6 easy steps for staying on track

Summer is almost upon us Flashpointers! Most people end up breaking their new years goal of getting in shape by Febuary. This is your year to stick to your goals! Here's a couple helpful tips to make sure you stay on track all the way to the finish line.

1. Plan, Plan, Plan
You plan meetings and school functions, workouts are no different. Set one day aside every week to write out exactly what you will be doing for cardio and weights and what time you will be working out every day. This way you can mentally prepare yourself for the workout.

2. Track
If you don't know where you started, you'll have no idea if you've progressed in your workouts. Track everything you do in your workouts, from the weights you used, to how many reps you did and what incline your tradmill was at. This way, you can look back and see where you have improved at. Also, makle sure you are taking measurments every three weeks to give yourself a good idea if your workouts are giving you the results you want.

3. Goals
Rememeber to set goals along your journey. Most people set goals to far out and become frustrated because their not getting there fast enough. If your goal is to lose 100 lbs, it seems unacheivable, but if you break it down it goes by alot quicker. So this week your goal is to lose 4 lbs. But if you don't achieve it, dont view it as a setback and throw it all away on a all night icecream binge. Some weeks will be 2lbs and some will be 4lbs. But in the end its how much body fat your losing not the weight. So remember to keep track of how your clothers are fitting. Thats one of the best indicators that your workout goals are still on track.

4. Fuel your Body
The biggest killer of almost any fitness related goal is your diet. If your gonna to kill yourself with hours at the gym, don't go home and down a whole box of twinkies. Throw out all the crap in your kitchen thats packaged and sugar filled and you'll be amazed at how quickly your energy levels will rise and the body fat will start dropping.

5. Switch it up
If your workout routine is boring you or youve stopped seeing results, remember to add some variety. You have to challenge your body to continually see results and the longer you've been working out, the harder you'll have to push yourself. Beginners usually see results extremely quickly but become frustrated after a few months when weight loss results begin to slow. To avoid a plateau, keep pushing yourself. Up the weights you are using, change up how many reps you are doing, do intervals on the treadmill instead of 30 min at the same speed. Even better, take your workouts outside and get a change of scenery. Hiking burns about 500 cal an hour, throw in some random pushups along the trail and youll have a complete workout!

6. Have fun and treat yourself
Getting in shape is not always enjoyable, but finding things that you do enjoy makes it easier. Go for bike rides, do body weight exercises, take a poolates class. There isnt just one way to get in shape, its finding something that works for you and sticking with it. And when you do get the results you want, remember to reward yourself with something. New clothes, a trip, something that says you worked hard to get where you are! Just rememeber not to settle. You'll come across alot of obstacles along the way, and alot of haters who wont want you to succeed. But you deserve to lead a healthier lifestyle and the only one that can prevent you from getting there is yourself!

-AY

My Tuesday Fun Day

Whats up everyone! So, its been a little hectic lately, so today to show you guys I workout just as hard as I make you guys and my clients do, I'm giving you a taste of what my personal workouts look like. I switch my workouts up alot, but they usually follow a theme or focus on whatever body parts I need strengthened. Since I will be climbing Mt. Rainier in a couple of months, most of my workouts have been geared toward strengthening my whole body, but especially my legs, shoulders and back, and building up my endurance.
This morning I did Hill Intervals on the Treadmill for 40 min. Usually I start out at about 4.0-4.2 speed and 4% incline to warm up for 5 min then every 5 min Ill move up 2% till I get to 12% incline then Ill alternate between 10% and 12% for the remainder of the time.

This evening I did a timed interval focusing on legs and chest:
I try to complete as many rounds as I can in 20 min. This was the first time Ive done this workout and I did 3 sets with amazingly perfect form. :)
10 reps-Medicine ball cross over pushups
10 reps-60 lb Barbell Front Squats
10 reps each leg-Step ups onto workout bench with 55lb backpack
10 reps-Decline Pushups of bench w/ alternating knee to elbow
20 reps-Mtn Climbers(each time your right foot comes forward is one rep)
10 reps-Burpee dropdown to surfer get up and staggered hop(alt bringing a different foot forward with each rep)
15 reps-reverse crunches

Then I stretch out for ten minutes, grab a drink or what not and I finish up my workout with 20 min of Sprint intervals on the treadmill. Going all out for 40 sec and resting for 1 min.

So there you have it, my awesome workout. Do you have to workout this way to get results? No. I push myself pretty hard and this is what works for me. As long as you find something you enjoy and stick with it you'll get results. I mean really stick with it too. Don't go for a walk once a week and wonder why you are not getting results. Really push yourself. Everyone has a different level. If you arent able to lift weights, do body weight squats, pushups of the counter or crunches on the ground. Body weight exercises are even excellent for people who are already in descent shape. I can think of dozens of ways to manipulate an exercise to make it more difficult. Don't be afraid to get up and workout. This is your year to get in shape, take advantage of it while you still have a chance too!

Turnin' up the heat-Workout of the Day

What's up everyone! I hope everyones week has been fantastic! So, yesterday I took the day off to gets some hiking in over in Oregon. It was a little rainy, but the trail was beautiful. I've been doing a lot of my training for Rainier on the treadmil, but I feel that the only way to actually get stronger at hiking is to get out and do it. The same follows for any activity your involved in. You can workout for hours in the gym, but if your training doesn't mimick in some way the activity that your going to be participating in, your wasting your effort. Todays workout is another timed high intensity one. There will be five different exercises, each exercise will have 8 rounds of 20 sec of work and 10 sec of rest. Today you will do them in a circuit though. So, do the first exercise for 20 sec, rest 10 sec, then do the next exercise until youve completed 20 min. Make sure to go as quickly as you can, while maintaing good form. Keep track of how many reps you were able to complete with each exercise.

Double Squat Jump(holding a medicine ball or basketball in hand over head, squat down quickly hitting the ball into the ground. Come up slightly, re squat then jump up and off the ground)
Supine Row (Using either a squat bar or a broom handle held over two chairs. Lay under bar so chest is underneath and feet are out straight. Pull body towards bar making sure to keep body in a straight line and squeeze shoulder blades together)
Plyo Lunges
Single Leg Burpee to Pushup(Alternate with every pushup)
Mountain Climbers

Fat Destruction-Workout of the Day

Good evening everyone! So its been about a week since I posted the last workout. Been a little busy training for a Rainier summit I have coming up in the spring and working on getting my website for my business up and running. Yay! But, this week I wanted to switch up your routines a little bit with some high intensity workouts. In my opinion, its probably one of the best ways to boost your metabolism and help burn body fat long after your workout is over. As with all your workouts, you should be challenging yourself to become stronger with ever exercise. This could mean either being able to do more reps or being able to lift a heavier weight (make sure your form is perfect!) So for this workout, each exercise will take 4 min, so the entire workout will be 20 min. You will go all out for 20 sec, then rest for 10 sec and repeat for a total of 8 rounds for each exercise. Write down how many reps you were able to do each round so you can go back in the future and see if you have improved.

Side Lunge Reach to single leg squat and jump(switch leg with each round)-w/ medicine ball or weight, side lunge to the right and reach across body with weight. push back into standing, squat on opposite leg then explode up into a hop. Repeat.
One hand medicine ball pushup(switch hand with each pushup)- Start with one hand on medicine ball, pushup then roll ball to opposite hand then repeat.
Diagonal squat touchdown and jump(Alt sides every jump)-Each rep should be completed quickly. Squat down and reach hands across body and touch ground to outside of knees. Hop up and repeat on opposite side.
Pushup to T-crunch(Alt sides each round)-Do pushup. Rotate to right side so you are balanceing on right hand and foot. Crunch left elbow to left knee. Rotate down and repeat on same side.
Single Leg Burpee(Alt each round)

Good luck!