Execute and Evaluate Your Plan

Truly successful people do this everyday in their work, so why wouldn't you apply it to your weight loss goals?

First Step: Execute Your Plan

Commit yourself to a diet and exercise program and then give it an honest try. Stick with the program and get the most of it by following the nutrition and exercise prescriptions. You'll need to complete weekly progress reports, weigh-ins, and other assessments to keep track of in your journal.

Second Step: Evaluate Your Plan

This is the step that you may be missing. It's crucial to actually look back over your data and see how you've improved over the past 2, 4, or 8 weeks. After you’ve been dieting and exercising for a while, your progress reports will allow you to evaluate how a particular program worked for you. The results will also let you see how well you were able to comply with what was asked of you.

No one is asking you to rearrange your life, but you will need to make some compromises if you truly want to achieve a healthy body weight and lifestyle. Having a plan, executing it, and then evaluating your results is how the pros do it… and so should you.

Instant Results?

I guess the answer depends on your opinion and what you were expecting to happen when you began exercising.

The truth is that you can expect to see instant results when you begin exercising. The right program can help you feel better the very first day after breaking a sweat. It's also not uncommon to lose weight your first week in to a diet and exercise program. After all, you are dedicating yourself to living a healthier lifestyle and with that pledge comes some sacrifice. It means having to cut out some of your favorite treats that you know are holding you back from losing weight. It also means increasing your activity level and expending more calories than you take in.

So, although your long-term results come from the cumulative effect of dieting and training, it's nice to know that you can lose weight and feel great your very first week.

Core-Training: Diffuse Lower Back Pain

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between those with a healthy back and others who are  constantly suffering from back pain?

Core strength and proper alignment!

Since most every daily activity engages the muscles of the core, it is essential that they be in proper working order. This corset of muscles is meant to stabilize, accelerate, and decelerate the body while it is active.

That's why even the smallest movement is enough to drop a 250lb man to his knees in excruciating back pain if he is experiencing any type of nerve impingement or misalignment of his spine.

Many back problems can be cured with proper postural alignment and core strengthening. By realigning the spine and activating the deep muscles of the core, you can now move through life pain free and without worry of becoming reinjured.

Mother's Day Express Workout

Today's post is dedicated to all those busy moms out there.

I know you put your children and your family first and that's why I want you to take 20 minutes a day to focus on yourself. So in between picking the kids up from school, sports practice, music lessons, or preparing dinner I want you to sneak in a quick workout.

This workout will boost your energy levels and leave you feeling great about the work you just put into keeping your body the way you want it to look.

Here's a quick and easy body weight workout you can do right at home:

Warm-up: Jumping Jacks
Complete 3 sets of 30 jumping jacks before moving on to your exercises.

Exercise #1: Couch Push-ups
Place both hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart on the edge of the couch. Lower your body down slowly to right before your chest touches, then push back up to the starting push-up position. Repeat as many repetitions as you can with good form.

Exercise #2: Prisoner Squats
This exercise is great because it forces you to work on your posture as you burn calories. Begin this exercise standing in front of a chair. Clasp both hands behind your head. Slowly squat backwards with your hips as you sit down towards the chair. Work to keep your elbows back and your head and chest up as you squat. As you feel your hips touch the chair, push back up to a standing position. Repeat 15-20x.

Try to complete exercises #1 and #2 without any rest in between sets. After you complete both, rest 1 minute and then repeat 1-2 additional rounds.

Happy Mother's Day!

The Feel Good Workout

Everyone has their own definition of what a feel good workout is. For some it's going for a walk and for others it might be completing really strenuous weight lifting exercises.

Luckily, we are all entitled to choose what works best for us and most of us feel like we know what feels right for our bodies. The problem arises though, when you've become accustomed to relaxing a little too much and sitting for the majority of our day. After working in front of a computer or desk for 8 or more hours you can imagine how sluggish your body can become.

At this point your body may feel tired, but not from exerting too much energy. Actually, it's just the opposite. Since you've spent so much time in a stressful, yet stationary position your body starts to become deconditioned and any extra effort than is typically expended becomes a chore.

Keep this in mind when you're completing your workouts. If you're a true beginner you can start by walking, but then gradually ask your body to step it up to the next level. Keep pushing your limits with gradual incremental increases. If you do, you will start to see a transformation take place where you feel more energetic and full of life.

Remember that your "feel good" workout may not feel like so much fun as you're pushing yourself to recreate your ideal body, but after you finish your last set or end your cardio you'll feel great!

Alternating High & Low Repetitions for Best Results

In my last post you got to see which was a more powerful method of toning your muscles - higher or lower repetition sets.

Today we're going to put it all together in one easy-to-use and understand workout program. This routine is going to be simple to follow and it will take you less than 30 minutes to complete 3 days per week. And, you're only going to have to remember 3 exercises for the whole week!

Here's the muscle toning and defining program:

Day 1: Monday
Dumbbell ball chest presses x 2-3 sets x 15 reps
Dumbbell 1 arm row x 2-3 sets x 15 reps each side
Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts (straight legs) x 2-3 sets x 15 reps

Day 2: Wednesday
Dumbbell ball chest presses x 4 sets x 6 reps
Dumbbell 1 arm row x 4 sets x 6 reps each side
Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts (straight legs) x 4 sets x 6 reps

Day 3: Friday
Dumbbell ball chest presses x 3 sets x 10 reps
Dumbbell 1 arm row x 3 sets x 10 reps each side
Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts (straight legs) x 3 sets x 10 reps

Just remember to adjust your weighs according to your rep range. On the lower rep days you will need to increase your resistance to make up for the limited number of repetitions.

Good luck and if you need to see what these exercises look like in action check out their descriptions in previous posts under the exercise part of my blog.

Getting Lean & Tone: More or Less Repetitions?

Some people find that they enjoy lifting heavier weights for fewer repetitions, while others prefer lifting slightly lighter weights for more repetitions.

Let's classify that higher rep sets means performing an exercise for more than 12 repetitions. We'll consider rep ranges between 6-12 to be lower rep sets.

The key to changing your physique and developing lean and defined muscles is to lift challenging weights when going through your workouts.

So what exactly is a "challenging weight?"

It means trading in your dumbbells or other resistance for a weight that you take to momentary muscular failure. Of course, you don't want to look like one of those guys in the gym swinging the weights around like a bucking bronco, so make sure to keep an eye on your form. This will force you to concentrate on the muscles that are working and really develop the mind-muscle connection.

In terms of choosing lower or higher reps for better results, you should plan to incorporate both. This isn't a wishy-washy answer either… you actually get better results when you work in all repetition ranges.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how to design a program using just 3 exercises while working in high, medium, and low rep ranges. 

Better Weight Loss Method: Diet or Exercise?

After meeting with a client today, they told me they had read that one of these methods was superior to the other in terms of weight loss.

They didn't know what to believe and have seen so many contradicting articles supporting one or the other.

Well, I'm here to tell you there is no one superior way to lose weight. While I agree that it may be easier at times to cut out 500 calories by eating less, I don't feel that severe calorie restricting diets lead to long-term weight loss. That's really the key point here… long term results. Pretty much any hardcore diet or exercise program will work for a few weeks, but then what? You can't maintain a super strict program forever.

Keep in mind that it's also very difficult to limit your physical activity and still hope to eat the amount of food that satisfies you. If you use less energy, you simply can't eat as many calories which leads to lower levels of compliance and as a result, less results.

Don't try to decide on what would be a better way for you to lose weight this spring. Instead, start creating a new healthier lifestyle that involves both proper nutrition and exercise. Increase your activity level and begin to eat healthier meals and snacks.

Every little bit counts and it's really the sum of the whole that gets you to your end goal.

If you're new to the NutritionData.com blog make sure to check back daily for cutting edge and useful tips on how to lose weight.

Cardio Secrets

In my last post, I compared the calorie burning ability of outdoor jogging, biking, and swimming. Most people would have guessed that jogging would clearly beat out the other two forms of exercise in terms of total calories expended over a 45-minute time period.

But the truth was each activity burned the same amount of calories!

So what's the reason for this seemingly impossible scenario? The secret is that each form of exercise was done at the same level of intensity throughout the workout. That demonstrates it's not the activity, but the intensity of the activity that burns more calories.

Using this information, you can now see that you can choose resistance training, the elliptical, rollerblading, or another physical activity to burn your specific calorie goal for the day. Another secret is that if you choose an activity that is harder for you to complete, then you'll burn more calories in less time. For example, if you are always using the upright bike and you were to go jogging for the day, you'd burn more calories from your body having not yet acclimated itself to a workout of that kind.

So now you know that although it may be easier to get your heart rate up by doing certain movements, you can still get the caloric burn you want no matter what the activity.

"How Many Calories Do I Burn Doing…?"

A common question you may have is how to figure out how many calories you burn when working out on  a machine or performing an activity that doesn't have a "calories burned" readout display.

To be honest, even the cardio machine displays aren't completely accurate and can only give you an estimation based on your height, weight, age, duration, intensity, and a few other statistics. They do, however, provide a great reference point from one workout to another and a useful way to calculate your calories expended to log into your daily diet and exercise journal.

The problem is what happens if you are outside going for a jog, swim, or bike ride…?

Well, just like the machines at the gym you can calculate your calories burned by using any number of fitness calories counters online.

Here's an example of a 180lb person's calories expended for 3 different 45-minute outdoor activities. Check out the comparison between the types of exercise:

Bicycling: 12-13.9 mph, leisure, moderate effort 490.9
Running: 5 mph (12 min/mile) 490.9
Swimming: crawl, moderate, 50 yds/min 490.9
(Statistics taken from primusweb.com's fitness calculator)

Notice anything peculiar?

You probably recognized that you would burn the same number of calories in your 45-minute workout no matter what method you chose for exercise. Wondering what the reason is?

We'll go over that one in the next post… stay tuned!

Fitness Video: Take This Workout on the Road

Last week I was on vacation and the gym at the hotel I was staying at was scary at best…

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. They're the ones that you walk in to and then immediately turn right back around. This was a well-known hotel chain in a nice city, but their gym looked like it was last on the list of hotel improvements. It had to have been 20 years old, and that goes for the equipment too. Usually all I look for is a pair of dumbbells, cables, bands, or kettlebells, but this gym only left me with a few mismatched dumbbells that were pretty rusty.

So, I decided to pass and went back to my hotel room to get in a quick and efficient body weight workout. You can find the exact workout I did below. I chose to do the workout from the second video, but the first one is an excellent choice for beginners and intermediates. I also always make sure to add those particular Part 1 exercises into my programs for all levels.

Just click the play buttons below to see which video is the right fit for you.

Part 1 Video: Beginner/Intermediate Body Weight Workout

Part 2 Video: Advanced Body Weight Workout

Testing Your Resting Metabolic Rate

Why should you know your resting metabolic rate?

Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is a measure of the number of calories your body burns each day to maintain life. Your RMR is equal to approximately 60-70% of daily total caloric expenditure and also relates to how much lean body mass you have. Basically, your resting metabolic rate gives you the number of calories your body would need if you were to lie in bed all day and not expend any other energy or exert effort. The remaining 30% percent of calories burned come from your body's daily physical activity such as digestion, daily living, and exercise.

Why should you measure your RMR?

Your body is unique and your metabolism and caloric needs will differ from the person next to you (even if you both weigh the same amount).

Here are some factors contributing to your body's metabolism:
• Age
• Height
• Gender
• Body composition – lean body mass to fat ratio
• Activity level
• Exercise intensity and duration
• Varying physical and environmental influences

How can you test your RMR?

The whole process takes about 15 minutes and is very easy and painless to complete. A qualified, registered dietician or health professional will have you lie or sit down and then place a soft, form-fitting mask around your mouth. The RMR program they use will then calculate the oxygen and carbon dioxide data collected. It will then analyze the data and provide you with your personal resting metabolic rate.

The testing is also fairly accurate, especially with a qualified technician fitting the mask to your face. I have personally seen discrepancies of up to 5-10% when completing the test within the same week. However, this is still better than estimating your own RMR, which is often off by as much as 20-25%. For example, if you calculate your RMR to be 2,000 calories and it's really 1,500 you can see why you would be gaining weight from consuming an additional 500 calories per day…

Make sure to retest your RMR every 8-12 weeks, as your energy and caloric needs may change depending on the results you have achieved through your weight loss program.

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To better help me write about the topics you most want to learn about please take a second now to vote for your top choice.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Make One Change per Week

I was recently speaking with some people who said they failed on their New Year's resolution. They said that they did so because they tried to do too much too soon…

It's understandable that if you stress yourself out about completely changing your routine and your way of life, you will eventually crumble under the pressure. It can be totally overwhelming when you think about how much weight you actually have to lose and how long you've been carrying it for.

The truth is, and I know you've heard it before, you didn't put the weight on overnight and you shouldn't expect to take it off that way either. However, you can lose your excess weight (body fat) by taking a systematic approach to weight loss. That means you should take it one step at a time to ensure that not only will you burn off body fat, but you will keep it off permanently.

You may be asking how this is possible when you have fallen short so many times before…

The difference is asking yourself to implement only one piece each week. That means you will make one dietary or exercise related change every seven days all while journaling every step of the way. You give yourself a grade each week and track your progress as you begin to achieve new personal bests in weight loss. This will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed from having to turn your lifestyle upside down.

Each new healthy lifestyle correction will eventually become a habit and part of your routine. You'll find that this is the real key to living well and looking great!

Burn More Calories Walking

Since we're officially into spring now and the weather is becoming a lot nicer, this is a great opportunity  to get outside. I also wanted to give you some helpful tips to burn more calories while walking and breathing in some fresh air.

Here are 5 ways to lose more weight while walking:

1. Walk with Intensity
Remember to swing your arms and push forward using your glutes

2. Head for the Hills
Make sure to include some uphill battles in your walking route

3. Walk on Dirt, Gravel, or Grass Paths
It takes more work for your body to navigate uneven surfaces

4. Wear a Weighted Vest or Backpack
A little added weight can go a long way in terms of burning more calories.

5. Use Walking Poles
Walking Poles will help you burn more calories and up the intensity of your walk

These 5 tips should help you lose more weight while going for your daily walks. Enjoy the nice weather and keep on moving!

"Will I Bulk Up If I Lift Weights?"

That largely depends on your genetics, lifting program, nutrition, and recovery.

Believe it or not, it takes a fair amount of effort for most people to add any lean muscle. You really have to be disciplined about your exercise program.

Special note for women:

If you are a woman, have no fear of bulking up! Why? The hormone, testosterone, is largely responsible for adding muscle and bulk. Women just don't have the hormone levels to create that type of anabolic environment for massive muscle growth.

Adding lean muscle is something you should continually strive for. At the very least you will preserve your current lean muscle and keep your metabolic rate up. Also, muscle is very dense as opposed to body fat.

So, the moral of the story is not to worry about bulking up from lifting weights. If anything, you'll end up slimming down and toning up from the greater caloric burn.

Slash Your Sick Days

In the news:

People who exercise have on average 40-50% less sick days! That means that they take off half as much time as those who merely sit behind a desk and never get their bodies moving through exercise.

The reason for this amazing statistic is that when your blood pressure increases through vigorous activity, your disease fighting immune cells get pushed through your blood. They are able to detect and fight off cold viruses before it's too late.

That's great news for you, your boss, and your deadlines. Plus, the flip side is you'll feel healthier and more energetic by incorporating exercise into your daily program.

Check out this post on how lunch time breaks can be the perfect time to fit in a 30 minute workout.

Lunch Break Exercise

Why should you spend your mid-day break being active?

There are so many reasons! For starters, you're less likely to order unhealthy food and this alone could save you an extra 500 calories a day (that's almost a one pound weight loss your first week right there!).

Second, you'll have more energy throughout the rest of the day after getting some lunch time activity.

Third, you can do something as simple as going for a 30 minute walk. It's easy and you can add those expended calories from walking to the calories you skipped by not hitting the vending machine or choosing some other unhealthy meal. Instead, you'll be more likely to go for a well-balanced, energizing lunch.

Now you can see how just 30 minutes during your lunch break can really help with your weight loss goals. Be sure to check out my 7 part Spring Shape Up series for more details.

"Will my Muscle Turn to Fat if I Stop Working Out?"

This is another really popular question that has an easy answer, but for some reason this myth just won't die…

Muscle and fat are about as equal to each other as red meat and butter. They aren't the same fiber type and one can't become the other. It's physiologically impossible.

When you stop using your muscles at your current capacity, your body becomes significantly less efficient at burning calories, which allows body fat to start to accumulate. That's why the scale may not be changing in terms of the number, but your body composition certainly will when you start to lose muscle and add fat. What happens is that your ratio of fat to muscle will shift significantly and your body begins to look softer and less toned.

Your goal should be to add lean muscle while burning the fat. If you're a beginner you can just start with 2-3 days a week of body weight exercises. Then you can graduate to other forms of resistance to keep your from plateauing.

Buy the Right Size Jump Rope for You

I get this question a lot and I totally understand…

In my last post I wrote up a concise jump rope conditioning program, but a lot of people asked, "how are you supposed to know what is the right size jump rope for you?" Too long and it will throw off your timing… too short and you'll end up tripping over it.

Here's how to eliminate all the confusion.

Stand with both feet in the center of the jump rope and pull up both ends towards your shoulders. The two handles should equally reach your armpits. If you can raise your hands higher than your shoulders your rope is too long. The reverse is also true; if you can't reach shoulder height then your rope is too short.

Although most jump ropes are adjustable, you're better off buying the right size the first time. If you're buying your jump rope off the internet, then I would recommend grabbing a piece of old rope and using that to find the right length. You can then lay the rope out straight and measure it from tip to tip. This will give you the exact length you should order.

That's it – so get going!

Spring Shape Up - Part 7 of 7: The New You – Only Better!

Expect Success!

Prior planning leads to higher levels of compliance. Greater levels of compliance lead to better results and the cycle continues. Short term weight loss goals are great, but what type of lifestyle are you hoping to create for yourself? These are some of the thoughts you should have swirling around in your mind as you are dedicating yourself to your goals of shaping up.

Too many people succumb to the yo-yo dieting effect and leave themselves open to repeating their mistakes of the past. They do this either because of a lack of education, poor information, or the fact that they only want to go half-way with their plan to lose weight. In order to get the most out of your weight loss program, you should incorporate both a healthy diet plan, as well as a well balanced exercise program.

You have to really want this change and you definitely need to be thinking of this in terms of a long-term solution. You didn't gain all this weight overnight and you aren't going to lose it all overnight (no matter what magic potion comes onto the market), but you can certainly lose every unwanted ounce of body fat if you follow proven and healthy techniques. Never stop investing in your education and continually update your knowledge by reading reputable health and fitness sources.

Use your high levels of motivation now to set up a nutrition, exercise, and healthy lifestyle journal that not only outlines the steps you will take to "clean up your act," but also to keep yourself accountable for your actions. True success lies in checks and balances. If you dive in too fast without a plan, sure you'll lose weight, but more than likely you'll sacrifice long-term success for short term victories. You don't want to lose the weight while jeopardizing your metabolism. Likewise, you don't want to start out doing too much, too soon. Allow you body to ease into your walking and exercises by starting out with shorter workouts and just 1 or 2 sets the first few weeks out.

A sample week may look like this:

Monday: 30 minute lunch time walk + 30 minute walk after dinner
Tuesday: 20-30 minute AM strength training + 30 minute PM walk
Wednesday: 30 minute lunch time walk + 30 minute walk after dinner
Thursday: 20-30 minute AM strength training + 30 minute PM walk
Friday: 30 minute lunch time walk + 30 minute walk after dinner
Saturday: 20-30 minute AM strength training + 30 minute fun activity
Sunday: 30-60 minute light walk and staying active

You can always add some hills or short sprint intervals into your walks to make them more challenging as you progress. The same goes for the strength training. You'll start out with body weight exercises and then progress to dumbbells or other forms of resistance to keep your results coming.

Make sure this time is different. Set up a plan, take one step at a time, take each day at a time, and deliver on your goals of developing a healthy lifestyle.

The rest will fall into place…

If you missed any of the Spring Shape Up 7 part series you can find them on NutritionData.com under Spring Shape Up.

Jump Rope Conditioning Program

Reader Question:

"I am 17 years old and 200 pounds. I'm 5-10". I've been using the jump rope for quite some time but because of my busy schedule I stopped. Now it's our summer break so I'm back to using the jump rope however I was wondering if you could recommend me a jump rope program because I heard the jump rope can seriously help shed off a lot of pounds."
-Douglas

Answer:

Hi Douglas,
Jumping rope can be a great form of exercise. It does take a little getting used to, but once you get down the timing and the coordination, you'll be impressed with how well you catch on.

The first tip I would recommend is starting with 30 seconds of "alternating skip steps." This is a great way for beginners to transition into jumping rope. You'll want to take about double the amount of rest time as what your set takes. This is the ration I recommend for most intervals, which is a 1:2 work to rest ratio.

Once you start to progress, you can increase your work time and decrease your rest. Eventually you'll be doing 2 foot hops for up to 5 minutes without breaking.

However, I recommend that you don't make jumping rope your sole form of exercise. One key to reducing your chance of repetitive motion injuries is to choose different exercise movements and motions on varying days throughout the week. You'll still have plenty of opportunity to practice, but just make sure those practice sessions don't involve too many jumps while you're first starting out.

Check out this really helpful website dedicated to the art of Jump Roping. You will be able to find descriptions, program details, and photos of the techniques described in this post.

Good luck and have fun!

Sharpen Your Mind

You'll be happy to know that exercise is not only a great way to maintain a healthy body weight, but new studies show that it can also sharpen your mind.

Researchers at England's Middlesex University conducted a test on over 60 people where they had them complete an aerobic workout, as well as sit down and watch a video. What the researchers found was that the volunteers scored higher on creativity and feeling more positive after their exercise routine.

These studies demonstrate that there are so many benefits associated with working out that we rarely stop and think about. Whether you're trying to lose weight, maintain weight, or gain weight, you can find the right exercise program for you to reach your goals. As it begins to be a part of your weekly routine, you will feel the healthy benefits start to multiply in your life.

How to Choose a Personal Trainer

In my last post I recommended that if you are feeling low on motivation and are stuck in a rut of doing the same old training program, then now may be a good time to hire a personal trainer to get you back on the right track.

Don't make the mistake of just hiring the first person you come in contact with.

Do some research of your own and find out how long they have been working as a personal trainer and if this is their full-time career. You don't want to put your health and fitness in the hands of someone who is just doing it as a part-time job to make some extra money. They more than likely don't spend the additional time needed on continued research and education to develop the right program for you.

You should also ask around to see what their other clients have to say about their training style. Are they a hardcore boot camp trainer, a soft spoken educator, or somewhere in between?

A good personal trainer will be able to match their training personality to fit yours and ensure that they make you as comfortable as possible during each session. Your trainer should also be an excellent communicator, especially when it comes to demonstrating the exercises you will perform.

Lastly, make sure that your potential trainer is nationally certified. They should have received their certified personal trainer (CPT) or certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) through a NCCA organization.
Here are 3 of those top certifying organizations:

National Academy of Sports Medicine -  http://www.nasm.org
American College of Sports Medicine - http://www.acsm.org
National Strength & Conditioning Association - http://www.nsca-lift.org

My last suggestion would be to ask the person you have selected for a complimentary fitness consultation, so that the two of you can sit down and discuss your goals in more depth. You can also ask them to demonstrate a few exercises they would recommend for your particular needs. After that initial meeting you should have a good idea of whether or not they are a good fit for you.

Low on Motivation?

Feel like you're just running in circles?

Or maybe you're a little low on motivation and could really use a new workout program?

This may be the perfect time to hire a certified personal trainer for a session or two. That fitness professional will be able to listen to your previous workout and health history, as well as your goals and then design a customized workout for you.

It's a great way to get back on track and rededicate yourself to improving your health and fitness.

Tomorrow, I'll show you what to look for when hiring a personal trainer.

Spring Shape Up - Part 6 of 7: Bust through Plateaus

We all hit stumbling blocks from time to time on our road to losing weight and shaping up. This means that in order to keep the results coming, we need to know what to do when we find ourselves suddenly plateauing in terms of weight loss.

The first thing you need to realize is that you will likely be adding some lean muscle as a result of your workout program. This is a necessary element to increasing your metabolic rate and achieving long-term healthy weight maintenance. It's also one of the reasons why you may not see the number on the scale go down quite as quickly as the weeks progress. The amount of muscle you add will be gradual and will be very lean and dense. It's also great for adding a more toned and defined look to your body.

The second thing you should know is that everyone plateaus. When you are first starting out on an exercise program, your results may come quickly, but eventually your body adapts to the new stimulus and your results will start to slow. Most of the time we can appreciate how smart and efficient our mind and body tries to be, but when it comes to burning calories this efficiency backfires on us.

Now that you know what to be aware of, you can be ready for these plateaus. You'll be armed and ready to get to work on busting through these roadblocks.

Here's how to do it:
1. Be proactive and switch up your workout routines every 4-6 weeks
With this approach your body won't have time to adapt to your exercise or repetition selection.
2. Don't do the same exercises everyday
Your program should have varying exercises, cardiovascular routines, and repetition ranges to keep your body guessing
3. Alternate high, low, and medium repetition ranges for maximum results
You can engage in a program that has you completing 15 repetitions per exercise for 4 weeks and then 8 reps the next program. You could also have alternating days of 6-8, 10-12, and 15 repetitions per set. This will also allow you to work your muscles and energy systems in different ways leading to greater results.
4. Keep a success journal that outlines what you are doing to lose weight
Use this journal to see what seems to work the best for you in burning off the fat. You may find that lower reps and higher weights lead to better results for you. There are many different scenarios and instead of just guessing, your journal will display what really worked best. You'll still want to vary your routines, but now you know you can keep the lower reps for most 4 week programs and just switch up the exercises.
5. Include walking, longer cardiovascular days, and interval sessions
If you are currently just doing sprints, try some longer 45 minute walks, jogs, or steady-state cardio workouts. Likewise, if you are mostly doing 45-60 minute long, slow, jogs try some 30 second sprints or hill climbs. After a 10 minute warm-up, you'll only need 5-8 sprints starting out, which means you can complete this shorter interval workout in less than 30 minutes.
6. Take 1-2 days off per week to let your body rest so that you can be fresh for the next day's workout
Your muscle tissue breaks down from workout induced stress and needs some time to rebuild and become stronger. A day or two off a week that only includes some light walking and stretching will do your body good.
7. Realize that you're not going to hit a home run every week in terms of body fat loss. Don't worry. Hitting a bunch of singles adds up too.

Plateaus are not to be feared, but rather they serve as an indicator that it's time to move on to bigger and better things. Stay positive and keep after your goals!

In Part 7 of Spring Shape Up, I will wrap up this mini-series with a special write-up on what the most successful people do to keep weight off for life.

Buddy System

Let's face it, there are days when you just aren't up for going jogging, lifting weights, or heading over to your favorite fitness class.

Those are the times when a workout partner really comes in handy. When you're feeling a bit down, you can count on them to get you motivated and make sure you get in your workout.

As long as you set up a schedule with that person and the two of you agree from the beginning to make sure that the other doesn't skip out on the workout, then you have formed a solid partnership. The two of you should also share your goals and what you hope to achieve out of a fitness program. That way you can check in on one another and make sure you are inching closer toward your goals each week.

You'll also find that 30 minutes flies by when you are sharing stories, making each other laugh, and motivating one another every step of the way. I've seen some great friendships formed in workout partners, as well as deepening existing relationships. The camaraderie of spending time together doing something healthy really brings out the best in people.

Involve your whole family, or find a friend who you can partner with on your way to losing weight and feeling great.

Workout Music Selection

Have your workouts been feeling a little sluggish lately?

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse found that people who listen to up-tempo music got more out of their cardio workouts.

The research team found that people pedaled faster on their bikes and got their heart rate pumping harder than those who listened to slow-tempo music. Their workouts were 5 – 15% more intense while listening to music with more beats per minute.

This may just be the kick you need to re-energize your workouts and burn those extra calories. Also, with the widespread adoption of MP3 players downloading music is easy. You can even create your own personal mix. Feel free to check out WorkoutMusic if you need help on designing your playlist.

Spring Shape Up - Part 5 of 7: Your Results are in the Details

Now that you've started easing into your Spring Shape Up program, it's time to give you a few more tips. These hints should push your weight loss results to the next level.

Sometimes you may get into a groove and your exercises begin to feel fairly easy to complete. Once this happens, you're going to want to increase the intensity of your workout routine to keep the results coming.

Too many people wonder why they have stopped seeing results from their exercise program. Most of the time, they have overlooked the exact reason why exercising worked so well for them in the first place.

When you add a new stimulus to your body, whether it be more weight, reps, or new exercises, you force your body to change and keep up with the new demand. This simply means that once your weights begin to feel a little light, you're going to want to increase the resistance. The same applies for your walks or cardiovascular work. You may want to increase the time of each session, or up your intensity while still keeping the length of your workout the same.

Here is a list of 5 great ways to challenge and shock your body into increasing your metabolic rate, toning and defining your muscles, and shrinking your waist line:

1. Compete most of your exercises standing:
You've probably been sitting most of the day and by getting up on your feet you will burn more calories and work far more muscle fiber while you workout.

2. Stick with multi-joint, compound exercises like presses and pulls: (explained in Part 3)
These exercises work more muscle groups, burn more calories, engage your core, and most of the movements resemble real world activities.

3. Add interval training into your workouts: (demonstrated in Part 4)
Short bursts of intensity will help you to take your workouts to the next level by burning more calories and elevating your metabolism.

4. To force your body to change, you need to give it a reason to:
This means that every time the weights, walks, or any of your exercises begin to feel less challenging, take them up a notch. Add a few more reps, increase the time, or add more weight.

5. Spend less time resting between sets and aim to complete more work in less time:
When you first started working out you probably didn't recover as quickly and your heart rate didn't come down as fast. Now that you are improving your fitness level, you will find that your body is in better shape and needs less time to recover between exercises. Take advantage of that and move more quickly through your fitness routine.

Hopefully this list gives you a better idea of how you can take your results to the next level and keep your weight loss coming!

In Part 6 of Spring Shape Up, I will walk you through exactly what to do when you hit a stumbling block on your road to losing weight and shaping up.