Rise and shine- it’s #WorkoutWednesday! Today’s post features advice from Fitness Trainer, Sharif Abboud. Sharif is one of the most sought after trainers in the D/FW by professional dancers, cheerleaders and other people who are really serious about amping up their workouts. Name any professional dance team in the Dallas area, and I can guarantee you he has trained at least one of their dancers!
Here are a few pieces of advice from Sharif on losing weight, nutrition and maximizing your workout time:
Q: Although it is not possible to spot-reduce, what would you tell women who want to focus on losing weight in a particular area such as hips, legs or stomach?
Sharif: 90% of the work is done the other 23 hours of the day- the hours that you are not working out. I typically sit down with my clients to assess what they do with the other 23 hours of the day, pinpoint variables that may be potential roadblocks that are hindering them from reaching their goals, and create a plan to help them remove those variables. There are many factors that can put a damper on fitness goals, but one of the biggest ones is nutrition. You can work out hard all you want, but if you aren’t doing the kitchen work, it’s not going to work!
Q: What is the most common problem you see when dancers and other athletes come to you for nutrition guidance?
Sharif: There are two big problems I come across frequently: 1) those who are not eating enough and 2) those who think they are eating healthy foods, when in reality the foods they are consuming are not healthy at all. Packaged foods, sodium and sugar are America’s biggest downfall when it comes to health. My main recommendation to these women is to eat plenty of clean, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish, and small servings of healthy fats such as avocado and nuts.
Q: What is the most effective workout for a woman who only has 15-20 minutes to squeeze in a workout?
Sharif: HIIT and interval training! Anything that has metabolic interrupts is great for getting your heart rate up quickly and maximizing your time. Try sprint intervals on the treadmill or quick bursts on the rowing machine. It is ideal to incorporate weight training into your workouts when you can, but as far as maximizing your time goes, short sets and short reps are where it’s at- get in, get out!
Sharif hosts a #danceteambootcamp on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. at Trophy Fitness Club Downtown (women only). If you want to get a good sweat in and push your limits, you should go check it out!
Have an idea you’d like us to cover for #WorkoutWednesday? Email Callie Hickman at Callie@prodancecheer.com.
