Tag Archives: Weight Loss

Shift Fitness Goals from “Pounds Lost” to “Muscle Gained” – Koko FitClub Member Spotlight Podcast

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I’d like to introduce you to Seth Miller. He’s been working out at Koko FitClub since January, but as he likes to say, he didn’t really “commit” until February. We work out together at the club in Plainville, and I can attest that he has completely transformed his body with a commitment to exercise and Koko.

That said, success never comes without some bumps in the road. After losing a lot of weight, Seth hit a plateau in August – or so the thought. Have a listen to our conversation and to learn how a new awareness of his lean muscle mass, thanks to the new Koko FitCheck arriving in his club, has helped Seth shift his goal setting focus from weight loss to building muscle.

I’m sure Seth and I will give you some new ideas on how to use FitCheck to help motivate you to reach your health and fitness goals in this Koko Member Spotlight podcast!

Enjoy!

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub

Sign up for a complimentary Smartraining workout at a Koko FitClub near you!

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Exercise Optimized so Workouts are Effective & Efficient

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30 minute workouts at Koko FitClub are optimized to be effective and efficient.Let’s face it, one of the reasons we exercise is because we’d like to see our bodies with MORE muscle and LESS fat. Over the years, conventional wisdom has suggested the best way to replace fat with lean muscle is through long, tough workouts. Guess what? Not necessarily.

I’m in your ear every workout, so you know I have my favorite sayings I like to share, and more science has come to light supporting my “fitness mantras.” They are the foundation upon which we design all the Koko FitClub workout programs:

Work smarter not harder.

And,

quality of exercise trumps quantity of exercise.

See what I’m getting at?

New research out of the University of Copenhagen looked at the effect of exercise on body composition  and fat loss. The results suggest that longer, high intensity workouts are not the most efficient way to get lean.

The study was comprised of three groups: a sedentary control group, a thirty-minute, moderate-aerobic exercise group who burned 300 calories a day over 13 weeks  and a sixty-minute, high-intensity aerobic exercise group who burned 600 calories  a day over the 13 weeks.

Results?

Participants in both of the exercise groups had similar results: a loss of 14% body fat. Doubling the exercise time from 30 to 60 minutes showed no additional benefit in terms of weight loss or percent body fat loss.

(Here’s some more about the study if you are interested: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20120824/30-minutes-daily-exercise-shed-pounds )

Most of us are busy enough that we can come up with something else to do with an extra 30 minutes a day, agreed?

Rest assured, myself and the team at Koko FitClub are on top of optimizing your workouts based on the best, most credible exercise science. So, every time you plug in your Koko Key,  you know you’re getting the best, most effective, most efficient workout possible.

Stay Strong,

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub

Sign up for a complimentary workout at Koko FitClub near you!

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New Koko Cardio Workouts for the Fall Coming Soon!

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Your favorite NFL teams are on the field. Kids are heading back to school. You know what that means at Koko FitClub? It’s time for new Fall Cardio Programs!

This Fall’s theme is “Take the Koko Challenge.”

Whether you are exercising on the elliptical or treadmill, there are plenty of new interval training cardio challenges this season  including hiking adventures, speed walking, Boot Camp, Tabata and Stadium Stairs workouts inspired by my days of running private clients up and down the stairs at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, MA.

The hiking adventures are a blast this time around. Inspired by your suggestions, some were even recorded on location, including  Bear Creek Trail, a hike I took while visiting Koko FitClubs near Keller, Texas. A Koko owner from Arizona recently hiked the famous Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon so we’ve included that, too. These are fun and challenging across both moderate and high intensity.

There are some great workouts to try, but I believe the true cardio challenge for Koko FitClub members this season will be the Traditional Tabata (moderate-intensity) and the Double Tabata. (Do I even have to mention that its high-intensity?) If you can handle that fitness challenge, then I want you to try Boot Camp and Wind Sprint sessions on the elliptical. That’ll get your heart rate up!

The new Fall Cardio programs will be available in clubs next Wednesday, August 29th. Enjoy and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on taking the Koko Challenge!

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub

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The Power of Mindset to Reaching Your Fitness Goals

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At a gut-check level, isn’t it true that when you decide to do something – like exercising or eating better – the level of commitment you have at the outset pretty much determines that goal’s failure or success?

To set the stage, my husband/fellow Koko FitClub co-founder, Mike Lannon, believes that  with the right mindset, you can accomplish anything. He applies it to running this business, to working alongside our Koko owners and most importantly, the approach we take to give our members the best shot possible at successfully reaching their health and fitness goals.

Imagine how excited he was to come across this research to back up what he knew in his gut to be 100% true.

Making a long term commitment to health and fitness improves success

The research showed that simply making up your mind at the outset that you are committed for the long term versus the short term determined the level of success. Wow. Progress wasn’t correlated to any other measurable trait or aptitude.Simply this mindset.

Think about what this means for YOU and your goals to get healthier!

Koko FitClub is designed to make exercise time-efficient to fit into your life, to be simple so you to show up and get it done, and to be fun so you’re motivated along the way. Health is not a sprint, it’s a lifestyle choice. Adopt the mindset that you will exercise and make healthier choices from here on out. Koko FitClub is here to help.

Be patient, be consistent, decide that you’ll stick with it for the long haul. You will be successful!


o)< STAY STRONG

Mary Obana
President and Co-Founder
Koko FitClub

Koko FitClub Franchising

The Diet you Choose After Weight Loss Affects your Metabolism

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The food you eat after weight loss affects the likelihood of putting weight back onAs Chief Fitness Officer at Koko FitClub, part of my role is pouring through the mass of diet and exercise research out there to discover for you the best information from the most credible sources to help you succeed at your health and fitness goals.

This week, a very intriguing study was published in one of the most credible sources: The Journal of the American Medical Association. The title may be a mouthful ( “Effects of Dietary Composition on Energy Expenditure During Weight-Loss Maintenance”) but this research is big news, so I am going to boil it down for you.

The basic premise of the study was this: Reduced energy expenditure (a slowing of  metabolism) following weight loss is thought to contribute to the tendency to gain weight back. However, no one had yet studied how the type of food people eat when they are trying to maintain weight loss affects their energy expenditure. That is what the researchers set out to do here.

The study looked at the effects of three, very common weight -loss maintenance diets on energy expenditure among a group of overweight men/women aged 18-40 years old. Researchers also looked to see what affect these diets had on certain hormone levels and components of metabolic syndrome.

The diets were as follows:

  • Low fat (60/20/20)
  • Low glycemic index (40/40/20)
  • Very low carbohydrate (10/60/30)

(  )  =  % CARBOHYDRATES/FAT/PROTEIN in diet

The study demonstrated that of the three, the low fat diet fared worst. Producing changes in metabolism and hormone levels that would predict weight gain as well as worsening many components of metabolic syndrome.

The low carbohydrate diet fared best in terms of  metabolism and the beneficial effects it had on many of the metabolic syndrome components. However,  increases in the stress hormone cortisol and CRP were seen. (CRP or C-reactive protein, is found in your blood stream and at certain levels can indicate inflammation and a risk of developing coronary artery disease.)

The low glycemic index diet showed similar benefits as the very low carb diet, but to a lesser degree. But, those benefits came without  the negative effects of the very low carb diet – the increase in cortisol and CRP – making it, in the minds of the researchers, the most “advantageous for weight-loss maintenance and cardiovascular disease prevention.”

So what should you do with this information?

First, keep on strength training! The lean muscle you are building and maintaining with Koko Smartraining boosts your metabolism. Second, be conscious about the food you are eating and focus on eating foods that are low on the glycemic index while staying away from fast food, refined carbs, and “white” foods that are high on the glycemic index.

It is one more simple strategy to help you on the road to success – improving your health  and vitality!

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub

Koko FitClub Franchising