Fit For Life: The Formula for Fitness

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Matt Espeut, GoLocalWorcester Health +Lifestyle Contributor

What is the formula for fitness?? And what is considered results?

1) losing fat

2) gaining muscle

3) feeling better

If these things are not being accomplished, then you are not getting results, and are wasting time and energy.

I am a firm believer in NOT wasting these valuable limited resources, so I am going to give you a brief outline to jump start yourself to getting results.

Here is the formula to build muscle and burn fat.

You will be surprised because the biggest factor with your results happen outside the gym.

So, train hard and include these necessary tips.

1) Hydrate

We were developed on a cellular level and cells require water.

We hit the gym to build muscle and muscle is comprised of millions of cells.

We need enzymes to digest food to build muscle, and water aids in digestion, and the ability for enzymes to travel.

In order to be able to move without cramping our muscles need water.

Get the picture?

I recommend 1/2oz of water for every pound of body weight, any less and you are doing yourself a disservice.

2) Sleeping

8 hours is not a luxury, it is a necessary component to your well-being.

When you sleep, great things happen to your body as well as your mind and energy levels.

Improving cognitive brain function and increasing energy levels creates a huge network of positive attributes to the body.

I hear the excuse all the time: I am too busy to get that much sleep.

The proper amount of sleep will allow you to wake happier and more energetic.

Proper rest allows you to wake with clarity, and more energetic.

3) Not eating quality food frequently throughout the day is probably the biggest cause of not getting the results you want.

When you eat efficiently you will get results faster and achieve your goals.

When you consume garbage processed food you cause inflammation in the body.

When you eat quality food, our systems work smoothly and efficiently allowing the body to uptake nutrients effectively thus triggering results and progress.

So, to simplify and summarize

1) drink lots of clean water 2) get to bed on time 3) eat quality food throughout the day.

Follow these 3 simple steps, and I can guarantee you will start feeling better building more muscle and torching body fat, and that is what I consider results.

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of Fitness Profiles, a one on one, and small group personal training company, as well as Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 1284 North Main St., on the Providence/Pawtucket line. You can reach Matt at (401) 453-3200; on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one.

Related Slideshow: The 7 Best Health and Fitness Apps

Here is a list of some of the most obsession worthy health apps.

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MapMyRun

MapMyRun is the number one selling running app for a reason: it is easy to use, offers community support if you want it, and tracks and stores your exact routes for you. If you are training for a race or a serious runner, users say that the extra perks in the upgraded paid version are well worth it.

Made for iPhone, Android and Blackberry

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MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal seems to be the clear favorite amongst everyone polled. It is helpful not only for the fitness tracking aspect, but everyone polled mentioned how much they loved the food/diet aspect as well. From carb counting for diabetics to recipe ideas to complement your fitness goals, users love this app.

Made for iPhone and Android

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JeFit

JeFit is another fitness app that has rave reviews. It not only tracks progress for you, but offers a huge database of workouts. While many apps offer community support, JeFit allows you to sync workouts with friends who use the app, offering a (real) virtual buddy system.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Strava

Strava gets the highest mark of all the cycling apps. While it is also great for runners, the cyclers seem particularly inclined towards the fierce competition that can be ignited by this app. You can track all of your rides via GPS, then you can compare your efforts to those logged by others in the community on the same stretch of road. You can also join ongoing challenges that can net you great prizes (in addition to bragging rights).

Made for iPhone and Android

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YogaStudio

YogaStudio gets the top vote for Yoga apps. It has a lengthy collection of full class-length videos available at your fingertips. Unlike many other apps, this one also allows you to customize your own video yoga class. All of the poses are done by qualified yoga instructors, and you can find classes suitable for all levels of yogis.

Made for iPhone only

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SimplyBeing

SimplyBeing meditation app offers the best of both worlds. You can choose to run this app as a background for your meditation with soothing music or natural sounds that run for a set amount of time. Conversely, for those of you who have trouble focusing during meditation, you can choose a soothing voice-guided meditation.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Fooducate

Fooducate is an app all about educating people so that they make healthier food choices. Although not perfect, this app is easy to use (you can even take pictures of bar codes to instantly find foods in their database). It gives food a letter grade, tells you the pluses and minuses, and gives you better ranked alternatives. You can also use it as a weight loss tool by tracking your daily calories.

Made for iPhone and Android