Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Strength training, also known as resistance training, uses external resistance to improve physical function, build strength, and increase lean muscle mass. While many people recognize its role in building muscle, strength training also provides two often-overlooked benefits: increasing energy levels and helping prevent injuries.

Improving Energy

To understand how strength training improves energy, it's important to look at the role lean muscle mass plays in the body. Beyond helping you move, muscle is metabolically active tissue that requires energy (calories) to maintain. Because of this, muscle directly influences both your resting metabolic rate (RMR) and basal metabolic rate (BMR).

• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): The minimum number of calories your body needs to perform daily functions, including low-effort activities. RMR accounts for up to 75% of the energy you burn throughout the day. The most accurate way to measure your RMR is through indirect calorimetry testing at a laboratory, although many fitness trackers can provide a general estimate.
• Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): The minimum amount of energy your body requires to support essential bodily functions such as breathing, circulation, and organ function.

How does strength training affect your energy?

As you build lean muscle through strength training, both your BMR and RMR increase. This means your body burns more calories even while you're at rest.

Higher metabolic rates can:

• Make it easier to reduce body fat.
• Support healthy weight management.
• Help sustain energy levels throughout the day.
• Increase the total amount of energy your body can use each day, giving you a greater capacity for daily activities.

Injury Prevention

In addition to improving energy, strength training plays a vital role in reducing the risk of injury. Building lean muscle and consistently performing resistance exercises helps your body become stronger, more stable, and better prepared for everyday movement.

Why is strength training important for injury prevention?

• Improved coordination: Strength training enhances the mind-body connection, allowing for smoother, more controlled movement during everyday activities.
• Increased bone density: Stronger bones can help reduce the risk of fractures and breaks.
• Natural body armor: Muscle acts as a form of shock absorption, helping protect your body from bumps, slips, and falls.
• Healthier joints, ligaments, and tendons: Building muscle around your joints reduces stress placed on them while strengthening the surrounding ligaments and tendons as they adapt to increased resistance.

Where to Start

If you are overweight, have a medical condition, or haven't exercised in a long time, talk with your primary care physician before beginning a strength training program.

If you're looking for guidance, speak with our staff about working with a personal trainer or joining one of our strength training classes.

If you'd rather start on your own, begin with simple bodyweight exercises such as:

• Squats
• Lunges
• Push-ups
• Crunches

Starting with these foundational movements can help you build strength, improve confidence, and establish a routine that supports both your energy levels and long-term health.

People find their way to fitness in many ways. Some started playing sports in their schools or travel programs at a young age; others do not feel the need to enter a gym or add cardio sessions to their regimen until their doctor suggests it, well into adulthood. I am a believer that in fitness, any plan works, if you stick to it.

Many miss the opportunities entirely. They never start because they are busy crafting the perfect plan for their end goal; in short, stop trying to refine your AI prompt, in fitness, the first step is starting, above all. The search for the “correct” pair of shoes or the newest gear is a stalling technique (you know it). And that is where our small goals that lead to big results begin. Put on the shoes you have been wearing for months and walk, ride your bike, or hike. Step one must be to start, immediately after visiting your doctor, to make sure they agree that it is a good choice of course.

While personalization is important (specificity is still my favorite training principle), determination is the real key to long-term success. And, we have found, through study and real-world evidence, the most effective way to complete a big goal is to break it up into smaller pieces and create ‘smaller’ goals that offer reward along the way.

When I have a new potential client come into the office, I have a few questions that I always ask. Ask yourself these questions as you read:

Why? I ask this simple question to get to the root of the desire to reach a fitness goal. Sometimes, they are well into late life. Usually, I find an emotional foundation, and that is generally good. We call it a fitness journey because it is not fast. Nothing that requires perseverance on this level should be called easy, though many in the industry make it look effortless after 20 plus years of athletics. Whatever your reason, let the seed take root and hold on to it. It will keep you going when it is tough.

How much sleep do you get, on average, each night? If the answer to that question is less than seven hours, I make a note and intend to set that goal. This is a baseline need for your body; all your recovery processes are happening while you sleep. If you are in that club, stop telling yourself you are one of the tiny percentage of humans that can live on 2 hours of sleep per night and accept that your telomeres are being run ragged by inflammation that adequate sleep can remedy.

How many minutes of zone II cardiovascular exercise do you get each week? Do not let “zone II” scare you away; this is exercise that you can do while still holding a conversation, and you should be getting at least 180 minutes of it each week. This is a baseline need for your heart, lungs, and circulatory system.

And then I ask about their goal.

So, what is your goal? Have you started already or are you still trying to find the perfect prompt, fit, or gym?

Here are my little wins list that will have you enjoying the long-term adherence phase of your journey before you know it.

1. Be honest with yourself about your sleeping habits and fix them, if needed. Reward yourself for getting this where it should be. Shoot for 7 hours per night, minimum, and stop the late-night food and drink.

2. Find your “zone II.” Here is the equation:

3. Get a fitness assessment, preferably with a professional. You cannot see results without data.

4. Journal your journey. Your brain will not always give you an honest take in the mirror. Measure, weigh-in at regular intervals (do not do this every day, once per week is plenty. At the same time each week), and write down all your successes. The rewards for this step are built in; you will see what I mean when you fill up your first notebook.

5. When you reach your 180 minutes of zone II cardio goal, add strength training.

6. Unless your goal is to put up the gold medal winning total in the Olympics, or run a marathon in a specific time, take a step back from intensive planning. Allow fitness to be integrated into your life; long-term is the goal, it is not the cabbage soup diet (don’t). Have fun, try new things, and keep going.

7. There will be bumps. Settling back into poor habits because we missed a day of planned cardio or ate poorly over one weekend is a common trap. The key is to get up the next morning and get back to the business of your goal. No hard feelings, no punishing workouts. Just get back to the plan.

Lower limit = 220 - your age (in years) x 0.6

Upper limit = 220 – your age (in years) x 0.7

Then, honestly assess the amount of time you spend in that zone each week. If that number is less than 180 minutes, start increasing your activity level as soon as possible. Add thirty minutes each week until you hit this threshold. Reward yourself when you achieve the goal and keep this new standard moving forward.

Set up an appointment with one of our professional NIFS staff to see where you stand. Get started. Take it slow. Give yourself some grace when it feels tough and remember, it is never too late.

Picture this: You're gliding effortlessly across a small trampoline, the rhythmic bouncing sending a gentle wave of energy through your body. This isn't just some childhood fantasy; it's rebounding, a low-impact exercise gaining popularity among senior citizens for its myriad health benefits.

Unlike traditional exercises that can strain joints and muscles, rebounding is surprisingly gentle. The trampoline's bouncy surface absorbs the impact, allowing you to engage in a full-body workout without putting undue stress on your body.

Why Rebounding is a Perfect Fit for Seniors

As we age, our bodies become more susceptible to the effects of inactivity. Osteoporosis, weakened muscles, and diminished balance are just a few of the challenges older adults face. Rebounding tackles these issues head-on, offering a safe and effective way to improve overall health and fitness.

1. Cardiovascular Health Boost: Rebounding gets your heart pumping, increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to your vital organs. This can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular problems.

2. Bone Density Enhancement: The weight-bearing nature of rebounding stimulates bone growth, combating osteoporosis, a common concern among seniors.

3. Balance and Coordination Improvement: Rebounding challenges your vestibular system, which controls balance. This can help prevent falls, a major risk factor for older adults.

4. Stress Reduction and Anxiety Relief: Rebounding releases endorphins, those feel-good hormones that elevate mood and reduce stress. This can also improve sleep quality, a crucial factor for overall well-being.

5. Muscle Strengthening and Endurance: Rebounding engages all major muscle groups, leading to increased strength and endurance. This improves overall fitness and mobility, making everyday tasks easier.

6. Weight Management: Rebounding burns calories, aiding in weight loss or maintenance. This is particularly beneficial for seniors who may be struggling with weight-related health issues.

7. Mental Function Enhancement: Rebounding increases blood flow to the brain, boosting cognitive function and improving memory, concentration, and mood.

Facts About the Safe Use of a Rebounder

Rebounding is a safe form of exercise for most people, including senior citizens. However, it is important to start slowly and gradually increase the intensity of your workouts. It is also important to wear comfortable shoes and clothing that allow freedom of movement. If you have any health concerns, talk to your doctor before starting a rebounding program.

Here are some additional tips for safely using a rebounder:

• Use a rebounder with a sturdy frame and a padded surface.
• Place the rebounder on a level surface in a well-lit area.
• Hold onto the handlebars for support when you are first getting started.
• Land gently on the balls of your feet.
• Listen to your body and stop if you feel pain.

Embrace the Bounce: Elevate Your Senior Fitness

Rebounding is more than just exercise; it's a gateway to a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life. Seniors who embrace rebounding often experience a newfound sense of vitality, relaxation, and mental clarity.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab a rebounder, put on your favorite music, and let's bounce our way to better health!

It is almost that time of year where people set goals for themselves but have a hard time following through with the goals or accomplishing them as time goes on. We have all been there before or know someone that struggles with executing their goals during this part of the year. Managing your time, being realistic when setting goals and supporting those goals can get tough as we go into the holidays. Here are a few ways you can avoid becoming stagnant and set your self up for success while finishing this year.

Schedule Time: We all have busy lives which makes it easier for us to lose track of time during the day. This causes us to lose the opportunity to progress towards reaching personal goals daily. A great way to manage your time better is by creating a planner or using a scheduler. Whether it is a daily, weekly or monthly planner, it allows you to visually see what you must get done in that time stand. Another strategy for better time management could be giving each task a time limit. Avoiding becoming burnt out or stagnant by revisiting the task later in the day or on another day, could help you refresh mentally and save time in you day. Establishing a routine could also benefit you when considering time management. By creating a routine, you can avoid time of confusion allowing you to dive right into the task at hand.

Set Realistic Goals: While it is good that we set high expectations and push ourselves, it is even more beneficial to be realistic when setting goals during the holiday season. It has been seen that physically writing down the goal, helps people hold themselves accountable when setting goals. No one wants to look back at something they wrote themselves and think they sold themselves short. It can also be helpful to identify the challenges you may face when in the process of accomplishing your goals. By identifying your obstacles, naturally the next step would be finding ways to eliminate them or finding ways to work around them. Another way of being realistic when setting goals could be to block time out of your day to work towards your goal. While you might have to cut some things out of your normal daily or weekly schedule, it could be beneficial to prioritize time to be productive when trying to accomplish a goal.

Establish a Support System: Yes, even your goals need a support system. An easy way to create a support system for your goals is to get an accountability partner. These are people that are there to push you when you need the confidence and reassurance to keep working towards accomplishing your goals. Not being afraid of starting with a small workload and working your way up is another way of supporting your goals. This is a great way to build your confidence while being realistic when trying to find a place to start. While being realistic is necessary, it is very important that you celebrate your wins whether small or big. Remaining confident when seeing results that are small is a huge obstacle many people struggle to get pass. It is necessary to understand any positive outcome or result, are step towards reaching you long-term goals. By implementing some of these strategies and approaches, you might find yourself accomplishing goals and finishing this year off better than you expected.

How do you maintain your habits through the holidays?

Progress is defined as “forward or onward movement toward a destination,” and in fitness it is usually related to a specific fitness goal. Evaluating progress allows you to track your accomplishments or if you are not making the progress you hoped for, it can help determine what you can do better to reach your goal. Whether you are trying to lose weight, gain muscle mass, improve your 5k time, etc. tracking and evaluating your progress throughout your fitness journey is beneficial.

Tracking is the first big step in evaluating your progress. Based on your goal, you may want to track your everyday strength workouts with sets/reps/weight or how many minutes of cardio you did per day or how many steps you took each day. Whatever it is, you want to keep track of what you are doing. Some people like to use an app on their phone or maybe a journal; anything can work!

Tracking also allows you to challenge yourself from week to week or month to month. Our bodies like to adapt so if we continue doing the same things without “shocking the system” then we won’t see any progress. We can also track how we are feeling during an exercise, if you had a bad day and your strength routine for the day was not great, then write it down. It is important to know why you may not have made progress that week. If you get to a point where you are not making any progress, then reevaluating your goal would be the next step. Determine what can be changed and why was it difficult to accomplish in the first place. How can you avoid those barriers this time? Resetting your goal to be realistic and fit your lifestyle is totally fine. You want to set yourself up for success!

If you accomplish your goal and have made steady progressions, then it is time to create a new goal! For example, let’s say your goal was to run a 5k race in 24 minutes by running 3x/week and strength training 2x/week. And you accomplished this goal in 23:30 in a recent race, then what? You could set a goal to run a 5k race in under 23 minutes then increase your running days to 4x/week and keep strength training 2x/week. You could set a totally different goal and focus solely on strength training to build muscle mass. Determine your plan for accomplishing this goal and what steps you need to take to be successful.

Evaluating your progress is necessary in your fitness journey, even if you aren’t seeing forward progress. You can always reassess goals and determine what needs to be done be successful. If you are seeing forward progress, then challenge yourself again and work towards the next goal.

Do you get bored with the same workout and find yourself feeling unmotivated in the gym at times? Yeah, it happens to me too. Exercise boredom happens to all of us at some point. It’s easy to get stuck in a routine where you almost forget that you have done the same workout for months, maybe even years. That’s fine, but your muscles need variation to grow and become stronger. I like to call this action, “confusing the body,” by switching up your exercises you prevent the body from plateauing. Exercise is meant to be enjoyed, not dreaded so why not participate in something you like!  Here are some fun ideas to combat exercise boredom.        

Take a hike

I like to hit the trails when I’m feeling stressed. It’s nice outside, and it offers the chance to change up my workout scenery. Hiking is not only good for your body, but also your mental health. Many research studies show that hiking has a positive impact on decreasing the symptoms of stress and anxiety. Fresh air, a good cardiovascular workout (weight bearing exercise) and being surrounded by nature, what is there not to enjoy? Find a local park (or National Park) and appreciate the movement your body is capable of outdoors!

Superset your exercises

Moving quickly from one exercise to another, between two different exercises can add something new to your workout. By shortening the rest period between sets, this will keep your heart rate elevated and overall increase the intensity of your workout by overloading your muscles. This keeps your workout active and exciting.   

Take your workout outside

The environment in which you work out in can become dull at times as well. Add variety to your workout by taking your sweat session outside or in a new place you have never been. Your environment affects thoughts and desires, but by changing your surroundings you can give yourself a fresh burst of motivation. Grab a pair of dumbbells, a mat, and try this workout! This can be done inside, outside, or ever when you travel. Go through both circuits 2-3 times.

Circuit 1 (30 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest)

1. Burpees
2. Squat to Press
3. Downward dog push ups
4. Dead bugs

 Circuit 2 (30 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest)

1. Walking Lunges
2. Plank ups
3. Straight leg deadlift
4. High Knees

 Read our blog [My Favorite Workout: Trying New Exercises or Activities]

 Try something different  

Have you always wanted to try rock climbing, kickboxing, or a different fitness class? Break out of your exercise comfort zone by trying something new for you and your body. By challenging your body in ways it is not familiar has its perks. Trying something new helps you overcome fear, stimulates your creativity, and you will even get to know yourself better. When we try new activities we naturally recognize who we are and where we are headed. You might find a new hobby, fitness class, gym, small studio, or meet some awesome workout partners along the way!

American is the land of opportunity and from the time we are children, most of our parents have encouraged us to take advantage of these opportunities. They encourage us to understand that we can be anything we dream of when we grow up, accomplish any goal we set our minds to, and with hard work can achieve what others think is impossible. While these are great confidence boosters for children, as we become adults many of us have a hard time distinguishing between being able to do anything and being able to do everything. It is great to set your goals high but you have to prioritize to be able to achieve them.

This is something I see day in and day out as a fitness professional with my clients. I also see it in the unrealistic expectations I set for myself. For example, if your goal is to run a marathon you can’t expect to strength train three times a week, lose those pesky 10 pounds that have been hanging around, keep up with kids activities, maintain a full-time job, sleep eight hours a night, volunteer at your church, and have healthy meals prepared each dinnertime. Something has to give! This is where a dreaded word comes into the mix: “NO.”

Read More [4 Ways to Find a Healthy Relationship with Exercise]

We have a passion for so many things and a desire to please others but we have to prioritize. You can run that marathon but you may have to give up volunteering at your church to complete some long runs on the weekends. You may have to eat leftovers for dinner a few times a week to keep up with your training schedule. It is ok to say no or push some things to the back burner for a while so you can achieve the “anything” you have set out to accomplish. If different things become a priority, you can pull them to the forefront again.

Living a healthy lifestyle can be overwhelming. There are 7 different dimensions of well-being that we are constantly trying to balance. Cut yourself some slack and remember you cannot do everything, especially not all at once. Pick one or two things and make them your top priority. See how these affect your life and decide if they are habits worth keeping. Once you find a good balance, try adding another and see how you do. You can achieve any health/fitness goal but you cannot achieve all of them at once. Write down your top health/fitness goal for the month and focus on that for 30 days. You will feel a sense of accomplishment and build a confident attitude that says that you can do ANYTHING, just not EVERYTHING.