Rockin Fitness Tips from the Pros

Want to kick your fitness and health up a notch? Check out these rockin fitness tips from the pros--trainers, dietitians, nutritionists, and people who have made it a point to live healthy, hardcore lifestyle!

Prepare

Prepare your meals ahead of time, or prepare a meal plan at the beginning of each week. Prepare for your week of workouts, and make it a point to psych yourself up ahead of those workouts you dread. Mental and physical preparation is the key to success!

Control!

This means not just taking control of your meal portions, but it also means taking control of your habits and attitudes. If you know you have a tendency to eat food when you're angry or depressed, take control of your life and avoid emotional eating. Make it a point to find the things that trigger diet mistakes, and avoid them.

Eat More

This may sound counterintuitive, but a lot of trainers find that their clients aren't losing weight because they're not eating enough. The more you eat, the easier it will be for your body to let go of the fat it has stored. Don't overdo it with the eating, but make it a point to consume enough calories to power your body throughout the day. Let your daily workouts push you into the fat-burning territory.

Train Right

Don't hit the gym just to say that you did your workout for the day, but train with a purpose. Work toward burning fat, losing weight, or building muscle, and work with a trainer to create a workout program that gets you through your workout in as little time--but with as much effort--as possible.

Eat to Fuel

Don't just eat because you enjoy food, but eat to fuel your body. Start the morning off with a meal that will give you the energy you need to make it through the day, and have a lunch that will fuel your workout. Finish off with a dinner that will restore nutrients to your body and make it easier for your body to repair itself. Snack during the day if you need energy, or if you want to control your hunger.

Rest

Your body needs more rest in order to function properly, so don't deprive it of sleep and recovery time. Make sure to sleep a solid 7 to 8 hours per night, and take a nap in the middle of the day if you need to. Rest is the key to promoting weight loss and recovery after a long day of eating right and working hard.

Stretch

Increasing your range of motion is an important part of getting fit, as flexibility is one of the four pillars of fitness. Spend time stretching every day, and spend at least one day per week working on expanding your range of motion.

Lift to Fail

You should be lifting just enough weight that your muscles fail by the time you reach the 10^th to 12^th rep of the final set. That will ensure that your muscles are actually being pushed as hard as they should be, and will help to increase muscle-building.

Cut Back on Cardio

For those who are serious about burning fat, cardio is NOT the best way to do so. Building muscle mass will increase the amount of fat your body burns throughout the day, and you'll find that cardio stops your body from packing on the muscle. Do HIIT training to increase muscle mass, and spend less time on the treadmill to get the results you so desperately want.