Let’s take a look at what you need to know.

Use Compound Movements Only

First, when it comes to your exercise selection, drop all isolation exercises out of the picture. While these exercise can be an okay addition to a workout program when you have time, when you’re running against the clock, they simply don’t provide enough benefits to be included.

Leave them for a time period when you aren’t in a rush to get in and out of the gym.

Instead, choose movements such as squats, rows, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder presses, and lunges. These are far more effective.

Superset

Next, when putting your workout program together, superset as often as possible. This means pairing two exercises immediately back to back with each other.

So for example, do a squat and then do a bench press. Do a lunge and then do a pull-up. Doing so is not only going to save time, but also enhance your metabolic rate more as well, allowing you to see top results from the workout session.

Go For Time

The next quick trick to help save time during your workout session is to go for time rather than reps. Instead of counting to eight or ten reps – however you may be doing, set a goal to do as many reps as you can, using good form and the weight you normally use, for one minute.

This will immediately cause you to work harder, upping the intensity of the session and is great for building muscular endurance.

Just make sure that you do maintain good form at all times as some people are more likely to lose it when using this technique.

Do Full Body Programs

Finally, last but not least, make sure you’re doing full body workout sessions. If you use these, you really only have to do two workouts per week to get results.

Three would be better, but if you’re pressed for time, two will be sufficient.  Plus, these workouts are much better for fat loss as well.

So there you have the need-to-know facts for producing a time effective but highly efficient workout.

Use these and you don’t have to sacrifice your fitness progress for your busy schedule. How To Save Time On Food Preparation Trying to eat healthier can be quite a challenge, especially when you add a very busy lifestyle into the mix. If you often find yourself forgoing healthy eating because of the fact that you just don’t’ have time to do enough cooking throughout the day, you need some help in the food prep department.While it is true that you will likely cook more than normal while trying to eat healthier as fast and convenience foods should be cut out, if you know a few simple tricks and techniques, cooking healthier doesn’t have to become a burden in your time schedule.Let’s take a quick look at what you need to know.Cook In Bulk

The very first tip to remember is that you should always be cooking in bulk whenever possible. Never cook a single meal – this only means far more time spent in the kitchen daily.

For those trying to eat healthy, left overs are a must. Cook three meals at once – or enough food to make up three meals, and store them in Tupperware containers in the fridge.

Most food will last for at least a couple of days before it goes bad.

Likewise, when preparing your protein sources, also cook in bulk as well and consider freezing some for future use when you have those really busy days.

Slow Cook

The second method to save time on food prep is to use a slow cooker. These are easy as you’ll just throw your protein source in, some diced vegetables, along with whatever you’re using as a sauce or flavoring into the slow cooker in the morning and it’ll be ready by the time you get home from work.

Again, cook in bulk while doing this and you’ll almost spend no time in the kitchen at all.

Buy Pre-Chopped

The next tip to remember if you’re really trying to save time is to buy pre-chopped vegetables. Many people aren’t taking in as many fresh vegetables as they should be simply because they don’t have time to cut them up.

Buy them pre-chopped and you won’t have to worry about this. Or, consider buying frozen as well. That’s an equally great option.

Plan

Finally, never go without a plan. If you don’t know what you’re having for lunch or dinner, not only do you have to cook, but you have to decide as well.

If you aren’t using a food plan of some sort, it’s going to be quite difficult to be prepared and to cook in advance since you never know what you’re eating.

Take some time each Sunday and lay out your weekly meals. This will serve you well not only for saving time, but for sticking with the diet as well.

So use these tips and you can spend less time in the kitchen, but still maintain your healthier eating goals.

Quote

“Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation,

which are as necessary as reading. I will rather

say more necessary because health is

worth more than learning.”

Thomas Jefferson 

Featured Recipe

Artichoke Chicken 

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 pinch garlic pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Recipe makes 4 servingsChange Servings

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic pepper. Place chicken in a greased baking dish, and cover evenly with artichoke mixture.
3. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear.

Nutrition

• Calories – 549kcal – 27%
• Carbohydrates – 13.4g – 4%
• Cholestero – l96mg – 32%
• Fat – 39.9g – 61%
• Fiber – 3.8g – 15%
• Protein – 34.5g – 69%
• Sodium – 1225mg – 49%

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Choose One Meal To Indulge In

Chances are while on holiday you are going to want to indulge a little in the different food options available. After all, you are on holiday and holidays are meant to enjoy yourself.

As long as you practice some control and moderation, you definitely can treat yourself to the odd food that you really want without seeing weight gain result.

A good strategy to use is to select one meal in which you’ll treat yourself at each day. If you can keep the rest of the meals very clean and healthy, this will reduce the chances that you take in too many calories but instead, at the end of the day, it’ll all balance out.

Then when you eat that food that you’re choosing to indulge in, make sure to eat a reasonable portion.  Don’t let yourself get out of control as how much you eat is just as important as what you’re eating.

As long as the calorie balance is correct at the end of the day, you won’t gain weight.

Stick To Lean Proteins And Vegetables

The second strategy to keep in mind as you aim to eat healthy while on holiday is for the rest of the meals during the day, stick as much as possible to just lean protein and vegetables.

Since there’s a good chance that fats will be added during the cooking process of these proteins and vegetables, you’ll want to keep carbs out of the picture as much as possible to create that ‘wiggle’ room for those added fat calories.

Again, it’s all about calorie balance.

Protein and vegetable based meals also tend to control hunger best, so this will allow you to maintain a reduced calorie intake while away.

Get A Suite With A Kitchen

Finally, the last quick tip to remember is to try, if you can, to get a suite with a kitchen. If you can eat at least one meal in your room where you’re staying, then you will have complete control over what goes into that meal.

At least then you know that one meal of the day is going to be directly in line with your normal diet plan.

So there you have a few quick tips to remember. If you’re smart in your approach, you definitely do not need to be facing a high amount of weight gain when you return back from your holiday. Workout Tips While On Holiday As you make plans to go off on holiday and relax and unwind after a few months of high-stress, it’s important that you don’t completely abandon your fitness program altogether.Not only will maintaining some degree of a workout program while you’re away help to reduce the chances that you start to gain weight, but it’ll also make it that much easier to carry on with your program upon your return.If you take a complete week (or longer) off your workout, you’re going to find that when you get back to it, you’re incredibly sore and just feel ‘out of it’ overall.

Let’s take a quick look at a few of the top workout tips to remember for your vacation.

Bring Some Equipment

The very first thing that you’ll want to do is make sure you go prepared.  Bring a few of your own pieces of workout equipment so that at the very least, you can do a quick workout in your hotel room.

A skipping rope is the perfect option for your cardio training session and a resistance band will help you keep the strength component in place.

Both of these are incredibly lightweight and will easily fit right in your suitcase.

Call Ahead To Check On Gym Facilities

The second thing that you should do is call ahead to wherever you’re staying and see what gym facilities are available.

If you can find this out ahead of time, it’s going to be that much easier to plan a workout that you can do using the equipment there.

It’s very important that you go in with a plan. If you don’t have a plan, the chances that you skip over the workout will be that much greater. If you do, you’re one step ahead of the game.

Keep The Workouts Short But Intense

When it comes to the actual workouts you do while away on holiday, intensity should be the name of your game.

You can cut back on the volume of your standard workout by up to 2/3’s as long as you maintain the intensity of the session.  This will allow you to maintain your fitness level so that you can pick right back up as soon as you return home again.

This will also make it easy to perform short workouts that don’t eat up your vacation time, making it that much easier to get them in as well.

So there you have the most important tips to remember as you go about your hotel workouts while on vacation.  If you take some time to prepare yourself for them and stay committed to leading the healthy lifestyle while you’re away, when you arrive back home it’ll feel as though you’ve never skipped a beat.

Quote

A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for

an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all

the medicine and psychology in the world. 

Paul Dudley White 

Featured Recipe

Shrimp Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 20 large white mushrooms, stems removed
• 1 (4 ounce) can small shrimp, rinsed, drained and broken up
• 1/2 cup chive and onion flavored cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pinch garlic powder, or to taste
• 1 dash Louisiana-style hot sauce, or to taste
• 3/4 cup grated Romano cheese

Recipe makes 20 stuffed mushroomsChange Servings

Directions

1. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Fill a saucepan with water and simmer the mushroom caps over medium heat for 2 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to soften. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon, drain, and let cool, hollow sides down, on paper towels, for about 15 minutes.
2. While mushroom caps are cooling, combine the shrimp, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and hot sauce in a bowl and stir to blend well. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of the shrimp mixture into the cap of each mushroom and place, stuffing side up, in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the Romano cheese onto each mushroom. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight to blend the flavors and firm up the stuffing.
3. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Uncover the dish and bake the mushrooms in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is browned and bubbling.

Nutrition

• Calories – 103kcal – 5%
• Carbohydrates – 2.9g -
• Cholestero – l41mg – 14%
• Fat – 6.8g – 10%
• Fiber – 0.5g – 2%
• Protein – 7.3g – 15%
• Sodium – 188mg – 8%

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

One day my father was sharing a regret he had form his past.  As a new father of sons he worked so hard to provide the financial security he felt his family needed.  He spent hours working hard in the office to provide this security. Until one day he was faced with the worst news any parent could ever hear. “You son has terminal cancer”.  His regret was that he had spent too much time working and not enough time with the son he loved.  His message to me was simple…don’t take life for granted and spend time with the people that you love the most.

Be careful, you can be fooled into thinking that you have nothing but time.  If you are not purposeful in prioritizing you time, you may look back with regrets. Years ago it was thought that computers and other forms of future technology would make our lives easier, which would give us more freedom to enjoy life.  The work day could be cut in half leaving us time for more leisurely activities. In fact, technological advancement is often driven by this premise.

The reality is that we still buy into this lie.  In our lack of foresight, we forgot that with increased productivity comes an increase in expectations.  People now expect we can do more for them than ever before. Employers want more because with technological advancement we can deliver more.  One small problem (actually a big problem) there is still only 24 hours in one day.  The reality is that we only have so much we can give to others before the quality of the time we spend with others diminishes. Therefore, we need to prioritize.  What people in your life need quality time with you? Is it your spouse, children or friends? Are you focused on things that will give you a quality life such as health and wellness?

One of the saddest stories I have heard in the last year was the one surrounding the last days of Steven Jobs.  By all measures, Jobs had a life many of us might envy.  At some point during his battle with cancer he said he was writing his memoir so his children would know who he was.  In my opinion this is one of the saddest statements I have ever heard. In his desire for fame and fortune he had to sacrifice the biggest thing that most people need from us…our time. Over the last 13 years in my private practice I can’t tell you how many people have climbed the success ladder to only discover, at the end, their ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. They come to me near retirement and want to reverse all the negative effects (Obesity, high blood pressure, sky rocketing cholesterol levels) of a poor life-style.  I am happy to help, but I would encourage people to never let it get to this point.  It’s much harder to change the habits later in life.

I have to be honest with you; I too have lived much of my life in pursuit of the wrong things. However, it’s not too late for us to make a 180 degree turn and head in the right direction.  Therefore,  I encourage you to reevaluate your life. Are you living a life that will lead to regrets?  Are you spending time with the people who really matter in life?  Are you investing in your healthy habits that will, in the end, add quality years to your life? If not, it’s not too late.  Let’s make that 180 degree turn together and start living a life with fewer regrets.

God Bless,

Jason

Let’s face it; change can be difficult and scary especially if you try to change your world in one day or even in just a few weeks.  If you are finally motivated to begin a new exercise program and/or change the way you are currently eating, attempting to make too many changes will ultimately lead to frustration and failure.

Research shows that when people try to make one change, their compliance is about 85%.  If they attempt 2 changes their compliance drops to 35% and if they try to change 3 habits, compliance plummets to about 10%.  Therefore, it’s most effective, in the long run, to work on 1 change at a time and build on that change 1 change at a time.

So…what’s the 1 change you can make today, that you can consistently stick to day in and day out for at least 2 weeks?  For example, if you are only eating 1 serving of fruits and vegetable a day can you begin eating 1 more fruit or vegetable daily?  If you are working out 1x/week can you work out an additional time during the week for 15 minutes?

If you are having difficulty pinpointing what needs to be changed let me help you.  I extend this invitation to meet with me for a FREE consultation where I will help you figure out what is the best starting point for making the change you need in order to reach your health & fitness goals. I am here to help…

Sincerely,

Jason

www.envisionstrength.com

1. Eating every 2-4 hours—this means consuming 4-8 meals/snacks a day.  If your goal is to lose weight, eating more frequently (4-5x/day) allows you to increase your metabolism, helps to maintain lean body mass and keeps your blood sugars more consistent throughout the day, which will help you avoid making poor food choices and overeating when you are over hungry. The idea of eating when you “feel” hungry is a fallacy.  You should begin making a habit of eating on a regular schedule so you never become ravished.  Skipping meals, especially breakfast, causes many people to binge eat late at night to make up for calories they needed during the day.  Often these people will feel full in the morning due to slowed digestion and will skip breakfast again. Thus the cycle continues.

If your goal is to gain weight you should also eat more frequently up to 7-8 meals/snacks a day.  The difference is that you will be consuming a bit more calories each meal to gain weight slowly.  If you are currently weight stable (no weight loss or gain), I recommend adding 250-500/day to your diet for weight gain and subtracting 250-500 calories a day for weight loss.  In addition, you will want to make sure the added calories are quality calories and not from processed junk foods (I will talk more about proper food choices in my next blog post). Also, you should start a properly designed weight training programs in order to gain muscle as you increase your calories for weight gain or as you reduce your calories to drop body fat.

2. Planning Ahead (food preparation strategies)— All the good intentions in the world will not help you if you don’t have a plan.  The old saying “failure to plan is planning to fail” is so true when it come to good nutrition.  Here are some ideas that can help:

• Plan your meals on Sundays for the upcoming week or in the mornings plan your meals for the day.  The first question is what are you going to eat for that week or day?  If you are now eating 5x a day that works out to 35 meals a week.  Looking at it from this point can be daunting, so break it down into days.  What will you need for breakfast meals, snacks at work/home, lunch meals and dinner meals?  Based on your meal choices, you will make up a grocery list of all that you will need for the week to prepare your meals.
• Once you have the food, preparation is the next step.  Depending on what your choice are, you will need to make sure that your food is easy to prepare when you need it most.  Let’s assume for now that you will be eating more fruits, vegetables and quality protein.  I recommend that you cut up the vegetables and fruit that you will need for 3 days.  In additions, precooking any lean meats your will need for your lunches and snacks  (chicken, beef, pork) will make it much easier to stick to your plan.  Once you prepare the foods ahead of time make sure you have plenty of zip-lock bags or Tupperware to store your food.  I also recommend buying a cooler for work, so you can store your meals/snacks for the day.
• Cook more food then you will need for your dinner meal and put the leftovers in a personal sized Tupperware for your lunch or snacks the next day.
• If your goal is fat loss, you will need to reduce your carbohydrate intake.  Since sandwiches are a staple of most people’s lunch diet I would substitute bread for flat rounds or whole grain flat wraps.  By doing this, you will reduce your carbohydrate intake and still have your sandwich.

I hope these tips help you to make better decisions as you strive to reach your health & fitness goals.  Next week I will address how many calories you need to reach your goals and what food choices you should be making.  In the mean time, contact me with any questions you may have.

In Health,

Jason Karson,CSCS,CES

www.envisionstrength.com

My point is that many of us live in bodies like this.  We work hard watching our diet and getting regular exercise in order to “look good”.  Our “core training” programs or lack of any programs may be setting up our bodies for the big crash and burn.  If all you do are flexion exercises (I.E. Curl Ups/Crunches) you are setting yourself up for a back injury. Your “core” is far more complex than just your abs.  Also, just because you have six-pack abs does not mean you have a strong core.  Likewise, if you are overweight and carry much of your excess weight around your stomach, you are at greater risk for a back injury.

So, what can you do if you are worried about injuries?  I would first of all contact me so I can do a full movement evaluation (http://www.functionalmovement.com/SITE/)  in order to identify any areas that could lead to injuries in your fitness program.  Let’s face it, if you’re injured, you won’t be burning as many calories and your fitness goal will be on hold until you are pain-free and functional again.  After your evaluation, I will set you up on a comprehensive core training program that will help keep you injury free and on your way to reaching your fitness and athletic goals.

Jason

Recently I turned 40 and recently have had some time to reflect on my life.  Here is some insight into who I am and why I do what I do:

I would describe myself as a hard charger.  I am a doer and hate to sit on the sidelines of life watching things happen.  This can be both a blessing and a curse.  It’s a curse because you can run over people in your quest for success.  You can put your ladder up on the wall of success and get to the end of your life or career and discover that your ladder was up against the wrong wall.  I have talked with people from all walks of life and have too often heard the same stories of people who followed someone else’s dreams for their life and followed the wrong path.  I have met people who have sacrificed the wrong things for fame and fortune only to wake up with broken family relationships and poor health all for the pursuit of a dream that fell short of their expectations.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not preaching just to you, I am preaching to myself.  I have been at this place in my life. You can’t take back the past, but you can make a fresh start and finish strong.

If you are in your 30s or 40s and feel as if you’re in a rut and your health and well-being are headed for a train wreck, you can turn things around.   By discovering your purpose and having a greater vision for where you want to go in life, you can turn both your health and well-being around. If you are older, there is still time to make the change and finish strong but, as Tony Robbins said, ” If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

God has a plan for each of our lives; He put you on this earth not to just to slave in job, retire and play golf , but to give you a future and hope.  He wants you to have a greater purpose.  We all have turning points in our lives that make or break us and I have had many.  In my early 30s I woke up, hungover again, with no inner peace in my life.  I had this sense that there was more to life, but did not know how to obtain it.  It wasn’t until I gave my life over to God and starting trusting Him that I found inner peace.   One book that highly influenced my life was The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Through my ongoing relationship with God and some insights form The Purpose Driven Life, I am able to live out my life with the purpose of helping others succeed with respect to their health & fitness.

I encourage you all to consider thinking about your purpose on this earth.  If you have sacrificed your health for empty promises, I encourage you to make a change now. Seek guidance form someone who can help you overcome the poor habits that are keeping you form having success with respect to your health and fitness.  Make a new beginning now!!

Jason