Fit For Life: Do This – Don’t do That

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Matt Espeut, GoLocalProv Health +Lifestyle Contributor

 

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Things that stop progress. A healthy body won't be fat and a malnourished body won't get healthy and strong. I tell everyone that sits across from me during a consultation that the definition for fitness is to lose fat and build muscle. That is the only way you will become fit.

To become healthy, you need to eat properly, and avoid putting toxins in contact with your body, both internally and externally. To lose body fat, gain muscle, and become leaner and stronger should be everyone's goals. If you are working out and this isn't happening, it's time to make a change, time is too valuable to waste and exercise is too difficult to be doing for nothing. Here are a couple of alternatives to what many people are doing. 

Counting calories

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You put too much of a strangle hold on your nutrition, and pay too much attention to calorie counting. My first and most important advice goes to food quality. Get rid of processed cheap food, and eat quality whole organic foods. When most people count calories, they end up eating low quality heavily processed fat free products, like fat free mayo, fat free yogurt and other processed fat free dairy products, use low fat butter and oil substitutes, and packaged meats, and reduced calorie beverages. You also sacrifice healthy fats by eating egg whites and low fat peanut butter. Instead, purchase quality organic whole foods, eat yolks and full fat butter and dairy products (if you need to eat dairy). This type of food is absorbed nutritionally by the body and gets properly utilized and digested, and you will feel more satisfied when you eat less. Remember your body needs fat and nutrients to function effectively and efficiently, build muscle, and fight disease and sickness, so don't deprive yourself of nutrients. Once you master the role of quality eating and you have eliminated the bad stuff, you will be felling stronger, you will improve your energy levels, and cognitive skills, and more than likely the scale will go down. All these things will happen without even counting a calorie!

Too much exercise

Overtraining, in general, results in a negative outcome in several ways. I used to see a lot of people spending hours a day exercising on elliptical machines and recumbent bikes and they do not get the results they are looking for. On the contrary, these people usually get flabbier, due to the fact they are burning muscle and not building it. Training for longer amounts of time with little intensity nets you poor results. My suggestion would be to cut down on the cardio time and up the intensity. Hit it harder and shorter. I would rather see someone doing intervals on the treadmill with a steep incline, taking a spin class, or doing a step mill for 30 minutes over walking for an hour while talking on the phone, or watching TV on a stationary bike, any day.

But even the above mentioned won't net you complete results because you are not doing enough to build muscle throughout the entire body. One 30-minute session at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp will combine strength and high intensity interval training all in one workout, allowing you to burn maximum fat and build muscle.... in 30 minute sessions! I really do believe in our formula for results! I hear women always worrying about getting too big from lifting weights. This is the main reason they neglect strength training. I feel the number one most important part of any exercise program is strength work. Everyone I have ever trained from 15-87 years old, does strength training. Not only does this make you look better and move more effectively, it also revs up your metabolism to make your body burn more calories at rest. The higher your muscle to fat ratio is, the more efficient you become at torching the unwanted body fat.
It has also been scientifically proven that after a bout of resistance training, you burn calories longer than if you did a session of cardio on a treadmill. That's why our clients are so successful, because we incorporate it all in every workout you do at my facility. Strength and metabolic or cardio training combined in one workout! In this day and age things are getting blown out of proportion as to what it takes to get in shape. 

Fat free this, low calorie that, take this pill, apply this ointment. Exercise has also gotten out of control. Everything is extreme to a point that if you don't vomit or get sore for days you are not cool or won't get results. 

It's a real simple formula. I tell everyone that if you want to get fit and healthy: Eat quality food, drink enough water, do some sensible exercise, and get to bed on time! That's it! It's that simple.
I believe exercise should be looked at like medication: too much= overdose. Too little= in effective. Prescribe just the right dose and you will get the results you need. The best prescription to take is coming to see me – I’ll help you get the right remedy to your fitness woes.  Message me at [email protected] - let’s talk!  

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Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of Fitness Profiles, a one on one, and small group personal training company, as well as Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 1284 North Main St., on the Providence/Pawtucket line. You can reach Matt at (401) 453-3200; on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one!
 

 

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