CoachMeFit Blog

Post by: Kelly Kalbfleisch, NPTI Trainer

Manager of Ann Arbor CMF

I want to take more time to give proper recognition to those clients, here in Ann Arbor, who have met or are on their way to meeting their goals.  One in particular, David Fry, shared his story with me this month.  David is the perfect example of how dedication and the proper mind set will allow anyone to reach his/her goals.  Be inspired by his story, as I was. 

BEFORE:

I grew up in Pennsylvania in a family of overweight people. There was no appreciation for eating right or getting regular exercise. But even among my loved ones I stood out. I was an obese child who became a morbidly obese teenager, carrying 350 pounds on my 5′ 7″ frame by the time I entered college. My weight defined my life.

After my freshman year I put myself on a starvation diet of my own design. By eating less than 500 calories a day I lost more than 150 pounds in six months. This was an extremely stupid thing to do and some of my internal organs turned against me. But I was young and ultimately regained my health. I was thrilled with my new body and I lived the life I had always been denied. I was physically active throughout my 20s and kept my weight off with no particular effort.

In the mid 1990s I moved to Ann Arbor with my wife and started a new business. I resumed my bad eating habits and sedentary lifestyle as I focused on my work, and I started regaining my weight rapidly. But I kept telling myself, “It’s okay, I’ve lost weight before. I can lose it again when I need to.” Somehow I just never got around to it. Ten years later I finally had to deal with the consequences when a bout of severe dizziness and confusion led me to a local hospital. I weighed over 400 pounds and had extremely high blood pressure, with a host of other medical problems around the corner.

That scared me enough that I finally started to address my problem. Over the next few years I slowly lost 60 pounds by eating a little better and getting more physical activity. I didn’t really make progress, though, until my wife and I joined Coach Me Fit and began working out with Ann Marie Furlong. Even when I was young and active I never had done any structured weight training, so Ann Marie’s workouts were a new experience for me. I remember being so exhausted in the first few months that several times I drove home and fell asleep in the car in my garage before going inside the house. Ann Marie was the perfect coach for me. She challenged me to push harder each time, but she didn’t come on strong with a “drill sergeant” attitude. Some people respond well to that but it probably would have been counterproductive with me. I think a good personality match with your trainer is very important.

Over the next two years my physical fitness and stamina improved greatly but I only lost about 20 pounds because I still wasn’t watching my calorie intake. I used to joke that if they had an Olympics for people with a BMI over 50, I would do very well! Good health truly is about “fitness” and not just “weight loss,” but I still had face the facts about my diet. Late last year I signed up for a service called BistroMD that delivers frozen, pre-packaged meals to my home once a week. Starting right before Thanksgiving (great timing, right?) I began eating 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day while continuing my regular Coach Me Fit workouts. I also started using an iPhone app called “Tap N Track” to measure all the calories I ate or burned up through exercise each day.

The results were immediate. I lost 25 pounds through the holiday season, which encouraged me to stick to my diet. And the weight loss made it easier for me to workout so I was able to increase my physical activity throughout the winter. Ann Marie started giving me more challenging workouts at Coach Me Fit, and in the spring I rediscovered my old love of long distance road cycling, something I hadn’t done in more than 15 years.

Today I’m happy to report I’ve lost 100 pounds since November 2009. I’ve dropped eight clothing sizes, I’m no longer taking blood pressure medicine, and my cholesterol level is now well within the healthy range. But more than that, I can barely describe how much better I feel every day, whether I’m rushing through a crowded airport with heavy luggage, riding my bike to Brighton and back, or simply trying to fit into a seat at the movie theater. Obesity means making compromises with yourself every day, and I finally decided I didn’t want to do it anymore.

I know my struggle isn’t over. I still want to lose another 40 pounds or so but, even after that, good health is a lifelong commitment to smart food choices and regular physical activity. Coach Me Fit will continue to be a part of that for me.

I have two pieces of advice for anyone who’s facing similar challenges: First, don’t wait to get started on a healthy lifestyle.   As I learned, time is not your friend. Each week it just gets harder and harder to change bad habits, and you just find yourself farther and farther away from where you need to be. As they say, “when you find yourself stuck in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.”

Second, you don’t have to solve all your problems at once. Do you what you can, when you can. Each step forward is progress. You can see in my history that I rapidly lost a huge amount of weight when I was young, but I did it in an unhealthy way that didn’t really include a conscious change to my lifestyle. And so my weight rapidly returned. My current weight loss adventure has actually been multi-phased, lasting over five years. The people around me have noticed the big physical change in the last 10 months, but my brain started making the necessary adjustments several years ago.

If you’re reading this, that probably means you’re a Coach Me Fit client or thinking about becoming one. So then “Congratulations” on a great first step towards a healthier life!

AFTER:

Thank you for sharing your story, David.  Congratulations on all your progress.  I’m excited to see you reach more goals as you continue on this healthy living journey!!

By: Kelly Kalbfleisch

Ann Arbor CMF, Manager

Flying through your routine, overworking your middle and improper breathing are all big no-nos when it comes to training your abs.  Here’s how to maximize each and every workout;

1.  Your abs are like any other muscle and need rest. Give them at least 48 hours between sessions for maximum recovery.

2.  Don’t forget to breathe when doing abdominal moves. Remember: Exhale on the exertion and inhale on the return to avoid lactic acid buildup.

3.  For maximum results, do each rep deliberately and avoid all use of momentum.  If you’re doing it right, you should fatigue and even fail by the end of 15 reps.

4.  Use a mix of different abs moves each time you train to give your body new challenges while keeping your brain from getting bored.

5.  You can crunch ’til the cows come home, but if you’re not eating right, you’ll never see the results of your hard work. 

I’ve added different variations of the plank to my workouts instead of doing a form of crunch every abs day.  I’ve noticed a huge difference in the strength and firmness of my core.  

I like tip number 5 from above.  Clients ask me all the time if they should do more crunches or when they will start to see their ab muscles and lose the fat.  I hate to tell them, but it’s the truth..the muscles are there, but you won’t see them until you change your diet and keep consistant with cardio.  It’s a fact! 

-article from Oxygen Magazine

TRX Suspension Training

By: Amber Tebeau, NASM CPT, Manager and Trainer CoachMeFit West Bloomfield

The TRX, Total Resistance Exercise, is the latest and greatest piece of fitness equipment on the market.  The TRX is a form of suspension training that utilizes body weight to increase total body strength, balance, flexibility, core stability, and performance, which will also increase calorie burn and weight loss.

The TRX was created by Randy Hetrick, the founder of Fitness Anywhere, the company behind the TRX.  Randy created the TRX while he was on the battle field serving as a Navy SEAL.  Randy recognized the importance of having a piece of exercise equipment that was light, easily portable, and functional.  The TRX is now used by all of the branches of the Armed Forces, the NCAA, Hollywood stars, and professional athletes.

The TRX is a valuable piece of fitness equipment because it is appropriate for all ages and all fitness levels.  Virtually any exercise can performed on the TRX and the best part is that any exercise can be made to be more difficult or easier just by simply taking a step or two. The TRX weighs less than 2 pounds and it can be set up anywhere, including a gym, a park, a hotel room or at home.

CoachMeFit  started working with the TRX in the spring of 2010, and I went to an official TRX training course in July of 2010.  Our studios are very excited about getting on board with TRX suspension training.   We have found the TRX to be very challenging and very practical for our clients to use.   Our clients were very excited when we started using the TRX and their excitement has continued the more they have worked with it.  I have several clients who regularly ask to use the TRX during their sessions.

The TRX is one of best and most versatile pieces of equipment that we have at CoachMeFit.  Every exercise on the TRX engages the entire core, for an incredible total body workout.  If you have goals that include toning muscle, core and totally body strength, increased athletic performance or increased flexibility, then the TRX should become an essential part of your workout routine.

By: Amber Tebeau, NASM CPT, Manager CoachMeFit West Bloomfield

Goals help us to define what we want to do, why we want to do it, and how we are going to accomplish it.  I find that I always work harder when I have a clear goal in mind.  Currently I am training for a 10k race at the end of August.  When I decided to run this race I decided that I needed to set a goal time.  Though I do not consider myself to be a very good runner, I decided that I wanted to push myself and set a goal of running 8 minute splits for my race.  This is a very high, but attainable goal for me.  In order to achieve this goal I decided that I needed to enact a plan.   Though I have run in races in the past, I have never followed a strict running plan; I just ran whenever I wanted for as long as I felt was needed. Recently, I did some research on the internet and found a plan that I liked.  I modified it slightly to fit my schedule and created a calendar of the 10 weeks that I would be training.  Everyday when it is time for my workout, I look at my calendar to see how I need to train that day.  It takes the guess work out of my workouts because I know exactly what I am supposed to do.  It also pushes me to complete my scheduled workout even when I do not feel like pushing myself.  Similar to most people, I have days when I do not want to run or work out.  However, by having a high goal that I want to attain along with a set running schedule I am motivated to stay the course and work towards my goal.

CoachMeFit uses the goal setting formula of SMART-R.  This stands for Specific, Measurable, Action Oriented, Reasonable, Timed and Reasons why.  Let’s look at all of these elements closely and how they shaped my race goal. 

S -Specific - Goals should be detailed and clearly defined.  I set a specific goal of running a 10k race in 8 minutes miles.

M-Measurable - Goals should be measurable in order to measure progress and to ensure there is a defined ending to the goal.  I have a training plan that lays out specific workouts to help me to reach my 8 mile split goal.  I will be able to measure my success on race day when I see my final time.

A - Action Oriented - Goals can only be attained if action is taken.  The training plan that I follow gives me daily actions to complete in order to reach my goal.

R - Reasonable - Goals must be reasonable in order to be obtained.  I ran a 5k in 2009 with less than 8 minute splits; this leads me to believe that if my body is capable of running 8 minute splits for 3.1 miles, then with proper training, my body will also be able to run the same pace for 6.2 miles.

T-Timed - Goals must have a deadline, because deadlines move us to action.  The race is August 21, 2010, which is ten weeks from when I started my training.

R - Reasons Why - This is probably the most important step in the goal setting process.  Your “reason why” is your motivation for achieving the goal.  The reason why I am running this race is to push myself to be a better runner and to run a race that I never thought I could run.  In the past I would tell myself that I was a poor runner and that I could not run a 10k or run it well.  I would like to prove myself wrong and accomplish my goal of running a 10k and running it well.

Take a moment to think of something you would like to accomplish in the next couple months.  Once you have a goal that you would like to accomplish, walk through the steps of SMART-R to come up with a well defined plan of how you will accomplish this goal.  With a little hard work and a specific plan your goals will soon become a reality.

Travis Kneale, NASM CPT

Few clients come to CoachMeFit looking to gain weight and build hypertrophy (large muscles).  However, I have noticed that as my clients ‘progress and reach their weight loss goals they start to create new goals, such as building more muscle.  When looking to gain lean body mass, your workouts are going to be slightly different then if you are going for maximum weight loss.  Some of the key factors that will change are the types of exercises, the number of repetitions, the intensity and the amount of rest time.

With clients looking for weight loss, trainers will generally do exercises that increase their heart rate.  Combination exercises are a great way to do this.  You may do a stability ball squat combined with a bicep curl to shoulder press.  Since multiple body parts are exerting force at the same time, your heart has to pump harder to get blood to all of the working muscles.  For my clients who are looking for maximal strength and mass gains, we focus more on muscle specific exercises.  The combination exercise of the stability ball squat + bicep curl to shoulder press could now be split into 3 different exercises; stability ball squat, bicep curls, and shoulder presses.  Doing these exercises individually allows you to focus on one muscle group at a time and allows you to lift heavier weights than if you were doing a combination exercise.

The number of repetitions is another factor that is going to change when going from a weight loss plan to a maximal strength routine.  When doing exercises for fat loss repetitions will usually be in a range from 12-20.  For maximal strength and muscle building repetitions will range from 6-12. 

Training intensity can be defined as an individual’s level of effort compared with their maximum effort. With that being said, you are going to train at a higher intensity level when you are training for strength and lean mass gains as compared to when you are training for weight loss.  Weight loss intensity is normally around 60-75% of your maximal effort, where as intensity levels for lean mass gain and maximal strength will be around 75-85%.

 A common misconception is that rest is for the weak.  When training at a higher intensity, rest becomes very important.  As I mentioned earlier, for fat loss you want to get your heart rate up.  Rest times are shorter when training for weight loss because you do not want to let your heart rate decrease; weight loss training rest times can be anywhere from 0-60 seconds.  However, rest times for hypertrophy are longer, usually 1-3minutes.  This is because the longer rest periods allow your adenosine triphosphate and creatine phosphate (which is your energy supply for your muscles) levels to have more time to replenish.  Inadequate rest intervals can decrease performance and could lead to excessive muscle compensation and even injury.

Hypertrophy is a great fitness goal; however the training process is specific and intense. The tips listed above are very important and beneficial in reaching this goal.  If you follow the guidelines of muscle specific exercises, increased training intensity, lower repetitions and adequate rest periods, you will quickly begin to see changes in your body and an increase in lean muscle mass.

Amber Tebeau, NASM CPT, Manager and Trainer CoachMeFit West Bloomfield

Last week my husband and I went on a cruise.  Cruises are notorious for their endless buffets of fattening foods and alcoholic drinks around every corner.  When I boarded the ship, I noted that there was food available at any time of day.  The pizza counter was open late, the ice cream station never closed and there were midnight buffets.  Suddenly a wonderful vacation has turned into a dangerous calorie situation.  Though a cruise has the potential to sink your weight loss or maintenance goals, here are a couple tips to help you stay afloat.

Set boundaries for yourself.   Allow yourself only a certain number of desserts per week or one dessert per day.  Eliminate snacking in between meals and late at night.  If possible, avoid the buffet line and always dine in the dining room.  When dining in the dining room, try to choose the healthiest option on the menu, such as grilled chicken or broiled fish.  Also, do not eat the whole portion that is served to you- the portion size is usually too large.   Lastly, limit alcoholic beverages that are loaded with sugar and calories.  Alcoholic drinks are full of hidden calories, and those calories can range from as low as 100 to over 700 depending on the drink. 

Though a vacation is a time to sit back and relax, it is not a time to slack on exercise.  While on the cruise add in exercise whenever possible.   Avoid taking the elevators whenever possible and opt to take the stairs.  Most cruise ships have large, well equipped fitness centers; choose to utilize the fitness center daily. When the ship docks at a port, use this time to take advantage of active excursions and stay active while exploring the port.

Cruises and other vacations are a great time to relax and escape from the everyday grind; however it is not a time to relax on your health.  Smart choices that are made while on vacation can enhance your time away and your health.

Kelly Kalbfleisch- NPTI Certified Personal Trainer

CoachMeFit Ann Arbor, Manager

As many of you have probably figured out by now, whether from magazines, programs geared towards fitness or from personal experience, cardio interval training is all the fat burning rage. 

“Intervals are an important addition to your training routine because your body adapts to movements and intensities over time.  Repeatedly putting your muscles through the same (limited) range of motion or adhering religiously to a specific aerobic intensity will stall any strength gains or weight-loss goals you may have in mind.”

“An admirable quality of interval training is that its sessions can be brief.  In fact 15 to 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can provide the fitness equivalent of 40 to 60 minutes of continual-speed cardio.  Best of all, research indicates that short periods of high-intensity exercise are better for caloric expenditure than longer steady-state periods, giving you more fat-burning bang for your buck each minute during (and for quite some time after) your workout.”

I enjoy interval training, not only for the increased fat burn, but to beat the cardio bordem.  The sessions keep me engaged and focused the whole time.  I tested out the treadmill interval routine listed below.  On paper, it looks quite easy, but once I got into it, it was a great challenge.  You need to pay attention to your body when trying out these routines.  RPE means Rate of Perceived Exertion.  This is a way to monitor the intensity of your workout without equipment.  The most common RPE scales run from one to 10, with one representing little or no activity and 10 being maximum all out exertion.  Your RPE is a bigger factor in your fat-burning success than following the incline, speed and resistance exactly.  If you feel dizzy or not challenged, lower or raise one or more of your exercise variables until your RPE matches what is reflected in the routine.

I like to get 45 minutes of cardio in, so after the treadmill routine, I hopped on the elliptical for the last 15 minutes.  Try a different cardio machine after the 30 minutes to mix it up even more!! 

Good luck and Happy Fat Burning

*Quotes and interval routines are from Oxygen Magazine

By:  Amber Tebeau, NASM CPT, Manager and Trainer CoachMeFit West Bloomfield

Brian S. has been a client of CoachMeFit since the summer of 2008.  Brian began working out at the CoachMeFit studio in Birmingham, then after 6 months he transferred to the West Bloomfield studio because it was closer to where he works.   When Brian first came to CoachMeFit he weighed over 300 pounds, had many health problems and he reported being very tired no matter how much he slept. Brian’s blood pressure was as high as 170/105, for which he was taking medication, he was also taking cholesterol medication, kidney medication and he was injecting his body with insulin for his Type II Diabetes.   

Brian had tried to lose weight many times on his own without success.  He tried several diets and he would lose some weight, however he would always gain it back.  Brian stated that he came to the point where the insulin he was injecting was not helping to bring down his sugar and he knew he had to make a big life change in order to regain his health.  At his heaviest Brian weighed 313 pounds and he set the goal of losing 70 lbs.    Due to his failed attempts at dieting, Brian knew that he needed a lifestyle change not another diet.  Brian decided that he wanted to weigh 240 pounds and he started eating the amount of calories that a 240 pound man should eat to maintain his weight.  He also made sure he was eating the proper ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fat.   Brian then started working out with a trainer at CoachMeFit three days per week and doing cardio exercise five to six days per week.  Brian immediately started to see a decrease in his weight and an increase in his energy.

Brian’s journey began almost two years ago and his weight is now holding steady around 240 pounds and the only medication that he takes is a pill for his diabetes.  His blood pressure is 117/72 and all of his blood tests are normal.  Brian states that currently his goal is to maintain his weight, and to stay healthy.  Brian’s story is a testament to hard work and dedication.  Brian has worked hard to become healthy and regain control of his body.  Brian is a great example to anyone who desires to turn their life around, lose weight, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

By: Amber Tebeau NASM CPT, Manager CoachMeFit West Bloomfield

There are many myths when it comes to exercise. Take this short quiz to assess your level of exercise knowledge. Review the following statements and determine if they are true or false.

1. When you are doing a workout, it is most effective to be in the “Fat Burning Zone”.

True False

2. Cardio exercise on a machine is most effective for weight loss.

True False

3. Doing abdominal exercises is the best way to get rid of belly fat.

True False

4. It is just as effective to do six, 10 minute bouts of exercise, as it is to do one solid hour of exercise.

True False

5. Doing circuit weight training is as effective or more effective than doing cardio exercise on a machine, for heart health and weight loss.

True False

6. Exercise is hard work and is not supposed to be fun.

True False

7. The secret to successful weight loss is simply to burn more calories than you consume.

True False

1. False: The “Fat Burning Zone” is a myth, it does not exist. In a workout calories are burned not fat. It is important, when thinking in terms of weight loss, to understand the Law of Thermodynamics. The Law of Thermodynamics says that if more energy is expended than is consumed, weight will be lost. Thus, a weight loss will occur if more calories are burned than consumed.

2. False: Cardio exercise IS effective for weight loss, however ALL exercise is effective for weight loss.

3. False: Doing abdominal exercise is good and it will tighten and strengthen your core muscles. However, this does not remove fat from your midsection. The best way to get rid of fat around your middle is a total body fat loss. It is a myth that you can spot treat your body for fat loss.

4. True

5. True

6. False: The best type of exercise for an individual to do is the type of exercise that they WILL do. All exercise is effective to burn calories, so the exercise that is enjoyed is the best because it is the exercise that is most likely to be accomplished.

7. True

By Amber Tebeau, Lead Personal Trainer, CoachMeFit West Bloomfield

Lactic acid training should be incorporated into your cardio routines

It is important for any individual who is trying to stay fit to understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic training. The anaerobic system does not use oxygen to burn glucose for energy, and is used in any activity lasting less than two minutes. An aerobic activity usually lasts longer than 2 minutes and it does use oxygen to burn glucose for energy. A 30 second sprint would use the anaerobic system due to its high intensity and its short duration; a distance run would use the aerobic system due to its low intensity and its long duration. In the anaerobic system energy is readily available; however, it is not as efficient due to the lactic acid that builds up in the muscles. The build up of lactic acid in the muscles is the reason anaerobic activities do no last a long time. In an aerobic activity the body is efficient in removing lactic acid from the muscles which allows the activity to continue for an extended period of time.

The National Academy of Sports Medicine defines the Anaerobic Threshold as the point when the body can no longer produce enough energy for the muscles with normal oxygen intake. This is the point when the body stops using oxygen to burn glucose for energy. Due to the short amount of time that the body can sustain an anaerobic activity, it is advantageous to increase the anaerobic threshold because an aerobic activity will burn more fat calories than an anaerobic activity.

To increase the anaerobic threshold one must continually push themselves to their anaerobic threshold, until the body becomes accustomed to removing lactic acid from the muscles more efficiently. Interval training is effective in doing this because the body is pushed to its anaerobic threshold several times in one workout. This allows the body to be pushed almost to its limit and then allows adequate time to rest and recuperate energy. Interval training will enable an individual to increase their anaerobic threshold and thus increase their calorie burn during a workout.