Three real life reasons to exercise

First and foremost, exercise for yourself, your own well being and health. Fitness plays a vital role in all aspects of life and working out functions as more than just a way to look good.

1. Exercise for your partner

No relationship should consider exercise mandatory. Don't ever feel forced to workout for who you are with. However, it's something you should want to do for love. Being fit long after you are settled, married and content shows love and respect for who you are with. It says to the other person that you care enough about to them to live a long, dependant life. You want to be to have the energy, and self confidence for a rewarding sex life. You should also want to take care of yourself long into the golden years. Taking care of yourself is taking care of your family.

2. Exercise for your kids

Have the energy to play with your children and the lower stress levels to care for them in a level headed, rational way. Being fit will set a good example and encourage children to follow your lead in their adult years. Being healthy will make you happy, energetic and be able to function at your optimal capacity for being the best parent you can be.

3. Exercise for your career

Being able to think quickly, multitask, and having a long supply of mental brainpower are all benefits of fitness. Less sick days, more ambition and being able to work harder for longer will make you an ideal employee, with more possibility for promotion and respect. Being able to manage stress and sleep better at night makes you a happier and more well rounded person and results in your relationship with your job to be a better more fulfilling role.

Everybody should exercise. Even if it is in small 2-5 minute bursts throughout the day. I train what has to be the busiest people in Toronto and I admire their dedication to receive these benefits despite their schedules. If someone with children, long hours and high stress jobs can manage an hour two to three times a week, anybody can.

Be fit for life!

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Spring and summer services 2010

Thank you for reading Kalisthenix Fitness Blog! Over the past (nearly) three years your business, comments and most important, friendships have made my work an absolute pleasure.

This blog is a collection of my knowledge, interests, and research and I love writing posts every week. What a way to earn a living after losing 50lbs and transforming my life from a sedentary, junk food eating teenager, to a fit and healthy personal trainer!

If you live in Toronto, this is a reminder that I'm available for local in home, outdoor and condo training. My philosophy is that results are easy but without quick fixes, supplements or crash diets. All it takes is healthy eating, exercise and the discipline to keep it consistent.

My Services Include:

Fitness Assessments
Weight training
Cardio training
Running, walking and cycling programs (Yes, I DO run/walk and cycle with clients)
Yoga style stretching
Resistance tube workouts
Nutritional counseling
Custom fitness programs for local and international clients

Please check out My Rates and feel free to call me anytime at 647 308 5254 to ask any questions or to book an assessment!

Happy Spring and Summer Training!

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The best darn tofu vegetable stir fry I have ever tasted!

Once in a while I try out a recipe that blows my mind. This is one of them. Don't be alarmed by the amount of veggies, they don't take long to prepare and total cook time is less than the time spent to cook the rice.

Simple Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry

Ingredients:
•3/4 cup soy sauce (use reduced sodium)
•1/2 cup lemon juice
•1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
•1/2 block firm or extra-firm tofu, well pressed and cut into 1 inch cubes
•1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
•1/2 cauliflower, chopped
•1 bunch broccoli, chopped
•1 carrot, sliced
•1 onion, chopped
•1 bell pepper, any color, sliced
•1 cup snow peas
•1 cup mushrooms, sliced (any kind)
•3 green onions (scallions), sliced
•1 cup rice, pre-cooked

Preparation:
1. In a large shallow bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice and ginger. Marinade the tofu in this sauce for at least one hour.
In a wok or a large skillet, cook the cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, onion, bell pepper and tofu over high heat, stirring frequently.

2. Add the snow peas, mushrooms, green onions and marinade from the tofu. Allow to cook for just a few more minutes. Vegetables should be tender but not soft.

3. Add the rice and cook just until heated through and well mixed

Serves 2 or 3

Enjoy!

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Summer ready shoulders with the shoulder press

The shoulder press is a basic, staple exercise in any strength training program. It targets the top of the shoulders and therefore, makes a really nice, toned look for summer clothing like tanktops and swimsuits.

Technique for the basic shouler press

1. Stand with feet hip width apart, kness slightly bent.

2. With a dumbbell in each hand, bring them up to shoulder height, with palms facing out. Your elbows should be right out to the side and your forearms straight up. Keep wrists lifting and strong.

3. Pinch shoulder blades back. When you lift the weights over your head you will want them to be right over the centre of your head, not out front. If you can see the weights at the finishing point, you need to bring those shoulder blades back.

4. On an inhale, raise the weights in the triangluar motion over the top of your head. Lightly tap weights together. Exhale, and bring them back down to that 90 degree angle starting position.

5. Perform 2 to 3 sets with a weight that fatigues your muscles between 10 and 15 reps.

Try different variations: Seated, one arm at a time, palms facing in, straight up (not touching in the middle) or even a bicep curl and then a shoulder press.

Stay Strong!

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Daydream your way to fitness

Sounds pretty good, huh? Actually, this isn't one of those catchy titles just to entice you to read my post. I'm completely serious! Visualization isn't some wishy washy new age concept, it's an incredibly effective focusing technique!

Studies have shown that athletes who daydream often, tend to win the game. Personally speaking, when I was losing weight, I did this all of the time. My motivating daydream was picturing myself shopping for smaller clothes. I used to be a size 13 or 14, and always had a stylish spirit. Let's face it; plus sized stores for men and women have comfort in mind, not fashion. The average size of the American woman is 14. This also happens to be the largest size available at most major clothing retailers. Do you know what that means? The size is always sold out! It also tells me that a lot of people want to dress well and feel good about themselves but are constantly faced with having to buy the biggest size in the store. I found this to be disheartening and years later, it's still a very unhappy memory for me. I'm not saying you need to be a size 2 to dress nice and have fun buying clothes, but the fashion industry isn't changing very quickly, and that visualization motivated me to lose weight.

What inspires you? What daydream will drive your success. Try following my A, B, Cs to successful visualization:

(a) Pick your THREE most motivating thoughts (ex: Be able to run a 10k race, look great naked, how great you will feel after the workout etc)

1.

2.

3.

(b) Learn how to visualize

I want you to daydream daily. Imagine yourself being successful. Apply this philosophy to yourself everyday, whether you are feeling motivated or not. Imagine who you are going to be, the steps you are going to take to get there, and then how you will live life in your new body/mind frame etc.

(c) Positive reinforcement

Have you ever noticed that the more energy you put into something, the more you get back? If you work hard, it pays off. If you visualize often, you WILL become who you want to be. Stay positive and reward yourself often because your fitness and nutrition plan is pampering your mind and body. You are treating yourself kindly. So stay positive, keep smiling and continue to visualize your eventual outcome.

It Works!

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Monday Motivation on Self Awareness

"We know what we are, but know not what we may become."
-William Shakespeare

"Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else."
-Judy Garland

"We should every night call ourselves to an account; What infirmity have I mastered today? What passions opposed? What temptation resisted? What virtue acquired? Our vices will abort of themselves if they be brought every day to the shrift."
-Seneca

"I was brought up to believe that how I saw myself was more important than how others saw me."
-Anwar el-Sadat

"To be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best to make you just like everybody else means to fight the greatest battle there is to fight and to never stop fighting."
E. E. Cummings

"The ultimate creative capacity of your brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite."
DRW Ross Adley- Brain Research Institute UCLA

"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."
-Benjamin Franklin

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Start the Spring with THIS Six Week Beginners Running Program

I remember that my main obstacle to starting a running program was...Well, I couldn't run! I used to get winded just from walking up a flight of stairs. Even the thought of sustaining a light jog for more than a minute made me winded. The trick is to start out slow. Fortunately, running progress happens very quickly and within as little as a week, you will be so motivated by the new changes in your cardiovascular capacity that you will continue to run, and never look back.

If you have never run before, try out this beginner six week running program:

Week 1 + 2

Aim for running 3 to 5 days a week.

Warm up with a brisk walk for 5 to 7 minutes
Jog (very lightly) until you feel out of breath
Walk until making a full recovery
Repeat
Cool down with a slow 5 minute walk
Try getting out for 15 to 20 minutes each time.

Week 3 + 4

Warm up with a brisk walk for 5 to 7 minutes
Jog lightly but this time push yourself a little farther once you start to feel winded
Walk until making a full recovery
Repeat
Cool down with a steady 5 minute walk
Try getting out for 20 to 25 minutes

Week 5+ 6

Warm up with a brisk 5 minute walk
Jog lightly but this time before you feel like resting sprint for 10 to 20 seconds
Walk until making a full recovery
Repeat
Cool down with a steady 5 minute walk
Try getting out for 25 to 30 minutes

After six weeks you will be ready for a steady that can be maintained for more than five minutes. I remember the first time I ran for 30 minutes straight. It still holds a special place in my heart as a great accomplishment.

You can do it!

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All Over Oats

This cereal grain is a definite power food and if you don't already eat oats in some form or another (aside from oatmeal cookies!) this article is for you.

Benefits of Oats

Complex carbohydrate

No sugar

High in soluble fiber

Lowers LDL "bad" cholesterol

Digests slowly. This will make you feel full for a long time!

Oats are the only cereal containing protein.

How do I buy and prepare oats?

Oats can be cut, pressed, crushed, and ground. They can be eaten cooked, raw as a main ingredient or as a topping.

The most common way to eat oats is in oatmeal or porridge. Porridge is a warm breakfast cereal, typically served with milk. It is used by athletes for energy during training, to heal the sick, and makes a great breakfast for children, or anybody looking for an energy food that will keep their stomach content until lunchtime.

To make porridge you can use rolled oats or steel cut. I recommend steel cut. It takes longer to cook but that's due to minimal processing and a higher nutritional content. Rolled oats have been precooked and pressed, and sometimes sugar or other flavouring is added.

Many people eat oats on cold cereal, in drinks (I have had some lovely oat, yogurt and honey smoothies), for use in baking, and ground into flour.

Ground oats and extract are also used in skin care products such as cream and soaps due to its ability to relive dry, irritated and itchy skin. Most health food specialty stores will carry an all natural oatmeal soap. Personally speaking, I had a small running related dry patch on my thigh that was driving me nuts for months. No skin cream would do anything but after one wash with a bar of oatmeal soap, it was already 50% cured. Trust me, your skin will thank you!

If you don't eat oats already, try it out!

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Cool New Fitness Product, The GYMBOSS Interval Stopwatch

I recently had the pleasure of trying out a really neat, new fitness gadget called The Gymboss Interval Timer and Stopwatch The gymboss stopwatch is useful for many different styles of workouts including:

Weight lifting
Cardio
Boxing
Circuits
Sports Training
Running/sprinting

Here's how I tested it:

1. I wanted to do a routine that included nearly every activity I regularly practice. As most people know from their own workouts, when you try to do something similar to this, say weight lifting and running intervals, it's difficult to stay focused. Most will lean towards their more preferred activity, spend more time than planned on it, and fall off course. The activities I wanted to cycle were: Running, strength training, dancing, yoga and stretching. I wanted to do each twice.

2. The Gymboss is very easy to set up. This is great for me because I wanted to get into the workout and not spend half the time I saved for this session messing around! To set up the Gymboss you simply hold "Next" to turn it on, "Next and "Change" to set up your your interval time and then "Start." I chose 5 minute intervals. Repeating everything I had planned twice would make up a 50 minute workout. The Gymboss can be set up to do anywhere from 2 second, to 100 minute intervals. So basically, you're covered no matter what you're doing!

3. I was delighted to discover that there is an option to have the stopwatch vibrate, beep or both when it's time to change to the next interval because if you're at a gym, the last you want is your device beeping constantly! However, at home with headphones on, you may need the beep. The Gymboss also attaches easily to your clothes by a clip, and is water and shock resistant, for outdoor exercise. Perfect!

Needless to say, this little stopwatch improved the structure and quality of my workout in a single session! In addition to all of this cool stuff, it comes in three colours, has a 1 year warranty, and has additional online instruction and support.

If you're interested in purchasing The Gymboss for yourself, click on any of these links or banners.

Happy Training!

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Monday Motivation, Rejuvenation and Awakening

"Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery, it recharges by running."

Bill Watterson

"If everyday is an awakening, you will never grow old. You will just keep growing."

Gail Sheehy

"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden."

Johann Wolfganfg von Goethe

"Change is often rejuvenating, invigorating, fun...And necessary."

Lynn Povich

"Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well."

Josh Billings

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Bodybuilding Supplements 101 Part 2

In the first part of bodybuilding supplements we discussed the foundations, multivitamins, protein, glutamine, creatine and amino acid supplements. Now on to the high performance supplements.

High performance Supplements

These supplements are chosen based on your fitness goal. Most bodybuilding goals include: Bulking (putting on muscle), cutting (lowering body fat), and extra strength, energy and recovery.

Bulking

Pro anabolic muscle builders are a broad category. Protein powder falls under this one as well as supplements that include muscle building, hormonal supporting anabolic ingredients such as: tribulus, fenugreek and eurycoma longfolia. These types of ingredients either increase protein synthesis or support cellular volumization. In other words, they aid weight gain in the form of muscle mass.

Cutting

Thermogenics are supplements used to increase the body's core temperature and therefore, increasing the amount of calories burned throughout the day. Ingredients you may find in thermogenic supplements include: guggulsterones (a herb grown in India), and 7 keto DHEA (a non hormonal steroid).

Stimulant based fat burners help the body to use more fat for fuel (common ingredient is caffeine, and as a result, these also give you more energy) and non stimulant based fat burners help to metabolize food into energy while storing less fat. Many non stimulant fat burners also double as anti aging anti fatigue products.

Volumizers/Pump

These supplements give you more strength and power to perform heavy duty lifting sessions. Creatine falls into this category as the most common example. These products increase blood flow to the muscle. This aids in growth and recovery.

Energy

These supplements are usually taken before a workout to maximize energy and minimize fatigue with the idea being, more energy + harder workout = Better results. This category includes ATP replenishing products as well as engineered carbohydrates that basically, add glucose (sugar) to the muscle for more "staying power." Endurance athletes also tend to use these products.

Then there is always the energy bars, drinks, and shots. For the most part these are either mainly sugar or caffeine based and not recommended if you have serious goals in mind. Especially if you are limiting refined sugars. In this case, it's better to go for food that provides energy.

Stacking

Now we are at the fun part. Once you have your specific goals, your foundation of supplement knowledge, and you have selected you brands, it's time to figure out a supplement diet schedule. This is commonly called "stacking." It seems a little overwhelming at first but it becomes very easy once you are used to your chosen supplements. For example, you know you want to take energy, or pump supplements before a workout and protein and (usually) glutamine after. Don't worry it will all come together with a little practice!

The world of sports supplements is vast. The best approach is to figure out specific goals and either hire a trainer that can recommend the right supplement for your goals, or do your research.

Good luck and happy building!

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Exercise in the Office

Even if you work long days at a desk, taking a few minutes every half hour to an hour to stretch and engage in bursts of physical activity can give you just as effective of a workout, without the gym or long cardio sessions on the treadmill.

Check out this article 80 Effective exercises you can do at your desk and never be short of ideas, or motivation ever again!

Each exercise is linked to instruction to learn proper form to guarantee a safe and effective workout.

Stay Active!

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Bodybuilding Supplements 101 PART 1

If you are thinking of competing in the sport, or you just want to look like you do, it's about time to brush up on bodybuilding supplements. Take them or not, knowledge is power!

Bodybuilding Supplements 101. The Basic Foundation

Multivitamins

Most athletes, hobby lifters and even the average sedentary person have probably tried nutritional supplements, such as a multivitamin/multi mineral at one point in their life or another. Taking dietary supplements ensures the athlete's nutritional requirements are met. This is particularly important in bodybuilding. If you don't have a solid baseline, forget about huge mass gain.

Protein

This is another supplement staple that most people have tried. Protein is "the building block of muscle." It repairs muscle after a workout, builds and aids the growth of healthy skin, hair and nails. If your goal is to put on serious muscle, you will need to eat up to 2g of protein per lb of body weight either through the food you eat, or with protein supplements.

Essential and Non Essential Amino Acids

Amino acids make up protein. There are nine essential and thirteen nonessential amino acids. Essential meaning, the body receives these nutrients from food, and they are not produced in the body. Non essential meaning while they are produced in the body, exercise depletes amounts in the muscle and supplementing increases energy and strength. Different amino acids function differently within the body. The two most popular amino acids are:

1. Creatine

Found naturally in muscle tissue, this high performance bodybuilding supplement essentially, fills the muscle with water. This gives the lifter temporary strength increases to lift heavier for longer periods of time. This will assist the lifter in achieving mass gains. After decreasing the dose of creatine the muscle will lose water retention but the energy and strength it provided will result in increased muscle mass, as a final product. Learn more about creatine by reading my article Creatine and Fitness

2. Glutamine

This amino acid is well known for quick muscle recuperation, and prostate health. Many protein powders include glutamine but the supplement can also be purchased separately to mix into shakes and food. Glutamine is also naturally occurring in meat, beans, dairy, fish and poultry. Strength training decreases the amount of glutamine in the body and supplementing with this amino acid restores levels back to optimal capacity. Read more about glutamine in my article Glutamine the Repairing Supplement.

There are other amino acids such as Leucine, isolucine, valine, and L Argine that can be supplemented for maximal performance in athletic training, particularly in bodybuilding.

Understanding the foundations of supplemented training goes a long way when you walk into the health store, or browse products online. There are many different products, brands and choice so brush up and be informed before you buy.

Stay Strong!

Part 2 High Performance Supplements will be posted Saturday. Stay tuned!

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Five Balanced, Satisfying Lunches

Whether you eat on the go, at home or work these five lunches will have you feeling full until dinnertime:

1. Pita Bread and Hummus

Complex carbohydrates, low in fat and high in protein. Hummus can easily be carted around in a Tupperware container and pita can be stored in a resealable bag.

2. Soup and a whole grain roll

Servings of veggies, complex carbohydrates and low in fat. Bring microwavable container and bun in a resealable Ziploc. On the go? Try soups made to be served cold.

3. Whole grain couscous with lentil salad

Couscous salads take 15 minutes to make and this salad is a fully balanced, low fat meal. Make couscous as directed then add half can (or less) of lentils, and any veggies you have laying around. Some examples include carrots, red or green sweet peppers and zucchini.

4. A sandwich on whole grain bread or bun

The classic lunch can be made very healthy with the help of a wholegrain bun or bread. Add whatever you like on it. A quick and nutritional sandwich can include: mushrooms, spinach, peppers, a bit of cheese, sprouts, tomato, thinly sliced meat or mock meat or an egg (or egg whites).

5. Yogurt and/or nuts and veggies

This is a great smaller lunch for a busy day. Especially if you have a convenience store close by that sells fresh cut veggies, if you didn't have time to prepare some before leaving for work in the morning. Eat separately or dip veggies into a single serve container of yogurt. Add in a handful of almonds or cashews to stay fuller longer!

Eat Right!

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March Madness! Get Ready for Fitness in the Spring

I may be getting ahead of myself here but March gets me really excited for spring. It's so close! Not to mention this mild winter we have been having in Toronto, the weather makes it feel like we're nearly there.

The spring is similar to New Years in the sense that it feels like a fresh start, a fitness spring cleaning if you will. In addition to winter's comfort food eating it's not surprising that many people (myself included) are motivated and ready to reach new heights with their training goals as the weather warms up and people start to go outside once again.

Here are three ways to get ready for spring

1. Get your bike tuned up

There are plenty of opportunities to ride your bike in March so get it safe and ready to go before the first ride. Remember to be sure that lights, mirrors, pants straps and your helmet are ready to go. Take the bike in to get made spring ready by a professional and once all that is taken care of, get ready for spring riding weather!

2. Sign up for outdoor events and activities

Outdoor boot camps, yoga classes, charity runs, walks and bike rides start in March and April but sign ups have already started. Being involved in one of these activities is a wonderful motivator and in the case of charity, fitness for a good cause. Get friends and family involved and make weekend plans to train together. Fitness is even more fun with great company!

3. Replace running shoes

The spring is a great time to replace old running shoes that may have been worn in the winter on less snowy days. Just like spring cleaning your house, get rid of old sporting apparel like shoes and feel great and new to start the spring. Running shoes should be replaced every six months, and even m ore often if you're an avid runner!

Also make a goal wish list and strive to work on completing your new ambitions. Join forums, research and make notes. And while your at it, look into spring inspired, healthy recipes to eat well while you're training!

Get Fitness Spring Fever!

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Reading Nutrition Facts 101 Reminder

I wrote a series of three posts nearly a few years ago on the importance of reading nutrition facts. Newer readers of Kalisthenix Fitness Blog would benefit from checking out these articles and learning how to read nutrition labels.

Reading Nutrition Facts 101

Reading Nutrition Facts Part 2

Reading Nutrition Facts Part 3

Here are THREE reasons why it is important to read nutrition facts:

1. Learn food composition

It's not enough to just count calories. A food could be 300 calories but is it all in protein, fat or carbohydrates? It's important to learn where your macronutrients are coming from and how much of each you consume.

2. Learn Industry "Tricks"

Something may be healthy but is the sodium content high? Is a lot of sugar added to make a food low fat? Being able to compare labels to identify food industry "tricks" will aid your healthy eating goals and keep you in the "know" regarding grocery store brand choices.

3. Learn to calculate serving size

You may think a snack is really good for you because the label says it's only 100 calories per serving, only to find out that the portion you are eating is 5 servings. It really changes everything! Being able to calculate serving size and compare to the amount consumed can make or break a healthy diet regimen.

If you have any questions regarding food labels, feel free to give me a shout at kaleenatrainer@gmail.com

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Breaking down the bicep curl

The bicep curl is one of the best known weight lifting exercises. It seems simple but there is more to it than curling the weight up to your shoulder and bringing it back down.

Here are three tips for better bicep curls

1. Keep your knees soft

A slight bend in the knee serves two purposes: It protects the lower back by taking weight and pressure off, and it improves posture to avoid using the rest of your upper body to pull the weight up and therefore, makes a more effective curl all around.

2. Turn your pinkie finger in slightly

When curling the weight up toward your shoulder with an open palm, turn your hand out slightly so that your pinkie finger is headed in toward your shoulder. This activates more muscle fibers and promotes a a fuller muscle and better overall definition in the muscle.

3. Lower the weight slowly

The negative rep (lowering phase) is just as important, if not more than the lifting phase. It's common to think that the bicep curl is complete when the weight has been brought up to the shoulder. It's not! Take the time to slowly lower the weight back to the starting position. This is where you really feel the muscle fibers being worked and results in more strength and a bigger muscle.

Even basics need to practiced again and again. Try experimenting with variations such as the hammer curl (palms facing in) for the forearm and side of the arm and alternating bicep curl (one at the time) to focus on each rep individually.

Lift Hard!

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Monday Motivation, Dreams Can Come True

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
Walt Disney

"Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing about you."
Marsha Norman

"Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living."
Anais Nin

"I stand for freedom of expression, doing what you believe in, and going after your dreams."
Madonna Ciccone

"I tell people I'm too stupid to know what's impossible. I have ridiculously large dreams, and half the time they come true."
Debi Thomas

"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
Christopher Reeve

"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
Carl Jung

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