Best Fitness Blog

...By Karli Taylor

It is one thing to change your attitudes toward food and exercise when you are actively trying to lose weight, but those habits need to remain intact once the weight is off in order to maintain your weight loss. In short, permanent behavior change is necessary to effect long lasting physical change.

One of the best gifts you can give yourself whether you want to lose weight or not, is the gift of a personal trainer.

A personal trainer can create a program for you with your current fitness level and goals in mind. But more importantly, a personal trainer can help you stay motivated. Trainers provide education, support, and accountability. Just the fact that you have paid money for a personal trainer will help you keep your appointments.

Personal trainers will help you exercise at a level that is right for you, and can help push you to new levels. A good personal trainer can help you target the areas you want to work on and provide the right combination of machines, cardiovascular activity, and functional strength exercises for you.

Goals like building strength, improving posture, decreasing body fat, and staying fit, flexible and healthy are ones that can be capitalized on with a personal trainer. Clear goals keep you focused and moving steadily forward every day. Contact Best Fitness in your area to schedule personal training for weight loss.

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

As the temperature drops outside, more and more of us are bringing our workouts in from the cold. After walking, running or cycling outside for months, the unchanging scenery from the cardio deck can get boring pretty quickly. Don’t worry, there are quite a few ways to make exercising indoors more exciting until the snow melts next Spring.

If you exercise at home on a treadmill or other piece of equipment, try playing games with the timer. I know that countdown timer can seem daunting when you are stuck indoors, but if you use it creatively, it can make the time pass much more quickly.

The next time you get on that treadmill, walk at your normal pace for 5 minutes. Every 2 minutes thereafter, add one notch on the incline until it gets to its highest point. Since most treadmills have anywhere from 10-20 levels on incline, your whole workout could be complete by the time you reach the top! You do play a similar game with the resistance on a bike or an elliptical.

Speed intervals are also a good way to pass the time. You can use the time for this by speeding up for 30 seconds every 2 minutes, or for 2 minutes every 5. Another way to time intervals is with your iPod or your TV. If you watch TV while exercising, speed up for the commercials. If you listen to music, speed up every time the chorus plays. You get the idea, right?

If you belong to a gym that has group exercise classes, try a few of those. Feel embarrassed that you are uncoordinated or afraid that everyone else will be better at the activity that you are? Stay in the back of the room until you get comfortable or bring a friend who is also a novice. Once the music starts and you start to sweat, all of those worries will go away and the class will be over before you know it.

Finally, if you want to spice up your exercise routine, make an appointment with a fitness professional to learn something new. Challenging yourself to do something completely different will not only keep you from getting bored, it will also accelerate your fitness progress!

... 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!

... by Karli Taylor

Do you have trouble motivating yourself to get out of bed in the morning to get to the gym? Or maybe you say you’ll go on the way home from work, but somehow you get sidetracked?  Have you ever thought about arranging to meet a friend at the gym or the local track to work out together?

Experts say that pairing up with a work-out buddy  can make your workout easier to stick with and harder to miss.  Whether it's a running partner, a spotter in the gym, or a friend to break the ice with you and try that first yoga class, having a cohort not only makes you accountable, but can add a social element that many people lack in their busy days.

Though people do not typically start exercising for social reasons, it’s often the social factors that keep them working out. Stopping your evening gym time becomes more difficult when you have people there waiting for you.

The bond created between workout partners is strengthened due to shared goals and challenges.  It helps to have someone going through a similar experience- especially when the road is more difficult than you had originally thought.

Sound like a good idea, but you don’t know how to find a workout buddy?  If you don’t already have a pal in mind that has similar fitness goals, start taking group fitness classes at your gym.  Too shy to speak up to a stranger and ask them to work out with you? Tell the instructor what you’re looking for, he or she may have been asked by someone else already. 

Have a partner ready, but don’t know where to start? Set up a few sessions with a certified personal trainer to teach you how to exercise with each other and make the most of your time.  The trainer can give you exercises that you can do together and can teach you the proper way to spot each other when things get tough.

Regardless of how you choose to use the buddy system, the extra accountability, motivation and support will help you reach your fitness goals in an efficient and enjoyable way!

Personal Trainer Qualifications ... by Karli Tayor

Today's topic is all about me, well, all about people like me - personal trainers. There are so many out there it's often hard to separate that good from the bad.

A Personal Trainer, or Fitness Professional, should have a CURRENT certification from a nationally accredited organization. To get a complete list of these organizations, you can go to the National Commission for Certifying Agencies at www.noca.org. Keep in mind that an expired certification is the same as no certification at all.  Our industry changes every single day, and keeping a certification current is essential to the success of the client.
Never be afraid to ask your trainer to see a copy of his or her cert- they should be proud to show you!

The certification, though important, is only the beginning. Much like a driver’s license does not make us all good drivers, a certification does not necessarily make all of us good trainers. Ask for references, testimonials and watch the trainer with other clients.

Your trainer should motivate you the way you like to be motivated. For example, if don't like raised voices, you don't want a drill sergeant!! Make sure the trainer's schedule works for you- if you are a morning person and the trainer is only available after 5pm - stop there.

Ask the trainer about his or her experience working with people with goals similar to yours. Make sure that the trainer asks you about any medical conditions or injuries that you may have and that he or she is comfortable dealing with any limitations you may have.

If you are still not quite sure you are ready to take the plunge, ask the trainer for a test drive.  All of our trainers will be happy to put you through a full workout on their own time to show off their skills.  Though watching them work and asking questions is helpful, sometimes actually experiencing something will be the only way to truly know if it’s for you.  

Finally, once you start working out with your trainer, remember that the trainer works for you. If you are not comfortable with something- SPEAK UP.  He or she will have no problem adjusting a routine to make you feel more comfortable, but if you don’t like to sweat, there may be an issue!

When to eat ... by Karli Taylor

Being a fitness professional, I am always subject to other people's "secrets for success". I have heard so many weight loss gimmicks in the past ten years that I could write a book on debunking fitness myths- hmmm, not a bad idea....

Most of my favorite slim-down secrets involve odd eating practices. Have you ever heard someone say that their secret to staying thin is that they never eat after 6pm? Does that really work??

The old saying goes, “Breakfast for a king, lunch for a prince, dinner for pauper.” But do you need to eat less at night (i.e., after 6pm)? The simple answer is no, you don’t. Just make sure you don’t overeat at any of your mealtimes.

It’s hard to find any conclusive metabolic evidence that food eaten at night is more likely to be stored as body fat. Metabolism drops when you are sleeping, but that simply lowers your daily energy expenditure and its 24 hour energy balance (energy in versus energy out) that really matters for weight gain or loss. For fat loss, there appears to be no difference in success between eating the majority of your calories early in the day vs eating more in the evening, as long as total energy intake remains the same. Studies of people who eat the same number of daily calories with different meal timing in metabolic chambers fail to show a difference in metabolic rate between timing patterns.

Basically, it is not the timing of your last meal that may be impacting your waistline, but the amount of food we tend to eat late at night. Over consumption of carbohydrate or any food late in the day is the likely cause of weight gain related to nighttime eating. Think about it- when you sit down in front of the TV at night with a bag of chips, do you eat one serving? I know that I don't! For many of us, nighttime is the only time when we sit down for an extended period of time, and many of us use food to help us relax.

The lesson here is to watch your portion size no matter what time of day it is- and if you are hungry at 9pm, by all means, grab a snack! Being a fitness professional, I am always subject to other people's "secrets for success". I have heard so many weight loss gimmicks in the past ten years that I could write a book on debunking fitness myths- hmmm, not a bad idea. ... Most of my favorite slim-down secrets involve odd eating practices. Have you ever heard someone say that their secret to staying thin is that they never eat after 6pm? Does that really work??

It’s hard to find any conclusive metabolic evidence that food eaten at night is more likely to be stored as body fat. Metabolism drops when you are sleeping, but that simply lowers your daily energy expenditure and its 24 hour energy balance (energy in versus energy out) that really matters for weight gain or loss. For fat loss, there appears to be no difference in success between eating the majority of your calories early in the day vs eating more in the evening, as long as total energy intake remains the same. Studies of people who eat the same number of daily calories with different meal timing in metabolic chambers fail to show a difference in metabolic rate between timing patterns.

Basically, it is not the timing of your last meal that may be impacting your waistline, but the amount of food we tend to eat late at night. Over consumption of carbohydrate or any food late in the day is the likely cause of weight gain related to nighttime eating. Think about it- when you sit down in front of the TV at night with a bag of chips, do you eat one serving? I know that I don't! For many of us, nighttime is the only time when we sit down for an extended period of time, and many of us use food to help us relax.
The lesson here is to watch your portion size no matter what time of day it is- and if you are hungry at 9pm, by all means, grab a snack!

Why not a personal trainer? ... by Karen O'Meara

Have you been struggling with weight loss your whole life? Perhaps you are up and down on the scale? Some years you look good, the next you find yourself at an unhealthy weight. Are you just unsatisfied with your body?  If you are struggling there is help available.  It’s amazing how many different diets, books, pills, DVDs, tricks, and drinks there are out there.  Why not a trainer? Why are clients intimidated by a personal trainer? You spend the time and money to figure out the secrets, but still don’t reach your goals. Those secrets may lie in a one on one workout with a Certified Personal trainer who can help you achieve your goals. It’s an investment in your future that will probably save you a lot of time, money and effort, rather than figuring it all out on your own.
    
Sometimes we don’t have the right knowledge available for our personal necessities. The trainer works with you. They will help you modify your diet without extreme sacrifice. If you like to do more cardio than weights they will mix them together in a fun way to help you reach your goals. The most important thing they can help you do is challenge yourself to change. They push you to the limits. Personal trainers are not just for celebrities. A lot of people look at magazines and say “I can look like that if I had a trainer!” You do not need millions of dollars to have a trainer. It is easy to budget a training package if you cut out things that may not be as beneficial to your health. If you go out to eat often or get a coffee everyday then perhaps cut that out. If you have gym equipment sitting in your basement sell them on craigslist. If you spend a lot of money on groceries perhaps you can find a way to cut that in half by limiting purchases that are unnecessary and unhealthy.  Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to get help. Your whole life will change once you challenge yourself, push your limits, and expand your horizons.  

Personally I struggled with weight loss. I was never really fat but I always had excess weight on my hips and thighs. I would try diet pills, working out on my own, even running 8-10 miles a day. This would work in the short term. However I would pile it back on again once I got tired of running so much every day or the weather did not permit.  It was not until I realized that I was eating worse than I thought and not pushing myself hard enough that I was able to see results. I did not need to run 5-10 miles a day to lose weight. What I really needed was knowledge about lifting weights and cardio that worked just for me. The only way I started to see results was when I started working out with a trainer here at Best Fitness. He pushed me and challenged me to do extra sets, longer workouts, and confuse my muscles so they never adapt to my workouts.

Another thing that contributed to my weight loss journey was my diet. I did not give up eating. I wanted to but that is not a lifestyle change, and it’s not healthy. Instead I learned about organic foods, whole nutritious food that is unprocessed and heart healthy. I started cutting out dairy and drinking soy protein, taking a multivitamin everyday and drinking more green tea and water.

The best part about changing my diet was number one, feeling less bloated, less sick after eating and my skin and hair became healthier. My attitude has changed as well. I feel more positive. I used to think I should not bother working out when no matter what I do I can’t get any leaner or skinnier. I firmly believed that this was true. Eventually I decided to stop complaining and start trying. Now I am 2 dress sizes smaller and I’m in the best shape of my life. I feel great about myself.

Take the steps necessary to take control of your life