Yoga for runners can be a wonderful option to improve running performance.

Yoga for runners improves balance, flexibility, coordination, concentration and endurance at the same time removing physical and mental stresses. Runners can immensely benefit from yoga practice since running associated with yoga make a good marriage of strength and flexibility.

Come to this class on Thursday 17 March at 7:00pm to 8:30pm at Answer is Fitness to learn some poses that will help you to run better.

$15.00 for members and $20.00 for non-members. Handout will be given.

Fore more information, call 888-270-3640 or email us at info@answerisfitness.com. You can Sign Up at the Front Desk.

The new guidelines for physical activity for ages 18-64 is at least 150 minutes/week.That's equivalent to working out for 30 minutes for 5 days a week. However, many people find it hard to stay motivated to exercise on a daily basis. Scheduling 30 minutes of your day aside to workout shouldn't be a problem for anyone so here's are 3 tips we feel can help you stay motivated to exercise and reaching your fitness goals.

1. Notebook and pen -Bring this with you whenever you go to the gym or exercising and log in your workout routines and progress in it. Its a great way to keep track of your exercises as well as your repetitions and sets. A good way to prepare yourself is to write down knowing what exercises your going to do that day prior to the workout. This notebook acts as an agenda for your workouts, and is a great little tool to help motivate you to reach your goals faster by jotting it down.

2. Mp3 player/ music gadget - Nothing feels better than listening to music while working out. Find songs that get you in your groove and gets you focused on yourself and your lifts. Listening to music is also a great way to avoid distractions in the gym.

3. Our Group Exercises - Getting involved in one of our group exercises is great because the members and instructor act as a boost of motivation. They can help support and spot you on your routines, provide guidance and fitness tips, and make it more fun and challenging.

Be sure to contact us today to learn more about fitness goals and work out routines. We have many fun and rewarding exercising programs, so be sure to check them out.

A good beginner type of calorie burning and strength gaining exercise is that of resistance training. It is common for many individuals to direct their energies to weightlifting exercises but it is also acceptable to begin with an exercise program based on body weight. Whichever exercise program you choose, begin at a slow pace until you have learned the correct way to practice the strength training exercise designed for you.

There are many different exercises that can be included in a strength based exercise plan. It's a good idea to include exercises that use various muscles. Begin slowly and gradually increase the weight. There are several different methods you can use to vary your exercise routine. You could do a complete body workout routine one day, your legs and abs on another day, and your arms on yet another day. Always give yourself one complete 24 hour period of rest before focusing on that same muscle again. To increase circulation, make sure you warm up your muscles at the beginning of your exercise routine.

It is not necessary for a beginner workout routines to be so hard to follow. Always begin by adding calorie burning cardiovascular exercises in conjunction with helpful strength training exercises. You should see yourself losing weight by exercising at least three to four hours weekly. After you have advanced, you may want to consider a more strenuous routine based on weightlifting or body weight. Contact us today should you have any questions about starting a workout plan.

It's almost here; our widely popular winter blizzard bootcamp. Today is the start of a brand new month and in just four more days our session begins. Starting on February 5th through March 30th is our winter bootcamp special promo where we combine the excellence of working out with the fun that our gym has to offer. This special session goes on every Saturday from 7am to 8am and is for sex weeks. If you have been thinking about working out but don't think that you need to, then you are mistaken!

Regular physical activity helps stave off depression and greatly improves your mood. Exercise makes you feel better and relaxes your body, thanks to the brain chemical released during a workout. These "feel good" endorphins boost your mood. It encourages you to take steps to reduce stress through constant physical activity and a healthy food choices for the long-term. To cut to the chase, working out makes you happy.

Exercise is also a form of detoxification. It rids your body of unwanted toxins that constantly weigh you down and generally make your body feel as if you're carrying a big amount of lead. Working out makes you feel lighter and infinitely more comfortable with your own body. So what are you waiting for? Get moving!

>We guarantee you will be satisfied with our winter blizzard bootcamp. This is unlike anything we have through the entire year. Not only will you experience the above benefits of working out but you will see results in just 6 weeks. For more information contact us today or call 888-270-3640 or sign up at the front desk of our gym! We hope to see you all there!

While you are under a weight reducing diet, there are certain times of the day that are better for eating because the energy provided by food is better used by your body. The times of the day when is better to eat are not tied to specific hours, but to the kind of activities that you have. This means that for example it is not important that you always eat breakfast at exactly 7AM, but you should always eat breakfast in the morning.

The first time to eat during the day is in the morning. This is especially true if your workout routine is in the morning as well. About 30 mins before you workout is the best time to eat a good breakfast. It is important to eat a good breakfast, one that stops the urges of eating for several hours. The breakfast you eat should be balanced, because when you wake up all the nutrients in the blood are already depleted.

After working out is another good moment to eat. This is so because after you eat your metabolism is still accelerated, which makes it easier for your body to use the energy that comes with your food. This makes it less likely for your food to get deposited as fat in your body.

This is the same reason why it is recommended to eat a light dinner. Since while you sleep your body burns less calories, if you have a heavy dinner all the extra energy will get deposited as fat. A good advice is to eat your dinner at least three hours before going to sleep and to eat a light dinner. In that way you will give your body time to burn some calories while awake.

Staying on a fitness plan while eating healthy will not only help you lose weight but turn it into lean muscle. If it proves to be too difficult try doing group exercises such as the ones we offer  or use a personal trainer. Be sure to contact us should you have any questions regarding fitness and being healthy and we'll be happy to help.

Getting into great shape isn't necessarily hard, it just requires a few fitness tips. A little discipline, a little motivation, and a little will to act. Once you have those, all you have to do is adjust your diet and change up your exercise routine and you're on your way to get into amazing shape. Of course, it always helps to have a little advantage, which is why we want to offer you 3 tips to help you get into amazing shape:

Don't get caught up in diet details. One of the biggest mistakes some people make is they get caught up in the details of their diet, and forget the overall goal of just plain losing weight (or gaining weight, for the muscle builders). Don't worry about whether your diet is low carb high fat or high fat low carb, just concentrate on caloric reduction. Eat 500 calories less than your maintenance amount per day, and you'll lose one pound of fat a week.

Have a support group. Using a support group of like minded people is a great way to get in amazing shape. It will help keep you motivated to know that there are people just like you going through the same kinds of challenges to meet their goals. A support group that we offer is called our group exercise program. We have many extensive exercise programs that a lot of our members are a part of.

Enjoy exercise. For instance, you might enjoy our group exercise Zumba dance or our martial art program more than doing a treadmill, so why not do it? These fitness tips may seem like common sense but sometimes people need to see how simple certain steps are to achieve fitness happiness. Contact us today to learn more about fitness routines or join our gym.

The common confusion between warming up and stretching comes from a misinterpretation of research on warm up. Warming up by itself has no effect on range of motion, but when the warm up is followed by stretching there is an increase in range of motion. Many people misinterpreted this finding to mean that stretching before exercise prevents injuries. A better interpretation is that warm up prevents injury, whereas stretching has no effect on injury. If injury prevention is the primary objective, and time is short, then people should limit the stretching before exercise in favor of increased warm up time.
 
Many studies however do support that range of motion can be increased by a single fifteen to thirty second stretch for each muscle group per day.  Some people might require a longer duration or more repetitions. Research also supports the idea that the optimal duration and frequency for stretching may vary by muscle group.
 
A nice benefit is that long term effects of stretching on range of motion show that after six weeks, those who stretch for 30 seconds per muscle each day increased their range of motion much more than those who stretched 15 seconds per muscle each day. Another 6 week study conducted found that one hamstring stretch of 30 seconds each day produced the same results as three stretches of 30 seconds. These studies support the use of thirty second stretches as part of warm up regiment to improve range of motion. So make sure you AIF members warm up AND stretch before exercising.

Exercise can help Diabetes

Fitness or exercising can help moderate your blood sugar! If you have a family history of diabetes, or even some other risk factors, it’s time to get on a fitness program. A recent study showed women who exercised moderately or vigorously in a fitness program more than four times per week had half the risk of developing diabetes as those you don't exercise.  In fact, even lesser levels of exercise provided some significant benefit versus those who did not exercise. Other research shows exercise can help men avoid diabetes as well.  If your doctor recommends a fitness program contact one of our fitness professionals today to help you get started.

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.

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.