Posted on February 28, 2016July 20, 2017 by Kelly Gibson — Leave a comment

Setting Weight Loss Goals for the Year

Setting Weight Loss Goals for the Year:

1. Create a plan: Start with small achievable goals when setting weight loss goals. Maybe by the time you hit your goal, you will decide that you want to keep pushing for better results. Make a daily goal of cutting back on 480 calories per day, which is much more logical yet still challenging. Saying “I am going to tone up this year and eat better” is a great goal, yet vague and missing the how and when. Without having a fitness program, nutrition plan, or schedule in place for yourself, you are more likely to quit or slack off. Give yourself a numeric goal, with a start date, target date of completion, and a written game plan for how you will accomplish your goals. Here is a solid plan: “My resolution is to lose 10 pounds of fat from Jan 1st until March 1st. Then I want to maintain my weight and keep it off by Dec 31st. I will do this by exercising with my Personal Trainer approximately 3 hours per week, adding one serving of fruit to every meal, and keeping a daily food log.” Setting weight loss goals for New Year’s Resolution is typical; but you can create goals any time.

3. Know your current fitness level. Set up a fitness evaluation with a Personal Trainer before starting a workout program; many trainers offer this service for free. Commit to a weekly weigh-in, biweekly circumference & body fat measurements, and monthly reassessments to test your fitness levels. Keep a written record of all your measurements so you can see where you are making improvements and what you need to still work on to keep you motivated. Every month, make adjustments to your goals, in case you are ahead or behind your current goal. Set reminders on your calendar, notes on your refrigerator, or alarms on your phone to remember when to work out or log your food.

4. Go at your own pace. If you have been sedentary for several months, don’t push yourself to the max on your first day working out. Ease into it by doing a light workout your first day, see how you feel the next day, and work your way up to more intense workouts. If that means 5 minutes of jogging and 5 minutes of weight lifting on your first day, that’s okay! You will get stronger and build endurance as you make exercise a habit. If you set your goals too high, you will give up more quickly. You will lose your motivation if you are too sore to workout the next day and decide to take extra rest days. You are also at a higher risk for injury if you over train in the beginning.

5. Avoid yo-yo dieting and start making lifestyle changes. Yes, a lifestyle change is something that you can commit to doing for a lifetime! Exercising 3 hours per week is a healthy lifestyle change. Eating 100% whole grains instead of enriched processed grains can be a lifestyle change. Restricting yourself by eating less than 800 calories a day is not a healthy lifestyle change, and will lead to relapse. Reward yourself for doing good, without using junk food as the reward. Put money in a jar every time you complete a workout or have a good day with your diet, and save up for a vacation or tickets to a concert.

6. Last but not least, don’t get discouraged and give up if you make a mistake. Give yourself one day a week to have a break from your diet and exercise. If you relax and have junk food only once a week, you are still doing the right thing 85% of the time! Missing a day does NOT mean that you failed or need to play “catch up” by exercising twice as long the next day. Instead, pick up where you left off next time and learn from your mistakes.

Time to get to your goal setting for weight loss results!! Points to Remember:

Create a specific plan
Be realistic (1-2 pounds per week)
Track your progress
Go at your own pace
Make lifestyle changes
Stick to it!!!! Long-term weight loss takes time. You can’t lose 20 pounds and expect it to stay off without effort. It can take just as much time to gain it as lose it.

Don’t let holiday or birthday celebrations ruin it for you. Example: Six weeks of hard work from New Year’s until Valentine’s Day, then let one day of chocolates ruins your diet? Why make a resolution that ends before the year does? If improving your physical fitness is your goal this year, set a target weight or fitness goal that you can reach in a viable time frame and make the commitment to maintaining it throughout the entire year! Who knows, maybe by the time you hit your goal, you will decide that you want to keep pushing for better results.

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Posted on March 13, 2015March 8, 2017 by Kelly Gibson

Benefits of Foam Rolling

The Science Behind and Benefits of Foam Rolling

Foam rolling is a common practice in the Personal Training world. You might have tried it before at the gym or at home, but if you’re not doing it before and after every workout you might not realize the added benefits of foam rolling. I’m about to tell you why you should work it in to your exercise routine.

Foam rolling with Self-Myofascial Release (SMR) is a technique used to inhibit overactive muscles and relieve tension in tight or sore muscles. SMR enhances flexibility, improves muscle tissue response, and reduces muscle soreness. It is difficult to know which muscles are overactive if you aren’t familiar with typical Human Movement Impairments, such as Upper Crossed Syndrome where one’s neck protrudes forward during push-ups or Pronation Distortion Syndrom where ones knees cave in and toes point out during squats. If you want to find out if you have a movement dysfunction, talk to a Corrective Exercise Specialist and get assessed. Untreated human movement impairments can lead to sore muscles/tissue trauma, inflammation, muscle spasms and knots, altered neuromuscular control, muscle imbalance, and eventually – injury.

So how does SMR work? It stimulates the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO) receptors through sustained pressure. You roll along your overactive muscle until you feel that there is a knot or even a bit of pain. This is the poitn where you will hold the foam roller in place until you feel relief, for 30 seconds up to 2 minutes depending on the severity of your muscle tightness. There are varying levels of intensity you can choose based on the amount of pain you may feel when you foam roll. The more weight you put on the foam roller, the more intense it will feel. The first few times may hurt, but once you keep practicing and repeatedly work on the same muscles, it eventually feels good. My favorite benefits of foam rolling is that it can have similar effects to getting a massage. Not only do you save $65 on a massage but you can do it yourself and get all the knots out in a few short minutes.

foam-rolling-peroneal-muscles-side-plank — *Foam Rolling the Peroneal Muscles in a Side Plank Position*

When foam rolling in addition to stretching, you can significantly increase your range of motion and flexibility. I encourage you to get started today by getting assessed, learning your corrective exercises, and practice, practice, practice! It can take about 5 foam rolling sessions to start feeling relief and up to 4 weeks to start seeing improvements in your movement dysfunction. It is best to foam roll your overactive muscles with SMR as a preventative strategy before and after each workout, before injury becomes an issue. Once you complete an assessment with your Personal Trainer, you should be given a list of exercises that can help you reduce risk of injury and correct your muscle imbalances. You should start foam rolling at the beginning of your workout program.

Contact Kelly Gibson to learn exercises for Self-Myofascial Release.

Do you have a foam roller and want to start using it? Try my Stretching Plans with photos that include foam rolling techniques.

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Posted on July 27, 2014July 20, 2017 by Kelly Gibson — Leave a comment

Jogging Does Not Burn Fat Unless…

Jogging Does Not Burn Fat Unless You do High Intensity Interval Training

You might think that expending the most calories during a cardio session is a no-brainer for weight loss. But, how many people do you know who spend hours on the treadmill or elliptical and aren’t losing weight? What about those who spend hours a week doing Zumba or Spin for group exercise class? I’ve had many women tell me those group classes don’t work for them, so they try Small Group Personal Training and start to lose weight. The reason it works is because my boot camp class are not entirely cardio-based. While there is some truth to “calories in calories out” for weight loss, the real secret is burning calories from FAT during your workouts. Properly executed High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) does just that! Jogging does not burn fat.

But… the longer the workout the better, right? Not exactly. Now, before you think I’m another cardio hater, let me tell you that I’ve been an endurance runner for 5Ks, 10Ks, and even my first half marathon this year. It is not a bad activity but jogging does not burn fat as effectively as other methods. Jogging is a healthy moderately paced exercise that can elevate your heart rate for an extended period of time. If done correctly, it is A-OK. However, jogging does not burn fat but instead it burns most of your calories from carbohydrates (NOT fats) and can put added stress on your joints, so you might be increasing the release of cortisol (stress hormones) which prevents fat loss.

finisher-medal-2014-phoenix-half-marathon — My first 13.1 mile finisher medal from the 2014 Phoenix Half Marathon. Finished in 2:00:36, only 36 sec away from amazing!

The truth is, you can burn more calories from fat by moving faster and getting your heart rate higher during short spurts, such as sprints. I recommend pushing yourself for 30-60 seconds at higher speed until you feel lactic acid build-up or muscle soreness during your activity. You can switch to a slower pace (jog or walk) between each interval for 1-3 minutes but be sure to KEEP MOVING. If you focus most of your energy on doing high intervals and push yourself to really go hard, you will burn fat fast. Because of this, it is possible that 30 minutes of HIIT is more effective than 60 minutes of jogging. Jogging does not burn fat in a steady state.

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