And the Winners are…

Congratulations to Gina, Mira, Connie, Ashley & Cathy!

 

This week’s Facebook Giveaway:

(www.Facebook.com/PersonalTrainingbyMiguel)

• 2 One-on-one Personal Training sessions with Miguel

• 30 DAYS OF MIGUEL’S BOOT CAMP!

• Kettle Bell – your choice of weight

• A pair of boxing gloves and hand wraps

• IPOD Shuffle

5 Myths About Losing Weight

Hey guys…here’s a quick list of 5 things (myths) that may be

hindering you in achieving your goals…

#5 All CARBS are horrible!

Not true!  Carbohydrates in moderation, particularly brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, quinoa etc. provide

many nutritional benefits, keep you feeling full longer and are more easily digested than highly processed

carbs. I’m not saying you should eat gigantic bowls of pasta, but try eating around two or three ounces of

the whole wheat variety and serve it alongside veggies and lean proteins for a balanced meal.

#4 The longer you work out the more calories you burn.

Nope!  You may already know this – but not everyone does. In the battle between time and

intensity….INTENSITY wins!  The harder you push the better your result.  Your brain will anticipate the

wall and actually tell your body to “stop” far short of that wall. So there’s always room to kick up the

intensity….my clients learn that right away with me, and that’s why their results are so awesome!

#3 Eating “fats” will make you FAT.

Negative. Not all fats are unhealthy, and some are actually a vital part of everyone’s daily diet.

Polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats, such as those found in nuts (peanuts are legumes not

nuts), fish, avocados and certain oils (olive, walnut or grape seed) are believed to lower your chance of

cardiovascular disease. It’s still a good idea to minimize consumption of heart-unhealthy trans fats found in

packaged and fried foods and saturated fats, which are found in dairy products and beef.

#2  Eating at certain times will cause weight loss/gain.

Also false. If you eat 5,000 calories before noon each day you will gain just as much weight as if you’d

eaten them at 9pm.  Although the time of day, season of the year, time of the month etc. do make slight

differences in how your efficiently your calories are burned as fuel, the most important thing is

HOW MUCH and of WHAT.  Not so much the “when”.  As long as you choices are healthy the main thing

to focus on with weight loss is this fact: To lose 1 pound your body must be at 3,500 calorie DEFICIT. 

So if you’d like to lose 2 pounds a week you need to burn 7,000 calories more then you are taking in for

that week. My personal training clients average 2-4 lbs a week of weight loss typically.

#1 Don’t weigh yourself.

Bad idea. Recent studies have shown that people who weigh themselves once a week or every other

week, have a much better chance of maintaining a healthy a weight because they will notice a few pounds

slipping on and be able to course correct earlier on then someone who doesn’t weigh in. Now if you lean 

towards obsessive with your scale it’s not a bad idea to only weigh yourself at a friends or at the gym

each week as you will go up and down slightly each day. So pick a day of the week and only do it then,

but don’t avoid it all together.

The deal with probiotics & yogurt…

A lot of my clients inquire about the health & fitness benefits of Yogurt with probiotics aka

acidophilus – and who could blame them since it’s latest marketing topic of the yogurt 

industry…so I decided to research the subject and share it with everybody.

Acidophilus is a general name for dried or liquid, live cultures of lactobacillus bacteria,

which are considered "friendly" organisms in the intestinal tract. You can buy acidophilus

products in health food stores & although most are milk-based, nondairy versions using

carrot juice are available. All provide much higher concentrations of the desired

organisms than acidophilus milk, yogurt, or other cultured milk products.

I strongly recommend taking acidophilus whenever you’re on antibiotics, especially the

broad spectrum ones like tetracycline and ampicillin, which destroy your intestinal flora.

Acidophilus can be helpful to those with chronic intestinal conditions such as irritable

bowel syndrome (IBS), for cholesterol control, enhanced immunity, to lower risk of

allergies, prevention of urinary tract infections & prevention of vaginal yeast infections.

You also can waste money on acidophilus products that do not contain viable organisms –

so go with a health food store purchase rather than a big box discount brand – and check

those expiration dates! The best products on the market contain a new strain,

Lactobacillus GG that has been shown to get into the intestinal tract when you swallow it.

One brand to look for is Culturelle (www.culturelle.com)…

A homeopathic MD recently told me that 60% of our immune system is in the

intestinal tract…so keeping it healthy and balanced keeps you the same way!

Simple travel workout

Hey guys…I know it’s that time of year – time to travel and have some fun, but you

don’t have to turn into a ball of goo just because you are not near the gym!

I have tons of clients requesting ideas for travel fitness lately so I put together a workout

that can be done anywhere…at the beach, in a hotel room, shoot you could even do

this while waiting in line at Disneyland. Just kidding. But really it’s that versatile and

yet very effective.  Also, instead of only sharing with my clients I decided to be cool

and share with everybody, because you deserve a gift, reader!

Here you go, just click below:

goo.gl/dU7pN

Use in good health &remember to always check back on my blog and Facebook

for tips and tools you can use to make your fitness more fun and effective!

   Click the pic below to join my Facebook posse…

10 Easy Ways to Make Exercise a Habit

1. Incorporate planned outdoor hikes, bike rides and 5K races into your weekend plans.

2. Commit to another person. Accountability is key for fitness success for most of us. Just telling people what you are doing helps, and of course meeting up with people or bringing a friend to your work out class is extremely helpful too.

3. Make exercise a priority…it has to be a non-negotiable. “Just Do It”!

4. Exercise first thing in the morning.  Boot Camp at 6:00am anyone?

5. Or, exercise on your way home from work. …or at 6:00pm?

6. Exercise even when you’re "too tired." Chances are you will have more energy after working out.

7. Log your activity. Write down the things that are important to you. It could be how much time you exercise each day, how many steps you walked, how far you ran or cycled etc. It’s also a great plan to keep a food log – you can combine these into one daily entry of your fitness and food.

8. Be aware of all the indicators of progress. It’s not just about the scale! It’s great when your clothes are loose and you can lift heavier weights or work out longer without getting exhausted.

But there are a slew of other progress indicators, such as:

• Getting a good night’s sleep.
• Thinking more clearly.
• Having more energy.
• Receiving compliments.
• Realizing your muscles aren’t screaming after you’ve helped a friend move furniture.
• Seeing your resting heart rate drop over time.
• Hearing your doctor congratulate you on improved cholesterol, blood pressure, bone density, triglycerides, and blood sugars.

9. Walk — with a pedometer (or a dog). Use a pedometer, and work up to 10,000 steps a day.

10. Reward yourself. Are you telling yourself that you don’t deserve a reward for something you should be doing anyway — or that once you can zip your jeans without lying on the bed, that will be reward enough? Set a goal and once you meet it try rewarding yourself with something really good – a hand bag or shoes…a trip to the spa. Something you really want – it works!

Mission Accomplished!

Awesome job everybody – we did it!

The 4th of July 5K was an awesome success!  Pictured above are some of my clients,

many more friends and clients were there, and a major “thank you” for all your hard work

and dedication to your fitness!

Did you know that depending on the speed and your weight that running a 5K can burn

up to 500 calories AND most importantly it will trigger EPOC or “after-burn” which will

cause your body to burn significantly more calories than normal for the 48 hours after the

race!

Coupled with an awesome charity or your local YMCA in this case, running a 5K is

completely bi-winning!  Until next time (when you join us!) here’s a peek at the fun we

all had at the race…

Boot Camp t-shirts for everyone…

Lots and lots of runner’s came…

Great job!                                        

This random guy wants a shirt…so I say 

“ok, but you have to earn it!” lol =>  

I made it! =)

Fruits, Veggies & Peacocks

Between the farm stand, the zoo, the tractor rides and field after field of produce for

the picking I can’t think of a much better outing for the family then Underwood Family

Farms in Moorpark! We had so much fun there last weekend I had to share. The produce

is healthy, the fresh air is awesome and strolling through the berry patch is fun and

relaxing!

Check me out with my produce wagon…

Oh, and you might see Jennifer Garner there with her kids!

http://www.underwoodfamilyfarms.com/

Snack Attack!

I recently posted this question on my Facebook Page and

got some great responses I thought I’d share.  Feel free to

“Like” my page if you haven’t already and share a couple

of your own ideas!

Personal Training by Miguel

A lot of my clients have trouble getting in healthy snacks, aside from the usual fruit, string cheese, nonfat yogurt…What are your faves??

• Janet DeForest Fish – I like a small serving of low fat cottage cheese. It’s filling and stays with me for a while. Sometimes if I have it, some fresh pineapple on the side rounds it out perfectly. It really isn’t a lot, but does work.

  15 hours ago · Like · 1 person

• 

  Sydney Liebes – Go to Costco and get individual sabra hummus packs and individual packages of baby carrots! Portion control, delicious and nutritious! Apples and peanut butter are always tasty… cottage cheese with avocado or tomato… Edamame is sold now on microwavable steam packages at Costco too! Woo hoo! So many choices!

  15 hours ago · Like · 1 person

• 

  Patrick Bulger – I like a tall glass of coconut milk. Healthy, slightly sweet, and remarkably filling!

  15 hours ago · Like · 2 people

• 

  Candy Ward Nawroth – I don’t like snacks, too overwelming trying to figure out what I should have…hummus? Still confused about hummus. Good for you? Sydney – thanks for the costco tips, going to get the edamame!

  14 hours ago · Like

• 

  Personal Training by Miguel ‎@Candy – hummus is good for you, its even better for you if you make it yourself in the food processor, so easy. Here’s a link to a recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/real-hummus
  You can skip the tahini if you don’t have it.

  14 hours ago · Like · 1 person

• 

  Personal Training by Miguel I also love almond butter from trader joe’s with apple or celery, however if weight loss is your current goal, nuts and nut butters should be consumed sparingly if at all.

  14 hours ago · Like

• 

  Cathy Ward Jones – frozen grapes are a good summer treat and also, take a graham cracker break in half and spread a layer of cool whip between to make a sandwich and freeze

  14 hours ago · Like · 1 person

• 

  Personal Training by Miguel ‎@Cathy- not sure about the cool whip…lol…but Frozen Grapes ROCK! Forgot about those…what a great treat and grapes are a very low glycemic index fruit. These ideas are awesome!

  12 hours ago · Like

• 

  Cathy Ward Jones – using sugar free cool whip!

  12 hours ago · Like

• 

  Cathy Ward Jones – what is edamame? we don’t have costco here is it only there?

  12 hours ago · Like · 1 person

• 

  Karina Giselle Fuentes – watermelon and strawberries! Yum!

  10 hours ago · Like · 1 person

• 

  Karina Giselle Fuentes – I also like chopped cucumbers and tomatoes with lime and a little bit of tajin seasoning 🙂

  10 hours ago · Like · 1 person

• 

  Personal Training by Miguel Yummy ideas! Edamame are soy beans, here’s a link for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edamame
  They are available at many grocery stores now.

  9 hours ago · Like

3 Steps to Killer Abs

I get so many friends and clients asking for killer Ab work-outs I decided to share my

expertise with everyone…(I’m cool like that)….

Step #1 Nutrition

You cannot get your abdominals to stand out and trim your waistline, unless you address

the area of nutrition. The only way to get your abs to stand out is to remove the layer of fat

that is keeping them from been exposed. My clients have access to a detailed nutrition

plan to assist them, and I will tell you that refined carbs and sugar substitutes are major

causes of excess stomach fat.

All the abdominal training in the world will do very little to remove the fat from your

midsection. You need to look at your nutritional habits and meal planning, as well as using

interval training and a full body resistance training plan to stimulate your metabolism and

burn the fat that covers your abs.

Step #2 Interval Training

SSC (Steady State Cardio) is good, but you really need to be using "Higher Intensity"

interval training, in order to boost your metabolism and continue burning calories for

several hours post workout.

Interval training can be performed via circuit training or running, cycling, rowing, etc.

Personally I prefer to use running, circuit training or boxing for my interval training

workouts.

Treadmill running is another great way to get in your high intensity interval work. Basically

you will want your workout to last no more than 20 minutes, including a warm up and cool

down period.

Here’s an example HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) treadmill workout:

• 3 Minutes warm up period.
• 90 Seconds High Intensity Running.
• 60 Seconds Active Recovery (Walking at a 4 or less)
• Repeat x 6 (This equals 15 minutes)
• 2 Minutes cool down period.

If you find that during the 60 second active recovery period you want to walk faster or want

to jog, this means that you were not working intensely enough during the 90 second high

intensity running section. If you’re working intensely enough you will need to walk slow,

believe me!

Step #3 Abdominal Exercises

Start off with 2 effective abdominal training sessions per week, start off slow and just do

4-5 sets of 20-25 reps. As you feel your abs are getting less sore and better conditioned,

add a few more sets to each session or throw in new and more difficult exercises like

hanging knee raises or Russian twists with a medicine ball. Let the healthy eating and

cardio work do the rest to eliminate all the unwanted body fat that’s covering up the cuts in

your abs.

Examples of very effective Ab exercises:

Plank (try using 1 foot)

Scissor Kicks

Ab Crunch on an Exercise Ball

Mountain Climbers

Russian Twist

Reverse Crunch

Stability Ball Pass Hands to Feet

Hand 2 Heel Mountain Climbers

The Captain’s Chair (hanging knee raises, try a twist here)

Stability Ball Knee Tucks

Stability Ball/Bosu Plank

Spiderman Push Ups

Upside-down Crunches

Upside-down Crunches Holding Weight

Stability Ball Knee Tucks:

Spiderman Push Ups :

Hand 2 Heel Mountain Climbers:

5K & 10K in Westlake Village

Several of my awesome clients (including super stars Connie, Christy & Candy) are

going to be doing the Love Run to benefit ‘Meals on Wheels’ in Westlake this weekend. 

Click the pic to link…

You can help by participating, sponsoring a runner or making a donation.

Also coming up… http://www.westlake5k10k.com/ sponsored by the Rotary

Club of Westlake Village.

Do you know of any cool races coming up?  Please share…