Preparing Your Body For Summer By John Cantelli Memorial Day weekend is fast approaching. Many of us have plans to hit the beach this summer, and look our very best. I am not big on exercising just to look good. Exercise and keeping your weight down is healthy and can prevent disease and slow the aging process. However, most of us do want to look good in a swimsuit during the summer. Many people lose weight and want to show their new figure off. Some athletes have worked hard all winter packing on mass. Many women who had a baby last year are ready for the trim look. There are college reunions, family get togethers, spring break, summer romances, and other big events like just sitting around on the beach. All great reasons to have your body looking muscular or lean. Here is a plan that will have you ready for your first day in the sun this summer. Also, I will dispel some myths (excuses) that people use to justify why they cannot exercise. This way no one will have anyone or anything to blame if they are not in the shape they want to be on the first day of summer. Myth 1 – I don’t have enough energy to exercise. First, if you are suffering from a lack of energy, then go see your doctor. Lack of energy can be a medical condition, nutrient problem, lack of sleep, stress, or just being out of shape. Before you begin any diet, exercise, training, or supplement program, it is best to consult with your physician first. After eliminating a medical reason for the lack of energy, it is time to wake up and smell the coffee. EXERCISING will give you MORE energy. Natural energy that will last all day long. Therefore, this is not a good excuse or legitimate reason to keep you from getting into shape. But Joe, how do I get going? First, start walking 5 minutes per day. A normal healthy adult can walk inside or outside for 5 minutes even if they suffer from an extreme lack of energy. The next day walk 6 minutes. Then 7 minutes the next day. Go to 10 minutes per walk, then 12, 15, 20, 25, 30 minutes. At 30 minutes of walking per day you are speeding up your metabolism, increasing your energy, and you can begin to burn fat. You are on your way! Myth 2 – I don’t have the time to exercise. OK, I will be blunt here. If you can’t find the time to spend 30 minutes, 3 days per week exercising, then you deserve to have love handles or saddle bags. That’s it. The President of the United States exercises on a regular basis. I am sure he is one of the busiest people on the planet. Now, I understand people with children have less spare time, and some people have two or three jobs. However, we are not talking about using your free time to exercise. We are talking about your body, your health, your life, and your well being. Therefore, you should make it a priority. Finding a half hour a day, a few days a week is possible for everyone. Get up a half hour earlier. If you are exercising regularly, you will sleep better. Hence you will need less sleep per night to recuperate from daily activities. Second, exercising relieves stress. The busier you are, the more stress you endure. The more benefit you will get from a good workout. Finally, busy people will perform better if they relieve their stress by exercising on a regular basis. Get organized, and get motivated. You deserve it. Now that we are motivated, and know there are no excuses, here are some things you can do to get lean and ready for summer. Add protein to your diet. Most people are holding on to excess fat because of their diet. Therefore, adding protein and lowering the amount of simple carbs ingested during the day, can help energize your fat burning furnace by helping your body use energy more efficiently throughout the day. Eat at least 20 to 40 grams of protein per meal depending on your overall diet, how many meals you eat per day, your weight, sex, and body structure. Athletes who train hard every day need the maximum amount of protein. Non-athletes, and petite individuals need the least. Cardiovascular exercise 4 to 6 days per week. The fastest way to burn fat is keep your heart rate about 65% of maximum for at least 45 minutes per session. You can go to as much as 1 hour and 15 minutes if you really want to light up your fat burning furnace. Cross training such as walking for 30 minutes, then biking for 15 minutes, followed by stepper or elliptical training for 15 minutes to 30 minutes is the best way to get your heart rate up. Keep your furnace burning by changing the exercises you do often, and varying the intensity and duration of each. This way you are constantly challenging your body to keep up, thereby forcing your body to use more energy and burn more fat. Weight training burns more calories per minute than cardiovascular exercise. Weight training adds lean muscle mass (not bulk) to your body. The more lean mass you have, the more calories your body uses per day. The more calories you burn during the day, the faster you can lose weight. I am not talking about lifting tons of weight and looking like a bodybuilder. Here I am talking about everyone who can benefit from a regular weight training program by increasing the amount of lean tissue in the body, and decreasing the fat. Try to train each major body part one per week. No more, no less. Training each body part once per week allows your body to rest, recuperate, and grow lean muscle mass. If you train each body part more than once per week, you might over train and put too much stress on your muscles by not allowing enough recuperation time. If you over train, you can actually lose lean mass, and look flabby. Training each body part once per week, at maximum intensity will stimulate growth and recovery. Visualize and think positive thoughts about how you want to look and fee. The mind is the most powerful tool in the world. The human brain has created all the technology you see around us. People have built bridges, invented cars, mapped the human genome, and put a man on the moon. It is the mind, not the technology created by the mind, that has accomplished these great things. With your mind you can take a few moments each day to think about how you want to look this summer. When preparing for a bodybuilding contest, I take 5 minutes during my training to look in the mirror, pose, and think about how I am going to look and feel on stage. Each time I do this, I reinforce my goals. More importantly, I begin to see the progress I have made. This leads to feeling even better about myself, and gives me even more motivation. I spend a few moments each morning looking out the window, listening to the birds, and thinking what a wonderful day I am going to have. This invigorates my mind, and gets me excited about what is to come. My energy level increases, my workouts are more intense, I get through work faster, and I solve problems quicker. Visualization and thinking positive thoughts enhances everything you do, and helps you achieve your goals. Your body will respond to your positive thoughts and shape itself into what you think it to be. These are some basic steps to get you ready for summer. If you exercise, eat right, weight train, and visualize how you want to look and feel, you will be in fine shape and enjoy yourself on the beach. Keep reading this newsletter more tips on how to look and feel better.