Achieving the health and fitness you’ve been progressively losing all these years with a sedentary lifestyle cannot be hurried by doubling your workouts in the shortest time possible. Your personal trainer in Winnetka, if you happen to live there, will attest to this. There’s only so much the body can take to develop muscles in a given time, and anything beyond that is already tempting muscle injuries.

On the other hand, burning calories is cumulative and depend on the length of time you do your weight-loss exercises. The longer you do them, without feeling fatigued or exhausted, the more calories you burn.

Establishing the Baseline

For starters, establishing a minimum workout time is often the first step to any exercise routine. Health gurus including your Winnetka trainers will tell you that a 15-minute weigh loss workout will not burn more calories than doing your regular daily routines.  However, this is so much better than doing nothing.  30 minutes of regular intensity workout is often prescribed as the minimum.

Going beyond the baseline

But having said that, different strokes for different people apply and that goes for the duration and intensity of their workout routines. While 30 minutes a day is the minimum, it can go more or less depending on your health condition. If you continue to gain weight, you may need to go into a 60-minute or a 90-minute for severely obese people. In addition, the intensity level will further determine the time you spend on a workout. The key is to have enough rest to get your muscles recover.

But how does one know if he is taking doing intense or moderate exercise? It goes with the heart rate. If you achieve 50% to 70% more of your normal heart rate, you are on the moderate side. Anything above that is intense. If your heart is beating fast but you can still maintain a quality conversation with someone, you’re on the moderate side. But if you can only manage nodding your head or saying yes and no, you’re on the intense side. At no time should you be exercising at an intensity where you can no longer manage to converse with other people.

More than just a fad, the stability exercise ball is so versatile that one wonders why a “ball” was never used on the gym floor until recently. It’s a simple concept of a mere ball large, but light and safe enough to intensify many of the stretching exercises we’ve been taking for granted on the bench. This time, because it adds pressure to maintain your stability, the ball adds a dimension of difficulty to many of the easy stretching exercises on the bench.

In fact, any kind of exercise where you sit or lie on the ball improves your posture and balance. You become conscious of centering your weight to avoid falling off. Consult with your Winnetka Trainers if you live in the area. They know the various workouts using the ball. But you can start with flexibility improvement using many standard stretch routines that are simple but a real challenge when done with the stability ball.  Read on to learn more.

Chest Stretch

Lie with your back fully supported on the ball, your feet on the floor and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Relax your hips and let your head and neck rest on the ball. Flail your arms to stretch and reach out from your sides and hold it there for 3-5 breaths and repeat.

Body Stretch

With legs straight and spaced apart, bend down to grasp the top of the ball and roll it out on the floor so that you slide with the ball until your chest touches the floor, stretching your hamstrings and back. Hold this position for 4-5 breaths.

Back Stretch

Sit on the ball with your feet on the floor. Take small steps forward, allowing your buttocks and back to slide on the ball until your back is arched against the ball’s spherical curvature. Hold the position for a few breaths, then repeat the routine.

In any of these stretch routines, be sure to have a soft matt floor or carpeting as you can never tell when you’re going to fall off the ball. Your personal trainer in Winnetka can help supervise your workout if you contract them for home service. It’s better and safer with someone around when doing any kind of workout.

Exercise DVDs are quite popular tools for weight loss. In fact, you can find a wide selection of them at any DVD store or fitness club. As with any type of fitness equipment, they have various advantages if used properly — so read on, to find out what health experts such as Winnetka trainers have to say about them, and the correct way to use them to ensure optimal health benefits.

Benefits of Cardio Workout DVDs
A cardio DVD allows you exercise in the comfort and privacy of your home. It’s the next best thing to having your own personal trainer in Winnetka (which not everyone can afford). It lets you set your own exercise time too, which is a huge advantage if you lead a busy lifestyle. And if you get bored with your routine, you can always go out and get another DVD with a different cardio technique or workout program. You can switch between a number of videos as often as you like — so long as you get the full cardio workout your body needs.

Choosing a Cardio DVD
There are several important things to remember when shopping for a cardio workout DVD. First, choose one that focuses on a routine that appeals to you – it’s hard to discipline yourself to exercise regularly if you don’t like what you’re doing to begin with. For instance, if you like dancing to a hip-hop groove, then buy a DVD that features dance or dance-like movements and exercises. If you prefer more aggressive moves, there are kickboxing DVDs and the like. Also, consider the intensity and impact level of the DVD. If you experience chronic pain for whatever reason, or if you’re obese, pregnant, or arthritic, don’t buy a high-impact aerobics DVD; settle for a low-impact routine instead.

Cardio with Exercise DVDs
Once you’ve made your choice, and bought your DVDs, sit down and write a schedule that you can commit to, no matter what. No matter how excellent or fantastic your new videos are touted to be, you’re not going to lose pounds if you just stick them up on a shelf and let them gather dust over time. And for maximum safety, always make sure to follow the instruction booklet or leaflet that usually comes with an exercise DVD.

If hiking with a weighted-down backpack is your cup of tea when it comes to spring training, then you should consider doing it with a fitness expert like a personal trainer in Winnetka. Sure, there’s nothing like getting away from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, and treading the forest or mountain trails, enjoying the peace and quiet and green scenery — but you also have to consider safety and preparation. And that’s EXACTLY what your personal trainer can do for you. Following are a few hiking tips from Winnetka trainers, for your reference:

Don’t hike alone
The dangers of being lost in some tangled wood or straggling behind and losing sight of your group are significantly diminished, if not totally eliminated, if you’re with someone specifically on the lookout for you. In any case, as a hiking squad, you should make sure to stick together, and don’t leave the slower hikers behind.

Let them know where you are
If you want to go deeper into some copse, or explore a less-traveled trail, you should tell your personal trainer where you’re going. In fact, you should study the map with your trainer before you go out, so that you know what pitfalls or zigzags in the road to expect.

Prepare before setting out
There are any number of online resources for you and your trainer to look into — maps, difficulty levels, expert advice, and accurate directions. When you’re finally on the trail, your trainer can help you look at the map (always carry one!) and check your compass from time to time — find out the nearest location where you can get medical help, should the need for it arise.

Have the necessary gear and supplies
If your personal trainer happens to be a hiking enthusiast, then he’ll know certain things peculiar to the activity: for instance, dressing in layers of polypropylene and wool against any weather upsets, and maybe a Gore-Tex jacket. Also, he’ll know to bring the following in your backpacks, for maximum preparation and safety: a first-aid kit, moleskin for possible blisters, a whistle, a flashlight, an emergency blanket, and lots of water.

Whether you’re aiming for weight loss, fitness, or just simple good health, it would do you well to keep in mind the following fitness mantras (the same ones most Winnetka trainers swear by):

Weighing Scales LIE
Some fitness experts will tell you that the best way to monitor your fitness is to weigh yourself daily. But this process can actually be rather discouraging. You may not have shed any pounds, but lost some inches off your waistline; or you may have grown muscle mass, which weighs more than fat. Such progress isn’t really reflected on the weighing scale.

Starvation is NO GOOD
When you purposely starve yourself, your body signals “Famine!” — it slows down your metabolism and begins to horde sugar and fat deposits; it’ll even sacrifice lean muscle mass! Also, starvation can deprive your body of vital nutrients, so it’s generally bad to curtail your calorie intake too drastically.

Fast Food is a NO-NO
There are a good number of reasons why fast foods are a no-no. For one, fried snacks are typically made by refining foods and robbing them of nutritional value. They’re cooked or immersed in unhealthy trans-fats, and pumped full of preservatives to increase their shelf life. They’re just NO GOOD for you.

Slow and Steady is BEST
Slowly and steadily does it, when it comes to weight loss. Focus on building muscle, but not suddenly — do it over a period of time so that new muscle is sustained and maintained. Just ask any personal trainer in Winnetka!

Exercise is NECESSARY
There’s just NO getting around this simple fact: In order to stay fit and healthy, you have to pursue a more active lifestyle. Climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator, walk to nearby places instead of driving, or take a stroll after dinner instead of lounging in front of the TV. Even simple physical activities can make a lot of difference!

Water, Water, WATER
A good water intake helps you control your hunger. And it’s also beneficial for your body in more ways than you can count! Remember, we’re made up of more than 70% water!