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Build A New You In Retirement

Build A New You In Retirement

You can choose how you want to spend your retirement and new phase of life. You can sit back in the easy chair, watch TV, post and repost on social media or really make a difference in how you feel. You get to decide whether you want to continue on and accept gaining weight and feeling tired or fight back and boost your energy. You can build a new you in retirement, and even though it’s not easy, it can be fun!

You can enjoy your kids and grand kids without depending on them as your social outlet.

One of the problems of getting older is that your social circle tends to dwindle. You don’t see coworkers on a daily basis as part of your routine and often don’t get out with friends as much, since many of your friends don’t have the good health or ambition to get out and socialize. Even when your friends are available, many prefer not to leave the easy chair or their TV. You don’t have to depend on your family to be your social life is you decide to create a new you. Take a break from boredom and come to the gym. Everyone is friendly here and you’ll feel great when you leave.

Besides the social aspect, working out an getting fit after retirement has other benefits.

Sure, you won’t build muscle as quickly as you use to when you were young and might not even lose weight as fast, since you have less muscle mass, but you’ll still notice some great changes after just a few weeks and find there are other perks when you decide to create a new you. You’ll look younger, have more energy, lower your blood pressure and lift your spirit. Bone density improves, as does endurance and strength.

Any type of exercise is good for you, but a program that includes all types of fitness is best.

You have four basic types of fitness, endurance, strength, flexibility and balance. We provide a program that addresses all those types of fitness, to help you live better and more pain free. If you have limiting conditions, you’ll have a modified program that addresses that problem. You’ll find the variety of exercises and equipment will keep you interested and even excited to workout. I know many people who first use kettlebells, love not only their challenge, but also the fact they provide a whole body workout and address several types o fitness at once.

  • You really can turn back the hands of time when you workout regularly. Exercise lengthens the telomeres, which protects the chromosomes and keeps you younger on a cellular level.
  • Never give up. Life is always filled with surprises, some are good and some more challenging. As long as you keep striving to be a bit better every day, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll accomplish. Make living healthy and doing something to make you healthier every day a goal.
  • While working out is important, so is healthy eating. Take up the challenge to change your menu to more whole foods and ones that are good for you. If you hate cooking, making new types of salads is great!
  • Don’t worry if you aren’t sure where to start. You can begin by taking a walk or even coming into Iron Fit where a personal trainer will create a program designed especially for your level of fitness, special needs and goals.

What Are HIIT Workouts

What Are HIIT Workouts

If you aren’t sure what HIIT workouts are, come into Strong Fit and we’ll show you. It’s not a specific exercise or a type of exercise, but rather a way to do them. It’s a technique where you give the exercise all the effort you have to achieve your maximum for a short period. This intense burst is then followed by a recovery period where you moderate your activity to give your body a rest. That switch from the high intensity to resting not only boosts your heart rate, it also burns fat faster.

A HIIT workout is tough and increases the need for oxygen when you do it.

One reason an HIIT style workout works so well to burn fat is that it has a phenomena called afterburn. Afterburn is formally known as EPOC—excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. It actually keeps your body burning calories long after you finish the workout in an attempt to fill the oxygen shortage created during the workout.

You’ll boost your metabolism after a HIIT workout.

That attempt to fill the oxygen shortage causes a boost in your metabolism. In fact, it can actually boost your metabolism for up to forty-eight hours following a workout. You’ll be burning fat even when you’re not working out in the gym. It’s important to understand that the EPOC effect is also one reason not to do HIIT every day. Doing it three times a week gives your body a chance to recover.

You don’t have to go to the gym to do HIIT, but it helps.

While you won’t get a complete workout that offers flexibility training and strength training, just walking can become an HIIT workout. All you have to do is walk as fast as you can for a minute or two until your heart rate increases and then slow your walk to a moderate pace until you recover and then back up to the all-out pace. For a complete workout, you need to balance your HIIT workout to include exercises that include those for strength, flexibility and balance, too.

  • Studies show that HIIT training has far more benefits than moderate-intensity training that keeps you going steady-state for longer periods, like running or jogging long distances at the same pace. It far outpaces low intensity, extremely long duration workouts, such as walking long distances.
  • Many HIIT programs involve working out at approximately 85% of maximum heart rate four four minutes and then dropping back to three minutes of moderate-intensity at 60-70 percent of maximum. You do this rotation three times, then the workout with a four minute high intensity interval.
  • HIIT training takes less time than traditional workouts because they’re so effective. There are a number of different types of HIIT training. Circuit training can even provide an HIIT workout.
  • Come into Iron Fit if you’re interested in getting the fastest results in the least amount of time. We offer HIIT training, circuit training and so many more techniques to get you fit faster. Try out our three-day pass to experience everything we have to offer.

Click here for more information today:  ironfitsanantonio.com!


Stay Healthy As You Get Older

Stay Healthy As You Get Older

If you want to stay healthy as you get older do what many of my clients in San Antonio, Texas, do. Make smarter life choices. They know it’s never to late too start making lifestyle changes by working out, eating healthier, getting adequate sleep, drinking more water and more. In fact, you make the decision whether you want to be strong and fit or follow the path we normally attribute to getting older and get frail and weak.

Starting with a healthy diet is the first change to make.

It doesn’t take much thought to improve your diet. It starts by removing processed foods and replacing the food with whole foods. You might think that’s too much work, but you’d be surprised at how easy it is to do. If you have an air cooker, just toss in a chicken that has a slight coating of coconut oil and seasoning, flip it when you’re half way through and you have the meat for several meals. Hone your chopping and dicing skills to prepare fresh fruit and vegetables. Cut out sugar and soft drinks and replace them with fresh fruits. It’s not all you can do, but it’s a great start.

Begin a program of exercise.

Whether you come into my gym or do it on your own, just do it. If you’re completely out of shape, start simple. Take a walk every day and as the weeks pass, increase your speed and distance. You need strength training to prevent loss of muscle and osteoporosis. When you’re working out at home, if you don’t have weights, fill plastic milk jugs or detergent bottles with sand, adding more sand as you get fitter. Stretch more. The best way to get fit faster and safer is with a program of fitness based on your present needs, goals and fitness level. I can help you. Even if you’re completely out of shape, we have a solution to get you to your peak performance.

Drink more water.

I can’t emphasize this enough, drink more water. The older you are, the more susceptible to dehydration you are and even worse, the less thirsty you’ll feel. Signs of dehydration include feeling tired, dry mouth, headache, dizziness, mental confusion, dry skin, few or no tears and even increased hunger. Often thirst is mistaken for hunger. While not all cases of dementia occur because of dehydration, some do! You’ll flush out the toxins from the body and feel more alert when you drink more water. It’s especially important if you’re working out hard and sweating.

  • A good night’s sleep is particularly important. If you don’t get adequate sleep, it not only brings on mental confusion, it can make you eat more by messing with your satiety and hunger hormones.
  • What you drink is just as important as what you eat. Soft drinks can add pound and studies show that even diet soft drinks add inches to your waistline. That’s called visceral fat and the most dangerous type of fat.
  • If you smoke, quit! It’s tough to do and can take a long time, but it’s worth it. If you drink more than a few drinks a week, cut back. I don’t even have to tell you the dangers of illegal drugs.
  • If you’re confused or don’t know where to start, come in to see us at Iron Fit. We offer a free three day pass to see if you enjoy it and great low priced 28 day program.

Click here for more information today:  ironfitsanantonio.com!


Change Your Attitude Toward Fitness

Change Your Attitude Toward Fitness

There’s a lot of truth in the saying, “You are what you think.” Your mind makes the difference in your success or failure in many cases. Why? Part of the answer lies in the power of attraction. Don’t get concerned that I’m going to get out crystals and chant. It simply means that when you’re thinking about something, you’re more apt to see it everywhere. An example is seeing a car you want and suddenly, you see it everywhere. Another reason your mind controls your success is that your belief in success determines your motivation and can keep you going until you see it. If you’re struggling meeting your goals, maybe it’s time to examine your attitude toward fitness.

Do you dread workout time?

Maybe you’re approaching it wrong. Instead of thinking of every struggle and ache as something negative, think of it as one step closer to your goal. That doesn’t mean you should stick with a workout you hate. There are so many ways to boost your fitness, you should include some you like in your workout program. For instance, do three of days a week of traditional workouts and devote time in the other four to dancing or some other activity you enjoy.

Don’t get bored.

If you’re doing the same workout you’ve been doing for several years, no wonder you hate it. It’s boring and actually not as good for weight loss. That’s because your body becomes efficient in doing each movement and burns fewer calories doing them because of that efficiency. Instead of going from machine to machine as you might in some box gyms, create several different workouts, such as one using weights or one using body weight exercises. Boredom kills motivation.

Smile more when you workout and go to the zone.

Focus on each and every movement and feel it building your muscles. Smile while you workout and you’ll see that it really does make a difference in your attitude. One small study showed that smiling while you workout improved performance, but it only helped when saved for the last few minutes. It keeps you going longer. So hone in on the movements and focus in the beginning of the workout and smile through the end of it.

  • If running has always been your way to stay fit, but you hate running, don’t do it! There’s so many ways to get fit, why settle for one you hate.
  • One thing that’s always made me love working out is feeling the miracle of movement. I call it a miracle because that’s what it is. Consider how lucky you are that you are able to do the workout and it will make it go far easier.
  • Keep your goal in front of you. Knowing what you’re working toward is as important as working out. It keeps you more focused and motivated.
  • If you’re having a problem sticking with a workout or changing your attitude, come into Iron Fit. We have a great group of people and a program that will make working out far more enjoyable.

Click here for more information today:  ironfitsanantonio.com!


Loving The Fit Life

Loving The Fit Life

If you’re out of shape and tired all the time, it almost seems impossible to change that. After all, just getting dressed to workout seems like a chore. Eating healthy seems too hard, too. It takes planning and isn’t nearly as easy as just driving through a quickie burger and grabbing a bite to eat. You don’t have to start all at once. You can take baby steps to build your energy and become stronger. You’ll be loving the fit life the healthier you become. It just feels good, to finally have the energy and spirit that comes from a healthy lifestyle.

If you haven’t started, don’t delay.

Every delay makes it more and more difficult. You can start by making small changes. Switch out that bottle of soda for water or put extra veggies in your meal. Park further from the store and walk more. Take the steps instead of the elevator. If you’re really out of shape, just take them up one flight and work up to more floors as you get fitter. Try a few of the quick workouts you can do anywhere. There’s a four minute Nitric Oxide dump, a seven minute workout from the New York Times and so many more. Dedicate three months to eating healthier and adding exercise to your day. You’ll be amazed at the difference.

If you’ve given yourself months to making changes, you’ll probably be ready for a full program.

Just making small changes each day should have you feeling great enough to start making bigger changes. If you haven’t already given up food with added sugar, do so. It’s one of the toughest things to do, since sugar is addictive and stimulates the same area of the brain that opioids do. It’s worth it. Focus on eating healthier food and giving up processed food entirely. That doesn’t mean that if you eat sugar or processed food all is lost. Just go back to healthier eating the next day. Start a program of regular exercise and try to do something active every day.

You’ll feel fabulous when you eat healthy and exercise regularly, but there are other things to include.

Don’t forget to get adequate sleep. You need from seven to nine hours of sleep a night to function properly. Lack of sleep not only makes you feel horrible, it also stimulates the hormone that makes you hungry and suppresses the hormone that makes you feel full. That increases the potential for weight gain. Drink more water. Dehydration creates many symptoms including making you feel tired. If you still smoke or abuse alcoholic beverages or drugs, now is the best time tackle giving up that habit. You now have the strength and resolve to do it.

  • Getting healthy isn’t easy, but as you start coming closer to a healthier lifestyle, you’ll feel more energized and build the determination to do it.
  • Eating healthier can actually save you money. It requires some planning ahead, like meal planning for a week, creating a shopping list and cooking for the week, but then all the work is done. You can make extra and have it stored so there’s less work the following week.
  • You’ll find you love the healthier way of eating and even notice the difference when you do eat in a restaurant. You’ll make smarter choices.
  • Living healthy not only means living longer, but living better. It’s not all about the number of years in your life, but the life in those years.

Fit To The Finish

Fit To The Finish

If you’ve ever heard the term fit and finish, you probably never thought about where it came from. It’s from the automotive industry and describes how the parts fit together and how the final finish looks. It’s been used to describe people who are living a healthier lifestyle and with good reason. When you’re living a healthy lifestyle, the lumps and bumps of overweight disappear. Your body runs smoother and you’re just healthier. There are fewer injuries and illnesses. You look and feel better.

Your body runs better when you eat healthy and exercise regularly.

Not only does healthy eating give you a lower risk of serious conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and even cancer, it also boosts your energy level. You’ll have more energy to get things done and the flexibility and strength to avoid injury from muscle pulls and tears. Building muscle tissue can also help prevent joint injury and healthy eating can help rebuild healthy cells. Both boost immunity.

Adopting healthy habits will help you look better.

Are you tired of pants that you can barely zip up or looking lumpy and frumpy in form fitting clothes. A healthy lifestyle will make you fit with a great finished appearance. Clothing looks better on you. That slim trim appearance is more appealing, especially to you. You’ll feel more attractive and feeling more attractive is really what makes you attractive, since people see you as you see yourself. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look your best.

No matter why you want to get healthier, starting it is the toughest part.

Newton had it right when he stated that a body at rest will remain at rest. However, the next part of the First Law of Motion adds…unless an outside force acts on it. You don’t have to wait for an outside force, like a doctor telling you that you have to get fitter for your health. You can become your own driving force to reinvent yourself if you’re out of shape. The new you can be your own outside force to push yourself to success.

  • You can get into shape by tackling it head on and making all changes at once or do it slowly, making smaller changes until they become habit. It’s all up to you how you do it, just do it.
  • Eating healthier doesn’t have to be a chore. In fact, you might actually find you enjoy this new type of eating. You don’t have to give up foods you love. Just eat them far less frequently and remember portion control.
  • If you aren’t ready for a formal exercise program, just increase the amount of activity you get. If you’re sitting and watching television, get up during commercials and do a few jumping jacks or other exercises.
  • You’ll be amazed at how little it costs to eat healthier. In fact, you might even save money and even time. It takes planning, but it’s well worth it.

Eat Simple

Eat Simple

So many of my clients in San Antonio, Texas, have actually thanked me for helping them to eat healthier. It’s for a couple of reasons. The first and the most important is that they feel so much better and are losing weight without extra effort or feeling deprived. The second is that preparation time for a meal is often cut in half, since eating healthy means you eat simple and normally don’t spend hours slaving over a hot stove. That’s actually the first key to eating healthy, simple is best.

Read the labels on most processed foods.

You’ll find that they often have a laundry list of ingredients, some of which you can’t pronounce. It’s even worse when you’re discussing fast food. Some of the burgers aren’t hamburger, but a pink gooey slime that they make into a patty. It’s almost scary. How much healthier it is to simply buy lean ground beef, make a patty and put it on the grill. Simple is far better than complicated, especially in this case.

Chopping and assembling fresh vegetables is the easiest route to take.

You can have a delicious meal that’s also healthy with very little effort. In fact, you can actually make a week’s worth of meals in one day. Just get out the grill and put on the veggies, some salmon, shrimp, chicken and/or steak. Use some those ingredients to top a mixed green salad that has loads of other vegetables. Grilled cold asparagus is delicious, especially if the dressing has a touch of lemon to accent their flavor. It’s good with both shrimp and beef. Think of it, with a little chopping and one day at the grill, you can have a whole week’s worth of simple, clean and healthy meals.

Eating simple shouldn’t require a flow chart!

You should know what foods are proteins, which are healthy complex carbs and which are healthy fats, but after that, just remembering to eat more vegetables and include a palm size of protein and some healthy fat is all you need to know. You probably already realize that tossing that grilled shrimp on the salad provided the protein. Toss in a handful of nuts or add some avocado and you have healthy fat. There’s no need to measure each food with precision, unless you have health issues that require that. Making it as simple as possible makes it more likely you’ll stick with healthy eating.

  • Chop up that grilled chicken breast, add some celery, onion and other veggies that sound interesting and then top with Greek yogurt and a bit of balsamic dressing for a salad to remember. Experiment with ingredients.
  • Don’t expect every combination to taste frightfully delicious. You’ll make some boo-boos and some will just taste frightful. Get creative with your meals by adding grapes, craisins, pears and other types of fruit for extra flavor.
  • If you want to get more creative, buy some herbs at the store or grow them yourself. Basil is exceptionally good in salads, just as fresh cilantro or fennel is. Find an herb you like and taste test it over part of your serving. If you like it, add it to the rest.
  • Drink more water and leave the cola behind. Water is my magic elixir that clears my head, quenches my thirst and makes my body healthy. You’ll lose weight and feel better leaving soft drinks behind.

Simple Tricks To Cut Calories

Simple Tricks To Cut Calories

I hate diets and so do most of my clients in San Antonio, Texas. That’s why healthy eating is so popular. It’s not about depriving yourself, but more about making small changes and smarter food choices. It’s about making substitutions that you don’t notice in taste or satisfaction, but increase the nutrition and lower calories. Here are some tricks to cut calories that save a few calories. It may not seem like much, but add all those small changes together and you’ll notice weight loss is easy.

Fill up on salad and fiber foods.

Think of fresh fruit and vegetables as bargain priced when it comes to spending your daily calorie allotment. They have fiber to fill you up and provide nutrition without tons of calories. Always start a meal with a salad or fresh veggies. Eat slowly and skimp on the dressing or leave it on the side and dip your salad or veggies each bite. Use nuts, not croutons as toppers. Use mixed greens or spinach instead of iceberg for far more nutrients. Drink water and not a soft drink or sweet tea for extra calorie savings.

The main dish is often where the calories are, next to the dessert, of course.

If you’re trying to shed a few pounds, how your food is cooked is important. Grill, broil, boil or bake, never fry. Frying adds plenty of extra calories. New air fryers seem like a great option, but watch out for the breading and extra oil necessary. Keep it to a minimum. Get grassfed beef and free range chicken or chicken eggs. These animal products have more nutrients, not to mention a healthier lifestyle. Be aware that free range doesn’t always mean the chickens ran free. They may spend an hour outside the coup. Look for “Animal Welfare Approved” on the packaging for true free range eggs and poultry.

Use visual trickery.

Smaller plates has always been recommended, but it doesn’t always work, unless you’ve always been member of the plate cleaner’s club and eat even if you’re full. New studies show that if you’re really hungry, it isn’t nearly as effective in tricking your brain. However, if you’re at a buffet, it buys you time for your feeling of satiety to kick in before you go back for seconds. If you’re trying to lose weight, buffets may not actually be your best option. Go to restaurants that let you take home a doggie bag. One meal can become two meals and you’ll feel like you got your money’s worth without eating more.

  • Greek yogurt is a great substitute for sour cream and will save calories, plus provide extra nutrients. Feta or goat cheese is not only a good substitute for traditional cheese, it also is far healthier than low fat processed cheese options.
  • Toss those crackers and cheese. Snack on apple slices and cheese instead. Apple slices and peanut butter also make a great snack.
  • Switch out mashed potatoes for mashed cauliflower or a combination of potatoes and cauliflower until you adjust your tastebuds.
  • Save tons of calories by using vegetable spaghetti to replace the pasta spaghetti. It has a slightly different flavor, which you might find you like better. Once you add the sauce, you won’t notice the difference.

Best Workouts To Get Rid Of Love Handles

Best Workouts To Get Rid Of Love Handles

Sure it’s cute. Your special someone calls your donut roll/muffin tops, love handles, but it doesn’t make you any less self-conscious or embarrassed, no matter what your gender. Love handles are those rolls of excess fat at the side around your waist. They lap over the top of your jeans and make clothing fit uncomfortably tight around the middle. Getting rid of them can help restore your confidence, while you tone the rest of your body at the same time. Here are some workouts to get rid of love handles and some other helpful tips.

Losing weight is the first place to start.

Since love handles are a deposit of fat around the middle, it only makes sense that you need to start with a healthy diet. Cut out sugar, skip those processed foods and focus on whole food. Make sure your diet has plenty of healthy fat. One study showed that people who ate an avocado a day, which is loaded with healthy fat, not only weighed less, but had less abdominal fat. Getting rid of love handles means getting rid of abdominal fat! Include healthy fiber in your diet, too. Switch out simple carbs for complex ones and make sure you have adequate protein.

Get moving.

Include a program of exercise, which focuses on core exercises. You can’t get rid of fat in just one area by using spot exercises, but you can tone the muscles in that area. Kettlebells and core exercise holding weights that involve bending, twisting at the waist and lifting help. Wood choppers, Russian twists, side plank hip lifts and bicycle crunches help tighten the muscles around the middle to whittle down the appearance of love handles.

Cut the stress.

Too much cortisol, a stress hormone, can cause love handles and accumulation of abdominal fat. One thing that is a true stress buster is exercise—any type of exercise! Get moving. Go for a walk when you’re stressed out and make it brisk. Run up and down stairs! Learn to avoid stress with deep breathing exercises or meditation. Find ways to make your life less stressful. Get up a half hour earlier so you don’t have panic before going to work, accept that some things are out of your control and that you can control whether you let someone else’s bad day become yours.

  • Sleep deprivation adds to those donut rolls around your waist. Get adequate sleep at night and you’ll find the battle of the bulge is easier. You’ll have more energy and resolve to work on making it better.
  • You can’t change getting older, but you don’t have to fall into the trap of more belly fat as you age. Get active and stay active so you never have to worry about belly fat of any type again.
  • Drink plenty of water. Cut out those sugary drinks, including diet sodas. Studies show diet colas add extra inches around the middle! If you drink many soft drinks, just switching to water will make a big difference.
  • Improve your posture. Stand up straight and push your upper body toward the sky. You’ll feel it in the muscles on your side. While good posture won’t eliminate love handles, it will make them less obvious.

Can You Lose Weight Without Exercising

Can You Lose Weight Without Exercising

Yes, there’s no doubt that you can lose weight without exercising, but why would you. Exercise makes the process of weight loss go much faster, plus it has other health benefits. Losing weight without exercising is like bailing water out of a boat with a teaspoon. It’s doable, but a whole lot tougher. Exercise does more than just burn calories, but if it only did that, it would be worth the time to add it to your schedule. Even if you only burn 200 extra calories every time, that translates to losing two extra pounds lost 35 days.

You can’t out exercise a bad diet.

Some people think that if they workout regularly, they can get into shape, shave off those extra pounds and be healthy. A healthy diet is always a top priority when it comes to good health and weight loss. If you’re eating a large fry and shake at every meal and for mid morning and mid afternoon breaks, the odds of you shedding that weight or even being healthy are slim, no matter how much you exercise.

Exercise makes weight loss even easier after the results start showing.

Working out boosts your metabolism. That means you’ll get benefits of calorie burning while you exercise and even more after a few weeks of working out. Exercise builds muscle tissue and the more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn. That’s because muscle tissue requires more calories for maintenance than fat tissue does, raising your basal metabolic requirements—the number of calories needed to keep your body functioning when it is at rest.

The type of weight you lose with diet alone is important.

Losing weight can be frustrating. It seems like the minute you take off a pound, you look at a donut and two pounds plaster on to your body. That normally happens when you use diet alone to change your weight. That’s because diet alone converts both muscle and fat tissue into calories to make up for the calorie deficit. It goes back to your basal metabolism. It slows it down because you have less muscle mass if you don’t exercise, making weight gain easier and weight loss even harder.

  • The type of exercise you do makes a difference, too. Strength training, resistance exercises such as lifting weights or bodyweight exercises build muscles while it burns calories. Aerobic exercises doesn’t discriminate between muscle or fat tissue, depleting muscle tissue and making weight loss harder.
  • You’ll boost your energy level when you workout regularly. The more energy you have, the more you’ll do and the more calories you’ll burn.
  • You’ll tone your body as you lose weight, giving you a shapelier appearance.
  • Exercise not only helps you lose weight, it helps you look thinner, too. One cubic inch of muscle tissue weighs more than a cubic inch of fat, so it takes a smaller container—your body. You’ll could look thinner even if didn’t shed a pound, but built more muscle tissue.