The Official Blog of Tara Marie Segundo, M.A.

If you don’t know what you really want, how in the world are you going to get it?  You need to set goals in such a way that you know exactly what you are working to achieve, you can measure your progress along the way, and the goals must be realistic, considering who you are and the life you lead. Here are some tips to get you started setting effective goals that will get you where you want to go.

Set specific goals: Rather than say, “I want to get in shape,” specify or detail exactly what you want.  A more specific way of setting goals is to say, “I want to reduce my waist measurement by 3 inches and increase my strength and flexibility.”

Set measurable goals: How will you measure your progress?  Rather than say, “I want to walk more and get in better cardiovascular condition,” say, “I want to walk two miles every day at a rate of 15 minutes per mile.”  The progress of this goal can be easily measured, as the goal itself is worded in such a way that you can track your progress.

Set attainable goals: The kiss of death for most people is biting off more than they can chew. You have to set a goal that will challenge you, but not defeat you.  Be realistic about who you are, the constraints on your life, and what you are willing to do (or not.) 

I recently discussed the importance of body composition and how it matters not so much what you weigh, but rather how much of that weight is fat vs. muscle mass. For more information, check out this blog post: The Significance of Body Composition.

Now that we have reviewed the importance of knowing how much fat you carry relative to muscle, let’s discuss the importance of determining where that fat is.

An easy and effective way to measure what is really going on in your body is by calculating your Waist to Hip Ratio. All you need is a tape measure, which is portable, inexpensive, and will help you overcome Scalitis, that nasty disease that keeps you tied to your bathroom scale as a determinant of your self-worth!!

I have a client who is obsessed with what he weighs, so much so that his mood du jour is determined by whether the number on his scale goes up or down. This is no way to live, nor is it an accurate report of the health of your body, i.e., how much of your body is fat vs. how much of your body is muscle mass.

Excess body fat is undesirable for more reasons than simple aesthetics. Fat is a storage site for carcinogens, and the more fat you carry above a healthy range, the more you risk hormonal imbalances which set you up for many diseases including diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, or cancer of the breast, cervix, colon, esophagus, ovaries, and prostate, to name a few.

A recent study by the American Cancer Society found that approximately 90,000 cancer deaths every year are due to excess body fat. I advise my clients to worry less about what they weigh and concern themselves more with what comprises their weight. In other words, focus on body composition, or the percentage of fat relative to the percentage of muscle on your frame.

Have you ever heard an old man brag that his weight has not changed since he was twenty-something?  That’s great, and as a trainer I am always thrilled to hear that people are keeping their weight in check as they age.  However, as a trainer I am far less concerned about the number on the scale and far more concerned about how much of the weight is lean muscle mass and how much of it is fat mass.

Let’s consider the old man again: at 23 years old, his 175 lb. frame probably had a good bit of muscle, and his torso was the shape of an upside down triangle, with broad shoulders and a tapered waistline.  Now at 83, if he has not been doing anything to maintain his muscle mass, his 175 lb. frame likely looks like a triangle, only right side up!  His broad shoulders and small waist have now become narrow shoulders and a wide waist—but he still weighs 175 lbs, so he does not see the problem.

From a health perspective, however, there is a problem. As we age, both men and women will lose muscle mass and increase fat mass.  Since muscle is metabolically active tissue, meaning it requires calories just to exist, the more muscle you have on your frame, the easier it will be to stay lean.

That added body fat also increases the odds that you will suffer from any one of a number of diseases that can be prevented, including diabetes, metabolic syndrome, different cancers, and heart disease.

Have you ever wondered how to train aerobically to most efficiently lose body fat? I get a lot of questions about aerobic exercise training, and it seems that there are many misconceptions about how to train effectively, so I want to clarify some points.

Years ago, we instructors were taught to encourage our clients to stay in their “target heart rate range.” This range is also called your “target zone” or your “aerobic heart rate range.” This range simply gives you the number of times that your heart should beat per minute while exercising aerobically. The number represents about 60% to 80% of your heart’s maximum capacity. We were taught that this is the range in which we most efficiently use fat as a fuel source for exercise. Hence, the mantra, “lower intensity, longer sessions,” was drilled into aerobics instructors everywhere as the way to help clients burn body fat.

For my clients that have heart disease or any other cardiovascular complication, I encourage the use of a heart rate monitor that is worn strapped around the chest. This will provide an up to the minute, accurate reading of your heart rate. This population needs to be careful not to exceed 70% of their maximum heart rate without permission from their cardiologist.

Win $10,000 while losing weight!  Sounds too good to be true, huh?  The good news is that this is a real chance to lose weight and win a $10,000 prize!  There is no down side!

My good friend and fitness expert, David Greenwalt, is the creator of an amazing weight-loss Boot Camp with more than 1000 previous graduates since 1999.

You don’t have to travel to participate!

More than 90% of David’s Boot Camp students graduate, lose weight and achieve their goals.  This is the real deal!

David is a frequent guest on my radio show, TARA MARIE LIVE, and he is one of the top wellness coaches in the country.

Check out his Boot Camp page and decide for yourself. I highly recommend David’s Boot Camp and there’s no better time than now to kick off 2011 the right way—by putting yourself first on your list!

Click the link below to see David’s page:

http://www.LeannessLifestyle.com/bootcamp/?ref=tara

Live with Simplicity,

TMS

After training clients one on one all of these years, I find myself having the same conversation with people.  This conversation is about not only what they are willing to do to get what they want, but what they are willing NOT to do to get what they want.

Think about it: I am sure that you, like everyone else, would like to set some new goals for your fitness and nutrition plan and make some changes to your body.  You must ask yourself two critical things:

1. What am I willing to do to achieve these goals?

2. What am I willing NOT to do to achieve these goals?

Consider this: in order to achieve a goal, be it losing body fat, increasing muscle mass, increasing flexibility or increasing your cardiovascular capacity, you have to identify the things that you will need to do in order to achieve your goals.  This is how you build your plan, or road map, to success.