Seven Things That Might Be Making You Fat

Seven Things That Might Be Making You Fat and What You Can Do To Instantly Change It To Lose Weight and Feel Great

The 7 Silent S's of Fat

Fight The Fat With Kickboxing Phoenix!

by John D. Nottingham, ACMA Head Kickboxing Coach USA Martial Arts & Kickboxing Phoenix AZ

How To Lose Weight, Fight Fat and Feel Better Fast

Finding it hard to lose weight and shed those excess fatty love handles?  You are not alone.  Millions of people are trying to piece together the fat loss puzzle to lose weight.  Here are seven things that might be making you fat and how you can begin to change your body and health.

1. Stress

Stress raises cortisol levels which prompts the body to store fat.  By reducing stress with exercise, humor, yoga, and kickboxing, you will notice that you not only lose weight but feel happier too.  Surround yourself with fun, supportive people at Phoenix Kickboxing! Webspecial iLoveKickboxingPhoenix.com I know- shameless plug. :)

2. Stagnation/sitting 

Most jobs today require a lot of sitting.  But for most it isn't a law!  From the time we get in our car and sit to drive to work, sitting at the computer (like I'm doing now) to the jobs where most of us sit most of the day we are stagnant.  We have escalators, elevators, and chairs everywhere.  Try moving more, some simple squats, lunges or even stand on one leg.  The mistake is to think it has to be huge or for you to break a sweat.  It really ads up throughout a day, week, month, and year.  Simply by having walking meetings, riding a bike to work, walking during breaks, taking stairs, parking farther away, you can ad a lot of fat burning activity.  Pop on a pedometer and play.

3. Shallow breathing

Most people who sit a lot also do not breathe properly.  Breathing is one of the easiest things we can do to create a physiological response in our body.  Along with it's many stress reducing benefits, brain function improves, attitude and of course, it burns more fat!  Breathe deep from the low belly and incorporate stretching and deep breathing into your day and workouts.  Remember, aerobic means "In the presence of oxygen."

4. Starving for nutrition 

The majority of the students in our Kickboxing classes are malnourished.  They are literally starving for good nutrition because they continuously pump their bodies full of empty calories, short chain carbohydrates and processed junk food.  Try going organic, eating a spinach and kale salad before each meal, integrate some vegetable juicing and other raw organic whole foods.  This will fuel and feed the body at a cellular level and, with the proper food choices, reduce inflammation and improve health.

5. Slow metabolic rate

Your bodies metabolism directly affects how you burn energy.  By exercising with workouts like kickboxing, you place a demand on your body, increase muscle mass and improve metabolic rate.  This in turn burns more fat and calories.

6. Sweeteners   

An amazing thing happens when you cut out sweeteners.  Your mind and memory improve, sleep often gets better, severe cravings decrease, fewer energy "crashes" and you stop wasting money on an addiction that could be damaging your health.  Replace and reduce sweeteners with stevia or other healthy alternatives and you'll notice some positive changes.  Also make sure you are getting good fats, like the ones that come from nuts, salmon, avacados and other good sources. These will significantly reduce sugar cravings and that starved feeling when you are addicted to junk foods.

7. Sleep
A lack of sleep robs your body of repair, causes it to be stressed and negatively impacts your natural balance of hormones.  Deep wave (REM) sleep releases human growth hormone which keeps your body young, helps repair, build muscle and tissue.  Without proper deep sleep your body remains out of balance and that can cause you to put on excess fat. 

How To Get The Most Out of Your Kickboxing Workout

Fight The Fat With Kickboxing!
Six Ways To Get The Most Out of Your Kickboxing Workout
by John Nottingham, K3 Kickboxing Instructor USA Martial Arts & Kickboxing Phoenix AZ


Kick, punch, knee and elbowing your way to fitness and weight loss is catching on around the country and especially here in Phoenix.  Inspired by MMA events and lean toned bodies, such as seen in the UFC, more and more people are choosing Kickboxing for their workout.  Here are 6 tips to get the most out of your kickboxing workout.

Studies show a real Kickboxing workout can burn 800-1000 calories per kickboxing session!  

1. Clearly define what you want and communicate that to your coach.  If you are looking for something different than the gym, kickboxing skill, weight loss, to gain speed, strength or just get toned and have fun then kickboxing could be for you.  Your purpose drives your planning and therefore how you train and communicate with your kickboxing coach. Coaches can't read minds so be prepared to keep him or her informed.

2. Eat to win.  The adage, "You can't out train a bad diet." is true in my experience.  I recommend making little changes over time to accommodate a nutritional lifestyle change.  Your choices in nutrition must support your goals and fuel your body for best performance.  If you're guzzling down booze and eating donuts, you're sabotaging your body and kickboxing success.  Think of food as fuel and plan to win.

I recommend integrating lots of greens into your diet.  I start each day with a super shake that includes kale, spinach, mixed berries and protein.  Later I have a yogurt or oatmeal.  I do my best to go organic to avoid unnecessary chemicals and attempt to get the highest nutritional bang for my buck.  Of course, you should choose nutritional options that work for you and your lifestyle.

Another significant boost is to drink a protein shake immediately after your workout.  You might discover that it cuts snack cravings, helps you recover faster, feeds your muscle and helps you feel better.

"Abs are earned in the kitchen."

3.  Listen to your coach.  You hired him or her so listen.  Often we lie to ourselves when we just want to defend a bad habit or are holding onto a lazy way of doing something.  Your coach can help you avoid the common pitfalls as well as train smart and safe.  Listen with the intent to hear and apply the techniques they share.

4. Warm up and cool down properly.  This is an area most of us could really improve upon.  It's easy to make emotional decisions based on how we feel at the beginning or end of a workout.  Instead, keep telling yourself the importance of warm up and cool down for preventing injury, recovering faster and being respectful to your body.   Just do it and develop the discipline to take a few minutes and tune into the body, breath and mind. It will pay dividends if you do.

5. Rest is as important as the workout.  Your periodization should be based on your goals, lifestyle, body and age.  Learn to listen to your body and allow for ample rest.  Fatigue and pain are clear signals from your body that you need to adjust your routine.  Avoid the common pitfall of being a "pain chaser".  Instead, ride the edge and challenge your body for growth but do not push so hard that it becomes abusive.  Train smart.

6.  Rotation and variation.  Remember also that the body is an adaptation machine.  Your workout routine needs to change when you plateau in order to achieve progress.  A good kickboxing gym or kickboxing program will be designed to help you take advantage of this rotation.

Phoenix Kickboxing Webspecial http://iLoveKickboxingPhoenix.com