Hawaii Moms Taking Action

A lot of people think about getting into shape. A small percentage of people do something about it. An even smaller percentage of those people will actually see change/results and stick with it.

It’s sad, but true.

It’s in our nature to procrastinate.

It’s in our nature to quit when things seem hard, or when life gets busy.

My personal training program takes away all the excuses.

My personal training program will give you the skills, knowledge, motivation, and the accountability that you absolutely must have in order to reach your goals.

Every person that has ever really achieved anything in life and every client that has ever signed up with me after meeting with me for the first time has at least this much in common:

1. They all have a great desire burning inside.
2. They were all willing to put their foot down and take the necessary action to make their desire a reality.

In all honesty, if that’s not you, then you’re probably not the right person for my personal training program.

If that is you; calling me and getting started on your own personal fitness training program could very well be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.

It can seriously change your life. No joke.

It’s hard to take action. It’s easy to find a reason to not do something. It’s easy to do nothing.

You can think about it over and over again till you’re purple in the face. You’ll be in the same place until you do something about it.

Be Your Best,

Chris

P.S. One of my clients who took action wrote a nice message about me on the http://HawaiiMoms.com forum.

The link to the message is http://forums.hawaiimoms.com/viewtopic.php?t=4220.

Personal Training Experience

My Favorite Cardio Exercise

One question I get asked a lot is, what is the best cardio exercise to do for losing body fat?

I usually don’t like to answer these “best exercise for X” questions because they usually get asked by someone that doesn’t understand that there is a whole process that involves a bit more than just finding a good exercise, or fitness contraption that will magically melt the fat off. If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you know it takes a combination of burning more calories and consuming less.

Typical resistance training causes your body to burn more calories over the long haul and doesn’t provide as much of the immediate calorie burning effect as cardiovascular exercise. Cardiovascular exercise is the opposite. You burn more calories in the short period of time while you are exercising but the calorie burning effect is short lasting compared to what you get from resistance training.

Both are necessary components of any good fitness program.

If you’re trying to make progress fast, cardio exercise had better be on your schedule at least 3 days a week.

Hands down, jumping rope is my favorite cardiovascular exercise for nearly every purpose. For most of the people out there, it might sound a little silly; the last time you jumped rope was likely in Elementary school.

Jumping rope requires the coordination of multiple muscle groups to sustain precisely timed, and rhythmic movement. Jumping rope increases your capacity for dynamic balance.

For an athlete dynamic balance (the ability to maintain equilibrium in a constantly changing environment while executing complex, omnidirectional movement (moving in every direction), and power (the ability to exert muscular strength quickly/rate of force production) are the biggest physical indicators of your success as an athlete. An athlete with greater dynamic balance and power is a superior athlete when compared to one with less.

For a regular person, it means increased functional efficiency, and capacity, and decreased risk of injury while navigating the slippery, crooked sidewalks of the earth.

Here’s a few different jump rope techniques you can try below. Be warned; it’s quite a bit harder than you might remember. If you haven’t been exercising at all, you might want to try building up your aerobic capacity by walking/jogging/running for at least 30 minutes 3-7 days / week for 2 weeks before trying these.

Give yourself time to build it up. An intense 30 minute jump rope session your first time out probably won’t happen.

Here’s a few ideas to get you started:

Start with the basic 2 feet jump. Do 1 minute, rest for 20 seconds. Repeat 10 times.

Try 1 minute of a jump rope exercise, rest for 20 seconds, then move on to the next. Go back to the first when you reach the last exercise. Repeat.

Try 15 reps of each exercise back to back without stopping for 1 minute. Rest for 20 seconds. Repeat.

Exercise Description:
Jump Rope (basic 2 feet)
Classification:
Aerobic/Anaerobic Conditioning
Instructions:
Start with the jump rope in each hand.
Jump off the ground and start swinging the jump rope under your feet.
Continue jumping up and down as you bring the jump rope under your feet.
Continue for the prescribed number of jumps or time.

Exercise Description:
Jump Rope (forward straddle)
Classification:
Aerobic/Anaerobic Conditioning
Instructions:
Start with the jump rope in each hand.
Jump off the ground and start swinging the jump rope under your feet.
Continue jumping up and down as you bring the jump rope under your feet.
While you are jumping split the feet so that one foot goes forward and the other foot goes backwards. Keep switching the feet back and forth.
Continue for the prescribed number of jumps or time.

Exercise Description:
Jump Rope (alternating foot)
Classification:
Aerobic/Anaerobic Conditioning
Instructions:
Start with the jump rope in each hand.
Jump off the ground and start swinging the jump rope under your feet.
Continue jumping up and down alternating your feet touching the ground as you bring the jump rope under your feet.
Continue for the prescribed number of jumps or time.

Exercise Description:
Jump Rope (1 leg 5x)
Classification:
Aerobic/Anaerobic Conditioning
Instructions:
Start with the jump rope in each hand.
Jump off the ground and start swinging the jump rope under one foot.
Continue jumping with the same foot for 5x and then shift to the other foot.
Continue for the prescribed number of jumps or time.

Biggest Loser Contest Results

Sorry for the lack of updates guys/gals.

This past week has been super busy; I turned 27 this past Saturday, I had about 4 out of town guests, my Mom came over from the Big Island for a day. I’m working on a really big business deal (I’ll tell you about it if/when it goes through), training clients, getting Billy Hall ready for his fight in K1 on August 9, and The Boys & Girls Club recently asked me to help out with their teens. I’m really excited to have the chance to be able to make a difference in the lives of Hawaii’s youth.

I’ve also recently started training a very promising up and coming Mixed Martial Arts athlete; 20 year old- Van Shiroma. The kid can really move!

Here’s Van doing a push up with body rotation, and the other is Billy & Van working out together performing one of my favorite exercises; kettlebell swings.

Aside from all that, I’m still hitting the pool for my concentrated rehab 3-4 times per week and getting my own workouts in at the gym 4-5 times each week. I’m trying my best to make time for all this stuff and get some updates here as well.

Anyway, here’s a little update on my body fat loss contest.

I had more than 75 entries at the start of my Biggest Loser Contest.

Less than half that amount (24) came back and got remeasured at the end of the contest.

10 people lost more than 1 lb of body fat.

Half of those 10 that lost more than 1 lb of fat were personal training clients of mine.

8 people stayed within +/- 1 lb of the body fat mass they started at.

The 6 others which I measured saw their fat mass increase by more than 1 lb.

My contest winner was one of my personal training clients–Lorae Quiroz. Great work Lorae!

Thank you for reading. Remember that wellness, fitness and feeling good isn’t a destination, it’s a life long journey. Stay on track and enjoy the journey. Don’t ever give up. Make things happen instead of watching them happen. You’ll feel like a million bucks.

Results of my Biggest Loser Contest are below.

Be Your Best,

Chris

NAME		BEFORE			AFTER
		% Body fat x Weight = lbs of Body Fat
Chris Ranes		23.5% x 187 = 43.94 lbs BF			16.1% x 167 = 26.88 lbs BF
****I am the trainer that ran the contest****
CHRIS LOST 20 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 17.06 lbs of FAT
Lorae Quiroz		30.4% x 148 = 44.99 lbs BF			21.5% x 139 = 29.88 lbs BF
****Chris’ Personal Training Client****
LORAE LOST 9 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 15.11 lbs of FAT
LORAE WINS $50 CASH AND $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE
FOR MASSAGE WITH KAORU
Sacha Silva		38% x 169 = 64.22 lbs BF			34.5% x 159 = 54.85 lbs BF
****Chris’ Personal Training Client****
SACHA LOST 10 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 9.37 lbs of FAT
F. Lopez		24.5% x 171 = 41.89 lbs BF			20% x 163 = 32.6 lbs BF
F. LOPEZ LOST 8 LBS TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 9.29 lbs of FAT
Kaoru Takagi		19.5% x 120 = 26.5 lbs BF			17.2% x 115 = 19.78 lbs BF
****Chris’ Personal Training Client****
KAORU LOST 5 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 6.72 lbs of FAT
Aaron Quiroz		25% x 222 = 55.5 lbs BF			22% x 224 = 49.29 lbs BF
****Chris’ Personal Training Client****
AARON GAINED 2 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 6.22 lbs of FAT
T. Lam		32.5% x 129 = 41.92 lbs BF			28.4% x 126 = 35.78 lbs BF
T. LAM LOST 3 LBS TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 6.14 LBS of FAT
A. Anderson		33.6% x 133 = 44.7 lbs BF			30.9% x 131 = 40.5 lbs BF
A. ANDERSON LOST 2 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 4.2 LBS of FAT
Liza Pope		32.75% x 113.5 = 37 lbs BF			30% x 112 = 33.6 lbs BF
****Chris’ Personal Training Client****
LIZA LOST 1.5 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 3.4 lbs of FAT
K. Kim		19% x 177 = 33.6 lbs BF			17% x 177 = 30.97 lbs BF
K. KIM STAYED THE SAME WEIGHT					LOST 2.63 lbs OF FAT
L. Capps		32.5% x 121.5 = 39 lbs BF			30.25% x 122 = 36.9 lbs BF
L. CAPPS GAINED .5 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST 2.1 LBS OF FAT
N. Kim		22% x 190 = 41.8 lbs BF			21.7% x 188.5 = 40.9 lbs BF
N. KIM LOST 1.5 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST .9 lbs OF BODY FAT
L. Williams		30% x 161 = 48.3 lbs BF			30.9% x 156 = 48.2 lbs BF
L. WILLIAMS LOST 5 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT					LOST .1 lb OF BODY FAT

Are You Calling Me Fat?

It’s the last few days of my Biggest Loser Contest. I spent a few hours yesterday and today offering a part of my personal training services for free. I was performing body composition (body fat) tests for the members at Punahou Fitness & Spa here in Honolulu. I’ve also done this in the past for the members of 24 Hour Fitness in Waikiki while I was there.

I’m saying this with a bit of a chuckle–not everyone appreciates the free help.

Some people are stoked to find out their body fat and some people look at me when I offer the test and then proceed to completely ignore me. And I’m about as non judgmental as people get.

I’m always sensitive to the feelings of others and I never want anyone to feel embarrassed about their level of body fat because it is a very important number to know.

If you’re exercising to improve your appearance, aside from body type (ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph), your body fat is basically the tell tale story of what your body looks like.

A 5′9″ male that weighs 180lbs with 12% body fat looks completely different than a male of the same weight with 27% body fat.

The male with 12% body fat has about 21.5lbs of Fat Mass on his body and 158.5lbs of Fat Free Mass vs 48.5lbs of Fat Mass and 131.5lbs Fat Free Mass for the male with 27%.

A 5′3″ woman that weighs 125lbs with 22% body fat looks completely different than a woman of the same weight with 37% body fat.

The female with 22% body fat carries 27.5lbs of Fat Mass compared to 46.25lbs of fat for the female with 37%.

What do you think each of these people look like? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

If you’re trying to get from point A (your starting point) to point B (your goal), you must know where each point is. How will you ever get to your destination if you have no idea where you are starting and where you are headed?

Why would anyone want to wander around aimlessly in a place like gym with no clearly defined purpose?

Furthermore, being able to objectively see the progress you’re making can be a huge motivator. Would you keep doing something if it wasn’t producing the results you’re looking for?

If you’re exercising to improve health and function, consider this; the people carrying excess body fat, most especially the overweight people carrying excess body fat are much more likely to develop serious health problems including cancer, impaired immune function, gallbladder and kidney diseases, and bone and joint disorders. If you want to read a little more about the health risks of carrying excess body fat, I found this nifty little page within a Physical Development Overview on Valdosta University’s site that sums it up pretty nicely.

When your body composition changes for the better, your appearance is enhanced. When your appearance is enhanced, your confidence grows. When you have confidence and good health, you live a more comfortable, longer, and higher quality of life.

If you’re just getting started, I’ll bet you other people will notice the change in your appearance before you do.

When you are in shape, you have more energy, your body works better, you look better, and you feel better.

When you are in shape, you perform your daily tasks better and with less effort.

Are you shooting in the dark when it comes to fitness or are you working towards a clearly defined goal? Do you know where you stand as of now?

Ultimately, we’re all in the gym for the same reason. To be better.

When we get in a car, we’re not usually just driving around aimlessly. We’re going from a starting point to a destination.

Know yourself. Work smarter. Work harder. Get results.

Be Your Best,

Chris

What Are You Waiting For?

You probably already know this since you’re at my site reading my blog– I’m a personal trainer. Whenever that, “So what do you do?” question comes up, I always get basically the same questions. “How do I lose weight”, “How do I tone this?”, “How do I get rid of this?”, etc.

It’s funny because I  usually get asked these questions by people while they’re taking a bite of a meal that equals about half of their daily caloric need, or sipping at their 3rd or 4th alcoholic beverage they consumed that evening.

Well, the simple, short answer is to consume less energy, and expend more energy. You can read more about this simple but immensely important concept in my article titled The First Law of Fat Loss. We can expand on that a little bit further by saying exercise smarter, more efficiently, more intensely, and eat more often. You can read more about meal frequency and fat loss by going to my article titled Meal Frequency and Fat Loss.

Make food choices that allow you to have more food volume but less calories. If you’re clueless about smart food choices check out my article titled Fat Loss Food List. If you think you can exercise away the body fat from a certain area, you should definitely give my article titled The Biggest Lie In Fitness a read.

I’m gonna give you the lesson today, before we get to my little story so you can keep it in mind.

The lesson is: Common sense will get you very far.

So anyway, I was talking on the phone with my younger sister who lives in Colorado.

I ask her if her friend Luke is still going to that boot camp. She tells me he is and that he loves it.

Here’s the rest of our conversation:

Kristen: So when are you gonna design those workouts for me and my boyfriend?

I ask her a few questions to get an idea of her current level of strength and conditioning.

Me: Can you do a push up, I ask?

Kristen: Yeah.

Me: How many can you do?

Kristen: Like 5 or 6.

Me: Regular push ups or on the knees?

Kristen: Regular.

Me: (in a shocked voice) No ways, are you serious?

I was shocked at her high level of strength.

Kristen: (in a masculine tone) Well, I’m kinda strong and muscular, (then her voice changes to a tiny cute little innocent voice) I’m just kinda fatty too.

It was so cute.

So I turn big brother half off and personal trainer partly on.

Me: Well what are your eating habits like?

Kristen: You know I love potato chips– everyone knows Kristen loves potato chips!

Me (laughing but still using a soft, sympathetic voice): I know. (I hear a faint crunching sound and my tone changes to a little more serious but still playful) In fact, it sounds like you’re eating potato chips right now!

At the exact same moment we both start laughing like crazy.

Kristen (laughing): I am!

Kristen (taking a semi serious tone for a moment): But it’s okay– they’re 100% white corn tortilla chips!

I humor her and with just the smallest touch of sarcasm in my voice, I tell her, “Oh yeah, that’s okay then.”

Me: How much have you had?

We both start laughing again at the same time. I know she’s holding a big bag of ‘em. She’ll keep eating them till shes a full, or till her stomach feels a little funny.

Kristen: Well, I feel guilty so I’m drinking water.

I dig deeper and ask her questions that I already know the answers to.

Me: How is water gonna help?

Kristen: I dunno, I just know its good for you, right?

Me: Yes. Yes it is.

Kristen: So are you gonna send me those workouts, Christopher?

Me: Yes. Yes, I will.

To Be Continued…

Be Your Best,

Chris

P.S. If you’re interested in an effective resistance training program, you will soon be able to buy the exact exercise programs that my personal training clients here in Honolulu have used to achieve incredible results in record time. The first one should be done this week and there’ll be more to come. I’ll keep you updated.

Inspirational Quote of the Day

Seek out inspiration each and every day. Set realistic goals, and take the necessary steps to achieve the goals you have set for yourself. Surround yourself with people that motivate you to be better.

Our mind is the biggest obstacle we face and it is also the most powerful weapon that we have.

Do you have any idea what you’re capable of?

If you don’t give your best effort, you’ll never know.

Keep reading my Personal Training Blog to stay motivated and get information that many people have paid hundreds and even thousands of dollars to learn.

Here’s the inspirational quote of the day.

“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.”

–Thomas Edison

Be Your Best,

Chris

Biggest Loser Contest–2 More Weeks

ATTENTION

Biggest Loser Contest

PARTICIPANTS

How much progress have you made towards your goal?

You have just 2 more weeks to lose as much body fat as you can. Get your final measurement Monday July 14 3pm-5pm, or Tuesday July 15 3:30-5:30.

Be The Biggest Loser

And You Could Win $200!

Sponsored by www.myfitnesswithchris.com

Winner of the contest is the member that loses the most lbs of body fat.

All participants will have their body fat measured by Certified Personal Trainer Chris Ranes.

Contest winner will receive $50 cash and a $50 gift certificate redeemable with our Licensed Massage Therapist, Kaoru. Chris will also participate in the body fat loss contest but, is not eligible to win the $50 prize.

If the winning member loses more body fat than Chris, they will earn an additional $100 for a total of $200 in cash and prize.

http://www.myfitnesswithchris.com