Be patient. Results are earned. Controlling your schedule, workouts and diet as well as being consistent WILL yield results.

Be honest and open about your goals. Be willing to make changes to your food, liquids and  exercise levels so you get the best possible results.

Be willing to record your progress; use a food and exercise diary as a key tool to stay on track.

How long does it take to achieve your goals? That depends on many factors: genetics, your age, any past or present injuries, current physical condition and so on. Your diligence and commitment plays a big role in your results.

Commit to at least 6 months to reach your goals.

Always consult your physician before beginning a new exercise or nutritional program.

Get a fitness workbook like Fit Lean Healthy, 8 Simple Steps to walk you through step-by-step and keep you on track and focused.

Rudi Marashlian www.gofitnow.com

Author of Fit Lean Healthy, 8 Simple Steps                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The problem is that when they first introduced BMI as the standard in 1985, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said they never intended BMI to be used by individuals as a diagnosis of whether or not their weight is healthy. Interestingly, this is how it is used today—individuals are encouraged to easily diagnose their own BMI via the NIH website BMI calculator. The man who came up with the formula, Belgian mathematician Adolphe Quetelet, warned that the calculation was only meant to be used for large diagnostic studies on general populations and was not accurate for individuals.

BMI doesn’t actually tell you how much body fat you have on you—and it’s body fat levels that are the risk factor for all kinds of diseases like Type 2 diabetes and various cardiovascular diseases. For example, most male bodybuilders will have a BMI that indicates they are “overweight” and yet they carry less than 10% body fat in many cases. This is because they have large muscle mass and muscle weighs three times more than the same volume of fat.

Another very simple method (and more indicative of actual health risk) for determining whether you are at risk for cardiovascular disease (and are “out of shape”) is the waist to hip ratio. What’s healthy? For men, anything below 0.95. For women, below 0.86 per the American College of Sports Medicine.

Here’s how you find your waist to hip ratio (WHR):

1. Measure the circumference of your waist just above your belly button
2. Measure the circumference of your hips around the buttocks (widest point)
3. You can measure in inches or centimeters
4. Divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement
5. WHR = waist circumference/hip circumference

And remember, exercise is a key factor in looking and feeling great as well as reducing the risks for diseases like Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. So, stay active!

Tracey Thatcher
Author for www.gofitnow.com

One of the easiest and healthiest things you can do for your body is to get it active, the other is to eat a nutritious diet. The problem for a lot of people who have been sedentary for a while is, how to get started. Below are six simple things you can do to get you started on the right track:

1. Join a gym or a group (such as a walking group) in your local area. The easier it is to get there, the more likely you are to go. If you’re lucky enough to live up the road from a gym or other activity, you can warm up by walking there instead of driving.
2. Schedule time to exercise; actually write it in your calendar (the one you use regularly). You might have to take some time to plan when would work best for you and it’s a good idea to schedule it for before you sit down to watch TV in the evenings.
3. Make your own food for work or school instead of buying it. This way you can control the type of food you’re eating and the quantity and you won’t run into the situation of having to eat a high-calorie, nutritionally deficient muffin because you’re in a hurry.
4. Drink more water. Start with a couple of glasses when you wake up in the morning. If nothing else, you’ll have to get up regularly to go to the bathroom, which will get some  more activity into your life. Try for at least 8 glasses each day.
5. Remove high sugar, artificially sweetened products and processed foods from your pantry and your life. Not only are these items lacking in nutrients, they often don’t require much digestion because they are already in a form that can be absorbed by the body quickly. Digestion, when you eat healthy, unprocessed foods, actually takes a lot of work and your body is designed to do this work, so let it do its job properly by feeding it right.
6. Get educated. Buy a good book, like FIT LEAN HEALTHY, 8 SIMPLE STEPS to give you plenty of useful and high-quality information and a plan for getting active and healthy.

Tracey Thatcher

Writer for gofitnow.com

• Exercise reduces the risk of stroke
• Exercise reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases
• Exercise reduces the risk of having a second heart attack in people who have already had one heart attack
• Exercise lowers both the total blood cholesterol and triglycerides (“bad” cholesterol) and increases high-density lipoproteins (HDL – “good” cholesterol)
• Exercise lowers the risk of high blood pressure
• Exercise helps reduce high blood pressure in people who already have hypertension
• Exercise lowers the risk of developing non-insulin-dependent (Type 2) diabetes
• Exercise reduces the risk of developing colon cancer
• Exercise reduces feelings of depression and anxiety
• Exercise helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints

Pretty impressive! Makes you wonder why anyone wouldn’t want to exercise seeing as it does so much good.

Naturally, it’s important to understand how to exercise correctly and at the right level for you – the sexy, fit, muscular and tanned bodies we see in television commercials promoting fitness products make it seem like exercise is in the realm of the already super-fit and lean. Not so. Exercise is for everyone with a body no matter their starting point and no matter their age or size. There isn’t anyone alive who would not benefit from some kind of exercise.

Let’s not forget that less than 50 years ago people did a lot more physical activity than they do today. They walked more than they drove; simple things like cleaning the house and washing clothes required a lot more energy use than today with all our energy-saving gadgets, and people didn’t have computers back then so they didn’t tend to sit as much as we do today.

The trick is deciding on where to start and not getting overwhelmed. Break it down into achievable goals; small pieces and build on your achievements. It’s helpful to have a guide in this adventure and hiring an experienced and capable personal trainer is an investment that could quite literally save your life and will certainly make the journey safer and more efficient.

Tracey Thatcher

Personal Trainer

Writer for gofitnow.com

A balanced fitness program should include a cardio (aerobic) component, strength training and flexibility training and there are so many ways to mix it up that, knowing what you’re doing, it would be very difficult to get bored (a complaint many have after a few months of going to the gym).

Here’s a small sample of what could be done to keep the spice going in your regular workouts:

CARDIO FITNESS - Now, you could keep doing the machines for cardio fitness or you could take the advice of Rudi Marashlian, veteran fitness coach and author who recommends choosing an activity you like to do for fun (soccer, basketball, roller blading, running, tennis, dancing, aerobic class – the list goes on and on) and doing that at least three times a week to improve cardio fitness.

STRENGTH - Instead of spending an hour on the cardio machines, use them to do a 10-minute warm-up then get into some strength training (absolutely essential for long-term muscle-mass maintenance; did you know people lose about 10% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30 if they don’t do activities that increase muscle?). What activities constitute strength training? Try using the weight training machines, free weights or even your own body weight with exercises like chin-ups, push-ups, lunges, squats and so on. It’s usually a good idea to get expert coaching to make sure your form is correct (you don’t want to be doing strength exercises improperly because then you risk injury).

FLEXIBILITY - Once you’ve done your strength (and even during the strength part of your training session) you can add in some stretches. This is an often neglected part of fitness but critical to eliminating those tight spots and making sure you can still reach down and tie your shoelaces or look over your shoulder to reverse your car no matter how old you are. Again, a good idea is to get expert help to make sure you are doing your stretches correctly (poor form in this part of fitness can also cause injuries). You can, alternatively, take a yoga or pilates class – both excellent methods of increasing flexibility.

Why not make 2012 the year you change out your workout routine and make all that time spent in the gym more interesting and more profitable for your overall fitness and health?

Tracey Thatcher

Writer for www.gofitnow.com

Here are the top ten rules for proper gym etiquette according to Rudi Marashlian, veteran health and fitness specialist. Not surprisingly, the first few involve keeping the space clean and orderly. Feel free to comment on this article if you feel anything else should be on the list.

• Clean off equipment after you use it – not only is it bad manners to leave equipment greasy and sweaty, it’s also unhygienic. There are plenty of spray bottles full of an alcohol solution and cloths at Foothill Athletic Club to help with this. Oh yes, and try not to spray near someone else’s face.
• Bring a towel – this could also come under keeping the equipment clean. A towel protects you by creating a barrier between you and the surface so it’s a win-win for everyone. It also signals others that your equipment is being used (in case you have to rush off to fill your drink bottle or something).
• Put your weights away. This one is a no-brainer. Think about the next person – what happens if the next person after you is a 70-year-old lady who wants to use the leg press machine but it’s loaded with 45 pound weights? Potentially dangerous, right?
• Avoid singing loudly to the music only you can hear. It’s annoying and distracting, not to mention usually out of tune.
• Keep cellphone use to a minimum. Long and loud conversations fit into the same category of “annoying” as singing (see above).
• Try not to bang your weights to the floor after a set. It can be surprising to the people on the floor below and it’s not very good for the weights or the floor.
• Keep your gym bag off the floor as it creates a safety hazard for you and for other people. Either put it in a locker or somewhere safely out of the way.
• While in the locker room, be mindful of other people – pick up after yourself and don’t be wasteful. Bring a towel and try not to leave water on the floor.
• If you notice a piece of equipment is broken, let the staff know immediately. This will ensure it’s back in action quickly and help prevent possible injury to others using it after you. On the other side, if you see an “out of order” sign on something, don’t use it. The sign is there for a reason.
• Always make sure a piece of equipment is not being used by someone else before you step in to use it, especially if you see it’s loaded with weights or there’s a towel on it. This goes the other way too, don’t leave your gear on equipment if you’re not using it and try not to hog – if it looks like someone else is waiting let them know when you’ll be done or let them work in with you.

Tracey Thatcher

Writer for www.gofitnow.com

Scientific research suggests that consistent long-distance running improves cardiovascular health. Running lowers blood pressure by maintaining elasticity in the arteries. When you run, your arteries expand and contract more than usual, which keeps your arteries elastic and blood pressure low. This is important for all people, especially people with high blood pressure. Running also maximizes the lungs’ potential. Normally, people only use fifty percent of the lungs’ capacity, but while running, you use the entire capacity. It has been shown that some smokers have fully recovered their lungs’ working capacity from doing long distance running or marathons. Aside from the cardiovascular system, it has been shown that long distance running also lowers the risk of disorders of the eye and prostate, among other organs.

Marathon runners have said that they experience intense exhilaration and euphoria after running, so you can see that it is also a huge morale booster. Surveys show that running marathons brings energy into daily life. It helps the body function better by improving sleep and brings about relaxation. Another nice benefit is that is does not increase appetite. Instead it acts a sort of suppressant and helps bring about a better eating schedule.

As you can see, long distancing running has many incredible benefits that not only help your body, but also keep you relaxed and give you more energy. Of course, to get ready for a marathon or any long-distance event, you have to work up your tolerance levels. Working with a knowledgeable trainer is a good idea to make sure you’re running correctly and strengthening any areas of weakness to avoid possible injury.

Tia Marashlian and Tracey Thatcher

Writers for gofitnow.com

Unfortunately, however, a lot of people give up on going to the gym regularly after about a month. At the start, they’re very diligent and work out at least an hour every second day (some work out for two or more hours every day), they sweat, eat better (sometimes) but… no supermodel body appears in the mirror and this can be disheartening – the change from frumpy to fabulous is often way too slow.

Could there be a reason many people don’t lose much fat, change shape or get ripped and buff despite religiously going to the gym and working out? Yes, there is. It comes down to WHAT is being done at the gym. WHAT is being done is actually more important than how long it’s done for. In other words, QUALITY is more important than QUANTITY (although quantity certainly does come into it – having a great workout once a month isn’t going to do much). There are people spending maybe 15 to 30 minutes a day working out and getting better results (burning more fat, losing weight, sculpting and toning) than other people who work out for a couple of hours at a time every day of the week.

It’s possible that the people spending less time but getting great results might be doing what’s known as high intensity interval training. It’s been around since 1937 but up until now, has been used primarily by athletes and not regular people. There are lots of ways to do it and a good personal trainer is probably your best bet at getting the most out of it but the idea is that you exercise at a very high intensity (if you’re running, you’d sprint as fast as you can) for between 30 seconds to a minute then you’d slow it down (jog) until you recover a bit, but not all the way, then you’d up the intensity again.

You could try it next time you’re on the stationary bike, stepper or treadmill – instead of sitting on a set speed, try playing with the effort and speed levels – increasing then decreasing, increasing then decreasing and so on. If you do it right you can fast-track your fitness. Remember, it IS intense, so make sure you have a doctor’s OK before adding it to your routine.

Tracey Thatcher

Personal Trainer

www.gofitnow.com

People who exercise regularly are 43% less likely to suffer from colds and sore throats according to a study at the Appalachian State University in 2010.

Being fit can increase self confidence. This self-confidence allows you to challenge yourself and aim for higher levels of achievement in your career.

Fitness helps you to take on more leadership roles. Due to the various positive benefits of a fit lifestyle, a fit person tends to become a good leader.

People who are fit are better able to set their goals and achieve them.

Generally, fit individuals feel good. They can balance their physical and emotional feelings, which can lead to a more positive attitude in general.

Fitness helps you to experience less stress. Regular physical activity diminishes the physical and emotional tensions that life and work can bring, allowing you to focus on what’s important.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the estimated annual medical cost of cardiovascular disease or stroke, cancer, diabetes and obesity is $423.2 billion! Most of these diseases can be prevented by being fit—exercising and eating correctly.

Tracey Thatcher

www.gofitnow.com

www.ufitnow.com

With a small amount of quality effort invested, you can get huge dividends! Let’s look at some facts.

FACT: There are 168 hours in 1 week.

FACT: To classify as active, a person should be doing at least 3 hours of somewhat vigorous activity each week. That might be a 1 hour workout every second day (3 days a week).

FACT: Investing 3 hours in 1 week is only 1.78% of your weekly time for incredible returns in health.

FACT: There are 168 hours in one week, multiply this by 52 weeks and there are 8,736 hours in a year.

FACT: Do 3 hours a week of somewhat vigorous activity, multiplied by 52 weeks, is 156 hours per year of activity. 156 hours divided by 8,736 again equals 1.78% of your time.

Bottom line: you only have to work out for 1.78% of your time to get fit and into shape. Most people spend more than that amount of time eating or watching TV. So next time you’re trying to help a friend by suggesting he or she comes to the gym and his or her excuse is, “I don’t have any time,” just remember that it really doesn’t take that much time to get fit.

Tracey Thatcher

Writer for gofitnow.com