RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

When are you going to start looking & feeling your best ever? Nobody can put in the effort but YOU. When are going to stop making excuses daily, and start being active DAILY? When are you going to cut out all the garbage junk food, eating out frequently, and going out for high calorie/fat/sugar loaded/body fat producing alcoholic drinks? When are you going to make the commitment to yourself, to live a healthier lifestyle so you can prolong your life? #WAKEUPCALL

RIO Fitness Chicago Tip:

Successfully becoming healthier requires taking small steps. Nobody gets out-of-shape overnight, and nobody gets in-shape overnight either. Follow the doctor's simple prescription in the photo for overall physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do you exercise your mind? Mental health is just as important as physical fitness. Take 10-15mins/day to do trivia, crosswords or puzzles like this picture. How many squares can you find? We found 40!

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Don't let an injury be the reason you don't exercise. You can ALWAYS train around it. A lower body injury? You can still do core/upper body. Upper body injury? You can still do core/lower body/cardio. Staying active helps you recover faster, and being inactive does the opposite. After just two weeks off from exercise, cardio & strength levels in the body begin to plummet, with cardio going faster.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do NOT exercise the same muscles every day. Every muscle group needs at least 48hrs of rest to fully recover, rebuild, and regenerate new muscle tissue that will help us see faster results. So for example if you do lower body today (Friday), next day to train them would be Monday. An exercise schedule to be lean & tone quickly should look like this:

Monday: Upper & Lower Body

Tuesday: Core (Abs, Lower Back) & Cardio

Wednesday: Cardio in the AM & again in the PM

Thursday: Repeat Monday

Friday: Repeat Tuesday

Saturday: Repeat Wednesday

Sunday: Rest

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Remember, the way you eat & drink this month will be next month's body. So, one question, do you want to build more muffin tops or a healthy, lean, tone, and sexy body?

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Stressed? Stress increases the body fat producing hormone cortisol. Stress also triggers the brain to crave sugars, which starts a vicious cycle of: stress-overeating-fat gain-depression-overeating. Stop the cycle! This weekend do something relaxing/fun (nap, massage, walk through botanic gardens, baseball game). Every day too take 10-15mins to be quiet, clear your mind, breathe, and decompress.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Being stressed is causing you to gain body fat & preventing you from losing any, because stress increases levels of the body fat production hormone cortisol. Here's TWENTY simple tips to reduce stress & make your day run smoother:

EXERCISE <--- BEST stress reliever.

Get a massage.

Take a walk.

Write a daily journal of thoughts/emotions.

Go to bed 30mins earlier.

Get up 20mins earlier.

Before bed prepare for the morning.

Don't wear tight clothes/uncomfortable shoes.

Listen to your favorite music.

Keep extra cash around.

Be polite to others.

Laugh out loud every day.

Read a good book.

Keep an extra set of keys.

Smile more.

Always keep things in the same place.

Don't gossip about others.

Keep at least half a tank of gas always.

Pay attention to someone else.

Make your bed.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Being stressed out is preventing you from losing body fat & helping you gain body fat by raising the levels of the body fat production hormone cortisol. These foods can help counteract the effects of stress/cortisol:

1) DARK CHOCOLATE are high in flavonoids, which are lauded for their relaxing properties (chamomile tea is another great source). DARK chocolate also contains phenethylamine, a chemical that enhances your mood. Look for bars that are 70 percent cacao or higher.

2) SKIM MILK can help women experience less stress-related PMS symptoms if they have four or more servings every day.

3) OATMEAL helps you produce serotonin, a calming hormone that helps fight anxiety's negative effects; which is why many of us crave carbs when we're stressed.

4) SALMON is abundant with omega-3 fatty acids that help reverse stress symptoms by boosting serotonin levels & suppressing the production of the anxiety hormones cortisol and adrenaline.

5) WALNUTS help to lower blood pressure. Have 1 1/2 oz per day of UNSALTED/NATURAL nuts.

6) SUNFLOWER SEEDS is a good source of folate, which helps your body produce a pleasure-inducing brain chemical called dopamine. Just like nuts have UNSALTED/NATURAL seeds.

7) SPINACH is rich in magnesium which improves your body's response to stress.

8) BLUEBERRIES are high in antioxidants which counterbalance cortisol.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Doing 1000s of ab exercises each day is NOT the answer to having a nice abs. The abdominals more than any other muscle group are dependant on many factors. There is also no such thing as losing fat from just one area, other than liposuction surgery. Here are the TEN AB COMMANDMENTS to a slim, tone tummy.

1) Strength train your ENTIRE midsection (obliques, lower & upper abdominals), finishing with a lower back exercise to fully complete your core.

2) Do NOT work your abs every day. They're a muscle like any other so they need time to recover & regenerate. Give 48hrs in between, so if you did them on a Wed, next time would be Sat.

3) Do cardio properly so you're burning calories from fat & not energy (glycogen). This means no more than 30mins, and the cardio must be done in intervals (Ex: 60sec run then 60sec walk for 25mins).

4) Track how many calories you consume daily. Consuming more calories than you burn daily will increase body fat production.

5) Limit HIGH GLYCEMIC CARBS (breads/pasta/rice/oats) to ONLY after exercise. These are carbs which digest quickly, so if they are consumed throughout the day and not burned they'll be turned into body fat. LOW GLYCEMIC CARBS (fruits/veggies) are the carbs to be eaten the rest of the day.

6) Limit your sodium intake to no more than 1200mg/day. Sodium increases water levels in the body, making you look & feel bloated. Consume foods high in potassium (i.e. bananas/spinach/apricots/beans) daily to lower sodium levels in the body naturally.

7) Limit/avoid alcohol consumption. Alcohol triggers the body fat production hormone cortisol to begin production.

8) Limit your stress. Increased stress levels also increases levels of cortisol.

9) Get your rest. Lack of adequate rest each night increases levels of cortisol.

10) Just focusing on your abs won't give you a nice midsection, you need to strength train from head to toe. Especially do not neglect large muscle groups (back/lower body), because developing those will help you burn more cal/day & increase testosterone production which is the hormone that helps us burn body fat quickly.

*Remember, bottomline, if your body fat % is not low, you won't see defined muscles.*

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

If you injury yourself, remember RICER (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, Referral). Rest the injured area by not using or bearing weight on it. To reduce swelling: Apply an ice pack to the area for 20mins at a time, 4-8 times/day. Compress it by wrapping it with an elastic bandage (for only an hour at a time), but not too tightly that blood flow is cut off. Elevation means raising the injured area 12inches above the level of the heart. Referral means if the pain doesn't subside after one week, see a physician.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

If you want to look & feel better, make sure you get the proper amount of sleep every night. Lack of sleep causes: the body fat producing hormone cortisol to increase, decreases growth hormones that help us recover from exercise & our day, increases the cravings/appetite hormone ghrelin, and decreases levels of leptin which suppresses appetite.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do you have issues with overeating and/or emotional eating? If so, here's FIVE ways to stop the cycle and get into the best shape of your life.

1) Eat something SMALL every 2.5-3hrs. This will keep your metabolism (how fast you burn calories) high & keep your blood sugars levels stable which prevents body fat gain.

2) Get some sleep! Lack of sleep causes: the body fat producing hormone cortisol to increase, decreases growth hormones that help us recover from exercise & our day, increases the cravings/appetite hormone ghrelin, and decreases levels of leptin which suppresses appetite.

3) Drink a BIG glass of water every time you feel hungry! That hungry feeling isn't always the body needing food, it means it's dehydrated. You should be eating every few hours anyway, but if that hungry feeling persists after drinking water, eat something SMALL.

4) When you get a craving, a nice little trick is to brush your teeth. Nothing tastes good after brushing your teeth.

5) Instead of eating/drinking, when you get emotional, go for a walk, get a massage, do some yoga to relax. Do anything instead of turning to food & drink when you're feeling emotional.

RIO Fitness Chicago® Tip:

Do you have a healthy relationship with food & drink? Do you turn to food/drink when you're emotional? Do you use food/drink as rewards for exercise (Example: "I just did an hour on a cardio machine at the gym, so I can indulge tonight on alcohol and/or pizza/burgers/dessert.")? If the answer is yes to either of the last two questions, then the answer to the first question is no. Emotional eating/drinking is a vicious cycle that leads to negative feelings which lead to more emotional eating/drinking. Food & drink should NEVER be used as rewards for exercise. New outfits, a spa day, or a mini weekend vacation, should be the rewards for reaching significant fitness goals.