Week #9: Time challenge!

Hey there you guys,

I hope that you all have been doing well and that you have been able to knock all these challenges out of the park!

This week you will complete the listed exercises for a full 60 seconds for each one, you must complete it daily... however, I am not saying all at once, in the order given, or even restrict any of you from completing it more then one time through.  :)

1) Wall Sit: (this one you may have to work up in but take breaks and keep going! you can do it!)
2) Squats: (see how many you can do.)
3) Push Ups: (on your feet or knees, it doesn't matter. Just work hard.)
4) Jumping Jacks: (make it a competition.... how many can you get?!)
5) Plank Hold: (watch your back and bottom, no sagging! You can also go to your knees if you feel your form leaving you.)

Good luck to you all for this challenge next week! Kick Booty! :)


Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Week #5: Fitness Challenge

Happy Monday everyone!!!

Hopefully you all had a great weekend and got outside now that the weather seems to be getting warmer and a little more sunny... depends on where you are I guess. 

OK, down to business.  Here's the deal with this week's challenge.  During the times that we are watching TV and all those annoying commercials come on, which for some reason we all decide to sit and wait and watch all of it.  Instead, lets have fun and make it a fun activity/ game time.  How many sit-ups can you do during that car ad? How long can you do fast feet during that preview? etc. 

So for however long or how many shows you decide to watch this week, you will do an exercise for each commercial that you have come on.  Now, you will want to keep it simple but effective and somewhat challenging.  Some recommendations are:

• Cardio based: High knee runs/Jogging in place, Burpees, Jumping Jacks, skaters, Mt. Climbers, Fast Feet, Tuck Jumps, "Jumping Rope" (pretend that you are), etc.
• Strength: Push-ups, Sit-ups, Lunges (in place), squats, Plank hold, etc.

Hopefully, those exercises will help people fill their TV time with fun times and exercise to help burn off those  unwanted pounds and calories.  Remember, there needs to be a caloric deficit for there to be weight loss and with spring around the corner there is no better time then now.  We all have times were we are more into or less into our health and fitness goals.  But that time for being into them 100% is now and Better Body Fitness NW is here to help support that. 

Good Luck this week! We know you all can do it!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Week #4 Fitness Challenge

Happy Tuesday Everyone,

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to kicking this week off with nothing short of awesome!

How have your challenges been going the last couple of weeks? Have you been able to complete them? Have there been any struggles that you have experienced or successes that you have had? Remember, we are here for you and are able to answer any questions that you may have.

Ok, on to this weeks challenge.  This week we are doing: Limit your caffeine...( I know, NOT the caffeine!) to only 16fl.oz. each day.  This will cover ALL forms of caffeine (coffee, soda, tea, etc.) This will be good for you and I won't lie some of you might go through a withdrawal but the reason for this is because caffeine is a stimulant and while I won't say its bad for you (because research has shown with coffee and 1-2 cups a days has health benefits) we typically replace water with other beverages (most with caffeine) and it doesn't hydrate us, it will do the opposite and dehydrate us.  So, lets get to drinking less caffeine, replace the remainder with water, and get hydrated! (I know, I made it sounds very exciting.) But, it really is a great thing for your body.

For the fitness part of your challenge this week, daily you must complete 30 push ups and 5 burpees! Yay! This will help boost your

I hope that you guys have a great week and I know you all will rock these challenges.  Keep up the good work and kick butt! Just remember to keep going forward towards your health and fitness goals.  Make a motivational wall, take out those clothed that you want to wear, write down a quote or leave a book that speaks to you out, etc.  Do what its is you have to do to help yourself stay motivated. You can reach your goals.  It is all possible.  I assure you, it all can come true.  And, as always....

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Week #3 Fitness Challenge!

Happy Week 3 One and All!

I hope that this post finds you all well and that you guys are tackling those challenges! I am so excited to also announce that we are only about 3000 views away from 15,000 views! This blog is  something that is close to my heart and the fact that you all are taking such an interest in this as well as taking away information that will help you get closer to your goals is so amazing in my eyes. So, thank you. 

Anyways, back to your weekly challenge.  This week is more of a "workout" oriented challenge.  Its a great way of burning those little extra calories but it won't feel like you are "over doing" for any workouts that may happen that day or throw you off from a rest day that you may be enjoying. Remember, we need to start getting our gears into place because it is almost march! I know, I can't believe it either.  BUT this means that summer is coming and really isn't all that far away. So, by adding these challenges into your daily routine it will help you transition into a different mentality and help you get ready for summer quicker. OK! Our challenge looks a but something like this:

50 Squats (body weight)

40 Jumping Jacks

30 Russian Twists
(for beginner to moderate levels do 30 total, for more advanced levels complete 30 each side.)

20 Planks rows
(please review this: http://betterbodyfitnessnw.blogspot.com/2012/06/move-of-week-plank-row.html)

10 Star Jumps

Please complete this circuit 2 times during your day. You don't have to do this all at once if you do not have the time. You could do one set in the morning and the other after you get home from work, or during your lunch break, whenever.  That is the beauty of this challenge, it is quick and does not take long, so there is no reason not to do it!

Good Luck everyone and enjoy your week!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Fitness Challenge #2: Bring it on!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I hope that the week has started off to a great start and that you all have only great things headed to you this week.  OK! So, it is the start of another week and therefore another 7 days worth of awesome health and fitness challenges.  This week, we are going to be doing a nutritional and an exercise challenge. 

For the nutrition part, I want you all to focus on making sure you are eating 5 to 6 meals each day and are spacing them out about every 3-4 hours.  This is very important when you are working at getting weight off or keeping it off because it lets your body know that, one, you are not starving it and therefore it does not have to store all of what you are eating to fat. Then secondly, it keeps your metabolism running at a higher rate so you will feel hungrier and your body will have to fuel that it needs to give you more energy to do the things you need to get done everyday, as well as, having increased energy to stay and be active.

Now, for the exercise challenge! It is a burpee week.  If you are unfamiliar with burpees, please review at this link: http://betterbodyfitnessnw.blogspot.com/2012/04/best-total-body-exercise.html
Here is the concept.  I will have you all start with 10 burpees on day 1.  Then, on day 2 you add 2 for a total of 12 and so on for a total of 7 days you continually add 2 reps.  (You will end at 22 on the last day of your burpees. 

Good Luck with your challenges this week everyone! I know that you will do a great job and remember that you can always ask us any questions via our comments or our email.  I hope that everyone has a great week of kicking butt!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Let The Fitness Challenge Begin!

It is into the new year and we are already in February! Wow doesn't time move fast! Well, it is time for a check in.  How are you doing with all your health and fitness goals that you set for yourself this year? How are you feeling with your progress? No matter what your answers are, we all need to try something different, be held more accountable, and have that support system.  Well, look no further.  We are here for you all!

We started out with our own goals for the new year and this is what we are looking forward to starting with you all.  We are not only bring back our exercises of the week but we are going to call them Exercise of the month. So, once a month you will all get a new move to try out with progressions.  Also, something new that we want to try is to bring in weekly fitness challenges to help keep you motivated and going strong towards your health goals. 

Now, with these challenges some weeks it will be exercise focused but then other weeks nutrition will be a focus and then randomly there will be weeks with both! This way you are never bored, always working on your health, and constantly trying to improve your health, fitness, and build your mind and willpower!

This week our challenge is a two part one.  It needs to last for a full 7 days. The first part is a plank challenge.  You will do a max plank hold on day one, then on day two you need to try and beat it by a minimum of 5 seconds and continue that trend for the full 7 days. (If you need a reference on how to do a plank, please view this post again: http://betterbodyfitnessnw.blogspot.com/2012/05/exercise-move-of-week-core.html)

Part two is to eat no more then 3 servings of fruit in a day.  Try and fill the wanting for more servings with more veggies instead, they are lower in calories, more filling, and have less sugar. 

Let us know how you do!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Great Total Body exercise and ab toner!

We all are rushing around these days finding time to work out hard to come by or we feel too tried to workout. BUT there really is no excuse for not working out if your workout only take 20 minutes or less. This is done by combining exercises that work large muscle groups. As mentioned earlier, one of the best is the Burpee but surely there are other exercises that can have the same affect? Well, there are. The Inchworm is another great total body exercise that will work all the major muscle groups and help tone and strengthen your core.

The inchworm is done by starting out on your feet standing. Then you bend forward at the hips with your legs straight, as best you can, and place your hands on the floor in front of your feet, engage your core and slowly walk your hands out till you are in a push up or plank position. (Now, if you are wanting to make this move more advanced add a push up, refer to number 4 on the diagram.) Pause for a second in the plank position, make sure the hips and back are in line with with floor and that they are not sinking. Then walk your hands back towards your feet keeping your core engaged still. Then repeat this move 10-15 times.

Try to insert this exercise into your workout routine to add some spice and to make it more challenging. Hope that you all have a wonderful week!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Ask The Professionals!

Hey you guys!

Its that time again where  you can ask the professionals. You can comment on this post and ask about anything that you would like to know about in regards to your health and fitness.  Then on Monday the 23rd we will answer all your questions! Hope that you all have a wonderful, healthy and happy weekend!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Hey you guys!

On Monday, July 16th, we are starting a new session for Better Body Bootcamps! So, hurry and sign up! Its not too late in the summer to get that summer body. Please call at 503.657.3814 or email us at Info@betterbodyfitnessnw.com

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

How to Reach Your Goals This New Year’s

Tis' the time of the season that the year ends and people start to make their goals that they wish to achieve for the upcoming year. We have all done it, our New Year’s Resolutions. They will tend to be: “I want to be fitter, healthier, weigh less, run more, go to the gym more, eat better, etc.” and the list can go on and on. The problem with this is not that people have these goals or even that these goals are unrealistic but the problem tends to be that people go head first into the deep end and they get burnt out which leads them to giving up too soon.

Now, we have all had this happen to us at one time or another. Whether it is getting burned out, never quite making it to the gym, or maybe you are wanting to begin eating better next week, there are ways to make you successful in achieving your goals, whatever they may be.

1.      You need to MAKE THE DECISION FOR YOURSELF TO DO IT.  You need to consciously make it a part of your routine and changing your lifestyle to accommodate it. Make yourself WANT TO DO IT and NOT “have to do it”. This self-talk will help you change the way you look at it, especially if it is a goal that may be good for you but it is not something that you originally are really wanting to do.

2.      FIND WAYS TO ENJOY YOUR NEW ACTIVITY.  Whether it is with a friend or a big group of people, going outside (biking, hiking, rowing, running, etc.), listening to music, or even having little rewards for your successes to motivate you, you need to find ways that will motivate you to stay on the path.

3.      One of the most important parts of setting goals and new resolutions is that you MUST MAKE THEM REALSITIC.  By setting realistic goals they are less intimidating and you are also more likely to go after them. With goals that were already too intense for you reach, you might start out discouraged, intimated, or unsure if you are even going to reach it.

4.      FIND YOUR INSPIRATION. Music, quotes, movies, books, etc. find something that is inspiring to you and is something that will fuel you in your lowest of low moments.

5.      ENVISION YOURSELF SUCCEEDING! This is very important because if you can’t see yourself succeeding then how are you going to succeed? You need to believe that you can do it so much so that you can actually see yourself doing it.

6.      Last but not least, you need to MAKE THE COMMITMENT TO DO IT.  This is pretty self-explanatory but it is also one of the hardest steps to do. So, make a pledge to yourself that when you make the commitment then you stick with it and achieve it!

Remember that you can do anything that you set your mind to and that you need to believe that you can complete your goals and make them come into reality. Getting your mindset and having the will power to do all this will go up and down but you will find the strength that you need to make it happen. You just need to make sure that you take that first step.

Good Luck and remember we are always here to help you on your health journey

Committed to your health and fitness goals,

Justin and Angie LaPointe

The Do’s and Do Not’s For Fat Loss

There are many misconceptions of exercise that we all have. Many facts have been pasted down for the bodybuilders like Arnold or from other fitness gurus but for those of us that want to loose fat and don’t have hours and hours to dedicate we need a quick and efficient way of loosing fat that will get us to our goals quicker than not. 

·         Rule 1: DO resistance training and NOT just cardio.

o   While cardio is still something that is still healthy for you and something that you should do.  It does not mean that you have to be on the treadmill walking/ jogging/ running for hours everyday. You should be doing exercise that will build up lean muscle mass.

o   Look at your body as a car and the more muscle that it has the bigger your engine is and more fat it will use up as fuel. The cardio that requires you to go for 30, 40, 50, or 60 minutes wont give you more muscle and wont use your fat as fuel as much as lean muscle mass would.

o   This will also shorten the time it takes to drop body fat and therefore getting you to your goals quicker! Only by adding a resistance training routine 2-4 times a week!

·         Rule 2: DO whole body metabolic training and NOT body part muscle splits.

o   First off, a body part muscle split routine is where you focus on a specific muscle group, such as: chest, shoulders, and triceps.

o   Whole body metabolic training is where you are combining opposite movements together, these are known as supersets.

For example:

§  Doing a lower body movement with an upper

§  Doing a push then a pull

o   These kinds of movements will increase your heart rate and will burn more calories than if you were to do body part split workouts.

o   Focus on these kinds of workouts 2 to 3 times each week.

·         Rule 3: DO focus your time on large muscle groups NOT small muscle groups (abs, arms, etc.)

o   By focusing on larger muscle groups you are taxing yourself more and the more taxing an activity is the more calories you will burn and do for burning off fat allowing you to reach your goals faster!

·         Rule 4: DO High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and NOT just jogging.

o   This is a big one. By upping the intensity you are going to burn more calories and you can actually lessen you time in the gym or that you spend working out. You will burn possibly the same amount of calories in half the time if not more!

§  Some great examples of HIIT training:

·         If you are on the treadmill, try jogging/ running at a faster speed for 3 minutes and then drop it back down for and other 3 minutes. And then repeat till you reach about 20 or minutes. You will feel like you worked harder and you will see that you did in fact burn more calories than if you were on there for 40 minutes.

·         Or do timed activity (1 minute going and 30 seconds break) repeats till you reach 15- 20 minutes.

o   Do these kinds of work outs 2 to 3 times a week.

·         Rule 5: DO eat good, whole, and REAL food and NOT processed and modified food.

o   This is perhaps one of the most important rules. This is what your body uses as fuel and what it uses when it works out.  No matter what anyone says, you truly can NOT exercise your way out of a bad diet. It will catch up with you at some point, whether that is for the start or years later. What you put into your body matters.

o   By eating real foods you are supplying your body with what nature meant for you to have and to use as fuel. The more processed or modified that that food becomes the less quality and the fewer nutrients that food will have to supply you with proper nutrition. See what  happens and how your body feels by switching up your food for the better!

Below is the inspiration for this blog and this article is a good read with awesome information. 

http://www.todddurkin.com/adults-and-fat-loss-do-this-not-that/

May this blog and article inspire you to improve your workouts! Good Luck!

Committed to your health and fitness goals,

Justin and Angie LaPointe