Defined Fitness Tip For Results #7: Is a Lack of Sleep Making You Fat?

Is it possible that a lack of sleep could be negatively affecting your weight loss goals? Or even making you fat? According recent research this seems to be exactly the case.

At the University of Chicago’s General Clinical Resource Center researchers followed 10 overweight, but healthy participants aged 35 to 49 who according to body mass index were considered overweight. The participants where given an individualized, balanced diet that reduced their calories by 10% of what was needed to maintain their weight without exercise (roughly 1,450 calories per day).

Each participant was studied twice: the first time studied participants sleep on average 7.5 hours over a fourteen day period, the second time for only 5.5 hours over a fourteen day period.

The researchers found that when sleeping less it reduced the participants fat loss by 55%. When participants got adequate sleep they also found that their ghrelin levels were lower. High ghrelin levels reduce energy expenditure, increase hunger and promote fat retention.

In conjunction with Stanford University the University of Chicago took this a step farther by then looking at the leptin (leptin sends a signal to your brain telling it you are full) and ghrelin levels in 12 healthy men after being subjected to two days of adequate sleep and two days of sleep deprivation. They found that when sleep was restricted leptin levels went down and ghrelin levels went up. Thus, resulting in increased appetites and an inability to get full. They also found that the participants had an increased craving for high carbohydrate, calorie dense food.

Standard and the University of Wisconsin then took this even a step farther. They had 1,000 volunteers report the number of hours they slept each night. Then measured their leptin and ghrelin levels and charted their weight. Not surprisingly they found that those who slept less had lower leptin levels, higher ghrelin levels, weighted more, and had a higher level of body fat.

If you’ve been dieting and exercising, but having trouble losing weight or not happy with your progress check you sleep. We each need between 7-8 hours a night. Even if you sleep less and don’t think you need it you probably do, so many of us are used to functioning with a lack of sleep that we no longer remember what it feels like to be fully rested and recharged. Sometimes we just don’t know how bad we felt until we feel good again.

Josh

visit us online at www.defined-fitness.com

Defined Fitness Tip For Results #6: Holiday Gain Survival

The holiday season is upon us once again, or as some have come to call it “The Official Eating Season”, this time of year is full of enjoyment, family get togethers, Christmas parties, and holiday shopping. All of which revolve around eating causing the average American to gain 10-15 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years.

However, you don’t have to be average!

The following tips will help keep your waistline slim and trim.

1. Schedule Time To Workout. Time is an issue more than ever during the holidays so you need to make sure it put into to your schedule. Even if you have to cut your workout time back to 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week is still enough to prevent adding extra pounds.

2. Go Easy On The Booze. With 2 or 3 Christmas parties a week it is very easy to pack on a few additional pounds in a month. In order to prevent this, drink one glass of water for each alcoholic drink you have. Also, order your drinks on the rocks or with diet soda, by not having the extra sugar you will cut your calories in half. And drink one glass of water for each drink this will keep your body well hydrated and prevent you from drinking as much.

3. Load up on veggies. By picking from the veggie tray rather than the tray of chicken wings and other fried foods you will save yourself hundreds in calories of fat and grease. Also, make sure you’re not hanging out around the food table this will only cause you to eat more.

4. Eat Smart. There’s nothing like Thanksgiving dinner, except maybe Christmas dinner. While we all love turkey, gravy, pumpkin pie, and mom’s sweet potato pie, we don’t need to eat it like we are never going to see food again. Having a little of everything is ok, but don’t stuff yourself so full that you end up feeling like one of the balloons in a Macy’s parade.

5. Get Your Sleep. It very easy this time of year to fall behind on your shut eye. Recent research has shown that people who sleep less weigh more due to a hormonal imbalance that causes your appetite to increase and crave starchy foods that will increase your waistline

.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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30 Day Trial For Only $89. Did you know that the average American gains 15 pounds between Halloween and New Year's? Instead of being average, be the exception. No wait until January 1st to start you weight loss porgram get started today with a 30-Day Trial Membership for only $89 and you could actually lose 5-10 pounds between now and New Year's! Call 724-698-7897 for more information

Defined Fitness Tip For Results #5

Does Supervised Exercise Yield Better Results?

Two interesting studies.

Supervised exercise versus non-supervised exercise for reducing weight in obese adults. Nicolai SP et al Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2009 Mar;49(1):85-90.

This study looked at the effects of training with supervision/instruction (i.e. a qualified trainer) versus “advice”.

Group One met with a trainer 2x per week for 4 months in a group setting. Group Two received basic advice to increase physical activity and access to a fully equipped gym – all exercise they did was unsupervised.

Group One (supervised group) lost on average 362% more fat over the 4-month period than Group Two (nonsupervised) or 13.4 pounds of fat compared to only 3.7 pounds.

What’s even more interesting is that they made these improvements without ANY dietary advice.

The second study looked at how hard participants would workout with someone just watching them, not giving them any instruction or encouragement. They found they in the presence of someone watching participants would work roughly 30% harder. You can see how that extra effort would lead to greater results. Now imagine adding that to a well designed program, great coaching and social support, great instruction, and a good nutrition program. Pretty great results huh?

Neither of these studies are new, but still very interesting.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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30 Day Trial For Only $89. Did you know that the average American gains 15 pounds between Halloween and New Year's? Instead of being average, be the exception. No wait until January 1st to start you weight loss porgram get started today with a 30-Day Trial Membership for only $89 and you could actually lose 5-10 pounds between now and New Year's! Call 724-698-7897 for more information.

Is Your Jean Size Lying To You?

Interesting article that we came across.

Click the link:http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/pants-size-chart-090710

Josh

Defined Fitness Tip For Results #4

This is the final part of our three part series, The Truth About Fat Loss.

Fitness Myth #3:

High Reps, Light Weight

This is the final part of our three part series, The Truth About Fat Loss.

For years it has been believed that to develop toned, long, lean muscles you must lift light weights for many reps, in order not to bulk up. Interestingly, this is the exact same approach that bodybuilders use to gain size in their muscles.

It can’t be the right approach for both; after all they are exact opposite goals. And we’ve all seen the excessively large bodies of bodybuilders.

So if high reps and light weight work to increase the size of your muscles, then logically the opposite must work to develop long, lean muscles. Right?

Exactly.

Using a rep range of below 15 reps with a heavier weight will get you the body that you are looking for.

According to a study published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, women burned nearly twice as many calories in the two hours after their workout when lifting 85% of their maximum load than when they did 15 reps at a lower weight around 45% of their max.

This happens as a result of more muscle activation required to lift a heavier weight than a lighter weight. As more calorie burning muscle is activated you will add muscle tissue to your body. For instance, if you replace 10 pounds of fat with 10 pounds of muscle you’ll burn an additional 25 to 50 calories per day. Even better you will look like you have lost 20 pounds, even though the number on the scale is the same!

www.defined-fitness.com

30 Day Trial For Only $89. Did you know that the average American gains 15 pounds between Halloween and New Year's? Instead of being average, be the exception. No wait until January 1st to start you weight loss porgram get started today with a 30-Day Trial Membership for only $89 and you could actually lose 5-10 pounds between now and New Year's! Call 724-698-7897 for more information.

Defined Fitness Tip For Results #3

Fitness Myth #2: Aerobics for Fat Loss

This is the second in a three part series...

You know that you need to exercise to lose weight. So just start walking and then eventually jogging and pretty soon those pounds will just be melting off your body. Right?

Sorry, you can walk and jog all you want, but you will never get the lean toned body that you desire. And sorry aerobics queens, but the time has come to put away your spandex unitards and leg warmers. Aerobics and aerobic type activity (aka: steady-state cardio) didn’t work then and doesn’t work now!

According to a 2006 study published in the International Journal of Obesity, researchers found that men and women who ran the same weekly mileage, regardless of distance, actually gained weight.

In that same journal another study found that the addition of 4 hours of aerobic exercise had no effect on weight loss.

In a 1994 study, done by Tremblay et al, they looked at two groups. Group #1 performed 20 weeks of steady-state cardio, Group #2 performed interval based training for 15 weeks. In 20 weeks Group #1 burned 28,661 calories over twice the number of calories as Group #2, which only burned 13,614 calories. However, Group #2 lost 9 times more body fat in 5 less weeks than Group #1 when corrected for energy cost.

One last study.

In 1999 researchers found that resistance training increased fat loss by 35% over diet and aerobic training. They also found that 3 aerobic sessions of 50 minutes per week for 12 weeks only resulted in one pound more of fat lost than dieting alone.

How can that be that be?

The reason we see this is because the metabolic effect, amount of time your body continues to burn calories after exercise, of aerobic training lasts only 30 minutes to an hour. But, the metabolic effect of resistance training will last up to 48 hours. That’s two days after you last worked out and your body is still burning calories from your workout.

With aerobics you may have burned a lot of calories during your workout, but you do not burn many afterwards. With resistance training you not only burn calories during your workout, but you also continue burning them for the next 48 hours!

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

30-Day Trial for only $89!! Includes: complete fitness evaluation, fitness program design, 8 fitness coaching sessions, unlimited group fitness classes, unlimited facility access, nutrition guidance. Call 724-698-7897 today!!

Defined Fitness Tip For Results #2

Fitness Myth #1: Eat Less!

This is the first of a three part series:

If you want to lose weight you need to eat less right?

Not exactly,

According to a 1996 research study if you eat more frequently throughout the day you will lose more body fat. The researchers compared 2 groups, Group #1 ate two meals per day and Group #2 ate 6 meals per day. At the end of the study they found that Group #2 who ate the same number of calories lost more body fat than Group #1 who only ate two meals per day.

The reason this happened is because the more frequently you eat (e.g. every 3 hours) the higher your metabolism runs and you keep your body out of its primitive starvation mode where it tends to store everything you eat.

If you are really serious about losing fat you need to eat 5-6 meals per day, roughly one meal every 3 hours. You may also need to actually eat more. You see when you eat less calories than your body needs each day, known as your resting metabolic rate, all of your bodies systems slow down due to lack of sufficient energy. Many people assume that if they eat less there body will use its fat stores for energy, but this is not necessarily true. In fact, what actually happens is your body ends up using its lean muscle tissue for energy, thus further decreasing your metabolism.

This is why extreme caloric deficit diets always fail. You set your daily needs low, your metabolism slows even more and as a result your total daily caloric needs will become even lower creating a caloric surplus. If you decrease your calories more this cycle will just continue repeating itself until you are eventually eating zero calories a day and still getting fatter!

A better approach is to stimulate your metabolism through a weight-training program, which will build muscle to further promote fat loss, and eat sufficient calories to keep your metabolism running high.

Josh

www.Defined-Fitness.com

Get started today with our 30-Day Trial for only $89! Call 724-698-7897 for more info.

Calorie Burning Exercise

Kettlebells Snatch Intervals burn 20.2 calories per minute and since it is resistance training and interval based you will continue to burn calories at a higher rate long after you've completed the workout, unlike with running or aerobics where you only burn calories during the time spent exercising. And even those types of exercise can't burn 20.2 calories per minute.

Check out the video on how to do this:

www.defined-fitness.com

Ready to finally drop a size or two and get the results you've been looking for. Get started today with our 30-Day Trial Membership for only $89! Call 724-698-7897

Don't Feed The Animals

The other day I was taking some pictures off of my camera and came across one that I had taken about a year ago when I was out in Yosemite National Park.

It was a picture of a sign that was posted on each table at the food court, which was outside.

The sign read:

"Keep Wildlife Wild - don't feed the animals. Feeding the animals causes them to gain weight, lose hair, and live shorter lives."

Interesting! Here were all these people eating the same food that they are recommending we not feed to the animals, because it is unhealthy for the animals. But, at the same time the people eating the food are overweight, losing their hair, and possibly shortening their lives.

Josh

The 4th Quarter

We have now entered what retailers and businesses call Q4. The fourth quarter of the year.

2010 has flown by – for me at least.

But here we are – in October already. Only 3 months until 2011 and you’re setting the same old New Year’s Resolutions…again.

But before you get too depressed and think that thee year is over – let me point out that 3 months is a long time – you can get a lot done in 3 months. And there’s no rule that states you can only set goals on Dec 31st. You can start progress towards a goal anytime….

Is your goal to lose fat? You could EASILY lose 2 or 3lbs per week by starting now, tightening up your training and diet and focusing your efforts. You’ve got 13 weeks until New Years Eve. That would mean somewhere between 25-40lbs gone.

There’s 13 weeks left in the year. Imagine starting 2010 having lost 20-40lbs more fat. Get started on a solid, effective, fast-acting fat loss program today.

Muscle gain? By Jan 1 you’ll could have possibly made 8-10lbs of solid gains in muscle.

If you’re on track with your 2010 goals- don’t lose momentum.
If you’re behind schedule – step it up.

And if you haven’t even started – it’s NOT too late. Make your 2010 Quarter Four Resolutions now and get a jump start on 2010.

Don’t let the next three months slide by without doing something! Get started today with our 30-Day Trial membership for only $89. Your 30-Day Trial Membership includes: a complete fitness evaluation, movement screening, custom fitness program design, 8 fitness coaching sessions, unlimited group fitness "Metabolic Express" classes, and unlimited access to the facility for a full 30 days. Call 724-698-7897 to get started!

WWW.DEFINED-FITNESS.COM

Just Released!!

Today we are releasing two new programs, one for non-members and one for current members.

Non-Members:

"Silver Membership" - for a limited time we have decided to offer a new, more affordable, membership option to fit everyone's budget and still get great results. Our "Silver Membership" includes:

- Unlimited access to the facility

- Weekly fitness program posted in the gym

- Orientation session

- Weekly education "Tip of the Week" program

ALL FOR ONLY $49 per month!! However, this membership is limited to the first 20 people who sign up. Call 724-698-7897 to get started or for more details.

Members:

"Holiday Jumpstart" - Did you know that the Average American gains 15 pounds between Halloween and Christmas? Don't let that happen to you! Get a jumpstart on the "official" eating season with our Holiday Jumpstart Weight Loss Program. Holiday Jumpstart will start October 11th run for six weeks, which ends right before Thanksgiving. We will have a kickoff seminar Thursday, October 14th at 7 p.m.

Includes:

- 2 additional fitness coaching sessions

- fitness program design

- scienticifically design weight loss fitness and nutrition program

- 1 PFC Bio-Whey Protein Powder

FOR ONYL $99!! Call 724-698-7897 today to register. All participants must be registered and paid by October 7th.

www.defined-fitness.com

3 Exercises For Flat Abs

www.defined-fitness.com

Get started today with our 30-Day Trial Membership for only $89. Your trial membership includes: Complete fitness evaluation, fitness program design, 8 sessions with a fitness coach, unlimited access to our "Metabolic Express" classes, and unlimited access to the facility. Call today 724-698-7897

Run to Lose Weight?

So as you were getting dressed to go out this weekend you went to put on a pair of jeans that you hadn’t worn in awhile only to find out that they didn’t fit like they used to. “I guess its time to start exercising,” you say to yourself with a sigh and decide that on Monday you will start running. But, what if running actually made you fatter?

According to a 2006 research studies findings (published in the Int. J. Obes.) found that men and women who ran the same weekly mileage, regardless of amount, actually gained weight each year.

Probably not the outcome you are hoping for? But, that is just one study!

Ok, fair enough.

Another study from the same journal found that the addition of 4 hours of aerobic training per week had no effect on weight loss.

Still skeptical?

The researchers of a 1999 study found that 3 aerobic sessions per week of 50 minutes only resulted in 1 pound more of fat lost than dieting alone. That’s a lot of work for only 1 pound.

So how do you lose fat?

The researchers of the above 1999 study found that resistance training resulted in 35% more fat loss than dieting and aerobic training.

In 1994 researchers Tremblay et al. found that a 15 week interval training program resulted in 9x more fat loss than a 20 week aerobic training program, despite the fact that the aerobic group burned twice the number of calories as the interval group.

As it turns out there is a hierarchy of fat loss. At the top is resistance training and interval training and all the way at the bottom in aerobic training. So if your goal is to lose fat and trim and tone your body, focus on resistance training and intervals training.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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Call 724-698-7897 today to get started on a 30-Day Trial membership for only $89. This will give you access to 8 fitness coaching sessions, the facility, and our Metabolic Express Workout Classes - interval training at its best.

Kettlebell Cardio Training

A new study came out recently that had subjects undergo a kettlebell snatch workout. Researchers determined the subjects maximum repetitions of kettlebell snatches in one minute, and then perform 1/4 of that for 15 seconds on and 15 seconds off, repeated for 20 minutes, alternating hands each set. (For example if you can do 20 reps in one minute then you would do 5 in 15 seconds.)

The research found that the subjects burned 20.2 calories per minute and reached heart rates of 93% max. Thats 404 calories burned in 20 minutes. Try doing that on the treadmill.

This just goes to show that kettlebell training and interval training based programs take less time and are more effective for cardio training and burning calories than walking or jogging, while placing less stress on the joints.

Josh

Call 724-698-7897 today to get started on a 30-Day Trial membership for only $89. This will give you access to 8 fitness coaching sessions, the facility, and our Metabolic Express Workout Classes - interval training at its best.

www.defined-fitness.com

Hot For The Holidays

Hi everyone,

The official "eating season" has begun...summer is over, kids are back to school and football has started. Maybe you have found yourself watching more sports, ordering more pizza, eating more chips and drinking more alcohol...or maybe not. But as October approaches with Halloween and then Thanksgiving and of course the holiday season these next few months could be considered the official eating season.

Did you know that the average American gains 15 pounds between Halloween and Christmas?

Come up with a game plan now to be hot for the holidays! This is why committing yourself to a challenge this next 8 weeks is a great idea! Our Hot For The Holidays Weight Gain Prevention Challenge has kicked off and officially begins on Thursday the 23rd.

It isn't too late to sign up, but you only have until the 16th to get registered and paid because after the 16th the doors will officially be closed and you will have missed this great opportunity.

You'll get access to:

- 2 Group Workout Sessions per week for Hot For the Holidays members only.

- A customized 8 week fitness program.

- 1 PFC Bio-Whey Protein Powder

- Nordic Naturals Fish Oil

- Nordic Natural Multi-Vitamin

AND unlimited access to the facility and all Group Fitness "Metabolic Express" Workout Classes. All for only $225

per person.

Don't miss out and kick off this eating season with a winning start! But, hurry there is only 5 days left to register. Call 724-698-7897 for more information and to register.

Have a Great Weekend,

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

90% Compliance

“How have you been eating?”

The standard answer is usually, “Good.” But, is it really? Nutrition is responsible for at least 80% of your progress. And if you are not in 90% compliance with the following nutritional guidelines it is basically like gambling, you may win, but most likely you won’t.

Nutritional Guidelines:

1. Eat 5 meal per day

2. Eat protein at each meal

3. Eat a fruit or vegetable at each meal

4. Drink at least 80 ounces of water

5. Do not eat processed or sugary foods.

6. Only eat starches (whole grain bread, pasta, brown rice etc.) at breakfast and within 2 hours after a workout.

7. Drink a post-workout protein shake immediately after each workout.

8. Take a daily multi-vitamin and fish oil supplement

Here’s an example showing just how easy these guidelines are to follow.

Breakfast:

Protein = scrambled eggs

Fruit/Vegetable = banana

Starch = whole wheat toast

Multi-Vitamin

Mid-Morning Snack:

Protein = ½ cup almonds

Fruit/Vegetable = apple

Lunch:

Protein = grilled chicken breast

Fruit/Vegetable = mixed salad greens with assorted vegetables

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Protein = peanut butter

Fruit/Vegetable = carrots or celery

Workout

Post-workout protein shake

Dinner:

Protein: grilled salmon

Fruit/Vegetable: steamed green beans

Starch: brown rice

Bedtime:

Fish oil supplement

If you workout in the morning then you would move the post-workout shake to the morning and then have a starch with either lunch or your mid-morning snack, depending on which falls into the 2 hour window after your workout.

So, does your day look like this? If you’re like most your lunch and dinner do, but that is all that you eat for the day. If this is you, you aren’t not in 90% compliance and gambling on your results. Your body needs food to provide the nutrients it needs and in order for you to lose body fat. Skipping meals is the same as if you were to eat a fast food drive thru value meal.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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30 Days for only $89 - Call 724-698-7897 today to get started with on a trial membership. With your trial membership you will get a fitness evaluation, an individualized fitness program, 8 sessions with a professional fitness coach, unlimited access to our metabolic group fitness classes, and unlimited access to the facility for 30 days.

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Shake of the Week - Blueberry Blast

1 scoop PFC Bio-Whey Protein

1 handful blueberries

3-4 ice cubes

1 cup milk

Blend until mixed.

Improve Your Mobility, Reduce Your Pain

Do you have a joint that hurts or aches? Traditional treatment would focus on that area. However, the area that hurts may not be the problem. What this means is that when a clients low back hurts it may not be the lower back that is the problem. The problem may actually lie at the joint above and/or below the pain, in this case we would want to look at the hip and t-spine (upper back).

So why does this approach work? Well to answer that question we need to look at the anatomy of the body’s joints and their functions. Aside from allowing us to have movement, joints have two primary functions: mobility and stability.

Here is how they are designed to work in the body:

Foot Joints = Stable

Ankle = Mobile

Knee = Stable

Hip = Mobile

Pelvic/Lumbar = Stable

T-Spine = Mobile

Scapula = Stable

As you can see a Stable Joint is always followed by a Mobile Joint. But what happens when one of these joints is not functioning properly? We experience pain.

For example, a person experiencing low back pain will be stable in the hip, mobile at the pelvis and lumbar joint, and stable at the t-spine. They are having pain because their hips and t-spine have locked up and are not allowing the mobility they are designed for. So in order to get this mobility they are now using the pelvis and lumbar joints, which are designed to provide stability, and as a result they have pain.

In this case, you can strengthen the core and glutes as much as you want, but if you do not regain the hip and t-spine mobility you will still experience low back pain. This is seen often with golfers. They play 18 holes, their low backs hurt. So, they take 3 months off to focus on strengthening their core and glutes. Three months later their low back feels good. They then play 18 holes and the pain is back. Why? They didn’t take care of the problem. They focused on strengthening the core and glutes when the core and glutes were not the problem. The problem is the hip and t-spine. You can strengthen the core and glutes all you want, but until you take care of the hip and t-spine mobility problem you will still have pain.

The same can be seen with knee pain. The ankle and hips have become locked and lose their mobility. The knee now has to become mobile. By focusing on strengthening the knee and stretching the muscles attached to the knee you will do little to improve the knee pain, because the pain is the result of the loss of ankle and hip mobility. Regain the ankle and hip mobility and you will improve the knee pain.

So why does this happen? There are many reasons. Probably the biggest reason is due to sitting. We have developed what is known as the “Sitting Posture” where our shoulders are slumped and slouched forward, and pelvis is rotated under, which takes away the natural curve of our lumbar spine. Due to sitting so much throughout the day we have changed the posture of our bodies and they no longer function properly. This has put us at an increased risk of experiencing pain and injury.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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Ready to Transform Your Body? Fall is right around the corner! Don't settle for your "Fat" Jeans, start dropping jean sizes with our 6-WEEKS TO RESULTS PROGRAM!! Call today 724-698-7897 to get registered. All participants must be registered by August 16th and pay the $99 enrollment fee. Space is limited to the first 25 registrants.

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Nutrition 101, Class is in Session. Will you pass? Starting August 16th we will kickoff our 6-week Nutrition 101 Challenge. Each participant will be required to journal their nutrition and at the end of each week will be graded on the compliance to the nutrition guidelines. Weekly results will be posted in the club. At the half way point those who are not passing will receive a progress report and possibly a detention (2 minutes of burpees :) if scores are not improved. Nutrition 101 is free to all members of Defined Fitness. Register at the front desk the next time you're in.

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Backpack Drive - we are collecting backpacks filled with school supplies to donate to the Crisis Shelter. All backpacks must be brought into Defined Fitness by August 13th. For more information call 724-698-7897.

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Coming Soon! Defined Fitness Wexford - Grand Opening Celebration September 9th 6-8 pm. Food, drinks, fat loss presentation, special membership prices, raffle. See you there! For more information call 724-591-4675.

6 Ways to Get Fat!!

Are you looking to lose weight? Are you currently doing any of the following? If so, continue these behaviors and they will ensure that you won’t lose a pound.

1. Only Perform Steady-State Cardio. In order to gain as much fat as possible you must slow down your metabolism. So continue with your daily jog or walk as your primary choice of exercise. Walking and jogging will allow your body to adapt very quickly, thus reducing your metabolism to snail mode and allowing your body to burn less and less calories each day. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that men and women who logged the same weekly mileage year after year – regardless of the amount – gained weight. So if you’re looking to put on some pounds be sure to continue with your daily morning jog.

2. Never Lift Heavy Weights. Lifting heavy weights will build muscle tissue, which will increase your metabolism and turn your body into a fat burning machine. So by all means stay away from those big weights and stick with the pretty pink 5-pound dumbbells.

3. Do Not Keep A Nutrition Journal. The simple act of writing down what you eat each day will help you lose weight. Journaling will make you more conscious of what you are eating and help to make you aware of your shortcomings. Also, if you journal your fitness coach will be able to give you advice and help design a nutrition program for you. So rip up that nutrition journal now and keep gaining fat. Who says you need to hold yourself accountable!

4. Skip Breakfast. Starting your day off with a meal will only increase your metabolism. If you want to gain fat make sure to skip breakfast and wait until lunch to eat. After all you haven’t eaten anything in the past 7 hours so what better way to keep your metabolism in a slump than to wait at least another 5 hours before you eat.

5. Only Eat One Large Meal Per Day. Eating frequently, such as every 3 hours, will keep your metabolism running high and burning fat all day long. So in your quest to gain as much fat as possible be sure to only eat one large meal per day. This way your body will be in starvation mode and everything you eat will be stored as fat.

6. Do Not Eat Protein With Each Meal. Protein is the building block of metabolism revving muscle and should be avoiding at all costs if you are trying to gain fat. On the other hand feel free to eat carbohydrates at will. Carbs will keep those fat promoting hormones flowing and make sure you at least add an inch or two to your waistline.

Obviously this blog is a little sarcastic, but sometimes looking at things from a different perspective helps. If you are looking to lose body fat and trim up and you are currently doing any of the above habits stop now and get on the road to fat loss success.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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Ready to Transform Your Body? Fall is right around the corner! Don't settle for your "Fat" Jeans, start dropping jean sizes with our 6-WEEKS TO RESULTS PROGRAM!! Call today 724-698-7897 to get registered. All participants must be registered by August 16th and pay the $99 enrollment fee. Space is limited to the first 25 registrants.

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Nutrition 101, Class is in Session. Will you pass? Starting August 16th we will kickoff our 6-week Nutrition 101 Challenge. Each participant will be required to journal their nutrition and at the end of each week will be graded on the compliance to the nutrition guidelines. Weekly results will be posted in the club. At the half way point those who are not passing will receive a progress report and possibly a detention (2 minutes of burpees :) if scores are not improved. Nutrition 101 is free to all members of Defined Fitness. Register at the front desk the next time you're in.

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Backpack Drive - we are collecting backpacks filled with school supplies to donate to the Crisis Shelter. All backpacks must be brought into Defined Fitness by August 13th. For more information call 724-698-7897.

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Coming Soon! Defined Fitness Wexford - Grand Opening Celebration September 9th 6-8 pm. Food, drinks, fat loss presentation, special membership prices, raffle. See you there! For more information call 724-591-4675.

Nutritional Strategies for Fat Loss

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a magic pill that you could take tonight and wake up tomorrow with the body of your dreams? But there isn’t. However, by following a few nutritional strategies in addition to a weight-training program it is possible to change your body. The following is not a buffet menu to pick from you must incorporate all of them if you want to get results:

1. Eat 5-6 Meals Per Day. Your body needs fuel to burn fat; if you skip meals your body does not have the fuel necessary to burn fat. The best way to keep your metabolism running high and fat burning is to eat a small meal about every 3 hours. These meals do not have to be sit down meals, instead they can be quick on the go snacks like a piece of fruit and a handful of nuts or a protein shake made with real fruit.

2. Eat Protein at Each Meal. Protein is the building block of muscle, the more muscle tissue on your body the higher your metabolism will run, resulting in more fat burned and lost each day.

3. Avoid Starches. A sure proof way to gain weight and get fat is to eat a lot of starches. In order to lose fat you need to limit your starches to only first thing in the morning at breakfast (15 minutes after waking) and within 2 hours after completing a strength training workout, steady-state cardio does not count (e.g. running/walking, spinning, aerobics, etc.)

4. Eat Fruits and Vegetables at Each Meal. Fruits and vegetables provide your body with high amounts of nutrients without a high number of calories. These types of foods will fill you up making you feel more full eating fewer calories. Corn and potatoes do not count as a vegetable (By the way corn is actually a grain).

5. Drink a Post-Workout Recovery Shake. After completing your workout your body needs specific nutrients to start the recovery process, which will increase your metabolism and fat loss. A post-workout protein shake is the best way to get the nutrients in. Timing is important here; you need to drink this shake as soon as you complete your workout.

6. Take a Fish Oil Supplement. Fish oil has been shown in the research to increase fat loss compared to exercise alone. Not only will fish oil help you lose fat, it will also help your heart, brain, and joints.

7. Take a Multi-Vitamin Supplement. Even the best diet has nutritional holes in it. That is why it is necessary to take a daily multi-vitamin supplement to fill in those holes.

8. Do Not Drink Alcohol. The consumption of alcohol slows down the fat burning process by shutting down the use of fat for energy and replacing it with the alcohol. So instead of burning fat off your body, you burn alcohol from your body.

9. Drink Water. If you are dehydrated it is very hard for you body to process fat. In order to prevent dehydration it is necessary to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day.

10. Follow These Rules 90% of the Time. No one is perfect and expecting perfection is only setting yourself up for failure. That is why you only need to follow the above guidelines 90% of the time, which allows for 4-5 cheat meals per week. However, if you miss a meal that’s a cheat.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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Ready to Transform Your Body? Fall is right around the corner! Don't settle for your "Fat" Jeans, start dropping jean sizes with our 6-WEEKS TO RESULTS PROGRAM!! Call today 724-698-7897 to get registered. All participants must be registered by August 16th and pay the $99 enrollment fee. Space is limited to the first 25 registrants.

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Research Review: University of North Dakota researchers found that lifting weight through a full range of motion improves flexibility more than stretching does.

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Shake of the Week - Belgian Waffle Recovery Shake

1 cup milk

1 scoop PFC Bio-Whey Protein Powder

3 ice cubes

1 tsp maple syrup

blend until smooth.

*This is a post-workout recovery shake. Not a meal replacement.

Hours for the Week of July 19th

Tammy and I will be in California this week attending the Results Fitness Business Owners Mastermind Meeting in Santa Clarita.

Since we will be away we have shortened our hours. They will be as follows.

Monday 7/19 - Normal

Tuesday 7/20 - 630 am - 1030 am/4-8 pm

Wednesday 7/21 - 630 am - 1030 am/4-8 pm

Thursday 7/22 - 630 am - 1030 am/ 4-8 pm

Friday 7/23 - 630 am - 1030 am/ 4-7 pm

Saturday - Normal

There will be class each day at the regular times. Hope you all have a great week!

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

Defined Fitness Wexford Coming Soon!

Yesterday we took a big step forward to achieving one of our long time goals, by signing a lease to open a location in Wexford, Pennsylvania. One of our core values is being "Open and Transparent" and that is why we are sending out this email/blog to everyone. The Wexford location is planned to open September 1st.

I know you may be thinking "How is this going to affect our current location in New Castle and the members there?" Everything will continue to run the same way as it has been and will not affect your membership. Over the past few months we've added some staff and arranged our schedules to allow us to run both facilities efficiently.

Again thank you for all of your support, if it wasn't for our members we would have never been able to achieve this. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to ask.

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

Lawrence County Ranked As One of the Lowest Counties in the State in Overall Health

This past week one of our members brought to our attention a study done by the University of Wisconsin that looked at the overall health of the counties in the state of Pennsylvania. Out of 67 counties Lawrence County ranked 61. The lowest ranked was Philadelphia at 67 and the highest ranked was Chester at #1.

However, by incorporating the following 5 tips you will be able to improve your overall health.

1. Exercise regularly - I mean actually exercise, walking and gardening do not count here. You need to work as hard as you can, but this is relevant to your fitness level. The best way to do this is by using strength training and interval training where you are able to push yourself a little more each workout.

2. Eat more fruits and vegetables - Yes they may cost more, but they are packed full of nutrients that your body needs and are a low calorie option.

3. Avoid sugar like the plague - More and more research is showing how detrimental to our health sugar is. In fact, sugar has been shown to be as addictive as drugs and more harmful than alcohol, which is a sugar, but yet is consumed in mass quantities. And sugar is not just in candy and desserts, its found in bread, pasta, and juices too. However, sugar from fruit does not have the same effects because it is in its natural form.

4. Avoid processed foods - "If it was made to sit on a self for years. It will sit on your hips and butt for just as long." - Dan John.

5. De-Stress - Take at least 10 minutes each day to relax and unwind. This could be done by reading, taking a yoga class, talking with a significant other, watching a funny movie, or getting a massage. Basically anything that you enjoy and helps you relax will work. (And no having a drink or eating to don't count, no matter how enjoyable or relaxing they may be.)

Josh

www.defined-fitness.com

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Research Review - Researchers from Northwestern Medicine in Chicago have found that the standard equation used to predicted target heart rate is inaccurate for women, resulting a number that is too high. The new more accurate equation is 206 - 88 percent of the women's age. (The old equation was 220 - age).

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Need to tone up a little before your summer vacation? Try our 30-Day trial membership for only $39 and start toning up your body and getting that definition back. Call 724-698-7897 today to get started!

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Shake of the Week - Blueberry Blast

1 Cup skim milk

1 Scoop PFC Bio-Whey Protein Powder

1 Scoop PFC Burn Fat Burn (optional - for added fat burning)

4-6 ice cubes

1 Handful Blueberries

2 tsp plain Greek or plain natural yogurt

Reality TV Contestant Speaks Out!

This past week Kai Hibbard, a former contestant on the reality TV show “The Biggest Loser”, came out publicly and spoke about her time on the show. According to Hibbard, contestants routinely had over a week to lose their weekly goal weight. She goes on to say, that they were taught how to drastically dehydrate their bodies, forced to workout with injuries while in extreme pain, and that towards the end of the contest all she was eating was coffee.

Check out the clip on the CBS Morning Show - here

Remember this is TV and is for your entertainment and anything that is extreme generates ratings, whether or not it is safe or even ethical.

Josh

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Need to tone up a little before your summer vacation? Try our 30-Day trial membership for only $39 and start toning up your body and getting that definition back. Call 724-698-7897 today to get started!

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Research Review - Little JP, Safdar A, Wilkin GP, et al. A practical model of low-volume high-intensity interval training induces mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle: potential mechanisms. J Physiol. 2010. This study looked at the effects of interval training on cardiovascular endurance over a period of two weeks. Subjects participated in 6 sessions that lasted about 20-29 minutes each. Subjects used 60 seconds work intervals with 75 second rest intervals (8-12 minutes actual exercise). At the end of the study the research found significant improves in the subjects cardiovascular endurance.

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Shake of the Week - Peanut Butter Cup

1 Cup Milk

1 scoop PFC Bio-Whey Protein

1 tsp coco powder

1 scoop PFC Burn Fat Burn - optional

2 tbsp Peanut Butter - crunchy or smooth

3-4 ice cubes

Blend until smooth