Haddonfield Personal Trainer Reveals Best Spinach Salad Ever!
August 18, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Healthy Recipes
The first thing that you’ll notice about this salad is that it tastes amazing. It also doesn’t hurt that spinach is an extremely nutrient-dense food. The recipe calls for raspberry vinegar, which is a flavorful and refreshing alternative to traditional, oily dressing. The fruit and nuts add flavor, fiber and healthy fat.
Servings: 8
Here’s what you need:
•8 cups cleaned spinach leaves
•3 oranges, peeled, sliced and quartered
•2 cucumbers, peeled sliced and quartered
•1/8 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
•1/8 cup sunflower seeds
•2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
•1 cup strawberries, sliced or whole raspberries
•1/2 cup white balsamic raspberry blush vinegar
1.Combined the spinach, oranges, cucumbers, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds and strawberries in a bowl.
2.Add the vinegar and toss well.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 99 calories, 3g fat, 14g carbohydrate, 2.6g fiber, and 3.5g protein.
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Four Tactics for Faster Success Reveals Haddonfield Personal Trainer
August 2, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Blog
Have you ever been frustrated over a lack of results from your workout routine?
If so, you are in good company. Even the most seasoned athletes experience times when their results plateau.
When you continue to put in the same effort day after day with little or no results it is safe to say that you’ve hit your own fitness plateau.
Your body adapts quickly to any repetitive routine. The definition of ‘insanity’ is to do the same thing over and over while expecting different results. This holds true for your workouts. When your results stop then it’s time to do something new.
I have good news – the following 4 tactics are guaranteed to crank your workouts up to the next level and to deliver the fast results you want.
Tactic #1: Focus on Negatives
Each time that you do a weight lifting repetition you are utilizing three types of strength. These are:
- Positive strength: the motion of lifting the weight.
- Static strength: holding weight in a contracted position.
- Negative strength: the motion of lowering the weight.
Most people completely miss the benefit of the negative in each repetition by allowing the weight to drop quickly with little control. It is understood that the negative portion of a repetition is just as important as the positive portion, and possibly more important.
Focus on the negative portion of each repetition by lowering the weight very slowly. Concentrate on the negative contraction, and make each repetition count.
If you are advanced, then use a training partner to assist you in moving heavier-than-normal weight into a contracted position, then lower it very slowly.
Another way to utilize negative repetitions on a machine is to lift the weight using two limbs but then lower it with just one. For example, use both legs to lift the weight on a leg extension machine, but then lower it back down slowly using only one leg.
Tactic #2: Do a Drop Set
Drop sets have long been used to fight off exercise plateaus. This technique is great for adding muscle strength, endurance and for increasing the cardiovascular benefit of your workout – resulting in more fat burn.
Here, in a nutshell, is how to do a drop set: When you perform an exercise to exhaustion, don’t stop there. Drop the weight by 80% and do another set.
You could take it a step further by dropping the weight twice, making it a double drop. Or drop the weight three times for a descending drop set.
Use this technique only once or twice per workout, on the final set of the exercise.
Tactic #3: Modify the Exercise
There are certain exercises that are considered ‘staples’ in the gym.
The squat. The lunge. The chest press. The shoulder press. The bicep curl. You get the idea…
While you shouldn’t throw these exercises out the window, find creative ways to modify the familiar motion in order to challenge your muscles. Try these exercise modifications:
- Squat on a Bosu ball or balance board.
- Place a weighted bar across your shoulders and do walking lunges.
- Use an exercise ball for chest presses instead of the bench.
- Do a full squat between each repetition of shoulder presses.
- Do a shoulder press between each repetition of bicep curls.
Tactic #4: Use Active Rest to turn each workout into High Intensity Interval Training
Every minute of your workout is an opportunity to increase intensity and to burn more fat. Don’t waste precious minutes with long rest periods between exercises.
While it is important to catch your breath if you feel winded, most of the time you would benefit more from an active rest than a passive one. Perform one of the following activities for 30 seconds between exercises and turn your regular workout into High Intensity Interval Training.
- High Knees with Alternating Punches: Alternately bring each knee high to your chest in a quick jumping movement while alternating forward punches at shoulder level.
- Burpees: Start in a sanding position and bend at the waist. Once your hands hit the floor, push your entire body back, extending your legs until they’re straight and you’re in the push-up position. Go down for a push-up, and when you push yourself up, jump slightly to bring your feet back near your hands. Finally, jump in the air with your arms fully extended over your head.
- Side-to-Side Jumps on Bench: Stand on one side of an exercise bench. Place the foot closest up onto the bench, jump up and switch feet, then land on the opposite side of the bench.
- Mountain Climbers: Place your hands wider than shoulder-width apart on the ground in a push-up position. Bring one knee to your chest and then back to the starting position, alternate each leg quickly.
- Side-to-Side Ab Twists: With feet close together, jump and twist your legs left to right – holding your abs tight. Keep a bend in your knees and swing your upper arms with each twist.
- Jump Lunges with Pop Squat: Start in a lunge position, lunge down then quickly jump up, switching your leg position in midair, land in an opposite leg lunge. Once you’ve done both legs, jump straight into a squat.
- Medicine Ball Squat Jumps: With feet wider than shoulder-width apart hold a medicine ball at chest level. Squat down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle. Explosively jump up, raising the medicine ball straight over your head.
If you’d like a sure-fire way to break through your fitness plateau and to melt away unwanted fat, then contact me for a fitness consultation – Haddonfield Personal Trainer
Drink This Not That Haddonfield Personal Trainer Tells All
July 15, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Blog, Lose the Weight
Changing what you drink just may be the magic weight loss bullet you’ve been looking for.
David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding sure think so. But then they did write the book on it: Drink This Not That. They’ve even gone so far as to claim that you could lose up to 32 pounds in a year just by changing what you drink.
What most people don’t know is that it’s a lot easier to drink extra calories than to eat it. So you really need to pay attention to what you’re sipping on.
Here is a sampling of what their book has to offer. The following are 5 of the worst things to drink, followed by 5 slimming alternatives.
Breakfast
While a cup of hot coffee or a glass of lowfat milk are both great ways to start your day, beware of the smoothie trap. More often than not smoothies are closer to milkshakes than protein shakes.
Worst beverage: Smoothie King Peanut Power Plus Grape (40oz)
- 1,498 calories / 44g fat / 214g sugar
Drink This Instead: Smoothie King High Protein Banana (20oz)
- 322 calories / 9g fat / 23g sugar
Lunch
A study done at Virginia Polytechnic Institute showed that people who drink 17oz of water before sitting down for a meal ended up eating 9 percent fewer calories. Those calories can really add up over time.
Worst beverage:
SoBe Green Tea (20oz)
- 240 calories / 0g fat / 61g sugar
Drink This Instead: Honest Tea Organic Honey Green Tea (16oz)
- 74 calories / 0g fat / 18g sugar
Afternoon
When the afternoon rolls around most of us are ready for a pick-me-up. Too often these caffeinated drinks are loaded with waist-expanding calories.
Worst beverage: Starbucks Venti Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream
- 660 calories / 22g fat / 95g sugar
Drink This Instead: Starbucks Venti Caramel Cappuccino
- 170 calories / 6g fat / 18g sugar
Postworkout
There’s no good reason to follow up a great workout with a sugar-filled beverage, even if it makes claims for quick recovery and muscle growth. After exercise your body is in need of protein, carbohydrates and potassium, so choose a beverage filled with these three.
Worst beverage: Naked Protein Juice Smoothie (15.2oz)
- 418 calories / 4g fat / 53g sugar
Drink This Instead: Horizon Organic Chocolate Reduced Fat Milk (8oz)
- 180 calories / 5g fat / 27g sugar
Alcoholic beverages
There are known benefits to drinking alcohol in moderation (one or two drinks per day) such as raised HDL (good) cholesterol, boost in bloodflow, and improved sugar metabolism. A recent study in the journal BMC Public Health reported that people who have a daily drink were 54 percent less likely to be obese. However, it’s called a beer belly for good reason, since many alcoholic beverages are loaded with calories.
Worst beverage: Red Lobster Traditional Lobsterita
- 890 calories / 183g carbohydrates
Drink This Instead: Red Lobster Classic Martini with Gin
- 140 calories / 0g carbohydrates
Recent studies are reporting that most of us drink 21 percent of our daily calories. That adds up to an average of 460 calories each day. It’s easy to see how these calories quickly add up into unwanted pounds.
Pay extra attention to what you drink throughout each day. Make it a habit to pass on the calorie-packed drinks and to focus on drinking lots of water.
Remember that small changes to your lifestyle over time will make the difference.
I’m always available to help – call or reply to this email to set up your free consultation.
Mountain or Mole Hill Haddonfield Personal Trainer Reveals
June 24, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Blog, Lose the Weight
So you have a weight problem.
Pounds have added up over the years, slowly accumulating on your hips, thighs and belly.
When you look in the mirror you don’t like what you see. Yet you feel stuck.
You’re stuck because…
- You’ve gained too much weight to ever lose it all.
- You’re too old to make a change.
- You’d be lost in a gym.
- You simply don’t know where to start.
And so, if you are like most people, you give up on yourself before you ever shed a pound. The enormity of your goal paralyzes your ability to even begin.
I believe you can end this cycle of self destruction by simply focusing on the mole hills that make up the mountain – rather than focusing in on the mountain itself.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that weight loss can seem like an enormous task – especially when you have 20, 50 or even 100 pounds to lose.
However, rather than being discouraged by the mountain of fat you need to lose, conquer the mole hill of losing one single pound each week.
In fact, make it your weekly mole hill to drop one pound a week.
Doesn’t that sound easy? If you did this consistently for one year you would lose 50 pounds.
So how do you shed a pound a week? Simple. Just burn 3500 extra calories.
Create a 3500 calorie deficit each week by a combination of increased calorie exertion (exercise) and a decrease in calories consumed (eating less).
Take every opportunity to exert more calories by increasing your physical activity and to decrease your calorie consumption by eating fewer calories and by making healthier choices.
It helps to record your progress in a notebook and refer back to it. You will be surprised how encouraging it is to see your weekly progress written down on paper.
Remember, if you lose 500 calories a day you will drop a pound in a week.
Here are some practical ways to lose calories:
| If you normally… | Do this instead… |
| Drink a mocha | Drink plain coffee or tea (250 calories lost) |
| Eat a snack from a vending machine | Enjoy an apple (180 calories lost) |
| Hit the snooze button in the AM | Jog for 30 minutes before work (150 calories lost) |
| Skip your workout | See me for an invigorating workout (changes your life!) |
Weight loss doesn’t have to be a mountain. Each molehill you conquer will take you one step closer to a healthier, fitter you.
Small changes to your lifestyle over time will make the difference.
I’m always available to help – call or reply to this email to set up your free consultation.
Fresh Mango Pie
June 1, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Healthy Recipes, Learn to Cook
What better way to usher in summer than with this delicious no-bake mango pie? You won’t find any processed sugars or refined carbs in this dessert – just sweet and nutritious whole food ingredients. That being said, remember to use portion control even with nutritious desserts.
Servings: 12
Here’s what you need…
- 2 cups raw pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla beans, divided
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 cup pitted dates, divided
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 ripe mangoes, peeled, seeded and sliced
- Combine the pecans, 1/4 teaspoon of the vanilla bean, sea salt and 3/4 cup of the dates in a food processor. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a pie pan, set aside.
- Combine the remaining 3/4 cup dates, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean and water in a food processor or blender. Mix until a thick syrup forms.
- Place the mangoes in a large mixing bowl. Toss with the syrup until fully combined.
- Arranged the mangoes over the crust, then sprinkle with the remaining crust.
- Keep in the fridge and eat within 2 days.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 220 calories, 12g fat, 27g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 3g protein.
The Top 7 Reasons to Exercise
June 1, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Blog, Get Motivated
Summer has arrived and along with it the dreaded bathing suit season.
Whether you can’t wait to bare it all on the beach, or if you’re still working toward a weight loss goal, exercise is the key to looking and feeling great in summer months.
But why else should you exercise? Here are the top 7 reasons to exercise this summer:
Reason #1: To Melt Fat Away
The most coveted side effect of exercise is, of course, fat burn. The combination of a challenging exercise routine and a balanced meal plan is the best known way to lose fat. Here’s what losing fat feels like:
- Your pants become loose
- People around you begin to say that you look great
- A glance at yourself in the mirror makes you smile
- Your energy levels soar
- You feel amazing
Reason #2: To Alleviate Pain
Regular exercise is a great way to alleviate chronic muscle and joint pain. Persistent back pain can be lessened by strengthening your core, and you’ll protect yourself against injury. It amazes people when the chronic pain that they’ve lived with for years begins to fade after starting a regular exercise program.
Reason #3: To Increase Lean Tissue
More muscle is good for many reasons. You see, muscle requires many more calories each day than fatty tissue. In fact, one pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories each day at rest – compared to a measly 9 calories per pound of fat.
When you exercise your body composition will change to contain more lean tissue, thus resulting in extra calories burned while you sleep. What could be better than that?
Reason #4: To Stay Young
Tim D. Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College in London, led a study on the effects of exercise on aging. The results were astounding. They found that exercise appears to slow the shriveling of the protective tips on bundles of genes inside cells (called telomeres), which means a slowing of the aging process.
“These data suggest that the act of exercising may actually protect the body against the aging process,” said Spector.
Here’s the study in a nutshell:
- Telomeres cap the ends of chromosomes and every time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter.
- Once a telomere gets too short, that cell can no longer divide.
- Aging occurs as more and more cells reach the end of their telomeres and die. This results in weakened muscles, skin wrinkles, loss of eyesight and hearing, organ failure and slowed metal functioning.
- The study analyzed the telomeres from the white bloods cells of twins over a 10-year period. Telomere length was used as a marker for the rate of biological aging.
- It was found that the length of telomeres was directly related to that twin’s activity level. “There was a gradient,” Spector said. “As the amount of exercise increased, the telomere length increased.”
- People who did 100 minutes of weekly exercise had telomeres that looked like those from someone about 5-6 years younger than those who did 16 minutes of exercise each week.
- People who did 3 hours of vigorous exercise each week had telomeres that looked like those from someone about 9 years younger.
Reason #5: To Prevent or Control Type 2 Diabetes
Regular exercise helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. This is something that people with type 2 diabetes, or at risk for type 2 diabete, gain substantial benefits from.
Exercise improves the body’s use of insulin, and the related weight loss improves insulin sensitivity. Of course patients with type 2 diabetes need to get guidelines from their doctor before starting an exercise program.
Reason #6: To Lower Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels
Exercise has shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels for these two reasons:
- Weak Heart Muscles pump little blood with lots of effort. By exercising you strengthen your heart muscles and train them to pump more blood with less effort. The stronger your heart is the less pressure will be exerted on your arteries.
- Exercise Increases HDL levels in some people – this means a decrease in your risk for heart disease. Other heart disease risk factors such as weight, diabetes and high blood pressure all show improvement with regular exercise.
Reason #7: To Feel Great
The first thing that clients tell me after starting an exercise program is how much better they feel.
Most didn’t even realize how bad they felt. It is easy to get used to feeling sluggish, achy and unmotivated.
Exercise boosts your energy levels and makes you feel amazing.
The quickest, easiest way to guarantee that you’ll meet your fitness and weight loss goals is to work one-on-one with a qualified fitness professional. You’ll be held accountable with your workouts and you’ll be instructed properly and shown techniques and strategies that will expedite your results.
Call or email today to get started on a program that will take the guesswork out of fitness and to set your results on fire.
What are you waiting for? Lace up your shoes and get moving!
Your number one reason for exercise is unique to you. Maybe you want to fit into a smaller pant size or lower your cholesterol. Or maybe you just love how a good workout makes you feel.
Cure Knee And Shin Pain In 10 Minutes or Less, Haddonfield Personal Trainer Reveals
May 29, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Corrective Exercises
Corrective Knee & Shin Stretching & Strength Exercises
Corrective Knee & Shin Self Massage Exercises
Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
May 17, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Eat Healthy!, Healthy Recipes, Learn to Cook
You’ve probably heard of quinoa – it is hailed by some as the new super food. It’s high in protein (12%-18%) and contains a balanced set of essential amino acids – this means it’s a surprisingly complete protein. It’s also high in fiber and iron. And, as if the edible seeds didn’t have enough going for them, NASA is thinking about growing it in space.
Quinoa is quite possibly the perfect thing to have for breakfast to start your day off on the right foot.
Servings: 1
Here’s what you need:
- 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked in water according to instructions on package
- 1 Tablespoon golden raisins
- 1 Tablespoon date pieces, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon pecan pieces, chopped
- Dash of cinnamon
- Dash of nutmeg
- Drizzle of pure maple syrup
1. Top cooked quinoa with raisins, date pieces, pecan pieces, cinnamon, nutmeg and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 344 calories, 5g fat, 59g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 12g protein.
The End of Food Temptation
May 17, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Blog, Lose the Weight
You start each morning with the promise to be “good” today.
You’ll refuse the baked goods at the office. You’ll speed past that fast food place at lunch. You’ll turn a blind eye to the vending machine in the mid-afternoon. And you’ll pass on the ice cream after dinner.
But… you hadn’t counted on the fact that a box of your favorite donuts would be sitting in the break room. Or that co-workers would invite you to join them for fast food place at lunch. Or that Girl Scouts would come through the office after school with boxes of thin mints. Or that your special someone would come home with a pint of Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.
And as you get into bed each night you tell yourself that tomorrow will be different.
Tomorrow you will conquer temptation.
But tomorrow comes with its own set of special circumstances and temptation gets the best of you once again.
Why Does Temptation Always Win?
We live in society where food temptations are everywhere.
- Walk through a store and you’ll see the unhealthy food items displayed front and center.
- Turn on the TV and you’ll be assaulted with commercials for fattening foods.
- Open a magazine and you’ll notice glossy pin-ups of sugary snacks.
- Go down the street and you’ll have restaurant signs clamoring for your attention.
In addition to the abundance of tempting edibles, you also have deeply ingrained positive associations with indulging.
- You treat tempting food as a reward.
- You turn to tempting food for comfort.
- You rely on tempting food as stress relief.
- You allow tempting food to become a habit.
It’s Your Turn to Win
Temptation doesn’t need to have the upper hand on you anymore. It’s time to fight back using your most powerful asset: your brain.
Your mind is an amazing thing. Once it is made up about something it is nearly impossible to change it.
A Matter of Perspective
Imagine for a moment that you’re peacefully floating down a river in an inner tube. The sun is out, the birds are chirping, and you are having a wonderful time. You feel great about the river because it is making you feel good.
Now imagine that you are in a plane flying over the river. Your eye is immediately drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. You look up the river and just around the bend is a person floating in an inner tube, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls.
Do you think that after your plane ride you’d be happy to get an inner tube and float down the river? Of course you wouldn’t. You’ve seen that the river spells disaster.
You now have a negative association (watery death) with the river rather than your initial positive association (relaxing fun).
Overcoming temptation is all about building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. Use the 2 steps below to harness the power of your mind to become stronger than any temptation.
Step One: Create a Strong Negative Association with all the BAD STUFF
- If cookies and chips and burgers are put on a pedestal in your mind as your favorite things to eat, then you will always eat unhealthy and will continue to gain weight.
- What do you dislike about tempting food?
- It makes you unhealthy.
- It causes weight gain.
- It drains your energy.
- It kills your confidence.
- It degrades your quality of life.
- It hurts your love life.
- Every time that you encounter tempting food items focus on your list of negatives. It’s time to kick those cookies off the pedestal and to put something healthy in its place.
Step Two: Create a Strong Positive Association with all the GOOD STUFF
- Now that your mental pedestal has been cleared, put healthy food items on it. Juicy fresh fruit, crispy vegetables and savory lean meats are a great place to start.
- What do you love about healthy food?
- It makes you healthy.
- It causes weight loss.
- It boosts your energy.
- It builds your confidence.
- It improves your quality of life.
- It enhances your love life.
- Immerse yourself into the world of healthy food. Browse the aisles of a natural food store. Walk through a farmer’s market. Bring healthy snacks to work. Clear your kitchen of anything unhealthy.
Using the technique above, you will soon find that healthy food is your favorite food.
And temptation will become a thing of your past.
Regular exercise makes it easier to eat healthy. Just as healthy eating makes you more likely to exercise.
It’s the domino effect. When you begin to make a positive change in one area of your life other areas will soon follow.
Remember, while nutrition is vitally important for weight loss, true results are achieved through a combination of both nutrition and challenging, progressive exercise.
Tender Homemade Baked Beans
May 3, 2010 by Kevin Hensel
Filed under Eat Healthy!, Healthy Recipes
Baked beans are filled with healthy protein and fiber. This homemade recipe is quick and easy to make and tastes great. Serve it hot from the oven, or enjoy it chilled – either way it’s a crowd pleaser.
Servings: 12
Here’s what you need…
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
- 1/4 cup tamari (low sodium soy sauce)
- 4 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon mustard
- 3 (15oz) cans pinto or white beans, drained and rinsed
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic and onions until tender.
- In a large bowl, mix the tomato paste, tamari, maple syrup and mustard until a thick sauce forms. Add the beans and onions and mix until fully incorporated.
- Spread the beans into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 134 calories, .5g fat, 25g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 8g protein.
