How To Get One Step Closer To Your Goals With Each Workout

To achieve maximum results in minimum time you must make each workout progressively more intense than the last. Each workout should force your body to do a little more than it’s accustomed to doing. This is called the Progressive Overload Principle.

The only sure-fire way to guarantee you’re moving toward your goals each and every time you come to the gym is to keep detailed records of your workouts. Each workout should be recorded in a training log.

By keeping track of your workouts in a training log, you’ll eliminate the guesswork involved and move steadily toward accomplishing your goals. Here’s the information you should record in your training log…

• Date of your workout
• Time your workout started
• Time your workout ended
• Total time your workout lasted
• The exercises you performed during your workout
• The amount of resistance (weight) you used for each exercise
• The number of repetitions you performed for each exercise
• The number of sets you performed for each exercise
• The amount of time you spent doing cardiovascular training
• Any notes you feel are relevant, such as how you felt during your workout

Recording all these variables will allow you (or your trainer) to plan your next workout in advance and make any necessary adjustments to ensure you’re making optimal progress. These detailed records will also eliminate any guesswork about how much weight you should be using, whether you need to increase/decrease the length of your exercise sessions, or when you should change your workout entirely.

If I could only give you one single tip for speeding your progress and getting better results from your time in the gym, keeping a training log would be that tip!

If at any point you have a question about filling out your training log, what you should do to progress from your previous workout, how to modify or change your workout routine (which should be done every 3-5 weeks), or anything else at all…

…just ask me for help.

I am always more than happy to give you any help I can. After all, your success is why I’m in business to begin with. So, if you have ANY questions at all, please don’t hesitate to ask me for help. I can be reached at (714)585-7551 or axfitness@hotmail.com.

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The Absolute Importance of Resting As Hard As You Work

Sleep. It’s something we all like to do. We spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping. But did you know its vitally important if you want to see optimal results from your workouts?…

Your muscles don’t get firmer, stronger, or more efficient while you’re working out. The workout is just a stimulus for your body to respond to. The actual increases in tone, strength, and efficiency take place while you’re at rest.

If you don’t allow your body to rest, it can’t properly recover from the workouts you subject it to. That means you won’t see the results you’re after as rapidly. So, if you want results as fast as possible, make sure you get plenty of rest and at least 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

The more sleep and rest you get, the faster your body can recover from the damage caused to your muscles during exercise…

…and the faster you’ll achieve the results you’re after.

I know these are hectic times and women’s lives are busier than ever. Children, work, and other family obligations can cut into sleep time. Just remember to take time out for yourself and get as much sleep as “womanly” possible.

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If You Want Results Fast, Recovery Is The Key

One of the most important tips I could possibly give you is to consume a post-workout meal/snack immediately following each of your exercise sessions. This will go a long way toward improving your results in the least possible amount of time.

As mentioned earlier, when a muscle is forced to contract harder than usual (like during exercise), the actual muscle cells get damaged to a small degree. This can lead to soreness in the day or two immediately following your workout.

Your body will remove the chemicals that are causing the soreness all on its own. Then it will work to repair the damage caused during your workouts. But your body doesn’t stop there…

In an attempt to prevent future damage and soreness, your body will not only repair the damage, it will also build your muscles back just a little bit stronger than they were before. This is what causes the actual gains in muscle tone, strength, and efficiency, which ultimately lead to the results you’re after.

The best way to speed the recovery process, as well as the results you see, is to follow each workout with a post-workout meal/snack. The meal/snack should be consumed within 60-90 minutes of completing your workout, each and every time you exercise.

Be sure your post-workout meal/snack contains plenty of vital nutrients. This will ensure your body has enough “building blocks” to refuel your muscles and liver, as well as to repair and rebuild your muscle tissue.

And by consuming your meal/snack within the 60-90 minute window following your workout, you ensure that all the calories and nutrients go to the muscles instead of your fat tissue. This will lead to an increased metabolism, increases in strength, and overall dramatically improved results in minimal time.

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The Importance of Staying Hydrated During Your Workouts

Once you’ve fueled your body for a super effective workout, the next thing you should focus on is staying properly hydrated. Your body is made up of over 80% water, so it stands to reason that water is of extremely high importance when it comes to accomplishing your fitness and/or weight loss goals.

Water plays several key roles during exercise. Any time you burn stored bodyfat for fuel, waste by-products are made and introduced into your blood stream. By simply drinking a bottle of water during your workout sessions, you can do a lot to flush out and remove those waste by-products.

Water is also very important for muscular contractions. Without the right water balance, your muscles can’t contract as hard as they normally could, leading to lackluster performance and a decrease in the effectiveness of your workouts.

A drop in body water volume of a mere 1% can cause a reduction in performance of over 10%. That means you’ll have to exert yourself much harder during your workouts to achieve the same results you’d get if you just drank some water!

And last, but certainly not least, water can really help you to reduce the soreness you feel after an intense bout of exercise.

Muscular contractions (like those you experience during exercise) cause the release of a chemical called hydroxyproline from the connective tissues and muscle cells. This chemical is very irritating to the nerve endings and is the direct cause of delayed onset muscle soreness (the soreness you feel the day or two after you workout). Your body will naturally bind this chemical and remove it, but drinking plenty of water, both during and after exercise, will speed up that process dramatically.

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Fueling Your Body To Accomplish Your Goals

One of the most important things you can do to ensure an effective, goal-accomplishing workout is to fuel your body properly.

To do that, it’s important that you eat 1 ½ to 2 hours before you come in for your workout. This will ensure you have the fuel required to produce the energy you’ll need to make it through your exercise routine.

Just be sure to give your body enough time to properly digest your food before you begin to exercise. If you don’t, you’re likely to get stomach cramps and indigestion.

Fueling your body before your workout is one of the most important things you can do to ensure you have the energy required to perform your exercises to the best of your ability.

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You want results and you want them now. That’s probably why you are reading this blog to begin with. After all, why spend your hard earned money, and put forth all that effort if you’re not going to get results, right?

In order to get the results you’re after, your workouts must be progressive. You must force your body to do more than it’s accustomed to doing. And you must do that on a consistent basis.

Over the next several days I will provide you with some expert tips for getting a great workout each and every time you go to the gym…

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Hi, my name is Alexander Morentin. I am the owner of My Fit Life and author of Better Living With Whole Foods: The Delicious & Nutritious Guide To Looking Great & Feeling Younger. I have been helping people lose weight and achieve vibrant health since 1987.

People who meet me today think that I have been fit my entire life, but that isn’t the case.

There was a period of time where I was sad, depressed, and had pretty much given up on life.
Click here to read the full story.

I show you these pictures and share my story with you, not to impress you, but to impress upon you the fact that I, myself, was extremely depressed and overweight.

I know what it’s like to feel helpless… that all hope is lost. That maybe I don’t deserve to be “in shape”, or to even be happy. It’s a terrible place to be.

I do have credentials, but more importantly, I have real world experience with my own battle with the bulge.

“I lost over 100 pounds and 12 inches off my waist and have never felt better. I would love to provide you with the guidance and encouragement to get in the best shape of your entire life.”

If you are ready to make a positive change, then I am here to help.
Your ultimate success is my #1 goal.

Certifications:
Nationally Certified by the American Council on Exercise - ACE

* ACE Clinical Exercise Specialist

* ACE Personal Trainer

* ACE Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant

* Motherwell Maternity Fitness Instructor

Interests:
Whole Foods, Better Living, Natural Health, Farmer’s Markets, Animal Rights, the beach

Activities:
Weightlifting, Meditation, Yoga, Biking

Organizations:
American Council on Exercise

Honors and Awards:
Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist

Favorite Music:
Reggae, House, Down Tempo, Funky Breaks, Acid Jazz, Ambient, Rock n Roll, Salsa

Favorite Movies:
The Princess Bride, The Usual Suspects

Favorite T.V. Shows:
Seinfeld

Favorite Books:
Better Living With Whole Foods, The New Wellness Revolution,In Defense of Food, Grub

Hobbies:
Blogging, Writing

Organizations I Support:
Whole Planet Foundation, Boys and Girls Club, YWCA

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