Fitness & Wellness

Adding Steps To Your Days Can Extend Your Life Span

Adding Steps To Your Days Can Extend Your Life Span

Several people in Irvine, CA, have asked how to increase their gains at the gym without spending more time there. I always suggest adding steps to their daily routine. It’s perfect for people who don’t have a workout plan yet and want to extend their life span by getting fitter. It’s free. You can do it anywhere and modify it based on your fitness level. The more you exercise, the further or faster you can walk. It’s easy to combine with your regular fitness program, so it’s a great supplement.

If an intense workout is too much, try walking.

You may not be ready to do push-ups or pull-ups and burpees are out of the question. Walking is a good starting point that almost everyone can do. It increases leg strength and cardio. If you pump your arms or carry weights when swinging them, build upper body strength. It’s not the best exercise to become your best self, but an excellent place to start. The Department of Health and Human Services suggests each person gets 150 to 300 minutes a week at a moderate pace or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise. If you can’t do a full 25 or 30 minutes, break it up into 5-minute sessions you do throughout the day.

Walking more can reduce the potential for certain health conditions and improve those you have.

Walking can increase your bone density or prevent bone density loss. That lowers your risk for osteoporosis. It boosts circulation and respiration, making it a heart-healthy activity. Walking improves balance and helps reduce the potential for falls. It also can improve leg strength and functional fitness. The stronger you are, the longer you’ll be able to live unassisted as you age.

Walking won’t replace a total fitness program.

Walking is a good supplement and an excellent place to start but it isn’t the ultimate fitness program. Fitness training should include endurance, flexibility, balance, and strength exercises. While walking can help in those areas, it doesn’t provide all the benefits of a complete workout. You can increase the benefits by wearing ankle weights or arm weights. You can also turn your walk into a HIIT—high intensity interval training—workout by walking at a high-intensity pace for a short time, then reducing your speed to a recovery pace for an equal time and alternating.

  • Add swimming and aquatic exercises, bicycling, and dancing into your daily schedule when you want more, but aren’t yet gym-ready.
  • Increase your steps without interfering with your present schedule. Parking further from the store or your destination and walking is one. Walking to lunch or taking the stairs instead of the elevator also helps.
  • When you increase walking, you’ll burn more calories. That makes losing weight easier. You don’t have to start by walking far if you’re completely out of shape. Just increase it as you get fitter.
  • Always focus on form, no matter what exercise you do, even walking. Your posture is important. Keep your shoulders back and head up, swinging your arms naturally as you walk.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness


Drop The Fries And Move Those Thighs

Drop The Fries And Move Those Thighs

If you want to lose weight, you have to eat healthier and move more. For sleek, toned thighs and the flat belly you want, eating healthy and exercising is the answer. It doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to eat fries again, just don’t do it frequently. Instead, focus on healthy food and healthy ways to make that food. You also need to increase your activity. Whether it’s a formal exercise program, walking, biking, or dancing, moving more makes a difference.

Change your diet.

You don’t have to eat a strict diet to shed those extra pounds. Start by making some simple changes. Avoid highly processed food and opt for many fruits and vegetables. Cut out food high in sugar and depend on natural sources of sweetness, such as fruit, for your sugar fix. Cook your food in healthier ways. Steam, broil, boil, or roast food, but don’t fry it. Avoid heavy sauces that contain sugar and fat. Opt for less processed grain. Use brown rice instead of white rice. Choose whole-grain bread instead of white bread. Avoid other foods using white bleached flour.

Start a program of exercise.

You can’t decide where you’re going to lose fat. When you lose weight, it comes off your entire body, not just one spot, no matter how many spot exercises you do. You can tone the thighs or any other part while you burn extra calories to help you shed pounds. Develop a complete workout that includes all types of fitness: aerobics, strength, balance, and flexibility. Make an appointment with yourself to exercise. Do it at the same time every day so it becomes a habit.

Enjoy life.

Increase your activity level by doing fun things. You can tone your whole body when you dance. Riding a bike may be your passion, so plan a short trip to the park. Pack a healthy lunch and make it a family ride. If you find your energy drooping or your stomach growling mid-morning or afternoon, take a healthy snack to satisfy it. You’ll be less likely to eat unhealthy snacks.

  • Have a preworkout and post workout snack. It should be high in carbs and protein and contain approximately 100 calories. It helps build muscles and boost recovery.
  • As you build muscle tissue, you’ll notice it’s easier to lose weight. Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat does. The more muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolism will be.
  • Find other ways to increase the calories you burn. Instead of circling the parking lot, trying to find a closer space, park further from the store and walk more. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
  • Don’t try to do it all at once. Cut out sugar first. It takes a few weeks for your body to quit craving it. Then, increase fruits and vegetables in your diet. Increase your activity but take it slowly. When you exercise, focus on form first.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness


Eat Right, Live Strong

Eat Right, Live Strong

Our personal trainers in Irvine, CA, focus on making healthy lifestyle changes. Learning to eat right, exercising regularly, and getting adequate sleep are three things that will make a difference in your life and help you live strong. Many of the habits, big or small, decide your future health. If you enjoy walking and take a walk regularly, you’ll have an improved chance of living longer and healthier. There’s a reason certain foods are part of a healthy diet. They keep you healthier.

Eating healthy isn’t dieting.

When you diet, you deprive yourself, count calories, and stick with a regimented menu. Diets always end. When they end, you go back to the old habits of high-calorie junk food. If you lose weight, you regain it. Eating healthy provides your body with the nutrients it requires for peak performance. It’s often lower in calories since it contains filling, less fattening foods. You can make some small changes to start, like switching out white processed rice with brown rice.

Watch out for empty calories.

What are empty calories? They’re foods that just supply calories with no other nutrients. Some, like food high in sugar, can also cause damage to your body if you eat it too frequently. Sugar is addictive and triggers the opioid receptors, causing your body to react as it does to drugs. Your tastebuds become desensitized to sugar, so you have to eat more to get the sweet taste. Sugar also affects your health in other ways besides weight gain. It can cause heart and kidney issues, increase your risk for diabetes, and damage collagen. That can make your veins weaker and cause wrinkles.

You can make eating healthier easy by following a few simple rules.

Plan your meals so you use ingredients that are closest to their natural state. It’s often referred to as eating whole foods. Start your meal with a big salad containing many vegetables and fruits. When your plate is full it should be a rainbow of colors. Phytonutrients give the plants their color and offer benefits for the animals or people that eat them. Each color does something beneficial but different. Eating colorful fruits and vegetables benefits your entire body. Many of the nutrients are destroyed or removed through processing. Many processed foods are missing those nutrients and contain chemicals or sugar. The more you eat, the more you want, and the more weight you gain.

  • Stay hydrated. Even mild dehydration can cause health issues, such as dementia-like symptoms, decreased kidney functioning, hypertension, kidney stones, UTIs, and intestinal failure.
  • Make sure you have adequate fiber in your diet. Fiber is a prebiotic that can boost beneficial microbes. High-fiber foods also fill you up and keep you full longer. You’ll also stay regular when you eat more fiber.
  • Before you exercise and after you’ve finished, eating a snack that contains carbs and proteins can help boost recovery and build muscle tissue.
  • Besides a healthy diet, a healthy lifestyle includes exercising regularly, getting adequate sleep, and avoiding nicotine, illegal drugs, and excess alcohol consumption. Our trainers can help you with diet and exercise programs.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness


Common Diet Mistakes

Common Diet Mistakes

If weight loss is your goal and it’s going slow or not happening at all, even though you think you’ve done everything right, you may unwittingly be making diet mistakes that can halt or slow your progress. Some things may be old habits you never thought about much, like that spoonful or two of leftovers you eat instead of throwing away, or the portion size of your meals.

Watch out for “gimmick” food.

Some manufacturers tout their food as low-fat or no-fat to make you believe somehow that it’s healthier or better for weight loss. If you think that taking the fat out of food makes it lower in calories or more likely to help you lose weight, you’d be wrong. Studies show people consuming full-fat dairy lost more weight than those consuming low or no-fat dairy. The fat fills you and keeps you full longer. It’s also necessary to help burn fat. When manufacturers remove fat, it also affects the flavor and texture of the product. They replace it with sugar and chemicals to make it more palatable. It’s worse for weight loss.

Eating too few calories can slow your metabolism and make weight loss more difficult.

Sometimes, trying too hard or going to extremes to lose weight sabotages your efforts. You can slow weight loss by eating too few calories. First, find the number of calories necessary for maintenance for your ideal weight and consume that, or cut your calorie intake by 500 calories. Just cutting 500 calories daily can help you lose a pound a week. Be careful not to reduce your calorie intake too much. It causes your body to go into starvation mode and slows your metabolism.

Did you fail to include exercise in your weight loss plan?

If you want the best results from your dieting efforts, you need exercise, too. Exercise helps you burn extra calories and makes weight loss occur faster. It boosts your energy so you’re more active, burning even more calories. As you build muscle tissue, your body requires even more calories. Muscle tissue needs more calories to maintain than fat tissue does. Don’t just focus on endurance exercises like running. Endurance exercises burn many calories, but some come from lean muscle tissue. Strength-building creates more lean muscle tissue.

  • Don’t forget to include quality protein in your diet. Eating fruits and vegetables is necessary to lose weight and be healthy, but you also need protein. Protein helps maintain muscle tissue.
  • Don’t forget to include fiber in your diet. Too often, radical diets include nothing but liquids or only meat. You need fiber to be healthy, feel full, and reduce the calories absorbed in your intestines.
  • Identify any emotions that cause you to eat more. Do you eat when you’re angry or bored? Does sadness cause you to seek comfort food? Find an alternative that helps you cope or a healthier option.
  • Count your drink of choice as part of your calories. Cutting out a daily cola can help you lose an extra pound in a month. Drink water, unsweetened tea, or coffee. A large glass of cold water a half hour before a meal fills you, so you eat less.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness


Best Fitness If You're Idle

Best Fitness If You’re Idle

It’s hard for idle people to get fit. Most don’t do or enjoy anything that promotes fitness. If sweating in a gym seems unsavory and you don’t believe that healthy food tastes good, you’ve got a long road ahead if your goal is to lose weight, build endurance, or increase strength. There are some things you can do that make getting fit easier and that fit into your lifestyle. These are healthy ways that don’t involve pills or other drastic measures.

Start by increasing your activity.

If you’re going grocery shopping, park further from the store and walk a few extra feet. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you’re really out of shape, start by taking the elevator and get off the floor before your destination, leaving just one set of stairs to climb. If you ride a bus to work, get off a few stops early and walk the rest of the way. Save yourself money and choose the cheaper option for entertainment apps like Hulu that include commercials. During those commercials, do exercises. You’ll make your wallet fatter and your waist thinner.

Make smarter decisions when you eat.

Learn ways to cut calories and boost nutrition. Keep fresh fruits and vegetables cut and ready for snacks. Avoid buying highly processed snacks that add extra pounds. If you don’t have them in your house, you won’t be tempted to eat them. Eat a large salad before your meal and chew your food longer. When you thoroughly chew each bite until it’s all liquid, it slows you down and gives your stomach time to signal the brain it’s full, so you eat less. Focus on the flavor, texture, and pleasure each bite gives you. It’s called mindful eating.

Keep your body moving, even when you’re sitting.

Tapping your toes or frequently shifting your weight burns extra calories. You can even do sitting leg lifts when you’re sitting at your desk. You may only burn an additional 100 calories a day, but that means you’ll burn an extra 3500 in 35 days. That’s the calorie deficit it takes to lose a pound, and you can accomplish it with little effort. Once every hour, get up and walk around or do an exercise. Studies show that sitting for longer than an hour without moving detracts from your health.

  • Do isometric exercises. The stomach vacuum exercise builds core strength and improves abs. You can do it anywhere. With isometric exercises, you hold a position. Other isometrics include planks, wall squats, and glute bridges.
  • Get adequate sleep. That’s the epitome of the lazy man’s way to fitness, but it works. Lack of sleep causes the body to increase the production of the hunger hormone and make less satiety hormone.
  • Drink a large glass of water a half-hour before your meal. Studies show that you’ll eat fewer calories when you do. Switch out soft drinks for water or other no-calorie drinks.
  • Use smaller plates when you eat. If it involves buying slightly smaller plates, do it. It tricks your brain into thinking you’re eating more.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness


Your Goals Can Change Your Future

Your Goals Can Change Your Future

You often find the very thing that you focus on. If you see a bright red vehicle you love and want to buy because you think it’s unique, you’ll often start seeing that same bright red car everywhere. Setting a goal has a similar effect. Zeroing in on that goal can change your future. People in Irving, CA know that once you focus on the fitness destination, ways to achieve that goal will suddenly appear, even though they’ve been there all along.

To be effective, you must be specific.

If your goal is to be fitter, what does that mean? Does it mean you’ll have more endurance? What’s your goal? Is it to lose weight, lower blood glucose, or reduce blood pressure? If it’s weight loss, how much do you want to lose? Be specific about your goal, or you won’t know what route to take or if you reached it. Once a goal is defined, it’s easier to create ways to achieve that goal. Like the red car, you’ll see opportunities everywhere.

When you’re making your goal, make sure it’s realistic and achievable.

If you are a 35-year-old 5’5″ adult and your goal is to become 6’5″, your goal isn’t realistic or achievable. Setting a time frame helps achieve that goal. Without it you’ll never get started. It also must be realistic. If you can’t safely lose 80 pounds in a month. That would mean losing 20 pounds a week! If you were a 320-pound male and active, you’d need 3500 calories a day. To lose one pound, you need a 3500 calorie deficit. So if you ate nothing for a week, the most you could lose permanently is seven pounds. You need more time and a more realistic goal.

Break down your goal into smaller, more easily achieved goals.

Setting the goal to lose 2-pounds a week is more realistic. You have a shorter timeline to reach your mini goal, so you can achieve success quicker and more frequently. There’s nothing more motivating than success. You also need to identify ways to achieve your goal. For fitness goals, eating healthier and exercising are usually the first two things to include. Other aids include drinking more water and getting adequate sleep.

  • Once you set your goals, you’ll find new ways to achieve those goals or increase your potential for achieving them. It could mean taking the stairs instead of the elevator to build endurance.
  • Winners keep score. Track your workout and include the number of reps and sets. When your workout becomes easy, increase the challenge by increasing the number of sets and reps.
  • Celebrate wins. Everyone needs an “atta-boy.” It’s the positive confirmation you receive when you work hard and accomplish your goal. Set a reward that isn’t food-related.
  • If you aren’t sure how to set a fitness goal, our trainers will help you do it. They’ll create a program to help you reach them faster and change your life forever.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness


Customized Workouts Designed For You

Customized Workouts Designed For You

You are a unique individual. You may look like your parents or even have an identical twin, but your bodies will be different unless you experience everything the same. If identical twins had different exercise habits, one working out regularly and the other barely getting out of the easy chair, their bodies would reflect that difference. That’s why customized workouts can be so beneficial. They focus on areas that need more help and match your fitness level.

If you’ve ever joined a class and felt bored or left behind, you understand.

There’s nothing wrong with joining exercise groups. At least you’re moving, but it’s easy to get discouraged. If the class is too difficult, it can be embarrassing, confusing, and defeating. If it’s too easy, you’re not making progress and most likely getting bored. Both can lead to quitting the classes. If you stick with it, you’ll be getting exercise but not necessarily maximizing your workout to get the most benefit from your time. A customized workout considers your fitness level.

Customized workouts address your goals.

If your goal is weight loss, your workout will contain high-calorie-burning exercises. They’ll focus on burning fat and building muscle tissue since the more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn. If it’s to increase your endurance so you don’t huff and puff climbing a flight of stairs, your customized workout will be different. Matching your workout to your goals is one reason to customize.

Customized workouts are constantly changing.

Personal trainers create customized workouts. They also track your progress and make adjustments as you continue. If the workout is accomplishing the goal and it becomes easier, that means you’ve reached a new fitness level. It’s also when the trainer modifies the workout to match that new fitness level. If you aren’t making the progress hoped for, the trainer also adjusts the workout to make it more effective.

  • When you have a customized workout, you’ll progress faster. You won’t waste time doing exercises that don’t address your needs. Trainers who create these workouts also know the exercises that get the best results.
  • Trainers identify weak muscle groups that cause smaller muscles to take over their tasks. That can lead to injuring those muscles. Customized workouts are also tailored to limitations, like knee or back problems.
  • The right type of workout can get better results in less time. Many customized workouts require less time spent in the gym. They are often complex exercises, HIIT workouts, or circuit training.
  • Personal trainers create customized workouts and continually check on your progress. They hold you accountable. You’ll get positive feedback when you accomplish something difficult, too.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness


What Is Your Fitness Goal?

What Is Your Fitness Goal?

Having goals helps give your life definition. They point you in a direction you want to go and help you avoid pitfalls you might otherwise have. Whether it’s a financial or fitness goal, it defines what you want so you can create directions on how to get there. Keeping a goal in front of you can provide inspiration, motivation, and constantly looking for ways to achieve that goal quicker.

You can break your goal down into smaller goals.

If your fitness goal is challenging, it may take a long time. That can dull your excitement and diminish your motivation. Breaking down a big goal into smaller, easier-to-achieve ones gives you constant feedback and success. Suppose you want to run a marathon but can barely make it up a set of stairs without resting. Getting a marathon-ready body will take months of work. You can break down your goal or build your endurance by walking faster and further every day. The same is true for weight loss. If you want to lose 50 pounds, create smaller goals of losing two pounds weekly for 25 weeks.

Part of creating a goal is tracking your progress.

If you want to lose weight but never weigh yourself, how will you know if you’re successful? The same is true for boosting your endurance or building your strength. There are many ways to track your progress. Your goal will determine which one is best. You can also use several techniques at once. If weight loss is a goal, weighing yourself each week is the easiest. You can also take measurements that may show progress even though the scales don’t indicate it. Tracking progress helps you identify what’s working and what’s not. It also can be motivating to see how much you’ve achieved.

Fitness goals aren’t achieved just by exercising.

It takes more than exercise to be healthier, lose weight, or build endurance. Adequate sleep helps achieve those things. So does a healthy diet. You won’t progress as fast if you’re constantly riding a sugar high and not making healthy choices for meals and snacks. Eating healthy is just as vital for any fitness goal. It’s not dieting. Diets are restrictive and meant to end. It’s about making better choices. Having your goals constantly in front of you helps you make the right ones.

  • Achieving your goal is all about consistency. You may attain a small measure of success by changing habits for a few days but won’t achieve the success of a permanent lifestyle change.
  • Treat your workout as an appointment to create a habit. That can help you achieve your fitness goal. Doing weekly meal planning is another tip. Make sure you also include healthy snacks.
  • Work out with a friend or use a personal trainer. They both provide accountability. One study showed that even a phone call to check progress keeps people motivated on the right track.
  • Our trainers can help you define your goals and create an achievable plan. They’ll design a program to reach those goals faster and adjust that program when your fitness level improves.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness


Should You Rethink Dairy In Your Diet?

Should You Rethink Dairy In Your Diet?

Many people in Irvine, CA, removed dairy from their diet. The reasons vary. For some people, the decision was easy. They either have a dairy allergy or are lactose intolerant. Others may notice they produce less phlegm or have clearer skin when they remove dairy. A small group of people are misinformed and believe dairy is unhealthy. Dairy, like gluten, negatively affects some people, but not all people. Just like going gluten-free, if you aren’t experiencing symptoms when consuming dairy, you may be doing yourself a disservice.

Dairy is not for everyone, but it’s a healthy option for most.

If you are lactose intolerant, eating dairy-based food or drinking regular milk can have results that vary from bloating to explosive diarrhea. It’s worse for those with a dairy allergy. The reaction can be vomiting, wheezing, hives, and even life-threatening anaphylaxis. For most people, dairy provides nutrients. It’s a healthy source of protein and has 18 of the 22 essential nutrients. It’s high in phosphorus, potassium, zinc, selenium, iron, magnesium, and vitamins A, B-12, B-6, E, K, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, and folate.

It’s all about the type of dairy you select.

The type of dairy consumed makes a difference. Unsweetened full-fat yogurt is healthier than Rocky Road ice cream. Choosing a fat-free option is another mistake many people make. When companies remove the fat from milk or other dairy, like yogurt, it changes the taste and texture quality. Manufacturers have to add ingredients, like sugar, so it’s more palatable. The fat in the dairy also keeps you full longer. The fat in the dairy also keeps you full longer.

There are even differences in healthier forms of dairy.

Dairy from pastured—grass-fed—cows is also healthier. It has more omega-3 fatty acids and linoleic acid. If the dairy is a fermented product, like kefir, yogurt, or cheese, it’s easier to digest and lower in lactic acid, so there’s less chance of digestive issues that occur when consuming milk. It also provides beneficial microbes to help the digestive system. As already noted, full-fat options are better than low or no-fat ones. Your body needs healthy fat for many processes, including absorbing fat-soluble vitamins.

  • Your ethnicity makes a difference in your tolerance for dairy. Those with East or Central Asian, indigenous North American, or African heritage have a higher potential to develop lactose intolerance.
  • For some people, dairy can lead to skin conditions. The body considers it a toxin and removes it through urine, excrement, or skin pores. Rashes, eczema, acne, and other skin conditions may mean you’re sensitive to dairy.
  • Some people experience inflammation when they consume dairy. It can affect all parts of the body. Chronic inflammation can cause damage to the heart or show itself as arthritis.
  • Each person is different. Their response to dairy is also unique. One way to find out if dairy is the source of your problem is by an elimination diet. Remove it for 5-6 weeks and see if a chronic condition improves.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness


Is Soda Good For Bulking Up?

Is Soda Good For Bulking Up?

Bulking up is part of bodybuilding. The three phases include bulking up, cutting, and maintenance. In the bulking phase, you consume more calories than you burn to increase muscle gain. It provides the extra energy to increase muscle size while strength training via eating more calories. The next phase is cutting. You cut the calorie allotment to eliminate excess fat gained during bulking. During that time, bodybuilders aim to maintain their muscles while shedding fat. Soda provides extra calories for the bulking phase, but it’s not necessarily the best source for those extra calories.

Bulking starts by identifying maintenance calorie needs and increasing them.

Most diets for bulking include approximately 45-60% of calories from carbohydrates with 30-35% from protein and 15 to 30% from fat. There’s a difference between dirty bulking and clean bulking. With clean bulking, the excess calories come from whole or minimally processed foods. It’s far slower than dirty bulking, where there are no restrictions on diet, which can even include soda. Even though clean bulking takes longer to bulk up, it’s a healthier option. It reduces the time required for cutting.

Dirty bulking can lead to hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic health conditions.

While the diet is unrestricted, making it a clear favorite for those who love junk food, it can cause a high amount of excess body fat to accumulate and lead to body composition deterioration. The excess sugar in soft drinks and other junk food may offer more calories, but it also takes a toll on the body and leads to inflammation. Much of the fat goes to the belly as visceral fat. That creates a dangerous landscape for chronic conditions. Limiting your calorie intake increase can help reduce the accumulation of body fat. Eating 10 to 20% more calories than you need is sufficient.

There are higher calorie foods that are also healthy options.

Nuts and nut butter are two options that can add extra calories without the negative health effects. Nuts make a good snack. Nut butter on whole wheat toast can boost nutrients and calories. High-quality beef, fatty fish, and avocados are excellent additions to eating clean and increased calories. You’ll keep your diet clean if you limit food or drink with added sugar, fried food, highly processed food, and alcohol.

  • Some foods can also improve your workout. Eggs are a good source of high-quality protein and contain folic acid, riboflavin, and B12 which improves your workout endurance.
  • Milk products, whether it’s whole milk, cottage cheese, or yogurt, are good options for the bulking stage. They provide a high-quality protein source that provides other nutrients, especially calcium.
  • Consider sweet potatoes. They contain a lot of fiber that can improve digestion and have a low GI score to help stabilize blood sugar levels. They are also high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
  • Don’t overlook legumes when planning menus. They’re high in nutrients like fiber, iron, folate, B vitamins, calcium, zinc, and phosphorus. They deliver a steady stream of energy, so are excellent if you have long workouts.

For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness