Chicago's
Top Certified Personal Fitness Trainer Reveals the essential
strategies for lasting weight loss and lifelong fitness
16 Tips for
getting maximum Weight Loss and Fitness results
in minimum time
*Do
you want to improve the quality of your life?
*Do you want to look
and feel better than you have in years - maybe better than you ever have
before?
*Do you want to protect
yourself from disease and injury? And do you want to live a longer, more
vital life?
I'm confident that you answered
YES! To each of those questions, just as have the hundreds of individuals
I've counseled, coached, and trained in my career as a Certified Personal
Fitness Trainer and Health Expert.
Right now I'm going to reveal
to you the 16 essential strategies that have enabled my clients to achieve
these important goals.
These simple strategies can
be immediately implemented into your lifestyle with little sacrifice on
your part (okay, if not eating artery clogging fast food burgers and fries
is a big thing for you, then maybe you won't look at that sacrifice as
"easy," but I guarantee you it will add quality years to your
life).
Why believe me? Because I have
been training people for 14 years. Because I've seen people fail and others
succeed. Because I'm the only person in Illinois who has ACE PT, LWMC,
CES; and NSCA CSCS (with Distinction), and AFAA Certifications. Because
all of my Personal Training Clients are happy and getting good results.
I am giving you this information because I'm tired of seeing people getting
ripped off and wasting their time and energy on the latest "Miracle" diet
or device. I'm tired of seeing slick marketers making a lot of money selling
people lies that won't help them.
So let's get right into it.
Read on to discover....;
1. How to Stay Motivated. One of the biggest problems most people have is that they work out great
for a couple of weeks....then just fade away. The people who stick with
it are those who have these two things in common:
* They don't
follow a set routine. Routines always become boring. They also set you
up for repetitive stress injuries. They don't work either. Your body quickly
adapts to any routine and doesn't need to change any more to keep up.
* They get on an effective exercise program, so they
get good results. The people who lose their motivation are the people
who get frustrated because they are not getting good results. When you are getting good results, you will be so pumped that it's actually
hard to quit.
A good Personal Trainer will help you with both of these items.
2. Don't make it so
hard. Most people think of exercise as torture. They imagine
that you must sweat and groan for hours every day to get in good shape.
Not so, my friend! Two days per week of 20-minute low-intensity cardiovascular
exercise (walking, jogging, biking, swimming); and two days per week of
30-minute light resistance training (using weights or resistance machines)
is adequate in the beginning. As you become acclimated to the lifestyle
shift, you can add more days and get improved results. But beware: if
you try to do too much too fast, 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.
3. Your exercise program
needs only three things. If you skip any one of these three, your results
will suffer.
* Resistance Exercise. This will raise your metabolism and cause you to burn more calories all
day, even when you are asleep at night.
* Cardiovascular Exercise. Your heart rate during cardio
exercise should be 60% to 80% of your maximum heart rate. The simple formula
for calculating your 100% maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. If
the intensity of your exercise increases your heart rate beyond 80%, slow
it down a bit. If your heart rate isn't at least 60%, quit loafing. Your
personal trainer can supply you with a simple heart rate monitor you can
wear during exercise so you always stay in your peak fat-burning range.
* Proper Nutrition. A good, hard workout can burn maybe
300-500 calories in 30-45 minutes. It only takes one Big Mac to flush
your entire workout down the toilet.
4. 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.
When I see overweight people doing wrist curls or lateral raises, I wonder
why. It's generally just a lack of understanding of how their bodies work.
Most people want to lose fat and tone and firm their bodies. The way to
do that is to use resistance (weights or machines) to train the large
muscle groups. Men should be concentrating on legs, chest and back. Women
should concentrate more on their legs and back. The best exercises for
legs are lunges or squats (your personal trainer will show you the proper
form and then monitor you during the exercise) and leg press. The best
chest exercise is bench press, and the best back exercise is the seated
row. All of these are compound movements, which means they incorporate
multiple muscle groups.
5. Always, always,
always stretch. Stretching improves flexibility, blood flow,
muscle recovery, low back pain and a host of other things. Additionally,
stretching can prevent injury, make you sleep better and improve your
performance in all sports. Always stretch, but be certain not to stretch
cold muscles. You should always warm up before stretching. However, it
is very important that you know how to stretch. Never bounce! Your personal
trainer will show you the proper execution and timing of your stretches.
6. Don't do traditional
sit-ups. Unless you are super athlete with an incredibly well-developed
midsection, sit-ups can lead to a strained lower back and possibly lumbar
injuries. But it gets worse. Rather than hitting your abdominal section,
sit-ups can shift exercise tension to your hip flexors - which defeats
the purpose. There is so much misinformation about how to strengthen,
tone and firm the midsection, it's almost frightening. It is very difficult
to learn proper abdominal exercise technique by reading about it or watching
it demonstrated on a video. You need to do it with supervision and get
feedback about your form from a knowledgeable source. And keep in mind
that you use your abdominal muscles in almost every single movement you
make. Strengthening your abdominal region is the single most effective
way to prevent, or recover from, low back pain.
7. Set realistically
attainable goals. You must have tangible, quantifiable, short-term
and long-term goals for your fitness program so you can gauge your progress.
It's crucial to have a "baseline" before you begin, so you can measure
success. Your personal trainer can give you a complete fitness analysis
( you need this!) that will aid you and your trainer in developing a personalized
fitness program which addresses your particular needs. Having goals, particularly
short-term goals, allows you to track your progress and 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. Just remember that your goals
should be realistic and attainable. The best way for you to understand
what is realistic and attainable for you is to talk to a fitness professional
- not to buy into the "hype" of infomercials, diet and fitness products
that blatantly mislead.
8. Set exercise appointments
with yourself. Use your day-timer to set appointments for exercise
- 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. So make your exercise appointments
a priority. If you find it difficult to keep these appointments, then
consider hiring a personal trainer who will hold you to your commitment.
When you have money invested, and someone waiting for you to show up -
you are much more likely to actually show up!
9. Remember the benefits
of exercise. Remember that feeling of euphoria you experienced
after a particularly good work-out? You experienced that feeling because
the most powerful "feel good" drug in the world - endorphins - are coursing
through your veins. If there is a panacea, it's exercise. Nothing feels
better than the post-work-out high you experience after exercising. Revel
in that feeling. Let it wash over you and truly experience it. Etch that
feeling in your brain. It will fuel your motivation on those inevitable
days when you just don't feel like exercising. 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 live better!
10. Exercise correctly. So much time is wasted doing, at best, unproductive exercise, or at worst,
dangerous exercise. Get educated on how to exercise correctly. And the
absolute best way to do that is to hire a personal trainer to develop
a program for you and then teach you what to do and how to do it right.
Personal training does not have to be an ongoing process. You can hire
a personal trainer for whatever length of time you need to learn the ropes.
It could be five sessions, or it could be fifteen sessions. It's completely
up to you. But statistics prove that those who understand how to exercise
correctly, get better, faster results. And that's what you want, right?
Results!
11. Enjoy yourself. The most difficult thing is actually getting into your running
shoes or going to the gym. But once you begin your work-out, relax and
enjoy the process. Don't fight it. Make exercise your personal time. When
you are exercising you can focus completely on yourself. Yes, exercising
can and should be somewhat rigorous (depending on your level of fitness),
but it is just that investment which makes it supremely rewarding. As
with anything, if you are in the moment, you can fully appreciate the
experience and truly enjoy the process.
12. Americans eat too
many carbohydrates for our lifestyles. I'm not advocating the
high protein, high saturated fat diet that you hear so much about (frankly,
its dangerous). But I am advocating minimizing your intake of bread, pasta,
rice, potatoes and of course, all sugary drinks. We are no longer an agrarian
society participating in manual labor. Most of us are fairly sedentary
throughout the day and therefore do not need the high levels of carbohydrates
to sustain our energy. Additionally, carbohydrates are addictive. The
more donuts you eat, the more you want. The bulk of your carbohydrates
should come from vegetables and fruit. And those with high water content,
such as cucumbers, grapefruit, tomatoes, cantaloupe, strawberries and
even vegetable soups (watch out for high sodium), will fill you up nicely.
By the way, numerous studies have conclusively proven that the quarter
of the population eating the most vegetables get half the cancer of the
quarter eating the least!
13. Deep-fried food
has no nutritional value - none! Almost every food, whether it's
steak, chocolate or red wine, has some nutrients to contribute. But one
thing is absolute: fried foods are garbage. Potato chips, French fries,
onion rings, breaded chicken strips and all the rest of the deep-fried
junk are pregnant with saturated fat and calories, and they contain almost
zero nutritional value. If you're trying to lose weight and/or reduce
fat, simply eliminate fried foods completely from your diet. Yikes! That
stuff is scary.
14. Never, ever skip
breakfast. If you want to maximize your fitness results or fat-loss
efforts, you've got to eat breakfast. Even if you don't exercise at all
- breakfast remains the most important meal of the day. 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.
15. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. Yes, I know that
you've heard this over and over again. But there's a reason for that -
it's the gospel truth! The recommended amount is approximately eight glasses,
or 64 ounces, of water every day. When you are exercising, you need to
drink even more. Over 75% of your body is water (even bone is more than
20% water). When you don't drink enough water, and substitute diuretics
like coffee, tea and caffeinated sodas, you dehydrate your body, your
blood doesn't flow properly and your digestive system doesn't operate
smoothly (among other problems). Even a small deficit of water can radically
affect how your body performs. Here's a good rule of thumb: if you're
urine is a dark yellow and/or has a strong odor, you're not drinking enough
water. Drink up!
16. Eat regularly throughout
the day. Fasting or overly restrictive diets will enable you
to lose weight - in the short run. Because the weight you lose is primarily
water weight and lean muscle mass. But in the long-run, it has exactly
the opposite effect you want. When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively
thinks it's being starved and shifts into a protective mode by storing
fat. Energy expenditures are fueled by your lean muscles. Therefore your
body fat remains essentially the same and you lose vital fluids and muscle
instead. The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism becomes,
and the less fat you burn. Instead of eating three big meals (or worse
yet, one HUGE meal) eat five or six nutritionally balanced "snack/meals"
each day. This keeps your metabolic furnace stoked, so you burn more at
a faster rate. I know, it's counter-intuitive, but it's true!
There you have it. 16 essential
strategies for an effective weight loss and fitness program that will
have you looking and feeling better than you have in years - maybe ever!
I realize that starting (or
re-starting) a productive and effective health and fitness program is
not easy. That's why I encourage you to get help.
If you're sick, you go to the
doctor. If you've got a tax problem, you see an accountant (or an attorney!).
Have a toothache? You're off to the dentist. So why is it that so many
people attempt to solve their health and fitness problems without consulting
an expert? I don't know exactly, but I encourage you to make the investment
in yourself - in your quality of life - by hiring a certified personal
fitness trainer to educate you and help you get started....because
the hardest part is just getting started and sustaining your motivation
until fitness becomes habitual. Once you develop the habit, which can
take as little as thirty days, your whole life will change for the better.
If I can be of any assistance
to you, please don't hesitate to call me. I'm happy to speak with you
and give you my recommendations without any sales pressure (I hate it
when people try to "sell" me, so I wouldn't try that on you). Please call my office at (312)
587-1464 to obtain any additional information you may need. Thank you.
Yours in good health,
Clint Phillips
1 W. Superior #4717
Chicago, IL 60660
(312) 587-1464 office
SURPRISE! Because you have taken the time to read these tips, it shows that you
are serious about fitness. And because that is the only kind of client
we want, YOU are now entitled to a Special Offer. The only people who will know about this offer are those who
have read the 16 tips. You now have the chance to Jump-Start your Personal
Training Program and get all of these special bonuses!
Note - This special is only
for new clients who have read the 16 tips, and who sign up for a package
of ten sessions ($700). Here is what you get in addition to your ten sessions:
* A signed copy of The Power of Champions Clint's latest hardcover book
normally sells for $36 post paid. This wonderful book has chapters written
by all of the stars of the fitness industry.
* A signed copy of Wake Up Shape Up: Live the Life you Love Another great
book with loads of inspiration to keep you motivated. Normally $26 post
paid.
* A Free Fitness Ball ($25 Value) These aren't the cheap balls you see in sporting goods stores.
These are the industrial strength, institutional models. They are burst-resistant,
and designed to last.
* A Special Limited-Edition
T shirt - You can't buy these in a store. This T shirt has and
attitude! It was designed by Clint, and is only for his clients who earn
it. No whining allowed when you put this shirt on - are you up to it?
Call my office and set up your
first appointment now!
Clint Phillips
1 W. Superior #4717
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 587-1464
Are you ready
to Lose Weight, Tone Up and Get in Shape? The best way is to get a Certified Personal Trainer! Our Fitness Trainers serve Chicago, Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth,
Skokie and other suburbs. We are experts in creating exercise and nutrition
programs. Start improving your health today. Call a Chicago Personal
Trainer now at (312) 587-1464.
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