10 Tips to Looking Younger & Feeling GREAT!

By Tonya Tittle-Energy Fitness

         10 Tips To Looking And Feeling 10 Years Younger

"How To Get Maximum Weight Loss & Fitness Results In Minimum Time"

Want to get the best results losing weight and working out.... FAST??  Expert trainer Tonya Tittle from Energy Fitness gives us the top 10 tips to looking and feeling younger!

1.            Start right and set realistic, attainable goals.  Track your progress to keep you motivated when times are tough and you don't feel like exercising.  Keeping a journal of your cardio and resistance training workouts, as well as tracking what you eat is truly a fitness success "secret".   Partner up to keep you on target!

2.            Start your fitness plan and don't be overly aggressive.  Don't try and do too much too fast, or you may end up quitting altogether. If you've tried and failed doing it alone then I suggest you get a training partner or personal trainer who will help you sustain your motivation and accountability.

3.            Eat regularly throughout the day.  When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively thinks it's being starved and shifts into a protective mode by storing fat. Your body's energy expenditures will be fueled by your lean muscles causing your body fat to remain essentially the same while you lose vital fluids and muscle.  Here's a good rule of thumb: make sure that you are consistently "grazing" on health foods about every three hours. This includes at least half a gallon of fresh water every day.

4.            Make Cardio work for you:   Vary intensity and recovery times.  If you are trying to store fat, then do your long distance cardio, but if your trying to turn your body into a fat burning machine then you must do all out effort repeats of cardiovascular exercise.  All out bouts should last anywhere from 10 seconds to 60 seconds with a total exercise time of 10 to 28 minute.  Try this: 10 minutes of 20 seconds all out bouts with a recovery of only 10 seconds.  It's intense and so is the after burn effect you that speeds up fat loss!

5.            Don't waste your time working small muscles with isolated movements.  If you don't enjoy doing resistance training, or are pressed for time, concentrate on working the largest muscle groups with compound resistance movements.  Men should be concentrating on legs, chest and back.  Women should concentrate more on their legs and back.  Get a personal trainer to show you the best exercises, including proper form, to determine how many reps and sets to do to accomplish your goal.

6.            Stretch or not stretch? - Lots of debate on this one!  Best rule of thumb is this: You must listen to your body to know how much is right for you.  In general hold a stretch for 10-60 seconds.   Never bounce, or aggressively push and pull a muscle beyond its natural range.

7.            Suck your stomach in and exhale with every repetition while doing abdominal exercises.    It is very difficult to learn proper abdominal exercise technique by reading about it or watching it demonstrated on a video, and breathing correctly is key.  

8.            Schedule exercise into your daily planner - and then stick to them.  You wouldn't miss a business meeting or client appointment, would you?  So don't miss your exercise appointment with yourself.  Nothing is more important than your health.  Nothing!  Everything else will crumble around you if your health goes south. 

9.            Resistance Training reshapes your body - do 2 to 3 times per week, every week:  Do you want shapelier legs, firm tummy, defined arms and strong back? Resistance training will give it to you.  How about a firm perfectly shaped rear?   Being physically fit affects every single aspect of your life: you sleep better, eat better, love better, overcome stress better, work better, communicate better and definitely look better!

10.          Never Ever skip breakfast.  Your breakfast should contain complete proteins and complex carbohydrates (if you're trying to lose weight, you should eat the bulk of your complex carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch, and only have vegetable carbohydrates at dinner).  A great breakfast is oatmeal (not the pre-packaged, pre-sweetened kind) with a little honey and banana and a protein drink.  Or try scrambled egg whites with Healthy Choice turkey sausage.

You are on your way to looking and feeling better every day!

Yours in good health,

Tonya Tittle, M.S. ACSM

For more articles and info visit: www.EnergyMemphis.com