Turbocharge Your Exercise Routine

By Dr. Wayne Westcott for Charge Up For Good Health

You don’t need to go to a fancy gym or hire a pricey personal trainer to get better results from your workout. My research and experience as a trainer has shown that you can burn more calories, build more muscle and have more energy just by making a few simple changes that won’t cost you a penny. Follow this game plan:

1. Milk it.
Have a big glass of low-fat chocolate milk or drinkable yogurt five to 15 minutes before you work out. In one of my recent studies, I found that people who downed a drink containing 15 to 20 grams of protein and 30 to 40 grams of carbs gained more muscle and lost more body fat than those who skipped the beverage. Food doesn’t work as well as do liquids, because it takes longer to digest it.

2. Water works.
Your muscles are 75 percent water, so it’s crucial to keep them hydrated throughout your routine. For every 1 percent of water you lose, your performance drops by 3 percent. How much water is enough? Drink 12 to 16 ounces for every 30 minutes of exercise.

3. Pump up your playlist.
You can work out harder -- but feel like you’re putting in less effort -- just by listening to music that has at least 125 beats per minute (the tempo of most dance and rock songs). Research from the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology found that these high-energy tunes can bump up your endurance by 15 percent while making it seem like you’re putting out 10 percent less effort.

4. Ask for company.
Invite a friend with the same fitness level to work out with you. In another recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, dieters who trained with a friend lost about 60 percent more weight than those who did it solo. Why? You’re less likely to blow off exercise if you’re meeting someone, plus you’ll probably work out a little harder than if you were on your own. 

5. Change the pace.
Switching from high intensity to low intensity and back again a few times during your workout will burn more calories than maintaining a steady pace the entire time. For example, if you’re spending 30 minutes on the treadmill, begin with a three-minute warm-up at 2 mph. Then alternate four three-minute intervals at 2.5 mph with four three-minute intervals at 3.5 mph. Finish with a three-minute cooldown at 2 mph.

Dr. Wayne Westcott is the fitness research director of the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Mass., and a strength training consultant for the American Council on Exercise and the American Senior Fitness Association. He has written more than a dozen fitness books, including High-Intensity Strength Training: The Most Effective and Efficient Means for Developing Muscle and Strength and Get Stronger, Feel Younger: The Cardio and Diet-Free Plan to Firm Up and Lose Fat.

Find upward bliss in down dog - 6 reasons to start doing yoga  

Before finding yoga, my body was a wound up tight little ball of stress and inflexibility.  It was a challenge to touch my toes, balance, focus, relax, and quiet my mind.A year ago, I made a commitment to practice yoga at least once a week.   I stepped into a small yoga studio in Santa Monica, CA and from that day on everything changed.  After a few weeks of practice I began to notice big differences in my body and you will too.The following are 7 of many reasons to start doing yoga.  

1. Weight Loss.

Adding yoga to your exercise and nutrition program will aide in weight loss.  You burn 400 - 600 calories in a yoga class, sweat out toxins, and lower the amount of cortisol in your body. One of my personal training clients lost his first 110 lbs simply by practicing yoga 3 days a week and by modifying his diet. Yoga + WellnessPro Balanced Nutrition = Weight Loss.

2 Stress Relief.

In response to stress and anxiety out bodies produce a hormone called cortisol.  Cortisol is known to increase blood pressure, blood sugar, and reduce immune responses.  Practicing yoga encourages relaxation, and is known to lower the amount of cortisol in your body.  Not only does yoga allow you to relax, it reduces the lasting effects of stress on your body.

3. Flexibility & Posture.

Moving through the vinyasa, practicing alignment, and transitioning from pose to pose helps increase flexibility while improving range of motion.   The benefits of yoga include lengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your body to help you become more flexible.   Before practicing yoga I could not touch my toes, or pull my shoulders back.Now I have the freedom that flexibility allows.

4. Breath work.

In yoga breath and movement go hand in hand much like in proper weight training.   Yoga allows you to increase lung capacity, and trigger the body’s relaxation response.  Try Taking 10 deep breaths with your eyes closed.Notice how your body responds with relaxation.

5. Increased Strength.

Yoga poses use all the muscles in your body and help you increase your strength level from head to toe.  The benefits of yoga and daily exercises will help you strengthen your muscles close to the bones, which increase the support of your skeletal system as well.   I now have increased strength and stamina during all of my workouts

6. Tranquility & Inner Peace.

Perhaps the most beneficial reason to practice yoga is to find tranquility in your day.  The combination of breath work, stretching, and physical activity brings peace to the moment.  When you allow your mind to leave all of the days problems, conversations, and expectations behind for a moment, you will be hooked!

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