The one thing many people don’t consider when trying to get abs is body fat percentage, always remember your diet along with exercise is a big part in building a healthy lifestyle. You can do sit ups and crunches all day long, but if you do not have a proper body fat percentage, it is all for nothing. Your abs will not really start to show until you get your body fat percentage down. This is very achievable if you watch your diet and increase your exercise. Add an additional resistance session with your trainer, or pick up a little cardio on the weekends. You can do this at home without fancy gym equipment. This is a quick, simple and effective way to reach your goals.

Most of the information you have learned with regards to getting a flatter stomach is more times than not, wrong. Crunches are not as effective as you are led to believe. Don’t get me wrong, they do help, but not in the way you have been told. If you want to flatten your stomach, you need to do full body workouts. Full body workouts are great because almost all exercises involve your abs and they will benefit greatly. Remember proper nutrition and a little exercise will lower your body fat percentage, as well get you those abs. The main key, as always, is to increase your exercise output!

With a name like Mind Over Matter you can guess where we stand on the mind’s relation to the body with regards to fitness. As far as I ‘m concerned the Mind and Body are synonymous. You can’t have one without the other, and you certainly won’t be successful or reach your goals if you don’t have the Mind/Body connection.

You can’t just show up for a workout. You have to be cognitively aware of your surroundings. Proprioception in essential; meaning your body’s awareness of your surroundings. Anyone who has competed in any sport or athletic endeavor would attest to this. If you do not have a conscious conceptual idea of your exercise strategy as well as fitness regime you are just sleep walking through the workout. This can be applicable to people who have never exercised in their life to professional athletes.

As a trainer it is imperative to communicate this point. To put this in simplest terms we will use a bicep curl as an example. It’s not enough to lift and lower the weight. You need to know what part of your body is working, how it’s working and why. This will enable you to be more in tune with your body resulting in a greater effect. Exercise is like any other institution.

The more you understand it the greater the effects and in turn the greater the enjoyment.

1. Add flavor to meals without added fat by substituting low sodium chicken broth for oil or butter when cooking rice and pasta dishes.
2. Get more fiber and lower your chance for heart disease by exchanging whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet) for white rice and cous cous.  Cook them like rice and add to soups, salads, and stir-fries.
3. Add “no salt added” canned beans (easier and just as healthy as dried beans) to any meal for an economical and tasty fiber and protein boost!
4. Yogurt is a healthy choice, but be sure to get plain low- or non-fat Greek yogurt to avoid extra sugar, then sweeten naturally with stevia, honey, or berries. 
5. Answer your cookie cravings with healthier cinnamon graham crackers!
6. Candy doesn’t have to be off-limits, but control your portions by enjoying a 60 calorie Tootsie Pop or even two Mini York Peppermint Patties (100 calories/2 g of fat). 
7. Veggie chips aren’t as healthy as the look!  Make your own by spraying pieces of kale with cooking spray, sprinkling with sea salt, and baking at 350 for 10-15 min.
8. Avoid the calorie and sugar surprise of smoothies by making your own! Mix in a blender 1 container of 0% Greek yogurt, ¼ cup skim milk, ½ cup frozen fruit, 1 packet stevia, ice as needed.
9. Eat breakfast! It is the easiest way to lose weight, start your metabolism burning at full speed and prevent over-eating later on in the day!
10. An ideal lunch or dinner plate is ½ veggies, ¼ lean protein like fish, chicken or tofu, and ¼ complex carbohydrates.

Brought to you by Amy W. Shapiro, RD CDN
awsnutrition.com
amy@awsnutrition.com

No Pain, No Gain, the person who came up with that mantra was sadly mistaken, if you’re performing an activity that is causing pain, STOP! Chances are you’re doing something wrong. Exercise should be fun and enjoyable, something to look forward to, dare I say… the highlight of your day.

Some Quick Tips

Work Out with Friends
When you set a date to meet a friend in the gym or park, right away you establish accountability. Your friend is counting on you and more importantly looking forward to the workout, sort of like a “Grownup Play Date”. Like most things it’s always better when with a buddy.

Try Different Activities
Can you imagine performing the same discipline over and over and over again, you’ll start to feel like a broken record. Switch It Up, variety being the spice of life. Besides your body will start to plateau if you do the same routine over and over again, lessening its effects.

Play Team Sports
Remember kickball as a kid, what about little league? In case you’ve forgotten they’re still fun; “Return to Youth” and enjoy you. Besides many of these leagues are co-ed, you might make a new friend or even more, you won’t know till you try.

Take a Trip
Go on a vacation that doesn’t consist of lying around on a beach for 8hrs a day or eating the 24/7 buffet on a cruise ship. Be active: hiking, biking, swimming, white water rafting, skiing, etc… It can be challenging, rewarding, and above all else fun.

Give Yourself a Treat
If you’ve accomplish your fitness goals for the week indulge a little, remember just a little. Anyone who’s exercised knows that that piece of cheese cake tastes so much better if you earned the right to eat it. Or maybe go out and buy yourself something nice, because now it actually fits.

Before you set out on that journey known as exercise, you first must recognize that it is a journey — not a destination. Secondly you must know WHY you are going on this journey! WHY are you waking up earlier to work out? WHY are you caring about pushing yourself past your comfort zone? WHY are you making this commitment?

You have to be up front, honest and accountable with yourself BEFORE you begin this journey! After all, if you are not completely on board with your WHY, you won’t have as much motivation to succeed.

Yes, if you want to get into tremendous shape, you need to use the power of your mind, not just the power of your body.

After all, there will be plenty of time along the journey when you will find yourself exhausted, busy, overwhelmed with other things to do — and you will find yourself questioning: WHY do I need to take the time to work out? WHY is working out so important?

With your WHY in place, you’ll be more willing too make those needed sacrifices and put in that extra effort.

So before you begin your journey, TODAY take that time to find your WHY.

I promise that when the time comes that you feel ready to give up — as it will — you will simply refer back to your WHY, and will find it much easier to keep your drive alive!

Before you set out on that journey know as exercise, because after all it is a journey not a destination, you must and have to know one thing, WHY? Why am I doing this, why am I undertaking such an endeavor, why am I making this commitment to myself, and do I want to put myself through all this?

You have to be up front and honest with yourself, you have to be accountable for your own actions, it ultimately starts and ends with you and if you are not completely on board you will be hard pressed to succeed.

That is what the “true meaning behind the reasoning means”. Look deep within yourself and ask, why I am doing this? You should find a reason why and in turn it will all be worth it. Undertaking such a commitment is not easy and neither is exercise. If you are not fully committed to what you’re doing it won’t work.

You have to be willing too make sacrifices, to revisit an old adage, if it were easy everyone would do it. Find that one thing, that one thing within you that is going to “keep that drive alive”, that will provide you with motivation.

There will be plenty of time along the journey when you question yourself, what am I doing? why am I doing this? is it all worth it? Don’t worry or be distracted, that question is to be expected. That is when you refer back to that one thing that enabled you to start this journey in the first place.

Remember why you even got started on this road, what is your source of motivation, of inspiration, and “the true meaning behind the reasoning”.