With the Holidays almost here a New Year is soon to follow. I have to admit this is one of my favorite times of year for many reasons. I see a lot of determined souls who are ready to get fit and about 20% make it happen. This is exciting because it brings Oklahoma closer to becoming healthier.

Now it is true that I would like to take the entire state of Oklahoma under my wing and help them with their weight loss goals but this is impossible.

I am going to layout the important steps to finding a world class fitness professional in your area. So if you or someone you know is going to be putting their weight loss in the hands of someone else please read this carefully.

I will try to keep this short but it is my passion and i do not want to see anyone set up for failure when it comes to their health and fitness.

ENJOY!

Where Do I Find a Personal Trainer:

There are many different ways to come up with a list of Personal Trainers in your area. Obviously the easiest would be to Google personal trainer and your zip. But this may leave you with a list of crap.

If you know someone who has used a personal trainer,  get more info from them about contacting them.  If you are a member of a gym you are probably surrounded by more than one trainer.

OK! Now you have a list of possible Trainers.  What to look for next—->

Personal Trainer Certifications:

Guess what? You can go online and get a trainer certification for about sixty bucks.   You think that is bad.  Some states don’t even require a certification.

Don’t take the certification lightly, you are trusting someone with your life.

A personal trainer should hold a current NCCA-accredited certification. This will give you the assurance that you are working with a professional who has the knowledge and skills to provide you with a safe and effective workout.

The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) has 26-years of experience accrediting allied health professions such as registered dietitians, nurses, athletic trainers, and occupational therapists. Currently, only 10 of nearly 70 certification agencies have achieved this recognition. Here are the most common in Oklahoma.

National Strength and Conditioning Association
American Council on Exercise
The American College of Sports Medicine

Never be afraid to ask to see a copy of a personal trainer’s certification to ensure that it is current.

Ask For References:

Ask the personal trainer for names, phone numbers, and even testimonials of other clients he/she has worked with, particularly those who share similar traits and goals. Trainers may be more likely to empathize and understand your unique challenges and needs if they’ve worked with similar clients. If available, call previous clients to see if they were satisfied with their training experience and results. Inquire whether the personal trainer was professional, punctual, and prepared, and whether the client’s individual needs were addressed. Talk to fellow members of your health club or friends who are currently working with trainers for their recommendations.

Talk  To The Trainer: (this one is important)

Developing a personal, yet professional relationship with your trainer is very important. Trust your instincts. Ask yourself if you think you could get along well with the trainer and whether you think the trainer is genuinely interested in helping you. The personal trainer you select should motivate you using positive, not negative, reinforcement. Most importantly, that trainer should be someone you like.

Get off the beaten path when it comes to your first conversation. If you base the entire conversation around fitness you may be in for a real surprise when your trainer starts to tell you about his wild weekend of partying. I have seen this happen many times and it sucks if you and your trainer have nothing in common.

$$$.$$:

Personal training fees vary based on a trainer’s experience and reputation, facility prices and geographic area, but they are well worth the investment. Although you may meet with your trainer more frequently at first, your financial investment should decrease as you become more independent, knowledgeable, and fit.

If you aren’t comfortable shelling out 400+ a month on personal training you might look into finding a Boot Camp in your area. These are usually run by very respected fitness professionals. You still get the same expertise as a one-on-one session and amazing results but at a more affordable price.

Professional Liability Insurance and Business Policies:

Many personal trainers operate as independent contractors and are not employees of a fitness facility. Find out if the trainer you want to hire carries professional liability insurance. A reputable personal trainer should make sure you understand the cancellation policy and billing procedures. The best way to avoid confusion and to protect your rights is to have those policies in writing.

Is This Someone You Can Work With:

Do you like to exercise in the morning, or in the evening. Can a personal trainer accommodate your schedule? What about the trainer’s gender? Some people do better working with a trainer of the same sex; others prefer the opposite sex. The knowledgeable and experienced personal trainer who fits your style is the one to hire — because that is the professional who will help you achieve the best results.

I hope this helps clear up some of your questions about finding the perfect fitness professional. If you have more questions about finding a personal trainer or local boot camp you can send me an email here.

If you are in the Oklahoma City Metro area and would like to come check out my boot camp click here to find out more or check us out on facebook.

Cant wait to bring you more healthy articles to help you with your journey forward. If you would like to see an article about something please drop me a line.

Trainer Ben

Dedicated To Joe F.

Is this you? “I’ve done good all week long with my eating and exercise.  The weekend is here and I just want to relax and have some fun.  All your hard work at the gym in boot camp goes right out the window!  **Shoulders Shrug** Oh well, I’ll start over again on Monday.” I hear this one a lot but I will lay out some simple plans to follow.

How many of you plan your weekend out from top to bottom? Of course your weekends aren’t planned  out as well as the weekdays are. Weekends are less structured and vary from week to week. You may have a wedding one weekend, go out to the movies another; enjoy a road trip the next weekend.

These weekends usually lead to poor meal planning. Without a plan, you’re more likely to stray from the healthy habits you have been working so hard to develop. There is little to no time for exercise either.

So how can you avoid gaining weight over the weekend after you have successfully lost throughout the week?

Here’s a few easy tips.

*Plan out your weekends around being active, like riding your bike, going to the park. That way you get to spend time with the family and incorporating a little bit of exercise. If you plan on being away from the house for a few hours pack a healthy lunch, or take your favorite protein shake.

* Don’t forget to bring along a water bottle to your weekend activities. This is very critical during the weeks as well as the weekend. Also, having water will replace those urges for unhealthy sodas and juices.

*If most of your weekend is spent shopping at the mall your biggest threat is the “FOOD COURT”, but you are in luck. Find you a healthy choice like Subway and just watch you portion size.

*Plan Ahead!!! Maybe you are taking your amazing Wife or someone close to you out for a nice dinner. Find the restaurant’s menu online and make a healthy choice before you get there.

*Keep a weekend food and exercise journal. Use it to pin point your problem spots, evaluate them and attack your weaknesses.

* Batch cook some of your favorite foods over the weekend. This keeps you thinking about healthy choices and supplies you with enough food for the week so all you will have to do is reheat.

*Monday through Friday you should hit your workouts extremely hard, but on the weekend take a day off, and the other day, go for something lighter like a walk or a swim.

* Ladies If you’re going to a social event (wedding, birthday party, girls night out) with foods out of your healthy weight loss plan, eat a light snack beforehand. While at your function you won’t feel as famished and can enjoy a few light treats and not be tempted to go overboard.

* Avoid alcohol. For some this is much easier said than done, but alcohol calories will add up big time after only one drink.(If you absolutely must get your “CRUNK” on at least do it with as few calories as possible. Don’t add juices and cream to your drink)

Stop the viscous cycle of gaining over the weekend, losing during the week, which in fact keeps your weight loss at a plateau.

“Starting over on Monday,” should be a thing of your old life.

Start Fresh every day!

Keep your health the number one reason that you remain on course for a healthy lifestyle.

Come back often to read more about a living a healthy lifestyle.

Thank you and if you enjoyed this Blog please click the facebook icon over to the right.

If you haven’t checked out Oklahoma City’s #1 Indoor Boot Camp and would like to…click here.

Looking forward to bringing Oklahoma more and more healthy articles.

Oklahoma City Personal Training

I wanted to drop you a quick blog post to encourage you to not become another holiday weight gain statistic.  I have heard that the average American gains between 4-9 lbs from Thanksgiving to Jan 1st.  Even though Jan 1st is great for my business, I get TIRED of hearing everyone complaining and moaning about being heavier after the holidays!

It is OK to binge ONCE in awhile.  Use it as your 1-3 cheat meals/week.  By limiting the over indulgences to a couple times a week, your body won’t be overwhelmed and should be able to recover and burn those extra calories off.

Believe me, I love Sweet Potato Pie and Apple Pie, but I love be physically fit more.

So the questions is “How do I enjoy Thanksgiving and avoid gaining 5 – 10lbs in one day?”

”By making wise food choices. Cooking the stuffing outside of the turkey reduces its fat content, as does
baking sweet potatoes, instead of loading them with butter, sugar and marshmallows in a casserole. More Healthy Recipes

Pumpkin, an excellent source of beta carotene and vitamin A, is much healthier served as a custard, instead of a pie in a fat-laden crust. However, we have to be realistic,  ”For one holiday meal, people should be allowed to eat their favorite foods.” So, if you can’t do without
Aunt Martha’s candied yams, have some —but wisely. ”Eat small amounts of your favorites, and don’t eat until you’re stuffed, only until you’re satisfied.”

Also, keep up your exercise program. ”Many people stop working out  when they get busy around the holidays, but that’s just when they should be going”. ”Exercise keeps weight down, suppresses the appetite and relieves holiday stress.”

A few things you can do to avoid gaining an extra 10-15 pounds this season is: Mentally be prepared to say “No Thanks, Ive had enough”. Find smaller plates or a small saucer,so you don’t want to over-eat? Also remember, you don’t have to eat at everyone’s house you visit. Or you don’t have to eat everything they bring to your house.

Now, what happens if you do over-eat and you don’t follow any of my suggestions. WELL – I guess I will see you “Black Friday” at 5:30am in Boot Camp, which is where you should be anyway.

Boot Camp will stay right on schedule for the Holidays, don’t worry i wouldn’t let you get away from burpees for more than a day. I have posted the schedule Below and remember to bring a friend.

“Wednesday 25th” Morning 5:30am-6:30am Evening 6:00pm-7:00pm

“Thursday 26th Thanks Giving Day” OFF

Friday 27th “Black Friday” Morning 5:30am-6:30am Evening 6:00pm-7:00pm

Trainer Ben

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Yes I am going to push my foot over the line and give you the " Sex talk". Don't worry this isn't the the same one your parents had with you. Here is quick story for ya' This is a bit humorous to me because early on in my business I worked with 90% women. After a few months of my ladies getting wonderful results they started to drop like flies… Why?  Because they were getting a lot more (NOOKIE) and ended up pregnant. Their great results led to more activities and almost put me out of business… Gotta Love the IRONY. Enjoy!!!

What can stop colds, coronaries & diabetes?

Yippee … "SEX"!!! A healthy sex drive will leave you peaking in more ways than one.  People who have a lot of nookie most often experience health benefits which can leave them in much better physical form than those who don’t.  Sex can help fight flab, ward off colds and make you live longer. The sex research center in Kinsey Institute, says: “There is definitely a correlation between health and sex. If you are healthier, you are going to have more sex. “Making love provides a cardiovascular workout and floods the body with feel-good chemicals.” Sex is associated with good health and a longer life, a survey by the American Association Of Retired Persons reveals. Almost half of over-50s — 44 per cent — who described their health as excellent or very good had intercourse at least once a week. But just 20 per cent of those with only fair or poor health made love this often. It could be due to dehydroepiandrosterone  a.k.a. DHEA — which floods the body during sex and surges on orgasm. Bloodstream levels of this hormone are five times higher than normal when sexual pleasure peaks. DHEA has been shown to be beneficial in fighting reduced insulin response and middle-age spread.

Sex Helps with Blood Pressure

In the heat of the hump, sex increases blood pressure but in the long run it reduces it — cutting the risk of stroke. A study in Biological Psychology says regular sex lowers diastolic blood pressure — the lower number that shows the reading when your heart is resting. Satisfying sex also increases output of the chemical transmitter dopamine, which improves relaxation and counteracts stress hormones associated with hypertension. Low libido can also be an early warning of blood pressure problems. Doctors know that men who have hypertension are likely to have erectile dysfunction.

Sex Combats Diabetes

The exercise and calorie burning benefits of sex help reduce Type 2 diabetes risk. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that DHEA, released when we orgasm, improves insulin action. It  combats central obesity abdominal region, love handles and back fat.. Carrying weight around the stomach is a known risk factor for diabetes because the fat releases hormones called adipokines that seem to weaken the body’s glucose tolerance. Animal studies show DHEA protects against this damage too.

Sex Gives the Heart a Boost

Men who have sex less than once a month are twice as likely to have a fatal heart attack than men who make love at least twice a week. Dr Carol Cooper says: “Sex is great for the cardiovascular system but how much you get out depends on how much effort you put in. “If it’s not getting your heart racing, you’re doing it wrong. “Patients with heart problems sometimes worry about dying on the job, but that’s very rare. If you can manage two flights of stairs you are probably fit enough for sex.” Because it boosts circulation, sex increases the supply of oxygen to cells and stimulates the activity of various organs and systems within the body. Erectile dysfunction can also indicate cardiovascular problems.

Sex Helps Control Weight

Just 30 minutes of sex will burn around 200 calories, so if you have sex five days a week, that’s equivalent to two-and-a-half days of my weight loss boot camp. Fitness expert Nicki Waterman, says “For best results, women can hop on top because this will help firm their thighs and tone their belly.” An orgasm can burn 60-100 calories, 30 minutes of foreplay will blast 90 calories. And orgasms release both enkephalins and dopamine. These feel-good body chemicals help to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol which is associated with weight gain, particularly around the tummy. They also flood the body with DHEA, which attacks belly fat, according to researchers at Washington Univeristy School of Medicine. Volunteers were given 50mg of DHEA and a second group took a dummy pill. Women lost 10.2 per cent of their abdominal fat and men lost 7.4 per cent.

Sex … the Health Defense

A healthy sex life will help keep colds at bay. Making love raises the levels of immunoglobulin A — or IgA — the frontline of the body’s immune system, according to scientists at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, US. They tested saliva samples of 112 students and found that those who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of IgA than those who abstained or had sex less than once a week.

Proud Performance

Having sex the night before something stressful, such as an exam or having to make a speech, will improve your performance, according to a  study reported in Biological Psychology.

It releases happy body chemicals including dopamine, endorphins and enkephalins. Some studies suggest it can boost sporting performance, particularly in women. One theory is that they get a boost from raised levels of the male hormone testosterone. “For other athletes, a bit of extra aggression could be the difference between winning and losing. In this case I would suggest complete and satisfactory sexual intercourse the evening before the game or big decision.”

Sex Banishes Headaches

It might be the most tried-and-tested excuse to avoid having sex, but it seems a headache can disappear after you have a good romp. Orgasms release oxytocin and endorphins, natural chemicals which reduce pain. A study in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine found that volunteers who inhaled oxytocin vapour boosted their pain threshold by more than half. These pain-suppressing chemicals will also provide relief from both PMS and arthritis.

Sex Helps Heal Thyself  @ (super hero speeds)

Oxytocin — known as the bonding chemical — is responsible for that warm glow that comes after good sex. It can also help heal wounds. Studies show that high levels of oxytocin damp down inflammation-causing chemicals and speed up healing by as much as 25 per cent.

Sex Assists with Sleep

Once again you have oxytocin to thank. When released by satisfying sex, it acts as nature’s nightcap. Men are the most susceptible to this hormone — which is why they generally fall asleep within two-to-five minutes after sex and women take 20-to-25 minutes to nod off.

Please comment below!!! And If you haven't joined in on the amazing fat blasting workouts click here to get started at my Indoor Fitness Boot Camp.

Let’s begin by defining the word “diet”. A “diet” is any severe restriction of food or calories that’s temporary. Most conventional diet programs call for extremely low calories: 800-1200 or less. Any time you restrict calories drastically like this, you will lose weight. So if your only criteria for success is weight loss, and you don’t care where the weight comes from, or how long it stays off, then you could say that “all diets work”.

There are two major problems with this approach: First, the weight loss from very low calorie dieting almost never lasts; 95% of the people who lose weight on conventional diet programs can’t keep it off. The second problem is that most of the weight you lose from low calorie dieting is muscle, not fat. If permanent fat loss without losing muscle is your goal (it should be), then it would be closer to the truth to say “diets never work”.

Statistics prove that diets never work in the long term. If they did work, then how do you explain the huge obesity problem today? An why is it getting worse? According to the National Institute of Health, there are over 100 million overweight people in the United States. That’s 55% of the adult population! Over 20% of the U.S. adults are clinically obese, which means they are at risk for one or more of over 30 health problems that are associated with excess body fat.

Despite the fact that there are more diet programs and weight loss products available than ever before, obesity has continued to rise. The Center for Disease Control recently announced that the number of people in the United States who are clinically obese (at least 30% over their ideal body weight) increased from one in eight in 1991 to nearly one in five in 1999.

There’s a valid scientific reason why most diets fail dismally. Most people make the classic mistake of trying to “starve” the fat with strict diets. However, because the human body has a complex and infallible series of defense mechanisms to protect you from starvation, it is physiologically impossible to lose fat with very low calorie diets. As soon as your body senses a food shortage, these defense mechanisms start to kick in. The human body is simply too “smart” for the restrictive very low calorie diet approach to ever work.

Why Eating Less Doesn’t Always Work

If you eat more calories than you burn, you will store the excess as body fat. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, then you will lose fat. Simple mathematics, right? Well, not exactly.

If fat loss were as black and white as calories in vs. calories out, then how do you explain why some overweight people eat less than lean people, yet they still can’t lose an ounce? And how is it possible for someone with a 2200-calorie maintenance level to eat only 800 to 1000 calories a day without losing any weight?

Using the strictly mathematical model, if you cut out 1000 calories per day from your maintenance level, that will add up to a 7000-calorie deficit in one week. There are 3500 calories in a pound of stored body fat, so cutting out 1000 calories a day should- in theory-produce a weight loss of two pounds per week. Actual real world fat loss rarely works out with such mathematical precision.

Rob Faigin, writing the  book “National Hormonal Enhancement”, makes a humorous, but true observation about calorie balance and weight loss. Faigin says, “If there existed an airtight mathematical relationship between caloric intake and weight loss, cutting caloric intake from 3000 to 1000 would result in a 60,000 calorie per year deficit- and would result in a 200 pound weight loss after a year. What if the person began the diet weighing 200 pounds, would he disappear?”

When a calorie deficit is first introduced, weight loss generally occurs rapidly, just as the numbers would dictate, but it never takes long before weight loss slows, and then eventually stops completely. Why does this happen? Why is it that you don’t lose 50 pounds in 25 weeks or 100 pounds in 50 weeks with a 1000-calorie deficit?

The explanation is quite simple: Over thousands of year, human have developed a weight-regulating mechanism that recognizes when there’s a food shortage and decreases energy expenditure to “protect you”. This survival mechanism is known as the “starvation response”.

The Starvation Response

You can survive for months without food. You’ve probably heard stories about people getting lose in the mountains or wilderness for months with no food at all (only water), or being confined in a prisoner of war camp for years with only tiny amounts of food. What makes surviving under these conditions possible is your body’s remarkable ability to slow down its rate of calorie burning.

When your body senses deprivation it says to itself, “It looks like this is all the food we’re going to be getting for a while, so we’d better stop burning so many calories and start saving our energy. This way we’ll be able to survive longer on the little amount of food we have.”

The starvation response developed largely from exposure to adverse environmental conditions like droughts, natural disasters and food shortages. Furthermore, there were no supermarkets ten thousand years ago- if people wanted to eat, they had to either grow their food or kill it. It’s likely that at times, ancient man didn’t know when the next meal was coming and may have only eaten once or twice a week. The starvation response evolved in humans to ensure the survival of the species.

Your Body Can’t Tell The Difference Between Dieting and Starvation

This wonderful feature of human evolution is a blessing if you’re stranded out in the wilderness with no food. During periods of starvation, the body slowly begins to feed off itself, burning fat stores, muscle and even internal organs for energy. If you continued to burn calories at your normal rate, you limited reserves of store energy would be exhausted quickly and you would die very soon after your food supply was cut off. The starvation response keeps you alive longer.

Unfortunately, this same life-preserving mechanism can work against you when you’re trying to lose weight because your body can’t tell the difference between dieting and starvation!

Sever calorie cutting always sends your body into “starvation mode”. There’s nothing you can do to stop this from happening other than to avoid sever calorie shortages!

Like I always tell my friends and family, if you want to burn more calories and melt fat as quickly as possible, you must eat small  meals regularly throughout the day and start exercising.

For more ways to lose weight and slash the fat check out my Oklahoma City Boot Camp www.trainerben.com