Trainer Tip

Monday, June 14, 2010 by kate

Today's tip is brought to you by celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson*, who has buffed up the likes of Bruce Willis, Hugh Jackman, J. Lo and Angelina Jolie.

"If you’re spending a lot of time at the pool during the summer, fill water bottles with water and use them in the pool as dumbbells to bump up what you’re getting from your water time. It’s also a great conversation starter."


*According to an interview in Glamour, Peterson hasn’t always been the fitness guru he is today. He used to be a fat kid. “My mom sent me to Weight Watchers meetings in Houston, Texas, when I was 10 years old.” For some reason that makes me trust him more.

Do you break a sweat swimming? What other summer activities do you do?

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Trainer Tip of the Week

Monday, August 31, 2009 by kate

This week’s tip is brought to you by Gunnar Peterson, a celebrity trainer famous for buffing up the likes of Bruce Willis, Hugh Jackman, J. Lo and Angelina Jolie.

According to Peterson, a great way to lose weight is to hit the sack. No. I’m not talking boxing. “Sleep, sleep, sleep!” Peterson suggests. “Sleep reduces cortisol levels (or at least helps keep them lower), allows muscles to repair and grow, keeps the hunger hormone (ghrelin) in check, and helps keep your energy up so that you don’t snack for energy. Plus, it’s hard to eat bad stuff when you’re asleep…”

I know. It sounds like a tip that should be paired with the cookie diet, but there’s actually some science behind it.

Doctors say both the hormones leptin and ghrelin can influence our appetite. And studies show the production of both may be influenced by the amount of sleep we get, according to WebMD.

"When you don't get enough sleep, it drives leptin levels down, which means you don't feel as satisfied after you eat. Lack of sleep also causes ghrelin levels to rise, which means your appetite is stimulated, so you want more food," Michael Breus, PhD, director of The Sleep Disorders Centers of Southeastern Lung Care in Atlanta, told WebMD.

According to a Sanford study, participants who slept less than eight hours a night had lower levels of leptin and higher levels of ghrelin, as well as more body fat. Those who slept the least amount weighed the most.

So don’t feel so guilty if you overslept and missed that morning run*. You were just fighting fat with a few extra Zs.



*Like I did this morning


On a side note – I'd like to get some feedback on how I'm doing here. Are you enjoying Weigh In? Getting any good tips? Anything you think I could do better or add? Have you taken some of my advice and lost (or gained!) weight? Let me know!

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Trainer Tip of the Week

Monday, August 24, 2009 by kate

This week’s trainer tip comes from LA celebrity trainer Patrick Murphy, who has worked with the likes of Eva Longoria and Mario Lopez*.

Murphy says:
“Sitting at your desk? You can still be physically productive. Draw-in your abs towards your spine and hold for 5 seconds to equal 1 abdominal crunch.”

Granted you probably won’t get Mario’s abs, but every little bit helps. Makes sense. I eat at my desk, shop at my desk, make important phone calls** at my desk, oh yea, and I work at my desk, too. So why can’t I workout at my desk?

Here are some other work workouts you can try:

-- Take the stairs. I know. This is old news. But let's make it more tangible for you. You can burn about 40 calories in just 5 minutes on the stairs. That’s almost an Oreo cookie (55 calories)!

-- While sitting in your chair, stick one leg out straight and hold for 5 seconds; then lower your foot so it hovers over the floor and hold for several seconds. Do each leg 15 times. Sounds easy, but you’ll be feeling it by the end.

-- Put your hands on your chair arms and lift yourself off the chair. Hold it for a few seconds. Do this 15 times.

-- Grab your desk and slowly push your chair back until your head is between your arms. Then slowly pull yourself back in. Do this 15 times.

-- Stand up and place your hands on your desk. Walk backward, then do push-ups against the desk. Repeat 15 times.

-- Sit up and turn your head to the left and your torso to the right, and hold. Repeat 15 times.

-- Try to get your shoulder blades together. Hold, and then relax.

-- My all-time favorite is the butt workout. No one will know you’re working on your J.Lo bum while on a conference call. Now: Tighten your buttocks and hooooooold, and then relax. Repeat 15 times.

If you’d rather not get weird looks from coworkers, just take it outside. Go for a walk at lunch. You’ll burn about 100 calories per mile. (If you walk 2 miles at lunch you’ll burn off that glazed donut you ate at the morning meeting!)

How do you fit workouts in your work day?



* Which I take to mean that I’ll look like Eva if I do what he tells me to.
**to my mother

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