RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

When you do lunges/squats/run/use cardio machines push off your heels to get back into a standing position. This will activate your glutes & hamstrings. Not doing so will cause your quadriceps to be used more, get stronger, causing an imbalance in your legs which could cause injuries.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Get results faster by not doing the wrong things with exercise/nutrition. Ask yourself: Am I doing cardio properly to burn body fat cal & not energy/muscle? Am I properly weight training specific to my goal? Am I staying within my daily calorie limit? Am I eating a SMALL meal(350cal)/snack(120cal) every 2.5-3hrs? Major questions you need to answer if you're serious about seeing results quickly.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Look at the nutrition facts on everything you drink each day. Typically says 100-140cal per serving, but one serving is only 8oz not the entire bottle which could be 16-48oz. Thus, you could be drinking way more calories than you realize. Add that to what you consume with food and you're consuming more calories than you're burning, which equals body fat gain.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Most people have one arm/leg which is stronger than the other. By always using machines to strength train you will continue that imbalance in your body, which can lead to injury. Start using free weights/BOSUs/resistance bands/medicine & stability balls which allow your arms/legs to move separately, thus making them equally strong.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

1lb of body fat = 3500calories. Start aiming to burn at least 3500cal/week with exercise if you want to lose body fat. That does NOT mean doing endless cardio. If you do the machine will say you burned 1000cal, but after 30mins you are just burning cal from energy; over an hour you burn muscle. Calories are not all the same. It's the difference between skinny & flabby and lean & tone.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Staying/becoming lean is all about burning more calories than you consume each day. Unnecessary extras like breads, cheese, dressings, oils, etc, can really add to the calorie intake of your meals. The body can only take in so many calories before it starts storing the extra as body fat.

For example, a typical restaurant "healthy" scrambler breakfast (whole eggs, cheese, veggies, english muffins, butter, hash browns) can be well over 600cal.By substituting out the cheese for more veggies, by substituting whole eggs for egg whites, and by substituting the muffin & hash browns for a fruit cup you can bring that meal to around 300cal.

Eating healthier is NOT about eating lettuce & drinking water, it's about making smarter choices!

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Every time you exercise do something different! Muscles memorize movements/patterns and that's when you stop seeing results. Instead of machines, for cardio do rollerblading/bike riding/running outside/jump rope; for strength training use free weights/BOSUs/medicine & stability balls/body weight.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

If you want to stay comfortable/only burn calories from energy and NOT fat, then keep doing your cardio for 45+mins on treadmills/elipticals.If you want to start seeing results quickly, you need to push yourself hard!

How RIO Fitness does cardio: STADIUM STAIRS!!!! 24 FLIGHTS of body fat burning STADIUM STAIRS!!!!!

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

If you want to start seeing results faster, stop using machines to do your strength training (fixed position movements & low intensity). Start using free weights, BOSUs, medicine balls, resistance bands, stability balls, etc. They mimic your everday movements & get the intensity high which is the key!

*The only people using machines for weight training should be:
1) People who've never exercised a day in their life and need to get used to the movements.
2) Body builders looking to isolate specific muscle groups to build mass.
3) People recovering from major injury.
4) Elderly 80yrs old and up.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

No wrong time to do cardio, but the best two times to burn the most calories from body fat are: 1) As soon as you wake up before you consume any calories.
2) After you strength train.
Both times the primary source of calories your body will use to fuel itself will be fat calories (stored energy).

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

NEVER skip breakfast! While you sleep your body slows down your metabolism (how fast you burn calories), because it knows you're not consuming calories. When you skip breakfast it stays slow! Great breakfast choices: eggs with side of fresh fruit, low-cal yogurt mixed with fresh fruit, or for something quick a CASEIN protein shake.

CASEIN protein is great, because it's a slow digesting protein, so if you exercise in the evening, it'll feed your muscles throughout the day, preparing you for exercise. Taking it 1-2hrs before bed is also good, because the muscle recovery/building process happens only during sleep, so it'll help speed it up. It's a high quality protein (24g) that's low-cal (only 130cal), and low-fat (only 1g). Mix with 8oz of cold water and you're ready to go!

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Isolating muscle groups like Day 1 (chest/biceps), Day 2 (legs/triceps), etc, is a body building schedule and NOT to be lean & toned which is what most women want.

To be lean & tone quickly your weekly exercise schedule should look like this:

Day 1: Lower body (quads/glutes/hamstrings/calves)
Day 2: 30mins of Upper Body (shoulders/triceps/chest/biceps/back) then 30mins of cardio
Day 3: 30mins core (side/lower/upper abdominals & lower back) then 30mins cardio
Day 4 Lower body (quads/glutes/hamstrings/calves)
Day 5 30mins of Upper Body (shoulders/triceps/chest/biceps/back) then 30mins of cardio
Day 6 30mins core (side/lower/upper abdominals & lower back) then 30mins cardio
Day 7: Rest

There should be 48hrs rest in between each muscle group. Also, in case you're not doing it already, weight training for lean & toned is not doing one set then resting. For your goal, you need to weight training using High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT means doing one set of an exercise then following it up with a completely different exercise no rest in between, then resting 30-60sec and repeating for 3sets. For example, doing one set of 15 lunges, followed by pushups for 30sec no rest in between, then resting 30-60sec and repeating for 3sets. Or one set of 15 bicep curls followed by 30sec of jumping jacks no rest in between, then resting 30-60sec and repeating for 3sets. YouTube HIIT to see more.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

How much alcohol did you consume over Memorial Day Weekend? If you want to stay/get lean, limit the amount of alcohol (beer/wine/hard liquor) you're consuming because alcohol:

1) Triggers the body fat production cortisol to begin producing body fat.

2) Lowers levels of testosterone in our body which is the hormone that helps us burn body fat/build lean muscle tissue quicker.

3) Obviously has calories, and since losing body body fat is all about burning more calories than you consume daily, it can really hinder you seeing results.

Other than limiting how much alcohol you consume you can:

1) Space out your drinks by having a water in between. That way you're not over consuming so many calories at once.

2) Order your drinks on the rocks instead of with soda/juice fillers which add unncessary calories/sugars.

3) Choose clear spirits such as vodka, because the the darker the color the more toxins it has.