As we prepare for summertime activities, we typically are focused on achieving a strong, fit and healthy body. In honor of National Stroke Awareness Month this month, elevate your body’s fitness to new levels by focusing on the importance of maintaining a brain healthy lifestyle, while understanding the risk levels and signs of a stroke.

According to the American Stroke Association (ASA), a stroke is a “brain attack,” as opposed to the most commonly known “heart attack,” that affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When this happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die. While heredity can play a big part in the risk factors associated with stroke, lifestyle choices and patterns can be leading contributors to reducing the risk of this life threatening disease.¹

Three Important Factors to Lowering Stroke Risk

• High Blood Pressure: High blood pressure is the leading cause of stroke and the most important controllable risk factor. According to industry research, there is a 55 percent increase in your stroke risk if you have prehypertension, which is blood pressure levels of 120 to 139 or 80-89 diastolic.² Living a healthy lifestyle that can help to lower blood pressure levels includes exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, limiting alcohol intake, avoiding tobacco, reducing caffeine consumption, reducing stress, reaching out to family/friends for ongoing support, and visiting your doctor regularly.³ 
• Healthy Diet: The way you feed your body not only contributes greatly to your body’s overall health and fitness, but also works to lower your risk of heart and brain disease. Research suggests that low fat, low cholesterol diets that include dark vegetables and fruits, which contain antioxidants, may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. In general, dark-skinned fruits and vegetables (kale, spinach, brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, beets, red bell pepper, onion, corn and eggplant, prunes, raisins, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, oranges, red grapes and cherries) have the highest levels of naturally occurring antioxidant levels. Cold water fish contain beneficial omega-3 fatty acids (halibut, mackerel, salmon, trout and tuna) and some nuts (almonds, pecans and walnuts) are a good source of vitamin E antioxidants.⁴ 
• Physically Fit Lifestyle: Constant, regular physical activity is the cornerstone to a fit body, healthy heart and strong brain. Physical activity 3-4 times a week in 45-60 minute increments is important for maintaining good blood flow throughout the body and to the brain, encouraging the growth of new brain cells, and significantly lowering the risk of heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. The personal trainers at Fitness Together can help you put an individual or small group workout plan in action to help you elevate your health and fitness goals, while reducing your risk of brain and heart disease.

Know the Risks to Act FAST

The ASA reports that the chance of having a stroke approximately doubles for each decade of life after 55; however, the risk of stroke can affect anyone at any age. It is essential to know the signs of stroke so that you can act quickly if you or a loved one is showing any of the following signs. Time is of the essence when it comes to strokes.

The ASA has released a new stroke detection method called FAST, which stands for the four items to check in a suspected stroke victim – Face, Arms, Speech, and Time. Specific stroke warning signs include:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body. Ask them to smile and raise an arm. If the face droops or looks crooked and/or if a raised arm droops down, then these are signs of a stroke.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding. Ask them to repeat a simple sentence like, “The sky is blue.” If they slur their speech or sound different, then this could be a sign of stroke.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. Ask them to read a sign a short distance away with each eye. If they have difficulty making out words or letters that they normally can see, this could be a sign of stroke.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

By living a lifestyle that includes healthy food, fitness and awareness, you are equipping yourself with the tools to reduce the risk of disease and prepare yourself for identifying the signs of stroke for yourself and your family. Certified personal trainers at Fitness Together are available today to help you get started on living a heart and brain healthy lifestyle that focuses on consistent exercise and healthy eating. Call 888-YOUR-GOAL to contact your local Fitness Together studio and  begin one-on-one personal training or group PACK training focused on a healthy you. Click here for more info.

Sources

¹ American Stroke Association

² Neurology

³ Mayo Clinic

⁴ Alzheimer’s Association

With the countdown to summer in full swing, it’s time to start focusing on a total body health and fitness routine. Whether struggling to shed the last few winter pounds, maintaining weekend warrior fitness levels or competing as an endurance athlete, everyone can benefit from a fit, healthy lifestyle built around brain wellness, body fitness and belly health.

This month is the perfect time to start putting in the work to achieving overall health and fitness with National Public Health Week (April 2-8) and World Health Day (April 7) leading the way to a healthier society. As the theme for National Health Week states, “A Healthier America Begins Today: Join the Movement!”1 It is time to put all excuses and distractions behind you, as today is the day to start moving toward a healthy lifestyle that will lead to positive mental, physical and overall well-being results. Let’s get started!

Brain Wellness
A healthy brain and a healthy body work hand-in-hand to achieve overall fitness and well-being. A happy mind and happy body are derived from a healthy fitness routine that is focused on keeping you motivated, pushing you to do better and helping you reach goals you never thought were possible. Consistent fitness routines, especially in a small group setting, not only help release feel good endorphins in your body that support a healthy lifestyle, but working out with friends/peers also can serve as a mind and body therapy session for sweating out negative attitudes, while building total body endurance and strength. A study in the Journal of Sports Sciences even found that focusing on a team or group’s strengths instead of your own can improve your body’s performance levels because working out in a group may ease your brain’s performance anxiety so you can relax, focus and reach your health and fitness goals.

Body Fitness
April is the perfect time to get your fit on by switching up your routine and combining a mix of cardiovascular and strength training exercises. If you have spent the winter months stuck within the walls of a gym, it can be good for your body and mind to take your workouts outside as the weather gets warmer and the sun shines longer. Instead of logging endless miles on the treadmill, hop on a neighborhood track for a quick interval sprint workout or dust off your bike for some strenuous cycling workouts.
It also is important to not get stuck in a time rut by making sure that your fitness routine is burning calories and boosting your metabolism without draining the clock. A fast-paced, interval workout that incorporates short bursts of explosive cardio and strength exercises will not only cut your workout time in half, but it can be more effective for feeling your best, looking your best and performing better than you ever thought possible.

Belly Health
Americans’ mid-sections are not getting smaller, on the average, and the size of your belly can be a good indication of the state of your body’s health and wellness. To achieve a healthy lifestyle, it is important to focus on your body’s core, as a healthy core can lead to healthy cardiovascular systems, digestive functions and strong muscular structures. Busting out hundreds of sit ups, though, may not be the best approach to achieving a healthy middle section. Shedding an extra layer of belly bulge takes a two-prong approach of exercise and nutrition.

While sit ups can be a part of your core workout, it is important to focus on toning all of your abdominal muscles for the best results. Effective total body exercises that work the core can include planks (elbow, hand, side), knee/leg lifting exercises and standing on a balance ball when doing your regular strength training exercises. On the food front, a healthy eating routine should include cooking more meals at home, focusing on whole, nutrient-dense foods without extra additives/preservatives/chemicals, watching portion control and drinking adequate amounts of water. A healthy belly not only leads to a reduced risk of disease, but it also supports a more confident, energetic lifestyle.

Ready to Kick Start a Healthy Summer Body?  

With only 12 weeks left until summer, it is time to get your body and mind in shape for optimal summertime fun and activities in the sun. By focusing on brain wellness, body fitness and belly health, you will have your body summer-ready in no time!

The experts at Fitness Together can work with you in one-on-one personal training or small group PACK training sessions to help you establish a healthy lifestyle that prepares you to look better, feel better and perform better this summer. Give our studio a call today to kick start your healthy, fit lifestyle!

________________________

1 American Public Health Association, www.nphw.org.

2 Men’s Health, Cardio Bulletin, March 2012.

As the April 17 tax deadline nears, do you find yourself looking under couch cushions, going through office files and combing through bank statements in hopes of finding any last minute receipts or tax deductions that you may have overlooked? Well, you may not need to look any further, as good tax news may be found around the corner at your local personal training studio.

Does finding tax relief while working out sound too good to be true?  Surprisingly, you may be able to financially benefit from your personal training by deducting the session costs on your tax returns this year. According to the Internal Revenue Service, there are certain medical expenses that can be deducted on your tax returns, which may include personal training, in some instances.

Personal Training Tax Basics 101

While it is always recommended to consult your trusted financial advisor to confirm any tax deductions, it is important to take note that it may be possible for you to deduct part of the costs of your personal training as a qualified medical expense under the IRS tax code.

Interested in Receiving More Detailed Information?

If you think you may be eligible to start deducting your personal training sessions on your tax returns this year, contact your local Fitness Together studio (888-YOUR-GOAL) today to learn more. Fitness Together is here to help support your efforts to qualify for this deduction and to help you reap the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and tax relief this season.

Click here to download the free report: PERSONAL TRAINING MAY BE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

By:  Janet Bond Brill, PhD, RD, LDN                          

Had a little too much comfort and joy this past holiday season? Maybe you’ve put on a few pounds around the middle? The summer bathing suit season is just around the corner, so now is the time to do what it takes to get rid of that holiday pooch once and for all!

Why do some of us gain weight around the middle and others not?

Where you tend to store body fat is related primarily to your genetic disposition. If you have an excessive amount of body fat, and heredity dictates storage around the middle, then unfortunately you will gain fat in the abdominal area. That said, many women notice abdominal weight gain when they go through menopause. This is because hormonal shifts can change the way the body breaks down and stores fat—hence a redistribution of body fat and the tendency for it to accumulate in the belly as women grow older. This tendency is particularly unhealthy, as excessive abdominal fat, especially the deep abdominal fat—called visceral fat—increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.

What really works to get rid of stubborn belly fat?

The good news in the battle of belly bulge is that there are three scientifically proven lifestyle changes you CAN make that when combined together are the best way to attack that fat around the middle and flatten your belly.

Three Tips for a Flat Stomach:

1. Eat a nutritious, calorie-controlled diet. Excess body fat, whether it’s in the stomach or the thighs, is the result of routinely consuming more calories than you expend. Now is the time to change those unhealthy eating habits. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and good fats. Eat breakfast, don’t skip meals, drink lots of calorie-free liquid, and eat small, frequent, lighter meals at home. Watch your portion sizes and calculate your daily calorie intake to ensure you’re eating the right amount to lose body fat at a safe rate.
2. Daily cardio exercise. Calorie-burning cardio exercise is one of the best ways to target stubborn belly fat. This is because stomach fat is more metabolically active and when you exercise, you target that area for fuel. What’s more, when you burn those calories up, you reduce your percentage of body fat, thereby shrinking those belly fat cells. This will allow you to see those abdominal muscles you’ve worked so hard in the gym to define.

You can achieve your health and fitness goals with the help of Fitness Together. Fitness Together offers both one-on-one and small group sessions with experienced personal trainers who will develop an abdominal workout program tailored to your needs and goals. An important part of their program is Nutrition Together, which provides nutritional counseling to complement your workouts. Let Fitness Together and Nutrition Together help you flatten your belly once and for all! To find the Fitness Together studio nearest you, visit www.fitnesstogether.net.

Spring is in the air bringing changes to weather, wardrobes and waistlines. With the holidays and cold weather months behind you and plans for spring break trips, pool time lounging and outdoor activities in the near future, this is the perfect time to focus on healthy eating.

In light of National Nutrition Month, now is the time to shake off the winter doldrums and make the transition to healthier eating habits. Here are five nutrition tips and tricks to help you “spring” into action and transform your eating habits, one step at a time.

Nutrition Tip 1: Don’t Do It Alone

The most important step to successfully transitioning to healthier eating is to establish a strong network of support in preparation for your journey. Breaking old habits and making healthier lifestyle changes is a difficult task, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. By enlisting support from family, friends and a health and fitness professional, you will get started on the right path to continued nutrition success. A nutrition specialist can help you evaluate your goals and set a plan in motion, one that is smart – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely – to your particular lifestyle.

Nutrition Tip 2: You Bite It, You Write It

The simple act of writing down and keeping track of all food or beverages that enter your mouth will increase awareness of the amount and variety of foods you eat each day. Keeping an Accountability Food Journal is the best tool available to help increase your consciousness regarding the foods you eat. A journal also enables you to analyze the circumstances that contribute to making less healthy food choices. Journaling should be as specific as possible and include the date, time, amount of food, situation and hunger level. Your journal will not only help you keep track of your daily food consumption, but also serve as an insightful follow up tool to share with your nutrition professional. The information in your journal will enable your nutritionist to identify which foods are working for you, as well as which foods and circumstances are barriers that may be getting in the way of attaining your healthy eating goals.

Nutrition Tip 3: Take Baby Steps

Few people are successful with major lifestyle changes when they dive in head first. The best strategy to achieve major goals in life is to break the goal down into small doable steps. For instance, if your goal is to improve your eating habits and you have a problem eating too much high fat, high calorie fast food (and you truly enjoy the food), then it would probably not be realistic to cut it out completely. Instead, you would work with your nutrition consultant to come up with a better plan, one that is doable for you such as cutting back on fast food consumption or even choosing healthier fare at fast food restaurants. Rome was not built in one day and neither should your transition to healthier eating.

Nutrition Tip 4: Focus on the Positive

Some people equate healthy eating with deprivation and eliminating favorite foods from your diet. To keep your nutrition transition from stalling before you take the first step, give yourself the gift of positive thinking and keep your momentum toward healthy eating moving strong. Instead of putting the sole focus on eliminating foods from your day, switch your mindset to a more positive approach…what healthy foods can you add into your day? For example, if you want to cut back on your red meat consumption, perhaps commit to eating a vegetarian dinner on Mondays (Meatless Mondays); or reserve one day a week dedicated to trying different kinds of fish from around the world (Fish Fridays). Have fun with it and make your journey to healthy eating an adventure.

Tip 5: Break it Down

A marathon (26.2 miles) is run one step at a time. Many people fail in making the transition to a healthier lifestyle when they take the all or nothing approach. The key to successfully making this transition is to work with your support team to embrace the opportunities, work through the challenges and learn from your mistakes during each step of the journey. By breaking your nutrition transition plan down into one step, one meal and one day at a time, you will cross that finish line healthier and happier.

Fitness Together

Do some spring cleaning by starting now to make a healthy nutrition transition. Start off on the right foot for your healthy eating journey by contacting your local Fitness Together nutrition professional today. With Fitness Together’s Nutrition Together program, you will receive all the help and support you need including a detailed roadmap to eating healthy, eating light and eating often—in tandem with your exercise routine. Let Fitness Together support you as you take the right steps to “spring” into action! Call 888-YOUR-GOAL today.

Convinced you “can’t” run a marathon, or sprint at level 10 on that treadmill? … Are you sure about that?

Even if you have a physical challenge or condition that limits you in some way, most of us also create false boundaries for ourselves — “no-can-do’s” that are only in our heads. And more and more studies are showing that the thing you think you can’t do just might be the one thing you MUST do to light a fire under your workout results.

Breaking through these false limits can also lead you to be more consistent about your workout regimen.

“Intensity is by far the most important factor affecting increases in, and maintenance of, cardio fitness,” notes Jeffrey M. Janot, PhD, technical editor of the IDEA Fitness Journal. “Although we do not know the exact level of intensity that provides optimal health and fitness benefits, we know the optimal range and that it is directly related to exercise program adherence. You may not enjoy an exercise program if you get sore or injured because the intensity is too high. On the other hand, you can grow bored with a program if intensity is below the optimal range and you aren’t improving.”

Why push your limits in your workout regimen?

The body is wired to adapt to routine. Once your body gets used to a routine of walking 2 miles a day, for example, you’ll likely see less or slower weight loss than when you first began that routine. Extensive research has shown that to keep seeing results from an exercise routine, it’s essential to continually include intervals of higher stress and demand on the muscles and cardiovascular system.

Many people work out only hard enough to maintain their existing weight and physique. Going outside your comfort zone includes adding some intense workout challenges to build muscle and get stronger, faster, leaner. That doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon or work out 6 hours a day to lose weight or reach your goals. The point is to keep adding new challenges and different ways of pushing past your limits for speed, distance, weight you can heft, etc.

Why don’t more people go “outside the lines” with their workouts?

Challenging yourself is uncomfortable by nature. It’s normal to feel a sense of fear or angst when you think about pushing beyond the places where you usually stop, ease up, or take a break. Common fears include whether you can handle an intense “burn” in your muscles and not get injured; or feeling embarrassed about getting out of breath, or even sweating more than you’re used to.

Can a personal trainer help you break through that fear — without yelling at you?

Yes! A great personal trainer should confidently instill in you the belief that you can do this.

“We know they can, even though you might not know it yet,” says my friend Russ Yeager, owner of Fitness Together in Atlanta. “The empowerment our clients gain once they actually do it is awesome. We recently helped a client who at first could barely get through a workout and was very self-conscious. She’s now lost 50 pounds and did a 3.5 mile hike with a straight-up climb at the end!”

You or your personal trainer can determine your optimal cardio exercise intensity range via a number of methods including percent of maximum heart rate, the “talk test,” or rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Whether you’re training for a triathlon, hitting a weight loss plateau or ready to give up on ever having toned upper arms, one-on-one training can help you go where your mind has never let you go before.

PS. Call 888-YOUR-GOAL or go to www.fitnesstogether.net to get started today.

Heart candies, heart shaped valentines and chocolate hearts are everywhere this time of year, but the heart that should be getting your undivided attention everyday is the one in your chest that works 24/7 to power your body and fuel your internal system. As the powerhouse of your body, the heart needs to run in tip-top shape for overall health and fitness. To celebrate National Heart Month this February, give your heart and body the gift of longevity and health by starting a heart healthy fitness regimen that focuses on metabolic cardiovascular exercises and combines muscle pumping strength workouts with healthy nutrition choices.

Feel the Love with High Intensity, Heart Healthy Cardio

A strong heart drives a healthy body and metabolic cardiovascular training is the key to not only living a heart healthy lifestyle, but also to feel better, look better and perform better throughout your life. Although nutrition and strength training are important elements to physical fitness, you can’t rely solely on one or the other to achieve overall health and fitness well-being. A recent study from Duke University found that when compared with strength training alone, cardio exercise is the most efficient and effective way to lose the belly fat located deep within the abdominal cavity, which is the kind of fat that is the most damaging to your health and heart. Specifically, aerobic training burned 67 percent more calories in the study when compared to strength/resistance training.1

The first step to a healthy you is establishing a strong cardiovascular foundation to jumpstart your body’s metabolism, increase stamina and energize your body’s cells by pumping oxygen rich blood throughout your body.  This leads to not only burning away excess fat, but lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, and reducing the risk of heart attack and cardiovascular disease. Studies show that high intensity metabolic training in particular is a leading force to reducing heart attack risk and improving physical fitness. In fact, a recent study from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) found that three hours per week of vigorous exercise can cut a man’s risk of heart attack by 22 percent.2 High intensity cardio exercises can range from wind sprints to moving jump squats and plyometrics.

Make Time for Heart Pumping Workouts

While cardio training is king to heart healthy fitness, strength training is an integral counterpart to attaining optimal health and fitness. Strength/resistance exercise allows for developing and maintaining muscular fitness, strength and lean body mass gains, as well as strengthening of connective tissues, increased bone mass and metabolic rate.

Heart healthy exercises that fuel your body with lasting benefits long after you’ve left the gym don’t have to eat up your entire day. As little as 15 minutes a day of metabolic cardio training, combined with 15 minutes of strength intervals, may be all you need. According to industry studies, 15 minutes of total body resistance training can elevate your resting energy and boost metabolism by 6 percent for up to 72 hours,3 and those who added intervals into their fitness routines for two weeks burned 36 percent more fat than those who stuck with traditional exercise routines.4 A 45-minute interval circuit workout that combines a handful of high impact cardio exercises, such as box squat jumps, mountain climbers and burpees, with total body strength exercises, such as weighted lunges with bicep curls and wall sits with shoulder presses, can quickly and effectively build your heart and body’s strength and endurance.

Active Lifestyle, Active Heart

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), seven out of ten Americans don’t get enough physical activity on a daily basis. In today’s fast-paced, over scheduled world, carving out time for physical activity can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be if you focus on adding cardio elements into your workouts, as well as your everyday activities. The AHA recommend that healthy adults under the age of 65 engage in moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week or vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, three times a week; paired with strength training exercises.5

Working out regularly with a professional trainer one-on-one or in a small group setting is a critical component to keeping your heart healthy and strong, but complementing your regularly scheduled total body workouts with cardio activities throughout your day also helps to promote a healthy and active lifestyle. The following simple tips will help you get a move on and add heart healthy activities into your daily lifestyle.

• Instead of wasting time searching for the closest parking spot, pull into the furthest spot away from the door and enjoy the extra walk to the building.
• Use the stairs at work and for appointments instead of the elevator.
• Walk or bike your kids to school and use two wheels (or feet) instead of your car when running neighborhood errands.
• Take a 10-minute activity break at work to stretch or take a quick walk.
• Walk to visit co-workers instead of sending an e-mail message.
• Instead of sedentary nights out to the movie theater, take your spouse or friends out for a night of dancing.

Heart Healthy Nutrition

 You will look better, feel better and perform better mentally and physically if you fuel your body with foods that are nutrient rich and support a strong cardiovascular system. Foods that enhance cardiovascular health can include Mediterranean type foods such as lean proteins, olive oils, dark leafy greens for a strong heart and blood vessels, whole grains and fiber such as oatmeal and brown rice. Researchers also have found evidence that the high levels of antioxidants found in spices with bold flavors such as cinnamon, rosemary, oregano, black pepper and garlic powder can reduce fat levels in your blood linked to heart problems by 30 percent.6

A healthy body and a healthy you start with a healthy heart. Adopting healthy lifestyle habits such as cardio exercises, strength conditioning and healthy eating will not only strengthen your body’s heart and lower your risk of disease, but it also will help you live your life looking, feeling and performing better. Certified personal trainers at Fitness Together are available today to help you get started on living a heart healthy lifestyle. Contact your local Fitness Together studio at 888-YOUR-GOAL to begin one-on-one personal training or group PACK training focused on a healthy heart and a healthy you.

Sources:

1 Duke University Medical Center, The Effects of Aerobic versus Resistance Training on Visceral and Liver Fat Stores, Liver Enzymes and HOMA from STRRIDE AT/RT: A Randomized Trial”, AJP, Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2011.

2American College of Sports Medicine, “Vigorous Physical Activity, Mediating Biomarkers, and Risk of Myocardial Infarction,” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, October 2011.

3European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011.

4 Journal of Applied Physiology, “Two weeks of high-intensity aerobic interval training increases the capacity for fat oxidation during exercise in women,” April 2007.

5American Heart Association, www.heart.org.

6 Pennsylvania State University, “A High Antioxidant Spice Blend Attenuates Postprandial Insulin and Triglyceride Responses and Increases Some Plasma Measures of Antioxidant Activity in Healthy, Overweight Menhttp://jn.nutrition.org/content/early/2011/06/22/jn.111.138966.abstract?cited-by=yes&legid=nutrition;jn.111.138966v1 – fn-1#fn-1,” The Journal of Nutrition, 2011.

The fitness industry is one of the fastest growing industries today. And it has continued to be over the last 20+ years. Americans are heavier, less fit, and unhealthier more than ever. Thus giving rise to a myriad of fitness, nutrition, and weight loss solutions. Some good. Some not so good.

The American College of Sports Medicine released it’s survey results for the top fitness trends of 2012.

I listed a few of the top 20 here with my comments.

Educated and experienced fitness professionals.
This trend will never fade. Trainers aren’t looked upon just for the Hollywood elite anymore. Trainers are for everyone. Just as plumbers, accountants, and dentists are too. Smart people seek solutions to their problems from experts.

Strength training.
Jack LaLanne and Au-nold helped introduce this to the American landscape. It’s changed a bit but the foundation is still the same.

Fitness programs for older adults.
Research shows baby boomers to have made more income leaps than any other generation before. You can retire with all the money in the world, but if you can’t enjoy the fruits of it then what’s the use? And you don’t take any of that money with you when you die. Think about it… if you’ve managed to create financial independence then you
want to travel, be active and get out and do things. Your health and fitness is vital for that.

Exercise and weight loss.
As I’ve said before, you can’t outwork a bad diet. You need both diet AND exercise to lose weight – that’s why Nutrition Together combined with our 1:1 or PACK training is so effective.

Children and obesity.
I’ve talked about this many times before. And my conversations with our clients that are pediatricians only bring home this problem even more. This problem continues to grow (no pun intended) and must be addressed. Consider a family PACK session, where your entire family can get fit together.

Core training.
With the majority of Americans suffering from back pain this is a BIG area of emphasis for us. We sit in front of a computer all day, are less active day to day, and have bigger waistlines. All of these contribute to poor core strength, bad posture, and back pain. It can be one of the easiest fixes… IF it’s done correctly.

Group personal training.
We realized this trend and is the very reason why we launched our Small Group Personal Training program with huge success last month. The same components of our traditional one-on-one programs, but with the energy, fun, and SAVINGS of a small group.

Functional fitness.
This type of training has exploded over the past few years. It’s seeped its way into all areas of fitness. Functional training is ideal for the golfer wanting to improve his stroke to the stay at home mom wanting strength and mobility to carry kids and groceries.

ACSM lists these as trends, but some will NEVER die.  Any successful fitness program should consist of strength training, cardio training, and nutrition. Versions and modifications of these will come and go. But the foundation will never change. Real lasting results come from those three. Our proprietary systems work in harmony, utilizing the most current science for a complete fitness solution:

• Aspire 8 resistance training program utilizes personal assessments, functional cross-muscular training approaches, and periodization techniques to change things up for continued results.*
• Cardio Together offers a customized cardio prescription that combines fartlek, interval, and tempo workouts with a focus on exercise frequency, intensity, duration and progression to achieve maximum results.*
• Nutrition Together offers an educational and accountability framework to improve your eating lifestyle. By eating the right foods, the right portions and the right frequency, along with our other programs the results are truly amazing.*

Find out more about the complete solution at www.fitnesstogether.net

Success breeds success. What exactly, in terms of lifestyle changes, do people who have been highly successful at both losing weight and keeping it off over the long term do? That’s just what researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Colorado set out to determine when they began their on-going study called the National Weight Control Registry (www.nwcr.ws).

Currently, the registry contains over 5000 successful weight losers. To be eligible to become a member of the registry, one had to have lost over 30 pounds and kept it off for more than one year.

What the study found was that there is no magic to losing weight and keeping it off. The essential equation for success is the age-old motto: eat less calories and burn more through daily exercise and you will lose weight and keep it off! (And be sure to “get back on the horse” when life’s ups and downs get in the way of you maintaining your new healthy lifestyle habits.)

Here are the 10 habits of these successful weight losers:

1. 98 percent of registry participants reported that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight (translation: you must change your eating habits in some way to lose weight—meaning eating fewer calories).

2. Most registry members reporting consuming less high-fat-dense food groups and more low-fat-dense food groups resulting in a lower daily calorie intake and greater weight loss (translation: eat lighter [lower calorie] and healthier [lower “bad” fats, less fried foods and more fruits and vegetables]).

3. 94 percent of registry participants reported increasing their physical activity (translation: daily cardio such as walking or running in addition to frequent strength training sessions).

4. 90 percent reported exercising, on average, about one hour per day (translation: get in some daily cardio such as walking or running in addition to FT strength training sessions-preferably 3 times/week).

5. 78 percent reported eating breakfast daily (translation: eat breakfast…lose weight).

6. 75 percent of registry participants reported weighing themselves at least once a week (translation: weigh yourself weekly at FT with your NT consultant—regardless of what you think the number will read).

7. 62 percent watched TV less than 10 hours/week (translation: limit the tube time unless you have a treadmill in front of the TV).

8. 42% of the sample reported that maintaining their weight loss was less difficult than losing weight (translation: once you lose the weight, be sure to keep up with your new habits—which is the hardest part).

9. Nearly all registry members stated that weight loss led to improvements in their level of energy, physical mobility, general mood, self-confidence, and physical health (translation: losing weight and attaining your health and fitness goals will make you a happier person, so stick with it!).

10. For those who did regain weight, weight regain was due, at least in part, to failure to maintain behavior changes (translation: this is not a diet that you go on and off but a lifestyle …always remember to keep at it and get support to overcome lapses and avoid a full-blown relapse.

Call 888-YOUR-GOAL or go to www.fitnesstogether.net to talk with a Fitness Consultant and make a plan for achieving your goals.

Ever wonder why some people get great results from their workouts or their normal eating routine?  What makes them different?   How do they do it?  Usually it’s 1 or 2 simple habits.

All of us face two choices in life and it usually pertains to what we control and what we don’t. Sometimes in life, we have challenges beyond our control, yet we allow the challenges to influence the things we do have control over. When it comes to regular workouts and healthful eating, many people feel they have barriers, which prevent them from regular workouts.  These can be work, schedule, the need for more time with family, long commutes, and even boredom and fatigue. Some can’t be helped at all: personal injuries or illness, caring for elderly patients, feeding the teenagers each evening and there are many more. But barriers should not stop you from implementing positive changes to secure a long and healthy life.

What is a ‘fence sitter’? That is a person who only puts their foot halfway in the water, or half way to a commitment.  Well, now’s the first month of the year and time to make some positive changes to your lifestyle.

You can surely find 1-2 things that YOU DO CONTROL and attack those. Make them positive habits that you always think about. Then pick two more!  Before you know it you are on your way to a new you.

I knew a nurse who said that her challenge was eating cake at work. With 40 fellow staff members, seldom did a week go by without a cake or party celebrating a birthday, wedding anniversary or birth. What did she do? She found a few charities that the staff could get behind and at every party they decided to donate $1 in that person’s name instead of buying and eating cake. At the end of the year they had over $1000 for charity and celebrated an end to eating cake!

It’s hard to change your diet overnight, but you can form one or two new habits every month and change your life.   Try eating healthier tips such as these: ½ a sandwich instead of a whole at lunch. Swear off fried foods. No soda. One piece of fruit per day.  Cut-back or eliminate the alcoholic drinks.

Maybe you can’t workout every day, but an easy way to start is to find a buddy or co-worker and walk together at lunch.  Then make sure you go out every day.  If the weather’s bad – look for an indoor mall or other enclosed facility.  After you’re in the habit of going 5 days a week, carve out some time each Saturday when you take a walk.  Select a time of day (maybe first thing in the morning) when you don’t have conflicts or distractions and you know you can always get it done. Before you know it you’ll be out walking 6 days a week.  Then, find that special time for walking on Sunday.

There are indeed things that you can control in life that will make you healthier and ultimately happier.  Start with only 1-2 things that you can control and then go to work on them.  You’ll soon see your world change!

If you looking for someone to help keep you on track, visit www.fitnesstogether.net.