Setting and Achieving Milestone Fitness Goals Promotes Healthy Living
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Setting and Achieving Milestone Fitness Goals Promotes Healthy Living
(ARA) – Too many people sign up for exercise programs only to quit after a few sessions. The most popular excuses include, “I don’t have time,” “I’m too tired,” and “It’s not working for me.”
“Rather than just saying you’ll go to the gym a few days a week and then breaking that promise, we encourage people to set specific goals for themselves and build a defined exercise and diet program to achieve them,” says Kendall Harrell, personal training manager for Life Time Fitness, a national health, fitness and nutrition company.
Harrell says setting a specific goal allows the individual to focus on training and drives motivation to exercise. “It’s a lot easier to make it to the finish line if you have the goal in sight,” adds Harrell.
For this reason, Life Time Fitness produces a series of athletic events, which serve as milestone challenges for members and non-members alike, who are seeking to set and achieve their fitness goals. At any point in time, thousands of amateur athletes from across the country and around the world are in training for these events.
Perhaps the most significant upcoming event is the 2004 Life Time Fitness Triathlon. scheduled to take place Saturday, July 17, 2004, in Minneapolis, Minn. The world-class event will feature same day network television coverage, the sport’s largest prize purse, and an exciting field of the best professional triathletes from around the world. What’s more, some 2,300 amateur athletes participate in the event, competing against each other on the same course as the professionals.
Why? Harrell says it’s all about establishing a destination event that supports your health and fitness goals. “Deciding to compete in an event like the triathlon really challenges you to get in shape. The first step is to register. Once you commit to the event, you know the date and, importantly, the amount of time you have to train until your competition. This can be a key motivator in terms of establishing and sticking to your defined fitness regimen,” says Harrell.
Life Time Fitness Triathlon Training Courses, tailored for beginners and advanced triathletes alike, are offered in the months and weeks leading up to the race. The weekly courses educate people on training schedules, strength and pace training, and the use of training equipment. Athletes also receive instruction in swim, bike, run and transition skills, and benefit from the opportunity to consult with a triathlon coach.
But, if a triathlon seems a bit too daunting, plenty of other similar goals are well within your reach. For example, consider running in your first five or ten kilometer race. Life Time Fitness offers 5k Reindeer Run events in several markets nationwide. The company also sponsors the Life Time Fitness Desert Dash, an annual adventure race in Nevada, for those seeking even more thrilling fitness challenges.
What’s important is less about the specific event, but rather, taking advantage of an event to help you maintain your health, fitness and nutrition program. So, take the initiative to find an athletic event that sounds fun and challenging. Then, set your fitness goals and come up with a plan for achieving them. It’s never too late to pursue a healthy way of life!
For more information about Life Time Fitness health, fitness and nutrition programs and services, or Life Time Fitness athletic events, log onto www.lifetimefitness.com or call (866) 321-7575.
Courtesy of ARA Content
(ARA) - Now that the heat of summer has passed and winter is around the corner, it’s time to hibernate, right? Wrong! It’s the perfect time to get in shape. Conditions are pleasant for exercising, and with the kids back into their new school schedules, it’s more convenient for families to fit in a regular daily workout.
Life Time Fitness, a national Healthy Way of Life Company, offers the following tips for involving the whole family in a new fitness routine:
1. Seize the moment: Time, or the lack of it, is often cited as the biggest challenge to sustaining an exercise regimen. When the kids return to school, what better way to use some of that precious time than getting in shape?
Your workout doesn't have to take a lot of time. Even a half hour walking your neighborhood pays off in increased energy and stamina. Most fitness center aerobics classes are just an hour long, yet offer big fitness dividends. Taking care of yourself is one of the best things you can do for your family.
2. Enjoy the year's most beautiful season: In many parts of the United States, autumn is a near-sacred season, with its warm, sunny days, cool evenings and postcard perfect colors. Get outside and enjoy the season by bicycling, walking, hiking, jogging, playing tennis, or any other outdoor activity.
Explore parks in your area; find a new bike path through the woods, take a walk around a lake. The time spent out in nature will do as much good for your mind as for your body.
3. Return to your club or gym: It takes 30 days to make fitness a habit, and supplementing outdoor exercise with increasingly frequent visits to your health club will help diversify your exercise regimen and set the stage for regular workouts once autumn's leaves have fallen.
A well-rounded fitness regimen is important. While aerobic activity such as running or bicycling is good for your heart, resistance training is also a critical component of a balanced program, so be sure to take advantage of your fitness center’s weight lifting equipment.
4. Make it social: One of the great things about exercise is that it doesn't need to be done alone. By exercising together, family members can keep one another motivated, and it will be more fun.
5. An easy way to tackle these goals and be ready when winter comes is to join a health and fitness center. Life Time Fitness, with locations in Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Arizona and Texas, offers the widest range of programs and activities for the whole family.
Offering spacious health and fitness centers with more than 110,000 square feet of space, a 1-plus acre workout area including more than 400 pieces of cardiovascular, resistance and free weight equipment, multiple group fitness studios offering hundreds of classes per week, a wide range of athletic leagues, rock climbing walls, kid's camps, and much, much more, Life Time Fitness provides something for everyone. The entire family also can enjoy indoor and outdoor aquatic centers which feature multiple water slides, children's play areas, lap pools, relaxing whirlpools, and complimentary towel services, along with swimming, diving, scuba and kayaking lessons for all ages and skill levels.
Have young kids? Life Time Fitness' large childcare centers offer a safe, fun environment for kids from three months to 12 years old. Facilities include a playmaze, children's theater, gym and computer center, and a dedicated area for infants. Better still, childcare is free to members.
"Since inception, Life Time Fitness has placed a unique emphasis on serving families," says Mike Brown, senior vice president of operations. "Serving families with kids is a priority, not an afterthought. Each of our centers is founded upon providing an unparalleled set of services and amenities that meet the health and fitness needs of the entire family."
For more information about Life Time Fitness, visit www.lifetimefitness.com, or call (800) 430-5433.
Courtesy of ARA Content
(ARA) – How many times have you gone to sleep at night, swearing you’ll go to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight hours later because when you get up, you don’t feel like exercising?
“While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn’t mean you should drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit,” says Jeff Zwiefel, Vice President of the Nutritional Products Division at Life Time Fitness, a leading national health, fitness and nutrition company. “What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness -- and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Zwiefel says the more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you. “When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity,” he says, “you are informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy.”
In other words, proper eating habits plus exercise equals fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.
“The true purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the body asking for improvement in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity and overall fitness and health. Each time you exercise, your body responds by upgrading its capabilities to burn fat throughout the day and night,” says Zwiefel. “Exercise doesn’t have to be intense to work for you, but it does need to be consistent.”
Life Time Fitness recommends engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. “This balanced approach provides a one-two punch, incorporating aerobic exercise to burn fat and deliver more oxygen, and resistance training to increase lean body mass and burn more calories around the block,” says Zwiefel.
Here’s a sample exercise program that may work for you:
* Warm Up -- seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity intended to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm-up your tendons and joints.
* Resistance Training -- Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets.
* Aerobic Exercise -- Pick two favorite activities, they could be jogging, rowing, biking or cross-country skiing, whatever fits your lifestyle. Perform 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five minutes.
* Stretching -- Wrap up your exercise session by stretching, breathing deeply, relaxing and meditating.
When starting an exercise program, it is important to have realistic expectations. Depending on your initial fitness level, you should expect the following changes early on.
* From one to eight weeks -- Feel better and have more energy.
* From two to six months -- Lose size and inches while becoming leaner. Clothes begin to fit more loosely. You are gaining muscle and losing fat.
* After six months -- Start losing weight quite rapidly.
“Once you make the commitment to exercise several times a week, don’t stop there. You should also change your diet and/or eating habits,” says Zwiefel. Counting calories or calculating grams and percentages for certain nutrients is impractical. Instead, Life Time Fitness suggests these easy-to-follow guidelines:
* Eat several small meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks throughout the day
* Make sure every meal is balanced -- incorporate palm-sized proteins like lean meats, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread and pasta, wild rice, multigrain cereal and potatoes, and fist-sized portions of vegetable and fruits
* Limit your fat intake to only what’s necessary for adequate flavor
* Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water throughout the day
* Life Time Fitness also recommends taking a multi-vitamin each day to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs
To learn more about the comprehensive health, fitness and nutrition programs and products, centers and services offered by Life Time Fitness, log onto www.lifetimefitness.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
(ARA) – An estimated 6 million people across the country are now strengthening their bodies and minds, and losing weight, with the help of pilates exercises, the fastest growing fitness trend in decades. Among the Hollywood celebrities publicly touting its benefits, Goldie Hawn, Candace Bergen, Brad Pitt, Ben Afleck and Matthew Broderick.
Thanks to the Method’s popularity, a growing industry has emerged. More than 11 thousand people in the U.S. now claim to be pilates instructors, but according to the Pilates Method Alliance, (PMA), the international, not–for–profit, professional association that establishes certification and continuing education standards for Pilates professionals, at least 25 percent of them have not been properly trained.
“If you are working with an instructor who doesn’t have adequate training, you run an incredible risk of getting hurt,” says Kevin Bowen, co-founder of the PMA. “Pilates isn’t something you just start doing one day. You have to make sure you have an instructor who understands the Method and how to make the exercises work for you.”
If done correctly, pilates exercises strengthen, tone and stretch the body, encourage proper breathing and facilitate good posture. Here are 10 important questions you should ask an instructor before signing up for their class:
#1 What kind of training did you go through and where?
#2 How much time was spent in your original training?
#3 How long have you been teaching?
#4 Did you only learn the mat work or was your program comprehensive in nature, teaching you pilates exercises on the pilates equipment? #5 Do you understand the body, have basic knowledge of kinesiology and understand fundamental biomechanics?
#6 Do you understand the aging process?
#7 Do you pay close attention to safety and guidelines?
#8 Does the facility where you teach practice safety standards for group classes?
# 9 Do you have a commitment to continuing education?
#10 Are you affiliated with a professional organization like the Pilates Method Alliance?
For help finding a pilates studio or instructor in your area, who is likely to answer these questions to your satisfaction, log onto the Pilates Method Alliance Web site at www.pilatesmethodalliance.org. Click on the link on the left hand side that says “Finding a Teacher.” That will take you to a page with a link to a searchable database.
Courtesy of ARA Content
(ARA) - In many parts of the country, when the temperature drops, so does our activity level. When the snow falls it is often hard to participate in favorite activities like hiking, biking and swimming -- so a lot of people cocoon.
Inactivity often leads to weight gain and the winter “blahs,” but there is something you can do to brighten the outlook for yourself, your friends and family. “Give a gift that promotes health and fitness this winter,” says Karen Righthand, director of marketing at Atlas Snow-Shoe Company. “Pick up a pair of snowshoes for someone you love for a season filled with healthy fun.”
Since anyone who lives in a cold climate can participate in the sport daily, snowshoeing has steadily been gaining in popularity with nearly six million participants in the U.S. “It’s like hiking, only you can go places you never dreamed possible in your hiking boots,” says Righthand.
And while hiking will only burn about 340 calories per hour for the average person, snowshoeing will burn twice that: 680 calories. “Snowshoeing is the best bang-for-your-buck fat burning workout you can get in the winter time,” says Cathy Sassin, a world-class adventure racer, personal trainer and nutrition consultant who cross-trains year round.
Not only do you burn calories, you improve your core body strength and balance, and get an aerobic workout. Snowshoeing raises your heart rate and compares favorably with activities such as running, swimming, cross-country skiing and bicycling. In fact, many cyclists, mountain bikers, trail runners and adventure racers snowshoe as a way to cross-train and improve their cardio fitness during the winter months.
Snowshoeing can be done anywhere there are a few inches of snow on the ground. Backyards, local golf courses, hiking trail systems, national parks and forests are all accessible to people with snowshoes.
“One of the great things about this sport is its affordability,” says Righthand. “You don’t have to pay a lift-fee each time you want to go down a hill, just strap on your snowshoes, grab your poles and get out there.” An added bonus, there are no limitations. Snowshoes can go anywhere your feet can take you -- where there is snow.
So, this winter, give a gift that will be remembered and enjoyed for seasons to come. The revitalizing outdoor experience and fitness benefits of snowshoeing are guaranteed to provide the healthiest present of all for mind, body and soul. For more information, visit www.atlassnowshoe.com or call (888) 48-ATLAS.
Courtesy of ARA Content
Start Your Family Exercise Routine Now!
The Keys to Living a Healthy Way of Life -- Education, Exercise and Good Nutrition
The Power of Pilates
Give the Gift of Health and Fitness this Winter
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