Archives for July 2013

What are the Benefits of Drinking Water? 10 Reasons Why You Should Drink More!

July 31, 2013

More than 50% of your body is made up of water, so knowing that can help you realize the importance of keeping it hydrated. You can live a couple of weeks without food, but you would only survive a couple of days without water.

Most people don’t drink enough water throughout each day, which can lead to headaches, dizziness, and sluggishness.

Here are 10 reasons why you should drink more water each day:

1. Perfect For Weight Loss

(water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar and can help act as an appetitie suppressant)

2. Keeps Your Heart Healthy

(if you drink adequate water each day, studies have shown that it will decrease your chance of a heart attack).

3. Keeps You Energized

(being dehydrated can zap you of your energy and make you feel tired)

4. Natural Headache Cure

(some headaches are caused by lack of water; drink more to prevent and treat headaches)

5. Healthier Skin

(many celebrities swear that one of their best beauty secrets is drinking a lot of

water each day for clear and glowing skin)

6. Cleansing Effects

(water is used by the body to flush our toxins and waste)

7. Be More Productive

(water helps your body perform at it’s best, including during exercise. Dehydration makes it hard to be as productive and active as you can be)

8. Digestion

(not only does water help organs to absorb nutrients better, it can also help with stomach acid problems)

9. Helps prevent/treat constipation

(sufficient hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don’t get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration — and the result is constipation)

10. Protects and cushions your vital organs, including your

heart.

To view the rest of this post, be sure to head over to www.tone-and-tighten.com.

Have a great day!

Jared

10 of the Best Arm Workouts on YouTube

July 31, 2013

Be sure to follow on Pinterest and Facebook for more workouts and fitness ideas!

Looking for ways to tighten up those arms?

I have rounded up some of my favorite workouts that are available for FREE on YouTube!

After doing 10-20 minutes of cardio (like this 20 Minute Workout!), finish up with one of these for toned arms.

Total Arm Workout

Arms on Fire

Tracy Anderson No-Weight Arm Workout

Toned Arms in 10 Minutes

Toned Lean Arms

Madonna Arms

Arms and Shoulders Workout

Tone It Up Arms

Jillian Michaels’ Arms and Shoulders Workout

Arm Slimming Exercises

To view the rest of this post, be sure to head over to www.tone-and-tighten.com.

Have a great day!

Jared

20 Minute Intense Cardio Workout- How many rounds can you do?

July 29, 2013

You don’t need a gym to get a good workout- all that you need is a space on the floor and your own body weight.

I love this quick and easy workout because you pick how hard to push yourself. Challenge yourself to go a little faster than you think you can- you’ll be surprised what you are capable of doing.

And it’s only 20 minutes long- you can do anything for 20 minutes!

To view the rest of this post, be sure to head over to www.tone-and-tighten.com.

Have a great day!

Jared

How To Get More Out Of Your Workout

July 27, 2013

Be sure to follow on Pinterest, Google +, and Facebook for more workouts and fitness ideas!

Let’s face it – you’re busy.

Between work, school, fixing dinner, getting the kids to soccer practice, mowing the lawn , and cleaning the whole house your entire day is on a tight schedule. When you consider all that you do through the day, those few precious minutes that you’re able to budget during the day to workout become all the more valuable.

So how do you make sure that you’re getting the most out of your time? How do you ensure that every precious minute spent working out is maximizing your outcomes and helping you to fulfill your potential?

Here are 7 simple tips to ensure that you get the most out of your exercise time every time:

1. Focus, focus, focus! With regards to working out, it is vital to prepare mentally as well as physically. I have found that the best time for me to do this is during my warm-up. During your next warm-up session I want you to close your eyes and answer the following questions: Why am I here today? What specific areas of my body have I been particularly concerned about lately? And finally: What am I going to do about it today? Spend the remainder of your warm-up mapping out your plan of attack. What exercises are you going to do? What order you going to do them in? Planning your next 15, 30, 60, or 90 minutes goes along way in maximizing your productivity with the time you’re allotting to yourself.

2. Did I mention focus? Maximize every exercise by concentrating on the specific muscle you’re trying working on. Research has shown that keeping focus on the muscle you’re training actually results in increased muscle contraction and enhanced results. While performing squats, focus on your butt and quads. While performing biceps curls, focus on your biceps. Letting your mind wander to work, cleaning, daily errands, etc. can wait. This is your time.

3. Pump up the jam. Research shows that training with music actually helps you be more productive and get more out of your workout during a given period of time. Train with music and change it often! Keeping fresh, high tempo, upbeat music on your MP3 player ensures less boredom and increased productivity. Who doesn’t get stoked when their “jam” comes on?!

4. Grab a buddy. Find a friend to workout with. I don’t care where they come from – a colleague at work, a member of your book-club, or even the person on the treadmill right next to you. The benefits of working out with someone are endless: you keep each other focused; you keep each other honest (it’s a lot more difficult to cheat your number of reps when you have someone there counting for you); you have spotter to finish that last rep that otherwise you may not have gotten; you will get to your work out if you know someone is there waiting for you (the snooze button on the alarm has a lot less pull when you know your friend is counting on you to be there); etc. Working out with a partner is an excellent way to maximize your time and potential.

5. Intensify with intervals. Interval training is an amazing way to maximize your aerobic efforts. Click here for more details on interval training. The short explanation is this: don’t just spend 10 minutes on the treadmill at a constant speed – mix it up. Run in 1-2 minute intervals at speeds ranging from comfortable jog to”Jared really expects me to do two minutes this fast??”. These changes in speed and bursts of energy are an excellent way to keep your body guessing and enhance your cardio workout.

6. Step out of your comfort zone. The next time you’re working out – be it in the gym, at home, wherever – I challenge you to do an exercise you have never done before. Tired of crunches? Grab physio ball. Don’t feel like doing lunges? Try some squats on the Bosu. The introduction of new exercises breaks you out of routine and adds vital muscle confusion. New kinds of muscle soreness equals new kinds of results.

7. There’s an app for that. Download a fitness app and start using it regularly. Many of these apps are free or cost $1-3 for a few extra bells and whistles. Start tracking everything from exercises you do to calories you consume. Closely monitoring your caloric intake and energy expenditure is the quickest way to identify those areas in which you may be lacking and easily becomes the first step in correcting these issues.

Try these simple solutions to maximizing your workout effectiveness and start to realize your potential no matter your circumstance.

Make it happen,

Jared

To view the rest of this post, be sure to head over to www.tone-and-tighten.com.

Have a great day!

Jared

Core Muscle Basics- What are the core muscles and how do I strengthen them?

July 26, 2013

Photo credit

The core… In today’s world of fitness this is a buzzword that occurs frequently. You hear it all the time – “keep your core tight”, “great core exercise”, etc. But what exactly is the core? What are the core muscles, how are they trained, and why are they so important?

Whenever I refer to “core” in my clinic with my patients, I am referring specifically to the musculature of the trunk and hips. This area is referred to as the core of the body and is vital in almost all functional movements. Here are the specific muscles and essential movements that are vital in a achieving a strong, healthy core:

1. Transversus abdominis: this is the deepest muscle of the abdominal wall. In regards to core and spine stability it is also one of the most important. It starts from your spine and wraps around all the way to a central attachment site in the front of your abdomen; essentially forming a corset around your midsection. This muscle is vital to spinal stability and is contracted as you draw your belly button up and in towards your spine. My first step in all core exercises in the clinic is always to contract your TA.

2. Obliques: the next layers of your abdominal wall musculature are your internal and external obliques. These muscles wrap from your hips to your ribs (or from ribs to your hips: internal versus external obliques) and are essential in controlling lateral and rotary movements of the core. Exercises including side planks and Russian twists are great ways to activate your obliques.

3. Rectus abdominis: the “six pack” muscle. This is your most superficial layer of abdominal musculature which runs from the bottom of your ribs to the top of your pelvis. This is the primary mover during trunk flexion activities, specifically sit ups, crunches, etc. While this bad boy probably gets the most attention, it’s not necessarily the most vital in talking about core strength and spine stability.

4. Quadratus lumborum, multifidus, erector spine group: These are the muscles that make up the lower back region. The quadratus and multifidus are vital to lumbar spine stability, strength, and preventing injury (bridges and alternating quadruped activities). The erector spinae group are the primary movers in back extension activities (Roman chair, Superman extensions, etc.).

5. Hip musculature: This group is comprised of the hip flexors (planks and straight-leg raises), abductors (side lunges and side planks), and extensors (bridges and dead lifts). Strong hips play an integral role in performance of normal daily function including squatting, lunging, bending, and lifting. Weak hips are one of the key factors I find in patients complaining of everything from back pain to knee instability. These muscles are vital to strong, healthy, functional movement.

Knowing these important muscles and their primary functions is essential to training them appropriately. As you can see, “core strengthening” is so much more than sit ups and crunches. It is vital to incorporate movements in all planes (front-to-back, side-to-side, rotation) and using all these different muscle groups. Mix up your core routine by adopting some of these principles and watch the results!

Make it happen,

Jared