Recently Terry, myself and our staff attended the annual Canfitpro World Fitness Expo in Toronto. We’ve been attending this conference for over 20 years and each year it gets better and better. We come back with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for the health and fitness industry. Education is power and it’s awesome to be surrounded by over 10 000 delegates who share a thirst to lead others to greatness by leading healthy lives. To say the energy is contagious is an understatement.
I will always remember the first conference Canfitpro held from my days at working for Goodlife Fitness. Known as #1 Nautilus back then, they had I believe 7 or 8 fitness clubs unlike the hundreds they have now. There were about 100 women and maybe 1 or 2 men in attendance and while the content was great, it was mainly group fitness-based AKA, “aerobics” choreography and the trade show consisted of a couple of music booths along with clothing where the hottest styles were thongs worn on the outside of our tights!
The keynotes are always very interesting and can set the tone for the entire conference. This year Harley Pasternak’s message was simple and yet so impactful, I thought it made a great share this week. Harley is a Canadian born trainer of celebrities like Lady Gaga, Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr., Jessica Simpson and many others. Terry and I have had his “5 Factor Fitness” book for many years and like his simple, no nonsense approach to health and well being. His message this year at the Canfitpro conference was equally as simple: There’s 168 hrs in a week. Focus on the 165 hrs outside the gym by just moving. We know that when you make it in to NRG 4 Life you will get in a great workout in one of our classes with a trainer or just by doing your own workout (after all the most challenging part of any workout usually is just getting to the gym/getting it in!). It’s the time outside the gym that counts and contributes to the overall goal of an active lifestyle. We believe in Harley’s 5 things you need to do every day and live by these (although #2 can sometimes be a challenge for me). It’s our hope that as many people as possible can do the same which will help our goal to “Strengthen Uxbridge ONE Person at a Time”.
Harley Pasternak’s 5 Things You Need to Do Every Day
- Fit in your 10 000 steps per day. We are more sedentary now that we ever have been, however, we don’t have to be. We have to make an active decision to move more.The average North American takes only 4 000 steps a day. Activity trackers are readily available everywhere and at every price point. Get in your 10 000 steps. It’s a little effort, however, our bodies were meant to move and if you don’t use it, you lose it! Some simple ways to get in more steps include walking to get coffee rather than making it at home and walking around the block while making a phone call rather than sitting.
- Get Your ZZZ’s. Lack of sleep affects health and happiness and leads to weight gain. Notice there’s no “can” (lead to..) in that sentence, it does. There are numerous research-based studies now that back up this statement. Losing out on sleep creates a viscous cycle in your body, making you more prone to various factors contributing to weight gain. The more sleep-deprived you are, the higher your levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which increases your appetite, fatigue and thereby affecting your mood. Sometimes this means the car ends up almost driving it’s way home instead of making it’s way over to the gym for example. Aim for at least seven hours of sleep a night. “When we don’t get enough sleep, we produce less ghrelin and leptin hormones – one of them helps us burn more fat, and one of them tells us when we’re full,” says Pasternak. “If we don’t sleep enough, we burn less fat and we eat more because we’re missing that satiety signal.” Pasternak also noted that when we are tired, we are less active the next day, which causes us to burn fewer calories. To ensure a good night’s sleep, he recommends turning off your phone at night, using blackout curtains and blocking out ambient noise.
- Protein + Fiber x 5. Many people are still not eating enough protein throughout the day especially at breakfast. Eat three meals and two snacks a day that are rich in protein and fiber. Meals should include protein portions the mass of your hand, unlimited non-tuber vegetables, a palmful of whole grains, legumes, high-fiber fruit or tuber vegetables, and a thumb-size portion of a healthy fat. Snacks should have two of the three categories (protein, fiber and fat) and be one-third the size of a meal. This is vital to keep (carb) cravings at bay and to help to again fueling the fire. Fiber is essential to “clean the pipes” and to keep everything running smoothly inside. It also provides satiety. Not sure what to eat? “Just remember the letter ‘S’: salads, stir fries, scrambles, soups, smoothies and sushi,” says Pasternak. “You can’t go wrong with the letter ‘S.’ ” He also recommends logging what you eat to hold yourself accountable. “People who keep track of their diets are 85 percent more successful than those who don’t,” says Pasternak.
- Resistance exercise.Pasternak recommends doing at least five minutes of resistance training daily, whether it’s yoga, Pilates or weight training. Resistance exercises burn calories, boost metabolism, develop and protect bones, sharpen focus, manage pain, and can help you lose up to 40 percent more fat. Muscle is an active tissue and uses stored fat as a source of fuel. “Pick one exercise a day, a different exercise each day of the week for a different body part,” says Pasternak. “You’re setting yourself up for success because you can even do this from home, you don’t need any equipment, you don’t need anything.” It can be as easy as picking one muscle group each day and doing 2 sets of 3 exercises! It doesn’t need to be complicated. Ask one of our trainers for some ideas. KIS (keep it simple).
- Unplug. Unplug from technology for an hour a day. “The blue light emanating from our cell phones, our tablets and our laptops is playing havoc on our brain chemicals: our serotonin, our melatonin,” says Pasternak. “It’s screwing up our sleep patterns, our happiness, our appetites, our carbohydrate cravings.” Pasternak adds that the constant pings and alerts are giving us adrenal burnout, which can cause thyroid and sleep issues.