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+44 789 719 7818

Tag: success

Use these 3 exercise machines at the gym to burn the most fat

Going to the gym can feel like a chore - especially if you’re doing the wrong stuff

—> no results

—> frustration

—> stop going to the gym

But you know what? Gymming it up can be a fantastic way to burn fat effectively and getting it done in no time at all (10 minutes is all you need for your actual workout)

The biggest mistake is going from one exercise to another and half-arsing it. Doing way too many exercises per session and never really going at it properly.

Instead, I’ve chosen just three exercises for you to complete in your session

They’ll work ALL of your muscle groups

= start saying bye to bingo wings, thigh fat, belly fat, you name it. These work on ALL of them.

AND best of all, using so much muscle in your workout will make your body burn extra calories (& fat) for 24 hours AFTER your workout too.

PLUS they’ll raise your BMR (basal metabolic rate) when you keep doing them for a few weeks (2-4 times a week), meaning your body will automatically burn more calories on a daily basis than it’s now burning.

Fantastic, right?

Here are the three machine based exercises you should be doing at the gym (machine work is best especially for beginners and people with previous injuries):

Exercise machine 1: Leg press. This exercise is the biggest fat burner as it uses the biggest muscles in your body. Go heavy and deep - a wider stance works your butt the best.

Exercise machine 2: Chest press. This is particularly effective for slimming down your bingo wings and toning up your arms as it uses your triceps. Your pecs (chest muscles) will also be at work, helping your boobies be perkier ;-)

Exercise machine 3: Seated row. I can’t emphasise enough how important back exercises are for everyone. Make sure to squeeze your shoulder blades together tightly when doing the seated row - this’ll improve your posture and make you appear taller and slimmer instantly. Back exercises also help reduce back pain now and in the future.

Remember though!!!!!

Diet is 90% of your success, so make sure to track your foods to guarantee great results.

What are you waiting for? Get these three exercises done, you won’t regret it.

/Erika

P.s. Join the mailing list for a freebie—>

Rant: STAY AWAY FROM DIET PLANS

Fuming, angry, just so upset this morning.

A childhood friend told me this morning she'd bought a diet plan online from a TV PT.

This made me so sad and I just wanted to swear and be all open about why that was such a stupid idea. Need to hold it back sometimes to protect others' feelings.... I mean she'd just wasted £50 on a generic diet plan.

I've got this plan on my PC too (my naughty aunt had also bought it before [grrrrrr] and forwarded it to me for professional purposes) and it's SHIT.

The big problem is that only dieticians are qualified to prescribe precise diet plans, and this is always done on an individual basis.

Here's the rough outline of the crap plan:
1,800 kcal per day for everyone, no exceptions. MUST attend gym 4-6 times a week AND do other physical exercise outside of gym several days a week. Diet is very strict with a 'cheat day' once every 12 weeks or something - EVERY morning starts with porridge and basically you eat the SAME SHIT EVERY DAY.

And in the 'rules and guidelines' the plan tells you that you have FAILED if you get sidetracked at all.

Can you see the BIIIIIIG problem?

This is a DIET. Someone else's life (eating like this is like having an eating disorder). It doesn't encourage you to change your habits, and makes you see 'healthy eating' as strenuous and boring. So... you might lose weight while you're following the plan (d'uh, who wouldn't with that amount of calories + exercise??) BUT

AND THERE'S A BIG BUT

You'll put the weight back on as soon as you "have failed" and return to eating normally. And the lesson of the plan was?? To make losing weight a f***ing chore and to make you feel guilty if you don't follow it.

But that's not YOUR LIFE, is it?? Would you really give up all your social time to go to the gym/jogs and to prepare meals? I think (and hope) not.

I certainly wouldn't. That's pretty close to my idea of a horrible nightmare. The kind of life I wouldn't enjoy living.

The dieting mindset is 95% of the time (at least) going to results in failure.

-----

Today I've enrolled myself on a course to study weight loss via NLP (neuro linguistic programming) and hypnosis
so that I can even better help my clients lose all the weight they want

the way through which they can keep it off for good
by changing the mindset.

There's only so many private PT clients I can have onboard, so I'm determined to spend my time wisely to be able to help more people outside of the 'inner circle'. The fat loss challenges I've ran in the past have been massively successful, so I'm going to invest in coaching more people online in the future - and focus on optimised fat loss through good nutrition and the change of mindset.

Once you learn the proper way of managing your nutrition (to HAVE a good diet overall, not to "be on" a diet, EVER), you'll never need to worry about your weight again.

If you need help with your diet, just let me know and I'll do what I can to help. The methods I use work 100% of the time, you just need to realise that you have to take responsibility, learn some shit and put it into effect.... WHILST being able to eat the foods you love.

Peace out & lots of love,
Erika

 

P.S. The friend said she already thinks the plan isn't going to work. Hungry straight after the first meal... *sigh* expected.

Erika Helsinki
Health & Fitness Lifestyle Coach

erika@fitashel.com
0789 719 7818

[[this is an email I sent today to people on my email list -- subscribe here]]

Foodswaps 1: Courgette Bolognese

Welcome to Foodswaps, where we present everyday favourites with a healthy twist, which are cheap and easy to cook.

The ingredient of the week is courgette (zucchini). Courgettes are very low on calories (only 27 kcal/100g), are filling and contain Vitamin A, which is important for growth and development, for the maintenance of the immune system and good vision!

Try our Courgette Bolognese - courgette gives richness to the sauce and you will need less pasta to fill up.

Courgette Bolognese Recipe

 

Sounds delicious! And you can use this sauce in a variety of forms! Serve it with:

  1. Pasta of your choice! Cook a handful according to the instructions on the packet.
  2. Mix the sauce and the pasta, put in an ovenproof dish, put some fresh mozzarella cubes on top, bake it until the mozzarella turns golden brown, and there is your pasta bake.
  3. Believe it or not, this sauce is also excellent with rice.
  4. This sauce also makes a beautiful jacket potato filling - try sweet potatoes: tasty, healthy and exciting!
  5. If you have any left over (but why would you? :)) you can make a Subway-style sandwich from it. Carve out the fluffy inside of the baguette or bread bun of your choice and fill it with your sauce and grill it!

A portion of this sauce is only 276 kcal and contains 35g protein, and will only cost you about £2.50.

Courgette Bolognese stap by step

 

EH&EH

Testimonial: From borderline anorexic to a fit chick

Khelda's arms before
Khelda's arms before
Khelda's arms after
Khelda's arms after

Khelda used to "forget to eat" when stressed out at work, which made her worryingly skinny. Now she still gets stressed out but manages her lifestyle on a whole new level. Khelda's been my PT client for around 6 months now and she's also become a keen climber through the Fit as Hel climbing club :-).

To me it sounds ridiculous that Khelda has had two PTs before me and neither of them have told her to EAT MORE. We're upping her calories constantly so that she can actually look and feel great.... and get results from training! Also, I've banned her from doing cardio outside of high resistance classes ;-). It's all about the weights, baby. Being functionally strong. And healthy. And amazing. Let's keep sculpting that body (and add a few lean KGs in the process)!

 

Thank you so much Khelda for your lovely testimonial - you're the one who does all the hard work!!

 

TESTIMONIAL

"Name: Khelda S

Your specific weight/fitness/lifestyle related goals when you started personal training with Erika Helsinki: My weight was 7stone 9lbs when I started training with Erika.
I was moderately active at work up and down stairs and I walked my dog.
I was in the past an avid gym member but had not been for 18months or more and wanted to regain a more fit and healthy lifestyle. Tone my body shape.

What have you achieved since starting your sessions with Erika? Since I began my sessions I have achieved an amazing amount.
My posture and core is so much more stronger I walk head held high and with so much more confidence. My skin is glowing and I eat a huge amount more than I ever did. I enjoy healthy food I was just not eating enough . My body looks healthy no longer skeletal gaining muscle and definition. It's not the physical change it's the mental transformation the confidence to try and push yourself to do more try harder. The results speak for themselves.

Your PT session experiences summarised: My favourite day of the week !!!

Everything is bespoke to your individual need . I have learned so much regarding resistance / functional training . Erika explains everything in easy to understand language , demonstrates each task how to use the resistance machines / gym equipment and what you should feel and how to improve technique and get the best result and outcomes. I always leave exhilated and invigorated learning new things keeping motivated and fresh.

Are you happy with your results? YES YES YES

How has Erika helped achieve your goals? It's the encouragement , seeing you as an individual and listening to you. The goals set are stepping stones and Erika guides you along. The food diary and blog has been inspirational to me it aids me to look at my self retrospectively . This has been great insight to my diet and eating patterns, I love the different ways to train and it's exciting . Introducing me to new things - climbing wow as a middle aged woman stepping out of your comfort zone is terrifying now I just go for it if I fail I try again or I may not like it but I gave it a go.

What do you still want to achieve regarding your weight/fitness/lifestyle? I want to continue to gain muscle and definition . Climbing beat my green nemesis wall . Go on trying new things I am loving having more energy looking good.

Would you recommend Erika Helsinki as a PT to others? Why? Anyone looking for a PT would be insane not to want Erika. I have PT in the past and have never experienced the dedication previously. Erika is a fantastic teacher and mentor her patience and guidance has given me the the strength and confidence to keep going when times are hard. Not just the motivation in the gym and fitness but when work or life gets you down.

Any other comments? Erika is brimming with new and exciting things to keep all her clients motivated. Masterclass in Deadlifting , nutrition - recipes posts . My favourite and the one I use more than anything her community created on social media - clients helping each other through the rough patches and parsing when goals have been reached.

Erika you are a inspirational

Thank you words do not do you justice."

MUST SHARE: Jeannie’s before/after pictures

What a complete transformation! From a shy girl to a confident fitness chick with Erika Helsinki --- WOW!! Is this even the same person?? (In many ways, no!)

bIMG_0750 Jeannie around 86kg -->
Jeannie now 69kg
Jeannie 04-2014

You’re not trying hard enough

Remember last week when I posted about Mel who'd lost 4 lb in her first week with me? Well now after 2 weeks she's lost another 3 lb!! Oh my fucking god!! You can totally see the difference as well - her face is thinner, stomach tighter and she's feeling full of energy...

WOOOOOOOOOOO!! Go Mel!!!

Mel and her buddy leg press
Mel and her buddy leg press

Yesterday in our PT session she estimated to be able to leg press between 36 and 52kg. I said bullshit. Apparently she'd managed the latter last week in the gym on her own, doing the program we'd designed for her.

I said she could do 90kg EASY. She wouldn't believe it. So I made her try.

Try harder than ever before at the gym.

Lifting weights and doing resistance training is all about psychology. People around the gym (particularly women) rarely try hard enough when it comes to resistance training.

You can never know how strong you REALLY are unless you push your boundaries.

Don't get comfortable. Comfortable = no results. Start trying. And I mean trying so hard your heart is racing and you're getting a proper sweat on. So hard you have to make awkward faces. So hard you can't breath quietly. That's when you start getting results.

So yeah, Mel pressed 107 kg on her third ever session, and upped her max by over 50%. That's what I call trying.

And that's why she'll end up with astonishing results. Go Mel!! Prouuuuuud!!

Happy week to all!

/Erika

Mel's stack
Mel's stack

DRAMATIC weight loss in 1 week!!!

My new PT client Mel just lost 4 lb in her first week with me. That's a dramatic result. But now we've got work to do - and that's to focus on MAINTENANCE. There's no point in losing that much weight in a short space of time if we can't keep it off (I'm sure though, in her case, we can. You'd know why if you met her [I'm talking motivation and determination]).

THE PROBLEM: Although that's a great and motivating start for her, nowhere near all of that lost weight is fat. The majority of the weight loss will have been loss of fluids - and that's not REAL weight loss because it comes back on very easily. Some of the weight lost will most likely have come off her precious muscle tissue as well - and we certainly don't want that because muscle turns your body into a fat burning machine.

You see results like this all the time in weight loss clubs. In fact, this type of rapid weight loss gets rewarded -- and in my opinion that's WRONG. This way most people will initially be happy with the weight they've lost - and then struggle to keep it off. I'd say probably 95% people I've met who've been in these weight loss clubs have put the weight back on after they've stopped going to the weekly meetings. Sad, isn't it.

So... As harsh as it is, I told Mel "That's great, but bot ideal". We have to keep it real. The aim is not to lose so much weight each week, and it certainly doesn't mean failure if one week she'd "only" lost 100g (or even put on a bit of weight!). Fat loss is not linear - weight will fluctuate, and that's perfectly fine. And that is because we're only concerned with LONG TERM WEIGHT LOSS, i.e. FAT LOSS.

I posted this on Twitter last week:

"Do yourself a favour and never ever even consider going on a shake diet. They're so bad for you and they MAKE YOU FAT. Fact."

Bear that in mind  and you will already be closer to achieving all of your fat loss goals.

Stay tuned - Mel's before/afters to follow!! (You can subscribe to updates easily on the side -->)

REMINDER:  Healthy weight loss rate is around 0,5kg per week, or 1kg per week for those who are overweight.

There is no fast way to permanent weight loss. As hard as it is, take it easy.

TAKE IT EASY.

Love,

Erika

UNCENSORED: 10 BLOGfIT Project trial round blogs

Read about people'e experiences during the BLOGfIT Project trial in January 2014:

  1. Insane fat loss success, gym goer: http://enikosfitnessblog.wordpress.com
  2. Norwegian chick who runs for charity: http://vikingsfit.blogspot.co.uk/
  3. Blogfitter in Australia: http://runfasterdotme.wordpress.com
  4. Jeannie's fitness journey has been featured in the Fit as Hel blog too! http://jhchallenge.wordpress.com
  5. A Finnish mother living in the UK: http://blogfitherron.wordpress.com
  6. Mum with two kids, a dog and a husband: http://katjamamma.wordpress.com
  7. A yoga chick's blog: http://movingbreathing.wordpress.com
  8. A fit chick's BLOGfIT journey: http://getfitsofia.wordpress.com
  9. The "yes man" who unfortunately finished the project early: http://roryfalconer.wordpress.com/
  10. The one who travels a lot with work. Great progress, but finished the project early also. http://princewor.wordpress.com

Well done guys and thank you so much for taking part in the trial round of an amazing project!!

 

--Anyone interested in doing the BlogFit project too will receive a 4 week home training plan and a personalised nutrition plan. Please get in touch for more details.--

Client transformation: Skinny to fit & lean

kehlda.

Khelda=shredded!

Khelda has had the opposite problem to most; with improved nutrition and training we've focused on her putting ON weight with personal training. From being too skinny to now consistently gaining lean muscle, Khelda has achieved tons in just a few months with me (& her Fit as Hel membership) = strength, better health and a toned body. She comes in for our sessions full of enthusiasm, positive energy and willingness to learn; and this combination results in nothing less than fantastic results.

So proud!!

#fitasheltip Want something? Work for it and you'll get it.

You can read Khelda's personal fitness blog and encourage her on her journey here.

To your health and success,
Erika

BlogFit Project: Eniko’s blog

Eniko

Eniko is an inspiration to us all. She comes to my gym classes, completed the BlogFit Project and is a Fit as Hel online member.

Her fat loss journey has only lasted for a few months in total and she's gained insane results so far. Something that really stuck to my mind is her saying she feels like she's bouncing when walking now because of how 'light' she's become. That must be an amazing new experience.

Eniko does it all right - enough of exercise (but not too much), an active lifestyle (albeit a stressful job) and a healthy diet as part of her lifestyle.

Read her blog here and encourage her on her journey!