Who would you trust with your physique?

If the world today was as abundant in brotherly love, kind thoughts and world peace as it is in weight loss ‘advice’, it would most certainly be a perfect place! Every day we are bombarded by the latest, greatest, headline newsworthy ways to be lean, ripped and free from the ‘muffin top’. Everyone has their opinion whether it’s the gym rat with the huge pipes working out next to you or the Grandma behind you in queue at the Starbucks. These days everyone is an expert (and their dog too).

Chocolate milk does a body good!

Put some air in your muscles

“Not many people understand what a pump is. It must be experienced to be understood. It is the greatest feeling that I get. I search for this pump because it means that that my muscles will grow when I get it. I get a pump when the blood is running into my muscles. They become really tight with blood. Like the skin is going to explode any minute. It’s like someone putting air in my muscles. It blows up. It feels fantastic.”

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

The ‘pump’. The sensation you get near the end of a great workout that makes you feel like your muscles have tripled in size and strength in just 45 short

A new routine could mean a new physique

He who rejects change is the architect of decay.  The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.  ~Harold Wilson

This statement, although maybe a bit dramatic, applies as much to your workout program as it does to life. Once you reach certain stages and adaptations in your fitness level, change is mandatory in order to progress. If you neglect to make specific changes, you’ll find yourself at a standstill in your physique, athletic ability and body fat percentage. I see people all the time in the gym that are there for an hour or two, five times a week doing the same routine, same rep range, using the same effort and intensity, even the same equipment every workout. Five years down the road they look…you guessed it…EXACTLY the same! Now, I give them full marks for getting to the

Healthy hormones for a healthy weight

Hormones. Though misunderstood and somewhat mysterious, they are responsible for nearly every human biological function you can think of…far more than just making teenagers randy and inducing 5 days of ‘the crazies’ on us ladies every month. Our hormones control our growth, sexual development, sleep patterns, appetites, reproductive cycles, the health of hair, skin and nails, our digestive system and production of red blood cells, to

I’m so sore I can’t stand up

I’m going to share with you an excerpt from a email that was sent to me from a client a couple of days after she performed a rather intense lower body workout I had prescribed for her.

“Hi Shauna. So here’s a weird question…do you happen to know of another method of using the potty that doesn’t involve me actually having to sit on it?…or better yet, one that doesn’t involve any movement from the waist down whatsoever…preferably one in which I can remain in bed motionless, as I am in great discomfort from the agonizing torture of my last workout. My butt is so sore it’s like someone took a hammer to it and my legs feel as if they have been run over by a freight-liner. Thanks a lot, and by the way I hate you today.”

You say you’re fat and out of shape. Why?

We all have our reasons. It’s simply a matter of acknowledging our excuses and justifications. I hear them every day, all day long some much more than others. Just when I think I’ve heard them all, a new one pops up and I have to think of a way to stomp on it.

Here’s a few of the most popular…

Excuse #1

“I don’t have time to work out”

My response

“Really? Because you just went into a detailed account of what happened last night with the Desperate Housewives. Seems to me you had an hour to spare there.” OR “you hit the snooze button on the alarm clock 4 times this morning. That’s 36 minutes that could have been spent far more efficiently.” OR “If you don’t have time to work out then how did you have time to read and forward me those 7 joke emails yesterday?” You see where I’m going with this…it’s all about priorities.

Excuse #2

“I have kids and I can’t work out with them around because I have to watch them”

My response (and I have a MILLION for this one)

“You know children are mobile right? If they are old enough they can walk with you, or put them in a stroller and find a hill to walk up and down numerous times. Some of them nap…work out then. Some of them are in school..what are you doing while they are there? Find a friend to exchange an hour of daycare with you…they can watch your kid while you work out and then you can return the favour. Worst case scenario…join a gym and take advantage of the daycare!”

Excuse #3

“I’m so busy it’s impossible to eat healthy because I’m always on the go”.

My response

“That’s a lame statement. We’re all busy. The best option in this case is to take 5 to 10 minutes in the morning (or the evening prior) and pack some healthy meals and snacks to take with you. It’s very simple…throw some veggies, nuts and/or fruit in a ziplock. Grab a yogurt or a cottage cheese cup, maybe a piece of fruit with cheese or peanut butter. Simple. If you do find yourself out on the road with nothing to eat, there are healthy choices. Even fast food restaurants and convenience stores have healthier options now. You’ve got a choice…Big Mac or garden salad with grilled chicken? There’s no room for excuses there.”

So how are your excuses working for you? Are the justifications you make helping you lose weight and tone up? The definition of insanity is doing the exact same things day after day but expecting different results. I suggest you have a good long talk with yourself and be brutally honest about what you can and can’t do because that old saying is true…”Whether you think you can or think you can’t…you’re right.”

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Performance as opposed to vanity

I’m sure it won’t come as any surprise when I say that the majority of the clients I see in my personal training business have one common goal…weight loss. Sometimes they want to shed a few pounds to improve their health, lower triglyceride levels or see some relief when their blood pressure is taken but usually the main objective is a little more shallow. Most often, my clients want to see themselves in a smaller pair of jeans with a little less junk in the trunk.

It’s been my experience however that those with the goal of solely earning a sexier physique find that the motivation to get the aforementioned ‘trunk’ into the gym dwindles rather quickly.  We all want a hot bod but let’s face it, what would make you put the twinkie down faster…the dream of  squeezing into a size 4, or having the bejeezers scared out of you by your physician warning you of an impending quadruple bypass if you don’t do something about that spare tire? I know what my answer is.

So my advice to maintain motivation and momentum in your healthy lifestyle is to choose a goal instead of, or at least in addition to, weight loss for improved appearance. If your blood pressure is on the high side, make lowering it your reason to work out. Maybe you want to be around to dance with your Granddaughter at her wedding or participate in a charitable 5km run for the first time. Perhaps you’re planning a once in a lifetime vacation and you want to be fit enough to walk all day and really see the sights, or maybe it’d just be nice to sprint up the stairs when the phone rings without gasping hello when you answer. Vanity is fleeting so set your sights higher and make your quest for optimum health really mean something!

Enjoy your next workout!

Losing weight is about 80 percent diet

How important is diet and nutrition when it comes to losing weight and sculpting that sexy-licious physique you’re dreaming of? If you work out extra hard, add a few more reps or spend more time on the treadmill is that enough to get your butt into a smaller pair of pants? Not a chance. Ask any fitness pro or nutrition expert and you will hear that diet is anywhere from 70 to 90% responsible when it comes to transforming and improving that bod of yours (not to mention the health of your heart). Bummer eh? Well fear not my fellow fitness freaks, it’s really not that bad. Getting in tip top shape and still eating delicious foods is certainly possible, it just takes a little knowledge and a dash of creativity. Through years of trail and error, I’ve come up with some tips that will keep both your taste buds and your waistline happy.

The most important part of your workout program

My Mom taught me this lesson many years ago when she was still reading me bedtime stories and kissing my ouchies (and no that wasn’t last week). You see, I had a bedroom that was a child’s wonderland, filled with all kinds of toys. My Mom is very organized so of course each toy had its place, but I never paid attention. Each time I grew tired of playing with a certain toy, it stayed on the floor and I got a different one. It didn’t take long before I was lost in a sea of Barbies and lego and Mom would come in and tell me to clean it all up. I’d feel overwhelmed and protest with my big brown eyes. Mom would always remind me…”Shauna, if you picked up your toys and put them away each time you were done with one, you wouldn’t be left with a big mess”. My first lesson in consistency. If I consistently put my toys away, I’ll never have a big mess!