BMR

Basal Metabolic Rate = the amount of energy (calories) needed to maintain the body's typical metabolic funtions at a resting state.

I like this link that figures BMR as well as how many calories you need in order to maintain your current weight and/or lose weight.

I'm currently using http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/ to track my calories and percentage of fat, carbs and protein. It also tracks my servings of each food group based on my weight that I need per day.

I've used. www.calorie-count.com in the past to track my food intake. There are many websites that are free and offer an on-line food journal of sorts. These are great ideas if you are looking for an inexpensive way to track your food intake. Weight watchers isn't horrible but lately I've noticed a handful of my clients not losing weight from that particular program. A couple of ladies aren't eating enough over their BMR to keep their mitochondria (the fat-burning cell) fired up to burn fat efficiently.

Fat Burning Workout Revealed

Here's one of my favorites!

3 minutes cardio @ RPE 17
3 minutes cardio @ RPE 11
Repeat 5-10 times depending on your current fitness level.

Cardio could be walking, jogging, biking, swimming, elliptical training, stair stepping, or rollerblading.

Borg's RPE = Rate of Percieved Exertion (how hard you are working scale)
6
7 - Very, very light
8
9 - Very light
10
11 - Fairly light
12
13 - Moderately hard
14
15 - Hard
16
17 - Very hard
18
19 - Very, very hard
20 - Exhaustion

More 5K Options!

A couple more summer events:

Summer Sizzler 5K
This one looks like fun, it's June 28th at 9pm.

Teri Mathis Zenner Memorial Walk

Thanks Johnna for finding these great options!

Walk and Run Club for Women in Liberty!

Wow, I have a lot to say today! This is very exciting news. My trainer friend, Mendy and I are merging our two walking and/or running groups together into one! Therefore, walkers we need to make a good showing this weekend so let the runners know we are dedicated. Here's the info:

When: Every Saturday
Time: 5:30am
Location: Liberty Community Center
Mile Options: 3-11 miles

I know many of you ladies aren't going to like me too much considering most of you don't like to get up this early on a Saturday. HOWEVER, there are many many reasons Mendy and I have the club meeting this early.

1. If you are planning on doing a half marathon your body needs to get used to walking/running at this time. They all start early.
2. The weather is going to get hotter and hotter as the summer months progress so the earlier, the better!
3. This way we all can make it. Too often our Saturdays fill up with sports schedules, weddings, showers, you name it! This way we all can get our long or short mileage in and be done with it.

A little Testimony from Mandy:
It took Mendy close to two months to get me to actually make it to an early morning meeting. I HATE getting up early and if possible avoid it at all cost. However, once I made it to the first meeting I couldn't wait to go back the next week. It was SO MUCH FUN running or walking with a group of women. It's so much better than walking or running on my own. I am very confident you too will have the same experience. Everyone is so nice and encouraging. Please come!

Check out the northland women's website to print your map for this Saturday, May 24th.

BMI Link

I really like this link for Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is a scale that doctors, personal trainers and I'm sure many other people use to classify a person's weight range.

Here are the categories:

Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Here's the link:
Body Mass Index Calculator

However, there's a slight glitch in the BMI system which is why exercise experts never exclusively utilize this technique when measuring obesity. It doesn't take into consideration muscle mass. We all know muscle weighs more than fat, thus this method can miscalculate the category.

Here's an example of miscalculation: My hunky husband (aka: my Guinea pig) weighs 230 pounds and is 6 feet 5 inches tall. His body mass index is 27.3 which puts him in the overweight category. However his body fat percentage is a mere 13% (this is very low).

My point is this, take into account how much muscle you have. This can be a very complicated process and can include taking into account a person's Somatype

See...this exercise stuff can be complicated!

Client of the Month: Johnna

This is something I'm just beginning. So many of my clients amaze me day after day so I felt that this is a way I can recognize what I observe. Therefore, each month I will be on the lookout for that person that goes above and beyond my expectations and then blog about them.

The first "Client of the Month," is Johnna. I could literally go on and on about her but I want to point out some things that stand out to me about Johnna-things that I LOVE.

1. She's lost 122 pounds!
2. She never makes an excuse and I can honestly say I've never heard her complain when I ask her to do some new, weird, challenging exercise. Secretly, I think she likes it!
3. She has drive and determination. She's working to complete a 1/2 marathon in SF this fall with the group. Not only that-she's already completed a couple 5K's and an 8K which lately seems to be cake for her!
4. She's inspiring to others. She can relate to many people and give them hope because she's been where they are sitting.
5. She's resourceful. She always has some new health recipe or snack that's very tasty and low in calories.
6. She has a Type-A personality. I love this because she's always tracking her miles and counting her calories. Literally there hasn't been a week that's gone by where she couldn't tell me off the top of her head how many miles she's walked and how many calories she's eaten.
7. She doesn't miss a session. If she's in town-she'll be there. I love how she makes fitness a top priority in her life.
8. She's constantly challenging herself. Not to mention the 5 and 8K's she's completed in the last couple of months-she also attends a yoga class once a week along with getting at least two hours a week of training in with me as well as all the walking she does on her own.
9. She's one of the nicest, sweetest people you will ever meet. Very compassionate and talented at what she does for a living.
10. The best part-I didn't fabricate or make any of this up! She's a real living, breathing person that's come a long way and is doing a fantastic job!

WAY TO GO JOHNNA!!!!!

Link 5K

There's a 5K on June 14th that's only $12 to participate if you register before June 6th. Email me: froehlich.mandy@gmail.com if you are interested in participating. I can get you a form to fill out-it should be a good one! It's in Independence.