6 Fitness and Health Secrets You Must Know

6 FITNESS AND HEALTH SECRETS YOU MUST KNOW

From the ”Journey to You” Series by Jason Latas 

I believe whole heartedly in a holistic approach to health and wellness. I don’t preach boot-camps, harsh diets or the “no pain, no gain” methods. I believe that whole life wellness is a nice balance between health, fitness and getting to know yourself. It may sound funny but most people don’t know themselves as well as they think… For example, what foods make your body feel better, feel worse, burn fat, store fat, give you energy or bring you down? What time of day is best for you to work out? What body type are you? Why do you get tired about 30 minutes after lunch and want to fall asleep? Figuring out the answers to these questions will help you take a giant leap forward in your quest for overall health and wellness.

Below we are going to make a few general statements that we often hear from people who are struggling with their wellness and then we will show you why this scenario is, often not true. 

1. I NEED TO STARVE MYSELF SO MY BODY WILL BURN THE FAT

Wrong! Your body is the master compensator. When you drastically cut calories, your body goes into survival mode and slows down your metabolism. Yes, as crazy as it sounds. Also, if you just cut calories but don’t focus on nutrient dense, well-balanced meals, you also end up loosing muscle. The amount of muscle on your body is one of the main factors that determines your metabolism (how many calories you burn). So, if you end up losing muscle then you lower your metabolism. This can be a disastrous combo of losing muscle and damaging your metabolism.

This is one of the main reasons that people rebound after a “diet”. They loose “scale weight” but don’t realize that a lot of it was muscle and for the reasons listed above, lowered and perhaps even damaged their metabolism. So when they resume eating normal again, their body regains the fat and sometimes even more…

It is very important to know your body composition and body fat percentage before you start any dietary change to reduce your weight. You need to focus on well-balanced and nutrient dense meals, evenly spaced throughout the day. Make sure you take measurements and use the mirror more than the scale. This is where a coach can save you a ton of time and frustration because they can get you started on a personal plan that is as unique as you are…

2. DO MOSTLY CARDIO BECAUSE IT’S WHAT BURNS FAT 

Endless hours of cardio does not raise your metabolism. After some time, your body adapts to this type of training and it can actually damage and lower your metabolic rate. Again, just like starving yourself, when you run, run, run and don’t compensate with enough calories, your body will lower it’s own metabolism. Just look at the difference between a marathon runner and a sprinter and you will see the difference between running for hours and shorter, more intense, sets. Your goal is always to retain and gain lean muscle, while burning fat because, remember, the more muscle, the better you look and the higher your metabolism.

HIIT cardio; High-Intensity Interval Training is the only type of cardio the body does not adapt to. It supports metabolic rate as well as maintaining the fat burning component. In fact when studied side by side, HIT training actually burns more calories, helps retain muscle and keeps your metabolism up longer throughout the day!

So remember; unless you are a marathon runner and you want to burn fat while retaining muscle, stick with high intensity interval training. 

3. WOMEN SHOULDN’T LIFT WEIGHTS OR THEY WILL BULK UP

 Many women think if they lift weights they will bulk up. Unless you are a genetic anomaly, this won’t happen. Women just don’t naturally make enough testosterone naturally to worry about this. In fact most men train really hard and still have a challenge putting on muscle, so don’t worry.

Remember that muscle is what gives you that lean sexy shape that you’re after and keeps your metabolism burning hot to keep the fat at bay. You need to lift weights for many other reasons also to support your body as you age and to prevent bone loss.  Women, we cannot stress this enough, you need to incorporate some type of weight bearing exercise into your routine! You don’t get bulky from lifting weights; you get bulky from the cupcakes you eat. Adding muscle increases your metabolic rate burns fat and makes you look great!

4. I CAN’T AFORD TO BUY A GYM MEMBERSHIP OR FIND TIME TO GO

You don’t need to go to the gym to get in shape and feel great! In fact, one of the biggest components to a healthy plan is to exercise outdoors as much as possible. Especially if you can get out in nature and connect with Mother earth!

Almost all of my Fitness Adventure Camps that I have hosted take place at a park or in the mountains! In fact, if you have kids, going to the park and exercising can not only become a family tradition; it could start a whole generation of healthy habits for your grandkids and their grandkids. We often take our whole family hiking, camping, kayaking or to the park for a workout. It’s a great family activity and builds healthy families!

There are many exercises you can do at the park, especially if they have some good equipment like monkey bars to hang from and do pull ups and swings for one leg squats. What we normally do is combine an exercise with a quick sprint and then back for another exercise. If you bring some exercise bands, you can work your entire body at the park and enjoy Mother Nature and your family at the same time

5. IF I WORKOUT EVERY DAY I DON’T HAVE TO CHANGE MY DIET

Well, it sounds good, but these are usually the people that you see in the gym all the time but they never change or even put on weight. You see, your body needs the proper nutrients to recover from and rebuild your body after a workout. If you don’t fuel properly before or refuel properly after a workout, your body won’t put on muscle, won’t get stronger and may even start to hold fat and lower your metabolism. Sounds familiar? Yah, the same thing that can happen on a fad diet.

You need to look at exercise and nutrition like building a house. A good, well balanced diet with lean protein, complex carbs and good fats along with exercise is like building with bricks. Maintaining a poor diet while trying to workout is like building with sand. Your body is constantly rebuilding itself via cellular rejuvenation. In fact, every 7 years, your body has almost completely rebuilt itself from the outside in. So you need to ask your self, what you are building your house with, sand or brick?

First you need to fuel properly before the workout so your body has the energy and fuel for a good strong workout. Then after your workout, you need to refuel your muscles so they can rebuild and be stronger the next time. So remember, if you want to properly benefit from all of that hard work, feed your body a well balanced, clean diet so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor 

6. WORKING OUT TAKES TOO MUCH TIME, I DON’T HAVE TIME!

This is purely a myth. If you fuel properly before your workout to energize your muscles and refuel properly after your workout so they can heal and grow, you can actually workout less and get great results. Learning these simple items can put you miles ahead of the others, putting hours in at the gym!

There are 3 very important items, when addressed, that will boost your efforts. Eat a well balanced meal an hour before you work out (timing will vary a little depending on your body type), Fuel properly after your workout with a whey protein drink and put your mind, body and soul into your workout.

It’s very important to fuel before your workout so your muscles have the fuel and energy they need to repair and grow.

We hope this helps you with your journey to health and if you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will be happy to answer

To your health

~ Jason Latas, Human Performance Coaching ~