Burn More Calories

A quick word about T.E.A. (Thermal Effect of Activity). T.E.A. refers to your general activity level outside of "dedicated" exercise time. Where do the calories we consume go? Here’s a breakdown:

• Approximately 40% of the calories we consume can be burned through dedicated exercise.
• Another 30% are burned via digestion.
• Another 30 – 40% are burned via T.E.A. This is where many people fall short, and an area to concentrate on when attempting weight loss.

Tapping into the T.E.A. can really up your caloric expenditure. Ways to up one’s T.E.A. might mean taking stairs instead of an elevator, standing vs. sitting, making multiple trips to & from the car to carry in groceries, etc. Not that one has to do all of these things every day, but choosing a couple to implement will add up. Here are more practical suggestions I obtained from A.C.E. (American Council on Exercise):


Lifestyle Suggestions to Be More Active During the Day:

• Walk during your lunch hour.
• Take a family walk after dinner.
• Walk your dog.
• Get off the bus a stop early and walk.
• Wash the car by hand.
• Run or walk fast when doing errands.
• Pace the sidelines at your kids’ athletic games.
• Walk to a coworker’s desk instead of emailing or calling.
• Take a walk break instead of a coffee break.
• Play with your kids at least 30 minutes a day.
• Dance to music.
• Walk briskly in the mall.
• Take the long way to the water cooler, break room, etc.

Carving out just five minutes daily to be more physically active will provide more functional fitness/endurance and burn more calories. Do it every day for a week and you've racked up 35 more minutes of physical activity then you had before.

Beginning a Fitness Program

If you are taking your first plunge into the world of fitness, how you look tackle the journey early on will ultimately determine your long-term success. Here are some considerations for fitness newbies:

It doesn’t matter where you start; it just matters that you start. Upon joining a health club, you are bound to notice a number of people that are in amazing shape. If you do not feel especially good about yourself, you may feel intimidated. This is where you have to ask yourself, how did they get to look so amazing? They, like you, had to start somewhere on the road to fitness and chances are good that they were not born with amazing physiques overnight. If it helps, remember that these people will be spending more time looking at themselves (not you) while they are at the gym. Do not be intimidated, through commitment and consistency you will also be successful in positively altering your appearance.

Pick another day outside of January 1^st to start a fitness program.Let’s face it, too many people feel pressured to hit the gym January 1^st to start working off extra holiday pounds. These same folks set unrealistic goals, such as going to the gym every day for grueling, two-hour workout sessions and quit before February rolls around. This "warrior" approach always leads to burnout and failure as it cannot be adhered to long term. Fitness is a lifestyle, and this means implementing a reasonable approach, schedule and discipline that can be adhered to for the long haul. Remember that the reward with fitness is in the journey, there is no final destination. If you are serious about beginning a fitness program, do so when you really feel ready to begin and avoid the bandwagon.

Take advantage of what your gym has to offer. Most facilities, nowadays, offer a free, equipment walk-through or a few, free personal training sessions for new members. This can be very helpful to the novice exerciser and can help ease fears when it comes to using equipment. Although some fitness equipment looks rather complex, it is typically designed to work on basic concepts like push-pull, lift-lower, etc. Once one understands how to adjust the resistance level, height, etc., much of this knowledge is easily transferred across different types of equipment. Take advantage of any free nutritional assessments, fitness testing, etc. Establishing a baseline with where your fitness level begins is a nice way to be able to quantify progress later, and a great way to stay motivated. Take what you want from such assessments, and leave the rest. 

Try group fitness classes as a way to kick start to your fitness program. If your gym offers group fitness classes, try exposing yourself to a few different class formats. Group fitness classes make exercise fun, and are also a great way to learn correct form with various exercises. In a group fitness setting, the instructor will count the repetitions, motivate you, and provide different instruction for different fitness levels. Class formats and instructors can vary greatly, so try a few before you call it quits. Find something you enjoy as this also key to your long-term success.

Focus on the rewards, not the work. I always motivate my clients by encouraging them to focus on the rewards of exercise, not the work involved. This means concentrating on benefits such as, losing weight and inches, dropping body fat, having more energy, feeling younger, and fitting better in their clothes. I discourage them from focusing on the work and any negatives involved such as cranking out reps, being sore, and doing challenging exercises they do not like. This is a simple, but powerful concept in re-framing how one chooses to look at things. In the world of health and fitness, positive focus quickly turns into paid dividends, and once this happens self-motivation quickly takes over.
　
　
　
　
　
　　
　

I Don't Have Time to Exercise

I cannot tell you how much I hate to hear this from people as this has to be the most overused excuse for not exercising.  Lose the preconceived notion that large chunks of time have to be allocated for exercise. Exercising moderately for just 10 minutes three to four times per week will offer health benefits. Remember that these benefits are cumulative.

Get creative in carving out a few minutes of exercise time. For instance, DVR a favorite show and fast forward through commercials in order to create that 10 minutes that "does not exist" or, watch a recorded show and exercise through every commercial break.  Make it happen.

Some new research that indicates that there may be some benefits to taking a traditional 60-minute workout and breaking it up into two separate workout sessions of 30 minutes. The possible benefit in doing so is that after exercise our bodies enjoy a metabolic boost for a window of time. More research is required, but there is indication that through utilization of two, smaller workouts, we are lengthening that period of increased metabolism. Yes, less may actually be more...and ANYTHING is better than nothing.

Unexpected benefits to exercising moderately might be a higher level of functional fitness. This means that an elderly person might have more energy and endurance to go about their daily routines and therefore maintain more independent living. It may also mean that a working professional can do their job better through ease of movement and increased efficiency. Most people take functional fitness for granted until they do not have it anymore, and losing functional fitness only leads to a more sedentary lifestyle. Get yourself moving and know that every active minute counts.