Fitness & Wellness

Does Your Workout Gear Matter

Published by superadmin on February 4, 2019 | Leave a response

Does your workout gear matter? If you don’t have the funds for those “spectacular” workout clothes or don’t want to spend the money, since you’re planning on shedding lots of weight and will have to buy new clothes. It shouldn’t stop you from going to the gym. Here in Louisville, KY, my clients dress in a number of different ways, but what they all have in common is that the clothing allows them to move easily. Whether it’s made from the latest fabric or your gym shorts from high school and a T-shirt, dressing in clothing that allows easy movement is top priority.

Wear clothes that are made of breathable fabric.

Breathable fabric allows the heat from your body to release. That can help keep you cooler longer and prevent cutting the workout shorter because of overheating. Having a workout outfit made of material that wicks the moisture away from your body also helps prevent excess heat and that drippy feeling you may well know that comes after a tough workout and lots of perspiration. Tops made from 100% cotton won’t cut it. The material absorbs sweat and holds it against your body, making you miserable. While cotton is breathable, sweat evaporates more slowly from it, so look for tops made of spandex, polyester blends, polypropylene or those specifically created to wick moisture away from your body, while allowing the material to breathe.

Good shoes can help your performance and prevent injuries.

If you’re running, the type of shoes you wear is top priority. Your feet and joints take a pounding and the right shoes can help prevent injury. For those that workout in the gym, finding the right type of shoe is also important particularly if you have high impact exercises. Blistering can keep you out of the gym for a couple of weeks, so ensuring they fit well is also a priority.

You can boost your recovery with the right type of clothing.

You see compression clothing more and more when you go to the gym. Many professional athletes are using it because there’s been more findings that it actually helps recovery and performance. Compression clothing was originally created for people with problems with their veins, but now it’s used to help during workouts to stimulate circulation and increase blood flow, which can help recovery by removing lactic acid. It can be used after working out by increasing direct pressure to the muscle for reducing inflammation and soreness. While the jury is still out on the benefits, there are no negatives to wearing this type of clothing so it may be worth a shot.

Wearing too short of shorts can cause chaffing, especially if you’re a runner. Stick to shorts that are mid-thigh to avoid it.
If you aren’t wearing material that gives and is supposed to be snug, make sure your clothing isn’t too tight. A tight cotton shirt can restrict movement and even make breathing more difficult.
Of course, you’ll feel more confident if you look great, but the gym isn’t a place for a fashion show, it’s a place to get fit. Never let your lack of the latest workout clothing stop you from going to the gym.
You don’t have to spend a fortune on gym clothes. If you’re trying to lose weight, you may not wear them long. Instead, start saving for a great look in the size you WANT to be and use it as incentive.

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Relieve Some Holiday Stress

Published by superadmin on January 23, 2019 | Leave a response

During the holidays, did you feel like you could wrestle someone to the ground for the last Pomsies or Fingerlings HUGS? Maybe you even did! You had two months of holidays and that takes longer than just a quick workout to relieve stress from that kind of pressure. Even things that seem a bit inconsequential when you really stop to think about them, like the best dish to take to a holiday celebration or whether you’re wearing the perfect outfit for a celebration, can take its toll. Add to it the dreary cold weather and you have a mix that can get you down. Think of January and February as your cool-down period to eliminate that stress and get back to feeling great again.

Start eating healthy again.

Yes indeed, the holidays are a time to binge out and go into a sugar coma. Even if you’ve been super good about skipping the holiday treats, there’s always someone that buys you your favorite candy or brings you homemade goodies that taste so delicious, you have to eat them all. All that sugar can boost your energy level and then drop it into the pits, adding to the stress. It’s time to start eating fresh again and choosing whole foods. Detox with super healthy eating for a week. Include lots of water and water filled fruits and vegetables like melons. Watermelon is a great system flusher. Stick with low glycemic soups for lunch and eat a healthy breakfast such as oatmeal. Be sure to include plenty of fiber. Salads are a great addition.

Get back to your workout schedule if you’ve neglected it.

Creating a schedule and sticking with it is a good stress buster. It puts your brain on automatic. When that schedule is for exercise, it’s even better. Exercise works your body and burns off the hormones of stress. It also triggers the creation of happy hormones that make you feel more content. Make the new year be a time where you take care of you. Start doing extra things, like walking more or taking the steps, to boost your fitness.

Learn a new way to relax.

It’s the new year, learn a new technique. Breathing exercises and meditation can help you cool down in seconds, but they take time to learn. Make this the year you finally conquer them so it only takes seconds to de-stress and get back to normalcy. Over the years, the subject of finding your “happy place” has become almost a joke, but it really isn’t. Finding a visual image in your head that makes you feel good is a true stress reliever and emotional booster.

If you find yourself ready to boil over, walk away. Not only will it give you a chance to recompose, that walk will help you blow off the steam. The more frustrated you are, the faster you should walk. For super stressful times, run up and down the stairs.
Take time for yourself. Take a leisurely bath, enjoy a few minutes relaxing to your favorite music. Take a mid afternoon nap. Whatever it takes to feel a bit pampered is okay.
Get adequate sleep. You can’t burn the candle at both ends and expect to feel good. Getting adequate sleep is important no matter what time of the year it is.
Switch out that caffeine for plain water. Nobody would expect you to give up that first cup of coffee in the morning, but switching to herbal tea or plain water throughout the day can help you feel more relaxed.

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How Important Is My Posture

Published by superadmin on January 13, 2019 | Leave a response

Most people don’t start working out in our gym in Louisville, KY to improve their posture, it’s just one of those great side effects that comes with getting fit. That improved posture also has some benefits, besides making you look taller and thinner. However, looking taller and thinner is one of the things people notice most about my clients after a few weeks of working out. Standing taller pulls everything in and up, giving a thinner appearance almost instantly. It’s the same look people try to get by sucking in their stomach, which is extremely hard to maintain if you’re out of shape. .

Bad posture boosts your potential for cardiovascular ailments.

Your body was meant to walk, stand and sit in a specific manner that allows the blood to flow easily and uninterrupted. Just like a hose with a kink, bad posture can create blood vessel constriction that in turn can cause many problems like blood clots, aneurysms and even a constriction of blood vessels that affect the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body.

That acid reflux may not come from the spicy burrito burger you had right before bed.

Okay, it probably is, but there’s a lot more that can cause poor digestion and even acid reflux. One of the keys is posture. Posture compresses your stomach and digestive organs. You don’t process food correctly and if your posture is bad enough, may even force food back out. It can cause a number of issues from a few incidences with heartburn to full blown GERD. Studies show that if you sit in a specific position for 20 minutes, your body starts to conform to that position. If your inner organs aren’t aligned and everything is squished to non-functioning, that can lead to a chronic condition.

You probably already know that poor posture leads to back pain.

Did you know it can also cause disc degeneration and thinning? Yes, just like that hole in your sock when your foot constantly rubs in a certain way or the wear on shoes from an uneven gait, when your spine isn’t in alignment for long periods, there’s excess pressure that causes discs to thin and the cushioning to disappear. That leads to back pain.

If you have a headache, don’t blame it on your boss, it might come from poor posture. It can cause pinched nerves and even constrict blood flow. TMJ and headaches and tech neck come from chronic posture problems.
It may sound odd, but setting an egg timer for twenty minutes can remind you to get up from a seated position, stretch and improve your posture. Focusing on posture can improve your overall health.
If you want that flat stomach, look toward your posture. When your posture is good, it pulls the stomach in and stretches the trunk of your body. That makes your middle look thinner in the process.
Don’t wait until its time to go to the gym to work on your posture. Do it throughout the day. Make an effort to sit up straight with your shoulders back. Stretch periodically to relieve muscle stiffness.

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Remember To Cool Down After Exercise

Published by superadmin on January 2, 2019 | Leave a response

Most people that workout regularly ensure they warm up so they get the best performance and reduce the potential for injury. However, some fail to cool down after exercise, which is just as important. Cooling down does many things for the body. Too often people are ready to get out of the gym and neglect this important part of their workout. There is a price to pay that’s often higher than you might think.

DOMS—delayed onset muscle soreness—can be prevented with a cool down session.

If you feel sudden pain in a muscle, which often occurs with runners in the back of the leg or have an abnormal contraction of a muscle, you have a muscle cramp. These are caused by microtears in the muscles. It can start within twenty four hours but may occur as long as forty-eight hours after a workout. Normally, you expect muscle aches, but not the debilitating pain of DOMS. A California State University study showed that a cool down cycling session after strength training could reduce the potential significantly. Stretching and cooling down after exercise can help relax the muscle tissue and help prevent the problem.

Cooling down helps prevent blood pooling in your legs and arms.

When you workout, you’re boosting the rate that your heart pumps. Moving helps it pump through the body. However, if you stop abruptly, the squeezing action of the muscles that help with that causes blood pooling by slowing its return back to the heart and also the brain because no muscles are helping it. It can be trapped by the valves in the veins. This causes you to get faint and lightheaded. While this isn’t typically dangerous, it can mask the potential of serious conditions that require medical attention. Most of all, it can be scary and quite concerning.

Cooling down helps prevent injuries.

That jelly-legged feeling after a tough workout comes from the muscle tissue being extremely warm, which means extremely pliable. That’s the best time to do some stretching and begin the slow lengthening over time that increases the range of motion. The improved range of motion helps reduce injuries and can relieve back problems that can occur when your hamstrings or hip flexors are too tight. It’s one of the best You’ll clear out the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles. That ten minutes of stretching helps the body to clear out this byproduct of exercise and prepare the muscles for the next endeavor.

Cool down helps the body come back to homeostasis, the body’s balanced state. The body does it slowly, giving the biggest benefit to the body from the endorphins that makes you feel good.
A short session of cooling down is worth the ten minutes. It slows the heart rate gradually, lowers the breathing rate and gradually allows the body temperature to cool.
Static stretching, swimming and even walking at a brisk pace are great cool down exercises after a tough workout. Save the ballistic and dynamic stretches for warming up.

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Walking The Most Underrated Fitness Tool

Published by superadmin on December 26, 2018 | Leave a response

You might think of walking as a great way to see some of the beauty of Louisville or even something older people do in the mall for their fitness regimen. While both are true, walking should also be part of everyone’s workout program. It puts less stress on the knees, back and ankles and a good way for obese people to start working out. It’s good if you’re recovering from an injury and will help keep you in shape until you do.

Walking can be the first step to fitness.

There’s an inspiring story about a man that received a death sentence from his doctor because of his gross obesity. In fact, he could barely take a few steps because of his weight. He changed his future by walking. At first it was just a few steps. As he increased his movement, he started to lose weight. Eventually he made it to the corner, then around the block. Week by week he lost more weight and developed strength. Walking did this for him by burning calories and building strength. It can also risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and hypertension. It helps prevent osteoporosis and can boost your mood.

Walking is better than running in some cases.

Just like any exercise program, your level of fitness makes all the difference. For those out of shape, walking may be the very best exercise available. It can be at a pace that’s hard, but not incredibly uncomfortable. You can create an HIIT program with walking by varying your speed. Some studies show that walking may even be better for you than running when it comes to heart health. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology published a study that showed that people who walked on a regular basis were often healthier than people who ran regularly. That doesn’t mean you should stop running if you enjoy it, but don’t dismiss walking, either. Walking is easier on the ankles, knees and back, plus it’s better if someone is obese or overweight.

Do you feel too out of shape to go to the gym?

Yes, that does sound ridiculous, but often people feel that way. They don’t want to let anyone see how hard they struggle doing simple workouts. It’s a good way to start and build up strength and far superior to doing nothing and using the excuse you’re too out of shape. There are many health benefits to walking, but one of the most important is building your endurance. It provides a full body workout, especially when you swing your arms.

When you walk, a brisk pace is far better than a slow one for fitness, but you can set your own pace based on your level of fitness.
Walking on a regular basis may be easier to work into a schedule. You don’t need special clothes, except comfortable shoes. Take your tennis shoes to work and take a walk to lunch.
While walking is a great supplement to a workout program and can be a good way to start, you need other types of training too.
Check your posture and hold your head high when you walk. Proper form is important to all exercises, including walking.

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The Older You Are, The More Important Exercise Becomes

Published by superadmin on December 16, 2018 | Leave a response

You may not realize it, but as you get older, you actually need to exercise more to avoid the natural loss of muscle tissue. If you haven’t worked out before, getting results when you start may be tougher, especially when it comes to building muscle tissue. After the age of around thirty plus, muscles get you start losing mass. That process of loss is faster if you’re inactive. Everything slows, including metabolism, unless you choose to take charge. You can do that with a program of regular exercise.

Including strength training can help keep you independent in a number of ways.

Whether you’re a man or a woman, strength training as you age is important. It keeps the muscles strong. Strong muscles are necessary for strong bones. As they tug on the bones, the body sends more calcium to the area to maintain bone strength. Without weight bearing exercise, osteoporosis can occur. In addition to bone health, strength training also helps improve balance and prevent falls.

Working out can keep you younger on a cellular level.

There are a huge number of studies that show that exercise can help slow the process of aging, but also quite a large number that show it can actually reverse the aging process. One study followed a group of people that did both strength training and HIIT. They found that working out boosted the mitochondrial activity in their cells. The mitochondrial activity helped the cells stay younger and more vital. Guess who received the biggest boost in the activity. It was in the group aged 65 to 80. It boosted mitochondrial activity by 69 percent. Other studies showed that people worked out not only showed no decrease in muscle mass, but an increase in it and had an immune system that showed no signs of aging.

Pain, pain go away, don’t come back another day.

It won’t when you exercise. People historically talk about aching joints and other aches and pains from arthritis to back pain. When you workout, particularly do weight training, it reduces arthritis pain and builds the muscles, tendons and ligaments to help reduce the pain in the future. It’s important to work closely with the training and let him or her know your problem before you start. Working out also improves range of motion and help with blood sugar control. It can reduce insulin resistance and help those with diabetes.

Many studies have showed that improved functioning and amount of stem cells can turn back the clock. Physicians now using stem cell therapy for joints recommend exercising to boost the amount of stem cells available.
One study shows that getting some type of exercise for five minutes every fifty minutes if you’re normally sedentary can keep you even healthier—even if you workout regularly.
Choose to move more often and move faster. Studies show that older people who walk faster with longer strides actually live longer.
Regular exercise can help improve strength and balance to prevent falling. Falls account for many injuries amongst older men and women and the loss of independence.

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Sticking With Your Fitness Program Over The Holidays

Published by superadmin on December 5, 2018 | Leave a response

Sticking with your fitness regimen during the holidays can be super tough. There’s so much going on that getting to the gym or taking time to workout almost seems impossible. To make it even worse, if eating healthy is a top priority there are tempting treats everywhere that can destroy your plans. The holidays can also create stress, which makes you want to grab those treats even more. There are ways to stay

Get the group to pitch in.

You need to find a way to ensure you have time to workout and that takes help. Create a list of everything that needs to be done, and then get the family to pitch in. If you’re normally the person that handles all the details, it’s time to change that. List all the things you need done and find out if the family really wants to maintain that tradition. Maybe some won’t care if the lights are on the outside of the house, but really hate to give up your holiday pastry. If they want the special pastry, get them to help you make it. Not only will they learn how to carry on the tradition, it will get done in less time. You don’t have to do it all alone. Teamwork takes the stress out and can make it fun.

Traditions had to start somewhere.

Have you ever considered having a healthy holiday. I have a client that started a new family tradition. Each person brings a sweet treat that’s healthy and a healthy dish. The family goes for a walk after dinner, too. Everyone loves the chance to create a dessert that’s healthy. She even created one that has no sugar or sweeteners outside of dried fruit. You don’t have to go that far, simply changing some of the fare can make it a healthier meal.

Plan ahead.

Carve out time in your schedule to workout, even if it’s early in the morning. Don’t let fate decide whether you’ll have time to go to the gym or not. It’s an appointment you must keep. It will keep your energy level high so you can accomplish even more. Plan meals ahead and have healthy snacks ready in the refrigerator for quick snacks or an easy meal.

Don’t try to be everything for everybody. Take time for yourself to just relax. Whether it’s taking a nap, a bubble bath or just sitting in a quiet room, carve out some “me” time.
Remember, exercise is a stress buster. It can be the perfect way to get rid of the holiday stress and feel good again.
If you worry about overeating at parties, don’t skip meals before you go to save calories. Instead, fill up at home on low calorie foods so you won’t be as tempted to overeat. Eating slowly also helps.
You can give yourself a pass when it comes to special holiday meals. Eating healthy doesn’t mean you can never have foods you love. It just means you don’t eat them as often and watch portion control.

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Favorite Indoor Activities

Published by superadmin on November 27, 2018 | Leave a response

If you’re a runner, jogger or other outdoor exerciser or simply need some indoor activities for you or you and the kids to do on your day away from the gym when the weather is cold, snowy or rainy, you’ll love some of these ideas. Having active games and fitness routines ready will help you stay consistent to your workout program and avoid skipping it entirely. So if the roads are bad this winter, here’s a go-to list you can use. Feel free to add more indoor activities to it!

Dance the day away.

Well, maybe not the whole day but a half hour to an hour of dancing can be fun. You can even combine it with house cleaning and boogie down while washing walls or windows and Samba through sweeping. If the kids are joining you, all the better, but stick with them doing the tasks. Have them dance through cleaning up the living room, then join them in dancing through the disaster in their bedroom. If you don’t want to combine household tasks, have music downloads to your phone or on a hand held device that you can stop at any time and Freeze dance. When the music stops, everyone holds their pose.

Have an at home personal gym.

It’s not what you think. Your at home personal gym can be resistance bands and a yoga mat. In fact, if you’re doing body weight exercises, you only need the mat or a blanket to throw on the floor. Talk to your personal trainer about creating some body weight exercise routines you can use anywhere. Weight training is okay at home if you want to use milk jugs filled with water or large cans of soup as weights. Doorway pull-up bars can also be an inexpensive addition to your collection of workout tools.

Get in your workout, but spend time to create healthy meals.

It’s not always easy to create healthy meals, particularly if it’s just a day before grocery shopping. Take some time on those rainy days to plan not only the menus but also the shopping list. You’ll find that many of the ingredients you use for one meal are also used in others, so you’ll often save money doing it this way. Eating healthy doesn’t have to cost a lot or even be hard. Plan cooking triple recipes so you have enough to pack away and freeze for other meals. To make it even easier, we offer an internet program for meal planning so you don’t have to do all the work.

Have a jump rope or hula hoop ready for exercise. Make sure you clear an area thoroughly before you start. Kids will love doing this with you, so get one for each child, too. It’s a super inexpensive way to get the kids involved with fitness.
If you have a sturdy coffee table, sturdy chair or a really thick book, use it as a workout tool and do a stair stepper. You can watch TV as you step up onto it and back down to the floor.
Marching in place and lifting your knees really high can be exhausting and a great cardio workout at home when the weather’s bad.
Bad weather isn’t the only reason people workout at home. If you find that working out at home is your best option, check out one of our internet programs to get guidance from a personal trainer.

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Dieting Vs Lifestyle Changes

Published by superadmin on November 19, 2018 | Leave a response

If you’ve had it with yoyo dieting, it’s time to think about making lifestyle changes. Healthy lifestyle changes can mean eating healthier, working out regularly, getting more sleep and drinking more water. It definitely doesn’t mean starving yourself or eating only certain foods and feeling deprived because of it. One reason I don’t recommend dieting is that diets just don’t work. You may lose weight, but then go back to old eating habits and the weight returns.

Dieting is restrictive.

While changing your eating habits takes time, you may have to follow a few meal plans until you learn all the tricks and ways to save calories. With dieting, the meal plan is strict and doesn’t change. Dieting always ends. That can occur when you lose the weight you want to lose or end in failure with a box of chocolate chip cookies and a pint of ice cream. Eating unhealthy or high calorie foods doesn’t mean your healthy eating plan is over. You’re allowed a “cheat day” or two. You simply go back to healthy eating the next day.

There’s loads of variety once you learn to eat healthier.

If you don’t feel like eating grilled fish that night, but prefer a chicken dish instead, it’s no biggie when you’re eating healthy and adopt it as a lifestyle change. In fact, I’ve had people who never learned more than the point where they give up sugar and processed foods actually lose weight. That was all they did! It can be a no brainer or as knowledge laden as you choose. Simply cutting out soft drinks and sweets can help shed lots of weight over time. Being prepared with an apple or some nuts for a mid morning or mid-afternoon snack is a smart option you’ll learn from healthy eating.

There’s no counting calories or carbs with healthy eating.

Are you worn out trying to journal all your food and count the calories or carbs on your new diet. It’s time to start thinking about eating healthier instead. It’s all about making smarter decisions when it comes to food and learning how to make substitutions to add nutrition and cut out excess calories. Some fun tips include cutting back on sugar or oil in baked goods and substituting applesauce instead.

Eating healthy lasts a lifetime. Once you learn how and make it a habit, you’ll never have to worry about gaining weight again.
Eating healthy isn’t just about weight loss, although that’s a very nice side effect. It’s all about ensuring you have good nutrition to keep the body strong and healthy.
Eating healthy is freeing. It’s about letting your body be your guide to what it needs.
Healthy eating is more about living a better life and being healthier. It becomes the way you want to live, not a punishment for gaining weight.

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