Happy Holidays from Marlton's Premier Personal Trainer

It’s been a great year hear at Fit-4-Life thanks to you, let’s take a look back at 2009 with this really kool video!

Thank you for being a part of our Fit-4-Life Family.  I can’t wait to show you what I have planned for 2010.

Committed to your success,

Kevin Hensel, Owner Fit-4-Life

Marlton’s Premier Personal Trainer

Marlton Personal Trainer Healthy Weeknight Cooking In 20 Minutes or Less

Personal Chef Christina Dimacali Knocked Their Socks Off

 

Healthy, delicious food doesn’t have to take forever to prepare and you don’t have to be a chef to prepare it.  Try these scrumptous recipes for busy weeknight cooking (my personal favorites are the Tart & Tangy Purple Slaw and the One Pan Ratatouille – who knew vegetarian could taste so good – I like it with chicken too)..  Christina provides invaluable cooking hints and tips to make cook time even faster in the video.  Enjoy!!  Who thought cooking healthy could be so easy?

Let’s face it, you simply can’t lose weight eating out all the time (it’s just not possible).  You have to learn how to be proficient in the kitchen.  You don’t have to become a chef you just need to know the basics.  Chef  Christina takes out all the guesswork she provides private and group cooking lessons and if you’re just too busy to cook she’ll even custom create a menu just for you and prepare the meals for you at your home.  Check out all the details on her website at www.cyplate.com .

Tart and Tangy Purple Slaw

Makes 4 cups
Marinade the slaw for a couple of hours for the vinaigrette to permeate the cabbage

 3 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
2Tablespoons dried cranberries
1/4 c. rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons agave nectar/syrup
1 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large Granny Smith apple thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons chopped pecans

 
Directions:

Combine cabbage and cranberries in a large bowl. Combine vinegar and next 5 ingredients (vinegar through pepper), stirring with a whisk; drizzle over cabbage mixture, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill 2 hours. Add apple, and toss well to combine. Sprinkle with pecans.

(Per 1 cup serving: 138 cal, 5g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 25g carbohydrates, 1.5 . protein, 3.8 g fiber)

Braised Green Beans and Garlic

Serves 4

2 garlic cloves crushed
Grapeseed or canola oil
½ pound green beans
1/4 cup vegetable broth, dry sherry or white wine

Directions:

1. In a large saute pan, add garlic and 1 Tablespoon oil.  Turn the heat to medium high, bringing the oil and garlic up to temperature together. 
2. Once the garlic is light golden colored, add the green beans.  Saute for 1 – 3 minutes to start browning the vegetable.  Add more oil if necessary.   
3. 3.       Reduce heat to medium.  Add two tablespoons of broth and cover the pan. Every 1 – 2 minutes, sauté the beans, add a couple tablespoons of broth and partially cover the pan, allowing the broth to evaporate between additions.  Cook, until the vegetable is bright and tender, approximately 2 – 3 minutes total.  Season with salt and serve.  

*This technique can be applied to vegetables, like broccoli rabe, carrots, cauliflower and asparagus

*Add toasted nuts, raisins, halved grapes or sweet sausage to vary the flavors.

Easy One-Pan Ratatouille
 

Serves 4
 
1 – 2 Tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic crushed
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 small eggplant diced
1 small zucchini diced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
14 ounces can no-salt added diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoon chopped basil
2 Tablespoon chopped parsley
1 red or yellow pepper chopped
1 can chick peas drained
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
*1 cup dry brown rice or bulgur prepared

 Directions:

1. Heat 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil to a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add onion, garlic and a pinch of salt to the pan. 
2. When just starting to brown, add crushed red pepper and saute for 1 minute.  Add eggplant and zucchini; cook for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. 
3. Add broth to the pan, scraping up the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
4. Stir in tomatoes.  Bring to a simmer and stir in the basil, parsley and peppers.  Add chickpeas and simmer gently for 2 – 3 minutes until the peppers are a little tender. 
5. Stir in vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve on your prepared grain. 

(Per serving: 309 cal, 8.8g. fat, 0.9 g saturated fat, 52  g. carbohydrates, 11.1 g. protein, 14 g. fiber)

*To prepare bulgur:  In a large sauce pan, combine1 3/4 cups water with 1 cup dry bulgur.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and serve.

 

Recipe variations:

• serve as sauce with chicken
• toss in pasta for a complete meal
• substitute chickpeas with 2 cans drained solid white tuna; finish with a squirt of lemon
• crumble on some light feta for a /Greek spin
• replace basil with cilantro and add a diced chipotle pepper for a smoky Southwest flavor

Top 5 Ways To Feel Full And Eat Less, Marlton Personal Trainer Spills the Beans

It’s a common complaint I hear from my Marlton and Cherry Hill personal trainer clients: how can you lose weight if you’re hungry all the time?

The solution may be easier than you think. Many acts of overeating, in fact, may have less to do with appetite than the sheer amount of food we have on our plate, says Dr. Barbara Rolls, a nutrition expert at Penn State University and author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan.

If we super-size our meals, it only stands to reason we would want to get our money’s worth by cleaning our plates. But this is not how our bodies are meant to work.  Big meals override the cues that tell us we are full and should stop eating, says Rolls, who has seen this time and time again in various studies. It’s quite strange.

Food packaging and commercials may suggest cravings that are not really there; plus there’s depression, anxiety and other outside influences that cause us to eat when we’re not really hungry. Of course, a healthy appetite can make it hard to lose weight, especially if your stomach is grumbling because you’ve cut back on calories to shed a few pounds.

So rather than just eating less, Rolls and others say, there are ways to feel full without giving up all that much. For hunger pains that don’t go away real or imagined here’s what the latest studies suggest:

Super-size filling foods:  Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of water and fiber, which can quickly fill you up. Better yet, they are low in calories. Ross suggests super-sizing these foods much like you would fast food. Rather than cutting back, just eat more fruits and vegetables instead, she says.

Try a variety to a keep your diet interesting. Corn or strawberries may prove more appealing than Brussels sprouts or grapefruit for some, so don’t give up on all of these foods if you don’t care for a few.

Eat your protein: A high-protein, low-carb diet is believed to be unhealthy over the long term, but the latest diet craze has helped reveal a little-appreciated detail: protein-rich foods are possibly more filling. In a recent study, Dr. David Weigle of the University of Washington School of Medicine followed 19 people who kept to a 2,000-calorie diet for several months.

At first, they got 15 percent of calories from protein. Then they upped their protein to 30 percent. The men and women ate the same percentage of carbohydrates throughout, while cutting back on fats. Compared to the weeks they ate less protein, volunteers reported feeling more full when they ate 30 percent of their calories from protein. They also lost more weight.

No one has studied whether a juicy steak is more filling than fruits and vegetables, at least calorie by calorie, says Rolls. But as long as the protein is lean, she says that including such foods in your diet may help you eat less and lose weight.

Limit fatty foods, can the soda: Cakes and other fatty foods pack a lot of calories without adding much substance. A recent study on mice found that high-fat diets seem to override a hormone that tells the body when it’s full. Foods laden with sugar and fat may taste good, but they do little to fill you up.

Indeed, researchers at Tufts University found that nearly two-thirds of adults got more calories from soft drinks than any other specific food. As a whole, they were also more obese than those who stuck to fruit juice and low-fat milk.

Snack smart: A little snacking may not only keep your hunger in-check between meals, but may also leave you less tempted to overeat at dinner. Indeed, some research suggests that snacking throughout the day instead of sitting down for regular meals may lead to greater weight loss.

Keep in mind that this does not apply to what we think of as traditional snacks, such as cookies or chips. Nibbling on nuts or cheese, which are high in protein, may leave you fuller than snacking on foods that are high in carbohydrates or calories. To make sure snacking doesn’t become just another big meal, try picking out different foods that are low in calories and keep them handy for when hunger strikes.

Eat until you’re hara hachi bu:  Translated from Japanese, this literally means eat until you’re 80 percent full. Residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa, who are among the oldest and healthiest people on the planet, have perfected this practice over the years.In general, Okinawans eat 10 percent to 40 percent fewer calories than Americans. Try eating until you feel mostly full, then wait 20 minutes. Research suggests that many people are satisfied after following the 80 percent rule, even though they eat less.

Committed to your success,

Kevin Hensel

Marlton, NJ Personal Trainer Expert

Ten Tips For Looking And Feeling 10 Years Younger, Marlton Personal Trainer Reveals All

Top Marlton & Cherry Hill Certified Personal Trainer Reveals The Essential Strategies For Lasting Weight Loss And Lifelong Fitness

By: Kevin Hensel, President of  Fit-4-Life, Inc.

Dear Friend,

I’m in an interesting position. In this report I’m going to give you something for free that many others typically charge for… but, I’m more than certain that, once you discover and apply these ten fitness tips for looking and feeling ten years younger, you too will become one of my happy and satisfied clients. 

How would you like to drop three or four sizes in about eight to ten weeks? How would you like to tone and tighten your body and naturally reverse the aging process?  

Would you want to look in the mirror and see a more youthful body again – maybe a better body than you have seen in a long time? And wouldn’t you like to protect yourself from disease and injury and live a longer, more vital life?

If you answered yes to these questions, just as the hundreds of local Marlton & Cherry Hill residents that I have coached, trained and advised as a certified personal trainer did, then this is going to be the most important letter you have read in a long time. 

Right now, at this very moment, I’m going to reveal to you the 10 TOP strategies that have enabled my Marlton personal training clients to shape and sculpt the body that they have always desired.

These strategies, though simple, can prove extremely rewarding when implemented into your lifestyle, with little sacrifice on your part.

But before we dive into it, I want to let you know you can easily obtain even more health and fitness advice from Marlton’s top fitness expert on a regular basis by requesting a free subscription to my newsletter.  You can get your subscription via email or you can receive it through regular mail by calling my office at: (856)751-0033.

So let’s dive right on in and discover these ten proven tips…10 Tips To Looking And Feeling 10 Years Younger.“How To Get Maximum Weight Loss & Fitness Results In Minimum Time”

1.        Set realistically attainable goals.  You must have tangible short-term and long-term goals for your fitness program so that you can gauge your progress and stay motivated.  It’s crucial to have a “baseline” before you begin so that you can measure your success.  A qualified personal trainer (like me) can give you a complete fitness analysis that will aid you in developing a personalized fitness program which addresses your particular needs.  Having goals, particularly short-term goals, allows you to track your progress and keeps you motivated when times are tough and you don’t feel like exercising.  Keeping a journal of your cardio and resistance training workouts, as well as tracking what you eat is truly a fitness success “secret.”  Just remember that your goals should be realistic and attainable.  The best way for you to understand what is realistic and attainable for you is to talk to a fitness professional – not to buy into the “hype” of infomercials or diet and fitness products that blatantly mislead.

2.        In the beginning your fitness plan should not be overly aggressive.  One of the biggest problems most people encounter when starting a fitness program is rapidly depleted motivation after only a few weeks due to an overly ambitious fitness plan.  Two days per week of 20-minute low-intensity cardiovascular exercise (walking, jogging, biking, swimming); and two days per week of 30-minute light resistance training (using weights or resistance machines) is adequate in the beginning.  As you become acclimated to the lifestyle “shift” you can add more days and get improved results.  But beware: if you try to do too much too fast, you may end up quitting altogether. If you’ve tried and failed doing it alone then I suggest you get a training partner or personal trainer who will help you sustain your motivation and accountability.

3.        Eat regularly throughout the day.  Fasting or overly restrictive diets will enable you to lose weight – in the short run.  Because the weight you lose is primarily water weight and lean muscle tone.  But in the long-run it has exactly the opposite effect you want.  When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively thinks it’s being starved and shifts into a protective mode by storing fat. Your body’s energy expenditures will be fueled by your lean muscles causing your body fat to remain essentially the same while you lose vital fluids and muscle.  The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism becomes, and the less fat you burn.  You should be eating three nutritionally balanced meals each day, and you should have at least one or two healthy snacks. Avoid fried and processed foods at all cost – talk about dead calories! Here’s a good rule of thumb: make sure that you are consistently “grazing” on health foods about every three hours. This includes at least half a gallon of fresh water every day. This keeps your metabolic furnace firing, so you burn more at a faster rate.

4.        If your goal is fat-loss then your cardiovascular exercise should be high to moderate intensity.  Your heart rate during cardio exercise should not exceed 70% -%80 of your maximum heart rate. Let me say that in another way: If you can’t hold a conversation during your (fat-loss) cardiovascular training – then your intensity is to high — bring it down. If the intensity of your exercise increases your heart rate beyond 80% (which can occur very easily if you are in poor shape), you will start shifting from using body fat as your energy source to relying on glucose metabolism at higher intensities which is a good thing because you will burn more calories.  Your personal trainer can supply you with a simple heart rate monitor you can wear during exercise so you always stay in your peak fat-burning range.

5.        Don’t waste your time working small muscles with isolated movements.  If you don’t enjoy doing resistance training, or are pressed for time, concentrate on working the largest muscle groups with compound resistance movements.  When I see overweight people doing wrist curls or lateral raises, I cringe knowing that they will not see results.  It’s probably due to a lack of understanding about how their bodies work.  Most people want to lose fat and tone and firm their bodies.  The way to do that is to use resistance (weights or machines) to train the large muscle groups.  Men should be concentrating on legs, chest and back.  Women should concentrate more on their legs and back.  The best exercises for legs are lunges or squats (a personal trainer can show you the proper form and then monitor you during the exercise) and leg press.  The best chest exercise is bench press, and the best back exercise is the seated row.  All of these are compound movements, which means they incorporate multiple muscle groups, and compound movements are known for quickly increasing your metabolism.

6.        Always stretch.  Stretching improves flexibility, blood flow, muscle recovery, low back pain and a host of other things.  Additionally, stretching can prevent injury, make you sleep better and improve your performance in all sports.  Always stretch, but be certain not to stretch cold muscles.  You should always warm up before stretching.  However, it is very important that you know how to stretch to achieve optimal fitness results. Never bounce, or aggressively push and pull a muscle beyond its natural range.

7.        Never Ever do a traditional sit-up.  Unless you are super athlete with an incredibly well-developed midsection, sit-ups can lead to a strained lower back and possibly lumbar injuries.  But it gets worse.  Rather than hitting your abdominal section, sit-ups can shift exercise tension to your hip flexors – which defeats the purpose.  There is so much misinformation about how to strengthen, tone, and firm the midsection, it’s almost frightening.  It is very difficult to learn proper abdominal exercise technique by reading about it or watching it demonstrated on a video.  You need to do it with supervision and get feedback about your form from a knowledgeable source.  And keep in mind that you use your abdominal muscles in almost every single movement you make. Strengthening your abdominal region is the single most effective way to prevent, or recover from, low back pain – and to get that firm, slim look you are after.

8.        Set exercise appointments with yourself.  Use your day-timer to set appointments for exercise – and then stick to them.  You wouldn’t miss a business meeting or client appointment, would you?  So don’t miss your exercise appointment with yourself.  Nothing is more important than your health.  Nothing.  Everything else will crumble around you if your health goes south.  So make your exercise appointments a priority.  If you find it difficult to keep these appointments, then consider hiring a personal trainer who will hold you to your commitment.  When you have money invested, and someone waiting for you to show up – you are much more likely to actually show up!

9.        Remember the benefits of resistance training.  Remember that feeling of euphoria you experienced after a particularly good workout?  You experienced that feeling because the most powerful “feel good” drug in the world – endorphins – are coursing through your veins.  If there is a panacea, it’s exercise. It will fuel your motivation on those inevitable days when you just don’t feel like exercising.  Additionally, exercising with resistance has tremendous benefits for your metabolism. Further, resistance training is the only way to sculpt, tope, and tighten your muscles on demand. Do you want shapelier legs? Resistance training will give it to you.  How about a firm perfectly shaped rear? Resistance training will give it to you.  Firm tummy, defined arms and a strong back? Resistance training will give it to you. Being physically fit affects every single aspect of your life: you sleep better, eat better, love better, overcome stress better, work better, communicate better and definitely look better!

10.        Never Ever skip breakfast.  If you want to maximize your fitness results or fat-loss efforts, you’ve got to eat breakfast.  Even if you don’t exercise at all – breakfast remains the most important meal of the day.  Your breakfast should contain complete proteins and complex carbohydrates (if you’re trying to lose weight, you should eat the bulk of your complex carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch, and only have vegetable carbohydrates at dinner).  A great breakfast is oatmeal (not the pre-packaged, pre-sweetened kind) with a little honey and banana and a protein drink.  Or try scrambled egg whites with Healthy Choice turkey sausage.

There you have it.  Ten essential strategies for an effective weight loss and fitness program that will have you looking and feeling better than you have in years – maybe ever! I realize that starting (or re-starting) a productive and effective weight loss and fitness program is not easy.  That’s why I encourage you to get help.…because the hardest part is just getting started and sustaining your motivation until fitness becomes habitual.  Once you develop the habit, which can take as little as thirty day, your whole life will change for the better.

Please e-mail me your name and e-mail address or call my office at (856)751-0033 to initiate your subscription to my free health and fitness newsletter or to obtain any additional information you may need.  Thank you.

Yours in good health,

Kevin Hensel, President

Fit-4-Life, Inc. Marlton & Cherry Hill Personal Training Studio

856-751-0033

Ten Super Foods, Marlton Personal Trainer Tells All

1.  Soy beans (Edamame) – awesome source of fiber and protein.   Many positive health benefits associated with soy intake ranging from lower risk of cancer to less incidence of cardiovascular disease. 

2. Grape Tomatoes – They’re sweeter and firmer than other tomatoes, and their bite-size shape makes them perfectfor snacking, dipping, or salads.  They’re also packed with vitamin C &A, fiber, phytochemicals, and flavor.

3. Fat-Free (Skim) Milk – Excellent source of calcium, vitamins, and protein with little or no artery-clogging fat and cholesterol

4. Blueberries – They’re rich in fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidents

5. Wild Salmon – The omega-3 fats in fatty fresh fish like wild salmon can help reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks. Salmon caught in the wild has less dioxin than fresh-farmed salmon.

6. Crispbreads – Whole-grain rye crackers, like Wasa, Ry Krisp, and Ryvita-usually called crispbreads-are loaded with fiber and often fat-free.

7. Brown Rice – Enriched white rice is nutritionally bankrupt.  You lose the fiber, magnesium, vitamins E and B6, copper, zinc, and who-knows what phytochemicals that are in the whole grain.

8. Watermelon

9. Diced Butternut Squash – A growing number of stores sell precut squash ready to go into the oven, a stir fry, or a soup or risotto.  Every half cup has 5 grams of fiber and payloads of vitamins A & C.

10. Pre-washed, Pre-cut Bags of Greens – Greens like kale, spinach, and broccoli rabe are nutritional power houses. Most are loaded with vitamin C, carotenoids, calcium, folate, potassium, and fiber.  Now it’s easy to squeeze health greens into your busy schedule.

Committed to your success,

Kevin Hensel, Owner Fit-4-Life Personal Training Studio

Located on border of Marlton & Cherry Hill, NJ

The Missing Link For Motivation, Marlton Personal Trainer Reveals All

If you’ve ever wished that you were more motivated to experience life at your full potential then this is for you.

Most of us set goals and work hard only to find our motivation fizzle out after a couple of weeks. But there are little tricks that will help you harness the power of your mind and propel you toward achieving your goal.

The Two Motivators
When you boil it down, you’re motivated by two simple things:

1. To avoid pain (fear of failure)
2. To gain pleasure (promise of reward)

You are naturally geared toward one of these motivators. To figure out which, think of the last time you accomplished a task and then ask yourself the following: While doing the task were you thinking about what would happen if you failed to finish, or were you thinking about what you would gain when you finished?

Take note as to which motivator works for you – fear of failure, or promise of reward.

Set Your Goal: The first step towards unstoppable motivation is to determine your goal. You know you’re unhappy with your body, but what exactly do you want to change? Why is it important to you?

Perhaps you can relate to one of the following goals:

• You need to lose weight for your health. Your doctor scared you straight or maybe you’ve had a recent health problem that landed you in the hospital. Your goal is to move away from the pain of sickness.
• You want to look and feel incredible. You’ve always wanted to feel vibrant and attractive. The idea of having more energy really excites you. Your goal is to move toward the pleasure and reward of a fit body.
• You’re worried about your kids. They don’t eat enough vegetables, they drink more soda pop than water and they play video games constantly. You have decided to model a healthier lifestyle and to encourage your kids to participate. Your goal is to move away from the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and to propel your kids toward a healthy future.

Train Your Mind for Weight Loss:
With your clear and important goal in mind, let’s take a few minutes to train your mind to achieve it. You know that weight loss comes as a result of eating right and regular challenging exercise, so let’s use your mind to conquer both.

Eating Right: Use this exercise to distance yourself from the self-sabotaging foods you really wish you didn’t eat, and to naturally begin selecting healthy foods.

Take a moment to review your current eating habits. Identify the foods that you should stop eating (hint: sweets, anything fried, refined carbohydrates, sugary drinks). Identify the worst food that you eat regularly but know you shouldn’t.

Now imagine the healthy foods that you should eat (hint: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein). Identify the healthiest food that you know you should eat regularly.

Now with the image of these two foods in mind, find a quiet place and do the following exercise (seriously this stuff works):

• Draw up the image of your unhealthy food item. This image will likely be quite vivid, with smell, taste and bright color. In your mind, fade this picture to black and white and distance the image until it is dull, fuzzy and remote.
• Draw up the image of your healthy food item. This image will likely be fuzzy and faded. In your mind, bring this picture to life with smell, taste, sound and bright color.

Regular Exercise: This technique can be applied in a way that encourages you to crave exercise rather than avoid it.

Take a moment to imagine how you feel after a great workout (notice the emphasis on the word after). Remember the physical satisfaction as well as the sweet feeling of accomplishment.

Now bring to your mind the aspects of exercise that you dislike. What is your biggest reason for avoiding exercise? Are you too tired? Do you not have enough time? Is physical exertion too much of a hassle? Pinpoint your greatest complaint about exercise.

Now with the image of these two aspects of exercise in mind, find a quiet place and do the following exercise:

• Draw up the image of your exercise complaint. The image is likely to be clear and accompanied by the sounds, smells and sensations. In your mind, fade this picture to black and white and distance the image until it is dull, fuzzy and remote.
• Draw up the image of the wonderful feeling you have after accomplishing a great workout. Magnify this image in your mind. Fixate on how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally. View the experience in bright colors and add a sound track of inspirational music.

Why It Works
If this was your first experience with training your mind (also called Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP) it may have felt a little odd. Many of the world’s top achievers regularly use techniques like these to accomplish astounding goals.

The techniques above work because they train your mind to bring your behavior in line with your values. Think about it, you value health, you desire to be fit and attractive and you want to instill healthy habits in your kids.

These techniques encourage you to avoid self-sabotage and to make choices that line up with what you truly value.

Now that you are ready to accomplish your goals, call or email me today to start your fitness program that will greatly improve your life.