5 Tips for a Lean and Long CORE

The “CORE” isn’t one muscle. Its several abdominal muscles all working together to keep your spine supported as it carries the weight of your upper body around on your legs. Please keep in mind that the 6-packs you see in magazines are not the norm in everyday life. That does not mean to says they are not attainable but the models you see in those publications often go through a regime of diet and fasting prior to a shoot to get that ripped look. (Not to mention the aid of Photoshop)

So what can you do to look your best in your shirt pulled up selfie in the mirror? LOL!

1) Get to Work: Find a workout program that challenges you and you can stick to. All the sit-ups and crunches in the world aren’t going to get you that long lean look if you aren’t regularly burning fat and calories. Remember to find an activity you enjoy  that you can do long enough, hard enough, and often enough to see results!

2) Balance: There are five main movements of the “CORE”, Stabilizing, Flexion, Rotation Right, Rotation Left, and Extension. You need to train in all these areas to have balance and strength.  Here are some basics:

• Stability: Plank Exercises, (More)
• Flexion: Crunches 
• Rotation Right & Left: Bicycle Crunches and Russian Twists
• Extension: Superman

3) Get off the Floor!: Training the “CORE” doesn’t always mean crunches. Here are some amazing exercises that are fun, challenging, and engage those tummy muscles!

• Medicine Ball Toss
• Bear Crawls
• Ball Slams
• Wood Choppers
• Inchworms
• Walking Lunges with Twists

4) Avoid Alcohol and Processed Foods!!: Nothing destroys that lean long look than the bloating effects of alcohol and the Munchies! Drink plenty of water and avoid the bad stuff when you can. Simple.

5) STRETCH!!!: Devote 10 minutes a day to your stretching. Not only is it an extra calorie burn, it will relax you, prepare you for your next workout, and give you a moment to acknowledge all the work you’ve done so far.

Dedicated to your success,

Sean Gogarty

SGO Fitness

The Key to Weight Loss Success from Samantha Hua

I cannot bear to hear another woman tell me she’s going to wait until she loses weight before she can travel, date, take a dance class…you fill in the blank.  What has our society done to us that we feel like we can’t live life until we look a certain way.

Don’t you understand that you’ve put on the weight because there’s not enough joy, pleasure, treat, and enjoyment in life.  Because those things have been lacking, we often gravitate towards a quick food treat.  But…it’s so temporary, then we have to keep going back for more.  You keep searching for more food in your pantry hoping to satisfying some crazy cravings that never subside. We are full of responsibilities that our balance is completely screwed and the body is crying out.  Weight gain is only a symptom and a biological response to the stressors you’ve accrued.

If you fall in this category, I’d say “go and do it.”  Whatever “IT” is that you can’t do because you’re waiting to lose the weight.  You’ll find that once you get started, you’ll build relationships, move your body, and love life so much that you no longer need to eat the junk to feel satisfied, attract positive people who will delight you, and end the neglect of your body.

I see it constantly!  The people who finally embrace finding more and more joy in their life and not feeding the “I must lose the weight” fire, are the ones who truly succeed.  As my boyfriend says about his child’s tantrum, “if there’s no audience, there’s no concert.”  Ignore your “need to lose weight” tantrum and you will be free to fit into your skinny jeans again with ease and with so much fun.  Stop the torture and your body will start responding.

Join me.  Cheers to living and to life!!!

Samantha Hua

For more support, contact:

http://www.HappyFoodHealth.com

2190 Rep Workout!

To celebrate our client Bobette Michele Irby comittment to sobriety we created a workout for everyday of her journey (2190 days)

Here is the run down of what you can do to celebrate this amazing achievement with her:

6 x 365 reps
• 100 x Jump Ropes
• 50 x Mountain Climbers
• 50 x Bicycle Crunches
• 25 x Squats
• 25 x Pushups
• 20 x Up & Down elbow Planks
• 20 x Rows (Bell)
• 20 x Slams (Bag, Ball, or Rope)
• 10 x Jumping Jacks
• 10 x Back Extensions
• 5 x Burpees
• 30 Yard Sprint

THE Perfect Diet!

Hello Blog!

Sorry its been so long since our last post. Life has been a little crazy in the SGO Household….but I’ll fill you in on that later.

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Samantha Hua, founder of Happy Food.

Samantha is a Holistic Health Coach with a passion for her clients and their journey. She has been gracious enough to pass some of her wisdom on to you here at our SGO fitness blog. Check out what she has to say below!

THE Perfect Diet!

It does not exist. Let it go. Stop the search. Why, you ask? The reason is because our body is constantly changing and so is our lifestyle.  I learned that: “Each second, ten million red blood cells are born and die. The stomach lining completely regenerates in a week, a healthy liver in six weeks, and the skin surface in a month. Scientists postulate that 98 percent of all atoms in the body are replaced within a year, 100 percent within seven years.” The only constant we have is change.

We all have different body types.  In my office, we work towards finding the combination that’s best for that person at that time. The best thing to do is learn how to listen to your body.

So…where does this leave us? How do we get healthy and thin? First thing we have to do is get rid of barriers that get in the way of success and often lead us to make poor choices. The common barriers I see in my office are stress, imbalance, lack of boundaries, years of bad habit, over-worked, and most importantly—a lack of pleasure and enjoyment in life.  We don’t do enough to include joy and excitement in our DAILY life.

When we live our life full of joy and we learn how to feed our body what it needs, the weight drops off automatically. That’s my definition of a true, sustainable diet.  NOT calorie counting, point system, discipline, torture, or exercises you hate.

Get support and learn how you can become successful like the people here.

http://youtu.be/UG4do6iA-Lc

http://www.HappyFoodHealth.com

 

Weight Loss, an Olympic endeavour.

Olympian Weight Loss

As the London Olympics starts this week I’d like to take a moment to draw inspiration from our athletes and those from Olympics past.

I know for many of our clients at SGO Fitness it’s hard to picture yourself as an Olympian, hard to use the word athlete to describe you. But let me give you a little insight into why I believe, if you put in the effort, you are all Athletes.

The Olympics are every 4 years. (Every 2 if you participate in winter and summer! Ha!) Athletes who train for the Olympics get no salary, must sacrifice time and money, stick to strict dietary guidelines, pay attention to their weight and train hard nearly every day. They compete in minor events throughout the years but their sole purpose is to be good enough to compete in the Olympics. They only have a chance to compete every four years!

Notice is said compete, not win or medal. Simply to be able to go to the Olympics and be called an Olympian is what most athletes would give everything for. And they only have that chance once or twice in their careers before they lose their best chance.

How does this apply to you? If you are working hard to lose weight, serious life changing weight loss, then your goal is not just around the corner. Your “Olympics” are months or years away. You pay attention to your diet and sacrifice some of the things in life you love to achieve your goal. You train hard at the exercises that get you closer to your goal. You put in the time like all athletes do, and as long as you keep at it day after day you will get to “compete”

But here’s the tough part, there are going to be bumps in the road, there will be injuries, family emergencies, birthday parties with unhealthy food, people who don’t believe you’ll succeed because they don’t believe they can. All these obstacles are going to be placed in your path. But like a true Olympian, you will face them, you will overcome, and you will succeed. You are on the path to greatness. Keep your Olympic goal in sight and I promise you will have your chance to “compete”.

As a final note of inspiration I’d like to remember the story of British sprinter Derek Redmond.

In the 1992 Olympics, Derek was in good form for the 400 metre sprint and a favorite to medal in the games. He posted the fastest time of the first round, and went on to win his quarter-final. In the semi-final, Redmond started well, but with 250 metres to the finish, his hamstring snapped. He hobbled to a halt, and then fell to the ground in pain. Stretcher bearers made their way over to him, but Redmond decided he wanted to finish the race. He began to hobble along the track. He was soon joined on the track by his father, Jim Redmond, who barged past security and on to the track to get to his son. Jim and Derek completed the lap of the track together, with Derek leaning on his father’s shoulder for support. As they crossed the finish line, the crowd of 65,000 spectators rose to give Derek a standing ovation. “He and his father finished dead last, but he and his father finished.”

Always remember, as long as you show up, as long as you believe in your journey and know where you want to go, you are always an athlete if you finish what you start.

Good Luck….and finish.

Dedicated to your success,

Sean Gogarty

SGO Fitness

Achieving your Goal

Here’s a quick goals setting tip I learned just the other day.

1)      Take a piece of paper and write down 10 things you want to accomplish.

2)      Then ask yourself: “If you could accomplish only one goals on the list in the next 24 hours, which goal would have the most positive impact on your life?”

3)      Circle it, turn the page over and write it at the top of the page. Set a deadline for the goal and write down everything you can think of to achieve that goal.

Then, and this is the most important thing….

4)      Do something every day. Do something every day that moves you one step forward to accomplishing that goal.

You will surprise yourself at the things you will accomplish by doing something every day to achieve it.

Hope that helps in getting started.

Weight Loss, Peer Pressure and Holiday Pitfalls

With Memorial Day come to a close and the BBQ’s and long weekend celebrations coming to an end how did you do? Did you stick to your goals? Did you get your exercise in? Did you keep track of how you ate?

Holidays and parties are some of the hardest times to keep on track with your weight loss goals. Here’s a few reasons why:

1)  Unhealthy Food in large supply

2) Unhealthy Portion Size

3) Alcohol in large supply.

4) Social Pressure to be part of the party

5) People who don’t understand what you’re trying to do.

The first thing we need to address is if you fell off the wagon this weekend, get back on. You have not failed, it’s not all lost, and you haven’t destroyed everything you’ve worked for these past few weeks. A single weekend of bad choices won’t kill you. A lifetime of them will.

Second, how do we deal with these pressures and temptations? This past memorial day weekend Sarah and I visited the in-laws while participating in a 30 day Primal/Alcohol free challenge. It was tough at times to keep on track but we succeeded. Lets go through the above list and see how we can overcome some obstacles.

1) Unhealthy Food: Pack healthy food for yourself. For our challenge we had limitations on what we could eat so we packed up what we needed and brought it with us! Feel uncomfortable bringing your own thing? Bring enough to share and make it part of the weekends eats! You just might help someone else choose healthy too!

2) Unhealthy Portion Size: All those bowls of potato salad and other tempting dishes spread out before you! How to survive? Grab the smallest plate you can and stick with it. Being forced to go back to the table to get another serving will help you think twice. (Only have big paper plates? Rip it in half!)

3) Alcohol…..ooooh! A tough one. The majority of calories consumed on long weekends come from what’s in your glass. If you really feel uncomfortable when everyone around you has a beverage, substitute! Get a bottle of club soda and fill your glass with ice and some lime. The bubbles and taste will give you enough kick to keep you sated and keep your thirst in check and the act of having a drink in your hand will keep people from badgering you to have another.

4&5) Social Pressure: When people question why you’re not having a drink, helping yourself to the buffet, taking part in Dad’s famous bacon wrapped burger, or make remarks about the choices you’re making remember:

You are on a journey to improve yourself and your life. It is your journey and no one else’s. You make the rules and you pay the consequence when you break them.

If someone puts down your choices it is only because you are holding a mirror to their own shortcomings and bad decisions. When someone feels bad their natural reaction is to try and make you feel bad so they feel better.

We have to live like no one else now so We can live like no one else later.

Food Trivia Answers

Here are some of the trivia answers from last nights Food Trivia Adventure Friday’s Dinner   out:
Mozzarella Sticks		1 Full football Game	760
Club Sandwich		Run for 1 hour	860
Sweet Potato Fries		wash the dishes for 2 hours	390
Brownie Obsession		< 2 hours of working out with SGO	1222
Glass of beer		2 hours of heavy petting	243
Total:			3475

Food	vs	Exercise & Activity	Calories
1 pound of Fat		Run a Marathon	3500
Big Mac Meal		Hike Cowles Mountain Twice	1000
Chilli’s Texas Cheese Fries		2 full NBA Basketball Games	1960
Chilli’s Cobb Salad		Chop 240 Pieces of Wood	430
Mixed Salad with Oil & Vinegar		8 minutes of “Quickie” Sex	47
8 oz T-bone Steak		1 hour of Cycling	402
11 Nacho Doritos		Waching Dishes 1 hour	150
Banana		Shopping at the Mall (22 minutes)	72
Starbucks   Venti Frappuccino (pumpkin spice)		1 30 minute Zumba Class	375
Home made mashed potatos		Run 2 Miles	237
Outback Garlic Mashed Potatos		25 Minutes of Bootcamp	305
Friday’s Dinner out:		4 1/2 NFL Football Games	3475

A Contract with Myself.

I _______, promise to make a commitment to my health & wellness…

 

I will LOVE myself.

I will acknowledge that I DESERVE this and that I am worth it.

I will beleive in myself.

I will not give up.

Even if I slip up, I promise to not beat myself up, but to get back on track.

I will be brave & bold.

I will try new things.

I will educate myself.

I will be dedicated to my goals.

I will trust the process and understand that it wont happen overnight.

I will feed my mind with positive thoughts.

I will feed my soul through positive actions.

I will not be jealous of others for acheiving their goals, (or for winning,) but instead be understudies to their success.

I will praise them for reaching them because I know they have faced their own struggles.

I will do it for MYSELF first.

I will do it for my family.

I will do it for my friends.

I will do it to inspire others and create a better world.

I will do it to LIVE a Long, Healthy, & Happy Life!

This is my Mission and my Mission starts right now!

Budgeting Weight Loss like a Lion on a Three Legged Stool

                I hope I’ve grabbed your attention with the title of this talk. When it comes to the subject of weight loss there are certain factors that always seem to come into play. Three I’d like to talk about today are Balance, Emotion, and Attitude.

Balance: To be successful in your weight loss journey you have to attack your goal with a balanced plan. Think of a three legged stool with each leg representing Diet, Exercise & Activity, and Attitude. If you’re missing any one of the three legs you will be in trouble. Make sure your plan of action covers all three.

Emotion: Let’s try and take emotion about our weight out of the conversation.  For the first two legs of the stool Diet and Exercise we constantly run into emotional responses and roadblocks to our goals. So I want you to try to envision your weight as a bank account.

If you owed 200,000 dollars what would you do to pay it back?  200 grand just doesn’t appear out of thin air. You have to save, work hard, and invest wisely. Consider your weight as that debt.

Healthy eating is putting money in the bank. Every small deposit, every healthy food option no matter how small helps to pay off the debt.

Exercise and Activity is you going to work. You wouldn’t expect someone to just come to your door everyday with a bag of cash would you. We nobody can do your work but you.

Educating yourself and having a plan and goal is investing wisely. The more knowledge you know about what goes into your body, what exercises work best for you, and where you want your life to go, the better you can plan for your future.

 

Attitude: I have an analogy for you. What makes the Lion the king of the jungle?

A lion isn’t the biggest animal in the world, he’s not the fastest, he’s not even the smartest. So what makes him king of the jungle? Attitude.

When a Lion and an Elephant meet. The elephant is by far the stronger and bigger creature and should surely crush the little lion. So the Lion should be scared right. What do you think goes through the Lions mind when he see an elephant?   LUNCH.

It is his attitude that makes him the King.

In the Human world our Lions are our Athletes. When you have a purpose and a goal to achieve, if you focus on being the best you can be at that one focus, all the other benefits such as weight loss, fitness and emotional happiness will fall into place.

 

Sum Up:

1)    Putting all of your efforts into one leg of the stool may keep you on top for a while but eventually you lose your balance.

2)    Take the emotion emotions out of the equation by changing the way you look at your numbers.

3)    Extreme versions of Diets may give you a quick boost in the beginning but if they are not supported by a healthy foundation you’re in trouble

Find the passion in your life that will improve with weight loss. When we focus on positive improvements on our lives we’re more successful.