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Boost Your Weight Loss With Lifestyle Changes

Boost Your Weight Loss With Lifestyle Changes

Published by on April 25, 2024 | Leave a response

If weight loss is your goal, people in Stamford, CT, say you should start by making lifestyle changes. You don’t have to make dramatic changes or do them all immediately. You can start by changing small things, like snacking on fresh fruit or vegetables and dip instead of candy bars or traditional high-calorie snacks. There’s no need for restrictive diets when you make cumulative small changes.

Dieting isn’t the way.

Diets are often restrictive. They have specific foods you can eat at each meal or for snacks. Sometimes, the ingredients are exotic, or the meals don’t suit your taste. When you make lifestyle changes, you don’t have restrictions. The concept is all about making smarter choices when you select food. Instead of eating white rice, substituting brown rice cuts calories and provides more nutrients, including fiber. Other substitutions you’ll barely notice include using unsweetened applesauce to replace some sugar or oil in baked goods.

Increasing your activity level also makes a difference.

You don’t have to add a traditional workout program to receive weight loss benefits. Changes to increase your physical effort can make a big difference, too. Increasing how much you walk is one of those things. If you have a short distance, walk instead of taking the car. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is another way to increase exercise. Parking further from the store and walking more is another lifestyle change that can make a big difference. Create a short two or three-minute workout and do it. Instead of staring at the microwave when you’re heating food or just talking on the phone, do a few squats, jumping jacks, or lunges.

Drink more water and get more sleep.

Drinking more water can help you lose weight. Studies show that drinking a glass of water before a meal causes people to eat fewer calories. Getting more sleep also helps you shed extra pounds. If you burn the candle at both ends, you may be sabotaging your weight loss and health. When you lack sleep, the body makes more ghrelin—the hunger hormone. It also slows the production of leptin—the hormone that makes you feel full. Lack of sleep can cause you to eat more because you’ll be hungrier.

  • If you are up for a challenge. Try giving up food with added sugar for two weeks. You’ll notice fruit tastes sweeter and your cravings for junk food diminish.
  • Start every meal with a big salad. Make healthy salad dressing, like a balsamic-Dijon mustard dressing that uses five ingredients. Balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  • If you make lifestyle changes, especially when you eat, you’ll lose weight and keep it from returning. Lifestyle changes last longer than dieting and include other benefits, like looking and feeling better from exercise.
  • Switching to a healthier diet means you’ll never fail. You can eat a slice of cake occasionally or have a bowl of ice cream. Just make sure you use portion control and don’t make it a habit.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

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Eliminate Chronic Disease

Eliminate Chronic Disease

Published by on April 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Exercise and a healthy diet can help you feel better. Anyone who works out regularly understands that. Did you know that changing your diet, getting more sleep, exercising, and other changes can help eliminate chronic diseases like diabetes, back pain, arthritis, and digestive issues? If you replace highly processed food with whole foods, you’ll immediately notice a difference in how you feel.

One cause or contributor to chronic disease is obesity.

Overweight and obesity is one of the leading cause of preventable death. Excess body fat can cause inflammation. Inflammation can cause chronic disease. While there’s a difference between the two, they both lead to health issues such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma, some forms of cancer, and sleep apnea. Excess weight stresses the joints and throws off the center of gravity to create back issues.

Making lifestyle changes like improving your diet and exercising helps.

Cutting out food with added sugar can reduce inflammation. That can help prevent many health issues, which include the ones caused by obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. Eating more whole foods increases nutrients that can help prevent disease. Vitamins A, C, E, and D, folate, zinc, selenium, and iron, are well-known immune boosters to help keep you healthier. Regular exercise increases circulation to send nourishment and oxygen to every cell. It lowers blood pressure, improves heart health, and improves cholesterol levels.

Other lifestyle changes, like smoking cessation, make a huge difference.

If you smoke, quit smoking. Some people fear weight gain after they quit. Smoking does boost your metabolism. You can counteract the reduction by exercising. Do all types of exercise, especially ones that build muscle tissue. Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue does, so the more you have, the higher your metabolism. You might snack more when you quit smoking to replace the physical movement of smoking. Have healthy, low-calorie snacks like veggies and dip or fresh fruit ready to fill that gap. Avoid abusing controlled substances.

  • Cut out soft drinks and drink tea and coffee without cream or sugar. Both soft drinks and coffee with additives add extra calories and affect your health. Don’t choose diet soft drinks. Studies show it can increase the fat around your middle.
  • Increase the activity in your daily life. Even if you exercise regularly, walking more and taking the stairs instead of the elevator helps. Studies show that people who walk faster live longer.
  • Stress plays a role in disease. Eating healthy foods, exercising, adequate sleep, and practicing relaxation techniques can help. Learn deep breathing and meditation to reduce stress quickly.
  • Avoid drinking too much alcohol. It’s okay for a woman to have one drink a day and for men to have two. Abusing alcohol can cause weight gain, high blood pressure, digestive issues, stroke, some types of cancer, early dementia, a weakened immune system, and social issues.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

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The Best Supplements For Weight Loss

The Best Supplements For Weight Loss

Published by on March 25, 2024 | Leave a response

Most people think of supplements as a way to improve health. There are supplements for vision, muscle building, weight loss, and other issues or conditions. Weight loss supplements won’t replace an exercise program and healthy diet but some will help you shed pounds. Each works differently. Some suppress your appetite while others help burn fat. Including a protein supplement can provide the building blocks for muscle, while making you feel full longer.

One study compared people using supplements to those who didn’t.

The FDA doesn’t regulate supplements like it does medications. Supplements don’t require approval. If a supplement is unsafe, it has to issue warnings. Some companies test their supplements for purity, but few studies exist on the benefits provided. That’s why there is very little evidence that they work. One study followed 70 obese adults. All 70 followed low-calorie diets and exercise programs. Half received a placebo. The other half received a supplement containing caffeine, bitter orange, raspberry ketone, garlic, and ginger. Only 45 completed the study. Of those who did, those given the supplements lost 4.2 pounds. That was 3.6 pounds more than those not taking the supplement.

Combination fat burners may help you lose weight.

Fat burners like green tea leaf extract, green coffee bean extract, and capsaicin do it by speeding up metabolism or increasing the thermogenesis hormone to burn more calories. The “magic” ingredient in green tea is catechins. The ingredient in coffee bean extract is caffeine. Capsaicin is what makes hot peppers hot and speeds up your metabolism.

L-theanine helps keep appetite in check.

L-theanine is an amino acid, the building block of protein. Like protein, it can make you feel full and cut your appetite. It can also reduce the potential for stress eating by regulating your mood. Protein powders, whether from whey or a vegetable source like pea protein, do the same. It also helps build muscle tissue that improves weight loss.

  • Vitamin B-12 is necessary for fat metabolism. There’s a link between a deficiency and fat accumulation and obesity. A deficit in vitamin B-6 can cause fatigue. High vitamin B-6 levels can cause fat to burn more efficiently.
  • Vitamin D deficiency is linked to obesity. Studies don’t indicate whether vitamin D deficiency caused obesity or obesity caused the deficiency. Supplementing may help weight loss.
  • Green powders containing a wide variety of plant-based nutrients, including prebiotic fiber, spirulina, wheat grass, and other dried fruits and vegetables, provide a variety of nutrients that aid digestion and absorption.
  • Probiotics can also boost weight loss if you have an imbalance in your gut. Studies show that obese individuals tend to have less diverse gut bacteria. Consuming probiotics and prebiotics to feed them can aid weight loss.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

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The Benefits Of Resistance Bands

The Benefits Of Resistance Bands

Published by on March 10, 2024 | Leave a response

If you can’t always get to the gym in Stamford, CT, due to travel, schedule, or weather, you’ll find a lot of benefits for having resistance bands available as your home gym alternative. They provide an alternative to bodyweight exercises and don’t require an entire gym in your home. If you want an alternative to weights or bodyweight workouts, give resistance bands a try. They’re so inexpensive that if you don’t like them, you can pack them away for just emergency use without feeling guilty.

Resistance bands don’t require an entire room.

These easy-to-store muscle-building giants can be put in a drawer when not in use. They’re easy to pack so you can take them on vacation and workout in your hotel room if there’s no gym. Best of all, resistance bands are inexpensive. They cost less than weights do. You can buy a whole set that includes different resistance levels for the same price as two dumbbells, so they offer more versatility for less money.

You can use resistance bands for more than just strength training.

Resistance bands are also good for flexibility training and warming up. Nineteen studies were included in a meta-analysis that had a total of 649 subjects. Using resistance bands helped athletes warm up, improving their performance. It aided seniors by improving flexibility as well as balance. That helps reduce accidents that can lead to a long recovery and decline in health.

They keep muscles under tension longer.

Using resistance bands in conjunction with bodyweight exercises can boost the benefits you’d otherwise get from the exercise. It can challenge the muscle during all parts of the movement, both during the lengthening and shortening of the muscle. They make your body work harder, so you’ll make faster progress. You can work muscles on all planes, too. The increased resistance on all planes comes from the pull of the bands, not from gravity like dumbbells.

  • If you have a latex allergy, be more careful when purchasing resistance bands. Shop for the non-latex versions. Always check bands before each use to ensure there are no nicks and tears.
  • Resistance bands are excellent for functional fitness training, especially for seniors or people recovering from an accident or illness. You can use them seated, lying down, or standing.
  • The wide variety of resistance in one set of bands allows you to improve your strength gradually at a minimal cost. One set of bands provides workouts for various resistance levels, from the lowest resistance to ones with a lot of resistance.
  • If you’re using resistance bands as an alternative to the gym occasionally, talk to one of the trainers to get help using them. The trainer can help with exercises and movements for different muscle groups.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

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Male Eating Disorders Are More Common Than We Think

Male Eating Disorders Are More Common Than We Think

Published by on February 25, 2024 | Leave a response

Most people think of young females when they hear about eating disorders, but men also have similar problems. Of every three people with eating disorders, one of them is male. Male eating disorders have been on the rise, in Stamford, CT, and around the country. Body dysmorphia isn’t limited to teenage girls and women, it impacts men at similar rates. Men and boys are far less likely to seek treatment, making it more difficult to assess the extent of the problem. The types of eating disorders include binge eating, anorexia, and bulimia.

It all starts with unrealistic expectations.

Part of the problem stems from the desire to be sexually attractive. If men or boys carry extra weight, it’s not seen as attractive. Just like their female counterparts, those flat abs and the perfect V are the ideal. Some young men suffer from anorexia nervosa where they stop eating, exercise too much, or put strict rules on the consumption of food. Some experience bulimia nervosa where they eat and then purge their body of the food. The final large group of people with eating disorders are those with binge-eating disorders who eat large amounts and then feel guilty about it.

Some male eating disorders involve the desire to be muscular, too.

Men tend to have a unique subtype of eating disorder called muscle dysmorphia. It’s the obsession with bulking up and cutting body fat to dramatically low amounts. Gaining weight can be part of muscle dysmorphia, too. In one study, one-fourth of men and boys of average weight see themselves as underweight. They want to bulk up so people see them as more masculine. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to bulk up, many of these young men are obsessively exercising, taking steroids and supplements, and eating restrictive diets. While it may initially seem like a healthy outlet, it’s taken to extremes, affecting both mental and physical health.

There are many reasons for eating disorders.

There’s no one reason for this issue. Some people are depressed and want to find a way to make themselves more acceptable. Others are trying to control their life and do it by gaining control over what they eat. A large group of people with eating disorders have a distorted view of not only themselves but also what the perfect body should look like.

  • Some signs of eating disorders are weight fluctuations, dizziness upon standing, digestive complaints, difficulty sleeping or concentrating, and issues with unhealthy skin, teeth, hair, and nails.
  • It’s harder for men to seek treatment for eating disorders. Most programs are created for women. You can find help by calling the National Eating Disorder Association helpline.
  • While eating disorders are linked to depression and other mental health issues, further study needs to be made to identify if the eating disorder caused depression or if it was the other way around.
  • The desire to be perfect is one common need found in most people with eating disorders. The exceptions are people with binge-eating problems. They tend to have impulse control issues.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

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Can You Relieve Arthritis Pain With Diet And Exercise?

Can You Relieve Arthritis Pain With Diet And Exercise?

Published by on February 10, 2024 | Leave a response

As doctors and scientists learn more about arthritis, they find more and more ways to relieve arthritis pain naturally. While medication can help deal with pain, medication can have unwanted side effects/ Solutions like a healthy diet for inflammation and regular exercise also have side effects, but they’re side effects people appreciate, like weight loss, a healthier life, and a general improvement in health. The type of food you eat and the type of exercise you do make a difference in arthritic pain, so always check with your healthcare professional first.

A healthy diet that contains whole foods can benefit people with arthritis.

One of the first things you should do if you have arthritis is to cut out food with added sugar and highly refined foods. Sugar causes inflammation, just as alcohol and refined carbs do. Arthritis is caused by inflammation, so limiting the foods that cause it is the first line of defense. Choosing food that reduces inflammation is the dietary change you should make. Luckily, many foods fit that category.

Foods that reduce inflammation should be at every meal.

At the top of the list of foods to eat should be cruciferous vegetables. These include cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale. The sulforaphane in cruciferous vegetables slows the damage to cartilage caused by osteoarthritis. Eating food that reduces inflammation like those with omega-3, such as fatty fish, walnuts, and flaxseed. Foods with the phytonutrient anthocyanin are also inflammation fighters. Anthocyanin makes blueberries blue. It’s also found in tart cherry juice, giving it a deep red color. Grapes and olive oil both provide anti-inflammatory properties that can bring relief.

Use a guided exercise program with low-impact exercises.

If the location of your arthritis is in your hips, knees, or lower body, a high-impact exercise program might do further damage. Include flexibility and strength training in your workout. Flexibility training improves the range of motion and loosens joints to relieve pain. Strength-building improves muscle and tendon strength to reduce pressure on the joints. Exercise also stimulates the circulation of synovial fluid that cushions the joints and provides nutrients. You also need aerobic exercise to keep your heart healthy.

  • Spices add flavoring and can reduce inflammation. Turmeric, garlic, and ginger are spices that can provide relief. They provide anti-inflammatory benefits to relieve pain. The diallyl disulfide in garlic may rebuild cartilage.
  • Besides increasing food with omega-3 fatty acids, you should decrease foods high in omega-6. You should also reduce saturated fat and trans fats, foods high in salt, nightshades like potatoes and tomatoes, and food high in purines, such as organ meat.
  • If you’re overweight, losing weight can help relieve the suffering, particularly if arthritis is in the hips or knees. Eating healthy food and exercising to shed those pounds also provide a multitude of benefits.
  • Increase your vitamin C and vitamin D intake. Eating food high in vitamin C can help relieve pain and so can getting vitamin D. Whether you do safe sunning, eat fortified foods, or take a supplement, vitamin D has been shown to prevent, slow, and reduce arthritis inflammation.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

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Best Ways To Stay Hydrated During Exercise

Best Ways To Stay Hydrated During Exercise

Published by on January 25, 2024 | Leave a response

If you’re boxing, jumping rope, or doing any type of exercise at Revolution Training in Stamford, CT, it’s important to remember the fundamentals, like warming up and proper form, or remembering to stay hydrated. Those fitness tips are just as important as the latest exercises. Staying hydrated may seem insignificant or too simple to be important. Its simplicity is often the reason people forget to do it. Lack of hydration can diminish your performance and if you allow the problem to continue, cause serious issues. Here are some tips to help you stay hydrated.

Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to drink water.

Set your alarm to ring two or three hours before you exercise and remind you to consume two to three cups of water to get your body prepared for a workout. Don’t guzzle water right before you workout. It can upset your digestive system. Ensuring you are fully hydrated before you begin a sweaty workout provides several benefits. You’ll have more energy since dehydration can cause lethargy, and hydrating boosts energy. You’ll also be less dehydrated, especially if you sip water throughout your session.

Always have a bottle of water with you and sip on it frequently.

You should have bottled water in your gym bag or an empty water bottle to fill at the gym. If you become adjusted to having water ready, you’ll be more likely to drink it. Do you hate plain water? Some people do. If your workout is intense, carry a sports drink that replaces electrolytes. For a more moderate workout, plain water or infused water will do. You can make it yourself by adding fruit, vegetables, or herbs to water and allowing them to remain for several hours. When you remove them, the water will have a light flavor.

Track the fluid you drink and how you feel.

Understanding your fluid requirement is necessary to ensure you get enough water. Drink water when you feel tired. You’ll be surprised how drinking plain water can invigorate and energize you. You’ll start to recognize the signs of dehydration and be able to calculate your needs. That understanding helps you set a goal for daily fluid intake, including before and after exercise.

  • If you’re hungry for something after a workout, before you eat, drink water. You might find it solves the problem. Sometimes thirst masks itself as hunger.
  • Learn to recognize the signs of dehydration. It can cause mental confusion, exhaustion, headaches, and dry mouth. Lighter yellow urine is a sign you’re hydrated. Lack of skin turgor is a sign of dehydration.
  • If you eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, your fluid needs will be lower. Fruits and vegetables like watermelon, celery, and cucumbers contain a high amount of liquid that helps keep your body hydrated.
  • If your workout is strenuous or you sweat a lot, drink about 4 to 8 ounces of fluid every 15 minutes. Sip on it, don’t guzzle it. Drinking too much water too fast can have negative consequences.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

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The Benefits Of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

The Benefits Of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Published by on January 10, 2024 | Leave a response

If you aren’t already doing high intensity interval training—HIIT, you should be. There are many benefits you can’t get from a steady-state workout. HIIT workouts aren’t a specific exercise, but a way of doing any exercise. Unlike steady-state workouts where you use the same intensity throughout, you alternate the intensity of a HIIT workout between peak intensity and a recovery pace. If you run, for example, run at top speed for a short period, then slow to a recovery pace for the same amount of time or longer.

You’ll burn tons of calories in less time.

When you’re exercising at peak intensity, you burn a lot more calories than you do at a steady-state pace. One study followed several exercises, including those performed in HIIT mode. They found that HIIT workouts burned up to 30% more calories in the half-hour session. If you’re short on time, a HIIT workout provides the same calorie-burning benefits as a longer exercise session.

The calories you burn during a HIIT workout come mainly from fat.

One study found that HIIT workouts and moderate steady-state workouts both burn fat, minimizing waist circumference and reducing overall body fat, but HIIT workouts were more effective and did it with less exercise time invested. HIIT workouts also increase your metabolism for hours to keep the calorie-burning fires going. Compared to other types of exercise, you’ll burn more calories after the workout. It’s the high intensity that causes the increase in metabolic rate.

HIIT workouts can improve your health markers.

You’ll lower your blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. One study showed that 8 weeks of HIIT workouts done 3 times a week for 20 minutes reduced blood pressure and heart rate as much as a half hour a day 4 days a week of steady-state moderate exercising. HIIT workouts were also found beneficial for lowering blood glucose levels and reducing insulin resistance, a precursor for diabetes.

  • HIIT workouts can improve oxygen consumption. HIIT workouts provide the same benefits as much longer sessions of steady-state exercises. All studies show shorter sessions of HIIT improve oxygen consumption as much as longer sessions of moderate exercise.
  • Both anaerobic and aerobic performance improves with HIIT workouts. Just a few HIIT sessions throughout the week. Aerobic performance is traditionally cardio, while anaerobic refers to strength-building workouts.
  • HIIT workouts can boost muscle building. No matter what type of workout you do, HIIT can help build muscles. It’s more effective if used with strength training.
  • HIIT workouts can offer variety and be a backup when you don’t have much time. Since it’s high intensity, you can’t do it every day. On alternate days use recovery exercises like walking or swimming.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

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The Importance Of Rest Days

The Importance Of Rest Days

Published by on December 25, 2023 | Leave a response

People who first start working out want to hit the gym every day. It’s a common mistake. They put in grueling workouts daily but fail to see the progress they want. What’s missing? It’s rest days. Your body needs a day or two of rest, especially between intense exercise sessions. When you do an intense strength-building workout, it causes tiny microtears in the muscles. It takes a day or two to heal. After the tears heal, the muscles are bigger and stronger. If you don’t give your muscles rest and recovery time, you do your body a disservice. Your progress will never match your goals.

Rest days are recovery days.

Just because it’s a rest day, it doesn’t mean you’ll lounge on the couch. Even if your muscles are sore, getting up and walking or doing light exercise is beneficial. If you lift weights and have a rigorous whole-body session, focus on light exercises like swimming. You’ll boost your circulation to help improve recovery and remove the lactic acid build-up. Have fun with the kids and play games to make rest day family day.

Skip a lot of rest days by alternating muscle groups.

You don’t have to wait 48-72 hours to do strength training, just make sure you focus on different muscle groups. You can increase the intensity because you’ll rest those muscles and work on different muscle groups the next day. It still helps to take a rest day twice a week to let your body rest. You can alternate days of strength building, flexibility training, and aerobic training to boost recovery. Let your body have a complete rest once a week.

Taking one day away from exercise increases your focus and prevents injury when you exercise.

You’d fry your brain in a month if you spent seven days a week at your desk doing calculations. The same thing happens when you overexercise and push it to the limit seven days a week. It not only helps maintain proper form, but it also helps maintain focus so you limit the risk of injury.

  • You won’t lose ground by taking a rest day. It takes two weeks of being idle to have any noticeable change in your progress. A day away allows you to come back to the gym refreshed.
  • Too much training can affect your immune system. Even though exercise burns off stress hormones, it also creates stress that decreases your immunity. If you’re fatigued it can be just as bad as not working out at all.
  • Fitness and healthy habits involve more than a healthy menu and working out. Getting together with friends, helping others, and people-centric activities are healthy activities. People who socialize live longer than those who don’t.
  • Burnout is a real problem for people pushing too hard to get fit. It’s both mental and physical. Including rest days in your schedule can help prevent it.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

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