I love supporting local Katy Auctions. I always support local elementary schools by donating personal training sessions to help them raise money for anything they want to raise money for. Katy is my home, my community, and I want to do everything I can to support it. But lately, I’m wondering if others in the Katy area that donate to auctions really understand the point of it. I’ve had two bad experiences lately with auctions. I won’t name any names or businesses, but if you are a business that donates to auctions consider a few things.
1) Don’t donate something that you give away for free on a normal basis. If you list on your website that you are giving away a certain item to everyone that gives you their e-mail address, no one should pay money to get it an auction. Because the moment they see that they paid for something they could have had for free, you lost the respect of that individual.
2) If someone wins your auction item, they shouldn’t have to pay for something to use it. My wife recently won something. We paid for it, outbid everyone else, and was ready to redeem it, only to find out there was a catch. It turns out that she had to purchase something at the store in order to get the raffle item. Now I can understand if she had to purchase something in order to use it on what she won, but this wasn’t the case. She just had to buy something, completely unrelated to what she won, just so she could be put in their computer system to redeem the prize. This makes no sense to me, but if someone can explain it to me, please do.
With all that being said, I am donating to some local auctions. I donated personal training sessions to the Katy Chamber Gala recently, I am donating to Bonnie Holland Elementary, and I have another auction I will be donating to soon as well. I almost always donate several personal training sessions to these auctions. (By the way, if you have a fundraiser that you would like a donation for, let me know. I’d be glad to help.) I never discount my personal training sesssions, but sometimes you can get a great deal on a block of personal training sessions with me when you go to one of the auctions. So bid on them when you see them, and let’s raise some money for some good causes. I look forward to helping the winners of the auctions get in great shape, and I can assure you, you will get your money’s worth.
This week’s personal trainer fitness tip is about working the triceps. Many people have a hard time getting toned arms. In this video, I am going to demonstrate how to properly do a tricep pressdown on a machine and a tricep kickback with a dumbbell. I plan to give more personal training fitness tips in the near future. Let me know what you think about this video after watching it.
Here is my latest video about interval based training. In this example, I will walk you through the process of setting up the Life Fitness treadmill so you can have a great workout at just the touch of a button.
I use 3 different ratios when I talk about interval training:
3:1 = 90 seconds fast, 30 seconds slow
2:1 = 60 seconds fast, 30 seconds slow
1:1 = 30 seconds fast, 30 seconds slow
Houston is once again in the top 10….for the fattest cities in America. At one time Houston was the fattest cities in the US, but we have now dropped to number 6. I’m not sure if that’s encouraging or discouraging. I really wish we could improve and get past this, but it turns out that we have a love for donuts. According to Men’s Health, “Donuts are 132 percent more popular here than average, according to a comparison of places where they are sold. Houston has the 6th highest number of donut outlets per capita in our survey. ”
We also have a high air pollution and a low number of home gyms. Not mentioned was the long commute time as well, but that issue has been discussed in previous years. I’m ready to see us beat this list, but I’m just not sure how or when it will happen.
Personal trainers meet new people every January who are determined to lose weight. And as a personal trainer in the Katy area, I have discovered that a lot of people don’t see results simple because they aren’t sure how. Sure, they know to lose weight they should exercise and eat healthier, but beyond that, they really aren’t sure exactly what to do. If you are one of the people who are unsure of what to do, here is a simple guide to make sure you achieve your weight loss results.
What is your goal? – The first step is the easiest step. You have to figure out what you want to accomplish. There is more to it than that though. As a personal trainer, I often ask people what their goals are, and I usually get the common response, “lose weight”. “I want to lose weight” is not a goal. You need to be very specific for your goals. “I want to lose 20 pounds by April 15th,” is a good goal. Write down your specific goal and keep it in a place you will be able to observe it so you can stay focused and lose weight.
What is my plan? – You have to have a solid plan if you want to lose weight. What is your plan? “Exercise and eat better.” As a 12 year veteran of personal training, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this response. That’s great, but it’s not a plan. A plan would sounds like this, “I plan on working out 5 days a week. I will spend two days a week doing total body strength training workouts and 3 days doing a 30 minute interval based cardiovascular workout. My calorie intake will be approximately 1,500 calories and will be 40/30/30 split, etc……” I know it sounds like a lot of stuff to be held accountable to, but let me ask you one question. Of the two answers, who do you think is more likely to get results?
What am I going to eat? – Since we just talked about this, let’s expand on this a little more. If you want to lose weight, you have to know what you are going to eat. “Healthy” is not a plan. You have to have a general idea about how many calories you are going to consume, a general idea of what you are going to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, and the mixture of carbohydrates/protein/fat intake you are going to consume. That is a plan to lose weight. Of course you won’t know every little detail every day, but you should have a plan in place for those times when you can control what you are eating. Nutrition is the biggest part of weight loss. If you don’t have this step in place, expect about a 70% decrease in the amount of results you want to achieve.
How much cardiovascular activity are you going to do? – Cardiovascular activity is important, but I would say that 90% of the people I meet do this step completely wrong. And these are usually the same people that usually don’t make it past March because they get so frustrated with their lack of results that they give up. Some will get on a treadmill and walk. They start losing a little bit of weight, only to see the results suddenly stop. They get bored and tired of exercising for nothing and eventually give up. Honestly, I would give up too if I didn’t get results. The other people are the ones whose face is so red from killing themselves on the treadmill that they look like they are going to explode. They are going as fast as they can, and usually hanging on for dear life, simply because if they fall off, they will probably get hurt. Unfortunately, neither of these groups of people get long lasting results. Your goal should be focusing on interval based training that allows you to both work hard, improve recovery heart rate, and see a gradual increase in your cardiovascular capability over time. Not only does it produce faster results (to see the research studies on this, subscribe to my newsletter), you will be able to work out for less time to see those results.
What does your strength training program look like? – “I don’t want to do strength training
Strength Training is essential to have a tone body.
because I don’t want to get big.” This is one of the biggest weight loss mistakes there is. It’s a myth that strength training will keep you from losing weight. In fact, if done properly, strength training will make you lose weight faster than if you avoid it. If you tried it in the past and it did not work out for you, I bet it’s because you did not do the steps listed above at the same time. A proper strength training program will not only help you increase bone density, muscle tone, and give you more defined shoulders and triceps, but will also help you lose weight faster. If you avoid this crucial step, not only will you cheat yourself of achieving faster results, studies have shown you will be less likely to stick with your weight loss goals for the long term.
Katy residents, this year, make sure you get results. For 12 years I’ve watch a lot of people succeed, and even more fail. You can be successful, but you need to make sure you follow the steps above. If you don’t have all of the steps in place to get results, contact me with the form below. Don’t take chances on not achieving your results. Contact me for a free consultation to discuss your goals and I will help you devise a plan to make sure your New Year’s Resolutions are a success.
If you are thinking about joining a gym, but are intimidated with the typical gym environment, I may have the perfect solution for you. Contact me about the small, private facility I train at that will help you get results, without worrying about other people watching you.
Katy High School has done it again. They won the state championship in back to back seasons. I had a chance to read several of the stories on chron.com’s website and went through the pictures. The picture displayed to the right was interesting because if you look at the fans, you will see my wife reacting to the play. I’m not sure if she was hoping the player would toss her the ball or if she was willing to catch one of the band members instruments. Either way, it was funny to see her reaction on the Chronicle website.
Congratulations to the Katy Tigers for winning another State Championship. i don’t know if anyone would have guessed this happening before the season started, but they earned it.
I just finished my newsletter that list my favorite things from 2008. I want to add a little more information about each product. If you aren’t a member of my newsletter yet, you should subscribe.
Nature’s Own 100% Whole Grain - No Sugar Added Bread
I know this is kind of a weird thing to include on a favorite things list, but I really do like this bread. It is 100% Whole Grain and my favorite thing about it is that it is Sugar Free. Most people don’t realize that a lot of breads have added sugar. (Check the one you have in your refrigerator to see what I mean.) Another plus is that it only has 50 calories!
Ezekial Bread is another bread is a close second for me, only because it’s so small.
The Laughing Cow – Babybel Cheese
This is another odd choice on my part, but I really do like this cheese because it is low calorie, and convenient. It comes in a variety of flavors (original, light, bonbel, gouda, and mild cheddar) and is great for a snack.
These are small and convenient, it’s hard not to like these. The serving size is perfect, and the light version weighs in at only 50 calories. You can find them at your local grocery store.
Skinny Cow
This is my favorite dessert next to yogurt. I love yogurt for a dessert, but I feel like I am getting a special treat when I eat Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches. The calories on these are about 140 calories for each sandwich (you only need to eat one). And while they aren’t as low calorie as I would like, it’s a lot better than how many calories you would normally consume while eating a bowl of ice cream. Eat these sparingly.
The Lebert Equalizer
The Lebert Equalizer is a great little exercise product I just got in the mail. There are a ton of exercises you can do with it. If you think you are interested in it, come try mine out, and if you like it, you can pick them up for yourself.
Foam Rollers I can do so many things with a foam roller. I can do balance activities or self myofascial release. So it’s great for proprioception and working on reaction. It is wonderful for breaking up the knots in the fascia of the body. Sometimes when you get a muscle that’s tight that just won’t break lose, this will do the trick.
If you are in need of one, let me know. I order them for people all the time. I personally keep one for me in my house all the time. (Sorry, that one is not for sale. )
Pumpkin Workouts
Unless you are one my clients, you will have no idea what I’m talking about. I did this in October just before Halloween and had a lot of fun. I’m not sure if my clients had as much fun, but I think they enjoyed the change. Take a look at some other people doing pumpkin workouts.
Eat This, Not That I love this book! The one you see pictured is the new book for kids. While I don’t have this one yet, I’m sure it’s a great book. I have the original Eat This, Not That book.
The great thing about this book is that it talks about a lot of the local restaurants and helps you make informed decisions on what to eat. The drawback is that many restaurants change their menu (Panera Bread does this) and it then leaves the book outdated. I think once you read it, you will have a better idea about how to choose healthier choices at your favorite restaurant.
Flatout Wraps
Flat out Bread is something I just started using instead of my normal tortilla. It has a great taste to it, and I just find it easier to use than a normal wrap. I am probably a sucker for gimmicks, but it just seems to work better for me.
Another plus is that they are great about adding recipes ideas to the package. Sometimes you run into a roadblock for coming up with something new, but between the back of the package and the website, you will have lots of options. I would highly recommend it for something different. I haven’t tried out many different recipes yet, but give it a try and see what you think.
Kashi Pizza I first had Kashi Pizza on my honeymoon. I had never seen it before I visited one of the grocery stores in Florida. I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to find it once I got back home, but I resisted packing my suitcase full of them.
I don’t eat them often. I would say that it’s one of my favorite cheat meals now though. If I ever have a temptation to eat pizza, this can satisfy the craving. I don’t know if you are one to order pizza, but if you are looking for an alternative, you should definitely give this a try. It may just save your diet.
Nintendo Wii
I know the Nintendo Wii has been out for a couple of years now, but I finally got one. It’s such a great alternative to the typical video games. It gets you off the couch, gets the whole family involved, and you can even have fun while you are doing it.
With the addition of the Wii Fit, Nintendo has done a great job at adding fun, interactive tools to an already excellent system. I don’t know if your family is into games, but I would consider this a better (though more expensive) alternative to the typical family board game.
Tabata Training/Interval Training I have been having a lot of fun with Tabata and Interval Training lately. The great things about it is that your heart rate is constantly moving up and down. Interval training has been shown to be much more effective that normal cardiovascular training and the Tabata workout is much faster and produces better results than typical machine strength training workouts.
I don’t know how good your results are with your current workout, but if you are looking for a way to get results fast, this is the way to do it. Science backs it up with research, and if you give it a try, you will see results as well.
The Stick
I have been hated by many people because I use this on them. This is taking the foam roller and making it 10 times harder. I’m not sure how else to describe it.
Why would someone want to use this? Because they can get results in 2 minutes versus 2 months with a typical foam roller. It’s not exactly fun, but it does work. If you need one of these, let me know. I love them.
Black Friday this year was interesting. What seems liked, thousands of people, visited the Katy Mills Mall at midnight this year. It was amazing how people waited over an hour to get in stores and over an hour and a half to check out in some stores. I didn’t have the patience to wait in line to buy any items, but I always enjoy watching the crowds and the way people act.
I had 3 different friends that I went with this year and we had a great time. There were no horrible stampedes and everyone seemed to be in control. Most were courteous and polite despite the long lines. I have made it a tradition to go every year now. It’s a chance for me to see some people that I don’t see very often, and experience a once a year phenomenon. It still amazes me how many people find a way to get up at 2 or 3 in the morning to go shopping.
Did you go shopping on Black Friday? What was your experience like?
About Jason Hodge
Jason Hodge is a 13 year veteran personal trainer living in Katy, TX. He was chosen as the 2007 and 2008 Katy Personal Trainer of the Year, has numerous articles published in magazines, 7 personal training certifications, and a degree in Kinsiology.Read More About Me
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Jason Hodge is a 13 year veteran personal trainer living in Katy, TX. He was chosen as the 2007 and 2008 Katy Personal Trainer of the Year, has numerous articles published in magazines, 7 personal training certifications, and a degree in Kinsiology.
