GOING UP?

If you run or walk for fitness, make sure to mix some hills into your workouts. Hills not only offer the added benefit of challenging you and making your heart beat faster, but moving on an incline works your muscles differently, giving you a more well-rounded workout. Live somewhere devoid of hills? Try stairs or the local football stadium.

You can’t expect to see results if you don’t increase that intensity!

-Vameka

THE GIFT OF FITNESS

The gift of fitness is one of the most thoughtful gifts one can offer. It can add life, beauty and metal health. Of course, you might want to avoid giving people you care for gym memberships, the Fat Flush Plan, or other indicators that you might consider them overweight. Instead, how about an entry to a race, an organized bike tour, hike tour, or other event that will prompt them to get into shape? Instead of telling them they're fat, you're giving them a fun life experience—the upside is that they'll need to get into shape in order to experience it best.

-Vameka

ITS ALL ABOUT BALANCE

I don’t know how many times I have been to the and seen the same people doing the same exercises that address only the front or back of their body. Many times people neglect the “opposing muscle group”, and this causes serious imbalances and result in injury or deformity.  

So, If you work the chest, work the upper back too. If you work biceps, work triceps. If you work quads and hip flexors, then hamstrings and glutes should be worked as well. Other examples of opposing muscle groups are the abdominals and the low back muscles, and the outer and inner thigh—make sure you work them all.

-Vameka

KEEP IT REAL

When it comes to setting goals in your life try to keep things in an obtainable bounds. Many times we see the ultimate goal and find ourselves attempting to reach them in unrealistic timeframes. I’m sorry to inform you but going from a size 22 to a size 6 in three months is NOT realistic.  Be realistic with your goals and your body type. Make your health your first priority (not fitting into a pair of jeans), keep everything as natural as possible (your body thrives off of foods that grow on trees and from the ground), keep your body type in mind, plan out days of rest, and set your mind on going hard every day! Embrace those principals and set your goals accordingly. 

 Work hard, but work smart! You will get there, but you must KEEP IT REAL! 

-Vameka

GET SOME SLEEP

 Sleep does more than make you feel rested. Lack of sleep affects your mood, as well as your cognitive and motor skill abilities. Recent studies demonstrated a substantial drop in the body's immune system function after only a modest reduction of sleep. But, following a good night's sleep, most immune functions went back to normal levels. So, it’s safe to say that lack of sleep will make you sick and slow you down! 

How many hours of sleep are you getting every night? What is keeping you from catching those much needed Zzz’s? Try getting 8 full hours of sleep. Instead of watching your favorite TV show when it airs at 10p, record it and watch it at a time when you shouldn’t be sleep. Make the necessary adjustments to make a full nights sleep happen!

-Vameka

Controlling your appetite the natural way

When you eat sugar combined with unsaturated fats you allow the body to maintain steady or normalized glucose levels. This reduces the release of insulin (a culprit of increased appetite and weight gain) into the bloodstream. Consuming fibrous fruits and chewing food a bit slower are two ways to allow leptin (the hormone that signals your brain that your stomach is full) to be most effective. Unsaturated fats are found in foods such as nuts, flaxseed oil, olive oil, peanut butter, avocado, and lentils. As with most foods, they are best consumed in the rawest form possible to maintain the natural nutrients and enzymes. 

-Vameka

BREATHE

If you have spent any time with me, then you have probably heard about the importance of breathing over and over again and that if you don't breathe, find yourself dizzy and passed out on the floor. So breath is extremely important.  Not only does breathing keep you alive and on your feet, but it also helps you get through your workout. During a workout, your lactic acid levels build up in your system and you experience muscular fatigue (this is where that intense burning sensation comes from during a tough set , and guess what can help fight off the burn that you feel...YEP OXYGEN! So, a few times per workout, focus on taking a few exaggerated long, slow breaths. This will fight fatigue, lower your heart rate a few bpm's and bring your mind back into focus.  -Vameka