What is a healthy portion anyways?

What is a healthy portion of food anyway?

When it comes to food, it is important to know how much or how little of something you are eating.  You can always use scales or measuring cups, but did you know you can use your own hand to measure healthy portions of food?  You can simplify the often complicated measuring by keeping these tips in mind:

Fist = 1 cup - a good place to start for vegetables

Thumb = 2 Tablespoons - think serving of peanut butter

Thumbnail = 1 Teaspoon 

Cupped hand = 1/2 cup - good amount of carbs or starches

Palm of hand = 3 ounces - a good serving of fish, poultry or meat

Try this method the next time you are preparing dinner.  Simplify and enjoy!

Learn more about our gym in lakewood CO

Sunshine For Weight Loss and Exercise

                                                                    Sunshine for weight loss

Research from the Northwestern Medicine neology shows that people who get 20 minutes of sunshine a day have much lower BMI.  The theory is that morning light, rather than afternoon light, synchronizes the body’s internal clock and speeds up the metabolism.

The best times are from 8am - 12pm, when light exposure was most efficient at hitting minimum goal of 500 lux.  Even on cloudy days you can still benefit from this, although sunny days can be upwards of 10 times more efficient.  

FYI - June 21st is the longest day of the year and coming up.  Don’t forget to wear sunscreen!

Lean more about our Fitness Center in Lakewood CO

Sean Sewell

Personal Trainer

Absolute Personal Fitness

Drinking Water Burns Calories

Aside from being necessary for survival and proper muscle function, water can also help burn calories! drinking ample water cuts hunger and helps create a feeling of fullness. 500mL of water per day helps increase your metabolic rate my 25%. That means an extra 20 calories burned per hour, thats 480 calories per day!  It does this by diluting the blood that travels to the liver which triggers the SNS (sympathetic nervous system) By activating this system, core body temperature is raised as well as energy expenditure. But BE CAREFULL, too much water intake can lead to hyponatremia ( low sodium levels) and this can be dangerous. Drink water first thing in the morning to stimulate metabolic function, and then consistently throughout the day. During workouts, drink water based on fluid loss (how much you sweat) After all muscle is 70% water, so stay hydrated and stay healthy. Learn more about your fitness by visiting our Gym in lakewood CO

Feel Good When You Exercise

Brain Derived Neurotropic Factors - Why you feel good when you exercise



Have you ever wondered why you feel so good when you work out? Why you seem to think more clearly, have positive thoughts and be more productive? Research shows that one of the most effective ways to increase Brain Derived Neurotropic Factors is through exercise. The secret lies within your brain and its reaction to exercise stimulation. It is possible to increase cognitive function via working out. Talk about a two for one!! Who does not want to think more clearly, feel better and look better?

BDNF is a sub-fraction of Neoroptrophin and effects the growth of new neurons and synapses in the brain. In addition to the wonderful cognitive benefits, BDNFs have been shown to help muscle fibers grow and repair. How do you get your BDNFs going and optimized? Consistent, challenging and new exercise programs that make you sweat! Come into our fitness center and join a class or get some personal training sessions and start to enjoy the rewards of your efforts!

Absolute Personal Fitness - Holiday Junk!

Holiday Junk Food can be bad for your Brain 

A recent study performed by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that just 5 days of eating holiday junk food (those delicious cookies your co worker brought in and the pecan pie your uncle made) can significantly deteriorate cognitive function - including memory, attention and mood.  The research indicates that the high sugar food causes inflammation of the hippocampus (the area of the brain that regulates memory and can effect how we perceive ourselves to be hungry, thereby eating more of the cookies). 

So not only are you getting extra calories that can hinder your healthy weight loss, but you get bogged down mentally.  Its a sticky situation.

We are not saying to completely stay away from the tasty treats that your loved ones made, but try to balance them out with inflammation reducing foods such as vegetables, legumes, beans and fish.  This way you can have your cake and eat it too! Visit our Gym in Lakewood CO!

Lakewood Gyms and Personal Training: What is HIIT?

What is HIIT and should I be doing it?

HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training - is a workout that alternates between periods of high intensity exercise followed by lower intensity exercise or even rest. There are several, effective ways to implement HIIT and the benefits are as impressive as the workout is challenging!

1) More efficient use of your time - Studies show that 15 minutes of HIIT can burn as many calories as an hour of traditional cardio.
2) Improved aerobic and anaerobic capacity - ACSM found that just 2 weeks of HIIT was more effective than 8 weeks of traditional cardio and doubled the users ability to maintain top effort.
3) Revved up metabolism - Not only do you burn calories during the HIIT workout, you also burn calories after the workout - up to 48 hours after!

So you burn more calories during and after, increase your ability to sustain effort, improve your heart and lung function and spend less time working out. Its a win all around! Come talk to our trainers about HIIT and get yourself (and your loved ones) in one of our group classes to see what it is all about!

Visit our gym in Lakewood CO for Personal Training

Lakewood Gyms Offering Personal Training: Sleep and Exercise

Sleep and its effects on your body 

Sleep is an often overlooked part of everyones fitness routine.  A good nights sleep helps the body and mind recover, keeps us leaner, happier, more focused and healthy.  But bad sleep increases body fat, messes with hormones, ages us faster, increases chronic illnesses and reduces IQ.  So why do we overlook this important part of the day?  It is easy to stay up late watching tv - the bright light actually interrupts the circadian rhythm and reduces sleep quality. Or maybe its the overwhelming projects at work keeping you up.  But whatever the reason, it is sabotaging your hard work at the gym and defeating your positive eating habits.  7-9 hours of sleep is recommended, you may find that you can get by on less, but it is short changing yourself and will catch up sooner or later. 

How do you fix this?  The body loves routines - get yourself in one asap.  Create a pre bed process of gearing down. Try to limit caffeine and alcohol intake - caffeine after 4pm can interfere with falling asleep and excessive alcohol intake can effect deep sleep cycles.  Stop use of all devices with a screen 30 minutes prior to sleeping. The brain produces melatonin as light levels decrease. Melatonin regulates sleep and metabolism, so it is crucial to do what you can to keep level. Exercise has been shown to normalize circadian rhythms, regulate endocrine function and tone down sympathetic nervous system.  So come down to Absolute Personal Fitness and get your fitness dialed in and sleep on track.  We have several group classes, one on one training, yoga and massage to get you on track.  We look forward to helping you on your fitness path!  Visit our Gym In Lakewood CO Offering Personal Training or call 720-389-9696