Fitness

November 14, 2014 In Fitness, Green & Healthy Living, News, Spotlight, Uncategorized By Vancouver Health Coach

Why It’s Not Too Late to Make Your New Year’s Resolutions

As the ball dropped and millions welcomed the start of 2014, countless people made a promise to make a fresh, healthy start – after all, a new year means a New Year's Resolutions and a new you, right? Well, according to new proprietary research from Gold's Gym, that new you might just have an expiration date.  Culling through four years of membership check-in data from Gold's Gym locations throughout the country, the brand began noticing a drop-off in membership check-ins starting around February 12th and leading to large number of consumers quitting the gym altogether by February 18th – the day that Gold’s...

November 12, 2014 In Family Fitness, Fitness, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Exercise to Improve Confidence and Self Esteem

If you have ever experienced the heart-thumping, invigorated state of a high-intensity cardio workout, you have likely had that surge of enthusiasm that accompanies blood flow and endorphins. One of the bonuses of having this boost is that your brain accesses a state in which your world feels manageable, and more hopeful. You feel more ‘on top of the world’, and better about yourself. Experiencing an increase in confidence is one of the best pay-offs of exercise. When we feel good, we see the world through brighter lenses. We tend to feel more confident, excited and more assured. When we hold...

November 11, 2014 In Fitness, News, Spotlight, Workouts By Vancouver Health Coach

Top Fitness Mistakes To Avoid in 2013

If you’re looking to really make that resolution count this year then here are some common fitness mistakes to avoid. Not having a plan It's like the old saying: fail to plan, plan to fail. All too often people go to the gym or workout at home on a regular basis with no real progressive plan. They may have a general idea of what they are doing but nothing concrete. They change and hit the gym floor and then have to make a decision on where to start which usually ends up with jumping on a treadmill or maybe doing some bicep...

November 10, 2014 In Family Fitness, Fitness, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

Dogs Make Excellent Workout Buddies

Let’s face it, we don't always have time for 30-45 minutes of cardio, or do we? Any cardio workout is better than no cardio but how do you fit it in on a busy schedule? As we've said countless times before, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn over a period of time to lose body fat. The best way to up your energy expenditure is by doing a mixture of resistance training and aerobic exercise. The problem becomes finding the time to do both. While a session of weight training may take only 20 minutes, a cardio...

November 10, 2014 In Fitness, News, Spotlight By Vancouver Health Coach

EPOC: The Calories You Burn After A Workout

Do you know how many calories you burn during a workout? How about after your workout? Have you ever felt totally energized after a tough workout instead of tired? Do you continue to sweat a little (or a lot) even after you shower. Why is this? Some people call it the after-burn or a workout high. It's technical name is Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption or EPOC for short. EPOC is the increased oxygen consumed after strenuous exercise or activity to reduce the oxygen debt created by said exercise or activity resulting in caloric expenditure. In layman's terms this means the additional...

November 8, 2014 In Fitness, News, Spotlight, Video, Workouts By Vancouver Health Coach

Bosu Burpie Pushup: Exercise of the Week

If you haven’t already seen this blue and oddly shaped ball in your gym or fitness studio, you will soon because this fitness item is one of the best to hit the gyms in a long time. BOSU stands for “Both Sides Up” or “Both Sides Utilized” depending upon whether you are talking about the BOSU Balance Trainer (the product) or BOSU (the philosophical approach to exercise). Millions of people from all over the world now train with the BOSU Balance Trainer including many of the world’s top athletes. But you certainly don’t need to be a top athlete to benefit...

November 5, 2014 In Fitness, News By Vancouver Health Coach

Top 5 Stretches To Do at Work

As our work demands that we sit for longer hours in front of computer screens, behind desks, or at check-out counters, many of us are now noticing negative changes in our bodies. With major advances in computer technology, experts are suggesting that future trends in the workplace could lead to even more time spent sitting. Although many of us have chosen jobs that entail sedentary roles, we are not without the knowledge to help alleviate tight and sometimes injured muscles caused from sitting. A study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine showed that workers who spent 95% of their day...

November 3, 2014 In Fitness, News, Running, Workouts By Vancouver Health Coach

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

There has been alot of buzz lately in the fitness industry surrounding High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This type of cardio training is designed to improve your overall performance as well as burn fat by completing short, very intense workouts. High Intensity Interval Training can be applied to most cardiovascular exercise such as; running, cycling, rowing, and skipping. HIIT workouts can last anywhere from 15–30 minutes and include a 2:1 ratio in terms of time. An example of a high intensity interval workout incorporating running could be 1 minute of jogging and 30 seconds of sprinting. There are however, some precautions when training with this method and perhaps the most important is that...

October 31, 2014 In Fitness, News By Vancouver Health Coach

Skipping the gym doesn’t mean you’re lazy

  I have been so unmotivated lately to pull out my mat or head to the gym. And I have new instructional DVDs (usually the love of my life) that I haven’t even taken out of the cellophane yet! What’s wrong with me? The guilt that comes along when not following through with planned physical activities is usually enough to spur on a recommitting within a few days time for me. But it has been WEEKS since I’ve been consistent with an exercise regime and, to be honest, I’m not even telling myself tomorrow will be THE DAY. I’m in an exercise slump. But is a...

October 22, 2014 In Fitness, News, Spotlight, Workouts By Vancouver Health Coach

Top Five Misconceptions About Body Fat

Body fat has been long demonized in modern culture. Just the mere words can make people squirm. For years we have tried to burn it, shred it, lose it, trim it and tone it. Yet many of us don't really understand what it is and why it's necessary. The media has played a major role in shaping our misperception of body fat. Many myths and a ton of misguided information have arisen because of this. Here's our list of the top five misconceptions about this much misunderstood tissue. Muscle Turns To Fat A classic and one of my personal favorites: The idea that...