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Archive for January, 2009

What are you doing?

January 31st, 2009 admin 2 comments

Our team for the Lifestyles Fitness Center Biggest Loser Contest has lost 45.5 pounds to date. Congratulations Team Blue! That’s a great result and we still don’t have the results from five of our team members.

It’s time to share with your team members. What are you doing? Leave a comment on this blog to tell everyone what you’re doing to lose weight. You can learn something and help another teammate at the same time.

What are you doing?

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Categories: Weight loss Tags:

Pound for Pound Challenge

January 21st, 2009 admin No comments

General Mills and Feeding America have teamed up to create the Pound for Pound Challenge. For every pound you lose, General Mills will donate 10 cents to Feeding America. With a 10 cent donation, Feeding America can secure and distribute one pound of food to a local food bank. Click here to learn more about Feeding America.

It’s free and easy to register. Sign up now!

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Categories: Community Tags:

Eat like an elephant, Look like a gazelle

January 20th, 2009 admin No comments

The Lifestyles Fitness Center has arranged for Essential Family Chiropractic Center to present a seminar on conquering food cravings. This FREE seminar is designed to offer helpful tips on how to eat like an elephant but look like a gazelle.

When: Saturday, February 7 2009
Time: 11:30a.m. – 12:45p.m.
Where: Bolingbrook Park District (BRAC), 200 S. Lindsey Lane

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Categories: Nutrition Tags:

Something else for your iPhone

January 18th, 2009 admin No comments

My dad loves gadgets and his new favorite is the iPhone. He bought a new iPhone a few weeks ago and my daughters and I were amazed at all of the cool things it can do. Well, here’s another one.

If you’ve got an iPhone check out the Daily Plate Calorie Tracker.

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Categories: Equipment reviews, Weight loss Tags:

What Motivates You?

January 18th, 2009 admin No comments

Michigan State University researchers completed a study of athletes, asking what motivates them to work out. They discovered that responsibility to and encouragement from others was even stronger than measurable improvements and competitive demands.

Schedule your workouts with a friend. Hold eachother accountable to make and keep the appointment.

Looking for a workout partner? You’ve got 15 other friends in this group. It’s time to make a connection!

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Categories: Goals Tags:

Getting FITTE!

January 18th, 2009 admin No comments

Amy asked a question about using different cardio machines and I thought of the acronym FITTE.

F stands for frequency, referring to the number of times each week you’re performing the exercise. Your goal should be to aim for at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise five days a week. 45 minutes is better. 60 is even better.

I is for intensity. Are you exercising at the right intensity to get the results you’re looking for? 65% to 75% of your max heart rate is going to give you a good aerobic benefit as you begin your exercise program. This level may seem too easy for some and you may be tempted to go harder in every workout. If that’s you, resist the urge to crank up every workout, but test that 80-85% range once or twice a week. As your stamina increases, we can start investigating interval training to get that heart pumping harder and develop greater performance benefits.

The first T is for time. Are you exercising long enough to get a benefit? 30 minutes is a good start. 60 minutes is even better.

The second T is for type. What type of exercise are you performing? What type of equipment are you using? The Lifestyles Fitness Center has lots of different cardio equipment for you to choose from. Experiment with different machines and find your favorites.

E is for enjoyment. Are you enjoying your workout? Here are a few ideas to make it even more enjoyable:

  • Work out with a friend.
  • Change to a different machine every few days to do something different. The same old slog on the road to nowhere on the treadmill can be brain numbing.
  • Try the elliptical.
  • Try out the climbing wall at the Annerino Center.
  • Check out the Stair Master.
  • When the weather gets warmer, go for a walk or an outdoor run. Ride your bike.

What other ideas can you add to this list? Let’s hear it!

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Categories: Cardio Tags:

Why do you do it?

January 16th, 2009 admin No comments

What’s your goal?

Lose 10 pounds? Work out 5 days a week? Drop a dress size?

Great. So what

That’s right, so what.

Why do you want to lose 10 pounds? Why do you want to work out five days a week? Why do you want to drop a dress size? There’s a reason for those things, but those aren’t the goals. They’re something that helps you accomplish the goal.

Work out five days a week so I can lose 10 pounds by April 1, the day of my high school reunion, so I can wear my favorite dress.

Develop better functional strength so I can hike to Yellowstone Falls (and back safely) on our family vacation in July.

Those are goals! What’s yours?

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Categories: Goals Tags:

Body weight exercise routine

January 12th, 2009 admin No comments

Need some exercises to get started? Try this body weight exercise routine:

10 jumping jacks

No rest

10 toe touches

Rest 1 minute and repeat both exercises one time

10 push ups

No rest

10 frog sit ups
Get in a sit-up position, but instead of placing your feet on the floor, place the bottoms of your feet together and spread your knees apart. With your hands behind your head, tighten your ab muscles and use them to lift your shoulders off the floor. Keeping your abs tight, lower your shoulders to the floor.

No rest

Repeat both exercises twice

Rest 1 minute

20 body weight squats (video)

Rest 1 minute

Repeat 1 time

Plank, 30 seconds (video)

No rest

Jack-knife crunches (how to link)

Rest 1 minute

Repeat both exercises 2 times

Perform this routine on alternating days three times weekly followed by 20 minutes of cardio exercise at a moderate intensity (able to hold a conversation)

On the alternating days, perform 30 minutes of low intensity cardio exercise.

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Beginning a journey

January 7th, 2009 admin 1 comment

This is the first post of my new training blog. How’s that for a hard hitting opener, huh!

Who should read this blog and why?

I’m a personal trainer at Lifestyles Fitness Center, part of the Bolingbrook Park District. I’ll be using this blog to post thoughts and ideas to help my clients get the most from their training programs. As a lifelong recreational athlete, I’d like to use this as a way to communicate some of my experiences and help you use them to your own benefit.

Who am I?

You can read about me in my profile to the right. Go ahead and read, I’ll wait….So, what’s that all means and why do you care? The certification means that I’ve gone through a thorough program to help develop my knowledge of the human body and how it adapts to exercise. I’m also CPR and AED trained through the American Heart Association. The life experience means that I can help make sure that even with work, family, kids, and all those things you really enjoy doing, that you can still work out. The life experience and adventures will hopefully lead me to inspire you to get outdoors and try something different.

That’s enough about me for now, I’ll add more as the experience applies to helping and keeping you fit and strong.

Thanks for taking the time to read and I hope you’ll be back!

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Categories: Goals Tags:

Thank you for requesting my FREE Special Report, 13 Fitness Myths BUSTED!

January 6th, 2009 admin No comments

Your report will be arriving in your e-mail very shortly!

As promised, I will also add you to my e-mail update list and send you information that can help you make the most of your exercise program.

Thanks

John Chase

www.inspiredjourneyfitness.com
(630) 269-8992
Contact me by e-mail
Follow me on Twitter

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