There are a lot of reasons to tell yourself why you shouldn’t join a gym. But with the Answer is Fitness 6th Anniversary Special, you can cross the cost of a membership off of your list.

So let’s go through some other reasons:

You don’t have the energy to exercise. Well if you exercise you will have the energy. Exercising actually increases your energy level; sitting around doing nothing is exhausting.

You don’t have the time. Well, if you are exercising at home, even sporadically, you can find the time. But, more importantly, you need to find the time. You should make exercise part of your lifestyle so it becomes a habit. You should exercise like your life depends on it, it does!

You can exercise at home. In a gym, using cardio equipment, you can keep a track of your progress easily by seeing how long /what pace / what level you can sustain on different machines. It really gives you such a good feeling to see that you’ve made strides in the right direction.

You just don’t have the motivation. In a gym, when you are greeted by name and welcomed it feels good. There are other like-minded people there who are able to help motivate you. A gym becomes a community where you meet people you would not have otherwise met. Once you start going to exercise classes, you’ll get to know and become friends with others in the class.
 
Additionally, you may discover exercises that your really enjoy which you may have never discovered before. Finding a type of group exercise, like yoga or cycling, that you really enjoy, it is easy to get motivated.

Answer is Fitness has an extensive group exercise schedule, personal trainers to help you with a personalized training program specifically for you, and cardio equipment and weights.

Contact Answer is Fitness for more information on how we can help you help yourself become healthier, more physically fit, and lose weight. Together, we can help you meet your personal fitness goals.

Losing weight isn't easy, but understanding how much activity it takes to lose 1 lb is important knowledge to help you lose 5lbs or even lose 10.

For every pound you want to lose, you'll need to eliminate 3,500 calories--through eating less, working out more or, for the most effective and healthy approach, a combination of the two. The good news is that your body burns energy just by being alive (each person's amount varies), so cutting a few hundred calories through diet and exercise will be enough to get you into a smaller size.

Not losing weight? You may be underestimating the number of calories you eat in any given day. Track your meals and calculate your calories burned working out. Pay attention to what you are drinking. Most people don't think about their beverages, but most have lots of calories.

It is recommended that you trim your calorie intake to 1,500 calories per day--no fewer, since eating too little can throw your metabolism off. In order to drop weight faster, you need to increase your activity. You'll burn more energy, which will bump up your calorie deficit.

You need to increase your metabolism to lose weight and fat once and for all. By combining nutrition, resistance training, cardio respiratory exercise, and personal assistance you will be on your way to the new, healthier and slimmer you.

Pilates is a body conditioning exercise that helps to build flexibility, strength, endurance, and coordination in the legs, abdominals, arms and back. A mind and body exercise, Pilates emphasizes the balanced development of your body through core strength, flexibility, and awareness.

Pilates exercises can be geared to help you perfect whatever sport you play. Pilates for Tennis players helps develop mind and body awareness.

Pilates helps with injury prevention. There are a growing number of tennis players who practice Pilates to improve their muscle control and flexibility including Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova.

A tennis player not only needs to be quick, they need to have strong muscle endurance, flexibility and proper balance to last the match.

Tennis, by nature, is one-sided. Meaning you develop and use one side of the body more than the other. As tennis players only use one side of the hand and arm to hit the ball, they tend to skew the movement to only one side of the body.

These one sided movements create an unbalanced body, often resulting in over-use injuries.

Pilates helps tennis players improve the power of their strokes by increasing the strength of their powerhouse; improve body balance for quicker reaction and direction change; improve muscle control and improve flexibility, which in turn helps prevent back injuries.

Consistent Pilates exercise keeps your core muscles strong and gives you more powerful strokes and endurance for your tennis match.

Did you know that exercise will give you more energy? Are you tired of being tired at the end of the day? Let exercise energize you.

You just need to motivate yourself to take that first step out the door. You may think you’ll never make it, but chances are you’ll continue and you’ll notice a difference very quickly. Tired adults who exercise three times a week for 6 weeks, show a remarkable increase in energy levels. And those doing low-intensity exercises saw the most benefit!

Maybe your having troubles thinking about exercising because you think it isn’t fun. Researchers found that when people think about exercising they tend to think about the first few minutes, which is the hard part. After a workout, those participants rated exercising positively. So find a better way to start out, put your favorite songs at the beginning of the playlist, or grab a friend.

Many people don’t like to navigate a gym on their own. Sign up with a personal trainer. This way you’ll meet someone, get introduced to others and receive your own personal training program. Or, grab a buddy; everyone has more fun working out with a friend.

So many people are trying to figure out ways to stay healthy at work. If you have a family or other obligations after work, it is not always easy to make it the the gym at night. Exercising only on  the weekends isn't enough; it is very challenging for many to get in the required amount of strength training and cardio exercises in a week. The last frontier is trying to figure out some office exercises.

Last week we wrote a blog about some great exercises with a fitness or stability ball. Today, we have another exercise ball suggestion, and this one can help you all day long. We want to talk about the benefits of using an exercise ball as your home or office chair. Not only is it good for you, it is thoroughly enjoyable. Here are some of the benefits of using an exercise ball as your chair. Whether you spend your desk time at the office, or studying at home for that next exam, exercise ball chairs can help you in many ways.

Forces proper spine alignment - Because an exercise ball is not stable, your body needs to try to balance itself on it. The perfect spinal posture is coincidently the easiest to balance with.

Causes you to frequently change positions - This helps reduce damage caused by prolonged sitting in the same position.

Improve your balance - Sitting on an unstable surface all day will improve your sense of balance, and improve the reactions of your muscles.

Improves your circulation - Using an exercise ball will keep the blood flowing to all parts of your body, throughout the day.

So instead of trying to figure out exercises you can do at work while sitting at a desk, use an exercise ball as your office chair, and have fun while you improve your health.

You have probably seen stability balls (or exercise ball) in the gym. Have you wondered what to do with them? Actually, they are very versatile. They promote balance and stability and really work out your core. But the best part is, they are inexpensive, and versatile, so you can get a great workout with them, even at home. With a fitness ball you can get a great work out for your arms, core, chest, butt and thighs. Here are a few of our favorite exercises with a stability ball.

Push-up on a ball
Your arms and shoulders are the first to take the brunt of this exercise, but your chest and core feel it too.

• Lie with your abdomen on an exercise ball and walk your hands forward on the floor until the ball rests under your thighs.
• Pull your navel in toward your spine, bending your elbows.
• Lower your upper body to the floor. Hold this position for three seconds, and then push up so your elbows are straight but not locked. Keep your head in line with your spine and your abs engaged. Simulating a push up.
• Start with 5 reps, working up to 15. Once you've mastered 15 reps, rest for one minute and then do a second set.

• Place an exercise ball between the wall and the curve of your lower back.
• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Bend your knees and lower 5 to 10 inches, keeping your shoulders level and your hips square. Hold this position for 3 seconds and then stand back up.
• Start with 5 reps and work up to 12. Rest for 30 seconds and do another set.

• Lie on your back holding an exercise ball and lift your feet so your shins are parallel to the floor. For a more intense workout, keep you legs straight in the air.
• Lift your head, neck, and shoulders, and place the ball between your legs.
• Now lower your legs and reach your arms back.
• Come back up and grab the ball.
• Continue to pass the ball back and forth from your hands to your legs 10 to 12 times.

Stay healthy and keep exercising this summer. Along with cardio exercise and strength work outs, you should eat healthy too. To help stay on your diet, here are few of our favorite snack recipes that have an extra healthy boost. And they are tasty too.

Morning boost:
Mix 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee with 6 ounces low-fat vanilla yogurt until coffee is dissolved. Spoon half the mixture into a bowl and add 1/3 cup sliced strawberries. Top with remaining yogurt, and garnish with 1 tablespoon low-fat granola. (150 calories)

This snack is great because granola provides a healthy dose of fuel to help jump-start your morning. And, calcium-rich foods increase fat loss.

Stress reliever:
Spread 2 tablespoons hummus evenly over 5 whole-grain crackers. Top with 2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper. (150 calories)

This snack is great because red bell peppers contain vitamin C, which helps lower levels of the stress hormone.

After work out pick-me-up:
Combine 1 cup low-fat milk, 1/4 cup frozen blueberries, and 1/4 cup frozen pineapple in a blender; puree until smooth. (140 calories)

This is great because the protein and carbs in the milk help repair muscles and replenish cells' energy stores after a workout. You should eat dairy within 45 minutes of exercising, when the recovery process is at its high. Also, pineapple contains bromelain, a natural anti-inflammatory compound, which may reduce post-workout pain.

Night time snack:
On 1/2 toasted whole-grain English muffin add 2 teaspoons almond butter and slices of 1/4 pear. Sprinkle with a pinch of ground cinnamon. (150 calories)

This is a great snack because according to recent research, the carbs in English muffins may help you get to sleep more quickly. Almonds are great for your health and your brain.

Many of us sit a lot at work, in the car and at home on the couch.  That’s probably true for a lot of regular exercisers. I used to think that exercising for an hour or more a day would negate all that sitting.

Now, a growing body of evidence says that’s not true.

That’s disheartening. But it’s also a wake-up call for everyone with an office job, even avid exercisers.

We’ve all been told for decades how much exercise we should get daily or weekly, with most recommendations now saying at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week or an average of 30 minutes for five days. If it’s vigorous, it can be less.

Now, the latest research says that even people who do significant and regular exercise still increase risks of serious illness from hours of physical inactivity. In other words, you can’t just exercise for one hour and sit for eight or more without incurring some health risks.

The American College of Sports Medicine, just came out with new recommendations on the quantity and quality of exercise for adults. The bottom line is everyone needs a balanced program of cardiovascular, strength exercise, flexibility and neuromotor or functional fitness training (balance, agility, coordination).

But the ACSM further notes that “sedentary behavior for long periods of time is distinct from physical activity and has been shown to be a health risk in itself. Meeting the guidelines for physical activity does not make up for a sedentary lifestyle.”

Carol Garber is the lead author of the new guidelines. In a release from the ACSM, she says, “It is no longer enough to consider whether an individual engages in adequate amounts of weekly exercise. We also need to determine how much time a person spends in sedentary pursuits, like watching television or working on a computer.”

So, we need to figure out ways we all can work in movement during the day.

Here are a few things you can do, in addition to exercising daily:

• Walk in the office while reading reports or research.
• Stand up while on the phone.
• Do more exercises at the desk, such as pumping legs up and down.
• Move for at least 15 minutes during lunch.
• Take a quick walk after work on some days.

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Pilates is one of the most popular exercises these days. Many prominent athletes use it to help their form and increase strength and flexibility. These include Jason Kidd, Tiger and Annika as well as Camilo Villegas. Golf is one of the most popular sport past times. Pilates and golf are a natural blend. All of the muscles required for golf are trained during Pilates, with both matwork and apparatus work.

As golfers know, this sport can put significant strain on your body. A Pilates exercise program is one that will help golfers hit the ball consistently farther and straighter with reduced risk of injury and back pain. Pilates goes beyond traditional fitness programs to become the perfect way to get ready for your next trip out to the course.

What makes Pilates a great exercise for golf?

Pilates is an exercise in which all the work is based from the core of the body. These muscles include the abdominals, obliques, lats and glutes. While the extremities are involved, the core is always stabilized to allow for maximum range of motion and support. With Pilates you will develop healthy posture, and the muscles that support your posture which can make a significant difference in your golf swing.  Pilates requires control, concentration, mind-body awareness, flowing movement and precision which is just what you need in golf. There are many benefits to doing Pilates, one of which is correcting imbalances in the body which will help keep you healthy and golfing longer!