Best Fitness Blog

...By Karli Ross

Through the years women have endeavored to lose weight at every age and turning point in their lives. Weight loss is almost synonymous with being a woman, and because of that, we have put together some weight loss tips specifically with women in mind.

First, understand that your body is different from your friend’s, your sister’s, your mother’s and from the images you see daily in the media. What worked for them, may not work for you. Not only is your body different, your life is different too. If you are going to engage in a weight loss nutrition program, consult a professional, your doctor or a nutritionist. What you do for work, your stress level, how much you sleep all have an effect on your diet and your weight loss goals.

Keep in mind that a diet alone will not work. You won’t be successful simply by eating less. You may lose some weight, but as soon as you stop dieting you will gain that weight back. In addition to cutting back what you are eating, think about ways to burn MORE calories, not just consume fewer calories. Pick up a hobby; walking, running, a women’s softball or basketball team. It is the sedentary lifestyle most of us slip into as we age that we need to address. When you start burning calories, you will start losing weight as well.

Did you know that stress will not only prevent you from losing weight, but can also result in weight gain?? Try to include stress fighting activities or hobbies into your weight loss routine- try a yoga class or practice mediation to unwind at the end of a crazy day. If you are more relaxed when you get home at night, you will be less likely to reach for that bag of chips before bed. A lot of late night munching can be attributed to nerves.

Some women find cooking to be relaxing. If you fit into that group, start to cook your own meals at home and get some extra stress relief while controlling the calorie that you consume for dinner each night. Meals that come from a container or are prepared at a restaurant have far more preservatives (salt) and calories than home cooked meals. They also contain far more fat. Go to the grocery store, buy fresh ingredients and prepare your meals at home.

Last, but certainly not least important, use an accurate measure of your progress. Clothes these days don’t have waist bands and they have a lot more give than clothes in years past. You may not know you are losing weight based on the clothes you are used to wearing, so find a different way to measure your size. Jeans tend to be less forgiving, so find a pair of jeans that barely fits, and try them on once a week. Whatever you do, don’t get on the scale everyday!

Visit one of our Best Fitness Clubs to learn even more about this topic. We have locations in Albany,NY, Tonawanda, NY, Schenectady, NY, Erie, PA, Nashua, NH, Chelmsford, MA, and Drum Hill, MA.

...By Karli Taylor

September is Childhood Obesity Awareness month. As families and communities it is our job to keep children fit and active by setting a good example. A great way to make and keep healthy habits is to involve the whole family.

Come up with fun and creative ideas for the whole family. After dinner, rather than watch tv, come up with ideas for physical activity. Enroll the whole family in a fitness class, like tennis lessons, karate, or parent/child yoga. If you don’t have extra money to spend, Fall evenings are great for a family walk or bike ride around the neighborhood.

Eating healthy is one of the most important pieces to the puzzle. Instead of high-calorie foods and snacks, turn to fruits and other healthy foods for something to munch on in between meals. Let your children see you being aware of what you are eating, and involve them in the meal planning and cooking if possible.

In order to cut down on television habits, keep the television out of your child’s bedroom. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that kids from 1 to 5 years who have televisions in their bedrooms watch nearly five hours more TV and videos each week than children without TV, and they are more likely to be overweight.

When all your friends and relatives ask what your child wants for a birthday gift, think fitness. Ask for a soccer ball, baseball gloves and bases or roller blades. These are fun gifts that promote outside activities.

Take your kids with you for a gym workout. If they are old enough to participate, it is worth the guest fee. It is important for your kids to see you fit exercise into your routine.

Even adding basic activity to your daily life can help keep kids healthy. Park far away from the grocery store door and walk, take the stairs rather than the elevator. It is important to instill healthy habits in our kids now. Keep your children healthy and fit, go for a walk around the neighborhood tonight.

Visit one of our Best Fitness Clubs to learn even more about this topic. We have locations in Albany,NY, Tonawanda, NY, Schenectady, NY, Erie, PA, Nashua, NH, Chelmsford, MA, and Drum Hill, MA.

... By Karli Taylor

What’s the one piece of workout gear you can’t live without? Your ipod? A good water bottle? A matching track suit? Think again- the single most important piece of equipment to virtually any kind of exercise program -- running, aerobics, hiking, tennis, basketball -- is the right pair of shoes. A good pair of shoes can make or break your workout, so how do you pick the right pair?

The biggest mistake people make when they start an exercise program is just reaching into the closet and pulling out an old pair of sneakers, or going to the store and buying a new pair based on looks alone.

First, be sure you are looking for the right sneakers for the right activity. And yes, it does matter. A shoe made for running is very different from a shoe made for basketball or tennis, in a number of ways. Think about the way you move when you run – always forward right? Now think about tennis, or basketball or even soccer- you move sideways just as often as you move forward. This small detail changes the placement of extra support when a shoe is designed.

Those examples may seem obvious, but even walking shoes are different than running shoes. Runners land more on their forefoot when they strike the ground, while walkers have a heavier heel strike. Something this simple changes where extra padding is built into a shoe. If you are a walker who sometimes adds jogging or running to the mix, go with the runner as you need the extra padding more for the higher impact involved in the running motion.

What if you aren’t heavily into running, walking, tennis, or any one particular sport? What if you go to the gym occasionally, maybe play tennis with a co-worker once in a while, or shoot hoops on the weekend with the kids? For you, a cross-trainer might be the best choice.

Next step is to make sure the shoe truly fits. I know it seems obvious, but many of us have been walking around in shoes that are either too tight or way too big for most of our lives. Take the extra few minutes to get both of your feet measured the next time you buy shoes. It won’t take long, and the right fit will make a huge difference.

Regardless of what type of shoe you end up with, dedicate those shoes to working out only. By using your workout shoes as your everyday shoes, you will break them down much faster and the benefit you have gained form choosing the right shoe will soon be lost.

Keep in mind that even if you dedicate your shoes to a specific purpose, they will need to be replaced eventually. Most experts recommend that runners replace their shoes every 300-500 miles. If you don’t run enough to have a mile count, base the life of your shoes on the frequency with which you work out. If you’re exercising on a casual basis, you can make your shoes last a year, but if you’re working out at least 5 days each week, six months is pretty much your limit.

... By Karli Taylor

As the snow melts away and the sun begins to shine for a few more hours every day, the runners and walkers start to emerge onto the roads and let the dust start to pile up on treadmills in basements and gyms everywhere. If you are an outdoor enthusiast who has been inside for the past few months, there are some things that you have to keep in mind as you venture out onto the concrete.

Believe it or not, running or walking outside is HARDER!! Running on a treadmill is somewhat easier physically because the ground is being pulled underneath your feet and there's no wind resistance. Keeping that in mind, count on it taking about 5% longer to cover the same distance the first few times you hit the road.

Remember that the terrain on a treadmill never changes. Though you can increase or decrease the incline at will when running inside, the changes are under your control. Though you can pick a route that is fairly flat, keep in mind that there are always slight ups and downs on any road that can break your stride.

When running on roads instead of sidewalks, try to stay a foot from the edge of the road when there is no traffic as most roads are pitched slightly for drainage. Running on this sideways incline can beat up your shins and your feet, so if you run only on highly trafficked roads, try doing some track or trail run to give them a break every once in a while.

The last thing to keep in mind is pacing. It may take you a few runs to remember how to pace yourself. It’s easy to set a pace on the treadmill and stick to it, but with all of the variables that we have mentioned already, pacing can become very difficult. It’s better to start out at a pace that feels a bit easy, and if you are almost finished and you feel good, pick it up through the finish!

... by Karli Taylor

Let's talk about stretching. Why do we stretch? Some people think that it will prevent injury. Some people think it will prevent soreness. What if I were to tell you that the only thing stretching does is make you more flexible? Yup- that's it. So if you participate in a sport that requires flexibility- like gymnastics or even golf, then stretching will help your performance. But runners, skiers, baseball players- unless you are tight or imbalanced, stretching will not help your game.

Now Stretching does have its place- I don't want to be known as the anti-stretch trainer. If you are recovering from an injury, you should surely stretch. Why? Put simply, a healing muscle tends to be tighter than a normally functioning muscle, and like I mentioned earlier, if you are tight- STRETCH!

But when should you stretch? Every time I go to a race or a sporting event I see people lined up before the start stretching. I want to grab a microphone and scream at everyone! Stretching before an event will make you weaker. It will loosen up a muscle that is about to produce power- not a good thing. Think about a rubber band. When will a rubber band give the hardest snap back? When it is new or when it has been stretched out a few times? Make sense?

Before any event, warm up by moving dynamically. A dynamic warm-up is not a mile jog or walking a bit before the start. It consists of a series of exaggerated motions that take all of the joints about to be used through their full range of motion. Unlike stretching, dynamic warm ups do not require that you hold any one position for more than a second or two. For example, before a run take 10 or 15 steps each time lifting one knee up and pulling it into your chest. Turn around and walk back kicking your straight leg out in front of you each step. Follow that up by walking with a butt kick. Doing these 3 simple warm-up drills will prepare your body for the stress of hip flexion, knee flexion, hip extension and knee extension- the primary joint actions used while running or walking!

Static stretching, or holding a stretch for 30 seconds, comes after you run or work out. Can you ever stretch during a workout? Again, if something becomes very tight- go for it. Or, in the case of weight lifting, stretching the opposing muscle to that which you are training will actually make you stronger! Try it if you don't believe me. The next time you are weight training, stretch your biceps in between sets of a tricep exercise, or your quads in between sets of a hamstring exercise. Let me know what happens!

... by Karli Taylor

Shin Splints, or pain in the front of your lower leg, can creep up on you when you start building mileage. First things first- if you are running on a treadmill, make sure that you have the incline set to at least 1.0. For some reason, all treadmills are set up so that 0.0 incline is actually downhill! This will put undue stress on your shins and knees when mileage starts to get up past 2 miles.

If you are an outside runner, shin splints will occur if you have weakness in the front of your lower leg (tibialis) or tightness in the back of your lower leg(calves). To prevent this annoyance, make sure that you stretch your calves after every run, and on off days try the following exercises to strengthen your shins:

1. Sit on the edge of a chair and tap your toes on the floor with your heels planted- tap hard to create stress. Sounds simple, but it will prepare your shins for the stress of running.
2. If you have a resistance band of some kind, sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you, loop the band around your feet and point your toes while pulling back on the band. Point and flex 20-25 times then rest.

Another thing that may be contributing to your shin pain is your foot strike while you run. Focus on striking the ground with the balls of your feet instead of your toes. Toe-running will tighten your calves right up, and tight calves lead to weak shins!

Ladies- if you wear high heels all day long, do NOT come home and run right away. Give yourself some transition time to get used to your sneakers. Going straight from high heels to pavement pounding will put those shins at risk.

Any other pains creeping up on you as? Let me know and I'll try to help you fix it!

... By Karli Taylor

I hope you are sitting down for this one: After the age of 20, if you do not add activity to your day or cut calories, you will gain approximately one pound each year.

Now that I’ve gotten your attention, what if I told you that you don’t have to do anything drastic to keep that weight from creeping up on you? Feel better? Keep reading.

If you walked an average of 150 extra steps every single day, you will avoid that weight gain. That is the equivalent of walking for 3 minutes that you would normally be sitting. You can accomplish this simply by pacing your office or home while on the phone or parking a little bit further away from the front door or your office or grocery store.

Can’t find extra time during your average day to sneak in a few steps? You can accomplish the same thing by going to the gym for 30 minutes 10 times a year- yes- a year!

Now, let’s say you don’t just want to maintain your weight, but you’d like to lose a pound every year as you age. All you have to do is double those numbers and enjoy the benefits of virtually reversing the aging process!

The bottom line is simple: weight gain happens slowly over time. SO slowly, that sometimes we don’t see it until it’s too late and we have gained 20-30 pounds. Start being conscious of the amount of activity you do each day, and this sneaky weight gain will never impact your lifestyle!

Depression and Exercise ... by Karli Taylor

Weight loss, disease prevention and athletic performance enhancement- all things we think of as reasons to exercise. All of these things, however, are physical manifestations of the benefits of exercise. What about the mental or emotional side of things? What about exercise as treatment for depression?

Research has shown that physical activity may be effective in improving mood for clinically depressed and non-depressed individuals alike. How?

For example, high intensity exercise, such as, running or cycling, is typically perceived as a means for people to deal with bottled up emotions. Anyone who has ever held a job, attended school, or has been involved in relationships with others can attest to the release of bottled up emotions or “cathartic” effect of running or cycling on significantly decreasing anger, tension and stress.

Is this the result of a hormone release? Some type of "endorphin high"? Studies show mixed results. Behavior theorists would claim that exercise leads to improved mood states because of the higher incidence and opportunity for positive reinforcement. People who exercise may receive more compliments on their appearance or high energy level.

Regardless of the reason, positive and significant correlation exists between an increased intensity of training with a reduction in depression. Sounds like a good enough reason to me!