The festive season is here!! With so many
partying, travelling and catching up to do; it is easy to lose the year’s work in these few weeks of
merry making. Below are tips to help you stay on your guard as you enjoy the holiday. 1.Plan ahead: Without a plan it is easy to
lose yourself amid all the fun. Plan your workout and meals ahead of each day.
If you intend to attend a party or dinner, eat less during the day, so you
don’t turn down meals and you don’t over eat. 2.Workout
in the morning: Workout early in the morning before the day’s fuzz and
busyness. It will help you stay in
control of your day. 3.Moderation
is Key: What is the need for all the hard work if you can’t indulge? Don’t
spoil the holiday for family and loved ones by refusing to eat at family
gatherings or parties. But remember that moderation is key. You can eat little
servings of different meals.However,
be conscious; don’t over eat, stop eating when you are full and say no when
necessary. 4.Consume
more fruits and vegetables: Eat more fruits and vegetable this season. They
will keep you filled and help your digestive system function effectively. 5.Be active:
Find ways to stay active this season, indulge in physical activities. On days
you intend to stay in, you can keep yourself active by doing more home chores
or just taking 10,000 steps around the house. 6.Make
it fun: This is the holiday season and everything has to be fun or you will
find excuses to drop it. So make your workouts fun; invite friends and family.
Plan a boot camp with loved ones. Change your playlist, whatever adds spice to
your routine be sure to try them out this season 7.Connect
with nature: The holiday season is a time to discover and try new things,About
this time last year, I went step climbing on the 310 steps of the famous
ogbunike cave and have wonderful memories of the experience. Add adventure to your workout this season and
have fun all the way.
Observe
these tips during the holidays and you can be sure to stay fit while having all
the fun the yuletide brings.
I’m currently running a Workout Class for the
holiday season on my Instagram page (@endeedaniels) feel free to visit my IG
page and join this holiday workout challenge.
Have
a prosperous new year and cheers to the fit life.
Hello Fitnation! Welcome to ‘MY FIT STORY’. In posts like this, I will be sharing interesting interviews with people who have been there, done that and are still doing it; by this I mean people who were once overweight, who took up the weight loss challenge and have made tremendous transformation since they started. I hope to use this section to motivate those who have difficulty starting up and staying on the fit path.
To kick off, I’m starting with my own story. In 2015, I lost 7 kg within 2 months without visiting the gym for one day. In this interview with myself I answered some of the questions I have been asked about my weight loss journey, I’m sure my story will inspire someone to take action towards fitness. Enjoy the interview below.
This picture shows the amazing transformation from 95 kg in October 2015 to 88 kg in December 2015
SF9 Blog: When did you start off your weight loss regimen and what was your motivation?
Mr. Endee: I officially started my fit journey in August 2015, though I have always been a fan of fitness, It was in 2015 that I finally decided to delve into fitness and make it a lifestyle. Prior to that, the only physical exercises I did often were jogging; I go to the gym once in a while and I also do pushup at home. I’d say I always had a heart for fitness but like most people I was lazy and wouldn’t take consistent efforts towards changing my unfit lifestyle. But sometime in August 2015, I got tired of wishing and decided to start doing; I was tired of feeling too heavy, tired of the pot belly, tired of falling sick every 3 months, so I just picked up courage and decided to do something about it.
SF9 Blog: What were the challenges you faced when you first started off on the fit path?
Mr. Endee: Before I started off on the fit path, I had to get the right mindset; I had to make up my mind on NOT going back. Once I had developed that mindset, then challenges weren’t a big deal to overcome. The first challenge I had to overcome was nutrition. I had to change my meals; had to practice portion control, had to know what not eat at what time, and you know because most of our meals in Nigeria are rich in Carbohydrate, making healthy food choices can be a major challenge. So after I overcame that, I had to deal with following through with my workout routine. When I started off, I was working out morning and evening doing mostly cardio exercises because I was overweight and needed to cut size, so another major challenge I faced at the early stages was the grind of following through on my workout regimen. There were days I couldn’t bring my body to work out, there were times that I also relapsed, but because I already made up my mind not to give up I was able to master them all and here we are.
SF9 Blog: Speaking of Nutrition, what adjustments did you have to make in your diet that helped you in losing weight?
Mr. Endee: Well, like I said earlier, nutrition was a major challenge for me considering the deficiency in some nutritional elements and the excessive abundance of some others in an average Nigerian diet. But like they always say where there is a will, there is a way. The first thing I had to do was cut off eating any heavy meal at night; the only thing I could eat after 7 pm were fruits or vegetables. Then afterwards I had to reduce the consumption of certain food items, especially those rich in carbohydrate, sugar, Fats and Oil. I went from eating swallow every week to eating it once a month. Most times I just eat soup without swallow. I also had to make sure I was having lots of protein by eating: egg whites, beans, chicken, soya beans powder and then more of fiber, fruits and vegetables. I also cut my alcohol intake and started drinking more water.
SF9 Blog: What exercises were you doing that made you lose 7 kg in 2 months?
Mr. Endee: Cardio exercises like jogging, sprinting, stairs climbing, skipping, dance aerobics and plyometric exercises. In the video below you will see one of the routines I use for weight loss.
SF9 Blog: Finally, what advice do you have for people who want to lose weight or start off the fit path?
Mr. Endee: First of all, let me say that fitness is important; everybody needs to consider fitness not just for the aesthetics but for the health benefits.
If you are trying to lose weight right now, my advice to you is to be patient, it takes a lot of time to burn off those fats just like it took time to accumulate them too. Follow through with your routines and nutrition plan, there will be relapses, there will be bad days but don’t ever give up! Take actions toward your goals and believe they will happen.
Hey Fitnation, in today’s post, I will be sharing my favorite abs exercises,however let me make it clear that the secret to burning tummy fat is Cardio & Nutrition.
If you are currently overweight or have excess fat around your tummy it is advisable that you burn these fat by engaging frequently in cardio exercises such as jogging, skipping, dance aerobics, swimming, sprinting etc. I have amazing homemade cardio exercises on my Instagram (@endeedaniels) you can check them out. Of course, it is also imperative that you follow a nutrition plan that allows you to eat more protein and fiber with relatively low carbohydrate and fat.
The exercises below will only be effective if you have minimal tummy fat and want to build visible ab muscles. Practice them 3 times a week for optimal results.
Hello Fitfam, Hope y’all are having a great September already and staying fit. For me, a lot of activities have kept me away from visiting the gym regularly, so I have devised simple home workout exercises which I practice within 20 minutes every morning to keep me fit and going.
Staying fit doesn't necessarily depend on how often you hit the gym or how many hours you spend in the gym. Most people have a busy life and cannot afford to spend an hour or two working out in the gym. The good news is you can achieve fitness by spending 20 to 30 minutes everyday on simple home exercises. If you are really serious about developing a fit and healthy lifestyle, taking 20 mins to workout shouldn't be a problem.
In a short time you will notice considerable changes in your fitness and endurance level.
However,If you are currently overweight, you need to follow a meal plan and exercise longer to enjoy the benefits of a fit lifestyle. Also remember that involving in more activities like walking, taking the stairs, doing more home chores, etc will help in burning calories.
The video below is a short clip of one of my morning cardio routine that can be performed at home without equipment. They are easy and fun to try; each exercise should be repeated three times for better effect.
Follow my Instagram page @endeedaniels for videos of daily home workout exercises to help you achieve your fitness goal this September.
Hey fit nation, Happy new month of august! I wish you all a fulfilled month.
My post today is dedicated to folks who want to build muscles without
visiting the gym; I will be sharing different variations of the push up exercise
to help you build muscles from the comfort of your home.
The Push up exercise is an
effective exercise for building the upper part of the body; it targets your
arms, chest, and core, serving as one of the most efficient body weight movements.
Below are different variations of the push up exercise that works for
me and how to perform them correctly.
-Wide Grip Push up: This is the common push up program. It is performed
by starting out in a prone position with your hands on the floor (palms facing
the floor); both hands a bit wider than your shoulder width, while in that
position push yourself up until your arms are fully stretched and then go down
until your chin is inches from the floor. Repeat this process for as many reps
as you can; Make sure to move every part of your body simultaneously with your arm,
See illustration in the video below.
Remember to inhale as you go down and exhale and you rise up
-Close Push up: The Close grip push up is performed in the same manner
as the Wide grip; the difference here is that you need to bring both hands as
close as possible. However the close grip push up is more effective for
building the triceps. Watch video below to see how to do the close grip push up
correctly.
- Declined Push up: Declined push ups are good routines for building
more mass around the chest region. It is performed by lying face down with both
hands on the floor and your lower body stretched out. Place both feet on an
elevated plane (Chair, box etc).Push your body up until your arms are stretched
out and then go down until your chin is inches from the floor. See Video
illustration below.
-Weighted Push up: The weighted push up is performed in the same manner as
the normal push up, however when doing a weighted push up someone has to place a
weight on your back. You can place a barbell
plate or have your kid or spouse sit on your back as you perform this routine.
In this video I had a truck tire placed on my back...
-Spider man push up: Spider man push up targets the core. To perform the
spider man push up; do a normal push up but raise one knee toward the elbow of
the same side as you rise (like Spider man climbing a wall). Switch knees with
each rep.
Push ups are interesting home workout and they build muscles as well. There are many more variations of the push up
program but like I said earlier these ones work for me; no equipment, no iron just sweat and muscles. Try them out as well and have fun
all the way.
Hello Fitnation, It’s the last day in June and I thought I should quickly drop this post before the month ends. In this post I’m going to be sharing 4 simple exercises you can do at home to build the leg muscles and give you stamina. I posted homemade workout videos for the under listed exercises, so you can learn to do them yourself.
No 1 Exercise: Squat
The First exercise that comes to everybody’s mind when you talk leg programs is squat, you know why? Because it is the king of all leg exercises. Good enough the squat exercise works on all parts of the body; it strengthens the leg muscles and is equally an effective exercise for weight loss and endurance. Watch the video below to see how to do the body squat exercise (without resistance).
No 2 Exercise: Lunges
The lunge program is another effective program that works on the leg
and lower part of the body. Common Variations of the lunge program includes:
*Front Lunge
*Back/Reverse Lunge
*Side Lunge
Watch Video below to learn how to do the 3 variations of the lunge
program listed above.
No 3 Exercise: Wall Sits
The wall sits builds strength and endurance in glutes, calves, and
quadriceps. It works on the abs and lower part of the body and is a good
exercise for gaining stamina, balance and concentration power.To do the Wall sit exercise, place your back against a wall and then go down as if doing a squat, verify your legs are at a right angle with the floor, allow your back to stick to the wall and stay in that position for how much ever long you can. Watch Video below to see me do the wall sit exercise.
No 4 Exercise: Climbing a Chair (Step UP) This is a good cardio program and it is equally effective for building good legs and butt for ladies. Try this out; make sure you use a stool that is stable and not slippery. Watch video.
The best thing about these exercises is that they can be done at home without equipment but the result are still tremendous. Try them and let me know what you think. Cheers to the fit life.
Hey Fit nation, I hope everyone is having a great week and staying fit? In this post we will be discussing how to keep our fitness motivation. As a fitness trainer, I get to meet a lot of people who are out of shape and when I try to encourage them to start off on the fit path, many of them respond: ‘I used to keep fit, but I lost my motivation’; and to such people I usually respond ‘find your motivation and keep it safe.’ Motivation is as important in fitness as it is in every other facet of life, once you lose your motivation, it is almost impossible to continue on the fit path. Therefore, it is important that you renew your motivation regularly to keep it from burning out. Presented below are six ways to renew and keep your motivation for fitness; 1.Create/Revisit your Motive: Motive is the reason why we do the things we do, every action we take is backed by a motive. If you are new to the fit life, a simple way to know your motive is by answering these questions: Why am I staying fit? What do I intend to achieve by doing this? Why do I have a Gym membership? The stronger your motive, the greater motivation you will get from it. 2.Take it one step at a time: The reason a lot of people give up on their fitness journey is because they rush into it. They want to fall into shape immediately, possess the perfect body over night or start lifting heavy on their first day in the gym and if they do not see these results as soon as they expect, their motivation drains. It doesn’t work that way, a better approach is to take it one step at a time; set an easy goal, follow through and squash it, then set another goal and repeat, as you continue in this manner, your motivation will grow and so will your endurance and strength. Also be easy on yourself- there will be days that you just can’t get yourself to workout try as you may, on such days don’t beat yourself up, accept this as human nature, promise yourself to make it up with extra work next time and then make sure to follow up on your promise. Remember fitness is a life long journey and your goal should be to set a pace that you can keep up with.
3.Join a workout group: A workout group is a great way to stay motivated because it encourages accountability and teamwork. It’s also fun and exciting to workout in groups. Be sure to join a group that has members with the same set of fitness goals as you do. 4.Use music to motivate yourself: Whether you are going for a run, lifting weights or doing cardio, music is a great way to add excitement to your workout. It gives rhythm to your exercises and takes your mind away from the hard work you are doing, the trick is to listen to your preferred genre of music- songs that inspire and motivate you and you can listen to over and over again, create a playlist exclusively for work out and always go to the gym with your earphone and music device. Don’t forget to update your playlist or create new ones regularly. 5.Reward yourself regularly: It is important that you create a reward system for yourself, every time you reach a fitness goal, reward yourself. Your reward doesn’t have to be expensive or demanding, it should only be something you appreciate. Every time you reward yourself it means you appreciate your efforts and that goes a long way in keeping you motivated. 6.Encourage someone to start keeping fit: This is another great way to stay motivated and accountable, because to preach fitness, you must practice fitness. As you encourage people to start up on the fit life you become motivated to stay the course. Even if you are new to the fit life or you lost your motivation along the way, the six formulas outlined above will help you regain your fitness motivation and keep it burning.
The more you feed your motivation by applying any or all of the steps outlined in this post, the stronger your motivation will be. I encourage you to continue staying fit-whatever the cost. Remember that health is wealth. Cheers to the fit life.
Hello Fitnation; happy new month to y’all; It’s suddenly the
sixth month of the year and a good time to carry out a reality check on your
goals and resolutions for the year. If you find yourself lagging behind, don’t
be dismayed as you have six months more to straighten things out.
One of my fitness goals for the year was to build visible
abdominal muscles and as the months roll by I’m getting closer. It took lots of
experiment with workout routines and nutritional plans to get to where I am today.
Interestingly,the plank exercise is one of the many tummy exercises that built my abs muscles
effectively and over the months this has come to be my favourite tummy workout.
Let me tip you on the benefits of the plank exercise.
· -It is a remedy for back pain, because it strengthens
the back muscles
· -Plank exercises work directly on the inner core
muscle group, which is the basic foundation for a solid six pack.
· -It makes you more flexible
· -Gives you a good posture
Even with it's immense benefits,the basic plank program can be very boring
because you have to suspend yourself and stay at a particular position for a
long time- the longer, the more effective. However there are many variations to
the plank program that adds life to this seemly boring routine and I am going
to illustrate 5 different variations.
1. Basic Plank
How to do: Start in a prone position(face down); then
rise and suspend your body; only your elbow and toes should be on the floor,
keep your butt down and head in a neutral or looking slightly forward position.
Don’t drop the head to look down at your toes.
Keep the shoulders directly over the elbows
or a little bit forward. Squeeze the butt and thighs together to engage the
muscles.
Hold it for as long as possible!
2. Plank Jacks
How to do:
Start in the Basic plank position.
Put your feet together, then jump and
spread your legs a little wider than shoulder width apart and jump back to
start.
3.Spider Man
How to do:
Start at the top of push-up position.
Raise the right knee towards the right
elbow.
Your Leg is bent to 90-degrees with the hip
rotating the foot away from your body.
While moving your leg up, look back and
squeeze your core muscles.
Repeat with the left side.
4.Hell Raiser(Plank Up and Downs)
How to do:
Start in the basic plank position and lift
your arms one at a time, each time replace your elbow with your hands and go up
as if doing a push up.
Lower back down, one elbow at a time.
5.Side Plank
How to do:
Lie on one side, then raise and suspend
yourself on your elbow and your feet, make sure your body is in a straight
position, squeeze your stomach muscles and hold that position as much as
possible, repeat for the other side.
Try these variations out and tell me what
you think. I’m expecting to read from you.
Hey Fitnation, Thank God it's the weekend. I'm sure many of you will be turning up tonight;I employ you to find a spot where you can dance and sweat to good music because it is possible to burn a reasonable amount of calories by just dancing.
Outside the club, music is a great motivation in sports too, I have been an active jogger for more than a decade and through all these years my greatest 'ginger' has been music.The rhythm music
adds to the jogging experience is priceless.
In the spirit of the weekend, I'll be sharing
20 Nigerian songs that I listen to when I am on the move; I have
5 playlists (with over 50 songs each) exclusively for jogging on my iPod; but
the ones below were randomly selected from my favorites. They range from old songs
to newer ones; Afro pop to Afro dancehall to Gospel; one thing for certain is
that these songs will keep you on your feet.
Enjoy my list
1. Ara by BRYMO
2. Implication by 2BABA(TU FACE IDIBIA)
3. Kiss your hand by R2B FEAT WANDE COAL
4. Kukere by IYANYA
5. Okaka by FRANK EDWARDS
6. Fada Fada by PHYNO feat OLAMIDE
7. Taken by CYNTHIA MORGAN
8. Make am by PATORANKING
9. IGWE by MID NIGHT CREW
10. Adaobi by MAVIN CREW
.11. Pump it up by JESSE JAGS
12. Laye by KISS DANIEL
13. Where by TEKNO
14. Fine Fine love by JAY MARTINS
15. Man in your life by I-NUM
16. Local Rapper by Reminisce feat PHYNO & OLAMIDE
17. Ojuelegba by WIZKID
18. Oliver Twist by D’BANJ
19. 7 Days by MI ABAGA
20. Bow Down by TIMAYA
You should download these songs and spice up your jogging experience too.
Hey fitnation, Last
week I got an email from a reader asking if it is good to have breakfast before
going to the gym, I decided to answer this question on this blog to help other
readers because I get asked this question a lot. In fact, this topic has been a
subject of argument for many fitness trainers, I happen to have been involved
in such arguments a couple of times and the more I think about it, the more I
understand why a lot of people easily gas out in the gym.
If you have had a
reason to check your blood sugar early in the morning before you have breakfast;
you notice that your blood sugar is usually low. Why this happens is because when
you sleep, your body doesn't stop working, it has to continue functions like
breathing; blood circulation; brain function etc, to carry out these functions,
your body uses up whatever food you ate the day before and the left over is
stored up. By the time you wake up your body has used up almost all of the nutrients you ate the day before
and is in need of new fuel(calories) to start the day’s function. That is why
it is called breakfast because you were on a food fast through the period you
were asleep and now that you are up you need to break the fast in order to have
enough energy for work. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; nutritionists
advice that you eat breakfast at most 2 hours after waking up.
Even if you are
trying to lose weight it is wrong to skip breakfast because you leave your body
without fuel to work. You must understand that the body needs fuel to burn fat;
you need calories to be able to carry out weight loss exercises.
Let’s have a practical
scenario of this; Chika is overweight and is trying to lose weight, her trainer
advises her not to eat after 7:00pm every night (which is very advisable for
people that are less active at night).
The next morning at 7:00am, Chika eats nothing and heads out to the gym, bearing
in mind that she has gone 12 hours without food? Where is she to get the energy
for work? As a result of not eating, Chika is tired and weak to work out for
long, so she does little and leaves for home, how long do you think it will
take Chika to lose weight? Compare this scenario to someone who is overweight
and eats light in the morning before hitting the gym, she will be filled with
energy to work and will work longer thereby burning more fat in the long run.
It is therefore
important that you eat breakfast before heading to the gym, the idea is to eat
light; you can have cereal, tea or whatever is light for you but never go to
the gym hungry! Also I must say that you should give your body room to digest
whatever you ate before you start working out.
Please drop a comment
below if you found this post helpful, I want to read from you; questions, suggestions
or feedback. Also share my posts with friends and family who need to read
them, encourage someone to start living healthy and fit today.
In my last post, I promised that we will be looking at some local foods and their constituent food nutrients and how to obtain a sustainable meal plan for weight loss.
Many locally made meals are nutritious and good for weight loss; however some should be eaten in low quantity or avoided totally.
The table below shows nutrients and how to obtain them locally;
Food Nutrient
Ideal quantity for weight loss
Local Sources
Remark
Protein
Best for weight loss, should be eaten in relatively large quantity.
Beans (including foods gotten from beans like Moi-moi and Akara), Soya beans, Bread fruit(Ukwa), locust beans (Okpa), Milk, Egg, Chicken meat, Melon seed(Egusi),low fat yoghurt, Fish(including Okporoko, smoked fish)
The human body is designed to excrete unused protein. It doesn't store up in the body like carbohydrate or Fat.
(Soft drinks and alcoholic drinks contain lots of sugar)
Carbohydrate increases blood sugar and contributes heavily to overall body fat
Fat & Oil
Should be eaten in very low quantity or avoided totally.
Vegetable oil, Mayonnaise, butter, Fried foods, Nuts, Corn, Yoghurt, Snacks, (our local soups are high in fat and oil too)
Asides making one add unwanted weight; fat also increases the body’s bad cholesterol which affects blood flow in and out of the heart.
Vitamins
Vitamins should be taken in small amounts. They can be gotten from a balanced diet or taken as supplements
There are 13 different Vitamins; each vitamin can be gotten various sources. However some general sources of vitamin include: Milk, cheese, yogurt, fish, poultry, liver, soybeans, Potatoes, bananas, nuts and Meat
Taking too many Vitamins or taking them for too long can cause harmful effects
Minerals
Should be taken in limited quantity
The body needs about 15 minerals to function, including Iron, Calcium, Potassium etc. Some of the sources of these minerals are:
Meat, cereals, bread, fish, milk and dairy foods, vegetables, fruit (especially dried fruit),nuts, soybean flour, tea
Just like Vitamins, taking too many minerals for too long has toxic effect on the body.
Many years ago, I came across this simple formula for weight loss which I used myself and found that it works. I call it ‘the 123 formula’; this means in every meal the proportion of carbohydrate to protein and vegetables/fruits should be in ratio 1:2:3; i.e for every ounce of carbohydrate, you should supplement with 2 ounces of protein and 3 ounces of vegetable.
For this formula to be effective, the following must be observed;
1. Make healthy swaps; this simply means substitute fat and carbohydrate for more protein and vegetable. Here are some suggestions on food items you should swap;
White Rice=Brown Rice
Butter, Maiyonaise=Avocado butter
Candy, Chocolate, Junk food=Fruits,Vegetable
Bread=Wheat Bread
Red Meat=Chicken Breast or Fish
Soft drinks=Water, Fruit smoothies
while you do the healthy swap, remove the following from your meals: • Hydrogenated fats • Refined grains • High fructose corn syrup • Artificial sweeteners • Artificial coloring and preservatives
2.Fruits and Vegetables should be consumed in large quantity. 3.Avoid fried foods and cook with less oil; many local soups can be cooked without palm oil and they taste delicious too. 4.Do not eat heavy food after 7 pm, if you get hungry at night drink water or have little cereal. Late night meals are counterproductive for weight loss. 5.Exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes everyday.
This formula can work for anyone who takes it seriously but do not expect to lose 20 kg in 2 weeks because losing body fat requires patience, discipline and dedication.
Cheers to the fit life.
Thank you for the encouraging comments on my previous posts, I’m dedicated to motivating readers to take the necessary steps towards losing unwanted fat, staying fit and enjoying a healthy lifestyle. Be free to comment with your questions or suggestions on my posts and I will be glad to answer.
