Archive for the ‘muscle’ Category

Exercise and Pregnancy: Myth #3

Posted: November 12, 2012 by christyatprime in fitness, health, lifestyle, muscle, personal training, pregnancy, wellness, womens' fitness
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Myth #3: When exercising keep your heart rate under 140 beats per minute.

Reality: This recommendation on the guidelines of safe exercise during pregnancy was removed in 1994 as there is no scientific proof to substantiate it. Everyone does not have the same resting heart rate nor do people have the exact same heart rate while performing a certain exercise. For example, I could be running on the treadmill at a speed of 6 mph and my heart rate may be 152 bpm, and the person running next to me at 9 mph has the same heart rate of 152 bpm. My friend has the ability to do more work (run faster) yet our heart rates are identical.

When exercising the pregnant woman should refer to the RPE scale or rate of perceived exertion. Each day is different and something that was “easy” last week might feel brutal this week. Pay attention to signs of dizziness, headache, chest pain, shortness of breath, and cramping and discontinue exercising if one of these symptoms occurs.

Tackling the myths of exercise and pregnancy

Posted: November 7, 2012 by christyatprime in fitness, health, lifestyle, muscle, pregnancy, wellness, womens' fitness
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I thought I would take the next few weeks to tackle some of the top myths in regards to exercising during pregnancy. There has been such little research done on exercise and pregnancy leaving many women confused and relying on outdated information with little scientific value.

Myth #1: If you weren’t exercising before getting pregnant, now is NOT the time to start.

Reality: Now is the perfect time to start working towards a healthier lifestyle. First things first, make sure you check with your health care provider prior to beginning anything new and make sure you are cleared for exercise. Keep in mind, now is not the time to try to lose weight through exercise or dieting, don’t attempt to start a vigorous exercise program (I.e. training for your first marathon) and don’t set out to set your PR (personal record). Exercising during pregnancy should be used as a stress reliever, to make you feel better, and to promote a healthy lifestyle for you and your baby.

If you choose to start an exercise program or if you are continuing with your current program, make sure you are eating properly keeping in mind a typical pregnant woman only needs an additional 300 calories per day. You are not eating for two!! You also need to focus on water consumption and increase the amount of water you generally drink.

If you are brand new to exercise remember you can start with walking, swimming, light strength training and/or prenatal yoga. If you are new to strength training consider speaking with a certified personal trainer about safe and effective exercises to begin with. Remember to listen to your body! Only you know what feels ok. If you are exercising and experience any of the following stop and call your doctor: dizziness, feeling faint, chest pain, vaginal bleeding or any swelling or cramping.

The Mayo Clinic states exercise while pregnant helps a woman prepare for labor and delivery, may decrease back pain/discomfort; increase energy; decrease the risk of gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and postpartum depression; and increased stamina and overall muscle strength.

This is a time for you to take care of yourself! Listen to your body and most of all enjoy every second of your journey.

My wedding gown debacle….

Posted: June 13, 2012 by christyatprime in fitness, health, lifestyle, muscle, Uncategorized, weight loss, wellness, womens' fitness
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I have been debating on whether or not to write this post, but decided for my own sanity that I had to share a story from a week ago.  As many of you know, Eric and I are getting married on August 17, 2012.  I have purchased my wedding gown and on Sunday, June 3 I ventured to Neiman Marcus to discuss alterations with a tailor. 

I am lucky that I spend my life in sneakers and workout clothes, so I am not very accustomed to shopping in Neiman.  Despite this, I realize our wedding day is very important so I am stepping out of my comfort zone. :)   When I walked into the store, even getting someone to assist me took 10 minutes.  After wandering through the couture section and into “the galleria” I finally found where I was supposed to be.  I was assisted into the fitting room where a seamstress would be with my shortly.  For only the second time I slipped into my wedding gown, which I should inform you no one has seen me in the dress, and stood admiring myself in the mirror.  Soon after there was a knock on the door and in walked the seamstress.  As she walked around me, analyzing, the first words out of her mouth were “you have a very large round behind”.  I agreed and said unfortunately that wasn’t going away especially before August.  She began to touch my thighs asking what the lumps and bumps were.  I assume she was “admiring” my quadriceps that I have worked so hard in the gym developing.  Little did I know muscles are not acceptable when wearing a gown….we must “minimize and compress you”.  Within minutes the sales associate knocked on the door with various versions of Spanx and other compression materials.  I agreed to try one on that didn’t seem as if it would suffocate me for our August wedding.  Once I put the dress back on I was told how much better it was now that my “lumps and bumps” were smoothed out, minimized, and compressed.

I am by no means of the mindset that my body is perfect….in fact I’m not even sure what the perfect body is…..but I have become more and more comfortable in my own skin over the years as I realize that health, body composition, ease of movement, and strength are far more important than the number on a scale, but that experience shattered me.  Over the next 8 weeks before our wedding my goal is to rebuild my self confidence knowing that muscles are beautiful and I would much rather be FIT than skinny.

Worth The Time??

Posted: April 23, 2012 by Eric at Prime in challenge, fat loss, fitness, health, lifestyle, muscle, Uncategorized, weight loss, wellness, womens' fitness
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This weekend I had a great time at my soon to be in laws home. Sunday morning  I was the first person awake(as usual) at about 5:30 a.m. I made my way down to the living room and decided to flip on the T.V. to catch anything to help me wake up a bit. As I surfed the channels, I was blown away at the number of “Fitness Infomercials”. It seemed every non major network had some form of health, fitness or beauty infomercial playing! Flat abs this, boost your butt that, burn all you need in 6 minutes a day and of course a few products to “reduce” fat and or cellulite! I knew all of this advertising was abundant, but was shocked at just how much was out there and the message it is sending.

As a fitness professional I was immediately disgusted at all of these items/programs that promise the easy road and the answer to all your fitness, health and beauty problems. I was originally going to blog about this insanity and more or less rant and rave about the lunacy that is the “easy road” to fitness. Instead, I decided to take a different approach. I want to begin The Prime Fitness Effectiveness Study. In this study, I want to reach out to YOU the reader and ask YOU which of these programs or products  you want to know the truth about. We will choose 10 products or programs and we will research each for its effectiveness, safety, validity and fun factor. Need examples

P90X, Insanity, AB Lounge, AB Rocker, Brazilian Butt Lift, The Shake Weight, Weight Watchers, etc…the list goes on and on and on. We will test each program/product in our exclusive Prime Fitness Laboratory and report back to you our findings!

I am opening the floor to you now!! Let me know what has your curiosity peaked. Respond by commenting to the blog and we will make our choices by May 1st.

A Client’s Take on Fitness by our very own Barbara Root

Posted: March 14, 2012 by christyatprime in dedication, fat loss, fitness, health, inspiration, lifestyle, muscle, personal training, weight loss, wellness, womens' fitness
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A Client’s Take on Fitness

Written March 1, 2012

I’ve always considered myself a fairly fit person, even if my favorite form of exercise was a “brisk read” as Phyllis Diller once said. When I could drag myself away from a good book, however, I walked every day, did aerobics, yoga, and qigong and ice skating—at least sporadically, and took the occasional dance class. This approach seemed to work pretty well until I hit my early fifties, when my formerly flat stomach went squishy and I started getting recurring rotator cuff and deltoid injuries to my right shoulder, on top of arthritis and spinal stenosis. I gritted my teeth and asked my daughter Kathy, who’s a personal trainer, to teach me to lift weights. I might be getting older, but I was determined not to be decrepit.

Thus began my adventures in high-intensity intervals, balance, and strength training—and my obsession with Jillian Michaels! Kathy trained me for about 4 months before she liberated me—or was that, fired me? Evidently, even great trainers who love their work don’t want to train their moms when they get home! After getting over my shock, I realized that it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. Kathy had laid the groundwork and taught me things I never thought I could do, but no one else was going to take charge (I thought)—I was going to have to be responsible for my own fitness.

Enter Jillian, who’s not quite the screaming meanie in her videos as she was on Biggest Loser. Well, Jillian was great… and Tamilee, and Jackie… until the knee injury. Nothing dramatic, just bone on bone arthritis. Sidelined by my doctor, who said, “No more squats and lunges, ever!” but also said “strengthen your quads” without telling me how, I quickly sought referrals for personal trainers from Kathy. I’ve been blessed over the past year to work with three amazing trainers, including two from Prime Fitness. It’s taken about 6 months, but the swelling in my knee has finally gone down and I now have two perfectly matched knees! In the process, I’ve lost body fat and gained a lot of strength—AND I do squats and lunges. I can’t say enough about how important knowledgeable trainers are in teaching you proper form and in finding creative ways to work around injuries and in making you work harder than you might on your own.

Barbara Root

Fit vs. Skinny Part Deux

Posted: March 9, 2012 by christyatprime in dedication, fat loss, fitness, health, inspiration, lifestyle, muscle, personal training, Uncategorized, wellness, womens' fitness
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After my post on fit vs skinny last week I decided it was time to get personal and talk a little about my own journey over the last 3 months.  It has always intrigued me when I talk to our clients about fat loss versus weight loss, being fit versus being skinny, positive versus negative self talk, and the notion that trainers are working towards their own personal goals and even we as fitness professionals aren’t always 100% self confident in the way we look or feel.

On December 8th I had my body composition taken.  It was a whopping 22.79% and I weighed in at 143 pounds.  That being said that’s 32.6 pounds of FAT and 110.4 pounds of lean body mass(LBM).  I set up my action plan as to how I could LOSE fat!  I didn’t care so much about the number on the scale, but I was definitely not happy with my body fat percentage.  Okay, okay, truth be told….I really did care about the number on the scale, because I knew that if I could just hit 138 pounds I would look great!  I decided that I would increase the number of days I was strength training.  I incorporated TRX Suspension Training, TRX Rip Training, kettlebells, bands, med balls, and a bunch of fun “toys”.  My cardio consisted of high intensity, short duration bouts of running a couple times per week.  Within four weeks I had lost 2% body fat, 3 pounds of fat and had gained 2 pound of LBM!  The weight on the scale didn’t budge.  Determined to continue on a path of fat loss, I really took a look at my nutrition and realized that I was eating as much as my boyfriend, Eric, at each meal….I realized that I really like to eat!  Without changing a lot of my food selection, I cut back on my portion size and increased the amount of protein I was consuming daily.  I began tracking my food consumption using the Daily Burn Tracker and found that there were days I actually wasn’t eating enough!  Could that be?  I needed more food (fuel) per day to increase my fat loss!   So YES I had to start eating more, to lose fat!  The other major factor, in my opinion, is cutting down on the alcohol consumption.  I allowed myself 1-2 alcoholic drinks per week if I chose.  Instead of my usual, delicious pint(s) of Blue Moon beer with a whopping 171 calories per 12 oz, I settled for a small glass of pinot noir at 120 calories.  I found that not only was I not consuming empty calories, but I felt much better!  I was sleeping soundly and my energy levels increased.

I did my final weigh in and body composition check on March 6th….12 weeks after first starting.  I am happy to report that I am now 16.96% body fat and am 139 pounds; with 23.57 pounds of fat and 115.42 pounds of LBM.  In 12 short weeks I have lost 9 pounds of fat, gained 5 pounds of LBM and the scale only changed by ~4 pounds.

I know how frustrating it can be when we put so much emphasis on the scale.  It makes you wonder why you drag yourself to the gym five days per week, why you sacrifice your weekend mornings for the long runs, and why you ever thought about giving up alcohol.  But trust me, it’s NOT about the number on the scale.  That’s not the important number….instead focus on body composition….fat loss, not weight loss.  Once you set your sights on this, you will find success!  And I now have the mindset that FIT is so much more important than skinny.

Fit or Skinny?

Posted: February 29, 2012 by christyatprime in dedication, fitness, health, inspiration, muscle, Uncategorized, wellness, womens' fitness
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As a female I have struggled with body image throughout my life.  We are bombarded with media images of “perfection”, health, and what it means to look good.  Of course without being airbrushed before we leave the house, we don’t look like what we see in the magazines.  This can be quite disheartening for the female psyche.  We bust our butts in the gym only to not like what we see in the mirror?  Why is that?

I know over the past six months I have done a lot of mindset shifting to realize that I would much rather be FIT than skinny!  A fit body looks amazing naked, while a skinny body may look good in this month’s latest fashion trend.  Strength training has lead to increased muscle tone, muscle definition, and overall strength.  When we begin to alter the way we view ourselves by choosing a positive mindset of self acceptance, the world views us the way we view ourselves!

Choose the healthy approach to body image and realize that FIT is much sexier than skinny fat!  Love yourself.  You deserve it.  You work hard for it.  Continue to work hard.

"Don’t Stop Believing"

Posted: February 3, 2012 by Eric at Prime in challenge, fat loss, fitness, group exercise, health, muscle, personal training, weight loss
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Yesterday Prime Fitness was witness to the culmination of an amazing personal journey that began in March of 2011. Josh Rosario made a decision to create a much needed change in his life. Reaching a point on the scale that was nowhere near healthy, Josh knew it was time to do something. So the journey began. Over the course of the next 8 months Josh lost an amazing 80 pounds on his own by changing the way he eats and adding a few cardio sessions a week to his exercise routine. This was only the beginning though, as all of us(friends and family) were blown away by his dedication and consistency Josh was encouraged to take it to the next level. Thrilled with his own results Josh knew he could keep pushing. So, Josh joined us here at PRIME FITNESS where he began training his body in a way he never had before. Being part of the Tuesday/Thursday PRIME ENERGY group training was definitely the boost that Josh needed.

The holidays were upon us and PRIME decided a “fitness challenge” was needed to help everyone stay focused during the grey of winter and the temptations of the holiday season. The challenge was simple, who could lose the most body fat percentage by the Thursday before The Super Bowl. The challenge was to last about 10 weeks with everyone throwing $25 into a pot for a little extra incentive for the winner.

The results were in last night and PRIME could not have been more proud of the folks who were part of it all. Between all the participants 47 lbs. of fat was lost and 30 pounds of lean mass(muscle) was gained! Outstanding performances from everyone. As the numbers were tallied and we got down to the winner, what was witnessed next can only be described as truly amazing.

Beginning the contest at 20.42% body fat, the next 10 weeks proved to be just the thing that Josh needed to take it to the next level. The final count for Josh was only a 2.4 pound change on the scale, but his body fat % changed greatly. He completed the contest at 10.9% body!! That means Josh lost 21.52 lbs of fat and gained 19.22 pounds of muscle! Amazing work! Dedication and consistency were Josh’s training partners(with a little help from PRIME ) and we are thrilled to have him as part of the PRIME family. We want everyone out there to know that you can do it. What is your own challenge? What is your goal? It can be anything! Make the decision, turn the page and get started on your own fitness journey, “Don’t Stop Believing”!!

Thank You Josh for your inspiration.

PRIME FITNESS
www.primefitnessmd.com