The Top 10 Benefits of Kettlebells

Kettlebell training is accessible and practical for all. From the elite athlete looking for an edge, to the sedentary person looking to discover fitness for the first time. And everyone in between. All can benefit.

Top Fitness Trends
The American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s leading authority on fitness, included kettlebells among the top ten fitness trends for 2009:

“ The reason for the surge in kettlebell training is that it gets back to basic training that requires functional, whole body fitness. . . . a great way to get a whole body workout in a relatively short period of time. ”
—– Press Release, December 9, 2008

1. Combines "cardio" and “strength” trainingAs one of the best kettlebell coaches once said, “life doesn't respect the difference." Try sprinting to catch a train while carrying a heavy package or pushing a stroller, did all that "cardio" training you did in "step class" or on the recumbent bike really help that much? The continuous movments of the Kettlebell gives you a "resistive cardio" workout. This ensures that you burn the   maximum amount of calories, burn fat and improve lean muscle......... all in one!!!

2. You won’t bulk up.... Just slim down!Women get the svelte, lean, firm shape that enhances the best of the female body. Think Penelope Cruz, or Jennifer Lopez, both firm advocators of Kettlebell training!

3. Build a lean, muscular physiqueMen see that coveted wedge shape emerge as the training creates broad shoulders, defines abdominals, builds up their arms and pares down their waists. It's a lean look, more like Bruce Lee than Arnold

4. Develops core strength Kettlebells require you to engage the core in almost every lift. Being a real stickler of technique really pays divedends when using Kettlebells, as you start working all the deeper glute & core muscles that can often get neglected. This is why they have a reputation for strengthening backs and abs like nothing else before

5. Better posture— the real thingBecause of the increase in core strength and the postural muscles, KB’s strengthen you from head to toe. This is not only key to athletic performance, but for staying injury and pain free and having perfect posture

6. The solution for busy peopleBusy people want to get the most from their time, as opposed to wandering about the gym for hours on end. Kettlebells are the solution to trying to squeeze cardio, strength AND flexibility training in an already overbooked schedule. Because of the intensive nature, the workout duration must be kept short. Best of all, they are so small and portable, training can take place in your bedroom

7. Very different from dumbbells, barbells & every other bit of equipmentAnyone who has picked up a kettlebell has felt the difference. The off centered weight of a KB recruits more stabilizer muscles and works the targeted muscles through a wider range of motion. It’s because of the off-center design of the KB. Isolation exercises such as those done with dumbbells and barbells do not hit those stabilizing muscles to the same degree

8. Don’t confuse kettlebells with conventional weight training or bodybuilding.

We focus on (a) movements, not muscles, (b) whole-body, functional training, (c) strength as a function of mobility, (d) cardio and strength combined

9. Easy to learnMovements are simple and you can start using them right away. No matter how old or out-of-shape you are, everyone can do it and should be doing it

10. And most important.............. It’s fun! KB exercises and movements are simple, fun, unique and you can combine it with other exercise modalities. You can make it as fun as you want it to be. No more reason to be in a sweaty gym. Come along to our kettlebell classes here in Richmond and have the workout of your life. Save on gym membership fees and do your training where you love it the most

Exercise May Encourage Healthy Eating Via Brain Changes

Exercise may encourage healthy eating by changing parts of the brain that influence impulsive behaviour, according to a new review of the available literature by researchers from Spain and the US published in Obesity Reviews. The researchers conclude that in a society where we are surrounded by temptations and triggers that facilitate over-eating and excess, the part of the brain responsible for "inhibitory control" undergoes "relentless strain" (they note it has limited capacity anyway), and doing exercise on a regular basis enhances it.

"By enhancing the resources that facilitate 'top-down' inhibitory control, increased physical activity may help compensate and suppress the hedonic drive to over-eat," they report.

Obesity has been rising at an alarming rate in Spain in recent years, so much so that in some parts of Spain, the proportion of the population that is obese is higher than that in many parts of the United States, the country traditionally considered as having the highest obesity rates in the western world.

Also, in line with other countries in the Mediterranean, Spain has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Europe.

Co-author Dr Miguel Alonso Alonso, a Spanish neurologist working at the Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the US, told the press on Wednesday that many studies suggest "physical exercise seems to encourage a healthy diet. In fact, when exercise is added to a weight-loss diet, treatment of obesity is more successful and the diet is adhered to in the long run".

However, in order better to inform and improve current approaches and treatments for obesity, he and his co-authors, from the US and Spain, thought it might be useful to bring together what these "somewhat disparate, yet interrelated lines of literature" may have to say about the neurological underpinning of the link between exercise and weight loss.

"Designing effective weight-loss interventions requires an understanding of how these behaviours are elicited, how they relate to each other and whether they are supported by common neurocognitive mechanisms," they write.

There is evidence that regular physical exercise changes the working and structure of the brain. From their review, the researchers conclude these changes seem to support the idea that regular exercise improves the results of tests that measure the state of the brain's executive functions, and increases in connections in the grey matter and prefrontal cortex.

One of the brain's executive functions is "inhibitory control" which helps us keep check on impulsiveness, or to suppress inadequate, excessive or inappropriate behaviour toward a goal.

The researchers conclude that regular practice of physical exercise, in time, produces a "potentiating effect" on the brain's executive functions, including the ability for inhibitory control, and this helps us "resist the many temptations that we are faced with everyday in a society where food, especially hypercaloric food, is more and more omnipresent".

Exercise also brings other benefits, such as making the brain more sensitive to physiological signs of fulness. This helps not only to control appetite, but it also modifies the "hedonic" response to food stimuli, say the researchers. Thus the benefits of exercise occur in the short term (these affect metabolism) and in the long term (these affect behaviour).

Alonso Alonso and colleagues suggest it is important that social policies help and encourage people to practise sport and engage in physical exercise, whether at school, in urban settings, or daily life, with the help of public transport, pedestrianized areas and sports centres.

Fend Off Colds with This Vitamin

Of all the powders and pills that promise immune-boosting powers, one might actually work: vitamin D. People with the greatest vitamin D levels in their blood were the least likely to suffer respiratory infections, says a recent study of nearly 7,000 adults in the British Journal of Nutrition

“Vitamin D is believed to have a powerful effect on the immune system, and there are many different mechanisms by which it can have effects on respiratory health,” says study author Elina Hypponen, Ph.D., of London’s UCL Institute of Child Health. “For example, vitamin D has properties that help fight viruses and bacteria in the body.”

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Each 10 nmol/L increase in vitamin D levels was associated with a 7 percent lower risk of reporting an infection in the 3 weeks prior to taking the study questionnaire. (Low vitamin D is defined as less than 50 nmol/L.) People with high vitamin D levels also scored better on measures of lung function than D-deficient folks.

It’s difficult to get all the vitamin D you need in the winter, since the sun isn’t strong enough to trigger D production in many northern regions. As a rule of thumb, vitamin D production happens as long as your shadow is shorter than your body during the middle of the day, Hypponen says. And while many foods have vitamin D, it’s hard to get enough unless you eat plenty of D-rich foods like salmon every single day.

"How come I'm not losing Weight?" - 10 Habits of Unsuccessful Dieters

What could be more frustrating than not seeing the scale drop despite days or weeks of doing everything right? After all that hard work—all the chocolate you didn't eat, all the willpower you maintained, all the time you logged at the gym—how could you not have lost any weight? It's enough to make even the most determined person throw in the towel.

Before you swear off exercise and declare yourself as someone who "will never lose weight," stop, take a deep breath, and remember this:  Weight-loss may seem simple (eat fewer calories than you burn), but often, there's a lot more going on than a simple calorie equation. Our bodies aren't calculators after all!

What's more likely is that you've made some innocent mistakes in your quest to lose weight. Don't feel bad about it—it's extremely common. These bad habits may be preventing you from getting the results you want. Instead of giving up, make some of the smart changes outlined below, and you'll see that scale drop in no time!

10 Habits of Unsuccessful Dieters

Bad Habit #1: Going "on a diet" in the first place.
Since when did the word "diet" refer to something good? The word itself implies restriction, limitation, and a short-lived effort to get some quick results and then return to a "normal" way of eating. In our experience we found that people who consider themselves to be "dieting" lose less weight and encounter more problems (such as plateaus, lack of motivation, mood swings and a huge food bender due to too much restriction) than people who are trying to lose weight by creating a lasting healthy lifestyle. Plus diets usually mean giving things up: favorite foods, dining out, desserts—even your social life. You don't have to be a psychology expert to know that when you tell yourself you can't have something, you usually want it more. This way of thinking could directly be sabotaging your efforts.
 

Smart Fix: Ditch the diets for good and focus on creating a healthy lifestyle based on nutritious food and small, realistic changes that you can live with for the long term.

Bad Habit #2: Overhauling your eating habits overnight.How many times have you gone crazy eating all the "bad" foods you know you shouldn't, only to promise to swear them off starting next week or next month or next year? How often have you decided to suddenly clean out your kitchen, throw away all the "junk" and then shop for only healthy food?

How's that working for you? No one can expect to change a lifetime of eating habits overnight—and no one should have to! To lose weight successfully and keep it off, you have to adopt a way of eating that you can stick with for the rest of your life.
        
      

Smart Fix: Eating healthy isn't about taking food away; it's about eating MORE of the things that are good for you. To be successful, you have to implement small and realistic changes to your diet. Next week, swap that 2% milk for 1%, and switch out your usual bread for a healthy whole-grain variety. Once you get used to that, you can set a small goal like eating one serving of fresh fruits or vegetables each day. The point is to start small with changes that fit into your lifestyle, and making permanent lifestyle changes, not to do temporary diets!

Bad Habit #3: Giving up certain foods altogether.We've already touched on the idea that labeling certain foods as diet no-no's can make you crave them even more. Whether you feel out of control when you're around certain foods or you've read about a certain diet plan that promises results if you were to just cut out wheat, gluten, carbs, sugar, or dairy, a lot of people think that to lose weight they have to give up specific things—including foods that they love.

A truly healthy diet that you can stick with forever will include all the foods you love. Unless you plan to give up ice cream or bread forever, then don't cut anything out temporarily. Generally, people can give up foods like that for a while and see some weight loss success (usually because they're eating fewer calories, not because anything about that specific food causes weight problems). But as soon as that food is let back into your life, the weight tends to come back with it.
 

Smart Fix: All things in moderation. Instead of focusing on the foods you can't have, set goals to eat more of the foods that you know are good for you. This is a much more positive way to think about your goals and get results. Plus, allowing yourself portion-controlled servings of the food you're thinking about banning will keep you happy and content, but also prevent crazed binges that can occur when you're feeling weak.

Bad Habit #4 Only caring about calories.
Calories are key to weight loss. In fact, balancing your calorie equation (what you eat and what you burn) is what results in successful weight management. However, there is more to weight loss and a healthy lifestyle than calories alone. Some foods that may be higher in calories per serving are actually healthier for you than foods that may be lower in calories (think a heart-healthy avocado vs. a processed 100-calorie pack of pretzels). So while calories count, nutrition matters, too.
 

Smart Fix: While tracking your calories, don't forget to look at other key nutrients like protein and healthy fats (both of which can keep you full) and key vitamins and minerals that are important for your overall health. Ideally, you want to use a little trial and error to balance not only your calorie equation, but make the kinds of choices that meet your protein, fat, carbohydrate and micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) goals.

Bad Habit #5: Focusing on the scale.
You want to lose weight, so you weigh yourself, right? Yes…and no. Weight is an easy way to measure your progress, but it doesn't tell you the whole story. Even if the scale isn't budging, that does not mean that you're not making major progress toward losing weight and getting healthier. You can lose inches, get fitter, gain lean muscle mass, drop body fat, become better hydrated, look better and feel more energized without the pounds budging at all.
 

Smart Fix: Remember that the scale tells you only one thing: the total mass of all your body parts at a given moment. Don't put too much stock into it. Weigh yourself less frequently (about once every 1-2 weeks), and track all the other signs that amazing changes are happening in your body, such as, measurements of your arm, waist, hips and leg even if the scale doesn't move. This is the best way to stay motivated for the long haul.

Bad Habit #6: Only dieting and not exercising.
This may be one of the most common reasons your weight loss is stalling. Yes, you can lose weight through diet alone, but it will be a lot harder. You can only cut so many calories without feeling overly hungry, lethargic or miserable. Yet by exercising along with making dietary changes, you can eat more (and feel more satisfied) and still lose weight. Plus, you'll get all the amazing physical and mental benefits that come from exercising, including improved appearance, better muscle tone and a healthier body overall.
 

Smart Fix: Add exercise to your weight-loss plan. It doesn't have to be boring, strenuous, or time-consuming either. Even 10 minutes a day can make a huge difference in your results. For tons of fun, easy and effective workout ideas, check out our website: http://www.exclusivetrainingrichmond.com/  You're sure to find something that you enjoy!

Bad Habit #7: Trying to eat as little as possible.
If cutting calories is good for weight loss, then eating as little as possible is better, right? Wrong (especially if you're also trying to fuel your body for regular workouts). You need to eat a certain calorie level to function optimally and get all its essential nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. Eating much less than that can cause serious problems in the long term and damage your metabolism, making weight loss even harder.
 

Smart Fix: Don't just guess how many calories you need, and don't eat what someone else eats either. Eating within that range (even at the very top of it) will help you reach your weight loss goal. There is no reason to go below it. Remember: You have to eat to lose!

Bad Habit #8: Giving up too easily.  
No person who ever lost weight successfully reached that goal because they were perfect all the time. Setbacks happen to everyone, even the most successful people. We've all had days where we made a poor food decision during a meal—or even for an entire day. We've all missed workouts, forgot the lunch we packed, or been too busy to cook a diet-friendly meal at home. But those who continue dropping the pounds pick themselves up, forgive themselves from their mistakes, learn from their slipups, and just keep right on going.
 

Smart Fix: Remember that perfection has no place in a weight loss plan. When you do make a mistake or feel like you're not making enough progress, don't give up. Change requires time and old habits die hard. When you feel yourself ready to give up, reach out for some support, and don't wait until next week or next month to get back on the wagon. For the first month use a "cheat day" as a treat. This will allow you your favourate indulgances without going over board.

Bad Habit #9: Confusing "healthy" with "low-calorie."
Research shows that when shoppers see "healthy" buzz words or claims on food packages (think: gluten-free, organic, all-natural, sugar-free, low-fat, etc.), they automatically assume the food is low in calories. This couldn't be further from the truth. Food manufacturers will plaster all sorts of enticing lingo onto their packages, knowing that you'll think exactly that. But none of these words really tell you much about the healthfulness of a product; and none of them actually have any affect on a food's calories.
 

Smart Fix: Read front-of-package labels with a discerning eye, and always turn over the package and look at the nutrition facts (and ingredients) to get a full picture of what a food is really like. This goes for restaurant menus, too. Don't let healthy-sounding words make you think a food is actually low in calories. Know your menu watch words or look up nutrition facts before you place your order.

Bad Habit #10: Unrealistic expectations.
These days with news stories, weight-loss advertisements and reality shows alike touting fast and extreme weight loss as the norm, it can be easy to think that you are capable of those kinds of results, too. But in truth, these are extreme and abnormal results that most people cannot expect to replicate. If you're expecting to drop a lot of weight fast—and to do so consistently—these unrealistic expectations could be setting you up for failure. There's nothing worse than expecting to lose 10 pounds in your first week, but to only lose one.
 

Smart Fix: Change your expectations and your mindset. If you expect to lose 10 pounds in one week, then losing 1 pound is a major letdown. But if you expect to lose 1 pound and you did, you feel successful and inspired to keep working toward your goals. Losing 1-2 pounds per week—even half a pound—is major progress that should be commended. This is a healthy and realistic rate of weight loss that you can expect if you're sticking to your nutrition and fitness goals.