FitBit: 5 Reasons to Wear One!

As a student, professional, and advocate for the fields of exercise science and public health, I am always looking for new ways to make living healthier better. This Christmas, I found one of the best new devices yet: The Fitbit Flex. Not only is it a convenient bracelet to wear around your wrist, it provides a plethora of knowledge and feedback to encourage and change behavior. Below are my top 5 reasons for getting a FitBit!

           

All 5 dots light up = goal is reached!

Documentation: Time and time again through my course of studying at GW, I have heard throughout my social and behavioral theory courses that tracking behaviors can lead to behavior change such as keeping a food diary to lose weight. In a randomized controlled environment this is great news, however, none of us live in that world. And how many of us actually know the true quantity of our daily physical activity? Speaking from experience, I cannot tell you how many random little notebooks I have lying around with about 4 days of workouts and food logged in them, followed by empty pages. Another thing I have learned in school, people have a tendency to over estimate their physical activity. I think this trend speaks for itself.

The FitBit flex takes the guesswork and estimation out of it all! Strap on this cute bracelet in the morning, and let it do the rest. Once you set up your FitBit, you have a portal all to yourself that keeps a record of your daily activity including steps, miles walked, a graph of intensity of your activity, and calories burned based on your height and weight.  Because it has the ability to sync up wirelessly with your computer, it takes the nuisance out of writing everything down. Simply log in, and you can find out the deets. Not only this but you can look back at previous days and weeks to compare.

Customization: The tiny device is your personal assistant for health and fitness. It comes preset to 10,000 steps a day as a goal, but you can change this according to your personal goals. As mentioned above, the FitBit tracks how many calories you have burned, but if you are interested in taking tracking a step further, it has a food log function where you can also account for calories consumed. One of my favorite features of the FitBit is the ability to use it as an alarm clock.  Monday through Friday, my wrist vibrates at six in the morning, waking me up for the day! As cheesy as this sounds, it actually motivates me at that point! It’s not some annoying alarm clock saying get up, but instead it’s a soft vibration that reminds me, “Kel! It’s time to move J”

Don’t forget the fashion sense too J. You can switch out your band colors to match your wardrobe! My next purchase is going to be the pink and black bands!

Gratification: Who doesn’t love positive feedback? And we all know that exercising and eating clean one day will not allow us to physically see the results. However, FitBit does! Through out the day, as you get closer to your goal, more dots light up on your bracelet screen. Once you reach your goal, your bracelet will vibrate letting you know that you’ve reached it! I remember one day during my first week of wearing it, I was stressed because I didn’t make it to the gym. However, working in DC provides a lot of walking. Knowing that I wouldn’t have time to get to the gym, I created a standing desk at work, with hopes of getting in more steps that day. Lone behold, by 6pm my wrist was vibrating! Despite not getting in a sweat session, I realized how little changes can make a big difference throughout a day, and over a long span of time (similar to fat loss, physique transformation, mindset shifts etc.)

Motivation: It is pretty amazing, the power of those little dots! Last week I was traveling from DC to Indianapolis. Lugging around two bags in the snowy weather is a workout on it’s own. To add in a little bit more of one, I refused to stand on the escalators. I didn’t care how heavy my bags were I wanted those dots to light up J! The dots get me excited to take the stairs, they are like bonus points right there! I don’t mind running errands at work, they equate with more steps, which means more dots!

Competition: FitBit allows you to have fun with tracking. You can link your FitBit profile to others for a friendly competition and some motivation. This is a great way to help friends and family members get active!

FitBit can also serve as a little competition with yourself.  Every week I open an email from FitBit congratulating or encouraging me on my performance. It also lets me know what my highest and lowest days are for the week. My eyes are always drawn to the low day, I usually try to figure out what happen and make up my mind to beat it.

If you haven’t already, take a look at www.fitbit.com , it will be one of the best devices you can have to help you reach your health and fitness goals. Find me on fitbit kmvfitness@gmail.com and we can workout together!

Until later, shoot me a tweet with your fitbit name www.twitter.com/kelleyvargo ,

Xo,

Kel

Birthday Wishes: Triple H's Gift to Me (Updated Article)

I posted this article two years ago, but thought it would be fitting to re-post since today I am celebrating my 29th birthday - and remembering the turning point in my life - that lead me to believe I could make my dreams reality.

The Athletic Training Room documented my story and I am reminded of it everyday!

It was Sunday, January 24th, the eve of my 25th birthday and I was feeling lost with life.  As I entered the Cheesecake Factory for my Sunday morning serving shift, I continued to question the purpose of my life. I knew I was a smart girl, I went to Wake Forest, had been accepted to Naturopathic Medical school, accepted to the Peace Corps, and was applying to medical schools.  However, none of these made me light up. I knew in my heart my passion lied within fitness and nutrition. But I was paralyzed, paralyzed by fear of taking a chance.

As the Sunday dragged on, my manager asked me to do him a favor and work a double - meaning close the restaurant.  So here it was the night before my golden birthday and I am serving up some more dessert making America obese.  But the next events that happened changed my life indefinitely.

It was 9:45 p.m. and I was beginning to do the closing clean up duties, or "outs" in restaurant terminology, when I heard the host tell me I had been sat.  Tired and worn out from the 12 hour shift, I mustered up a smile and walked out to greet the guests.  Surprised to see how massive these two men were, I smiled bigger and thought to myself, 'maybe they are bodybuilders'. The gentlemen began by ordering three iced teas, 'a joiner' I thought to myself.  When I returned with the drinks, the 'joiner' had joined and was wearing a black shirt with a small WWE logo.  A light bulb lit up in my head, and I remembered that Monday Night Raw was in Columbus on my birthday.  

After setting down the drinks, I began my usual introduction, but then took a seat next to this man who had long dirty blond hair and a calm voice. I kept thinking to myself, this guy looks familiar.  But my rational mind kicked in and there was no way I would know him, I was turning 25 and the last time I had watched wrestling was thirteen years prior.  So as conversation starts, I learned that these three men were in town for Monday Night Raw.  I spilled my childhood memories to them about practicing finishing moves with my dad and brother, ordering the pay per views, and making wrestling t-shirts in grade school.  One of the gentlemen asked me who my favorite wrestler was, and immediately I said, "My favorite was Triple H."  As the words came out of my mouth, the nice man with the dirty blond hair put his arm around me and said, "Well, thank you Kelley, for making me feel old!"  I felt my heart stop, I slowly turned and looked over my left shoulder and found myself looking at my childhood hero, Triple H.

I was like a kid in a candy shop, or cheesecake factory ;)!

The rest of the evening was a blast.  The four of us talked about wrestling and I felt like a twelve year old again, without a care in the world. I had completely forgotten how stressed I was about figuring out my life.  Before the men left, they had me write down my number and invited me to the show. As I drove home that evening, I had the biggest smile.  I started to reflect on life, and its purpose.  Here is this man, in his early forties now who is living out his dream. I thought to myself, 'I bet when he was in his early 20's and said he wanted to be a professional wrestler, people doubted him.  But that didn't stop him. And now he is one of the most well known entertainers in the world."

Triple H (Paul) living out his dream for spectators around the world!

My 25th birthday will always be remembered.  Not only was I at Monday Night Raw, but it was a pivotal point in my life.  I saw the power of following your passion and I started to follow mine. Within the next week I applied to The George Washington University to complete a degree in Exercise Science and left the conventional steps of medical school behind me.

I will never forget this day!

And here I am two plus years later wrapping up my masters in Exercise Science and about to embark on another journey in the world of health policy, continuing to live out my passion for fitness and nutrition.  

This past Monday I met up with the three "massive men"to go to Monday Night Raw here in DC. By the way, Terry, Jim, & Paul (Triple H) are some of the nicest men I have ever met despite their intimidating physiques.  After the event, I had the chance to talk to Paul for a little bit.  We caught up on life, family, friends, training, and goals.  I made sure to let him know how he changed my life.  Jokingly he said, "Why? Because I ate a bad meal and you thought to yourself I don't want to be like this guy." But on a more serious note, we continued to talk about following dreams no matter how unconventional they may be, and he said something to the effect of, "You just gotta do it."

So whatever your dream, make it your reality. There is no better time than now. So many people are afraid of failure or afraid of success. At the end of  the day, the only difference between Triple H and the guy stuck in the office is Triple H did it whereas the office guy thought it.  Triple H didn't wait for the perfect time, perfect opportunity, or perfect scenario: he created it for himself. 

My lovely coworkers placed this picture above my desk.  Although it makes me laugh, it is a constant reminder that I can do anything I set my mind to!  Thank you Triple H!

Thank you Triple H for changing my life & for giving me the best birthday present: igniting my drive to make my passion my reality! 

It's been four years since I started pursuing my passion for fitness and health. It's just the beginning. Triple H didn't become the COO of an international company in four years, but he's stayed persistent and true to his purpose. You and I both can both do the same! Now, lets go make our dreams reality!  Have an #amazing day!

I love hearing from you @kelleyvargo

She's 56, What's Your Excuse?

A few months a go there was a huge controversy over the text on a fitness photo of a mother, Maria Kang, and her three children, as shown below. Frankly, she inspired me. After three kids and still having that banging physique – you go girl! Not to mention the work of the photographer, Mike Byerly, it was a great shot.

Maria Kang and her children.

Flash forward to yesterday, when I was teaching my 9am Metabolic Effect class at The George Washington University. As I surveyed the room to take attendance (it’s a for credit course), I took note of the one participant in the front row. She comes to class religiously, and she is not a student. She is Dr. Loretta DiPietro, a 56-year-old mother of two, professor, department chair, who is involved in just about every campus initiative, the GW club field hockey coach (who plays as well), works at the USDA, and still makes it a priority to come to my class every week.

Loretta DePietro at her Metabolic Effect workout.

As we approached our one-minute sprint, I pointed to Loretta and barked to my class (in good fun), “Do Not Let This Woman Beat You In Burpees!” They all knew I was kidding (partially J ) but they love working out with her. She brings an aura and an inspiration to the classroom. These students are in their late teens and early twenties; they look up to their elder with respect and conviction. Conviction that they too can live a healthy and active lifestyle, no matter how old they are.

Loretta could easily be a member of the “VC”, as JillColeman has taught me (Victim Club) stating a myriad of reasons (or excuses) why she doesn’t have the time to workout. Trust me, if anyone has a million reasons to say how busy they are, this woman does. But she doesn’t have a single one, not even her age: 56. She is not a personal trainer for her career and she doesn’t spend hours at the gym. She gets in her 30-minute high intensity Metabolic Effect workout and then heads to the office.

Why do I bring this up?

One, for inspiration.  I look at Loretta and have a role model for my life at that age. I am turning 29 tomorrow, this woman has 27-years on me!

Two, our actions speak louder than words. As much as we say want something, if we don’t make it a priority it will not get done. (Even for me, keeping up with my blog – I say I want one, but I struggle with writing consistently). This holds true for anything, not just getting to the gym. It could be a career you’ve dreamed about, a vacation you’ve wanted, that blog you’ve wanted to create.

Three, age is a number. Yes the body ages, but that doesn’t mean it has to stop you from moving. Find your niche for exercise and get it done. Use age as a privilege, your experiences in life give you greater insight and knowledge.

Let’s channel the Loretta in us, and make living healthy a life long process.

As always, I love hearing from you! Tweet me @KelleyVargo.

Xo,

Kel

ALERT: TO GET FIT, LEAVE THE GYM!

So lately I have been slacking a bit on #lifting. Don't get me wrong I love to lift but while on a two-week vacation, one traveling and the other in the Florida Keys I gave my body a rest. Normally, I would feel horrible about missing an ENTIRE TWO WEEKS at the gym. After all, wouldn’t I look like a beached whale at the end of the trip?

Well let me tell you a secret: you won’t look like one ;) In fact, when I did return from vacation and got back to work, I kept receiving comments, “Kel it looks like you’ve lost weight” or “Kel, you look good.” The reason I mention these comments is because prior to my return I was a little hesitant about my physique. After all, the most strenuous workouts I completed were leisure walks with my family! Talk about an amazing, restorative workout, seriously! .

 

My mom and sister walking on the Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon, Florida

The hiatus from the dumbbells and drone of the treadmill were bitter sweet. The second I let go of my guilt it was just sweet. “What? Kelley are you cra-cra -- you are a fitness professional – your job is to live and breathe the gym?!” The fact of the matter is I am human too, and honestly, a break feels great once in a while! In fact, I venture to say it is NEEDED, yes A BREAK FROM GYM ROUTINES IS NEEDED TO GET FITTER!

How can this be? Haven’t you lost strength? Haven’t you lost endurance? Yes, a little. But within a week I was back to doing my sprints up to 10.5 MPH and hitting the moderately heavy dumbbells. I know my strength will get back, and be even stronger. But what are ten, maybe twenty times more durable now is my intrinsic motivation and my own satisfaction of getting in a good day at the gym. I am back to a place of loving it again.

A little sweaty after sprints J!

In closing, I wanted to share the leg workout I completed yesterday (post interval training) We will just call this one Lactic Acid Legs! Inspired by fitness gurus Mike Davies & Jill Coleman, after jumping off of the treadmill I through this puppy together:

LACTIC ACID LEGS

•         You will need at least one, up to three sets of dumbbells & a bench or box to step on
•         Do as many rounds as you can in 25 minutes
•     And an “ BRING IT ON” mindset J

Your tools for magic!

EXERCISE	REPS	WEIGHT
Alternating lunges	12 each leg	Heavy
Bulgarian split squats	13 each leg	Medium
Single leg hip raises (on your back, one leg in air and raise hip – rest weight on hips)	14 each leg	Light to medium
Single leg step up w/ squat at the bottom (when you return to floor)	15 each leg	None to light
Dumbbell deep squats (elbows to knees)	16 total	Medium to heavy
Wide stance deadlifts (dumbbells go down outside of leg – not in front)	17 total

Looking forward to an amazing 2014. Share with me what you do to restore your intrinsic motivation and success on your fitness endeavors on twitter @kelleyvargo or on facebook.

Have an amazing day!

Xo,

Kel

4 Must Know Tips to Get Your Six Pack

 I can honestly say (and maybe not the best training I have done) but I did not do any isolated ab work for my first few figure competitions and placed 1^st and 5^th (not too bad). The reality of it is your diet and weight training has a far greater impact on your washboard than any number of sit-ups, crunches, or hours on the “Ab blaster.”

 Let’s cut out the fluff and get to bottom of this…

1    Everyone has a six-pack. It;s true, you really do. If you were to strip away the layers of adipose tissue you would see a nice rectus abdominis (stomach muscle) that has that definition you hope to see in the mirror.

2 Sits ups will not get you a six-pack.Yes sit-ups will help strengthen your abdominus muscles (that is if you do them correctly – do not strain your neck!) but the reality is they aren’t doing anything to bring those muscles into visability. Think about it for a second. How many times have you seen the guy at the gym who has that tire around his waste doing sit ups everyday but nothing looks different? Sure hisstomach muscles might be in great shape endurance wise and utilize oxygen efficiently but do they look any different? Nope.  This is not to say you cannot do sit ups on your quest for your washboard, but it is saying if you only run and do sit-ups, you will not be washing your clothes anytime soon.

3 Abs are made in the kitchen. Okay, I know, I can be really cheesy but let’s face it, whoever coined this term was a genius in my eyes!  It’s true. Remember what we said about the tire?  In order to make this go away, we must alter our nutrition. Nutrition is about 80-90% of the task when it comes to optimizing our physique and performance. Start by replacing major starches such as bread, cereals, rice and pasta with vegetables, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates such as brown rice or quinoa.  To big of a jump? Cut out the soda, and stop drinking your calories!

4 A complete weight lifting routine will be  “bringin’ sexy “abs” back.” Yup, that’s it Justin Timberlake can help you get through a sweat sesh to get those abs. The reality of it is, you are training your core while you are training other body parts. This is especially when performing large movements such as squats, lunges, pull-ups, & push-ups. Of course like any fine-tuning you can do some isolation ab exercises to chisel them out a little bit, but the bulk of getting those ridges will be achieved through heavy total body lifting.

And there you have it, the quick and dirty on getting your six-pack to show. It’s not easy (let’s be serious if it was everyone would have one), but it’s not impossible! And next time you’re in the kitchen as yourself, will I be able to use my washboard if I eat this? J

Until next time, remember Abs are made in the kitchen and eat your lean protein!

Kel