Stay consistent – Weekends can be healthy and fun!

By Mark Slaney

Well, ironically enough it’s Friday afternoon as I start to think about writing an article for the Fitcorp Asia newsletter and the conversation with my colleagues has fallen to plans for the weekend…

After a great week of workouts, calorie counting and a beer free fridge I find myself once again devastated at the prospect of a ‘dry’ weekend - ‘dry’ meaning not just the booze but more importantly maintaining a healthy balanced diet. But hang on, why can’t I put my feet up and have a treat?! After all, I am just the marketing guy…. Surely I can take solace in a delicious nutritious Mac Fat burger and fries this weekend can’t I? Well, I know the trainers here wouldn’t agree and I guess if I am honest I know undoing 5 days good work in just two days of gluttonous over eating and calorie packed beer guzzling would probably seem ludicrous… Hmmm, I guess I am faced with every dieters dilemma – How do I stay true and on track with my fitness goals without sacrificing my entire life?! Weekends after all are sacred!

Anyway, a stern telling off from the trainers here and some great guidelines and advice as always and I suddenly have the inspiration for my newsletter article… Stay Consistent – Weekends can be healthy and fun!

One reason we find ourselves back to ‘square one’ come Monday morning is because during the weekends we find ourselves falling out of our regular daily routines. There are always dinners, dates and family gatherings, where trouble is lurking in the form of buffet lines or rich desserts! Weekend menus can also be more difficult to plan - and without a plan, you're more likely to stray from the healthy habits you have been working so hard to develop and maintain. The key to achieving any goal is not to do something correctly but to do it correctly – CONSISTENTLY!

This "Weekend Survival Guide" is designed to help your diet survive those dreaded weekends. Keep it with you - in your purse, in the car - wherever you go. The checklist and helpful tips can keep you focused and on track. Most importantly remember this: when you start feeling the temptation to slip, ask yourself how you will feel about your decisions once Monday morning rolls around.

TIPS FOR AVOIDING TEMPTATION

1) Plan family activities like bike rides or outdoor games. This helps you spend time with your family and burn calories all at once!

2) Carry a water bottle with at all times! Take it to your weekend activities, take it to the shopping mall and even take it to bed! This will help you get your water for the day and resist the temptation to reach for a soda or other caffeinated beverage so full of diet destroying calories.

3) Set some "weekend specific" health and fitness goals for yourself based on the realities of what you'll be doing. They may look very different than your weekday goals, and that's okay.

4) If you know you are going to be out all day, then take 5 minutes the night before to pack some healthy snacks in case you get hungry. There is no easier way to sabotage your good intentions then to get caught hungry at the shopping mall with the only food available being ice cream or pizza.

5) Set Monday as your weigh-in day. You are more likely to resist temptation if you have to face the scales first thing Monday morning.

6) Plan ahead!! If you are going out to eat, find the restaurant's menu (and any available nutritional information) online. Search online for a calorie counter and do the math. You'll have plenty of time to make a healthy choice before you get there and this way you will be able to enjoy yourself at the meal table and feel guilt free knowing you have just ordered the healthiest thing on the menu.

7) Don't save all of your splurging for the weekends. Allowing yourself a few treats throughout the week will help you avoid the mindset that the weekend is an excuse to go crazy. And by spacing your treats evenly, you're less likely to get sudden, irresistible cravings and undo all your hard weekday work.
So there you have 7 tips to avoid self-sabotage, and keep yourself on the right track - without having the need to be rudely awoken by the alarm clock at 5am on a Saturday morning reminding you it’s time to get up and jog on down to the gym! With a little extra effort and planning, you can turn weekends into an enjoyable experience and an opportunity to keep your program moving in the right direction without the need to spend all day Sunday confessing your dietary sins.
Have a great weekend and give a little thought to how much alcohol you might consume as well; It’s always cheaper when you hit the bars during happy hour!

I Just Started Working Out; Why am I gaining weight?

So you’ve just signed up for a membership at your local gym, or you just began working with a trainer, but after the first two weeks you get on the scale and realize that you’re a kilo heavier. What’s going on? Well first of all, if you have a trainer I’m sure he or she has told you to stay off the scale. Time and time again as fitness professionals we find ourselves locked in battle with the treacherous scale as people obsess over weight instead of the stuff that really matters i.e., body fat, girth measurements and how your clothes fit. So first things first, throw that scale out the window. Whether you gain weight or not has a significant amount to do with many factors, including body type and nutrition.





At Fitcorp Asia the fitness trainers begin an assessment with a body stat test, which is used to measure body fat versus lean mass, resting metabolism (# of calories needed to sustain your current muscle mass without moving) and average metabolic rate (# of calories that should be consumed by your body on average during an active day. When you begin to lift weights, your body which is now stimulated by heavier loads establishes new links between your brain and muscle. Your body begins to recruit more muscle and this increases its demands for energy.

It is this increase in demand that makes you feel hungrier than normal and it represents a change in your metabolism. This is a very critical time for you as you must now make better choices on what to consume and when to consume it, in order to meet the demands of increased muscle activity. The problem that many personal trainers find is that their clients will begin to use this newly revved up metabolism as a sort of credit card which affords them the luxury of eating junk food. This is however counterproductive to your goals of fat and weight loss and most people will experience weight gain if this is not monitored carefully. This is a time where you have a chance to combine your training with low calorie, high nutritional value foods and get the most out of your metabolism. At Fitcorp Asia, we encourage our clients to eat often, but to make sure that you’re eating quality foods.

Not only is nutrition a key reason for why you may be gaining weight, but consider this:

• Muscle is about 70% water and when you work out more; your body’s response places a higher demand for consumption of more water. Also in response to weight training your body needs to prepare itself for heavier loads. One of the ways it does this is to increase surface area by hydrating the muscle fibers in order to increase surface area and provide higher power outputs.





• Your lean mass includes muscle, bone and organs. Weight bearing activity stimulates muscle growth and stimulates an increase in bone density. These two things can easily cause significant weight gain within the first couple of months. This is where it is important to have a look at girth measurements and body fat. Muscle is heavier and denser than fat and as more muscle is stimulated, the body’s ability to burn fat increases, which sometimes results in a loss of inches with an overall gain of weight.

Similar to the old saying, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”. Exercise doesn’t make you fat, the choices a person makes, makes that person fat.

At Fitcorp Asia we believe it’s about changing your lifestyle and by lifestyle we mean changing the way your body moves, the amount of movement that it does and changing the fuel that you run on.

The take home messages are clear. Throw out the scale and focus on getting stronger and increasing your metabolism by moving more and eating right. The rest will fall into place over time. Rome was not built in a day and your body took years to get this far; sometimes 10, 20 or 30+. The process of reprogramming your body is not an overnight miracle, but a life-long commitment to change.

From an excerpt of Maya Angelou, “If you don’t like something, change it.





If you can’t change it, change your attitude”. Realize that your trainer or fitness coach is there to assist you in reaching your goals, as well as support you along your journey to change. We give you the tools to succeed, but it just may be your attitude towards food, nutrition and exercise are the only thing holding you back from a better you.

By Rich Thurman, B.Sc., MA, CSCS, CPT.
Rich is the Fitness Development Manager and a Fitness Coach at Fitcorp Asia. Thailand's leading personal training, sports performance and corporate wellness organization. With a Bachelors degree in Physiological Science from UCLA a Masters in Sports Management from The University of San Francisco, Rich has over 10 years of experience in Fitness, Sports Performance, Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation. Whether it’s fat loss or toning, personal training or group exercise Fitcorp Asia, Thailand’s leading sports experts has something for everyone. For more information check out our website at www.fitcorpasia.com or drop Rich a line at Richard@fitcorpasia.com

Fitcorp Launches X FIT Strength - Functional Full Body Training in Bangkok

Fitcorp Launches X FIT Strength - Functional Full Body Training in Bangkok

Small Group Training focused on specific strength with functional, full body resistence training.

X FIT Strength is not a boot camp style program, rather an educational and effective form of resistance training to boost your metabolism, get strong and shed fat. The perfect enhancement to your boot camp and cardio conditioning programs and for those who have only used traditional and less effective methods of lifting in the gym.

X FIT Strength includes Body Weight training, Kinesis, Kettlebells, Resistance Bands and Free weights. We focus on form, technique and efficiency of movement principles.
Nutritional Coaching also included.

"Great to work with experts to understand how to make workouts more effective. I got a great workout last night and learned a lot. Signing up with Fitcorp was one of smartest decisions I have made."
- Mike Polich, Ford.

Every Tuesday and Thursday
19:00 - 20:00
At the Studio

Welcome New Fitcorp Team Members!!

I would also like to offer a warm welcome to the new team members who have stepped up to the plate to deliver some phenomenal results with our clients in just a short couple of months...

Stefan Lamping
An experienced trainer from Holland, Stefan has become a very versatile and passionate trainer, Stefan's unique quietly spoken manner helps him to encourage his clients long term commitment and achievements. Congrats to Anson, who has followed our unique training and nutrition program (MAP) to the last detail - shedding fat like there's no tomorrow! Further proof that Fitcorp Asia's programs are the most effective fitness, conditioning and fat loss programs available.

Ramin Razy
Ramin is afresh new trainer on the scene, a natural educator and teacher Ramin comes with an additional 5 years of Yoga Instruction. A passionate and patient trainer, Ramin has also found his expertise in delivering exceptionally fun and detailed boot camps with a unique element of yoga/flexibility training to end off the sessions. Ramin also achieve the best out of clients who feed of his passionate and enthusiasm

Nathan Gist
Nathan also a natural teacher with an exceptional talent for working with children! Nathan has been instrumental in the expansion of our youth fitness programs and will be a well needed team member in 2009 as we continue to develop our Young Athlete performance Clinics across the region. oh did i mention he is also the start trainer for a star assistant, Cookie! Look out for the new Cookie Meister in early 2009 when she reveals her new look! :)

Silvina Berraymundo
An Argentinian phenomenon, Silvina bring with her a fresh buzz to the training team. Passionate, dynamic and inspiring, Silvina breathes her passion of healthy and fitness, motivating her clients and fellow boot campers to excel in all facets of lifestyle change and performance management.

Yui (Watchanee) Awatchanakorn
Yui has been a star on the local Pilates scene, a detailed and dynamic Pilates practitioner, Yui is now available for small group Pilates sessions and private sessions at all Fitcorp Studio locations.

From all the team at Fitcorp, Daniel, Rick, Ryan, Jenny, Thomas, James, Cookie, Stefan, Ramin, Nathan, Silvina, Robin and Yui, wishing you all a very happy, and safe festive season.

We all look forward to helping you throughout 2009 and beyond!!