STYLE BY MELI

I’ve promised a few people that I would be writing an upcoming [Fabulous Fitness Post], so here it is!  On Sunday morning when I was at the gym finishing up my workout, a guy randomly (someone I had never seen at my gym before) asked me some questions and I thought it would be great to share my answers with everyone.  I spend a lot of time reading about this stuff and here I’ll share what works for me!

The conversation started with him asking if I was training for something (I must have either looked extra good at the gym that day or perhaps he observed the crazy workout routine I was doing…or maybe a combo of both LOL).  I explained that I am not training for anything and I just enjoy working out to stay in shape and live a healthy lifestyle.  Then he went on to grill me a little bit longer with the following questions…

1)  So what exactly do you do to stay in shape?

I explained that I work out everyday (unless for some reason I can’t find the time or feel my body needs a break) and that I switch up my workouts every single day so my body doesn’t know what to expect.  I now mainly do circuit training with sculpting moves mixed with cardio.  For example, I may sprint for a few minutes to get the heart rate up, then do a set of push-ups on a bosu ball.  Then after that set, jumping jacks with weights (which is both cardio and sculpting) followed by squats with bicep curls.  I constantly move from one exercise to another until I finish the circuit.  Usually 5-6 strength training moves within a circuit.  I take a few minutes to rest and catch my breath, then repeat the circuit one more time.

The key is, you need to constantly be physically challenging your body.  It may kill, but the body eventually adapts and that’s how you build strength and start seeing results over time.  Think about it, if you perform the same exact workout everyday, your body is not being challenged enough and pushed to its full potential.  (Remember, your body is a machine, so don’t underestimate everything it can do!)  Also, doing the same thing every day gets to be boring (no?).  I really strive to push myself during my workouts, even if it’s for a short amount of time.  Again, it’s the QUALITY of the workout that counts more so than the actual time spent working out.  When I’m at the gym, personally…I’m there to crash and burn!  I may not be training for anything specific, but as I’ve said, I really try to train my body as any athlete would.

2)  How often do you do abs?

My response, “Not enough!”  Then I went on to explain that I try to do a little each day but a few days a week, I spend a little extra time focusing on them.  Abs are muscles like any other part of the body and don’t necessarily need to be trained hard every single day.

I didn’t start to consistently incorporate ab moves until a few months ago (crazy, I know).  I naturally have a small waist so I didn’t feel the need to really target that area.  Also in the past, I used to never really do ab moves mainly because I strongly believe that abs are more of a reflection of your diet.  I’ve never been a believer that doing hundreds of crunches a day is going to really transform your abs, but now I actually incorporate ab exercises because that and a good diet will eventually lead to long lasting results.  (Hey, it’s a work in progress and I’m getting there! ;))

3)  Do you find diet is important with achieving results?

Most definitely!  As many health professionals agree, diet will always play a more crucial role in staying healthy than working out.  (Of course if you incorporate both into you’re lifestyle, you’re golden).  I could have amazing workouts, but if I chose to not eat well, chances are I’ll gain weight over time or not see any results.  Whereas, if I eat extremely well all the time and skip workouts, I’ll still manage to look good.  I explained that for me personally, the working out is not hard because I feel my body naturally craves it, but eating well all the time can be very challenging at times.  I’m only human and have moments of weakness (and if it’s a holiday or special event, I let myself indulge!) but I would say the majority of the time, I eat exceptionally well.  I’ve always been a total health nut and as I get older, I continue to make even smarter health choices.

4)  Do you count calories?

Nope, never…for one, too much math involved.  Who honestly has the time to calculate that stuff (and is it really that accurate?)  I told him that healthy eating is not about how many calories you consume in a day, but more so the nutritional value of your food intake.  As I’ve stated in a previous post, a 100 calorie apple is NOT equivalent to one of those 100 calorie snack packs.  An apple is a real food and the body knows how to process it.  When you eat processed foods, your body can’t break down these mystery man-made ingredients and as a result, not only does it turn into fat usually, but potentially into greater health problems down the line.

5)  Do you eat carbs?

In all honesty, I don’t incorporate a lot of carbs in my diet.  I mainly eat carbs that come from fruits and vegetables and really try to keep simple carbs (bread, pasta, etc) to a minimum.  Reason being that those types of foods do not provide any real nutritional value and thankfully, I really don’t crave those foods to begin with.  The only carbs that I buy are oatmeal and cereal (must have high fiber content to keep me full and little to no sugar…ideally less than 3 grams).  As I had mentioned, I eat a very clean diet of foods in its most natural state, so I stick with fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, fish, etc.  In other words, REAL foods from human nature, not the man-made stuff!

[Does anyone have other health tips they'd like to share?]

This entry was posted on February 22, 2012 at 11:56 PM and is filed under DIET, FABULOUS FITNESS POST, FITNESS, HEALTH . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.