a good exercise technique to use for recovery.

When is LISS not appropriate or not the best way to workout.

Are you cramped for time? LISS may not be for you. HIIT workouts can get results with shorter workouts. You need a minimum of 45 to 60 minutes for working out. Steady state workouts that are lengthy can be particularly boring. It’s one reason people often listen to music or podcasts when doing them. Another drawback it the potential for overuse injuries that occur when you do the same workout too often or too long.

• You can alternate between HIIT and LISS workouts. If you have a busy schedule, save the LISS longer workouts for the weekend and do HIIT during the week or when you’re cramped for time.
• No matter what type of exercise program you choose, always check with your health care professional to make sure it’s safe for you to do, especially if you have preexisting health conditions.
• You have to focus more when you do HIIT workouts than with LISS workouts, since the pace is continuous with LISS. You can use the mental break to focus on breathing techniques or as a meditative time.
• If you’re just starting an exercise program, LISS is far easier to do than HIIT. Recovery is also quicker. It also helps build endurance for longer periods of exercise better than HIIT.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C Fitness

Being a mom can be hectic. Leaving little time for yourself. I have clients in Houston, TX, who can barely make it to the gym one day a week and ask for workouts for busy moms to do at home. It’s one of the main reasons I provide the access to online sessions. That allows people to get their workout in shorter sessions throughout the day, like ten minutes each, three times a day or two fifteen minute sessions. That’s right, if your day is hectic, you can break down your workout to short sessions you can fit in between task and do when you take your break. You can even get the kids involved or do the sessions while they nap.

Make exercise a family activity and get the kids involved.

Sometimes life gets so busy, some of the best times to make memories are left on the sideline. As a busy mother, your job is to raise the healthiest kids possible. Focusing on healthy meals and exercise is one way to boost their health, so why not let them get them involved with exercise. You can make it a family fun time together and even get baby involved. Holding the baby in a carrier while you exercise turns any routine into a weight bearing exercise.

Maximize what little workout time you have with HIIT—high intensity interval training.

HIIT isn’t an exercise but a way of doing exercises to maximize the benefits. It alternates the intensity from high intensity to recovery. You can use it with any types of exercise, including walking. Walk at top speed until your heart rate rises, then slow the pace to allow it to recover to normal. Studies show that a half hour of HIIT is the equivalent to a full hour of steady state exercise. One study showed that people who sprinted for one minute, then followed that sprint with a more moderate recovery pace for nine minutes had the same improvements as those who did a full fifty minutes of a steady state workout.

Turn non-exercise activities into exercise.

Cleaning house takes effort and you can pack more exercise into it by pushing yourself harder. Alternate your speed when doing tasks and the intensity of effort. Washing windows is a great upper body workout when you do it with zeal. If you can, do some exercises while you clean, like doing squats when picking up clothes. If you’re going to the store park further and walk, adjusting your speed as you do. Don’t forget that playing with the kids is also good exercise. If they won’t join you in a workout, join them in play.

• It’s hard to do but getting an early start can help you stick with a program. If you use my online program, it’s ready for you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
• There are exercises you can do almost anywhere. One four minute workout designed by Dr. Zachary Bush to provide a nitric oxide dump to lower blood pressure, combines deep squats, tin soldier, snow angel and the military press. You can do it at least three times a day.
• Find exercises that you love to do. If you hate running, don’t do it. Do you love dancing? Turn on the music and enjoy. You’ll be more likely to stick with an exercise program you love.
• Make social time exercise time. Do you normally get together with friends each week? Stick with that program but make it for exercise and a light lunch. Everyone will end up fitter and happier.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness

While summer is barely here, warm weather started a while ago and will last well into fall. There’s still time to get bikini body ready and show off your body at the end of the season. In fact, if you start right now, imagine the progress you’ll make by August or September and how great you’ll look at the end of the year. You’ll be ringing in the New Year with a whole new you that’s gorgeous and fit.

Know your goal.

You might think, “Of course, I know my goal. I want to lose weight.” That’s not really a goal but just a statement. How much do you want to lose? If you just want to look better, what does that mean? You need to identify how many pounds you want to lose or state the size that you want to be. Your goal could read, “By September 15th, I want to lose 24 pounds.” That gives you 12 weeks to do it, which is a realistic goal.

It’s time to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Summer always has been a favorite. It’s time that a lot of fresh fruit ripens, like cherries, apples or berries. These are like nature’s candy. All the farm produce also makes it easier to eat healthier and lose weight easier. No matter how many hours you put in working out, you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. A great body starts in the kitchen. That’s why we provide nutritional help and a personalized meal plan. You don’t have to starve to shed extra pounds, just make smarter choices that are lower in calories and more nutritious.

If you create a habit, you’ll be more apt to stick with a program.

How do you make something a habit? You do it at the same time every day consistently. That’s why I always recommend that people schedule in their workout if they’re doing it online or workout the same time every day if you’re working out in person. It’s also one reason that working out with a personal trainer can help. You have a standing appointment with the trainer. Not only does that make you more accountable for showing up, it also helps create a habit.

• Make sure your goal is realistic. If you have 100 pounds to lose, you simply can’t do it safely in 8 weeks. Stick with a realistic goal that’s between one and three pounds a week.
• Plan your meals to help you stick with the program and prepare them on your days off of work. When you cook everything in one or two days, you’ll cut the time you spend in the kitchen and have daily meals ready to heat and serve that are quicker than a drive-through.
• You can have fun while getting that bikini body. Our group classes are a blast and everyone is friendly. Make it a girl’s night out or take the classes instead of stopping for a drink after work, which can really help make you look better.
• No matter what weight you are, never hate your body. Hating your body is counterproductive. You have to love it enough to keep it healthy and active.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C Fitness

Before you can hit your workout goals, you have to set goals. Setting goals is always the first step toward fitness. You have to know what you want and create a pathway to get to that destination and actualize your dreams. One of the first steps is looking at your goals and making sure they’re achievable. If you want to lose 50 pounds a month for two months, that’s not possible to do. It’s not only unhealthy, but it would also require some type of major illness or surgery to do.

Be consistent.

You can’t exercise every once in a while or eat healthy at breakfast and consume a soft drink and candy bar for lunch and still expect to reach your goals. Schedule your workout at a specific time and put it in your appointment book or on your phone. You’ll not only be more apt to stick with an appointment, but also develop a habit of working out at that time. Plan your meals. Our meal planner can help you create all the meals for the week and snacks, so you eat healthy at every meal.

Learn easy ways to judge portions to give you more control.

There are simple ways to identify what a portion of any food is. For instance, a portion of meat, poultry or fish is the size of the palm of your hand. Your cupped hand can measure your carbs and a fist is the perfect measure for veggies. Fats, like butter, are the size of the tip of your pointer finger and by putting together your ring finger and middle finger, you’ll have the size of a portion of cheese.

Keep a food diary to help you stick with a healthy eating pattern.

Don’t be ashamed if you’re more aware of what you eat when someone is watching. It’s human nature. Keeping a food diary is one way of doing it, keeping you aware of all the bites and nibbles you have throughout the day. Too often people don’t realize just how much they eat. For instance, you might grab a handful of candy when you pass a coworker’s desk candy dish or clean up the last of the lasagna in the dish before you put it in the dishwasher. If you’re more aware of what you eat and when, you’re more able to find ways to save those calories or substitute that food with lower calorie options.

• Get help. Everyone does better when people work together toward a goal. A personal trainer or family can provide motivation. You can workout with a friend or family member.
• Track your progress a number of ways. It’s not all about weight lost, inches lost count, as well. You can also track your blood pressure, energy level and clothing size. Take a full length selfie every month and compare photos. All these successes will be motivating.
• Have fun. Not all exercise is done in workout sessions. Find active hobbies and fun activities that also burn calories. Ride a bike, take a walk or play a little basketball with friends or family.
• Appreciate who you are. Don’t do negative self-talk. If you fall off the wagon and eat a whole cake, go back to healthy eating the next day. You only fail when you quit trying, so never give up.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C Fitness

A lot of clients at RCF, whether they come to the gym in Houston, TX, or workout online, hate to take the time to make goals or when they do, make them unrealistic. Why should your weight loss goal be realistic? There are a lot of reasons. You not only want to lose weight, but you also want to keep those pounds off permanently. Unrealistic goals may cause you to starve yourself to achieve, so you won’t learn how to eat healthy for permanent weight loss. If you set them too high, it can also be discouraging. Losing weight permanently is all about changing habits and habits take a while to change.

Is your overall goal a healthy one?

If you’re trying to lose weight, but are already to thin, there’s a big problem. If you weigh 135 pounds, that doesn’t mean much, you might be the perfect weight, too thin or too heavy, it all depends on your height. A person who is six foot tall and weighs 135 is classed as underweight on the BMI chart, but they’re five foot tall, they’re overweight. You need to know what your ideal weight is for your gender, age, height and build to see how much you need to lose.

Once you determine your ideal weight, set your goal.

Keep your goal healthy by checking with a BMI chart and give yourself a healthy timeline. Most trainers agree that aiming for losing two pounds each week is a healthy route to take, particularly if you’re using both exercise and a healthy diet. You’ll probably lose more weight in the beginning, since the bigger you are, the more calories you’ll burn. It’s like carrying a heavy weight everywhere you go. Just stick with the two pound loss each week, even if you lose a ton the first week or two, it will slow down.

Divide your goal by two to find how long it will take.

If forty pounds is your ultimate goal, it will take you 20 weeks. Now you have to put it on a timeline. If you’re starting May 1, you’d reach your goal by September 18th. You’re now ready to make your goal, it will be similar to: “I will lose 20 pounds by September 18th by following a healthy diet of 1200 calories daily and working out 45 minutes a day. Track your progress to make sure you stay on track.

As you build muscle tissue, you’ll burn more calories, since muscle tissue requires more than fat tissue does. However, muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch, so you may not shed a pound, but look thinner.

While a healthy diet is the most important part of weight loss, since you can’t out-exercise a bad diet, you need exercise to tone and shape your body. Stick with realistic workouts.

You don’t have to stick with strictly pounds as your goal, you can use inches or other way to measure your progress. Even tracking your progress with a picture of you in the same outfit each time works, especially if it’s way too tight initially.

Keeping your goals realistic boosts your motivation, especially if you exceed your goals, which can happen, particularly in the beginning. They help you not only form a plan, but let you modify it if you’re not getting the results you want.