Spring Makeover Challenge – Week 6

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Our annual 6 week Spring Makeover Challenge allows our clients to participate in a fun, friendly team competition to help them shed that extra winter layer that most of us put in during the cold, dark rainy days.  Each of our trainers recruit team members and we all compete against each other to see who can ramp it up the most and achieve the best results.  There’s nothing like a little peer pressure to get you to do what you need to do to reach your goals.

Although the principles to fat loss and healthy living are pretty simple, each trainer has a different approach to encourage his or her team to adhere to the program and win.  This year, I am sharing each team’s approach so that you can follow along from home.  Feel free to adhere to just one trainers’ program or mix it up and try each approach and see which one works best for you. So far in this series, I’ve shared with you 5 different approaches to maximizing weight loss. You can review past articles HERE.

Today, I am sharing with you Lacy Aregger’s approach to fast and effective fat loss. Lacy holds an Associates in Applied Science for Fitness Training with Honors and is a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer and a Power House!

Rules for Successful Weight Loss:

• Water – Drink half your body weigh in ounces each day, plus an additional 20 ounces with each hour of exercise.
• Workouts  – Complete at least 150 min of cardio with one of those to be a high intensity, interval training workout (ex. 30 seconds run, 30-1 minute walk).  Complete 2 strength training workouts hitting all injury free muscle groups, and 2 mobility/stretching/yoga days each week.  These are the American Council of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) health recommendations.
• Food – Eat Whole Foods!  Nothing processed, just pure and from their natural source.  5+ servings of vegetables, 2-3 servings of fruit, 1/2 cup-1cup of unprocessed grains, lean protein and heart healthy fats should be the center of your diet.  Read labels!  If you can’t grow it or make it yourself, put it back on the shelf.
• Eat every 3-4 hours.  By this time, your stomach will have digested and emptied your previous meal.  Keep stoking your fire!
• Sleep – A well rested 8 hours will give your body time to rest, rebuild and refuel for the next day.  Keeping up with sleep will keep your metabolism revving by keeping you active and alert all day.
• Stay Active!  Opt for the far parking spot, take the stairs and put some umph in that step!

Six weeks will go by fast!  Stick to these guidelines as closely as possible, ask questions, and surround yourself with support and you will surely leave this challenge feeling better than ever.

Sherri McMillan, M.Sc. has been inspiring the world to adopt a fitness lifestyle for over 25 years and has received numerous industry awards including International Personal Trainer and Fitness Presenter of the Year. She is the author of five books including “Go For Fit – the Winning Way to Fat Loss” and “Fit over Forty” and is the featured presenter in various fitness DVDs.  She is the owner of Northwest Personal Training in downtown Vancouver and can be seen running, hiking or cycling with her two children, Brianna and Jackson.  She can be reached at www.nwPersonalTraining.com or www.ShapeupwithSherri.com

Note:  As an avid Columbian reader, you can redeem a 2 week pass at her world-class training studio to help get you started.  Contact 360.574.7292 for more details.