Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Congratulations! You’ve decided to get started with your fitness journey! Now what?

Deciding that you want to begin a regular exercise routine can be a big step, but once you make that decision, getting started can be intimidating. Here are some simple steps to take to get you on the right track. It’s important to note that you should receive clearance from your doctor before beginning a new exercise program.

1. Figure out what type of exercise you enjoy. If you have exercised in the past, what did you enjoy doing then? What type of exercise sounds enjoyable to you? Do you enjoy group classes, exercising with a friend, or by yourself? Do you enjoy being outside or prefer indoors? Ask yourself these types of questions. It’s important that you find some enjoyment in the exercise that you are doing, otherwise you are less likely to stick with it. If you aren’t sure what you enjoy, try a few different classes, try going for a few walks, try out the exercise equipment in the fitness center, or schedule a fitness evaluation with the fitness staff so they can give you guidance.
2. Make a schedule. Another great way to make sure you stick with your exercise routine is to make a schedule. Figure out how many days per week you are going to exercise, what time of day, and how many minutes. It will vary depending on everyone. In general, I recommend starting with 2-3 days per week for 20-30 minutes. The time of day will depend on if you are a morning person or evening person. Whenever you feel you have the most energy or have room in your schedule is when you should schedule your exercise.
3. Find your “Why”. Why did you decide to start your fitness journey? Your first thought might be something straightforward, such as to improve your balance, to move better, to get stronger, etc. Try taking it a step farther. Why do you want to move better? The answer to that could be anything, but an example may be something like “So that I can do more activities with my grandkids.” It’s important to have a strong enough reason why you are starting or continuing your exercise program, so that on days you don’t feel like doing it, you can come back to that reason and remind yourself why you are doing it.
4. Give yourself grace. I think another part of getting started with an exercise routine that can be intimidating is thinking that it must be all or nothing. As a fitness professional, I am all about helping people find ways to make exercise a part of your daily life, but that doesn’t mean your whole routine and progress is thrown off if you miss a day or even a week. Sometimes things happen, you get sick, or your spouse has medical issues, or a family member needs help, or anything unplanned happens to throw off your schedule. That’s OK! We can’t prepare for these things, so it’s important to not be too hard on yourself if your exercise routine gets pushed aside while you’re dealing with whatever is going on. All you can do is start back up once things have calmed down.

How do you plan to make your health and fitness a priority this year?

A vacation is great to “get away from it all.” It is up to you if that includes your normal exercise routine. Most of the research indicates that one week off from exercising will not take away from the progress you have made. In some instances, a week off can increase your performance by allowing lingering injuries time to heal. More than one week off can lead to declines in cardiovascular and muscular ability. During your vacation take these steps to not lose the progress you have made.

Staying active is the best way to avoid losses in physical ability. This does not have to be the same intensity as your usual workout, all movement counts. Try to do something most days of the week, it can be as simple as taking a walk or playing beach games with family and friends. If you are wanting to keep your progress and do not have access to a gym, set a goal for the week. For example, on the first day of vacation see how many pushups you can do in a row. Every day after that try to increase that number. Do the same thing for the number of squats you can do.

Stay mindful of what you eat. A couple of nice meals are a great change of pace. Try to limit the number unhealthy snacks. Extra salt and sugar are known to increase water retention and add extra pounds. Keeping your diet in check will make it easier to get back into the routine when returning from vacation.

Your vacation is a great get away but that does not mean you have to abandon all things fitness. Plan and you will be able to rest recover and set yourself up for the next round of post vacation goals.

3 tips to keeping active on your summer vacation:

1. Explore new places. Renting kayaks is a great upper body and core workout. If water isn't your think, climbing to the top of a lighthouse will engage leg muscles you may not have used in a while.  
2. Keep it simple. Bodyweight exercises like pushups and squats are great to keep the muscles moving.
3. Make it Fun. Play games, incorporate family and friends, bring a ball and be a kid again.

On the Go Workout:

20-minute get moving routine

Speed walk 5 minutes

10 Squats

10 Standing knee raises per leg

10 Pushups (incline pushups on a bench)

10 Triceps dips (on bench)

Repeat 2-3 times

After the excitement of holiday parties and festivities slows down, we sometimes find ourselves in a funk. Life can seem a bit slow, minimal sunlight and weather keeps us cooped up inside, and we feel a bit sluggish. Get rid of winter blues with these tips to warm the soul.

Warm Your Mind

• Think positively. When you’re feeling drained, it’s important to keep a glass-half-full mindset. Positive thinking starts with taking control and responsibility for your mind and attitude. A bad mood can be flipped simply by taking a slow, deep breath. In that moment you can change your entire day.
• Be nice to yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, so let yourself move forward.
• Smile. A simple smile can do wonders for your mind. How negative can you be if you are smiling?
• Meditate. Meditation is a great way to keep the mind healthy and thinking happy thoughts. It can be as long or short as desired. Meditation forces the mind to focus on the moment, allowing us to leave the world for a while and de-stress. Breathe in, breathe out, repeat.

Warm Your Body

• Move. Moving more throughout the day keeps blood circulating to all parts of the body. This includes blood flow to the brain, increasing alertness and productivity. (Here are some tips for finding motivation for winter fitness.)
• Break a sweat. Working out can provide feelings of accomplishment and happiness. Exercise causes serotonin secretion, the catalyst for a great mood. 
• Practice mindful eating and nutrition. It’s easy to get carried away indulging in favorite comfort foods. The downfall is that they are typically high in carbs and fats. Although you think you want these foods, it’s not what your body needs. Stick to the basic guidelines: half of your plate fruits and veggies, one quarter protein, and one quarter grains.

Warm Your Heart

• Pay it forward. Do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return. We’ve all heard about buying coffee for the person who’s in line behind you. If you’ve experienced this, you understand how great the heart-warming gesture feels and why you might do the same for a stranger the next time. However, paying it forward does not have to be monetary. Simple notions such as opening the door or smiling as you say, “Hello” to someone can go a long way and often creates a ripple effect. One day, I came across an envelope lying on a bench, addressed as “to whoever comes across this.” I opened it to find a card with an incredibly nice and uplifting note written inside. It ended with a request to leave the card in a new place in order to brighten someone else’s day.
• Don’t be alone… all the time. Surround yourself with positive people. Spend time with those who make you laugh, who make you feel good about yourself, with people who motivate and encourage you.
• Play or exercise with puppies. Animals and pets can have a therapeutic effect on us humans. Find a furry friend to give your attention and love to; I prefer puppies. Don’t have any around? Visit a local animal shelter, or better yet, volunteer your time and double up on the fuzzy feelings!

Warm Your Spirit

• Be grateful. Showing gratitude shifts focus away from you and brings mindfulness to a greater purpose in life, helping strengthen the Spiritual Dimension of Wellness. Take a minute to let someone know that you are thankful for them or for something that they did. Writing down what you are grateful for can affect your spiritual side in a similar way.

Receive our blog straight to your inbox by subscribing below!  

According to the American Medical Resource Institute, approximately 6 million people over the age of 65 are depressed. As we know, this time of year can be very difficult for some seniors since the holidays have a tendency to intensify feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Use the following tips for keeping holiday depression at bay this season.

Remain Physically Active

Mayo Clinic states that exercise can help to combat anxiety and depression by releasing “feel-good chemicals” into the brain while reducing the immune system chemicals that can worsen depression. These results boost mood through calming effects, coupled with an increase in confidence that we experience while exercising.

Keep Your Nutrition in Check

Typically, holidays are filled with family, friends, and foods that are full of sugar and high in fat, which can bring on or worsen anxiety, depression, and bad moods. (Check out this article to discover the ways sugar may be harming your mental health.) Try maintaining a blood-sugar balance, increasing omega-3s, eating a balanced diet, and getting in your vitamins to combat the blues stemming from poor dietary choices.

Get Outdoors

Speaking of vitamins, did you know that vitamin D is produced when our skin is exposed to sunlight? When the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter, we spend less time outdoors soaking in the sun, which results in a dip in vitamin D absorption. Studies suggest that low vitamin D levels are associated with depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Read more about SAD here.

Remain Social

Staying connected to family and friends will benefit you both emotionally and psychologically when you start to feel the holiday blues creeping up. Remember past holidays, but try starting some new traditions to find joy and balance this holiday season.

Lend a Hand

Volunteering to help the less fortunate reminds us how lucky we are while connecting us to others, keeping us mentally stimulated, and providing us with a sense of purpose!

***

Help keep your residents active and engaged with others, check out our quick read for the benefits of exercise and aging well.  

What’s better than chips and guacamole? Tacos and guacamole? Fajitas and guacamole? Or guacamole and a serving of guacamole with a little dish of guacamole on the side? Point is guacamole is amazing and what better way to celebrate the awesomeness of guacamole than Cinco de Mayo. If you plan on indulging in as much guacamole as I do this Cinco de Mayo then maybe a plyometric workout beforehand will keep your conscience at bay when asking your waiter/waitress for that third serving of guac. Here are my 5 favorite plyometric exercises for Cinco de Mayo:

5 – Squat Jumps

5 – Power Push-Ups

5 – Split Lunge Jumps

5 – Heavy Med Ball Slams

5 – Burpees

*Repeat these 5 times through, if you aren’t sure of how to execute these exercises here is a rundown for you:

Squat Jumps – Start with feet shoulder width apart. Lower body into a squat by bending at hips with your back straight, pushing your glutes back while looking forward.  Allow your arms to naturally swing back and with a quick pause at the bottom, push through your feet into a jumping motion. Swing your arms to straight up in the air, fully extending over your head. When landing, squat back to the lowered position and repeat.

Power Push-Ups – Start in push-up position with arms shoulder width apart. Keeping body straight, perform a push-up. On the way up, in an explosive motion, push your body up so your hands come off the ground. Resistance can be decreased by having knees on the ground.

Split Lunge Jumps – Stand with one foot forward and other foot back with knees bent slightly. Dip body down by bending legs lowering yourself toward the ground. Immediately jump upward quickly switching legs and landing with feet in opposite positions. Keep torso upright and hips straight forward. Repeat sequence with opposite leg movement.

Heavy Med Ball Slams – Hold a medicine ball with both hands and stand with feet at shoulder width apart. Raise the ball above your head fully extending arms overhead. Reverse the motion, slamming the ball into the ground directly in front of you as hard as you can. Receive the ball with both hands on the bounce and repeat the movement.

Burpees – Start standing with feet hip width apart. Squat down placing hands shoulder width apart on the floor. Jump both feet back into a push-up position. Perform a push up and immediately jump feet back into the squat position. Jump up from the squat position extending arms straight up. Land back on the ground and repeat.  For an easier version, eliminate the push up, you can also step your feet out and back to eliminate the explosive movements.

Enjoy more blogs like this by subscribing to our blog!  

Click below to get them directly to your inbox.  

Exercise, as we know, is an essential part of living a healthy life—not only for the elderly, but for everyone. One common question I get is, “What exercises should I do?” Now, this is a loaded question. That’s going to depend on things like goal, fitness level, capability, and injury. But for the most part, I recommend that everyone follow basic guidelines for success when it comes to their fitness. Over the course of this blog, I discuss two of my guidelines for fitness. Not everyone is the same; therefore, one size doesn't fit all. But we are all humans, so one size does fit most.

When asked about what style of fighting he instructs and follows, Bruce Lee, my hero and inspiration, responded: “I don't believe in different ways of fighting now. I mean, unless human beings have three arms and three legs, then we will have a different way of fighting. But basically we all have two arms and two legs, so that is why I believe there should be only one way of fighting and that is no way.” Essentially, he was saying what I said before, which is that even though we are all different and everything doesn't apply to everyone, we are all more similar than we are different; therefore, the same basic rules will apply to everyone, whether it's with martial arts or exercise.

Guideline 1: Muscle-Activation Exercises

Muscle activation is when someone gains mastery over his or her body. A good example would be a bodybuilder. A bodybuilder will get on stage and brace their muscles as a means of showing their physique, but tensing that muscle tissue allows them to make that “mind-muscle connection,” which will allow them to concentrate on that particular muscle while doing an exercise. Essentially, they have an uber-awareness of their bodies.

Simple exercises isolating each muscle group through bracing can be a huge help in achieving this awareness. Also, certain exercise tips can increase this. For example, when performing a seated row, you want the client to concentrate on rowing with the upper back and not the arms; therefore, you can give them a simple cue such as pretending to squeeze an imaginary tennis ball together with their shoulder blades. This cue will allow them to take tension off certain areas, such as the arms, and put more tension on those larger, postural muscles like the lats, rhomboids, and traps.

Guideline 2: Simplistic Exercises

Simplicity with exercise is an important key to success. The more complex and drawn out the exercise becomes, the less the client will think about muscle activation and the more they will think about how confused they are. When describing his art, Jeet Kune Do, Bruce lee stated, “Simplicity is the key to brilliance. In building a statue, a sculptor doesn't keep adding clay to his subject. Actually, he keeps chiseling away at the inessentials until the truth of its creation is revealed without obstructions. Thus, contrary to other styles, being wise in Jeet Kune Do doesn't mean adding more; it means to minimize, in other words to hack away the unessential.”

Subscribe to our blog by clicking below to receive new blog posts directly to your inbox.

A new year means new trends to follow! What do you have planned for your workout routine this year? Hopefully, the plan is to either begin or continue your fitness routine, but possibly add more variety into it. Make it your year to become familiar with the endless options and try something new!

The new trends predicted to become popular and make you sweat at the gym this year are:

• Body Weight Training
• High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
• Treadmill Training

Wait, body weight training? What happened to lifting heavy? Body weight training is predicted to be the next big thing this year. This includes comprehensive incorporation of gymnastics, adult jungle gyms, uncluttered workout spaces, suspension training options, basic movements, and programming that is not as focused on the standard weight lifting protocols. This means back to the basics with lunges, squats, and push-ups. What are your thoughts? Will the benefits from body weight training be as successful as lifting heavy weights?

HIIT, the alternating bursts of exercises with short recovery periods, is a popular trend known for its quick fat blasting tactics. I mean, who wants to spend endless hours at the gym when you can just knock out about 20-30 minutes of HIIT? Trust me, that is plenty of time to get a ‘sweatastic’ workout in and definitely one my personal favorites. You can create quite the variety of workouts, allowing your muscles to always be surprised by what is next. Plus, the variety can keep it interesting and fun so you don’t get burnt out so easily!

Treadmill training is poised to be the next “it” workout, according to Health Magazine. I know many are not fans of treadmill workouts and are tempted to consider it torture, but Health Magazine names running as the oldest form of exercise. I, myself, would rather run outside than on a treadmill any day. That tends to become a challenge during the colder months, so I put together treadmill interval and speed variation workouts to keep myself from getting bored of my workout. With this up and coming trend, classes will allow participants to improve their running through speed and interval-based training drills. Participants will also have the chance to become more engaged in their workouts and can avoid the worrisome of how to log miles when it is cold or rainy, since training is indoors.

These workouts are meant to push your body’s limits. With the higher chance of being sore, there is a need for recovery - foam rolling, restorative yoga, therapy balls, dynamic stretching, and core strengthening are perfect examples. A good night’s rest is also important for recovery. Allowing for recovery time after an intense workout decreases your chance of overtraining your muscles and the potential for injuries.

So, now that you are familiar with the predicted trends, how will you log your intense workouts? We are in a generation that is highly involved with technology - fitness watches and Smartphone apps at our fingertips. Digital engagement keeps us motivated, gives us inspiration, and coaches us through our workouts. Do you have a favorite piece of technology you use to track your workouts?

Overall, what do you think about these trends? Are you interested in trying out something new this year?! Connect with a health fitness specialist in your corporate fitness center or local gym to get started on a better you.

Subscribe to our blog and recieve our Free Workout Friday blogs directly to your inbox!

Every morning I am hitting up the NIFS Fitness Center working towards the goal to stay healthy and fit.  I see all types of people with different fitness interests; those who participate in group fitness classes, those who always do cardio, or those who strictly lift weights. No matter their interest, I am always curious about their fitness journey. Why did they start? What is their progress? Are they working towards a goal? My usual gym routine consists of mostly lifting weights and getting in some cardio as well. I try to keep it balanced, but it is occasionally difficult. Being female and lifting heavy weights just seems to be so wrong and unattractive to some these days, but why? Wouldn’t you think that women would want to be as strong or fit as men, but maybe without the bulkiness? This leads to me to explain a controversial article I read recently posted on the ABC news website discussing a Fitness Test controversy in Pennsylvania. The head of the Pennsylvania State Police claimed that the agency’s physical fitness standards for recruits discriminate against women. Overall, nearly all male recruits pass the test, while 30% of women fail. An implemented fitness test must pass the threshold rule; 80% must pass. A lawsuit was filed; asking a judge to order the department to hire women on an equal basis with men. The Commissioner said he did not want to lower the standards because new troopers perform the same job and lowering the standards would endanger safety, as well insult those who already met the standards. This controversial topic sparked my interest and thoughts on the physical fitness test standards for other situations, like the one administered in gym class.

With kids heading back to school, that means gym class starting back up too! Although the President’s Challenge has not been used since 2013 and new guide to promoting fitness in schools is used, a variety of schools once used this method of teaching kids how to lead a healthy life. The Physical Fitness Test recognizes students for their level of physical fitness by doing 5 activities; curl ups or partial curl ups, shuttle run, endurance run/walk, pull-ups or right angle push-ups or flexed arm hang, and the v-sit reach. Based on their results three awards are given. The benchmarks are specific to age and gender. The girls’ benchmarks are lower than the boys’. So, this is where I ask your thoughts. Do you think that fitness test requirements like the ones mentioned should vary between males and females or should they be equal? What are your thoughts on strength training to create a better you? I want to hear your thoughts! Connect with a health fitness specialist in your corporate fitness center to strive to improve on your own numbers.