That dirty word...DIET!!

We have all been there, counting calories, keeping a food journal, cutting out carbs, cutting out sugar...you name it we've all tried it! Yet the majority discover none of these "diets" actually work. I remember being a kid when "diet" products were introduced and my Dad (born and raised in Poland) did not allow us to eat any of them! He didn't understand why would you take any food and change it, add a "sugar substitute" and take out the fat, and call it "Healthier"?? Now, look at the people who live on these foods, most are overweight!! The problem isn't the food (well, not the regular food), but the additives and man-made crap we have put into our food to make it healthy!
I don't diet, I don't eat anything "sugar-free", I stay away for HFCS as much as possible, I eat as much natural food as possible! Being a Personal Trainer, I hear the same story over and over again..."For breakfast I had an Atkins food bar, for lunch I had a Lean Cuisine, for a snack I had a sugar-free cookie, and for dinner I had a low-carb meal". I'm sorry...nothing you ate has any nutritional value, it's all man-made food substitutes, that's the problem! Take yourself back in time...remember having dinner with your family? It was always a balance of veggies, lean protein, and a starch/carb...all cooked at home! Breakfast used to be a hard boiled egg, or toast with peanut butter, a bowl of oatmeal, or just some fruit! An after school snack was an apple or banana, a glass of milk, or carrot sticks! Now...why did we ever stop practicing such normal and healthy habits?
I often tell people, the worst thing you can do to your body is look for fast, easy, and man-made fixes! The ONLY way to stay healthy & fit is to feed your body foods that are as natural as possible! fruits and veggies should be #1 on your list, lean protein, lots of beans & nuts, and whole grain food should all be a part of your diet. Sugar and dairy should be eaten in moderation, and man-made processed foods should be eaten sparingly! It's so simple...NO ONE EVER GOT FAT FROM EATING TOO MANY FRUITS & VEGGIES!!!
So, skip all the diet foods, sugar-free foods, low carb, South Beach, & Atkins, and eat whole foods as much as possible! Stop the diet madness!! The human body needs fuel...good fuel, so eat up...just think about your food. Is your food created in a lab and advertised over and over again on TV? When was the last time you saw a commercial pushing apples (not apple juice), or veggies (not salad dressing) or beans (not the baked ones)?? That's the food we need to eat, the food that gets very little attention!

So...you want Madonna arms or not?

Goals. They are important in all aspects of our lives, to save money, to go to college, to climb the corporate ladder, whatever your goal may be. Goals also play a crucial role in fitness, weight loss, or weight gain (yes, some people actually try to gain weight!!). No goals mean no direction...which means no success!
When setting your goals, take a few things into consideration...#1. your goal cannot change every week!!!! #2. your goal needs to be VERY specific and measurable! and #3. how much time are you giving yourself to reach this goal? I find women tend to be the most confused about what they would like to achieve at the gym, or maybe they aren't being honest with themselves and the trainer!! One day the client is dreaming of Madonna's sculpted arms, the next day they want to look like Nicole Richie?!?! Well...the 2 are like night and day...and so are their workouts!
The woman that is sculpting her body spends majority of their time in the weight room. Cardio will deplete muscle gains, so it should be limited. Women will NOT bulk up so please don't panic...instead they will scuplt and define their muscles creating a beautiful athletic body like Madonna!
The woman who is admiring Nicole Richie's tiny dancer-like physique will probably be spending less time lifting or strength training! Running, Zumba, Dance, Hooping will be more up their alley! Strength training should not be avoided, instead doing body weight exercises and light weight/high repetition exercises are perfect! It's a perfect mix of staying lean (cardio, cardio, cardio) and strengthening (light weight & body weight).
The problem comes in when the person has no goals or is going back and forth! The trainer will spend weeks working on a specific goal with their client, and then out of nowhere (maybe they saw an actress on the cover of a magazine) they want something else!!!! Now, that is fine, trainers can switch the entire workout to focus on your new goal...but please don't come back next week with different goal. It takes time for the body to adjust to a workout and for results of appear, changing the goal (and the workout) will take even more time! This is when the client becomes disappointed and discouraged. 
Goals need to be set, followed, and tracked! If your goal is to gain or lose weight, taking measurements or getting weighed is very important! It makes it easy to track results! If your goal is to sculpt and define...YOU HAVE TO STICK WITH THE EXERCISE PROGRAM!!!! If you don't stick with it, you won't see results! When your trainer tells you to limit your cardio to 3 days a week only for 30 minutes, listen! Goals (correct goals) lead to fitness success :) Very simple! So, if you want Madonna arms, a dancer-like body, lose weight or gain weight, set the goal (and don't change it a week later), follow the workout program, and be patient! Rome wasn't built in a day :)

My Hoop Journey

We all stumble upon something in our lives that makes us really excited...for me it was the day I discovered HoopGirl! I was in the process of becoming a personal trainer and decided to check out my options for "unique" classes I could teach. As any normal person would do, I started googling all sorts of word combos, like "dance", "fitness", "fun", and there it was... "HoopGirl". It caught my eye immediately and I clicked on the link to discover this amazing world of Hooping! I browsed their website and admired the pretty hula hoops, and then it happened...I opened their link to a YouTube video. I must have watched it 100 times, eyes glued to the screen. The video was of HoopGirl Christabel Zamore performing a hoopdance! It was incredible! I instantly knew I HAD TO HOOP! That's where it all began! My husband bought me a little kids hoop at the local store, but it was too light and too small (I wasn't quite ready to spend the money on a pro hoop). So I taped it up to weigh it down and kept practicing! I was addicted!! This led me to research making my own hoops, which led to my tiny hoop business, which led to me teaching Hoop Fitness!
I am still amazed by this beautiful, colorful circle that makes me feel so empowered! Inside my hoop i truly am unstoppable! There's no limit of what's possible with a hoop, you can keep creating, learning, and moving! It's also a great way to relax and calm down...stress-be-gone when I am inside my hoop :) Also, it's a constant challenge for my body, new moves force the body to move, twist, and bend like never before...working every single muscle!
From hoop making to hoop dancing, it's a wonderful path I stumbled upon :) It is something I was supposed to find, because I am a HOOPER! I love the creative aspect of it, the physical part of it, and the pure joy it brings to me! I smile the entire time I hoop, even when I am being challenged...I smile :)  I feel amazing when I hoop, an instant confidence boost! So I encourage you all to pick up this beautiful circle and get inside...move, dance, spin, and twirl!

This box you train in...

We all have a comfort zone, a place we feel safe, a place of  "if it works don't change it". But what if this "box" as I like to call it isn't working? How does one get outside the box and try something new? I see this as a fear, not of the new workout, but the fear of looking silly, it being too difficult, or someone else might be watching and LAUGHING!!!! Here's the deal...no one is watching, they are all too busy watching themselves workout ;) the fitness world has so much to offer; the "standard" gym equipment with reps and sets, the classic classes with weights & assortment of balls, and then there are ALL THE OTHER workouts you are scared or embarrassed to try!
If you always train the same way, you might find you are no longer seeing results, or you have stopped exercising altogether due to a SEVERE case of boredom! Get out of the box immediately!!! You are missing out on a whole new way of training! I'm not saying you should never return to your box again, all I'm asking is you try (and commit to) something new, just for a little bit ;) Most gyms offer an array of fun & exciting classes, Zumba, Turbo Kick, Strip Tease, Hooping (my favorite of-course), Flirty Girl Fitness, Ballet Fitness, Hip Hop, TRX, Spin, Yoga, Pilates...I could go on and on!
At first these classes sound odd, maybe even silly...who Hula-Hoops??? I DO! I love it and find it an extremely effective as a full body workout (not to mention my waist has never looked better). I practiced and practiced and knew that I had to commit in order to see results. Commit? For how long you ask. Well, trying something new, learning to do it correctly, and actually liking it takes time. Commit to 3 or more classes, the more time you give it the better! The first class is always uncomfortable, you are moving your body in ways you NEVER do, you might even look funny (but it's ok, it's part of the process), you might not be able to follow the moves or catch on as fast as the other students...but quitting after 1 class is GIVING UP and you're possibly missing out on something you could have enjoyed!
So...if you are in the box and are getting the "workout blues" switch it up! Sign up and take a new class! The key here is to COMMIT, if you take one class and never go back, you will never truly know if you liked it! Don't shy away from these bizarre-sounding workouts...they are very effective and lots of fun. Give your body the change it is screaming out for, move in ways that are challenging in a whole new way!