Many people believe that working out in the morning is the best because it could help you to get your day off on the right foot and get the workout out of the way early. Others believe that working out at late at night can disrupt sleeping patterns due to endorphins being released during the workout. The truth is that neither of these are entirely true.

The answer is consistency! You will see more results in your workout routine when you workout the same time every day. This is because your body gets conditioned to exercise at this time and adapts to release energy-boosting, muscle-building hormones, like testosterone, which aids in fitness performance, muscle building, and fat metabolism.

Need help achieving your goals? Stop by or contact any of  our Brenda Athletic Club locations in Modesto, Turlock or Merced and get started on your goals now! Lose weight, tone, tighten and strengthen!

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Now that it is spring right around the corner, everyone is thinking about those last 10 stubborn pounds. Here are some tips on how to tone up and drop the weight.

Step 1: Record what you eat. A detailed food journal is a great tool when you are counting calories. A food journal will help you keep yourself accountable to make healthy food choices and keep the portion sizes down to a regular serving size. You can keep a written food journal or there are many food journal apps on smart phones these days to keep you on track.

Step 2: Pick a calorie counting goal. Eliminating 500 calories a day can help promote a one pound per week of weight loss. Don’t eat less than 1,200 calories a day or your body will go into “starvation mode” and will start storing calories as fat.

Step 3: Eat filling, low calorie foods. Increase the vegetables on your plate, especially with mixed dishes like casseroles or stew. Also, snack on fruits often and get enough lean protein throughout the day.

Step 4: Exercise. Of course, increasing physical activity will also help promote weight loss.  Remember to have a good balance of both cardio and resistance training in your workout routine. Doing cardio will help you lose weight, but without the resistance training you are unable to gain much muscle. Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does, so by having more muscle on your body you will more easily be able to lose the weight and keep it off. Plus, you will be more satisfied with the end result with a healthy toned body.

Lose weight, tone, and strengthen today at any of our Brenda Athletic Club locations in Modesto, Merced or Turlock.

Your body’s metabolism is due to 50% genetics and 50% environment. This means that you can’t blame your genetics for your slow metabolism because 50% of it is due to your environment inclunding your diet, exercise, and lifestyle.

1) Hormones: Women who have low estrogen levels or men who have low testosterone levels will have a slower metabolism. Hormones would fall under the genetics category because there is not much you can do about your natural estrogen or testosterone levels. However, by taking a multi-vitamin that is specific to your sex, you can help increase these levels.

2) Stress: Stress causes your level of hormone corisol to rise, which can harm your metabolism. Increased cortisol levels can cause you to overeat which will lead to weight gain. Stress would fall under the environment category because you can control your stress level. Stick to a regular exercise routine to help decrease stress.

3) Lack of Sleep: When your body lacks sleep, it can have a difficult time metabolizing carbohydates, which causes your blood-sugar levels to rise. High blood-sugar levels spike insulin levels, which tells your body to store unused energy as fat. Lack of sleep would fall under the environment category since you can control this and easily just get more sleep. Sleep 8-10 hours each night and have a set time you wake up and go to sleep every night to keep your sleep pattern regular.

4) Diet:  A poor diet will slow metabolism. Everyone knows that by consuming excess calories, you will gain weight. What many people do not know is that by eating too little, your body will also retain fat. This may mean not eating enough calories per day for your basic bodily functions or even just not eating frequently enough. Your body will go into starvation mode if you go over 4 hours without eating a snack. Diet would be under the environment category since you can control your own diet. By eating healthy small meals or snacks throughout the day, you will keep your metabolism going and prevent your body from holding onto excess fat.

5) Health Conditions: The classic example of a disease that slows metabolism is hypothyroidism, which is when the thyroid doesn’t make enough hormones. Some medications may cause your metabolism to slow down. These include, antidepressants, diabetes drugs, steroids, and hormone therapies. Health conditions would fall under the genetic category because even if your health condition isn’t hereditary, it is still something you are unable to control. Your doctor should be able to re-evaluate your medication to help with your weight loss goals. If not, you may simply have to double your diet and exercise efforts.

6) Exercise: When you don’t exercise, fat can build up in your body and slow metabolism. When you exercise, your heart has to pump harder so that blood can transport the nutrients y0ur muscles need, and when your muscles are working, your metabolism speeds up. Exercise falls under the environment category because you control how often you exercise. To keep your metabolism up and stay healthy, work out at a moderate level for at least an hour every day.

By having one single cheat day a week, you can destroy all of the hard work you did throughout the week. Here are some tips on how to prevent weight gain over the weekends:

1) Limit yourself at Happy Hour: Don’t order snacks that you can easily eat the entire bowl of. Order your own drinks instead of sharing a pitcher so you can keep track of your drinks. By drinking water in between drinks, you will feel fuller.

2) Order smart when out to dinner: Order off of the low calories menu to keep the calories down. Portion sizes are often oversized at restaurants. You can ask for a to-go-box when the waiter first brings you your food so you can set half of the meal aside for later.

3) Make you errands day a workout day: To help burn some extra calories, you can park further away in the parking lot and take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Remember to pack some healthy snacks to prevent yourself from hitting up the food court.

4) Snack before going out: By having a snack at home before you start your evening, you will be less likely to snack on everything at the party. Two great choices for a quick snack are apples and almonds.

5) Skip the movie snacks: The popcorn at the movies is extremely high in fat. If you add a soda then you are easily over 1,000 calories already. If you can’t make it through the movie without snacking on something then pack some fruit or even a small portion of microwaveable popcorn.

6) Avoid the Sunday breakfast platter: Pay close attention to serving sizes and make healthy choices. Whole wheat toast or a veggie omelet are better choices than the typical breakfasts at restaurants.

7) Don’t be sedentary on your day off:  Instead of sitting on couch all day watching television, go outside and burn some calories. Enjoy your day off by going on a hike, bike ride, or a swim.

8) Cheat on one meal per week: By “cheat” I mean you are allowed to chose any food you want. Make sure to keep the portion size down to a regular portion though. This is your one meal a week that you are allowed to splurge on because by never allowing yourself to cheat, you are building yourself up for a cheating meltdown. Cheating one meal a week won’t hurt you as long as you keep to a portion size.

9) Catch up on your sleep: Sleep deprivation often makes you eat more, which is about 500 calories more a day. Make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.

Modesto, Turlock, Merced weight loss with Brenda Athletic Clubs

The answer is no.

One pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat, which is obviously one pound. The reason why people say this is because muscle and fat do differ in density. Muscle is more compact while fat takes up more volume. This is where the term “tone” comes from with the trade off of fat pounds versus muscle pounds.

Muscle is also more efficient than fat because it burns more calories and brings faster diet results. Even at rest, muscle burns more calories than fat because muscle boosts your metabolism. This means not only will you be happier with your body’s toned result but you will reach your fitness goal faster. In order to gain muscle, you must eat a healthy diet and exercise daily. Make sure your exercise routine includes both resistance training and cardio.

Need help getting started or modifying a routine? Contact a personal trainer to help you with your fitness goals in Modesto, Merced or Turlock.

http://www.brendaathletics.com

1) Low Impact Aerobics

Aerobic activity helps older adults burn off calories, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, maintain joint movement, improve heart health, and increase energy levels. Keep the aerobic activity to a low impact exercise to avoid injury.

2) Squats for Lower Body Strength

The process of building muscle takes time, but the benefits are enormous for your health as a senior. Not only does strength training increase strength and muscle tone, but it also increases the body’s bone density. This means your bones are getting thicker and stronger too. Leg strength will improve balance and decrease the chances of a falling injury. Make sure to squat with your body’s natural range of motion. With practice this flexibility and range of motion will improve. It also helps to hold onto something while squatting like a bench press stationed barbell.

3) Raise Your Arms Overhead for Upper Body Strength

Adding resistance with light weights or elastic bands helps develop muscle mass and upper body strength. This can be done either sitting or standing.

4) Bicep Curls

Lifting everyday objects like a suitcase or a gallon-size jug of water can become more difficult as you age. Arm curls will strengthen the muscles involved with these movements.

5) Modified Push-ups

Push-ups are a great exercise to strengthen the arms, shoulders, and chest but as a senior these push-ups may need to be modified. The most basic modified push-up is a wall push-up. As you get stronger, you can put yourself at more of an angle to make it more difficult. When this is mastered, you can do modified push-ups with your hands on a bench and feet on the floor. Again, change the angle as you become stronger. If you do not have any knee problems, then the last more advanced modified push-up is on the ground like a normal push-up, but with the knees bent and touching the floor.

6) Leg Raises

Not only do leg raises help strengthen the thighs, hips, buttocks, and lower back muscles, this type of exercise benefits balance as well. Leg raises can be performed standing up and holding onto something if needed or lying down on a mat.

7) Calf Raises

Building muscle mass and focusing on better balance can help reduce the risk of falls and broken bones. Hold onto something, lift your heels off the floor so that you are on the balls of your feet, and slowly lower your heels back to the floor.

8) Stretch

Before the workout, you should perform active stretches, meaning you are constantly moving and not holding a stretch in a single position. This includes high knees, butt-kickers, or punches. After the workout, it helps to do static stretches meaning you are holding a stretch in a single position. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds, release, and go back into the same stretch for another 15 seconds.

Here at Brenda Athletic Clubs in Modesto and Turlock we offer multiple Group Exercise Classes for seniors including Silver Sneakers and Aqua Aerobics. A personal trainer can also help you get in shape and increase strength. Contact us for more information at http://www.brendaathletics.com.

Young children ages 5-13 years old can enjoy sport like activities that are based on unstructured play. This means that children learn and enjoy exercise best when it is fun and not necessary super organized. They will grow up liking exercise more remembering that it was always a fun experience.

Young teenagers ages 13-16 years old are now old enough to start doing more organized resistance training and cardiovascular workouts. The best workouts to do for this age group is mostly body weight exercises with some introduction to dumbbells or cables. Cardio workouts can include walking, jogging, swimming, or other sport-like activities.

Older teenagers ages 16-20 years old can now begin to start working out like an adult. Their bodies are now strong enough and more developed to be able to handle more stress and weight on their bodies. Structured resistance training and more intense cardio workouts are completely safe for this age group.

Brenda Athletic Clubs Modesto & Turlock Sport locations offer many different youth fitness activities and programs.

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The best “diet” you can go on is a constant healthy diet. Do not change your diet only temporarily to lose weight, but make a lifestyle change. Whether you are looking to lose weight, gain muscle, or maintain your current weight, you should have a variety of different foods in your diet so that you receive optimal nutrition.

Fruits and vegetables are extremely healthy for you and provide you body with necessary vitamins and minerals. Carbohydrates (carbs) are important as well. Carbs provide your body with necessary energy so don’t completely cut them out of your diet when you are trying to lose weight. Protein provides nutrition to your muscles to help them heal after a hard work out so protein definitely needs to be part of your daily food intake. Fats are also important but these fats should only come from healthy sources. For example, nuts and oils have healthy fats that are needed for your body’s daily functions. Of course, don’t forget about fluids. Fruit juice is great when it contains 100% juice but you only need one 12oz glass a day. Please refer to the daily water intake blog for more information on how to determine your healthy daily water intake.

Five to six small meals a day that contain a variety of the foods listed above will help you live a healthier lifestyle. And of course, don’t forget to exercise!