Raising The Barr Fitness

5 Signs That You Need to Do Something Different Now

A Ridgeland personal trainer knows we all get older and expect some changes to occur in our bodies as we do. Not all changes that are brushed off as “normal aging” actually are though. In fact, there are many changes that people pass off as normal that are actually signs from the body that’s it’s time to do something different to avoid problems down the road.

In many cases, the so-called signs of aging are actually the body’s way of saying it is time to change diet, get more active and even learn how to manage personal stress a bit better, and a Ridgeland personal trainer can help you with all three. The signs to watch out for that are not “normal” and don’t have to go along with getting older include:

Consistent annual weight gain – Most people expect to gain weight as they get older. Expecting it is one thing; accepting it is another. Consistent annual gains are not necessarily normal. They actually signal a need to get more active, eat better and take better care. There’s no reason to accept weight gain with aging as a fact that cannot be changed.
Lessening of breath – Walking up a flight of stairs, taking a long walk, playing with kids and other activities that didn’t wind you when you were younger, should not wind you now. If you’re having trouble on this front, it’s time to make some positive changes. Getting more active can make a big difference and prevent problems later.
Loss of flexibility – Flexibility issues often go along with aging, but they are not normal. The body can remain very flexible even well into advanced years if stretching and exercise with a Ridgeland personal trainer stay a part of the routine.
Increase in blood pressure – This is a serious sign that it is time to change the daily routine. Blood pressure increases are not a normal part of aging and they can be rather dangerous if left unchecked. Changing diet and becoming more physically active can help stop this problem before it becomes a serious issue.
Increases in stress – Everyone deals with stress in their daily lives. Increases, however, are not normal parts of aging. Stress is a silent killer that can be battled effectively with a few minor changes in routine. Exercising, eating healthy, getting enough sleep and even learning how to meditate can stop this problem in its tracks. While stress will never go away, its impacts can be curtailed when the right measures are taken.

While some changes are expected with aging, many of the “symptoms” are actually signs that people should not ignore. When the right actions are taken, health can be improved and those nagging signs just might go away. Ask a professional at your gym or work with a Ridgeland personal trainer to devise a plan to stay on top of the signs.

About the Author

Clint Barr is the owner of Raising The Barr Fitness, Ridgeland’s premier private and small group fitness training studio. If you’re ready to begin your fat loss journey please call 601-414-3536 right now to receive a complimentary nutrition and fitness consultation (valued at $87).

If you’re not yet ready for our free consultation offer, download our free report “The Truth About Weight Loss” where we reveal the secrets the weight loss and fitness industry don’t want you to know.

Personal Trainer in Jackson Reveals Why Interval Training is Effective

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A personal trainer in Jackson will tell you that you can exercise day in and day out and still not see the weight loss results you want. If it’s time to get more from your effort, looking into interval training makes a whole lot of sense. This precision workout can provide the calorie-burning push you’ve been lacking in your routine.

Understanding Interval Training

Interval training involves a precision workout that combines intense, but brief, bursts of activity with less intense physical measures. The idea is to blend an aerobic and anaerobic workout into a single training session with a personal trainer in Jackson to maximize overall metabolic demands.

Let’s say a runner does great at 4 miles per hour on a treadmill, but starts to tire at 5 mph. An interval session might include a normal warm up period, several minutes of that runner working out at 4 mph and then a minute or two at 5 mph before the workout goes back down to the 4 mph range.

Essentially, an interval workout pushes the body farther, but not for extended periods of time. A short, but effective sprint in the case of the runner can maximize workout time and increase metabolic requirements significantly.

Does It Work?

The simple reality is interval training does work and can produce a number of benefits. While that 4 mph run does burn calories and helps trim the body, that burst of energy expended during the one-minute run can increase the overall effectiveness of the same amount of workout time without overextending the body in the process.

The benefits of interval training include:

Decreased chance of injury – It’s okay to push the body to its limits or near them, but not for too long. Interval training sessions help reduce the chance of injury and undo wear and tear because the burst of energy in the extreme range is very short and occurs after a person is properly warmed up.
More effective use of time – Where it might take 45 minutes to gain results running at a single pace, an interval training session with a personal trainer in Jackson can shave time off the routine. Basically, interval training makes for a more effective workout.
Increases fat burning – Interval training sessions put the body to work in the fat-burning sense. Studies have shown that interval sessions improve efficiency of mitochondria. These are tiny cells that use oxygen to help create energy. This more efficient use of them can increase fat burning properties of a workout. And your peak metabolism rates will stay elevated significantly longer than the lower intensity steady state training will. That’s calories burned for hours after the workout!

Interval training is a great way to get a bigger bang out of your workout time. Before starting a program, however, it’s a good idea to make sure you work with a personal trainer or check with a personal trainer in Jackson at your gym for assistance. This type of workout isn’t for everyone and you want to make sure you are working out appropriately for your fitness level and goals.

Read even more articles on this and other related topics by a personal trainer in Jackson…

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How to Be a Social Butterfly without Gaining Weight

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You love going out for nights on the town, partying with friends and being a social butterfly with a packed calendar. You are also trying to lose weight, get in shape and improve your health.

Are the two desires mutually exclusive? While your Jackson personal trainer will want you to watch yourself as you dine and even avoid wine, you don’t have to become a shut in as you work on a program. There are simple tips and tricks that can help you stick to your guns and still have the time of your life.

If you want to lose weight and still paint the town red, consider:

Seeking support before you go out – Talk to your trainer, your spouse or the friends you intend to go out with and let them know you want to have a great time without suffering a weight loss setback. Your trainer can motivate you before you head out and your spouse or friends can provide you with the support you need to say no in the heat of the moment.
Not skipping meals before going out – Many people believe if they skip meals throughout the day, they can eat whatever they want while they are out on the town. While this sounds good in theory, it doesn’t work. Starve yourself until the evening and you’ll be more likely to splurge on anything that is available immediately upon arrival. Plus, you can slow down your metabolism, which is not good for weight loss. Instead of fasting and then binging, eat small, calorie-controlled meals and snacks leading up to a big event so you can enjoy a normal meal and even a treat while you are out.
Avoid the nibblers – If you’re at a dinner party, try to avoid the appetizers, especially if they are high in calories and fat. It is all too easy to let a bite of this and a bite of that add up to a whole lot of empty calories! Wait for the salad and the main course instead.
Order wisely – If you’re eating out in a restaurant, take time to really consider the menu options. Go for an entrée that fits in best with the nutritional program you are following. Most restaurants have very healthy and very tasty alternatives to calorie-laden entrees.
Be the designated driver – One of the worst things you can do while trying to lose weight or tone the body is to overdo on alcohol. If this is too much of a temptation, give yourself extra motivation to behave. Volunteer to be the designated driver and you’ll have two very good reasons to say no.

Going out on the town can be very difficult when you are trying to drop pounds and get into shape. Restaurants and parties present a lot of temptations. You can stay strong if you plan ahead and formulate a game plan. Ask a Jackson personal trainer or health club pro for additional advice on staying strong in the face of adversity.

Fun Aerobic Ideas

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If you think beneficial aerobic activity is limited to hours at a gym working out on a treadmill, think again! Exercises that produce excellent cardiovascular results abound and they don’t all call for equipment or even a trip to the gym.

While regular trips to work with a Jackson personal trainer are always smart, there are some fun things you can work into your routine on off days, when you are away from home or just don’t have time to make the trip. Chances are if you talk to the pros at your fitness center, you’ll even find your club has lots of options to offer that you might not have even considered.

To vary your routine and increase your enjoyment level, consider mixing up your aerobic exercise lineup with such things as:

Cycling – Get a bicycle, a helmet and hit the open road. Stationary bikes do produce results, but the scenery can get boring fast! If you want to work cycling into your routine, it’s a great exercise that can even benefit your entire family. On off weather days, by all means, use the gym equipment. When the sun is shining, hit the open road for more enjoyment.
Swimming – This is one of the best holistic cardiovascular activities going. Swimming works the heart and lungs while also toning the muscles. If you don’t have access to a pool at home or in your neighborhood, take advantage of your health club’s if one is available.
Skiing – This is a great cardiovascular activity that can be a ton of fun, too. Cross country is the way to go to build up endurance and boost muscle tone and calorie-burning efforts. If it’s not possible to take the activity outdoors, cross country training machines are fun to mix into an overall cardio program. Check with your trainer for advice on getting started.
Sports – There are many sports that can serve very well in place of more structured cardiovascular exercises. Tennis, basketball, football, boxing and even baseball are fun to play and they can most certainly add diversity to your workout routine.
Dancing – Just get up and dance if you want to work your cardiovascular system and have some serious fun, too. Thirty or so minutes of moving to the beats of your favorite songs can really get your heart pumping and assist in cardiovascular conditioning.
Taking a class – Aerobic classes, dance classes, Zumba and other organized activities can increase the fun of cardio exercise and even add to the camaraderie level. Check with your trainer to see what classes are offered at your club or keep your eyes open for fun activities offered at neighborhood recreation centers.

While exercise machines will get the job done, a successful exercise program is one that offers room for flexibility and fun. If you want to increase the variety in your program, talk to a Jackson personal trainer for other fun ideas to mix things up a bit.

Myth: Thigh reducers and ab equipment can spot reduce body fat

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Let’s face it! You know this to be true. Doing only crunches to reduce your waistline simply DOES NOT work. So why do so many people still fall for the late night infomercial touting sexy abs by using their new and improved abdominal trainer, fat melting creme, or fat eliminating pill? Answer: desperation, convenience… and a lack of complete understanding of how the body actually works.

Think about it… you didn’t gain the body fat you currently have in just a few short weeks. And you definitely didn’t tell it where you wanted it to be distributed when you gained it. The opposite is also true. It’s not going to go away in just a few short weeks from doing crunches or using a thigh trainer, nor will the body just burn abdominal fat while leaving all the rest to be used up another time. Your body distributes fat evenly over the body and it burns it off evenly over the entire body. Now… you may have more body fat in one area over another, but that trouble area is not the only place you have body fat.

The key to burning large amounts of body fat is working all the major muscle groups with complex, multi joint movements in a total body resistance training routine to dramatically change and effect your metabolic rate. Combined with a good, healthy supportive nutrition plan and high intensity interval training cardio plan, total body resistance training done in this fashion will not only help improve the overall metabolic demand of the workout, but will also help build and maintain lean muscle tissue that will result in a higher resting metabolic rate (calories burned at rest).

Complex, multiple joint exercises are exercises that work more than one muscle group in the same movement. In the video above, Drew demonstrates a squat press using resistance tubing which works the legs, glutes, abdominals, shoulders, and triceps. That exercise is far more effective, and efficient, than working each of those muscle groups separately. Supersetting that exercise with the pushup jackknife exercise and alternating each of them in a circuit fashion will help you complete a workout in far less time as well.

So, get up off those machines in the gym that isolate each body part and start exercising more effectively, more efficiently and more functionally! If you need more help with designing your total body resistance training routine, request a consultation with a certified Jackson Personal Trainer today.

Myth: A Regimen of “Cardio” Will Burn the Most Fat

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Cardiovascular exercise is essential for overall health and fitness, but just doing “cardio” alone as part of a weight loss program will NOT produce the fat loss that most individuals expect. Long term, your ability to burn calories at rest by just doing cardiovascular exercise for fat loss will be greatly decreased.

As a fitness professional I have worked in various fitness centers and witnessed hundreds of people spend countless hours on a treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike week in and week out, and never see any changes in their body composition. Why? Because cardiovascular exercise doesn’t do anything to build, or even maintain, lean muscle tissue which is a metabolically active tissue. In other words, by just doing “cardio” you will have essentially trained your metabolism to become slower.

Have you ever experienced a plateau effect in your weight loss? You work diligently for about four weeks and see some okay results. But as you continue over the course of several months you see less and less progress. Inevitably frustration sets in and you end up quitting all together. The problem is not that you weren’t working often enough, rather you were not forcing the body to adapt to any new form of stimulus. Over time the body adapts and becomes more efficient at performing tasks…that’s what we call “getting in shape.” So day in day out doing the same thing produces a smaller metabolic effect because the body is more efficient at performing the work.

Now, not only are you training the body to burn fewer calories at rest due to loss of muscle, but you are also preventing the body from being challenged to it’s maximum potential. Furthermore, in order to continue to see results from steady state cardiovascular exercise you have to either run/walk/bike faster OR longer. And unfortunately, there are not enough hours in the day. I think you will agree that spending more time exercising is not exactly what you had in mind when you set out to reach your health and fitness goals.

Quite the contrary. So instead of committing several hours a day to the same old boring “cardio” routine, incorporate the following to maximize the amount of body fat you want to lose:

Cross Training – use different kinds of stimulus for your cardiovascular conditioning days that will continue to challenge your energy system to produce maximum results. Incorporate running/jogging, biking, swimming, playing basketball/volleyball, etc. This will prevent your body from becoming accustomed to any one type of training stimulus
Resisitance/Strength Training – you absolutely must perform exercises that will challenge the muscle so you can build, or maintain, lean muscle tissue. This becomes even more important as we age and our metabolism slows down. Remember, one pound of muscle can burn up to 50 calories per day at rest. Whether you’re male or female it’s essential to your overall fitness and weight loss goals. You can even do resistance training in a way that is highly beneficial to your overall cardiovascular health.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – performing high intensity bursts of maximal effort exercise followed by periods of rest cycled over and over has been shown to be the most effective form of cardiovascular conditioning for weight loss, and more importantly fat loss. You’ll get maximum calorie burn, and what’s better is that it takes half the time!

It’s not about the amount of calories you burn during a workout…far from it. You have to focus on what effect the workout has on your overall metabolic rate for several hours after the workout. Research shows that combining high intensity resistance training with HIIT produces a very high metabolic demand where the metabolism operates at peak levels for up to 4-6 hours after the workout and doesn’t return to resting levels for up to 36 hours. I’ll tell ya…working hard for 30-40 minutes a few times per week and seeing incredible results sure does sound better than busting my tail everyday for 60-90 minutes to accomplish far less results.

When planning your workouts, assess your goals and determine how much time you are willing to commit to your exercise program. If you’re like most of us, including me, than time is usually a factor so make the most of it! If you need help determining what kind of program is right for you just click here to request your fitness and nutrition consultation with a certified Jackson personal trainer today!

To your health and continued success,

Clint Barr

Fact or Fiction: “Dieting” Will Eliminate Body Fat

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Fiction! “Dieting” will not eliminate body fat. In fact, long term it will do just the opposite. Let me explain…

The term “dieting” that I am referring to here is what most individuals call it when they say they are “on a diet.” I’m referring to restrictive calorie dieting. This is where you calculate the number of calories you are currently taking in on a daily basis and drastically reduce that amount to produce your desired weight loss goal. You will initially lose weight implementing this strategy, but unfortunately it’s the wrong kind of body weight.

You see… the body cannot decipher between intentional calorie deprivation and starvation. Rather than the body adapting to make up for the lower calorie intake by burning fat, it will actually slow the metabolic rate (the rate at which we use energy) and hoard any calories that are being ingested to store as fat to ensure survival. Due to the lower caloric intake causing the body to hoard and store the calories taken in, the body needs alternative fuel sources and adapts by breaking down muscle tissue for immediate energy.

The overall effect of this is a slower metabolic rate because muscle is a metabolically active tissue. Lean muscle tissue burns up to 50 calories per pound at rest each day. If you were to add, and maintain, just two pounds of lean muscle in the course of a year, that would be the equivalent of ten (10) pounds of body fat in calories. So, by restricting your diet it will effectively cause you to burn fewer calories at rest, making it harder for you to maintain a lean body weight.

Not only that, but because you are taking in less fuel for your body, you will become lethargic and lack energy. Energy that you need to have effective metabolic enhancing workouts, and energy that you need to stay active. It’s a formula for failure, and one that many try to implement all to often.

The lower energy levels also lead to uncontrollable cravings. The body senses that you need energy so it relays messages to the brain that you need high energy dense foods and fast absorbing foods. Therefore, fats and sweets become foods that you crave. This adds to the body’s natural hormone response to store these calories as fat.

So what do you do if you’re not supposed to “diet”?

Remember, the use of the word “diet” in this article refers to restrictive calorie dieting. Diet by definition is simply the food you eat on a daily basis. In order to lose body fat you need to combine an effective exercise regimen, including resistance training, with a supportive nutrition plan that will produce a positive change in your body composition. But for time sake, let’s cover some simple and effective tactics you can start applying to your diet right now to see results…

1) Increase meal frequency – in simplest terms, eat more often. Studies have shown that eating 5-6 small meals each day is the most effective method for producing a lower body fat composition. By eating every couple of hours you are preventing your blood sugar from dropping below levels that cause you to crave high energy dense foods (refined sugars and fats). You also prevent yourself from overeating at each of those meals because you’re not as hungry due to the fact that you ate just a few hours earlier. So, you’ll not only eat fewer calories at each meal, but it will be much easier to avoid the foods that are primarily stored as fat rather than used for energy.

2) Drink a lot of water – dehydration can slow your body’s metabolic rate by as much as 50%, making it difficult for you to burn significant calories at rest. Water is calorie free and can make you feel more full as well. Make sure you are drinking water throughout the day and especially when exercising. To know whether or not you are drinking enough water, simply monitor your urine color. The more concentrated (dark) your urine, the more dehydrated you are. Conversely, the more diluted (clear) your urine, the more hydrated you are.

3) Eat Your Vegetables – research shows that individuals who consume vegetables regularly each day are significantly leaner than individuals who do not consume vegetables regularly each day. The reason is because most vegetables are low energy dense foods with a high nutrient value. Example: 2 cups of steamed broccoli is just 87 calories. In contrast, just one glazed donut can be as high as 350 calories. Moreover, the donut is composed of simple, refined carbohydrates that break down quickly and don’t sustain you for very long. Broccoli is a complex, fibrous carbohydrate that takes significantly more time, and more energy, to be broken down by the body.

You don’t have to restrict your calories and starve yourself to get the lean, tone body that you’ve always wanted. Quite the contrary. Eat healthier foods more often and combine that with a structured exercise regimen that includes resistance training, and your goals can be achieved.

If after reading this you are still struggling to connect all the dots, you can (and should) seek help. Reach out to us, that’s why we’re here. Submit your questions in the comments section below and we’ll gladly respond as soon as we possibly can. And feel free to request a no obligation health and fitness consultation. You can also pick up a copy of our “True Success: Nutrition for FAST Fat Loss” DVD by clicking on the banner at the top right hand corner of this page.

To your success,

Clint Barr

Fun Strength Training Ideas

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Lifting weights is an excellent and proven way to increase muscle tone and strengthen the body. The problem is the routine can wear thin rather fast. If you want to enjoy your workout time even more, consider working with your trainer to come up with a plan to incorporate fun options into your routine.

If it’s your goal to increase muscle tone and strength, but not necessarily bulk up like a bodybuilder, there are tons of options at your disposal that do not call for barbells and dumbbells. When you work with a trainer or other professionals at your health club, chances are you will find it is easy to work some variety into your strength training routine.

When it’s time to set aside the weights for a while, you might want to consider such things as:

Pilates – Take a class or get a video that shows you the ins and outs of a pilates program. This type of exercise routine involves gentle resistance training that focuses on building flexibility and core strength. While it might not result in pumped biceps, it can help you tone muscles and boost overall strength. Plus, it’s a fun alternative to sitting on the bench!
Water aerobics – This is an unusual exercise routine that blends a bit of cardio along with some strength training. As you work through aerobic routines, the water adds resistance to your movements. This, in turn, helps with muscle development and toning.
Swimming – Just plain old swimming can help with strength training courtesy of that resistance just mentioned. Mix in a few laps a week to help with toning and strengthening. This activity does tend to impact most major muscle groups, so it provides a fun and refreshing change of pace away from those standard weights.
Yoga – Take a yoga class if you want to add an interesting twist to your strength training routine. This ancient art does involve muscle toning movements along with intense flexibility training. It’s a unique and fun way to address health through mind, body and spirit.
Boxing or kickboxing – This particular sport strikes a nice balance between endurance and strength training. Kickboxing classes can be particularly fun if you are tired of typical routines. If your health club or gym doesn’t offer these classes, check with your trainer on how you might work this activity into your program.
Kettlebells – Although similar to weights, this type of training can mix things up while also helping to improve endurance and flexibility. Kettlebells are fairly cheap to buy and they can offer adjustable weights so they grow with you as your body strengthens.

Strength training doesn’t have to call for chaining yourself to a weight bench. There are a variety of ways to mix things up and still realize some incredible results. If you’re ready to add fun to your routine, talk to your trainer about incorporating unusual and enjoyable activities into your routine.

The Benefits of Whole and Organic Foods

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If you’re working on losing weight and getting into shape, chances are you’ve heard a great deal about the need to eat right. After all, a balanced, low-fat diet that is calorie controlled is an essential component in any well-rounded weight loss plan. While you may need to reduce overall calorie consumption to shed pounds, you also want to think about making the foods you do eat count for more. This is where whole and organic foods can come into play.

Jackson personal trainers here at Raising The Barr Fitness, as well as other fitness professionals, will often recommend the consumption of whole foods and organic products to our clients. The reasons for this are not because they are trendy and fashionable. The reality is both types of food tend to be a lot better at fueling the body with the nutrients it needs without cluttering the system with unwanted junk.

If your trainer has recommended incorporating whole and organic foods into your diet, you need to know how to spot these items. They are not always one in the same.

A Look At Organic Foods

Organic foods are simply those that are grown or produced without the use of chemicals. This means harsh fertilizers, chemical pesticides and even growth hormones are not used in the production of fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat products that bear organic labels.

Organic foods can cost more than conventionally produced products, but many people feel the increase in price is well worth the benefits. While studies have shown that organic foods do not necessarily contain more nutrients than conventionally produced items, they are free of chemical residues and unwanted hormone levels. Although these things have been proven “safe” for human consumption by government agencies, many people worry about the cumulative, long-term effects of consuming food even with trace amount of chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Finding organically grown foods is not difficult. Just look for organic labels in regular grocery stores or shop at organic or whole food markets.

Whole Foods Are A Little Different

Whole foods are those that undergo no or very little processing prior to their sale. While many whole foods are organic, as well, this is not a requirement for a food to be considered whole.

Whole foods include a variety of standard fare, including fresh fruits and vegetables. Other options include whole grains, unprocessed meat and milk that are not homogenized.

There are a number of benefits to consuming whole foods. This type of food product will not have added salt, sugar, fat or preservatives. This means there is nothing in the way of enjoying the full benefits of the food’s natural nutrients. Essentially, whole foods provide all the nutritional perks without any of the downsides of additives.

If your trainer has recommended incorporating organic and whole foods into your routine, you will find options on both fronts are readily available. They can give you an edge on weight loss by providing you with the nutrients you need, without the additives and chemicals you don’t.

Tips For Making Good Food Choices

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You’ve made up your mind to lose weight. You know you need to eat healthier and smarter to make it happen. Unfortunately, knowing and doing are two very different things. Temptations do lurk around practically every corner.

Can you resist and put yourself on a healthier path? You bet you can! These tricks and tips can help you navigate around temptations:

Make your home a haven – It’s probably not feasible to put yourself out of the path of temptations all the time. You can, however, give yourself one “safe place” where sweets and other treats are not found in abundance. Get rid of the junk food in your own home by giving it away or tossing it out.
Change cooking habits – Eating right doesn’t mean having to give up on flavor. When you opt to grill, broil, boil or bake your favorite foods instead of frying them, you can make a big difference in your eating habits. Replace heavy sauces and tons of butter with spices and healthy side dishes. Be creative on this front and you are likely to find making good food choices tastes quite good.
Don’t skip meals – Skipping meals and even planned snacks is bad for your metabolism. It can also make you so hungry at mealtime that you’ll be more likely to select faster, less healthy choices. Eat throughout the day and your hunger level won’t get out of control.
Order wisely – Even if you have to eat out, try to look for healthier choices on a menu. Even fast-food restaurants do offer alternatives to fried, calorie-laden foods on their menus.
Stock up on healthy snacks – Replace those bags of chips and chocolate bars with healthier snacks. Fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat yogurt and other options can fuel your body and satisfy cravings, too.
Cut out sugary drinks – Don’t overlook the need to stop drinking sugary sodas or juices when losing weight is the plan. Opt for lower-calorie choices and your body will thank you for it. Water is always the best option. Feel free to add lemons or cucumbers to make it a bit more palatable.
Think before you eat – Before popping a doughnut or other unhealthy choice into your mouth, stop and think. It’s also a very good idea to read labels when shopping to make sure you know exactly what you are buying and putting into your body.

Making healthy food choices isn’t easy, but it can quickly become a habit. Be creative in your food choices, vary your menu plans and seek advice from your trainer and you are likely to find that eating healthy never tasted better. Changing lifestyle choices doesn’t mean giving up on flavor or going hungry.

Lifted Spirit

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All to often I get caught up in the busyness of the day. I am constantly swatting away whatever comes at me next. Whether it’s the numerous emails I receive on a daily basis, or trying to meet my self imposed deadline on the current project I’ve outlined for myself or the business. In all that, I fail to see things for the absolute blessing they really are, and in the process lose out on what is really important… LIFE!

And more so than that are all the little things in life that I find simple enjoyment in… my family, my exercise, time with my dogs, my quiet time in the morning with devotional in hand and heart steeped in prayer. Those are the things I can lose sight of when I get caught up in the world that is rushing to and fro around me.

Last night I got home early (well earlier than I normally do) and for the first time in months I put on my running shoes and decided to go for a run. It hadn’t been since before my hip surgery almost 11 months ago that I’d been on the road…alone…with iPod in ear and nothing to think about. I felt a little awkward on my first couple strides. Literally had to re-train myself how to jog, but before I knew it I was striding smoothly and consistently with a nice rhythmical cadence.

At first I felt invigorated. I was moving at a relatively fast quip, but my time away from running on the road soon became apparent. About a mile into it I started to struggle and my pace dropped off dramatically. I was considering just walking the rest of the way back to the house, but I decided to press on. I didn’t like the song that was playing on my iPod so I started surfing through the songs.

I landed on one of my favorite Mercy Me songs…”Sanctified”. It’s such a powerful song that speaks an even more powerful truth. As I was crossing an intersection in my neighborhood the song was building to it’s crescendo. The music, gradually building in intensity, comes to a pause when Bart Millard (lead singer) sings the following: “Sanctified….I have been set free!” The instrumental comes blaring back right at the point of ‘I have been set free’. Powerful.

At that moment I could feel my spirit lifted, and it was as if my feet were not even touching the ground. I felt a rush of warmth come over me and all I could do was smile. A BIG smile! The car that drove past me at that moment was probably wondering what was wrong with me…I mean, how can anybody enjoy running enough that it makes them smile? Well, I’ll tell you I wasn’t smiling because I was running. I was smiling because of who I was running with.

Wait a minute Clint…weren’t you running alone??

True. I did start out on my run alone, but at that moment someone joined me…actually he’d been there the whole time. GOD. His Spirit came over me right there, right when I was about to “cash it in”. He met me right at that moment and reminded me that He is always with me. Sometimes we just have to step away from the world we get caught up in so we are aware of His presence. After all, our time here in this world is merely a vapor in the wind…a wave tossed in the ocean. Just a “blip” on the radar. In the grand scheme of things, and I need to be reminded of this as much as anybody, circumstances in our every day lives are an even smaller speck on the map of time. That project that seems so crucial… it can take one more day. And you know what… work will be there tomorrow.

The rest of the run was a breeze. Heck… I could have probably kept going, but my hip would not be happy with me today if I had. I’m gonna go for another run tonight, and probably the night after that. And I don’t expect to have the same experience every time, although that would be nice. I know that when I take the time to “shake off” everything the world throws at me… I feel better, I act better, and I love better. That is all the reason I need.

I hope you find that ‘something’ that lifts your spirit. And I would love to hear your comments about that, or this post.

God bless,

Clint Barr

Why You Can Benefit from Madison Personal Trainers

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With Madison personal trainers you can improve your life through a healthier choices and fitness. Deciding where and how to begin your fitness journey are just as important as making the decision to begin in the first place. For those that have never traveled down this path before, it can be complicated and confusing. That’s why working with Madison personal trainers is a great choice for beginners and lifelong fitness devotees alike. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how the personalized attention of a trainer can help you reach your goals.

You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

How many times have you started a new exercise routine and followed it faithfully for three weeks before you’ve found that your enthusiasm is long gone? Be honest – it’s easy to make excuses to avoid exercise. “I had a rough day at work,” “I’m too busy today,” “I didn’t get enough sleep last night,” the list goes on and on. But how quick would you be to make excuses if you know there was someone waiting for you at the gym?

And once you get to the gym, going through the motions alone can be equally intimidating. “How long should I do this exercise?” “Am I even doing this right?” Having Madison personal trainers by your side will help ensure that you can get instant feedback whenever you have a question, not to mention that they’ll monitor your progress and make sure you are working out safely and efficiently.

Focus and Motivation

Madison personal trainers are more than safety instructors in the gym; they can be your personal cheerleader – or even your personal drill sergeant, if you prefer – to help keep you focused on your goals and motivated to make them happen. A good personal trainer will keep track of your progress, and use this information to change or accelerate your workouts accordingly.

Before setting on your fitness path with a personal trainer, make sure that this is someone that you can see motivating you in the future. Do you feel comfortable with this person? Will you feel comfortable taking directions from this person? Being sure that you can form a good relationship with your personal trainer may mean the difference between meeting your goal and getting frustrated enough to walk away from your trainer and your goal.

Tailoring to Your Personal Needs

From the first day you meet with your personal trainer, he’s working to help you realize your fitness goals. The first meeting should include a full assessment, including your present weight, body fat index, and what you’re working towards – whether it’s losing weight or preparing for a marathon. This is also the time to let the trainer know if you have any problems such as joint or muscle injuries, are suffering from diabetes or are recovering from a heart attack. Using all of this information, the trainer will create an exercise program that is tailor fitted to your needs to help you reach your goals, and not the other way around. There is no better time than the present to hire Madison personal trainers to make your goals a reality!

Read even more articles on this and other topics by Madison Personal Trainers…

Madison Personal Training To Help Combat Cellulite

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Madison personal training experts know that cellulite is the bane of millions of women. Often appearing around the hips and thighs, cellulite has the appearance of dimples and it’s often characterized by the not very appealing name of “cottage cheese thighs”. Some people will experience this phenomenon while others may never have to worry about it. But understanding what cellulite is can help us better combat it. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what cellulite is, why you should avoid quick fixes, and how Madison personal training experts can help get rid of that cellulite forever.

What is cellulite?

When you get right down to it, cellulite is nothing more than fat. We all have connective tissue that separates fat cells into their own compartments. Men typically have crisscross or horizontal patterns to these compartments, while women usually have patterns that resemble a honeycomb, increasing the changes that the fat cells will slip through, become trapped between the tissues and the skin, and create the “cottage cheese” affect. Whether or not you have cellulite isn’t just determined by the amount of fat in your body, but genetics also plays a part. Genetics determines where your fat cells are stored in your body, so some people may never be burdened with cellulite while others will have to increase their activity levels in order to help get rid of it.

Beware of the quick fix

Everywhere you look there are commercials offering quick fixes to get rid of cellulite, but they either don’t work or only work for a short period of time. Don’t believe the hype and fall for the temptation of creams or wraps to make the cellulite instantly disappear. Cellulite creams claim to dissolve the cellulite, but no cream can penetrate the skin and rearrange fat cells. Expensive surgeries like liposuction remove deposits of fat, but it can’t change the appearance of it. Body wraps may reduce the appearance of cellulite, but this is because they work to smooth out the surface of the skin. You can expect to see the cellulite return by the next day.

Finally, beware of exercise equipment manufacturers that claim that using their machine, which targets the hips, rear end and thighs, will help improve the appearance of cellulite. These machines will certainly improve the muscles in the target area, but they do little to help you reduce your overall fat, which you can only achieve will a well rounded fitness program.

Lower your body fat

The best way to fight cellulite is to start a Madison personal training program that will help you lose your total body fat. After all, cellulite is just fat, right? The best fitness program involves eating right, getting plenty of rest, and a combination of both cardio and strength training. Improve your eating habits, not by trying out the latest crash diet fad, but making a commitment to better health and eating a well balanced diet. Rest is important to make sure you use your muscles safely and effectively. This not only means getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night, but letting a muscle group rest for forty-eight hours before exercising it again.

Finally, Madison personal training combines cardio and strength training to best fight fat. Cardio not only improves your heart and gives you energy, but it helps raise your metabolism. Your metabolism will be further raised with strength training, as the more muscles you have, the more calories you’ll burn. These three components are all you need to get on the path to better fitness and getting rid of that cellulite! Contact a Madison personal training expert to begin a fat fighting program today!

Read other Madison personal training articles to learn even more tips and techniques to improve your health…

A Madison Personal Training Expert Reports! Why Water is Crucial to Your Health

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Madison personal training experts know that as many as seventy-five percent of Americans aren’t drinking enough water. As most of us learned in school, our bodies are made up of nearly seventy percent water, so doesn’t it seem natural that we need to stock up on this most important element? In this article, we’ll learn why staying hydrated is so important to your health, the dangers of not getting enough water, and what a Madison personal training expert suggests to incorporate drinking water into your healthy lifestyle.

Why we need water

Our bodies are nearly two-thirds water; it’s in our blood, muscles, brains and even bones. This water plays a very important part of keeping our bodies healthy. It helps the body absorb nutrients and vitamins, helps digestion, detoxifies the liver and kidneys, carries away waste, helps the blood circulate, and many other important jobs. But the level of water in our bodies doesn’t stay the same; we lose water through urination, sweating, and even respiration. A Madison personal training expert stresses that this is why it is so important to replace the water that we’ve lost.

Dangerous dehydration

Many of us wait until we’re thirsty to start drinking water, but our bodies are dehydrated long before we have the sensation of thirst. We all need to replenish the water level of our bodies over the course of the day, and this is especially important the more active we are. If we’re not drinking enough water, we can experience signs of mild dehydration like joint, muscle, or lower back pain, headaches or constipation. Another clue that you’re not getting enough water is urine that is yellow or amber in color accompanied by a strong odor. Because water helps keep the blood flowing smoothly, the blood can actually become thicker without enough water, leaving us feeling tired. These problems can only get worse over time and can cause complications with the liver and kidneys.

How to get enough water

A Madison personal training expert suggests that the best way to estimate the amount of water you should drink over the course of a day is to divide your body weight in pounds in half. This number is how many ounces of water you should be drinking in a day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be consuming 75 ounces of water a day. You can count on about twenty percent of your water intake to come from your food, so that leaves sixty ounces of water, or around eight glasses of water a day.

A Madison personal training expert understands that it can be difficult in the beginning to get used to drinking eight glasses of water a day if you haven’t been following this rule, but you can get your water from a variety of sources. Although the caffeine in your morning coffee is a diuretic, which can leave your body feeling like it has consumed more water than it has, your body has likely compensated for this daily dose of caffeine.

Just don’t make the mistake of replacing your entire water intake with coffee! You can also get your water from fruit or vegetable juices (as long as the juice indicates that it is 100 percent natural and not loaded up with sugar!) or flavored or sports drinks, as long as you keep an eye on the extra calorie intake. You can also get in the habit of carrying a small bottle of water with you on the go.

One other note on how much water you drink – there is such a thing as drinking too much water! Never attempt to drink all of your daily water intake in one sitting, and don’t try to overcompensate when you feel you need to catch up. Drinking too much water can result in a disorder called hyponatremia, which literally means “low sodium.” This can happen when too much water is consumed, which in turn overwhelms the kidneys that can’t process the water fast enough, forcing the sodium levels to drop. This can lead to seizures and even death. If you are interested in getting healthy with a Madison personal training expert, contact us today!

Read other Madison personal training articles to learn more tips and techniques to improve your health…

Are You Too Busy to Exercise? A Personal Trainer in Madison Can Help!

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A personal trainer in Madison understands that among all the excuses one can make about avoiding exercise, claiming that you’re just too busy has to be the most often heard excuse. The truth is that this excuse just doesn’t cut it anymore. Everyone can find a way to incorporate an exercise routine into their busy lives, even if their lives are scheduled down to the last minute. Here are a few tips on how even the busiest among us can bring a little fitness into our lives.

Make Exercise a Priority

It seems that we can always miraculously find time for the things we really enjoy, like meeting a friend for drinks or catching our favorite team play on television. The trick with fitting in exercise is changing your attitude about it, and making it something that is important enough to warrant taking a second glance at the schedule. Sure it means that you may have to get up an hour earlier or sacrifice an hour of your precious evening leisure time, but think about how much better you’ll feel, not to mention how much better you’ll sleep! You may want to hire a personal trainer in Madison to ensure to stay on track!

Make a Schedule

Penciling exercise into your busy schedule is a great way to help keep you motivated and make time for fitness. Planning your fitness schedule a week in advance may be all you need to make sure you have time for all the responsibilities in your life. But sometimes even the best laid plans fail, so don’t beat yourself up if something comes up and you have to cancel one day. The most important thing is that you get back up on the horse the next day! Also, don’t forget that there are two days during the week that most of us don’t even consider when scheduling exercise – the weekend! If you are determined to meet your fitness goals, there is no better way than to hire a personal trainer in Madison.

Incorporate Exercise in Your Daily Routine

Just because you can’t fit time to go to the gym in your schedule doesn’t mean that you can’t incorporate exercise in your daily life! There are dozens of ways that you can get a short workout throughout the day. Some examples include using the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, parking at the other end of the parking lot when going shopping, and when you get home, bring in your shopping bags one at a time. You could even permanently lose your television remote and get up out of your chair from time to time!

You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

Your secret weapon may be one you didn’t even realize that you had – your personal trainer in Madison. Let a personal trainer know what your goals are and you’ll be surprised at how easily they’ll help you reach them. If you’ve never considered working out with personal trainer in Madison, you’ll be surprised at how difficult it will be to cancel when you know you have someone waiting for you at the gym.

Don’t be afraid to seek out professional advice. A personal trainer in Madison can help you think of new ways to incorporate exercise into your daily routine, even if you can only get to the gym a few days a month.

Read more great informative articles by a Personal Trainer in Madison…

Injuries, Strains and Sore Muscles A Personal Trainer in Madison Can Help

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A personal trainer in Madison understands that experiencing soreness the day after a work out isn’t uncommon. After all, you’re pushing your muscles beyond what they’ve been used to doing. But sometimes we mistake injuries and strains as sore muscles and push through the pain, which can lead to lasting damage. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at why muscles become sore, what you can do to help prevent soreness, and why working with a personal trainer in Madison can help you avoid injuries and strains.

Why do we get sore?

If you’re exercising correctly, muscle soreness should be very minimal, but those that are just beginning or have recently intensified their work outs may experience muscle soreness the day after a work out. This phenomenon is called delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, and generally occurs twelve to 36 hours after an intense work out. There are two factors that contribute to DOMS; a build up of waste products in the muscles and miniscule tears in the muscles. Not only are the muscles sore, but symptoms can also include feeling stiff, weak and tired. A personal trainer in Madison understands DOMS and will know how to safely and effectively get you passed it without injury or strains.

Avoiding soreness

Working out shouldn’t leave you feeling tired and sore, but energized! You can help your body better recover by taking care of your body before and after your work out. Make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep, as exercise will only exacerbate the tired feeling, and take an appropriate amount of rest between work outs, so your muscles have time to recover. A personal trainer in Madison suggests always warm up your body for at least ten minutes before any kind of intense work out, because exercising “cold muscles can lead to strains and injuries.

Stretching after a work out is just as important, as it encourages the blood flow to return to the organs and discourages lactic acid from building up in the muscles, which contributes to soreness. Finally, make sure you’re getting enough fuel for your body. Food give your body the energy it needs to work out efficiently, so consider adding a small snack an hour before your workout and eating a healthy meal afterwards, to help your muscles better recover.

Getting the help you need

If you’ve already tried some of these techniques and are still experiencing soreness after your work outs, chances are that you may have strained a muscle. A muscle is considered strained when it has worker harder than its capacity and it actually tears. If you don’t notice significant improvement over a period of a few days, you may need to seek medical advice.

It is, of course, very easy to avoid injury by making sure you’re using exercise equipment safely and not pushing yourself beyond your limits by consulting a personal trainer. Working out with a personal trainer in Madison has many benefits for you, including designing a fitness regime that’s right for you, encouraging you along the way, but most importantly, making sure you’re working out safely and efficiently. A personal trainer in Madison will be able to advise you about your muscle soreness, when you should seek medical advice, and how to avoid injury all together.

Check out more great articles by a Personal Trainer in Madison…

Three Diet Success Keys to Maximize Your Fat Loss

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You’ve probably heard about how important diet is to the overall fat loss equation. In fact, it is just as important as your workouts. The combination of both proper nutrition and exercise ramps up the body’s ability to burn fat. So, what are the most important factors to focus on in order to maximize your fat loss? Three simple things:

1. Increased Meal Frequency

Recommended 5-6 small meals a day.

Every time you eat, the food you ingest has an effect on your metabolic rate. This process is called the Thermic Effect of Feeding (TEF). What this means is that your body has to expend energy to chew your food, swallow, move the food through the digestive system, etc. The amount of energy used comes nowhere close to the amount of calories that you are eating at a given meal, but it does “spike” your metabolic rate.

Why is that important?

Because your resting metabolic rate is responsible for 80% of the calories you burn on a daily basis. So anything you can do to keep that elevated will benefit you. Furthermore, the more often you eat the less you will eat for each meal, which will keep the total number of calories ingested each day at lower levels.

2. Consume Low Carbohydrate Foods

Be aware of the high starch foods that you consume. You should continue to eat non-starchy carbs in the form of green vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, bell pepper, tomatoes, etc.). Please don’t confuse these statements with the “Atkins Diet.” I am not saying that you eat just protein and fat. Carbohydrates are still important to your diet and supply you with much needed energy to maximize your efforts during a workout. You simply must discontinue consuming foods that convert to sugar rapidly in your body. The main reason for doing this is insulin.

Whenever your blood sugar is high, insulin is secreted by the pancreas to remove the sugar from the blood. It does this primarily by converting the sugar to fat and storing it in the adipose tissue. More importantly, insulin inhibits the body’s ability to use stored fat as an energy source. Thus, when you consume a high carbohydrate, starchy diet your body is storing excess sugar as fat, and preventing you from burning that stored fat. In other words, you could be exercising daily and still not seeing any results from your hard work.

3. Eat More Fish or Use a Fish Oil Supplement

Recent studies show that individuals that consumed fish oil lost significantly more body fat than those that were given a placebo. Researchers have not determined the mechanism that facilitates accelerated fat loss, but all the evidence supports the fact that it does improve the amount of fat loss in those individuals that consume fish or a fish oil supplement. It is important to note that both groups in all studies also exercised. They made sure that all subjects did the exact same amount of physical activity. Remember exercise combined with proper nutrition is still extremely important for reaching your goals.

Start implementing these three simple steps to improve your diet and you will start seeing some visible results. The ball is in your court now. Remember that exercise is equally important to your goal, and especially resistance training because it helps promote lean muscle gain and increases your metabolic rate. If you’re not currently exercising or using resistance training in your exercise routine a fitness professional can help you design a safe and effective resistance training program.

What to Look for in a Fitness Instructor in Jackson

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You’ve decided to improve your health and lifestyle with a fitness instructor in Jackson. Congratulations! You’ve already made an important first step. The next one is to find a personal trainer that can help you achieve your goals, but where to start? Don’t make the mistake of hiring the first personal trainer you come in contact with, because he or she might not have accredited certification and make you dread showing up for exercise sessions. In this article, we’ll take a look at three important things to keep in mind when looking for a fitness instructor in Jackson; certification, your comfort level and how your potential personal trainer looks.

Certification

Thanks to the rise in popularity of personal trainers, more and more inexperienced fitness enthusiasts are seeking out certification from unlikely sources, such as the internet. Don’t be fooled by a fancy looking certificate or an impressive sounding certification body. There are a handful of accredited certification bodies that offer personal fitness certification and it is worth the time to learn about them before your search – not only because you’ll be able to separate the good from the bad, but because each certification has a different focus on fitness.

Any fitness instructor in Jackson worth his salt will also be certified in first aid and CPR, so be sure to ask about these issues as well.

Comfort Level

Just as every fitness instructor in Jackson is different, everyone seeking a personal trainer has different needs as well. The idea of a drill sergeant as personal trainer may be what you need to keep motivated, or it might ensure that you never show up for a session again. The purpose of hiring a personal trainer is that he or she will push you to work harder than you would by yourself, but the way they intend to push you will make all the difference in the world.

Even in the interview stage, don’t be afraid to ask the fitness instructor in Jackson how he or she intends to encourage you to go on. Also, is this a person that you’ll feel comfortable asking questions to in the middle of a session? Don’t disregard your initial feelings on meeting a potential personal trainer, because if you don’t feel comfortable with him or her, the less likely you’ll be to continue showing up to work out.

How Does the Trainer Look?

Just like the old saying goes, you should never judge a book by its cover, but let’s be honest – don’t you want a personal trainer that practices what he preaches? While you may never know for sure that the trainer achieved a healthy looking body by following a healthy diet and exercise program, you’re more likely to respect and follow the training if he looks like he does. He doesn’t have to look like he just stepped out of last week’s fitness magazine, but wouldn’t you find it difficult to respect a fitness instructor in Jackson if you looked better than he did?

Exercise In A Pill — Don’t Believe The Hype!

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At least that is what researchers are calling it. But is it really exercise?

The drug is called AICAR. It is a drug that they are calling the ultimate workout for the couch potato. You’re going to be hearing a lot about it, if you haven’t already.

AICAR was originally developed as a means of preserving blood flow to the heart during surgery. To date, it is only one of two studies that testing has been done in human trials relating to the drug. The other was a diabetes study in England.

The current study, recently published in the Journal Cell, showed that sedentary mice increased their ability to run on a treadmill 44% farther when administered AICAR. The doses were significantly higher than those in the human studies.

The drug appears to change the physical composition of the muscle transforming sugar-burning fast twitch fibers to fat-burning slow twitch fibers. This leads the researchers to believe that the drug possesses fat burning qualities which could help reduce weight, ward of diabetes, and prevent heart disease.

Don’t believe the hype!

Look at what Dr. Ronald Evans, the lead researcher said about the drug— “It’s tricking the muscle into ‘believing’ it’s been exercised daily.”

Let’s put it this way. One expert said, “believing that you’ve exercised using a pill is like being placed on third base and thinking you hit a triple.” It doesn’t add up.

Why?

Because exercise not only involves skeletal muscle, but the muscle we depend on most, the heart. The actual act of exercise helps improve cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and build strong bones. Exercise in a pill cannot do any of that.

As far as the fat reducing properties the drug may or may not have. Fat requires oxygen to be used as an energy source. Therefore, you must exercise to get oxygen in the body and muscle. This process is known as fat oxidation which occurs during the recovery process. Exercise requires recovery, and it is during the recovery process that the body adapts and uses stored fat as an energy source.

Think of it like this: if you went to the gym to see how much muscle you build during a workout and measured immediately after that workout, you will have gained absolutely no muscle. That is because the body must recover and adapt to see the effects of the exercise.

It’s no different when we talk about fat loss. During a workout the goal is to create such a metabolic disturbance that your body takes up to 38 hours to recover. During that time you have an elevated metabolism in which you are burning calories at a higher rate. This process done consistently is the only tried and true method for long term results.

Exercise in a pill cannot simulate this process!

Look. It’s HUMAN NATURE to seek the path of least resistance. But, if you want lasting, permanent health and fitness results, exercise is still the only proven method.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Robert Frost

Rather than taking the path of least resistance, take the path less traveled. That path requires hard work and consistency. There is no substitute for a sweat drenching, muscle fatiguing workout. It does wonders for your health — physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Clearly the benefits of exercise can not be packaged in a convenient pill. Get up, get moving, and most of all have fun!!!

Baked Salmon and Asparagus…Clean eating at it’s finest!

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My Sunday lunch... clean eating at it's finest!

Ingredients

(2) 3 oz Salmon fillet
3 cups of fresh asparagus
Juice from one half freshly squeezed lemon
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
Sweet basil
Ground pepper
Sea salt

Preparation

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Place salmon fillets in a baking dish. Drizzle 1 tbls of olive oil over the salmon, season with basil, pepper, and sea salt. Set aside. Place the asparagus in a separate baking dish, drizzle with the other tablespoon of olive oil and season with pepper and sea salt. Bake the asparagus initially for 5-10 minutes before you put the salmon in the oven. While the asparagus is cooking, prepare the salmon by cutting 1 lemon in half and squeezing the juice from one half over the fish. Place the salmon in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. The asparagus and salmon will finish at the same time. Remove from oven, serve with a lemon wedge.

Enjoy!

Servings: 2-3

Calories: 300 per serving

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.

When Life Gives You Lemons…Make Lemonade

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As a professional athlete I was at high risk of injuring myself. The thing is, for the 2+ years that I spent playing in the New York Yankee farm system, and four years of college, I merely had minor injuries.

By minor I mean a broken thumb, broken ring finger, broken hand, 10 stitches in my chin, and two concussions… Whew! Maybe I was more injury prone than I thought.

But none of those injuries were serious in the sense that they required surgery.

Little did I know that during my years as both a college and professional baseball player I had a developing injury all along that wouldn’t rear its ugly head until now.

In just 9 days I will be having arthroscopic hip surgery to remove a bone lesion on the neck of my femur and repair a torn labrum. And I have to tell you…I’m worried sick about it.

Recently a client of mine asked me if I was excited to finally get my surgery and have the pain in my hip gone for good.

I can’t say that I’m enthused about the actual surgery itself, nor would I say I’m excited that I am having surgery.

But she reminded me of something that I teach all my clients which is when things such as these present themselves you have the choice to decide how you are going to react to such obstacles. Your attitude towards how you approach “road bumps” in life can be all the difference in turning them into a spring board for making you stronger.

The Student becomes The Teacher!

And I am forever grateful that she reminded me of this very important fact.

You see, no matter what obstacles life puts up in front of you, you have the power to make the best of it. Your attitude and outlook on every situation can make or break you.

You can sit on the sidelines and sulk…or you can get your butt in the game and rise to the occasion. Its simple!

“Nothing worthwhile ever happens quickly and easily. You achieve only as you are determined to achieve… and as you keep at it until you have achieved.”–Robert H. Lauer

So when life gives you lemons…make the sweetest tasting, most refreshing, and outright BEST lemonade you can!

Yours in health,

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

Top 5 Resistance Tubing Exercises (Home Gym Series #4)

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Alright everybody. Today I am here to share my top 5 Resistance Band Tubing exercises. This is a great piece of equipment. It is very versatile and its resistance profile matches the strength profile of your muscle tissue.

What do I mean by that?

Well, when you are at your weakest, or when the muscle is at its maximal length, the tubing is at its shortest length. Conversely, when you are at your strongest (muscle fully contracted), the tubing is fully elongated and thus has more tension or resistance.

You can use this tubing to create different types of adaptations in the muscle than you could with a dumbbell.

OK. Let’s get to the Top 5:

Squat & Press
Standing Y
High Pull with a Side Shuffle
Resistance Band Push Up
Squat/Lift/Twist

You’ve seen the video and learned the exercises. Now you have to take action and put them to use or they just don’t work. Get to work and have fun!

Yours in health,
Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

How to Use the Struggling Economy to Improve Your Health

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I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of hearing every day about how bad our economy is. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to complain. I think if you’re listening to the news on a daily basis (which maybe you shouldn’t be), you hear enough complaining and negativity.

What I do think is that all of this is actually a great metaphor for your commitment to your health, fitness, and weight loss goals.

How could that possibly be?

Well, let me explain…

I hear complaints almost every day from both clients and society at large about how hard it is for them to eat right, exercise more, and stick to an exercise and nutrition plan that will get them results. It never seems to happen fast enough for people. And do you know why? Because they’re focused on the wrong things.

I’m sure you can relate to this to some degree. After all, most of us in some way or another usually feeling like we could do a little better when it comes to our pursuit of peak health. For example, right now I know I personally would benefit from a little more sleep, a little more water, and a little less snacking on pretzels at night. Yes, those are small changes, but I’m not perfect either.

The point is, that we should always be working on self-improvement. It makes us better as individuals, and then in turn contributes to society’s well-being too. The bigger point though is this…

Change takes time, especially when it comes to turning the economy and your health around. Even though we hear every day that the current economic problems in the world are not going to subside quickly, there is still a strong tendency for all of us to place too much emphasis on small changes that are either good or bad.

The same holds true for your pursuit of your health and fitness goals. I can’t tell you how many conversations I have with people week to week that are focused around their obession with that little number on the scale, or body fat machine, or tape measure. Yes, this is a good thing to an extent. Because just as in running my business, when it comes to your health, you need to watch the numbers. But there is one very important thing you must remember at all times…

You are NOT your numbers!

The only way to achieve true and lasting change, and ultimately your goals, health and fitness or otherwise, is through a constant and steady improvement in all aspects of your life, your personality, your habits, and your exercise and nutrition program.

So, let’s turn the current economic state into a positive right now shall we? Every time, you hear bad things about the economy, simply take a moment and connect with the fact that we all know that it’s going to take some time to turn around. Use that knowledge and awareness to your advantage in the following two ways:

First, don’t react to every bit of bad news that comes your way. And if you need to, turn off the news in your life from time to time. Spend some alone time with your thoughts.

Secondly, use those moments to remind yourself that your pursuit of peak health, and your fitness and weight loss goals will happen faster when you are less attached to the day to day results, and more focused on your vision and pursuit of long term and postive change.

Yours in health,

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

How to Design a Home Gym for Under $300

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Have you ever wanted to have your own home gym, but could never afford it? Well in this video I give you 4 pieces of equipment that are absolutely essential for any home gym, they are the only pieces of equipment you need, and together it will cost you less than $300!

The first piece of equipment is the TRx Suspension Training System. This is quite possibly the most versatile piece of home gym equipment ever made. And made to go in more than just the home, so you get a home gym and a gym in a bag that goes with you anywhere…and it fits in just about any bag, including a women’s purse.

The TRx Suspension Training System offers even more than simple fitness. Perhaps you enjoy playing tennis. Or maybe you are an avid golfer. This piece of equipment offers it all, even a military version for those aspiring to as fit as our top military personel.

The second piece of equipment is your standard Stability Ball. As you’ll see in an upcoming video to this video series, the stability ball is great for working the core as well as several other large muscle groups. It too is extremely versatile. It can be used for upper body training like Stability Ball Push Ups and Big Ball Push Ups. And can be used for lower body training like Supine Hip Extension and Supine Hip Extension w/ a Leg Curl.

Thirdly, is the Resistance Band. You can attach these to a door handle to do standing chest press, standing row, and several rotational core exercises. In the video I show you some exercises where you can stand on the Resistance Band Tubing. Just a few of the many exercises that can be done right in the comfort of your own home. Remember, in an upcoming video in this series I will be demonstrating several more exercises you can do with your new tubing.

The last piece of equipment I think is an absolute must for your new home gym is the Medicine Ball. You can use a medicine ball to add resistance to several body weight exercises and even combine it with other pieces of equipment like I demonstrated in the video. A medicine ball is similar to a dumbbell, you may need more than one size and weight to accomodate many different movements, but for now you can get by with just one.

There you have it. Your very own home gym for under $300. Let’s review what you should get:

Okay. Now you have the tools. Check back soon for additions to this video series where I will demonstrate several exercises you can do using your new equipment in your very own home gym. Once you have the equipment and the routine you can finally trash that gym membership, save some money, and still get a great body.

Yours in health,

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

Expect To Be Successful

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Okay, so Tiger Woods didn’t have the storybook comeback that everyone was hoping for….including me. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t ever taste victory again. 539w

Let’s take a look at Tiger’s career, arguably the best in PGA history. He has won 65 tournaments, 14 of which are majors. Tiger has 236 career starts and made the cut in 222 of those tournaments. He is one of the greatest players to ever play the game and he has only won 27.5% of the tournaments he has entered.

Now, don’t misunderstand me, that is a remarkable percentage in his sport and the reason why he will one day be known as the best ever. But my point is that he expects to win every single tournament he enters and still he has only won 27.5% of the time.

Does that keep him from entering the next event and expecting to win it? Absolutely NOT!

You have to take the same approach with your health and fitness goals. Expect to be successful! Have a mindset that nothing is going to stop you from reaching your goals. That doesn’t mean you won’t experience some road bumps…and possibly a few road blocks.

Even when it seems you’re not seeing any results continue to expect the best result. Keep working to the best of your ability and don’t let anything stand in your way. Break through the brick walls LIFE puts up in front of you!

You have to have the “Eye of the Tiger.”

Do this one thing, adopt this mindset, and expect to be successful!

Yours in health,

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

Due Diligence…The Key To Success (Tiger Woods Proclaims)

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Hi Everybody,

Well, he’s back! In case you have been living on another planet and haven’t heard the news, Tiger Woods returns to play on the PGA Tour today after missing the last 8 months due to ACL knee surgery.

Why is that important?

Actually, the fact that he recovered so quickly is the biggest news. You see it usually takes longer than 8 months to return from ACL reconstruction on the knee.

tiger-woods-picture-2

When Tiger was asked about what he did to return in such a short time frame he simply answered “I just did my due diligence everyday.”

Basically that means that he did the work that was required for him to return to his job as quickly as possible. In this case his job is a professional sport that demands a lot of him physically.

So Tiger spent the last 8 months doing his rehab and getting stronger, more fit,…better. Eight months, not 2 weeks! He worked his tail off for the last 8 months and he wasn’t looking to get the results he needed in some unrealistic time frame.

And he was CONSISTENT!

You can learn a great deal from someone like Tiger. First and foremost he had realistic expectations for when he might return because he understood that it would require a lot… not a little, a lot of work!

Secondly, the man stuck to a plan and worked that plan on a consistent basis.

The same goes for your health and fitness goals. You must have realistic expectations or goals. You have to have a plan of action. You have to work that plan, and you absolutely must be consistent at doing it in order to see the results that you want.

Do YOUR due diligence!

Set some realistic goals, make a plan, take action, and stay the course. Reaching your goal is that simple!

Yours in health,

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

P.S. Doing it on your own is tough. At Raising The Barr Fitness I help you set those goals, create your plan, and help you take action. I pride myself in how I support, motivate, and coach my clients. The accountability I provide can help you stay the course. Give me a call to schedule your no obligation fitness and nutrition consultation. Unleash a “Tiger” in you! Call today.

Is America in Denial About What to Eat for Dinner?

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Americans have grown fatter and sicker than ever. People don’t move, they eat poorly, and in many ways seem unwilling to do much about it. And as the crisis worsens, we seem to grow ever more confused about how we got here, and ever more polarized about setting things right.

There is a quote from one of the experts in the movie, “Supersize Me” where the scientist makes the point that back in the 1800s, people wished for a constant supply of food that was easy to access and plentiful. Well, be careful what you wish for the old expression goes… Because we have that endless supply now, and our culture doesn’t look so good.

Not only have we become as unhealthy as ever, but the confusion that’s now present about what to do about it seems to feed people’s denial about needing to take some action. When people are confused about what to do, action stops. People are also busier than ever, so it becomes easier to eat lots of packaged and processed food, sit behind the desk, and complain about our growing waistlines.

Let me give you an example of how far out of shape the confusion has become…

I’ve had more than one client tell me that they are actually afraid of potatoes. This is mostly a result of their understanding that too many simple carbs are bad for them, which is true. And there are lower glycemic choices, but here are the facts about potatoes (a whole food)…

They’re a better choice than anything you’ll get in a package (bag or box), and if you eat it with the skin, the round little thing contains as much fiber as oatmeal. It only packs 150 calories (if it’s not one of those giant ones and you don’t load it with butter, sour cream, and cheese). It also contains plenty of vitamins and minerals. If you had a complex carb like broccoli on top, you’re doing even better, because the complex carb on top slows down the digestive process even more, adds more nutrients and helps you get closer to your greens goal for the day.

There are literally countless ways to balance the equation in your favor. The energy balance equation that is. If you burn more than you take in on a regular basis, you’re going to lose weight, increase your energy level, and live a better healthier life. It really is that simple, until you attempt to wade through all of the evidence and recommendations.

For now, I’ll leave you with just a few simple suggestions for more healthful eating. If you’re a current client, you’ve heard this stuff before, but I know it’s worth repeating. If you’re not a client yet, I encourage you to click on the Free Consult link to the left so that we can discuss how we can apply these strategies to your individual needs and get you living a better healthier life starting now!

Here are the strategies:

1. Stop eating Junk! Including those big giant pretzels with cheese I see people eating at the concession stands and pretty much everything else you might find there. It’s all junk! By giving up junk for whole foods, you can shed hundreds of calories per day. OK good, you’re already heading in the right direction.

2. Eat vegetables in abundance. There isn’t a diet guru on earth who disagrees with this. You just don’t hear it often enough because the advertising budgets for big food companies are in the billions while the “5 A Day for Better Health” campaign put out a few years back for example only had a million or so. Only about 1 in 4 adults eats their vegetables. I guess it starts as a kid and never improves. That’s a shame.

3. Drink a lot of water. Often when you feel hungry, you’re actually just thirsty. Water of course has no calories so simply making sure to stay hydrated will help you shed some extra calories for the day.

4. Prevent the excess. Portion sizes are critical to taking control of your health.

5. Eat a great, well balanced breakfast every day.

Yes, of course there are more strategies, but if you simply stuck to these you would be doing better than most of the rest of the population, especially if you pushed that chair back from behind your desk, stood up, put your coat on and went for a walk once a day!

Yours in health,

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

Is your nutrition your downfall?

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Hello Everyone,

Today I want to share a video with you that explains how you should eat. Focus on the basics. Don’t get caught up in the numbers and science. Just listen to what you should be eating. I couldn’t make a good video this good and it explains in a nutshell everything I have been talking about the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Yours in health,

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

Why You Can't Ignore Good Nutrition

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Let me introduce you to Stephanie. She came to me with her husband Rick about 12 weeks ago. Listen carefully to what she says about nutrition and how it has impacted her weight loss goals.

Now, I have to tell you that Stephanie really jumped in with both feet on the nutrition side of things. And her results reflect her commitment to the changes she has made. You should know that the changes she made were very simple and anyone can do it. So how’d she do it?

Simple. Just do the following:

Eat more. As long as the food you are eating is of high quality protein and non-starchy carbohydrates in the form of green vegetables, you can eat as much as you like.
Eat more often. Doing this keeps your metabolism at optimal levels. Plus you actually eat fewer calories because you are never hungry.
Avoid saturated fats. Foods containing saturated fats actually slow your metabolism and sabotage your results.
Avoid simple sugars. Sugar IS the metabolism killer. It promotes the release of the hormone insulin which slows your metabolism and promotes fat storage.
Take high quality supplements to fill the voids. A high quality daily vitamin pack like Vitalizer and a post workout recovery shake like Physique are Stephanie’s secret weapons to increasing her energy and blasting away body fat.

That’s it. It really is that simple. Don’t get me wrong, it requires hard work, planning, commitment, and probably the most over looked factor… Accountability.

If you want to have a life changing experience like Stephanie, you can’t ignore the power of a good nutrition plan. I want you to know that I am here to help. Just click on the Free Consult button on the left hand side. Who knows you could lose up to 33 pounds just like Stephanie.

Yours in health,

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

Avoid These 3 Foods or Suffer The Consequences

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Hello Everyone,

This week has been a tough week for me in regards to my own nutrition. Wait… I know what you are thinking… you’re a personal trainer and you always eat right and exercise everyday. But less you forget, I am still human.

Any way, I guess you could say I have been lazy with preparing meals and planning ahead. Sometimes I just get tired of trying… sound familiar? I found myself lacking fresh foods over the last couple of days and my energy has been sluggish to say the least.

One of the main things I noticed is that I was consuming foods that were processed, had saturated fats, and contained simple sugars. All of which are metabolism killers!

That small blip in my eating habits has reinforced my commitment to getting back to the healthy eating I am used to. I wanted to share that struggle with you, and share the 3 foods that literally promote fat storage and turn off your fat burning capabilities.

1) Simple Sugars - things like cookies, candy, soda, fruit juice, cakes, and table sugar are metabolism nightmares! They cause your body to secrete the hormone insulin which is a storage hormone and effectively throws the water on the coals of your fat burning furnace. Your body simply refuses to burn fat when insulin is present in the blood stream.

2) Processed and Refined Carbohydrates – white rice and pasta, pre-packaged foods, granola bars, basically anything in a bag or a box. Processed foods and refined carbohydrates are absorbed by the body very quickly and therefore easily converted to fat. You should be getting your carbohydrates from fresh, organic (if possible) vegetables and whole grains. These foods take longer to digest, thus require more energy to be broken down by the body which gives you a significant boost to your metabolism.

3) Saturated Fats – These are easy to identify. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, like the marbles of fat in a sirloin for example. Things like fast food, salad dressing, dairy and other animal fats are very high in saturated fats. Not only does this type of fat cause a health concern for your cardiovascular system, but they also slow down your metabolism and train the body to store fat rather than burn it. You can kiss that new body you have been working so hard to get good-bye if you consume these types of foods. Go for more healthy sources of essential fats in the form of nuts, fish oils, and flax seed oil.

As you can see, if I allowed myself to fall to far off the wagon this week I would have a daunting up hill climb to overcome just to get back to where I was. Luckily I snapped out of it soon enough and so can you. Just make a commitment to start eating healthier, fresh foods and stay away from the snacks in a bag and the meals in a box.

You will definitely feel better, I know I do.
Yours in health,

Clint Barr
Raising The Barr, Inc.
www.bestjacksonpersonaltrainer.com

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