Many times we make excuses that we can’t stick to an exercise program because of a few reasons:

1. I don’t have a personal trainer to teach me
2. I don’t have the money to afford a personal trainer
3. My friends do not have the same goals or drive as me to workout
4. My schedule doesn’t match up with the friends that do want to work out

Those are just a few of thousands of excuses people make to sabotage their health and fitness results.

I agree it; It can sometimes be a challenge without support of friends or a coach going through the process with you. Being surrounded by like minded people is powerful in creating amazing results, but it’s not the end of the world if they aren’t right next to you.

A coach can come in many forms. A coach can be a book, e-book program, DVD, group class, one-on-one personal coach, audio CD, internet video, etc.

Before going into our Your Best Body Challenge here in Garden City, I wanted to pre-screen a fitness program that I can go through along with the participants. Coach Rahz and our staff will be doing the same thing by choosing a coach/program in a different format.

We can create our own programs, but we wanted to test out different modalities of fitness programs on the market to see the validity behind the program as well as show you that it’s possible to get into great shape when you feel all alone or no one to hold you accountable.

Watch this quick video clip below of my first experience of a workout program I am looking into:

Dedicated to your results,

Greg Kalafatic

Breakthroughs To Fitness- Garden City Personal Trainer

The Breakthroughs To Fitness Team attended Woodstock 2009!

No not the real Woodstock. It was a Global Awareness fundraiser last night here in Huntington, Long Island with about 300 + people. It had a woodstock theme to it, minus people bathing in mud.

It was a great time and a beautiful sunny day.

People were eating all the wrong foods, drinking all the wrong beverages, taking shots off a block of ice, etc. So why was the B2F team even there?

Two reasons:

1. It was to support one of the B2F family members. Whether you are a client, staff, or friend, we are here to support you.
2. To spend time with complete strangers because we enjoy meeting new people.

This post has nothing to do with nutrition or physical exercise. It has to do with the fact that complete strangers came together to support a cause they believed in or wanted to support a friend who believed in it.

If you look at our health status as a nation today, you will realize that there is very little belief in this cause. There is no structured support system to keep people accountable for their own health.

Therefore, we want to find out what works for you?

What will keep you accountable?

What types of support system would keep you going?

It doesn’t have to be a fitness coach or a dietician. If you had to create a system to support the cause of good health for all, what would it be?

We would love to hear your thoughts. This helps us as a company how we can contribute or get the ball rolling. Leave your comments below or you can email us at b2f@b2finc.com. We will respond back to you within 48 hours.

Dedicated to your results,

Breakthroughs To Fitness

Long Island Personal Trainer

P.S. Don’t forget to tell us how your ideal support system would work. It will benefit you greatly, because now you will come up with an idea that will work best for your needs.

What stops most of us from getting healthier is our creativity. We eat the same boring things and aren’t willing to try new ideas. The truth is, the more tools you have in your recipe box, the better off you will be in the long run with your health.

We are human beings. Therefore, we require variety in our life.

First step is to take cooking lessons. That doesn’t  necessarily mean you have to hire a cooking coach (although that is the most efficient). You can go buy a cookbook of choice and start with some trial and error. Play around with different options until you get the hang of it.

You will find this can actually be a fun process as you learn along the way. Not only will this skill increase the variety in your life, but it will also teach you how to prepare your meals ahead of time so you don’t get stuck throughout the day.

Try this recipe below. I actually had this a few nights ago and it was absolutely delicious (had a few helping hands to prepare it). Be sure not to go overboard with the sauce and stick or even decreases the amount of ingredients in the sauce:

Chilled Poached Salmon with Cucumber Sauce

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup water

½ teaspoon chicken or fish bouillon granules

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 fresh or thawed frozen pink salmon fillets (about 6 ounces each)

½ cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber

1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons sliced green onion

2 tablespoons nonfat salad dressing or mayonnaise

1 tablespoonchopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 cups shredded lettuce

Instructions:

Combine water, bouillon granules and pepper in large skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Carefully place salmon in skillet; return just to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 8 to 10 minutes or until salmon flakes easily when tested with fork. Remove salmon. Cover and refrigerate.

Meanwhile, combine cucumber, yogurt, onion, salad dressing, cilantro and mustard in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Place chilled salmon fillets on lettuce-lined plates. Spoon sauce over salmon.

Dedicated to your results,

Greg Kalafatic

Breakthroughs To Fitness

Long Island Personal Trainer

Advice: Men, women will love you if you offered the 5 strategies listed below to fake it til you make it on the beach.

Advice: Women, use these strategies as temporary fixes and get your butts to the gym to shape up that body.

Before we get into what I mean by the title Fake It Til You Make It, I just want to remind you of the great event we have planned for this Thursday August 6th at 12:30. It will take place at the Marquis Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in the conference room at 2 Medical Plaza in Glen Cove. The event will last for about an hour with light snacks offered and prizes to be handed out.

Cost to you is just your time. For more information, please call us at 516-203-4534 or email us at b2f@b2finc.com.

Ok now on to the juicy stuff. My eye caught this article written about how celebrities use quick fixes before they head to the beach. As usual, I shook my head, because these magazines are usually filled with useless or horrible strategies to incorporate into our lives.

However, I was inclined to buy the Life and Style magazine for some reason (the clerk looked at me funny since it was an all womens magazine ). They actually had some sound advice about bikini body tricks, but the message in my opinion was wrong in how they portrayed it.

Their message was to forget the trainer and exercise and came across that the advice they offered was all you need. Complete nonsense, but the point of this post is to go over how you can fake it like the celebrities til you make it with your fitness and nutrition program. Below are some strategies to incorporate immediately for instant results:

1. Cleanse your body for 2 days by cutting out all carbonation, salty food, and sugar-free gum. Drink plenty of water, eat only fresh veggies, fruits, and lean meat. This will decrease the bloating in midsection fast
2. Have a cover up accessory for your bikini wear. A sarong cinches at the waist, making you look like you have a tiny middle.
3. Runched one-piece makes waist look smaller and hides trouble spots
4. Natural spray tan can take 10 lbs off instantly. Be sure to get this done by a professional to avoid streaking.
5. Flirty ruffle top piece can distract eyes from other areas of the body.

These are just a few tips any woman can use for the remaining beach days as summer closes out. These are not permanent solutions rather, instant fixes to hide trouble spots, decrease bloating, and take the public eye of areas you don’t want noticed.

If you have any secrets you personally use, be sure to post them in the comment box below. We would love to hear your strategies.

Dedicated to your results,

Greg Kalafatic

Breakthroughs To Fitness

Long Island Personal Trainer