So the weather aye! The pollution should never stop you from being active indoors,Be creative, pick 5 exercise or do them all at once, set your timer at 1 min and do as many reps, repeat as many sets as you wish. Feel free to add jump ropes or high knees in between your exercises. Believe me there's no right or wrong exercises, even jumping on the spot for a minute is pretty much a movement. 

I somehow manage to remain “lean” pretty much year round, even if I were to put on weight it wont stay for too long. Well this is also due to the fact I’m vain and my workout clothes aren’t the most baggiest of them all to hide all my dough in places.

How do I do this besides just working out? Mind you I only work out 3-5x per week and if I body need rest I give it and I stretch or just play around. Some days my workouts are child’s play some days I go all out. I do not have a set routine that i follow I just do what I think I need to do along the way, so sometimes I do cherry pick my exercise just because I like it. That also explain why my back has more definitions than my shoulders.. hmm

Do I eat junk food and cakes occasionally? For sure more than I actually require sometimes, my friends could validate my ferocious appetite, it also helps I am only 26 and trust me when I was younger I could eat like a grasshopper and still manage to look like those lalangs ( those coarse thin weedy grass swaying with the wind) Being lean and healthy is a lifestyle and should continue as such even after you've achieved the weight you want.


3 TIPS TO REMAIN LEAN
 
1)Monitor what you eat

2)Try new activities

3)Use the mirror and a Food diary

 

3)THINK ABOUT THE RAINBOW.
Go to the grocery store and buy 3-4 different vegetable in different colours, they are not only visually appealing but good for you, trust me!
Here's a list to help you.

Today i would like to share with you a recent article I've read  from Runnersworld comparing the amount of calories burned of running vs walking and how much calories do you exactly burn. Even if you do not own a Fitbit and might be curious, you could do the math yourself but it's best if you do own one and join us on the next challenge which i would talk about more in my upcoming post.

A group of researchers from California State University have just published a new Run v. Walk paper. It’s the best one yet, and it confirms (to a very high degree) the data I presented in 2005, which was mostly based on this paper. Even better, this group of investigators have included the “after burn” in their calculations. That’s a first.

It’s also entirely appropriate. Whether you finish your workout by collapsing on the grass, drinking a smoothie, or taking a shower, your body continues burning more-calories-than-usual until it returns to its basal metabolic rate. These calories are “free,” yet real.

The subjects in the new study were 15 male college students, and 15 female, with an average weight of 156 lbs. One day they ran a treadmill mile in 10:00 minutes; another day they walked a mile in 18:36. Afterwards, they sat quietly for 30 minutes, by which time their metabolic rate had returned to normal.

After signing up and syncing your fitness device (Fitbit), this platform would do everything for you, providing you with,

1)STEPS
2)DISTANCE
3)CALORIES BURNED

This platform is so responsive and its user friendly for everyone that I actually look forward to see if any new challenge is up to take part. 

They are officially launch Rewalkz.Me! To kick start their 1st challenge, they are giving away a Fitbit Surge to the lucky winner in this auspicious Goat Year!  Just walk 10000 steps daily for the next 14 days and you will stand a chance to win a brand new Fitbit Surge!

1) This challenge is only open to 120 RewalkzMe users. currenty there is about 60 slot left, last i checked.

2) This challenge is based on first-come-first-serve basis.

3) Each user have to complete 10000 steps PER day for 14 consecutive days during the challenge period in order to be eligible to be a winner of this challenge.

4) User with the highest step count and fulfill point 3 will win a Fitbit Surge tracker

Feeling the urge to dine out yet you still want to be able to eat healthy? This is part 1 of what some athletes and fit people have in common when they still want to be able to enjoy food while dining out.Contrary to what you may believe, you don't always have to sacrifice flavor for nutritions. If you are not following them on Instagram do click on their user name and throw in a heart or two on their page.

"I would usually go for their chicken breast fillet wrap with lemon &herb dressing, it enhances the taste of the chicken, making it softer and juicier.It is also below 600 calories.”

 “ When I feel like eating semi clean when I have no food packed, I’ll get the butterfly chicken breast. It comes in a generous portion and hey I  get to track my macros too!” 

Mr Prata at Tampines st 44 also serve my favorite chicken fajita wrap which is also at the top of my list.

”Double up chicken for me and i would pick a different sides to suit different dieting phase. They serve fries/corn/steam vegetable etc"

"Anything from The Daily Cut and restaurant that serves Salmon sashimi."

"Beast sized meal, which is simply 2 portions turkey and 1 portion steak on brown rice, Taste fantastic even without any condiments.'

"This food joint offer variety of base/deli/vegetables that you could choose from and customize your own salad, i would eat anything with smoke salmon in it!"

Like you, I eat aimlessly  when I’m on vacations, ice cream of every flavor, pastries ,second serving of everything and desserts that  I can barely pronounce its names but I know if I never eat it now, I’m never going to get the chance when I  am back, and if like something I would basically eat it everyday for the entire trip, I remember Japan, I ate red bean cake every 2 hours, in Paris I had a tart in all sort of flavor in every bistro I stepped into, Geneva’s chocolates, don’t even get me started. Thailand, it was street food, I felt bad for the vendor so I bought what they sold, in Las Vegas all I wanted was tacos , and the list goes on.  

There is no secret in weight gain like how there is no secret in weight loss, firstly my main advise is not to be to extreme and cut out everything and go into a strict-diet mode, there is no need to be ashamed if you still enjoy a piece of chocolate or 2 during your tea break or if you decide to share an ice cream with your other half. I know a lot of women out there, they come back from their holidays and the first thing they do is go on a juice cleanse, trust me its not a very smart move, from a scientific point of view on how your body would react. There are better time to do a cleanse, but not right after a holiday. Imagine if you have not train for a marathon and decide to do a marathon tomorrow, how would your body react? 

those bars was the size of a bread loaf!

So here are 5 tips on how to get you on track!

Drink Water.
Being on a plane, a different time zone and another country, we forget to hydrate ourselves. Water also helps us to sustain our hunger since our body can't differentiate between thirst and hunger, aim for 8 oz of glasses per day, if you have not read the benefit of water, if you don't like water, click here for tips to make it taste better.

Bring Lunch to work.
Obviously if you bring food to work, you would know what you're eating, for a matter of fact you would save money and nothing is healthier than home cook food, unless of course your bringing chili crab to work, replacing 1 meal with home cook food could help you cut down calories.

Track your Activity.
Did you know our phone are so smart this days! Not only does it allow you to make phone calls and video call your mates half way across the globe, it allows you to tract your steps! since all of you own a phone, I am sure, even my niece who's 7 carries an iPhone. Download specific apps to help with your progress  and no you don't need any fancy gadget, your phone does it all!
here are some Apps that are pretty fancy!
Runtastic Pedometer Step Counter & Walking Tracker for apple users or click here for Android users.
There are so many out there, feel free to Google. 

Add some Resistance Training.
If gym is not your thing, use your body! add squats, push up, jumps, lunges, dips for 10-20 minutes before engaging in your usual cardio session.  The more muscle you have, the better your body is capable of burning fats and increase its capacity of calories expenditure throughout the day, that is why I lift weights.

Do not skip meals.
Especially breakfast, skipping meals throw your blood sugar level all over the place. At the end of the day you would eat a bigger lunch or dinner, trust me on this, happens to me all the time when i skip breakfast, man i eat dinner for 3, I could relate to this meme.

Lastly, always be positive and  give credit to small improvement! lets get it straight you are going to have to work just as hard when you took to lose that 5 pound but hey you know what, at least you have a goal, you know what you want and with the right set of mind, you would be able to overcome anything , your weight is just a minute detail of your life, so if today went bad after lunch, make sure dinner is better, i believe in you.

In every gym I've been to, a swiss ball is always presence. Of course u could do more than just sitting down on it. While performing any exercise on a swiss ball, its best to keep your mid section tight therefore you do not feel any pressure on your lower back. 
This two exercise is a little tough but challenging nonetheless, try it at the end of your workout, 3 sets of 10 slow and controlled repetition.bam

Creating a habit of regular exercise doesn’t require special gadgets or even equipments. Walking instead of taking the bus and climbing the stairs could be good enough for most folks. But if you’re bored and want to be on your toe with your results or enjoy using technology to enhance ordinary tasks, there is so many electronic exercise gadgets and digital devices available for everyone!

As someone who likes to keep active every day and workout regularly, I have been searching for a fitness band for some time as I have always wanted to monitor and track all my fitness and lifestyle related metrics such as distance walked, distance ran, number of hours slept, and calorie consumption, i do it not to lose weight but just to know my body better.

So my search began and I found out that there are many fitness bands available out in the market today such as the Garmin Vivofit, Basis, Nike+ Fuelband SE, Withings Pulse, Jawbone UP24 and Misfit Shine, among others. They all have different features and each one of them is styled differently. The one that recently caught my eye though is the Fitbit Flex. 

Although there are many other Fitbit style of fitness bands, the Fitbit Flex in my opinion is the best one of the lot as it offers a long list of features making it the most complete product of its kind and the best fitness tracker you can buy. It is also one of the best and most competitively priced trackers available, offering many more features than its competitors, and is priced much cheaper than similar products such as the Nike + FuelBand and Jawbone UP. Alot of my clients are seen with the Fitbit Flex.

Some of its features include the ability to track the number of steps you have taken, your sleep quality, the amount of calories you have consumed, and a silent wake alarm that gently vibrates to wake you at your desired time. The Fitbit Flex also automatically syncs all the data collected wirelessly to either your PC, Mac, iOS device, and select Andorid phones, providing the user with real-time access to all the stats on the Fitbit dashboard at any time of the day. 

As I scoured the net in search of the best price for the Fitbit Flex, I noticed that today was the launch of the LAZADA 100 SALE on http://www.lazada.sg/lazada100/. It turns out that Lazada Singapore are celebrating 100 days since the launch of their website in Singapore and they are having a sale featuring their TOP 100 Best Selling Items at prices of up to 90% off!

Imagine my delight when I found that they are offering the Fitbit Flex at the unbeatable price of only $109.00! Not only that, 3 lucky shoppers who take part in this sale will stand to $100 shopping vouchers!

The sale starts on the 28 August 2014 and will end on 10 September 2014. So don’t forget to check it out where they have many other products besides the Fitbit Flex ranging from mobiles, tablets, cameras, and consumer electronics to toys, fashion, health and beauty products.

Check out the sale here! à http://www.lazada.sg/lazada100/

And grab the Fitbit Flex here http://www.lazada.sg/fitbit-flex-fitness-tracker-lime-98897.html

Don’t forget to like the Lazada SG Facebook for more promotions! https://www.facebook.com/LazadaSingapore

In order for you to get your chin over the bar, i always prefer chest over the bar because i am able to engage my back even more,  there are of course some prerequisites for you to have just for safety sake before moving on to some progression.  I'm not saying don't take risk I'm saying that getting injured is a pain so here are 3 most important ones.

No injuries:
If you do have shoulder pain, back pain or any joint problem especially the elbow its best for you to address the pain! Never my friend let pain decrease your performance as a human being.

Healthy weight and slightly lean:
If you have excess fat, I suggest you focus on a different goals first because trust me pull up is already hard for moderately strong people, having excess weight means you have to work extra harder, its science. I’m not bursting your bubble, you can attempt to get a pull up but its not going to get easy without a certain degree of leanness also extra weight means extra pressure on your joints.

Willing to work for it:
Your not going to get it in one day, therefore keep going until you do if its your goal. 


So here are some progression.

its not a reverse pull up, you should do lat pulldown for a while to develop a basic level of strength in your lats and biceps that will help you with pull-ups down, if your overweight, its best to begin with this for safety , also it teaches you to engage the posterior muscle.

So want to try something more challenging? grab a box and jump up on a pull up bar and slowly lowering yourself down, best to count down to 5 second, do as many as you can until you cannot control your movement because its very demanding,you do want to look after your joints . This was the bulk of pull up practice i did everyday because i couldn't afford bands and there's not many fancy gadgets then!