RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
Did you hit the junk food & booze hard partying this past weekend? Best way to detox, since our body is 75% of it, and our brain 90% of it, is WATER! Not only for flushing out impurities, but also to clear up your skin, and to improve energy.
How much should you have?
At least half of your body weight in fluid ounces every single day. Don't wait until you're thirsty, because then you're already dehydrated.
What kind of water is best?
Tap water has so many toxins these days, prescription medications and chlorine. The chlorine alone increases your chances of getting cancer by 93% over your lifetime, according to the EPA. Bottled water is not great either. The plasticides from the bottle itself leach into the water over the weeks the bottle sits on the shelf. Go to Walmart, spend the $30-$50 for a filter and BPA free water bottle. Your long term health is worth the cost.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
From Halloween 'til Jan 1 is when some people gain 10-40lbs. Don't be one of them. Hiring a personal trainer can be costly, and some times not worth the expense. A good one though, can help you reach your goals in a fun, progressive, and safe way while teaching you how to maintain & improve on your own. Read this article and ask a lot questions before handing over any money.
www.bodybuilding.com/fun/5-reasons-to-hire-a-personal-trainer.html?mcid=training
A great trainer, can be life changing and one of the best investments you'll ever make! For some of the most experienced & educated trainers in Chicago visit:
www.RIOFitnessChicago.com/contact_us.html
From Halloween 'til Jan 1 is when some people gain 10-40lbs. Don't be one of them. Hiring a personal trainer can be costly, and some times not worth the expense. A good one though, can help you reach your goals in a fun, progressive, and safe way while teaching you how to maintain & improve on your own. Read this article and ask a lot questions before handing over any money.
www.bodybuilding.com/fun/5-reasons-to-hire-a-personal-trainer.html?mcid=training
A great trainer, can be life changing and one of the best investments you'll ever make! For some of the most experienced & educated trainers in Chicago visit:
www.RIOFitnessChicago.com/contact_us.html
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
Be honest, how many pieces of Halloween candy have you had so far? When the trick or treater bowl of Snickers (80cal), Twix (50cal), and/or Butterfingers (85cal) is around way before Halloween, you're going to snack on them throughout the day. Those calorie totals were for the mini snack size, and they're all close to 100cal! From Halloween til Jan 1, is when most people gain anywhere from 10-30lbs! Don't be one of them! Put the candy in the cabinet on the highest shelf, so it's out of sight, out of mind, until the kids come on Monday.
Be honest, how many pieces of Halloween candy have you had so far? When the trick or treater bowl of Snickers (80cal), Twix (50cal), and/or Butterfingers (85cal) is around way before Halloween, you're going to snack on them throughout the day. Those calorie totals were for the mini snack size, and they're all close to 100cal! From Halloween til Jan 1, is when most people gain anywhere from 10-30lbs! Don't be one of them! Put the candy in the cabinet on the highest shelf, so it's out of sight, out of mind, until the kids come on Monday.
Monday, October 24, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
Halloween weekend is this coming weekend! Are you stressing about fitting into your costume? Most people think starving themselves is the best option, but that will only cause us to gain the weight back plus some. The best healthy option we can start doing TODAY is to completely cut out all high glycemic carbs (bread, past, rice, oat). This will help us not retain not so much water; because every 1g of carbs carries 4oz of water in the body. Less water in the body = less bloated look.
Halloween weekend is this coming weekend! Are you stressing about fitting into your costume? Most people think starving themselves is the best option, but that will only cause us to gain the weight back plus some. The best healthy option we can start doing TODAY is to completely cut out all high glycemic carbs (bread, past, rice, oat). This will help us not retain not so much water; because every 1g of carbs carries 4oz of water in the body. Less water in the body = less bloated look.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
Last night on the Miami show 'Miami Moms' this trainer was asked about the best exercise(s) for the booty. Her answer: squats & lunges. FALSE. Yes, those exercise work on the glutes, but there is NO "best" exercise for any of our trouble areas. We must strength train from head to toe 3-4/wk, do cardio properly to burn majority cal from fat (25mins of 60sec high/low intervals) 3-4/wk, and watch our nutrition so we're most importantly not taking in more calories than we consume every day. Just focusing on your trouble spots, without doing the three mentioned above will just compound the muscle tissue under the fat tissue giving you a bulky appearance.
Last night on the Miami show 'Miami Moms' this trainer was asked about the best exercise(s) for the booty. Her answer: squats & lunges. FALSE. Yes, those exercise work on the glutes, but there is NO "best" exercise for any of our trouble areas. We must strength train from head to toe 3-4/wk, do cardio properly to burn majority cal from fat (25mins of 60sec high/low intervals) 3-4/wk, and watch our nutrition so we're most importantly not taking in more calories than we consume every day. Just focusing on your trouble spots, without doing the three mentioned above will just compound the muscle tissue under the fat tissue giving you a bulky appearance.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
Dilemma = I'm a bodybuilder, I'm out of town, and this is my gym (three plastic chairs & five pieces of cardio which three don't work). Solution = use my own body and the chairs as a weight to get a serious shoulders/triceps routine in! I used chairs to do: tricep dips, overhead shoulder presses, overhead tricep extensions, lateral shoulder raises, upright shoulder rows. Then lastly the wall to do diamond tricep pushups. All 3 sets of 15-30reps. There are NO excuses not to be active! You don't need an expensive gym membership or equipment. Get active TODAY!
Dilemma = I'm a bodybuilder, I'm out of town, and this is my gym (three plastic chairs & five pieces of cardio which three don't work). Solution = use my own body and the chairs as a weight to get a serious shoulders/triceps routine in! I used chairs to do: tricep dips, overhead shoulder presses, overhead tricep extensions, lateral shoulder raises, upright shoulder rows. Then lastly the wall to do diamond tricep pushups. All 3 sets of 15-30reps. There are NO excuses not to be active! You don't need an expensive gym membership or equipment. Get active TODAY!
Monday, October 17, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
Whether you have cable or satellite, you should have ON DEMAND. Go on it, and find ExerciseTV. ExerciseTV has exercise after exercise routine programs for anything you could imagine (abs, booty, arms, cardio, interval cardio, boot camp, yoga, etc). It's motivating, you don't have to leave your home to get an intense session in, and the BEST part, it's FREE!
Whether you have cable or satellite, you should have ON DEMAND. Go on it, and find ExerciseTV. ExerciseTV has exercise after exercise routine programs for anything you could imagine (abs, booty, arms, cardio, interval cardio, boot camp, yoga, etc). It's motivating, you don't have to leave your home to get an intense session in, and the BEST part, it's FREE!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
Do you cook? If so, what kind of oils do you use? The oil you may be using might be causing you long & short term negative health effects like body fat gain or even cancer, depending on type, how you store it, and how high of a heat you're using. Continue reading for the break down on good & bad cooking oils.
The worst type of oil is an ingredient in packaged foods including some stick margarines, baked goods, chips, crackers and candy. I’m talking about partially hydrogenated oils—or trans fats, which is how they’re listed on Nutrition Facts panels on labels. Partially hydrogenated oil is vegetable oil that has been chemically altered so it’s less likely to spoil. Food manufacturers often add it to their products because it can help foods stay fresh longer.
Even in very small amounts, partially hydrogenated oil can wreak havoc on your heart health. It lowers levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol and raises LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and it even increases your risk for diabetes. The American Heart Association recommends that no more than 1% of your total daily calories come from trans fat. This translates to less than 2 grams for women, who typically need fewer than 2,000 calories per day. If a food contains trans fat, it’ll be listed below Saturated Fat in the “Total Fat” column.
Oils may be “fattening” in the sense that they’re pretty high in calories compared with other foods. All oils have around 120 calories per Tbsp, so you can easily gain weight if you use too much. Even butter has fewer calories than oil (100 per Tbsp of butter) because of its water content. What’s more, “whipped” butter sold in a tub has even fewer calories—about 60 to 70 per Tbsp, thanks to the air that’s been incorporated into the mix. And tub “light” margarine spreads have only 30 to 50 calories per Tbsp.
But since oils contain fats that are good for you, you’re better off getting that 120calories from a healthy oil rather than stick or tub butter. By the way, if you’re inclined to cut out fats entirely, don’t: We do need some fat to be healthy. Without it, our bodies can’t absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K, and we miss out on fatty acids that are essential for the health of your skin, hair, heart and brain—and just about every other part of your body.
When storing oil, heat, light and oxygen degrade oils, which makes them turn rancid more quickly and actually promotes the formation of cancer-causing compounds called free radicals. The more polyunsaturated fats an oil contains, the more susceptible to rancidity it becomes.
Oils rich in PUFAs, such as walnut and flaxseed, are best stored in the fridge in tightly capped containers. MUFAs, such as those found in olive oil, are a bit more hardy, but you should still protect oils that contain them by keeping the lid on tightly and storing them in a dark place far from the stove or other heat source. Saturated fats, such as butter, can withstand more heat, light and oxygen, but you should still refrigerate sat-fat–rich butter, because it contains milk solids, which can go rancid. If you store oils correctly, most will last about six months to one year.
When you’re shopping for oils, reach for bottles at the back of the shelf, since that’s where they are more protected from harsh lighting that can make them go bad. Check the bottle for an expiration date (most oils have one), and every time you open a bottle, give it a whiff to make sure it doesn’t smell rancid.
In short, when it comes to healthy oils choose: olive oil, safflower oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil.
Do you cook? If so, what kind of oils do you use? The oil you may be using might be causing you long & short term negative health effects like body fat gain or even cancer, depending on type, how you store it, and how high of a heat you're using. Continue reading for the break down on good & bad cooking oils.
The worst type of oil is an ingredient in packaged foods including some stick margarines, baked goods, chips, crackers and candy. I’m talking about partially hydrogenated oils—or trans fats, which is how they’re listed on Nutrition Facts panels on labels. Partially hydrogenated oil is vegetable oil that has been chemically altered so it’s less likely to spoil. Food manufacturers often add it to their products because it can help foods stay fresh longer.
Even in very small amounts, partially hydrogenated oil can wreak havoc on your heart health. It lowers levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol and raises LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and it even increases your risk for diabetes. The American Heart Association recommends that no more than 1% of your total daily calories come from trans fat. This translates to less than 2 grams for women, who typically need fewer than 2,000 calories per day. If a food contains trans fat, it’ll be listed below Saturated Fat in the “Total Fat” column.
Oils may be “fattening” in the sense that they’re pretty high in calories compared with other foods. All oils have around 120 calories per Tbsp, so you can easily gain weight if you use too much. Even butter has fewer calories than oil (100 per Tbsp of butter) because of its water content. What’s more, “whipped” butter sold in a tub has even fewer calories—about 60 to 70 per Tbsp, thanks to the air that’s been incorporated into the mix. And tub “light” margarine spreads have only 30 to 50 calories per Tbsp.
But since oils contain fats that are good for you, you’re better off getting that 120calories from a healthy oil rather than stick or tub butter. By the way, if you’re inclined to cut out fats entirely, don’t: We do need some fat to be healthy. Without it, our bodies can’t absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K, and we miss out on fatty acids that are essential for the health of your skin, hair, heart and brain—and just about every other part of your body.
When storing oil, heat, light and oxygen degrade oils, which makes them turn rancid more quickly and actually promotes the formation of cancer-causing compounds called free radicals. The more polyunsaturated fats an oil contains, the more susceptible to rancidity it becomes.
Oils rich in PUFAs, such as walnut and flaxseed, are best stored in the fridge in tightly capped containers. MUFAs, such as those found in olive oil, are a bit more hardy, but you should still protect oils that contain them by keeping the lid on tightly and storing them in a dark place far from the stove or other heat source. Saturated fats, such as butter, can withstand more heat, light and oxygen, but you should still refrigerate sat-fat–rich butter, because it contains milk solids, which can go rancid. If you store oils correctly, most will last about six months to one year.
When you’re shopping for oils, reach for bottles at the back of the shelf, since that’s where they are more protected from harsh lighting that can make them go bad. Check the bottle for an expiration date (most oils have one), and every time you open a bottle, give it a whiff to make sure it doesn’t smell rancid.
In short, when it comes to healthy oils choose: olive oil, safflower oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil.
Friday, October 7, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
How much sleep are you getting every night? If not enough, it may be the reason you're not seeing any results from exercise/nutrition. Lack of rest causes:
1) Increased levels of body fat producing hormone cortisol.
2) Decreased levels of human growth hormone which helps us recover from exercise & our day.
3) Increased levels of ghrelin hormone which increases appetite.
4) Decreased levels of leptin which suppresses appetite.
How much sleep are you getting every night? If not enough, it may be the reason you're not seeing any results from exercise/nutrition. Lack of rest causes:
1) Increased levels of body fat producing hormone cortisol.
2) Decreased levels of human growth hormone which helps us recover from exercise & our day.
3) Increased levels of ghrelin hormone which increases appetite.
4) Decreased levels of leptin which suppresses appetite.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
To see faster results from exercise, burning a lot of calories during exercise is important, but most important is burning calories at a faster rate the rest of the day = metabolism. Here's three simple things we can do every day to speed up our metabolism naturally.
1) EXERCISE. Especially strength training. It keeps our metabolism fast for 24-36hrs. Cardio only 2hrs. Also, the larger the group (i.e. the back & lower body) the more calories it will continue to burn all day long. So, strength train from head to toe, and don't neglect those two areas.
2) AFTER EXERCISE. Always consume a whey isolate protein after exercise. This help to create more lean muscle tissue. The more we have, the more calories we'll burn all day long. For example, 1lb of muscle burns 50cal at rest, so 10lbs would burn an additional 500cal/day on top of what we burn during exercise. Perfect ISOPURE Zero Carb (http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/nb/perfectisopure.html) is the best whey isolate because it's only 110cal, 0 fat/carbs/sugars/lactose/artificial sweeteners, and high in protein with 26g. The ONLY ingredient is the protein. All you do is mix ONE scoop with 8-10oz of cold water, after you do weights or cardio.
3) EAT. Eat a SMALL meal/snack every 2.5-3hrs. This trains our metabolism to burn immediately what we consume because our body knows it's going to get another meal/snack in 2.5/3hrs. Think of it as throwing another log on the fire to keep it burning. Also, NEVER skip breakfast. During sleep we go 5-8hrs without any nutrients, so to jump start our metabolism, eat breakfast.
To see faster results from exercise, burning a lot of calories during exercise is important, but most important is burning calories at a faster rate the rest of the day = metabolism. Here's three simple things we can do every day to speed up our metabolism naturally.
1) EXERCISE. Especially strength training. It keeps our metabolism fast for 24-36hrs. Cardio only 2hrs. Also, the larger the group (i.e. the back & lower body) the more calories it will continue to burn all day long. So, strength train from head to toe, and don't neglect those two areas.
2) AFTER EXERCISE. Always consume a whey isolate protein after exercise. This help to create more lean muscle tissue. The more we have, the more calories we'll burn all day long. For example, 1lb of muscle burns 50cal at rest, so 10lbs would burn an additional 500cal/day on top of what we burn during exercise. Perfect ISOPURE Zero Carb (http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/nb/perfectisopure.html) is the best whey isolate because it's only 110cal, 0 fat/carbs/sugars/lactose/artificial sweeteners, and high in protein with 26g. The ONLY ingredient is the protein. All you do is mix ONE scoop with 8-10oz of cold water, after you do weights or cardio.
3) EAT. Eat a SMALL meal/snack every 2.5-3hrs. This trains our metabolism to burn immediately what we consume because our body knows it's going to get another meal/snack in 2.5/3hrs. Think of it as throwing another log on the fire to keep it burning. Also, NEVER skip breakfast. During sleep we go 5-8hrs without any nutrients, so to jump start our metabolism, eat breakfast.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
When it comes to exercise, the word CORE gets thrown around A LOT. What is it? It's the abdominals (obliques/transverse, upper, and lower), the lower back, and the glutes aka booty. Why is it important to have a strong core? 1) Strong abs & lower back help protect our neck/back/spine and strong glutes help protect our knees from injury. 2) To help improve our balance & coordination which helps us in every day life. Did you know there's a difference in ab exercises? There's core defining exercises like crunches, and then there's core strengthening (MOST IMPORTANT!) like planks & elevated leg holds. We have to do both kinds for optimal results.
When it comes to exercise, the word CORE gets thrown around A LOT. What is it? It's the abdominals (obliques/transverse, upper, and lower), the lower back, and the glutes aka booty. Why is it important to have a strong core? 1) Strong abs & lower back help protect our neck/back/spine and strong glutes help protect our knees from injury. 2) To help improve our balance & coordination which helps us in every day life. Did you know there's a difference in ab exercises? There's core defining exercises like crunches, and then there's core strengthening (MOST IMPORTANT!) like planks & elevated leg holds. We have to do both kinds for optimal results.
Monday, October 3, 2011
RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:
The majority of the health & fitness industry is just out to get our $. DVDs, magazines, "weight loss" supplements, and the new trend of celebs like Kim K. and Snooki are all trying to profit off of people's desires to look & feel better. Especially with these "weight loss" pills which are nothing more than caffeine pills; taking them can cause serious side effects like irregular heart beat, liver/kidney damage, weak bones because caffeine pulls calcium out of our bones, etc. Quick fixes are just that quick fixes, that will just lead to gaining the weight back plus some. There is NO substitute for being active & eating healthy every day.
To read the ABC article on the Snooki diet pill scandal click here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/snookis-zantrex-diet-pill-promo-poo-pooed-diet/story?id=14623421
The majority of the health & fitness industry is just out to get our $. DVDs, magazines, "weight loss" supplements, and the new trend of celebs like Kim K. and Snooki are all trying to profit off of people's desires to look & feel better. Especially with these "weight loss" pills which are nothing more than caffeine pills; taking them can cause serious side effects like irregular heart beat, liver/kidney damage, weak bones because caffeine pulls calcium out of our bones, etc. Quick fixes are just that quick fixes, that will just lead to gaining the weight back plus some. There is NO substitute for being active & eating healthy every day.
To read the ABC article on the Snooki diet pill scandal click here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/snookis-zantrex-diet-pill-promo-poo-pooed-diet/story?id=14623421
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