Fitness Explorer

Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to talk to you about broadening your fitness horizons by becoming a fitness explorer.  A fitness explorer is someone who goes out and finds something new in fitness to do.  This is useful to someone who is already in the fitness industry who is looking for something fresh, or can be used by someone who is simply looking to start exercising but wants to find what is right for them.  There are so many fitness studios in every town now, that almost everyone is guaranteed to find something new.  And most places always offer some type of free trial that will allow you to explore that fitness place with no strings attached.  Going out and trying something new can give a veteran fitness professional some fresh ideas, and can also allow a newcomer to see what it the best fit for them.

Alice is a group fitness instructor that has worked in the same gym as me for several years.  At this location, she has primarily taught spin classes, as well as some other group classes and does some personal training.  She is pretty versatile and works out pretty hard herself.  Recently, she and a friend of hers, who is also a group fitness instructor, have started visiting a different fitness facility every Sunday.  The two of them go together trying out different things by taking advantage of free trials and day passes.  They take turns picking out new places, but they keep their minds and options open.  Since starting, they have tried many different types of classes, from boot camps to yoga, and everything in between.  She says that although they get a good workout wherever they go, the biggest benefit is seeing different styles, while trying out new things.  They have been able to take back to their own classes some new techniques and twists.  I can tell Alice is  also newly invigorated, as she gets excited when answering me when I ask what they are doing that week.  These weekly trials are similar to going to a major fitness convention, but without the costs and at a more manageable pace.

Someone looking to start exercising can find just as much benefit from being a fitness explorer as well.  Most fitness facilities offer free trials or introductory packages because they want people to “test drive” what they have to offer.  It can be both intimidating and hard to commit financially to a new fitness facility and routine if you aren’t sure of how you will like it.  I have learned and said in the past, that the best exercise someone can do is the one that that person will do.  It needs to be enjoyable and not forced.  A great way to know if you will enjoy something is to try it.  Whether it be test driving a car, trying on a new pair of pants or shoes before buying them, or tasting a wine before ordering, you will always be more satisfied when given the opportunity of trying it first.  Fitness routines and facilities are no different.  Its better to get a “taste” of the class before you commit to signing a monthly or yearly membership.  If you wind up committing to something you don’t like, you can become discouraged very easily and then fall off the routine much easier.  There are so many options to be physically active these days, there definitely is something for everyone.  You just have to go out there and find it.

Becoming a fitness explorer, someone who goes out and tries different fitness facilities is beneficial to veterans and newcomers alike.  A fitness professional taking a random class provides the opportunity to learn new skills and / or techniques that can be brought back to their own classes.  And for someone just getting started, trying a class and / or facility out before committing to a long term contract will give you the chance to find something you’ll enjoy the most.  Becoming a fitness exploer is a great way for way to everyone to be a fit new you!

Be Grateful!

     Welcome to afitnewyou!  This week I would like to inspire you to keep up with your fitness goals with a reminder...to be grateful for what you have.  While I can tell you many things that one should be grateful for, which often get overlooked or taken for granted, in my little space here, I will remind you to be grateful for your health.  If you are doing something today to point your diet and/or exercise routine towards healthy goals, even if its simply thinking about those goals, than you are in a place that you should be grateful for.  In life, it is often said that "everything is relative."  And, that saying can pertain to so many things.  If you are ever discouraged about anything, you can usually find a silver lining if you look hard enough, or some reason to be grateful.  The same is true for your health.  Although you have a fitness goal that you haven't reached yet, maybe it is a body weight you want to be at, a dress size you want to fit in, or an amount of weight you want to make your new personal best, you have to still be grateful for the health that you have today.  This is because you never know when your health may take a turn for the worse.  I have seen many people and clients who had only started to live a more healthy lifestyle after a health scare.  Lets avoid the tragedy needed to sometimes learn a lesson.  Lets be grateful for the health we have today!

     Jason is someone who comes into the gym on a regular basis...these days.  He is in his sixties now, and after he suffered a heart attack when he was 45 years old.  Before the heart attack he didn't exercise regularly, and just as bad, he smoked cigarettes and drank hard liquor regularly.  It wasn't until this life threatening event that he decided he needed to make some major changes in his lifestyle.  Immediately after leaving the hospital, and being thankful to be alive, he gave up tobacco products, cut down his alcohol consumption, and started exercising everyday.  He knew he was lucky to be alive, and grateful for that second chance at maintaining his health.

has been on an exercise routine for the last twenty years.  Unfortunately, he wasn't very active prior to that, and even more unfortunate than that was that he only started taking care of his health
     JT is a client of mine who had a similar lesson of taking his health for granted.  JT is in his seventies, and is pretty active for his age, regularly playing golf and tennis in the warmer months, and hitting the gym in the colder months.  JT was always very active and a self proclaimed "jock" from a very early age.  Its this continued active lifestyle that many people need to follow.  But JT had a freak accident where one of his retinas partially tore.  Unlike Jason, JT's mishap was completely unavoidable.  But, along the same lines, it wasn't until his vision was severely diminished that he fully appreciated how healthy he was before this accident...even if he had the regular aches and pains of someone his age, or any weekend warrior for that matter.  And as his vision improved, his spirits picked up more and more because he was able to play tennis again, where immediately after the injury he was told there was a chance he never would.

     As I said earlier, don't wait for a tragedy to happen for you to appreciate the level of health you have today.  Yes, we are all striving to achieve a better state of health; and yes, we all have fitness goals that we want to achieve.  That's fantastic, and I am sure a good part of that is what got you to your current state of health that you are in now.  And even though you can and should work towards your goals, and an even healthier state of living, its important to acknowledge and appreciate that health you have today.  And when you do, this value of your own health should fuel you to keep moving towards your health goals.  Its a positive cycle.

     We are often to busy, too concerned with what we haven't achieved, what we still need to do, and the flaws that make us all human.  But we all have some level of health that shouldn't be taken for granted.  We all should be very grateful for the level of health we currently have.  As we age, we all now that its harder and harder to stay healthy.  So by being grateful of the health you have today, no matter how much further you want to take it, let that value of your health motivate you to do everything you can to stay that healthy and more importantly reach your health and fitness goals.  Reflecting on the goodness of your current state of health is an introspective way to reach a fit new you!

Best of times and worst of times

Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to give you a tip on how to get through some of your hardest exercises and workouts.  We all have those days and / or workouts that we can’t stand to bear.  But ironically, it’s usually the ones that we need and should be doing the most that cause us the most displeasure.  So here is a tip on how to get through these troublesome routines…pair the ones you find to be the worst, with your best.  Pairing the loved and hated exercises will average out in your brain, and will allow you to do the ones you know you should be doing, but just don’t like.

Reina is one of my favorite clients for many reasons, but one thing that particularly makes me so fond of her is that even though she rarely misses a session with me, she also gets into the gym a few days a week on her own.  It makes my job much easier to have a client coming in on their own, and who uses the same exercises and principles that I teach when she is training with me.  But, she will be the first to tell you that there are certain exercises that she does only when she is training with me; and its not because of a lack of confidence, but she just doesn’t like them.  And for someone who has been classified as a gym rat and is also very open minded about fitness, its not that she doesn’t find anything wrong with the exercises, its just that they are a bit more challenging.  Sometimes I have her do a number of these types of exercises in the same session and she jokingly questions if I am punishing her.  So, what I have found to be the best balance of getting her to do what she needs, and still making the session as enjoyable as possible is to alternate one of these more challenging exercises with one she likes much better. 

I have also given this advice to gym clients who dread doing a “leg” day.  Most everyone who works out regularly know that most males hate doing legs, and if there is a day to skip, it would be their leg day.  Walk into any gym on a Monday and you will see most guys training their chest, because according to me it’s the unofficial National Chest Day.  Guys would rather train their chest and arms, because not only do they think these muscle groups are more noticed by the ladies, but also because training legs involves more demanding exercises.  However, training your legs is incredibly important as they are the largest muscles in your body, and it’s where we derive our power from.  So, what I have suggested, and honestly have been doing myself, is to combine the leg and chest day workouts.  Super setting leg and chest exercises works quite well as you can jump from one exercise to the other, being that one is a lower body exercise and the other is an upper body exercise, allowing the heart rate to stay elevated the entire workout while giving each muscle group time to recover.  Many people whom I have made this suggestion to have used it with great success both in terms of fitness development and overall enjoyment.

Combining your least and most favorite exercises is a great way to integrate all of the exercises that you should be doing during a workout, not just the ones you like the most or find the easiest.  It’s often the exercises that we dread that are the most beneficial for us.  I have always said the best exercises are the ones that you will do.  And while I still maintain that thought, as a trainer I know it’s harder to want to do certain exercises over others, and that some you simply need to do.  What will make it easier to do the most beneficial exercises is to combine them with ones that you enjoy to a greater degree doing.  This balance of exercises is a great way to reach a fit new you.

Work Hard, Play Hard

     Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today we celebrate Independence Day in the United States as a national holiday.  Most people will be off from work, and heading to barbeques and / or parties.  Some people will even have a long weekend this year and go away for a few days.  Its during times like this where I often suggest to people to actually enjoy the day and, in a sense, be independent from their typically demanding exercise and diet routines.  With 365 days in the year, there are going to be a few of them where you should allow yourself a break from your routines, and to enjoy the, sometimes literal, sweetness of life.  "Stop and smell the roses"..."All work and no play makes so and so a dull boy", there are a number of these cliches that point you to relaxing just a little bit.  While it is extremely important to take good care of your physical health with regular exercise and smart food choices, it is just as important to take care of your mental/emotional health...and sometimes the best way of doing that is to simply take a break and relax.

     Linda is a former client of mine who can best be described as a dynamo.  Even as she glided through here 60's into her 70's there was absolutely no slowing her down.  Almost every single day, at least once a day she could be found doing some physical activity.  She trained in the gym at least 3 days a week.  And most days she would "get in a swim" either at her local pool in the summer, or at a local club in the winter...again, nothing was going to stop her from being active.  She is truly inspiring.  Even when she would go on vacation, she would make sure that she could maintain the same level of activity.  She wouldnt book a hotel unless she saw good reviews of its gym and/or pool.  And while I find this all commendable, I would tell her that it is ok to stop and relax every so often.  Not only does the physical body need time to repair, but a good part of why we go on vacation is to "get away from it all" in both the literal and figurative senses.

     On this Fourth of July, the gym where I train most of my clients is open with modified hours.  Instead of their regular 5am to 11pm, they are only open from 7am to 1pm.  These modified hours can indicate that even the owner feels you should be out enjoying the holiday.  To me it also indicates that during those limited hours, the place will be much busier than during the regular hours.  A client of mine who normally trains at night asked me if I would train him in the morning.  At first I said I would, seeing that I want to keep him physically active and motivated, and I thought I could squeeze in my own workout.  But I wound up deciding against it, and told him to enjoy his family at home and the holiday instead.  I wanted to do the same.  Instead of me worrying and stressing over how to work around the crowd at the gym, and the thought of missing quality time with my family, I knew that the best thing that I could do for my health is to relax for the day, and enjoy the company of those around me.
     There are going to be a number of those die hards at the gym today, I could envision a large number of the one who will be at this gym.  But its important to understand that its ok to take a break from time to time, whether its an extended period to nurse and injury, or its simply a day here and there to allow yourself not only your physical body, but your mind to recharge.  Even professional athletes and body builders have "off days" built into their schedules.  And the same is even true with your diets as well.  Now, I am not saying to go on a binge fest, but I am saying it is ok to have a burger and piece of apple pie at a bbq from time to time.  If you completely deprive yourself of the "good things" in life, they can often become harder to abstain from on a regular basis.  Getting a taste for them can motivate you to work harder when you are working, to allow yourself the indulgence when you do get the chance.

     Everything in moderation is a very important concept that can be worked into a healthy lifestyle.  Balance is another key work you would find in the type of lifestyle that many trainers would recommend.  With most of the days in a year being designated as work days, its ok to enjoy one here and there.  Enjoying the day is an important way to reach a fit new you!