Don't Lose Your Muscle

Muscle takes more calories to maintain and it keeps your metabolism burning calories at a greater speed. So hang onto it. Lift weights at least 3 times a week. This will keep your posture tall, bones strong and your body firm. How can you beat that!

Sexy Back vs Granny Panty

MOJO

It is easy to lose your healthy momentum this time of year. Other things slowly creep in place and before long you don't remember the last time you showed up to your training class or even put something green (other than m&m's) into your mouth. Winter wonderland begins snow balling your workout routune.
We live in the perfectionist world where "all or nothing" thinking is the "norm". Missing a workout can feel like a major setback, and for some this makes it even harder to get the routine up and running again.
Here are a few things to keep you thinking during the holiday season.Workouts do not need to be hour plus long sessions. Keeping them short and sweet has big gains if it keeps you on track. Keep your exercise shoes & extra clothes in your car. Stash an energy bar and extra water bottle. And remember on the days you absolutely can not get a workout, dont sweat it. Keep your diet healthy and drink water. Healthy choices pay off big returns. Remember it's what you do most of the time that makes the difference!

Say GOODBYE to the jiggles

1. Log off Facebook
2. Learn to say No to things you do not have time for. And don't sacrifice your workout time
3. Plan your day. Be prepared and focused. What you are eating, drinking and when you will exercise.
4. Try not to do too many things at once this usually ends in getting nothing done
5. Stop wasting potential workout time being a neat freak. Some things can wait
6. Put it on your calendar. Block time
7. For the little things you do such as web surfing, email, cleaning something. Set a timer and stop when the bell rings
8. Deal with your mail right away. Don't start piles.
9. It could take 20 texts to deal with something that could take 40 seconds on the phone
10. Get up 15 minutes earlier

Waist Trimming Tips

1. Eat early and don't skip breakfast!
2. Sip smart. Don't drink your calories.
3. If it grows out of the ground, it's good! Fruits and veggies.

If you want a slim waist. It is possible. You just need to pay attention. And realize most of the foods you put in your mouth you don't actually need.

Trim and Satisfied

Breakfast
Oatmeal (1 packet made with skim milk) add pecans, blueberries and raspberries

Snack
Banana with 2tsp peanut butter

Lunch
Small pita, turkey, spinach, tomato slices, sprouts, Dijon mustard

Snack
Skim latte (6oz skim milk, 6oz coffee) with cinnamon. 1/2 oz 70% dark chocolate

Dinner
Grilled chicken breast, 1/2 cup whole wheat penne pasta, spinach, tomato sauce, 1 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese

Snack
1/2 cup Edy's vanilla ice cream

Smells

Those yummy smelling lotions, sprays and candles can encourage your sweet tooth, says a study in Food Quality and Preference. Women who used chocolate scented body lotion ate more chocolate chip cookies than women who used unsecured. Further research is needed. However, if you want to play it safe, try trading sugary scents for fruity or floral.

Make it your LIFESTYLE

When people look at you, make them want to ask, "What have you been doing?" You say, "This is the result of my lifestyle!"

Thoughts Affect Your Health

I can not find where I read this article! Where did it come from!?  I like it & want to pass it on -- However I unfortunately had nothing to do with the study -- It would have been fun.
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There are many studies showing that much of the diminished capacity we accept as a normal part of aging may be of our own making and that our views on the elderly need to be “reconstructed.” But it is our mindsets regarding health that are perhaps the most important to reconsider.

Research has not progressed as quickly as it might have regarding the mind’s influence on our health, in part because of the pervasive dualist belief in a mind distinct from the body. The problem that dualism creates is how we get from the nonmaterial mind (thoughts) to the material body. Although philosophers and psychologists of the past weren’t able to figure this out, we’ve all experienced the direct effects of the mind-body connection—a leaf blows across our face, startling us and causing our pulse to increase; we see someone vomit, and we feel nauseated; we watch lovemaking in a movie and get excited.

What happens if we put the mind and body back together? Wherever we put the mind, the body would be. We tested this idea in a series of studies where we put the mind in a “healthy place” (back in time when the body was healthy). We took many measures before we began the study and repeated them at the end. The results were dramatic.

In one study we took elderly men to a retreat and turned the clock back 20 years. The men were to live for a week as if it were 20 years earlier. They would speak only in the present tense about the past; view movies and television shows from that time; and participate in events like quiz shows, all from the earlier perspective. A comparison group also lived at the retreat for a week, similarly engaged, but all their discussions about the past were discussed in the past tense. Their minds were clearly in the present looking back.

On many of the measures, the participants in both groups got “younger.” (Because those in the comparison group were treated with respect that implicitly conveyed our belief in their abilities, in contrast with the culture’s view of aging, they also improved over the course of the week.) Both groups came out of the experience with better hearing and memory and significantly increased grip strength.

The experimental group showed greater improvements in joint flexibility, arthritis measures and manual dexterity. On intelligence tests, 63% of the experimental group improved their scores, compared with only 44% of the control group. There were also improvements in height, weight, gait and posture. Finally, we asked people unaware of the study’s purpose to compare the photos taken of the participants at the end of the week to those submitted at the beginning of the study. All of the experimental participants looked noticeably younger at the end of the study. It seemed that we were able to turn back the clock, which led us to refer to our research as the “counterclockwise study.”

In study after study over 30 years, we’ve found that increasing mindfulness is itself good for our health. In several studies with older adults, we’ve found that increasing mindfulness even increases longevity.

Establish Healthy Eating HABITS

Look over your eating habits. Write them down. Cross off the unhealthy choices & replace them with healthy ones. Now follow that for a few days & re-evaluate. You have to have a plan.

Closet Garbage Eaters

I must agree from the mouth of Tony Horton (P90X)

You know who you are. You’ve got all the answers and your lousy at taking sound advice because it’s easier to be lazy. The tilt-a-whirl of disappointment goes round and round and you pretend everything is okay. You’re not fooling anyone and everyone else knows what you’re up to. It’s easy to lack self discipline because you’re not alone. Misery loves company.


I’m sick and tired of hearing why you can’t stop eating crap. Stop blaming your thyroid, boyfriend, childhood and ancestry because it’s not working. The problem is your inability to face reality. The real issues are your lack of accountability, willpower, determination and the lousy company you keep. It’s also your lame plan or lack there of. Your reasons why suck and you don’t tell the truth about what you stuff in your face when no one is looking.

Your horrendous eating habits is the American terrorist within. If the level of disease caused by unhealthy choices continues at this alarming rate then we will destroy ourselves without any help from the bad guys. Fad diets, pills and miracle potions used to lose weight never work in the long term and they never will. Dozens of studies show that calorie control diets that still allow you to eat forms of unhealthy food always fail. I’ve never met anyone who started a “weight lose only” diet and stayed on it. So you lost 50 pounds and kept it off for 5 years. Why did you gain it all back in 6 months during year six? Are you proud of that?

When diet deprivation becomes too much the closet eating begins. Your reasons for falling off the wagon are plenty and you’ll defend them till you’re blue in the face. Good for you for choosing the option that required you to be lazy again. Choosing gluttony is no way to build your manifesto my friend. What is your reason for being on this earth? Why do you really put that garbage in your mouth? Do you want to know why? Do you want to look at it closely? Do you care enough?

Step4ward....Strength & Power are waiting for you!

Step4ward Fitness SUMMER Training Schedule

Click on the words above to see the 2011 SummerTraining Schedule
Groups are subject to change (deleted or added)
If you have a group of friends and would like to develop a time other than listed by all means let me know!

My Daily Food Intake

People ask me allot, "What do you eat to look the way you look?" Well, sorry to admit there is no secret formula and no tricks up my sleeve. Why would I as a personal trainer hide a special formula to stay lean & healthy! My desire is to have all my clients lean and mean. That is a secret that would make me RICH! ha ha
However, the formula was discovered a long time ago. The problem is very few people are willing to walk that road. Just as the gate to heaven is narrow and the road to common is wide. Ok, I shouldn't compare fit & lean to going to heaven...It is just that the road to a healthy & productive body is less travelled.
WHY? It takes self discipline, determination, and sacrifices that people are unwilling to commit. If only they would realize how awesome it can be if they would be convicted about the physical gift we have been given..

Once a person realizes the discipline & sacrifices are worth it...somehow it is no longer a sacrifice.  It becomes a way of life. And when your discipline becomes a way of life YOU become powerful in your choices thus leading to an amazing outcome.

Here is a normal day in the life of Shelley Gray:


6:30 am glass of high quality h2o (tap)

Coffee with powdered creamer and real sugar.

Breakfast:

3 eggs and 2 whole wheat toast

Or

Kashi cereal with skim milk

Or

Greek yogurt with FiberOne bar

Snack:

Almonds and banana

Or

Pineapple and yogurt

Or

High Fiber tortilla (80 calories) with cheddar cheese


12:00 Lunch:

Spinach leaves (a HUGE bunch)
2 Boiled eggs
4 baby carrots
Can of chicken or grilled
Banana Peppers
Jalapeño peppers
Sunflower seeds
Tomatoes (if worthy)
Maple grove balsamic vinegar

Or

Subway chicken or egg white on Italian bread
loaded veggies
mustard

Or

Rice
Beans
Tomatoes
Corn
Green chiles

Snack

Popcorn
Or

Cliff bar

Or

Fruit and pretzels

7:00 Dinner

Steak, chicken or fish
Salad, Grilled veggies

Or

High fiber tortilla
Black beans
Tomato
Feta cheese
Spinach leaves

Snack

Greek Yogurt
With kasha cereal in it

Or

Skim milk
Total Cereal
 
AND YES!  I do eat junky food every now & then.  I am a human  I love pizza, cookies & chocolate. I do not let food rule my day. If I did I would eat crappy & feel worse for it. Choosing to eat healthy increases my attitude, productivity and my mood. 
 
Monitor your mood and tell me junk doesn't make you feel bad.
 
JUNK makes you:
Fat
Moody
Depressed
Light headed
Gastric problems
Headache
Guilty
Hungry
and Unsatisfied

Think Yourself Stronger

Competitive athletes often use a technique called visualization to help give them an edge over their opponents.
By imagining every aspect of a race or performance, from start to finish, they bring themselves one step closer to making it a reality. New research suggests technique may apply to strengthening muscles as well.

''Just thinking about exercise can help maintain muscle strength,'' says Dr. Vinoth Ranganathan, who, with a team of researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, investigated the strength benefits of imagining exercising a muscle.

Thirty healthy young adults were divided into three groups. For 15 minutes a day, five days per week for 12 weeks, the first group imagined exercising their little finger muscle, the second group imagined exercising their biceps muscle and the third group served as a control by not doing any imaginary exercise.

''We asked the subjects to think as strongly as they could about moving the muscle being tested, to make the imaginary movement as real as they could,'' explains Ranganathan.

Muscle strength was measured before, during and after the training sessions.

The finger exercisers increased their strength 35 percent, while the biceps group increased 13.4 percent. Measurements of the participants' brain activity during their mental exercises suggest that these strength gains were due to improvements in the brain's ability to signal muscle.

Researchers hope these results will assist in the therapy of stroke and spinal cord injury patients, and follow-up studies are planned for healthy older adults as well.

''We believe that anyone who has difficulty doing physical exercises can use our mental training method to improve the muscle strength they have lost or maintain the muscle strength they have,'' researchers wrote.

Of course, actual strength-training exercises — as opposed to imaginary ones – are still the most effective means of building strong, healthy muscles.

Big Breakfasts for Big Results

This was a good article I read from P90X
Enjoy!

Big Breakfasts for Big Results

By Joe Wilkes

Breakfast. It seems like forever since Mom told us breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but one study shows it's actually true—she wasn't just nagging us. Breakfast is a key component of weight management: A study presented at the 90th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society showed that participants who consumed large breakfasts high in protein and carbohydrates followed by a low-carb, low-calorie diet for the rest of the day lost almost five times as much weight as the participants who followed a low-carb, high-protein diet throughout the day. So what's the big deal about breakfast? And what is a big breakfast anyway? It doesn't seem like the lumberjack special at the local diner would do much to get the pounds off, so what should we be eating?
The study supported the idea that when we wake up in the morning, our bodies want food. You've burned through all the fuel from the previous day, and now your body's ready to burn anything—even muscle—to get a jump-start on the day. And if you skip breakfast, muscle is indeed what your body will burn. Later in the day, your brain is still in starvation mode from breakfast (or lack thereof), so your body will store all the calories you eat as adipose tissue, or fat, to save up for the next day when you try to starve it again. This study also found that levels of serotonin, the chemical responsible for controlling cravings, were much higher in the morning, which is why breakfast is the meal so many of us are willing to skip. But if our bodies are left unfed, our serotonin levels drop, and our bodies' craving for sweets begin to rise throughout the day.
But before you hit McDonald's® for their 800-calorie Big Breakfast, or worse, their 1,150-calorie Deluxe Breakfast, or you swing by Denny's® for a 740-calorie Grand Slam® or 950-calorie All-American Slam® with hash browns, keep in mind these weren't the breakfasts the study participants consumed. The big-breakfast group had a 610-calorie breakfast as part of a 1,240-calorie day. Breakfasts included milk, lean meat, cheese, whole grains, a serving of healthy fat, and one ounce of chocolate or candy to defray the craving for sweets. The other group's participants consumed 1,085 calories per day as part of a high-protein, low-carb diet; only 290 of their daily calories were consumed at breakfast. Both groups were on their respective diets for 8 months. The high-protein group lost an average of nine pounds, but the big-breakfast group lost an average of 40 pounds. And, perhaps not surprisingly, the big-breakfast group complained less about cravings and hunger.
The big-breakfast group's breakfast consisted of 58 grams of carbs, 47 grams of protein, and 22 grams of fat. Study reviewers attribute some of the success of the big-breakfast group to the fact that the protein and healthy fats eaten kept the participants full and reduced cravings. They also said that nutritional requirements were well met and that there weren't empty calories consumed, because the breakfasts included lots of whole grains, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy unsaturated fats. So bad news for the lumberjack-special devotees—a big plate of greasy hash browns, bacon, and biscuits with gravy isn't going to get the job done, unless the job we're discussing is clogging your arteries.
Here are some healthy big breakfasts, similar to the ones consumed by the study's participants.
Chicken and the Egg

2 large eggs, scrambled
2 slices whole wheat toast
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, grilled
1 grapefruit

Oats 'n' Berries Breakfast

1 packet plain instant oatmeal, prepared, with 1 scoop Beachbody® Whey Protein Powder
1 cup fresh blueberries
3 oz. roasted turkey breast
1 large hard-boiled egg
1 oz. dark chocolate

Two Egg Sandwiches

2 whole wheat English muffins, toasted
2 large poached eggs
2 slices low-fat Swiss cheese
2 slices Canadian bacon, grilled

Vegetarian Breakfast

1 cup cottage cheese (2% milk fat)
1 cup sliced peaches, canned in juice, not syrup
1 slice whole wheat toast
1/2 avocado
2 vegetarian sausage links, cooked
Pescetarian Breakfast

1 6-oz. can light tuna, canned in water, drained
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise (preferably olive oil or canola oil-based)
2 slices whole wheat toast
1 oz. dark chocolate

Set up for Success

Set yourself up for success, think about planning a healthy lifestyle as a number of small, manageable steps rather than drastic change. Approach these changes gradually and with commitment, you will have a healthy lifestyle sooner than you think. A few tips to get started:

• Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of color, variety and freshness. Then it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious.
• Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic.  Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different color vegetables) to your diet once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking.  As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet.
• Every change you make to improve your diet matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet.  The long term goal is to feel good, have more energy and reduce the risk of disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts.

Review Food Labels

Look at the nutrition label before you buy.
LOOK AT:
Serving size
Calories / serving
Fat / serving
Ingredients

Avoid foods packed with sugar and trans-fats.  The ingredients are listed in order of highest to lowest. Meaning the first ingredient is the most prevalant in the product. Avoid or minimize if they are one of the top ingredients listed in the ingredients list: Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil.

You should be looking for more natural foods and not highly processed foods.

Plank Pose

Sugar WOES!!!

Why worry about sugar? Aside from providing empty calories, one of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level. An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Prolonged, elevated insulin levels can increase the risk for disease by causing inflammation within your body and by inhibiting key hormones that regulate the immune system. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat excessive sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglycerides, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease.