MA - RI - Can sitting completely still really be as good for you as a workout as moving around? Yes it can. Holding a yoga or Pilates pose (for example the Downward Dog asana and the Spine Stretch in Pilates) offers as much challenge as 30 minutes of a heart-pounding (medium pace) treadmill workout.

Don't think that you need to be sweating and dizzy to feel as though your workout routines work. If you are overly sweating and/or are dizzy too often, that may be a sign that you need to have your heart checked or change your fitness workout routines. Your cardiologist will probably recommend a more balanced workout plan.

Don't overload your workout plan with blood, sweat, and tears. The gentle tai chi and bagua movements redirect the energy and function as effective body building workout routines without outward effort. All your muscle work is inward, no matter what workout program you choose.

Our Group Extreme boot camp (5 weeks) will increase your cardio-respiratory endurance, overall strength and flexibility.  With summer right around the corner our mission is to get you in the best possible shape by  providing you with the means to reduce your overall body fat percentage.  You will lose weight, get ripped and feel great.

Now you can stop wondering what you could look like and realize your bodies full potential for greatness.

Jumping Training

Jumping is an essential part of many sports including basketball, football, tennis, soccer, and more.  Training or exercising to get better at jumping should be a part of your fitness routine.

To get better at jumping, you need to start with the basics which would be what we call an Explosive Squat. Jumping really begins with a squat ... using your lower body muscles to push you up and off the ground.   Getting lift in the face of gravity.

To practice jumping, begin by jumping in place from a squat, exploding from your lower body to push you up, then landing in a squat. When you land in a squat you prevent intense impact on the joints of your lower body, especially your knees. Once you get comfortable with this routine, begin jumping onto steps or platforms. Once you become comfortable jumping up, add jumping down (off a bench or steps) making sure you land in the squat position. Soon you will feel much more explosive strength in your legs allowing thereby enabling you to jump higher and more quickly, sprint faster, accelerate more quickly, and even perform better in sports.

You'll get equally fit running on a treadmill or running outdoors. In fact, many distance-running athletes use the treadmill for training to save their legs from the pounding of roadwork. However, there is a slight difference in energy expenditure (calories burned) between the two.  Outdoor running burns slightly more calories than treadmill running at the same speed due to lack of air resistance on the treadmill. Researchers studying this phenomenon found that setting the treadmill at 1% elevation pretty much equals things out.  So set the treadmill at 1% so that treadmill walking or running mimics outdoor exercise.

Walking speed is a function of stride length and how fast you move your legs. There is a limit to how much you can lengthen your stride, so when fitness walking or walking for exercise, concentrate on increasing how fast you move your legs. Try artificially increasing your stride, and you end up over-striding, which can actually slow you down as your heel comes down too far in front.  This can cause a breaking feeling or action.  So move your legs faster but keep your stride in the normal zone for you.

Unfit people may be able to get their heart rate into a training zone by walking faster than usual, but as you get more fit you may have trouble walking fast enough to really push yourself.  If you reach this point make sure your course has hills in it. Having to go uphill when walking for exercise increases the challenge and keeps you on path to higher fitness.

Many people during their mid-life years (starting as early as 35) experience slow but steady weight gain. The process actually starts when you are not expecting it and could take a few years for the full effects of gaining unwanted weight to set in. This is sometimes referred to as 'Creeping Obesity' where you slowly gain weight over a period of time (2-3 years).  Then all of a sudden you finally notice what has happened but cannot point to a root cause.

If there are 4 keywords to health as you age through your middle years, they are "Eat Less, Move More".  If you fall into a routine where you do the exact opposite (Move Less, Eat More), that's when  this Creeping Obesity begins. It is due to not realizing the fact that you are eating just slightly too much, and not exercising enough (or maybe you stopped exercising completely over time). It is not abnormal in the beginning that it could take you a whole month to gain one pound. However the compound effect of this pattern over a few years could result in weight gain of 25-35 pounds ... without really noticing it until it's too late.

One of the keys in getting back in shape in your middle years is to acknowledge how long it took to put the weight on. If you fell into Creeping Obesity, and it took you several years before you realized what has been happening, then it only makes sense that it will take a while to lose the weight. So don't get frustrated if the weight doesn't come as fast as you like.  Stay the course and you will achieve your goals.  If you need personalized support or a structured fitness program than contact one of our fitness professionals at Answer is Fitness.

Core exercises refer to those exercises that target the abdominal and lower back muscle groups. You will also find that including some exercise for the glutes (butt) will help, too, as these areas function together as your core.

Pilates classes or exercises specialize in the core group, but some traditional strength exercises like crunches, lunges,  and back extensions also are effective. You can and should work these areas every other day. As always with any exercise program you should start slowly.  Maybe do one set of crunches, an exercise for the oblique abs, an easy back extension, and set of lunges. If you are out of shape or beginning rehab due to surgery contact a fitness professional at Answer is Fitness to get proper guidance and direction.

As you progress you should increase degree of difficulty (resistance, reps, etc) slowly. However If you're already in good shape, start at an appropriate level. Remember, you will not see abdominal definition unless you have a low percentage of body fat, which requires a good nutrition or diet program. However, it's important to have strong abs anyway as they impact back health, posture, stability, etc.

At Answer is Fitness you will notice more and more people using circuit training methods and routines.  A lot of our personal trainers use such routines with members to acheive a range various fitness goals including sports conitioning and losing weight. After one of my circuits, a person will sometimes ask me what I am doing? This is probably due to the fact that I am breathing heavily and have just performed a group of exercises/sets that look strange and difficult.

This post is really just to give a brief descrption of circuit training.

Circuit Training is when one performs 3-4 different exercises in a row, followed by some type of cardio exercise with no rest in between. An example of a "circuit" would be push-Ups with a medicine ball, followed immediately by walking lunges with a kettlebell, then by Lateral Pull-Downs, and ending with Jumping Rope for a minute.  Then you get to rest for 1-2 minutes. Both taxing and rewarding.  This appraoch forces your body to get tired quickly beacuse of lack of rest, while hitting/working a lot of muscle groups.   Essentially the goal is that you are exercising the whole body during the circuit. For circuit training routines one would want to perform 3-5 whole circuits, definitely making sure that you stay hydrated and give yourself ample rest between circuits. Try it or speak to one of our personal trainers. 

Finding a Personal Trainer that is right for you is like finding the right pair of jeans that look good on you and are comfortable.   It takes time trying them on and then wearing a few different pairs to determine the best one for you.  What is best for you and what fits should be synonymous.

Regarding a personal trainer first you must determine what your primary goal is. If your goal is to lose weight, our personal trainers will be able to help you but you discuss their experience (routines, exercises, nutrition) in this realm including the type of cleints (age, condition, activity level, etc.) they have worked with. If your goal is more related to health because you have a bad back or need to rehab a shoulder, you want to pick a Personal Trainer who has knowledge of postural anatomy (studied) and has done this type of training before. Always make sure you ask for and get what you want. Remember at the  store buying jeans, you eill buy the pair that actually fits you, not the one that doesn't. 

  Answeris Fitness has a staff of full time Personal Trainers. You can speak with our Fitness Director or any of our trainers (counselors) in order to find the one that fits your needs and wants. In addition, you can get client testimonials if needed and can speak directly with one of them. All in all, take the time to  search until you find a Personal Trainer that fits what you are looking for and you feel comfortable with.  This will go along towards getting the most benefit from personal training.

There are many great benefits to jumping rope when it comes to your cardiorespiratory system. Jumping rope is hard work which is good for you.  The longer you can do it the better your stamina.  We know when we were younger we could do things like running around longer because we had better stamina. Jumping rope is not easy and requires some getting use to.

Jumping Rope in a forward motion is the most comfortable and natural.   Once you are able to do 40-50 in a row without stopping, change it up and do it on one foot at a time to make it more challenging on your leg muscles (especially good for your calves). The only problem that could occur with Jumping Rope forward all of the time, which puts all the pushing motion on the anterior (front part of your) deltoids, is rounded shoulders. Want more balanced shoulder muscles?  Then jump rope  backwards as well.

Not only is Jumping Rope backwards harder, but it puts more of the motion onto your posterior (back part of your) deltoids. When jumping rope backwards becomes too easy, perform it one foot at a time backwards. This is another challenging thing you can do for your cardio routine.