RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

*No such thing as losing body fat from specific areas except with lipo suction.* You have to strength train the entire body from head to toe. Especially don't neglect large muscle groups (i.e. Legs, Back), because the larger the muscle the more testosterone production (the hormone that helps us burn body fat quicker) & the more calories you'll burn all day long on top of what you burn with exercise.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

If you want to start seeing results you need to change it up daily and push yourself! Get off of your boring, safe treadmill/eliptical and step out of your norm! Do intervals of running/walking up a hill or stairs. Go for a bike ride, rollerblading, jog outside. Change it up every single time you exercise!

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

When doing cardio on machines (treadmill, eliptical, etc.) keep the incline/crossramp to zero/lowest level. The higher the incline the more pressure on your knee ligaments which eventually will lead to knee pain & injury. Instead use the speed & resistance controls to increase the intensity of your cardio.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

To quickly see results with your body you need to boost your metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories). To NATURALLY boost your metabolism:

1) Exercise daily. Especially strength training keeps your metabolism high for 24-36hrs, cardio only 2hrs.

2) Eat a SMALL meal/snack every 2.5-3hrs hours.

3) Consuming a whey isolate protein after exercise (cardio & weights). This will help build more lean muscle tissue. The more you have the more calories you'll burn all day long.

4) Do NOT skip breakfast. While you sleep your body slows down your metabolism because it knows it's not intaking cal. If you skip breakfast, your metabolism will stay slow.

5) Get your daily CALCIUM. 8oz of skim milk or 6oz of low-cal yogurt helps your body metabolize fat more efficiently by increasing the rate at which it gets rid of fat as waste.

6) Get your daily IRON. Women lose iron during their period every month, and because iron helps carry oxygen to your muscles, your muscles don't get enough oxygen, your energy plummets and your metabolism stalls. Stock up on iron-fortified cereals, beans and dark, leafy greens like spinach, bok choy and broccoli.

7) Drink GREEN TEA. The brew contains a plant compound called Epilgallocatechin Gallate (ECGC), which promotes fat burning.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do you want to start seeing results faster with exercise? Are you feeling like a zombie on the machines doing all that cardio with little difference in your body? To see faster results the answer is HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT)! Learn it, love it and live it for your cardio and weight training! Increasing the intensity is the key to seeing results!

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING Cardio Example:
Warmup 60sec on treadmill @ 3.0 speed
Minute 1 - Speed 5.0
Min 3 - Speed 5.0
Min 5 - Speed 5.0
Min 7 - Speed 5.0
Min 9 - Speed 5.0
Min 11 - Speed 7.0
Min 13 - Speed 7.0
Min 15 - Speed 7.0
Min 17 - Speed 7.0
Min 19 - Speed 7.0
Min 21 - Speed 9.0
Min 23 - Speed 9.0
Cooldown 60sec @ Speed 3.0That's it just 25mins of cardio to burn body fat! All the even numbered mins (2,4,6, etc) you come down to Speed 3.0

HIIT examples for weight training:
One set of 12 lunges, followed by side-side pushups for 30sec with no rest in between, then rest 60sec and repeat for 3sets.
One set of 15 bicep curls, followed by jumping jacks for 60sec with no rest in between, then rest 60sec and repeat for 3sets.

HIIT strength training is one exercise then a completely different exercise no rest in between, then rest 60sec and repeat.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Believe it or not, but there are people who have gym memberships all over Chicago & the suburbs just so they can break into lockers and steal your stuff. Choose the locker closest to the door, so it's most visible and less likely to be chosen by these thieves.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Avoid anything containing SOY. There are some benefits, but soy increases levels of the hormone estrogen in the body. Increasing estrogen will decrease testosterone in the body.

Testosterone is the hormone that helps us:
1) burn body fat,
2) promote the growth of lean muscle tissue which helps us burn even more calories all day long on top of what we burn during exercise.

Eat cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts to lower estrogen levels in the body. This in turn increases the amount of testosterone you have.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Recently received a Facebook invite to sign up for a beach boot camp at one of our local Chicago beaches. Exercising on sand or an uneven surface is ok once in a while. To do it 3days/wk as these personal trainers were recommending for their boot camp will cause you injuries because it causes unnecessary pressure to your ankles & feet. This pressure will result in tendonitis, inflammation of joints and tendons and even fractures. Not to mention, through the kinetic chain, pressure to your feet & ankles can cause knee pain/injuries which can then result in lower back pain/injuries which can then result in spinal & neck pain/injury. For the $100-$300 they're charging it's not worth the risk of injury. Read this artice from the American Podiatric Medical Association on the dangers of exercising on the sand/uneven surfaces frequently.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/injuryprevention/a/runonsand.htm

Safety & proper form should be priority #1 with exercise!

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Exercising & eating healthy on a daily basis is more of a psychological battle than it is a physical one. The big question you have to ask yourself when tempted: to skip exercise, to eat fast/junk food, or finish that bottle of patron is, "how is this getting me closer to my goal of feeling & looking better?" This applies to anything in life you want be successful at. Always ask yourself, "how is this getting me closer to my goal?"

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

LESS IS MORE. Doing over 30mins of cardio is not necessary & is burning only energy calories and evenutually muscle, NOT body fat. 25mins of high/low intensity intervals every 60sec is sufficient to burn body fat if you do it 3-4days/wk.

Weight training for more than an hour is also accomplishing nothing. The body can only physically exert itself for so long before you start burning just energy & muscle. Especially guys looking to get "huge;" after just 30mins testosterone levels start to plummet, so 2hrs of lifting isn't helping. Resistance training 30-60mins max 3days/week is sufficient. If you're going to weights & cardio together, do 30mins weights, then 25mins cardio, and finally 5mins stretching for a total of 60mins max.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

It is extremely important to properly warmup before you exercise. Most people only do static stretching to warmup (i.e. holdng/pulling your muscles for 10-20sec). Doing static stretching before exercise is getting your muscles ready for recovery and will put you at a greater risk for injury during the exercise. What you need to do before exercise is to warmup DYNAMICALLY (movement of your joints & ligaments while increasing your heart rate so your heart pumps blood throughout the body). Watch this YouTube video to see more about DYNAMIC WARMUPS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=f65aqrIyYYc

It is also extremely important to stretch after exercise. The type of stretching you should do post-exercise is STATIC STRETCHING. It elongates your muscles which improves blood flow, thus preventing injury & helping your muscles recover & regenerate quicker since protein reaches your muscles through your bloodstream. Watch this YouTube video for examples of STATIC STRETCHING.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=iEXIliCuNQw

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do you supposedly have "zero time to exercise?"

IN THE MORNING do 10mins of pushup intervals (60sec pushup/60sec rest). If your fitness level isn't great do them on your knees until you get stronger.

AT LUNCH find stairs and do 10mins of intervals running/walking up & down them (60sec run/60sec walk). If your stamina level isn't high do 60sec walk up & down, then rest 60sec for 10mins.

BEFORE BED do 10mins of crunches & jumping jack intervals (60sec crunch/60sec jumping jacks). If your fitness level isn't great just do 60sec crunch/60sec rest intervals for 10mins.

That was just total body exercise (upper/lower/core) in just 30mins spread throughout the day. If you do this every other day, you'll soon be back on track to becoming healthy & fit!

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

*Nutrition is 60% of seeing results with your body.* Exercising like a maniac is NOT going to compensate for not focusing on proper daily nutrition (i.e. overindulging on food/alchohol, only eating 1-2/day, eating under 1000cal/day). The first step to eating better is knowing exactly what you're puttin.g into your body EVERY day. Knowing daily calorie intake is the most important, but you also need to know fats, carbs, proteins, sodium, sugars, and fiber. www.LiveStrong.com is a PHENOMENAL website to track all of that for FREE! The site has over 650,000 food/drink/menu items so you'll know everything you're consuming. If you're serious about feeling & looking better check it out and start using it!

http://www.livestrong.com/diet-and-nutrition/

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Not getting enough sleep each night not only leaves you exhausted the next day, but is a factor in preventing you from losing body fat and seeing any results. When we don't get at least the recommended eight hours a night, the body raises the levels of the body fat production hormone cortisol, and does not send out growth hormones that help us recover from our day/exercise.Tips to get better sleep:

1) Exercise daily. Even just 30mins/day.

2) No caffeine after 700pm.

3) Avoid using the computer/watching TV directly before bed. This will keep your brain stimulated and not allow your body to drift off.

4) Take a shower just before bed. This will raise your internal core temperature, so that as you lay there your body will naturally bring it down; thus allowing you to relax and fall asleep.

5) Keep your bedroom dark. Even the tiny light from a digital alarm clock can disrupt a sleep cycle.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Your entire body is connected through the kinetic chain. Meaning foot problems can lead to knee injuries, knee injuries can lead to lower back pain, and lower back pain to neck discomfort. Two great ways to avoid pain/injuries to any & all of these places is to:

1) Purchase an inexpensive but QUALITY pair of gym shoes that you only use for exercise. This will reduce pressure off of your feet which will reduce pressure of your ligaments, joints & spine.

2) Stretch ALWAYS after exercise. Stretching after exercise elongates the muscle, creating better blood flow, and sending it into recovery mode which aids in injury prevention & muscle growth.

Here's a "How To" Stretch website for many stretching techniques:

http://www.criticalbench.com/how-to-stretch.htm

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Watch this brief clip from the current season of NBC's Biggest Loser. Jillian Michaels & Bob Harper discuss how to keep the white team in the competition, because one of the contestants weighs over 500lbs. Their solution: have him eat ONLY 800cal/day and cut all carbs.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/120252/the-biggest-loser-week-2---trainers-desperation

***Eating under 1000cal/day is dangerous for anybody let alone someone over 500lbs! It will shut off your metabolism, which means:
1) Your body will barely burn calories,
2) Your body will hold onto your body fat (stored energy/cal) for a future energy reserve,
3) Anything you do consume will be automatically stored as fat,
4) Your body will begin burning muscle for fuel.

This show is only concerned with dropping the number on the scale, which starving yourself will do, but if you're not losing body fat who cares what the scale says. Body fat is where heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer comes from.

Cutting carbs completely which is your body's preferred source of energy will leave you exhausted, and is a quick fix for losing "weight" in a short amount of time. Most of that is water weight, because one gram of carbs carries about 4oz of water, so when you return to eating carbs you will gain all the weight back.

Be careful of everything that you read & watch about exercise & nutrition because it may not be true and possibly harmful to you.***

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Two best times to do cardio to accelerate body fat loss are:

1) As soon as you wake up before consuming cal. You're not consuming cal during sleep, so when you do the cardio when you awake, your body will use body fat (stored cal) as fuel for exercise.

2) After strength training. You'll deplete energy cal (glycogen) with the weights, so the body will use fat (stored cal) as fuel for the cardio.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

The BEST body fat burner is NOT a pill loaded with caffeine (Hydroxycut/Lipo-6/etc) which can harm you, it's a WHEY ISOLATE PROTEIN after EVERY time you exercise (weights & cardio). When you exercise, especially with weights, you tear apart your muscle fibers. They recover & repair naturally, but without protein they won't regenerate/grow more LEAN muscle tissue. The more lean muscle tissue you have the more calories you will burn all day long on top of what you burn with exercise. 1lb of muscle burns 50cal/day, so if you put on 10lbs of LEAN muscle (don't worry it won't be mass like Schwarzenegger) your muscles will burn an extra 500cal/day! To really start seeing long lasting results start consuming a WHEY ISOLATE PROTEIN immediately after exercise!

http://www.supplementwarehouse.com/viewitem.asp?idproduct=144278

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

If you're going to do cardio & weights together, first do weights, then cardio. By doing the weights first you'll deplete your energy calories (glycogen), so when you do cardio all that'll be left to burn is body fat (stored calories).

**Summer is only 8wks away!! That means tanks, shorts, Summer dresses!! After a long Winter are you swimsuit ready??**