What Are You Thankful For?

Published by DNJ Fitness on November 22, 2016 | Leave a response

I am so thankful for my life, all the people I have the privilege of helping and my good health. It was quite humbling when I took a moment and saw all the blessings that I’ve received. Sure, I had to work hard, but I also know how truly blessed I’ve been for that hard work. I try to take a moment every day to be thankful, but especially this time of year. It’s a reminder to take a look around and see just how fortunate life is. Just like each one of you, I’ve had my ups and downs, but in the end, I have so many blessings that the negatives seem so small by comparison.

Counting my blessings is inspirational and has always driven me toward doing better.

There are so many extra things you can do to help you achieve more and stay healthy than just eating healthy and exercising. While it’s really hard to stay angry if you’re exercising to your maximum potential, if you do, you’ll may be affecting your overall fitness. Laughing, loving and having a positive mental attitude is important and can help your overall health. Laughter also lowers your body’s cortisol level, boost the immune system by increasing antioxidant and antibody production and actually helps overall health for many different conditions. I feel bless at so much in my life I enjoy and good friends to share laughter.

Practicing random acts of kindness makes you and the world better.

An open heart and giving disposition not only helps the world be a better place, it helps you and your health. Pay it forward. There are so many wonderful stories about small, almost insignificant kindnesses that have made a huge difference in someone’s life. Both the person perpetrating the act and receiving it benefited. It’s obvious how the person receiving it benefited, but not as much about the one offering. The person who practiced the act received a good feeling that helped make them happier too. Studies show it helps them be healthier in the process. Each random act helps counteract all the negativity in the world today.

Positive emotions help improve health, the chances of success and your overall life.

One thing you’ll often hear me preach is that exercise helps you feel better and can aid in eliminating depression. It’s true. You can also achieve that mentally and when you combine the two forces it’s powerful. Tying a positive attitude to a healthy lifestyle will not only help you live longer and more successfully, but also make every day worthwhile.

The next time you dread working out, stop and think how lucky you are that you have the physical ability to workout. Not everyone does.

Each time you take a bite of healthy food, know how lucky you are that you have it available.

Take time, not just during the holidays but all year around, to be thankful for all that you have. Even small things can seem like a miracle when you realize just how significant they are.

Laugh, love and enjoy the world and people around you. Each person is unique and precious. Appreciate them.

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Get Excited About The Future You

Published by DNJ Fitness on November 4, 2016 | Leave a response

There is only one thing that will never change and that’s the fact that everything changes. Every seven to ten years you’ve replaced all the cells in your body. Every day you’re replacing some of the old or damaged ones with new ones. Each day adds to your experience, so even the way you think about things can change. You’ll be a similar person in ten years but still very different. You can take an active role in how the future you will look and how healthy that person will be. Starting a fitness program can be the start.

It does get exciting to think you are the captain of your destiny.

Starting a fitness program that includes healthy eating and exercise can create a fit, healthy future you. That can be exciting..Just imagine feeling great every day and having the energy to accomplish more. You’ll also shed unwanted pounds and build muscle tissue to replace fat tissue. That means the future you will have a metabolism that burns calories faster, since muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue does.

If boosting your metabolism doesn’t excite you, the fit trim body your future self will have should.

Even if you don’t shed a single pound, you’ll look thinner. That’s because muscle tissue also weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does, so a pound of it takes up less space. Your clothes will fit better and may even be a few smaller sizes. It’s getting more exciting now, isn’t it? You won’t have as many backaches either. Exercising can help those too.

The future you will be more confident.

One of the most amazing results of working out is the confidence level it builds. Even before you see a difference in your body, you’ll have a new self image. The longer you workout, the better your posture becomes, so you’ll walk taller and look far more confident. That aura of confidence makes people you see and treat your differently, with more respect.

You’ll be more independent and able to carry groceries and other healthier items with ease. You won’t need to ask anyone for help with most things.

Once you realize you control your future appearance, you’ll also realize you control other areas of your life, and start to take charge. ‘

Working out builds mental toughness, the ability to continue long after others might have quit. That can be a great lesson to use in all areas of your life.

The more excited you become about the future you, the more dedicated you’ll be to sticking to the program and not allow anything get in your way when you’re working on a goal.

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Make Your Fall Count

Published by DNJ Fitness on October 26, 2016 | Leave a response

You can make fall count by starting a fitness program now. You can shed pounds, get stronger and feel fantastic if you act now. By starting now, you’ll have a great body to celebrate the new year and start it out right. No matter what your goal, getting a head start now gives you a great chance to be all you can be in the coming year. Best of all, you’ll find that our program is fun and functional. You’ll build strength and flexibility that helps protect you from injury from doing everyday activities.

Kickboxing may be great fun, but it’s also a super calorie burner.

You won’t even think you’re exercising when you learn how to kickbox. You’ll be focusing on all the moves and how to get the best of your opponent. It can burn 750 calories an hour or more, but you won’t have the boredom of doing one calisthenic after another or walking the same treadmill to nowhere. It’s also more effective in burning abdominal fat than resistance training. Let’s face it, everyone wants a flatter stomach and now you can have it.

Get your body toned while you build your energy.

A great workout program does more than just tone your body, although that’s one of the reasons people start them. It also gives you the extra energy you need to face the challenges of everyday living. Your body is amazing, the more you work it, the stronger it becomes and the more energy you burn, the more you seem to have. You’ll be tired after a workout, but it’s a different type of tired. It’s one that helps you sleep better at night and get going faster in the morning. After a short time, you’ll notice you’re getting more done in less time and be taking fewer breaks. That gives you more time for other things that you enjoy doing or have been putting off for a while.

Feel more confident as the new year approaches.

Our program promotes confidence. That’s because part of it is kickboxing. It’s a great way to learn self-defense. You’ll improve your posture and your attitude and not look like a victim. People who attack others normally choose those who look less likely to fight back…because in reality, they’re cowards. When you walk tall, you won’t be in the sites of someone looking for an easy target. You’ll also garner more respect with your new confident presence.

When you’re ready for the new year with your new body, it’s one more thing you don’t have to use for a resolution. You’ll be ready to tackle other issues, like a new job or a raise.

Looking fantastic at your holiday celebration is always fun and you’ll look your best after just a few months. It will be fun to see the reaction of people who haven’t seen you for a while.

If you start now, your workout will become part of your normal routine by the time the busy holidays come. You’ll also have the extra energy to handle all the celebration.

We have private training that can help even those who have failed at maintaining a fitness program previously. Everyone can be fitter, they just need the right help and support.

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Is Sugar Really The Enemy?

Published by DNJ Fitness on October 6, 2016 | Leave a response

If you’re fighting the battle to insure a healthy diet, you probably have already labeled sugar as the enemy or at least the primary suspect. You wouldn’t be wrong to think that a diet filled with sugary foods is unhealthy, but don’t overlook many of the other generals that join in the battle. Fried foods, trans fats and white flour have their own targets in your body and are just as vicious as sugar in many ways. Learning to eat healthy involves more than just identifying one of the bad foods, it’s about learning which foods are good for you too.

You can simplify it a bit.

The easiest way to simplify healthy eating is to remember a few rules. The closer the food is to its natural state, the healthier it normally is. That means raw fruits and veggies are healthiest, with steamed ones right behind it. Healthier meats include those that are raised in a natural environment, such as grass fed beef and free range chicken or eggs. One study showed that butter from grass fed cows actually was heart healthy. It makes sense that if the food we eat was healthier in life, it should be healthier for you.

White flour is a no-no!

You lose many of the nutrients when flour is refined, such as calcium, vitamin E, phosphorus, magnesium and vitamin B. The high speed process raises temperatures to destroy many of the nutrients in it. It’s made of only part of the wheat kernel, the endosperm, eliminating the most nutritious parts and is basically just starch with no nutritional value. The process of bleaching the flour creates a byproduct call alloxan, a substance that has a similar chemical structure to glucose, that is responsible for causing diabetes in healthy lab mice and rats by destroying pancreatic cells. It basically adds no nutrients to your diet, but increases its calorie count. That’s not good.

Stay away from foods with high fructose corn syrup and ingredients you can’t pronounce.

If you want to keep you body chemical free and lose weight in the process, eat foods that are what they say they are and skip the processed foods. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring, but it does mean steering clear of foods with high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients often found in processed foods. High fructose corn syrup is found in many products and causes problems with triglycerides, inflammation and blood pressure. A recent study at Princeton said rats fed high fructose corn syrup compared to those fed equal caloric amounts of sugar had a higher weight gain. One of the reasons for this found in another study is that fructose, unlike sugar, doesn’t suppress the hormone causing hunger—ghrelin, so you keep on eating. Even worse, this stuff is in everything because it’s cheaper.

Eating healthy takes some thought and new information, but once you learn how to do it, the rest is easy and means you’ll never have to diet again.

Adding a program of exercise not only boosts your health, it gives fat a double whammy and improves your metabolism.

You’ll build your energy and health when you workout regularly and combine it with a healthy diet. You’ll be amazed at how good the food tastes and that you’ll never feel deprived.

As a personal trainer, I can help you learn how to eat healthier, while also getting your body into shape with a program of exercise. Even if you’ve failed at losing weight before, I can assure you this works.

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Have Fun Boosting Your Metabolism

Published by DNJ Fitness on September 27, 2016 | Leave a response

If you’ve had problems loosing weight in the past, part of the reason can be a slower metabolism. Your metabolism dictates how fast you burn calories and that can depend on a number of things. For instance, super low calorie diets can actually slow your metabolism. The body responds to the excessively low calorie intake by insuring all vital organs receive enough energy to remain healthy. It slows down the number of calories you burn to conserve calories. Even if you have a slow metabolism, you can change that. Boosting your metabolism can start with a program of regular exercise.

Exercise helps you shed pounds while you’re doing it.

That’s not a surprising statement. Most people understand that to shed extra weight, they need to either eat fewer calories, burn more calories or do both. However, a program of regular exercise also helps you in another way. It builds muscle tissue. Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue does so you’ll be burning more calories 24/7 the more muscle tissue you build. That means you’ll be boosting your metabolism.

You don’t have to be bored or dread your workout either.

Exercising alone can be a drag. That’s why people find it easier to succeed when they workout with others in a group setting. Everyone cheers each other on to success and has fun doing the exercises. It provides a more social situation, making it enjoyable and more like a game than a workout. You’ll get plenty of support when you workout with a group, too. Enjoying the activity keeps you motivated.

Not only will you boost your metabolism with a program of regular exercise, you’ll get other benefits.

Did you know that for every minute you exercise, you extend your life seven minutes or longer? Those extra years you gain are healthier too. You’ll be enjoying life more not only now, but in your senior years as well. You’ll also improve your flexibility to help prevent injury and build your strength. Your endurance will improve too. You’ll be able to dance all night, also boosting your metabolism.

Exercise stimulates the brain and protects the health of the neuronal synapses, which protects them and keeps your cognitive thinking clear and healthy.

Your skin will look healthier when you exercise. Not only does exercise send oxygen and nutrient rich blood to all parts of the body, it also stimulates the creation of antioxidants and adult stem cells to keep you looking younger.

You’ll help keep serious conditions at bay. Exercise can help prevent serious conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and even osteoporosis. In fact, some studies show it actually helps control some of these conditions better than some medications.

Regular exercise can also help you sleep better at night. A good night’s sleep keeps you going strong and won’t leave you craving sugary treats for energy.

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Keep Your Curves In Check

Published by DNJ Fitness on September 6, 2016 | Leave a response

Many women who consider kickboxing or even personal training worry that they’ll lose their femininity. I can reassure you right now that you’ll keep your curves, but still build a strong healthy body with our workout regimen. Even with sports where you’ll learn how to take down an opponent, such as kickboxing, you won’t give up your curvy appeal and probably add to it. Taking off weight and building muscle doesn’t create a masculine appearance. It actually uncovers the beautiful body underneath the excess weight and accents it.

You won’t bulk up.

One thing I hear all the time is the concern voiced by women that they’ll bulk up like the female body builders they see in competitions. These women have spent most of their time in the gym with a regimen of hours of workouts, a special high calorie diet and in some cases, steroids to help them get the super big guns and bulging muscles you see in competition. In order to build huge muscles, women either need to have a high testosterone supply (which almost all do not have) or supplement their testosterone artificially. Building muscles requires it, which is why men build faster and have bigger muscles, they have more testosterone.

You will tone up and uncover the muscles you already have.

Everyone has muscles or they wouldn’t be able to move. If the muscles are undeveloped, you have less stamina and strength. The more you develop them, the more strength and endurance you build. Building muscle tissue also does one more magical thing. It helps boost your metabolism and burns fat while you’re working out, too. You might already have strong well developed muscles but they’re hiding underneath a layer of fat. When you workout, you start losing that fat and strengthening the muscles underneath to get a sculpted look.

Kickboxing builds more than just curves.

When you workout with kickboxing, you’ll do more than just lose weight and help accentuate your curves. You’ll start developing a “can do” attitude that comes with feeling stronger and more in charge. You’ll also be improving your posture due to improved muscle strength. That attitude and your improved posture makes you walk taller, which allows your now-more-visible curves to show.

Working out and developing lean muscle mass emphasizes your femininity, not detracts from it.

You’ll develop confidence when you learn kickboxing. It’s a potent tool for self-defense that could save your life.

Even though kickboxing and other personal training is fabulous for your figure and has many practical benefits, it’s also fun. You’ll look forward to each session.

You’ll be amazed at how much more energy you have after just a few weeks of training. You’ll be ready to do other active things, burning even more calories and slimming your body in the process.

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How Are Your Reflexes

Published by DNJ Fitness on August 25, 2016 | Leave a response

If you participate in any sport, you know your reflexes play an important role in whether you’ll be a champion or not. Improving your reflex time isn’t just for athletes. It also plays an important role for people not involved in sports. If you’ve ever helplessly watched a precious fragile item fall, knowing it will smash into hundreds of pieces, but not able to move quickly enough to catch it, you’ve already experienced the frustration of slow reflex time. Now consider all the times on the road where fast reflex time is important or times when moving quickly enough can prevent injury.

Reflex time comes in three stages.

Seeing the danger or problem is the first stage. It’s that cup falling, ball heading toward you or a punch coming your way, if you’re kickboxing. Mentally the process of deciding what to do then takes place, whether it’s try to grab the cup, dodge or catch the ball or duck or counter the punch. Finally, your reflex depends on how quickly that thought communicates to your body and the speed of your reaction. For those involved in kickboxing, it makes the difference between a successful counter-move or possibly losing the match.

Training to improve your reflex time helps tremendously.

Learning how to improve the identification of a problem, then improve your reaction time and speed in handling is the best way to see a huge improvement in reaction time. Some people suggest running at top speed in a wooded area helps. That will help overall reaction time but in kickboxing, you’re reacting to specific stimuli. It’s all about effectively reacting to your opponents moves.

Effective reflexes in kickboxing are well trained and often not a natural reaction.

A reaction to a punch could be anywhere from a counter-punch to panic! That’s why it takes hours of training to know the appropriate move and way to overcome, not succumb, to your opponents offensive moves. Knowing when to counter-punch and when to use a defensive move comes with training and experience. You train for the potential stimuli.

No matter how fast your reflexes, if you aren’t training for specific stimuli–such as punches and kicks—you won’t improve in kickboxing.

Using the right focus is important. If you want to improve your reflexes when in the ring, make sure your training includes training that simulates having punches thrown at you.

When you have trained reflexes, you don’t have to think about your reaction. It just happens.

Good trainers will insure you include training exercises that will help you in the ring.

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Cutting Edge Fitness

Published by DNJ Fitness on August 4, 2016 | Leave a response

No matter what you do to become fitter, if it gets you moving, it’s far better than doing nothing. However if you want a program based on the latest scientific studies that uses cutting edge fitness techniques, you’ll probably see the best results. Of course, most studies show that only through an individualized fitness program will you get the fastest and best results. That’s because it’s designed for your level of fitness, focusing on weaknesses to build symmetry and aid in the synergistic movements of the muscles.

Not everyone has the same needs.

One person may want to lose weight, while the other just wants to be healthier and fitter. Of course, the basic path to fitness would be almost the same, but there would be differences in each program. For the person with special needs, such as a back problem. A personal trainer needs to modify the form of the exercise to prevent causing further damage. Back problems, by the way, often respond well to exercise programs focused on developing stomach and back muscles.

If you’re working hard but not seeing any results.

That may be the problem of the exercise program you’re using. Some people just focus on cardio workouts, which aren’t necessarily the best for overall weight loss. They will burn calories, but you need to have a mix of strength and cardio for the best results. Interval training is another great way to burn fat. Some workouts keep burning fat long after the workout ends. However, no matter what exercises you do, you also need flexibility and balance training. Flexibility training is range of motion training and it can help prevent injury that will put you out of commission for months.

Look to total body training that’s fun.

Total body training not only works all the muscles in the body, but also includes several types of training, sometimes all four, strength, cardio, flexibility and balance. There are a number of different forms of exercise that can provide this type of conditioning. Kettlebells and kickboxing are two of those. I choose to include kickboxing because it takes the drudgery out of exercise and makes it more fun. You tend to focus more on your next move rather than how much longer you have to workout. Best of all, you leave wishing sessions were even longer.

Make sure you eat healthier when you’re trying to get results. No matter what your fitness goals, matching your eating habits to those goals are important. Someone trying to build bulky muscles will be eating differently than a person trying to lose weight.

In the past, most trainers or gyms would never offer a money back guarantee after just 30 days. We do because the cutting edge techniques we use get fast results and we’re confident you’ll be pleased.

You don’t have to be a beginner or even have tried and failed at fitness to benefit from the help of a personal trainer. In fact, many extremely fit people use the services of a trainer as a way to break the monotony of their regular workout, check their form or learn new exercises.

Trainers vary workout frequently to help avoid plateauing. That can occur when the body becomes too efficient doing the same routine continuously.

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Improve Flexibility

Published by DNJ Fitness on July 27, 2016 | Leave a response

There are many types of fitness, but often you see people focus on either cardio vascular fitness or strength, while those two are important, you need to improve flexibility and balance, too. Not only is improved flexibility important in preventing sports injuries, it also improves your functional fitness. Flexibility is your range of motion. If you have a limited range of motion, lifting something light can cause injury.

Big muscles doesn’t mean your at your fittest.

The Incredible Hulk seems pretty agile as he faces opponents and knocks down buildings, but not everyone with bulging muscles is that flexible. You often find weight lifters benched because they didn’t bother with any stretches during their exercise routine. Just because you can run a mile without breathing hard doesn’t protect you from sprains and strains either. Stretching is often one of the most overlooked parts of a workout routine and it can make the difference between a successful day or injury.

Even kickboxing requires stretch and flexibility training.

You won’t build big muscles but have that lean look. However, you still need to warm up and insure your muscles are ready to move in a multitude of ways. Kicks require flexibility and speed, so training is of the utmost importance for this sport. You need to take an extra 15 minutes before you start to insure your body is ready. The good news is that as you participate, kickboxing will also improve your overall flexibility. It’s also a great workout for coordination and balance.

You’ll increase the blood flow to all your muscle tissues.

Flexibility training sends oxygen and nutrient loaded blood to all parts of your body. That encourages the muscles to relax, which is another way it helps prevent injury. If you have back problems, flexibility training may be just what you need for relief. It loosens tight muscles and reduces back pain in the process. It also is a great way to eliminate muscle pain and provides overall good health. That leads to improved performance no matter what your sport or activity.

Stretching can help eliminate muscle aches and pains if you do it before and after exercising. It’s a great way to help relieve back pain, too.

You’ll posture with flexibility training. That leads to more presence, confidence and greater respect from others.

As you improve your range of motion, you’ll also notice far less pain after working out rigorously.

You’ll build joint health with flexibility training combined with strength training. It builds the muscles but also allows them to move freely taking pressure off joints.

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Tired Of Not Getting Results?

Published by DNJ Fitness on July 6, 2016 | Leave a response

If you’re working hard and find you’re tired of not getting results you hoped for, it may be time to switch things up a bit. Too often people continue the same workout for years and their results start dwindling down to nothing. Whether your goal is to burn fat or build strength, the problem might come from the repetitive nature of your workout. The body starts becoming efficient at doing every move, using fewer calories and building less muscle tissue. Take a break from the traditional and start with a workout that’s fun and gets results fast.

Try something different that will keep your body on alert.

One way to get better results is to change the same old routine. Of course, I’m talking about kickboxing. Not only is it fun, it keeps your head in the exercise as you plan every strategic move and learn the various techniques. You’ll burn an amazing number of calories, but you won’t be looking at the clock to see how long it will be before you finish. You’ll be too busy for that. Kickboxing offers a wide variety of exercises ranging from flexibility and strength to cardio and balance. It also burns calories like crazy. Test drive it by taking a few classes and you’ll see the difference it makes.

Get the help of a personal trainer.

If you aren’t seeing results and you think you’re working your hardest, there’s something wrong. Either you’re not doing the right exercises or you’re being to kind to yourself during the workout. A personal trainer first assesses your overall fitness and designs a program specifically for your needs. You’ll work toward your maximum capability and as you reach it, the trainer will modify that program to reflect your success.

A trainer will insure that you don’t plateau by constantly creating new workouts.

Working out alone has many pitfalls. One is that you’re never sure you’re using the right form. That can cause the entire exercise to be less effective, or even worse, cause injury. Trainers show you the right way to do each exercise and watch to insure you do it correct. Trainers also push you harder than you might ever push yourself, but do it in a safe manner. You’ll get faster results.

One reason people often fail to see success is that they quit before the fruits of their efforts show. When you work with a trainer, you’ll get plenty of motivation and see results faster, which is super motivating.

Feel comfortable working at a gym where you get an unconditional 30 day money back guarantee of results. If you work your hardest, but don’t see the results you hoped to achieve, it costs you nothing.

You’ll see a huge improvement in your overall health and fitness when you try new, proven methods.

A personal trainer holds you accountable for your success, but never shames you for not achieving your goal.

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