How to Get Started in Weight Training...

If you have never tried weight training before it can all seem a bit daunting.  There are so many exercises to choose from, how do you know what to do and how many reps and what weight should you use.    So here are a few tips to get you started.

Firstly plan a routine.   Check out some exercises in a magazine, DVD or online before you head into the weights section.  If you know which exercises you are going to do before you arrive you will definitely feel more confident.  There are so many resources available these days that you will be able to find lots of exercises that will interest you.  Start with the parts of your body you want to improve on the most and then add in other exercises so that you are working your entire body.  Just be mindful not to choose anything too difficult, and if you are unsure of the correct technique ask for some help.

This brings us nicely onto my second point which is just that.  To ask someone who regularly does weight training for some advice.  I’m sure we all have a friend who trains regularly and will be able to offer some key tips.  If not, ask one of the staff at your local gym, or befriend a regular.  People will be more than happy to help you out.  Alternatively book a few sessions with a personal trainer, they will be able to discuss with you your goals and the best exercises in order to achieve them.

Okay, so you have a plan, what next?  Simply get out there and do it.  Trust me; it is only scary the first time.  Once you have lifted that first weight, you will be wondering what you were so worried about. 

You could always ho with a friend if you are feeling self-conscious; just make sure that you spend more time working than chatting. 

So, how much weight should you use? Honestly, it will take a bit of trial and error to start with.  When you are starting out you should be aiming to perform 3 lots of 12 repetitions.  The last 3 or 4 of each set should be pretty difficult.  You want it to feel like a challenge.  If you are not getting tired then you will not get any stronger and will not see the benefit.  Start light for your first time and see how it feels.  If it is easy then try a heavier weight until you find a weight that feels right.  Take a 30 second break in between each set of 12.  If for example, you find that you can only perform 2 sets of 12 and one set of 6 then that’s great!  Next time you perform the exercise try and get to 7 then 8 on that third set.  That’s how you’ll see your improvement.  If you can do 3 sets of 12 with no problem then it’s time to take the weight up, don’t be afraid of lifting heavy weights.  You will be amazed at how quickly your body adapts.

If you really can’t stand the thought of doing weights in the gym, then try some body weight exercises at home.  Squats, Push Ups, Lunges, Triceps dips are all equally as effective and you can do them at home without any equipment.  Another option is to hit a toning class at the gym such as circuits or yoga.

Just give it a go; it will be a lot of fun.  Find something you enjoy and go for it!!

I’d love to hear how you get on, or, if you are already training, do you have any other tips for people who are just starting out?  

Avoid the Christmas Bulge this Silly Season.

Planning is by far your most important weight loss tool this festive season.  Get your calendar out and look at all the events you have planned.  Schedule in your workouts and plan your meals ahead of time.  Perhaps you can get the menus ahead of time and choose a healthy option.  Have a plan for the silly season and stick to it. 

Of course there are those spontaneous events that you can’t avoid so see if you can have an action plan for these in advance.  Set a few ground rules and do your best.  Everyone wants to enjoy the season and celebrate, but it’s up to you to determine how important your long-term goals are, and if having that ice cream is really going to be worth it. 

Carve out some time for yourself.  Often we feel like we can’t say no at this time of year and end up with far too much on our plate.  We often spend so much time running around after everyone else that it leads to burn out. Turn down a few of the events that you don’t particularly want to go to and find some time to spend on yourself.  Book a massage or a haircut and enjoy the pamper time.  Our mental health is equally as important as our physical health and having too much stress is not going to end in a happy Christmas.  

Keep a few snacks and a water bottle in your bag at all times and your gym kit in the car.  Be prepared to top up your health at all times.  You might find a spare half an hour here or there where you can go for a walk, or head to the gym.  Make sure you are ready so you can jump right in.  By keeping healthy snacks handy at all times, you won’t be tempted to have another Christmas cookie or to stop by the drive through while you do your Christmas shopping.  Top up with water regularly especially in the heat.  Dehydration is often mistaken for hunger so have a drink before you reach for the snacks.

Finally remember to treat yourself and enjoy the festivities.  Just because you are being kind to your body and striving towards a healthier lifestyle, doesn’t mean you have to miss out completely.  Aim for moderation this Christmas and do your best.  If you have a massive blow out and eat an entire Christmas cake, don’t beat yourself up, or give up completely. Just shrug it off and start again.  You can do this, and you deserve to have the body of your dreams.  Enjoy the energy you have from living a healthy lifestyle and be proud of your achievements.

Happy Christmas

El  x

Killer Arm Workout

Tone your arms with this speedy workout.  Make sure you are challenging yourself - don't pick the easy option!

10 Push Ups

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20 Tricep Dips

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30 Bicep Curls

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40 Second Plank

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50 Spider Push Ups

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Then Reverse it.....

40 second Plank

30 Bicep Curl

20 Tricep Dips

10 Push Ups

If you can handle it... do it twice through!!!  Ouch!!  

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Simply email elinorgking@yahoo.com.au to get on your way to achieving your goals!

Newsletter - 16th June

 Welcome to this week's newsletter.  I hope you enjoy the content, if you have any questions about fitness or would like to see any thing featured here then just drop me an email and i will do my best to include it.

Exercise of the Week

  

This weeks exercise of the week is great for the upper body and core strength! 

Start in your plank position (note that this can be done on your knees too) make sure your abs are engaged and you are as flat as possible.  Push up with one arm, trying to get your hand where your elbow was, then push up with the second arm.  This will bring you into a ‘push up starting position’.  Next you need to lower yourself down one arm at a time until you are back into your plank position.  Repeat starting with the other arm.  Complete 10 – 12 repetitions, keep your bottom down and your abs in.  Let me know how you get on! 

3 PT Sessions for $29 

Snap Fitness are offering having an End of Financial Year Sale.  You can get 3 Personal Training Sessions for $29!!  They are practically giving them away!  Be sure to sign up before the end of June!

June Photo Competition

Don’t forget about my Facebook Photo Competition for your chance to win $500 of Free Personal Training.  All you have to do is upload a photo to the Eli King Fitness Facebook Page of you (and your friends) getting fit and healthy for your chance to win.  

If you don’t have Facebook then just email it through to me!!

Ladies Only Massage

If you have been working out a lot, have tight sore muscles, or feel like you deserve a reward, pop down and see my friend Naomi at Juma health and Yoga studio!  Mention my name and get $10 off your first massage!  Call Naomi on 0409 496 313 or visit www.juma.com.au

Sweet treats that won’t knock you off track… 

Sometimes you just need a sweet fix.  Here are 5 ideas that will keep you on track…

Dark Chocolate:  Research suggests that Dark chocolate can potentially lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels – if you ever needed a reason to eat chocolate…  Dark Chocolate is also very rich which means that you won’t want to eat too much of it – Win-Win!

Frozen Grapes:  Chuck a mix of red and green grapes in the freezer (try and spread them out so that they don’t stick together), and once frozen you have a delicious healthy treat at your fingertips!

Fruit Smoothie:  Smoothies get a real mixed review.  But they are a really great way to satisfy a sweet craving, and to get some really great nutrients too.  The best thing about them is that you really can’t go wrong.  Throw your favourite fruit into a blender and whizz.  Job done J Just be wary of shop or café bought smoothies as they are likely to have added chemicals & preservatives or a even sneaky scoop of ice cream!!

Fruit Salad:  Simple yet effective.  Easy to transport, easy to eat, and the variations are endless.  Try new fruits, and experiment!!

Delightful Dipping:  Melt a few squares of dark chocolate in a dish, chop up some fruit (Banana and Strawberries are my favourites) and dip to your hearts content.  This feels delightfully decadent, and the beauty is that you don’t need a lot of chocolate so you won’t be adding unnecessary calories to your day.

Enjoy!

Kick Start Your Metabolism

Did you know that there are lots of simple things that you can do to turn your body into a super efficient fat-burning machine?  They do NOT include depriving yourself of foods you love, resorting to unhealthy gimmicks, or taking super expensive “fat-melting” supplements.  Here are a few things to avoid and a list of things to start to give your metabolism a boost

Metabolism DON'TS

If you reduce your calorie intake too much, your body starts a fat storage campaign.  You will often hear people talk about ‘Starvation mode’, which simply means your body is hanging onto whatever fuel it can as it doesn’t know when it will get more.  It is not true that the less you eat the more you’ll lose.  Keep to a healthy calorie range that keeps your internal engine burning that stored fat all day. 

Skipping meals affects your body chemistry in ways that can make weight loss more difficult. Eating 5 or 6 small meals through out the day not only manages your hunger but it helps to avoid cravings and will prevent over eating at your conventional meal times.  Try not to go more than 3 to 4 hours without eating something.

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter (you can view older letters here), sleep is incredibly important to your fitness.  More and more research is now showing that sleep deprivation plays a huge part in weight gain. Your body needs that rest for recovery that keeps your metabolism in good working order. The occasional late night won’t hurt, but consistently sleeping just one hour less than you need may slow down your weight loss considerably.

Metabolism DO'S

Build muscle! Surprisingly, this is the most important action you can take to maintain a high metabolic rate.   If you don’t strength train, your body could be using muscle for fuel instead of fat. Considering that a kilo of muscle burns about 3 times more calories per day than a kilo of fat even when you’re sitting still (and up to 15-20 times more calories per minute when you're physically active), you can see the problems this can cause.  For example, if you lose 10kgs of weight (and 30% of that weight loss is muscle—3kgs), you’ll be slowing your metabolism and your fat burning capacity down a by a huge amount. A simple strength training program twice a week can limit your muscle loss and keep your metabolism running high.

It has often been said that exercising in the morning is better.  Now in terms of the quality of your workout it doesn’t make a lot of difference.  However, exercise boosts metabolism by increasing your calorie burn even AFTER you’ve finished.  So you can maximize this after-burn by working out in the morning and staying as active as possible throughout the day.  The more intense the workout, the longer the after-burn!

If you are a client of mine, then you will be very familiar with interval training.  Basically, the harder you work, the more calories you will burn both during and after exercise—plus its superb for increasing your fitness! So work as hard as you can, then slow down and recover, then repeat for about 10 – 15 minutes and you will burn a crazy amount of calories.

Most importantly, we want these changes to become your daily lifestyle.  You have to WANT to do it, so make exercise and healthy eating FUN! Try new exercises and recipes, anything that keeps you interested and adds some spice to your program. Put in your best effort and reap the rewards of reaching your goals. 

Meal Plan

Up until now I have only given you basic advice on your food intake.  Now as you already know regardless of what your goals are, nutrition is 85% of the process.  It doesn't matter how hard you exercise, it's not going to make a lot of difference if your nutrition isn't right.

I now have the answer!  I am now offering fully customisable, tailor made food plan!!

What is included?

- Full meal plan for each week

- One day to eat whatever you like

- Calorie tracking - See the exact calories for your favourite meals

- Shopping Lists

- Tweak your plan to suit you.  Don't like something - Change it!!

- Fully Custom to you and your preferences

- Hundreds of recipes to choose from, try new things, include your favourites

- Track your progress and stay accountable

If you think that this is for you and would like more information then drop me an email, or talk to me in the gym and I can give you all the information you need. 

Have a great week

Eli

Eli King

Personal Trainer

elinorgking@yahoo.com.au

Eli's Newsletter 9th June 2011

News From Eli

Its been an exciting week at Snap. We started our Bridge to Brisbane Running Club! The girls who came on Monday worked really hard and are going to run a great race in September. 

We also set a gym challenge to ride on the stationary bike 928km in 30 days.  This is the equivalent of riding from Brisbane to Sydney!  We have lots of contenders all giving it a go and there will be a prize for the person who gets to Sydney first.  There is still time to join in, the challenge will run until the end of June, so cough up $2, jump in and get pedalling :) 

This weeks newsletter has some interesting information on rest, pre and post exercise nutrition and of course the usual suspects such as exercise of the day.  I hope you enjoy it.

Next week I hope to feature a ‘Questions and Answers’ article, so if you have any questions at all relating to health and fitness then please drop me an email or pop it on the Facebook page.

Client of the Week

Congratulations to Sonya Grey who is my Client of the week this week!!  She has had a hard week and wanted to give up a few times and she has battled through and kept going!  Well done Sonya.  As a little bonus I have sent Sonya off for a Massage at Juma Health and Yoga Studio.  Maybe next month you could be a winner too!?!

June Photo Competition:

Don’t forget about my Facebook Photo Competition for your chance to win $500 of Free Personal Training.  All you have to do is upload a photo to the Eli King Fitness Facebook Page of you (and your friends) getting fit and healthy for your chance to win.  We’ve already had one entry in… can you beat it?

  

Melissa Hardy sailing in the Queensland State Yachting Championships last week.

Sleep can make you fitter…

Did you know that regular exercise helps you fall asleep faster, sleep longer and wake up less frequently during the night. Even just 20 minutes of exercise a day will help you when hitting the hay…

Whilst you are sleeping, your body works to repair the muscles that have been worked during exercise. The harder you train, the more time to you need to recover.  Without this recovery, you could cause an injury, or suffer the effects of over training.

You should make sure that you have had at least six to eight hours of sleep the night before exercise to ensure that your muscles are well-rested and able to  perform to their full potential.

A lack of sleep can slow the metabolism of glucose (the energy source for the brain) by as much as 30 to 40 percent. Therefore, you’re sleep deprivation not only affects your exercise performance and level of motivation, but could lead to potential accidents and injuries due to slower reaction time and reduced concentration.

Shockingly, research has shown that people who sleep less than seven hours a night are much more likely to be overweight. Apparently, sleep deprivation increases levels of the hunger hormone (ghrelin) and decreases levels of the hormone that makes you feel full (leptin), which will play havoc on your metabolism.  The effect of little sleep often leads to overeating, making the wrong food choices, lack of motivation to workout and weight gain.

So, how much sleep are you getting?

Ladies Only Massage

If you have been working out a lot, have tight sore muscles, or feel like you deserve a reward, pop down and see my friend Naomi at Juma health and Yoga studio!  Mention my name and get $10 off!  Call Naomi on 0409 496 313 or visit www.juma.com.au 

Bridge to Brisbane Running Club

The running club has started this week, and our first session went really well.  We focused on running technique, worked on some exercises to increase leg strength and drill to perfect our form. 

Bridge to Brisbane 10Km Race is on the 11th September 2011, and will be a great challenge.  So come along to the club and get involved. Its only $4 a session!

Pre and Post Exercise Nutrition

A question that is often asked is, should I be eating before I work out?  This is a difficult one, because some people find that eating too close to exercise makes them feel a little nauseous.  It will depend a lot on how you feel, and may take a little trial and error to start with, but here are some general guidelines:

Try to eat around 2-3 hours before you work out, this will allow optimal time for digestion, which will make sure you have a happy tummy while you exercise.  You don’t want the sudden reappearance of the last meal!!

You want to eat around 1g per Kg of Bodyweight of Carbohydrates.  These are energy-rich foods such as breads, rice, pasta, cereal, fruits, vegetables. Make sure you choose whole grain and whole-wheat options for more fibre, which will help with a more steady energy release.

Include a small amount of protein (around 5-10g) such as lean meat, nuts, beans and dairy (Make sure the fat content isn’t too high)

On top of this you need to ensure you are properly hydrated:  1-4 cups of fluid, the ideal choice being water or milk to pre-hydrate the body.  Make sure you sip fluids slowly – you will only work out on a full bladder once!! ;)

Liquid meals such as smoothies and meal replacement shakes work well about 1 hour before as they are more easily digested.

Avoid high sugar and high fat foods - cream-based soups and sauces, burgers, fries, chips, chocolate. These take longer to digest and can result in stomach issues.

Okay, So we have covered pre-nutrition, but what about after your workout?  The meal you eat after your workout is probably the most important meal of the day.  In that first hour after exercise your muscles are literally screaming out for nutrients.  You need to eat enough protein to help repair damaged muscles (this is how we get stronger and faster) and to replenish stored energy sources.

When we exercise we use up our stored energy (glycogen) which is a form of sugar.  This Gylcogen waits in the liver for a signal that you are exercising, at which point it sends you the fuel that you need.  Your body can hold around 1,800 calories of glycogen, which is more than enough to fuel most workouts.  You will perform better if your glycogen stores are full when you start exercising; eating slow release carbs like those mentioned below is the best way to replenish these stores.

Protien is used for repair and growth.  Exercise causes muscle breakdown, and to the action of repairing our muscles over the course of the following days is how we improve.  In order to repair, our muscles need the amino acids we get from eating protein.

For protein we want either some meat, chicken, eggs, fish or protein powder, and for  carbohydrates we want oatmeal, brown rice, grains like quinoa or amaranth, and all vegetables and fruits.

Exercise of the week:  Decline Lunges

These are another killer for the legs.  Stand on top of a bench.  Carefully lower one leg to the floor then step back up to the bench.  Complete 10 of these on one leg then switch to the other.  Working almost every muscle in the lower body, as well as testing your balance this exercise will also get your heart rate up!!

Next Week I promise an upper body exercise!!!

Snap Special

Snap Fitness are offering having an End of Financial Year Sale.  You can get 3 Personal Training Sessions for $29!!  They are practically giving them away!  Be sure to sign up before the end of June!!

Have a great week!

Eli

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