Top 5 Reasons Why Your Middle-Aged Body Loves Exercise

Top 5 Reasons Why Your Middle-Aged Body Loves Exercise:

Have you started rising to get out of your seat with a faint groan? Or started hungrily scrolling through corrective surgery web pages like you once enjoyed celebrity gossip magazines? Have you noticed that the conversations between you and your friends have quickly gone from diapers and preschool options, (let alone bars and clubs) and now tend to circle around podiatrist recommendations and protein bars?  Sounds like middle age – congratulations. No, really, congratulations on being in the midst of what can be an exciting period of transition and lifestyle changes. Middle age is when many people find a sort of rebirth of their zeal for body health and fitness. (Just ask the nation’s runners – 55% of all U.S. marathoners in 2014 were between the ages of 35 and 54.) Maybe it’s because the children or other family members who once dominated your attention and energy might be a little less needy, leaving you with some energy to spare. Or maybe it’s because you’re noticing a significant change in your metabolism or muscle tone. Regardless of the reason why you might feel a renewed dedication to your health and fitness, focusing on your fitness is a great idea. It turns out that, while exercise is certainly important for all ages, the benefits for those in middle age are especially numerous.

1. The skin you’re in loves exercise. When you work out, the pores in your face dilate, purging out the trapped dirt and oil (just be sure to wash your face afterwards). Also, exercise helps to regulate hormones and reduce stress, both of which can have a dramatic impact on your skin’s appearance. 
2. Your energy level loves exercise. "Contrary to popular belief, exercising doesn't make you tired -- it literally creates energy in your body. Your body rises up to meet the challenge for more energy by becoming stronger," says nutritionist Samantha Heller, MS, RD, a nutrition advisor for the Journey for Control diabetes program. It starts at the tiniest level, with the mitochondria, in fact, where exercise stimulates your body’s production of these tiny powerhouses. The more mitochondria present, the more energy that is being produced. 
3. Your bones love exercise. Weight-bearing exercise, in particular, helps to strengthen bones by increasing bone mass. This is a significant benefit when many middle-agers are concerned about the loss of bone strength, or even osteoporosis. Even a simple walking lunge can build density in your hip bone. Your studio trainer will have many bone-strengthening exercises for you to try.
4. Your mood loves exercise. Whether it’s a renewed charisma and self-confidence, a stabilization of mood-altering hormones, or a reduction in stress, exercise is your (and your loved one’s) best friend.  Exercise pumps up your body’s endorphins which can act both as attitude boosters, and also natural pain killers. (Plus, it’s way cheaper, and more fun, than therapy.)
5. Your future loves exercise. More movement now = more movement later. Putting forth the effort with making your health the best it can be now sets yourself up for a higher quality of life as you age. Dr. Timothy Church, director of preventive medicine research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge notes that, "Exercise strengthens the entire human machine — the heart, the brain, the blood vessels, the bones, the muscles. The most important thing you can do for your long-term health is to lead an active life." Not only that, but researchers at Harvard and Stanford conducted a study that found that exercise was just as effective as medicine for the prevention and treatment of pre-diabetes, diabetes, and heart disease. 

Sure, middle age has its share of gripe-able attributes. However, so many of those woes can be turned upside-down by refocusing your energies and attention to your fitness and health. Investing in YOU is indeed a worthy endeavor – one that will pay out in satisfying dividends for decades to come.

Happy Healthy Independence!

Happy Healthy Independence! 

There is much to celebrate on Independence Day next week.  On a grander scale, we recognize our nation’s birthday and take a moment to appreciate our country and the opportunities we have. On a more personal level, we plan celebratory picnics and barbecues with family and friends, reveling in the day off from work.  However, this Fourth of July, we’d like to take the celebration a step further and celebrate YOU and your independence.  Not necessarily your status as an independent adult (you know, one that pays their own bills, works their own job, parents their own kids, and decides whether or not to eat a strawberry popsicle for dinner), but instead your healthy independence.

Healthy independence, while it may be a fitting title for your sister finally footing the bill for her own groceries, actually means that you are making decisions every day that take you toward living a healthy, happy lifestyle.  It means that you don’t constantly give in to the unwholesome temptations around you.  It might even mean that you’ve had to painstakingly overcome some unhealthy or dangerous habits from your past.  The very fact that you choose to make exercise a priority when you meet with your trainer, and follow their advice on fitness and nutrition, means that you’re making huge gains in your own healthy independence.  Considering how easy it would be to constantly give in to the temptation of the juicy burgers and crispy fried chicken you see advertised on TV, or the draw of couch-ridden Netflix binges instead of exercising, you’re doing a great job.  And we’d like to encourage you to celebrate how far you’ve come.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you don’t have further to go, or that you don’t once in a while realize that you’ve eaten roughly 4 ½ servings of fudge brownie ice cream while watching a movie (hypothetically speaking, of course).  If you find yourself still struggling with achieving healthy independence in a certain area, we’ve got a few tips to make that independence a little easier to achieve:

1. Avoid the temptation in the first place.  Don’t buy the chips!  Or take a different route to work – one that doesn’t take you by the doughnut shop.
2. Choose a substitute for your bad habit.  We’re not talking celery sticks instead of a milkshake – it’s gotta be a fair fight.  Find a replacement for your bad habit that you will actually look forward to. 
3. Reward yourself.  Did you walk 10,000 steps for 7 days in a row?  Those tired feet might need a pedicure. 
4. Redefine relationships built on your unhealthy habit.  Maybe your smoking buddy or your “French Fry Friday” friend would enjoy a different kind of outing.  Who knows?  Maybe they’re ready to cut it out, too. 
5. Do your homework, and prepare yourself.  Before going to a restaurant, check out the menu online and decide what you’re going to order.  If you’re going to a party where there will be all kinds of tempting munchies, prepare yourself in advance to make smart decisions.

Congratulations on your healthy independence.  You’ve shown yourself that you can break free from binding, damaging habits.  Continuing to make decisions that support healthy habits will help your independence to grow even more.  Celebrate well, and know that we’re rooting for you.

© 2016 Fitness Together, Inc. All Rights Reserved.   

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Great Ideas For Father's Day Fitness

Great Ideas for Father's Day Fitness

Fitness Together owner Sean Sullivan's father during a private one-on-one personal training session at the studio

This year, for Father’s Day, your mind is probably going in a million different directions as far as a gift for the dad in your life. Go online and you’ll be flooded with gift ideas of all kinds. Cologne, polo shirts, and grilling accessories are all great ways to show Dad how much he means to you, right?  Or… maybe not. What about giving Dad a gift of exercise and health for Father’s Day? Exercise is already firmly planted in your head as a worthwhile endeavor – you look better, feel better, and even think more clearly when you’re in a regular fitness routine. Wouldn’t it be the same for the dad in your life? Whether the guy is a spry, active pickle ball enthusiast, or is slightly less energetic, exercising with your dad can be a worthwhile endeavor for the both of you.  Need a few ideas? We’ve got them.

• Remember those I.O.U. coupons you used to gift your parents with for holidays? You know – the little construction paper creations that, in uneven letters, promised a clean car, a breakfast in bed, or a day of no bickering? This Father’s Day, what if you bring back this “gift of yore” with some healthy I.O.U.’s of your own (and maybe, this time, actually follow through on them. You know, unlike the promise of “I’ll keep my room clean for a month” when you were ten)? Promise Dad that the two of you will take three walks a week for two months. Or an easy bike ride a week for a year. The win-win factor in this is clear – exercising with your dad means more quality time with him, and better fitness for you both.
   
• Invite the dad in your life to your Fitness Together studio for a few sessions with a trainer. Trainers are experts in increasing fitness, no matter where the starting point is. Plus, isn’t it always fun to introduce our parents to the important parts of our lives?
   
• Try something new together. Always been curious about martial arts?  Want to get back into yoga? Have been dying to release your inner Katniss and try archery, “Hunger Games” style? Despite the fact that there is a dizzying number of sports and activities available to try, we tend to stay in our exercise comfort zone.  Check online to see what your local recreation center has it offer as it can be a great resource to view different options for classes. Plus, starting at the same beginner level with something new will help you both to feel the same level of confidence and excitement.
   
• Why not even add a little fitness into this Sunday’s celebration? Whether it’s a stroll through the neighborhood, some basketball free-throw practice (Go Cavs!) with the little ones, or a walk around a lake to watch the ducks, some activity will be a nice way to break up the customary holiday cycle of eating, talking, and eating some more, until everyone feels tired and overstuffed. 

While your dad is an old pro at helping you learn the important things in life, it might be time to teach him a thing or two about how to live a happier, healthier life. And with you by his side as you exercise together, you’ll be helping to ensure many more, happier Father’s Days.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend!! :) 

Staying Healthy During Summer

Staying Healthy During the Summer

Jun 1, 2016

Summer can certainly be hard on your healthy habits.  With barbecues, hungry kids at home, frequent trips to the ice cream parlor, and traveling to food-famous destinations, your habits of exercising and eating well can disappear quickly.  So before summer gets too well underway, we’d like to offer you a list of some common summer health pitfalls, and ways to help you stay true to your healthy lifestyle.

1. The problem: the summer outdoor party.  Whether it’s a graduation celebration, a Father’s Day cookout, or a neighborhood block party, unhealthy food abounds.  While delicious, the “family secret” potato salad, decadent desserts, and grilled cheeseburgers don’t necessarily support a lean and trim lifestyle. 

Our solution: The Veg Rotation.Much like the 1:1 cocktail to water rule (have one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage), this has you eating a plateful of fresh veggies, fresh fruit, or salad greens before every helping of the other stuff.Going back for seconds of the bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers?Eat a heaped-up pile of salad first.Ready for dessert?Not until you load up on watermelon.Not only does this trick help fill you up on smart-choice calories, but it helps you to take a few minutes before giving into temptation to contemplate whether you really want that ice cream sundae.

2. The problem: the summer traveling.  The best blueberry pie?  The fresh fried clam basket? The cheese curds from the local dairy?  You want to try them all.

Our solution: be generous, be choosy.Of course you’re going to sample these destination delights.However, try to choose wisely.At a local restaurant, ask the server for suggestions on the most popular, or most famous dish, and then split it with your tablemates, along with a dinner salad or two.Another option is to request a side portion of the delicacy, and enjoy it atop a bowl of salad greens (think: macaroni and cheese, a legendary smoked rib, or seafood paella).Also, think ahead – if you know that you’re going to head out for cheesecake later, maybe take it easy at lunchtime with a broth-based soup and some fruit salad.

3. The problem: visiting relatives, away from your exercise sessions, and your fridge full of responsible food choices. 

Our solution: bring it with you.Okay, not literally, but you can easily bring your healthy lifestyle with you on vacation.Suggesting a post-meal walk or swim in lieu of the customary living room chat session, or an outing to a museum or miniature golf course will not only help keep your activity level high, but your relatives might appreciate your input on activities you’d like to do.Visiting especially young and/or active folks?Challenge them to a fun, light-hearted fitness competition – a 40-yard dash, a monkey bar race, a push-up count, a relay-race, or all of the above!You’ve made some gains in your strength and stamina, why not show it off a little?Food-wise, feel free to do some grocery shopping of your own, and make cooking together part of the quality time you spend with your loved ones.

Fun summer plans don’t have to mean a vacation from your healthy habits.  With a little creativity and planning, the summer season can be your most enjoyable, most active, and very healthiest time of year.

National Senior Health & Fitness Day 2016

National Senior Health and Fitness Day 2016

May 25, 2016

Get Started on an exercise program with a personal trainer at Fitness Together now! 

If you have a loved one who is aging, or else you are finding yourself in the “latter prime” of your life, you have undoubtedly found that, along with eating habits and sleeping habits, a person’s exercise habits at this age look a little different than they did ten years ago.  You know that health is important no matter how old you are, but what is the best way to stay fit as you age?  Are there specific exercise tips for seniors?  Is it too late, by the time you’ve reached this stage of your life, to start exercising effectively?  If you’ve found your exercise level dwindling as you’ve aged, you’re not alone.  In fact, US News Health reports that 40% of women and 30% of men over 70 say that they never exercise. 

May 25^th is National Senior Health and Fitness Day.  With a whole day dedicated to this important topic, we’d like to lay out for you why exercise is actually extremely beneficial to men and women in their 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and even 90’s.

1.  Exercise can help with other aging-related aches and pains.  In fact, exercise is great for those afflicted with arthritis – it increases flexibility, eases painful joints, and improves overall muscle mass.  For example, strengthening quadriceps is helpful for arthritis-caused knee pain.   Also, aerobic exercise and strength training can improve bone density, balance, and muscle function.
2.  Keep active, stay independent.  Seniors who exercise are less likely to become disabled, says a 2014 study published by the Journal of American Medical Association.  This study involved over 1,600 men and women aged 70-89 who did not exercise, and all of whom were considered frail.  Half were assigned to an exercise program that included strength and balance exercises and walking, and the other half attended educational workshops about exercise, as well as gentle stretching routines.  After 2 ½ years, the group who exercised were 28% less likely to have become disabled (that is, unable to walk 400 yards without assistance). 
3. Want to stay sharp?  Put on those walking shoes.  Seniors who exercise are more likely to enjoy an elevated mood, better self-confidence, easier multi-tasking, and perhaps even a lower likelihood of developing dementia. 

Senior citizens who want to get started with an exercise routine should talk with their doctor to get a medical clearance, and then start slow.

• Instead of a two-mile power walk your first day, try starting with two 10-minute exercise increments, and build your way up to 30 minutes, or more. 
• For weight training, start with 1 or 2-pound weights, and work your way up. 
• Drink well, drink often.  The Mayo Clinic reports that older adults are more likely to become dehydrated because your sense of thirst becomes less acute, and your body loses some of its ability to conserve water.  Moral of the story: never forget to bring your water bottle when exercising.
• Remember to warm up, cool down, and do some gentle stretching surrounding each exercise session.  These steps can be time-consuming, but are worth the joy of exercising without resulting pain or injury. 
• And then, stick with it!  Habit is an exerciser’s best friend.  You’ll enjoy the benefits of exercise as long as you stick with it faithfully and regularly. 

To celebrate National Senior Health Day, make a positive step towards improving your health, and the health of senior citizens in your life.  With a few easy lifestyle changes, your Golden Years could be some of your best years.

How Busy Families Eat Healthy

How Busy Families Eat Healthy

You pull up to your daughter’s 6:30 pm soccer practice, and as she bounds out of the car, she has to

stop and pick up a few fast food wrappers that floated out of the car along with her. You’ve been known to feed your kids dry cereal, straight out of the box, for more than one meal.  Your son has every drive-through restaurant’s kids’ menus memorized, along with the complimentary toys that are featured each month. Your car has a constant underlying odor of French fries. These aren’t signs of poor parenting or a lack of nutritional concern, but rather a simple sum when families mix active schedules with hungry mouths at dinnertime. There’s no doubt about it – eating healthy as a family is just plain hard, even without the stress of time and logistics that sports games, music practices, and after school clubs add to the mix. Though difficult, healthy eating on the run is far from impossible. We’d like to offer a few real-life ideas, for real-life, busy, hungry families.

1. Change up your notions of what, and when, “proper” meals should be.  If your kids are hungry enough for a meal right after school, why not give them one?  Consider doing an easy “dinner” in the afternoon of grilled cheese and veggies, whole grain spaghetti with tomato sauce, or a bean, cheese, and bell pepper quesadilla, instead of the usual apples or cookies. Then, before or after evening activities, you’ll feel much better about slipping them a quick granola bar as they run through the door. 
2. Go thermal. Need a satisfying nibble in the car? Pack up a thermal lunch tote with plastic divided to-go dishes and your options are nearly endless. Cheese, crackers and olives? Hard-boiled eggs, baby carrots and a PB&J? Yogurt, granola and some rolled-up turkey slices? Celery spread with nut butter and raisins? Add in some fresh or canned fruit and you’ve got a meal-worthy snack that is easy, kid-delicious and healthy. What’s even better? Your handy thermal bag can even be packed first thing in the morning (cooling packs included, of course), and it will be ready for hungry, school-famished kids later that afternoon. Quick tip: Just don’t forget a car supply of napkins and filled-up water bottles!
3. Slow and steady wins the race. If you’ve become disenchanted with your slow-cooker, picturing gray, mushy meat and veggies, it’s time to dust it off and let it do its home-cooking, set-it-and-forget-it magic. Not only does food come out moist and delicious, but options abound for healthy, protein and veggie-rich dishes and soups.  Many recipes call for vegetables to be added just in the last 30 minutes of cooking, retaining their flavor and nutrients. Also, it might be time to re-think slow-cooker dinners. Feeding a crowd at various times throughout the afternoon and evening? Try seasoned black or pinto beans for burritos, ground beef for sloppy joes, lime-and-cumin-flavored chicken and veggies for fajitas, or even sweet and comforting oatmeal that is ripe for toppings of walnuts and fresh fruit. 

We promise that you will feel great about not ordering the 8-piece nugget meal, again, for a pre-soccer meal. Not only that, your kids will also feel better, perform better and even behave better with whole, nourishing, muscle-and-brain-enhancing foods in their systems. Oh, and as a side note—we hope this means a few less cheeseburgers and sugary coffee drinks on your end, too. By starting a trend of home-cooking, healthy eating and more economical food choices, you’re ensuring that your family will continue to make good nutrition choices, too . . . even when they’re old enough to be taking their own kids to lacrosse practices and piano lessons.

© 2016 Fitness Together, Inc. All Rights Reserved.   

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Feeling a little Taxed?

Feeling a little Taxed?

So how is April 15^th finding you this year? Wrought with stress, or breathing a little easier? Shuffling together last-minute receipts and W-2 forms, or calmly rifling through your bin of clearly-labeled folders? Depending on your situation, your timeliness, or perhaps your organization skills, Tax Day is either a mini-Christmas or a dreaded nightmare. Even if you’ve got the hang of tax season and can run the online quick tax programs in your sleep, chances are that it’s still no walk in the park. If you’re like most Americans, Tax Day can leave you feeling a little tense. Whether it’s because you’re significantly more likely to get in a car accident on this day, or because well over half of Americans find doing their taxes to be stressful, or because, per the IRS’ report, a full 1/3 of us wait until the last minute to file taxes; nationally speaking, we’re a hot mess come April 15^th. Why the anxiety? "Money is a major source of stress on people, and what tax season does is shine a great big spotlight on the issue," says Michael McKee, a Cleveland Clinic psychologist and president of the U.S. branch of the International Stress Management Association for the WebMD website. "Money takes center stage at tax time, even if you might have been able to push it to the wings the rest of the year." It’s like a giant spotlight illuminating your dirtiest closet, biggest pimple, or your giant Justin Bieber CD collection. Talk about a taxing process.

Painful process aside, statistics are actually in your favor for getting money back from the IRS. In 2015 it was estimated by CNN that nearly eight out of ten of us get a tax return. If you find yourself in that happy majority, the question stands: just what to do with this mid-spring mini windfall. You could treat your family to a fancy dinner, yourself to a spa weekend, or your pooch to a week at Dan’s Doggy Daycare. Want an even better idea? We believe that treating yourself to a few more personal training and nutrition sessions at our studio is, hands-down, the very best use of your tax return. Here’s why:

• You know that stress we were talking about earlier? The cortisol-raising, brownie-binge-inducing, sleep-stealing, brain-zapping stress? It turns out that exercise zaps every one of those nasty effects of stress, plus does way more.
• Exercise can also elevate our self-esteem. Which is much-needed after our dirty (financial) laundry has been thoroughly aired and exposed.
• Forcing yourself now to keep a healthy routine of regular exercise and good nutrition drastically raises your likelihood of keeping it up in the future. Making exercise a top priority today is some of the best health insurance there is.

Filing your taxes is, for many people, one of the most stressful times of the year, second only to tornados or other natural disasters. When you finally finish, the return you get is like a little reward  – for your hard work at your job, for your tax preparation and filing, and for making sure that you get enough taxes taken out all year long. Why not put the sudden extra funds toward maintaining your physical health and mental health, ensuring that you’ll be able to live the life you want for years to come? This year’s tax return could be a huge step toward an ongoing lifetime of health. Who knows? If you make a proactive health decision with your tax return every year, you might actually start looking forward to Tax Day.