Best Fitness Blog

You are busy, and when you are busy you exercise less and don’t eat as well as you should. But the key to weight loss is burning more calories than you take in, but also eating healthy. You may think you eat fine, but if you take a few minutes to evaluate what you eat, you may start to notice some unhealthy habits. The first question that you should ask yourself is: What types of processed foods do you eat?

Processed foods have added fats and sugars to make them taste better, last longer and cook faster. This hidden extras add on the calories more quickly than most of us realize. Because of this, the typical American diet is loaded with sugar, fat, and sodium, often leading to high blood pressure, low energy, and poor digestion. The best way to reduce your risk for many diseases and health issues is to choose natural and minimally processed foods. Often called “eating clean”.

If you want to eat clean, you need to eat the least processed food with the most nutrients. How? No more fast foods, no more frozen food aisle at the grocery store, choose fresh vegetables and fruits over canned or frozen.

Choose foods that are low in fat, high in fiber, with essential vitamins and minerals. This will control blood sugar, give you more energy for exercise and give you the fiber that you need for better and healthy digestion.

Eating a less processed, healthy diet along with increased exercise can boost your metabolism and help you lose weight. Replacing fast foods and processed foods can help you eat less calories overall and increase the amount of fiber you eat. Additionally, high-fiber whole grains, vegetables, and fruits will help you feel fuller longer causing you to eat less. Did you know that people who eat an additional 14 grams of fiber a day eat 10% less throughout the day.?

Do you want to get in shape, take care of your body and change your appearance? Pilates is the way to do it. Most people regardless of age or abilities can benefit from Pilates. Pilates strengthens the core of your body which includes the muscles in the back, tummy and rear. Through strengthening the core of the body, you can achieve tremendous physical results, as well as increased mental health.

The muscles in your core affect your entire body, so with each pilates exercise you are working the entire body, not just one muscle group. Because of the nature of pilates exercises, through these work outs you will lengthen and de-compress the spine which increases your stability, and elongates your core muscles giving your body a longer and leaner appearance.

Just in time for spring feel your self confidence boost as you posture improved, your belly firms and your body lengthens. Because Pilates is a low impact workout, anyone can participate. Contact Best Fitness in your are to see how Pilates can benefit you.

During this month of valentine hearts and sweets, remember it is also Heart Awareness month. There is no better time to care for your heart than now, and this month gives you the perfect excuse to start.

Did you know that diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, all risk factors for heart disease, can be completely controlled by exercise? By changing your lifestyle through diet and exercise you give yourself the opportunity for a healthy and heart fit life as you age.

A sedentary lifestyle is the main cause for heart disease and cardiac arrest. Fortunately, it is completely under your control. Regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, has many benefits including strengthening your heart and cardiovascular system, strengthening your bones and lowering your blood pressure.

Exercise is the key to a healthy and happy life. But don’t be discouraged if you have never exercised regularly before. Small steps through walking, cycling, and fun group exercise classes are how you begin. But don’t put it off any longer, start now.

Is it time for you to start taking care of your heart? Don’t know where to start? Contact Best Fitness in your area to see how we can help.

So how did the New York Giants prepare for the Super Bowl? Yoga! The Giants have been hitting the mat all season with yoga teacher, Gwen Lawrence.

Gwen has been working with the Giants for eleven years and says, “These are pretty active, high intensity classes. We do a lot of long, deep holds, some vinyasa.... In-season, I come in on Mondays and do post-game restorative work with the players... I can’t just go in there and kick their butts and expect full-body participation.”

The routine changes week-to-week and varies according to position.

“You also have to take into account the different positions... An offensive lineman is obviously different than a receiver – the demands on their bodies are different – but there are basic moves that benefit any position.” Lawrence explains how yoga makes them better football players.

“My philosophy is, strength plus flexibility equals power on the field. Doing these moves not only keeps players less injury prone – because a tight, rigid body is more likely to crack and break – but they also translate into power. Think of it this way. You have a bow and arrow, and the bow string is strong and unbreakable, but if it’s too tight, you can only pull it back an inch and the arrow flops down on the ground. But when the string is flexible, you can pull it far back, and the arrow has more power.” Yoga also helps them mentally.

“We’re working on mental toughness, too. Sometimes you have players with pre-game anxiety, and the breathing techniques they learn in yoga can help them cope.” What's the players’ favorite post-game pose?

Pigeon!

Original article - MindBodyGreen

...By Karli Taylor

Many people are trying to lose weight, and we all know that diet and exercise is the way to do it. Of course burning more calories than you take in is the way to drop some pounds. But sometimes consuming more is better too. Consuming more water that is.

Everywhere you look there is a fad diet, or someone trying to sell you a cleanse book. Forget diet pills, fad diets and cleanses. There is an effective weight-loss aid that you already have: water. And we are not talking about vitamin waters, or flavored waters; just add more plain old water to your diet and rinse away the weight.

Do you want to lose weight? A recent study has shown that while cutting down on portions, and drinking two 8-ounce glasses of water before breakfast, lunch, and dinner may help you lose weight and keep it off for at least a year. This research was presented at the American Chemical Society, in Boston.
Adding water to your low-calorie weight-loss diet, and exercise plan can help you with weight-loss success.

The reason may be that drinking water before meals helps fill your stomach, making you less hungry and less likely to overeat. It has been determined that drinking water before meals encourages your body to lose weight. It could also be that drinking more water may discourage you from drinking soda and other high calorie drinks.

For more diet tips, and a custom designed exercise and weight loss plan, contact Best Fitness in your area.

...Travis Webb

The human muscle system is a continuous network of muscle throughout your entire body. There are muscles of different sizes, shapes and functions. All of which allowing us to move from place to place and perform daily functions. Your metabolism is greatly affected by how much muscle you have and how active you are being.

A simple way of thinking about how muscle works is this. Muscles are made up of cells, these cells need fuel to function. If you have a lot of fuel (body fat) in your body you need more muscle in order to burn that fuel. The more you move around, the more fuel the muscle cells need to keep you moving. Therefore the more muscle you have and the more you move the more fuel you will burn.

To gain muscle throughout your body evenly it’s important to develop a full body workout routine that can be performed throughout the week. Each muscle group should be worked on a regular basis to promote balance and even strength gains. This will also allow for more body fat reduction in problem areas such as your mid section. Weight training will help to promote muscle growth or maintenance. Cardio will ask your existing muscle to function more. Do your best to make a balance of both and you will see more results from your metabolism.

...By Travis Webb

One of the most important areas of your body is the core. Over time the fitness community has changed their focus of ab workouts to core workouts. This is mainly due to our growing understanding in how the core works. As our knowledge has grown we have also developed equipment to activate and utilize the core more efficiently such as the stability ball.

Your core wraps around your torso and includes a variety of muscles in your hips. One of the ideas behind sitting on a unstable surface, like a stability ball, is more muscles will be recruited to stabilize as you move. If your form is correct you can help stabilize your core in this fashion. Some of the benefits include reduced lower back pain, improved balance, increases in strength throughout the body, improved coordination and decreased susceptibility to injury.

You can use a stability ball in sit ups, pushups, squats as well as hundreds of other exercises ranging from beginner to expert. I’m frequently asked what size stability ball should be used and the answer is in how tall you are and what exercise you are looking to do. The size and density of a stability ball can vary from large to small and high density to low density. I’ve found a method to be standing next to the stability ball, if it is as high as your knee you are good to go!

It is hard to begin an exercise routine. But there is a way to start easy and get the results you need and want.  It should not have to be a huge effort to get exercise daily.

Brisk walking is the answer. It is great for your heart, it can help you lose weight and it is often the gateway to lead you to other exercises. The benefits of walking are immeasurable.
 
Every two hours of rigorous exercise adds one hour of life expectancy. How can you argue with that? When you walk in the winter, be sure to dress appropriately, layers of synthetic fabrics.

It is cold out, and surely that makes it challenging, with shorter, darker, and colder days and freezing temperatures, it is difficult to do exercise outside, so how are you going to walk?

Jump on a cardio machine like an elliptical or a treadmill, and enjoy some great music, great conversation or a great tv show. The hour will go by faster than you think.

The easiest way to begin exercising is to start walking. Start walking and live longer. Contact Best Fitness for information on the Best Fitness Gym near you.

...By Karli Taylor

Winter weight gain has always been a common complaint. It seems that every winter we add a few pounds, and we wonder why. It’s simple really, in the winter, people tend to hibernate- they eat more and move less. Did you know that thirty percent of people in the US don’t exercise at all in the winter?

Yes, it’s cold outside, but that does not give you a blanket excuse not to exercise. If you don’t like to work out indoors, outside exercise is still an option, you just need to keep some things in mind:

• Warm up a little longer than usual because the cold weather tends to tighten your muscles more than usual.
• Drink water, it is just as important to drink enough in the winter as it is in the summer, but you may not feel as thirsty.
• Dress in layers to keep you warmer. You can take off the top layer if you get too hot.

In the winter, we tend to eat more for comfort or out of boredom. To keep yourself on track, try keeping a food diary. Writing down what you eat everyday can be eye-opening. Most of us under-estimate the amount of calories we take in by at least 25%. You are also more likely to make healthy choices if you have to write them down and be reminded of what you actually ate! If you want comfort food, it doesn’t have to be high in calories. Have a bowl of home-made vegetable soup, or a casserole with lots of root vegetables.

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

How many times have you asked the question “How can I lose weight”?

Though the answer has evolved overtime as more and more research is done on weight loss, obesity and health, essentially the answer remains the same: what you eat and how much you exercise directly relate to your ability to lose weight and keep it off.

However, there have been changes and advances on those ideas. For instance, did you know you should eat 5 or 6 times a day depending on how long you are awake? Yes, it is true, five or six smaller, healthier, nutrition packed meals are better than 3 larger meals. Not only will this keep you from feeling hungry throughout the day, but it will also help to increase your metabolism.

How often you eat is only a piece of the puzzle, however. Make sure you are paying attention to WHAT you are eating as well. Though home cooked meals are always the best because they contain fewer fillers and additives, life often necessitates pre-packaged or pre-prepared meals. When you need to make a “bad choice”, making “better bad choices” involves checking labels to make sure you can pronounce all of the ingredients, asking for no sauce or light sauce, asking for items to be steamed or baked instead of fried and eating only half of the portion that you are served.

In addition to the food that you eat, exercise is a factor in weight loss. Put simply, you need to burn more calories than you consume. This does not need to be as daunting as it may seem. What do you like to do? Find something that you enjoy and invite your friends to join you which will help to keep you motivated. If you don’t like to exercise with others, find a good book to get engrossed in while you walk on the treadmill.

In order to lose weight, you will have to make changes to your lifestyle. Make changes slowly as not to overwhelm yourself. Use low fat or skim milk rather than whole, buy wheat bread rather than white, drink 3 more glasses of water a day, park farther from the store entrance. Sneaking these changes in to your life will make change easier on yourself.

Contact Best Fitness in your area for more information and ideas on how to change your lifestyle in order to lose weight.

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.