Fitness & Wellness

Everyone that cooks has oil habits. That means everyone has a go-to oil they use all the time, regardless of the heat used to cook or even the recipe used. For some people, it’s corn oil, for others, olive oil or even clarified butter. If your grandparents are alive, they may tell you that their grandmother saved bacon grease and pork fat to cook with and called it lard. Is there a single type of oil that’s best for all types of cooking?

The amount of heat you’re using should make a difference.

Not all oil has the same smoke point. A smoke point is the amount of heat you can use with the oil, before it breaks down and burns. Not only going beyond the smoke point alter the taste, it affects the nutritional value of the oil. Low smoke point oil is butter and should only be used at low heat—300 to 350 degrees. Between 375 and 450 degrees are oils like extra virgin olive oil. Vegetable oil, canola oil, corn oil, grapeseed, safflower oil and sunflower oil are varieties to use with high heat—higher than 450 degrees, since they don’t lose flavor or burn.

While lard may not be your oil option, it’s far better than consuming the trans fats of shortening.

Partially hydrogenated oil is called vegetable shortening may still contain trans fats depending on the manufacturer. It’s always best to avoid any type of oil that lists partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and trans fats. Instead, opt for olive oil, coconut oil, butter or even lard—which has no trans fats. While some of the oil options contain saturated fat—like lard—others do not. These include canola, corn olive, peanut, safflower, soybean and sunflower.

Not all oil produces the same flavor or has the same benefits.

If you love how sesame oil changes the flavor of your favorite homemade dressing, you’ll appreciate the health benefits of it too. It is high in antioxidants, has anti-inflammatory properties, helps arthritis, aids in blood sugar control, heart healthy and speeds healing of wounds and burns. Olive oil is extremely healthy which includes high in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, is heart healthy and helps prevent strokes, among other things. Coconut oil is another super oil known for its healthy fatty acids.

• Choosing the right type of oil doesn’t have to be distressing. Find the flavor you love for each smoke point and stick with it.
• Do you want more flavorful oil. Try herbal flavored oil, like olive oil thyme infused olive oil. There’s a whole world of flavor created by infusing various oils.
• The qualities of some oil makes them best for baking, sautéing, frying or salad dressing. Coconut or canola oil is good for baking, while sautéing is best with peanut oil, and sesame oil. If you’re making dressing, the go-to is normally extra-virgin olive oil or flaxseed.
• One of the newer oils being used is avocado oil. It’s got many of the same virtues as coconut oil, but not as much saturated fat. It has a high smoke point, but also a high price range. If you’re on a budget, opt for a different oil.

Contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training

People in Louisville, KY, are special, but like people all over the world, often wait until the new year starts to make those resolutions to get fit. In fact, the first month of the year is often the busiest. If you meant to start getting fit, but life made it impossible for you to begin that first week, that doesn’t mean you can’t start now. In fact, you have 365 new chances to start. Instead of calling it a resolution, make it a goal that you’re determined to achieve.

There’s no better time to start than today.

Every day you wake up, it’s a new day and you’re capable of doing something different from every day that came before it. Maybe you’ve never considered getting fit or tried before and failed. Your past does not dictate your future. You can change anything, but you have to make that decision and then take action. Anything that’s accomplished begins with the decision to do it and followed through with effort to get it done. Weight loss is no different.

It’s the little things that count.

If you aren’t ready for a full blown fitness program, start by making small changes. Take the stairs rather than the elevator. If you are really out of shape, just take a few floors of steps and use the elevator the rest of the way or start by taking the stairs down, which most people find easier than running up stairs. Move more frequently. Start taking walks and carry manageable bags from the grocery rather than using a cart. When commercials are on TV, get up and do a few exercises. You’ll start to feel better and be ready for a complete program quickly.

Start a healthier way of eating.

Eating health is not dieting. In fact, it’s far from it. Healthy eating simply means making smarter choices when it comes to food. When you diet, it always ends, whether in success or failure. Healthy eating never ends. Dieting means sacrifice by eating less and feeling deprived. You won’t feel deprived when you choose the path of healthy eating. In fact, you might find you eat even more. It’s making small changes that boost your nutrition, while also lowering your caloric intake.

• You can start a program of healthy eating by simply giving up food with added sugar. It might seem simple, but once your realize almost everything has added sugar, you’ll realize it all gets back to eating whole foods and fewer processed food.
• You don’t have to leave your house to get fit. Try our online workout program. You can get started immediately in the privacy of your home.
• If you aren’t sure what healthy eating is all about, we provide aps that let you download a weekly menu and all you have to do is shop. We even have an online workout ready for you to start and it costs less than $10 a week for both.
• Fitness also depends on simple things, like adequate intake of water and plenty of sleep. Make sure you drink eight 8-oz glasses of water a day and get eight hours of sleep each night.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training 

No matter where you live, Louisville, KY, or any other town or city, lower back pain can cause you to miss work and suffer from pain doing the simplest things. It’s hard to lift anything, move a few feet or do the simplest task. Even sleep alludes you when you suffer from this condition. Lower back pain can be caused by inactivity, prolonged sitting or simply turning the wrong way. Improving circulation in the area is imperative to recover. That’s why lower back pain exercises can help bring relief.

It’s easier to prevent back pain than to cure it.

If you’ve ever felt the pain from a back injury, you know how disabling it can be. If you’re prone to back pain, it’s better to start a regimen of back pain exercises before you have another problem, than to wait for it to arrive. Anyone with a sedentary job knows how stiff and achy the back can get. For those people, stretching frequently and moving at least five minutes of every hour is important. A standing extension stretch provides relief and a short break from sitting. Stand with feet at shoulders width, then put your hands at the top of the hips with the tips of the fingers in the small of the back. Lean backward, arching your back until you feel it stretch. Hold and return to starting position and then repeat several times.

If you feel your back pain begin, don’t head for the bed, head for the floor instead.

When lower back pain begins, stopping it as quickly as you can, is important. This quick exercise will help stretch the muscles and bring relief. You need a towel to do this. Lay on the floor holding a towel, one end in each hand. Put your feet flat on the floor, bending the knees. Create a loop with the towel and lift one leg, putting the sole of the foot in the loop. Gently pull the towel toward you, attempting to straighten your leg as you do, trying to make it perpendicular to your body. If you can’t, straighten it as much as you can. Lower your leg and do the other side.

Stay on your back on the floor for another exercise.

While you’re laying on your back, bring your knees straight up and put your hands above your head. Rock your knees from side to side to loosen your back and warm it up. Each time you rock, rock your legs a little further until you can lower your legs on each side without lifting your shoulders from the floor. Once you’ve touched your outer knee on the floor on one side, slowly go back to starting position and touch the outer knee of the other leg on the other side.

• Muscle relaxers and pain medication used to be the treatment advised. The high increase in pain medication addiction and side effects have severely limited its use. Exercise not only brings relief, the only side effects are a healthier body.
• Cat poses can relax your lower back. Get on your hands and knees. Arch your back like an angry cat with your head facing downward. Inhale, relax, exhale and drop your abdomen toward the floor as you lift your head, changing your body position from a convex curve to a concave one.
• Simply pulling one knee at a time toward your chest can help bring relief. You keep the other leg extended as you do this stretch. Return to neutral position with both legs extended and do it on the other leg.
• To avoid future problems, build stronger abdominal muscles and back muscles. When your abdominal muscles are strong, it helps remove the pressure from the back.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training 

If you’ve ever been to Body Sculptors in Louisville, KY, you know we have an entire program to build muscles with exercise and a healthy diet. You may read ads about pills that help you bulk up or lose weight, but many of these supplements are either unhealthy, such as steroids, or basically useless for weight loss or building muscles unless you have nutritional deficiencies. The right type of training and diet can help you reach your goal, whether it’s changing fat to muscle or bulking up.

No matter what your goal, building muscles takes an exercise program.

There are no shortcuts to building muscles. However, working out for hours won’t do the trick either. Focusing on the intensity and the quality of the workout and how well it matches your fitness level and goals is what’s important. Your workout, especially if it’s intense, shouldn’t go over an hour. HIIT—high intensity interval training—varies the speed of the workout and circuit training limits the rest between exercises. Both are good for building muscles. You should focus on building strength, which is easy to use as a goal and far easier to measure.

Getting the most out of each workout is important.

Compound exercises, ones that work several muscle groups and joints, give you the most bang for your exercise time. Strength training is at the core of building muscle tissue. You need to vary your workout to ensure you’re building all muscle groups and improving strength on all planes. Bodyweight exercises are the easiest to use at home, since they require no equipment. Kettlebells, resistance bands and/or weights are also good for muscle building and should be part of your program. Rest a day or two between workouts to ensure you give your muscles a chance to heal. Training three times a week is enough. The exercises cause microtears in the muscle and the healing process is what makes them bigger.

The real magic occurs when you include a healthy, muscle building diet.

No matter how hard you workout, you’ll never lose weight without a healthy diet. You may build muscles, but nobody will be able to see them since they’ll be covered by a layer of fat. Eat more frequently if you’re naturally thin and everyone should have a schedule of five to six meals. Eat one to three hours before you workout and within an hour after finishing. Before you workout, it can be something as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a handful of trail mix. If you don’t have an hour before working out, a banana is perfect. Afterward, a small meal with protein and carbs will do, such as a whole grain turkey wrap.

• You can alternate your workout working upper body one day and lower body the next if you want to get more exercise time in without over-exercising.
• Increase the number of reps you do every three to four weeks and vary your workout to avoid plateauing.
• Get adequate sleep at night. Not only do your muscles need that sleep to heal, you’ll also find your workout more productive when you’re well rested.
• Make sure you hydrate frequently, especially if your workout is tough. Before you exercises, drink 16 ounces of water. As you exercise, keep a cup of water on hand and sip every 20 minutes or as you get thirsty. Follow up your exercise with another 16 ounces of water.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training
 

I have people come into the gym and see other clients doing push-ups and lifting weights. They shake their heads and almost quit on the spot. That’s when I give them my standard advice, “Focus on what you can, not what you can’t.” Sure, maybe you can’t do a regular push-up, but you probably can do a modified one on bent knee. Maybe you can’t do a workout with a ten pound kettlebell, but you can do one with a five pound one.

That’s why a personal trainer is important.

Trainers first assess your overall fitness and learn any special needs, plus your goals. Only then does the trainer create a workout program designed specifically to push you to the limit of what you can do. Before too long, that workout will become easy, which means fitness level improved and another “can’t do” became a “can do.” The longer you workout, the more you’ll see improvement and those worries about not being able to workout as hard will disappear.

If you have physical limitations, there’s still a lot that you can do.

I work with people who are recovering from an illness or serious condition and even people with physical limitations, such as bad knees or back problems. For those people recovering, as long as the doctor gave the okay for an exercise program, I start them off slowly, until they build their strength. If you have physical limitations, I modify the workout so it doesn’t exacerbate the condition. In fact, many of the exercises actually help relieve painful conditions.

Maybe you can’t lose fifty pounds in a month, but you can lose eight to ten.

If you have a lot of weight to lose, don’t get discouraged. Break it down to smaller weight loss goals. Losing fifty pounds in a month isn’t possible to do in a healthy manner. Don’t give up because you have a long way to go. Instead, break it down and work on a goal that’s quicker to achieve. It helps boost your motivation, by giving you success more quickly.

• The older you are, the slower you’ll see the changes. Men in their sixties won’t build muscle tissue as fast as those in their twenties. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get more muscular. It means it will take longer.
• There was a man destined to die because his obesity caused so many problems. He could barely walk a few steps. Every day he took those few steps and soon they became a few more. It took a while, but today, he’s lost hundreds of pounds and is a marathon runner by simply focusing on what he could do.
• If you can’t give up all the food you love to save calories, start by just giving up one of your favorites. Small changes add up to bigger changes down the road.
• At Body Sculptors, we have programs that focus on you and what you can do. As you achieve them and get to the next level, we’ll change the program to match your new ability.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training